The Auditor General’s (AG) report has revealed that most local authorities have nothing to report on for the last three years.
Section 301(3) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that a budget of at least 5% of the national revenues raised in any financial year should be allocated to Local Authorities to fund devolution projects.
From the funds allocated, 10% will go towards administration while 90% should go towards construction and infrastructure projects to spur growth in regional economies.
But the latest report published by the Auditor General reduces such aspirations to mere political talk following revelations that information on the number of devolution-funded projects that had been implemented from January 2019 to the time of audit on December 31, 2021 is nowhere to be found.
“Such information was not available as the Public Works and Local Government Ministry did not have a database.
“However, from the review of project reports for the period 2019-2021, audit noted that of the 27 projects that City Council of Harare (CCH) and Ruwa Local Board (RLB) had planned to implement, only 5 projects were completed,” the report said.
The report shows that the projects were not being completed due to a number of factors including funds being used on unapproved projects, delay in utilization of disbursed funds, and misappropriation of disbursed funds.
“CCH for example expended 74% of disbursed devolution funds on unapproved projects. An investigation report by the MLGPW in 2020 revealed that Kusile/Lupane RDC delayed utilization of disbursed funds by more than six months,” the report observed.
Local Authorities were not preparing separate books of accounts for devolution as required by Local Authorities Circular No1 of 2019 issued by the Local Government Ministry.
As a result, some Local Authorities failed to account for the disbursed devolution funds. For example, CCH could not account for devolution funds amounting to $32,6 million.
“Furthermore, LAs were not submitting acquittals for funds that would have been disbursed.
“The audit noted that procurement for devolution-funded projects were in some instances not being done in accordance with procurement regulations,” the report said.
For example, the AG’s report said, some projects by the CCH and RLB were not included in their respective annual procurement plans.
Furthermore, the audit noted that due to procurement processes that commence after funds had been disbursed, some LAs were unable to timely utilise disbursed devolution funds.
Source New Zimbabwe
