Billions at risk in govt financial mess

ZIMBABWE’S public purse is haemorrhaging billions of dollars — not because of a single scandal, but due to years of weak controls, poor record-keeping, unprotected assets and ignored regulations, the Auditor-General has revealed.

The latest report on Appropriation Accounts, Finance and Revenue Statements, tabled in Parliament, paints a picture of systemic financial mismanagement across ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

Weak controls, unrecorded assets, deteriorating infrastructure and ballooning debtors are exposing the State to financial losses, theft of public property and mounting fiscal risks — raising fresh concerns over accountability and the safeguarding of public resourcesover accountability and the safeguarding of public resources at a time when government can least afford it.

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