AUDITOR-GENERAL Vimbai Chikwenhere has delivered a damning assessment of Ingutsheni Central Hospital, uncovering persistent governance, financial management, and record-keeping failures while warning that the institution has failed to implement most recommendations from previous audits.
The 2025 audit report paints a picture of an institution plagued by persistent financial control failures, including unverified medical supplies, outdated asset records, manual accounting systems, and the absence of a governing board.
The findings raise fresh concerns over accountability in Zimbabwe's public health sector, where recurring audit issues continue to undermine confidence in the management of public resources.
In her report on the hospital's financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022, Chikwenhere concluded that the accounts did not fairly present the hospital's financial position in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards.
“In my opinion, because of the significance of the matters discussed in the Basis for Adverse Opinion section of my report, the financial statements do not present fairly the financial position of Ingutsheni Central Hospital as at December 31, 2022, and its financial performance and cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards,” Chikwenhere said in the report signed on June 26 this year.
The adverse audit opinion was based on several material weaknesses, including the hospital's failure to revalue its property, plant and equipment, inadequate inventory records, and continued non-compliance with accounting standards governing foreign currency reporting and hyperinflation accounting.
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The report found that Ingutsheni had not revalued its assets as required by accounting standards, resulting in property and equipment not being reflected at fair value. Some assets had been fully depreciated despite remaining in use, while their useful lives and residual values had not been reassessed.
The audit also exposed major weaknesses in inventory management. The hospital failed to produce inventory issue vouchers supporting medical supplies issued during the year, with expenditure instead calculated outside the accounting system using opening stock, purchases, and closing balances.
As a result, the Auditor-General said she could not verify the accuracy and completeness of supplies and services expenditure reported in the financial statements.
The report further highlighted continued non-compliance with accounting standards relating to foreign currency transactions and hyperinflation accounting, with errors identified in previous audits remaining unresolved.
Beyond the adverse audit opinion, Chikwenhere said Ingutsheni had failed to address most governance and financial management weaknesses identified in the Auditor-General's 2023 and 2024 reports.
“The hospital did not make significant progress in addressing audit findings raised in my 2023 and 2024 annual reports. Two findings were addressed, one was partially addressed and seven findings were not addressed,” she said.
Among the unresolved issues was the continued absence of a Hospital Management Board despite repeated follow-ups with the parent ministry.
The hospital also continued relying on a manual accounting system after software licence fees went unpaid, a situation the Auditor-General said weakened financial reporting and internal controls.
Other outstanding weaknesses included discrepancies between physical inventory and stock records, incomplete asset registers, failure to recognise expected credit losses on receivables, and missing documentation supporting inventory issued during the year.
Although the report acknowledged improvements in conducting regular inventory counts and maintaining a donations register, debt management remained only partially addressed, with no ageing analyses or documented follow-up of outstanding debtors.
Chikwenhere urged the hospital to strengthen governance structures, tighten financial controls, and fully implement outstanding audit recommendations to improve accountability and ensure compliance with statutory accounting standards.