A scathing audit report has exposed a massive financial mismanagement scandal within Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, revealing approximately US$702,938,963 in unaccounted or undocumented funds.
The audit findings highlight a litany of financial irregularities, including unaccounted foreign currency payments, uncleared transactions, undisclosed revenue, and substantial debts owed to suppliers and service providers, raising serious concerns about transparency, accountability, and governance within the Ministry.
More than US$84.5 million in direct foreign currency payments, made on behalf of the Ministry is unaccounted for in its financial records, according to the Auditor General (AG)’s report for the year ended December 31, 2024.
This sum, representing payments to service providers made directly by Treasury, was not uploaded into the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) and consequently not recognized in the Ministry’s financial statements due to a lack of proper documentation.
This omission has led to a material understatement of the Ministry’s total expenditure for the year.
In the “Basis for Qualified Opinion” section, the Auditor General recommended that the Ministry proactively liaise with Treasury to obtain necessary source documents, such as payment vouchers and invoices, to ensure timely and accurate accounting of all expenditures.
“Treasury made direct foreign currency payments to service providers on behalf of the Ministry amounting to US$84 578 833 (ZWG2 182 007 023) during the financial year 2024,” the AG noted.
“However, these transactions were not uploaded in the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) and were not recognised in the financial statements owing to lack of documentary evidence from Treasury.
“These transactions have remained unaccounted for in the Ministry’s financial records. Therefore, the expenditure disclosed in the Appropriation Account was incomplete and inaccurate.”
The Ministry, in its response, acknowledged that while some payments from Treasury require supporting documents for verification and capture in the PFMS, revised transfer schedules containing these transactions were not initially provided.
They stated that the variance only came to light during the audit and that verification is currently underway to approach Treasury for budgetary support to enable the capture of this expenditure.
The AG’s report also raised concerns about uncleared amounts. A significant amount of ZWG5,655,569,996 (US$219,207,364) was not cleared in the PFMS, potentially misstating the Appropriation Account and leading to ineffective budgetary control.
The report also revealed that unreconciled variances of ZWG6,041,185 and ZWG1,216,916 were noted between different revenue reports, indicating potential misstatements in returns.
The AG also raised the issue of lack of receipt books. Only two receipt books for November and December were provided for verification of revenue collected, raising concerns about unaccounted revenue.
The report noted that the Department of Mechanisation failed to disclose ZWG601,838,450 (US$23,328,429) in outstanding revenue from the sale of tractors and other farm machinery on credit.
The Ministry further owed suppliers and service providers ZWG9,696,270,525 (US$375,824,437), representing 83% of its total budget, raising risks of impaired service delivery and reputational damage.
Several instances of undelivered motor vehicles (with payments made as far back as 2022 and 2023) and unperformed work for which full payment was made (e.g., fowl run construction and fencing installation) were identified, indicating weaknesses in contract management and potential wasteful expenditure.
Investigations were not held for two Ministry vehicles involved in accidents, raising concerns about asset loss.
…As Paid For US$9 Million Assets Not Delivered: AG
Government risks losing millions amid revelations that ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) are yet to receive vehicles and other assets paid for in 2021, the latest Auditor-General’s report has revealed.
The vehicles and other assets are worth US$9 259 711, ZWG24 538 578 and ZWL$375 512 256.
In the report tabled in Parliament last week, acting Auditor-General Rheah Kujinga said contract monitoring was not effectively done as provisions of the contract on non-performance by the supplier were not invoked.
She said non-delivery of procured goods was still a cause for concern in government.
“Some MDAs had undelivered goods dating back to 2021. I noted that contract monitoring was not effectively done, as provisions of the contract on non-performance by the supplier were not invoked.
“A total of forty (40) vehicles, seventeen (17) fire trucks, eighty-three (83) desktops, seventy-five (75) laptops and various office furniture (items) paid for between 2021 and 2024 had not been delivered as at May 30, 2025.
“There is a risk of excessive contract price variations if payments and deliveries are not made within the agreed contract period.”
Kujinga also said service delivery was compromised as the assets were tools of trade required for the well-functioning of MDAs.
According to the report, the ministries with undelivered assets include Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Local Government and Public Works and Skills Audit and Development.
The report said the Local Government and Public Works ministry ordered 17 fire trucks worth US$8 383 080 and other vehicles worth ZWL203 285 545, which were not delivered.
The Lands and Agriculture ministry also ordered various assets yet to be delivered, including a Toyota Hilux GD6 double cab, tablets, desks, chairs, iPhone accessories, and a tent, among others.
The ministry also contracted the construction of 56 000 tonnes grain silos worth US$355 684 000, which have not been delivered since 2024.
The Finance ministry reportedly ordered Toyota Hilux GD6 double cab motor vehicles worth US$243 352, but they were not delivered, while the Skills Audit and Development ministry ordered furniture worth US$178 680, which has not been delivered.
The Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture ministry bought six Nissan Navara vehicles worth ZWG138 766 490 and 20 straw hats worth US$400 which were not delivered.
In 2022, the Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage ministry ordered two vehicles worth US$104 474 but were yet to be delivered, while the Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development ministry ordered food and toilet paper valued at US$22 045 and was not delivered.
Meanwhile, Kujinga noted the conversion of financial transactions from ZWL to ZWG, saying MDAs were supposed to produce financial statements for the whole financial year in one currency (ZWG).
“This meant translating the ZWL transactions to ZWG. To achieve this, Treasury provided guidance to MDAs on how the ZWL financial transactions were to be translated.
“However, the circular was not uniformly applied by MDAs. Nearly all MDAs withdrew and resubmitted financial statements during the audit; some withdrew and resubmitted more than four times,” she said.
The acting AG said there was a downtime of the Public Financial Management Systems (PFMS) during the country’s changeover of currency from ZWL$ to Zimbabwe Gold (ZWG) for almost five months (April to August 2024).
“During that time, most MDAs operated outside the PFMS. The financial information that would have been processed outside the system was not uploaded onto the system in some cases. Such information would misstate expenditure figures,” she said.
Zimbabwe changed currency from ZWL to ZWG effective April 5 last year. Newsday
