Zimbabwe’s largest public hospitals are bleeding billions in taxpayers’ money amid alarming revelations of ghost workers, missing medical supplies, and widespread mismanagement, a new Auditor-General’s report has revealed.
The report, tabled by Acting Auditor-General Rheah Kujinga, paints a grim picture of systemic failure at institutions like Mpilo Central Hospital, United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH), Ingutsheni, and Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals all key pillars of Zimbabwe’s public healthcare system.
At Mpilo Central Hospital alone, four workers who had resigned months earlier continued receiving salaries totalling ZWL40 million, thanks to outdated payroll records and the hospital’s failure to submit monthly staff returns.
“This led to financial loss due to irregular payments,” Kujinga warned, adding that the blunder could have been avoided with proper human resources oversight.
Though Mpilo officials claimed the funds were later recovered and that improved systems were in place, the audit uncovered deeper structural failures. Hospital inventory valued at ZiG161 million could not be accounted for, and donations worth over ZiG2.1 billion were unrecorded. No internal audits were conducted, and the hospital lacked a management board, in violation of national legislation.
At United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH), the chaos continued. Key staff including doctors, radiographers, and nurse aides failed to turn up for physical verification exercises. The HR department was unable to produce leave forms or duty rosters to justify the absences raising concerns of payroll fraud and absenteeism.
“The Human Resources department should ensure that paid time off is properly documented and duty rosters are maintained,” the report advised.
More shockingly, some clinical staff were found to be working without valid practising certificates a clear breach of the Health Professions Act.
At Ingutsheni Hospital, the situation bordered on the bizarre. While official records listed 1,611 units of Phenobarbitone in stock, auditors found the pharmacy shelves completely empty. Other essential items like fuel, sugar, and bread were also listed as available but were nowhere to be found.
The Auditor-General slammed the hospital’s inventory controls and urged regular reconciliations to prevent fraud and ensure drugs actually reach patients.
Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals wasn’t spared either. The audit revealed discrepancies between the hospital’s books and those of medical aid societies with one account showing a debtor balance of ZiG5.48 billion, while the medical aid society reported only ZiG4.96 billion.
Capital projects remain unfinished, financial reconciliations are lacking, and like the other hospitals, Parirenyatwa had no functioning board despite mandatory requirements under both the Health Service Act and the Public Entities Corporate Governance Act.
What’s more troubling is that these issues are not new. The Auditor-General noted that hospitals have consistently failed to act on previous audit recommendations dating back to 2020 with only one out of ten past recommendations having been fully implemented.
The report has sparked renewed calls for accountability, with health advocates and ordinary citizens demanding answers as hospitals continue to suffer shortages of drugs, staff, and basic equipment.
As billions go unaccounted for and patients bear the brunt of poor services, the Auditor-General’s latest findings reveal more than just administrative failure they signal a national health crisis rooted in corruption, neglect, and leadership failure.
