In a recent dispute between Zimbabwe’s Treasury and the Auditor General’s office, Finance Secretary George Guvamatanga has strongly criticized a report detailing undelivered motor vehicles. He labeled the findings as “misguided,” asserting that the issues outlined were already known to government management.
Guvamatanga voiced these concerns during a familiarization tour with the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Budget and Finance, which is led by Clemence Chiduwa. The acting Auditor General, Rheah Kujinga, had recently released a report revealing significant problems within government ministries, departments, and state-owned enterprises. The report, covering the fiscal year ending in December 2023, exposed that payments amounting to ZWL$1.7 billion and US$2.3 million were made for vehicles that were never delivered to various government departments.
Guvamatanga, however, dismissed the report’s conclusions, arguing that the auditing process involves a multi-layered approach. This includes the originator, the government’s internal audit unit, and the external audit unit represented by the Auditor General. He noted that prior to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration, the government lacked a centralized audit unit. This gap, Guvamatanga said, has been addressed in the past four years with the creation of a functional, centralized internal audit unit.
According to Guvamatanga, the internal audit unit had already identified issues with undelivered goods, including vehicles, and communicated these problems to the relevant ministries and departments. He argued that the Auditor General’s office should have acknowledged that these issues were already known and being addressed.
Guvamatanga detailed that, as of June 9, 2023, a total of 167 vehicles had been procured, with 97 still undelivered. He emphasized that the ministry had been actively working to resolve these issues, and the number of undelivered vehicles had since decreased to approximately 20. He criticized the Auditor General’s report for presenting these known issues as if they were newly discovered.
The Finance Secretary stressed the need for better alignment between the Auditor General’s office and the centralized internal audit unit. He suggested that the Auditor General’s office should work more closely with the internal audit unit to ensure that reports reflect ongoing issues accurately and are resolved more efficiently.
Guvamatanga explained that the creation of the internal audit unit was intended to facilitate continuous auditing throughout the year. He pointed out that the report’s timing, 18 months after the fact, undermines the efforts to address issues promptly and effectively. He emphasized that the internal audit unit was established to fill the gap and speed up the auditing process.
Despite the Auditor General’s consistent efforts to highlight corruption and mismanagement within the government, there has been no concrete action taken against those responsible.
