via Mysterious money transfer at indigenisation ministry – The Zimbabwean 9 July 2015
The ministry of youth, indigenisation and economic empowerment has been involved in mysterious money transactions with the employment creation fund that falls under it.
This was revealed in a recent report on public accounts following an audit by the Auditor General (AG).
The audit revealed that the ministry paid a grant to the youth development and employment creation fund account and later borrowed from it. Subsequently, the ministry reimbursed the money to the youth fund under unclear circumstances.
“The practice of borrowing money from the fund cripples operations of the same and exposes financial resources to misappropriation. The ministry should desist from borrowing financial resources from the fund as this may negatively affect its operations,” read the report.
At the beginnng of 2014, the ministry owed the fund some $130,000 while during the same year, expenditure amounting to $9,863 was met from the fund’s resources. “My concern is that this may result in the fund account failing to meet its objectives. The practice of borrowing money from the fund is not in line with current regulations,” said the AG, Mildred Chiri. In response, the ministry said the money was borrowed to “cover pressing issues that had arisen within the ministry with the intention of reimbursing the fund”. It accused treasury of availing resources to the ministry “as and when it liked”, forcing them to dig into fund coffers.
In addition, the ministry’s houses at vocational training centres from which it was collecting rent were not classified according to size and type for easy management of the rentals, noted the report. As a result, the AG could not do the monthly rates as stipulated by treasury regulations.
Contrary to the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act (Chapter 22:19) the ministry had long outstanding revenue amounting to $93,687 accrued from departmental surcharges.
“Delays in recovering outstanding departmental surcharges and disallowances may result in the outstanding amounts being irrecoverable.
This also deprives the government from using the money for other activities,” reads the report. Out of $534,598 loans given out to youths, only $47,847 was recovered. “No allowance was created to recognise the potential loss that could arise as a result of irrecoverable loans,” noted the AG.
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