Source: Copac owes ZBC over $250 000 – DailyNews Live
Pauline Hurungudo 10 December 2018
HARARE – The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH) and another company
called Vixstrom are owed in excess of $367 000 for work done during the
constitution-making process of 2013.
ZBH alone is owed over $250 000.
According to the Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Portfolio
Committee, the debts were supposed to be expunged by Treasury, which has
not done so to date.
“There is an outstanding debt which was accrued during (the) Constitution
Parliamentary Committee (Copac), the constitution-making process. The
ministry has obtained an assurance that it will be covered by the Treasury
in the sum of $367 473,69.
“This is basically for the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings and a company
called Vixstrom, which is owed $117 000 of that amount,” noted the
committee, chaired by Makoni South legislator Misheck Mataranyika.
Government has continuously been swamped by debts which have been
outstanding for several years, causing the stock of domestic debt to crowd
out investments.
Zimbabwe’s national debt stands at $18,4 billion as of April 2018, amid
expectations for the debt to exceed $20 billion by end of this year.
By June this year, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe overdraft had reached
$961,29 million, while government securities, comprising Treasury Bills
and bonds, amounted to $2,53 billion.
In her 2017 financial report presented before Parliament, Auditor-General
Mildred Chiri also revealed that government ministries had outstanding
payments to suppliers of goods and services to the tune of about $65
million against last year’s figure of about $84 million which shows a
variance of nearly $18 million.
“The major reason being inadequate funding by Treasury and in some cases
minimum follow up action by those charged with responsibility of
governance of public funds,” she said.
The Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Portfolio Committee covers the
ministry of Justice and five independent commissions namely the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), the National
Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC), the Zimbabwe Human Rights
Commission and the National Prosecuting Authority.
Meanwhile, a member of the committee and Chitungwiza South Member of
Parliament Maxwell Mavhunga revealed that the JSC and the NPRC did not
submit reports on the post-budget presentation for review to the
committee.
He said apart from conveying its displeasure to the parent ministry, the
committee will summon the two bodies to explain why they did not proffer
reports on the post budget presentation.
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