via Mining fund looted: Auditor General 23/03/2014 NewZimbabwe
THE Comptroller and Auditor General’s office has issued a damning report on the operations of the Mining Development Fund, alleging rampant fraud.
The audit report, now before the Parliamentary public accounts committee, covers the year 2011 when the Mines Ministry was headed by Zanu PF’s Obert Mpofu.
Mildred Chiri, the comptroller and auditor general, said the Fund’s cashbook had mysteriously disappeared, making it difficult to establish the validity of financial statements her office was given.
“During the course of the audit, the cashbook in which expenditure was recorded that was also serving as a ledger-book in which bank reconciliations were recorded was stolen,” she said.
“The ministry was also not maintaining adequate accounting records such as ledgers and journals and financial statements were prepared using entries from the cashbook.
“I was therefore not able to substantiate the figures in the financial statements and to validate various cash withdrawals that appeared on the bank statements due to loss of audit trail.
“The expenditure of $1 634 260 in the financial statements could also not be verified due to the absence of the financial records.”
Chiri recommended that an investigation be carried out and also urged the reconstruction of the cashbook using available material.
“Investigations should be carried out to establish the whereabouts of the cashbook and corrective measures should be taken to avoid a repeat of the shortcoming,” she said in her report.
The report also noted rampant abuse of the Fund “to subsidise the operations of the Appropriation Account thereby defeating the purpose of establishing the fund”.
Chiri listed items that she said incurred unnecessarily high expenditures which were not commensurate with the size and operations of the Fund.
“Rentals and hire expenses $329,968, foreign travel $220,680, food and refreshments $69,325, printing and stationery $100,038 and domestic travel $247,405. Audit was therefore not convinced that monies were being used in pursuance of the Fund objectives,” said Chiri.
“The fraud was perpetrated by ministry officials who took advantage of weaknesses in the processing of payments whereby cash was being used instead of using cheques.
“Property, plant and equipment worth $359 735 was disclosed in the financial statements at year-end. However no breakdown of the assets was provided.
“I was therefore not able to verify the physical existence of the assets and authenticate the correctness of the value disclosed.”
Chiri concluded: “The correctness of the financial statements is highly questionable and also without a breakdown of the assets, effective control could be a challenge.”
COMMENTS
No heads will roll, everything will simply carry on
Typical theft by employees who can’t keep their fingers out of the cookie jar,shameful and criminal.
If you fraudulently fund fraudulent elections, then we would not expect you to act an any fraudulent activities within government. Mugabe you have destroyed the being of this nation.
This is treason to the highest order.
Mbahva,
You have sold us to the Chinese.
Treasonous malcontents.
NOT UNEXPECTED! CHEFS ARE THIEVES!
Shear avarice on one side naivety and guillibility on the other,the president once remarked of his luitenants.
I don’t suppose most of the Zimbabwean church-for we claim to be 80% Christian-has ever heard of the Eighth Commandment, “You shall not steal,” and that most of us do not know that a thief brings a curse upon his own house???
Gukurahundi Zimbabwe, a Dan of thieves indeed. National Asset stripping has become a past time – what with a tired, 90-year old at the helm of everything. There is no one stopping us now. Take! take! take! take! until you take no more!!
Not even a single parastatal is clean – its all zanu pf looting across the board. Of course nothing will happen to the concerned zanu pf looters – if anything they are waiting for their next assignment by their king RGM to other state institutions that may still have anything lootable so that they continue their looting spree. Pamberi ne ZANU PF! Pamberi nokutora upfumi hwenyika! Pamberi naRGM & cronies! Regayi vadye vaMugabe nehama neshamwari dzavo – they died for us; we should be forever grateful to RGM & cronies. Suffer continue….
“He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, but he who hates bribes will live. ” Prov 15:27 “Do not fret because of evil doers nor be envious of the wicked; for there will be no prospect for the evil man; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.” Prov 24:19-20
The accountable officer is the Minister Obert Mpofu. Roast him if you want to get the whole truth about this issue. I wonder who in the ruling party is not a thief. The police cannot arrest him because they are also guilty of the same sin”Thou shalt not steal.” Stealing is a raging demon in the ruling party. Who in his right mind will want to invest in a country full of institutionalized thieving. To stop all the corruption vote out all so called main political parties and bring in genuine opposition political parties. Ndiro rangu shoko rekuraira.
God helps those who help themselves, and by God have they helped themselves
Because Apolitical is part of this thieving, he won’t say a word! Where are you Apolitical? Say something!