NATHAN GUMA
ZIMBABWE’S National Drought Fund (NDF) has come under scrutiny with a series of reports from the Auditor-General pointing to misappropriation of thousands of dollars, raising questions on transparency amid a devastating drought that is projected to throw 60% of the population into extreme hunger this year.
The fund, administered by the ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, was established to counteract drought effects that include food insecurity.
Zimbabwe is reeling under an El Niño-induced drought which has seen the government revise its request for aid to US$3.3 billion in aid, up from US$2 billion announced by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in March.
The number of people affected by the drought has also been projected to reach 4.99 million by October this year, according to the United States Agency for International Development’s Famine Early Warning Systems Network.
Findings from the Auditor-General’s reports between 2018 and 2022 have revealed the possible misuse of funds for relief programmes, thereby raising serious questions on accountability.
For instance, in the Revenue and Finance Statements and Fund Accounts in arrears as at December 2021 presented in Parliament in 2022, the ministry failed to account for thousands of litres of fuel meant for relief programmes.
“There was no record in the fuel register of how 9 285 litres of diesel coupons and 1 710 litres of petrol coupons worth $1 448 390 (US$17 709) were utilised, although the coupons were recorded as received.
“I therefore could not validate whether they were used for the purposes of the Fund. This was contrary to Section 104 (1) of the Public Finance Management (Treasury Instructions) 2019 which requires maintenance of fuel coupons records,” reads the report.
The ministry, the report shows, did not keep proper record books, thereby undermining accountability around the usage and management of fuel coupons. The fuel procured for the drought fund was issued to districts in line with issued vouchers.
However, the Auditor-General showed that only 1 760 litres of fuel had been issued, leaving a balance of 7 525 litres unaccounted for. Further revelations by the report have revealed that the ministry has borNational Drought Fund another looting scheme rowed from the drought fund without the authorisation of Treasury as required by regulations.
“The Fund made an advance of ZW$992 482 (US$12 135) to the parent Ministry during the period under review without obtaining authority from Treasury as required by regulations. This amount increased the total owing to ZW$1 117 108 (US$13 658) from the ZW$128 260 (US$1 568) brought forward from the 2019 financial year,” reads the report.
However, at the time the audit was conducted on 6 January 2022, the ministry had reimbursed ZW$480 371. The then Auditor-General, Mildred Chiri, expressed concern that the fund may fail to fulfill its obligations should it continue being diverted to meet the expenses of the ministry.
“The Fund should ensure that funds are utilised for the intended purposes as provided for by its constitution and the balance should be fully recovered. In future the Ministry will desist from borrowing from the Fund,” reads the report.
“The Fund should ensure that funds are utilised for the intended purposes as provided for by its constitution and the balance should be fully recovered.
“The register should be properly maintained so as to enhance transparency and accountability in the management of fuel coupons. Management should also avail to audit a record of how the fuel coupons were used.”
In 2020, an amount of ZW$7 000 000 (US$417 327) was paid to the District Development Fund (DDF) and the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) for repair and maintenance of their trucks used to ferry grain on behalf of the National Drought Fund.
This represented 59% of the expenditure incurred by the fund on social assistance and 54% of the fund’s total expenditure.
An itinerary with details of the grain transportation services, trucks used and the tonnage transported by each truck was not submitted for audit inspection.
This, according to the audit report, made it difficult for the comptroller to validate the correctness of payments made by the fund. In 2018, the Social Welfare ministry also failed to submit its financial statements within the statutory deadline.
The financial statements for the fund were submitted on 6 June 2019 which is three months after the statutory deadline, which the Auditor-General said would make it difficult to ascertain whether the funds were utilised for their intended purpose.
