Bigwigs’ debts cancelled
http://www.financialgazette.co.zw/
Wednesday, 16 May 2012 21:42
Clemence Manyukwe, Political Editor
HIGH-RANKING government officials and politicians are among people whose
debts amounting to over US$5 million were written off due to poor record
keeping by the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA).
An audit done by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), Mildred Chiri,
reveals that when ZINWA handed over the management of water back to Harare
City Council in January 2009, it did not provide names of some individuals
who had defaulted.
Cabinet had four years earlier decreed that the management of water
countrywide be handed to ZINWA only to reverse the directive after the 2008
cholera outbreak which killed more than 4 000 people from more than 100 000
reported cases.
Although ZINWA could not provide the names of the defaulters, some of them
were high-ranking officials who had not paid for the scarce resource either
at their homes or business premises.
“Harare water debtors — finding — I observed that during the handover of the
management of water in Harare to City of Harare, the authority did not get
enough documents to support the debtor amount of US$5 068 614. No names and
amounts owed by each consumer were availed for this amount. As a result,
recovery of this amount is difficult. No action has been taken since the
2009 audit to date on writing off this amount,” reads part of Chiri’s
report.
“Management response. Noted. Approval for the write-off will be obtained
from the board. The whole amount was provided for as a doubtful debt in the
books of accounts.”
The latest revelations come at a time when ZINWA is battling to recover over
US$70 million owed by some top government officials and ZANU-PF heavyweights
for water mostly used for irrigation purposes at their farms.
The chefs also owe ZESA Holdings millions of dollars in unpaid electricity
bills, another product of their farming ventures.
The failure to pay the power utility has affected ZESA’s ability to import
power, resulting in a crippling load shedding schedule now threatening the
winter wheat farming season.
In a judgment with far reaching consequences on the generality of the
country’s workforce last week, Labour Court president, Loice Matanda-Moyo,
exem-pted companies from paying their employees for time spent at the
workplace when there was no electricity due to load shedding.
In a separate report, Chiri said the power utility was losing revenue
because ZESA officials sent to disconnect power were being bribed.
“I noted the following from my review of internal audit reports: Prepaid
met-ers were no longer working and were being phased out, due to this
fact about 5 000 units were not being billed.
“Most farmers were also not being billed because of their hostility to the
meter readers and their reluctance to pay,” said the C&AG’s report.
“Customers were not being disconnected as ZESA officials sent to disconnect
were being bribed . . . The company’s cash flows from debtors are
compromised by defaulting customers in collaboration with dishonest
employees. Investigations should be made into the allegations of employee
fraud and appropriate disciplinary measures should be taken against
culprits.”