Source: Revenue leaks: City ropes in Auditor General – herald
Trust Freddy
Herald Correspondent
THE City of Harare has officially cleared technical hurdles to trace nearly US$200 million in unaccounted for funds, with Mayor Councillor Jacob Mafume confirming that the local authority is now awaiting the Auditor General to commence a forensic investigation into the city’s books.
The breakthrough follows the successful reinstallation and operationalisation of the BIQ Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, a move designed to plug massive revenue leakages and address “serious deficiencies” highlighted in the Auditor General’s 2018 and 2019 reports.
Mayor Mafume revealed that the council has formally invited the Auditor General’s office to begin the audit process.
“A letter to the Auditor General advising that City of Harare had reinstalled the BIQ ERP system was done and required profiles were created to allow the Auditor General access to the system for the audit process,” Clr Mafume said.
To ensure the process remains beyond reproach, the Mayor noted that strict digital safeguards have been implemented.
“City of Harare officials or point persons who will be involved in the process have ‘read only’ access, to maintain data integrity.
“City of Harare now awaits the AG to come and audit as the system is now ready and available,” he added.
The local authority has been under fire since the Auditor-General’s 2018 and 2019 reports exposed serious deficiencies in financial reporting and missing information, in particular a sum of approximately US$200 million which could not be verified.
An ERP system is software that integrates and automates various municipal operations, such as budgeting, procurement, payroll and service delivery, to enhance efficiency, transparency and responsiveness to the community’s needs.
The implementation was enabled after the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works sought a waiver from PRAZ to re-hire Quill Associates to reactivate the outdated ERP system for a transitional period of 12 months.
The objective of this 12-month reactivation is to bridge the information gap and ensure that all previously unverified funds are fully accounted for through the restored system.
The Government intervened after both Harare Mayor and the City’s Executives testified before the Retired High Court judge Justice Maphios Cheda-led commission that the city has approximately been losing nearly US$200 000 per day since 2019 due to the delayed implementation of a modern Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, with estimates suggesting total losses could be around US$500 million as of 2025.
Efforts to get a comment from the Auditor-General’s office regarding the exact commencement date of the audit were unsuccessful yesterday, as the public relations department had not responded to questions by the time of going to print.
However, sources at Town House revealed a deepening rift between policymakers and management over the impending probe.
While Mayor Mafume and his councillors are reportedly pushing for immediate scrutiny, some senior executives are allegedly “throwing spanners in the works” to frustrate the process.
There are growing fears that these administrative delays are a calculated tactic to avoid accountability.
Insiders noted that with six months already lapsed on Quill Associates’ 12-month contract, any further delay in the Auditor-General’s entry could make it technically impossible to trace the missing US$200 million before the transitional system’s license expires.
Allegations have surfaced that certain top officials—fearing they may be caught in the crossfire of a forensic audit—are deliberately running down the clock to ensure the audit period lapses before the missing funds are recovered.
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