MARTIN MAWAYA
HARARE-Zimbabwe’s public financial management systems remain under severe strain, with most government entities failing to secure clean audit opinions, billions of dollars in outstanding revenue yet to be recovered and years old audit recommendations continuing to be ignored, the Auditor-General has found.
The Auditor-General’s 2025 report paints a picture of weak financial controls across ministries, statutory funds and government agencies, warning that poor governance practices are undermining accountability, transparency and service delivery.
Of the 71 financial statements audited, only 23 received unqualified audit opinions, while 42 attracted qualified opinions, five received adverse opinions and one attracted a disclaimer after auditors failed to obtain sufficient evidence to express an opinion.
The findings indicate that the majority of public institutions continue to struggle to produce financial statements that meet acceptable accounting standards.
The report also exposes mounting weaknesses in revenue collection.
Outstanding revenue owed to 14 ministries stood at ZWG46.98 billion, US$1.63 million and ZWL$1.90 billion after ministries failed to put in place effective debt recovery mechanisms.
According to the Auditor-General, weak debt collection reduces the value of outstanding receivables over time, weakens the financial position of ministries and ultimately limits government’s capacity to deliver essential public services.
Government is also carrying significant unpaid obligations.
Accumulated trade payables dating back to 2020 reached ZWG250.34 billion, ZWL$17.41 billion and US$333,887.
The Auditor-General warned that failure to clear the arrears could damage government’s credibility with suppliers, increase borrowing costs through interest charges and divert scarce public resources away from essential services.
The report further highlights persistent weaknesses in the management of public assets.
Six statutory funds failed to maintain updated asset registers, with assets worth US$717,353 and ZWG300,778 omitted from official records.
Some government buildings, offices and staff houses inspected during the audit had deteriorated because of inadequate maintenance, while obsolete assets remained on registers for more than two decades and some stolen assets had not even been reported to the police.
Revenue management was not the only area where governance weaknesses were identified.
The Auditor-General reported that 27 funds failed to provide supporting documentation for expenditure, revenue, property and cash transactions, making it impossible to verify whether reported figures were accurate or whether transactions complied with the law.
In another sign of weak financial discipline, several ministries and statutory funds continued advancing money to parent ministries and other government funds without Treasury approval or timely reimbursement, raising concerns that resources intended for specific public programmes were being diverted from their intended purposes.
Most worrying is government’s slow response to previous audit findings.
Out of 247 findings raised in earlier Auditor-General’s reports, only 64 had been fully addressed.
Twenty findings were only partially implemented, while 163 representing 66% of all outstanding findings remained unresolved despite repeated recommendations.
The Auditor-General warned that unless those charged with governance urgently address the recurring weaknesses, efforts to improve accountability, transparency and public service delivery would remain compromised.
