MDC-T governed Gweru books last audited in 2014

Published: 04 June 2018

GWERU City Council's accounts were last audited four years ago, a situation that compromises on good corporate governance, chairperson of the Service Level Benchmarking (SLB) peer review committee, George Makunde revealed last week.

Makunde,who is Chitungwiza town clerk, led the committee that assessed Gweru on five indicators, including water supply, waste water management, solid waste management, public safety and corporate governance.
] In his remarks at the committee's report after a three-day fact-finding mission, Makunde said most local authorities were failing to adhere to the Local Government ministry's requirements to have updated audited accounts.

"Our report shows that Gweru last audited its accounts in 2014 and is, therefore, very behind," Makunde said.

"The (Local Government) ministry has taken audited accounts, as a key component of SLB. It is not Gweru only, but most councils in the country are doing little to audit their accounts and I, therefore, appeal to councils to audit their books and have them even published in newspapers like what other companies do to boost confidence in the operations of local authorities."

A government audit carried in Gweru in 2015 exposed massive rot at the local authority.

The audit revealed that top managers awarded themselves fuel for private use, upgrading and promotion of council staff without following proper procedures and anomalies in the way industrial and commercial stands were advertised and sold among others.

Most local authorities have been accused of failing to deal with corruption and abuse of resources, a situation that compromises on service delivery.
- newsday

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