Online Reporter
Emmanuel Kafe-Check Point Desk
A DAMNING confidential audit report, leaked to Check Point, has laid bare the depth of Harare City Council’s financial crisis, revealing years of systemic accounting failures, unverifiable spending and a near-total collapse of governance.
Minutes of the audit committee meeting held on May 15, 2025 paint a picture of a city administration operating without basic financial controls, where records are missing, laws are ignored and the risk of fraud is not just a possibility, but a documented pattern.
A city without records
For the past seven years, Harare City Council has failed to produce credible financial statements.
External auditors HLB Zimbabwe Chartered Accountants, appointed by the Office of the Auditor-General, have repeatedly sounded the alarm, issuing disclaimers and adverse opinions – the strongest rebuke possible – on the city’s books.
In 2018, auditors could not even form an opinion after the city’s BIQ (Business Intelligence and Query) financial reporting system was abruptly shut down, leaving no verifiable records.
The BIQ financial reporting system is a software solution provided by Quill Associates (Pty) Limited, designed to be a centralised platform for the management of financial transactions, billing and revenue collection.
By 2019, the situation had deteriorated further. With no functioning accounting system, the city relied on informal Excel spreadsheets, unsupported by cash books, ledgers or reconciliations.
Auditors concluded that the financial statements were outright “fraudulent”, according to the minutes in our possession.
The 2020 and 2021 audits were no better.
Despite adopting the Sage accounting system, the city failed to process transactions properly, reconcile accounts or even follow basic accounting principles.
“Financial statements for 2021 were not supported by proper underlying records,” the auditors noted.
“Cash books and creditors’ ledgers were not consistently updated and accounting reconciliations were not performed.”
Fraud risks and
management override
The audit findings go beyond incompetence – they point to a culture of impunity.
Auditors flagged a “high risk of material misstatement due to fraud,” citing “pervasive” management override of controls.
Key financial data – employee costs, property valuations, trade receivables and cash balances – could not be verified.
“Management practice of overriding controls was pervasive at City of Harare,” the auditors wrote.
“Non-recording of accounting data, whether intentionally or due to technical reasons, exposed the city to a high risk of fraudulent activities occurring and remaining undetected.”
Payments to suppliers were made without proper documentation and prepayments were not tracked.
Seven materially different trial balances (reports that list the balances of all the city’s financial transactions at a certain point in time) were submitted between 2021 and 2025, each conflicting with the last.
“We received seven versions of trial balances, with the last one submitted in March 2025,” the auditors revealed.
“None could be fully verified.”
Laws ignored, oversight evaded
The audit also exposed blatant disregard for the country’s laws and financial best practices.
Harare City Council failed to comply with the Urban Councils Act (Chapter 29:15) and the Public Finance Management Act (Chapter 22:19), while management and councillors neglected their oversight duties.
“The City of Harare did not prepare consolidated financial statements, did not disclose segment reporting and did not comply with International Public Sector Accounting Standards.
“There was no formal assessment of going concern and contingent liabilities were not disclosed,” reported the auditors.
An official from the Office of the Auditor-General, present at the audit committee meeting, warned that the city’s failures would soon face parliamentary scrutiny.
“Once the results of this audit are included in the Auditor-General’s Report, the City of Harare will be summoned to account before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Accounts,” the official said.
Fast forward to last week, Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Accounts led by Kuwadzana East legislator Chalton Hwende met with City of Harare officials to discuss a report titled; “Value for Money for Local Authorities 2023: Management of Revenue Generating Properties by Local Authorities.”
The report, tabled by the Auditor-General, examined how local authorities manage revenue collection from properties under their jurisdiction.
The meeting aimed to provide the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Accounts with a comprehensive understanding and appreciation of Harare City Council’s progress in addressing the issues raised in the Auditor-General’s Report.
Unanswered questions
The most damning revelation lies in what auditors could not confirm, due to missing or unreliable records.
Employee costs – including salaries and pension obligations – lacked supporting documentation.
Property valuations showed inconsistent, unsupported figures, while cash balances remained unverifiable because transactions were not properly recorded.
Perhaps most troubling, the audit could not confirm the accuracy of trade payables (amounts a business owes to its suppliers for goods or services purchased on credit) or foreign debt obligations, leaving the city’s true financial liabilities unknown.
“We were unable to obtain sufficient audit evidence to confirm the completeness, accuracy and validity of the financial statements,” the auditors admitted.
The Audit Committee resolved to develop an action plan and tasked the acting finance director and ICT department with ensuring timely submissions for pending audits.
But, with the same issues recurring since 2018, scepticism remains high.
“The city needs to focus on how to achieve clean audits.
“Some corrective actions do not even require money – just proper controls,” the Auditor-General’s official who attended the meeting urged the city fathers.
Harare Residents’ Trust (HRT) director Mr Precious Shumba says the accountability issues at the municipality are longstanding.
“The tragedy is that the City of Harare has been without a functional billing system since 21 March 2019, and has operated without a substantive finance director for a long time,” he said.
Mr Shumba said the absence of both strategic leadership and modern technology has crippled the city’s ability to manage public finances and may be resulting in losses from potential revenue.
He also noted that the findings of the City’s Audit Committee echo those of the Auditor-General’s Office, Parliament and Harare residents, all pointing to systemic failures in financial management.
“Unfortunately, no corrective action has been taken,” he said.
Harare City Council has been under the spotlight in recent times.
Last month, the Commission of Inquiry into Harare City Council affairs, led by retired High Court Judge, Justice Maphios Cheda, presented its findings to President Mnangagwa.
