Online Reporter
Farirai Machivenyika
Senior Reporter
Harare City Council failed to account for ZiG691,29 billion (approximately US$25,9 million) in employees’ salaries on its payroll between 2022 and 2023, Auditor-General Mrs Vimbai Chikwenhere has said.
Mrs Chikwenhere said this in her 2025 Audit Report, tabled in the National Assembly by Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube last week.
The Auditor-General said she had failed to obtain payroll records for ZiG53,48 billion in 2022.
“The council recognised employment costs amounting to ZiG53,48 billion which were not supported by underlying payroll records.
“I was unable to obtain sufficient and appropriate audit evidence to confirm the accuracy and completeness of employee costs and employee obligations recognised in the financial statements,” she said.
The Auditor-General said she again failed to obtain the requisite supporting documents from the local authority for ZiG637,81 billion in 2023.
Mrs Chikwenhere said these anomalies, among others, had resulted in her issuing an adverse opinion on the city’s financial statements for both years.
In accounting, an adverse opinion is the most severe finding issued by an auditor and signifies that an organisation’s financial statements are materially misstated and do not accurately reflect its financial position.
“In my opinion, because of the matters discussed in the basis for adverse opinion section of my report, the financial statements do not present fairly the financial position of HCC as at December 31, 2022, its financial performance and its cash flows for the year then ended, in accordance with the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS),” she said.
The Auditor-General added that the council’s actions were contrary to the provisions of the Urban Councils Act, which requires local authorities to maintain proper books of account relating to their financial transactions.
Mrs Chikwenhere said that for 2023, the council had acknowledged the findings.
“Management acknowledges the findings. The matters raised largely relate to system integration limitations in the payroll and financial management systems, manual payroll reconciliation processes and challenges associated with the calculation of employee obligations during the period under review,” she said.
The Auditor-General added that the council had not made any progress in addressing findings she raised in her 2024 report.
“I raised 25 findings; two were partially addressed and 23 were not addressed,” she said.
These include, among others, failure to revalue its assets, absence of supporting documents for recognised revenue, non-disclosure of related parties, failure to assess assets for impairment, lack of supporting documents to support payables, and failure to account for foreign exchange gains and losses.
