By Staff Reporter
HARARE — Murewa Rural District Council failed to account for the finances of 128 schools under its jurisdiction and omitted 97 hectares of council land from its books, prompting Auditor-General Vimbai Chikwenhere to issue a qualified audit opinion for 2024.
Chikwenhere said the omissions meant the council’s financial statements did not fully reflect its financial position as required by International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).
“In my opinion, except for the effects of the matters described in the Basis for Qualified Opinion section of my report, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects,” Chikwenhere said.
Audit found council failed to recognise 97 hectares of land in its financial statements, contrary to IPSAS 45.
“Had the Council recognised the land, the balance of property, plant and equipment disclosed would have been materially different,” the report said.
More significantly, council excluded revenue, expenses and liabilities for all 128 schools under its control.
Audit found no segment information was reported for education services despite IPSAS requiring councils to disclose revenue, expenses, assets and liabilities for each operating segment.
“Had the Council complied with IPSAS 1 ‘Presentation of Financial Statements’ and IPSAS 18 ‘Segment Reporting’ in accounting for its Schools, the financial statements would have been materially different,” Chikwenhere said.
Auditor-General warned the omission weakened financial oversight and increased the risk of misuse of funds, undetected fraud and loss of accountability.
Council blamed the problem on limited accounting capacity in schools, shortage of qualified personnel and lack of software to integrate school financial records into its accounting system.
Management said headmasters had been sensitised through the District Schools Inspector to submit financial statements and promised training for school finance staff subject to funding.
Audit also criticised council for failing to record its land bank in the financial statements, exposing public land to possible misappropriation and weakening accountability.
Council acknowledged this was “a management oversight” and said the land would be recorded in future financial statements.
Chikwenhere further noted that Murewa RDC made limited progress in implementing previous audit recommendations.
Of six findings raised in the previous audit, only two were fully addressed, one was partially implemented and three remained unresolved.
Outstanding issues include failure to provide an ambulance and mothers’ shelters at three clinics, failure to establish a landfill and non-delivery of quarry stones.
Only part of planned sewer works in Mapako and Magamba had been completed by the time of the audit.
