By Staff Reporter
MUTOKO — Mutoko Rural District Council failed to account for its roads and bridges in its 2024 financial statements and incorrectly recorded beer levy revenue, prompting Auditor-General Vimbai Chikwenhere to issue a qualified audit opinion.
Chikwenhere said council recognised beer levy revenue of ZWG221,700 on a cash basis instead of the accrual basis required under International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), resulting in a misstatement of revenue.
“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 could not quantify the extent of the beer levy misstatement because supporting beer sales statistics were unavailable.
“Had the Council complied with the requirements of IPSAS 47 ‘Revenue’, the disclosed revenue would have been materially different,” the report said.
Chikwenhere also found that council failed to recognise infrastructure assets, including road networks and bridges, in its financial statements.
“Had the Council recognised infrastructure assets, the property, plant and equipment disclosed in the financial statements would have been materially different,” the report said.
Council acknowledged the omission and said it would recognise the infrastructure assets in its 2025 financial statements.
Audit further found that Mutoko RDC was operating without a landfill, relying instead on an open dumpsite in breach of the Environmental Management Act.
Chikwenhere warned this exposed council to fines and penalties while creating health risks for surrounding communities.
Council said it had planned to construct a landfill using devolution funds, but the allocation proved insufficient.
It pledged to mobilise resources for the project.
Auditor-General also criticised council for failing to implement previous audit recommendations.
Of five findings raised in the previous audit, only one was fully addressed.
Two were partially implemented and two remained unresolved.
Council successfully procured an ambulance, but continued accounting for beer levy on a cash basis and again failed to submit its financial statements within the statutory deadline.
Work to capture stands information into the accounting system remained incomplete, while only the backhoe loader and roller were delivered under a procurement contract after a truck failed to arrive.
