The Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science, and Technology Development has been unable to account for over US$500,000 allocated to seven state universities for producing personal protective equipment (PPE), hand sanitizers, and face masks during the Covid-19 pandemic.
This issue was highlighted in a report by Auditor-General Rhea Kujinga titled “Value for Money Audit Report on Covid-19 Support Towards Production of Personal Protective Equipment and Sanitisers.” Dated January 15, 2024, the report has not yet been covered by the media.
Kujinga’s report indicates that universities received more funds than they had budgeted for and have not accounted for the surplus. The investigation uncovered that excess funds amounting to ZW$9 million (approximately US$549,414 at the time) lacked supporting budgets.
Specifically, of the ZWL$42,933,870 (about USD$2,462,489) disbursed, only ZWL$33,377,460.75 (approximately USD$1,915,933) had corresponding production budgets, leaving ZWL$9,566,409 unaccounted for, which is 22% of the total budget.
In response, the ministry acknowledged the discrepancy and promised to investigate further, stating, “A follow-up will be made on the issue. All releases were made based on requests by institutions.”
The report also detailed how the ministry required universities to submit production budgets before funds were released, as per a circular dated March 27, 2020. However, universities received more than their budgeted amounts, and effective controls were lacking. Additionally, some universities did not prepare or submit monthly financial statements as required.
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For instance, only the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) and Midlands State University (MSU) prepared these statements, but they did not submit them to the ministry.
The Harare Institute of Technology (HIT) and the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) did not prepare any monthly financial statements.
Ministry management claimed that production reports were later submitted to the head office and that financial statements are now maintained at the institutions.
However, the Auditor-General noted that acquittals to the Ministry of Finance were not completed, preventing assessment of whether funds were used appropriately. This lapse was attributed to poor record-keeping and the reduced staff levels during the pandemic.
The ministry responded that during the pandemic, skeletal staff made it challenging to complete acquittals, but it acknowledged the need for better record-keeping and stated that acquittals by institutions are now available.
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