Mudenda's Fuel Abuse Exposed

By Nyashadzashe Ndoro - Chief Reporter

Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Mudenda, who leads the very institution tasked with independently scrutinizing the government and its agencies, is now under intense scrutiny himself following the Auditor General's report for the year ended December 31, 2024.

The report not only delivered a qualified opinion on Parliament's financial statements but explicitly revealed that Mudenda benefited from significant unlawful fuel allocations, raising serious questions about the accountability of the nation's highest legislative body.

The damning report reveals significant financial irregularities, including millions in unreconciled expenditures, persistent uncleared financial items, and a particularly contentious finding of unauthorised fuel allocations significantly exceeding approved limits for management and staff, including the Speaker's office, without proper documentation or Treasury concurrence.

While the Auditor General's qualified opinion states that, "except for the matters discussed in the Basis for Qualified Opinion section of my report, the financial statements present fairly, the state of affairs of Parliament of Zimbabwe," the "matters discussed" are substantial and point to a troubling lack of accountability.

One of the most significant findings revolves around the Sub-Paymaster General Account. The Auditor General reported a staggering variance of ZWG247,353,124 (approximately US$9,586,555) between the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) and the Sub-Paymaster General's Account, which remained unreconciled.

An incorrect exchange rate was also used for earlier reconciliations, leading to misstated figures. The report explicitly warns that "the expenditure reported in the Appropriation Account could be misstated." Parliament's management response, which provided reconciliation for the wrong period, was deemed inadequate by the Auditor General.

Adding to the financial discrepancies are uncleared "open items" amounting to ZWG30,012,817 in the PFMS cash book for 2024. Despite calls from Treasury to clear these items, their persistence raises doubts about the accuracy of the total expenditure in the Appropriation Account and points to potentially ineffective budgetary control.

Although Parliament's management claimed to have received the necessary budget from Treasury to finalise the matching process, the Auditor General's evaluation revealed that as of June 6, 2025, a significant ZWG208,087,328 in open items still remained.

Beyond these technical financial issues, the report also brought to light pressing governance concerns:

Budget Utilisation and Arrears

The Parliament of Zimbabwe only utilised 55% of its allocated budget, receiving ZWG813,297,019 out of a total allocation of ZWG1,474,751,482. This underfunding led to arrear payments of ZWG211,920,773, with some debts reportedly dating back to 2022. The Auditor General warned that this could lead to the Parliament being sued by creditors and that planned activities could not be achieved. Notably, there was no management response provided for this critical finding.

Fuel Management Controversy

A particularly glaring finding was the unauthorised over-allocation of fuel to management and staff, including levels from Executive assistants to the Speaker of Parliament, receiving allocations between 460 liters and 1440 liters respectively – 32% above the authorised quantity. The Auditor General stated that no Treasury concurrence or resolution from the Committee of Standing Rules and Orders (CSRO) for this differential allocation was availed. While Parliament's management asserted that the CSRO had approved additional allocations for increased mileage to the new Parliament building, the Auditor General's evaluation concluded that "Management did not provide the documentary evidence of the CSRO approval."

Payment Arrears and Lack of Creditors Ledgers

The Parliament of Zimbabwe's payment arrears of ZWG211,920,773 could not be fully verified due to the lack of proper creditors' ledgers, a direct violation of the Public Finance Management Act. This raises the risk of the Parliament being sued or penalized for late payments and the misstatement of the Statement of Payment Arrears. Management stated they resorted to an Excel spreadsheet due to PFMS limitations, but this does not negate the statutory requirement for proper records.