Audit Office Starved of Funds, MPs Warn of Overs...

Audit Office Starved of Funds, MPs Warn of Oversight Collapse

Audrey Galawu- Assistant Editor

Legislators have raised alarm over the underfunding of the Auditor-General’s Office, warning that Treasury’s decision to allocate only 10 percent of its required budget risks crippling the country’s financial oversight system.

Speaking during debate on the Mid-Term Fiscal Policy Review and 2026 Budget Strategy Paper in Parliament on Tuesday, Public Accounts Committee member Judith Tobaiwa Nkani said starving the Audit Office of resources undermined accountability in government spending.

“We are saying the person who herds our cattle, we give them slippers to do so in thorn-infested areas and expect them to concentrate on auditing. It cannot work,” Nkani said, drawing attention to the risks of exposing public finances to abuse.

She warned that oversight institutions were being deliberately weakened at a time when corruption remains one of the country’s biggest governance challenges.

“The Audit Office is the one responsible for tracing where money has gone and detecting if it has been stolen. Yet it is the one that gets the least allocation. This raises serious questions,” she added.

Other MPs backed her concerns, with Harare North legislator Gift Hlatywayo pointing to Zimbabwe’s declining global corruption rankings. “According to Transparency International, Zimbabwe is ranked number 158 out of 180 countries.

This signifies huge challenges in our fight against corruption. How can we talk about improving governance when our oversight institutions are underfunded?” he asked.

Dzivaresekwa MP Edwin Mushoriwa also criticised Treasury for failing to submit its own financial statements for audit by the Auditor-General on time.

“If the Ministry of Finance itself fails to comply, what more can we expect from other ministries? This undermines the entire system of public financial management,” Mushoriwa said.

Legislators urged Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube to prioritise funding for independent oversight bodies, arguing that without strong checks and balances, government spending risks sliding into opacity.