Mutare City Council has been castigated over its failure to audit its finances on time, having last done so five years ago.
A forensic audit investigation report on land management from 2007 to March 2018 revealed that the last audit was for the financial year ending December 31, 2014. The report reads in part:
Financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2015, were still at draft stage and not audited.
This is a violation of section 305 (b) of the Urban Council’s Act Chapter 29:15 which require financial statements to be ready for audit by not later than 120 days after the end of each financial year.
The council might continue to receive qualified audit reports. Decision-making may become difficult in the absence of credible audited financial statements.
In January, United Mutare Residents and Ratepayers Trust (UMRRT) lost a High Court suit to demand that council present audited accounts.
The court ruling stated that residents have nothing to with how the council uses money once it has collected it.