Housing waiting list 'fraud' at Bulawayo City Council

Bulawayo City Council could be defrauding residents registering to be on the housing waiting list as it did not retain receipts for the home seekers, the Auditor General has said.

In her latest report for 2012, Auditor General, Mrs Mildred Chiri said there was a risk of fraud at the local authority due to poor receipting.

"The council did not maintain a waiting list for the sale of stands. In addition, the Council did not retain a copy of the receipt or the receipt number as proof of payment of the $16 deposit for one to be on the waiting list. There were instances identified where stamps on the application form that represent proof of payment were manually adjusted," reads the report.

Mrs Chiri said there was risk of financial fraud on sale of stands and recommended that the Council maintain an up to date waiting list.

"Receipt numbers should be recorded on the applicant's forms and the Council should retain a copy of the receipt," recommended the AG.

Responding to the findings, management said their IT section would be working on a system to maintain the register of people on the waiting list that incorporates registry section and issues raised by auditors.

The city's housing waiting list stands at 115 000 and residents pay an annual renewal fee of $16.

The Auditor General once again raised the red flag on the council's asset register after the previous audit showed that it was in shambles.

In the latest report, Mrs Chiri said there was no differentiation between minor and major assets posing a danger that capital assets may be misappropriated if expensed as minor assets.

"City of Bulawayo accounts for fixed asset additions based on whether they are minor or major assets. There was no documented policy to give clarity on what constitutes a minor and major asset," read the report.

The Auditor General recommended that a formal policy on what constitutes a minor and a major asset be documented to promote uniformity and consistency in the accounting for assets.

She noted that the city could have lost $7 million in meter reading adjustments after residents complained.

Mrs Chiri said there were instances where meter readings were used resulting in complaints due to overcharges.

She said the use of estimates was caused by a reduced number of Council meter readers.

"This led to significant subsequent adjustment of meter readings and the revenue figure. Total adjustments for the year ended December 31, 2012 amounted to a reduction in revenue of $15, 952, 046 (2011: 22 766 591) from the initial estimation to the actual," read the report.

In response to her findings, management said by then council only had eight meter readers which saw it prioritising the central business district and industrial areas.

Management said the problem was alleviated by the hiring of more meter readers to bring the number to between 35 and 40 in 2013 resulting in reduction of the number of estimates that are done on residents' bills.

Last month, the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee said it had noted that Bulawayo City Council's books are in shambles, raising the risk of embezzlement of funds and corruption.

The Committee, in a report presented in Parliament said it had noted that Bulawayo City Council does not have an asset register hence it was difficult to establish what the municipality was getting from rentals.

The committee said the absence of an asset register also makes it difficult to establish what type of buildings the city has and what income was being derived from such properties.

The committee's chairperson, Ms Paurina Mpariwa told Parliament that her committee concluded that there is a culture of non-performance embedded in the local authority since there are no consequences for non-performing.