News / National
MDC run Harare city's 2018 audit in jeopardy
08 Aug 2019 at 07:54hrs | Views
The Harare City Council's 2018 external audit lies in limbo amid a row between the local authority and BIQ billing software developer over a US$75 000 debt. This has jeopardised the city's chances of getting fresh capital from banks or the open market for capital projects.
According to finance and management regulations, the city was supposed to have completed its 2018 financial audit by June 30.
However, Harare is failing to start the project after it was locked out of the system by BIQ developers, Quill Associates from South Africa, on March 21, 2019, for non-payment of annual licence fees.
Town clerk Hosiah Chisango has since written to Quill Associates seeking a reprieve and temporary access to the system so that the city can do its external audit.
"Our external auditors are in our environment and require access to the BIQ system. May you please avail the system for a period not exceeding three months to allow them to complete the audit," Chisango wrote in a letter dated July 23, 2019.
Quill Associates in response said it would not reopen the system until the city had paid outstanding licence fees.
"I will have no problem to reinstall BIQ for your use when the above issues have been resolved. Quill will also require a written commitment from council that we will be allowed to remove BIQ in full once the period for the paid licence fees has expired," Quill director Danie van Heerden wrote back.
Council human resources committee chairperson councillor Jacob Mafume said failure to have the city's books audited was a disciplinary issue and heads could roll over the boob.
"As human resources committee chair, the failure to conduct an audit by commission or omission is a human resource or disciplinary issue. In this day and age, we cannot run institutions with Stone- Age tendencies or Mickey Mouse behaviour of failing to be audited for whatever reason," Mafume said.
Mafume threatened action would be taken against council officials responsible for the reprehensible act, especially that involves public funds.
"If there is an official in council who thinks that we as council will forgive failure to be audited, I want to assure the residents that it will be the end of the road for such an official," he fumed.
Town House has been failing to bill residents since March when it was locked-out of BIQ system and it has been struggling to set up a new system based on SAGE software.
However, the new system has many challenges to be sorted out before it can be used such as failure to capture addresses of properties correctly.
According to finance and management regulations, the city was supposed to have completed its 2018 financial audit by June 30.
However, Harare is failing to start the project after it was locked out of the system by BIQ developers, Quill Associates from South Africa, on March 21, 2019, for non-payment of annual licence fees.
Town clerk Hosiah Chisango has since written to Quill Associates seeking a reprieve and temporary access to the system so that the city can do its external audit.
"Our external auditors are in our environment and require access to the BIQ system. May you please avail the system for a period not exceeding three months to allow them to complete the audit," Chisango wrote in a letter dated July 23, 2019.
Quill Associates in response said it would not reopen the system until the city had paid outstanding licence fees.
"I will have no problem to reinstall BIQ for your use when the above issues have been resolved. Quill will also require a written commitment from council that we will be allowed to remove BIQ in full once the period for the paid licence fees has expired," Quill director Danie van Heerden wrote back.
Council human resources committee chairperson councillor Jacob Mafume said failure to have the city's books audited was a disciplinary issue and heads could roll over the boob.
"As human resources committee chair, the failure to conduct an audit by commission or omission is a human resource or disciplinary issue. In this day and age, we cannot run institutions with Stone- Age tendencies or Mickey Mouse behaviour of failing to be audited for whatever reason," Mafume said.
Mafume threatened action would be taken against council officials responsible for the reprehensible act, especially that involves public funds.
"If there is an official in council who thinks that we as council will forgive failure to be audited, I want to assure the residents that it will be the end of the road for such an official," he fumed.
Town House has been failing to bill residents since March when it was locked-out of BIQ system and it has been struggling to set up a new system based on SAGE software.
However, the new system has many challenges to be sorted out before it can be used such as failure to capture addresses of properties correctly.
Source - newsday
