Auditor General's workers go on strike, demands higher salaries

MORE than 100 workers at the Comptroller and Auditor General's office downed tools yesterday in protest over their conditions of service that they want improved.

The workers moved from one floor to the other of the 10 floors at Burroughs House along George Silundika denouncing their leadership accusing them of leading a lavish life while they were wallowing in poverty.

Comptroller and Auditor General Ms Mildred Chiri was not in her office when they reached the 10th Floor and the workers were referred to her deputy Mr Spears Mutsau whose office is on the 5th floor.

Mr Mutsau locked himself in his office but the workers continued singing while others knocked on his door.

The workers later gathered on the ground floor where they were addressed by their Audit Office Workers Union president Mr Michael Makuchete.

It was also reported that since the appointment of the Audit Office Commission in 2012, it was operating without a budget.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti appointed retired High Court judge Justice Mohamed Adam to head the commission but workers allege that the institution only convened one meeting owing to inadequate funding by Treasury.

Mr Mutsau, who was standing in for Ms Chiri, declined to talk to The Herald promising to call the reporter when he is free.

Mr Makuchete, however, told the striking workers that it did not make sense for them to be sent to audit a parastatal or a local authority involving millions of dollars when they were earning US$250 per month.

He said Government and quasi-government departments were not performing because they were not being held to account as the department did not have adequate resources to execute their duties.

"We are a critical component of Government. We ensure transparency and accountability in public finances. We audit parastatals, Government departments and local authorities and how can you send an auditor earning US$200 to investigate a US$10 million case. Can he give an independent and professional opinion when sent to audit a local authority involving US$20 million for example?"

Mr Makuchete added: "The result of that investigation is a compromised opinion. How can you send an auditor who has no shoes or suit to go and meet a chief executive officer who earns US$15 000?

"We don't even have laptops but management bought itself Jeep Cherokees and good cars. One Jeep Cherokee would have bought computers for the whole establishment."

He said lack of resources had affected operations.

"We are auditing only two percent while 98 percent of the institutions are left unaudited. Even when we go to an organisation we only go to head office, we are supposed to go to remote areas to see how money was used. Because we are not going there, we are making opinions based on 20 percent audit," he said.

The department, he said, was rich in human capital but was not being fully utilised.

"We have a high concentration of accounting brains here. Our competency is being compromised by leadership. We have people with doctorates, masters and chartered accountants, the highest accounting qualification," he said.

Mr Makuchete accused Treasury of deliberately not funding the audit's office.