Govt loses millions to graft - audit

Government is suffering financial losses running into millions of dollars annually owing to rampant corruption in its systems, a 2015 Civil Service audit report has revealed.

This comes amid reports that seven officers from the Civil Service Commission have been suspended for their role in a well-knit recruitment scandal.

Nancy Chinyoka, Venagi Dembure, Munyaradzi Marume, Joseph Ziera, Patrick Jachi, Bright Tembo and Tonderai Chizhande are now facing criminal charges and their cases are before the courts.

In the report that was availed to the media by the CSC yesterday, some people are literally employed to do nothing in some State entities.

A case in point is the deployment of 121 agricultural extension workers in urban areas where there are no posts for their work.

However, a recommendation has since been made that the workers be deployed to rural areas where their services are needed.

Another case of profligacy highlighted in the report is the payment of unsanctioned overtime allowances by the Central Vehicle Registry.

It was noted that there was an abuse of accounting officer's post for instance in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development where systems were arm twisted to pay bonuses for contract workers.

It also emerged that State coffers were creamed off by teachers and school heads who claimed full salaries during the month when auditors did a head count of civil servants.

Auditors discovered that teachers and schools heads claimed full salaries during that month yet they were attending workshops mainly organised by donor organisations.

The audit also unearthed another anomaly where some civil servants are benefiting twice from their employer in form of transport allowances.

"Civil servants receive transport allowance. However, some civil servants use free civil service buses in some urban areas, resulting in these members benefiting twice," reads part of the report.

In another case the report notes: "(There is) deployment of two heads at 32 schools and two deputy heads at 63." The proposed measure to rectify this was that promotion of teachers should be held in abeyance until excess staff is appropriately placed.

It was also recommended that salaries for school heads and deputies where there were two in one post should be stopped.

The report noted that there was a high concentration of youths officers in wards and it was recommended that the posts be rationalised efficiently to ensure effective service delivery.

Addressing members of the media in Harare yesterday CSC managing director Mr Clifford Matorera, said nine members of the commission from the secretariat department were suspended on corruption charges relating to clandestine recruitment of people in the public service.

He said more Government employees were suspended in their line ministries on similar charges.

Speaking at the same occasion CSC general manager (communications) Ms Betty Dimbi said: "The commission wishes to advise members of the public service, pensioners and in particular the wonderful citizens of this country in general that the commission has a standing policy of zero tolerance on corruption.

"The Public Service Commission does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process."

Ms Dimbi said at no point did the Civil Service Commission sell jobs to members of the public.

She urged members of the public to report any case of corruption involving members of the CSC adding that was a recommendation of the audit report that was approved by Cabinet.