Govt gives BCC 3 weeks to audit books
BULAWAYO City Council has been given three weeks to May 31 to audit its books after the government approved its US$264 million 2024 budget. In a letter dated March 22, Local Government ministry Secretary: “The Local Government and Public Works minister has in terms of Section 47(1) of the Public Finance Management Act [Chapter 22:19] has approved the 2024 budget for City of Bulawayo with the conditions for council to ensure that its audits are completed by May 31, 2024 in compliance with the Public Finance Management Act (Chapter 22:19).
“We request that you submit detailed monthly progress reports on the outstanding audits."
The letter also states that the council's revenue collection efficiency should improve from 38% to least 60% in the second quarter of the year.
"Council is advised that stringent monitoring of these issues and other matters will be done on a quarterly basis during the course of the year," reads the letter.
Latest council minutes state that the condition placed on the council required cooperation by all departments.
"It would require departments to cooperate with external auditors by expeditiously providing information and documentation required. It would call upon all staff to put extra effort in meeting the audit timeframes stated," read the minutes.
"In order to improve collection efficiency departments should ensure that their service delivery mandates meet the expectations of customers who in turn would support Council through timely payment of bills.
“It also called on the council working as a unit in implementing debt recovery measures on amounts that were genuinely overdue."
At the time of the budget proposal, the residents appealed to the council to prioritise service delivery.