Gudyanga fails to explain financial anomalies

PERMANENT secretary in the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development, Professor Francis Gudyanga, and officials from the ministry were yesterday ejected from Parliament after they failed to respond to anomalies in financial affairs.

The anomalies had been raised by Auditor-General Mrs Mildred Chiri.

Prof Gudyanga had been invited by the Portfolio Committee on Public Accounts, chaired by Mufakose Member of Parliament (MP) Ms Paurina Mpariwa (MDC-T), to respond to several issues raised in the 2012 audit report.

The committee said Prof Gudyanga, who brought more than 12 senior officials from the ministry, had shown that he was not prepared.

Ms Mpariwa warned Prof Gudyanga to take the business of Parliament seriously given that the ministry had been given about a month to prepare.

Some of the issues raised by the audit included why Mutare Polytechnic had spent more than $1 million in recruitment of casual workers without approval from both the parent ministry and from Treasury.

Legislators also wanted to know why some statutory funds administered by the ministry were being run without legal frameworks guiding their operations.

“I am worried by the failure to prepare by your delegation,” said Ms Mpariwa. “We have never sent back a delegation. This is the first time. Please be serious with the business of Parliament.

“You took the whole entourage from the ministry, but there was no value from it that the committee derived.”

In response, Prof Gudyanga admitted that he had not adequately responded to issues that were raised.

“We had prepared some responses that I have read out to the committee, but maybe not the specifics,” he said. “You are right, honourable chair, that we were not prepared on some of the issues.”

Earlier on, members of the Portfolio Committee grilled Prof Gudyanga and his team on why the ministry was violating standing rules and procedures on recruitment.

They were also chastised on why they were administering funds running into more than $20 million without a constitution to guide the administration of such funds.

Prof Gudyanga said a draft constitution had been prepared and was sent to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development in 2011.

Legislators castigated Prof Gudyanga, saying he had failed to follow up on the constitution after he was appointed as head of the ministry in May.

“We took note, effort will be made to rectify the anomaly,” said Prof Gudyanga.

Hurungwe North MP Cde Reuben Marumahoko asked if there was a legal adviser in the ministry, to which Prof Gudyanga said there was one.