Despite Zimbabwe’s ministries being allocated a massive ZWG55.6 billion in 2024, only 79% of that budget was actually spent. On paper, government departments looked well-funded. In reality, they were broke. A new report by the Auditor-General has revealed the harsh truth: ministries were given figures but not funds, and that mismatch has led to stalled projects, unpaid suppliers, and a crumbling public service system.
“The underutilization of the budget largely stemmed from inadequate cash support by Treasury,” reads the 2024 report from Acting Auditor-General Rheah Kujinga. “This had a negative impact on the attainment of programme goals and the quality-of-service delivery.”
In simple terms, government departments were told they had money—but never saw it. That’s why schools aren’t being built, roads remain pothole-ridden, and clinics are missing supplies. Ministries spent valuable time initiating tenders, placing orders, and even receiving goods—only to be told at the last minute: “Sorry, there’s no cash support.”
Worse still, Treasury itself overshot its legal limit. The Unallocated Reserve—meant for emergencies or unexpected expenses—was budgeted at ZWG9.5 billion. But Treasury disbursed ZWG14.5 billion, exceeding the limit by over ZWG5 billion (52%) without proper authorization.
“This issue was also raised in my 2023 audit report,” the AG notes, suggesting a disturbing pattern of unchecked expenditure outside of Parliament’s oversight.
But the financial chaos didn’t stop there.
A System That Went Dark
In April 2024, the government changed currencies—from ZWL to the new Zimbabwe Gold (ZWG). During that transition, the Public Financial Management System (PFMS)—the main digital tool that tracks every dollar government spends—went offline for nearly five months.
That meant thousands of transactions were done manually—on paper, Excel sheets, or emails—without the safeguards or traceability normally required. According to the report, “the financial information processed outside the system was not uploaded… Such information would misstate expenditure figures.”
Translation: The government doesn’t fully know how much it spent—or where the money went.
And the mess doesn’t end there. The report reveals that many ministries still have “open items”—which are basically transactions with no documentation or proper reconciliation. These hanging entries distort budgets and make it nearly impossible to tell what was actually spent or owed.
“Most MDAs had challenges in clearing such transactions and were seeking Treasury assistance in clearing the open items,” says the Auditor-General.
Who Pays the Price?
You do.
Because while government departments scramble to fix accounting errors and chase unpaid invoices, Zimbabweans are left without working hospitals, updated schools, or functioning roads. Frustrated civil servants, blocked service providers, and abandoned development projects are now part of the norm.
The AG’s report is clear: without urgent reforms, Zimbabwe’s public financial management will continue to fail its people. Kujinga recommends that Treasury strengthen cash release systems, enforce real-time budget tracking, and modernize PFMS to prevent future system crashes. Ministries must also clear open items and stop processing ghost transactions.
“It is expected that the impact of addressing my findings will have a positive effect on the lives of the citizens,” she concludes.
Until then, Zimbabweans will continue to live in the gap between what’s promised and what’s actually delivered.
