In a telephone interview, Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Eric Matinenga said his ministry was not sure whether they would be able to complete an audit of the 210 constituencies around the country.
The CDF, disbursed by the government in 2011, was aimed at funding developmental projects in constituencies. Each constituency was allocated $50 000. However, there have been reports of rampant abuse of the funds by some legislators.
In May, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs, Virginia Mabhiza, revealed that a total of 20 Members of Parliament had been identified for prosecution for abusing the CDF audit. She revealed then that her Ministry had managed to audit a total of 154 constituencies.
Last year, four Members of Parliament: Albert Mhlanga (MDC-T, Pumula), Marvelous Khumalo (MDC-T, St Mary’s), Cleopas Machacha (MDC-T, Kariba) and Franco Ndambakuwa (Zanu (PF), Magunje) were arrested for CDF abuse.
Their arrests were, however, stopped after the intervention of the Attorney General. Matinenga said a critical lack of resources was threatening the completion of the CDF, saying he could not tell whether the exercise would be complete before polls began.
“It depends whether we have enough resources for that exercise. It will also depend on the date when the elections would be held,” said Matinenga.
In February, Mabhiza said that the Ministry of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs had tried to engage development partners to fund the audit programme but to no avail.
Matinenga said the treasury had become the only source of funds for his Ministry to carry out the CDF audit.
Last week, Finance Minister, Tendai Biti, said the treasury had no money to fund the next elections. His statement came after the United Nations backed off from funding Zimbabwe’s elections after Zanu (PF) resisted conditions set by the world body.
Said Matinenga: “We have only one avenue and that is Treasury. We do not have any other avenue of getting money.” He could not disclose the number of constituencies that have been audited until now.
Harare Residents Trust Director, Precious Shumba, said the completion of the CDF audit before the next election was critical to allow the electorate to make informed choices.
“Residents across Zimbabwe are keen to know how their elected representatives performed with the Constituency Development Fund. It is critical that before a new parliament is elected, the citizens know none of the thieving MPs got away with it.
“The HRT will be pursuing this matter with all stakeholders concerned and ensure that there is public accountability and transparency in the utilisation of public funds,” said Shumba.
Coalition Against Corruption National Coordinator, Regis Chingawo, said the completion of the CDF audit should be treated as a matter of urgency so that corrupt legislators are exposed before the next elections.
“Such an audit has to be conducted sooner rather than later. As the country prepares for watershed elections, it is critical for Zimbabweans to know how the CDF was used by their respective Parliamentarians. It will assist them in making sure those who abused the funds are booted out of office,” said Chingawo.
Post published in: News