+40,000 vehicles vanish after entering Zimbabwe

Published: 7 hours ago

The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) has failed to account for more than 40 000 vehicles that entered the country under Temporary Import Permits (TIPs), according to the latest Auditor-General's report for the year ended December 31, 2024.

Auditor-General Rheah Kujinga revealed that 27 389 electronic and 10 464 manual TIPs remained unacquitted, making it unclear whether the vehicles exited the country or were localised. "I could not ascertain whether the vehicles had exited the country or may have been localised as they remained not acquitted as at December 31, 2024. I could also not ascertain the extent of the duty payable in relation to the vehicles that were localised," Kujinga reported.

The audit also flagged concerns over Zimra's handling of impounded vehicles, noting that two trucks had been left at a freight parking site for over a year instead of being transferred to designated car pounds. One of the trucks, loaded with 30 tonnes of lithium ore, could not be moved due to the lack of offloading equipment, while the other, linked to undeclared chrome, faced mechanical challenges.

"The risks or implications emanating from such are unauthorised clearance and removal of the vehicles," Kujinga warned, urging Zimra to move impounded vehicles to proper facilities.

In response, Zimra acknowledged the challenges and said it was engaging service providers to offload and move the trucks.

The Auditor-General further highlighted that while some progress had been made in addressing past audit findings, key issues remained unresolved. These included bank reconciliations, automation of payroll processes, and recovery of customs debt from imported vehicles.

Kujinga also expressed concern over the rising number of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and parastatals failing to submit financial statements, which increased from 45 in 2023 to 50 in 2024. Six entities have not submitted statements for more than three years.

She warned that failure to address audit findings would compromise transparency, accountability, service delivery, and the achievement of national development goals.

"Those charged with governance and management are urged to pay attention to the audit findings so as to address them and improve transparency, accountability, good corporate governance and service delivery," Kujinga said.

The report, covering 189 financial statements from SOEs and parastatals, underscored Parliament's oversight role in strengthening public trust and ensuring compliance with governance laws such as the Public Finance Management Act and the Public Entities Corporate Governance Act.
- Sunday News

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