Parliament questions ZWG53m unbudgeted financial-assets spending
By Staff Reporter
BULAWAYO — Parliament has expressed concern over ZWG53.32 million spent by the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development on financial assets in the final quarter of 2025 despite the expenditure not being budgeted for in that quarter.
The issue is contained in a report by the Portfolio Committee on Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development on the ministry’s budget performance during the third and fourth quarters of 2025.
The committee said the unbudgeted expenditure could weaken accountability and reduce resources available for planned programmes.
The ministry reported that the money had been planned for release in the first half of 2025 but was only disbursed by Treasury in the fourth quarter.
The report said compensation of employees exceeded the fourth-quarter target by 31%, largely because of bonus payments to civil servants.
Goods and services expenditure also exceeded the target, rising to ZWG31.1 million against a planned ZWG22.65 million.
Parliament noted that no money was spent on capital grants during the fourth quarter. The committee said this raised concerns about the implementation capacity of agencies including the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Corporation, known as SMEDCO, and the Zimbabwe Women’s Microfinance Bank.
The ministry said no cash had been released for capital grants during the quarter.
Overall, the ministry used ZWG175.47 million in the fourth quarter against a target of ZWG82 million, equivalent to 214% of the quarterly target. In the third quarter, it spent ZWG157.08 million against a ZWG94 million target.
The committee said the sharp quarterly over-expenditure resulted largely from delayed Treasury releases from earlier in the year, which were disbursed late and spent in the second half.
Treasury released ZWG313.4 million during the third and fourth quarters, exceeding the planned combined target of ZWG176.14 million by about ZWG137.26 million.
The committee said the pattern of delayed releases disrupted normal planning and implementation, particularly in programmes aimed at women’s empowerment, community development, SMEs and cooperatives.
Community Podium is the recipient of the 2025 Outstanding NGO Reporting Award. This reflects our dedication to amplifying community voices and advancing public-interest journalism.
