Parliament demands action on outstanding SMEDCO, development-fund audit issues
By Staff Reporter
BULAWAYO — Parliament has ordered the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development to accelerate the resolution of outstanding audit issues involving the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Corporation (SMEDCO) and two development funds.
The Portfolio Committee on Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development said unresolved Auditor-General findings continued to pose accountability risks.
The committee cited outstanding loans of ZWL$7.87 billion under the Small and Medium Enterprises Revolving Fund, as well as weaknesses in the management of the Women’s Development Fund and Zimbabwe Community Development Fund.
For the SME Revolving Fund, the Auditor-General had raised concerns about unpaid loans advanced to SMEDCO, rising debtors, a prolonged bank overdraft and discrepancies in debtor records.
The ministry told Parliament that SMEDCO had requested that the debt be converted into equity and that Treasury approval was being sought.It said the overdraft had been written off in April 2024 and that the relevant account was no longer overdrawn.
Under the Women’s Development Fund, the audit identified unrecorded assets, procurement without Treasury approval, a missing payment voucher and unpaid receivables from beneficiaries.
The ministry said it had updated the asset register, found and submitted the missing voucher for audit inspection, and was following up outstanding debts. It said measures had been introduced to ensure Treasury approval is obtained before future advances are made.
The Zimbabwe Community Development Fund was found to have unsupported loans, no approved accounting procedures manual, a manual accounting system, weak payment-voucher controls and omissions in the asset register.
The ministry said it had reviewed loan files, introduced a loan-disbursement checklist and submitted a draft accounting procedures manual to Treasury for approval.
It also reported efforts to migrate the fund into the Public Finance Management System, update the asset register, conduct physical asset verification and appoint an Asset Officer.
Parliament has recommended that the ministry finalise the proposed SMEDCO debt-to-equity conversion with Treasury approval by December 2026.It also wants the Zimbabwe Community Development Fund migrated to the Public Finance Management System by December 2026, all assets properly recorded by January 2027, and quarterly progress reports submitted to the committee.
The committee said resolving the issues was necessary to ensure public money intended for women’s development, community initiatives, SMEs and cooperatives is managed transparently and accountably.
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