Zvamaida Murwira Senior Reporter
JUSTICE, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Secretary Mrs Virginia Mabhiza has revealed that Government officials auditing the Constituency Development Fund were threatened with violence by some legislators and that she is now scared for her life should she reveal the identities of the concerned lawmakers.
She said one of the reasons why at least 53 constituencies were not audited is that some legislators threatened to harm Government auditors.
Mrs Mabhiza said this while giving oral evidence before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Accounts where she had been invited to explain irregularities that were found in her ministry by Auditor-General, Mrs Mildred Chiri.
Bulawayo South MP Mr Eddie Cross (MDC-T) demanded that she identifies the constituencies saying Parliament could institute disciplinary proceedings against the concerned legislators who refused to account for Government funds.
“Honourable Chairperson, I also need protection as it is not easy to disclose some of the occurrences that we came across. I am also scared at times to reveal some of the information that we came across,” said Mrs Mabhiza.
The committee, chaired by Mufakose MP Ms Paurina Mpariwa (MDC-T), wanted her to explain several issues including why CDF money was paid through cash and not bank transfers, and why some constituencies were not audited despite several irregularities unearthed by Mrs Chiri regarding the ministry.
“Some of the constituencies were not accessible to us due to security reasons. As a result, not all constituencies were audited. We have always brought this to the attention of our principal who was the then Minister of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs (Advocate Eric Matinenga). At the end of the day, not all constituencies were audited,” said Mrs Mabhiza.
Binga North MP Mr Prince Sibanda (MDC-T) asked Mrs Mabhiza to explain what she meant and whether Government security agencies had refused to provide protection.
“First and foremost, let me highlight that non-accessing of 53 constituencies is not 100 percent attributed to security reasons but resources.
“There were instances where our auditors would be threatened by Members of Parliament whenever they attempted to go in respective constituencies to see the projects on the ground. We would receive information on paper that there is this project but when we wanted to see projects on the ground, that is when we had instances of our officers threatened with violence,” said Mrs Mabhiza.
Proportionate representative MP Ms Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga said it was not fair to continue probing her to reveal names saying the committee would deliberate on the way forward.
Responding to other issues, Ms Mabhiza said they could not force some constitutional parliamentary select committee members to return vehicles because copac was run through a management committee independent of the ministry.
MPs had asked why eight copac vehicles were retained by officials who were using them without Treasury concurrence.
She said one challenge was that the then Finance Minister Tendai Biti sat in copac management meetings, hence he was an interested party in determining how copac assets should be distributed after the constitution making process had been completed.
Mrs Mabhiza said she would invite the police to investigate how some officials in her ministry handled funds after it emerged that payments to the tune of $47 000 were made in 2013 without supporting documents such as invoices.
She expressed concern at the slow pace officials in her ministry were responding when asked to make a reconciliation of the money.