Take action on SOEs that flout procurement rules

Auditor-General Vimbai Chikwenhere’s latest report should serve as a wake-up call for the government.

While recent improvements in corporate governance deserve recognition, they are being undermined by persistent violations of procurement laws, weak financial controls and an alarming culture of impunity across State-owned enterprises (SOEs) and parastatals.

The most disturbing finding is the systematic circumvention of procurement regulations.

The electronic Government Procurement (eGP) system was introduced to enhance transparency, reduce human interference and secure value for money.

Yet many public entities continue to manipulate procurement by splitting contracts, abusing direct procurement and ignoring competitive bidding requirements.

Such practices are not mere administrative oversights. They create fertile ground for corruption, inflate project costs and deprive taxpayers of the full value of scarce public resources.

The Auditor-General’s report also exposes broader governance failures.

Delayed financial statements, chronic management vacancies, deteriorating asset management, weak revenue collection and poor contract administration continue to undermine institutional performance.

That some entities have outstanding financial statements dating back more than a decade is unacceptable and reflects a profound disregard for public accountability.

Even more concerning is the poor implementation of previous audit recommendations. With only 43% of outstanding audit findings fully addressed, many institutions appear comfortable repeating the same governance failures year after year without consequence.

Audit reports have little value if their recommendations are ignored.

Government must now move beyond identifying problems to enforcing accountability. Boards that repeatedly fail in their fiduciary responsibilities should be reconstituted.

Executives who deliberately violate procurement laws must face disciplinary action, including prosecution where criminal conduct is established. Compliance with procurement legislation, financial reporting deadlines and governance standards should become key performance indicators for every SOE board and chief executive.