A PARLIAMENTARY Public Accounts Committee (PAC) analysis report has revealed that government lost millions of United States (US) dollars due to collusion between the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA) officials and truck drivers at the border posts.
PAC conducted an analysis of the Zimbabwe National Road
Administration (ZINARA) based on the findings of the Auditor General's report on State-Owned Enterprises and Parastatals for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn
The analysis which exposed rampant corruption at ZINARA was crucial for ensuring transparency and accountability in the management of public resources.
The Auditor General reported that ZINARA improperly released 11 vehicles with ZWL $10.1 million in unpaid overload fees due to a lack of policies without any evidence of payment plans or proof of payment.
The PAC Committee, in its analysis, noted with concern the high risk of revenue loss due to potential collusion between truck owners and ZINARA officials, as evidenced by the improper release of the 11 vehicles.
ZINARA Finance Director, Adam Zvandasara, informed the Committee that the Vehicle Inspection Department (VID) acts as ZINARA's agent for the collection of abnormal, overload, and transit fees. The overload fees were determined and paid at VID.
According to Zvandasara, if overloaded vehicles cannot pay on the spot, they are referred to ZINARA for payment plans. ZINARA reviews the paperwork to determine whether to release the vehicle upon fulfilment of the payment plan, with the Finance department signing off on the payment plan and following up on recovery.
"To date, 52% (ZWL $5,284,507,00) of the outstanding amount has been recovered, leaving a balance of ZWL $4,964,363.50. Efforts to recover the remaining amount are ongoing," Zvandasara told the Committee during an oral evidence hearing session," read part of the PAC analysis report.
Also among the raised issues by the AG's report was the tollgate evasion, where road users bypassed tollgates using unauthorised routes.
The Committee noted that the manual system used by ZINARA was prone to corruption, as evidenced by the supervisor's delayed submission of evasion lists.
ZINARA is transitioning from manual to automated flagging.
While the manual system provided an audit trail, the new system ensures greater accuracy and accountability.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
"CCTV cameras are used to validate data on flagged vehicles. The delay in migration was due to the complexity of system development and continuous improvement requests," the Committee analysis report showed.
The committee had recommended that the ZINARA Board should investigate the supervisor's conduct and submit findings by the end of July 2025.
It also recommended that ZINARA should install a computerised system for recording tollgate evasions by August 2025, with evasion lists submitted to the Auditor General within one week of flagging
Another concern, regarding the Auditor General's report, involved transit coupons where the Eskbank Tollgate had obsolete transit coupons, last used in 2018, which were not recorded in the register.
The coupons lacked security features and were intended for manual ticketing during system downtime.
Zvandasara highlighted that the manual coupons were historically used during power outages or system failures.
PAC noted the risk of pilferage due to the lack of security features on the transit coupons.
"ZINARA should introduce regular spot checks to ensure system integrity beginning 31 October 2025.
"It should also implement additional security measures for transit coupons by 31 October 2025," read part of the PAC analysis report.
