In recent days we have learned that the 94-year-old ROBERT MUGABE has regained the Presidency of Zimbabwe with his political party, ZANU PF claiming overwhelming victory at the polls. Are there lessons for us in this?
Dem Say
Rumours abound in Zimbabwe about election irregularities perpetrated by Mugabe and his supporters. One such allegation is that ZANU PF created 3 “bogus” Polling Stations in a rural area that the Opposition did not know ANYTHING about and the List of candidates for whom one could vote contained the names of only ZANU PF candidates. Can you believe that? That rural area was one which traditionally supported the Opposition. Get it?
If that allegation is correct, will it be redressed? So you think that that could never happen here? Maybe not, because we are such a small Country, but other irregularities are occurring under our very noses and we appear not to be noticing them, probably because they’re not “sexy” enough to hit the headlines.
Creeping Complacency
Sometimes the Prime Minister makes statements in public that some of us find amusing or that some of us find abusive, and these statements are the buzz around town and on the Internet and maybe even in the Courts for a while.
BUT…there are alarming fundamental issues that we just seem to allow to creep up on us and go unchallenged.
Take the Report of the Director of Audit for the year ended 31 December 2011 – A Report that was submitted to the Prime Minister and signed off on 7 December 2012. That document is the Annual Report on the Accounts for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2011 for tabling in the National Assembly. DOES ANYBODY ACTUALLY READ THE AUDITOR’S REPORT?
The Misleading Charts
When we look at some of the financial results reported on in the Report, there are seemingly more significant questions than answers.
On page 9 of the Report there is a chart, a Pie Chart the experts call it, because it’s round and it’s made up of slices which represent various aspects of the subject covered by the chart. The Pie Chart on page 9 is headed “Recurrent EXPENDITURE 2010” - But why 2010, when the Report is for the year 2011?
Ignoring that significant discrepancy for a moment, let us look at the items in the Chart to which numbers are assigned. There is no indication of whether the numbers are percentages or millions of dollars, or what.
Here is what the Chart says:
• Salaries 22.5
• Wages and Allowances 7.72
• Retirement 4.73
• Debt Servicing 19.97
• Operating and Maintenance 3.43
• OTHER GENERAL EXPENSES 41.65
What the heck are we supposed to understand by that? How can there be a segment of “Other General Expenses” (unspecified) which is larger than any other segment? That just doesn’t make sense, people.
What is more, the information in the text on page 8 (i.e. opposite the Pie Chart) is not clear and does not seem to relate to the Pie Chart.
What is more…
What is more, the Pie Chart related to “Recurrent REVENUE 2010” on page 10 of the Report also attracts similar criticisms.
Now, it could be that the Auditor has simply made a mistake in both instances. If that is the case, then the Auditor himself and/or the Prime Minister to whom the Report was submitted should ‘come clean’ and replace the Report with a correct one or at least provide an explanation. Maybe that has been done and we just haven’t noticed? But the whole situation shows a lack of care by those who are the guardians of our financial health.
That there should be such glaring errors in the information that is so fundamental to our Country’s financial wellbeing is extremely disturbing. DO WE CARE? Come on, people. Don’t just drink the Kool-Aid and then complain when it is too late that we have been duped once again.
• Fool me once, Shame on you.
• Fool me twice, Shame on me.
*************************
DISCLAIMER
This article was posted in its entirety as received by SKNVibes.com. This media house does not correct any spelling or grammatical error within press releases and commentaries. The views expressed therein are not necessarily those of SKNVibes.com, its sponsors or advertisers
