Chinamasa and Justice Ministry officials owe the government $507 829 in advances

Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa and Ministry of Justice officials have been dishing out advances to themselves and at one time a senior ministry official instructed the Salary Services Bureau to stop deductions on the advances.

According to the schedule released in Parliament last week, outstanding travel and subsistence advances totaled $507 829 with Chinamasa owing $19 390.

Chinamasa was Minister of Justice from 2000 to September 2013 when he was appointed Minister of Finance.

According to a report by Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee tabled in Parliament last week, the Ministry of Justice had failed to recover outstanding advances since 2010 when the country was being run by an inclusive government.

“This matter has been raised since 2010 to no avail,” Public Accounts Committee chairperson Paurina Mpariwa told Parliament. “In 2013, the figure was at $530 318, which means the Ministry only managed to recover $22 489 during the year 2014.

“The Permanent Secretary, Mrs Mabiza, acknowledged the observation and confirmed that no recoveries were instituted from 2010 up to the time she joined the Ministry in 2013. She advised the Committee that the system had collapsed and she had to put the systems in place.

“In 2015, the Ministry recovered $4 500 and from January to May 31, 2016 it recovered $5 959.53 giving a total of $10 459. 53 over a period of seventeen months.”

Mpariwa said the committee was informed that the former Director of Finance and Administration in the Ministry had, at some point, instructed the Salary Services Bureau (SSB) to cease deductions for officials with outstanding advances.

The committee recommended that the Civil Service Commission should initiate disciplinary action against the former Director of Finance because he had acted irresponsibly by instructing the SSB to cease deductions.

It said that a schedule submitted to the committee showed that some deductions commenced from April 2016 for 76 officials out of a total of 441 with varying outstanding advances. 

“When the Ministry appeared before the Committee, the Accounting Officer gave an impression that deductions were effected on every owing officer yet further written submissions showed that it was only a handful.

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