The Sunday Mail
AT LEAST 15 Harare City Council employees face arrest for allegedly defrauding the municipality of thousands of dollars through a systematic by-passing of the computerised receipting system.
According to council audit committee minutes dated July 28 2014, the council workers allegedly created fake cash journals and claimed to make bank deposits before pocketing the money.
An internal investigation unearthed that the group would then issue ratepayers with fake receipts generated outside council’s normal receipting system.
The culprits created a parallel receipting system which is not connected to council’s mainframe computer system for processing and issuing receipts. The scam has prompted council to carry out intensive bank reconciliation in a frantic bid to unearth similar malpractices.
Council has also ordered closure of all dormant accounts which were used to pilfer revenue while the finance department will purchase computerised audit tool kits to plug loopholes being manipulated by workers.
All council receipting offices will be connected to a Wide Area Network (WAN) that ensures a direct link between the receipting computers and a central computer system to improve security.
In some cases, ratepayers allegedly connived with council employees to steal.
“The committee considered a confidential report (10th July 2014, circulated with the Agenda) by the audit manager on fraudulent activities on computerised receipting in Harare City Council,” reads part of the minutes.
“The audit manager reported that fake receipts provided outside BIQ are posted to consumer accounts by Council employees at which consumers were either unsuspecting or connived with council employees in the process.
“He also reported that employees created fictitious cash journals purporting that direct bank deposits had been transacted at the bank.
“The Audit Manager reported further that machines without physical existence were created into the system and were issued to generate, process and issue out fake receipts.
“The committee observed that internal control systems were weak and therefore required to be tightened by implementing Internal Audit recommendations as well as ensuring compliance to procedure manual by the operatives.
“The Audit Manager reported on the need to fund and capacitate the ICT Division to enable the Division to implement some of the audit recommendations. He also emphasised on the need for the finance Department to expedite the preparation of bank reconciliations.
“The committee further tasked the acting finance director to ensure that generators were procured and installed at cash receipting points in all districts.”
Council is reportedly losing millions of dollars every month through cash leakages at its revenue collection points due to its opaque accounting system.
Earlier this year, two council employees appeared in court for allegedly defrauding their employer of US$325 000 through the creation of fictitious bank deposit slips, cash journals and use of the council computer system to purport transactions.
