The looting
spree, exposed in documents obtained by the Zimbabwe Independent, is draining
already loss-making parastatals and worsening the burden on taxpayers — many of
whom earn meagre salaries and are subjected to more taxes.
The scandal has
triggered alarm at the highest levels of government.
The Office of
the President and Cabinet (OPC) has issued a damning directive, warning that
the unauthorised expenditures are compromising corporate governance,
undermining service delivery, and placing unsustainable pressure on public
finances.
According to
the OPC’s Corporate Governance Unit, the abuse is now “widespread and
systemic”, with ministries treating line parastatals as personal cash machines
to bankroll perks, foreign junkets, and petty projects — all outside approved
budget frameworks.
This flagrant
corruption taints the government’s handling of money — something that has been
a red flag for many years.
However, the
crackdown marks a significant policy shift in government’s approach to curbing
mismanagement and restoring accountability within its sprawling network of
state enterprises, many of which are already under severe financial strain.
“The Corporate
Governance Unit has observed that an increasing number of state enterprises and
parastatals are facing challenges with regard to increasing requests for
financial and material support from their line ministries,” the document reads
in part.
In some
instances, public entities were strong-armed into purchasing luxury vehicles
for ministry executives, underwriting costly foreign delegations, or financing
“social responsibility programmes” unrelated to their core mandates, all under
the guise of inter-ministerial collaboration.
“The requests
for support from line ministries range from financial support, donations,
payment of foreign and domestic travel costs such as purchase of airline
tickets, payment of hotel accommodation, fuel, out-of-pocket allowances, travel
and subsistence allowances, car rental,” the document further states.
“Funding line
ministry social responsibility programmes; payment of DSTV subscriptions;
payment of club, gym membership; stationery; computer hardware and accessories
purchases, and procurement of vehicles.”
The directive
invokes Section 23 of the Public Entities Corporate Governance (General)
Regulations, Statutory Instrument 168 of 2018, which explicitly prohibits the
misuse of public resources and holds executives and board members personally
liable for unlawful expenditure.
While the
government previously issued a similar caution in 2019, this latest move
signals frustration at the apparent intensification of the abuse, and a
stronger appetite within the OPC to enforce legal and disciplinary
consequences. The CGU warned in a circular dated June 17, 2025, that the
proliferation of these requests now posed a direct threat to corporate
governance, transparency, and public service delivery.
Analysts say
the revelations expose a deeper rot in Zimbabwe’s public sector governance
culture, where state enterprises, already plagued by mismanagement, political
interference and corruption, have increasingly been treated as cash cows for
senior officials.
“These payments
are often requested by line ministries notwithstanding that line ministries
funding is provided through the Treasury national budget as approved under
parliamentary process with the assent of His Excellency, the President of the
Republic of Zimbabwe,” it states.
“Board
chairpersons, board members, chief executive officers and senior staff members
of public entities are reminded that if these practices are allowed to persist,
they will undermine good corporate governance, and stewardship of public
resources across our public entities, and hence their financial performance and
service delivery to the citizenry.”
The regulation
makes it clear: any executive, board chairperson or senior manager who
acquiesces to these demands may be held personally liable.
The statute
places an obligation on all public entities to reject unlawful instructions and
report them directly to the CGU for scrutiny. Zimbabwe Independent
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