By Staff Reporter
FINANCE and Investment Promotion Minister, Mthuli Ncube is under fire for freezing Better Schools Program of Zimbabwe (BSPZ) bank accounts, in the process choking the financial resource base for District and Provincial Offices.
The programme was suspended after the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion froze BSPZ bank accounts while investigating the alleged abuse of funds by some provincial and district education officials.
Officials said the suspension removed a critical source of operational funding for district offices, leaving them struggling to meet routine administrative requirements.
One official said resource shortages were also delaying investigations into alleged financial abuse in schools, as auditors faced challenges travelling to verify reported cases.
“There are several reports of suspected abuse of school funds that remain unattended. The normal procedure is for auditors to first verify the allegations before disciplinary or legal action can be taken,” the official said.
“However, the availability of auditors has become a major challenge because of limited resources, resulting in many cases remaining unresolved for long periods.”
However, Primary and Secondary Education ministry spokesperson Taungana Ndoro dismissed claims that district offices were operating without funding, saying the government had recently released allocations through provincial accounts.
“Some people may not be telling the truth because the ministry is providing funding,” he said.
“Budget releases were made recently through provincial accounts. It is not correct to say there are no resources at all. They may simply not be making proper follow-ups on their allocations.”
On concerns over delays in school audits, Ndoro said schools were not expected to finance audit teams.
“No school should fund auditors because that would compromise their independence,” he said.
“The government assigns auditors and caters for their travel and subsistence allowances.
“Provincial or head offices deploy them and provide the necessary funding.
“If there are delays, it is not because schools are expected to pay them.”
Teacher unions, however, said the challenges facing district offices reflected deeper problems in the financing of public education.
Zimta secretary-general Goodwill Taderera said education should be funded directly through the national budget rather than relying on external programmes such as the BSPZ.
“The ministry must ensure that funds released by the Treasury reach district offices so that officials are not forced to burden schools and members of the public with the costs of photocopying, printing, and other basic administrative expenses,” Taderera said.
“On Tuesday, Zimta will petition Parliament under the Education International-led Go Public, Fund Education campaign. Ironically, this year education received an increased allocation from the central government, yet district offices are still experiencing serious operational challenges”.
