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MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
Southern Region Workshop Report on the Alignment of
Legislation to the Constitution of Zimbabwe, 2013:
Public Finance Management Act [Chapter 22:19]
Rainbow Hotel, Bulawayo
9 & 10 November 2016
Prepared By:
INTER-MINISTERIAL TASK-FORCE ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
CONSTITUTION (IMT) TECHNICAL COMMITTEE
2
Acronyms
CALR Centre for Applied Legal Research
IMT Inter-Ministerial Taskforce on Alignment of Legislation to the
Constitution
JSC Judicial Services Commission
LDC Law Development Commission
MoFED Ministry of Finance and Economic Development
MoHCC Ministry of Health & Child Care
MoJLPA Ministry of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs
MoHA Ministry of Home Affairs
MoPSE Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education
MoYIEE Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation & Economic Empowerment
NRZ National Railways of Zimbabwe
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
3
Contents 1. BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................................... 1
2. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 1
3. STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION ........................................................................................ 2
1.1 Programme of the Workshop ................................................................................................ 2
4. DAY 1 PROCEEDINGS ............................................................................................................... 4
4.1 ...................................................................................................................................................... 4
Opening Remarks ............................................................................................................................... 4
4. 2 ...................................................................................................................................................... 4
Background to the law-making process ............................................................................................ 4
4.3 Objectives of the Workshop ......................................................................................................... 4
5. BACKGROUND AND UPDATE OF ALIGNMENT PROCESS ............................................ 5
6. CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO PUBLIC FINANCE
MANAGEMENT .................................................................................................................................. 5
7. PLENARY SESSION ................................................................................................................... 6
8. THEMATIC GROUP DISCUSSIONS & REPORT BACK ..................................................... 6
8.1 Day One - Thematic Group Discussions ..................................................................................... 6
8.1.1 Constitutional Provisions ....................................................................................................... 6
9. DAY 2 PROCEEDINGS ............................................................................................................. 14
9.1 Alignment of the Public Finance Management Act and Other Relevant Proposed Changes to
the Act ............................................................................................................................................... 14
10.1 Day Two - Thematic Group Discussions ................................................................................. 17
10.2 Plenary session ......................................................................................................................... 21
CONSOLIDATION OF SESSION PROCEEDINGS AND WAY FORWARD ........................... 24
1. BACKGROUND
In May 2013, Zimbabwe adopted a new Constitution. As a result of the enactment of the new
Constitution, existing legislative provisions which were founded in line with the old
Constitutional are unconstitutional, and are in need of being aligned with the provisions of
the Constitution of Zimbabwe. The Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs
(MoJLPA) has been tasked with the role of coordinating the process of alignment of
legislation with the new Constitution in terms of Section 324 which provides that ‘all
constitutional obligations must be performed diligently and without delay.’
In pursuit of this, the MoJLPA with the technical support of the Centre for Applied Legal
Research (CALR) established an Inter-Ministerial Task force on the Alignment of Legislation
to the Constitution (IMT) as an institutional platform to facilitate the implementation of the
Constitution of Zimbabwe to ensure that all legislation is consistent with the Constitution.
The overall objective of the IMT led project entitled ‘Implementation of the Constitution in
Zimbabwe: Supporting the Constitutional Legislative Alignment Process’ is therefore to
support the Constitutional Legislative Alignment Process in Zimbabwe.
2. INTRODUCTION
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED) submitted a request for
support in aligning the Public Finance Management Act [Ch. 22:19]. The project provided
technical research support in the review of the Act for purposes of identifying legislative gaps
therein that are inconsistent with the Constitution and International Conventions and Treaties
relating to public finance management that the Government of Zimbabwe is party to. The
research findings were outlined in a Discussion Paper, which was submitted to the Technical
Committee and the MoFED.1 Following the development of the Discussion Paper, the
project also supported the holding of stakeholder consultation workshops to obtain
stakeholder input on the document. The Southern Region stakeholder consultation workshop
was held at Rainbow Hotel in Bulawayo on the 9th and 10th of November 2016.
1 Annexure 1 – Discussion Paper on Alignment of the Public Finance Management Act [Ch. 22:19]
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3. STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION
Stakeholders that participated in the consultative workshop were composed of various
government Ministries including Ministry of Health and Child Care, Ministry of Primary and
Secondary Education, Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Ministry of Justice,
Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic
Empowerment, Ministry of Home Affairs, IMT, Judicial Service Commission, academics,
Transparency International Zimbabwe, National Railways of Zimbabwe, Law Development
Commission, Bulawayo Agenda, Zimbabwe School of Mines, media representatives (Star
FM, Newsday, Chronicle) and Centre for Applied Legal Research.
3.1 Programme of the Workshop
The workshop was held over a two-day period. The details of the workshop programme are
outlined below:
MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIVE WORKSHOP ON THE ALIGNMENT OF
LEGISLATION:
DRAFT PUBLIC FINANCE MANAGEMENT AMENDMENT BILL
Rainbow Hotel, Bulawayo 9 & 10 November 2016
DAY ONE
TIME ITEM PRESENTER/
FACILITATOR
08:30-09:00 Registration Inter-Ministerial Taskforce
(IMT) Technical Committee
09:00-09.15 Introductions Facilitator
09:15-09:30 Opening Remarks Ministry of Finance and
Economic Development
(MoFED)
09:30-09:45 Background to the Law Making Process IMT Technical Committee –
Legislative Drafting
09:45-10:00 Objectives of the Stakeholder Consultative
Workshop
MoFED
10:00-10:30 TEA BREAK
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10:30-11:30 Constitutional Provisions Relating to Public
Finance Management
Dr. Muvingi,
IMT Technical Expert
11:30-12:00 PLENARY SESSION Facilitator
12:00-13:00 Introduction to Thematic Group Discussions Facilitator/MoFED
13:00-14:00 LUNCH BREAK
14:00-15:00 Thematic Group Discussions ALL
15:00-15:30 TEA BREAK
15:30-16:00 Report Back Group Rapporteur
16:00-16:30 PLENARY SESSION Facilitator
16:30-16:40 Close of Day 1 MoFED
DAY 2
TIME ITEM PRESENTER
08:30-09:00 Registration Inter-Ministerial Taskforce
(IMT) Technical Committee
09:00-09:15 Recap of Day One Facilitator
09:15-10:00 Alignment of the
Public Finance Management Act [Chapter 22:15]
& Other Relevant Proposed Changes to the Act
Dr Muvingi,
IMT Technical Expert
10:00-10:30 TEA BREAK
10:30-13:00 Thematic Group Discussions Facilitator
13:00-14:00 LUNCH
14:00-14:30 Report back Group
Rapporteur/Representative
14:30-15:00 PLENARY SESSION ALL
15:00-15:30 TEA BREAK
15:30-15:45 Consolidation and Way Forward IMT Technical Committee
15:45-16:00 Closing Remarks and Vote of Thanks MoFED
DEPARTURE ALL
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4. DAY 1 PROCEEDINGS
4.1 Opening Remarks
The Deputy Accountant General of the MoFED, welcomed participants to the workshop.
He took the opportunity to thank IMT for facilitating & hosting the stakeholder consultative
workshop, which he said reflects the strong sense of commitment in assisting government in
aligning acts to the Constitution. Noting that the PFMA was promulgated in 2010 while the
new Constitution came into force in 2013, he stated that the workshop was designed to elicit
valuable input from stakeholders and for them to articulate their expectations of what should
be in the Act. He added that stakeholder input would be submitted to relevant government
authorities for further scrutiny before being incorporated into the Bill to be drafted by the
Attorney General’s office.
Participants were challenged to actively critique the presentations and contributions in order
to come up with the best product. The presenter expressed hope that the discussions would
enrich the process and help the Ministry to create a watertight framework for managing
public finances in Zimbabwe.
4.2 Background to the law-making process
A Law Officer from the Attorney General’s Office (Legislative Drafting Division) outlined
the law making process as it related to the Constitutional alignment process. She stated that
law reform entails making the law better than what it was in its current state, a process which
involved changing and updating laws, so that they reflect the current values and needs of
modern society.
4.3 Objectives of the Workshop
Overall, the objectives of the workshop were as follows:
(a) To gather stakeholders’ views, comments and recommendations on the alignment of
the PFM Act with the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
(b) To ensure that the provisions of the PFM Act were consistent with the Constitution
(c) To create a platform for increased engagement and impart knowledge about the
Constitutional alignment process.
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4.4 BACKGROUND AND UPDATE OF ALIGNMENT PROCESS
A law Officer from the LDC and IMT presented the background of the alignment process, the
role of IMT and progress made thus far in legislative alignment. The presenter submitted that
there is legislation that has already been aligned to the Constitution such as the Land
Commission Bill. Furthermore, it was submitted that the Ease of Doing Business project was
complementing the alignment project as 13 pieces of legislation been fast tracked for legal
reform, while many Bills were now at the consultative stage.
4.5 CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO PUBLIC FINANCE
MANAGEMENT
An IMT Technical Expert gave a presentation which pointed out the provisions of the
Constitution as the supreme source of law, relating to the subject area of public finance
management. She observed that there is need to keep updating systems and frameworks as
things continue to change nationally and regionally & internationally.
The following issues were highlighted on:
- Chapter 17 on Finance (Financial Management, Consolidated Revenue Fund,
Authorisation of Expenditure, Consolidated Revenue Fund, Safeguarding of Public
Funds and Property, Auditor General and other General matters)
- Chapter 2 on National Objectives, including;
Section 9: Good governance
Section 13: National development
Section 14: Empowerment and employment creation
Section 17: Gender balance
Section 18: Fair regional representation
Section 34: Domestication of international instruments
- Chapter 4 on the Declaration of Rights, particularly section 56 (equality and non-
discrimination)
- Chapter 9 on Principles of Public Administration and Leadership, particularly
section 194 (basic values and principles governing public administration)
It was submitted that public finance should serve the public above all, underscoring the
importance of having proper controls, transparency, accountability, as well as value for
money.
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4. PLENARY SESSION
In the ensuing discussions, participants discussed several issues, primarily the fact that
retention funds are covered under section 18 of the PFM Act. Moreover, the practicality of
the reference in section 309(2)(c) of the Constitution, where the Auditor General can “order
the taking of measures to rectify any defects in the management and safeguarding of public
funds and public property” was debated. Participants noted that in practice and from
experience, this had not been possible. Therefore, it was suggested that the word “order”
should be included in the Act as it had Constitutional backing. Ministry officials needed to
explain the practical difficulties that they were facing in this area. For example, it was
observed that some ministries would respond to such directives by simply saying “point
taken, measures being implemented”, yet this would not ensure compliance. Generally, the
Auditor General has had to rely on a persuasive approach which is not always effective.
Therefore, it would be important to specify such non-compliance as an act of misconduct.
5. 2THEMATIC GROUP DISCUSSIONS & REPORT BACK
The participants were divided into groups to discuss and provide recommendations on
specific issues. It was emphasised that this was anopportunity to add value to the law making
process, since it was in their interest to make these laws better for themselves and for their
children. The thematic areas and questions were as follows:
8.1 Day One - Thematic Group Discussions
8.1.1 Constitutional Provisions
GROUP 1 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT (PART 1)
a) Parliamentary oversight of state revenues and expenditure (section 299)
What mechanisms should Parliament use to carry out the duties of monitoring
& oversight over revenue and expenditure by the State (including all
Commissions; institutions and agencies of government at every level; statutory
bodies; government-controlled entities; provincial and metropolitan councils
and local authorities)?
Apart from mere submission of annual budgets and financial performance
reports, what other obligations should be placed on the State?
b) Allocation of revenue between provincial and local tiers of government
(section 301)
What mechanisms should be used to ensure equitable allocation of capital
grants between provincial and local tiers of government?
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How should the “not less than five percent” provision be enforced? (Section
301(3) of the Constitution)
GROUP 2 CONSOLIDATED REVENUE FUND (PART 2)
a) Does the PFM Act provide adequate controls on funds paid into some other
fund established for a specific purpose, or funds retained by Authorities in
order to meet the authority’s expenses?
b) If not so, how can these be strengthened and what are the provisions that
should be included?
c) Are the provisions relating to ensuring that money withdrawn from the CRF is
paid only to the person to whom the payment is due, sufficient? If not what
other provisions do you recommend?
d) Critically examine the provisions on withdrawals of money from other public
funds.
GROUP 3 AUTHORISATION OF EXPENDITURE FROM CONSOLIDATED
REVENUE FUND (PART 3)
a) Identify gaps in the provisions on appropriations from CRF and propose
amendments.
b) nalyse the provisions relating to budget formulation and make
recommendations for how they can be enhanced.
GROUP 4 SAFEGUARDING OF PUBLIC FUNDS AND PROPERTY (PART 4)
a) Are the provisions on the safeguarding of public funds and public property
sound and adequate?
b) If not, which areas need to be improved?
c) In Part 1 of Chapter 17 of the Constitution on the principles of Public
Financial Management, discuss and list the areas in which each of these
principles should be embedded, and why?
GROUP 5 AUDITOR GENERAL (PART 5 AND 6)
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a) Are the provisions adequate? If not, how can they be improved?
b) Is the PFM Act harmonised to the provisions in the Procurement Act?
c) If not, which areas require harmonisation?
d) Identify the shortcomings in the PFM Act provisions relating to Corporate
Governance within state entities and suggest improvements
The groups gave the following feedback and recommendations:
GROUP 1
a) Parliamentary Mechanisms
Justified budget of state and state institutions must be presented to Parliament.
Approval of budget by the Parliamentary Committee
Address of lack of independence of internal auditors
Through establishment of effective Audit Committees in line with
recommendations of Corporate Governance and identification of best practices
i.e Angola
Submit monthly, quarterly, yearly reports on actual expenditure follow up on
these fiscal reports
b) Other Obligations placed on the state
Condonation of unauthorized expenditure in public institutions where cash is
collected e.g schools and hospitals
Publish accounts of State Institutions (of actual expenditure) in Government
gazette, chronicle, herald to address the issue of transparency and
accountability
Ministerial Directives that have financial impact on Parastatals should be
approved by the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee e.g bonuses and
cancellation of ZESA and water bills
The Code on corporate governance should apply to the State and private sector
in order to address issues of unethical conduct. E.g barring unmonitored
appointment of members to Boards by Ministers
c) Mechanism to ensure equitable allocation of capital grants
Incorporate provisions of sections 301 of the Constitution into the Act
as per the recommendations of the draft Bill
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Allocation of capital grants according to the population revenue base
and financial needs specified in the budget of the province or local
authority.
d) 5%
The 5% or more should be allocated according to the revenue collection
of the particular province or local authority.
Publication of the financial statements of the provinces and local
authorities is necessary to verify actual income generated.
GROUP 2
a) Section 18 of the PFMA states:
If it is desirable that a fund be established Treasury should draw up a
constitution that will:
i) Specify the objects of the fund and the money to be payable into the fund
ii) Shall provide for the payments which may be made out of the fund
iii) Provide for such other matters as are considered to be necessary
Weaknesses:
i) Lack of time limit
ii) No review of the constitutions
iii) Lack of Treasury approval for transactions relating to the fund
iv) Lack of penalties for nonadherence
b) There should a time limit for the operations of the fund
The constitutions should be reviewed periodically
Need for Treasury approval for transactions relating to the fund
Nonadherence should lead to criminal proceedings
c) The controls on withdrawal from the CRF are sufficient according to section 17 of
the PFMA
d) According to section 18 of the PFMA moneys can be withdrawn if it is to meet the
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objectives of the constitution however the following need to be taken into account:
i) Need for Treasury approval for transactions relating to the fund
GROUP 3
A) Identify gaps in the provisions on appropriations from CRF and propose
amendments
GAP 1: In s 28 the Act is not making it mandatory for the grant aided
institutions to have their revenue and expenditure estimates stated
separately
RECOMMENDATION: to align it to the Constitution in terms of s305 (3)
(a)-(e)
GAP 2: S26 &29 of the Act- the powers of the president and relevant
Minister over the CRF appear to be same
RECOMMENDATION: there is need to align the Act with the
Constitution in terms of s306 (i)
GAP 3: In s26- there is no limit as to the maximum amount the President
can authorise
RECOMMENDATION: align it to s306(1) (a)
GAP 4- It’s not mentioned in Act on how we deal with unauthorised
expenditure
RECOMMENDATION: the Act need to be aligned in terms s307 of the
Constitution.
(B)Analyse the provisions relating to budget formulation and make recommendations
for how they can be enhanced
RECOMMENDATIONS
Budget formulation is supposed to have wider consultations involving all
relevant stakeholders for example CSO’s, citizens among others important.
Programmes which affect people’s lives should be given priority ie hospitals,
roads, water systems among others.
After wider consultations, the budget should be consolidated at provincial and
national level
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GROUP 4
A. To a larger extent, the provisions of the Act are generally lacking in so far as
provisions relating to public funds and public property are concerned. The Act
does not directly address the aspect of safeguarding public funds or property,
serve by inference.
B. WHICH AREAS NEED TO BE IMPROVED?
• As a starting point, the Act does not define what public funds and public
property means as defined in the Constitution –s308(1), whereas the
Constitution in terms of part 4, Chapter 17, clearly spells out provisions on the
safeguarding of public funds and public property.
• Where there are breaches in the use of public funds and public property the
Constitution talks about punishment and the possibility of recovery of the funds
or property. This is in line the provisions of s12 of the PFM Act .
• As regards Ministerial directives in terms of section 14 of PFM Act, there is
need for the Minister or Deputy Minister to put the directive in writing formally
authorising the officer. This should be done to safeguard the funds by making
sure that the Minister’s conduct is transparent and he or she is accountable for
all his action which should always be in line with the empowering law.
Principals should not be above the law.
• Section 87 of the PFM Act lays out the disciplinary procedures to be taken in
the event of financial misconduct, but the section is silent on the recovery of the
funds. The Act simply says the officer shall be investigated, heard and disposed
of. There is need to safeguard the funds by putting in place deterrent measures
such as restitution.
C. List of areas in which each of the principles under Chapter 17 of the
Constitution should be embedded
-In terms of 298 (c)- the burdens and benefits of the resources must be shared equitably
between the present and future generations
-the Act must clearly identify resources to be reserved for future generations e.g.
mineral resources.
-s298(f) public borrowings - all transactions involving national debt must be carried
out transparently and in the best interest of all Zimbabweans
12
• The Act should have a clear clause for the State not to over-borrow or borrow
for recurrent expenditure e.g. borrowing to pay bonus but should borrow for
capital and infrastructure development
• In the Act there should be a clause which compels all members who make
borrowings from government institutions to pay back or face punitive measures.
GROUP 5
1. In Section 81 (1) of the PFM Amendment Bill, the groupsuggested that the
wording should be similar to that of section 309(20)(a) of the Constitution, that
is with reference to names of the institutions.
2. Section 81 of the PFM Amendment Bill should adopt section 309 (2) (c) of the
Constitution. Instead of “bringing to the attention of…” we suggest that the
Auditor General should have powers “to order…” as enshrined in the
Constitution. The Bill should empower the Auditor General in a clear &
unambiguous manner.
3. Section 50 of the PFM Amendment Bill should be expanded so that corporate
governance is clearly defined. One suggestion is to use section 316 of the
Constitution which talks about term limits for CEOs.
28.2 Plenary session
In the ensuing discussions, participants highlighted on the following:
Comment/Issue Response
On Group 1’s presentation
Clarification – under b), condonation –
relates to where cash is collected at a
particular institution.
All expenditure must be justified and
accounted for
On Group 2’s presentation:
There are adequate controls, but there are
some weaknesses.
Section18 Emphasis on approval – what
format would this approval take, given the
volumes? Approving each and every
Proposed approvals for expenditure or
transactions are good but would be difficult
given the sheer volumes of transactions and
13
transaction one would take a long time.
Is there any such thing as constitution of
funds.
Retention funds – how can accountability be
improved & measured
On expenditure- should Act state that if an
asset is to be acquired, there should not be
use of part budgeted and part fund?
the modalities would need to be worked out
In order to improve accountability in
retention funds, they should be compelled to
produce budgets for Treasury approval so as
not to divert from their mandates
Compel them to produce budgets which
Treasury should approve. Some now spend
haphazardly. This measure would be good
from an audit point of view
On Group 3’s presentation:
The title is wrong, should be s19
Wider consultations are currently being
done for the budget process – how far are
these actually being taken on board as part
of the budget?
Every different group has its own
expectations. The interests of all
stakeholders will never coincide, but the
consultative process helps the owners of the
program to know where people are at
There is a limit in section 26(3) on what the
It was recommended that there be a
platform where those that have
contributions to the budget can submit them,
although they then need to be evaluated
since not every submission will be
suitable/relevant. However, at least efforts
will have been made to hear what people are
saying.
14
President can authorise
On Group 4’s presentation:
On borrowing, check with provisions of
Public Debt Management Act – penalties
are there, limits/justifiable reasons, but
borrowing for paying bonus is not covered
by that.
On Group 5’s presentation:
How can the Auditor General “order”?
Where does the backing/authority come
from?
PFMA still speaks of Comptroller – should
now say Auditor General.
It comes from the Constitution, which says
that. (all things being equal)
The General Laws amendment may already
have taken care of the change of terms.
. DAY 2 PROCEEDINGSM
9.1 Alignment of the Public Finance Management Act and Other Relevant Proposed
Changes to the Act
The presenter provided a detailed review of the PFM Act itself, making reference to
international best practice as well as the PFM statutes of other countries. She gave a
definition of PFM as the set of laws, rules, systems & processes used by sovereign nations to
mobilise resources, allocate public funds, undertake public spending, account for the funds
and to audit the results (Lawson, 2015). She proceeded to outline the legal & regulatory
framework around public finance management in Zimbabwe, comprising the Constitution,
Acts of Parliament, subsidiary legislation (including treasury instructions, account procedures
manual & account officers instructions) and looked at the gaps in the Act that must be
addressed and clarified as the Act is aligned. She also reiterated the need for equity as
opposed to equality in the allocation of public resources.
39.1 Plenary session
15
After the presentation, participants made the following observations and comments:
Comment/Issue Response
One participant asked whether the30-60 days
period to submit is not sufficient in this day and
age of IT, considering when it was prescribed
there was not much use of IT.
WConsidering the need to create guidelines for
allocation of budget, can these specifics be set out
in the PFM Act?
The PFM Act defines wasteful & fruitless
In response it was stated that there are
currently manual systems at school &
district level. Usually only the head
offices and sometimes provincial
level are computerized but at
decentralised local levels this still has
to be done manually
It was further noted that it is
important that tohave positive
development in the country and
people do notirresponsibly spend
money especially with scarce
resources. There is, however, need to
guide people on how to spend, Need
to achieve value for money.
To ensure prioritization of key issues
such as health, water, etc. Right now,
the money is going elsewhere where
it is not adding any value at all. The
peoples should agree on where it can
go where it is most productive and
beneficial for everyone
The policymakers are the ones with
the mandate, it remains with the
sitting government.
Sometimes law is also made through
16
expenditure. Do broader allocation issuesneed to
be incorporated in the Act ?
Who says this or that is the ideal distribution?
We must be cognizant of the law. Does it mean
that putting down everything in the law is the
panacea to our problem?
judicial pronouncements. The PFMA
will prescribe what should be done.
If it does not happen then there are
sanctions against the person who
would have failed. There are also
administrative measures that should
be taken into account. It is assumed
that a government is there for the
good of the people, and the law will
create clear rights and applications.
But there are other areas that require
administrative measures that are not
necessarily provided in the law. Will
that criteria be consistent over the
years, because things can change, one
year there may be need to allocate
more to education than health because
of the circumstances. That is where
the admin measures come in. Also,
through the mechanisms for coming
up with a budget, people can input
into the process. Changing the law
can take years, so there must be an
easier way to allow for adaptation.
It may not be advisable to fix policy
issues in the Act itself so that they
remain adaptable.
Given the reality of the slow pace of
computerization and automation in
Zimbabwe, especially for
17
On computerization –There are ad hoc silo
approaches, which are very difficult to
consolidate. There is need for a realistic period for
submitting budgets & accounts, not something
artificial which ministries cannot attain anyway
(about the 30-60 days).
decentralised ministries, one had to
appreciate that manual systems
required realistic periods of time to be
set for submission of budgets and
reports.
10. THEMATIC GROUP DISCUSSIONS & REPORT BACK
Participants were put in groups to discuss the individual parts of the current PFM Act and to
propose recommendations for their alignment with the provisions of the Constitution as
outlined in previous sessions:
10.1 Day Two - Thematic Group Discussions
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO PFM ACT
Examine and make concrete recommendations for the following provisions-
GROUP 1 AUDIT AND GENERAL (Part 8 & 10 of Act)
GROUP 2 PARLIAMENTARY OVERSIGHT; STATE ENTITIES;
PROVINCIAL, METROPOLITAN AND LOCAL COUNCILS
GROUP 3 FINANCIAL REPORTING (Part 4 of Act)
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GROUP 4 NATIONAL BUDGET (Part 3 of Act)
GROUP 5 CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT OF RESOURCES (Part 2 of Act)
Below is a table highlighting the discussion points and recommendations that were made by
the groups:
GROUP 1
Section 80 – Internal Auditors
• Internal Auditors must report to an audit committee instead of the Ministry to
facilitate independence of the internal auditors and to promote impartiality (Current
practice is that Internal Auditors are reporting to the people they are auditing)
• Provide sufficient budget/allowances to the Internal Auditors in order to facilitate
timely verification of accounts/financial statements.
Secton 81 – Internal Auditors
• Align s80 (5), s81(1) and s81(2) to the Constitution Chapter 17 with regard to
striking out the term Comptroller from the provisions.
• Amend and align s81 to Chapter 17 of the Constitution with reference to inclusion of
the provision relating to the audit of all provincial and metropolitan provinces of all
local authority as per the recommendations.
• Align s81 to s306 of the Constitution, especially s309 (1) (d), orders of the Auditor
General. Also state/include sanctions/measures to be taken against accounting
officers or Treasury in the event of failure to comply with recommendations or orders
of the Auditor General.
Section 83
• Amend and align section as per recommendation.
Section 84
• Section 84(1) - there is no clarity with reference to appointment of audit committee
members a provision similar to s314 of the Constitution may be included in the Act
to address- a) who actually appoints the audit committee members b) on what
grounds/qualifications c) remunerations and allowances
Part X: General
19
Section 90 unclaimed money
• Clearance of Temporary deposits to National Revenue
Section 90(1) period of six years is reasonable because in practice the process takes long
periods to be cleared e.g. court cases, NSSA claims and process of claiming money back
from Treasury is cumbersome because refunds are not included in current budgets.
• Section 90(3) Notice of a deposit of unclaimed money
Notice should be published in all forms of media to enable affected persons to make claims
within a specified period. Not many people have access to the Gazette.
GROUP 2
Parliamentary Oversight
• Two committees that monitor public funds are Finance and Economic Development
and Public Accounts Committee
• Roles and responsibilities of the above committees must be included in the PFMA.
• The PFMA must cite statues that relate to parliamentary business
• Penalties for not complying with parliamentary statutes should be cited in the PFMA.
State Entities
• It should be included in the PFMA the appointment of audit committees for state
entities and their composition.
• The PFMA should cross reference to Chapter 9 Section 194-192 of the constitution.
• Term limits for the Chief Executive Officer
• Officers to make regular disclosure of their assets
• Codes of conduct should be included for public officers
• Corporate governance code should be cited and observed
Provincial, Metropolitan & Local Councils
• Section of the PFMA should be amended to include provincial, local and
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metropolitan councils
• Allocation of revenues should be according to section 301 of the constitution
• Amend section 83 to include provincial, local and metropolitan on submission of
audited financial statements
• Part IV of the PFMA should also include financial statements prepared by provincial,
metropolitan and local councils
• Definition of local, metropolitan and provincial council to be include under
definitions
GROUP 3
RECOMMENDATIONS
Section 32 (2) – Participants suggested that section 32 (2) should be moved to s35(6)
(b) where the Auditor General would have received the accounts which should be
audited within a specified period as stated under section 32.
Section 35 (5) needs to be repealed because it is in conflict with the provision of the
Constitution in terms of s298(1)(a).
It wassuggested that there is need to insert s36(c) which will juxtapose financial
statements of the previous years to the current year for the purposes of establishing
trends; monitoring and evaluation.
Section 37- the heading should be changed to “ Preparation and presentation of
financial statements”
The group suggested that section 37 should be repealed and substituted with “The
preparation and presentation of financial statements should be in accordance with the
guidance provided by Public Accountants and Auditors Board Zimbabwe (PAABZ).
S38(1)-should not only be published in the government gazette but also in the widely
circulated print media( for purposes of transparency
GROUP 4
• 28(1) No amendment recommended
• Section 28 (2) of the PFMA must be aligned to the constitution 305 (2). The Act does
not give specific time frame when the budget should be presented before the National
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310.2 Plenary session
The participants made the following contributions during the plenary session:
Issue/Comment Response
On Group 1 presentation
Why is there recommendation for internal auditors
to report to Committee not Ministry?
The purpose of reporting to the
Minister is for them to know whether
they are doing things in the right way.
What will the Committee do with the
report?
Assembly, while the Constitution specifically states that it should be presented on a
day on which the Assembly sits before or not later than thirty days after the start of
the financial year.
• Failure to present the budget within the specified time frame the responsible Minister
must be held accountable.
• 28(3) should comply to the constitution 305(3) a-e
• 28(4) must relate to the constitution and be more specific.
• 28(5) no recommended
• 29 should relate to 306 of the constitution
• 30 No amendment recommended
• 31 No amendment recommended
GROUP 5
1. The group recommended that section 7(1)(b) includes metropolitan& local
councils as it in in the Constitution, s309(2)(a). Alternatively that should be
reflected in the definition section, i.e to include provincial, metropolitan and
local authorities.
2. The Group agreedwith the principle that accounting officers’ instructions
should be mandatory. Suggestion that the Act could be left like that as the
enabling Act then the mandatory aspect be dealt with in the regulations.
3. Section 7(1) should take cognisance of the Minister’s responsibility regarding
provincial and local government.
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Can the Audit Committee sit at least 4 times a
year, otherwise it will take them longer to work
through the reports. The Audit Committee will
also ensure that compliance is taking place.
According to international standards, they are
supposed to report to the Audit Committee, which
will then have to give the info to the responsible
Ministry.
“the chairman of the AC should not be a civil
servant”…s84. To what extent is that being
practised in the ministries?
That is an administrative issue which needs to be
rectified. So the proposal is good, but the baseline
of having the committees in place is not even
being done.
IOne of the participants cautioned against
The same person they report to is the
one giving the resources. The
Committee will go on to report to the
accounting officer.
Perhaps there need to be copies that
go concurrently to Auditor General,
Audit Committee & Minister.
Currently, there are no Audit
Committees in the, only Min of
Health has one made up of internal
staff.
There is currently a rethink of the
requirement of having a non-civil
servant, to amend the issue of
composition of committee, to bring in
an outsider, to just someone from
outside the ministry being audited but
not necessarily outside the system.
Outsiders will likely want to be paid
at market rates.
This is a critical issue. The charges
for outsourcing the audit work cannot
be compared to paying one outsider.
Moreover, they only sit a few times a
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compromising on matters on public finance
The participant emphasised on the need for
independence and an internal audit. Furthermore it
was highlighted that most problems are centred
around compliance
year. If we are saying government
cannot afford to pay that one person,
does that not lower the standards set
by the Constitution? Is this a good
enough excuse? For audits to be of
any meaningful impact, that element
of independence is critical.
It is important to establish the Audit
Committees with an independent
outsider serving as the Chairman, as
they will promote transparency and
accountability, which is needed for
central government as well as
decentralised structures
On Group 2 presentation
-Some participants suggested inserting a clause on
the appointments of the board because it has a lot
of impact on the operations of the entity. It was
indicated that oftenly, an incoming Minister
simply dissolves the sitting board hence there
needs to be a pool of professionals where members
can be pulled from, not just have random people
and also to avoid recycling of people on boards. It
was submitted that sometimes Ministers simply
move around with their people from one Ministry
to another.
This has been embraced under the
Public Sector Governance Act, but
not in the PFMA.
-Under Definitions, s2, should
include commissions, even though
they are public entities, as well as
metropolitan & provincial councils
On Group 3 presentation
S36(c) accounting standards require a report on
the previous year's provisions
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On Group 4 presentation
On recommendation that s29 should relate to
s306…it refers to a situation whereby the Minister
may by warrant, authorise…. – it has nothing to do
with s306 of the Constitution, it is about repayable
advances. So s29 is unconstitutional because it is
not following the procedures now contained in
s305. So the Minister has to wait for a
supplementary Appropriation Bill otherwise
he/she now has no authority.
On Group 5 presentation
-s6 Not decided but it should be mandatory in the
regulations. The detail that is proposed to be
included may be more appropriate in the
regulations, with its mandatory aspect
S7(1)(b) should include metro & local councils
(s309(2)(a), or in the definition of terms
-S7(1) should take cognisance of the Minister’s
responsibility of local government – should make
it clear that the Min also supervises provincial &
local government authorities
3CONSOLIDATION OF SESSION PROCEEDINGS AND WAY FORWARD
Legal Research Officer, CALR & IMT Representative gave a summary of the session
proceedings and reiterated some of the issues which had come out of the deliberations of the
stakeholders. Once consolidated, these inputs would be submitted to the Ministry of Finance
and Economic Development and would inform the Bill Principles to be presented to Cabinet.
Thereafter, IMT would assist the Ministry to conduct a Write Shop where the PFM
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Amendment Bill (or new PFM Bill) would be drafted by legal drafters from the Attorney
General’s office, Legislative Drafting Division. 3