By Own Correspondent- Government officials have wasted millions of dollars released by Treasury for programmes meant to benefit vulnerable people and the education sector, the Auditor General, Mrs Mildred Chiri, has said.

In her report for 2018, the AG said only one percent of the total expenditure incurred by most ministries was spent on implementing Government programmes leading to failure to achieve service delivery mandates.

Some ministries and departments left monies lying idle until they were recalled by Treasury while others diverted funds for important programmes to pay themselves allowances.

Mrs Chiri said the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare received $9 759 722 for vulnerable households in 2018 but failed to pay the intended beneficiaries until Treasury recalled the funds on December 31 last year. 

“The Harmonised Social Cash Transfer (HSCT) is an unconditional transfer of cash entitlements to vulnerable households in order to reduce household poverty, protect and enhance the livelihoods of all vulnerable children so that they refrain from risky coping strategies like child labour and early marriages,” she said. 

“However, the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare did not initiate appropriate measures to ensure that beneficiaries received their pay outs. The funds were later recalled by Treasury on December 31, 2018 after realising that no disbursements were effected by the Ministry.” 

Mrs Chiri said the non-disbursement of funds deprived beneficiaries of a reasonable standard of life.

She said the Ministry also used some funds meant for Old People’s Homes to pay travel and subsistence allowances.

“In 2017 Treasury released a grant amounting to $100 000 for the development and promotion of the welfare and protection of older persons. The fund administrators disbursed only $38 586 (39 percent) to Old People’s Homes to cater for the welfare of older persons and used the remainder towards administration expenses such as institutional provisions, hospitality and travelling and subsistence allowances,” Mrs Chiri said.