State Media|Auditor-General Mrs Mildred Chiri has despatched a team of auditors to Cyclone Idai-hit Chimanimani to take stock of food aid.
The auditors held meetings with responsible offices in Chimanimani last week.
The audit comes as it recently emerged that food items worth thousands of dollars donated to Cyclone Idai victims are rotting in warehouses in Chimanimani East and reports that the foodstuffs were being looted by political leaders.
The Anti-Corruption Trust of Southern Africa (ACT-SA) exposed the massive looting for personal gain by someone entities and individuals.
Mr. David Jamali, the Chairperson of ACT-SA which campaigns against corruption in Southern Africa asked the Zimbabwean authorities to promptly investigate this matter and bring all those involved to book.
“Sometimes one might run out of words to explain how evil and inhuman some individuals can be. You can not imagine one stealing food and clothes meant for the people who are on the verge of starvation. Just imagine how donors feel when they hear that their support is not reaching intended beneficiaries. As a way forward, President Mnangagwa, the Zimbabwe Republic Police, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and the Anti-Corruption Unit in the Office of the President and other authorities must urgently investigate this matter to its logical conclusion and bring the culprits to book.” he says
In an interview, Mrs Chiri confirmed sending auditors to Chimanimani.
“We are just looking at the whole thing,” she said. “We are gathering information, but it is not in particular about that (decaying donations). We are auditing the whole system of food aid to find out its status. We are at the preliminary planning stage.”
Mrs Chiri did not specify when she expected the process to be completed.
“It depends on the complexity of the issues,” she said.
The team from her office also visited warehouses in Chimanimani East where food that was donated by well-wishers is rotting. Their report is largely expected to capture the state of affairs in the warehouses.
The audit by the AG’s office is also expected to paint a picture on the status of the food situation in Chimanimani, six months after it was hit by Cyclone Idai.
The cyclone killed hundreds, destroyed food reserves, fields and infrastructure worth over a billion dollars.