Zimbabwe: Auditor-General Flags Harare City Council Over Missing Financial Records

What the report says

AllAfrica, carrying a New Zimbabwe report dated 28 July 2026, says Zimbabwe’s Auditor-General Vimbai Chikwenhere has raised concerns about Harare City Council’s financial reporting for the 2022 and 2023 financial years. The audit faulted the council for not consolidating the accounts of its subsidiaries, a gap the Auditor-General said could lead to inaccurate reporting of the local authority’s financial position.

The report identifies several council-linked business units, including Sunshine Holdings, Rufaro Marketing, Harare Quarry and City Parking. According to the article, the Auditor-General found that the council had not disclosed the carrying value of investments in subsidiaries such as Harare Sunshine Holdings, Rufaro Marketing and Harare Quarry, citing requirements under international public sector accounting standards on consolidated statements and disclosures of interests in other entities.

New Zimbabwe reports that the council’s commercial entities have faced continuing public scrutiny over governance and transparency, and that a commission of inquiry into Harare City Council’s operations last year heard evidence suggesting disorder in the finances of some council-owned companies. The article does not report any new legal finding against specific individuals, but frames the audit concerns as part of broader worries about oversight of municipal businesses.

In its response cited in the audit report, Harare City Council said it had created a Business Development Unit to coordinate strategic business units, monitor performance and help collect financial information for reporting. Management also said it was reviewing investments and investee entities to improve classification, disclosure, consolidation and record-keeping in line with the relevant accounting standards.