THE Ministry of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs has had water supplies to various stations around the country terminated by the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA), it has emerged.
The ministry owes the water utility hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid bills, a Parliamentary report has revealed.
According to the report by the parliamentary portfolio committee on Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, some of the unpaid bills date back to 2013.
“Some stations had their water supplies disconnected by ZINWA for non-payment, thereby posing a very serious health hazard,” read part of the report.
Apart from ZINWA, the ministry also owes ZESA and local authorities countrywide.
“More than $5m is owed to ZINWA, local authorities and ZESA due to inadequate funding for the past four years,” the report said.
The legislators said the ministry – which has a total debt of more than $13 million – was wasting funds on travelling allowances to top officials at the expense of essential services.
“Travel and subsistence is also consuming a lot of resources and some of the money extended as advance payments has not been recovered as reported by the Public Accounts Committee from the Auditor General’s Report.
“We therefore recommend that expenditure allocation be increased under administration and general and that a stringent debt recovery strategy be put in place so as to resolve the matter,” read the report.
Vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa is responsible for the justice ministry.