Finance

The following principles must guide all aspects of public finance in Zimbabwe— (a) there must be transparency and accountability in financial matters; (b) the public finance system must be directed towards national development, and in particular— (i) the burden of taxation must be shared fairly; (ii) revenue raised nationally must be shared equitably between the central government and provincial and local tiers of government; and (iii) expenditure must be directed towards the development of Zimbabwe, and special provision must be made for marginalised groups and areas; (c) the burdens and benefits of the use of resources must be shared equitably between present and future generations; (d) public funds must be expended transparently, prudently, economically and effectively; (e) financial management must be responsible, and fiscal reporting must be clear; and (f) public borrowing and all transactions involving the national debt must be carried out transparently and in the best interests of Zimbabwe.

No taxes may be levied except under the specific authority of this Constitution or an Act of Parliament.

Parliament must monitor and oversee expenditure by the State and all Commissions and institutions and agencies of government at every level, including statutory bodies, government- controlled entities, provincial and metropolitan councils and local authorities, in order to ensure that— (a) all revenue is accounted for; (b) all expenditure has been properly incurred; and (c) any limits and conditions on appropriations have been observed.

An Act of Parliament must provide mechanisms for Parliament to monitor and oversee expenditure referred to in subsection (1).

An Act of Parliament must set limits on— (a) borrowings by the State; (b) the public debt; and (c) debts and obligations whose payment or repayment is guaranteed by the State; and those limits must not be exceeded without the authority of the National Assembly.

An Act of Parliament must prescribe terms and conditions under which the Government may guarantee loans.

Within sixty days after the Government has concluded a loan agreement or guarantee, the Minister responsible for finance must cause its terms to be published in the Gazette.

The Minister responsible for finance must— (a) at least twice a year, report to Parliament on the performance of— (i) loans raised by the State; and (ii) loans guaranteed by the State; (b) at the same time as the estimates of revenue and expenditure are laid before the National Assembly in terms of section 305, table in Parliament a comprehensive statement of the public debt of Zimbabwe.

An Act of Parliament must provide for— (a) the equitable allocation of capital grants between provincial and metropolitan councils and local authorities; and (b) any other allocations to provinces and local authorities, and any conditions on which those allocations may be made.

The Act referred to in subsection (1) must take into account, amongst other factors— (a) the national interest; (b) any provision that must be made in respect of the national debt and other national obligations; (c) the needs and interests of the central government, determined by objective criteria; (d) the need to provide basic services, including educational and health facilities, water, roads, social amenities and electricity to marginalised areas; (e) the fiscal capacity and efficiency of provincial and metropolitan councils and local authorities; (f) developmental and other needs of provincial and metropolitan councils and local authorities; and (g) economic disparities within and between provinces.

Not less than five per cent of the national revenues raised in any financial year must be allocated to the provinces and local authorities as their share in that year.

There is a Consolidated Revenue Fund into which must be paid all fees, taxes and borrowings and all other revenues of the Government, whatever their source, unless an Act of Parliament— (a) requires or permits them to be paid into some other fund established for a specific purpose; or (b) permits the authority that received them to retain them, or part of them, in order to meet the authority’s expenses.

No money may be withdrawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund except to meet expenditure authorised by this Constitution or by an Act of Parliament.

Money withdrawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund must be paid only to the person to whom the payment is due.

An Act of Parliament must prescribe the way in which— (a) withdrawals are to be made from the Consolidated Revenue Fund and any other public fund; and (b) money in the Consolidated Revenue Fund and any other fund is to be held and invested.

All debt charges for which the State is liable must be charged upon the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

The costs and expenses incurred in collecting and managing the Consolidated Revenue Fund form the first charge on the Fund.

For the purposes of subsection (1)— “debt charges” includes interest, sinking fund charges, the repayment or amortisation of debt and all expenditure related to the raising of loans on the security of the Consolidated Revenue Fund and the service and redemption of debt created by those loans.

Every year the Minister responsible for finance must present to the National Assembly a statement of the estimated revenues and expenditures of the Government in the next financial year.

The estimates of revenue and expenditure must be presented to the National Assembly in terms of subsection (1) on a day on which the Assembly sits before or not later than thirty days after the start of each financial year, but if Parliament is dissolved and it is impossible to lay estimates before the Assembly by that time, then they must be laid before the Assembly within thirty days after the Assembly first meets following the dissolution.

Separate estimates of revenue and expenditure must be given for each of the following— (a) each Commission established by this Constitution; (b) the office of the Auditor-General; (c) the National Prosecuting Authority; (d) the Council of Chiefs; and (e) any other institution prescribed in an Act of Parliament.

When the National Assembly has approved the estimates of expenditure for a financial year, other than expenditure that is specifically charged on the Consolidated Revenue Fund by this Constitution or an Act of Parliament, the Minister responsible for finance must cause a Bill to be known as an Appropriation Bill to be introduced into the National Assembly, and that Bill must— (a) provide for money to be issued from the Consolidated Revenue Fund to meet the approved expenditure; and (b) appropriate the money to the purposes specified in the estimates, under separate votes for the different heads of expenditure that have been approved.

If the money appropriated to a purpose under an Appropriation Act is insufficient or if expenditure is needed for a purpose for which no money has been appropriated, the Minister responsible for finance must cause an additional or supplementary estimate to be presented to the National Assembly, and if the National Assembly approves the estimate the Minister must cause an additional or supplementary appropriation Bill to be introduced into the Assembly providing for the necessary money to be issued from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

An Act of Parliament may allow the President to authorise the withdrawal of money from the Consolidated Revenue Fund to meet expenditure which was unforeseen or whose extent was unforeseen and for which no provision has been made under any other law, but— (a) the Act must not allow the withdrawal of money in excess of one and one-half per cent of the total amount appropriated in the last main Appropriation Act; (b) any money withdrawn under the Act must be included in additional or supplementary estimates of expenditure laid without delay before the National Assembly and, if the Assembly approves the estimates, the money must be charged upon the Consolidated Revenue Fund by an additional or supplementary Appropriation Act.

If the Appropriation Act for a financial year has not come into operation by the beginning of that financial year, an Act of Parliament may allow the President to authorise the withdrawal of money from the Consolidated Revenue Fund to meet expenditure necessary to carry on the services of the Government for the first four months of the financial year, but— (a) the Act must not allow the withdrawal of money in excess of one-third of the amounts included in the estimates of expenditure for the previous financial year; (b) any money withdrawn under the Act must be included in an Appropriation Act for the financial year concerned, under separate votes for the different heads of expenditure.

If Parliament is dissolved before adequate financial provision has been made for carrying on the services of the Government, an Act of Parliament may allow the President to authorise the withdrawal of money from the Consolidated Revenue Fund to meet expenditure needed to carry on those services until three months after the National Assembly first meets after the dissolution, but any money withdrawn under the Act must be included in an Appropriation Act under separate votes for the different heads of expenditure.

If it is found that more money has been expended on a purpose than was appropriated to it in terms of this Part, or that money has been expended on a purpose for which no money was appropriated under this Part, the Minister responsible for finance must introduce a Bill into the National Assembly seeking condonation of the unauthorised expenditure.

The Bill referred to in subsection (1) must be introduced into the National Assembly without delay and in any event no later than sixty days after the extent of the unauthorised expenditure has been established.

In this section— “public funds” includes any money owned or held by the State or any institution or agency of government, including provincial and local tiers of government, statutory bodies and government-controlled entities; “public property” means any property owned or held by the State or any institution or agency of government, including provincial and local tiers of government, statutory bodies and government-controlled entities.

It is the duty of every person who is responsible for the expenditure of public funds to safeguard the funds and ensure that they are spent only on legally authorised purposes and in legally authorised amounts.

It is the duty of every person who has custody or control of public property to safeguard the property and ensure that it is not lost, destroyed, damaged, misapplied or misused.

An Act of Parliament must provide for the speedy detection of breaches of subsections (2) and (3) and the disciplining and punishment of persons responsible for any such breaches and, where appropriate, the recovery of misappropriated funds or property.

There must be an Auditor-General, whose office is a public office but does not form part of the Civil Service.

The functions of the Auditor-General are— (a) to audit the accounts, financial systems and financial management of all departments, institutions and agencies of government, all provincial and metropolitan councils and all local authorities; (b) at the request of the Government, to carry out special audits of the accounts of any statutory body or government-controlled entity; (c) to order the taking of measures to rectify any defects in the management and safeguarding of public funds and public property; and (d) to exercise any other functions that may be conferred or imposed on him or her by or under an Act of Parliament.

Public officers must comply with orders given to them by the Auditor-General in terms of subsection (2)(c).

The Auditor-General is appointed by the President with the approval of Parliament.

The Auditor-General must be a Zimbabwean citizen chosen for his or her integrity, and must have been qualified to practise as an auditor for at least ten years.

The term of office of the Auditor-General is a period of not more than six years and a person must not be appointed as Auditor-General after he or she has served for one or more periods, whether continuous or not, amounting to twelve years.

Before entering office, the Auditor-General must take, before the President or a person authorised by the President, the oaths of loyalty and office in the forms set out in the Third Schedule.

In the exercise of his or her functions the Auditor-General is independent and subject only to the law.

An Act of Parliament must provide for the remuneration and benefits of the Auditor- General to be fixed with the approval of the President on the recommendation of the Minister responsible for finance.

The remuneration of the Auditor-General must be charged upon and paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund and must not be reduced during his or her tenure of office.

The Auditor-General may be removed from office only for— (a) inability to perform the functions of his or her office because of mental or physical incapacity; (b) gross incompetence; or (c) gross misconduct.

If the Minister responsible for finance, with the concurrence of the parliamentary committee responsible for public accounts, informs the President that the question of removing the Auditor-General from office ought to be investigated, the President must appoint a tribunal to inquire into the matter.

A tribunal appointed under subsection (2) must consist of at least three members appointed by the President, of whom— (a) at least one must be a person who has served as a judge; and (b) at least one must be chosen from a panel of at least three persons who have been nominated by the institute or association established by law to represent public auditors in Zimbabwe.

The institute or association referred to in subsection (3)(b) must nominate the panel referred to in that subsection when called upon to do so by the President.

A tribunal appointed under subsection (2) must inquire into the question of removing the Auditor-General from office and, having done so, must report its findings to the President and recommend whether or not the Auditor-General should be removed, and if the tribunal so recommends the President must, by order under the public seal, remove the Auditor-General from office.

A tribunal appointed under subsection (2) has the same rights and powers as commissioners under the Commissions of Inquiry Act [Chapter 10:07], or any law that replaces that Act.

An Act of Parliament must provide for the appointment of a board to employ persons to assist the Auditor-General in the exercise of his or her functions, and must also provide for— (a) the qualifications of those persons; (b) the conditions of service, conduct and discipline of those persons; (c) the independence, impartiality and integrity of those persons; and (d) the organisation, efficiency and well-being of the Auditor-General’s office.

An Act of Parliament must prescribe procedures for the procurement of goods and services by the State and all institutions and agencies of government at every level, so that procurement is effected in a manner that is transparent, fair, honest, cost-effective and competitive.

An Act of Parliament must provide for the negotiation and performance of the following State contracts— (a) joint-venture contracts; (b) contracts for the construction and operation of infrastructure and facilities; and (c) concessions of mineral and other rights; to ensure transparency, honesty, cost-effectiveness and competitiveness.

An Act of Parliament must provide for the competent and effective operation of statutory bodies and, in particular, must ensure that their chief executive officers serve for limited periods whose renewal is dependent on the efficient performance of their duties.

There is a central bank, to be known as the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, whose objects are— (a) to regulate the monetary system; (b) to protect the currency of Zimbabwe in the interest of balanced and sustainable economic growth; and (c) to formulate and implement monetary policy.

An Act of Parliament may provide for the structure and organisation of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and confer or impose additional functions on it.