Parents with children at Dumezweni Primary School in Pumula South, Bulawayo, have raised concerns over transparency, missing funds and the school’s refusal to accept local currency payments. At an Annual General Meeting held at the school on Tuesday, residents accused the committee of failing to account for US$2 800 and questioned financial records linked to an unfinished perimeter wall project. The outgoing SDC treasurer, Eugene Sikhosana, explained that the figures in the financial report did not correspond with the documents he had been given.
“I made a financial report using the information I received, but the numbers do not match with the documents that were given to me by the SDC chairperson, who is not here to explain,” he said. “Even the audit that was done does not appear complete because the money that was given to the auditors is not shown in the report, which makes the whole situation unclear,” Sikhosana said. “The documents show materials such as copper were paid for, but they are not there.
This shows that something is not right,” Sikhosana added. He further alleged irregularities in payments to four contractors who worked on the project, saying there were no signed acknowledgements to confirm how much each had received. “From my calculations, US$2 800 is missing, and we do not know where it went,” he said.
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Parents also questioned the school’s payment system, saying they were being required to pay fees and levies exclusively in US dollars. “We have tried to pay using ZiG, but the school always says the swipe machine is not working,” said Bekithemba Ndlovu. “It does not make sense for the machine to be down for a whole year.”
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