The Government subsidised Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO) to the tune of over ZWL$1 billion in 2020 alone without any supporting documents.
According to the 2020 Auditor-General’s report, the Government gave ZUPCO ZWL$1.2 billion to support its operations. Auditor-General Mildred Chiri said:
A total amount of ZW$1 179 966 264 related to unsupported subsidy disbursements to ZUPCO was observed.
It was difficult to ascertain whether the expenditure was a proper charge to the vote.
This is contrary to the provisions of Section 59 (15) of the Public Finance Management (Treasury Instructions) 2019, which states that payments should be adequately supported.
ZUPCO was re-introduced in 2019 after public transporters parked their vehicles following riots that were triggered by a 150 per cent fuel hike.
In the same year, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Local Government revealed that the ZUPCO subsidy was ZWL$51 million a month.