THE SILENCE THAT IS KILLING OUR COUNTRY

Zimbabwe’s councils are falling apart and it is happening in full view of all of us. The Auditor-General’s 2024 report has shown what many people already knew in their hearts. Our money is disappearing while our towns and villages collapse. Garbage is everywhere, water taps are dry, and half-built clinics stand like sad reminders of promises that were never kept. This is not a small problem. It is a system that is built to take from the people and give nothing back.

Across 92 councils, the Auditor-General found 1 042 problems in just one year. That number alone tells a painful story. Every issue is a warning sign, but these warnings keep coming year after year. Nothing changes because no one speaks out. And no one speaks out because Zimbabwe has no whistleblower law. People fear for their jobs and their safety. So silence becomes normal, even when things fall apart.

The numbers are shocking. Out of 92 councils, 52 failed to submit their financial statements by March 2024. Some councils have not shown their accounts for three years. Imagine billions of dollars moving through these councils with no reports, no checks, and no answers. How much money was stolen in that darkness? We may never know.

Devolution money was supposed to help people. It was meant to fix water problems, improve roads, build clinics, and support communities. But instead, it became a feeding trough for corrupt people. Ruwa Town Council got ZWL 1.2 billion for water. The money was used, but people still have dry taps. Buhera got money for boreholes. The boreholes were left unfinished, and people still drink from unsafe rivers. Gokwe South spent money on roads, but the roads remain dust. Chegutu bought a refuse truck, and the truck disappeared before anyone ever saw it working. These things do not happen by mistake. They are done on purpose.

Inside the councils, more money is lost. Harare and Bulawayo lose millions because people do not pay their bills and the councils do nothing to collect. In Bindura, money was collected but never deposited. It simply vanished. In Kadoma, debtors owed over ZWL 1.4 billion, and the council looked away. Councils say they are broke, but their own systems are full of holes.

The story of assets is even worse. Bulawayo lost 11 vehicles from its records with no explanation. Marondera sold land secretly, and even councillors were buying it. Zvishavane did not know where its title deeds were. Council fuel and vehicles were used like personal property. In Chegutu, the missing refuse truck became the symbol of everything wrong.

And the people suffer every day because of this. In Chitungwiza, sewage flows next to homes while money meant for sewer work is missing. In Masvingo, garbage is left to rot. In Kwekwe, residents go for days without water while funds for water treatment disappear. In Buhera, boreholes were promised but never built. Every missing dollar means a broken promise. It means a family without clean water. It means children living in dirt and disease.

The cycle does not stop. In 2023, there were 998 problems. In 2024, it rose to 1 042. Instead of fixing things, the councils get worse. And because no one is punished, corruption continues. Workers who could expose the truth stay silent because silence protects them.

Zimbabwe needs a strong whistleblower law. A real one that protects people who speak out. Not a weak line in an old Act, but a full law that shields people and punishes those who try to silence them. Without this, corruption will win again and again.

The Auditor-General’s report is more than numbers. It is the pain of the people written in financial words. Zimbabwe must break the silence before more damage is done.