In another blow to the scandal-ridden Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) the Auditor General, Mildred Chiri, has revealed that the power utility company has no capacity to continue operating.
The report has revealed that ZESA is currently running at a loss with current liabilities exceeding its current assets by US$92 million as of 2018 a position that is likely to plunge the company into serious debts.
In a 2018 report the Auditor General’s Office reports
“I draw your attention to the fact that the Company’s current liabilities exceeded its current assets by USD 92 118 178 (2017: USD 84 167 798), this indicates that a material uncertainty exist that may cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue operating as a going concern”.
The auditor general’s office further noted gross incompetence in the company as it continues to pay insurance to equipment that no longer existed resulting in financial loss to the entity.
“I noted that the company insured computer equipment that was nolonger in existence. Some of the equipment was stolen in 2010 but was still being insured.”
The revelation by the report confirms a bigger rot in the institution and coincides with a story written by Zim Morning Post in May which revealed that ZESA had more than $1.5 billion of non-commissioned equipment lying idle at ZESA.
Currently the power utility company is swamped with debts that have forced Mozambique and South Africa to reduce the amount of electricity supplied to Zimbabwe.
At the moment, the country is facing incessant power cuts and load shedding is on Stage 2 and if the company does not pay part of the debts ESKOM of South Africa will cut electricity supply to Zimbabwe