Evaluation of the Southern and Eastern Africa Regional Centre for ...

4 Sustainability of the SEARCWL414.1 Financial ManagementIn terms of formal organisation of financial management, this is well structured bythe programme agreement as follows: “The agreement provides for regular reportingby SEARCWL. The main reporting vehicle is the Annual Meeting that is held toreview progress each year and approve plans for the following year. The AnnualMeeting is held in December and is preceded by the submission of a number ofreports. A progress report, which reports on the progress made against the work planand budget, detailed financial statements for the programme which present a truepicture of income and expenditure and reconciled positions of cash and bankbalances, and a work plan and budget for the incoming year. The RNE responds tothe reports before the meeting. The minutes of the meeting are signed by bothparties after the meeting.” This agreement has been adhered to in a timely andefficient manner, as recognised by all parties. However, there have been a number ofdifferent financial funding arrangements over the years. These have largely been acreative response to challenges of financial management in Zimbabwe.From 1990 until 2008 funding was channelled from NMFA/RNE to the UoZ, andthen onwards to the SEARCWL. The UoZ Bursar’s Office was responsible forfinancial management and keeping the books of accounts and organising audits. Themajority of the funds were transferred to the UoZ account, and SEARCWL drew onthem when needed. A proportion of funds covering external payments weretransferred into the UiO account. However, since the seizure of the UoZ funds in2008 by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), and the subsequent loss of access to$47 000, funds for regional expenditure were disbursed into and hence from the UiOaccount. Limited amounts were kept in the UoZ account in London and also inGaborone. SEARCWL, the UoZ and the RNE are still following up with theReserve Bank of Zimbabwe to recover the funds seized. Several letters have beenwritten to the Governor, some copied to the Minister of Finance. To date, onlyUSD$2000 has been repaid. When the funds went through the Oslo account,SEARWCL was responsible for the maintenance of records and production ofaccounts.In relation to the transfer of responsibility back to SEARCWL, according to theMTR in 2010 there was a delay in maintenance of records, the production of finalaccounts and external audits. This necessitated the engagement of an experiencedthough part-time Bookkeeper who the evaluators understand has since developedappropriate systems. External audits, for example, are now up to date. In 2013, threemonthly disbursements have commenced, again, as a risk-aversion strategy toprevent the capture of funds by the banks. According to SEARCWL’s annual report