Audit Puts AMA On Back Foot Over Accounting Breaches
The phones rang out at the Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA) on Tuesday, long after hard questions had been sent and an uncomfortable audit report had landed. On paper, Zimbabwe’s key agricultural market regulator wants to be modern, data-driven and farmer-centred by 2030. In the Auditor-General’s latest report, its own books tell a different story.
The Auditor-General, Vimbai Chikwenhere, has issued a qualified opinion on AMA’s 2024 financial statements, flagging accounting misstatements, arrears on statutory obligations, and an unresolved foreign debt equivalent to ZWG2.3 million. AMA has offered no substantive public response.
AMA is a statutory body created under the Agricultural Marketing Authority Act [Chapter 18:24] and falls under the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development. It regulates and develops the marketing of grains, oilseeds, livestock and other commodities, with a mandate to promote orderly, efficient and fair agricultural markets – a key pillar of Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1).
Auditor-General Flags IPSAS Breaches
In her latest report, Chikwenhere criticised AMA for failing to comply with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) on three fronts: property, plant and equipment; financial reporting under hyperinflation; and the correction of accounting errors.
A core concern relates to the valuation of property, plant and equipment amounting to ZWG37.3 million, an issue the Auditor-General had raised before but which AMA did not fully correct in time.
“The prior year financial statements were modified due to non-compliance with IPSAS 45 – ‘Property, Plant and Equipment’ on valuation of property, plant and equipment amounting to ZWG 37.3 million,” Chikwenhere said.
AMA had valued land and buildings using market values while other property, plant and equipment were adjusted using gross replacement values. That mix breached the standard, which prescribes consistent valuation methods.
Instead of restating the error properly in the current year, as required by IPSAS 3, AMA carried the misstatement forward. That decision then affected its reporting in a hyperinflationary environment.
“Inflation Adjusted amounts in terms of IPSAS 10 – ‘Financial Reporting in Hyperinflationary Economies’ were determined basing on misstated historical property, plant and equipment balance, consequently, corresponding amounts for property and equipment on the final adjusted Statement of Financial Performance, the inflation adjusted Statement of Financial Position, the inflation adjusted Statement of Changes in Net Assets, and the inflation adjusted Statement of Cash Flows remain misstated.
“The effects of the misstatements have not been quantified,” said Chikwenhere.
FFA Explainer:
International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) guide how public bodies record and report their finances. When an entity misstates asset values, every report built on those numbers – from its balance sheet to its cash flow – can be distorted, making it harder for Parliament, Treasury and the public to see the true picture.
AMA did conduct an asset revaluation in 2024. According to the Auditor-General, this revaluation and the subsequent separation of land and buildings addressed two of four prior audit findings. However, two serious issues remained unresolved.
Statutory Arrears And Foreign Liability Persist
The report shows AMA is behind on mandatory payments that every employer is meant to keep up to date.
“The Authority was not up to date with NSSA and ZIMDEF and had a payment plan for PAYE,” Chikwenhere said.
NSSA is the National Social Security Authority, responsible for pensions and workplace injury schemes. ZIMDEF, the Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund, finances skills development. PAYE is income tax deducted from employees’ salaries and remitted to the tax authority. Arrears in these areas raise concerns about both compliance and cash flow.
FFA Explainer:
Statutory obligations like NSSA, ZIMDEF and PAYE are legal commitments. When a public body falls behind, workers’ social security can be affected, penalties mount, and confidence in that institution’s governance weakens – especially when it is itself a regulator.
The audit also shows that AMA has not cleared an outstanding foreign debt first flagged in earlier reports.
“The Authority still has an outstanding foreign liability of equivalent to ZWG2.3 million,” the report noted.
The Auditor-General’s published findings do not name the creditor or spell out how long the liability has been on AMA’s books. Those details were sought from AMA but remained unanswered.
Chikwenhere summarised the follow-up status on four earlier audit findings: two have been addressed – property valuation and the separation of land and buildings – while statutory obligations and late payment of creditors remain outstanding.
AMA Retreats Into Silence
Efforts to get answers from AMA leadership on Tuesday hit a wall.
Chief executive Alice Mapfiza initially referred questions to the authority’s Marketing and Public Relations Manager, Tina Nleya. When contacted, Nleya said she needed to consult the finance team.
“I am in a meeting. This is something I’d have to find out from the Finance team.
“I will get back to you when I find out,” Nleya said.
No follow-up call came. Subsequent attempts to reach her were unsuccessful, and she did not respond to written follow-up questions. Mapfiza’s phone also rang unanswered and she did not reply to messages.
Among the questions put to AMA were:
- The current amounts owed to NSSA and ZIMDEF, and the timeline for clearing those arrears;
- The status and terms of the PAYE payment plan;
- Whether AMA has quantified and corrected the financial impact of the earlier misstatement on property, plant and equipment, and whether the 2024 revaluation fully resolved that problem;
- The identity of the creditor owed the ZWG2.3 million foreign liability, what caused the debt, how long it has been outstanding, and what measures are in place to settle it.
No substantive response had been received by the time of publication.
When A Regulator’s Books Matter To Farmers
AMA’s internal controls may seem distant from a farmer in Mazowe, Mhondoro or Gokwe staring at a field of maize or soya. Yet the authority’s financial health and governance shape how well it can regulate the markets those farmers depend on.
AMA licenses buyers, collects and disseminates key market information, and helps shape the rules that govern commodity trade. Its work influences the prices farmers are offered, the reliability of contracts, and the behaviour of middlemen.
In Mashonaland Central’s Mazowe district, for instance, horticulture and maize farmers who spoke to Farm Future Africa this season emphasised the importance of predictable markets and prompt payments. When regulators are strong and credible, they said, buyers are less likely to renege on contracts or manipulate scales, and farmers can plan better for inputs and school fees.
Transparent contract farming arrangements and fair commodity marketing are central to the government’s drive under NDS1 to boost food security and rural incomes. Weak financial controls at AMA risk undermining these policy goals.
The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development has repeatedly stressed the need for efficient, accountable institutions to support farmers and agribusinesses. For a regulator tasked with enforcing order in agricultural markets, falling behind on social security and training contributions sends the wrong signal.
Governance, Agenda 2063 And SDGs
The African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals both highlight strong institutions, decent work and zero hunger as intertwined ambitions. Zimbabwe’s drive to transform agriculture – from Pfumvudza to value chain financing – sits within that wider context.
Agenda 2063 emphasises good governance and transparent public finance as foundations for agricultural transformation. For AMA, this audit is a reminder that its role is not only to police others, but to model good practice.
FFA Explainer:
A qualified audit opinion is not the same as a disclaimer or an adverse opinion. It signals that most of the financial statements are fairly presented, but that specific areas – such as asset valuation or statutory arrears – are serious enough to warrant a formal warning.
Chikwenhere’s findings on AMA stop short of alleging criminal wrongdoing. They do, however, expose gaps in financial reporting and compliance systems – gaps that, if left unattended, can erode trust among farmers, traders, Treasury and development partners.
Can AMA Turn Audit Pain Into Reform?
There are signs AMA can respond constructively to pressure. The 2024 asset revaluation and the proper separation of land and buildings show that when issues are prioritised, they can be resolved.
The harder work lies ahead. Bringing NSSA and ZIMDEF payments fully up to date, sticking to a realistic PAYE payment plan, and clearing or restructuring the foreign liability will require disciplined cash flow management and stronger internal controls.
For a smallholder farmer in Hwedza or Lupane, these boardroom struggles might feel distant. Yet when AMA’s governance is sound, the benefits filter down: more reliable market information, fairer grading and pricing, fewer disputes over contracts, and a better chance that agriculture can deliver on NDS1 targets and the SDGs on food security and decent work.
In a good season in Mazowe, tomato trellises sag with fruit and maize cobs bend low in the August sun. Farmers there already face enough uncertainty from the skies and the market. They need regulators whose balance sheets inspire confidence, not questions.
On this audit, at least, the questions are piling up. AMA’s silence has yet to clear them.
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