Friday, March 29, 2024

Zambia’s audit system rated best in SADC

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Zambia’s audit performance system has been rated the best in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, Auditor General, Anna Chifungula has disclosed.

Ms. Chifungula disclosed that Zambia has been consisted and prompt in submitting her annual audit reports.

Ms. Chifungula said a number of countries in the region have been delaying in tabling their Annual Audit Reports (AAR), hence having a poor audit systems.

Ms. Chifungula, who recently attended the African Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions – English Speaking (AFROSAI-E) held in Botswana, was speaking in an interview with ZANIS in Lusaka today.

She said her office has been able to simultaneously submit the AAR to parliament and to the President.

The core business of AFROSAI – E meeting was to deliberate on how best to improve audit methodology practices and value for money for public institutions.

She said delaying the release of the AAR often affected the utilisation of public resources by controlling officers in government institutions.

She said six countries in the region present their reports within a period of one year while 17 other members of the AFROSAI – E submit their AAR after one year.

Ms. Chifungula further disclosed that it was prudent that delays in submitting such reports were avoided at all costs.

The Auditor General since commended her personnel for working tirelessly, saying their commitment to duty has led to her office’s subsequent appointment by the World Bank to audit the African Union (AU) and SADC.

She said her office has since developed new strategies in its mandate to enhance accountability and performance in the quest to promote the fight against abuse of public resources.

Ms. Chifungula said this will be achieved during the 2008-2012 five-year Strategic Plan dubbed ‘Institutional Assessment and Organization Development (IAOD)’ for her Office.

The plan is designed to focus on restructuring, installing performance management packages, improving work culture and procedures.

Ms. Chifungula further said her office has sent two officers to ‘war torn’ Liberia to help in macro-financial management audit.

6 COMMENTS

  1. A part on your back. Please keep up. However, the Executive arm of Government must learn not to sit on these audit report. There are so serious revelevations in them that action must be promptly taken. Short of this we can only logically conclude that they are part of the plunder taking place in public service.

  2. Because now ant-corruption is in fashion with pipo seeing what happens to corrupt goverment officials, now they have found other ways of fleecing goverment funds. This is byway of offering them selves masive bounaces, allawances and perks matching some developt countries.
    Being an MP in Zambia is seen as road to riches. With loans for anything offered. Even seinor goverment postions are gravy trains with free full tank of petro/week.
    This is a catch 22 situation i suppose, if you dont reward them well they resort to corruption.

  3. i do not concede to the fact that Zambia’s audit system is rated best in SADC region. The level of accounting in many of gorvernments departments is still poor. The whole essence of audit is not what staff are employed it is klike anything ‘results’, it is about implmenting the outcomes of the audit. It is so disapointing that some of the gorvernment agencies are still operating on cash basis in this day and age, then what super audit is that? clearly, that sentiment has no basis and chifungula should not take any credit for nothing!!!

  4. Naonga chomene mudumbu wane! You r doing your part diligently, the rest remains in the appointing authority or system to stem out abuse or misuse of public funds. My advice is for u to aim higher and make Zambia a better place to invest and do business! These accolades if consistent will bring u greater glory. I hope the govt is paying u well because it wont be long before World or IMF calls for your services! It will be sad to let u go like we hav let loose all medical doctors, professors, etc. My dear keep the hard work, if we cant reward u, others will. Your joniors too r definately building a good cv for greener pastures knowing how we take long to reward good performance!

  5. An accolade for the Zambia Audit system sounds good on paper. I don’t want to sound like a wet blanket but all I want to ask is “what is it worth if corruption still goes on unabated in government?” That pat on the back may sound exciting and give an impression that alot of progress is being made economically, but is the Audit System making tangible contribution to economic development? I believe that the Audit system does uncover alot of criminal actvities to do with the misappropriation of public funds, and information so uncovered should be used to effectively prosecute those that are involved in those illegal activities.

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