Donor funds are for national development

GOVERNMENT has pledged prudent utilisation of funds from cooperating partners on key priority areas to enhance national development.

Secretary to the Treasury, Fredson Yamba said Government would continue to dialogue with donors because it was committed to upholding the underlying principles of the Poverty Reduction Budget Support (PRBS) process.

Mr Yamba said in Lusaka yesterday during the PRBS review meeting for 2012 with cooperating partners that the direct budget support had continued to be the preferred aid modality for the Government.He said the support and cooperation received from partners had enabled Government to direct resources to key priority areas of the country’s economic development agenda.

“This is because it presents us with the flexibility and predictability required in managing the national resources and also facilitates good planning.Further, it reduces transaction costs, allows for more accountability and ownership of the process to the Zambian people and enhances capacity building,” he said.

The meeting drew participants from various Government spending agencies, among others, the Anti-Corruption Commission, Road Development Agency, Auditor General and various ministries.It was aimed at dialoguing on key aspects of underlying principles and to assess performance for the 2011 Performance Assessment Framework (PAF) report.

This year, the United Kingdom government was steering leadership as the lead of the PRBS group.

Mr Yamba said the tremendous support the Government was receiving through budget support was highly appreciated as it impacted positively on improving livelihoods of Zambians.He was happy that the Patriotic Front Government and cooperating partners had continued with the spirit of constructive engagement pertaining to the PRBS process through monthly dialogue meetings.He said such constructive processes were significant in building dialogue on operationalisation and the effective transmission and utilisation of the budget support.
He said through continued dialogue, cooperating partners had raised a number of concerns relating to the Government’s commitment to underlying principles of the PRBS process.

“In particular, these concerns are in the areas of public financial management, commitment to structural reforms, and commitment to effective governance. I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that the Government’s commitment to these issues remains unwavering,” he said.
Mr Yamba urged the cooperating partners to engage constructively with the Government in the quest to meet challenges for the betterment of lives of Zambians.

He said Zambia was mindful of the global economic challenges faced by many cooperating partners in the wake of the Euro Zone crisis.
He, however, said measures being implemented in some countries had an impact on the magnitude and timing of disbursements of aid to Zambia.