1. PRESENTED IN MALAWI, LILONGWE, 19 DECEMBER, 2012 A CASE STUDY ON SOME IMPORTANT OUTCOMES OF THE ZAMBIAN PAC

2. INTRODUCTION In the recent past, almost all the reports of the Public Accounts Committee have been based on the Auditor General’s report on main accounts and Accounts of Parastatal Bodies. These reports have not been based on any specific inquiry but rather on general irregularities found in the accounting processes and reported in the Auditor- General’s report.

3. Introduction Cont-- There are however, some areas where the PAC has been consistent in urging Government to take corrective action upon which some lessons can be shared. These might demonstrate how the recommendations of the PAC, if implemented can result into good public financial management and good audits

4. Introduction Cont---- The four popular queries we wish to share experiences on include the following: Delayed and under banking, failure or delayed retirement of imprest, weaknesses in the management of fuel and government vehicles, misuse of public resources on regular unjustified workshops and conferences.

5. Delayed /under banking Delayed banking resulting in misuse of funds has been a major problem in Zambia. For example, monies not banked on time increased from K1.9 Billion in 2008 to K13.5 billion in 2010. Over the years, the PAC has consistently recommended that government takes concrete measures to curb the irregularities.

6. Delayed /under banking Cont/d PAC is happy that effective January 2013, the government has resolved that all government revenue in form of fees and fines will now be deposited directly into government accounts. This should definitely improve the audit as delays in banking often lead to all sorts of irregularities such as use of funds before banking and theft.

7. Management of imprest Zambia has been grappling with the issue of poor management of imprest for some time. For example, amounts not retired rose from K21,4 Billion in 2008 to K77.1Billion in 2010. Upon the recommendation of PAC to take concrete action, the Government formed a committee of experts to study the matter. After the report of the committee, Govt has since replaced imprest with a travel allowance based on a predetermined rates which are region specific and officers are will now not be required to retire by receipts.

8. Management of Govt Transport/fuel Failure to account for and general misuse of fuel has been one of the most prevalent malpractices in Zambia. The PAC has consistently urged government to come up with measures to arrest the problem. In June this year, the Government decided to restrict the use of government fuel to only a few senior officials while others are paid transport allowances. Even the senior officers no longer draw fuel but are paid fuel allowances. Preliminary reports indicate that the expenditure on fuel has drastically reduced.

9. Lodging and conference facilities One of the prominent queries which was appearing in almost all the reports of the Auditor General was the issue of Government Departments spending a lot of money through conducting meetings and conferences outside government facilities. This was despite the fact that some of the departments had good enough conference facilities.

10. Lodging and conference facilities Through consistent PAC recommendations, the Government came up with measures through the issuance of circulars which banned or restricted the use of holding meetings and conferences in private facilities. This measure has resulted in more funds being saved.

11. Conclusion All in all, PAC is happy that the Executive has responded to some of the regular concerns of the PAC by making positive changes to the systems in order to enhance accountability of Public Funds. The PAC will continue to be persistent in demanding such action from the Executive.