Zambia - Public Expenditure Management and Financial Accountability Review : Country Financial Accountability Assessment, Annex, Volume 2

Abstract

The challenges faced by Zambia in public
 expenditure management (PEM) have been longstanding, and
 will require targeted efforts, as well as a strong degree of
 political will to address. The recently launched
 constitutional review, which includes issues of public
 finance, the anti-corruption campaign of the new Government,
 and the renewed interest by Parliament in governance issues,
 and accountability have all been encouraging steps.
 Nevertheless, for Zambia to assure that public
 accountability is enduring, and not dependent upon the
 Government of the day, it must take steps to strengthen
 institutions of the State that can provide public oversight,
 and that promote basic checks and balances. This report
 provides a very detailed analysis of the country's PEM,
 and accountability processes. Yet, many of the
 recommendations are not new, but have been cited in previous
 reports of the Bank, and/or other donors. Effective
 implementation of public sector reforms will likely remain a
 challenge in Zambia. The limited capacity of Government
 suggests the need to target a few major aspects of public
 finance, and to address them persistently: improving
 compliance with existing regulations; strengthening the
 oversight institutions of the State; promoting public access
 to information; and, rebuilding information management, and
 reporting systems. The report also deals with the second
 objective of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP),
 i.e., with ways and methods by which the Government can
 ensure efficient, equitable, and transparent management of
 public resources. It also focuses on the dimension of
 governance, i.e., the effectiveness of government to be able
 to provide public services. The specific objectives of the
 report are to: (a) provide a comprehensive and integrated
 assessment of Zambia's overall fiduciary risk, i.e.,
 budget management, financial systems and auditing, and
 public procurement; (b) document PEM reforms progress
 to-date, and challenges facing Zambia; and, (c) develop a
 realistic action plan, outlining short and medium term
 remedial measures, which the Government should implement
 with donor support.