Government-by-Government Assessments: Zambia

During the review period, the government made its executive budget proposal, enacted budget, and end-of-year report accessible to the public, including online.  Publicly available budget documents provided a substantially complete picture of the government’s planned expenditures and revenue, including financial allocations to and earnings from major state-owned enterprises.  Information on debt obligations, including major state-owned enterprise debt, was publicly available.  Actual revenues and expenditures reasonably corresponded to those in the enacted budget, and budget documents were comparable year-to-year.  The supreme audit institution did not meet international standards of independence and did not audit the entire annual executed budget.  The government specified in law or regulation but did not appear to always follow in practice the criteria and procedures for awarding natural resource extraction contracts and licenses.  The government published basic information on natural resource extraction awards.

Zambia’s fiscal transparency would be improved by:

• Ensuring the supreme audit institution meets international standards of independence and audits the entire annual executed budget; and
• Following laws and regulations for awarding natural resource licenses in practice.