Zambia : public expenditure management and financial accountability review.

Format:

Book

Government document

Contributor:

World Bank.

Series:

World Bank country study

A World Bank country study

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Finance, Public--Zambia--Accounting.

Finance, Public.

Government spending policy--Zambia.

Government spending policy.

Expenditures, Public.

Accounting.

Zambia--Appropriations and expenditures.

Zambia.

Physical Description:

xxii, 180 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm.

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : World Bank, [2004]

Summary:

Zambia's economy is not growing fast. Poverty is on the rise. The quality of economic governance is on the decline. And public resources are not well spent. The badly needed first steps to reverse this situation are to start getting the budgetary allocations right and to make sure those allocations go where they're intended. Addressing the longstanding challenges that Zambia faces in public expenditure management will require strong political will. For Zambia to assure that public accountability is enduring and not dependent on the government of the day, it must strengthen budget processes and institutions that can provide public oversight and promote basic checks and balances. This report provides an analysis of how Zambia can strengthen budgetary processes and institutions for accountability and effective service delivery to its citizens.

Contents:

2 The Macroeconomic Context for Public Expenditure Reform in Zambia 7

Progress in Macroeconomic and Poverty Indicators 7

Public Expenditure, Poverty and Social Outcomes 13

The Scope for Increasing Government Revenue 16

Key Areas for Maximizing Impact of Public Expenditure 18

3 Governance and Accountability in Zambia 23

Trends in Governance Indicators 23

Underlying Factors for Trends in Governance 24

The Accountability Framework in Zambia 28

Enhancing the Oversight Role of Parliament 34

Part II Public Expenditure Management and Financial Accountability

4 Budget Preparation 41

Credibility of the Budget 41

Comprehensiveness of the Budget 46

Budget Classification 49

Links Between Budgeting and Planning 53

Presentation of the Budget 58

5 Budget Execution and Control 61

Cash Rationing 62

Revenue Controls 68

Expenditure Control 69

Commitment Control and the Arrears Problem 72

Payroll Controls 77

Capital Expenditure Controls 81

Public Procurement 84

6 Accounting, Reporting, and Audit 91

Legal Basis for Accounting and Reporting 91

The Current System for Financial Management and Reporting 92

Moving Towards Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) 98

Internal Audit 102

Effectiveness of External Audit 104

Part III Complementary Policy Measures and Issues

7 The Human Resource Challenges for Effective Budget Management 111

The Problem of Low Overall Pay 112

The Fragmented Salary Structure and Overuse of Allowance 114

The Impact on Quality of Services 116

The Link to Corruption 117

Recommendations 118

8 Service Delivery in Practice: Leakages and Equity in The Flow of Funding to Education in Zambia 125

Expenditure Tracking 127

Leakages 128

Equity 131

Private Expenditures 134

Part IV Summary and a Program of Priority Actions

9 A Program of Priority Actions 141

Medium-Term Vision For Zambia 142

The Three-Year Program 142

Progress Monitoring 147

Costing and Support by Development Partners 148

Annex A Comparative Review of the Role of Parliament in Budget Passage 151

Annex B Government Banking Arrangements 155

Annex C Areas for Improving the Cash Release System 159

Annex D Procurement: Short-term Sequenced Actions 163

Annex E Procurement: Medium to Long-term Sequenced Actions 169

Annex F Key Issues in IFMIS Development 173

Annex G Description of a Selected Salary Enhancement Scheme (SASE) 177.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 179-180).

ISBN:

082135924X

OCLC:

55800774