Challenges in Institutionalising Performance Audits: The Case of Zambia

The aim of this paper is to address the question of whether Office of the Auditor General in Zambia (OAG-Z) is able to adequately contribute to the efficient, economic and effective utilization and management of public funds and resources. The paper discusses the introduction of Performance Auditing in Zambia and the challenges surrounding its institutionalisation. The argument of this paper is that, the current audit scope does not adequately measure and assess the performance of government as regards outcomes and impact of government policies, programs and projects. Therefore it is critical to develop Performance Auditing in the OAG-Z in order to meet rising expectations of stakeholders in recent administrative reforms initiated by Government. The findings show that the main challenges that the OAG-Z faces are human resource development in terms of training in disciplines that are required to conduct Performance Audits. The second challenge is that the demand side for Performance Audits is rather passive. Therefore the onus remains in the commitment of government and the management in the OAG-Z to create an enabling environment for overcoming these hurdles. Further, the paper discusses how the OAG-Z could turn these challenges into strengths by capitalizing on the available opportunities, for example, experience sharing with other SAIs. The study identified SAIs of Botswana and Rwanda as role models that the OAG-Z could draw lessons from. The key determinants for their successful institutionalisation of Performance Audits were identified as human resource development and the commitment from management and government. The existing donor support through the Restructuring Institutional Development Project (RIDP), the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability Review Process (PEMFAR) and the government initiated Public Service Reform Program (PSRP) are all initiatives in the right direction. The OAG-Z could take advantage of these initiatives to strengthen capacity in areas where it is lacking.