🇿🇲 EXPLAINER | Where is Public Money Going?
Every time a Zambian buys fuel, pays tax on a salary or purchases goods from a shop, some money goes into government revenue. This money helps finance hospitals, schools, roads and other public services. But how carefully is it managed? Zambia’s latest Auditor General’s Report raises troubling questions about billions of kwacha in unpaid bills, uncollected revenue, questionable payments and government property which cannot be accounted for.
Released on 19 October 2026 by Acting Auditor General Patricia Malaila, the report examines government accounts for the year ended 31 December 2025. One of its largest findings concerns the Ministry of Health, which accumulated approximately K3.56 billion in unpaid obligations, including money owed to workers and suppliers. Some bills date back to 2014. This does not mean K3.56 billion was stolen. It means government has obligations it has not settled, potentially affecting businesses supplying hospitals and the availability of essential services.
The mining sector presents another concern. According to the audit findings, the Ministry of Mines had not collected K626.64 million in penalties imposed on 5,222 mining licence holders. Another K30.48 million in annual area charges remained unpaid. Put simply, companies or individuals operating under mining licences owed money to the government, but the amounts had not been collected. Zambia depends heavily on mining revenue, making these outstanding payments particularly important. The report does not establish that every penalty is immediately recoverable, but it raises questions about enforcement and the management of public revenue.
The Farmer Input Support Programme, commonly known as FISP, also came under scrutiny. Auditors identified irregularities involving more than K72 million in agricultural support. Some beneficiaries were recorded as inactive farmers, others could not be traced in authorised registers, while thousands appeared to benefit from overlapping government programmes. For example, 2,339 farmers whose details were absent from the authorised register redeemed inputs valued at K19.65 million. Another 2,128 inactive farmers were allocated inputs worth K17.76 million. These findings raise questions about how beneficiaries are verified before public resources are distributed.
Perhaps one of the most striking findings concerns Mukula timber. Government records showed 5,595 confiscated logs, but auditors could physically verify only 27. The remaining 5,568 logs were unaccounted for during the inspection. Confiscated timber is public property and must be properly recorded, stored or disposed of through lawful procedures. The report does not explain conclusively what happened to the missing logs. However, the difference between what was recorded and what auditors found calls for a clear explanation from the responsible authorities
In the education sector, auditors identified 125 officers who received salaries totalling K1.23 million but could not be accounted for at 24 duty stations. Their names were not reflected in staff records or recognised by management at the stations concerned. This does not necessarily mean the officers were fictitious. Some may have been transferred or affected by poor record-keeping. Nevertheless, taxpayers deserve to know whether salaries were paid to people performing the duties for which they were employed.
Other findings concerned public property and revenue administration. The Ministry of Lands could not assess ground rent on 74,840 properties because its records were incomplete. Auditors also found 663 government properties without title deeds under the Ministry of Water Development and Sanitation. Meanwhile, US$433,820 collected on behalf of the Department of Immigration had not been remitted to the Treasury. Each finding points to a different problem, but all raise questions about the systems government uses to protect money and assets belonging to the public.
It is important to understand what an audit report does. Auditors examine financial records, identify weaknesses and recommend corrective measures. An unpaid bill is not necessarily theft. An uncollected penalty is not the same as money missing from a bank account. An officer absent from a duty station’s records is not automatically a ghost worker. The Auditor General’s responsibility is to establish what the records show and where explanations or corrections are needed. Criminal wrongdoing, where suspected, requires further investigation and evidence.
There is also some positive information. The number of unresolved audit findings declined from 33 in 2024 to 27 in 2025, while the government’s financial statements received a favourable audit opinion. This means the national accounts were considered fairly presented under the applicable accounting rules. It does not mean every government department managed its resources properly. The problems identified in the report remain important regardless of the overall audit opinion.
For ordinary Zambians, these findings are not distant accounting matters. Money government fails to collect cannot immediately be used to finance public services. Unpaid suppliers may struggle to continue providing goods. Weak controls over agricultural inputs can undermine support intended for farmers. Poor management of government property can expose valuable public assets to loss. These are practical concerns affecting how efficiently the country uses its limited resources.
The question now is what happens after publication. Will the mining penalties be recovered? Will government explain the whereabouts of the Mukula logs? Will the agricultural beneficiary records be corrected? And will the responsible ministries account for the outstanding payments and payroll discrepancies?
The Auditor General has brought these matters to public attention. Parliament, oversight institutions and the affected ministries must now establish what went wrong and what has been corrected.
Citizens also have a responsibility to follow these developments, because public money is not government officials’ personal money. It belongs to the people of Zambia.
The People’s Brief | Francine Lilu; Ollus R. Ndomu
23 October 2026