Audit raises questions over public money, unpaid obligations, farm-input beneficiaries, payroll controls and missing confiscated timber.
Zambia’s newly released Auditor General’s report has exposed significant weaknesses in the management of public resources, including billions of kwacha in outstanding obligations at the Ministry of Health, hundreds of millions in uncollected mining penalties, irregularities under the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) and thousands of confiscated Mukula logs that could not be accounted for.
The report, prepared by Acting Auditor General Patricia Malaila, examines the accounts of the Republic for the financial year ended December 31, 2025. It covers ministries, provinces and agencies, with the objective of determining whether public funds were properly accounted for and used in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
According to the report’s executive summary, 27 paragraphs of audit findings remained unresolved at the conclusion of the audit process, with corrective action outstanding as at September 30, 2026.
The findings raise questions about financial controls, revenue collection, procurement, payroll management and the protection of public assets. They also place renewed focus on what happens after audit weaknesses are identified, including whether outstanding money is recovered, liabilities are settled and responsible institutions correct the problems.
The report does not establish that every amount identified represents stolen money. It distinguishes between outstanding government obligations, revenue that has not been collected, irregular programme transactions and assets that auditors could not account for.
K3.56 billion in outstanding obligations at Ministry of Health
One of the largest figures in the report concerns the Ministry of Health, which had outstanding obligations totalling K3,564,361,363.
The obligations comprised employee-related liabilities and unpaid bills to suppliers of goods and services. Some invoices had remained outstanding since as far back as 2014.
The arrears raise questions about the government’s ability to manage its obligations to suppliers and service providers. Prolonged payment delays can put pressure on businesses that supply public institutions, particularly where they must continue meeting wages, transport costs and other operating expenses while awaiting payment.
The report also identifies an infrastructure shortcoming at Mbala General Hospital, which operated without an oxygen plant. Management spent K853,291 procuring and transporting oxygen from Kitwe and Kasama to meet the hospital’s needs during the period reviewed.
This finding illustrates how the absence of essential infrastructure can create additional operating costs for public institutions.
The report also records expired renal fluids valued at US$11,500, equivalent to K222,640, which remained undisposed of at two health facilities 12 months after their expiry in May 2025.
These findings raise practical questions about procurement planning, stock management, infrastructure investment and the timely settlement of obligations within the health sector.
K626.64 million in mining penalties not collected
The Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development had not collected K626.64 million in penalties imposed on 5,222 clients for breaches of mining licence conditions, according to the report.
The penalties related to various offences, including failures to meet licence conditions. The outstanding amount was recorded as at August 31, 2026.
Separately, the ministry had not collected K30.48 million in annual area charges owed by holders of mining rights or mineral-processing licences.
The findings highlight the difference between assessing penalties and actually collecting the revenue due to the state.
Where penalties and statutory charges remain unpaid, government cannot use those funds to support public expenditure. The report therefore raises questions about enforcement, follow-up and the systems used to monitor payments by licence holders.
However, the outstanding figures should not automatically be treated as money permanently lost. The report identifies amounts that had not been collected by the stated date; recovery depends on subsequent enforcement and payment.
The public interest question is what action the ministry has taken to collect the outstanding amounts and whether the balances have since changed.
5,568 confiscated Mukula logs unaccounted for
The report also raises concerns over the handling of confiscated Mukula timber in Mpika District, Muchinga Province.
A status report from the Mpika District Forestry Office indicated that 5,595 Mukula logs had been confiscated between 2021 and 2025.
However, a physical inspection conducted in May 2026 found that only 27 logs could be accounted for, leaving 5,568 unaccounted for. The report states that their cost could not be ascertained.
The finding raises serious questions about the custody, storage, documentation and eventual disposition of confiscated timber.
Confiscated resources remain subject to public oversight. Authorities must maintain records showing what was seized, where it was stored, who was responsible for it and what ultimately happened to it.
The audit finding does not by itself establish what happened to the missing logs or who may be responsible. It does, however, identify a substantial gap that requires an explanation and appropriate follow-up by the responsible authorities.
FISP irregularities raise questions about beneficiary controls
The Farmer Input Support Programme also features prominently in the report, with several findings concerning eligibility and the redemption of farming inputs.
Auditors found that 2,128 inactive farmers had been loaded with redeemable inputs valued at K17.76 million. Of that amount, K17.25 million was subsequently redeemed.
The report states that management indicated farmers who had redeemed inputs while inactive would be required to repay, but repayment had not taken place by August 31, 2026.
In a separate finding, 2,339 farmers whose details could not be traced in the authorised existing National Farmer Register on the Zambia Integrated Agriculture Management Information System redeemed inputs worth K19.65 million.
The report also identified 4,213 beneficiaries across ten provinces who redeemed FISP inputs worth K34.92 million while also benefiting from other government programmes, contrary to FISP guidelines.
These are distinct audit findings and should not be added together as a single confirmed loss without establishing whether the categories overlap and determining the status of the transactions.
The findings nevertheless raise questions about beneficiary verification, the reliability of farmer registers and the effectiveness of controls designed to ensure that public agricultural support reaches eligible beneficiaries.
FISP is intended to support farmers, making the integrity of its beneficiary systems important both for public expenditure and for farmers who depend on the programme.
The government needs to demonstrate how the identified cases are being reviewed, whether ineligible redemptions are being recovered and what measures will prevent similar problems in future farming seasons.
Education payroll and missing officers
The Ministry of Education was unable to account for 125 officers from 24 stations who had received salaries totalling K1,228,635.
According to the report, the officers were neither reflected on staff returns nor known to management at the respective stations. Their whereabouts remained unaccounted for as at August 31, 2026.
The finding raises concerns about payroll reconciliation and the ability of management to confirm that public employees are properly recorded and assigned to recognised stations.
A payroll entry that cannot be matched to staff records requires investigation and verification. The audit finding, however, should not automatically be interpreted as proof that all the officers were fictitious or that criminal wrongdoing has been established.
The report also found delays in printing and distributing syllabi and learning materials associated with the implementation of the new curriculum. Materials that were expected to be ready by January and February 2025 were still being processed a year after implementation began.
These issues raise questions about administrative planning, record-keeping and the timely delivery of education services.
Revenue collection and other public finance weaknesses
Beyond mining penalties, the report identifies additional gaps in revenue collection and financial management.
The Zambia Revenue Authority had assessed customs duties and taxes totalling K52.02 million on imported goods for final consumption. Of this, K41.97 million remained unpaid as at August 31, 2026, with the outstanding amounts dating back between 105 and 467 days after the relevant entries were registered.
The report also found that 13 temporary import permits had no supporting documentation showing that extensions had been granted or that the applicable duties had been paid.
At the Department of Immigration, revenue collected through Access Bank amounting to US$39,940 for 2024 and US$393,880 for 2025 had not been remitted to the Treasury as at July 31, 2026.
Meanwhile, incomplete land records meant that ground rent could not be calculated for 74,840 properties. The estimated revenue not collected as a result was K3.32 million.
These findings point to weaknesses in record management, revenue monitoring and enforcement. They also show why effective public financial management requires more than recording revenue assessments: authorities must track what is due, what has been paid and what remains outstanding.
A favourable audit opinion does not erase the findings
The report’s overall audit opinion on the national financial statements should be distinguished from its individual findings on public expenditure and administration.
An audit opinion on financial statements concerns whether those statements are fairly presented under the applicable accounting framework. It does not mean that every transaction, procurement process or government programme operated without irregularities.
The report itself documents outstanding obligations, uncollected revenue, payroll weaknesses, programme eligibility issues and public assets that could not be accounted for.
These findings therefore require their own responses and corrective action, even when considered alongside the overall opinion on the financial statements.
The 27 unresolved audit paragraphs at September 30, 2026, are particularly important because they indicate that some matters had not been resolved through the audit process by that date.
The report calls on controlling officers to implement recommendations, strengthen internal controls, improve revenue collection, enhance procurement and payroll management, and safeguard public assets. It also emphasises timely corrective action and the recovery of public funds where applicable.
What happens after the Auditor General raises the alarm?
The release of an audit report is an important accountability step, but it is not the end of the process.
The next stage is for the responsible institutions to respond to the findings, explain any outstanding issues and demonstrate what corrective action has been taken. Where money is recoverable, the public should be able to see whether it has been recovered. Where government owes suppliers, the status of those obligations should be made clear. Where assets cannot be accounted for, authorities should establish what happened and take appropriate action based on the evidence.
Parliamentary scrutiny and follow-up by the relevant oversight institutions are also important in ensuring that findings do not simply recur in subsequent reports.
For the public, the central issue is not only the amount identified by the auditors but whether the systems responsible for managing public money improve as a result.
Zambians should be able to ask straightforward questions: How much of the uncollected revenue has since been recovered? What progress has been made in settling health-sector obligations? Have the FISP cases been investigated and resolved? What happened to the unaccounted-for Mukula logs? And have payroll and procurement controls been strengthened?
The answers will help establish whether the audit findings lead to meaningful changes in public administration.
Read the full Auditor General’s report
Zambian Eye is providing readers with access to the original 2025 Auditor General’s report so they can examine the findings and the recommendations directly.
READ OR DOWNLOAD THE FULL 2025 AUDITOR GENERAL’S REPORT (PDF)
The report covers the financial year ended December 31, 2025, and includes findings across ministries, provinces and agencies. The Office of the Auditor General states that the audit was conducted under the applicable legal framework and recognised public-sector auditing standards.
For this report, the most important measure of accountability will be what happens next: whether public institutions address the identified weaknesses, recover money where appropriate, protect public assets and demonstrate better management of resources entrusted to them by taxpayers.
Source: Office of the Auditor General, Report on the Accounts of the Republic for the Financial Year Ended December 31, 2025. Findings and amounts are reported with the cut-off dates specified in the original document.