By MAIMBOLWA MULIKELELA –
THE Auditor General’s Office has concluded investigations on the discrepancies that where highlighted in the 2009 and 2010 Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) reports.
Zambia EITI project administrative officer Kaonga Mazaba said following the discrepancies that were highlighted in the 2009 and 2010 reconciliation reports, the Auditor General’s office was tasked to resolve the differences.
In 2010, EITI reported a discrepancy K8.31 million against K48.84 million in 2011. In 2009, net discrepancy of K31. 444 million representing 1.2 per cent of Government receipts.
In an interview in Lusaka yesterday, Mr Mazaba said the report from the Auditor General’s office was expected to be pushed this month.
This will help the Zambia EITI to determine the reasons for the discrepancies, given that these have not been sufficiently explained due to the lack of adherence to deadlines by the extractive companies and Government agencies and insufficient supporting documentation being provided.
“I would like to confirm that the report will be published soon on the finding on the discrepancies that were coming from the 2009 and 2010 report.
The Auditor General’s Office already visited some of the mining companies, all the Government agencies and Bank of Zambia to investigate the differences coming from these reports,” Mr Mazaba said.
