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The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director, Peter Wiebler, says addressing corruption would be critical in delivering the public services promised through the 2024 national budget.
Wiebler regretted that corruption took away the much needed development resources and discouraged private investment, ultimately undermining Zambia’s prosperity.
He said this in his submission on the 2024 national budget released on Wednesday in Lusaka.
“I encourage Parliament to scrutinize whether the budget includes sufficient resources for the institutions that prevent and enforce accountability for corruption: the Financial Intelligence Commission, Drug Enforcement Commission, Economic and Financial Crimes Courts, etc,” Wiebler said.
He also said the 2024 Budget demonstrated government’s continued commitment to education, health, and local government development by providing more funds to improve education and health infrastructure and recruit more staff in these sectors.
Wiebler highlighted the notable increase of funding to local communities through the Constituency Development Fund and the Local Government Equalisation Fund.
“I further applaud the government for actualizing the devolution of the eight functions through direct sector grants to local authorities and commend continued efforts to stimulate economic growth in the private sector to strengthen the business environment.
“These investments are critical and depend upon transparent, accountable, and efficient implementation of these resources,” Wiebler said.
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