The Office of the Auditor General has revealed that a total of 39.5 million Kwacha was mismanaged by the National Road Fund Agency (NRFA) in contractual processes in the financial year 2023.

According to the report of the Auditor General on the Accounts of Parastatal Bodies and Other Statutory Institutions for the financial year ended 31st December 2023, this includes 22 million Kwacha paid by NRFA against expired guarantees.

The amount also includes 6.5 million Kwacha in overpayments due to unclear contractual terms for terminated employees.

Acting Auditor General, Ron Mwambwa has expressed concern with the financial management and governance challenges by NRFA and other audited parastatals.

Dr Mwambwa has since called for urgent reforms in oversight, stronger internal controls, and more effective debt recovery mechanisms to address the issues.

Meanwhile the report has also revealed a total of 228 millionKwacha in unpaid contributions from 60 local authorities to the Local Authorities Superannuation Fund (LASF).

Some of the contributions are reported to have been outstanding for up to 140 months.

The Acting Auditor General has also called for immediate intervention in the situation in order to stabilise the Fund’s financial position so as not to disadvantage pensioners.

This is contained in a statement issued by the Head of Public Relations in the Office of the Auditor General, Ellen Chikale.