Ireland’s Ambassador to Zambia Sèamus O’Grady today handed over two vehicles and forensic audit equipment to the Office of the Auditor General.

Speaking when he handed over the equipment to acting Auditor General Ron Mwambwa in Lusaka today, Ambassador O’Grady said his country was committed to promoting accountability and transparency in Zambia for the benefit of the poor.

He said the Seventh National Development Plan provided an opportunity to ensure that every Kwacha was used to develop Zambia.

“It is for this reason that Ireland is supporting the Office of the Auditor General in ensuring that public resources are used for their intended purpose. Ireland has so far provided a grant of Euro 625,000 over a three year period to support the capacity building of the Forensic Audit Unit of the OAG. This support included the procurement of ICT equipment and motor vehicles, as well as training of staff on how to conduct forensic audits in procurement and construction subsectors as well as retrieve deleted electronic records,” said Ambassador O’Grady.

He noted that the Irish people, especially the missionaries, had been in Zambia much longer than the aid programme and they had dedicated their whole lives to assisting those living in poverty; through material and spiritual support.

Ambassador O’Grady congratulated the Office of the Auditor General for their work and hoped that the capacity built would be retained in order to improve the management and accountability of public resources.