JOIN DRIVERN TAXI AS PARTNER DRIVER TODAY!
A SURVEY has reviewed that Zambia faces high prevalence of asset misappropriation.
PricewaterhouseCoppers Limited (PwC) advisory partner Nitesh Patel said a survey conducted reviewed that 81 percent of respondents in Zambia indicated that asset theft was the main form of economic crime in the past 24 months, higher than the 69 percent recorded globally.
Mr Patel said bribery and corruption accounted 35 percent, procurement fraud accounted 30 percent while money laundering and cybercrime both accounted 24 percent.
“Other reported crimes include mortgage, human resources, accounting, intellectual; property and illegal insider trading fraud,” he said.
Mr Patel said this when he presented the 2014 global economic crime survey for Zambia in Lusaka yesterday.
He also said the survey indicated that economic crime is usually committed by males between the ages of 21 to 30.
“In Zambia, the majority of economic crime is committed by junior staff members and middle management. The profile of the typical fraudster are male, between the ages of 21 to 30 with a first university degree and have been with their organisation for a substantial period,” he said.
At the same occasion, Auditor General Anna Chifungula urged auditors to work towards improving audit processes to strengthen financial management, accountability and transparency.
“Our audits on public sector institutions have so far been revealing a number of irregularities in the management of public funds year in year out.
These include irregularities such as the misappropriation of funds, unretired imprest, unaccounted for revenue and failure to follow procurement procedures,” she said.
Ms Chifungula said auditors play a vital role in enhancing the stability of capital markets, promoting liquidity and lowering economic crimes.
She said with a number of large multinational companies collapsing as a result of economic crimes, there is need for concerted efforts in mitigating such vices.
