All government employees, including Internal Auditors across the Civil Service, will going forward undergo mandatory training and certification through the National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA), in line with government policy.

Ministry of Finance and National Planning, Controller of Internal Audit, Jamie Mukuwa, says Public Service Management Division Circular No. B4 of 2026, issued on July 16th 2026, directs that NIPA will train all public service employees under the Public Service Competence Development and Certification Strategy.

Ms Mukuwa said Controlling Officers and Heads of Internal Audit Units are expected to plan and budget for the training accordingly, while Human Resource Development Officers are encouraged to factor internal audit training in their annual submissions.

She was speaking when she officially opened the five day Internal Audit training in Lusaka today.

Ms Mukuwa said the audit profession matters in the public sector because weak internal controls do not simply show up on a balance sheet, but in the lives of citizens.

She said a standardised training pathway means every internal auditor in government, whether in a line ministry, a province or an agency, is working from the same standards, the same rigor and the same understanding of what quality assurance looks like.

She explained that such consistency is what will allow Audit Committees, Permanent Secretaries and ultimately the public to trust internal audit findings wherever they originate and will make the profession stronger and more credible.

Ms Mukuwa said his expectation after the training is an internal audit function that produces technically correct reports and acts as a trusted advisor in various institutions.

“What we need is auditors who can identify the risks that genuinely threaten service delivery and value for money, communicate them in a language that compels action, and follow through until recommendations are actually implemented, not merely noted,” she said.

She said Zambia’s development story will be judged not only by the targets it sets, but by how credibly those targets are pursued and reported on, adding that strong, independent internal audit is part of what makes that story believable.

Ms Mukuwa said this is in line with the Grow Zambia Agenda under President Hakainde Hichilema’s second term, urging internal auditors to ensure their mandates align to the 10-10-5-3-3-1-1-1 agenda in their respective work environments.

Public Service Management Division (PSMD) Permanent Secretary Lois Mulube said competence must be built with intent, certified against a clear standard and refreshed continuously.

“A well-written strategy executed by an undertrained workforce delivers disappointing results regardless of how sound the strategy was on paper,” Ms Mulube said.

She said the Competence Development and Certification Strategy is therefore an implementation tool for everything the government is trying to achieve, designed to close the gap between what is planned and what is actually capable of being delivered.

Ms Mulube said under the strategy, mandatory training follows officers throughout their career including pre-deployment training for newly appointed officers, in-service training, preparation for entry into senior management and structured support as officers approach retirement, alongside sector specific Continuous Professional Development for specialised functions such as internal audit.

Meanwhile, Institute of Internal Auditors Zambia (IIA) Zambia President Lubinda Namiluko said economic growth cannot be sustained without strong institutions, sound governance and effective systems of internal control.

Mr Namiluko stated that internal audit has a critical role to play in supporting Government’s Grow Zambia Agenda by strengthening governance, risk management and control environment within both public and private sectors.

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