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Zambia’s Department of Immigration has clarified that US$433,820 in visa and border pass fees collected at Kipushi border post but cited in an Auditor-General’s report over delayed remittance was subsequently transferred to the Treasury, attributing the delay to banking system migration challenges.
The department said the funds were not lost and that the Treasury had confirmed on June 12, 2026, that a total of $885,295 in accumulated revenue had been transferred to Government Control Account 99.
The clarification comes amid public scrutiny over the audit finding and questions surrounding Access Bank Zambia’s involvement in the collection and transfer of the revenue.
Namati Nshinka, the department’s Chief Public Relations Officer, said the discrepancy was first detected by the department’s Finance Unit during a revenue reconciliation exercise covering January to May 2025.
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Nshinka said the delay followed the merger of Finance Bank and Access Bank, which left revenue collected through the former Finance Bank’s United States dollar account pending the migration and configuration of an automated transfer system.
He said the department engaged the Treasury on July 28, 2025, after reconciling revenue collected at Kipushi and Kasumbalesa border posts, and requested assistance in transferring the outstanding funds to Government Control Account 99.
The Treasury subsequently instructed Access Bank to transfer $885,295 in accumulated revenue covering the period from November 14, 2023, to May 31, 2026. The amount included the $433,820 cited in the Auditor-General’s report, Nshinka said.
The Treasury confirmed on June 12, 2026, that the full amount had been transferred to the designated government account, he added.
The department said the agreement governing the collection and remittance of the funds was between the Treasury and Access Bank, and that the Department of Immigration was not a party to the agreement.
It attributed the delayed transfer to the migration of banking systems and the configuration of the automated revenue transfer mechanism, known as auto-sweeping.
To prevent a recurrence, Nshinka said, the Treasury had directed Access Bank to transfer revenue from the designated account to Government Control Account 99 every Tuesday, Friday and on the last day of each month, in accordance with the service-level agreement.
The department has also strengthened its internal revenue monitoring, with its Finance Unit set to intensify monthly reconciliations to identify and address discrepancies between revenue collected and amounts transferred to the Treasury.
All revenue transit deposit accounts previously operating under the former Finance Bank United States dollar account have since been migrated to a new Access Bank transit account, the department said.
The department said it remained committed to transparency and accountability in the management of public revenue.
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