The Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) within the Ashanti Region reduced financial infraction by 34% between the year 2019 and 2020. This was noted by The Director General of Internal Audit Agency (IAA), Dr. Eric Oduro Osae during a mass inauguration of 31 Audit Committees within the Ashanti Region on June 9, 2022.
He further encouraged MMDAs to work hard at reducing financial infractions further down to single digit. He therefore advised the Audit Committees and the Internal Auditors to constantly check their records and data before external auditors from the Auditor General’s Office comes in to unveil irregularities in their work.
The Director General of Internal Audit Agency (IAA), Dr. Eric Oduro Osae swearing in Audit Committee members
Despite the success chalked, Dr. Oduro Osae indicated that a number of MMDAs within the Region have been cited in a number of irregularities such as misuse of Public Funds and also defaulting in presenting their Audit Reports on time as mandated by Law. He encouraged the newly constituted Audit Committees to take their work seriously since it will act as Control Systems for Proper Financial Management in their respective Assemblies. According to him, the Audit Committee is s Statutory Committee under the Public Financial Management Act, as such members ‘should be firm and independent as failure to uphold, defend and control Public Financial Management could attract sanctions’.
The Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr. Simon Osei-Mensah called on the various MMDAs to provide assistance in the form of financial support and equipment to their respective Audit Committees, and also cautioned not to see the Audit Committee Members as enemies.
According to the Regional Minister, a country without an effective Public Financial Management make room for individuals to engage in corruption as there are no checks and balances. Thus, in the bid to address the risk and mitigate the impact of corruption on the development of the country, the Government of Ghana enacted the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act 2016 (Act 921). Among the interventions of the PFM Act is the establishment of an Audit Committee. Assemblies must therefore ‘prioritize the activities of the Audit Committees as their work can save the various assemblies from misuse and embezzlement of public funds’.
Audit Committee Members were also advised to “stand firm and to uphold and defend the integrity of their service and more importantly not allow themselves to be manipulated by certain selfish individuals who always engage in fraudulent and irresponsible activities that can cause financial loss to our sovereign nation”.