Mr Conrad Dumbah, Acting Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency (IAA), has told Management of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) that Audit Committees are not their enemies but partners in promoting good governance.
He said the partnership, however, must be grounded in independence, objectivity, integrity, and professionalism.
Mr Dumbah said this in a speech read on his behalf at the mass inauguration of Audit Committees of MMDAs in the Northern, North East, Savannah, Upper East and Upper West Regions, as well as the Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs) of the five regions, in Tamale.
Each Audit Committee comprises five members, who took the oaths of office and secrecy to formally assume their responsibilities for two years.
Mr Dumbah said the inauguration represented a renewed commitment to strengthening accountability, transparency, internal controls and good governance at the local government level.
He said MMDAs played a critical role in Ghana’s decentralisation process and were responsible for delivering essential services and development programmes to communities, making effective management and accountability of public resources a priority.
He told the committee members that their appointments came with significant responsibilities, including providing oversight of internal audit activities, reviewing audit reports, monitoring the implementation of audit recommendations and ensuring that weaknesses in internal controls were promptly addressed.
“You must be prepared to ask the right questions, identify control weaknesses, and ensure that appropriate corrective measures are promptly implemented,” he said.
Mr Dumbah urged MMDA and RCC management to provide Audit Committees and Internal Audit Units with the necessary information, resources and cooperation to enable them to discharge their mandates effectively.
Mr Ali Adolf John, Northern Regional Minister, whose speech was read on his behalf by Mr Sumaila Ewumtomah Abudu, Northern Regional Coordinating Director, said the establishment and effective functioning of the committees provided an opportunity to improve the governance systems of RCCs and MMDAs.
He said as the public looked to RCCs and MMDAs for basic infrastructure and services, it was important to ensure that resources allocated for development reached their intended purposes and produced the desired outcomes.
He urged management teams at RCCs and MMDAs to cooperate fully with Audit Committees and Internal Audit Units to ensure the effective utilisation of public funds.
Mr John also appealed to Audit Committee members to provide objective and constructive oversight while collaborating with management, Internal Audit Units and other relevant stakeholders in discharging their responsibilities.
He called on all Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives, Coordinating Directors, Finance Officers, Internal Auditors and Heads of Department to provide the necessary support to the committees.
Some members of the Audit Committees expressed their commitment to performing their duties effectively to promote transparency and accountability at the local level.
