A-three member audit committee of the Ghana Prisons Service (GPS) on Thursday was inaugurated with a call on them to ensure effective management of public funds.

The members, who swore an oath of office and secrecy, would among others things prepare annual report of the activities of audit committee and serve as advisory roles, support to Internal Audit Unit, other Internal Monitoring units and external scrutiny.

The committee, who will be in office for two years, is chaired by Ms Gladys Gillian Naadu Tetteh of the Internal Audit Agency (IAA), with members as Mr Joshua Nocol also of the IAA and Ms Lucy Aboagye-Nuamah of the Institute of Chartered Accountant Ghana.

The Director-General of IAA, Mr Eric Oduro Osae, who was represented by Mr Alhassan Fuseini, Deputy Director-in-charge of Project at IAA during the swearing- in said the Audit Committee was very crucial in governance of the GPS, and required the backing of management and all stakeholders to carry out their mandate .

He said systems for public financing management were essential for an open and accountable government, adding that "without an efficient system for managing public funds, a country runs the risks of underdevelopment."

The Director-General of the GPS, Mr Isaac Egyir, who was represented by the Director of Technical of the Service, Dr Franicis Omane-Addo, said the work of the Committee had contributed immensely to the service streamlining its activities in line with the Public Financial Management Act, 2016(Act 921) and other laws that pertained to the Service.

Ms Tetteh on behalf of her team, assured that they would work hard to reduce unearned salaries which was a cause of draining the government coffers which retarded development.