Newly inaugurated Audit Committees for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the five northern regions have been tasked to strengthen accountability, transparency and prudent management of public resources.
They have also been urged to promote sound financial governance and ensure that internal controls at the local government level remain effective.
The inauguration formed part of a nationwide exercise to constitute Audit Committees for Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs) and MMDAs.
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The exercise brought together representatives of the Internal Audit Agency (IAA), Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), Coordinating Directors, Heads of Internal Audit Units and other stakeholders.
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At a ceremony in Tamale yesterday, a representative of the IAA, Mr Alhassan Fuseini, who spoke on behalf of the Director-General of the Agency, Mr Conrad Z. D. Dumbah, said the exercise went beyond the formal inauguration of the committees.
He noted that it represented a renewed commitment to strengthening accountability, transparency, internal controls and good governance at the local government level.
Mr Fuseini said MMDAs played a critical role in Ghana's decentralisation process and were responsible for delivering essential services and development programmes to communities.
He underscored the need for effective management and accountability of the resources entrusted to the assemblies.
He explained that functional Audit Committees were critical to ensuring that public resources were managed efficiently, internal controls remained effective and weaknesses were identified and addressed before they undermined institutional performance.
Mr Fuseini reminded the newly inaugurated committee members that their positions came with significant responsibilities, including providing effective oversight of internal audit activities, reviewing audit reports and monitoring the implementation of audit recommendations.
They were also expected to ensure that weaknesses in internal controls were properly addressed.
The Chief Director of the Northern Regional Coordinating Council (NRCC), Mr Sumaila Ewuntomah Abudu, described the inauguration as an important milestone in strengthening accountability, transparency, internal controls, risk management and sound financial governance within the region's local governance institutions.
He commended the IAA for organising the exercise and stressed that effective audit systems were essential to ensuring that public resources were properly managed and used for their intended purposes.
Mr Abudu said the establishment of Audit Committees was in accordance with Section 86 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921), which required covered entities to establish Audit Committees to perform specific functions under the law.
He added that the Revised Guidelines for Effective Functioning of Audit Committees, 2023, issued by the Ministry of Finance, further provided for their inauguration and effective functioning.
Furthermore, Mr Abudu said the committees would review internal audit work plans, internal audit charters and risk assessment reports, including fiscal risk assessment reports.
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They would also ensure that internal auditors had adequate access to the committees and could communicate with them beyond scheduled meetings.
He assured the committees that the NRCC would continue to encourage MMDAs to uphold accountability, transparency, integrity and value for money in the execution of their mandates.
Mr Abudu cautioned that accountability should not be treated as an occasional exercise undertaken only when an audit was conducted but must become an integral part of the institutional culture of RCCs and MMDAs.
He, therefore, called on management teams to cooperate fully with the Audit Committees and Internal Audit Units and treat audit findings and recommendations as tools for improving institutional performance.
