The Ministry of Energy has inaugurated a five-member audit committee to oversee prudent financial management at the ministry.
This is in line with Section 86 of the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act, 2016 (Act 921), which makes it mandatory for all government institutions to set up audit committees.
The five-member committee is chaired by Mr Benjamin Adjetey, a representative from the Internal Audit Agency (IAA). The Minister of Energy, Mr Boakye Agyarko and the Chief Director of the Ministry of Energy, Professor Thomas M. Akabzaa, are members.
Other members of the committee include another representative from the IAA, Mrs Patience Austin, and a representative from the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICA), Ghana, Mr Augustine Addo.
A state attorney, Mrs Grace Oppong-Dolphy, administered the oaths of office and secrecy to the members at the ministry in Accra yesterday.
Mandate
The committee will perform duties which include overseeing the overall scope of audit, implementation of audit recommendations and monitoring internal financial controls.
It will also serve as a link between auditors (internal and external) and the administrative management of the ministry.
Diligence
Mr Agyarko urged the committee to start work in earnest so as to clear a number of outstanding audit issues at the ministry.
“I am inclined to believe that some of you have been involved in the work of the erstwhile Audit Report Implementation Committee (ARIC), and for that matter, I urge you to attach importance to the work of this committee,” he said.
The Chief Internal Auditor of the ministry, Mr Ernest Boateng Wiafe, underscored the need for the committee to be diligent in its work so as to protect the public purse.
He observed that the key challenge to prudent financial management at the ministry was the failure to implement recommendations of audit reports.
Assurance
He was, however, quick to give an assurance that robust implementation mechanisms would be put in place to avoid slippages at the ministry.
“This time, we will be strict so that slippages do not occur. It is important to engage professional accountants in internal auditing and motivate them to render quality service,” he said.
For his part, Mr Adjetey gave an assurance that the audit committee would work as a team to ensure prudent financial management at the ministry.
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