In the Upper East and North East regions, a combined ceremony was conducted to establish audit committees for municipal and district assemblies (MDAs) and regional coordinating councils (RCCs), with a call on them to thoroughly evaluate and execute suggestions in the Auditor-report. General's
"Considering the yearly financial reports of the AG would prevent a repeat of all audit inquiries and financial violations in following years," said Upper East Regional Minister Stephen Yakubu, who made the demand.
He said the AG's recent report listed a number of violations and breaches of the Public Financial Management Act, which resulted in large amounts of unaccounted for government cash in various MDAs at the expense of taxpayers.
"The inability of MDAs to properly comply with and execute the recommendations in the yearly audit report resulted in the loss of government monies that might have been channeled into other sectors of the economy for the country's progress," Mr Yakubu added.
In Bolgatanga, a total of 115 individuals from 15 MDAs in the Upper East and five MDAs in the North East areas were sworn in to serve on the different audit committees for a two-year period.
Mr Yakubu expressed concern that MDA management and employees were ignoring financial advice on the internal audit agency's recommendations on a yearly basis, saying: "I therefore advise metropolitan, municipal, and district chief executives (MMDCEs) to pay critical attention." "I'd want to encourage MMDCEs and other MMDA management employees to pay close attention to specifics in every document they're asked to sign so that they can explain themselves when auditors question them," he said.
"Audit committees must play a major role in ensuring wise use of government resources by eliminating to the barest minimum unnecessary transgressions usually documented in the AG's report annually," he added.
He also directed the RCCs to step up their oversight and supervision of the MMDAs to ensure that both government and donor monies were used wisely to provide value for money.
The poorest parts in the country
Mr Yakubu stated that throughout the years, willful misuse of public monies, particularly in the five northern regions, has exacerbated the misery of ordinary Nigerians, adding that "this has resulted in the northern regions being regarded the poorest in the country."
He also urged district assembly workers to do all possible to improve conditions in the north for the sake of the people, stressing that "this would help transform the northern portion of Ghana's long-held poverty tag."
He cautioned that the RCC would not tolerate any sort of financial misbehavior, and that personnel caught engaged in such behavior would face harsh penalties, making the company unappealing to others.