The Auditor-General (A-G) executes his mandate through the Audit Service, the supreme audit institution of Ghana and one of the monitoring and accountability organs of the state.
Its existence is backed by the 1992 Constitution (Articles 184, 187 and 286), which means that the same legal framework gives power and authority to the A-G.
The broad mandate of the A-G includes auditing of the public accounts of Ghana and any other public office, including the Courts, the Central and Local Government Administrations,
public universities and a statement prepared by the Bank of Ghana of foreign exchange receipts and payments or transfers in and outside the country.
The A-G is also to submit audit reports on such public accounts to Parliament, drawing attention to irregularities in the audited accounts and making the appropriate recommendations for improvements and sanctions.
Thus, the A-G prepares the Auditor-General’s Report and sends it to Parliament, which then becomes a piece of public information, which can be used for various purposes, including classroom discussions, research and general comments.
The Ghanaian Times is only worried that in spite of the various legal instruments pointing out infractions and related sanctions, various state institutions and their officials continue to flout the rules guiding public financial accountability.
For instance, the Auditor General’s Report released in June this year, says the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) in 2019 recorded losses amounting to US$11,794,109 following the liquidations of three of its investments, which had a total cash outlay of US$14,768,153.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) also has been ordered to recover GH¢1,372,415, 342 from 19 private test stations as taxes on payments for services rendered on behalf of the authority which it failed to collect for the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) is mentioned in the 2020 Auditor-General Report, among other infractions its failure to establish a contributory insurance scheme for cocoa, coffee and shea nuts farmers since the law requiring so (GHANA COCOA BOARD LAW, 1984 (PNDCL 81) as amended by GHANA COCOA BOARD (AMENDMENT) LAW, 1991 (PNDCL 265) came into force; neither has the Board of Directors provided any regulation as evidence to give full implementation of the Social Security Scheme for the farmers.
Another point is that even though the Board has set aside from profit a total of GH¢28,898,676.88 in prior periods to meet the requirement of the law, its Management has not invested the amount in any Trust.
The Ghanaian Times is so worried because the Auditor-General’s Report is supposed to be a tool to unearth graft in the public revenue and expenditure system to ensure the sanity needed for national development and progress of the people.
For this reason, the paper wishes to point out that all the officials behind the infractions must be dealt with as recommended by the various A-G’s reports.
The case of COCOBOD, with regard to the farmers’ insurance scheme, must not be tolerated one bit.
We know how hard these farmers work but public officials like purchasing clerks shortchange them in the end, which makes failure to meet their welfare needs a “heinuous” act.
Ghanaians are continually becoming enlightened and discerning, so they cannot allow A-G’s reports to be taken as business as usual.