C/R Audit Service office complex opens
A new regional office building complex to facilitate the efficiency and effectiveness of the Audit Service, has been inaugurated in Cape Coast, the Central Regional capital.
The facility is one of three regional offices and a total of 19 offices across the country funded by the German government to support the efficiency of the country’s Audit Service.
The ultra-modern edifice includes a reception area, executive offices for meetings, general offices, workshop/training rooms, storage, washrooms, a server room, a kitchenette, a guard room, and other ancillary facilities.
Inaugurating the facility on behalf of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Central Regional Minister, Mrs Justina Marigold Assan, noted that the facility would enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the country’s financial management system.
She stated that the complex would further support the Audit Service’s commitment to upholding the “principles of transparency, accountability, and good governance.”
Mrs Assan explained that the construction of these offices was intended to fortify the foundation of the nation’s audit system by expanding the regional and district structures of the Audit Service.
This expansion, she said, would enhance the capacity of the Audit Service to fulfill its constitutional mandate and ensure that public resources are managed with the highest integrity.
She added that the government consistently ensured that the Office of the Auditor General received its fair share of budgetary allocations.
“This commitment has allowed the Service to complete several projects that were initiated in 2012 but had stalled at various stages across the country,” she said.
Mrs Assan said the four-storey regional office complex in Kumasi, the three-storey regional office in Tamale, and district offices in Agona, Winneba, Tumu, and Kete Krachi were now fully operational, serving the needs of the Service with distinction.
The Head of Cooperation at the German Embassy, Franzista Jebens, explained that the regional offices would cover a broader audit area and positively impact the work of the Audit Service.
She stated that the project was expected to contribute to the Ghanaian development agenda by fostering effective, transparent, and accountable public institutions in adherence to the principles of good governance.
The Auditor-General, Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu, acknowledged the President’s role and commitment to institutions such as the Audit Service, calling it a testament to his dedication to fighting corruption and protecting the public purse.
He noted that the Service owned only about 30 per cent of its offices across the country, adding “Most of these offices are owned by the assemblies that we audit, and a few are private properties that we have rented.”
Mr Asiedu said the Service’s independence as an institution would be enhanced as a result of the new construction, and expressed appreciation to the German government and KFW for providing funding for the 19 projects across the country.
FROM DAVID O. YARBOI-TETTEH, CAPE COAST
