Protect constitutional independence of Auditor General – CSOs
The Coalition of National Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), an anti-corruption group under the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) has said that some actions of the Board Chair and members of the Audit Service were interfering with the functions of the Auditor-General as an independent body.
“We consider these developments extremely troubling and a threat to the ongoing efforts by the Audit Service to protect the public purse and promote public accountability,” it added.
These were contained in a press release issued by the Group and copied the Ghana News Agency in Accra, on Friday.
This was prompted by a petition to the President by Mr Daniel Domelevo, the Auditor-General, which raised concerns about activities of Professor Edward Dua-Agyemang, Chairman of the Board.
Citing Article 187(7) of the 1992 Constitution, the Auditor-General, “shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority”.
The release gave some of the functions as auditing the public accounts, all public offices; universities, courts and local assemblies.
This independence is essential in ensuring that the officer carried out his duties impartially, professionally and in pursuit of the public’s interest, it added.
The Coalition finds it unfortunate that Prof Dua-Agyemang, a former Auditor-General, credited with initiating important reforms at the Audit Service, which helped in building the constitution to its current level is the one implicated in this worrying situation.
It noted that the current situation mirrored a number of Board-Executive impasse that has engulfed the public sector and reflects the weaknesses of corporate governance arrangement as the constitution clearly spells out the limited role of the Board.
The members called on government to ensure that the ongoing work of the Auditor-General and the morale of the service is not affected , saying that, the Ghana Beyond Aid can only be achieved when Ghana had a stronger and committed Audit Service and an Auditor-General.
Source: GNA