The Auditor-General has failed to issue reports on some vital public institutions in the country, making it hard to identify the level of corruption and misappropriation of state funds.
The Audit Service Law (Act 187) mandates the Auditor-General to audit the accounts of all public institutions and submit a report to Parliament.
The field officials of the service are also expected to ensure that state institutions conform to financial rules and regulations.
At a stakeholder’ forum in Accra, the Deputy Auditor-Genera, John Atta-Senyah, revealed that as at June 30, 2009, there were 27 outstanding reports.
He mentioned that the statement of foreign exchange receipts and payments to the Bank of Ghana (BoG) had been in arrears for the past four years, stressing, “The District Assemblies Common fund and other earmarked statutory funds have also been out standing for the past four years.â€Â
Parliament, he noted, had not received audit reports on public boards, corporations and statutory organizations since 2005, while three outstanding reports on pre-university educational institutions had also been in arrears for the past eight years.
“Audit reports on Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and the Consolidated Fund have been submitted to Parliament,†he added.
Mr. Atta-Senyah revealed that some organizations delayed in submitting their financial statements to the service for validation and issuance of annual reports.
“Staff limitation is also a challenge in some District offices. The workers are very small compared to the workload in their coverage areas.
Irregular auditing of public organizations and institutions create room for unscrupulous officials to engage in malpractices which causes financial loss to the state,†Mr. Atta-Senyah reiterated.
To clear the backlog, Mr. Atta-Senyah explained that the Audit Service would require about GH¢1,740,000 to enable it acquire the required human resources and logistics to conduct interim and annual audits.
“An additional GH ¢70,000 would be required by the service to consolidate drafts of the Auditor-General’s reports and to organize off-site workshops for staff to facilitate the timely review, compilation and issuance of the outstanding reports,†Mr. Atta-Senyah emphasized.
He appealed to government and development partners to support the Service, noting, “We continue to experience hefty reduction in allocation and this contributes to our inability to carry out our mandate.
The Deputy Auditor-General observed that the audit of government payrolls prevented the release of over GH¢19,454,440 to various MDAs by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.
The acting Auditor-General, Richard Q. Quartey, noted that the amount would have been spent on unapproved allowances, incorrect computation of salary arrears and unauthorized placement of staff, among others.
By Emelia Ennin Abbey