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\n<\/div>\nChairperson for the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa, has\u00a0inaugurated a new\u00a0audit committee as an overseer of Ghana\u2019s electoral process.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a new Commission, we are mindful of our recent past, particularly the numerous issues relating to procurement breaches and financial scandals that characterized our past operations,\u201d said Mensah. \u201cWe are determined to correct the ills and weaknesses in our system and to move forward in truth and light. Therefore, the requirement by the Public Financial Management Act enjoining public institutions to establish Audit Committees could not have come at a better time.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Read the full speech below:<\/b><\/p>\n
Good afternoon, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen.<\/p>\n
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We thank the good Lord for a new day and for new mercies. This is the day the Lord has made, and we rejoice and we are glad in it. Today marks an important milestone in the history of the Electoral Commission. We are gathered here to inaugurate an important accountability\/transparency mechanism, the Audit Committee of the Electoral Commission. As a new Commission, we are mindful of our recent past, particularly the numerous issues relating to procurement breaches and financial scandals that characterized our past operations. We are determined to correct the ills and weaknesses in our system and to move forward in truth and light.<\/p>\n
Therefore, the requirement by the Public Financial Management Act enjoining public institutions to establish Audit Committees could not have come at a better time. As a new Commission, we warmly embrace this requirement and pledge our support to make the Committee meaningful and effective. Ladies and Gentlemen, as a Commission, we are of the firm conviction that we should not only conduct accountable, transparent and credible elections but also that we should live by and demonstrate the same principles of accountability and transparency in the use and management of the tax payers\u2019 money.<\/p>\n
We believe that the integrity of our electoral process starts from how we use and manage the public\u2019s resources entrusted to us. We are committed to building systems and processes that will promote value for money in all our operations and ultimately ensure the judicious use of the public purse. We are committed to shedding light and building transparency into all our operations and activities right from the preparation of workplans and budgets for our procurement activities, through to activities organised before, during and after elections.<\/p>\n
We are determined therefore to remove the cloaks and shrouds of secrecy that have characterized our operations and to beam the torchlight on all our activities. As a first step, we intend to publish our audited reports going forward, and inform the public about how much each election costs. By so doing, we have no doubt that we will gain the confidence of the good people of this nation and be considered a credible and trusted partner in our democracy. Ladies and gentlemen, we are fully mindful of the fact that the success of this Audit Committee does not rest on the members of the Committee alone.<\/p>\n
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We are also guided by the fact that, the quality and independence of members is key to the success of this Committee. We therefore welcome the three (3) members from the Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Internal Audit Agency. On our part, we have carefully selected two (2) members of our Commission, Madam Rebecca Adjalo and Madam Adwoa Abrefa, both lawyers with considerable experience in governance and financial matters, to represent the Commission on the Committee.<\/p>\n