Mr Ransford Adjei (right) Ag. Director General of Internal Audit Agency, administering the oath of office to the new audit committee members of the Audit Committee at the ministry's conference room, Accra.

Environment Ministry gets Audit Committee

Doreen Andoh May - 16 - 2017 , 05:15

An eight-member Audit Committee has been inaugurated for the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) to enhance financial discipline at the Ministry.

The inauguration of the board is mandatory under the Public Financial Management Act (PFMA), (921) 2016, to regulate financial management in public agencies.

With the coming into operation of the PFMA, the Audit Committee replaces the Audit Reports Implementation Committee (ARIC), which was playing a similar role.

Members

Members of the committee, chaired by Mr Armstrong Amanor of the Internal Audit Agency are: Ms Patricia Appiagyei, Deputy Minister of MESTI; Ms Salimatu Abdul-Salam, the Chief Director of MESTI; Mr George Akwesi Boateng from the Institute of Chartered Accountants and Mr Martin Adjei from the Internal Audit Service.

They took the oaths of office and secrecy as part of their inauguration and held their first meeting after their inauguration, where they elected their chairman.

While inaugurating the committee, the acting Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency, Mr Ransford Adjaye, briefed the committee on their functions and responsibilities.

He urged them to not interfere in the management of the ministry but act in accordance with the mandate given to them and support the internal audit structure of the ministry to enhance its operations.

The Minister of MESTI, Professor Frimpong Boateng, charged the committee to discharge its mandate with due diligence, to ensure sound financial management at the ministry.

He said he was optimistic that the presence of three members on the committee, selected from outside the ministry as stipilated instructed by the law, would enhance the authenticity of the work of the committee to the advantage of the ministry.

He appealed to management to co-operate with the committee to enhance the operations of the ministry.

In a remark on behalf of the committee members, Mr Boateng expressed gratitude to the government for the confidence reposed in them.

“Every citizen, in their respective and organisational roles, has a responsibility to ensure financial discipline in the public sector and we will ensure that we play our role effectively,” he said.

Functions of the committee

The functions of the committee include implementing the recommendations contained in internal audit reports, Parliament’s decision on the Auditor-General’s Report and the Auditor-General’s Management Letter.

Other functions include the preparation of an annual statement showing the status of implementation of any recommendation contained in the various audit reports, as well as an annual statement showing the remedial action taken or proposals to be taken to avoid or minimise the recurrence of an undesirable feature in the accounts and operations of the ministry.