According to Mrs Juliet Aboagye-Wiafe, President of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Ghana, the work of internal auditors facilitate good corporate governance and compliance. These in turn ‘provide strong inputs for organisational or business sustainability and prevent corporate scandals, fraud and failures.’
Mrs Aboagye-Wiafe reportedly said this at the IIA’s 2019 Annual National Internal Audit and Governance Conference.
In June 2019, Auditor-General Mr. Daniel Yao Domelevo also stated that it is better to prevent corruption. Therefore, making internal auditors independent is one of the control mechanisms that government can put in place to prevent corruption. He even suggested to the Presidency to consider the inclusion of the Director General of the Internal Audit Agency (IAA) in Government’s Economic Management Team to help control expenditure within certain strategic sectors. He took the view that internal auditors would provide timely information on lapses within the Public Financial Management system to enable the E. M. T. take judicious measures to address identified inefficiencies.
In spite of these authorities speaking favourably on internal auditors, Corruption Watch has come across cases from its investigations in which some internal auditors have allegedly been professionally abused and harassed for refusing to be compromised.
The independence of the Auditor-General’s (A-G’s) office has become a hot topic in Ghana due to frequent removals and appointments by incoming or outgoing Presidents, and the recent clash of the A-G with the board and the board chairman of the Ghana Audit Service.
Importantly, due to the circumstances surrounding the appointment of the current A-G, the two main political parties have unfortunately become entrenched in ways beautifully described by a communication director of a major political party as follows: “They seek to undermine the constitutional office and mandate of the A-G by bringing in their usual NDC-NPP politics.”
https://corruptionwatchghana.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Accountability-Forum-quote-Auditor-General.png5121024adminhttps://corruptionwatchghana.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/CW-logo-100by80.pngadmin2020-08-21 11:19:522020-08-21 11:19:55Is the independence of Auditor-General sacrosanct? - A critical review
The Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency at the Presidency, Dr Eric Oduro Osae, has called on various institutions in the country to make available the needed resources to their internal auditors to enable them to carry out their mandate effectively.
That, according to him, would reposition internal auditors to be able to carry out their work well and help fight corruption in the country. He made the call at a meeting with heads of internal auditors for the three Northern Regions in Tamale on Monday to acquaint himself with the challenges in their work.
The Head of Programmes and Deputy Executive Secretary of the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition(GACC) has said that Ghana does not need new structures to fight corruption.
Bright Sewu said the country already has enough structures to fight the canker, however, these structures must be managed by leaders who can guarantee the independence of institutions mandated to fight corruption.
https://corruptionwatchghana.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/IMG_4295-scaled.jpg17072560adminhttps://corruptionwatchghana.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/CW-logo-100by80.pngadmin2020-08-07 19:28:482020-08-07 19:28:52We don’t need new structures to fight corruption – Bright Sewu
About 2,700 individuals have signed a petition calling on President Akufo-Addo to reconsider his directive for the Auditor-General, Daniel Domelevo to take his accumulated leave.
These calls follow similar moves by other civil society organisations demanding the A-G’s return from his 167 leave days.
About 500 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) across the country have begun a campaign to get President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to rescind his decision on the Auditor-General (AG), Daniel Domelevo’s accumulated leave.
Under the taglines #bringbackdomelevo and #letinstitutionswork, the CSOs are of the view that the action by the President was unconstitutional and a threat to the liberation of the AG and other independent governance institutions.
https://corruptionwatchghana.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/bringbackDomelevo.jpeg992744adminhttps://corruptionwatchghana.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/CW-logo-100by80.pngadmin2020-07-10 09:58:532020-07-10 09:59:29500 CSOs want President to rescind decision on Domelevo
An anti-graft campaigner and former Executive Director of the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Mr Vitus Azeem says President Akufo-Addo does not come across as somebody who abhors corruption per his deeds.
https://corruptionwatchghana.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Accountability-Forum-quote-Auditor-General-4.png5121024adminhttps://corruptionwatchghana.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/CW-logo-100by80.pngadmin2020-07-02 10:56:452020-07-02 10:56:48Domelovo was deliberately set up to be pushed out – Vitus Azeem
Governance Expert, Prof. Baffuor Agyeman Duah has advised Auditor-General Daniel Domelevo to go into civil society activism to enable him to continue with his fight against corruption when he retires from office.
President Akufo-Addo has directed Mr. Daniel Yaw Domelevo to take his accumulated annual leave of 123 working days, according to records available to the Presidency, with effect from Wednesday 1st July 2020.
https://corruptionwatchghana.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Accountability-Forum-quote-Auditor-General-3.png5121024adminhttps://corruptionwatchghana.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/CW-logo-100by80.pngadmin2020-07-02 10:39:432020-07-02 10:44:26Continue fighting corruption even if you retire – Ex-CDD Boss to Auditor-General
George Swanzy Winful, Deputy Auditor-General of the Ghana Audit Service has blamed the heads of Human Resource (HR) Departments of the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for the over 7,823 ghost names discovered on government’s payroll.
According to Mr Winful, the HR heads at the various MDAs do not properly validate or update the integrated payroll systems made available to them by the Audit Service.
He made the assertion in an interview on Corruption Watch, the anti-graft discussion segment of Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsemmorning show on Friday.
To root out corrupt revenue collection officials in the country, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Ministry of Finance have established a Tax Audit and Quality Assurance Unit.
A bold move, according to some industry voices, the new department will deal with all complaints of corruption and ensure that the public gets redress for any concern brought before it. It will also serve as the auditing arm of the GRA and re-audit the work of officers to ensure they have not shortchanged government through their actions, knowingly or unknowingly.
https://corruptionwatchghana.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/GRA-Finance-Ministry.jpg375500adminhttps://corruptionwatchghana.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/CW-logo-100by80.pngadmin2020-06-19 11:54:462020-06-19 11:54:49Finance Ministry, GRA to crack down on corrupt officers