Posts

,

Audit bodies chase Mental Health Authority

Corruption Watch has discovered that the Mental Health Authority (MHA) is becoming a serial offender in effectively accounting for public funds allocated to it. 

The Auditor-General, for instance, questions the whereabouts of almost 200 thousand Ghana cedis of funds disbursed to the MHA in recent years.

In addition, the Internal Audit Agency (IAA) has shamed the MHA for failing to submit three consecutive quarterly internal audit reports and one annual internal audit work plan. 

The IAA insists that the submission of various reports and plans to the Agency provides “an assurance that existing control systems are working in the form and manner required.”

Reacting, Professor Akwasi Osei, the Chief Executive of the MHA, said he was not aware that the IAA had shamed the MHA for audit infractions. Besides, doubted the IAA’s claim that the MHA had not submitted internal audit work plan and reports, saying he needed to confirm from his team whether they did not submit the reports. 

In a telephone interview with Corruption Watch on Tuesday, Professor Osei disagreed with the recommendations of the Auditor-General that he should refund unaccounted funds that had been disbursed to the MHA’s partners. 

Read more
,

‘Pay or Die’ documentary: We need a system overhaul – Dr Asiedu Sarpong

A Fellow at the Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Dr Kwame Asiedu Sarpong has called for an immediate system overhaul in the health sector of the country.

Reacting to the shocking details of a Corruption Watch documentary, “Pay or Die; The agony of pregnant women” the UK-based Pharmacist stated on Super Morning Show Wednesday, that rigorous education, revitalization, and other initiatives need to be introduced to halt the extortion of money from pregnant women.

Read more
,

PPA, KNUST, UPSA, Graphic, others lead list of internal audit lawbreakers

Corruption Watch has discovered that a high number of regulatory bodies and academic institutions have broken the law requiring them to file annual internal audit plans and quarterly internal audit reports.

A total of 15 regulatory bodies and 12 academic institutions stand accused for defaulting in the submission of required reports as at the end of December 2020. The Public Procurement Authority (PPA), the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Graphic Communications Group Limited are among high profile regulatory,  academic and state institutions, which defaulted in the submission of reports to the Internal Audit Agency (IAA).

The Internal Audit Agency and its staff are supposed to carry out audits before, during and after spending. The expectation, therefore, is that they are in a better position to ‘catch’ the thief before or during the ‘stealing’, making it easier to recover stolen public funds.

Read more