The functions of Accountant-General are "usurped"

The Controller and Accountant General's (CAG) department says in its latest report, the first of its kind for nearly 15 years, that most of its functions have been usurped by the Ministry of Finance, Office of the President and the Bank of Ghana.

This is partly explained by the absence of a substantive CAG for the period between 1981 and 1985, and the lack of properly defined roles.

"In fact the Controller and Accountant General's department has become so indifferent that, dormant or docile that no mention was made in the 1992 constitution of the CAG's functions or roles in the nation's financial management", the report says.

One such function that has been taken away was cited as "direct and full participation in the budget preparation and implementation process".

The report said to date, the CAG had not kept a cash book for the Govt Central Account and the statement of net cash position presented by the Bank of Ghana had been relied on as the true cash position of the govt.