GHS inaugurates 46 Audit Committees in three regions

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) on Tuesday inaugurated Audit Committees for the various health facilities in the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo regions.

All 46 re-constituted Audit Committees consisted of five members each in health facilities of the Ghana Health Service spread across the 29 Municipalities and Districts in the three regions.

These Committees, the GHS said, are very important and high-level corporate governance committee in the Public Financial Management System.

They work to ensure that health facilities fulfill their responsibilities under section 86 (1) of the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act, 2016, comply with the Pubic Financial Management Regulations (PFMR), 2019 (LI2378) and the Public Procurement Act (PPA), 2003 (Act 663).

The composition of the five-member committees comprise three representatives from the Internal Audit Agency (IAA), and the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana, (ICAG), while the Principal Accountant Holder (Minister) shall nominate two members.

Mr Nathan Yankey the Acting Director of Operations at the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo Regional Office of the IAA, said the formation, membership and roles or functions, reporting and responsibilities of the committees were patented under section 86 (1) through 88 of the PFM Act.

Under the Act, the roles of the committees are categorised into three main areas – mandatory roles, advisory roles and support to the internal audit unit, other internal monitoring unit and external scrutiny.

They ensure that the head of a covered entity (Principal spending officer) to which the Audit Committee relates pursues the implementation of any recommendation contained in Internal Audit Reports, Parliament’s decision on Auditor General’s report among others.

The Audit Committee, Mr Yankey said, works to facilitate, support, persuade and advice management to ensure that transactions, actions, activities were carried out in accordance with relevant laws.

This means members are to keep abreast with the relevant laws, policies and rules of the institutions for which they would serve as committee members.

He said due to its importance in governance, there is the need for health institutions, management, boards or councils and key stakeholders support the committees to enable them execute their statutory mandate effectively.

Dr Kofi Issah, the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo Regional Director of Health, expressed the hope that the committees would work hard and adhere to the code of conduct to enable the health facilities to achieve their targets and improve on the well-being of the people as well.