MPs want more funding for Audit Service

Page 14, Dec 5, 2009
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah

SOME Members of Parliament (MPs) have extolled the excellent performance of the Ghana Audit Service and called for the adequate provision of resources to enable it properly perform its constitutional mandate to bring sanity into the financial sector of the country.
They argued that the effect of the woefully low budgetary allocation to the service was very telling since the country was losing more than it was not giving to the service.
The observation followed a statement made on the floor of the House by the MP for Asawase, Alhaji Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak last Thursday about the need for proper funding of the Audit Service.
In his statement, the MP observed that under the Constitution and the Audit Service Act, the administrative expenses of the service were not subject to review or adjustment before its presentation to Parliament.
He said, however, that in practice, the estimates of the service were subjected to Budget ceiling by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning just as it does with the ministries, departments and agencies with very little regard to the functions spelt by the Constitution and other laws of Ghana.
Alhaji Muntaka stated the MoFEP had always argued that the national cake determined how much each sector got and because of that, the Audit Service had seriously been under-funded and therefore, not motivated enough to carry out such difficult task of increased public access to audit reports, increased accountability, probity and transparency in the use of public resources based on value for money.
He said as a result of that, there is currently a serious manpower and logistical constraint in the service, adding the total staff of the service as at 1977 had reduced from 1,657 to 1,414, even though compared to 1977, the workload of the service as at 2008 had increased greatly.
The MP said the MDAs and the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) did not receive adequate audit coverage on timely basis to reflect agreements reached between the government and its development partners since the service was present in only 60 out of the 170 administrative districts.
Alhaji Muntaka , therefore, called on Parliament to fast track the Audit Service Constitutional Instrument currently before it to give the personnel at the service some respite to reduce the serious brain drain in the service.
The House, he said, should also consider some amount of audit fees to be charged on audit services rendered by the Audit Service as an internally generated fund to support its activities, explaining that many countries, including South Africa allow the Audit Service to charge fees for any services it rendered.
MPs who contributed to the statement supported Alhaji Muntaka’s assertion and said the Audit Service was crucial if the country would continue to score high marks in good governance.
They included the Majority Leader, Mr Alban Bagbin, Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah (NPP, Afigya-Sekyere) and Alhaji Ibrahim Abubakari Dey (NDC, Salaga).
Meanwhile, six ministers are expected to appear before the House next week to answer questions posed by a number of MPs.
They are the Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Albert Abongo, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alhaji Muhammed Mumuni, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, the Minister of Road and Highways, Mr Joe Gidisu and the Minister of Energy, Mr Joseph Oreng-Adjei.
Various committees of the House are also expected to hold meetings to deliberate on the annual estimates of the MDAs.