The Public Account Committee (PAC) of Parliament has urged state institutions to validate the implementation of audit recommendations by the Audit Service to enhance compliance.
Chairman of the PAC, James Klutse Avedzi, said the validation was necessary to ensure that audited institutions had duly followed the recommendations to prevent future infractions in the management and utilisation of resources.
He was speaking in Accra yesterday when the management of the University of Ghana, led by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, appeared before PAC.
By law, he said, the management of the university was required to respond to all infractions raised in the Auditor-General’s report and implement the recommendations within 30 days, after which the Audit Service would undertake its validation to confirm the implementation of those recommendations.
Mr Avedzi, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) of Ketu North Constituency, said it was improper that the Audit Service was “left in the dark” over the implementation of its own recommendations.
“Madam Vice-Chancellor, anytime you are cited by the auditors and you comply with the directives, kindly invite them to undertake validation.
“That’s the only way to determine if the recommendations have been rightly implemented or not,” he added.
The MP advised heads of audited institutions as well as management heads to abreast themselves with their institutions’ infractions cited in the Auditor-General’s report and the measures that have been instituted in response before appearing before PAC.
This, Mr Avedzi said was necessary to ensure PAC was given the appropriate information that would form the basis of its report to the plenary.
He therefore called for increased collaboration between audited institutions and the Service towards improving financial management in the country.
To foster close working relations, Prof. Amfo noted that, the university had appointed an Audit Liaison Officer to coordinate working activities between the university and the Audit Service.
She said, the university had increased budgetary allocations in the rehabilitation of its satellite campuses across the country to improve the teaching and learning environment.
Director of Finance of the University of Ghana, Bernice Agudu, stated that, out of the GH¢1.1 million outstanding rental receivables, the university had been able to recover GH¢941,390.24, adding that more than GH¢92,000 had to be written off because it was accrued due to overbilling of clients.
She indicated that the university had settled all tax obligations and was in the process of retiring the remaining GH¢308,257 expended imprest which was cited for infraction.
BY CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS
