Audit Committees in health institutions admonished to live above reproach

The Ashanti Regional Health Directorate in collaboration with the Internal Audit Agency (IAA), has inaugurated Audit Committees for various health institutions with a call on members to live above reproach.
Dr Emmanuel Tinkorang, the Regional Director of Health Services who made the call, entreated them to be professional in providing advice, promoting business ethics, monitoring compliance with relevant laws and evaluating policies to improve the governance practices in the institutions.
The inauguration of the Audit Committees is in line with Section 86-88 of the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act (Act 921) which requires Covered Entities including health sector institutions, to have Audit Committees to enable them implement sound control systems in the use of public funds.
The goal is to improve financial governance and internal control systems in all the 77 units within the Ashanti Region.
Dr Tinkorang urged members of the committees to acquaint themselves with all the key strategic documents and internal policies of the Ghana Health Service to be able to deliver to expectation.
“I want to remind the senior management of all public institutions of their primary responsibility of promoting good governance by always demonstrating the highest ethical conduct and behavior,” he advised.
The Regional Director also charged heads of health institutions in the region to ensure that their Audit committees were functional and effective.
Dr Eric Oduro Osae, the Director-General of the IAA in a speech read on his behalf, said systems for public financial management were essential for an open and accountable governance and that, the country risked underdevelopment without an efficient system of managing public funds.
He said the PFM Act was enacted to manage risks and lessen their negative effects on national development.
The formation of the Audit Committees, he noted, was one of initiatives aimed at improving internal control structures in public institutions to enhance value for money.
“The Audit Committee is a high-level corporate governance committee which contributes to the effectiveness of public accountability and the appropriate use of public resources,” he reiterated.
He hinted that the IAA Board had institutionalized a quarterly media briefing on the state of the control systems in public sector institutions from the second quarter of 2023 to drum home the need for improved accountability.