By Michael Kofi Kenetey
An ultra-modern district office complex of the Audit Service, Ghana has been commissioned at Asamankese in the Upper West Akim Municipality of the Eastern Region to help decentralize the work of the audit service and help bring the activities of the service closer to the people of the area.
The Auditor-General of the Audit Service, Ghana Mr. Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu who commissioned the facility commended the government for resourcing the service which has contributed to their independence in discharging their duties for the past seven years.
The Audit Service, Ghana is the supreme audit institution in Ghana and one of the monitoring and accountability organs of the state. It is a public service institution set up as the machinery by which the Auditor-General executes his mandate. As enshrined in the 1992 Constitution, Article 184, 187 and 286 established that the Auditor-General is mandated to audit the public accounts of Ghana and any other public office, take into custody written declarations of all properties owned or liabilities owed by persons who hold public offices. To bring the discharge of these mandates closer to the people that the service has embarked on the construction of three regional and 16 district offices across the country.
The Auditor-General of the Service, Mr. Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu reiterated that, until recently, most of their officers were being housed by auditees thereby raising issues of impairment of their independence. He therefore showed his gratitude to the government for the unwavering support and commitment to the cause of accountability institutions such as the Audit Service.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr. Seth Kwame Acheampong who delivered the keynote address on behalf of the Vice President and the Flagbearer of the NPP, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia hinted that the government of Ghana with funding support from the German government has committed additional 11 point five million euros to enable the service to construct additional six regional and six district offices for the six newly created regions.
The Asamankese District Auditor of the Audit Service, Ghana, Mr. Frederick Okraku noted that the new office complex will help strengthen accountability, transparency and good governance in the district.
The Upper West Akim Municipal Chief Executive, Seth Oduro Boadu used the opportunity to appeal to all Ghanaians that as the country prepares to go to the polls on December 7, there is only one Ghana with common destiny and under no circumstances should one having political differences and divergent views divide the country.
The office complex consists of fully furnished two staff offices, finance office, administrative office, office of the district auditor, two conference rooms, seminar room, archive room, washrooms, two disability friendly washrooms and a kitchen, amongst others.
