On 1st February, 2023, the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) had its Audit Committee inaugurated by the Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency, Dr. E.O. Osae. The function was chaired by the Chief Executive Officer of the institution, Mr. Akwasi Agyeman. Hon. Seth Adjei-Baah, Board Chairman of GTA was in attendance.
Members of the Committee are Mr. Senanu Mensah (IAA Rep and Chairman of the Committee), Mr. Nathaniel N.O. Sackey (ICAG Rep), Mr. Patrick Nyarko (IAA Rep), Madam Cecilia S. Nyadia and Mr. Samuel Seth Passah are representatives of the GTA Board. Mrs. Stella Osei is the Secretary of the Committee.
Dr. Osae in his speech thanked the previous Audit Committee for its support to the institution and welcomed the new one. He cautioned that the Audit Committee is not to take over management of GTA but to assist Management to deliver on its mandate. The statutory roles of the Committee as enumerated by the Director-General are mandatory, advisory and supporting. Implementation of recommendations emanating from Internal and External Audit Reports, other Monitoring Reports and directives from PAC of Parliament is included in the mandatory roles. Dr. Osae pointed out that, an essential mandatory role of the Committee is the preparation of an annual report. He tasked the Committee to ensure that the contents of the report are quality assured due to its wide circulation and the fact that CSOs and other Interest Groups could request for copies under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. He added that as the report needs to be endorsed by the Sector Minister, there is the need for the Committee to develop a working relationship with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.
The advisory roles, Dr. Osae said, include the provision of advice on the implementation of good financial practices. He mentioned that the Committee should assist Management to satisfy SIGA requirements also. Ensuring the mainstreaming of enterprise risk management practices in the operations of GTA is another advisory role of the Committee according to the Director-General. He charged members of the Committee to assist leadership to develop a risk policy if none existed and to ensure its implementation if one was available.
Under the supporting roles, the Committee is to support the Internal Audit Unit in the preparation of relevant reports and ensure deadlines are met. He mentioned that the RBIA Work plan and 4th Quarter Internal Audit Report were due on 31st January, 2023. He advised the Committee to study the Fiscal Consolidation Measures Guidelines issued by the Government and assist in the implementation of those that apply to the institution.
