Dr. E.O. Osae, Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency inaugurated the Audit Committee of the Ghana News Agency on the 13th July, 2023 at the Conference room of the GNA.
The General Manager, Mr. Albert Kofi Owusu welcomed all to the programme and to the GNA. In his address, the General Manger said he likes to tell the story of GNA anytime the opportunity comes up. Mr. Owusu said the GNA is sixty-six (66) years old and a milestone in the journey to position the Agency as a viable news organisation. Mr. Owusu informed members that the Agency was established by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah on the eve of Ghana’s independence as a non-profit organisation to disseminate news about Ghana across the country and to the rest of the world. The Agency was to rank along side top news brands to carry stories of Ghana and Africa. He mentioned that the Agency had correspondence all over the world.
Mr. Owusu shared the challenges of the GNA and the interventions being put in place to curb them. He commended the support of the outgoing Audit Committee in getting the Agency where it is today.
Members of the Audit Committee are Mr. Francis Frimpong (Chairman and IAA Rep), Ms. Loretta Tieku Anokye (IAA Rep), Mr. Kingsford Amoako (ICAG Rep). Mr. Peter C.N. Sangber-Dery and Mr. Charles Kwening are representatives of the GNA Board. Barbara Bernice Dodoo is the secretary to the committee.
Dr. Osae in his address, thanked the exiting Audit Committee for the good work done and the Management of the GNA for the support given. He encouraged them to give same support to the new Committee.
Dr. Osae, noted that the Audit Committee is a statutory Committee created under Section 86-88 of the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act with three main roles, Mandatory, Advisory and Supporting. Under the Mandatory role, he said the Committee is to support Management to implement recommendations in Internal Audit reports, External Audit reports or any directive from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament. As part of the mandatory role the Committee is required to annually submit a report on the work done. This report the Director-General said is copied to the Office of the President, Parliament, the Auditor-General and the Director-General of the IAA.
Sharing on the Advisory role, Dr. Osae said the Committee is to advise the institution to fully comply with the PFM Act, support the Board and Management to ensure a clean system before Eternal Auditors come in. He encouraged Management to ensure that a review of the system has been done before allowing External Auditors in to ensure issues are resolved to prevent them from being picked up. He tasked members to support the Internal Auditor and the Internal Audit Unit to be able to develop risk-based plans.
Speaking on the challenges shared by the General-Manager, Dr. Osae recommended a number of interventions the GNA could explore as avenues for support in turning around the fortunes of the organisation. He also shared on some ongoing reforms in the face of Public Sector Internal Auditing and pledged his support at all times to the GNA course.
Mr. Owusu in his closing address thanked the Director-General for the insightful presentation and called for the institution of a breakfast meeting where he would be called upon called to engage the entirety of the GNA.
