Mr. Hayford Dowuona-Hammond on behalf of the Ag. Director-General, Mr. Thomas A. Thompson-Aryee inaugurated the Audit Committees of six (6) Covered Entities in the Upper- West Region on 10th July, 2025. The Covered Entities are Tumu College of Education, Mc Coy College of Education, Nusrat Jahan College of Education, Simon Diedon Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDDUBIDS), Catholic Health Trust and Nadwoli-Kaleo District Assembly.
The Chief Director of the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council, Madam Pognaa Fati Issaka Koray who chaired the inauguration on behalf of the Upper West Regional Minister, Hon. Lawyer Charles Puozuing Lwanga reaffirmed their commitment to upholding the tenets of good governance, accountability and transparency within the decentralized structure. She continued that the inauguration was a bold statement of intent, obligation, grounded in the constitutional legal, and moral duty to ensure that public financial management in Ghana meets the highest standards of integrity and effectiveness.
She outlined some of the legal frameworks that stipulate the establishment and functioning of sound financial administration at the local level as mandated by Article 240(2)(c) of 1992 Constitution, Section 84 of the Local Governance Act, 2016- (Act 936) which enjoins all Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) and Regional Coordinating Councils to establish Audit Committees and Section 88 of the Public Financial Management Act 2016, (Act 921) among others. Madam Koray emphasized that the Audit Committee is a critical governance structure charged with the responsibility of ensuring that internal controls are not only in place but are effective and responsive to the needs of public accountability.
Concluding, the Chief Director reiterated the unwavering support of the Regional Coordinating Council to the work of the Audit Committees. She charged members of the Committees to embrace their mandate with commitment and courage and uphold the dignity of their office.
In a speech delivered on behalf of the Ag. Director-General of the Agency, Mr. Dowuona-Hammond enumerated the statutory roles of the Audit Committees which he mentioned are mandatory and advisory. He explained the mandatory roles of the Committee are pursuing the Head of the Entity to implement recommendations in internal and external audit reports and ensure the preparation of an annual statement. He added that the Committee is also required to support the work of the Internal Audit Unit.
