The Office of the Head of Local Government Service (OHLGS) has begun a nationwide investigation into alleged scanning and falsification of official documents by internal auditors and engineers in the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs).
The Head of the Service, Dr Nana Ato Arthur, said the level of collusion between auditors and service providers was scary, which if not nipped in the bud, could dissipate national resources and threaten economic growth.
Currently, he said, a number of internal auditors were being investigated by the Local Government Service in the Volta Region for alleged collusion with service providers to rob the state of millions of Ghana cedis.
“The level of collusion between auditors and engineers to pay for non-existing jobs is alarming,” he said.
Dr Arthur made the assertion at the 5th annual congress of the National Internal Auditors Association of MMDAs and Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs) in Kumasi last Wednesday.
He explained that the move was to sanitise the system and protect the public purse.
The national convocation of auditors is on the theme: “Restructuring internal auditing as an effective management tool for resource mobilisation.”
More than 500 professionals are deliberating on a new blueprint to streamline activities of auditing and provide guidelines for future activities.
Ing. Dr Nana Arthur said the nationwide audit would be intense and drastic to weed out such “nation wreckers” from the system.
He called for a new era in auditing with prime focus on excellence in service delivery through innovation and genuine approaches.
He said postings of internal auditors to the new district assemblies within the newly-created regions would be announced tomorrow soon.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Internal Audit Agency, Mr Joe Windful, underscored the need for the effective management of national resources, especially in the area of finance, to promote national development.
“If we have people with the wrong mindset, we can’t develop.
The President of the National Internal Auditors Association, Mr Michael Ayivi, proposed a number of reforms, including structural, to make professionals more effective in the delivery of their services.
