The Director General of the Internal Audit Agency, Dr Eric Oduro Osae, is calling for a swift passage of the Internal Audit Agency Bill, noting that international organisations have already pledged financial support for this cause.
He highlights the need for the Internal Audit Agency Amendment Bill to be passed, emphasising that without it, internal auditors are unable to effectively prevent corruption and irregularities.
Since 2018, the Internal Auditors Association Ghana has been calling for an amendment of the Internal Audit Agency Act, 2003 (Act 658) to enable auditors within government agencies to perform their duties decently.
Speaking to Citi News, Dr Osae highlighted the challenges faced by internal auditors in Ghana due to their lack of independence and vulnerability to external pressures from the institutions they audit.
“Let us advocate for the Internal Audit Agency Amendment Bill to be passed. It’s not as if there is no money for that. The European Union has voted €3.2 million to support the passage and its implementation. The World Bank, under its current BFA reform project, has voted $2 million to support the amendment of the bill.
“The bill is still not amended, and you see, if we don’t do that, every year, we will hear of the agenda coming up with irregularities and some of these irregularities, you will see some are recoverable, some are not recoverable but some of the recommendations cannot be implemented,” he stated.
He noted that auditors who try to do the right thing often face career setbacks and suffer in silence.
