A former chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament,  Albert Kan Dapaah has questioned the independence of the Auditor-Generals Department in ensuring proper public sector financial management.

In comparison, he cited the commonwealth system, saying that the mode of appointment to the office of Auditor-General ensures its independence. In UK for instance, such an appointment is made by the Prime Minister with the written consent of the opposition leader, a practice replicated in Canada, he added.

In a conversation with Dr. Charles Wereko Brobby on Tarzan’s Take, Multi TV, he was quick to ask, ’’what is audit if there is no independence? If the government has to audit itself; you might as well forget about it’’

He explained that, protecting public funds is under the public sector financial management system, which works around the annual budget in four phases.

The preparation phase, according to him, comprise of the budget hearings and others. At this stage, the government is expected to put together all revenues expected to accrue within the year, as well as loans to be contracted and generally all monies government will receive on behalf of its citizens for the year. The annual budget is then prepared in consultation with the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) to determine how these funds are disbursed for the various sectors of the economy.

The budget as prepared by the Executive is then submitted to Parliament in the second phase for debate and approval, after which the budget is adopted for implementation.

He however admitted that the constitution limits Parliament on how much burden it can put on the Executive in twisting its proposals, which is a problem to an extent.

When approval is given by Parliament, an appropriation act is then prepared. The Accountant-General and the Minister of Finance then take over to execute the budget by releasing monies to the various Municipal, Metropolitan and District assemblies (MMDAs) for developmental projects.

Kan Dapaah hinted that, spending is guided by a whole lot of financial rules and regulations; every single financial transaction during the year is captured in a public accounts report, which is submitted to the Auditor-General within three months after the end of a financial year.

The Auditor – General, as expected, as an independent institution, then studies the accounts prepared by the Accountant – General for three months, and issues a report as to whether monies spent within the year were in accordance with approvals given by Parliament, and also whether expenditure was in consonance with the financial laws of the state. ‘’Our constitution demands that the Auditor-General’s report should be submitted to parliament for interrogation and determine whatever cause of action there from’’

He however admitted that the report of the 25-member Public Accounts Committee can be accepted or rejected by Parliament if the House deems it inconclusive.

Mr Dapaah stressed that each stage of the public financial management has specific checks and balances and that in theory if all checks and balances during the preparation, approval, execution and audit phase, and our monies will be well protected.