The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and the Ghana Audit Service have discussed ways of strengthening cooperation in the use of audit findings to promote accountability, protect public resources and combat corruption.

The discussions took place when the Auditor-General, Dr. Pamela Graham, led a delegation from the Ghana Audit Service to the OSP for an engagement with the Special Prosecutor, Mr Kissi Agyebeng.

The two institutions considered areas in which their respective mandates and expertise could complement each other, particularly in strengthening accountability and ensuring that concerns arising from the management and use of public resources receive appropriate institutional attention.

Mr Agyebeng described the relationship between the mandates of the OSP and the Ghana Audit Service as closely connected, saying the two institutions were “tied at the hip” in the discharge of their respective responsibilities.

He noted the institutional links between the two bodies, including the representation of the Ghana Audit Service on the previous OSP Board.

Mr Agyebeng said the institutions should hold each other to account while working within their respective mandates and in the public interest. He said cooperation between institutions with complementary responsibilities was important to strengthening Ghana’s accountability architecture.

Dr. Graham reiterated the mandate of the Ghana Audit Service and emphasised the importance of cooperation with the OSP in safeguarding public funds.

She also highlighted the Audit Recommendation Tracker, an initiative being developed by the Ghana Audit Service and scheduled for launch in October.

The tracker will enable the Audit Service and the public to monitor the implementation of audit recommendations by public institutions and assess the extent to which recommendations arising from audit findings have been acted upon.

Dr. Graham said making information from the tracker publicly available on the Audit Service’s website would provide greater visibility on the implementation of audit recommendations and help ensure that audit findings lead to corrective action.

The development is expected to provide an additional source of information for public institutions and other accountability bodies as they discharge their respective mandates.

The engagement concluded with the two institutions reaffirming their commitment to strengthening cooperation, within their respective mandates, to promote accountability and protect public resources.

The Auditor-General was accompanied by Mrs Roberta Asiamah Appiah, Deputy Auditor-General, Commercial Audit Department, with oversight responsibility for the Central Government Audit Department; Mr George Swanzy Winful, Deputy Auditor-General, Local Government Audit Department; Madam Eugenia Shorme Nortey, Deputy Auditor-General, Educational Institutions Audit Department; Mr Samuel Frimpong Manso, Deputy Auditor-General, Performance and Special Audit Department; and other support staff.