21 August 2009

THE PRESIDENT, Prof. John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills, has been cautioned against promoting corporate fraud, abuse, waste and corruption in Ghana.

The admonition by Nana Nanabanyin Quessy Ninsin-Imbeah II, Mfantsehen of Anloga/Oforikrom in Kumasi, who is also the Nyimfahen of Mfantseman Council of Ashanti, comes at the heels of the President's directive recently that all chief executives in the public sector are to work with the Internal Audit Agency (IAA) to establish functional Audit Report Implementation Committees by the close of this year.

It also comes against the disclosure by the Director General of the IAA, Mr. Patrick Nomo that in five years of the agency's work, some systematic weaknesses have run through their findings in respect of the MDA's and MMDAs, as reported in the Agency's annual reports to the President.

The Mfantsehen wondered why the internal audit units were not functioning over the years, as evidenced by the said "systematic weaknesses" which had duly come to the notices of the President, against a similar presidential directive by ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor, as reported by the Daily Graphic of Wednesday November 21 2007, that all CEO's in the public sector are to "ensure the establishment of functional Internal Audit units by March 2008 and also to ensure that all outstanding internal and external Audit recommendations are cleared by June 2008"

According to Nana Ninsin-Imbeah, if the departmental Internal Audit Charters and functional audit report implementation committees were established as directed then, there would not have been reported cases of corporate fraud and corruption and that abuses and waste in the system would have been stalled by now.

He blamed the executive arm of government, particularly former President Kufuor, of promoting corporate fraud since his directive in 2007 was never implemented, saying it is an indictment for the presidency to have looked on and encouraged corporate fraud of all forms while corrupt practices became part of society.

The chief wondered if it was the case of author Peter Oborne's second rule that "Never pay much attention to what a politician says: watch what he or she does," as propounded at the Centre for Policy studies 2009; Keith Joseph Memorial Lecture on March 4, 2009, under the topic - "The problem of Integrity in Modern politics".

The Anloga/Oforikrom Mfantsehen discounted the slogans - "Zero Tolerance for corruption" and the promise of "Accountability and Transparency", when nothing was being done to institutionalize directives and policies. "Enough of the Zero tolerance for corruption and the promise of accountability and Transparency" he said.

He reminded President Mills of Obama's call for Africans to put in place strong institutions and ensure that directives and policies are fully implemented. Nana Ninsin-Imbeah commended the Judiciary for making epoch judgments in recent times to assert its independence and hoped the Internal Audit Agency would follow suit.

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