Ellembelle District Chief Executive, Mr Kwesi Bonzo
The Ellembele District Assembly in Western Region has been honoured by the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) for good public financial management practices.
A certificate of recognition awarded to the assembly stated its quick response to initial audit recommendations that ultimately resulted in the district not being cited in the 2020 Auditor General’s Report for any financial mismanagement or malfeasance.
The certificate, signed by Mrs Beauty Emefa Nartey, the Executive Secretary of GACC, also recognized Ellembele for its cooperative and collaborative attitude towards the Local Accountability Network in discussing financial management practices of the assembly, particularly internal control.
Hard work
In an interview with the Daily Statesman, Bright Kwadwo Sowu, Head of Programmes, disclosed that Ellembele was chosen out of 15 selected Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) across the country. These include Sekondi-Takoradi and Nzema East in the Western Region, where the coalition has been working since 2014.
He stressed that the recognition was due to hard work and commitment to accountability and transparency.
Mr Sowu explained that when the Auditor-General comes to audit any institution, and detects any infractions or irregularities, opportunities are given to officials to respond within a stipulated time.
He noted that it is only when such infractions are not satisfactorily responded to within the stipulated period that they will be captured in the Auditor-General’s report as mismanagement or malfeasance.
Ellembele District Assembly, he said, promptly and satisfactorily responded to detected infractions whenever such issues were detected. He advised other MMDAs to emulate the Ellembele example.
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