You can’t hang me – Akufo-Addo to opponents

President Akufo-Addo says he has uncovered a deliberate ploy by his political opponents to paint him and members of his family black through vile corruption allegations.

Even though he did not specifically mention those behind the said plot, it’s believed he was referring to his opponents in the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

He remarked: “I want to say that the stringent and desperate efforts being made by my political opponents to tag me and members of my family with corruption will simply not wash.”

The President made the remarks when he addressed the 2018 Internal Audit Conference by the Internal Audit Agency under the theme, ‘Leadership and Good Corporate Governance: Key to Effective Public Financial Management’ in Accra yesterday.

He maintained that he did not enter public service to make money out of it and members of his family are fully aware of that, hence they know how to behave and are not involved in anything untoward.

“I am aware that you give a dog a bad name in order to hang it. But this dog will not be hanged,” he insisted.

Pledge

President Akufo-Addo once again reiterated his commitment to Ghanaians, saying “I came to renew publicly the sacred vow that I took to protect the public purse.”

While acknowledging the fact that he cannot win the fight against corruption alone, he appealed to all Ghanaians to join the crusade to nip the canker in the bud.

Touching on the role of internal auditors, he pointed out that they should help to ensure accurate and timely information which helps to improve financial management systems in organizations, as well as accountability, transparency and quality of performance.

He said internal auditors lead in the safeguarding of resources and help to strengthen the control system, compliance with laws, policies and procedures in organizations while providing assurance and advisory services to enhance operations and help the organization to achieve its objectives.

President Akufo-Addo stressed the need to perfect all stages of the country’s public financial management systems to enable Ghana maximize the use of its resources, noting that “institutions such as the Auditor-General’s Department, Internal Audit Agency, EOCO and other statutory institutions, will continue to be empowered to carry out their mandate so that relevant laws and policies are complied with.”

Concern

The President indicated that recent internal audits carried out at the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), State Housing Company Ltd (SHC) and others brought out a number of worrying issues and therefore emphasised the need for the recommendations from these audits to be implemented to advance the fortunes of the organizations.

Former Director of Institute of Local Government Studies, Esther Ofei-Aboagye, who chaired the occasion, indicated that effective financial management was vital in the public sector since it ensures fiscal discipline and enhances growth of public sector institutions.

Dr Ransford Agyei, acting Director General of Internal Audit Agency, said Ghana has effective men and women to move ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ as being championed by the President and his administration.

He reiterated the Internal Audit Agency’s commitment to plugging some of the leakages in the public service while assuring the President of their support for the new reforms to be introduced.

He, however, stressed the need to take a second look at the conditions of service of the employees of the Agency, a concern President Akufo-Addo acknowledged and has since promised to work on.