The Ag. Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency (IAA) has engaged the Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, on measures to strengthen internal controls, improve institutional accountability and help prevent corruption within the Tertiary Education space.
A major focus of the meeting was the need for institutions, including the Commission, to strengthen their internal audit systems and identify areas where targeted interventions could improve efficiency, compliance and accountability. The IAA expressed its readiness to work with GTEC to undertake audits in specific areas identified by the Commission.
According to the IAA, institutional structures and offices should be properly aligned with approved plans and systems to ensure effective planning, accountability and the prudent use of public resources. The IAA further informed the Director-General about training programmes and conferences it intends to organise to build the capacity of public institutions in internal auditing, risk management, accountability and anti-corruption practices.
The Agency called on GTEC to support and facilitate the participation of relevant officers in these programmes, noting that continuous capacity development was essential to strengthening institutional systems.
Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai welcomed the engagement and expressed GTEC’s readiness to collaborate with the IAA to strengthen the Commission’s internal systems. He said effective internal audit was essential to ensuring that public institutions operated within approved frameworks and maintained high standards of accountability.
The Commission also raised concerns about the creation of offices and structures that are not captured in an institution’s approved work plan.
The meeting also discussed the issue of pre-audits and their importance in the system. The Director-General also welcomed the proposal for pre-audits, indicating that targeted engagements would help GTEC identify areas requiring improvement and take appropriate corrective measures.
Prof. Abdulai stressed that the fight against corruption required more than the detection of wrongdoing, but also the establishment of systems capable of preventing irregularities from occurring in the first place.
The engagement ended with a commitment by both institutions to strengthen collaboration, improve internal controls and promote a culture of accountability, transparency and integrity within GTEC.
The partnership is expected to provide GTEC with additional technical support in strengthening its internal audit framework while giving its officers opportunities to enhance their professional capacity through the IAA’s training and knowledge-sharing programmes.