News:
Hon, Bida Nouhoume Youssoufou A.
May 16, 2022
Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of the Community Parliament, Bida Nouhoume Youssoufou Abdouramani is advocating for the promotion and practice of transparency and accountability.
According to him audit is an instrument, a tool of financial control, which is employed by the public or private sector or an individual to safeguard itself against fraud, extravagance and more importantly to bring credibility to the audited.
And the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions, audit is defined as “Evaluation or examination of systems, operations and activities of a specific entity, to ascertain they are executed, or they function within the framework of certain budget, objectives, rules and requirements.”
This is a modern definition of audit in public sector and does not constrict itself with only cash audit, which was the case originally.
Auditing is part of the permanent monitoring and evaluation system within large organizations; the desire for transparency in the management of ECOWAS Institutions has been accompanied by the recent creation of the Office of the Auditor General as an Institution, independent of other Institutions.
In the same vein, Parliament created in March 2020, during its inaugural session in Niamey, the Public Account Commission, with a view to supporting this dynamic of seeking transparency and publicly reporting on the efficiency of the entities of the ECOWAS.
For sound and effective functioning of the Community and to ascertain that the benefit of public funds (Community Levy) is being used, reach the lowest strata of society and to every individual, annual audit is an indispensable tool.
It helps secure accountability of the executive to the Parliament and towards the public in general. The legislature can exercise control over the executives and verify that the public resources (Community Levy) have been utilized responsibly for the purpose intended, and funds raised through various sources like taxes reach government fully.
Mr. Bida Nouhoume Youssoufou Abdouramani, noted that as a member of the ECOWAS Parliament and as the privileged chair of the standing Committee on Public Accounts, he would like to greatly thank the Rt. Hon. Speaker and his colleagues of the ECOWAS Parliament for selecting Lomé to host this very important meeting.
The joint Committee meeting in Togo is on the theme, ‘‘The modalities for the practical implementation of Articles 9 and 11 of the Supplementary Act of the Parliament in respect of the consideration of the Community Audit Reports’’.
The following Committees are participating in the Lome-Togo meeting; Public Accounts | Administration, Finance and Budget | Macroeconomic Policies and Economic Research | Trade, Customs and Free Movement of the ECOWAS Parliament.
The theme of the meeting is, ‘‘The modalities for the practical implementation of Articles 9 and 11 of the Supplementary Act of the Parliament in respect of the consideration of the Community Audit Reports’’
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com/Lome-Togo