GACC, Hewlett Foundation train Journalists on Audit Reporting

The Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) has trained some 40 Journalists, including six Ghana News Agency Journalists and editors, on how to report on the Auditor General's Report.The Auditor General's Report establishes the nonfinancial and financial activities of the various governmental agencies.?The report also brings out infractions, misapplication, and misappropriation on the part of some public institutions which required the Journalists as Watchdogs of the society to follow through and through to ensure that the public purse was salvage from consistent abuse.Madam Beauty Emefa Narteh, the Executive Secretary of the GACC, said it was for that reason that some selected Journalists from all the 16 regions of the country would be equipped with the relevant information and skills to follow the report and report cogently to the public.?The workshop was funded by the Hewlett Foundation and is in line with the GACC project titled 'Building Evidence for Increased Accountability in Ghana through a Mu lti-Stakeholder Accountability Initiative.'?Mrs. Narteh said the GACC recognised that the effective dissemination of the Auditor General's findings required a comprehensive understanding of the report.'We at GACC have seen a gap in the area of reporting on the Auditor General's findings and this workshop therefore aims to bridge this gap, by equipping media professionals with the requisite skills and knowledge'.The training hoped to build the capabilities of the selected media persons to appreciate, distil, and accurately report on the Auditor General's findings and thereby increase transparency and accountability around public financial management.Dr. Eric Oduro Osae, the Director of the Ghana Internal Audit Agency, who led the session encouraged Journalists to always become abreast with the objective of any audit work, who initiated it and the outcome to do a balanced assessment.?He noted the critical need for the autonomy of the audit Agency to increase the bar of accountability in the public fin ancial management space.Dr. Osae said saving the country from economic regression demanded that all stakeholders mandated to ensure accountability effectively collaborated to ensure that the country's growth was rapid.He also encouraged civil servants in all the Ministries, Department and Agencies to work in the collective interest of the state.?Mr. Seth Bokpe, Associate Editor at the 'Fourth Estate' a media house, who took participants through the Right to Information Bill, encouraged the Journalists to use the Bill to demand information from public institutions to better educate and expose happenings in the corridors of authority.?'Specify the exact information that you want, in terms of year, date and then add your identification card.'Madam Juliet Aguair, the Western Regional Correspondent of the Business and Financial Times, was grateful to the GACC for the knowledge which she said would enhance her ability to properly digest the report and any other related documents.?Source: Ghana News Age ncy