Enhancing Media Capacity for Accurate Reporting on Auditor General’s Report

On August 19th and 28th, 2024, the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), in collaboration with the Internal Audit Agency (IAA) and with support from the Hewlett Foundation, organized two zonal media training workshops aimed at equipping journalists with the skills necessary for accurate reporting on the 2023 Auditor General’s report—a critical document for public sector accountability.

The first workshop, held in Greater Accra, brought together media personnel from the Greater Accra, Volta, Western, Central, Oti, and Eastern Regions. The second workshop took place in the Ashanti Region, training journalists from the Ashanti, Western North, Northern, Upper East, Savannah, Bono, Bono East, and Upper West Regions. Together, these workshops engaged approximately 80 media professionals from across all regions.

A cross-session of journalists at the workshop at Greater Accra & Ashanti Region

The primary objective was to enhance journalists’ abilities to analyze, interpret, and report on the Auditor General’s findings effectively. While the report identifies financial irregularities within public institutions and recommends corrective measures, detailed media coverage often remains lacking. These training sessions aimed to bridge that gap by equipping journalists with the skills to convey the report’s findings to the public effectively.

In the Greater Accra workshop, Dr. Eric Oduro Osae, Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency (IAA), delivered a comprehensive presentation on Ghana’s audit system, explaining the legal framework governing public audits and highlighting critical areas of interest for journalists. This same training was mirrored in the Ashanti Region by Mr. Alhasan Fuseini, Deputy Director (IAA) ensuring consistency in messaging across both workshops.

Additionally, Mr. Seth J. Bokpe, Associate Editor at the Fourth Estate, facilitated sessions in both workshops on the practical application of the Right to Information (RTI) law. He shared real-world case studies illustrating how journalists can leverage the RTI law to request information from public institutions and conduct fact-based reporting, especially when investigating the Auditor General’s findings.

The workshops emphasized the crucial role of journalists in promoting public accountability through their reporting. By understanding public audits and utilizing the RTI law, participants can significantly enhance the accuracy and depth of their media coverage. There was a strong commitment among participants to apply these newly acquired skills in their daily reporting and to share their knowledge with colleagues.

With over 80 journalists trained across these two zonal workshops, this initiative has made a substantial impact on improving the quality of media reporting on public financial management in Ghana. By equipping journalists with the right tools and knowledge, GACC, in collaboration with the IAA, has taken a significant step toward fostering greater transparency and accountability in the public sector.

Participant Feedback

“I found the training on reporting on Audit Reports to be incredibly enlightening. The facilitators were exceptional, providing clear explanations of complex terms, which greatly enhanced my understanding. Although the workshop was only a day long, they effectively achieved the training’s objectives. My expectations were met, Overall, the training was well-organized, and I appreciate the effort invested in making it a valuable experience.” Opesika Tetteh Puplampu -GNA

“The training was really insightful, learned a lot, particularly about the audit objective, audit scope and other audit processes (be it non-financial or financial) to which the audits of the various public institutions need to be subjected, to ascertain if the audits were properly done or not.” Dodoo Fuaad- NorvanReports

“The training was excellent…It’s one of the best workshops I have ever attended. The facilitators were down to earth in their presentations and you our hosts were very friendly”. Desmond Tinana-Ghana News Guide

“The training was very informative and eye opener to areas that we reporters have overlooked over the period. We are now armed with the requisite tools and skills on how to probe on the audit report and other state reports for probity and accountability” Mildred Sawah- GNA

“Initially, reading the auditor general’s findings was difficult for me due to its bulkiness, but at the training, I learned how to study and report on the report, which I tried after the one-day training. Indeed, many rots in the system are being identified by the Auditor General which every dedicated journalist has to report about to shape the system. The training enhanced my knowledge of how to report on corruption; I also gained confidence in writing on corruption, and above all, I believe the training will help stakeholders correct the rots in the system.” Albert Kuzor – GhanaWeb

Mr. Solomon Nyankah

Monitoring and Evaluation Officer

Solomon Nyankah is the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at the GACC. He is a hard-working, self-starter, team player, dedicated, and results-oriented person committed to rendering effective service to any organisation through continuous learning and self-development for the benefit of the organisation and society. He possesses excellent interpersonal, data collection, and management skills. Solomon is proficient in the Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, and Excel).

Prior to his appointment at GACC, Solomon worked with the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) as a technical planning analyst in the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Division. He joined the NDPC from 2017 to 2023. His duties included coordinating the preparation of the national Annual Progress Reports (APRs) from 2017 to 2022; the President's Coordinated Programme of Economic and Social Development Policies (CPESDP) 2021–2024, and the National Medium Term Development Policy Framework (NMTDPF) for 2018–2021 and 2022–2025. He also provided technical assistance in the preparation of the National Development Monitor; the SDG Voluntary National Review Reports (2019 and 2022; sector and district development plans and progress reports; and the mid-term evaluation of the medium-term National Development Policy Framework, "Agenda for Jobs, Creating Prosperity and Equal Opportunity for All, 2018 -2021". Solomon provided technical backstopping for district planning officers on participatory M&E; served as a national trainer on the District Development Data Platform (DDDP) for all regional economic planners, district planning officers, and MIS/statisticians in Ghana; and was a resource pe rson for an ECOWAS sensitization workshop on ECOWAS Protocols held in the Central Region. He also facilitated the mainstreaming of integrated social services indicators into district plans.

Solomon Nyankah holds a B.Sc. degree in Development Management from the University for Development Studies. Other training certificates include: Integrated Planning and Reporting Toolkit (IPRT) by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA); SDG Toolkits Integration, Monitoring, and Evaluation; and Data Visualisation and Advanced Data Visualisation (Tableau and Canvas) by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ)

The Parliament of the Republic of Ghana in accordance with the provisions of the Fourth Republican Constitution in October 1993 enacted the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice Act (Act 456), to establish the Commission.

The commission seeks to foster a culture of respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms, as well as administrative justice and fairness in Ghanaian society. The commission also exist to promote integrity and decency in Ghanaian public life by investigating corruption and educating the public about its high costs and, conversely, the significant pay-offs of a relatively corrupt free society.

Section 7(10)(a)-(h) of the Commission’s enabling statute Act 456 spells out the functions of the Commission as follows:

Investigate complaints of violations of fundamental rights and freedoms, injustice, corruption, abuse of power and unfair treatment of any person by public officer in the exercise of his official duties;

Investigate complaints concerning the functioning of the Public Services Commission, the administrative Organs of the State, the Armed Forces, the Police Service in so far as complaints relate to the failure to achieve a balanced structuring of those services or equal access by all to the recruitment of those services or fair administration in relation to those services;

Investigate complaints concerning practices and actions by persons, private enterprises and other institutions where those complaints allege violations of fundamental rights and freedoms under this constitution;

Investigate allegations that a public officer has contravened or has not complied with a provision of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers. The Code requires that public officers shall declare their assets and liabilities on assumption of office, every four years, and on leaving office;

Investigate all instances of alleged or suspected corruption and the misappropriation of public moneys by officials and to take appropriate steps, including reports to the Attorney-General and the Auditor General, results from such investigations;

Educate the public as to human rights and freedom by such means as the Commissioner may decide, including publications, lectures and symposia;

Investigate confiscation of property made by the two previous military regimes, the Armed forces Revolutionary Council and the Provisional National Defence;

Report annually to Parliament on the performance of its functions.

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National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE)

Ms. Agnes Opoku Ayemang

Intern

Ms. Pamela Laourou

Intern

Ms. Dorcas Affum Tenkorang

Volunteer

Mr. Isaac Bakoe

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Ms. Priscilla Opoku

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Mr. Christian Atteh Semekor

Finance Officer

Mr. Solomon Nyankah

Monitoring and Evaluation Officer

Mr. Samuel Harrison-Cudjoe

Programmes Officer

Mr. Godfred Oppong Amoako

Head of Finance & Admin

Mr. Bright Kwadwo Sowu

Head of Programmes & Deputy Executive Secretary

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Private Enterprise Federation

Centre for Democratic Development, Ghana (CDD)

Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA)

Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO)

Ghana Journalists Association (GJA)

Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ)

Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII)

Ghana Conference of Religions for Peace (GCRP)

Good Governance Africa (GGA)

Public Procurement Authority (PPA)

Ghana Audit Service (GAS)