GACC and Partners Train Journalists on Auditor-General’s Mandate and the CitizensEye App

The Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Transparency International–Ghana (TI-Ghana), and the Ghana Audit Service have trained 40 journalists on how to interpret the Auditor-General’s Reports and use the CitizensEye App to strengthen public accountability. The workshop, held on Friday, 21st November 2025, forms part of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)-funded project, “An Anti-Corruption Initiative for Enhancing Governance and Accountability.”

Participants received training on the Auditor-General’s constitutional mandate under Article 187, the process of generating audit findings, and the critical role of the media in enhancing public oversight. The session also demonstrated how the CitizensEye App enables journalists to access citizen-generated reports on suspected corruption and service delivery failures to support evidence-based journalism.

The Executive Director of Transparency International Ghana, Mrs. Mary Addah, described the training as timely and innovative, emphasising that Ghana’s anti-corruption efforts depend significantly on the media’s capacity. “We engage with the media daily, and the accuracy of reporting is critical to this fight,” she said, urging journalists to understand audit processes and leverage tools such as the CitizensEye App to promote transparency.

Mrs. Mary Addah, Executive Director, Transparency International Ghana

ACEP’s Policy Lead for Petroleum and Conventional Energy, Mr. Kodzo Yaotse, highlighted that the workshop was designed to help journalists better appreciate the work of the Audit Service and use its tools more effectively to support investigative and accountability journalism.

The Head of Political and Governance at FCDO, Mr. Hooman Nouruzi, said the training aligns with the British High Commission’s £5 million Ghana Governance Programme, which supports civil society to drive reforms and strengthen institutional performance. “Transparency and accountability are the cornerstones of good governance,” he stated, emphasising that empowering journalists to interpret complex audit findings is essential for informed public discourse and stronger accountability.

The Head of Political and Governance at FCDO, Mr. Hooman Nouruzi

A team of senior officials from the Ghana Audit Service, including Information Officer Frederick Lokko; Assistant Auditor-Generals Samuel Frimpong-Manso and Thomas Nunoo; Deputy Auditor-General Lawrence Ayagiba; Director of Audits Roberta Ntim, and Assistant Directors Dovlo Kplorm and Jude Danbo, facilitated the training, with additional support from members of the Service’s Legal Unit who provided clarification on the constitutional and legal provisions governing public sector audits.

Deputy Auditor-General Mr. Lawrence Ayagiba noted that improving public understanding of audit outcomes is crucial. “Our reports are written for Ghanaians, but the language can be technical. Many people do not even realise when the reports concern their own districts,” he said, adding that journalists are essential in breaking down audit findings for citizens to support accountability efforts.

Deputy Auditor-General Mr. Lawrence Ayagiba

Participants shared that the workshop enhanced their understanding of audit processes and increased their confidence in reporting on the Auditor-General’s findings. Many also described the CitizensEye App as a practical tool for linking citizen concerns to investigative journalism.

Participant from the forum

The partners acknowledged the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) for its invaluable support, noting that this partnership is key to strengthening accountability systems and empowering journalists to contribute meaningfully to the fight against corruption.

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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GACC and Partners Train Journalists on Auditor-General’s Mandate and the CitizensEye App

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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

Driver

Ms. Priscilla Opoku

Office Assistant

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

Mrs. Beauty Emefa Narteh

Executive Secretary

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)