The State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) recently hosted the Auditor-General for a high-level courtesy call aimed at deepening collaboration between the two institutions on matters of governance, accountability, and the performance of Specified Entities (SEs).
In his welcome address, the Director-General of SIGA, Prof. Michael Kpessa-Whyte, congratulated the Auditor-General on her historic appointment as the first woman to hold the position, describing it as a landmark achievement. He went on to highlight the strong alignment between SIGA’s mandate and that of the Audit Service, particularly in promoting transparency and accountability across the public enterprises sector. He provided an update on the progress of the State Ownership Report (SOR), underscoring its critical role in strengthening public-sector accountability and enhancing the performance of state enterprises. He also reiterated the President’s expectations regarding the safeguarding of the national purse, stressing the need for robust oversight of state interests.
In her response, the Auditor-General, Dr. Pamela Graham, spoke to the important intersection between the work of the Audit Service and SIGA, especially in the areas of governance, financial management, and the performance of Specified Entities (SEs). She emphasised the importance of SEs preparing and submitting their financial statements on time, noting that this is essential to enabling efficient audit processes. She further stressed the need for the timely flow of information between institutions to support effective audits, and reaffirmed the Audit Service’s commitment to strengthening its working relationship with SIGA.
The engagement featured two key presentations from SIGA’s leadership team. Madam Millicent Atuguba (General Manager, Operations) delivered a presentation titled “SIGA at a Glance,” offering the Auditor-General and her team an overview of SIGA’s mandate, core functions, and operational activities. This was followed by a presentation by Mr. Samuel Obeng Ankomah (General Manager, Finance & Administration), titled “Interface Between SIGA and the Audit Service,” which outlined the specific areas of collaboration and interface between the two institutions in carrying out their respective oversight responsibilities.
The courtesy call marked an important step in reinforcing the partnership between SIGA and the Ghana Audit Service, with both institutions reaffirming their shared commitment to strengthening governance, financial discipline, and accountability within Ghana’s state enterprise sector.