The National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) has set up an audit committee to help strengthen internal accountability and compliance with public financial laws.

This is the first time such a committee has been established since the company was founded 15 years ago.

Speaking at the inauguration of the committee in Accra on Friday [October 24, 2025], the Chief Executive Officer of NAFCO, George Abradu-Otoo, said the move fulfils a legal requirement under Section 86(1) of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921), which mandates all public entities to establish audit committees to support financial reporting and risk management.

“After fifteen years of existence, this is the first time we are going to have this legal mandate fulfilled at NAFCO,” Mr Abradu-Otoo said.

He explained that the establishment of the committee forms part of the measures introduced by the new management and governing board to promote prudent use of financial and material resources.

Mr Abradu-Otoo said the company had strengthened its Internal Audit Department with the appointment of an experienced officer, and also created a Procurement Department to scrutinise spending and purchases in line with the law.

“With these and many other interventions, we expect that financial irregularities and audit infractions will be a thing of the past,” he added.

The five-member audit committee comprises Stephen Baffoe and Janet Chigabatia-Adama, both representing NAFCO’s governing board; Sophia Apotey and Christian Adinkrah from the Internal Audit Agency; and Joana Marfo, representing the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana. Frank Sintim is the secretary to the committee.

The CEO said the committee would oversee financial reporting, internal controls, and risk management, and ensure compliance with relevant laws and regulations.

It will also review internal audit findings, accounting policies, and financial statements to uphold accuracy and good corporate governance.

Mr Abradu-Otoo thanked the Internal Audit Agency for its guidance in establishing the committee, describing the occasion as both “important and historic” for the company.

The Acting Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency, Mr Thomas Thompson-Aryee, commended NAFCO’s management and board for finally setting up the committee after several unsuccessful attempts over the years.

“Over the years, we have made attempts to have this audit committee established, but it couldn’t come to fruition, and we also saw what happened as a result,” he said.

Mr Thompson-Aryee urged members of the committee to strictly adhere to their statutory responsibilities under the Public Financial Management Act.

“The audit committee has two main mandatory roles. One is to pursue the head of the institution to implement audit recommendations, and two, to submit annually the status of implementation to Parliament, the Office of the President, the Minister of Finance, the Auditor-General, and the Internal Audit Agency,” he explained.

He reminded the new committee of the President’s recent concerns about audit committees that were not performing effectively and called on NAFCO’s committee to demonstrate efficiency and integrity.

“I hope and pray that the audit committee of this parastatal will work to satisfy His Excellency the President,” he said.

Mr Thompson-Aryee also cautioned management to comply with amendments to the Public Financial Management (PFM) and Public Procurement Acts (PPA), particularly Section 24A of the PPA, which requires prior authorisation for procurements exceeding the entity’s threshold.

“Any procurement that goes above the threshold without forward commitment authorisation will attract sanctions under the PFM Act,” he warned.

He further reminded the company’s Internal Audit Unit to submit quarterly activity and compliance reports to the Internal Audit Agency as required.

The Board Chairman of NAFCO, Dr Eric Osei-Owusu, described the establishment of the committee as timely, given the lapses that occurred under the previous administration.

“If you observe what is going on at the moment, it tells you there were a lot of lapses in the old administration, which caused the mess that we’ve all been hearing about in the media,” Dr Osei-Owusu said.

He urged members of the committee to be firm and thorough in their work to restore confidence in NAFCO’s operations.

“We need to be very strict and meticulous in everything we do. You are mandated to make sure all checks and balances are in place before decisions on purchases or contracts are made,” he added.

Dr Osei-Owusu expressed hope that the committee’s work would help build a culture of transparency and efficiency within the company.