Tamale, Oct. 27, GNA - Mr. Mohammed Amin Adam, Deputy Northern Reginal Minister on Thursday inaugurated the Northern Region branch of the Health Accounting Staff Association of Ghana (HASAG) in Tamale with a call on them to help tackle corruption in the public sector. More than 50 Health Accounting Staff from eight regions except Volta and Central regions attended the inaugural ceremony, which was the fourth in the series to be inaugurated after Ashanti, Brong Ahafo and Upper East.

The theme for programme: "The role of the Health Accountant in the delivery of quality health care" and was to ensure judicious use of financial resources in the Ghana Health Service and the Ministry of Health to bring sanity into the sector.

Mr. Adam said Accountants throughout the country could avert corruption if they had the will power to refuse signing suspicious checks from their superior officers for money meant for their personal use and not for purposes of development.

He said the government's campaign against corruption would not yield the desired result if Accountants were not committed to help win the fight against the practice and appealed for a more concerted effort to curb corruption.

The Minister advised members of the association to ensure that they achieved the purpose of which the association is formed to win confidence from colleague workers in the health sector.

Mr. Amos Aidoo, Northern Regional Accountant said the Association was determined to use technology to strengthen the existing financial management systems to improve its financial reporting and to build a dependable financial management in the country.

He said the association would also monitor activities of each other's works to enhance the delivery of quality health service in the country particularly in the rural areas.

Mr. Aidoo reaffirmed the association's commitment to ensuring sound financial management practices in all institutions and condemned fraudulent financial practices by some accountants, particularly the recent disclosures of financial malpractices in the Controller and Accountant General's Department.

Dr. Akwesi Twumasi, deputy northern Regional Director of Health Services advised members of the association to live up to expectations to ensure its sustenance to improve the financial sector of the GHS and the MOH.

A six-member executive body was later sworn into office with Mr Abu Hassan from the Savelugu/Nanton district as secretary and Mr Majeed Osman from the Regional Health Directorate, chairman.