The Assistant Director of Audit at the Ghana Audit Service, Mr Frederick Lokko, has cautioned the media against sensationalism when reporting findings of the Audi­tor-General’s report.

“Over the years, the Service has observed that some media houses and journalists misinterpret and misreport the findings of the AG’s report, leading to numerous inac­curacies,” he said.

Mr Lokko gave the caution during a two-day training work­shop organised by the Ghana An­ti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) in partnership with the Ghana Audit Service in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.

The training aims to empow­er media practitioners to better appreciate the issues, terminolo­gies, and technicalities in the AG’s report to enable them to report accurately.

Participants of the training were drawn from Ashanti, Bono, Bono East, and Ahafo regions.

According to Mr Lokko, journal­ists should be careful not to report the findings in a way that causes panic among citizens, as this could erode public confidence and trust in the political class and potentially lead to civil unrest.

The AG’s 2024 report revealed that irregularities identified among public boards, statutory bodies, corporations, and others surged to GH¢ 18.4 billion, a significant increase from GH¢ 8.8 billion in 2023.

Some journalists, he explained, interpreted those irregularities as indicating that all the funds had been lost or possibly misappropri­ated by individuals.

While Mr Lokko acknowledged the possibility that some funds might have been misappropriated, he emphasised the need for jour­nalists to avoid sensationalism and exaggerated headlines by accurate­ly understanding and interpreting the AG’s report before reporting on it.

“Irregularities do not necessarily imply that the money has been squandered. Instead, they indi­cate that the funds were not used properly in accordance with the regulations outlined in the Public Financial Management Act.”

The Auditor-General, Mr Lokko said, was taking steps to strate­gically organise periodic training not only for the media but also for civil society organisations to further deepen their understanding of the report for fair and balanced reportage.

The Assistant Communications Officer at the Ghana Anti-Corrup­tion Coalition stated that the train­ing was critical in the fight against corruption since the report reveals how public resources are managed, flagging irregularities and gaps in accountability.

“Equipping journalists with the skills to analyse and report accu­rately makes the media a powerful watchdog for transparency and good governance,” she indicated.