President Akufo-Addo has brushed aside requests by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and some citizens calling for the reinstatement of Auditor-General Daniel Domelevo after he was ordered to take his accumulated leave.
According to the President, the grounds on which the demands are being made were considered before he took the decision and as such, the Auditor-General cannont be reinstated on those same basis.
“The arguments made in your petition were considered prior to the President taking the decision to request Daniel Domelevo to take his accumulated leave from 1st July 2020.
“Accordingly, the president is unable to grant the request in your petition.”
A statement signed by Secretary to the President Nana Asante Bediatuo said.
President Akufo-Addo last month ordered the Auditor-General Daniel Domelevo to take an accumulated leave of 123 days, which was further extended to 167 days.
Mr Domelevo disagreed with the decision but complied with it because of what he described as respect for the Office of the President.
Albeit justifying his decision with sections 20 (1) and 31 of the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651), the action has been greeted with backlash from some members of the public including the Coalition of CSOs in the country.
Some 500 CSOs who registered their displeasure over the president’s directive described his action as inconsistent with the 1992 constitution.
The act, according to the Coalition, threatens the independence of the Auditor-General and downplays Ghana’s effort to fight corruption.
Subsequently, London-based Ghanaian Korieh Duodu, and Lolan Sagoe-Moses on July 8, 2020, petitioned President Akufo-Addo to reinstate the Auditor-General but the President insists he cannot grant any of the requests.
Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, wading into the arguments, also said that Ghana’s constitution does not give such a provision even though the president has the power to appoint the Auditor-General.
“Can the President direct the Auditor General? No. Can the President exercise any control, including disciplinary control on the Auditor- General? No. Can the board direct the Auditor General? No.”
The US-based Ghanaian law lecturer, Professor Asare, has currently filed a suit against the Attorney General over the President’s directive.
However, the statement from the Presidency indicates that the President remains resolute in his decision.
“The President encourages people to be citizens and not spectators and therefore, your petition is welcome and its contents have duly been noted.
“However, the position of the President as contained in the letter dated July 3, 2020, from this Office to the Auditor-General remains the same.”
