Former Auditor-General and current Board Chair of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), Daniel Yaw Domelovo, has delivered a sharp critique of Ghana’s public service, arguing that public servants are equally, if not more, complicit in the country’s corruption crisis than politicians.
He is calling for a complete restructuring of the public sector to make it fit for purpose, eliminate duplication, and restore integrity in governance.
Speaking in a recent interview, Domelovo stated emphatically that the widespread corruption often blamed on politicians cannot exist without the active participation of public servants. “In my view, they are equally corrupt. The politician cannot take much from the public purse without the public servant,” hereamrked.
According to him, the bureaucratic process within ministries and departments makes it impossible for a politician to withdraw funds without assistance from public officers personally.
“You and I know that a politician cannot just go and pick a cheque and cash it. Someone has to generate a memo, someone has to approve it, and someone has to attach the necessary documents before the money can be released. It’s usually teamwork”.
Daniel Yaw Domelovo
Domelovo argued that many senior public servants understand the system better than their political heads and often take advantage of that knowledge to enrich themselves.
“The interesting part is that the politician is the ultimate head of the ministry, but at times, he’s the least knowledgeable. Those chief directors and directors have been there for several years. They know which button to press and which not to press. When the politician takes one cedi, they also take two or more because they know how to play the game”.
Daniel Yaw Domelovo
Impunity Thriving over Absence of Consequence
Domelovo lamented that the absence of consequences for wrongdoing has created a culture of impunity in the public service, where corruption flourishes once political leaders begin to misuse funds.
“Immediately, the politician comes and starts taking, they know nothing will happen. One of my friends says, ‘Big man takes; he takes. Small man steals.’ So, it’s only the small people who steal, the big man just takes”.
Daniel Yaw Domelovo
Reflecting on his 18 years in the Accountant General’s Department and the Ministry of Finance, Domelovo revealed that his insights into the public sector’s failings come from direct experience. “Some people think I just woke up to become the Auditor-General. It’s not true. I was responsible for implementing the payroll system and, at one time in charge of the GIFMIS system. I’ve been through the thick of things,” he disclosed.
Duplications of Anti-Corruption Bodies
Domelovo also criticized the proliferation of anti-corruption institutions in Ghana, which he believes has created confusion and inefficiency rather than results. He pointed out that corruption-related functions are scattered among multiple agencies, including CHRAJ, EOCO, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), the Attorney-General’s Department, and the Financial Intelligence Centre.
“There’s too much duplication of public institutions. These overlapping functions cause agencies to fight each other. When I was Auditor-General, I experienced this firsthand.
“The moment you give notice that you’re going to audit an institution, one of these agencies will rush in and seize the books, claiming they are investigating, and that frustrates the audit process”.
Daniel Yaw Domelovo
Domelovo recounted how, during his tenure, he clashed with EOCO over jurisdictional issues, recalling an event where he had to threaten EOCO at one point.
“I told them, ‘I have a constitutional mandate to report to Parliament within six months. You operate under an Act, and the Constitution is superior to your Act, so you can’t stop my audit.’ Yet, they would seize the documents, making it impossible to proceed”.
Daniel Yaw Domelovo
He said his relationship with EOCO was once so strained that the agency accused him of mismanaging procurement and losing official vehicles.
“They claimed the vehicles I procured were missing. I asked, Are you people okay? Every vehicle was registered, including the one I used as Auditor-General. These vehicles are assigned to regional and district offices. So how can you say they’re missing?”
Daniel Yaw Domelovo
The matter was later resolved in court in his favour. Ironically, Domelovo now chairs the EOCO board. “When I went there, I laughed and said, ‘This institution once came after me, and now I am here to help reform it.’ But I believe EOCO and similar agencies must change their modus operandi,” he emphasized.
He criticized the abuse of investigative powers and arbitrary detention, stressing that remanding suspects for minor offenses or setting impossible bail conditions undermines justice.
“It doesn’t make sense. Some of these offenses are misdemeanors that the law says should just attract a fine. Why keep such people in custody? Invite them, give them self-recognizance bail, and if they abscond, you try them in absentia”.
Daniel Yaw Domelovo
Wasteful Public Spending
Domelovo also highlighted wasteful public spending as another form of corruption. “We have created too many institutions that duplicate each other’s work, leading to unnecessary expenditure,” he said.
He expressed concern over public projects abandoned for political reasons. “It doesn’t make sense that we can use public funds to construct a hospital and decide to abandon it because another administration started it. Vehicles are bought and left to rot. Would any normal person do that?” he asked.
The former Auditor-General described the National Cathedral project as “the most expensive hole in human history,” calling for clarity on its purpose and accountability for funds used. “We must ask what happens to it and whether we are recovering the money. Investigations are ongoing, but the speed is too slow. There’s no sense of urgency,” he said.
He urged the government to act faster in pursuing accountability, and concluded that reforming the public sector is essential for national progress, insisting that corruption in governance begins within the bureaucratic machinery.
“The private sector may be the engine of growth, but the fuel and lubricants are the public sector. If the oil is dirty, the engine cannot run. So, we must clean our public sector”.
Daniel Yaw Domelovo
He urged both government and citizens to hold public officers accountable, arguing that reform cannot be left to the same individuals who perpetuate inefficiency. “You can’t ask the person standing in the bucket to lift himself. He can’t. The person causing the problem cannot reform himself. We must push him out and bring people who are fit for purpose,” Domelovo concluded.
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