Prez. Akufo-Addo directs Auditor-General to proceed on accumulated leave

• Posted on June 29, 2020June 29, 2020
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

The President, Nana Akufo-Addo, has directed the Auditor-General, Daniel Yaw Domelevo, to proceed on his accumulated annual leave of 123 working days.

Mr. Domelevo’s leave takes effect from Wednesday, July 1, 2020.

A statement from the Communications Directorate of the Jubilee House further directed Mr. Domelevo to hand over all matters relating to his office to his Deputy, Mr. Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu.

“The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has directed Mr. Yaw Domelevo, the Auditor-General, to take his accumulated leave of 123 working days, according to records available to the Presidency, with effect from Wednesday, 1st July 2020.”

Nana Addo’s decision to ask the Auditor-General to take his leave is said to be based on sections 20 (1) and 31 of the Labour Act, 2003 (651).

The statement signed by the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin indicated that the Auditor-General has taken only nine out of his 132 working days of his accumulated annual leave since assuming office in December 2016.

The move is also said to follow the precedent set by former President, John Evans Atta Mills when he asked the then Auditor-General, Edward Dua Agyeman to also proceed on his 264 accumulated annual leave in 2009.

Domelevo vs. Osafo Maafo $1m Kroll case

In May 2020, the Auditor-General, Daniel Domelevo, was found guilty of contempt for failing to respond to a suit filed by the Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo, which was challenging the $1m surcharge on him.

According to the court, the reason given by Mr. Domelevo for his inability to respond was “untenable and an afterthought.”

Domelevo had said he was busy finishing up an audit report for Parliament, hence his failure to respond to the suit.

But the judge, Justice Botwe, in her ruling, said due to the important role the Auditor-General plays, she will opt to caution and discharge him rather than sentence him.

This was after the Senior Minister and four other officials from the Ministry of Finance sued Mr. Domelevo to clear their names in relation to what was said to be breaches of the Public Procurement Act (PPA) that resulted in their payment of US$1 million to a private UK firm, Kroll and Associates.

Mr. Osafo Maafo had said he was resorting to the courts because “the evidence available shows clearly that the Auditor-General erred in law and professional procedures in the exercise of his powers regarding his audit on payments to Kroll and Associates Limited.”

Moves to kick Auditor-General out

Some civil organizations and individuals had alleged that the Auditor-General’s resolve to surcharge alleged corrupt officials, including top appointees like the Senior Minister will lead to his removal.

They raised concerns over the existence of a possible scheme by some government-affiliated groups to get the Auditor General, Daniel Domelevo out of office.

Earlier, Pro-NPP pressure group, the Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG), petitioned the Attorney General demanding an investigation and prosecution of the Auditor General over some public procurement breaches.

This subjected the Auditor General to a probe by the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO.)