By Charles AGBELIE
Daniel Yao Domelevo the former Auditor General was sacked by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2020. His Deputy Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu took over on an acting position and later confirmed substantive.
Domelevo was asked to proceed on 123 days accumulated leave and upon his return two charges were laid against him by government.
Firstly, his age – that his date of birth was inconsistent because he was over 60 which he contended bur could not win the battle against Nana Akufo-Addo’s government. Secondly, his nationality questioned – that Domelevo was a Togolese.
This was so doubtful because many who know Domelevo can attest to the fact that he hails from Sogakofe area. Government was so strong and deliberate on the matter despite the loud voice of civil society and many powerful individuals who saw the good works of the man Domelevo using his office to fight corruption.
Apparently and mostly surprisingly, the keys to the doors of his office were changed at the weekend before he resumed office Monday. Since the last result shows the end of the battle the man has to return home. His successor Mr. Asiedu benefited from all these because he also wanted the office and government wanted him to replace Domelevo to work in their interest.
What actually caught the public interest in Domelevo’s work was the three novel initiatives brought to the Audit Service coupled with his fearlessness speaking truth to power. These are – Surcharge, disallowance and electronic payment system. The initiative brought in GH¢4.6million to government. And, if this had been continued, this initiative would have rake in a lot of recoveries of stolen monies but unfortunately his successor failed and chose to dance to the tunes of his masters.
In the Kroll and Associates saga where the company was paid US$1million for no work done according to the audit report, Domelevo surcharged the company but the then Senior Minister Yao Osafo Marfo pick bones with him and sent the matter the court. Upon his relief of duty when his successor Mr. Asiedu took over, his reports on the same Kroll saga said, nothing was wrong. And, article 2 and 187 (7) of the 1992 constitution was ignored. Since Domelevo left, there has not been any issue of surcharge in the books of the Auditor General.
When Occupy Ghana sent the matter to the Supreme Court thus Occupy Ghana vrs Attorney General on June 14, 2017 the court held that there must be surcharge on any financial misappropriation to uphold the 1992 constitution.
According to five years Auditor General’s report on Ministries and Department and Agencies accounts from 2019-2023, the country lost GH¢9, 955,192,289. In the same period under review, Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) audit reports shows that, GH¢327, 208,483.09 was misappropriated and lost to government but there has not been any surcharge or instigation to clear the persons involved.
The footnote of the repot reads ‘the was no investigative report to clear anybody neither was there any surcharge as prescribed by Article 2 of the constitution and the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Occupy Ghana Vrs Attorney General’.
However, the current Auditor General must explain why all these irregularities occurred under his watch per his own report but no action was taken nor surcharge applied to the individuals in these organizations. The current Auditor General was 60 last year but on June 20, 2024 he was offered a two-year contract service and still at post. The principle used against Daniel Yao Domelevo was not applicable again. Mr. Asiedu is comfortable in his two year contract approved by the previous government jubilating in his 61 years and still at post.
>>>The writer is a Journalist and Communication Strategist. He worked with several media houses for over 25 years. He can be reached via [email protected]
