General News of Thursday, 18 March 2021

Source: happyghana.com

Domelevo retirement: Prof. Dua should know that it’s about competence not age - Anti-corruption campaigner

Former Auditor-General, Daniel Yao Domelevo Former Auditor-General, Daniel Yao Domelevo

Some anti-corruption campaigners are of the view that Audit Board Chair, Prof. Dua Agyeman should be in the position of understanding the predicament of former Auditor-General Mr. Domelevo’s rather than fueling calls for his retirement.

According to them, he [Prof. Dua Agyeman] has enjoyed an extension of stay in office regardless of the fact that he had reached retirement age.

Anti-Corruption campaigner Edem Senanu on the Happy Morning Show told Samuel Eshun: “Some of my colleagues are also concerned that as far as they remember Prof. Dua Agyeman himself had exceeded the retirement age and went all the way to 71 and so why are we now talking about 60 for Domelevo?”

Edem Senanu described the ongoing scuffle between the former Auditor-General and the Audit Board Chair as a situation based on “pettiness” and “vindictiveness” on the latter’s part.

Commenting on the recent correspondence between the two, where the Audit Board Chair demanded a handing over note, the Anti-Corruption campaigner was quick to state that Mr. Domelevo owes no one a handing over note.

Per his view, the basic administrative process for a handing over note was not followed and as such authorities cannot demand a handing over note from Mr. Domelevo when he has been forced to go on retirement.

Background

On March 16th 2021, Chairman of the Audit Service Board, Edward Dua Agyeman, in a letter, asked the former Auditor-General Mr. Daniel Yao Domelevo to complete a handing over notes and hand same over within two weeks.

The Auditor-General who disagreed with the demand responded in detail;

(1) Paragraph 2 of the letter from the Office of the President dated 29th June 2020 requested that I “hand over all matters relating to the Office of the Auditor-General to Mr. Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu” who has been in charge since 1st July 2020;

(2) The letter from the Secretary to the President referred to in (1) above, delivered to me after 4pm on June 29, 2020 requested that I started the leave on 1st of July 2020 contrary to Section 27 of the Labour Act. The Section provides that at least 30 days’ notice shall be given to the worker prior to the commencement of the leave.

(3) The short and unlawful notice from the Presidency notwithstanding, I prepared a handing-over note and handed over to the Acting Auditor-General on 30th June 2020 and he has been in charge for over 8 months;

(4) When I resumed work on the 3rd of March 2021, Mr. Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu did not hand over to me with the excuse that the handing-over note was not ready; and

(5) After 9pm of the 3rd March 2021 (the day I resumed work), I received a letter from the Secretary to the President requesting that I proceed on retirement.

All the above notwithstanding, if you so wish, please direct the Acting Auditor-General to hand over to me and I will thereafter handover to him.