President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been urged by a Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to reconsider his decision to force the Auditor-General (AG) to take his ‘accumulative leave’.
The CSOs involved in the appeal include the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), Ghana Centre For Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), SEND-Ghana, Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), and the Citizens’ Movement Against Corruption (CMaC).
At a press conference in Accra, the CSOs noted that the action of the President weakened the country’s fight against corruption and standing in the eyes of the international community as someone committed to public accountability.
Addressing the press conference, Dr Kojo Asante, the Director of Advocacy and Policy Engagement at CDD-Ghana noted that it is important to note that the issue with the AG is not an isolated event but should be seen as ongoing tussle between the AG and the Audit Service Board led by its Chairman, Mr Edward Dua Agyemang.
According to him some aspects of the President’s decision on the face of it may be grounded in law, however, when examined overall in the context of the 1992 Constitutions, particular in relation to the independence of the AG, it interfered with the mandate of the AG.
He continued that it was curious that a matter which could have been discussed and managed on annual leave, has escalated to the level where it has generated a lot of interest across board.
He pointed out that the context showed that the administrative of leave was added to the basket of actions and inactions being contested by the Audit Service Board.
He told media men at the press briefing that since Mr Domelevo took office, he had exhibited exemplary leadership in terms of accountability, sacrifices and effectiveness in the way a public sector organisation was managed.
He described President Akufo-Addo’s decision to force the AG to take his accumulative leave as a huge discouragement to public office holders who desire to stand up and be counted.
Dr Asante recounted how Mr Domelevo ON assumption of office during a period when the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Government in 2017 came into office, conducted an audit of the liabilities accrued by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in 2016.
Concluding he stated that the CSOs is calling on all well-meaning Ghanaians to join them in their campaign to #BringBackDomelevo
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