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The scheme of Akufo-Addo to keep the Auditor-General Daniel Domelevo out of office forever is now unconstitutionally implemented. The President using the Audit Service Board as a smoke screen dubiously appointed two suspicious NPP insiders as Deputy Auditor-General and Assistant Auditor-General.
A statement signed on Friday 28th August, 2020 by Head of Finance, Administration and Human Resources of the Audit Service, Mrs. Roberta Assiamah-Appiah said that Mr. Lawrence Ayagiba and Mrs. Vera Quarshie who were successful in the recent interviews have been promoted to Deputy and Assistant Auditor-Generals respectively.
However, the constitutionality of these promotions without the Auditor-General at this opportune time is unprovable. The Auditor-General per Article 189 clause 1(b) is a member of the Audit Service Board. His exclusion from the purported action of the board in promoting the two characters is untenable especially as his prior recommendation or opinion is critical in the matter. As far as we know the Auditor-General is not removed from office by provisions of Article 189 clause 4 of the constitution therefore it is unconstitutional to bar him from board meetings and take cynical decisions at his blind side. It is also certain that he was not aware and has not designated any officer to represent him at the so-called board meetings.
According to Professor Kweku Azar, such appointments, decisions and policies are null and void and continue to be in serious breach of the constitution. He further argued that Audit Service Board meetings are not properly convened without the presence of the Auditor-General or his designee. Prof. Kwesi Prempeh in agreeing with Prof. Azar described the appointments as administrative or statutory without constitutional basis or powers whatsoever. Prof. Prempeh stated categorically that the only person the constitution empowers to authorize or appoint another to exercise the powers of the Auditor-General in relation to audits is the Auditor-General himself. This position goes to challenge the legal propriety of Akuffo Addo’s mischievous appointment of Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu as Acting Auditor-General ostensibly on purpose.
Curious developments at the Audit Service leading to and after the hounding out of office of Mr. Domelevo are raising serious eyebrows as to what the NPP wanted to hide from audit scrutiny. It is indisputable fact that the Auditor-General’s exposure of Osafo Maafo in paying USD1million dollars to Kroll & Associates for no work done and which is in the Supreme Court for adjudication ruffled the government to ‘sack’ him from office. His illegal acting replacement Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu hurriedly upon assuming the unconstitutional role wrote to the Supreme Court to express his satisfaction with investigations into the Kroll saga clearly to exonerate Osafo Maafo from guilt established by the Auditor-General against him. No wonder since his forced leave his office has been locked up to ensure he does not have access to it.
Several scandals have quickly been willfully orchestrated since his absence to ensure his eagle eyes do not spot the thieving hands of the government. The state claimed it spent GHc54million on providing food for a few people during the lockdown in March for two weeks to the amazement of worried Ghanaians. Agyapa is on the way to replace PDS who has gone to court immediately after John Mahama descended on it as fraudulent arrangement and threatened to deal with them. Then came a damning revelation of how the Presidency is using state funds to pay for a sweetheart deal between Akuffo Addo and a dirty Public Relations firm KRL International LLC of the USA. This company is under investigation by the US State Department for its fraudulent deals with Akuffo Addo since 2008 and Ghana’s Ministry of Finance since 2017 while it is providing private PR services to Akuffo Addo and the New Patriotic Party. Very soon we will be saddled with huge cooked figures as cost of the shoddy hot meals being served BECE candidates and we can be sure it will pass auditing easily as long as this destroyed audit service remains as it is without the Auditor-General.
We cannot assume that these actions are isolated as the fraudulent Akufo-Addo government has a lot of skeletons in its kitchen cupboard. The fear of Domelevo is causing panic and sleepless nights in the Jubilee House daily. A lot of state cash is obviously being manipulated to finance the NPP’s campaign into the 2020 elections which must be hidden. There will be serious business after January 7, 2021 when John Mahama returns to the Jubilee House!
By Kwaku Agyei | The views expressed by the writer are solely his and do not represent the position of Daily Mail GH
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