The Minority caucus in Parliament is demanding that the Acting Auditor-General submits to the House and subsequently publish the reports on the audited accounts of government for the 2019 fiscal year.
According to the caucus, its demand is in line with provisions of the Constitution and the Audit Service Act, 2000 which enjoins the Auditor-General to within six months after the end of the immediate preceding financial year, present to Parliament audited public accounts of the country.
This provision, the Minority at a press conference in Accra yesterday said, has not been complied with following the directive by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the Auditor-General, Daniel Yaw Domelevo to proceed on his accumulated leave.
“It is worth noting that the Auditor-General had previously complied with the provisions in respect of being up-to-date with his reports to Parliament.
“It is curious, yet ironic, that the reports of the Auditor-General fell into arrears following the directive by the president to the Auditor-General to proceed on leave,” caucus leader Haruna Iddrisu said.
He continued: “It is the view of the Minority that the abrupt and ill-advised decision of the President, in directing the Auditor-General to proceed on his accumulated leave, was intended to gag the A-G in drawing attention to the many anomalies perpetrated by government.”
The Tamale South Member of Parliament said his caucus was particularly concerned that the delay might be deliberate for the primary purpose of avoiding further embarrassment to the government.
“It is our hope that the delays are not intended to cover up malfeasance on the part of government because this year is an election year,” he said.
He said as the president was able to direct Mr Domelevo to proceed on leave against advice, he must in the same vein direct the Acting Auditor-General to furnish Parliament with the reports with three months to the expiration of the year 2020.
Calling on Ghanaians to support his caucus in this venture, Haruna Iddrisu said “accountability, transparency and good governance obliges all of us to ensure that the Auditor-General complies with tenets and dictates and of the constitution and the laws of Ghana.”
The Auditor-General was in June directed by President Akufo-Addo to proceed on a 123-day accumulated leave which was later extended to 167 days after he had written a letter to the president asking him to reconsider his directive.
His Deputy, Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu, has since been elevated to act in Mr Domelevo’s stead.
Over 400 Civil Society Organisations have since joined forces against the ‘forced outster’ of Mr Domelevo which they say could defeat the fight against corruption.
“The action of the president weakens Ghana’s quest for democratic governance,” the CSOs said in a statement arguing that the proceed-on-leave directive flouts the spirit and letter of the 1992 Constitution.
But the President would not budge as he said in a reply to the CSOs that his position of the matter “remains the same”.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
