The Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) has urged President Akuffo-Addo to appoint a Commission of Inquiry to look into allegations made by the Ghana Auditor Service’s Board Chair against Mr Daniel Yao Domelevo, Auditor General.
Mrs Beauty Emefa Narteh, the GACC’s Executive Secretary, said Ghanaians needed to know what was at stake in the President’s decision to ask Mr Domelevo to resign over allegations made by the Board.
One of the claims is that Mr. Domelevo should have reached retirement age (60 years) last year, not this year, as he said.
“There is more to this, and the people must be aware of it. Any piece of information must be made public. In an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra, Mrs Narteh said, “It is not too late for the President to establish a Commission of Inquiry to investigate this matter; otherwise, we will not be fair to Mr Domelevo.”
She said that the Commission of Inquiry’s report would provide Ghanaians with the opportunity to learn about the issues as a country.
Apart from Mr Domelevo being asked to go on leave last year, she said, “Ghanaians were now saddled with another nightmare; the Auditor General was now being accused of a number of incidents, including not being a Ghanaian and having reached retirement age last year, which the Auditor Service Board Chair came out to discuss.”
Mr Domelevo must be granted a fair hearing, according to the Executive Secretary, in order to uphold the values of openness and accountability.
“And we have yet to hear and see if the Auditor General had a reasonable hearing. We expect the President to appoint a bipartisan Commission of Inquiry to investigate the allegations leveled against the Auditor General by the Ghana Auditor Service Board Chair,” Mrs Narteh said.
She said that once the “Commission issues its report, it will be made public so that Ghanaians can learn the truth about the situation.”
Related Article: Domelevo’s ‘constructive dismissal’ began last year, Kwaku Azar
Mrs Narteh said that as an anti-corruption coalition, they expected due process to be followed, adding that although they admired the Auditor General’s work, they would not excuse him if he was found guilty.
“We believe it is important to apply the principles of openness and accountability in this situation.
Citizens must be aware of the exact nature of the issue. In addition, Mr. Domelevo must be granted a reasonable hearing to defend himself on this matter. It shouldn’t be up to the President to ask him to step down. For us, today is a sad day. Mrs Narteh expressed her disappointment, saying, “It’s sad that someone who is assisting you in saving money can just be discarded like that.”
“How many people are willing to go to extremes for Ghana? If they don’t trust the government to protect them? If more is done to bring this to light and give Mr Domelevo a fair hearing, people will be discouraged from going above and beyond to combat corruption in their respective institutions.”
“The truth be told, I am lost for words,” Mr Franklin Cudjoe, the Founding President of IMANI Africa said.
SOURCE: ATLFMONLINE
