Reasons for Domelevo removal worrisome – Prof. Adae

The public debate over the retirement of the immediate-past Auditor-General, Daniel Yaw Domelevo by President Nana Akufo-Addo seems not to end anytime soon.

The recent person to add his voice to the series of criticisms from the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) is the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof Ivan Addae-Mensah.

Speaking in an interview on Joy News AM SHOW on Monday,  Addae-Mensah said Mr. Domelevo’s forced retirement is an affront to good governance and the fight against corruption.

According to him, his disappointment about the development falls within the manner in which the matter was handled by the President ‘supporting’ the Chairman of the Audit Service Board, Prof. Edward Dua Agyemang.

“What worries me most is the grounds upon which he was eventually made to step aside. His nationality been questioned, his age been brought into question, not having the chance to publicly give his side of the story, the seeming support from above on Prof Agyemang and then forced on retirement.”

He added: “We all know what the situation with age is in this country…those of us who were lucky to have educated parents were lucky enough to have our births recorded by our parents properly. So we grew up knowing our age and they were synchronous with the day on which we were born.

“A lot of people are running around the country whose perceived birthday don’t synchronise with their days of birth so it’s just a question of tracing back. Well government knows best, the general perception among a lot of people in the country is that persons charged to fight the canker don’t appear to have the support of the powers that be. If you are seen to be someone who wants to fight corruption then be careful you don’t step on any ones toes,”

Background

On March 2, a day before Mr. Domelevo was scheduled to return from his controversial forced leave, the Audit Service Board questioned his nationality and age.

The Board claimed Mr. Domelevo should have retired in 2020 and is Togolese.

The Audit Service Board, based its claims on records at the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) provided by the Auditor General.

His date of birth is said to be June 1, 1960, and not June 1, 1961.

Mr. Domelevo however refuted these claims in further correspondence.

The Presidency endorsed the retirement claims of the Audit Service Board and said it considered Mr. Domelevo retired.

“The President is of the view that you [Domelevo] have formally left office,” the letter from the presidency said in response to the date of birth concerns.

In a letter, the Presidency thanked him for his service and indicated that a substantive replacement for him will soon be announced.