POWER PLAY; THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE AUDITOR GENERAL AND THE CHAIRMAN OF THE AUDIT SERVICE BOARD
There is so much going on currently at the Audit Service that we keep loosing count by the day. A lot of people have not paid so much attention to the real problem and what could be causing this mega rift between the Auditor-General and the Chairman of the Audit Service Board.
Apart from the obvious Political Interference and its attendant resistant effect, weak Legislation is to be blamed for what is happening at the Audit Service today.
Let me break it down, you have an Auditor-General who was appointed by the previous administration when the term of the previous AG expired. By law the AG enjoys a security of tenure, that means his tenure is not coterminous with the tenure of the Executive.
The Audit Service Board, which oversees the day to day administration of the Audit Service on the other hand, is constituted by the Executive when they take power and their tenure is coterminous with that of the Executive. So when this Government took over, there was an Auditor-General in office who was protected by the Constitution and could not be replaced. But they could reconstitute the Board and bring in a new Board Chairman.
The new Board Chairman’s role is to neutralize the work of AG against the Government. So the Board Chairman who is a Political Appointee is there to protect the Government because unlike the AG who enjoys a security of tenure, the Board Chairman looses his job as soon as the Government is kicked out.
Now this Particular Board Chairman Prof.Duah Agyemang has been more than a Political henchman. Anytime there is an investigation going on at the AG’s department and the Government is not comfortable, they call Duah Agyemang, the Board Chairman to stop it.
Unfortunately for Duah Agyemang, Mr.Domelevo the AG is as hard as a rock and not a walk over, he is too principled and do not give in to needless interferences with his work. Mr.Domelevo does his work and do not bend the rules to favor Duah Agyeman and is his masters. Duah Agyeman also has his masters to please as a sign of gratitude and loyalty for his appointment. This is the beginning of the conflict!
I will give an example, When the AG surcharged Former Senior Minister Yaw Osafo Marfo, they called Duah Agyemang to stop that investigations but Duah Agyemang couldn’t stop Domelevo from performing his constitutional duties. Mr.Domelovo went ahead completed his work and surcharged the senior Minister.
The Government was livid!, their henchman who they put at the Audit Service Board to protect them couldn’t protect them against Domelevo. They summoned Duah Agyeman and of course he had to defend himself.
And certainly the Government benefited from Duah Agyemang’s advise as former AG to go to Court to quash the adverse findings against Osafo Marfo and its consequences. Do you know that when Osafo Marfo took AG Domelovo to the Supreme Court for surcharging him, it was Prof.Duah Agyemang who went to represent Osafo Marfo in Court during the proceedings?
Yes you heard right, and I have the Court records to show for this unprecedented conflict of interest. The Auditor General surcharges somebody and the person drags the Auditor General to Court and the Chairman of the Audit Service Board goes to Court to represent the person who was surcharged by the Auditor General, can you imagine?
This is the level of loyalty of the Chairman of the Audit Service Board to the Government. Are you then surprised that immediately after that case, the Audit Service Board sets up a Committee to Audit the Auditor General’s foreign travels? Are you surprised? Are you surprised that afterwards, the President illegally asks the AG to proceed on leave?
Are you surprised that just when he is about to return to office after his leave, this same Duah Agyeman (who when he was Auditor General was investigated by CHRAJ for corruption,abuse of office and misappropriation) writes to Domelevo that he is a Togolese and his retirement age was due? Are you surprised?
Duah Agyemang is not there to serve the nation but his Political masters and he is willing and ready to go any length to protect the very criminals who are looting this nation dry at the detriment of us all. So the truth of the matter is that the legal regime covering the office of the Auditor General and the Audit Service Board is weak.
How can you have an Auditor General who has a security of tenure and is immune to Political Interference but the very Board that has some supervisory role over his work are Political appointees and do not enjoy the same independence and security of tenure.
So clearly the legal regime needs some amendments to provide that independence for the Board of the Audit Service as well. Perhaps take the composition of the board away from the Executive and give it to Parliament. Then the Auditor General, the Auditor General’s Department and the Audit Service Board would be truly independent and work together to hold the Executive truly accountable.
Until then, Duah Agyemang and his henchmen at the Audit Service Board would continue to be on the neck of Mr.Domelevo because he threatens their position and that of their masters. But Mr.Domelevo just like the proceed on leave frackass, will survive this age and nationality bullshit too and when he does trust me there would be a new agenda on the table. Who knows, maybe the next time it will be about how many sexual rounds he has with his wife per week.
Brace yourself up for the next nonsense folks…as long as Akufo-Addo remains President, Duah Agyeman is going no where and Domelevo ain’t getting any peace of mind to fight corruption!
Dangerous Times Ahead Folks…!
Mensah Thompson
Executive Director, ASEPA
