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Ace Anan Ankomah, a lawyer and member of the pressure group, OccupyGhana, has warned the Auditor-General, Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu, to be careful because he could soon be labelled a Malian just like his predecessor, Daniel Yao Domelevo, who was labelled as a Togolese.

According to him, while Domelevo was in office, he was disallowing and surcharging those implicated in the audit report to recover monies for the country but the current government, apparently unsatisfied with the work of the former Auditor-General (A-G) found a way of removing him from office.

“The new Auditor-General has to be careful, he might become Malian,” Ace Ankomah warned while speaking on Citi TV’s ‘The Point of View’ programme, on September 5.

He explained, “interesting things happen; thank God for the last days of John Mahama’s government when he appointed Daniel Domelevo – people don’t want us to mention his name but we will – as Auditor-General, he came in and said he agrees with our [OccupyGhana] fight [of the court instructing the A-G to disallow and surcharge as the laws of the country states].

“[Domelevo] attempted to settle the matter but we told him to let the Supreme Court make a pronouncement on the matter; because when we make it quiet, another A-G may come and without the Supreme Court judgement, will not enforce it [i.e. issue disallowance and surcharge]. And so, we went and the Supreme Court ruled in favour of OccupyGhana.”

Ace Ankomah continued: “Domelevo run with this; disallowed GHC5.4bn attempted theft per the President while delivering the State of the Nation Address…the Supreme Court in the judgement said the Attorney General – AG – when such a disallowance and surcharge are done, should go ahead and prosecute; why is nobody asking the successive AG why nobody was prosecuted after Domelevo detected the GHC5.4bn attempted theft.

“So, he [Domelevo] prevented that. When he started surcharging, by the time he left office, he had recovered GHC67m as Dr. Bawumia said while speaking at a town hall…then from nowhere Domelevo became Togolese; here we are.”

Background

The Audit Service Board challenged the nationality and retirement age of the former Auditor-General, Daniel Yao Domelevo.

According to the board, Domelevo is not Ghanaian and was born in 1960 hence he should have retired on 1st June 2020.

The Board said at the time that it had discovered irregularities and anomalies and requested an explanation from the Auditor General.

The Board in a letter dated 26th February 2021 indicated that, “Records at the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) completed and signed by you indicate your date of birth as 1st June 1960 when you joined the scheme on 1st October 1978. The records show that you stated your tribe as Togolese and a non-Ghanaian. That your home town is Agbatofe.

“On 25th October 1992, you completed and signed a SSNIT Change of Beneficiary Nomination form, stating your nationality as a Ghanaian and your home town as Ada in the Greater Accra Region. The date of birth on your Ghanaian passport number A45800, issued on 28th February 1996 is 1st June 1961. That place of birth is stated as Kumasi, Ashanti Region,” it added.

However, Domelevo in his response disputed the claims saying his grandfather was a native of Ada in the Greater Accra Region but migrated to Togo and stayed at Agbatofe.

“Either my father wrongly mentioned Agbatofe in Togo as his home town to me, or I misconstrued it at the time… My mother is also a Ghanaian,” he stressed.