Age Disqualifies Auditor General

The Auditor General, Edward Dua Agyeman is 64 years and does not therefore qualify to be in office. Last week, an MP, Asiedu Nketia raised the issue of age of the Auditor General when Parliament was debating corruption in the Judiciary and the Judicial Service. He disclosed that the Auditor General whose duty it was to investigate the judiciary was not qualified to work because he was over aged.

The Attorney General did not take kindly to Asiedu Nketia’s intervention and called on the Honourable member to within 15 minutes prove that the Auditor General was over aged. The First Deputy Speaker, Freddie Blay adjourned the debate and urged Mr Nketia to prove his allegation.

But the Ghanaian voice newspaper has produced a document which shows that the Auditor General was born on November 22, 1939 and will be 65 in November. When the Ghanaian Voice newspaper called Mr Dua Agyeman and asked him why he was still in office although he has reached the retiring age, he told the paper that the President in his own wisdom and in consultation with the Council of State was not stupid to appoint him and he has to prove that he is efficient.

He however displayed his ignorance when he told the paper that there was no constitutional provision that stipulates that public offices should retire at the age of 60.

The constitution states that public officers could be engaged for a limited period of two years and not exceeding five years in all when there is urgency. But the constitutional provision for an extension is in respect of people who have served the audit service and are retiring after 60 years. Mr Dua Agyeman is not qualified under the provision since he has never worked at the service.