Kwaku Asare, Kwesi Prempeh criticize new top appointments at Audit Service

US-Based Ghanaian Professor, Kwaku Asare, and Executive Director of Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh, have all criticized the appointment of the two new Deputy Auditor-General and Assistant Auditor-General by the Audit Service.

Professor Asare said these appointments are all null and void and “continue to be in serious breach of the Constitution.”

The Board of the Ghana Audit Service has on Friday August 28 announced the appointment of Mr. Lawrence Ayagiba as Deputy Auditor-General.

The board also announced the appointment of Vera Quashie as the Assistant Auditor-General.

The statement said signed by the finance, Administration and Human resource of Ghana Audit Service, Roberta Assiamah- Appiah said “Mr. Lawrence Ayagiba who was successful at the interviews, has been promoted to Deputy Auditor- General and Mrs.

“Vera Quarshie who was successful at the recent interviews has been promoted to Assistant Auditor– General”.

But in a Facebook post, Prof Asare said “The Audit Service Board has appointed a new Deputy Auditor-General and an Assistant Auditor-General without the involvement of the only Auditor-General known to the Constitution. In fact, the Auditor-General has not even been informed of these new appointments.

“My view remains that these appointments, decisions and policies are all null and void and continue to be in serious breach of the Constitution. Audit Service Board meetings are not properly convened without the presence of the Auditor-General or his designee. The Supreme Court has a duty to come back from its leave to adjudicate on the urgent matter placed before it on whether the Auditor-General can be constructively dismissed.

“Parliament must speak more forcefully to this issue in support of an officer who is accountable to the chamber. The Audit Service Board is severely compromised and must be dissolved.

“The media must return to this matter and stay with it until it is resolved. Nothing is more important than this matter in ensuring financial accountability. The people must stand up for the right thing to be done and in defense of the Constitution.”

Reacting to this post, Prof K Kwasi Prempeh also said “These can only be administrative or statutory deputies at best; they have no constitutional basis or powers whatsoever, as our Constitution, like many others in the common law world, knows only a unipersonal Auditor-General. The only person who can authorize or appoint another person to exercise the powers and rights of the Auditor-General, in relation to audits, is the Auditor-General himself. The Constitution is very explicit on that. These Deputies are not constitutional deputies of the Auditor-General, as there are no such deputies under the Constitution. Ours is a ‘sole commissioner’-style Auditor-General, as exists in much of the Commonwealth.”