You are a Togolese not Ghanaian - Audit Service Board to Domelevo

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

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

The Board says 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, Mr. Domelevo in his response has 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 said.

In explaining his date of birth he told the Board that the 1960 date of birth was a mistake “when I checked my information in the baptismal register of the Catholic Church in Adeemmra.”

“The register has Yaw as part of my name and also provides my date of birth as 1st June 1961 – this corresponds with Thursday or Yaw- the day of the week on which I was born.”

The Board in a another letter on March 2, 2021 said his explanation on his nationality was irrelevant.

The Board said the document provided by Mr. Domelevo “is not a valid document to authenticate your date of birth.”

“Observation of your responses and explanations contained in your above reference letter make your date of birth and Ghanaian nationality even more doubtful and clearly establishes that you have made false statements contrary to law.”

“Records made available to the Board indicate that your date of retirement was 1st June 2020 and as far as the Audit Service is concerned you are deemed to have retired,” it noted.

Meanwhile, the Board has hinted of their resolve to inform the President about the issue.

“By a copy of this letter, the board is informing the President who is your appointing authority to take necessary action. Additionally, the board is making available to the President all the relevant documents at our disposal.”