I would be disappointed if Domelevo does not go to court – Adib Saani

Foreign Policy and Security Analyst, Adib Saani has said he would be disappointed if the immediate past Auditor-General, Daniel Yao Domelevo does not go to court to challenge the legality of his ‘forced’ retirement.

According to him, the decision by the Presidency to forcibly retire Mr Domelevo and earlier issues surrounding his involuntary ‘accumulated leave’ amounted to an abuse of power, hence the need for the former Auditor General to seek legal redress.

Speaking on TV3’s New Day Thursday, Mr Saani urged Mr Domelevo not to seek his reinstatement at the court but use the action to “prove a point” and to forestall such ‘unlawful’ practices in future.

“We are being faced with wanton disregard for law and order and such abuse of power would have to be stopped in its track, if not for himself (Domelevo) but for his children and grandchildren. We need to stop this once and for all.”

“Mr Domelovo should go to court not because he wants to come back as Auditor General but to prove a point so we are able to correct ourselves going into the future. If he comes back as Auditor General, he is going to find it extremely difficult to fulfil his mandate,” he said.

In a letter dated March 3, 2021, and addressed to Mr Domelevo, President Nana Akufo-Addo, through his secretary, Nana Bediatuo Asante said, “The attention of the President of the Republic has been drawn to records and documents made available to this Office by the Audit Service, that indicate that your date of birth is 1st June 1960 and that in accordance with article 199 (1) of the Constitution, your date of retirement as Auditor-General was 1st June 2020.”

The letter further stated that “Based on this information, the President is of the view that you have formally left office.”

The President’s directive has since sent tongues wagging with some civil society organisations and anti-corruption crusaders describing the move as “unfair and unjust.”

Mr Saani expressed concern over what he described as the pervasive nature of corruption in the Ghanaian society, warning that the canker has serious security implications.

While faulting law enforcement agencies for failing to take punitive action against persons found to have engaged in corrupt deeds, he said the country would rake in millions of cedis to undertake developmental projects if “we reduce corruption to an appreciable level.”

“There is a direct correlation between corruption, which is a human security issue, and physical security. These are the signs we see especially with the youth going into landgaurd and vigilante groups. Because of corruption, they lack the opportunity to be economically viable and financially independent,” he said.

He added that “What I am concerned and disappointed about is the kind of bigotry that sometimes we see on social media espoused by young people who should know better and be the torchbearers of the fight against corruption. The politicisation of the issue and sycophancy is what is breeding corruption.”