Pressure group, OccupyGhana wants the President, Nana Akufo-Addo to immediately reverse the directive ordering the Auditor-General, Daniel Yao Domelevo to proceed on an accumulated annual leave.
“We call on the President to revoke the directive and allow the administrative system in the Auditor-General’s office to appropriately evolve, like every other institution, and perfect some of the very basic matters such as leave in order to safeguard the constitutional principles which justified guaranteeing the independence of the office,” the group said in a statement.
The President on Monday, June 29, 2020, directed the Auditor-General, Daniel Domelevo to proceed on his 123-day accumulated annual leave. The leave period was subsequently extended by 44 days.
Some civil society organisations in the country have not been happy with the directive and have asked the President to reconsider the decision.
OccupyGhana in a statement on Friday, July 10, 2020, said it has not been able to reconcile the directive to the Auditor-General.
“We find it difficult reconciling that directive with the constitutional injunction under which in the performance of his functions, which necessarily includes the mundane matter of whether, when, and how he takes his leave, the Auditor-General is insulated from the ‘direction and control of any person or authority.”
“First, leave is a constitutional right and not a statutory obligation. With respect to the Auditor-General, article 187(12) of the Constitution specifically mentions, recognises and protects ‘his rights in respect of leave of absence.’ These words are repeated verbatim in section 10(7) of the Audit Service Act.”
Over 2,600 individuals sign petition for reversal of Domelevo’s leave directive
More than 2,600 persons have signed a petition urging the President, Nana Akufo-Addo to reverse the directive with immediate effect.
The lead petitioners said there is no legal basis for the decision by the President.
They also argued that the leave directive prevents Mr. Domelevo from plugging the leakages in public finance and will erode the public confidence in the government’s commitment to fighting corruption.
“We wish to point out that since the alleged “mandatory” annual leave entitlement of a worker under the Labour Act is 15 days per annum, it is curious that the Presidency has nevertheless ordered the Auditor-General to take his full accumulated leave entitlement under his terms and conditions of employment (which has been variously stated as 123 or 167 days). We question why, if there is genuine concern for the wellbeing of the Auditor-General, and a genuine concern to conform with the Labour Act, that the request for him to take leave has not been limited to the statutory minimum of 15 days per annum,” the petition states.
Click here to read the full statement from OccupyGhana:
