A Member of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, Ras Mubarak, has welcomed the legal action by nine civil society groups against the Executive over the directive compelling the Auditor General, Daniel Yao Domelevo to proceed on leave.
The Civil Society groups had petitioned President Akufo-Addo in July this year to rescind the decision, but their demands were not met, forcing them to head to the Supreme Court.
Speaking to Citi News, the Kumbungu MP, Ras Mubarak, supported the move by the CSOs, describing the directive to Mr. Domelevo to proceed on leave as unacceptable.
“I think it is absolutely brilliant. It’s in the right direction and I hope that the CSOs will get a favourable judgement on this particular issue because it is not a prudent way of managing the nation’s resources.”
He added that “this current administration is overstretching its arm. You see blatant abuse of power and a show of force that is completely unnecessary. You ask yourself whether this is Nana Akufo-Addo’s private organization for him to ask somebody to sit at home for over 100 days without any work done while he continues to pay the person.”
The President directed the Auditor-General, Daniel Yao Domelevo to proceed on his accumulated leave on July 1, 2020.
He asked him to hand over to his deputy who will act while he goes on leave for 167 days.
About 1,000 Ghanaians in Ghana and abroad, led by Korieh Duodu and Lolan Sagoe-Moses subsequently signed a petition presented to the Presidency, demanding a reversal of the leave directive.
The Office of the President, however, said President Nana Akufo-Addo will not change his stance.
The Secretary to the President, Nana Asante Bediatuo, in a response to the petition said Nana Akufo-Addo’s position on the matter remains the same.
But according to Mr. Mubarak, the move is an abuse office and a ploy to cover up things that may be revealed considering that this leave is in wake of investigations into the disbursement of COVID-19 funds.
“So, these are a blatant abuse of office, and Domelevo was asked to go on his leave on the hills of attempts to get him to investigate expenditure relating to the disbursement of COVID-19 funds. This is an election year, they don’t want to be embarrassed by certain things and revelations that may come up,” said Ras Mubarak.