Political Scientist, Professor Ransford Gyampo has severely criticized President Akufo-Addo for his conduct in forcing former Auditor-General, Daniel Yaw Domelevo, to proceed on leave. The outspoken academic argues that the President’s actions indicate a lack of respect for good governance.
In an interview with Citi FM on Wednesday, May 31, Professor Gyampo celebrated the Supreme Court’s ruling against the President’s actions, stating, “I think it’s a victory for democracy and victory for good governance, it’s good for all of us as a people. My little worry is that, I’m not a lawyer but all that I can say is that it was a straightforward matter, we all knew.”
“Even without reading the law, we knew that the President had no business acting the way he acted by ousting the former Auditor-General,” Gyampo continued, “We drew his attention that what he did was illegal, it also shows that he didn’t have much respect for good governance, he ignored all of us and perpetuated this kind of thing.”
In a unanimous decision on Wednesday, the Supreme Court deemed unconstitutional the directive from the Presidency that asked Domelevo to proceed on leave. The Court also found unconstitutional the President’s appointment of an Acting Auditor-General while there was a substantive Auditor-General in place.
The controversy began in July 2020, when the Presidency asked then Auditor General Domelevo to proceed on leave. Domelevo’s objections that this directive was unlawful resulted in his leave being extended from 123 days to 167, effective July 1, 2020.
In response to these directives, nine civil society groups, including the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Citizen Movement Ghana, Africa Center for Energy Policy (ACEP), and Parliamentary Network Africa, filed a lawsuit against the Attorney General. They argued that the directives were unlawful, as the President does not have the power to exercise such disciplinary control over independent bodies.
Despite the victory, the Court refrained from issuing further orders, including halting Mr Domelevo from proceeding on leave, due to his current retirement status.