The Office of the President says records and documents available indicates that the Auditor-General, Mr Daniel Yaw Domelevo should have retired from office on June 1, 2020.
Consequently, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has thanked him for his service and directed that his deputy, Mr Johnson Akuamoah-Asiedu should continue to act as Auditor-General until the President appoints a substantive Auditor-General.
A statement issued by Office of the President, on Wednesday, and signed by Nana Bediatuo Asante, Secretary to the President, said the attention of President Akufo-Addo had been drawn to records and documents made available to his office by the Audit Service that Mr Domelovo was born on June 1, 1960.
It said based on Article 199 (1) of the Constitution, his date of retirement as Auditor-General was June 1, 2020.
“Based on this information, the President is of the view that you have formally left office. The President thanks you for your service to the nation and wishes you the very best in your future endeavors,” said the statement.
The statement said Mr. Johnson Akuamoa-Asiedu, who had been acting as the Auditor-General when Mr Domelovo went on leave last year, would hold the fort until the President appointed a substantive Auditor-General.
According to the Board, Mr Domelovo’s records when he joined the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) on Ist October, 1978, showed that he was born on 1st June 1960.
He later changed the date to Ist June 1961, when he updated his nominees for beneficiaries record on 25th October 1993.
Mr Domelovo has, however, explained that he made the change when he saw on his baptismal certificate that he was actually born on 1st June, 1961, which confirmed his day of birth as Thursday.
But the Board has rejected his explanation, saying the documentary evidence was sacrosanct as there was no evidence of an affidavit, which legalised the change.
Mr Domelovo, nonetheless, reported to work on Wednesday, March 3, 2021, after reluctantly taking his 167-day- accumulated leave at the request of the Board and the President.
The tussle between the Auditor-General, Mr Daniel Yaw Domelevo, and the Audit Service Board reached a crescendo on Tuesday, after it became public that the board had written to inform the appointing authority, the President, that Mr Domelevo had reached retirement age.
It followed what the board said it had found that Mr Domelevo had changed his date of birth on the records of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) from June 1, 1960 to June 1, 1961.
By:Isaac Clottey
