The Co-Chair of the Citizens Movement against Corruption, which is one of the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) that sued the Attorney General over the appointment of an Auditor-General when one was still in place, has welcomed the ruling that declared the action of the President as unconstitutional. The lawsuit against the Attorney General was brought about the appointment of an Auditor-General when one was still in place.
During an interview on Wednesday, May 31, at midday with Martin Asiedu Darteh on TV3, he said that the court verdict sends a clear message to the executive branch of government that it cannot interfere with the activities of institutions of the state such as the Audit Service. Specifically, he used the Audit Service as an example.
Mr. Senanu said, "I wouldn't use the word vindication but I would say that we are satisfied that the due process has been followed and that the Supreme Court of the land has ruled that indeed this was a travesty." When asked if they had been vindicated by the verdict, Mr. Senanu answered, "I wouldn't use the word vindication but I would say that we are satisfied that the due process has been followed."
"I believe that the general consensus among members of civic society on this matter was that it was not appropriate for the Auditor-General to have been ordered to proceed on leave. The way that everything unfolded, it simply did not mesh well with our legal framework, and as a result, we are thrilled.
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When asked a second time whether Mr. Domelevo needs to be brought back, he responded by stating that "We need to get Mr. Domelevo and ask him what he wants to do." It seems as if he has moved on, and it's probably not as easy as it seems to claim that you can turn back the hands of time.
The most probable scenario is that we will examine what it is that we need to accomplish going ahead. The beauty of it is that it conveys to the executive part of the government the message that one has to exercise extreme caution.
"When there are independent institutions of state set up as a counterbalance and you begin to influence the decisions of their processes, that will not augur well for our democracy, so it is a win for Ghana in terms of the separation of powers and the balance of powers in order to make sure that this country can run well," said one expert.
On May 31, the highest court in the land handed down its decision.
It should be noted that President Akufo-Addo nominated an Acting Auditor-General after ordering Mr. Daniel Domelevo to take his accrued yearly leave of 123 working days on Wednesday, July 1, 2020. This came after the President had asked Mr. Domelevo to step down from his position.
In a statement that was issued by the Presidency on Monday, June 29, 2020, and signed by the Director of Communication, Eugene Arhin, it was explained that the decision to direct Mr. Domelevo to take his accumulated annual leave was based on Sections 20(1) and Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651), which apply to all workers including public officeholders like the Auditor-General. Sections 20(1) and Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651) were cited as the legal basis for the decision.
A worker who has maintained their employment throughout a calendar year is eligible for yearly leave with full compensation. This benefit is guaranteed under the Act and cannot be waived, forfeited, or given up by either the worker or the company.
Since his appointment as Auditor-General on December 30, 2016, Mr. Domelevo is claimed to have used just nine working days of the 132 working days worth of yearly leave that he has collected.
The statement made reference to a directive that was issued on April 9, 2009 by the third President of the 4th Republic, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills. In that directive, the President requested that the Auditor-General at the time, Edward Duah Agyeman, take his accrued yearly vacation, which was roughly 264 working days.
According to a statement released by the Jubilee House, "President Akufo-Addo paid attention to the precedent in directing the Auditor-General to take his accumulated annual leave of 123 working days,"
However, a lawsuit was filed against the government about this topic. The Office of the Attorney General was included as a defendant in the lawsuit.
The nine Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) who filed the lawsuit requested the Supreme Court to determine that the President's instruction was inconsistent with or was in breach of the text and spirit of Article 187(7)(a) of the Constitution, 1992. This was their primary goal in bringing the lawsuit.
In addition, the defendants list includes the office of the Auditor General as well as Johnson Akuamoah, who was functioning as the Auditor General at the time.