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There was a concerted effort to drag Domelevo out of office - Kofi Bentil

By Mutala Yakubu
Daniel Yaw Domelevo
Daniel Yaw Domelevo
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The Vice President of policy think tank, IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, there was a clear plan by the presidency to get Daniel Yaw Domelevo out of office as the Auditor General.

President Akufo-Addo has asked Auditor-General Daniel Yao Domelevo to go on retirement and that has been done.

The Domelevo-Presidency brouhaha surfaced again on March 19, 2021, when the presidency in a 21-page statement rejected claims that Daniel Domelevo was haunted out of office because of his work which targeted highly placed public officials.

READ ALSO: Akufo-Addo's government will pay a price for Domelevo's removal - Kofi Bentil

Mr Bentil speaking on Newsfile on Joy FM on March 20, 21 said there were efforts from the presidency just to get him out of office.

"There was a concerted effort to drag Daniel Yaw Domelevo out, When you are given an information, it is up to you to check the information and examine it against the other. That's how it should be done. This president (Akufo-Addo) has undone a lot of the good will that he built many years ago"

Mr Domelevo was asked to go on retirement by President Akufo-Addo on March 3, 2020, after he returned from a forced leave of 167 days.

In a lengthy statement, Secretary to the President, Nana Asante-Bediatuo, said Mr Domelevo was appointed by the former NDC administration because of his loyalty to the outgoing President at the time.

The statement further noted Mr Domelevo was not an auditor as at the time Mr Mahama was appointing him into office.

“After losing the election, it became necessary for former President Mahama to change his nomination for Auditor-General, with the sole aim of saddling the then-President-elect, Nana Akufo-Addo, with an Auditor General whose allegiance was to former President Mahama, instead of the nation,”.

“… It must be noted that Mr Domelevo, hitherto, was not an auditor and had not been engaged in auditing. Before his early retirement in public service in 2010, he was director of payroll at the controller and Accountant General’s department”.

President Akufo-Addo said that despite these observations, his administration ensured that the Office of the Auditor-General was adequately resourced.

“The President has never held the view that the work of Mr Domelevo was embarrassing his government. On the contrary, the President has always been a strong advocate for the Office of the Auditor-General because he believes the work of the Auditor-General is necessary for ensuring that the country's financial resources are used prudently, and the public purse is protected.

“As a matter of fact, and of public knowledge, the President ensured that Mr Domelevo was provided the necessary resources required for the efficient running of the Audit Service because the President considered the work of the Audit Service a critical part of good governance”.