Auditor General, Daniel Yaw Domelovo
The Presidency has set the records straight over certain legal claims made by the Auditor General, Daniel Yaw Domelovo, as he proceeded on his accumulated annual leave.
According to the Presidency, Mr Domelovo, per his assertions, seemed to lack understanding of the labour law of Ghana.
“It is necessary to correct the wrong impression you have sought to create in the public domain regarding the President’s directive to you to proceed on your accumulated annual leave,” the Presidency said in a statement signed by the Executive Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asante.
Reacting to Mr Domelovo’s decision to question the legality of President Akufo-Addo’s directive, the statement said “the President has at all times acted based on sound legal principles, the rule of law and good governance practices, and the good people of Ghana cannot be misled by your lack of understanding of the position of the law, for which you may be forgiven since you are not a lawyer.”
The Auditor General on July 1, proceeded on leave in response to President Nana Akufo-Addo’s directive.
He was recently directed by the President to take his accumulated leave of 123 days.
Mr. Akufo-Addo had issued the directive in a statement signed by the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin.
The Presidency statement had indicated that per the records available, the leave will take effect on Wednesday, July 1, 2020.
Since his appointment on December 30, 2016, Mr Daniel Domeleve has taken only 9 days of his annual 132 leave days.
The president’s decision is based on sections 20(1) and 31 of the Labour Act, 2003(Act 651), the statement from Jubilee House had noted.
Mr Demelevo has since packed out of his office and handed over as directed.
The Auditor General, on Friday, July 3, 2020 issued a statement, announcing that he was going on leave as directed.
But in his statement addressed to the Secretary to the President, Jubilee House, Mr. Domelevo seemed to have fought back as he made reference to the June 29, 2020 letter from the Presidency which ordered him to go on leave.
“I write to notify you that, I started my leave for the year 2020 on 1st July 2020 out of deference to the office of His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Ghana and also out of the deep-seated respect I have for the office,” Mr. Domelevo wrote.
“I think it necessary, however, to bring the attention of the high office of the President to a few matters relevant to our constitutional governance, due processes and the rule of law,” he said.
“Your letter to which I referred, justified the directive that I take my “accumulated annual leave of 123 working days” because records available to the office indicate that I have “accumulated annual leave of 123 working days.”
“My knowledge of recent labour law and practice in the country is that no worker is deemed to have accumulated any leave on account of their failed, omitted, neglected or even refused to enjoy their right to annual leave, which the law guarantees for their benefit, not the employer,” he said.
He argued that to the best of his knowledge therefore, where in any given year a worker fails, omits, neglects or even refuses to take their annual leave, such leave is deemed forfeited with no corresponding obligation on the part of the employer to enforce the worker’s right to take their leave by assuming, deeming or declaring the forfeited leave, accumulated.
He added that by law, every person is entitled, save in very limited circumstances to waive what the law has ordained for their benefit, in this case, a worker’s leave.
However, the Jubilee House in thevletter signed by Nana Bediatuo Asante, responding to the Auditor General’s claims, says the Office of the Auditor General is not part of the categories of workers excluded from the scope of application of the Labour Act, namely, the Armed Forces, the Police Service, the Prison Service, and the Security And Intelligence Agencies, specified under the Security and Intelligence Agency Act, 1996, (Act 526).
The statement added that the provisions of the Labour Act therefore apply to the Auditor General, subject to the Constitution and the Audit Service Act.
“Both the Constitution and the Audit Service Act guarantee the Auditor General the right to take his annual leave as stipulated in his terms of appointment without it being varied to his disadvantage. See article 187 (12) of the Constitution, which is repeated in 10 (7) of the Audit Service Act,” it added.
By Melvin Tarlue