Daniel Yaw Domelevo, the former Auditor General has boldly stated that appointees have been stealing public funds.
Daniel Domelevo asserted that this was not a suspicion but the truth on the ground.
According to him, when he was the Auditor General he used to tell some Members of parliament that his salary as an Auditor General was bigger than theirs but they were a hundred times richer than he was.
He noted that the Auditor General’s report shows that people holding public funds have always been misappropriating or using the money for their benefit.
In an interview on JOY NEWS, Daniel Yaw Domelevo detailed, “We are not suspicious of them (public officials), but they have proven time and again that they have been stealing the public funds. That’s the part—the evidence abounds, look at the Auditor General’s report. You see that people holding public funds have always been misappropriating or using the money for their benefits.”
“Many of them have been in office for just four years, a maximum of eight years, but see how filthy rich they are. They are terribly rich. And if you look at their salaries—I used to tell some of the MPs that as Auditor General, my salary is bigger than yours, but you seem to be 100 times richer than me. How did you make it?” he questioned.
Daniel Domelevo further reiterated boldly, “The truth on the ground not suspicion is that they have been stealing public funds. That is why we want to know how much you had before coming into office and how much you had on your exit. I’m not saying all of them, but some clearly have been abusing their office.”
The former Auditor General further revealed his enforcement of the law over asset declaration.
He revealed that even the Judiciary which should be the forefront of law enforcement didn’t declare their assets.
Domelevo added, “In fact, when we started, it was clear that even the judiciary—which we thought should be at the forefront of law enforcement—didn’t declare. Including the former Chief Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah and several High Court, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court judges, they were all not declaring”.
The former ORAL member further called out CHRAJ as a complete disappointment in punishing officials who fail to declare their assets.
“When people complained or petitioned the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), I was completely disappointed when the Commission just said that, well, there are no punishments prescribed in any law for them. Or that Act (1998) 550 does not prescribe any punishment. So, go and sin no more,”
“I thought that if the Constitution says you should do something before you can enter office, and you didn’t do that before coming to office, you are occupying the office unconstitutionally,” Domelevo emphasized.
Meanwhile, President John Dramani Mahama has boldly stated any of his appointees who fail to declare their assets by 31st March will face severe sanction which includes removal from office.
According to President Mahama, the move is to enhance transparency and strengthen the fight against corruption.
John Mahama on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, declared his assets and officially submitted it to the Auditor-General, Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu, at the Jubilee House.
He revealed he takes the declaration of assets very seriously and expects full compliance from all his appointees.
Watch the video below:
