Sulemana Braimah queries the Supreme Court’s decision, “Domelovo has already retired, so no consequences?”
Sulemana Braimah, the Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), is unsure of what will happen as a result of the Supreme Court’s ruling that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s appointment of an Acting Auditor-General while a substantive one was still in place was unconstitutional.
Mr. Braimah tweeted, “So the President faces penalties for his unconstitutional actions? For instance, if the victims of his unlawful activities pass away, we may merely state that the President should not be sued since the victims are no longer alive. Domelovo has already retired, so what harm can come from that?
Mr. Kofi Bentil, a private attorney, referred to the Court’s decision as “pyrrhic,” or “a victory that exacts such a crushing cost on the victor that it is equivalent to defeat.”
“We defeated the government in the Domelevo case, but I can’t celebrate since it was a hollow win. They are part of the issue when your Supreme Court‘s decisions make your victory meaningless,” he commented on Facebook. Braimah
The decision was made by the top court on May 31.
Recall that President Akufo-Addo asked Mr. Daniel Domelevo to take his accrued annual leave of 123 working days on Wednesday, July 1, 2020, and as a result, appointed an acting auditor general. Braimah
In a statement issued by the Presidency on Monday, June 29, 2020 and signed by the Director of Communication, Eugene Arhin, it was stated that the decision to order Mr. Domelevo to take his accumulated annual leave was made in accordance with Section 20(1) and Act 651, the Labour Act of 2003, which are applicable to all workers, including those who hold public office, like the Auditor-General.
A worker is entitled to yearly leave with full compensation under the Act after a calendar year of continuous employment, and neither the worker nor the employer may waive or forfeit this right.
According to reports, Mr. Domelevo has used just nine of the 132 working days of yearly leave he has accrued since being appointed Auditor-General on December 30, 2016.
The declaration referred to a decree issued on April 9, 2009, by Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, the third president of the Fourth Republic, ordering then-Auditor-General Edward Duah Agyeman to take his about 264 working-day accumulated annual leave.
According to the Jubilee House statement, President Akufo-Addo “paid attention to the precedent” when he ordered the Auditor-General to take his 123 working-day cumulative yearly leave.
However, the government was sued regarding this issue. As a defendant, the Attorney General’s Office was mentioned.
Nine Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) filed a lawsuit, asking the Supreme Court to determine that the President’s instruction violated the text and spirit of Article 187(7)(a) of the Constitution of 1992 or was inconsistent with it. Braimah
Additionally designated as defendants were the Auditor-General’s office and Johnson Akuamoah, the acting Auditor-General.
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