Contrary to information circulating in the public domain that Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Senior Minister, and four others have been cleared in the Kroll & Associates saga, The Chronicle can confidently report that the five have not been cleared.
Rather, the parties are to settle the issue at the Supreme Court to enable the High Court to continue the case. This is because the Auditor General who inspected work done by Kroll & Associates, for which the Senior Minister paid an amount of $1 million, said they were satisfied with the evidence they found.
It would be recalled that a letter dated on July 2, 2020, which was signed by the Acting Auditor General, Mr Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu, and addressed to the Senior Minister, Mr Yaw Osafo Maafo, noted that he was satisfied with the inspection of the documents on the evidence of work done by Kroll & Associates, and that the lawyers of the Senior Minister could inform the Supreme Court appropriately.
The Auditor General, Yaw Domelovo, now on leave, had surcharged the Senior Minister over his failure to show evidence of work done by Kroll & Associates for which they received $1 million, and the matter has been a subject of litigation at the Supreme Court. However, the letter by the Acting AG, who had just taken over from Mr Domelevo who is on leave, suggests that evidence of work done by Kroll & Associates had been found.
Meanwhile, information available to this paper indicates that on July 3, 2020, Mr Osafo Maafo’s office received a letter from the office of the Auditor-General, stating, among other things, that they were satisfied with the process of inspection, so the lawyers may inform the Supreme Court to enable the parties go back to the High Court to continue with the case.
The same letter, which was sighted at the Supreme Court and filed by Mr Domelovo’s lawyer, also urged the Supreme Court to dismiss the case so that the parties can go back to the High Court so that the hearing of the case continues.
Mr. Osafo Maafo, according to sources, had offered the opportunity to the Auditor-General to avail itself for purposes of inspection and study of the documents, as the law entitles him to do, but the AG refused to accede to the request of the Senior Minister and took the decision to surcharge the Minister and four others a few days later.
Later, the Supreme Court urged lawyers for both parties to endeavour to sort out the matter amicably, failing which, the parties were to file their submissions 10 days from 24th June 2020.
On the evening of 29th June 2020, Mr Osafo Maafo’s office received a letter dated 25th June, 2020, and signed by the Auditor-General, informing Senior Minister that he would be available to meet his team of, at least, three persons with the documents evidencing work done by Kroll and Associates at 9am on Monday 29th or 30th June this year.
On 2nd July 2020, a team of auditors from the Office of the Auditor-General, led by one of the Deputy Auditors, availed themselves at the office of Mr. Osafo Maafo and indicated that all relevant documents evidencing work done by Kroll and Associates, and for which $1 million was paid to them, were inspected by the team.
Later, on July 3, the Senior Minister’s office received a letter from the office of the AG, which was also sighted at the Supreme court indicating that they were satisfied with the process of inspection, so the lawyers may inform the Supreme Court to dismiss the case and enable the parties involved to go to the High Court and continue the case. This means Mr Osafo Maafo has not been exonerated.
Public perception on the issue
Meanwhile, the public has linked the directives of the President to Mr Domelovo to proceed on accumulated leave to the issue involving the AG, the Senior Minister, and Kroll & Associates. This has generated banter between the two parties (AG and Office of the President), and had caused both to issue letters.
Domelovo’s letter to Office of the President
In a letter to the Secretary to the President, Nana Asante Bediatuo, the Auditor-General said the decision to instruct him to go on leave was not taken in good faith.
He said he had been instructed to take his annual leave because his work was embarrassing the government.
“I think it is necessary, however, to bring to the attention of the high office of the President a few matters relevant to our constitutional governance, due process, and the rule of law.
“Previous correspondence from the Chairman of the Audit Service Board (who works at the office of the Senior Minister), together with public pronouncement by ministers, make it clear that the Auditor-General’s work is embarrassing the government.
“The office must have been aware also that several appointees of the President have not, since the year 2017, taken their annual leave to date. The direction, therefore, that I proceed on leave, oblivious of other workers similarly circumstanced, gives the impression that the decision is not taken in good faith.”
Response from Office of the President
Meanwhile, the Office of the President has indicated in a response that its directive for the Auditor-General (A-G) to proceed on leave is backed by law, and was only ensuring that the Ag adheres to it.
Quoting portions of the Article 187 of the 1992 Constitution, section 10(2) of the Audit Service Act and section 31 of the Labour Act, the President’s letter justified the need for a public office holder to go on leave.
The post Not yet Uhuru for Osafo Maafo appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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