President confirms Akuamoah Asiedu Auditor-General
The President, in consultation with the Council of State, has confirmed Mr. Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu as the substantive Auditor-General.
A letter dated September 7, 2021, signed by the Chief of Staff, Mrs. Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, said the duties of the Auditor-General were as spelt out in Article 187 (2) of the 1992 Constitution.
“You will be responsible to Parliament in the discharge of your duties,” the letter, which was copied to the Minister of Finance and the secretaries to the President and the Vice-President, said.
Other terms and conditions that go with the position, the Chief of Staff wrote, would be communicated to Mr. Asiedu in due course.
Background
The Auditor-General took over from Mr. Daniel Yaw Domelevo, who proceeded on his accumulated leave on July 1, 2020, and ended it on Tuesday, March 2, this year.
About three weeks ago, during an interaction with the leadership of the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) and allied national civil society groups working on governance issues, President Akufo-Addo dropped the hint that the then acting Auditor General, Mr. Asiedu, would be confirmed.
The President said he wanted the man to be given sufficient time to develop the confidence of the population rather than rush the appointment for people to think that they wanted to plant him.
He said Mr. Asiedu had demonstrated sufficient quality, especially with the compilation and presentation of 12 statutory reports to Parliament.
Mr. Asiedu announced at a training programme for staff last month that the Ghana Audit Service had for the first time in 10 years presented to Parliament all the 12 statutory audit reports required to be made available to the legislature by June 30 each year.
The Chairman of the Audit Service Board, Professor Edward Dua Agyeman, told the Daily Graphic that the submission of all the reports before deadline was a remarkable feat that had not been achieved in the country since President John Agyekum Kufour left office in 2009.
“It’s been very difficult for previous auditor-generals to be able to do it, and he has been able to do it, so that is a great achievement,” he said.