Audit board chair a trickster and a ‘hatchet man’ – Asiedu Nketia

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), has launched a scathing attack on the Board Chair of the Audit Service, Prof. Edward Dua-Agyemang, describing him as a ‘trickster and a hatchet man’.

The party believes the former Auditor General does not have the credibility to undertake any role assigned to him, and thus questioned why President Akufo-Addo appointed him.

In an address to the media by the party on Tuesday, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, General Secretary of the NDC, insisted that, the appointment of Prof. Dua-Agyemang has led to a number of illegalities and complete maladministration in the current government.

“It is the same hatchet man Dua-Agyeman, acting in the irresponsible, egotistic and sleazy manner that he has become infamous for, who has been responsible for all these acts of mis-governance and illegality. Shoddiness is his first name, dishonesty is his middle name and vindictiveness is his surname”, he said.

“The reputation of Edward Dua-Agyeman as a trickster and a hatchet man precedes him, and the slightest investigation into his background would have revealed the following facts about him”.




Grounds for the NDC’s claim

It was Dua-Agyeman who was appointed Acting Auditor General in 2001 when he was already past the mandatory retirement age of sixty years, and who stayed in office till mid-November 2009 when his terminal leave ended, even though the maximum duration beyond sixty years for his tenure under the Constitution is five years.

It was the same Dua-Agyeman, who the then Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Honourable Sam Sallas Mensah, then MP for Upper West Akyem constituency, accused of dishonestly staying in office after the expiration of his constitutionally permitted term and questioned the legitimacy of audit reports signed by him after 2006.

It was the same Dua-Agyeman, who hounded Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni, running mate of the then NDC Presidential Candidate Professor John Evans Atta Mills, Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, the former Chairman of the Electoral Commission and others when they criticized the NPP Government of the day under President J. A. Kufuor.

It was the same greedy Dua-Agyeman who harassed President Mills’ Government, claiming that he (Dua-Agyeman) was entitled to salaries from the state for the rest of his life after he had been paid ex gratia award as well as his emoluments.

Remove Audit Service chair; he lacks integrity -Aseidu Nketia

Johnson Asiedu Nketia said Prof. Dua Agyeman does not have the integrity required to hold the position.

“Dua Agyemang does not have the integrity and character to undertake such an assignment. The person who has been appointed by Nana Akuffo Addo to chair the Audit Service Board and who has been asked to recruit these private firms in the name of cabinet committee secretary is the one who has now been recycled to chair the audit service board to fight corruption.”

It’s not surprising Dua-Agyeman is interfering in Auditor General’s work

The Auditor General, Daniel Domelevo, has petitioned President Akufo-Addo over what he calls unlawful interference in his work by the Service’s Board Chairman, Dr. Edward Dua-Agyeman.

In a ten-point petition to President Akufo-Addo, Mr. Domelevo cited procurement manipulations, interference of audit processes, and unlawful circulation of audit findings among other things as the basis for his request for a presidential intervention.

But according to the NDC, the situation is not surprising because of the track record of the service’s board chair.

“You will recall that this same Dua-Agyeman is the subject of a recent petition by the incumbent Auditor-General, Mr. Daniel Yao Domelevo, addressed to the President of the Republic, complaining about the unlawful and unconstitutional interference of Mr. Dua-Agyeman in his work as Auditor-General and calling on the President to call Mr. Dua-Agyeman to order.

I’m not undermining Auditor General- Board Chairman

The Chairman of the Audit Service Board, Professor Edward Dua Agyeman, has denied allegations that he is interfering with the work of Auditor General, Daniel Yaw Domelevo.

The Board Chairman insisted that roles are clearly defined, and the Board was not interfering in the work of the Auditor-General.

According to him, per the Audit Service Act and the Audit Service Regulations, there are some functions he would have to perform, and functions of the Board which includes giving an instruction where necessary for proper management of the Service.

He maintained that he was not undermining the Auditor General.

“I have explained the circumstances surrounding all [the concerns he has raised]. Nobody will undermine the Auditor-General for anything” he said.

While denying the allegations, Professor Dua Agyeman also stated that he has also petitioned President Akufo-Addo on what he considers the Auditor-General’s non-cooperation.

“We have also submitted a letter to the president concerning the same issues of non-cooperation and one of the issues is that when he travels he doesn’t tell us. We don’t know when he travels and what he goes to do and so on.”

Source:citinewsroom.com