Auditor General charged with contempt over Osafo Maafo US$1m Kroll case

Auditor-General Daniel Domelevo has been charged with contempt for failing to respond to a suit filed by the Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo, which was challenging a US$1m surcharge on him.

According to Citi News, Mr Domelevo told the court that he was busy finishing up an audit report for Parliament hence his failure to respond to the suit.

But the court, presided by Justice Botwe indicated that the Auditor General’s reason was “untenable and an afterthought.”

She explained that due to his important role, Mr. Domelovo will be cautioned and discharged rather than sentenced.

Justice Botwe further noted that the evidence before the court shows that Mr. Domelevo was properly served and should have done the right thing.

Earlier this year, the Auditor General claimed that Mr. Osafo-Maafo and the Finance Ministry colluded to pay UK firm, Kroll and Associates Limited, US$1 million for no evidence of work done.

The UK firm in 2017 was contracted by the Senior Minister to recover assets from identified wrongdoers, among others.

According to the Senior Minister, the firm had done the work it was contracted to do and that there was enough evidence of work done.

But the Auditor-General later claimed that after audit, there was no evidence of work done by Kroll and Associates Limited and yet huge sums of money were paid to the company.

He subsequently imposed a disallowance and surcharge on the Senior Minister and four others involved in the contract.



Appeal

Not satisfied with the decision of the Auditor General to disallow and surcharge him and four others, the appellants filed an appeal against the decision before an Accra High Court.

They insisted that the determination by the Auditor General that the payment of GH¢4,869,421.87 without approval from Parliament and the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) violates the appellant's rights of hearing.

They further added that it did not form part of either the audit observations issued to the Ministry of Finance, nor the final report of the Auditor General laid before Parliament.