General News of Friday, 5 March 2021

Source: 3news.com

Mahama condemns attack on Domelevo’s nationality

Former President John Dramani Mahama Former President John Dramani Mahama

Former President John Dramani Mahama has condemned the attack on the nationality of the Auditor General Mr Daniel Domelevo who has been asked to go on retirement by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

His comment comes after the Board alleged that records at the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) provided by the Mr Domelevo indicated that his date of birth was 1960 when he joined the scheme on October 1, 1978.

The Board said again that the record also showed that the hometown of Mr. Domelevo is Agbetofe in Togo; making him non-Ghanaian but on October 25, 1993, some changes were made.

While the date of birth changed to June 1, 1961, the hometown of the Auditor-General was now Ada in the Greater Accra Region, the board claim in a three-page letter addressed to Mr. Domelevo on Tuesday March 2, just a day before he resumed work after proceeding on compulsorily leave, on Wednesday March 3.

The board further noted that he was due for retirement on June 1, 2020.

“The date of birth on your Ghanaian passport number A45800, issued on 28th February 1996 is 1st June 1961. That place of birth is stated as Kumasi, Ashanti Region,” the correspondence stated.

The Board said Mr. Domelevo’s reference to a Parish Priest and provision of his contact for further verification of his date of birth is not admissible.

“Observation of your responses and explanations contained in your above reference letter make your date of birth and Ghanaian nationality even more doubtful and clearly establishes that you have made false statements contrary to law.”

The Board consequently insisted that Mr. Domelevo was due for compulsory retirement on June 1, 2020, and was in fact not a Ghanaian but a Togolese.

“Records made available to the Board indicate that your date of retirement was 1st June 2020 and as far as the Audit Service is concerned you are deemed to have retired,” it noted.

Speaking after thy Supreme Court dismissed his election petition on Thursday March 4, Mr Mahama said among other things that “Selective deployment of military personnel was used as a tool to instil fear in some of our citizens to dissuade them from taking part in the voter registration and other processes. Others were falsely branded as foreigners and their citizenship called into question unjustly – an abhorrent nation-wrecking prejudice which has been directed especially against certain ethic groups of this country and has continued till date and has even recently been visited crudely on the Auditor General, Daniel Yaw Domelevo.

“In the last election, unprecedented levels of state funds and resources were doled out by the ruling party, and unprovoked, deadly violence inflicted on our citizens in several cases. In the process, eight of our compatriots were murdered in cold blood and several others maimed during the process of the elections.”