PC Appiah Sues AG

P.C. APPIAH-Ofori, New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for the Asikuma/Odoben/Brakwa Constituency in the Central region has dragged the Attorney-General (A-G) to court over the interpretation of some constitutional matters relating to the appointment and retirement of the Auditor-General.

A suit, dated July 20, 2007 and filed at the Supreme Court on behalf of the plaintiff by Boakye Agyen Chambers of Accra, chanced upon by DAILY GUIDE is seeking the relief of the Supreme Court to “a declaration that by the combined effect of Articles 17, 70, 71, 144, 145, 146 and 187 of the 1992 Constitution and on a true and proper interpretation Constitution, retirement age of the Auditor-General is comparable to and in pari materia to that of a Justice of the Court of Appeal”.

Also drawn in the writ is the Auditor-General, Mr. Edward Dua Agyeman, whose stay in office has drawn lots of controversies.

Mr. Ofori-Appiah, who is also a member of the Finance Committee of Parliament, is appealing to the Supreme Court to declare that on the true and proper interpretation of the 1992 Constitution, the Auditor-General is not a public officer within the contemplation of and for the purposes of articles 191, 195 and 199 of the constitution, but a public officer within articles 70 and 71 of the constitution.

“A declaration that section 10 (4) of the Audit Service Act, 2000 (Act 584) is inconsistent with and in contravention of the letter and spirit of the 1992 Constitution, and accordingly same be declared null and void,” the writ stated.

According to the writ, “a declaration that except for stated grounds in article 146 of the 1992 Constitution the Auditor General may remain in Office until s/he attains the compulsory retirement age which is comparable to that of a Justice of the Court of Appeal.”

The A-G has 14 days on receipt of the statement of the plaintiff's case to file or cause to be filed a statement in response to plaintiff's case.

Mr. Appiah-Ofori is bringing this action against the A-G in his capacity as a citizen of the Republic of Ghana.

Mr. Dua Agyeman's continuous stay in office has created hullabaloo especially from the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), whose General Secretary, Mr. Asiedu Nketia alleged on many occasions that Mr. Dua Agyeman was above 64 years and did not therefore qualify to be in office.

The constitution states that public officers, after going on retirement, could be engaged for a limited period of two years, but not more than five years, when there is the urgency.

The constitutional provision for an extension, however, is in respect of people who have served the Audit Service and are retiring after 60 years.

Edward Dua Agyeman has been Auditor-General of Ghana since 2001.

Prior to that, he had held a variety of positions including deputy Auditor-General of Ghana's Audit Service; Programmes Coordinator, European Union Human Resources Development Programme; Executive Director, Liberian Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Monrovia, Liberia; and Director of Education and Training, Institute of Chartered Accountants (Ghana).

In 2004, he was elected Vice Chairman of the Governing Board of English -Speaking Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (AFROSAI-E).

Mr. Agyeman has also taught in various higher educational institutions in the United Kingdom and Ghana, and has published over seven textbooks mainly in bookkeeping, accounts and taxation.