The president completed the appointment of his ministers and other high-profile appointments within 6 weeks of coming into office.
He tasked all ministers to declare their assets and established a functional Delivery Unit at the Presidency.
This is a demonstration to the entire country his readiness to transform this country and to ‘hit the ground running’ without any delays.
Notwithstanding the above, the appointment of Mr. Eugene Ofosuhene as the Acting Controller and Accountant General of Ghana has been a worrying issue to me as a citizen of this country due to some inadequacies and irregularities in his appointment.
The Controller and Accountant General’s Department is one of the most critical departments of this country. The department was established under the civil service Act, 1960 (CA.5). The constitution and the administrative Act, 2003 Act 654 provides the legal framework that governs the operations of the Controller and Accountant General Department and The Controller and Accountant General of Ghana.
The Controller and Accountant General of the republic of `Ghana is the chief accounting officer and the chief advisor to the government of Ghana and offers advice on accounting matters to government.
It is against this backdrop that the appointment of anybody to head such a pivotal department be done in accordance with the laws of this country and the guidelines designed by the Civil Service of Ghana.
Mr. Eugene Ofosuhene was appointed as the Acting Controller and Accountant General on May 11th, 2017 to replace Mr. Seidu Kotomah who was appointed by ex-President Mahama.
Mr Eugene Ofosuhene is sixty-Six (66) years old. He was born on 17th October, 1951. This can be corroborated by the records of GIMPA, SSNIT and CAGD.
The retirement age of a public officer is sixty (60) years as stipulated clearly in section 199 (1) of the 1992 constitution of the Republic of Ghana. The Ghana civil service law 1993, PNDCL 327 also states the retirement age of civil servants as sixty (60) years.
In spite of these provisions above, the public service makes provision for limited engagement or contract appointment as clearly stated in the Ghana civil service document titled: ‘Guidelines on appointments, upgrading, conversion and promotions (AUCP) in the civil service’ 2015, section 9.0 (sub section 9.1-9.8).
Sub section 9.6 specifically states that, limited engagement after attaining the compulsory retirement age of sixty (60) years may ‘where the exigencies of the service require, be for a limited period of not more than two years at a time but not exceeding five (5) years in all and upon such terms and conditions as the appointing authority shall determine’ in accordance with the constitution of the republic of Ghana Amendment Act, 1996 (Act 527).
In short, despite the fact that I am not a lawyer, the guidelines have stated unambiguously the strict age limit of sixty (60) years for civil service staff and sixty-five (65) years for contract staff upon reaching the compulsory retirement age of 60 years. A further explanation and interpretation of these provisions in a superior court of adjudicature could be considered to clear any uncertainties.
The crux of this write up is not to doubt the credentials and academic acumen of Mr Eugene Ofosuhene or cast a slur on the presidency of his excellency Nana Akuffo Addo but to respectfully remind the president to act swiftly in addressing this anomaly in his appointment due to its implications on good governance and rule of law.
President Akuffo Addo is a known champion of democracy, rule of law and good governance and it appears he was in a way misinformed or misled into taking such a decision. I understand a petition was sent to the President and this I believe will not be new to the flagstaff house and the Ministry of Finance.
ABU SULEMANA
TAMALE
abusulley40@gmail.com
0269495810