Private legal practitioner, Prof. Kwaku Asare, has said he has caused his lawyers to withdraw his case against the Auditor-General from the Supreme Court as events over the last days have rendered the issue moot.
Prof Asare filed the writ in July 2020 and says the reason for filing it no longer holds after the President retired the man at the centre of the issue, former Auditor-General, Daniel Yao Domelevo, on March 03, 2021 after returning from a compulsory 167 accumulated leave.
In the writ, the Accounting professor, alias ‘Kwaku Azar’, prayed the court to grant “an expedited hearing of the motion for injunction and the substantive cause given the important financial watchdog role played by the Auditor-General and the irreparable harm that any delay will cause to the financial systems and the integrity of the Constitution”, he said in a post a while ago.
He also said: “I also asked the Court to restrain the Deputy Auditor-General from acting as the Auditor-General since the country could not have both a substantive and an acting Auditor-General. The Court did not grant the injunction, did not give any directives pursuant to my prayer for an expedited hearing and adjourned sine die”.
Prof. Asare has in the past expressed misgivings about the court’s delay to hear the motion for an injunction, but he was unsuccessful.
“In the circumstances, there is no value in pursuing the case and it is why I have issued that directive this morning,” he said.
He tasked all those who were responsible and involved in the matter to examine their actions and deal with their conscience.
Below is the full statement
This morning, I directed my attorney to withdraw my case against the Attorney-General (Writ no. J1/15/2020) on grounds that the issues had become moot.
In the writ filed in July 2020, I prayed in relief 12 for the Court to grant “An expedited hearing of the motion for injunction and the substantive cause given the important financial watchdog role played by the Auditor-General and the irreparable harm that any delay will cause to the financial systems and the integrity of the Constitution.”
I also asked the Court to restrain the Deputy Auditor-General from acting as the Auditor-General since the country could not have both a substantive and an acting Auditor-General.
The Court did not grant the injunction, did not give any directives pursuant to my prayer for an expedited hearing and adjourned sine die.
When the Court, in a later case on the same day, recognized the Acting Auditor-General, I was alarmed as that essentially meant the Court did not only fail to act on my prayer for expedited hearing but had also taken sides by recognizing the Acting Auditor-General, a position unknown to the Constitution.
Shortly after that hearing, the Court took its two months vacation and here we are in March 2021.
As my writs make clear, any delays will cause irreparable harm to the financial systems and the integrity of the Constitution. The 9-month delay has just done what I feared and even worst.
In the circumstances, there is no value in pursuing the case and it is why I have issued that directive this morning.
The Constitution instructs that I act when I see a violation of the Constitution. That same Constitution too instructs the Court to enforce its terms. Not just enforce its terms but do so timorously.
The Constitution is a mere document. It is not self-enforcing. It is only as good as those who are charged with its enforcement in the triangle defense.
As this saga comes to an end, all those involved will have to examine and live with their conscience.
#SALL is the cardinal sin of the 8th Parliament. The Constitution has a voice on representation. But it is left to us to vindicate its terms.
Da Yie!
source: GHANA CRUSADER