In a letter addressed to the Auditor General, Dame cited Article 187(5) of the constitution, saying the release of the COVID-19 expenditure report to the public is premature as parliament has not yet addressed it.
He added, quoting article 187 (6) further to say that Parliament must discuss the report and if necessary set up a committee to deal with any issues that arise before the Auditor General publishes it.
So, Dame asked Akuamoah-Asiedu to withdraw the report which is already in the public domain.
However, like some analysts, Azeem disagreed with the Attorney General, saying that the job of the Auditor General is sacred, and Dame should shun the independent institution.
“This is not the first time that the Auditor General’s Report has been published before being debated by Parliament. So I don’t understand why the Attorney General is suddenly concerned about this. Is it because of the embarrassing revelations that have been made?
“Has Parliament complained and shouldn’t it be left to the Speaker to call the Auditor General to give him a message that he is doing something wrong? Why didn’t the Attorney General complain to the Speaker instead of writing directly to the Auditor General? When the Auditor General is working no one has the right do anything for the work,” to Starr FM as quoted by starrfm.com.gh.
“The Attorney General cannot give directives to the Auditor General that if he has concerns he should write to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and not directly to the Auditor General. Maybe that is the purpose but I don’t think the Auditor General should bow to the intimidation,” he emphasized.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee in Parliament, James Klutsey Avedzi said that the Auditor-General did not violate any law by publishing his work because he has a constitutional requirement of 6 months to meet.