Former Auditor-General Daniel Yao Domelevo has sharply criticized the Ghanaian government for failing to uphold its promise of transitioning the country from a reliance on taxation to a focus on production.
Speaking at a public forum titled “Curbing Illicit Financial Flows Through Accountable Governance – Role of the Media”, Domelevo remarked, “Recently I remarked that we were promised that this country is moving from taxation to production, is that not it? But we move from taxation to robbery.”
Domelevo specifically referenced the government’s recent Domestic Debt Exchange Program (DDE), which he believes has financially burdened citizens. He stated that the government’s actions have gone beyond taxation and are now targeting the personal savings of Ghanaians.
“You put your savings there, and government is aiming at it. You go and buy treasury bills, and if you don’t take care, it may go after the bonds, et cetera,” he warned.
The former Auditor-General further expressed his frustration with what he described as “gaslighting” by the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration. He accused the government of squeezing the country’s resources and then failing to acknowledge the harm it is causing, stating, “The very people who are squeezing all the resources out of us look at you and say you are not praising them; you are not even being grateful for the harm [they] are committing against you.”
Domelevo’s comments were made during the public forum, organized by the Media Foundation for West Africa in Accra, which brought together key stakeholders in the anti-corruption sector. The forum aimed to explore the critical role of the media in addressing illicit financial flows within Ghana and across the region.
