Amidu’s verdict doesn’t endorse extended retirement age for public officeholders – Deputy AG
Government has dismissed concerns that the Supreme Court verdict on Martin Amidu will open the floodgate for people who have passed the retirement age to be appointed to public office.
Former Deputy Auditor General, Dr Dominic Ayine dragged the Special Prosecutor to court arguing Mr Amidu cannot hold office as Special Prosecutor because he is more than 65 years of age.
The court in a majority 5-2 decision disagreed, dismissing the case.
The Former Deputy AG expressed disappointment in the ruling by the country’s apex court but respected the decision awaiting the details of the judgment.
Anti-raft campaigner Vitus Azeem, who spoke to newsmen expressed concern about the precedence that the latest ruling sets in the retirement regime for the public service sector.
“There is no exemption in the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act that says that the Special Prosecutor can be above 65 years old. I have not seen that. So I do not understand the basis for that decision,” he said.
But the Deputy Attorney General, Joseph Kpemka dismissed that claim adding that they only drew a distinction between the OSP and other public officeholders.
“What the court said was that the Office of The Special Prosecutor is a specialised agency not in the contemplation of 1901 as espoused by Dr Ayine and that has been our position all along,” Mr Kpemka told JoyNews‘ Evans Mensah.
He further explained that “the Justices of the Supreme Court agreed with that distinction that we drew their attention to. But they did not in any way endorse that all other public officers, even if they are above 65 should continue to hold office.”
The Deputy AG advised that critics refrains from “reading meaning into the judgement apart from what the learned Justices of the Supreme court have said.”
Source: Myjoy
