Although Ghana for a period has witnessed not smooth but successful transition processes from one administration to the other, the issue of accusations from the incoming and the outgoing government has been a norm.
Ex-President Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings in 2001 was accused of unjustifiably keeping 18 government vehicles as his retirement benefits after handing over the Presidency to then incumbent president John Agyekum Kufour.
The handing over brouhaha continued when the outgoing president J.A Kufour transition team in 2009 failed to meet President-elect then, John Evans Atta Mills transition team ahead of a handing over ceremony. Speculations were that the outgoing Kufour led administration had something shady to hide hence its unwillingness to meet the incoming team for comparing of notes ahead of a handing over ceremony. The cost of the magnificent flagstaff house built by ex-president Kufour was an issue skeptics then believed the Kufour government was adopting measures to cover up.
Have we forgotten of the Ghc1.3 million worth of tea to have been consumed by the NDC in 2009? While the outgoing NPP government in 2009 kept telling Ghanaians that the economy was vibrant, the socialist NDC which alleged the economy was broke spent Ghc 1.3 million on tea, water, snacks and lunch during the transition sitting.
The tea and other consumables worth Ghc 1.3 million was then a ringing tone of the NPP and many Ghanaians who wondered how on earth a new government that described an economy as broke turned to spend such an amount on tea. Many Ghanaians then raised eyebrows over such a profligate spending costing the tax payer such an amount. Some wondered if the tea was imported from Mecca and the water imported from Jerusalem.
All this issues of transition gave birth to the transition Act which was passed to law in 2012. The presidential transition Act 2012 was establish for the arrangements of political transfer of administration from one democratically elected president, to another democratically elected president to provide for the regulation of the political transfer of power and for related matters.
Under this Act, the incumbent president shall in accordance with article 63 of the 1992 constituency within 24 hours after the declaration of the presidential election appoint the head of the presidential staff under the Presidential Office Act; 1993 (Act 463), the Attorney-General and the ministers responsible for Presidential Affairs, Finance, the Interior, Defense, Foreign Affairs, Local Government and National Security as his/her transition team.
The person elected as president shall appoint an equal number of persons as appointed by the incumbent president as members of his/her transition team. The incumbent president and the president elect shall be the co chairpersons of the team except that the incumbent president or the presidents-elect when absent delegates any member of their respective team to co chair the team.
Where the incumbent President is re-elected for a second term, the President shall designate members of the transition team to among other things make comprehensive practical arrangements to regulate, in accordance with the transition act, transfer of political power following a presidential election and a general election and ensure the provision of daily national security briefings for the person elected as president during the period before the assumption of office by the person elected as president.
The team shall ensure that the salaries, allowances, facilities, privileges and the retiring benefits or awards as determined by the President under clause (1) of article 71, and by Parliament under clause (2) of article 71 and which are due to the holders of the offices specified in article 71 of the Constitution are paid or accorded to those persons without undue delay.
The country tested the transition act in 2012 whereby the NDC government handing over to its own, better still John Dramani Mahama handing over power to himself, so if there were shortfalls of handing over one wouldn’t have noticed. This year is the first time the country is testing the transition act. Under the Act all ministries, agencies and department shall submit their handing over notes 30 days before general elections to the administrator general. In a case the incumbent wins the elections the handing over notes received by the administrator general is handed over back to the incumbent party and if a different party emerges winner of an election the administrator general hands over the notes received to the next government.
Bernard B.B Bingab, a governance expert in an interview with me disclosed that the administrator general who is supposed to take responsibility for the whole country lacks resource to perform his duties.
“When you give responsibility without power it becomes difficult, the administrator general is not resourced, he doesn’t even have one vehicle; he has just about two other staff added to him. How does such an officer perform his duties to the best?”
The 2016 general elections is historic as the first time in the history of Ghana’s politics that an incumbent president has been whipped mercilessly in an election contest. Three days after the Electoral Commission’s declaration of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo president-elect of the republic of Ghana, a transition team was inaugurated on the 12th of December, 2016. Following the successful inauguration of the transition team, the country witnessed allegations from the side of the incoming administration, the New Patriotic Party and responses from the incumbent National Democratic Congress.
Head of the president-elect team, Yaw Osafo Marfo shortly after the inauguration fumed over some late recruitment into security agencies and alleged award of contracts by the outgoing John Dramani Mahama led government. Responding shortly to these allegations, spokesperson of the NDC transition team and outgoing Foreign Affairs Minister, Hannah Tetteh denied and rubbished the allegation of award of contracts but entreated the next government to suspend the security recruitment process when it takes office if it suspects something fishy in it.
The issue of doctored handing over notes also popped up. The acting general secretary of the NPP, John Boadu also alleged that some ministers of the outgoing government are doctoring documents which are supposed to be handed over to the incoming government. This also witnessed some response from the governing transition team denying the allegation.
The signing of an 18 million euro e-waste management contract on 15th December, 2016, by the NDC, 8 days after the party lost the 2016 general elections grew suspicion from the NPP transition team. The NPP worried that the incumbent government decision may tie down the incoming NPP government with hostility. But the outgoing minister of Environment, Science and Technology Mahama Ayariga defended the signing saying the contract was pending on his desk since November 2016 prior to the elections.
The transition act is silent on whether contracts could be signed or awarded after an incumbent party loses an election. It appears the act plays emphases on state assets more than issues of award of contracts. Mr. Bingab, the governance expert described the recent approval of contract by the outgoing NDC government as unethical.
“If there is going to be any contract, you [NDC] have just barely a week or two to hand over so why are you signing a contract? Why are you putting this obligation on fresh people to come? Ethically it is not even right.”
These challenges that ensued during the period of transition to some extent characterized with dealings an outgoing government engaged in and for some reasons will not want the incoming administration to unravel while the incoming administration for what others describe as hungry for power and political witch hunt will deep its nose into happenings of the outgoing government to get hold of “facts” before taking over.
Past and present governments of the fourth republic have engaged in counter allegations during transition periods and this has a tendency of not destroying the beauty of democracy the country enjoys but can create chaos as well.
In order to ensure a lasting solution to issues relating to transferring power from an administration to the other, the transition act which lacks punitive action to sanction ministers of state, directors and departmental heads who failed to hand over before a stipulated time should be amended.
The office of the administrator general should be resourced to ensure a smooth transition. Government officials, ethically aside handing over notes to the administrator general ahead of general elections should vacate from government shelter and hand over keys of state vehicles to avoid issues of accusation and to avoid the embarrassment of being chased out of their respective offices. The administrator general when elections are due should issue a statement of the number of agencies, ministries and departments that have handed over notes to his office in order to if not end, curb the transition brouhaha.
The world according to Shakespeare is like a stage that actors come to play their part and leave the scene for others to continue. Electorates are now discerning and will not want a political party to stay in office too long to “mess” up.
For this reason Ghanaians will not hesitate to call for a change when the time is due. It is for this reason that an incumbent party and an incoming party should treat each other well for ‘what is good for the goose is equally good for the gander’. Other than that there will be ‘I do you, you do me’ affair when a new party assumes office.
The writer, Joshua Asaah is a broadcast journalist with A1 radio 101.1 MHz in Bolgatanga. His email is address is joshsaah@yahoo.com
