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The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called on government to as a matter necessity form a Transition team in less than 30 days to elections as the Transitional Act 2012, states.According to the party, the Transitional Act 2012 required a transition team be formed 30 days to the Presidential elections but as at November 25, 2020, just 14 days to the general elections, the Akufo Addo government was yet to form the transition team.
Mr Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, Director of Election of the NDC made the call at a press conference on Wednesday morning in Accra.He said per the Transitional Act, Act 845 (2012) the transition team should have been formed on or before December 7, to ensure a smooth handing over on January 7, 2021.But that has not been done by the current government.The party is certain of victory at the December 7, polls and would not want the delay in handing over notes from the Akufo Addi government.Currently, the Administrator General of the Presidential Transition Office is retired.
There has not been any replacement.
AKUFO-ADDO’S FAILURE TO ACTIVATE THE PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION PROCESS
Section 6 (1) of the Presidential Transition Act, 2012 (Act 845) states:
The Office of the President shall prepare a set of comprehensive handing-over notes covering the term of office of the president as the executive authority under article 58 of the constitution.
Section 6(4) of the Act states
“The original and five other copies of the handing over notes shall be presented to the Administrator-General appointed under section 8(2) NOT LATER THAN THIRTY DAYS BEFORE THE DATE OF THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION”
It is exactly 11 days to elections and president Akufo-Addo who prides himself as a democrat who believes in the rule of law has failed to comply with the Act. We also have information that the Administrator-General has retired but a new one has not been appointed.
We are calling on President Akufo-Addo to trigger the transition process by preparing his handing over notes and also appoint a new Administrator-General to oversee the transition process within 24 hours after the declaration of results.
The first time in Ghana’s history when power was transferred from one democratically elected President to another through the electoral process was 2001. The second was in 2009.
Despite the smooth transitions of the two, there have been stories of administrative lapses, forced evictions and ad hoc seizure of cars, among others left Ghanaians polarized after the transfer of power.Indeed, the political transition from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Government to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Government represented a political and constitutional first in the country.It was the first time in the history of post-independence Ghana that political power had been constitutionally transferred from one political party to a different political party.For that very reason, there was no precedent to guide the two parties that were involved in the transition, and therefore many mistakes were made. Those mistakes left in their wake acrimony, tension, ill-feeling and a lot of bad blood which in turn led to intense interparty hostility.The lesson from that botched transition of 2001 was that the nation must prepare for future transitions of that nature by agreeing on a multi-partisan framework and ground rules and regulations to govern and guide the transitions of the future. Underlying that framework must be an appreciation of the difference between “y’atu aban” (we have overthrown the Government) and “y’asesa aban” (we have changed the Government). Because the only precedent available in 2001 was one of “y’atu aban”, that transition was guided more by features of dealing with an overthrown Government than with a changed Government (ibid).Per that experience, the PRESIDENTIAL (TRANSITION) ACT 201,2 ‘was established to make arrangements for the political transfer of
administration from one democratically elected.President, to another democratically’ elected President, to provide for regulation of
the political transfer of power.It state that, the Transition Team. (1) Within twenty-four hours after the declaration of the results of
the presidential election in accordance with article 63 of the Constitution,
(a) the incumbent President shall appoint
(i) the head of the presidential staff appointed under
the Presidential Office Act; 1993 (Act 463),
(ii) the Attorney-General, and
(iii) the Ministers responsible for Presidential Affairs,
Finance, the Interior, Defence, Foreign Affairs, Local
Government and National Security, and(b) the person elected as President shall appoint an equal number
of persons as appointed under paragraph (a)
to constitute a Transition Team that Shall include the Head of the Civil
Service, the Head of-the Local Government Services, the Secretary to the Cabinet and the National Security Coordinator.
(2) The incumbent President and’ the person elected as President
shall be the co-chairpersons of the Team except that
(a) the incumbent President may delegate, to any of the persons
specified in para.graph (a) of sub section (1), any of the
functions of the incumbent President as a co-chairperson
of the Team, and
(b) the person elected as President may delegate, to any of the
persons appointed under paragraph (b) of sub-section (1),
any of the functions of the person elected as President as a
co-chairperson of the Team.
(3) Where the incumbent President.is re-elected for a second term,
the President shall designate members of the Transition Team.The functions of the Team are
(a) to make comprehensive practical arrangements to regulate,
in accordance with this Act, the transfer of political power
following a presidential election and a general election;
(b) to 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 P.resident;
(c) to ensure that the salaries, allowances, facilities, privileges
and the retiring benefits or awards as determined
(i) by the President under clause (1) of article 71, and
(ii) 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; and
(d) to undertake any other function which will enable the Team
to achieve the object of this Act.Source:
