Inaugurating the Joint Transition Team at a brief ceremony at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) yesterday, the President also stressed the need for the outgoing administration to wrap up business and say farewell to Ghanaians at midnight on January 6, 2017.

The Joint Transition Team will, among other things, take stock of state assets, facilitate the smooth transfer of power, ensure regular national security briefing of the President-elect and ensure the payment of salaries, allowances, retirement and other benefits to parliamentarians and Article 71 office holders guided by the laws of the country.

With 26 days left for the inauguration of the new President, the team has the task of managing the political and technical complexities that may arise in the period.

Refreshingly, both President Mahama and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who will co-chair the team, expressed their determination to take the all-important exercise seriously and urged the members to do same.

The ceremony was brief but significant, as President Mahama and Nana Akufo-Addo entered the conference hall walking side by side, with the incoming Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, just behind them.

The gathering applauded the two leaders.

The atmosphere was a direct opposite of the tension and acrimony that existed between the two leaders in the build-up to the elections in which the NPP leader clinched a landslide victory.

Appointees

Officials appointed by President Mahama on his team are the Chief of Staff, Mr Julius Debrah; the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah Opong; the Minister of Finance, Mr Seth E. Terkper; the Minister of the Interior, Mr Prosper Bani; the Minister of Defence, Dr Benjamin Kunbour; the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ms Hanna S. Tetteh, and the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Alhaji Collins Dauda.

Representing the President-elect are a former Finance and Education Minister in the erstwhile Kufuor administration, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo; Ms Frema Osei Opare, the Head of the Staff of the Office of the President-elect; Ms Gloria Akuffo, the member responsible for Legal Affairs; Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, the member responsible for Finance; Mr Ambrose Dery, the member responsible for the Interior; Mr Dominic Nitiwul, the member responsible for Defence; Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the member responsible for Foreign Affairs; Hajia Alima Mahama, the member responsible for Local Government, and Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, member responsible for National Security.

The statutory members of the team are the Head of the Civil Service, the Head of the Local Government Service, the Secretary to the Cabinet and the National Security Coordinator.

The advisory council to the transition team is made up of the Speaker of  Parliament, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho; Prof. Kwesi Botchwey, a minister in the erstwhile Rawlings administration, and Prof. Mike Oquaye of the NPP.

Mahama congratulates Nana Akufo-Addo

Once again, President Mahama congratulated Nana Akufo-Addo and the Ghanaian people on overcoming “a significant democratic hurdle”.

He made reference to his address to the nation on the eve of the elections when he said Ghana would pass the critical test.

“And so here we are today to ensure the smooth transfer of power to the admiration of not only the rest of Africa but the entire world,” he stated.

Working together

President Mahama said beyond the transition, both sides must continue to work together in the best interest of the country, adding that it was only through that that a prosperous Ghana could be built.

He stated that political competition must continue but it must be healthy and productive, saying: “This is what makes Ghana unique on the continent.”

He assured the nation that the government would continue to function until midnight on January 6, 2017.

He spoke about attacks on NDC supporters and vandalisation of state property by supporters of the NPP in the wake of the latter’s victory and indicated that it was a worrying development that could mar the beauty of Ghana’s democracy.

“I must admit that some NPP supporters have also been victims of such attacks from NDC supporters,” he added.

While the President said he had directed the security agencies to secure state installations, he expressed delight that the NPP leadership had issued a statement asking their supporters to stop the attacks.

Co-operation and openness

Nana Akufo-Addo, in a four-minute speech, said it was refreshing that for the first time in the Fourth Republic the transition from one government to another was taking place without a run-off in the presidential election.

“This means we have sufficient time to do a complete and thorough job. With genuine cooperation and openness, our objective can be realised,” he said.

In that respect, he urged the respective transition teams to let cooperation and transparency be their guiding principle.

The President-elect noted that government was a continuing business and, therefore, what the team would do should be guided by the national interest.

He expressed appreciation to President Mahama for the cooperation he had given him so far.

“I have so far received full cooperation from His Excellency the President, for which I thank him, and I hope and expect that it will continue until the formal transition of power takes place,” Nana Akufo-Addo said.