Govt’ll fully support transitional process - President Akufo-Addo assures

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has assured the President-elect Mr John Dramani Mahama, of his full support and that of the government for the transitional process and beyond.

That, he said, was to ensure that the next administration took off in the best of conditions.

He said it was in the interest of all Ghanaians for that to happen.

President Akufo-Addo, who was briefing the media after a closed-door meeting with the President-elect at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday morning, explained that the Transition Act required that within 24 hours a joint transition team should be established to begin the process of a smooth and seamless transfer of authority.

“So it is on that basis that I invited His Excellency, the President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, to come here for us to meet and kick-start the whole process.

“We shall be having a meeting this afternoon where the joint Transition Team will be formally inaugurated,” President Akufo-Addo assured the nation.

He said he was happy that the President-elect Mahama found it easy within the very charged programme to come so readily and quickly to visit him and members of the government to begin the process.

Transition Act

The appointment of a Transition Team is in line with Section 1 of the Presidential (Transition) Act, 2012, (Act 845), which enjoins both the incumbent President and the President-elect to appoint representatives to the Transition Team within 24 hours after the declaration of the presidential results.

From right: President Akufo-Addo, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku Agyeman, Vice-President-Elect and John Dramani Mahama, President-Elect, posing for the cameras after a meeting at the Jubilee House. Picture: SAMUEL TEI ADANO

Under Section 1(1) (a) of Act 845, the following persons must be part of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s representatives — the Chief of Staff, Attorney-General and Ministers responsible for Finance, the Interior, Defence, Foreign Affairs, Local Government and National Security.

Mr Mahama, in line with Section 1(1) (b) of Act 845, must also appoint an equal number of persons to be responsible for the above-mentioned portfolios.

The Transition Team shall also include the Heads of the Civil Service and Local Government Service, the Secretary to the Cabinet and the National Security Coordinator.

President Akufo-Addo and Mr Mahama can decide to chair their respective transition teams or delegate such responsibility to any person of their choice, pursuant to Section 1 (2) (b) of Act 845.

Before the media briefing, a team from both sides of the divide, including the Chief of Staff, Mrs Akosua Frema Osei Opare; a Deputy Chief of Staff, Adumoa Bossman; a former Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu; the Minister of Lands and Forestry, Samuel Abu Jinapor, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, on the side of the government, and the Vice-President-elect, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang; Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah; a former Deputy Chief of Staff in the erstwhile Mahama government, Valerie Sawyerr; the Spokesperson for the President-elect, Joyce Bawa Mogtari; a former Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, and a former Minister of Health, Alex Segbefia, on the side of the incoming administration had held a closed-door meeting.

Security briefing

President Akufo-Addo briefed the incoming President on the security situation, both internal and external, and on issues relating to the economy.

President Akufo-Addo said all the meetings were to make sure that the nation continued to march forward as a functioning and effective democratic state, which respected the will of the people, human rights and the rule of law and where everyone was secure in their daily life.

He said the two leaders spoke a little bit about the seeming lawlessness that took place over the weekend and expressed happiness at the intervention of the President-elect last Tuesday by speaking to the country about what was going on.

The President described the meeting as a very warm and constructive feeling.

Historic visit

Mr Mahama made a triumphant re-entry of about half an hour to the seat of government for the second time after leaving office eight years ago.

In his response, he said the meeting gave him the opportunity to thank President Akufo-Addo for being that gracious to give him a call to congratulate him after his victory.

“The time he called, he suggested 11 a.m. this morning to have the preliminary meeting towards setting up the transitional team, and that meeting has just ended. It was very cordial and I think we were very happy to be together,” the President-elect said.

He said the transition teams would drill down further into the matters discussed and added that he was happy about the assurance given by President Akufo-Addo for the two teams to work together in the interest of Ghana by ensuring a seamless transition.

“I believe that even after that transition, it would be nice for us to continue to keep a channel of communication so that the democratic credential of Ghana is consolidated as we all work together in the national interest,” Mr Mahama said.

The President-elect thanked President Akufo-Addo for his time and said on their side, they were very happy to work together.

He said they looked forward to the successful work of the joint transition team.