Assessing NPP’s 100-days: CDD slams vigilante groups, 110 ministers

Next Monday, April 17, 2017, will mark 100 days since President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo took over the administration of the country. But even before Akufo-Addo crosses that period, the Center for Democratic Development, CDD-Ghana, has registered its displeasure with some decisions taken by government.

CDD Ghana in a statement released on Wednesday, although commended government for speedily assembling its team in real time, it was not happy with the number of ministers the President appointed.

According to CDD Ghana, the 110 ministers assembled by the President will put pressure on the public purse. “CDD-Ghana feels badly disappointed by president Akufo-Addo’s decision to appoint 110 ministers. It flies in the face of the president’s own declared commitment to protect the public purse as well as its longstanding good governance advocates’ campaign for meaningful reduction in the size of government and resultant government spending. We believe that the appointments of so many politicians to manage the state bureaucracy will further deepen its politicisation and undermine its authority,” statement added. CDD-Ghana was also not happy with government’s seeming silence on attacks perpetrated by some vigilante groups affiliated to the NPP, namely Delta Forces and Invincible forces. “First, the many instances of NPP-affiliated vigilante groups’ forceful takeover of state assets and public facilities (including toilets, toll booths, school feeding programs, etc.) and the unlawful seizure of vehicles of members of the previous administration put a dent on the hitherto smooth transition process.

Worse still, the failure of government, and law enforcement agencies to deal decisively with the NPP-affiliated vigilante groups, mainly the Delta and Invincible Forces, that invaded sensitive government installations such as the passport office and Tema Ports and Harbor, appears to have encouraged the recent brazen attacks on the Ashanti Regional Security Coordinator and a Circuit Court in Kumasi, by the so-called Delta Force.”

CDD-Ghana further chastised government for hurriedly sacking Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives as well as heads of some state agencies. It added that, such practices are inconsistent with good corporate governance practices.

“We are also disturbed by the continuity in practice after electoral turn-overs whereby the chief executive officers and senior managers of public agencies and parastatals are summarily removed or asked to ‘proceed on leave,’ and to handover to a caretaker officer/acting CEO.

Such actions are inconsistent with good corporate governance practices, it fosters politicization of the public service as well as political exclusion, and undermines the fight against winner takes all politics.

The Center deems the interpretation of who is a political appointee under Section 14 (6) in the Presidential Transition Act 2012 too broad and badly in need of review informed by best practice,” the statement added.