NPP to review Mahama’s last minute appointments, contracts

The incoming Akufo-Addo government has condemned the last minute appointments of people to key state institutions as well as the signing of contracts by the outgoing John Mahama-led government, and served notice to review same within the remit of the country’s laws.

President Mahama who leaves office on January 7 on Tuesday appointed Joseph Whittal and Josephine Nkrumah as chairpersons of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, and National Commission for Civic Education respectively.

With just 17 days to hand over power to the New Patriotic Party, the Mahama-led government has been taking a number of decisions without recourse to the incoming government.

Some of these decisions include a 63 per cent increment in the allowance of National Service personnel and signing of various contracts to take effect from next year among others.

These last minute decisions have triggered a response from the incoming government transition team, which has described it as being in bad faith on the basis of what the team says is a breach of agreement.

“It is the view of the NPP team on the transition that this smacks of bad faith because there was this general agreement that without prejudice to their powers, there will be consultation on matters such as the present,” Kwadwo Oppong Nkrumah, who is the spokesperson for the team, told Joy FM Tuesday.

“The NPP team finds it most disappointing. The view of the NPP team is that the president elect will reserve the right to review these appointments as and when he assumes office,” he stated.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah said the president-elect would take consideration of all the legal perspectives on the issues.

“Secondly is the matter of some of these contracts that are ongoing again the decision was to have some gentleman consultation and a lot of it is not happening. For those as well, the NPP team would like to put out that we reserve the right to review.

“And it may be of interest to all such parties who are signing such contracts with government that notice is being served that these agreements at this stage will be subject to review, and therefore it may be in the interest of these third parties to also withhold their hand while we finish with this transition process,” he warned.

“Where there is demonstrable evidence that some bad faith is being demonstrated in some of these things, the law and its interpretation will be brought to bear on it,” he noted.

The Spokesperson said the chair of the NPP transition team has made effort to engage the government transition team noting “as I speak to you now we do not have any direct answers as to why these things have taken place on our blind side contrary to the agreement that was reached.”