President John Mahama
Outgoing President John Mahama has justified his last-minute decision to make appointments to certain key departments and agencies, saying he had not broken any law.
According to him, there is no malice intended for the incoming Nana Akufo-Addo-led New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, adding that the decisions were taken for the good of the country.
The recent appointments of heads of institutions like the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and others as well as the secret recruitment of NDC supporters into security services and other government establishments had set tongues wagging, with some people claiming that the outgoing president is trying to sabotage the incoming government.
The NPP has even filed a writ at the Supreme Court, trying to stop the appointments, claiming that they were being done in bad faith.
According to Philip Addison, who is leading the incoming government in court, President Mahama had all the time to make or confirm the appointments of some officials but failed to do so and so he could not fathom the need for the sudden turnaround to appoint into office people he did not want to work with.
However, at a meeting with representatives of the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference at the Flagstaff House on Wednesday, President Mahama said the issues would be sorted out before he hands over to President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo on January 7.
“Our democracy is evolving and so there are some constitutional issues that definitely have come up as to whether a president is still a president even after he has lost an election until the midnight of the inauguration. But I believe convention or legality might answer those questions.”
President Mahama said even though the transitional arrangements were ongoing, he is still the president and is supposed to be in-charge until he hands over.
“We are looking forward to the inauguration. The transition has gone smoothly so far and we have engaged each other in utmost good faith,” he told the bishops, adding, “So for whatever we agree to do, we set the pace for the future and so we’ll continue to work together for the greater interest of Ghana.”
By William Yaw Owusu