It is interesting that members of the Transition Team from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have started issuing orders as if John Mahama is the President now.
We all know the outcome of the December 7 polls and by the sovereign will of the people John Mahama becomes President on January 7, 2025.
Until then, President Akufo-Addo remains the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces. It is strange to read media reports to the effect that Julius Debrah, Co-Chair of the Transition Team, is questioning certain payments by the Akufo-Addo government. We know Julius Debrah is an educated person and can read, and for which reason we have no doubt in our minds that he read the relevant provisions of our statutes before accepting to co-chair the transition team.
The Presidential (Transition Act) gives him no such powers, unless we are confused like him, but we are convinced we appreciate the laws better.
Soon, we may expose his ignorance before his actions cause dislocations in the governance architecture. We can bet our last resources that beginning from today, Julius Debrah may start issuing orders to chief executives to account to the NDC, even before John Mahama takes office.
Our worry stems from the fact that Julius Debrah once served as Chief of Staff to former President Mahama, and is better placed to understand the nuances of public administration.
Quite strangely, he is giving himself powers that are not contained in the law that puts together a transition team.
The actions of the NDC after December 7 are akin to the aftermath of a military takeover. We are not surprised however, because the leader of the NDC and President-elect has told us that we have short memories, otherwise Julius Debrah and his team will not repeat what the Supreme Court ruled against in 2019. What was it? A gentleman, Theophilus Donkor had filed a writ seeking clarifications whether a change of government necessarily means removal from office of chief executives.
The apex court ruled that the removal of heads of public corporations as a result of change of government is unconstitutional. In a unanimous decision, a seven-member panel of the court presided over by the Chief Justice, Justice Sophia Akuffo held that per Article 190 Clause 1(b) of the 1992 Constitution, public corporations were part of the Public Services of Ghana and therefore, such persons were public service officers whose appointments were protected by the constitution.
According to the Supreme Court, the appointments of such public service officers were governed by Article 195 of the Constitution.
The court also held that the removal of such public service officers must be done in accordance with the terms and conditions of their contract of engagement or it must be justified as stipulated in Article 191 of the Constitution. We feel sad to say so, but it is said that if you want to hide something from the African put it into writing, because though educated they do not read.
That is why Julius Debrah and his team have given themselves powers they do not have. That explains why some of the NDC apparatchiks are on hilltops threatening to jail perceived corrupt officials of the Akufo-Addo government.
The NDC and even President-elect John Mahama are not custodians of the law, and they will not be allowed to run Ghana according to their whims and caprices. Remember Betty Mould Iddrisu in 2009 screamed all over that “we will jail them” when late President Mills took office, but they did not jail even a bird. We know Ghana is a country of laws and not the rule of man.
The imaginations of John Mahama and his team is a pipedream. They are better advised to focus on meeting the high expectations of their supporters and the entire Ghanaians.