The transition team of President-elect John Dramani Mahama has raised concerns over last-minute recruitment by certain state agencies ahead of the incoming government’s tenure.
According to the spokesperson for the NDC’s transition team, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, such recruitments will have severe fiscal implications for the incoming government when it assumes office from the outgoing President Akufo-Addo.
Speaking to the media during the inauguration of the transition teams for the outgoing and incoming governments, Kwakye Ofosu specifically mentioned the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), the Bank of Ghana, Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Interior Ministry, among others, as examples.
He expressed particular concern about the situation at ECG:
For instance, we have picked up information, indeed we've seen documentation relating to efforts to pay over 240 million Ghana cedis to an entity that is supposed to have done some business with the Electricity Company of Ghana.
Now if this was being paid to IPPs so that they could keep the power on, one perhaps would not have any issue. But it is being paid to an entity whose work in review is not as critical as IPPs. This sort of payment is quite huge and would affect the public purse in a manner that could be detrimental if not regularly done.
The former Deputy Minister of Information disclosed that the NDC’s team has requested that these payments be suspended to allow for thorough assessment by the incoming government.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and President-elect John Dramani Mahama officially initiated the 2024 National Transition Team on Wednesday, 11 December 2024. Both leaders emphasised the importance of a unified and seamless transfer of power in Ghana’s democratic tradition.