Government transition team denies allegations

THE government transition team has denied allegations of non-involvement of representatives of the former administration during the transition process and expressed its readiness to make public its reports after submitting it for the attention and consideration of the President.
It said it considered the comments and allegations purported to have been made by the former Chief of Staff, Mr Kwadwo Mpiani, on the work of the team as rather unfortunate and would like to provide Ghanaians with the facts and the context within which they conducted their activities over the last six weeks.
A statement signed by the Secretary to the team, Mr Alex Segbefia, denied the allegations and explained that after receiving the handing-over notes from their counterparts in the previous administration, they made it known to them that they needed some time to thoroughly study the various notes and contact them for further discussions afterwards.
It said because the notes submitted to the government side of the team were not clear, the team sought and obtained additional details from civil servants and heads of various departments and agencies in order to obtain more details.
It, however, explained that these additional information, contained in the reports of the sub-committees, was exactly what the government transition team wanted to discuss with their counterparts in the previous administration.
It said the team from the former administration indicated that they were not ready to do so.
The statement justified the denial, stressing that the participation of their counterparts in the previous administration was not deliberately limited, but where it was possible to obtain the same information from public servants in the ministries, departments and agencies, they had to do so.
“We respect their democratic right to choose how they will engage with the new administration, but we will not take responsibility for the consequences of their choices as we make our conclusions based on the factual information that has been made available to the government transition team,” it stated.
In accordance with laid-down procedures, the statement revealed that the report would be in two parts, including the reports on the situation in the various government ministries, departments and agencies and what the government had to do in order to begin implementing its own programmes and agenda.
The other, it indicated, would be a report on the transition process in order to assist the conduct of future transitions, hinting that, “This task should be the responsibility of the joint transition team. However, should the need arise, the government team will prepare its own report on this matter.”
The statement agreed to the view that fairness was what was required on their side in interpreting and reporting on information received from the previous administration and the recommendations it will make to the President.
It said it was because of this that the government team was desirous of meeting the team from the previous administration to clear outstanding issues to avoid any inaccuracies or doubts.
It said the government team would seek to establish and use credible due process and was ready to conclude its report for the study of the government of President Atta Mills.
The statement said records would clearly show that compared to the treatment meted out by the previous administration when they were in charge of the transition in 2001, the present government’s transition team had behaved with circumspect and decorum.
It recalled that the approach adopted by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to the then outgoing officials of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that brought about hardship, harassment and embarrassment which held them up to ridicule and contempt in the public eye.
"Our President was both a victim and an observer of the developments in the first transition exercise and thought through the pain and anguish experienced by his colleagues in 2001," it added.
These actions, the statement said, contributed in a large measure to the tension and polarisation that had characterised Ghanaian politics in the immediate past, noting that “the tension that existed between the two former President’s of this nation can be considered to have its roots in the manner in which the previous administration conducted itself when it came into office”.