NDC Transition Team Demands Immediate Freeze on Last-minute Recruitments and Payments

The spokesperson for the incoming National Democratic Congress (NDC) government’s transition team, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has expressed serious concerns after the team’s first day of work.

Among key issues raised were last-minute recruitments and a significant payment of GH₵240 million to an entity that conducted business with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), indicating that these actions could have severe fiscal implications for the incoming administration.

“There were a few issues that came up that generated some discussions. Amongst them was the worrying issue of last-minute recruitments and payments in some ministries, departments, and agencies,” he stated.

Highlighting the payment to the ECG-related entity, Kwakye Ofosu noted that the incoming team requested a halt to the transaction until further scrutiny could be conducted.

The former Deputy Information Minister stressed that the timing of the payments and magnitude could adversely impact the public purse, given the precarious state of the economy.

“Good governance requires that the incoming government is given the opportunity to make these decisions,” he added.

While acknowledging that payments to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) might be justified to keep the power supply stable, he questioned the urgency and necessity of this particular payment.

“We have picked up information and indeed we’ve seen documentation relating to efforts to pay over GH₵240 million to an entity that is supposed to have done some business with the ECG. Now, if it was being paid to IPPs to keep the power on, one perhaps would not have an issue but it is being paid to an entity whose work in my view is not as critical as IPPs.”

Kwakye Ofosu revealed that the team suggested broader consultations to address these matters, citing the incoming government’s responsibility to manage the fiscal implications.

“The timing of the recruitment would have severe fiscal implications on the incoming government,” he remarked.

He added that the outgoing government’s representatives agreed to suspend the GH₵240 million payment pending further discussions at the next meeting of the transition team scheduled for Friday.

“We raised strong objections to these maneuvers and requested that they be put on hold. The government side agreed to this, and we will forcefully insist that this is a dangerous precedent,” he remarked.