Political commentator and editor in chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Kwaku Baako Jr., has called on the NPP to calm down over the late appointments being made by President John Dramani Mahama, noting that the appointments are neither ‘illegal’ nor ‘unconstitutional’.
Speaking on the current most contentious issue in the country, Baako said the NPP have the option of reviewing these appointments and making any changes there aren’t comfortable with so they need to stop complaining to much about it.
“I don’t get the noise. You have the power to review those things that are within your remit.” he said on Peace Fm’s Kokrokoo.
“Somebody is signing an agreement, what kind of agreement is that, did the agreement have to go to parliament or not, did it go through the procurement law or not?
“If those deficiencies are there, then that is dead on arrival and if they force it, the new government has the mandate to review and to withdraw. So I don’t see the big deal,” he continued.
“What is happening is not illegal neither is it unconstitutional.”
Baako continued that the NPP did something similar in 2009 when leaving office, when President Kuffour implemented the Single Spine Salary Structure. But the late President Mills halted the implementation of the policy.
“Whatever it is Kufour did, presented a challenge to the Mills government so the government met with organised labour and stakeholders and decided to defer it at least for a year and implemented it in 2010.
“Obviously the Mills administration suspended the thing, subjected it to review, deferred implementation and began at the time it thought was in the national interest to do so. So what is the big deal,” he wondered.
The NPP are up in arms over some appointments made by the President, who they consider as at the end of his tenure and making the appointments in bad faith. Other late actions include pay increases for National Service Personnell and Public sector workers as well as contracts being awarded – all of which the NPP are unhappy over.