The Chair of the new government’s Transition Team, Chief Minister, David Francis, said the Transition Report has been concluded. “We have finalised it. We have moved to the production stage and it will be formally presented to the President and the Vice President in the coming days.”
Chief Minister Francis said part of the Report contains ten key recommendations with two imperative recommendations for immediate action. “The recommendations will inform the President to make decisions on the state of affairs of the country he inherited.”
He said the Report will be made public and copies will be circulated after a formal presentation to the President and Vice President.
People have raised issues as to whether there will be prosecution if people are found wanting. He said, “The two imperative recommendations will set in motion a train of events that will reassure the people of this country that governance is a key component of President Bio’s government.”
The Transition Team was set up with a very specific mandate but it was also time bound in the sense that the President expected the work of the Transition Team to wrap up within two months. The Transition Team examined four sectors; 1. Finance and economic development; 2. Social and human development; 3. Governance; and; 4. Infrastructure.
“The expectation was that during that time the full cabinet would have been constituted and the Ministers sworn in… and then operational dimensions of government kicked in so in effect the first cabinet would have taken place,” said Chief Minister Francis.
Most members of the Transition Team belonged to the SLPP and most of them are now Ministers or heads of parastatals appointed by the President. Many people believe the Transition Team should have been constituted from a variety of political parties, civil society and the media to ensure a “national face” to the Team and to ensure its independence.
The Chair believed the Transition Team was inclusive as… “The President wants to do a stock-taking exercise within the shortest possible time.”
Francis explained, “Obviously, the President would have loved the scope of representation to include CSOs and media but he wanted to understand the state of affairs at the time of assuming office. So for him it was to do something rapidly.”
Transition Team Chair, Francis, said, “It was very clear that this was a volunteer role so there was no cost. Of all the constituted members of the team, no one has been paid.” He added no sitting fees were paid but they did receive a fuel reimbursement for traveling to MDAs.
Francis add, “When I assumed the leadership, the first thing I did was to put a proper process of governance in place because at that time we had outgoing ministers and at the same time there was no proper functioning government. So, the Team found itself in a position where it assumed defacto governance of the State.”
Questioned whether he was satisfied with the work of the Transition Team, the Chair said, “I am very satisfied. The task itself is enormous to do a stock taking exercise of the state of affairs.”
He assured, “People are eagerly anticipating the Transition Team Report, but, let’s get it right. I am an academic not a politician. I am a technocrat with a political instinct. I like doing things properly. We have to produce a report that is reflective of what we think best represents the state of affairs.”
BM/21/6/18
By Betty Milton
Friday June 22, 2018.
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