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Presidential (Transition) Act,
2012 ACT 843
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Section
The Transition Team
1.
The Transition Team
2.
The functions of the Team
3.
Meetings of the Team
4.
Sub-committees
5.
The Advisory Council
Handing-over Notes and Assets
6.
Handing over notes
7.
Availability of handing-over
notes
8.
Presidential Estates Unit
9.
Inventory of assets
10.
Vacation of official residence
Election of Speaker of
Parliament and Swearing-in
11.
Election of Speaker of
Parliament
12.
Swearing-in of the President
THE EIGHT HUNDRED AND FORTY
-FIFTH
ACT
OF THE PARLIAMENT OF THE
REPUBLIC OF GHANA
ENTITLED
PRESIDENTIAL (TRANSITION)
ACT, 2012 ACT 843
AN ACT
to establish arrangements for
the political transfer of
administration from one
democratically elected
President, to another
democratically elected
President, to provide for the
regulation of the political
transfer of power and for
related matters.'
DATE OF ASSENT:
31st
May, 2012.
PASSED by Parliament and
assented to by the President:
The Transition Team
The Transition Team
1 (1) Within twenty-four hours
after the declaration of the
results of the presidential
election in accordance with
article 63 of the Constitution,
(a)
the incumbent President shall
appoint
(i) the head of the presidential
staff appointed under the
Presidential Office Act, 1993
(Act 463),
(ii) the Attorney-General, and
(iii) the Ministers responsible
for Presidential Affairs,
Finance, the Interior, Defence,
Foreign Affairs, Local
Government and National
Security, and
(b)
the person elected as President
shall appoint an equal number of
persons as appointed under
paragraph (a) to
constitute a Transition Team
that shall include the Head of
the Civil Service, the Head of
the Local Government Service,
the Secretary to the Cabinet and
the National Security
Co-ordinator.
(2) The incumbent President and
the person elected as President
shall be the co-chairpersons of
the Team except that
(a)
the incumbent President may
delegate, to any of the persons
specified in paragraph (a)
of sub-section (1), any of
the functions of the incumbent
President as a co-chairperson of
the Team, and
(b)
the person elected as President
may delegate, to any of the
persons appointed under
paragraph (b) of
sub-section (1), any of the
functions of the person elected
as President as a co-chairperson
of the Team.
(3) Where the incumbent
President is re-elected for a
second term, the President shall
designate members of the
Transition Team.
Functions of the Team
2.
The functions of the Team are
(a)
to make comprehensive practical
arrangements to regulate, in
accordance with this Act, the
transfer of political power
following a presidential
election and a general election;
(b)
to ensure the provision of daily
national security briefings for
the person elected as President
during the period before tile
assumption of office by the
person elected as President;
(c) to ensure that the
salaries, allowances,
facilities, privileges and the
retiring benefits or awards as
determined
(i)
by the President under clause
(1) of article 71, and
'(ii) by Parliament under clause
(2) of article 71
and which are due to the holders
of the offices specified in
article 71 of the Constitution
are paid or accorded to those
persons without undue delay; and
(d)
to undertake any other function
which will enable the Team to
achieve the object of this Act.
Meetings of the Team
3.
(1) For the purposes of this
Act, the Team shall first meet
not later than forty-eight hours
after the declaration of the
result of the presidential
election in accordance with
article 63 of the Constitution.
(2) The co-chairpersons shall
convene any other meeting of the
Team.
(3) The co-chairpersons shall
preside at the meetings of the
Team and in the absence of the
co-chairpersons the two persons
to whom functions are delegated
under subsection (2) of section
1 shall preside .:
(4) Decisions of the Team shall
be arrived at by consensus, but
where the members fail to agree
on an issue, the co-chairpersons
shall refer the issue to the
Advisory Council for expeditious
determination.
(5) The members of the Team
unless otherwise provided by
this section, shall determine
the procedure for the meetings
of the Team.
(6) The quorum required to
transact business at the meeting
of the Team shall be nine
members of the Team present.
Sub-committees
4.
(1) The Team shall establish,
from among the members of the
Team,
(a)
an inauguration sub-committee,
which shall be responsible for
the organisation of the
inauguration of the person
elected as President into
office, and for the taking of
the oaths of office by the
persons elected as President and
Vice-President before
Parliament on the 7th January;
(b)
a government machinery
sub-committee, which shall be
.responsible for arrangements
for the handing over to the new
administration of the machinery
of the Civil Service, including
the Ministries and the
departments and agencies under
the Ministries;
(c)
a, presidency sub-committee,
which shall ensure the orderly
transfer of all official assets
and liabilities of the
President, the Vice-President,
the Ministers, the Deputy
Ministers, the Regional
Ministers, the Deputy Regional
Ministers and the
Presidential staff to the new
Administration; and
(d)
any other sub-committees which
the Team considers relevant in
the performance of any of the
functions of the Team.
2) A sub-committee shall consist
of not more than five persons
who shall select one of their
number to preside at the
meetings of the sub- committee.
(3) The procedure for the
meetings of the Team shall as
far as practicable apply to
meeting of subcommittees of the
Team.
(4) A sub-committee shall, as
soon as practicable, present its
report to the Team.
Advisory Council
5.
(1) There is established by this
Act an Advisory Council
consisting of
(a)
the Speaker of Parliament as the
chairperson;
(b)
one eminent citizen appointed by
the incumbent President; and
(c)
one eminent citizen appointed by
the person elected as President.
(2) For the purposes of
subsection (1), the Speaker of
Parliament who becomes the
chairperson of the Advisory
Council shall continue as
chairperson despite a change in
personnel in the Office of the
Speaker until the completion of
the work of the Team.
(3) The Advisory Council shall
determine the issue referred to
the Council under subsection (4)
of section 3 expeditiously, and
the decision of the Council
binds the Team and all of the
subcommittees of the Team.
Handing-over Notes and Assets
Handing-over Notes
,
6.
(1) The Office of the President
shall prepare a set of
comprehensive handing-over notes
covering the term of office of
the President as the executive
authority under article 58 of
the Constitution.
(2) The notes prepared under
subsection (1) shall include
(a)
the handing-over notes received
by the President and the
Ministers on assuming office,
and
(b)
notes on the activities of
. (i) the Office of the
President and the Office of the
Vise- President, and of the
agencies under the: portfolios
of the President and of the
Vice-President,
(ii)
the Ministries, departments and
the agencies, and
(iii) the Regional Ministers and
the District Chief Executives.
(3) The handing-over notes shall
reflect the accurate
developments which have taken
place during the tenure of
office and the projections of
development to take place before
the end of the full tenure.
(4) The original and five other
copies of the handing-over notes
shall be presented to the
Administrator-General appointed
under section 8 (2) not later
than thirty days before the date
ofthe presidential election.
(5) The handing-over notes may,
in addition, be in electronic
form.
Availability of the handing
-over notes
7.
(1) The Administrator-General
shall make available to the
person elected as President the
original copies of the
handing-over notes.
(2) Of the five other copies,
(a)
the Administrator-General shall
retain one copy, and
(b) one copy shall be
sent respectively to
(i) Parliament,
(ii) the Chief Justice,
(iii) the Council of State, and
(iv) the Public Records and
Archives Administration
Department.
Presidential Estates Unit
8. (1) There is established by
this Act, a Presidential Estates
Unit, the functions of which
are,
(a)
to take and keep an inventory of
the assets and properties of the
Government which are assets and
properties not vested in the
Lands Commission established
under article 258 of the
Constitution,
(b)
to ensure that the assets and
properties of the Government are
maintained in good condition and
tenantable repair, and
(c)-to ensure that, where
relevant, the assets and
properties of the Government are
transferred in good condition
and tenantable repair.
(2) The Presidential Estate Unit
shall be under an Administrator-
General who shall be appointed
by the President in consultation
with the Council of State.
(3) The Administrator-General
shall have the same terms and
conditions of service as a
Justice of the Court of Appeal.
(4) The Administrator-General
shall make recommendations to
the President in consonance with
article 179 of. the
Constitution, for budgetary
allocations for the purposes of
the transfer of the reins of
Government from one
administration to the next
administration.
(5) The Presidential Estates
Unit is responsible for the
procurement of any assets or
properties of Government which
are assets and properties not
vested in the Lands Commission.
(6) The Administrator-General
shall in procuring assets,
comply with the provisions of
the Public Procurement Act, 2003
(Act 663).
Inventory of assets
9. (1) The Administrator-General
(a)
shall prepare a national
register covering all the public
lands and any other lands vested
in the President by the
Constitution or any other law
and of all other official
assets;
(b)
shall conduct a stock-taking
exercise, in the presence of the
head of the household, of the
official assets in the official
residence and in the personal or
private residence of the
President, Vice-President and of
each of the Ministers, thirty
days;
(i) before the person elected as
President assumes office, and
(ii) before the incumbent
President leaves office.
(2) Subsection (1) applies to
other persons who by virtue of
public office are supplied with
official assets
(3) The Administrator-General
may conduct any other stock-
taking exercise to ensure
accountability and transparency.
Vacation of official residence
10.
(1) The incumbent President and
the incumbent Vice-President
shall each vacate the official
residences before the day of the
swearing-in of the person
elected as President, and, if
either of them so desires, move
into an alternate official
residence.
(2) Any other person who ceases
to hold office on the assumption
of office of the person elected
as President and is in
occupation of an official
residence shall vacate the
residence within three months
after that assumption of office.
Election of Speaker of
Parliament and Swearing-in
Election of Speaker of
Parliament
11.
(1) Two days before the
dissolution of Parliament, the
Clerk to Parliament shall summon
a meeting of the elected members
of Parliament to
(a)
elect the Speaker,
(b)
elect the Deputy Speakers, and
(c)
take the oaths of office as
members of Parliament.
(2) The Speaker shall, before
swearing in the members of
Parliament, take and subscribe
the oaths pertaining to the
office of the Speaker.
(3) The Speaker elected under
subsection (1) and the members
of Parliament who take their
oaths of office under that
subsection, assume office
subject to the operation of
article 113 of the Constitution,
and accordingly take office on
the 7th January following the
general election.
Swearing-in of the President
12.
The administration by the Chief
Justice of the oaths of office
to the person elected as
President shall take place on
the 7th January, following the
presidential election and in
accordance with clause (3) of
article 57 of the Constitution.
Miscellaneous
Interpretation
13.
In this Act, unless the context
otherwise requires,
"co-chairpersons" mean the
incumbent President and the
person elected as President as
the chairpersons of the
Transition Team;
"District Chief Executive"
includes the chief executive of
a Municipal and a Metropolitan
Assembly;
"Minister" includes a Minister
of State, a Deputy Minister of
State, an Ambassador and a High
Commissioner;
"official assets" includes state
owned property of all kinds and
any other state owned thing of
value;
"official document" includes a
secret official code, word or
pass word, a sketch, plan,an
article, a note or any other
document Or information which
relates to or is used in the
carrying out of a government
business;
"Team" means the Transition Team
constituted under section I (1).
Transitional provisions
14.
(1) On the assumption of office
of the person elected as
President, a person holding any
of the offices specified in the
Schedule shall cease to hold
that office, and shall be paid
the relevant retirement benefits
and the enjoyment of facilities
as provided by law.
(2) The functions of office of a
person who ceases to hold office
under subsection (1) shall be
performed by a person so
appointed by the President for
the period specified in writing
by the President.
(3) A public officer, whose
office is not specified in the
Schedule, continues to hold
office on the assumption of
office by the person elected as
President, subject to the
provisions of the Constitution
and of the relevant law
applicable to that public
officer.
(4) Until the appointment of the
Administrator-General, the State
Protocol Division of the Civil
Service shall perform the
functions of the Presidential
Estates Unit.
(5) Before the assumption of
office of the incoming Minister,
a person so appointed by the
President shall be in charge of
the relevant Ministry but shall
not take a decision involving a
policy issue except in the
Ministry of Justice where the
Solicitor-General shall be in
charge of the Ministry.
SCHEDULE
Section 14
1.The
persons holding office under the
Presidential Office Act, 1993
Act 463).
2.Ministers_and
Deputy Ministers of State.
3.Regional
and Deputy Regional Ministers of
State.
4.Special
Assistants, Special Aides to the
President, to the Vice-
President and to the Ministers
of State, Deputy Ministers,
Regional Ministers and Deputy
Regional Ministers.
5.Non-career
Ambassadors and High
Commissioners.
6.Persons
appointed by the President or a
Minister of State as members of
Statutory Boards and
Corporations.
Date of Gazette
notification: 8th June, 2012
GOVERNMENT PRINTER, ASSEMBLY
PRESS LTD., ACCRA.
GPCLlA434/350/5/2012 |
