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Jennifer C. Boylan with the Election of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo As

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Jennifer C. Boylan with the Election of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo As Ghana Jennifer C. Boylan With the election of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as President of Ghana in the December 2016 elections, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was back in power for the first time in eight years. The transition from National Democratic Congress (NDC) to NPP rule dominated the political scene. From taking control of national and dis- trict offices to rolling out the new administration’s social and economic platforms, 2017 was a year of major overhauls. These restructuring efforts decreased Ghana’s debt, generated economic growth and created jobs. The year also saw several con- troversies surface, including national issues involving the Delta Force vigilante group, the Ministry of Finance, and the Electoral Commission (EC). The extent to which Ghana’s economic growth was felt by everyday Ghanaians was also of con- cern, particularly given the increases in the price of petrol throughout the year. Domestic Politics Nana Akufo-Addo was sworn into office on 7 January as the fifth president of Gha- na’s Fourth Republic. The inauguration was attended by influential African leaders © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���8 | doi:��.��63/9789004367630_0�0 86 boylan including Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari, Côte d’Ivoire’s Alassane Dramane Ouat- tara, Liberia’s Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn. The new NPP government had its work cut out, given the abundance of campaign promises made in 2016, including turning the economy around, building a new factory in each of the 216 districts, $ 1 m development funding in each of the 275 constituencies, free senior high school (SHS) education across the country, and a dam in every village. The governance tasks were divided so that Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia and Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta would focus on eco- nomic strategy and financial reforms, while President Akufo-Addo would focus on judicial reforms, foreign policy and education. On 4 January, the then President John Mahama helped kick off an initially smooth political transition to the NPP by inviting the new administration to tour Flagstaff House. Just after Akufo-Addo was sworn-in as president, however, NPP-affiliated vigilante groups (including Invisible Forces, Delta Force, etc.) began forceful take- overs of state assets and public facilities, including the administration of school feeding programmes, toll booths, pay-to-use public toilets, and even sensitive gov- ernment offices including the passport office, Tema Port and Harbour, and National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) and National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) offices. The NPP’s reaction was mixed; while some leading members condemned the takeovers, and encouraged police to prosecute the perpetrators, others defended the seizures and pointed out that they were meant to protect state institutions and state resources. To be sure, there were numerous reports of items missing from government offices, including Flagstaff House, which were presumed to have been taken by members of the former administration. Missing items were such a problem that an official task force composed of officials from various government agencies was formed to investigate these issues. However, when news came out that 208 luxury vehicles were missing from the state house and that Akufo-Addo was having to use his own personal vehicle for transport, the takeovers escalated and armed ‘macho men’ began confiscating suspected government cars from the residences of for- mer government officials. One of the most brazen of these attempts, reported on 1 February, occurred when 15 armed security personnel, dressed in military uniforms and accompanied by Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority personnel, stormed the private residence of NDC National Organiser Kofi Adams and took custody of five luxury vehicles incorrectly believed to be state-owned. Civil society groups issued statements denouncing the unlawful behaviour in general, and Akufo-Addo’s State of the Nation address on 21 February condemned the lawlessness. In that speech, the president also claimed to have instructed the inspector general of police to apply the law irrespective of perpetrators’ political affiliations. Then, on 24 March, dozens of members of the NPP-affiliated Delta Force group arrived at the office of newly appointed Ashanti Region Security Coordinator .
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