On his first day in office, the expectation had been that the day would be used to undertake some in-house preparations and settling in before business resumed the following day.

Also, there had been the expectation that the President would show signs of apprehension on his first day, but, surprisingly, he maintained full composure and exuded the confidence akin to someone who was performing a normal routine.

At exactly 9 a.m., the President arrived at the main entrance of the Flagstaff House, opposite the Revolutionary Square, where a Guard of Honour had been mounted in his honour.

Right from his vehicle, he moved straight to the dais, where the contingent from the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) played the National Anthem, following which he proceeded to inspect the Guard of Honour.

Thereafter, he was ushered into his office, where he went straight into a meeting with his vice, Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia; the Chief of Staff, Ms Frema Osei Opare, and other key staff at the Presidency.

After that meeting, he moved into another meeting with members of the Transition Team and, thereafter, received a delegation from the Ashanti State who had called on him to formally inform him about arrangements towards the funeral rites of the Asantehemaa, Nana Afia Kobi Serwa Ampem II, mother of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.

Not long after that, another delegation from the Chinese Embassy in Ghana met with the President to congratulate him and pledge the continued support of the Chinese government to enhance bilateral relations between the two countries.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) side of the Transition Team presented interim reports to President Akufo-Addo on his first day at work at the Flagstaff House.

In all, 24 interim reports, representing all the sectors of the economy, were presented to the President by the co-Chairman of the Transition Team, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo.

Presenting the reports, Mr Osafo-Maafo said the team had a lifespan of six weeks and would present its final report to the President on February 10, 2017.

State of affairs

The decision by the team, he said, was to present the interim report to the President to enable him to have a firm grasp of the state of affairs as he kick-started his administration.

In between the presentation of the interim report and the final one, he said, ministers who would work with the President would be in place to work alongside the team to build a relationship of cooperation and provide the requisite information for the ministers.

That, he said, would ensure that the various processes went on very smoothly and cordially.

"We are still on the work of the Transition Team because there are still a few matters to be sorted out," he informed the President.

Mr Osafo-Maafo said his team had been provided with detailed handing-over notes on all the sectors which afforded the team the opportunity to visit any sector to get any additional information it needed.

"So what we have found so far is what we are presenting to you today," he said.

Hit the ground running

He said apart from the fact that each report had an Executive summary, the team had gone ahead to spell out details of what the President ought to do within the first 100 days of his administration.

"We wanted this to be very advisory, informative and at the same time useful for your administration to take off and hit the ground running. So in most of these reports we have looked at what is happening and advised on certain things that, in our judgement, need your attention," he said.

In his response, President Akufo-Addo said the decision of the team was very appropriate, considering the fact that it was his first day in office and that the sooner he was briefed, the better.

Challenges

That, he said, would provide the needed information on the challenges that confronted the government to inform decisions that ought to be taken.

President Akufo-Addo said for now not much could be done, apart from studying the reports and expressed the hope that the team would be available to help when the need arose.

He thanked the team for the energy and time it had expended in undertaking the assignment, adding that its decision not to avail itself of the allowances that came with the work was commendable.