Some members of the Majority caucus in Parliament are calling the bluff of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over his refusal to sack his Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.
According to the MPs keeping Ofori-Atta post is deepening the downward trend of the economy.
The members of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) have therefore threatened to boycott the presentation and debate on the 2023 budget statement next month if the President does not remove the Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and the Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Charles Adu Boahen.
The NPP MPs were of the view that the prevailing economic situation in the country does not make it right for the two gentlemen to remain in office hence the President must ask them to go.
Addressing a press conference in Parliament on Tuesday, October 25, 2022, MP for Asante Akyem North, Andy Appiah Kubi said “We are unhappy with the developments in the country, we consulted our constituents who also expressed same sentiments.
“We want the President to remove Ken Ofori and Chares Adu Boahen.
“We are by this medium communicating our strong desire that the President changes the Minister of Finance and the Minister of State in the Finance Ministry without further delay.
“We want to serve notice, and notice is hereby served that until such persons as aforementioned are made to resign or removed from office, we members of the Majority Caucus here in Parliament will not participate in any business of Government by or, for the president by any other Minster.
“We hope that those of us in the back bench and members of the Majority caucus will abide by this prayer.
“We are saying that if our request is not responded to positively, we will not be present for the budget hearing neither will we participate in the debate”.
Already, President Akufo-Addo says he has no basis to sack Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.
According to him, the current economic challenges were not the fault of Mr Ofori-Atta who he said performed his duties excellently in his first term as President.
Speaking in an interview on OTEC FM in Kumasi during his recent tour of the Ashanti region, the President said he still had confidence in the capabilities of his Finance Minister.
“I came to office in 2017 under a stringent IMF programme… This same man (Ofori-Atta) was able to manage the affairs of our economy in such a way that in my first term, we were one of the fastest-growing economies in the world,” the President said.
“An average growth rate of 7 per cent which allowed us to initiate programmes such as Planting for Food and Jobs. So somebody who has been able to do that… The current difficulties are not his fault. So how do I do it (sack him)? What will be the basis? What is the rationale.”
Interestingly the same Finance Minister has sent the country back to the IMF.
The President said if the Finance Minister had not performed well in his first term when Ghana was the fastest-growing economy with an average growth rate of 7%, then he would have a reason to sack him.
There have been growing calls for the Finance Minister to lose his job following the decision of the government to seek economic support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
One of Ofori-Atta’s critics, Former Chief of Staff in President Kufuor’s administration, Kwadwo Mpiani argued that the utterances of the current Finance Minister before the government sought the intervention of the International Monetary Fund makes him unfit for the role.
“Honestly, If I were the Finance Minister (Ken Ofori-Atta) this is not a question of the President dropping me, from my utterances and then what is happening, I would just say Mr President, thank you so much, I think it’s time for me to sit back for another person to take over,” Mr Mpiani said in an interview with Joy News.
By Vincent Kubi