Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has said that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has lost political legitimacy following the call by his own Members of Parliament to sack the Finance Minister.
In the view of Mr Kpebu, asking the Finance Minister to go is an indirect way of telling the President himself to also resign.
“The call to sack Ofori-Atta is a good development in our constitutional democracy. The President has lost political legitimacy because his MPs are not happy with him and the Finance Minister who spearheads reckless borrowing. For every Cedi we borrow the president’s family becomes richer.
“Who appointed the Finance Minister? Now you have all your MPs calling on you to sack him. to the extent that the President sat for the Finance Minister to borrow, which every Cedi makes his family richer, calling for Ofori Atta to go, it is actually calling for Akufo-Ado to go,” he said Speaking during the Political dialogue series organized by Media General on Wednesday November 8.
Managing Editor of the Insight, Mr Kwasi Pratt Jnr, for his part indicated that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo refused to pay attention to warnings from within his own party about how the Finance Minister was performing.
Mr Pratt indicated that the action of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) lawmakers who held a press conference to call on the President to sack Mr Ken Ofori-Atta and the Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Charles Adu Boahen, was as a result of the failure of the President to listen to the warning signs.
that Mr Pratt said “there have been indications by the party that they are not satisfied with the work of the Finance Minister, there have been indications from the party for a Cabinet reshuffle but these have not been heeded by the President.
“There were were early warning signs but they were ignored, respected economist Kwame Pianim raised issue with the way the Finance Minister was operating but was ignored and so the refusal to listen to the sentiments within the party.”
Some members of the Majority caucus on Tuesday, October 25 demanded the removal of the sector minister, Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta, and the Minister of State at the Ministry, Charles Adu Boahen, as well as their deputies for the poor management of the country’s economy.
They threatened that they will have no business to do in Parliament for the government if this demand is not met.
“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,” Asante-Akyem North Member (MP) Andy Appiah-Kubi led the over 80 MPs.
“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.”
A meeting was subsequently called later Tuesday evening by President Akufo-Addo, who appealed for some time for his embattled ministers especially as Ghana is negotiating a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the 2023 budget is also being compiled.
Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu on Wednesday, in an interview with TV3‘s Roland Walker, promised to go back to the aggrieved MPs for a meeting and get back to the President.
On Wednesday, he released a statement on the outcome of the meeting with all the Majority MPs.
“After deliberations among the Majority Caucus today, Wednesday, 26th October, 2022, it was agreed to accede to the President’s plea.”
