The Majority side of Parliament, will this morning hold a crunch meeting to decide the next line of action on their demand for the President to sack Ken Ofori-Atta as Finance Minister.
Nana Akufo-Addo, yesterday, begged the leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament (MPs) demanding the removal of his cousin the Finance Minister, from the government as a result of the worsening economic crisis, for time to conclude negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, mentioned on Okay FM, this morning, Wednesday, October 26, 2022 that the meeting has been scheduled to brief the MPs and Ministers of State about his team’s meeting with the President on their demand to sack Mr. Ofori-Atta.
Some 80 MPs from the Majority side are said to be behind the demand which they insist could save the ruling NPP from defeat at the 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
The Herald’s insiders described the meeting with the President as heated and acrimonious with the MPs unyielding to the President, who had insisted that terminating the appointment of Mr. Ofori-Atta will disrupt the programme.
The meeting with the aggrieved MPs at the Jubilee House, had Nana Akufo-Addo, who had hitherto been arrogant about keeping his cousin on the job, now appealing to the angry MPs for calm.
Nana Akufo-Addo has asked Ken Ofori-Atta to be given three more weeks to conclude the IMF negotiations.
But one insider told The Herald “no one is afraid anymore. We are resolute”.
Citi FM also has reported that the MPs were not happy with the appeal and were still insisting on the Finance Minister’s exit.
The state of the NPP MPs’ minds can be seen from several posts that some of them have made on social media platforms.
One such is by the MP for Kwahu-Mpraeso Constituency, Davis Ansah Opoku wrote “Kwasi Kwarteng never wanted to leave his post. His mere resignation stopped the slide of the pound. The same is needed in Ghana to stem the hedging.
“Ken has spoken against credit rating agencies and the IMF. His continuous presence is delaying the program. He doesn’t have the credibility to lead a debt restructuring program, hence his delegation of responsibility to a 5-member committee.
“He has lost the trust of many, including Members of Parliament and the whole country”, adding that
“A fresh face will bring the 3 C’s. Competence, confidence and credibility.
He needs to help the President. He must resign now!
Some NPP MPs say several efforts to have the government address the plights of their constituents with regard to the ailing economy had proved futile.
They thus held a press conference on Tuesday, October 25, 2022, to voice their disquiet and demanded the head of Ken Ofori-Atta and the Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance, Charles Adu Boahen.
Andy Kwame Appiah-Kubi, the Member of Parliament for the Asante-Akim North Constituency and spokesperson for the disgruntled Majority MPs group, told the media on Tuesday that sacking Ofori-Atta and Adu Boahen will help restore confidence in Ghana’s economy.
“The recent development within the economy is of major concern to our caucus and our constituents. We have made our grave concern known to our president through the parliamentary leadership and the leadership of the party without any positive response.”
“We are by this medium communicating our strong desire that the president changes the Minister of Finance and the Minister of State at the Finance Ministry without further delay in order to restore hope to the financial sector and reverse the downward trend in the growth of the economy,” he added.
Several Ghanaians had mounted pressure on President Akufo-Addo to remove Mr. Ofori-Atta from office in light of the country’s current economic predicament, which has compelled the government to seek support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Minority in Parliament has also filed a motion for a vote of censure against Ofori-Atta.
One other NPP MPs, Eugene Boakye Antwi, who represents for Subin Constituency in the Ashanti Region, stressed that Mr. Ofori-Atta must no longer be allowed to continue as Finance Minister charging that Ghana is a democratic country and should not be run like a family affair; “We’re running a democracy and not a family dynasty.”
The MP for Okaikoi Central Constituency, Patrick Yaw Boamah, said the call to reshuffle the Finance Ministry is a good one if the Akufo-Addo-led government wants to succeed and break the cycle of eight per party at the helm of the country’s governance.
Mr Boamoah asserted that, if it requires Akufo-Addo to sack all his cabinet ministers and set up a new government, the MPs will support him.
“It’s a good call that as a concerned Majority, we want our government to succeed.
“So whatever it takes for the government to put in place the right measures, if it requires removing all the cabinet ministers and setting up a new government, we will support it”, he said.
Even the pro-NPP group, the Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) on Monday demanded the head of the Finance Minister and Mr. Adu Boahen over their handling of the economic crisis.
On Monday, on Citi Eyewitness News, Arnold Boateng, the General Secretary of AFAG, said “clearly it looks like the Finance Ministry and the government has dropped the ball on the economy.”
“Reassign the Finance Minister and Adu-Boahen because they have been there for a long time and their activities have caused the mess we are in now.”
“His posture does not augur well. He has lost the trust of the nation. The name Ken Ofori-Atta has become synonymous with failure, synonymous with incompetence and any adjective you can call.”
