The Minority has raised concerns over the responses of Finance Minister-designate, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, during his vetting on Monday, January 13.
Dr Gideon Boako, Member of Parliament for Tano North, addressed a press conference, expressing reservations about Dr Forson’s plan to address revenue shortfalls. He described the responses as evasive and unconvincing.
Dr Boako pointed out that the Minister-designate failed to clarify how he intends to address the revenue gaps without imposing additional financial burdens on Ghanaians.
“The Minister-designate’s unconvincing responses regarding how he intends to make up for the revenue shortfalls leave us with no choice but to think that he will scrap these taxes but introduce new ones, perhaps more draconian than those he would scrap,” Dr Boako stated.
He further argued that such actions would be akin to “giving with one hand and taking with the other.”
The Minority also questioned Dr Forson’s integrity, citing inconsistencies in his responses. During the vetting, he was accused of using incorrect data when defending his claims regarding the fiscal deficit for 2016.
Dr Forson initially cited a deficit of 6.1%, claiming to be charitable, but this conflicted with the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) data, which reported a 6.3% deficit. Dr Boako criticized this, remarking, “Can a Minister boldly claim he was charitable in presenting incorrect figures? Interesting.”