The Member of Parliament for Anyaa Sowutuom has mounted a strong defense for the embattled Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.
Dr. Dickson Adomako Kissi in an interview on JoyNews’ AM Show on Thursday, disagreed with the position of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MPs that Mr. Ofori-Atta has mismanaged the economy.
According to him, although some NPP lawmakers want Mr. Ofori-Atta to resign, they are not in agreement with the issues listed in the NDC’s censure motion against him.
He indicated that some of the allegations levelled against the Minister are unfair and could lead to his incarceration.
Dr. Kissi further explained that the Majority Caucus has lost confidence in Mr. Ofori-Atta, hence the reason they disapprove of him presenting the 2023 budget.
“The key thing is, the NPP Caucus is saying that there’s lack of confidence in the Finance Minister, and it’s also affected credibility in the market, and those are the key reasons why we think he should go. Right now, let me be clear about one thing, the Majority Caucus is largely saying the Finance Minister should not present the budget… In our agreement with the President, we were under the impression that it was negotiation enough to complete 2023’s budget,” he said on Thursday.
“Some of the sound bites in media [from the Finance Minister] is why we then came out strongly that we think that he [the Finance Minister], should step aside and allow somebody else to do the presentation.”
On the same Show, the Tamale Central MP said the Majority Caucus has lost their credibility for refusing to join the Minority in removing the Finance Minister from post.
According to Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, the legislators who belong to the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) surprised everyone when they backtracked on their call for the dismissal of Ken Ofori-Atta.
This, he said, has caused an enormous dent on their reputation in the eyes of the citizenry.
“Look, the NPP MPs now have a battered credibility. Their integrities have been battered. Battered in the legendary fashion,” he teased.
A section of Ghanaians have been calling for the removal of the Finance Minister due to the current economic crisis.
In October, the demand intensified when some 80 NPP MPs called for the immediate dismissal of Mr. Ofori-Atta.
Barely 24 hours later, the said lawmakers issued a statement in which they indicated a short-term rescindment of their decision following a meeting with the President.
However, the Minority in Parliament filed a censure motion to get the Finance Minister removed, leading to an ongoing committee hearing on the motion.