AGI backs Finance Minister to remain in office
The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has expressed faith in the ability of the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, to tackle the country’s economic challenges.
Speaking at a meeting with the Finance Minister on Thursday, November 3, President of the AGI, Humphrey Ayim-Darke, said the AGI recognizes the hard work of Mr Ofori-Atta in managing the economy despite the challenges.
According to him, the Association appreciates the work of the Finance Minister.
“We appreciate your work, the times can be different, the challenges can be numerous but we in AGI believe in hard work. The real sector has been the hard work and we have been in this space for that long, we will circumvent the situation with you and your team,” he averred.
“You can count on our support because we love to do the hard work. We will offer advise and offer suggestions and alternatives.
“Our prayer is that, by the end of the day the output should be the testament , the ability to circumvent this current position is a test to your agility, it is a test to your agenda that you set up,” he added.
On his part, Mr Ofori-Atta assured Ghanaians that they have a Finance Minister who has gone through the aches and pains and nobody can really come and say the team managing the economy does not know what they are doing.
He assured businesses that their best bet is Ghana, adding that they can all achieve successes in the economy.
“Just to assure you that you have a Finance Minister who has gone through all the pains and the aches, nobody can really come and say you don’t understand what we were doing,” he stressed.
“The questions is, what resources do we have? How we are going to deploy them in the nation that we have? How do you stand firm in very difficult circumstances by being very confident that the nation is purposed for greatness and you are blessed to have the opportunity to lead where we are going.”
“Let me assure you all that your best bet is still Ghana, we can do it, we should do it,” he added.
The support for the Finance Minister to stay in office by the AGI, comes on the heels of the pressure that is being mounted on Mr Ofori-Atta to exit office due to the current economic hardships.
The Minority in Parliament has filed a motion to get him removed due to what they believe is the mismanagement of the economy.
Similarly, Members of Parliament on the side of Mr Ofori-Atta’s own party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), have also held a press conference asking President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to sack him.
They threatened to boycott government’s business if the President refused to heed their demand.
However, they agreed to a plea by Mr Akufo-Addo to have Mr Ofori-Atta stay on a little longer to conclude the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
