Majority MPs “expect Prez to act” on Ofori-Atta’s dismissal
The Spokesperson for the Majority Members of Parliament (MPs) calling for the sacking of Finance Minister, [Ken Ofori-Atta], Andy Kwame Appiah-Kubi says they have fulfilled their part of the bargain and expect the President [Nana Akufo-Addo] to act.
“We expect the President to respect a roadmap to address our request and that means that when we get to the end of it, the president will also perform what we asked him to do.”
The Majority MPs last month made a request to the president and having meeting him, and other executive of the New Patriotic Party, they decided to call off their boycott of the 2023 Budget statement, however after the presentation of the budget last week, they maintain their stance has not changed and await the president on his part of the bargain.
“We made a request to him and he said, wait till we finish the budget, thereafter I will see to your request, so we him to accede to our request.”
He indicated that they expect Mr. Ofori-Atta to be “disengaged after appropriation”.
The MPs last month however, called off the demands until an ongoing negotiation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for support to the country’s economy is completed.
The MPs from the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) said in a statement on Wednesday October 26, 2022 that President Akufo-Addo told them “their demands would be acted upon” after the upcoming 2023 budget reading and finalization of IMF negotiations.
The MPs said their demand is to restore hope in the financial sector and reverse the downward trend of the economy.
Ofori-Atta had earlier rejected any possibility of going back to the IMF after hurriedly ending an ongoing programme signed onto by the previous government in 2015.
But the country’s economy has been in bad shape. Public debt has been rising beyond sustainable levels. The debt as at March 2022, had exceeded 80 per cent, according to the Bank of Ghana. The public debt has increased to 80.1 per cent of GDP.
