The Majority in Parliament has raised an objection to a motion of a vote of censure filed against the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.
Speaking on the floor of parliament, the Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, argued that the Minority MPs failed to attach evidence to the motion to back their claims.
“Mr. Speaker, I beg to submit that the legal grounds or grounds for submission are not embedded in the motion. I am saying that, Mr Speaker, the motion is supposed to be advertised. That is what the constitution says. The constitution does not say you should accompany it with allegations as part of the motion; that is my contention. And if they beg to disagree, they should say so for the records to capture. And if there is any other provision that perhaps I have not read which allows you to state allegations, not facts, to support your motion, they should again draw my attention. We are here to learn. I’m not ashamed if I get it wrong, and I’m corrected. Mr. Speaker, I so submit.”
But, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, debunked the claim saying that there’s enough evidence to impeach Mr Ofori-Atta.
“We have made reference to constitutional provisions of Articles 178, 176, and 82. Mr. Speaker, to demonstrate with facts on this floor that the minister is in breach of the law apart from the fact that he’s trashed the Ghanaian economy, we’ll do so. You cannot question the competence of the Speaker in admitting the motion. And we have not given you any facts; we are only giving you headlines of the matters to which we’ll lead with evidence. Mr. Speaker, our evidence will be in the category ‘beyond a shadow of doubt’ – that the Ghanaian economy is a trashed economy, the cedi worst performing currency in the world.
“You have done what is constitutionally right. I expect him to be assuring me that his side will support this, and by consensus, we will save this country. We need to save this country, save its businesses. Businesses are collapsing; the industry is collapsing. The Ghanaian citizens are reeling under unprecedented hardships. That must be your concern. We are invoking provisions of the constitution.”
Pressure continues to mount on the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, to resign or be sacked by President Nana Akufo-Addo.
The clamour for his removal reached its peak after a section of New Patriotic Party (NPP) legislators appealed to the President to take action amidst an economic crisis that has seen inflation soar to 37.2 per cent and the cedi tagged as the worst-performing currency in 2022.
They stated the following as the basis for which Mr Ofori-Atta should be removed.
1. Despicable conflict of interest ensuring that he directly benefits from Ghana’s economic woes as his companies receive commissions and other unethical contractual advantages, mainly from Ghana’s debt overhang.
2. Unconstitutional withdrawals from the consolidated fund in blatant contravention of Article 178 of the 1992 constitution, supposedly for the construction of the President’s Cathedral.
3. Illegal payment of oil revenues into offshore accounts in flagrant violation of Article 176 of the 1992 constitution.
4. Deliberate and dishonest misreporting of economic data to parliament.
5. Fiscal recklessness, leading to the crash of the Ghana cedi, which is currently the worst-performing currency in the world.
6. Alarming incompetence and frightening ineptitude, resulting in the collapse of the Ghanaian economy and an excruciating cost of living crisis.
7. Gross mismanagement of the Ghanaian economy, which has occasioned untoward and unprecedented hardship.