Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has clarified that the appointment of Kwaku Kwarteng, former Deputy Minister for Finance and MP for Obuasi, to chair the newly formed Economy Committee is not a demotion from his previous role as Chairman of the Finance Committee.
He emphasized the strategic importance of Kwarteng’s new role and stressed his importance to the Majority Caucus in Parliament.
Clarifying to the media in Parliament on Friday after several reports have suggested the Finance Committee Chairman has been removed from his position, the Majority leader argued his new role is quite important
He said, “One of the new committees of Parliament is the Economy Committee. In an election year, any serious political party would want to project its best.”
“Our respected colleague, Hon Kwaku Kwarteng is a very hardworking Member of Parliament. During his first term, he was a spokesperson for the economy and a government spokesperson. When we came to Parliament, he was a member of the Finance Committee, just like myself. And when we won power, he served as Deputy Minister of Finance.”
“He has appeared on many media platforms speaking on economic issues. Currently, he is the Chairman of the Finance Committee. Now, finance is a subset of the economy. We felt that with this new committee coming up, it is important to elevate our respected colleague to chair the Economy Committee so that he can take the fight to the NDC regarding their claims about economic challenges.”
“We know that our respected colleague, who has the competence in that area, can better showcase our issues on the economy when he is made the majority spokesperson on the economy.”
Afenyo-Markin addressed the misconceptions about the move being a demotion stating, “I don’t know why our media houses have put out there that someone has been removed.”
“That is not fair to the issue. I just want to clarify this so that everyone understands the rationale behind this decision.”
He reaffirmed the Majority’s confidence in Kwarteng’s abilities and stressed that his elevation to chair the Economy Committee is a strategic move to ensure the NPP’s best representation on economic matters.
The creation of the Economy Committee and Kwarteng’s new role is seen as part of the parliamentary majority’s efforts to strengthen their position on economic issues ahead of the upcoming elections.
