The Minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Parliament has tabled a Motion to pass a vote of censure on Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta in accordance with Article 82 of the 1992 Constitution.
The Motion, which stands in the name of Minority Chief Whip Alhaji Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak is supported by 88 members who have appended their signatures to it.
It listed seven reasons why the Minister should be made to vacate his position and these include:
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, particularly from 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 that has occasioned untold and unprecedented hardship of the Ghanaian people.
Addressing the media on Tuesday October 25 after tabling the Motion, Ranking Member of the Finance Committee Casiel Ato Forson, warned the Ghanaian economy is in such a bad state if care is not taken it will crash completely without hope of a recovery.
The Minority, he said, has no choice but to mourn the state of the economy in order to send a strong signal to the government they will not chicken out.
He said, “The economy is our livelihood. We will stand firm for the people of Ghana because they deserve it. We think the people of Ghana have done no wrong to deserve this kind of treatment and mismanagement coupled with ineptitude. And so we are acting from now.”
According to him, if the government and the Finance Minister have acted fast they would have been able to salvage the economy but their frightening ineptitude has resulted in the collapse of the ecoomy and causing excruciating cost of livig crisis to poor Ghanaians.
He appealed to the Majority NPP to support the Motion because the Minority alone cannot do it and stressed that MPs must assist the President to ensure this happens.
Mr. Ato Forson also called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to compel Chairman of the government Economic Management Team, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia to step aside because he has failed woefully.
“Parliament does not have right to censure him on that grounds if not the Minority would have gone after him first. I think the Governor has a role to play in this matter, and he should also pack his bag tomorrow morning.”
According to him, the Vice President has failed in his supervision and failed in the work that he has been mandated to do and so has no business to sit in that office and call himself Chairman of the Economic Management Team.
He said, “I call on you directly, Mr. Vice President, if you are listening to us resign. Resign as the Chairman of the Economic Management Team now to save the Ghanaian Cedi and the economy of Ghana.”
