The Minority leader in Parliament has said the caucus does not trust members of the Majority group to follow on their threats to abandon the chamber if Finance Minister comes to present the 2023 Budget tomorrow.
The Minority, on the other hand, he said, will not abandon the censure motion it filed to have Ken Ofori-Atta dismissed from the Ministry.
According to him, the side is in for the long haul and will insist the letter and spirit of Article 82 are fully respected and an outcome determined by a secret vote after debate on the Committee’s report is submitted to plenary.
Addressing the media in Parliament on Wednesday, November 23 after the Majority side seeking dismissal of the Minister was coerced by the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) to rescind their decision, the Minority leader said the u-turn is a betrayal of the oversight responsibility of Parliament.
According to him, when the Minority embarked on the constitutional journey under Article 82 of the 1992 Constitution, it was not oblivious to the fact it needs the support and cooperation from the Majority side to succeed.
He said, “When we initiated the motion we firmly and sincerely believed our friends opposite will walk the talk with us and not just make radio and tv interview declarations but will manifest in supporting us on the floor of Parliament and exercise of a secret vote as required under Article 82.”
“We cannot but feel let down and betrayed and for me, it is a stab to parliamentary oversight and only weakens Parliament in exercising its oversight in calling Minister to order.”
“That’s very disappointing and that means that the Parliament of Ghana is failing the Ghanaian citizens and failing to protect the public purse,” he added.
The Minority, he said, simply does not have trust and fit in the pledge of the NPP rebel MPs to the public and their pledge to their constituents to have the Finance Minister dismissed
“The other day they said they were going to consult their constituents but they never consulted and then somersaulted from their original position. Don’t be surprised tomorrow too they may somersault,” he added.
