Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong, has criticised former President John Dramani Mahama over his call for the dismissal of Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister of Finance.
According to him, Mahama should lack the impetus to make such a call stressing that he was not being fair to the minister.
In an interview with Accra-based Citi TV, the MP in explaining his point indicated that Mahama has once been president and during his tenure, the country was plunged into darkness in what became known as ‘dumsor’.
He stated that under the tenure of the former President, the country initiated moves to seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund in 2015.
He contended that John Mahama refused to sack his finance minister at the time, Seth Terkper.
“President Mahama is not being fair to the finance minister. If you request that, I will agree because you have not been in that vehicle before. President Mahama was in the vehicle when the was so-called ‘dumsor’.
“President Mahama was in the vehicle when he took us to IMF with his finance minister. Did he ever fire any finance minister? This is the question I ask. Ghanaians can ask for that and I agree with them hundred per cent. Elsewhere maybe the finance minister would have resigned himself. Well, it is up to him [to decide to honourably resign]. That I don’t have a problem with.
“But the very person who is asking for this has been the before and he did nothing. The depreciation of the Cedi is my problem. That is the only challenge we have now that we need to address. But in 2014…have we forgotten? We went through the same under president Mahama. What did he do? The only solution is to take us to IMF,” Ken Agyapong said.
Former President John Mahama while delivering a lecture titled ‘Building The Ghana We Want’, said it was untenable for Ken Ofori-Atta to remain at post with the claim that he should be allowed to conclude ongoing negotiations with IMF as well as read the budget statement scheduled for November.
He was reacting to the latest move of some NPP MPs who organized a press conference on October 25 to demand the sack of the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta together with Charles Adu Boahene, Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance, failure which they will not pursue government business in Parliament.
Following this, the president has held meetings with the MPs where it is reported that he has appealed to them to allow Ken Ofori-Atta in particular complete the IMF negotiations.
The Majority Caucus in a statement confirmed that the demands of the MPs will be ‘acted upon’ after the conclusion of IMF negotiations and the presentation of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy in November 2022, and the subsequent passage of the Appropriation Bill.
But commenting on the matter, Mahama could not comprehend how Ofori-Atta’s absence will affect the IMF negotiations as well as budget preparation.
“I only got to know of a press statement by the Majority of a so-called compromise that the Minister will leave after he has completed the budget and the IMF negotiations…budget preparations and IMF negotiations are the results of teamwork, they are not the work of one individual. I fail to see how the absence of the Minister will affect the preparations of the budget and the negotiations with the IMF,” John Mahama explained.
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