How Ofori-Atta’s approval has disunited NDC MPs in Parliament





Parliament of Ghana, on Monday, March 29, 2021, approved the nomination of Ken Ofori-Atta as minister responsible for Finance in the Akufo-Addo led administration.

The nominee who returned to Ghana for his vetting following his treatment in the USA for post-Covid health complications faced a two-day vetting by Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Thursday and Friday.

The Appointments Committee then recommended that Ofori-Atta should be approved by consensus.

The nominee was consequently approved by voice vote.

Presenting the Committee’s report to Parliament, Frank Annor Dompreh, the Majority Chief Whip, said:

“The nominee answered a number of questions ranging from the justification for the resubmission of the Agyapa transaction to Parliament, public sector wages negotiations, the rationale for the proposed tax hikes by the government and the management and use of the petroleum revenue.

The committee by consensus recommends to the house to approve the nomination of Ken Ofori-Atta for appointment as Minister responsible for Finance.”

Seconding the motion for his approval on the floor Monday, Minority Leader Mr Haruna Iddrisu told the House that Minority members on the Appointments Committee requested for some other information relating to the performance of Mr Ofori-Atta and had accordingly recommended that he should be approved by consensus.

“Mr Speaker, it does not mean that we are satisfied with his performance as Finance Minister. 

He probably will go and bear the brunt of his mismanagement of the Ghanaian economy in the last four years,” he said, while referencing Ken Ofori-Atta’s inability to reconcile fiscal data and details of how much the Bank of Ghana financed the Government of Ghana in the 2020 period.

“We will demand more information on this matter because we are convinced that it is in breach of the law, Bank of Ghana Act, Fiscal Responsibility Act and Public Financial Management Act,” he said.

But following his unanimous approval by the House some Minority MPs have disagreed with their leadership.

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