Former President John Mahama has added his voice to calls for Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta to be sacked from office.
According to him, the people charged to manage the economy of which Mr Ofori-Atta is part must be blamed for the current woes of the country.
His comment comes after some 80 New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs on Tuesday called for the immediate dismissal of Mr Ofori-Atta.
The disgruntled MPs also demanded that the Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Charles Adu-Boahen must suffer same fate for their non-performance which has resulted in the poor state of the economy.
They indicated Mr Ofori-Atta’s stay in office was delaying the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout because he has lost all credibility.
President Akufo-Addo, following the calls, invited the MPs for a meeting during which the former asked that they allow Mr Ofori-Atta to stay till the IMF negotiation, which he disclosed will be concluded soon, is done.
The MPs have since come under pressure with many describing their U-turn as shameful.
According to Mr Mahama, the decision by the President is untenable as Mr Ofori-Atta’s dismissal will in no way affect the IMF negotiations and the 2023 Budget.
“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,” he said while addressing the nation on the economy on Thursday night.
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Mr Mahama bemoaned President Akufo-Addo’s inability to remove his cousin from office, saying it’s making the situation worse.
“To be clear, we’re in this mess because of an untouchable Finance Minister relying on his Databank workers and neglecting the advice of seasoned experts at the Finance Ministry. He has been left to run this economy into the ground,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Minority in Parliament has filed a motion to commence an impeachment process against Mr Ofori-Atta which the Speaker, Alban Bagbin has admitted.
