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Akufo-Addo didn't promise to sack Ken Ofori-Atta – Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu

The Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu has shared some information from the meeting between President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the 80 agitating MPs who called for the sacking of the Finance Minister.

President Akufo-Addo and Ghana's Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta

According to the Majority Leader, the President didn’t promise to sack Ken Ofori-Atta and Charles Adu Boahen during the meeting as it’s been reported widely.

“The President did not say that. To quote his words, he said ‘let’s finish with this, the IMF and the budget thereafter, we should hold on until after these’,” he said on JoyNews’ PM Express.

He said while the President’s statement is open for interpretation, he had not categorically stated that he would sack the Finance Minister and the Minister of State at the Finance Ministry.

“It could be. I mean, either of them is subject to interpretations that ‘okay hold on after the events then we come back and discuss,’ or ‘hold on after the event I will act.’

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“’I will act’ may not necessarily mean that ‘I will do that’. According to what the President told us, you hold on until…so it could be that ‘I’ll come back to consider it’ or ‘I’ll give in to your demands’,” he said.

“The plea was hold on until after these events, the IMF discussions and the budget. In fact I even added when there appeared to be some unclarity about what happens after the presentation of the budget, I said no if the budget is presented by a person, you’d require that same person to shepherd the appropriations.

“And that is how come for the avoidance of doubt I said let us include the appropriation so that there’s no doubt in anybody’s mind that after the budget has been read then agitations will start again,” he added.

Some 80 New Patriotic Party MPs had demanded the immediate dismissal of the Finance Minister.

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According to them, the continuous stay of Ken Ofori-Atta in office was delaying the IMF bailout the country is seeking due to the fact that the Minister has lost all credibility.

They had thus petitioned the President to either remove him or face a boycott in Parliament.

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