7 reasons Minority listed in vote of censure against Ofori-Atta

The Minority Caucus in Parliament on Tuesday, October 25, announced on the floor of Parliament that they will file a vote of censure aimed at removing Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta from office.

The move followed a press conference by a group of governing New

Read full articlePatriotic Party lawmakers who had expressly demanded that Ofori-Atta and the Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Charles Adu Boahen, be replaced by the president.

Whereas the breakaway MPs listed primarily the state of the economy and the depreciating cedi as reasons for their call, the Minority MPs listed seven points for which they held that Ofori-Atta must be censured and subsequently removed from office.

Seeing that their current number of 137 members is not enough to achieve the two-thirds threshold to remove the embattled minister, the deputy Minority Chief Whip, Ahmed Ibrahim, called on the over 80 NPP MPs to join them in the vote of censure against the minister.

Below are the seven points for which the Minority want Ofori-Atta censured:

a. Despicable conflict of interest ensuring that he directly benefits from Ghana’s economic woes as his companies receive commissions and other unethical contractual advantages, particularly from Ghana’s debt overhang

b. Unconstitutional withdrawals from the Consolidated Fund in blatant contravention of Article 178 of the 1992 Constitution, supposedly for the construction of the President’s Cathedral.

c. Illegal payment of oil revenues into offshore accounts, in flagrant violation of Article 176 of the 1992 Constitution.

d. Deliberate and dishonest misreporting of economic data to Parliament

e. Fiscal recklessness leading to the crash of the Ghana Cedi which is currently the worst-performing currency in the world

f. Alarming incompetence and frightening ineptitude, resulting in the collapse of the Ghanaian economy and an excruciating cost of living crisis

g. Gross mismanagement of the Ghanaian economy which has occasioned untold and unprecedented hardship

The motion of censure is expected to be filed today when the House convenes for business. The Minority have released a document that bears the signatures of an overwhelming majority of their members.

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