Over 80 Members of Parliament of the NPP threatened to boycott government business if the President doesn’t sack Ken Ofori Atta and Charles Adu Boahen, Minister of State at the Finance Ministry.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, the MPs stressed “if our request is not responded to positively, we will not be present for the budget hearing, neither will we participate in the debate”.
According to Subin MP, Eugene Boakye Antwi, the Finance Minister is “experimenting with this country and we’ve had enough”.
President Akufo-Addo following the MPs’ protest, held an emergency meeting with them and pleaded that Ofori Atta be allowed to conclude talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and also present the 2023 Budget Statement of government in November.
In a statement signed by Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the NPP MPs have agreed that Ofori Atta will stay “until the conclusion of the round of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the presentation of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy in November, 2022 and the subsequent passage of the Appropriation Bill after which time the demand will be acted upon.”
However, Boakye Agyarko disagrees with the President.
Speaking on Peace FM’s The Platform programme, he said “it doesn’t make sense” to ask the Finance Minister to stay for now.
“I don’t see how one person…so what are we going to do if God forbid we wake up tomorrow morning and he’s no more? Are we going to ask God to wait and allow him to finish the negotiations? It doesn’t make sense…it speaks ill of us”
Source: Peace FM