Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has asked President Akufo-Addo to fulfill his pledge to Ghanaians by replacing his cousin, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, after sealing the $3 billion IMF deal.
It is recalled that the Majority caucus in Parliament called for Mr Ofori-Atta to be sacked but after meeting the President, the caucus in a statement dated 26th October 2022, revealed that the President asked them to stand down until Ghana’s negotiations with the IMF were concluded.
On Wednesday, 17 May 2023, the executive board of the IMF approved the $3 billion bailout allowing for an immediate disbursement of about $600 million.
Following the successful conclusion of the deal, Mr Ablakwa is asking if President Nana Akufo-Addo will consider the request of his members of Parliament.
In a Facebook post, the North Tongu MP said “After an embarrassing IMF U-Turn deal, Ghanaians expect President Akufo-Addo to keep his promise by firing his cousin, Ken Ofori-Atta — who is now widely regarded as Ghana’s most disastrous Finance Minister.”
“Will the President attempt in this instance to be a man of his word”? he quizzed.
Prior to this new reminder, several calls on the President from a section of Ghanaians and civil society organisations for Mr Ofori-Atta to be fired due to the difficult economic conditions fell of deaf ears.