Kennedy Agyapong, Member of Parliament for Assin Central, has criticized former President John Dramani Mahama for calling for the expulsion of Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.
According to him, Mahama should not have been compelled to make such a statement, emphasizing that he was not being fair to the minister.
In an interview with Accra-based Citi TV, the MP said that Mahama was previously president and that during his term, the nation was plunged into darkness, which became known as ‘dumsor.’
He added that under the prior President’s term, the government launched efforts to seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund in 2015.
He said that John Mahama refused to fire Seth Terkper, his finance minister at the time.
“President Mahama is not treating the finance minister fairly.” Because you have never been in that car before, I will agree if you desire it. President Mahama was in the car at the time of the alleged ‘dumsor.’
“President Mahama was in the van with his finance minister when he drove us to the IMF.” Did he ever dismiss a finance minister? This is the question I’m posing. Ghanaians may ask for it, and I completely agree with them. Perhaps the finance minister will have resigned somewhere. So it’s up to him [to determine whether to quit honorably]. That is not an issue for me.
Also, a petition challenging the NDC’s MP eligibility is being heard by the Supreme Court.
“But the individual who is requesting this has been there before, and he accomplished nothing.” My issue is Cedi’s devaluation. That is the only issue we need to address right now. But have we forgotten in 2014? We experienced the same thing with President Mahama. What exactly did he do? “The only way out is to go to the IMF,” Ken Agyapong said.
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Former President John Mahama said at a lecture titled ‘Building the Ghana We Want’ that it was unsustainable for Ken Ofori-Atta to stay in office, claiming that he should be allowed to finalize current discussions with the IMF as well as read the November budget statement.
He was responding to the recent action by certain NPP MPs who arranged a news conference on October 25 to seek the resignation of Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance Charles Adu Boahene, failing which they would not conduct government business in Parliament.
The president then met with MPs, and it is thought that he asked them to let Ken Ofori-Atta, in particular, keep talking to the IMF.
The Majority Caucus affirmed in a statement that the MPs’ requests would be ‘acted upon’ after the end of IMF discussions and the presentation of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy in November 2022, followed by the adoption of the Appropriation Bill.
But, when asked about it, Mahama couldn’t see how Ofori-absence Atta’s would hinder IMF discussions or budget preparation.
“I merely learned of a public announcement by the Majority of a so-called compromise that the Minister would depart after the budget and IMF discussions are done.
Budget planning and IMF discussions are the outcomes of collaboration, not the effort of a single person. “I don’t see how the Minister’s absence would affect budget preparations or discussions with the IMF,” John Mahama remarked.