Akufo-Addo ‘Begs’ Majority MPs To Give Ofori-Atta A Few Weeks To Enable Him Conclude IMF Deal

• The finance minister is firmly in office as the president pleads for him to be given a few more weeks
• President Nana Akufo-Addo has said he can't sack Ken Ofori-Atta now because of the ongoing IMF negotiations
• Meanwhile the Minority had predicted that the president will not sack the minister because the position was a reward for all the money he spent during his 2016 campaign

Despite the clamour for the president to sack his cousin Ken Ofori-Atta as finance minister allegedly for plunging the economy into a mess, nothing has happened.

President Nana Akufo-Addo has instead pleaded with legislators of his party to have patience for the under-pressure minister.

Akufo-Addo has told the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentarians, about 80 of them who have publicly called for the minister to sacked, to allow his finance minster to conclude IMF negotiations to get $3 billion to bail the economy out.

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According to reports monitored by YEN.com.gh, the president has explained that sacking the minister now will disrupt bailout negotiations with the IMF.

The president made the appeal during a crunch meeting with the agitating MPs calling for the minster to be sacked on October 25.

According to a Citi News report:

“Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo Ken Ofori-Atta to be given three more weeks to conclude the IMF negotiations."

80 MPs Want Finance Minister And His Deputy Removed From Office

The Majority Members of Parliament made history on Tuesday, October 25, 2022 when they issued a unanimous notice to the president to sack the finance minister and his team.

The MPs numbering about 80 said Nana Akufo-Addo must sack Ken Ofori-Atta and his deputy, Charles Adu Boahen, because they have failed to deliver on their mandates to improve the economy.

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The NPP MPs say should the president fail to heed their call they will not participate in any business of government by or for the president.

Skyrocketing inflation and rapid inflation have driven up cost of living in Ghana. The Ghana cedi has lost over 45% of its value to the dollar since January 2022. Inflation is currently at a 22-year high of 33.9%.

Food inflation has eroded incomes of many Ghanaians. Many blame the economic crunch in Ghana on excessive and unjustified borrowing by Ken Ofori-Atta and his team.

Akufo-Addo Can’t Sack Ofori-Atta Because Ministerial Position Is A Reward – Minority

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh has reported in a separate story that Minority MPs have predicted that the call by the Majority MPs for Akufo-Addo to sack finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta will not be heeded.

The Minority MPs claim Mr Ofori-Atta was appointed as finance ministry as reward for supporting Akufo-Addo's campaign in 2016.

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First deputy minority whip Ibrahim Ahmed who addressed the media on Tuesday said the best way to get rid of the minister is for the Majority to support an impeachment motion they have laid in Parliament.

Source: YEN.com.gh