Some members of the Majority caucus in Parliament have called for the removal of Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, and the Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Charles Adu Boahen.

According to the MPs, the prevailing economic situation in the country does not make it right for the duo to remain in office, hence President Akufo-Addo must relieve them of their duties.

Addressing a press conference in Parliament on Tuesday, October 25, 2022, Asante Akyem North legislator, Andy Appiah Kubi, stated that the majority is “unhappy with the developments in the country” and have consulted their constituents who have expressed same sentiments.

“We want the President to remove Ken Ofori and Chares Adu Boahen. We are by this medium communicating our strong desire that the President changes the Minister of Finance and the Minister of State in the Finance Ministry without further delay.”
Andy Appiah Kubi

Mr Appiah Kubi revealed that the eighty MPs who desire to see the dismissal of the finance minister will be forced to boycott the presentation and debate on the 2023 budget statement if President Akufo-Addo does not effect the removal of the ministers. He iterated that if the majority’s request is not responded to positively, they “will not be present for the budget hearing, neither will we participate in the debate”.

“We want to serve notice, and notice is hereby served that until such persons as aforementioned are made to resign or removed from office, we members of the Majority Caucus here in Parliament will not participate in any business of government by or for the President, by any other Minister. We hope that those of us in the back bench and members of the Majority caucus will abide by this prayer.”
Andy Appiah Kubi

Commenting on the matter, the Executive Director of the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA), Draman Rasheed, expressed excitement that the call for the removal of the finance minister is “not coming from the minority side but it’s coming from within”. He stated that for the majority’s “self-preservation and for the preservation of power”, democracy and the economy, no MP should play politics with economic issues when they come before the House.

“I’m very happy that we are hearing this call because I think in the whole republic, I believe almost everybody is in agreement that the person who is managing this economy has not done a good job, except the President… I believe what we are hearing from the honourable members, I think is the right thing to do at this critical moment in the history of our country.”
Draman Rasheed

Mr Draman urged President Akufo-Addo to listen to the concerns of the citizens. He stated that calls for improvement in the lives of people are “becoming louder and louder”, and because it’s coming from within, this is the time to act.

“I believe that if the President wants to preserve his job, if the President wants to protect our democracy, as he swore to do under the constitution, I think he has to listen to the people of this country.”
Draman Rasheed

IMANI President reacts to calls for finance minister’s removal

On his part, IMANI President, Franklin Cudjoe, described the demand by the majority as “some refreshing news”. He explained that the call for the finance minister’s dismissal proves that politics in the country seems to have matured.

Nonetheless, Mr Cudjoe indicated that if the eighty MPs who have issued the statement do not have the support of the leadership, then “we are really in troubling times”. By implication, he noted that it will mean that the leadership may have lost its hold on its own.

“I do not know whether the 80 strong members made this call with the blessings of the majority leadership… It’s very troubling but I’m not surprised because as I suspected, everybody is feeling the pinch and anything that falls short of the party seeing red in the next election will be the only reason why this is being championed by a section of the majority. Eighty is a strong number. If indeed all these eighty have appended their signatures to the call, it will be difficult to ignore.”
Franklin Cudjoe