Member of Parliament for Asawaase Constituency and Minority Chief Whip, Hon. Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, has assured Ghanaians that the minority group is determined to carry on with its move to pass a vote of no confidence in Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta.
Even though Hon. Muntaka was not sure Ofori-Atta will be eventually ousted out of office because a complete majority of not less than two-thirds MPs must vote in favour of the motion to remove him, he said the minority side won’t back down.
“Sometimes you don’t do things because you’re very sure you’ll succeed, but for the records and to show your displeasure as a group that you believe this is wrong so you state it and let posterity judge. So we’re determined to go on.”
Muntaka Mubarak, Minority Chief Whip
The Asawaase MP disclosed that his side has already made plans to remove the Finance Minister before Parliament went on recess. However, they were not sure they could get the needed majority to make that successful.
“We were sure that we could garner our 135 but was it possible to get about 46 members to join us? We weren’t sure,” he said.
He revealed that the minority was however aware of a brewing tension in the majority group.
So they became more confident that the censure motion will “see the light of day” when on Tuesday, October 25, a group from the majority held a press conference demanding for the removal of Ofori-Atta.
“We knew there were some number of MPs on the other side who were not really happy about the way things are going.
“So having heard our colleagues the next day coming out, then we got happier that this our censure motion is going to see the light of day.”
Muntaka Mubarak, Minority Chief Whip
He disclosed that the minority is hopeful that since the vote for the removal of Ofori-Atta was going to be done in secret, the outcome will be historic.
“We were hoping that when it comes to secret ballot we could be getting a number close to the two-thirds or probably get the two-thirds,” the Minority Chief Whip said.
Muntaka Appeals to NPP MPs to Vote in Favour of Censure Motion
The Asaawase MP called on his colleagues from the Majority side not to back down in their desire to see the Finance Minister removed.
He claimed that the call by the 80 NPP MPs for the dismissal of Ken Ofori-Atta was a win for Parliamentary democracy and so, they should not back down now that they’ve the opportunity to finally remove him.
“I’m taking this opportunity to appeal to my colleagues, [to] their consciences. It is not easy for a group from the majority to break away from the larger caucus.
“But you did it for a reason and that reason is still pending, so why will you allow anyone to change your mind?”
Muntaka Mubarak, Minority Chief Whip
Muntaka claimed that the disatisfaction of the MPs from the majority group who called for Ofori-Atta’s dismissal “didn’t just start with the press conference.”
“There had been series of meetings, they raised their concerns which were neglected [and] that led to that [the press conference],” Muntaka claimed.
On the back of his claims that the concerns of the disgruntled NPP MPs had been ignored for a longtime, he advised them not to trust the President when he says he’ll dismiss Ofori-Atta after the IMF negotiations are finalised.
“So if you’ve met the President over a period of time, assurances were given and it failed, why would you trust him this time around?” the Asaawase MP quizzed.
Muntaka claimed there are moves to convince NPP MPs who want Ofori-Atta out to rescind their decision.
However, he was somewhat hopeful that the secret balloting could produce the results the minority want.
“We are hearing all manner of moves that are being moved on the opposite so can we count on the 80 or so?
“Sitting here as a whip [with] all the things I’m hearing, I’m not certain. [But] what I know is that in secret ballot, anything can happen.”
Muntaka Mubarak, Minority Chief Whip
READ ALSO: Statement By Ghana School Of Law Director Was A Reiteration Of Caution To Student Body- SRC
