Second Deputy Majority Chief Whip, Habib Iddrisu, has revealed that the ‘Ken Ofori Atta must go’ demand no longer stands, as it is not essential at this time.
“This is something that I don’t think we need to comment on…It has been abandoned. As at December last year, inflation was around 54% which has been brought down to 42%, and trying to stabilize the Cedi that was about GHS 14 to GHS 15 to a dollar, as at December last year.
“Which has now come to GHS 11 and GHS 12 Cedis over the past three months. That is what we are looking at. What you are talking about now is definitely irrelevant”
Habib Iddrisu
Since several months ago, Ken Ofori Atta, Ghana’s Minister of Finance, came under heavy criticism from both MPs and the public, due to the country’s struggling economy.
Even before receiving an IMF bailout, certain lawmakers from the ruling party voiced their discontent with Mr. Ofori Atta’s performance and urged President Akufo Addo to fire him as finance Minister.
However, the President urged that the Minister be given the go-ahead to finish the IMF negotiations that he had already started, and then further demanded that he present the budget for the year ending in 2023 after the settlement had been reached.
No Supplementary Budget Requested
As stated by Habib Iddrisu, the Finance Minister will not be proposing a supplemental budget to Parliament as has been customary for some years.
He stated that the Minister would address the house in order to provide an update on the status of affairs, since his last appearance before the house to propose the budget.
The mid-year budget review for this year is anticipated to be a statement, rather than a half-year budget. Therefore, the Tolon MP stated that Mr. Ken Ofori Atta will not enter under a motion, which implies that, in accordance with Standing Orders 70 and 72 of the Parliament of Ghana, MPs may add to the statement but shall not discuss it.
He further explained that when he said the Minister “will not come under a motion,” he meant that the Minister will not be introducing a resolution that has already been seconded and discussed for the house’s approval.
Additionally, the Second Deputy Majority Chief Whip said that in this case, it meant that the Minister would not be bringing a supplemental budget.
“Mind you, last year November when we approved the 2023 budget, we had appropriated an amount of GHS 228 billion for the finance minister to spend for the year ending 2023. So if the minister has not been able to finish and is not asking for more than what was appropriated, then he doesn’t need to bring a supplementary budget or estimate for us to be able to look at it.”
Habib Iddrisu
The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta’s highly anticipated Mid-Year Budget Review has been postponed to Monday, July 31. The presentation was initially scheduled for July 27, 2023, but was later moved to July 25, 2023, only to be postponed once more until further notice.
Members of Parliament (MPs) and the general public are both curious about the last-minute cancellation of the budget review, and there are many theories floating about as to why it has delayed.
According to a communication to the chamber from Speaker of the chamber, Alban Bagbin, the Finance Minister will meet in-depth with the MPs on Friday, July 28, 2023, before the presentation’s new date.
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