Dr Amoako Baah, a Political Science Lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), has stated that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentarians have lost their credibility.

Dr Baah’s comment comes after the NPP MPs backed down on their threats to boycott government business and the presentation of the 2023 Budget if Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta will be the one to present it. The Majority Caucus made this U-turn decision after meeting with the party’s executives, who urged them to be patient on their demand until the 2023 Budget statement was read and appropriated.

Speaking in an interview, Dr Baah indicated that the decision taken by the NPP MPs has destroyed the credibility of the party.

“They have destroyed NPP’s credibility, they have separated the supporters, grassroots people of the party from themselves. Now it is very difficult for people to even see anything they say possible.”
Dr Amoako

Dr. Amoako Baah questioned why the executives of the party did not approach the Members of Parliament early on, when they decided to boycott the 2023 Budget reading should the Finance Minister present it. He again questioned why the MPs did not revoke their decision earlier.

“What is it that made them disagree before and how did they come back to this decision? They have brought party politics into the government. If you were going to change your mind, then you should do this earlier. And why didn’t the party elders talk to them at an earlier time instead of this last minute?”
Dr Amoako Baah

The lecturer opined that the Parliamentarians’ action was not a good thing. According to him, the MPs represent the party more than the executives and therefore could have maintained their former stance.

We Have Been Betrayed By The NPP MPs

Minority Leader in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, has stated that his members are disappointed by the sudden U-turn by the Majority Caucus after their earlier threats to boycott the 2023 Budget if it is presented by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta. According to Hon Iddrisu, they feel betrayed.

“We feel let down and we feel betrayed by the Majority Caucus who have shown no wit in supporting us with our impeachment process within the letter and spirit of Article 82 of the 1992 constitution.

“We are not abandoning our censorship motion. We are in it for the long haul and we will insist that the letter and spirit of article 82 are fully respected and an outcome determined by secret vote ultimately after a debate on the Committee report is submitted to plenary.”
Hon Haruna

The Minority Caucus have pursued a censure motion to dismiss Ken Ofori-Atta from office for what they say is his gross mismanagement of the country’s economy.

Some 98 NPP MPs in Parliament held a press conference to demand the dismissal of Ofori-Atta and threatened to boycott the presentation of the 2023 Budget if the Minister remains in office.

However, the New Patriotic Party’s executives held a meeting on Tuesday November 22, to urge the NPP MPs to stand down on their demand to boycott the budget and the dismissal of Ofori-Atta.

A statement jointly signed by the Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh and the General Secretary of the NPP, Justin Koduah as a resolution to the ongoing impasse, urged the Majority MPs to put their demands on ice until negotiations for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bail-out are completed.