The Executive Director of the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA), Rasheed Draman, has stated that the days of the finance minister, Ken Ofori Atta, are numbered thus, risks losing his post.
He stated that initially, he thought the entire issue concerning the dismissal of the finance minister was some sort of initiative taken by the minority to try and get rid of him. According to Mr. Draman, there have been new developments with regards to this issue and the majority caucus are also pushing for the dismissal of Ken Ofori Atta.
“The call for the finance minister to go is now a call from the entire majority caucus. I think the work of the minority becomes quite easy because, for a motion such as the one that they are currently pursuing to pass, I think you need two- thirds, and if you have the entire minority caucus behind it, they need about forty MPs to join them from the other side and the minister is gone.”
Rasheed Draman
He noted that the President himself needed to be careful, because he has never seen a situation where the President has been voted out of power and if care is not taken, he might face the same fate that his finance minister is currently facing.
According to him, this is the first time a group is calling the bluff of a President and his leadership, breaking grounds and going public.
“It is mainly because of the times we’re in, the economic situation is biting everybody. The MPs are under a lot of pressure from the people who put them there in the first place, and I think they are realizing, as we have been telling them all the time, that at the end of the day, your allegiance is more to the people that voted for you, and to the constitution, rather to some strong President or some party that equips you into submission.”
Rasheed Draman
The President and the minister of finance are the only two people who think that there is nothing wrong otherwise, everybody sees everything wrong, he said.
The Plead Of The President Cannot Supersede The Constitution
The Deputy Minority Whip of parliament, Ahmed Ibrahim, stated that the President’s pleads for the retainment of Ken Ofori Atta does not surpass the supremacy of the constitution and that the Members of Parliament have sworn an oath to defend the 1992 constitution.
He explained that according to the constitution, when a motion is brought before the parliament, the Speaker must work on it and it must be debated upon and passed within 14 days. The Deputy Minority Whip also declared that on Thursday, 10th of November 2022, the motion will be moved.
“On Thursday, the Haruna Iddrisu- and- Mutaka motion is going to be moved, it will be put into votes. What we are looking for from our side is that all the 136 minority MPs, we must register our 136.”
Ahmed Ibrahim
Honorable Ahmed stated that when the allegations came for the dismissal of the finance minister, there were no minority members’ names in the list, therefore, he expects the majority to ‘walk the talk’ and still stand by their decision to push for the dismissal of Ken Ofori Atta.
“I strongly believe, per the information and the signals I’m picking this morning, they are still going to walk the talk, and the best thing for the President and the minister to do, would have been from the minister of finance to say that, ‘enough is enough’.”
Ahmed Ibrahim
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