North Tongu Member of Parliament Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has said a major forensic investigation should be carried out at the Finance Ministry when the sector Minister Ken Ofori-Atta is gone following the pressure on the President to sack him.
Mr Ablakwa referred to a discrepancy in figures from the Finance Ministry as captured in the 2021 Auditor General’s report as one of the reasons for a forensic probe into Mr Ofori-Atta’s entire tenure.
In a tweet, he said “The Auditor General says he cannot vouch for the accuracy and completeness of revenue figures under Ken Ofori-Atta’s watch.
“Page 10 of AG’s 2021 report on general government reveals that whereas Ken’s Ministry insists that our 2021 oil revenue was GHS2,061,607.000, the Controller and Accountant General Department reports GHS3,369,095,788 in its statement of financial performance.
“That represents a staggering discrepancy of some 1.3bn Dollars. Ken Ofori-Atta should go and definitely go quickly he must; however, when he is gone, we will need a major forensic probe into his entire tenure.”
The Minority in Parliament have filed a motion to get the Finance Minister removed from office.
Similarity, some Members of Parliament on the side of the governing New Patritic Party (NPP) have also asked the President to sack him.
But the Majority in Parliament to agreed to a plea by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to have his ministers at the Finance Ministry stay on a little longer despite pressure from the caucus.
The NPP MPs on Tuesday, October 25 demanded the removal of the sector minister, Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta, and the Minister of State at the Ministry, Charles Adu Boahen, as well as their deputies for the poor management of the country’s economy.
They threatened that they will have no business to do in Parliament for the government if this demand is not met.
“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,” Asante-Akyem North Member (MP) Andy Appiah-Kubi led the over 80 MPs.
“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 Minster.”
A meeting was subsequently called later Tuesday evening by President Akufo-Addo, who appealed for some time for his embattled ministers especially as Ghana is negotiating a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the 2023 budget is also being compiled.
Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu on Wednesday, in an interview with TV3‘s Roland Walker, promised to go back to the aggrieved MPs for a meeting and get back to the President.
On Wednesday, he released a statement on the outcome of the meeting with all the Majority MPs.
“After deliberations among the Majority Caucus today, Wednesday, 26th October, 2022, it was agreed to accede to the President’s plea.”
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