Majority walkout prior to censure vote troubling – Dominic Ayine

Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga East in the Upper East Region, Dr. Dominic Ayine has described as troubling the decision by the Majority caucus to boycott voting on the censure motion.

The house, following the presentation of the report by the ad-hoc committee set up by the Speaker, Alban Bagbin, commenced debate yesterday, December 8, 2022, to decide the fate of the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.

The majority however walked out just before the House took a vote on the motion.

The Majority was of the view that the move by the Minority was politically motivated and not in the interest of the country.

“They themselves have told Ghanaians they disapprove of the performance of the Finance Minister. It’s just that for a deeply partisan reason, they do not want to support the formal process that we have initiated in Parliament. I think that is a setback, as far as our democratic development is concerned.

“They should be able to take a principled stand and say that they are standing with the Minority for his removal. But here is that case, though they are calling for his removal, they are refusing to partake in the formal constitutional process for his removal and I find that deeply troubling,” the Bolgatanga East legislator said in an interview with Citi News.

He said the Minority’s action reflected the desire of Ghanaians, adding that the walkout is a normal process which sometimes occurs in other jurisdictions.

“We the Minority are standing with the people of Ghana and saying that we need the President [Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo] to remove the Finance Minister,” he stated

Meanwhile, the Majority in Parliament insists that the Minority failed to substantiate its claims to warrant their support.

Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin in an interview said: “Read the 44-page report, there are no findings nor recommendations, so upon which findings are we going to prosecute the Finance Minister. It’s much ado about nothing, it’s a political showmanship”.

The Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Mensah, who led the walkout said his side cannot be part of a process that was baseless and politically motivated