They didn’t ask provoking questions – Gyampo chides Minority on censure c’tee

Professor at the University of Ghana Ransford Yaw Gyampo has taken a swipe at the members of the Minority on the eight-member ad hoc committee set up by the Speaker of Parliament to look into the motion of censure filed for the removal of Ken Ofori-Atta as Minister of Finance.

Prof Gyampo raised suspicion about the competence of the Minority members on the committee and said they could not ask questions that could have rather expose Mr Ofori-Atta.

“I was wondering how come they selected the group of people who went on to represent the Minority side,” he noted on TV3/3FM‘s The Keypoints on Saturday, December 10.

“When they went there, clearly, the charges that they levelled against the man were serious charges and I was expecting that they will be able to ask provoking follow-up questions for the purpose of nailing the man.

“But it appeared that they asked questions, there were no serious follow-ups and what they did, in my mind, was creating rather a platform for Mr Ken Ofori-Atta to acquit himself by appealing to public sympathy.”

The Speaker of Parliament set up the ad hoc committee to give the Finance Minister a fair hearing before the motion of censure was considered.

The co-chairmen of the committee were Majority’s Kobina Tahir Hammond of Adansi-Asokwa Constituency and Minority’s Dr Dominic Ayine of Bolgatanga East Constituency.

The members from the Minority group who served on the committee were Dr Zanetor Rawlings, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and Bernard Ahiafor.

The Majority members were Patrick Yaw Boamah, Kwame Anyimadu Antwi and Andrew Egyapa Mercer.

The committee presented its report to plenary on Thursday, December 8.

However, the vote of censure failed to meet the mandated two-thirds majority of Parliament.