The Minority in Parliament has sharply criticised the Minister of Finance- designate, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, for what they say are his inconsistent responses during his vetting on Monday, January 13, 2025.

According to them, answers were evasive, unclear, and lacked clarity, especially given his experience as a former Deputy Minister of Finance and Ranking Member of the Finance Committee of Parliament.

In a statement issued on January 15, 2025, they pointed out his failure to address the government's promise to pay fees for first-year university students.

"How can a finance minister-designate look into the faces of parents and young Ghanaian students and say that because he is not yet the minister, he cannot answer whether the pledge by President Mahama to pay for their fees would be honoured?" it noted.

They further suggested this was a deceptive move by the National Democratic Congress (NDC), potentially misleading students into voting for them.

The Minority also criticised Dr. Ato Forson’s responses concerning the Free Senior High School (SHS) program.

They reminded the government of President John Dramani Mahama's campaign promise to include private SHSs in the program.

"We can all recall that during the election campaign, President Mahama met the leadership of private senior high schools and promised to include private schools in the Free SHS program,” it stated.

They expressed concerns over his apparent lack of awareness of private SHS schools that write the WASSCE exam, calling it shocking that he feigned ignorance.

"There are private SHS' in Ghana that write WASSCE, and they are anxiously waiting to be included in the Free SHS program," it added.

The Minority also raised concerns over the government’s unfulfilled promise to pay the fees of first-year tertiary students.

They specifically pointed out that the deadline for payment of fees for freshers at KNUST had already passed, and students were still awaiting action.

"The number of students in our tertiary schools is a public record, and an estimate ought to have been known with the promise. On behalf of our sons, daughters, nephews, and nieces, we wish to remind the government that these students will be entering tertiary institutions any moment now. Particularly for KNUST, the deadline for payment of fees for freshers was just yesterday. The students are waiting," it stated.

The Minority also called into question Forson’s credibility, citing an instance where he used incorrect data during the vetting.

They noted that Forson had referenced IMF data, which turned out to be inconsistent with the actual figures, further undermining his trustworthiness.

"The integrity of the finance minister designate was again called into question when he provided incorrect data in response to a question about some misleading data he had used in 2019. The Minister Designate clearly sought refuge in IMF data, which turned out to be different from what he presented. When he realised that his own source could not substantiate his case, he claimed he was being charitable by providing a lower figure for the fiscal deficit of 6.1% for 2016, while the IMF's figure was 6.3%. Can a Minister boldly claim he was charitable in presenting incorrect figures? Interesting," it explained.

On Monday, January 13, Dr. Ato Forson appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament following his nomination as Minister of Finance.

He answered questions on taxation, inflation the economy among others.

JKB/AE

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