BBC Pidgin of Thursday, 10 November 2022

Source: BBC

Ghana Parliament dey vote for or against removal of Finance Minister

Ken Ofori-Atta is the Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta is the Minister of Finance

Lawmakers for Ghana today go vote for or against de removal of Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta.

Dis be after minority lawmakers move vote of censure motion against am which dem go vote on today.

De lawmakers wan remove Atta sake of dem accuse am causing de economic challenges de country dey go through.

Minority Chief whips direct all 136 minority members say dem for be present in de parliament on Thursday for de censure vote so say dem go impeach de Finance Minister.

Based on de rules of de house, lawmakers dey need two-thirds majority out of 275 seats to impeach de finance minister. 

Dis means about 183 or more lawmakers for vote in favour of de motion to remove Ken Ofori-Atta. 

So even if president Akufo-Addo fail to sack de finance minister, parliament go fit use de power of impeachment to remove Ken Ofori-Atta.

Reasons for vote of censure against finance minister

De minority lawmakers say dem wan remove Ken Ofori Atta based on some of en actions.

- Conflict of interest which dey make he benefit directly from de economic woes sake of en companies dey receive commission when Ghana dey go for loans.
- Unconstitutional withdrawals from de Consolidated Fund for construction of national cathedral which dey go against Article 178 of de 1992 Constitution. 
- Illegal payment of oil revenue into offshore accounts which dey against Article 176 of de 1992 Constitution.
- Misreporting of economic data to Parliament den fiscal recklessness wey lead to crashing of de Ghana cedi.
- Incompetence and ineptitude which dey cause collapse of Ghanaians economy.

Background to calls for removal of Finance Minister

Lawmakers in Ghana intensify calls for President Nana Akufo-Addo to sack Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta. 

For de first time in de history under de Fourth Republic, lawmakers from de ruling party openly call out de president to sack de finance minister despite en support and loyalty towards am. 

De calls for en removal dey come on de back of economic challenges wey Ghana dey go through under de leadership of de finance minister.

“De recent development within de economy be major concern...” Andy Appiah-Kubi speak on behalf of de majority lawmakers.

“We dey use dis medium to communicate our strong desire dat de president change de minister of finance and de minister of state at de finance ministry without further delay in order to restore hope to de financial sector and reverse de downward trend in de growth of de economy” he add.

Despite de initial call for en sack, majority lawmakers make u-turn after dem meet with President Akufo-Addo who ask dem to give de Finace Minister some time to work until after IMF deal happen,