NPP MPs agree to wait for IMF deal, budget passage

Ray Charles Marfo October 27, 2022

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The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament from the Majority caucus who have called for the removal of Ken Ofori-Atta as Finance Minister have agreed to accede to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s appeal.

President Akufo-Addo at a meeting with them last Tuesday asked them to consider the timing for the call for him to remove Ken Ofori-Atta from the Finance Ministry in addition to Charles Adu Boahen, who is a Minister of State also at the Finance Ministry.

The timing here is in reference to the discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta was leading and they are getting closer to a deal.

Again, President Akufo-Addo also wanted the members to consider the timing for the preparation of the 2023 budget, the impact of Mr Ofori-Atta’s removal on the economy, the impact on the budget and the crafting of the 2023 budget.

President Akufo-Addo, according to Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the leader of government business in Parliament, who is also the Minister of Parliamentary affairs made the “passionate plea” when he met with the caucus on Tuesday night (October 25, 2022) after some members of the group had held a press conference to demand the sacking of Ofori-Atta as Finance Minister, and Charles Adu Boahen, as a Minister of State at the Finance Ministry.

In a statement dated October 26, 2022, signed and issued by Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the MPs said they have agreed to “accede to the President’s appeal.”

STATEMENT BY THE MAJORITY CAUCUS IN PARLIAMENT

Following the Press Conference held on Tuesday, 25th October, 2022 by some Members of the Majority Caucus in Parliament demanding the removal of the Minister of Finance, Mr. Ken Ofori Atta, and the Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Charles Adu Boahen from office, the President engaged Members of the Caucus and requested that the issue be stood down until the conclusion of the round of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the presentation of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy in November, 2022 and the subsequent passage of the Appropriation Bill after which time the demand shall be acted upon.

After deliberations among the Majority Caucus today Wednesday, 26 October, 2022, it was agreed to accede to the President’s appeal.