It may be a matter of mere coincidence but after some NPP Members of Parliament called for the removal of Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, four statutory payments from January 2022 have been made.
On October 24, 2022, 80 members of the majority caucus in parliament demanded the removal of the finance minister and the minister of state in charge of Finance, Charles Adu-Boahen.
According to them, their decision has become necessary after several calls on the president to act, have fallen flat.
In a statement to the Speaker of Parliament, they said, “Notice is hereby served that until such persons as aforementioned are made to resign or removed from office, we members of the Majority caucus here in Parliament will not participate in any business of government by or for the President [or] by any other minister.”
However, after a closed-door meeting with the president, the Majority Leader revealed that the president has asked to be given three weeks to decide the fate of the minister.
Meanwhile, a week after these events, these four statutory payments have been made to Members of Parliament.
1. Q1 and Q2 of MPS common fund have been paid
2. Q2 of MPS monitoring and evaluation has been paid
3. Q1 and Q2 of districts’ common fund have been paid
4. Disability relief funds to districts have been paid
Confirming the payments on Metro TV on October 3, 2022, the MP for Afigya Kwabre North Constituency, Collins Adomako Mensah, said the payments cannot be exactly related to the calls for Ofori-Atta’s removal.
He said “These are statutory payments that have been delayed. And the delay in these things is not new to Ghana.”
SSD/DA
Finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta