Oppong Nkrumah downplays calls for Ofori-Atta sack
Sack Ofori-Atta over economic mismanagement, Mahama to Akufo-Addo
Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has downplayed calls by some factions for Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to be sacked by President Akufo-Addo or forced to resign.
He suggested that the finance minister cannot be blamed solely for the economic challenges the country is facing because he (Ofori-Atta) is only responsible for fiscal policy, adding that the person responsible for the economic policies of the country is President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The information minister also indicated that the decision to go for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout was that of the president and not the finance minister, citinewsroom.com reports.
“The minister (Ofori-Atta) (is) responsible for fiscal policy, finance has expressed a view, a view supported by government, that it is better to use domestic measures to deal with some of these [economic] challenges than to find yourself in a situation where you need external help of this nature. Unfortunately, the domestic measures have been challenged. Any president who feels the pain of his people will explore what options work best. This is the window that the president has asked us to open and engage to ensure that we are able to find the necessary resources to deal with the short-term problem but also deal with the bigger economic problem.
“The president is responsible for economic policy, sometimes we think the finance minister is responsible for the economy. He [Ofori-Atta] is responsible for fiscal policy. Real sector development and broader economic policy, sit with the president. He has an Economic Management Team under him that will be doing the day-to-day management. The president is in full control of the end-of-day engagement that we’ll have with the fund. He spoke with the fund managing director on the phone,” the information minister said.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has urged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to sack the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta over economic mismanagement.
Delivering an address on the state of the Ghanaian economy at the inaugural launch of Think Progress Ghana, Mr. Mahama painted a gloomy picture of the economy.
The ex-president said that under Ofori-Atta’s watch the public debt has exceeded GH¢400 billion, if debts on the books of some SPVs and statutory funds, which this government seeks to exclude, are factored in.
This, Mr. Mahama noted translates into a debt to GDP ratio of over 80%, well beyond the red line of 70% at which lower-middle-income countries are declared as debt distressed.
He further said that multiple international financial institutions continue to rank Ghana among countries that are likely to end up like Sri Lanka and default on their debt repayment.
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IB/WA
Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah