Resign honourably - Kwabena Donkor counsels Ken Ofori-Atta
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta
Dr Kwabena Donkor, a former Power Minister and Pru East Member of Parliament, has advised Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister, to resign honourably based on his pronouncement that Ghana was not going to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout.
Read full articleAccording to him, the Minister must resign because he is most likely to drag his feet in the negotiations.
He said, when he leaves, the President will have the opportunity to choose another person to lead the discussions with the Bretton Woods institution.
“It is in the light of this that I call on Honourable Ken Ofori-Atta, as a matter of national duty and in order to save the little honour left, that he does the right thing and tender in his resignation. He can still act as an advisor to the government in the negotiations but not as the Minister responsible for Finance,” the former Power Minister told the media on Thursday, July 7, 2022.
“We have gotten to a level in our pollical development that ministers must begin to take responsibility. A Minister who categorically stated that we will never go to the IMF cannot be dragged unwillingly to IMF to lead our negotiations if we love our country.
“We need somebody who will believe in what he or she will be doing to lead the negotiations. If Ken Ofori-Atta does not resign, I believe the Parliament of Ghana must keep faith with the people of Ghana and the people of Ghana deserve better than this.
“Parliament has the power to ask him to go and Parliament must act. I am very passionate about this because Ken Ofori-Atta must resign to give the president a free hand to choose somebody to lead these delicate negotiations,” Dr Donkor stressed.
The Government of Ghana on Friday, July 1 announced that it was seeking support from the IMF.
This followed a telephone conversation between the President and the IMF Managing Director, Miss Kristalina Georgieva, conveying Ghana’s decision to engage with the Fund, a statement by the Ministry of Information said.
The IMF staff team, led by Carlo Sdralevich, mission chief for Ghana, arrived in Ghana on Tuesday, July 5 to begin initial discussions with the Ghanaian authorities about a possible IMF-supported programme.
The IMF team has since started talks with the government on July 7, with the engagements expected to end on the 13th.
Meanwhile, GhanaWeb is accepting nominations for the prestigious GhanaWeb Excellence Awards – Youth Edition. Watch how you can nominate from the video below.
