The Minority Caucus in Ghana’s Parliament has called for the resignation of the Vice President, Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia as the head of the Economic Management Team as well as the dismissal of the entire team or else, they stand to oppose the Budget estimates and any further move for Government’s debt restructuring.
According to the Group, “it is abundantly clear that the managers of the economy like Alhaji Bawumia, Ken Ofori Atta and the entire membership of the Economic Management Team have lost credibility, proven to be incompetent and cannot be relied upon to salvage the situation.”
The call follows a formal statement by the Minority Group on the 2023 Budget and the Debt Treatment Plan by the Akufo led Government at a press conference addressed by the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu on Monday, December 5, 2022.
He indicated that, President Akufo Addo has so far refused to show leadership by outlining more credible and deeper cost cutting measures that will send the right signals to the public that something new is being done to stem the tide such as reducing the size of his Government.
To pile up pressure and to drive their point home for the Government to change it ways, the Group has outlined some conditionalities for their cooperation in Parliament during the approval of the budget estimates and debt-restructuring plan.
“We wish at this juncture, to state emphatically, that we in the NDC Minority Caucus in Parliament will vigorously oppose and refuse to entertain both the budget estimates and any bill on debt restructuring until the following conditions are met.
a) The resignation of the entire Economic Management Team and in particular, Alhaji Bawumia from his position as Chair of that obviously moribund body; b) The immediate resignation or dismissal of the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta; c) Immediate reduction in the number of the Ministers and political appointees at the Office of the President by half; d) Removal of all non-essential expenditure in the 2023 budget including the GHC 80 million allocated to the National Cathedral; e) Reinstatement of the GHC 100 exemption threshold for e-levy payment.
The Minority Leader concluded by stating that the Government can not call on the people alone to withstand the worst of its economic mismanagement and attendant hardships while those responsible for the crisis continue to act as nothing is at stake.
Source: Clement Akoloh||parliamentnews360.com