Ghana’s Parliament has established an eight-member committee to investigate Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta over allegations of conflict of interest and incompetence.
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, on Thursday announced the creation of an ‘ad hoc’ committee, after the opposition tabled a vote of no confidence against the minister, to give the leader of the ministerial portfolio a chance to defend himself.
Bagbin explained that this measure «will provide an opportunity for the Minister of Finance to respond to the questions of conflict of interest raised by the leader of the (parliamentary) minority, Haruna Idrisuo», according to the Ghanaian media ‘Pulse’.
«The Finance Minister will be given a fair hearing to defend himself,» the Speaker of the Lower House assured.
The said body will make a decision on the dismissal of Ofori Atta within seven days. Subsequently, the committee will submit a report and the initiative will be consulted with the House leadership, reports the Ghana Web portal.
The ruling comes after a no-confidence motion to remove the minister from office was tabled in Parliament.
The opposition parliamentary group, despite participating in the committee with four members, has come out against this decision.
Last weekend hundreds of Ghanaians took to the streets of the country’s capital, Accra, to demand the resignation of President Nana Akufo Addo, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia and the Minister of Finance over the 37 percent spike in inflation in recent months.
One of the main organizers of the protest, lawyer Martin Kpebu, explained that Ghanaians «can no longer stand the pressure and are suffocating».
Kpebu, in his speech reported by the News Ghana news portal, called on the Speaker of the Ghanaian Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford, to assume power and immediately present an initiative to reduce taxes and fuel prices.
The Ghanaian government is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund for a multi-billion loan to save its ailing economy, talks that had been put on hold in 2016 when Akufo Addo promised that the country could emerge without foreign aid through his «Ghana Beyond Aid» program.
However, on July 1, 2022, the president announced that he would again seek IMF assistance, days after new protests over high prices in Accra, a consequence of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
