Ofori-Atta staying in office until IMF negotiation is done untenable – Mahama

Former President John Dramani Mahama has said the purported compromise reached by the majority in parliament for the Finance Minister to leave after he has completed the budget and IMF negotiations is untenable.

The Majority Caucus in Parliament has acceded to President Akufo-Addo’s appeal to allow Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, and Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Charles Adu Boahen, to stay in office till after the IMF negotiation is done.

Per the press statement released by the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Minister of Finance will stay “until the conclusion of the round of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the presentation of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy in November, 2022 and the subsequent passage of the Appropriation Bill after which time the demand will be acted upon.”

But the former leader maintained that the Minister’s removal will have no ramifications on the IMF negotiations and the preparation of the 2023 Budget.

“Budget preparation and IMF negotiations are the result of teamwork, not the work of one individual. I fail to see how the absence of the Minister will affect the preparation of the budget or the negotiations with the
Fund,” he said while speaking at a lecture on the economy on Thursday.

He reiterated that the President must not only replace the finance minister, but also reconstitute and take control of the Economic Management Team himself.