Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has said he has been prudent and efficient in managing Ghana’s economy since assuming office in 2017.
“I want to state that I have not been reckless in the management of the fiscal operations of the government,” Ofori-Atta said on Friday (18 November), when he appeared before the ad hoc committee probing claims of misreporting of economic data and misuse of public funds among others against him.
The eight-member committee constituted by the Speaker of Parliament is to assess the vote of censure moved on the floor of the House against the Minister for Finance by the Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu.
Touching on the ground of recklessness, Ofori-Atta said: “Rather, our strenuous efforts to protect the public purse is what has helped this government to have achieved much, much more than any government over a similar period in virtually all sectors, including education, health, social welfare, policing, security in general, roads, railways, agriculture, industrialisation, tourism, digitisation, and funding for anti-corruption institutions.”
Click on the link below to read the statement of the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta to Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee
Vote of Censure Paper by the Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta
Misreporting of data claims
Ofori-Atta also denied claims that he presented false data on the state of the economy to Parliament and other stakeholders.
In a motion for a vote of censure against Ofori-Atta, the Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu accused the minister of deliberately and dishonestly misreporting economic data to Parliament and others such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
However, Ofori-Atta told the fact-finding committee of Parliament investigating the grounds against him said: “It is untrue and simply untrue.”
“I have never misreported data to Parliament. It is completely not true. I have served the country with integrity and honesty,” the Finance Minister said.
I am competent
In his opening remarks, Ofori-Atta said he wanted to dispel any doubts about his competence and apologised to Ghanaians for the current economic woes.
“I acknowledge our economy is facing difficulties and the people of Ghana are enduring hardships,” he said. “As the person President Akufo-Addo has put in charge of this economy I feel the pain personally, professionally, and in my soul.”
He added: “I see and feel the terrible impact of rising prices of goods and services on the lives and livelihoods of ordinary Ghanaians.
“I feel the stress of running a business. But it is the strength and perseverance of the Ghanaian people that inspire me and my colleagues in government every morning, to press on.
“That is what gives me the strength to press on to find solutions and relief for Ghanaians to the myriad of problems that our country and the rest of the world are facing, especially, since March 2020.”
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