The proponents of the Motion of Censure against the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, have revealed that he is only being sacrificed for the sins of the entire government.
According to the minority spokesperson on finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, they are holding the finance minister responsible for all the “government-wide recklessness” because he allowed it to fester.
Leading evidence from the grounds in the motion before the Adhoc Committee on Tuesday, to buttress the seven sins of Ken Ofori-Atta, culminating in the Motion of Censure, Ato Forson acknowledged that the alleged recklessness, including overspending, could be traced to all sectors of the government.
However, the Finance Minister has become a sacrificial lamb because the law mandates that he confront overspending by any government institution. As such, his failure to ensure the government did not exceed its expenditures “will mean that he has to carry the cross.”
He was clarifying his position to Kwabena Tahir Hammond, a co-chair of the Adhoc committee, on the subject, saying that the minister could have done better in terms of protecting the public purse.
Ato opined that, “Of course, if the Minister of Roads overspends and the Minister of Finance pays, it is the responsibility of the Minister of Finance, even though the act was committed by the Minister of Roads.
“This is because the PFM (Public Financial Management) Act empowers only the Minister of Finance to give financial clearance for the Minister [of Roads] to engage in that act. And so if the Minister fails to do that [seek financial clearance], the Minister of Finance can deal with him…”
GABBY, ABLAKWA CLASH
During the proceedings last Tuesday, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, who is representing the minority on the Adhoc committee, clashed with Gabby Asare-Otchere-Darko, the Counsel for the Minister of Finance.
Mr. Otchere-Darko had sought to suggest that the North Tongu MP be mindful of some of his comments, as they would be better suited for a press conference for political purposes, than at a committee hearing on a constitutional issue.
The statement seems to have irritated Mr.Ablakwa, who retorted angrily, telling the Counsel not to try to teach him his parliamentary job.
“You can’t come here and teach me how to do my work…You can’t come here and throw your weight about. This is Parliament; you can’t tell me what to do; you are not the chairman, so don’t tell me what to do,” an obviously livid Ablakwa rejoined.
CONCERNS
Mr. Otchere-Darko had earlier expressed concern about a fair hearing for his client. He argued that his client would be ambushed if full particulars of the supporting evidence to be used were not furnished.
He, therefore, requested “full particulars of the facts in support of the allegations against the [Finance] Minister.”
He also said there would not be enough time to scrutinise the evidence outlined by the minority, given that the committee had limited time.
“It would not be fair for the Minister of Finance to be ambushed right here without any preparation to start answering questions.”
Following the concerns raised, the committee requested the proponents of the motion to make available the full particulars of the facts in support of the grounds of the censure.
48 HOUR PREP
Gabby Asare-Otchere-Darko, the Finance Minister’s Counsel, requested 48 hours for his client to study all the evidence presented and prepare to respond to each ground.
The Minister of Finance will, therefore, appear before the Committee on Friday, November 18, 2022 to respond to the grounds.
