The Minority in Parliament say they feel let down by the decision of their colleagues in the Majority not to support them, in their quest to remove the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta from office.
According to the minority, though they believed that the majority caucus would walk the talk with them, the sudden turn of events could be described as a betrayal.
The leader of the NDC MPs, Haruna Iddrisu, addressed the media yesterday and indicated that, the action of their friends on the other side will not deter them from pressing on.
“When we initiated the motion, we firmly and sincerely believed that our friends opposite will walk the talk with us and not just make radio and interview declarations.
“We feel let down and betrayed by the Majority Caucus who have shown no wit in supporting us with our [censure] process, within the letter and spirit of Article 82 of the 1992 Constitution,” Mr Iddrisu said.
He said the Majority action is a stab on parliamentary oversight and it only weakens parliament in exercising its oversight in calling Ministers to order. “It is a failure of parliament to protect Ghanaians and the public purse,” he said.
Mr Iddrisu, however, said that the Minority, despite not getting cooperation from their opponents, will insist that Article 82 is fully respected and the outcome determined by a secret vote, after a debate.
He said President Akufo-Addo will go down in history as the president who most disrespected public opinion.
He said as far as the Minority caucus is concerned, public opinion has not been favourable to the continuous stay in office of Mr Ken Ofori-Atta.
Your posture today will determine how we will react- Minority tells Majority
TODAY IN PARLIAMENT
However, owing to the Majority caucus’ silence on whether or not it will show up in the chamber to support the presentation of the budget, the Minority has indicated that its actions and inactions today will be dependent on the Majority’s posture.
“We will watch the posture and conduct of our colleagues opposite and that will determine our body language. It is early yet to determine what will happen tomorrow,” Mr Haruna Iddrisu, Minority Leader, told the Parliamentary Press Corps yesterday.
The comments stem from a U-turn the Majority caucus seems to be making about its earlier decision of boycotting the budget reading, if the Finance Minister, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, is not removed from office by the President.
