The Finance Minister, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, has subtly escaped from the jaws of the Minority in the Censure Motion against him. In a secret vote taken in the Chamber, with only the Minority Caucus participating, the motion was lost, as the vote in favour of the motion was not enough to remove the Minister, per the requirements of Article 82(1).
Article 82(1) states: “Parliament may, by a resolution supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds of all the members of Parliament, pass a vote of censure on a Minister of State.”
With 275 members in the Chamber, two thirds will mean that 184 MPs should have voted in favour of the motion.
But yesterday, only 136 of the members voted in favour of the motion, while those against was recorded as zero.
In declaring the motion as lost, the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin said “Following the terms of Article 82(1), the vote is accordingly lost.”
The Majority’s decision not to participate in the secret vote was made known in the submissions they made during the debate.
The Motion for the commencement of the debate was moved by the Minority Leader, Mr Haruna Iddrisu and seconded by the Minority Chief Whip, Mr Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak.
The two Co-Chairmen of the ad hoc committee, which worked on the censure motion, Mr K.T Hammond from the Majority side and Dr Dominic Ayine, from the Minority caucus, commenced the debate.
Minority’s argument
Making arguments in support of the motion, Dr Ayine noted that the committee could not make definitive findings of facts and recommendations.
He, however, said the report found that with respect to ground one, which deals with funding for the National Cathedral, the Minister exceeded what was appropriated for him.
He said the Minister spent GH¢339m, which was far in excess of what was appropriated for other Government Obligations.
The Bolgatanga East legislator again said in the case of misreporting to Parliament, the committee found out that the Minister indeed misreported to Parliament.
He said in 2018, the Minister reported a fiscal deficit of 3.8% instead of 7.1% by excluding an item of expenditure, amounting to 9.8bn, in order to be able to underreport the fiscal deficit. He said the Minister did a similar thing in 2019.
Mr K.T Hammond, however, interjected and contended that there were no definitive fact findings and recommendations and hence, didn’t know where his colleague co-chair was getting his information from.
However, Dr Ayine contended that his submissions were all in the committee report. The astute lawyer also pointed out reports that some grounds of the motion were struck out was false.
He said what transpired was that the committee was clothed with the mandate to investigate matters relating to ministries.
He explained that issues of conflict of interest relates to the activities of the minister, which he carried out under his ministry and so, the committee had jurisdiction to adjudicate the issue.
But the Counsel for the Finance Minister contended that the committee didn’t have jurisdiction, making reference to the case of Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and Another v A-G.
He said the committee took that into account and saw it as a legitimate constitutional issue and hence stood down some of the grounds at the committee level, but has brought it to plenary for the House to make a determination.
Concluding his debate, Dr Ayine said, “I want to conclude by making it very clear that the report of this committee has found unassailable evidence of misconduct on the part of the Minister.
“Even if it had exonerated the Minister on some grounds, it has found that the Minister misconducted himself with respect to a lot of grounds… On the basis of this, Mr Speaker, I am calling all members of the House in line with Order 108(b) to do a secret ballot to decide the fate of the Minister.”
Majority’s argument
Commenting for the Majority side, the Deputy Majority Leader, Mr Afenyo Markin said the House will be setting a bad precedent if it proceeds to vote on the motion, because Dr Ayine had indicated that some of the allegations were stood down because Counsel for the Minister raised some constitutional issues.
Secondly, the Efutu Legislator argued that the Minister has not been indicted in any way, so there was no basis for censuring him.
“What will be the basis for a vote when the committee is unable to come out with a finding to indict him.
“…Mr Speaker, an invitation as dangerous as this will lead us into a valley that we may never be rescued. Mr Speaker, we should make no mistake, if we follow such a dangerous path, the politics of this country will be condescending into a level that, Mr Speaker, will not be attractive to any person who decides to serve his nation to proceed wholeheartedly. ”
He asked if the Minority Leader, Dr Dominic Ayine and other Minority members would be happy if they were subjected to such treatment. He said the minority was acting in bad faith and that the majority will not support them.
Minority Leader’s comment on majority’s walkout
The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, commenting on the Majority walkout before the vote was taken, said one of the lessons to take note of, going into the future, was that a committee of such nature should be made to make definitive fact findings and make appropriate recommendations.
He said that though the motion was lost, history will remember that Speaker Bagbin made a good contribution in holding the executive accountable, by taking the motion through the process.
To the majority caucus, the Tamale South Legislator said that they had done the country a disservice by walking out because their participation in the vote could have helped removed the minister and save the economy from crumbling further.
