Minority files motion for vote of censure against Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta
Members of the Minority in Parliament have filed a motion for a vote of censure against the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, in accordance with Article 82 of the 1992 constitution of the Republic of Ghana.
The Minority motion has been signed by almost all the members of the Minority caucus, making it admissible on the floor of Parliament, so that it can be moved in the House.
Constitutional provision
Article 82 of the 1992 constitution states: “1. 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.
- A motion for the resolution referred to in clause (1) of this article shall not be moved in Parliament unless:
a. seven days’ notice has been given of the motion; and
b. the notice for the motion has been signed by not less than one-third of all the members of Parliament;
- The motion shall be debated in Parliament within fourteen days after the receipt by the Speaker of the notice for the motion.
- A Minister of State in respect of whom a vote of censure is debated under clause (3) of this article is entitled, during the debate, to be heard in his defence.
- Where a vote of censure is passed against a Minister under this article the President may, unless the Minister resigns his office, revoke his appointment as a Minister.
- For the avoidance of doubt this article applies to a Deputy Minister as it applies to a Minister of State.
Required threshold
According to the document sighted by Asaase News, the requirement for the motion to be signed by not less than one-third of all the MPs in the current House before it can be moved in Parliament has been fulfilled.
However, the requirement for the motion to be supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds of all the members of Parliament, in order to pass a vote of censure on a Minister of State, will not be met by the Minority in Parliament without the support of members from the Majority side.
Background
Following President Akufo-Addo’s 1 July 2022 directive to the Finance Minister to begin formal engagements with the International Monetary Fund, there have been calls from many people, including the former president John Mahama, for Ofori-Atta to resign.
However, says he will not resign over Ghana’s decision to seek balance-of-payments support from the International Monetary Fund, although he was against the decision in principle.
Speaking to the media at the national annual delegates’ conference of the governing New Patriotic Party in Accra on Saturday (16 July 2022), Ofori-Atta said resigning is not the best option now.
“I will not resign,” the Finance Minister said. “It is almost like telling a father to resign from his children because he has changed his mind.
“There are times that decisions have to be made for the survival of a country and, therefore, if circumstances such as COVID or the Ukraine war occur which are not typical, it does change the environment, and sensible people will change their minds,” Ofori-Atta said.
