A former Chairman of Parliament’s Finance Committee says sacking the embattled Finance Minister now will be detrimental to the government. 

Dr Mark Assibey Yeboah said Ken Ofori-Atta cannot be removed from office “at this crucial hour.”

According to the former New Juaben South MP, it will take sometime for a new Finance Minister to be appointed, vetted and sworn into office.

This, he insisted will bring about a lacuna since the deputy ministers cannot perform the functions of a substantive minister. 

“It will be suicidal for the minister to be taken off at this crucial hour.”

What will it profit us? Even if a new minister is nominated today, it will not take this short period to vet and swear that person into office.”

“That person is likely to be sworn into office in 2023. The deputy ministers can also not perform the function of the substantive minister. Parliament can even decide not to hear a deputy minister,” he said in an interview on Oman FM over the weekend. 

However, he added that “I leave it to the President to remove or maintain him.”

Already, ninety-eight New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament have threatened to boycott the budget presentation and all Finance Ministry-related business should the President refuse to sack the Finance Minister. 

“We’ve gone back to (our demand for the President to) sack him now and therefore should the budget be presented under the stamp of the Finance Minister, we’ll not participate because as far as we’re concerned, we’re never going to do business with him.

“And if we’re not going to do business with him, he does not participate in any process from the Presidency to the House. We will not participate in deliberations too.”

He added that they will participate in the budget presentation and appropriation if someone else from government is appointed to present the budget.

“We’re not saying we won’t do President’s business. We’re saying we won’t do President’s business through Ofori-Atta. 

So if anybody else comes with President’s business, we’ll participate,” he said.