Fire Ofori Atta NOW; Ablakwa To President

The Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has called for the immediate dismissal of Ghana’s Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta.

The call is a reaction to the President’s plea with the military to respect and protect the 1992 constitution of Ghana whereas he disdains citizens complaining over the current economic hardship.

Ablakwa has observed that “throughout history, leaders who make the fatal mistake of fearing guns instead of the people have deeply regretted — the guns were silent but people power toppled bad leaders during the Arab Spring and much recently in Sri Lanka.

“In Sudan, 8 months of angry demonstrations led by disillusioned young people from 2018 eventually resulted in the overthrow of strongman, Omar al-Bashir on April 11, 2019, after 30 brutal years in power.”

According to the lawmaker whose party is in opposition, humane policies are the sure protection for governments.

“This is why it is absolutely imperative that President Akufo-Addo regain consciousness from his comatose and implement urgent remedial measures to rescue suffocating Ghanaians. The pain and suffering under this unprecedented collapsed economy is visceral and tangible”, he said.

One of the ways he believes the President can remedy the economic downturn is to relieve his cousin, Ken Ofori Atta of the Finance Minister position immediately.

But the president has on different occasions disagreed with the suggestion to either sack or reshuffle any of his cabinet Ministers.

Last week while touring the Ashanti Region, President Akufo-Addo emphasised his disagreement with the calls to have his cousin deposed.

“I came to office in 2017 under a stringent IMF programme. This same man was able to manage the affairs of our economy in such a way that in my first term, we were one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

“An average growth rate of 7% which allowed us to initiate programmes such as Planting for Food and Jobs. So somebody who has been able to do that. The current difficulties are not his fault. So how do I do it (sack him)? What will be the basis? What will be the rationale”, he is quoted as saying by JoyNews.

During a similar tour in August, the president assured the public he wasn’t in for a reshuffle citing his cabinet ministers’ “outstanding” performance.

“That is a matter that I will take in an appropriate way. Several of the people who are responsible for assisting me in steering the country out of the difficulty we inherited and the difficulties that have subsequently come are still in place. And many of them have done outstanding work. Their output has been considerable and that is what I look at.”

Ablakwa has also suggested other measures including the dissolution of the country’s Economic Management Team (EMT).

“President Akufo-Addo must fire his Finance Minister NOW; the clueless Economic Management Team ought to be disbanded with dispatch; corruption and profligacy should be uprooted; embark on ruthless retrievals of all stollen taxpayer funds; cancellation of reckless prestige projects; his bloated government including the disgraceful position of CEO for a non-existent Keta Port must be drastically pruned, the countless retirees on contract should go home and catch a well-deserved rest; and as we have often demanded — it is time to convene a non-partisan economic rescue forum to harvest fresh ideas.”

He believes the President must resign if he cannot go by his suggestions.

“When the people are hungry and angry, it is most unwise to contemptuously ignore them and go begging soldiers. In any case, Ghanaian soldiers don’t live in a different economy, they are experiencing the same excruciating hardship and hopelessness we are all confronted with. It is trite — what soldiers all over the world hate, is to be asked to march loyally on hungry stomachs”, he added.

Last week, the President urged the security service to stay loyal to the Republic in the midst of the economic downturn when he visited Idris Barracks in the Ashanti Region.

“I want to encourage you to continue the good work that you’re doing for our country. I encourage you to stand firm in your loyalty to the Republic, your loyalty to the Constitution of our nation so that the orderly, peaceful development of our country which is the only way that can guarantee the future prosperity we are all working for can come about…. So that these [present] generations of Ghanaians will leave as our legacy, that even when things were difficult in Ghana, we all held together under our Republican institutions and our constitution to find a way to a better future for our nation. I am confident that we can do it and I am counting on you to help me do it”, he said according to mynewsgh.com.

Meanwhile, during an interview on Otec FM, the President disdainfully said threats to vote his party out of power do not frighten him anymore.

During a sod-cutting ceremony for the Suame interchange last week, he added that his critics in the Ashanti region- his party’s stronghold- will be put to shame.

But Ablakwa believes President Akufo-Addo should not be begging soldiers while dismissing the legitimate demands of suffering civilians with utter contempt.

Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini