On November 10, 2022, Parliament will start debating the motion of censure Haruna Iddrisu submitted calling for the resignation of Ken Ofori-Atta, the minister of finance.
The controversy over whether or not the Minister of Finance should resign was still a major topic of discussion when the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, presented the Business Statement for the week on the floor of Parliament last Friday.
Move for Censure
The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, submitted the motion of censure demanding the resignation of the Finance Minister on Monday of last week.
A seven-point complaint that serves as justification for the minister’s dismissal is included in the motion.
A vile conflict of interest that ensures the minister directly benefits from Ghana’s economic problems as his companies gain commissions and other unethical contractual advantages, particularly from Ghana’s debt overhang, is one of the seven claims contained in the motion.
A further claim made in the motion was that money was illegally taken from the Consolidated Fund in flagrant violation of Article 178 of the 1992 Constitution, purportedly for the purpose of building the National Cathedral.
Furthermore, it is a gross violation of Article 176 of the 1992 Constitution when oil revenues are illegally paid into accounts located overseas.
opposition by the majority
The majority in parliament voiced a preliminary objection to the resolution of censure after it was filed, arguing that the minister needed to be informed of all the facts so as to avoid being caught off guard.
Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, the Deputy Majority Leader who lodged the objection, claimed that Mr. Ofori-Atta was treated unfairly by the way the motion was written and insisted that he needed to be given all the information in order to understand it and reply appropriately.
Article 82
A vote of censure against a Minister of State may be passed by the Parliament under Article 82 of the 1992 Constitution with the support of at least two-thirds of the members of Parliament.
A motion for the resolution mentioned in clause (1) of this article may not be brought up in Parliament unless seven days’ notice has been given and at least one-third of the members of Parliament have signed the motion’s notice.
Within 14 days of the Speaker receiving the motion notice, the motion must be considered in Parliament.
