Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has apologized to the people of Ghana for the current economic crises the country is faced with.
Mr. Ofori-Atta coming before the ad hoc committee hearing the censure motion brought against him by the Minority Caucus in Parliament on 18th November, 2022 in his preliminary statement he said everything they have sought to do was aimed at making the lives of the people better.
“Since he said everything we have sought to do was aimed at making the lives of the people better”.
“We have been focused on this vision to improve lives, and in the first four years our efforts were leading to the realization of the vision. Today, I acknowledged that our economy is facing difficulties and the people of Ghana are enduring hardship”.
He said being the person put in charge of the economy; he feels the pain personally, professionally and in his soul.
“I see and feel the terrible impact of rising prices of goods and services on the lives and livelihoods of ordinary Ghanaians; I feel the stress of running a business, but it is the strive and perseverance of the Ghanaian people that inspire me and my colleagues in government every morning and to press on. That is what gives me the strength to press on to find solutions and relieve for Ghana’s mirage of problems.
Dominic Shirimori/Ghanamps.com
1. Despicable conflict of Interest ensuring that he directly benefits from Ghana’s economic woes as his companies receive commissions and other unethical contractual advantage, particularly from Ghana’s debt overhang.
5. Fiscal recklessness leading to the crash of the Ghana Cedi which is currently the worst performing currency in the world;
According to him in the days of Unilever in the Western Region, there were massive plantations of palm fruit, but there has not been serious land turner system for people to invest in those areas in the last 20 years.
Lawyer for the Finance Minister demanded particulars and evidence to back the Minority’s allegations of incompetence against the minister for which reason they are demanding his exit from office through a vote of censure.
“We are human, you will find some MMDCs working in isolation from the MP and that is a bit problematic because the normal thing is that the MP is a member of the Assembly and represents the interest of the constituents. When there is a project that benefits the people and you want to implement it successfully you should involve the MP”, he said.
Mr. Bagbin who was reacting to “Daily Guide” publication on November 17, 2022 under the caption “Bagbin bans phones in Parliament” clarified the issues as follows:
The Ministry of Works and House, out rightly distanced itself from the national cathedral project when a question from the Member of Parliament for Lower Manya Krobo, Ebenezer Okletey Terlabi was referred to the Works and Housing Ministry.
Deputy Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources Issahaku Chinnia Amidu has said good sanitation practice in Ghana will save Ghana two hundred and seventy million dollars yearly.
There is also high expenditure on health care related to sanitation and water borne diseases, hence the UN set November 19th every year for us to observe it as world toilet day which we can do advocacy and let people appreciate the importance of having toilet in our homes, he stated.
Mr. Speaker, although the sanitation crisis comes from a set of complex causes, the prime reason is that nobody likes to talk about toilets, and too few nations and local governments give sanitation the priority it deserves. What the sanitation challenge needs is leadership: politicians and decision makers, the international community, religious authorities, businesses, media, and local communities need to learn, speak out and act on issues of sanitation”.
