ACCRA (Reuters) – A majority of Ghana’s ruling party parliamentarians on Tuesday asked the president to sack finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta and his deputy, in order to “restore hope in the financial sector”.
Speaking on behalf of 80 of the 137 NPP members, Andy Appiah-Kubi said the members of parliament would not take part in any business of government and would boycott budget hearings until its demands are met.
Parliament is set to begin debating the budget in the coming days.
“We have voiced our concerns to the president…without any positive response,” Appinah-Kubi said. “Until such persons are made to resign or otherwise removed from office, we…will not participate in any business of government.”
Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo already faces a hung parliament, with membership split down the middle between the two major parties. Even single abstentions often hold back ruling party proposals from becoming legislation.
Ghana is currently negotiating a lending programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a bid to reduce economic hardship that spurred street protests. Ofori-Atta had repeatedly pledged not to seek IMF assistance before engaging the Fund in July.
(Reporting by Christian Akorlie and Cooper Inveen; Writing by Sofia Christensen; Editing by James Macharia Chege and Bate Felix)
