‘Ken Must Stay’, After Cedi Flexes Muscle

The Anchor can confirm growing disquiet among a new group of New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament (MPs) over the apparent silence of the proponents of “Ken Must Go,”the group of lawmakers that recently demanded the removal of Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.

According to this paper’s information, the new group is worried about the deafening silence of the critics of the Finance Minister, particularly in the wake of the unprecedented appreciation of the cedi against the dollar.

This new group of MPs, whose identities are withheld, believes that, just as the disgruntled 98 colleagues from the Majority Caucus came out publicly to chastise the minister and called for his removal when things were going bad, they should muster same courage to change their chant to ‘Ken Must Stay.’

A source among the MPs in support of the Finance Minister told this paper, that the loud silence of the “Ken Must Go” proponents smacks of hypocrisy and the ill-intent of their call, especially so when there are indications that the economy is bouncing back.

“We need to be consistent, the same voice who demanded the Finance Minister’s dismissal when things were going bad should be bold again to come out and praise him, we need to be consistent,” one of the MPs told this paper.

They said, not only is the cedi appreciating, but also prices of goods are also reducing at the pulp, which proves the nature of confidence the President has in the Finance Minister.

According to them, the call for the Finance Minister’s removal must be given a rethink, because looking at the turn of events, anyone who would be used to replace Mr. Ofori-Atta could spell doom for the economy.

The position of these pro-Ofori-Atta NPP MPs follows the strong performance showed by the cedi as the strongest currency within the week.

In less than five hours yesterday, December 14, the Ghana cedi had gained 5.6% in value against the US dollar, resulting in a cumulative gain of approximately 33.6% in the month of December alone.

At the time of going to press last night, US$1 was trading at an average rate of ¢10.70, with a market range spanning GH¢10.70 to GH¢11.28.This put the cedi as the strongest performing currency against the American ‘greenback’ in December 2022.

It would be recalled that some Members of Parliament who are part of the Majority Caucus recently called for the dismissal of Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta and the Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Charles Adu Boahen.

The group made the announcement to the media in Parliament on Tuesday, October 25, this year.

Andy Kwame Appiah-Kubi, the MP for the Asante-Akim North Constituency in the Ashanti Region, who introduced himself as the spokesperson for the disgruntled Majority MPs group, said they decided to voice their position because several concerns sent to the government had failed to yield any positive results.

According to the group, sacking Ofori-Atta and Adu Boahen will help restore confidence in Ghana’s economy.

“The recent development within the economy is of major concern to our caucus and our constituents. We have made our grave concern known to our president through the parliamentary leadership and the leadership of the party without any positive response.”

“We are by this medium communicating our strong desire that the president changes the Minister of Finance and the Minister of State at the Finance Ministry without further delay in order to restore hope to the financial sector and reverse the downward trend in the growth of the economy,” he added.

Several Ghanaians, including opposition parties, have mounted pressure on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to remove Mr. Ofori-Atta from office, in light of the country’s current economic predicament, which has compelled government to seek support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Source: Anchorghana