Parliament approved every budget – Finance Minister rejects fiscal recklessness allegation

Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has denied allegations of being reckless with the country’s finances, hence the current economic crisis.

Mr Ofori-Atta said the claim was false, as he had complied with every laid down regulation in the exercise of his role as Finance Minister.

Instead, he said it was the action of the Minority in Parliament last year that created chaos, leading to mistrust and subsequent withdrawals by investors.

He told the ad-hoc Committee of Parliament hearing the censure motion brought against him that “I have not been reckless in the management of the fiscal operations of the government.”

He was responding to a claim by the Minority in Parliament, which alleged in its censure motion against the minister that fiscal recklessness by Mr Ofori-Atta has led to the crash of the Ghana Cedi.

“Hon Co-Chairs, the ground of recklessness presupposes that I have not been guided by the laid-down regulations. I want to state that I have not been reckless in the management of the fiscal operations of the government.”

“Rather, our strenuous efforts to protect the public purse is what has helped this government to have achieved much, much more than any government over a similar period in virtually all sectors, including education, health, social welfare, policing, security in general, roads, railways, agriculture, industrialisation, tourism, digitization, and funding for anti-corruption institutions,” he said.

He said every action of his was first discussed with Parliament and approval granted before implementation.

“On all those occasions, I received approval as Parliament subsequently passed Appropriations Bills for all those budgets. Every key expenditure made has been supported by this House. Indeed, we all saw the dire consequences when the House, for months, refused to pass a major revenue generation item introduced by this government to support the fiscal stability of the economy.”

“Sadly, the Minority Leader, when this government was compelled to approach the Fund this year, triumphantly took credit for frustrating government's efforts to meet its half-year revenue targets,” Mr Ofori-Atta said.

By Citi Newsroom