Censure motion: Minority's allegations have no legs to stand on — Afenyo-Markin

Deputy Majority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin has said the Minorty has not been able to establish a prima facie case against the underfire Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta in relation to the motion of censure they filed for his removal.

He said the allegations made by the Minority “had no legs to stand on.”

Contributing to a debate on the 8-member committee’s report which was submitted to the Speaker, on Thursday December 8, Mr Afenyo-Markin who is also lawmaker for Effutu said Parliament will be setting a dangerous precedent if they go ahead to vote on the motion.

He stated emphatically that the Majority side in the House will not support the motion.

“Should we proceed to vote on this matter we will be setting a precedent which will come to haunt us one day. What will be the basis to vote when the committee is unable to indict him?” He said.

He added “we should make no mistake, if we follow the dangerous path, the politics of this country will be condescending to make it unattractive to any person who wants to serve his country.”

His comments were on the heels of assertion by Dr Dominic Ayine, Co-chair of the 8-member ad hoc committee that Minister of Finance miseducated himself.

Seconding the motion for the debate on the report of the committee in Parliament on Thursday December “misconducted himself.”

On this basis, he called for a secret ballot on the motion.

During proceedings in Parliament, the Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin, said the procedure he adopted to handle the censure motion was firmly rooted in law.

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Delivering his ruling on the report submitted to him by the 8-memeber ad hoc committee, in Parliament on Thursday December 8, the Speaker said “…the procedure is well rooted in law.”

He added “the public hearing has vindicated my decision. The referral of the motion is proper and in accordance with the law, the House may now proceed to debate the motion.”

When the Minority filed the motion in Parliament, the Speaker formed the 8-member ad hoc committee co-chaired by KT Hammond and Dominic Ayine, lawmakers for Adansi-Asokwa and Bolgatanga East, respectively, to handle the matter.

During the hearing, Mr Ofori-Atta told the committee on Friday November 18 that the proponents' allegations did not have “weight for censure.”

He said each of the allegations leveled against him was false and went on to debunk each of them.

On the allegation of deliberate misreporting of economic data to Parliament, he said it was completely not true.

“Since I took office in 2017, I have served the country with integrity and honesty.

“Under my leadership at the Ministry of Finance, there have been significant improvements in the accurate reporting of public finances.

“Today, under President Nana Akufo-Addo , Ghanaians are enjoying greater accountability and transparency in the management of the public purse than any other period under the Fourth Republic.”

—3news.com