Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has finally been relieved of his duties. Also out of the picture are Road Minister Kwasi Amoako-Atta and Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman Manu.
In a big shake-up, Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah moves to the Housing Ministry, while his deputy Fatimatu Abubakar takes over as the substantive Minister.
Interior Minister Ambrose Dery has also been reassigned as Minister of State at the office of the President.
The recent reshuffle has impacted around 13 ministers of state, comprising 10 cabinet ministers and two regional ministers.
A press release from the presidency on Wednesday, February 14, catalogued the sacked ministers, those reassigned and newly appointed.
There has been pressure on President Akufo-Addo to sack Ken Ofori-Atta with some Majority MPs also joining the chorus.
In October 2022, the President defended his cousin saying he was there was no basis for such an action.
According to him, Ken Ofori-Atta has discharged his duties “excellently” and he cannot relieve such a person of his position.
Ken Ofori-Atta, Ghana’s finance minister, pauses during a Bloomberg Television interview in London, U.K., on Wednesday, March 20, 2019. Photo: Getty Images
He insisted that Ofori-Atta cannot be blamed for the current economic woes the country is facing.
The calls intensified with after 98 NPP MPs resolved to boycott the budget presentation and all Finance Ministry-related business should the President refuse to sack the Finance Minister immediately.
According to the Asante Akyem North MP, Andy Appiah-Kubi, who doubles as spokesperson for the group, Ofori-Atta’s position in government has become untenable, hence the fresh demand for his resignation.
The President has asked the MPs to hold on till Ghana concludes negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
At a meeting with the aggrieved MPs at the Jubilee House, President Akufo-Addo appealed for calm.
He said terminating the appointment of Ofori-Atta would disrupt the programme.
There have been similar calls for the head of the Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman Manu.
Following the revelations in the report of the Parliamentary Committee that probed the Sputnik V vaccine contract, a section of Ghanaians called for the Minister’s resignation.
Private legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu said the Minister “should have gone a long time ago.”
You see that the report has made matters worse for him,” he explained.
But President Akufo-Addo acknowledged the works of Agyeman Manu, amidst the pressure.
Tagging the Minister as an important player in his government, the President, during his speech at a durbar of chiefs in the Bono Region on Tuesday, said Mr Agyeman Manu has endured a lot of suffering to stabilise the health sector.