Former deputy Minister for Education and Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has said that Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta must face prosecution for conflict of interest and corruption.
He says the finance minister has violated the Constitution and should not only be sacked but prosecuted and jailed.
Mr. Ablakwa made these comments on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana show monitored by theGhanaianvoice.com.
He is of the view that President Akufo-Addo has been complicit in allowing Ken Ofori-Atta to perpetrate his atrocities against the constitution, something Former President Mahama would not have allowed under his tenure.
“We’ve never seen this level of corruption, blatant conflict of interest. Look, open stealing. Thievery! We’ve never seen it. There is no way President Mahama would have allowed a Finance Minister, as I dovetail into into the grounds for the Finance Minister’s removal – to have his company engage in unethical, immoral stinking conflict of interest is despicable of the highest order,” he said.
He added that Mr Ofori-Atta’s companies have been direct beneficiaries of Government borrowings superintended by him, throwing his weight behind persons calling for Ofori-Atta’s prosecution.
“The last time we asked the Finance Minister to come declare how much he’s benefited, his companies have benefited from Eurobonds alone, he told us in Parliament GHC 151 million. The Hanzard is there! Nasty conflict of interest. Many people have called for the removal – and I agree with the popular view that we should not only be talking about the removal of this Finance Minister, but his prosecution. He is a candidate for jail. Let’s be honest. You violate 178 of the Constitution. The Constitution is clear; you can’t dip your hands into the Consolidated Fund without Parliamentary approval.
This Finance Minister does it once, twice thrice, claiming that he is looking for money to build the President’s Cathedral. GHC 199 million! I mean we never saw this under President Mahama, not under President Kufuor, not under President Rawlings. We’ve never seen it in our history. Blatant disregard for the Constitution. Blatant and flagrant! Violent of the constitution. This is a Finance Minister who violates article 176 of the Constitution and sends our oil revenue offshore. His atrocities are so many. Numerous. Countless!”.
Meanwhile President Akufo-Addo has had to Members of Parliament (MPs) from his own party who had called for the sacking or resignation of Ofori-Atta, to allow him conclude negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) before his resignation or sacking.
Source: theGhanaianvoice.com