A member of Parliament’s Finance Committee, Isaac Adongo, has expressed concerns about Ken Ofori-Atta’s appointment as Senior Presidential Advisor and Special Envoy for International Finance and Private Sector Investments.
Adongo argued that this appointment could hinder the new Finance Minister, Mohammed Amin Adam, from implementing his policies effectively.
“I have reason to say that what the President has done is technically to give Mohammed Amin one job with the left and take it back with the right. The appointment of Ken Ofori-Atta is akin to having a senior Finance Minister supervising the Finance Minister,” he said in an interview on Joy FM.
“If you know the way government works, the Finance Minister has to implement major policies through cabinet and through executive approval of the President, and when he is going to Cabinet or he is going to seek approval from the President, the President will consult his Advisor and his Advisor is Ken Ofori-Atta.”
“So if Ken does not agree with the policy orientation of the Finance Minister, it is as good as not even starting it because it won’t get cabinet or executive approval,” he added.
Adongo suggested that Ofori-Atta’s role might overshadow the Finance Minister’s authority, leading to potential conflicts in decision-making processes.
“How can we not have a Finance Minister who can be independent in thoughts, who cannot come to the job with his own thinking of how things should be done; but then he must stay with the status quo. Unfortunately, if you even look at his envoy role, basically what they are trying to do is to let him be in charge of debt negotiation and our debt restructuring and all of that,” Adongo said, emphasising the need for an independent role of the Ministry.
He warned that if the Finance Minister’s autonomy is compromised, it could impede efforts to improve the country’s economy.
Source: Ghanaweb
