President Akufo-Addo says he has no reason to fire the Finance Minister.
Ken Ofori-Atta, he claims, has performed his duties “exceptionally well,” and he cannot relieve him of his post.
President Akufo-Addo stated on OTEC FM on Monday that he had complete faith in the Minister, who is his cousin.
He claimed that Ofori-Atta is not to blame for the country’s current economic troubles. “I came to office in 2017 under a stringent IMF program. This same man was able to manage the affairs of our economy in such a way that in my first term, we were one of the fastest-growing economies in the world
“An average growth rate of 7% which allowed us to initiate programs such as Planting for Food and Jobs. So somebody who has been able to do that. The current difficulties are not his fault. So how do I do it (sack him)? What will be the basis? What will be the rationale.”
Thus, President Akufo-Addo stated that requests for him to fire the Minister are unreasonable.
“If we were to say he didn’t do well in the first term, then why did I renominate him for my second term? So for me, their performance my first time was excellent. Let me use that word. Excellent,” he added.
Due to the bad status of the Ghanaian economy, some Ghanaians have petitioned the President to relieve the Minister of his duties.
Ghana is currently seeking IMF assistance to keep the economy afloat, but despite the pessimism, President Akufo Addo insists on keeping the Finance Minister.
Meanwhile, the Ghanaian cedi was trading at 12 to $1 in numerous areas on Friday, with most forex bureaux or the retail market selling it for 12.10.
This comes just a week after the cedi fell in value versus the US dollar.
Meanwhile, scores of Ghanaians have gone to social media to lament the situation, demanding the government take immediate action to rectify the country’s currency’s chronic devaluation.
