Members of the Minority in Parliament, have filed a motion for a vote of censure against the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta in accordance wi
Members of the Minority in Parliament, have filed a motion for a vote of censure against the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta in accordance with article 82 of the 1992 constitution of the Republic of Ghana.
The Motion of the Minority, has been signed by almost all members of the caucus making the motion admissible for same to be moved in the House.
Constitutional provision
Article 82 of the 1992 constitution states that 1. “Parliament may, by are solution supported by the votes of not less than two thirds of all the members of Parliament, pass a vote of censure on a Minister of State.
2. A motion for the resolution referred to in clause (1) of this article shall not be moved in Parliament unless
a. seven days’ notice has been given of the motion; and
b. the notice for the motion has been signed by not less than one-third of all the members of Parliament;
3. The motion shall be debated in Parliament within fourteen days after the receipt by the Speaker of the notice for the motion.
4. A Minister of State in respect of whom a vote of censure is debated under clause (3) of this article is entitled, during the debate, to be heard in his defence.
5. Where a vote of censure is passed against a Minister under this article the President may, unless the Minister resigns his office, revoke his appointment as a Minister.
6. For the avoidance of doubt this article applies to a Deputy Minister as it applies to a Minister of State.
Required threshold
Per the document sited by Asaase News, the requirement for the motion to be signed by not less than one-third of all the members of Parliament before the it can be moved in Parliament has been fulfilled.
However, the requirement for the motion to be supported by the votes of not less than two thirds of all the members of Parliament, in order to pass a vote of censure on a Minister of State, will not be met by the Minority in Parliament without the support of members from the Majority side.
Background
Following President Akufo-Addo’s directive to the Finance Minister to begin formal engagements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the 1 July 2022, there have been calls by several persons including former President John Mahama, for Mr Ofori-Atta to resign.
However, says he will not resign over Ghana’s decision to go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout although he was against it in principle.
Speaking to the media at the New Patriotic Party (NPP) National Annual Delegates’ conference in Accra on Saturday (16 July), Ofori-Atta said resigning is not the best option now.
“I will not resign,” the finance minister said. “It is almost like telling a father to resign from his children because he is changed his mind”.
“There are times that decisions have to be made for the survival of a country and therefore if circumstances such as COVID or the Ukraine war occur which are not typical, it does change the environment, and sensible people will change their minds,” Ofori-Atta added.
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