Finance Minister denies deliberately misinforming Parliament

Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister of Finance, has denied allegations that he deliberately misreported data to Parliament saying he has served Ghana with integrity.

During Friday’s sitting of the eight-member Ad-hoc Committee constituted by Mr Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, to probe the allegations for the Motion of Censure raised by the Minority in Parliament, Mr Ofori-Atta dismissed the allegations, describing them as unfortunate and a complete fabrication.

“I have served Ghana with integrity and will never engage in deliberately misinforming Parliament about the country’s finances,” he said.

“The issue of misreporting is not just unfortunate but also untrue, I never misreported data to Parliament.”
I wish to say that deliberate misreporting is completely not true. I have served Ghana with integrity.”

The allegation of misreporting data to Parliament was one of the seven grounds put forward by the Minority to demand the removal of the finance minister.

The Minority Caucus in Parliament filed a motion for a vote of censure against Mr Ofori-Atta making seven allegations against him, including conflict of interest, financial recklessness leading to the low strength of the Ghana cedi against the major trading currencies, and gross mismanagement of the economy.

The finance minister, however, in a written request by his Counsel, Mr Gabby Asare Ochere-Darko, before the hearing, sought further and better particulars on the grounds for the motion while raising questions over the committee’s jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, at the opening of the hearing on Friday, the Parliamentary Ad-hoc Committee struck out grounds one and three from the list of seven allegations levelled against Mr Ofori-Atta, a decision the minister said he was pleased with.