Ofori-Atta has more integrity than 99% of Ghanaian politicians – Prof Adei

Professor Stephen Adei has slammed parliamentarians for demanding the removal of Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.

According to the former Board Chairman of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), it is unfortunate that the lawmakers are going about their demand for the minister’s sacking in a way that tarnishes his image and makes him look like a thief.

The former GIMPA Rector said this among other things on Wednesday, November 30, while speaking on Upfront on JoyNews.

“Our leaders [Members of Parliament] must be very careful when they want to impugn the person’s integrity and almost branding him as a thief. I have no doubt at all that Mr Ken Ofori-Atta has more integrity than 99 percent of all politicians I know in Ghana,” Prof Adei said, as quoted by myjoyonline.com.

“If there is anybody in Ghana I can vouch for, none of his accusers can stand his integrity.”

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Some 98 New Patriotic Party Members of Parliament have been demanding the removal of Ofori-Atta from office, saying he has failed as Finance Minister.

Aside from them, the minority National Democratic Congress in parliament has also filed a vote of censure motion seeking the removal of Ken Ofori-Atta.

The MPs say the Finance Minister’s failure to manage the country’s economy well plunged Ghana into its current economic crisis.

But in professor Adei’s view, the agitations have damaged the Finance minister’s reputation so badly that all his past achievements have been overshadowed.

He told the host of the programme, Raymond Acquah: “The charges on conflict of interest and the fact that he was supposed to have stashed some 100 million dollars elsewhere which impugn on his integrity. I have known Mr Ofori-Atta for almost 23 years, I can say that he is a friend, a businessman of high integrity and therefore, for me, those two charges were very troubling.

“I believe that the NPP came into power over-committing themselves, there is over-borrowing and you know, you might disagree with policy and of course, there were internal and external factors, but I do not think that it is fair to impugn on the integrity of Ken Ofori-Atta. I know him personally as a Christian, as a businessman and as a politician.”

Meanwhile, the NPP lawmakers are still reiterating their call for Ofori-Atta’s sacking after he presented the 2023 budget statement to parliament.

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