The Minority in Parliament has started a procedure to remove Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister of Finance.
Over 100 signatures have been obtained by the caucus, which includes 137 members of Parliament, to begin a Vote of C ensure process against the Finance Minister.
This is in accordance with Article 82 of the Constitution from 1992, which details the steps for impeaching a minister of state through parliamentary proceedings.
A successful motion of this kind requires the signatures of at least one-third (92) of the members of Parliament, and given the size of the Minority, it would appear that this criteria has been met.
The Minority in Parliament will not be able to meet the threshold for the motion to be supported by the votes of not fewer than two-thirds (183) of all members of Parliament, however, in order to pass a vote of censure on a Minister of State.
If the motion is approved, the minister of finance will become the second in recent memory to be the target of such a move, the other being the minister of health, whose motion is still waiting.
The country decided to formally request assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after the Finance Minister had publicly said that the country would not do so, prompting the Minority’s action.
With some saying that he was the best person to head the country’s conversations with the IMF given his prior stance on an IMF program, pressure has grown on the minister to quit as a result of this.
But the finance minister has said he won’t step down because “it’s almost like forcing a father to resign from his kids because he’s changed his mind.”
