Nana Addo rejects calls to fire Ken Ofori-Atta, cites betrayal of trust

Nana Addo Dankwa, president of Ghana
Nana Addo Dankwa, president of Ghana

Once more, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has rejected calls to fire Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, arguing that doing so would betray trust.

The President claimed that the IMF bailout will return the nation to growth and prosperity in 2024 while on a visit to the Ashanti Region and speaking on Kumasi’s OTEC FM.

“I came to office in 2017 when we were under an IMF programme. This same Ken Ofori-Atta was able to manage the economy for the first 3 to 4 years. We were then one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. We had an average growth rate of 7% a year.

“For someone who has been able to do all these, how do I turn my back on him? For me, his performance has been excellent. That is why I have great difficulty in understanding what is going on.”

Meanwhile, the President has stated that he should be held fully responsible for the government’s choice to seek IMF assistance.

Advertisement ~ Scroll to continue

He clarified that the decision was not the result of poor economic management.

“It is very easy for people to say we went back to the IMF due to mismanagement of the economy. I do not accept that criticism because the reasons why we got into the situation we find ourselves has very little to do with us. In fact, the IMF confirmed this.

“It was a difficult decision to take, but I think that when you are in the church like I am now, you can not but take such decisions. I am the head of the government and I take full responsibility for it.”

Advertisement