Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency
Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa on Friday, July 9 expressed disgust at the continuous absence of the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, to answer his question on the president’s recent foreign travel expenditure.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP filed the urgent question in May.
The Minister of Defence has since given his official response.
The Finance Minister, however, pleaded for more time to give his sector’s official answer.
Though this did not go down well with Mr Okudzeto Ablakwa at the time, his leader, Haruna Iddrisu, assured him that the Business Committee will rectify any anomalies and get the Finance Minister to answer the question.
On Friday, July 9, when it is still out of sight on the business of the House for the Finance Minister to give his answer, the North Tongu MP did not take kindly to the matter and demanded answers from the leadership of the Business Committee.
“Can the Honorable Deputy Majority Leader tell this House what exactly is going on and why a very strange special dispensation is being created for only the Finance Minister who can keep asking for more time, more time in perpetuity?”
He said members of the House were witnesses to the Speaker’s reprimand of ministers of Health and Sports when they were only late to answer questions filed about their ministries.
“But here you have the Finance Minister and the Right Honorable Speaker has said publicly in this chamber that the Minister must come and respond to the question.”
“So, what is going on? And this business of more time, more time, no specific timelines and we are not told anything, this is not acceptable!”
He said the House must consider the laxity of Mr Ofori-Atta as an affront to the legislative arm of government.
“It is totally wrong. So Mr Speaker I want to find out from the Deputy Majority leader what is happening?”