Former general secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party, Kwabena Agyei Agyapong, has reiterated his belief that Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta ought to have resigned months ago.

According to Agyapong, given the minister's failure to resign, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo should have fired the minister in July 2022, according to an interview with Kweku Sintim Misa on the KSM Show.

His argument is based on the minister's recent public rejection of suggestions that he turn to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for assistance during an economic crisis.

On July 1, 2022, the president in a statement issued by the Information Minister ordered Ofori-Atta to start talks with the fund for a programme.

Agyapong, who is gunning to become the governing New Patriotic Party's flagbearer for the 2024 elections stressed that with his dogged anti-IMF posture, Ofori-Atta became unsuitable for negotiations with the Fund.

“I know how these agencies work and sometimes they want to be very diplomatic. I am sure that they are not happy that he is the one leading it. In their view, they want a stark departure from what happened in the past.

“The first thing I expected was for the president to relieve Ken of his duties, he hasn’t done that, that is his choice but we should expect very tough negotiations going forward and it is not going to be easy,” he told KSM.

Ghana is currently facing economic headwinds with a domestic debt programme facing opposition from stakeholders - largely from institutional bondholders.

Government is hoping to close a deal on debt restructuring at home in order to be able to access an International Monetary Fund (IMF) facility to support the failing economy.

Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta on December 6 announced that government was restructuring bonds held by institutional investors, putting them into four groups stretching 15 years. With interest also spread in four tranches in four years.

The Domestic Debt Exchange programme as it is called has faced some stiff opposition from major professional groups and workers union in the country.