Members of the Minority Caucus on the Appointments Committee of Parliament have announced their decision to boycott today's vetting of the President's nominee for the position of Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry.

This move comes in response to the nomination of Kofi Ahenkorah Marfo, the Member of Parliament for Achiase, by President Akufo-Addo.

Ahenkorah Marfo

Kofi Ahenkorah Marfo's nomination follows the reassignment of the former Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Stephen Amoah, to the role of Deputy Minister for Finance.

However, the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has expressed strong objections to the nomination, citing the already large size of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government and its poor economic performance as the primary reasons for their stance.

In a press statement dated July 2, 2024, the Minority Caucus articulated their position:

"We are again unable to support this nomination by President Akufo-Addo at this time because our country has gone through (and continues to go through) very difficult periods, including crippling economic crisis, food insecurity, debt default as a result of excessive borrowing, corruption in government and wasteful and reckless expenditures."

"With ordinary Ghanaians going through excruciating hardships and businesses relocating from Ghana as a result of the high tax regime created by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government, one would have expected the President to downsize his already large government," the statement continued.

"This would have sent a signal to the people that President was mindful of the economic realities and was willing to do things differently to restore the needed confidence in the economy. That the President continues to nominate additional ministers to his already large-sized government at this injury time demonstrates a lack of appreciation of the economic mess that his government has unleashed on Ghanaians as a result of its bad economic policies."

The statement reiterated the Minority's previously announced position from May 17, 2024, stressing their inability to support the approval of what they termed an "injury time deputy minister nominee."

They criticized the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government as "reckless, wasteful and insensitive about the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian," and vowed not to participate in decisions that would further burden the already suffering populace.

"We will not, and cannot, take part in a decision to further burden the already suffering Ghanaian, especially when the president is unmindful of the financial consequences of his bloated government," the Minority Caucus concluded.

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