How can you say this is the time to rejoice in the Lord? – Ablakwa slams Ofori-Atta

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, has slammed the Minister for Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, for his posturing despite the worsening economic condition of Ghanaians under his watch.

Ofori-Atta, who was in parliament, on Thursday, February 16, 2023, after being summoned to give details of the government’s Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) to the House, in his initial remarks said, “I come in peace”.

He then proceeded to quote a scripture from the Bible which urged people to give thanks to the Lord and make his works known to all.

“If I look at Psalm 105, it says ‘let’s give thanks’ and notes that we should rejoice with the Lord and make his great deeds known among people. So, we thank God, Mr Speaker for today and how far the Lord has brought us,” he said

Reacting to this, however, Ablakwa, during his turn to debate on Ofori-Atta’s presentation, was shocked by the minister’s call for people to give thanks and rejoice.

He said that Ghanaians are suffering but the minister is asking them to rejoice.

“… Ghana used to be the poster child of economic growth, of democratic stability. This was a country that other African countries were asked to emulate. Today, all of those gains have been eroded. We are at the precipice, we are on the brink of economic catastrophe, of Armageddon, of a cataclysmic economic disaster because of a finance minister who has betrayed the trust of the Ghanaian people.

“Mr Speaker what is even so obnoxious and irritating is the minister’s opening remarks that this is the time to rejoice in the Lord. Jesus Christ of Nazareth! The minister forgets that in Proverbs 29:2, the Bible says that when the wicked rules the people mourn, the people groan, there is pain. There is pain and anxiety when the wicked rule,” he said.

The MP added that the fact that the minister could still rejoice despite the challenges means that the country is even in deeper trouble than he thought.

“This is no time to rejoice. If the minister is still rejoicing, then our problems are bigger than I ever imagine. Because it tells us that the president, his vice president, his finance minister, they are in a buddle, they are totally out of touch. They are in a world of their own and they are still in a rejoicing mood,” he said.

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