‘Sack finance minister’

Media Analysts Group (MAG), a pro-National Democratic Congress (NDC) group, has asked President John Dramani Mahama to sack Finance Minister Seth Terkper for what they described as the Minister’s “know it all attitude that is gradually and systematically collapsing the national economy.”

A press statement released on Tuesday and signed by the pressure group’s Secretary, Noble Twum-Asamoah stated: “With careful observation recently, Media Analysts Group (MAG) has come to the conclusion that the current Finance Minister, Mr. Seth Terkper is performing abysmally with regards to the management of the national economy and the sooner he is removed from that important position the better it would be for the people of Ghana and for our great party the National Democratic Congress (NDC).”

The rejection of the Finance Minister by a pro-NDC group is a general reflection of intense fracture between President Mahama’s appointees and pressure groups within the ruling party.

Usually these agitations turn extremely violent, with party fanatics chasing out President Mahama’s appointees or destroying government property to drum home their protest.

“MAG is humbly calling on the President, H.E. John Mahama to remove Mr. Seth Terkper from office as the Minister of Finance and appoint a more dynamic and practical person who will be able to perform and not rely on just accounting and taxation jargons which is not helping the Ghanaian economy and has no practical meaning on the ground,” the group charged.

For MAG, the continuous retention of Mr. Terkper in office would definitely affect any consequent electoral fortunes of the ruling party. “MAG can state categorically and without any bit of doubt that there is no way our party can chalk another success at the polls with Mr. Terkper as the Finance Minister because we do not understand why a finance minister would go to the extent of taxing vital commodities like condoms, fishing nets, cutlasses, outboard motors and what have you. Has he sat down for a minute to consider the political impact of such a reckless taxation?” the angry MAG fumed.

MAG said: “with the manner in which he is behaving, coupled with the information we have about his style of leadership at the ministry, we think he should either be asked to resign quickly and honorably or be fired by the President because he cannot manage the ministry much less the national economy which is deteriorating day by day,” they noted.

“The MAG has been reliably informed that immediately Mr. Seth Terkper was appointed by President Mahama as the Minister of Finance, he quickly sent a directive to the head of civil service to transfer the then hardworking Chief Director of the Ministry of Finance, Enoch Cobbinah before he Terkper assumes duties.

According to the group, the embattled Finance Minister had transferred, reshuffled or sacked more than 30 brilliant technocrats at the Ministry of Finance since he assumed office.

It is unclear if President Mahama would heed this call for the head of Mr. Terkper, but he has bowed to similar pressure in the past.