Ofori-Atta has been disappointing as finance minister; the public purse is now empty – Sophia Akuffo

The immediate-past Chief Justice of Ghana, Sophia Akuffo, has expressed her disappointment with the current state of Ghana’s economy and its managers.

According to her, the current Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has not lived up to his pledge of protecting the public purse adding that the public purse has rather become empty.

Speaking in yet-to-be aired interview on Accra-based Joy News, the former Chief Justice said, “When Ken became Minister of Finance in 2017, I heard him on the TV. He was talking, and he was saying that he sees his responsibility as being that of protecting the national coffers. Now the promise and the achievement, the gap is too big, and I need more explanation.

“…all I know is that you were going to protect the national coffers, and they are now empty. Whether they were empty at that time or not is neither here nor there. Because you were not going to protect the empty thing, you were going to protect it and make sure that everything that comes into it is going to be well husbanded… so we would go on and not reverse again," the former CJ added.

She further expressed her disappointment in Ken Ofori-Atta who has been under intense criticism from citizens and members of his own party [New Patriotic Party].

“It has been very disappointing... the fact is, whether it was Ken Ofori-Atta or somebody else I will still feel the same,” Sophia Akuffo added.

When probed further on the performance of the Finance Minister thus far, the former Chief Justice pointed out that she has nothing against him.

On the matter of calls for his dismissal, she stated that she will leave the decision to the President who appointed him to serve as Minister in 2017.

The former Chief Justice of Ghana, who was appointed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has for the past few days made headlines after she joined retirees in picketing at the Ministry of Finance in Accra over the government’s plan to include their bonds in its Domestic Debt Exchange Programme.

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