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Member of Parliament for Cape Coast South Constituency, Kweku George Ricketts-Hagan, wants none of the principle economic advisors of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) to take part in the bi-partisan committee that was allegedly sanctioned by President Nana Akufo-Addo to investigate the structural causes of the depreciation of the cedi against major foreign currencies and make recommendations to combat them.

He believes the "principle economic advisors" have no clue as to how to go about the problem and would have proffered solutions to government, and not resorted to this supposed call for a bi-partisan committee.

Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta, about a week ago, disclosed to Parliament in Accra, that President Akufo-Addo has tasked him to look into what led to the downward spiral of the Cedi against some foreign currencies, especially the dollar.

As a result, Mr. Ofori-Atta said, he would work with the Central Bank Governor to “put a bipartisan committee together to proceed immediately.”

He was appraising the House on Ghana’s successful completion of the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Contributing to panel discussion on Radio Gold’s 'Alhaji and Alhaji' programme, Hon. Ricketts-Hagan, a former flagbearer aspirant of the NDC, expressed surprise at the audacity with which the Finance Minister went to Parliament and presented his case.

To him, the Finance Minister should have resigned to save face than to embark on that needless enterprise, since the call for a bi-partisan committee is a clear demonstration that the President has no confidence in him (Finance Minister).

“If the President of the Republic has now become the principle advisor to the Finance Minister, then I wonder who the Finance Minister is. The President is frustrated and rightly so and that is why he is basically asking them to do what they have to do because he wants to solve the problem, I believe and I hope...

“The President is now asking the Finance Minister, this is unheard of . . . then you come to Parliament and actually back it with some scriptures that you are forming bi-partisan and he is not ashamed of it; that is where we have actually descended,” he jabbed.

He wondered why President Akufo-Addo could not get the answers for the depreciation of the Cedi from the Vice President who heads the Economic Management Team as well from the Senior Minister who is responsible for the Economy and also from the Finance Minister who is supposed to be advising the President on why the economy is in a mess.

“So for me, even the starting point that we are going to have bi-partisan committee, I don’t even think any of the principle economic advisors in the NPP should actually participate because they basically have nothing to offer. If they do, they would have suggested something . . they haven’t got a clue,” he chided.