Osafo Maafo ignores cabinet

The Evening News says the Minister of Finance, Yaw Osafo Maafo appears to have taken another major decision without consulting Mr. J.A. Kufuor, and this time he has reportedly, upset the President.

Mr Osafo Maafo's letter to the Majority Leader, J.H. Mensah from which details of an intended advancing of a 20,000-dollar loan to each of the Members of Parliament was made public, has attracted so much public criticisms and raised doubts about the government's sensitivity to the socio-economic plight of the populace.

Not only was the President unaware of the details of the deal, even the Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr Adombire Agambila was not aware of it.

According to the paper, this is not the first time that Maafo has fault-started. A couple of months ago, the Finance Minister appointed the deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Asiedu Mante to assume responsibility of the Central Bank and publicised it, only for President Kufuor to set that decision aside and re-engage the former governor to assume control until the end of September.

Whereas new parliamentary entrants like Dr Agambila and George Isaac Amoo have been staunchly defending the decision, other MPs are not too keen on joining the imbroglio and are adopting a wait and see attitude.