The Tamale Central MP, Ibrahim Murtala, believes the blame for the perceived fiscal recklessness at the Finance Ministry should lie at the feet of its head, Ken Ofori-Atta.

Speaking on The Big Issue, he kicked against the assertion that technocrats at the ministry were responsible for the ministry’s performance.

Mr. Murtala was responding to data from the Fiscal Recklessness Index 2020 report released by Imani Center for Policy and Education and Oxfam Ghana, which ranked financial irregularities for Ministries, Departments, and Agencies over a five-year period.

The Ministry of Finance was ranked as the ministry with the highest level of fiscal recklessness between 2015 and 2020.

The report indicated that the ministry recorded more than GH¢11 billion in losses to the state.

Mr. Murtala contends that the Finance Minister has the ultimate responsibility, adding that the failings of technocrats were to be blamed on Mr. Ofori-Atta.

“If you have the technical men who are working with you, and they are not performing, fire them or move them and bring in people who can do the work,” the MP said.

He stressed that if the Finance Minister could not do the job, “he should move and let someone who can be there, be there.”

The technical people formulate policies through the direction of the Minister; Mr. Murtala argued further.

“If you decide that today, you are not going to do this, the technical people cannot say anything. If they give advice, you can decide not to take the advice,” he said.

“How do we know that some of the recklessness we are discussing has not been occasioned by the fact that the political appointees refuse to heed the advice of these technical men?”