Ato Forson Delivered A Professional Performance and Not A Performative One Like Ofori-Atta – Elikem Kotoko

The Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Forestry Commission, Elikem Kotoko, has congratulated Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson for delivering a professional performance during the reading of the mid-year budget.

Speaking on Channel One TV, he said Ato Forson deserves credit because he did not deliver a performative performance featuring Bible verses and a white shirt as Ofori-Atta used to do.

“I want to commence by first and foremost commending the finance minister for not only working the talk but for once in our over eight, ten, or decade, we’ve had a professional display of what is expected of a finance minister. He was not clad in white. He was not giving us bible quotations,” he said.

Kotoko said he had no issues with religion but it felt like Ofori-Atta was using it as a shield to cover the government’s bad activities.

“We had a finance minister before who at every moment was quoting bible verses. But when even he had the opportunity to go outside, there was no single bible quotation he put out to the whites out there. And so it is that he felt we were so gullible?” he said.

“So it gave me some sense of relief that for once we have a finance minister who is very serious. And taking Ghanaians seriously. Not one who was just thinking that he was governing with the bible. He was doing everything with the bible, and it was bible quotations that were going to solve the problems of Ghana,” he concluded.

Analysis of Elikem Kotoko’s utterances

The claim by Elikem Kotoko about Ken Ofori-Atta is largely true since the former Finance Minister was infamous for engaging in those sorts of political gimmicks. He delivered his budget statements in full white attire and often laced his presentations with bible verses.

Meanwhile, the country was headed into a ditch with overwhelming debt that Ofori-Atta was reportedly benefiting from personally.

In that sense, it’s much better to have a Finance Minister like Ato Forson who concentrates on his job than one who attempts to gaslight the public with religion while failing at his job.