Former Minister for Trade and Industry, KT Hammond, has revealed that he played a key role in the removal of Kwaku Kwarteng as Chairman of Parliament’s Finance Committee, accusing him of working against government-approved policies.
Speaking in an interview with Obuasi TV monitored by Kumasimail, the former Adansi Asokwa MP explained that Kwarteng’s stance against certain cabinet-approved tax policies created constant friction within government, making his removal unavoidable.
“He consistently opposed policies that had been approved by cabinet and Parliament,” Hammond claimed.
“As Chairman of the Finance Committee, you are supposed to facilitate the implementation of government policies, not sabotage them. But he was fighting me every day,” he added.
The former Trade Minister recounted that one major disagreement arose over cabinet’s tax exemption policy, which he said was critical to the success of the One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative.
According to him, Kwarteng refused to support the measure despite its approval by both cabinet and Parliament.
“My ministry needed that policy to make 1D1F succeed, but he insisted he would not accept it and wanted it to collapse,” Hammond stated.
He further argued that as a leading member of government, Kwarteng’s public criticism of policies undermined party unity and loyalty.
“You may not be happy with everything, but there’s something called unity in government. When you disagree, you consult authorities, you don’t fight your own government publicly,” Hammond stressed.
The Adansi Asokwa MP said that due to Kwarteng’s posture, he personally reported the matter to the President, together with Majority Leader Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu.
He noted that after a series of deliberations, party leaders concluded that retaining Kwarteng as Finance Committee Chair would disrupt the effective running of government policy.
Hammond said “This is not a secret. I reported him to the President, along with Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, but he still refused to accept it.
“It continued for a while, and I personally, together with other leaders in Parliament, said that if Kwaku Kwarteng remained as Chairman of the Committee, government policy would not yield any results, so we should remove him. I was part of those who engineered his removal,” he emphasized.
SOURCE: Kumasi Mail
