A leading figure of the Coalition for Democratic Accountability and Inclusive Governance, Dr. Kojo Asante, has described the censure hearings against Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta as frustrating so far.

“It has just become like a courtroom. It was meant to be a debate; an establishment of facts in parliamentary style, but it has just become like a courtroom,” Dr. Asante complained.

The committee had a contentious start during its proceedings on Tuesday as its members debated the manner in which the Minority members could present their evidence against the Finance Minister.

Some of the committee members felt the hearing should be treated as a quasi-judicial proceeding.

Dr. Asante felt these discussions were unnecessary considering the concerns around the economy and the Finance Minister.

“I don’t know whether it is because there are too many lawyers leading these processes. It becomes a thing about needing evidence and so on… That is not helpful. Part of that, I find very frustrating.”

“This could have been dealt with a long time ago if the President had listened to all of us. Unfortunately, we are now in the space of this tug of war, and still, our crisis hasn’t gone anywhere,” he added.

The Public Interest Accountability Committee (PIAC) and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) are expected before the committee later on Thursday.

The Finance Minister will appear on Friday after he requested time to prepare based on the evidence tendered to the committee by the Minority.