Debates of 15 Feb 2005

MR. SPEAKER
PRAYERS 10 a.m.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker 10:10 a.m.
Hon. Members, we take in the meantime item 8. We are continuing with the debate that this House thanks His Excellency the President for the Message on the State of the Nation which he delivered to this honourable House on Thursday, 3rd February, 2005.
MOTIONS 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Stephen Kunsu (NDC -- Kintampo North) 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity given me to express my sentiments on the President's State of the Nation Address.
The President tried to articulate his vision to Ghanaians and I listened with rapt attention and keen interest. However, after listening to the whole Address, I was disappointed for its inadequacy of information. I was left on tenterhooks as to how the issues raised could crystallize into action. It appeared to me as though the Address was a mere political rhetoric designed to satisfy constitutional requirements. Mr. Speaker, in contributing to the debate, I wish to comment on a few areas. The first is one tourism.
Tourism is one of the main foreign exchange earners in this nation. Last year alone, the country earned $800 million from 650 thousand visitors to the country. This shows that when tourism is fully developed, significant improvements will be made in the economy, as the Government's policy is to develop this industry and make Ghana the desired tourist destination for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) subregion.
I would remind the Government that development of tourism cannot be mentioned without making reference to two magnificent waterfalls at Kintampo. It will interest the House to know that despite the undeveloped nature of these waterfalls, Kintampo was adjudged the most patronized tourist centre in Brong Ahafo in year 2000 by the Ghana Tourist Board.
Mr. Speaker, apart from the waterfalls, Kintampo is also endowed with other interesting and fascinating resources which include the Monumental Centre of Ghana, the British War Cemetery and evidence of the ancient slave market situated at Kintampo.

On sports, I would say that it will be a sign of ingratitude if we do not acknowledge in practical terms the invaluable services rendered to this nation by our retired and celebrated sportsmen. Some of them are Baba Yara, and Kwasi Owusu, a former Black Stars Captain whose exploits and selfless devotion to duty helped to catapult the international image of Ghana to appreciable levels. Mr. Speaker, it is regrettable and sad to know that after sacrificing so much for this country, some of these sportsmen have sunk into oblivion and abject poverty.
Mr. Haruna H. Bayirga 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am Bayirga Haruna, hon. Member for Sissala West. It is not true that Baba Yara hailed from Kintampo; he was only born there. Baba Yara hailed from Sissala West, precisely Zinyi.
Mr. Kunsu 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think my hon. Friend over there is confused; he is from Kintampo.
Mr. Bayirga 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member is really confusing us in this
House. I stand by my earlier point that Baba Yara is a Sissala man from Zinyi in the Sissala West district of Ghana; and if he wants to know, I will bring Baba Yara's brothers here for him to know that he is not from Kintampo.
Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.
Hon. Member for Kintampo North, whatever it is, you go on.
Mr. Kunsu 10:20 a.m.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Maybe our apathetic attitude towards these sportsmen is one of the causes of sports degeneration in the country these days.
On education, I do not see how the change of name from junior secondary school to high school can improve teaching and learning in our schools. What is important to enhance teaching and learning is effective supervision and monitoring at all levels and the improvement in the conditions of the teachers.
Mr. S. K. B. Manu 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The hon. Member speaking has just said, I am quoting him, “. . . to say that the teacher's reward is in heaven is only begging the question.” From that statement one gets the impression that this statement was made in the President's Address. But nowhere in the Address was this - [Inter-ruptions.] So to attribute and give an impression that such a statement
Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.
Hon. Member for Kintampo North, you kindly wind up.
Mr. Kunsu 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, all that I am saying is that if we want to achieve what we want in education, then it is very essential that the conditions of teachers are improved dramatically.
Mr. S. Asamoah-Boateng (NPP - Mfantsiman West) 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to lend my support to the House to thank H.E. the President for the State of the Nation Address that he delivered.
Mr. Speaker, as I sat and listened to the President, indeed, I felt very proud to be a Ghanaian - [Hear! Hear!] Indeed, if you even observed what took place in the House, everybody was silent and absorbed and listened and believed that it is possible Ghana can make it. I have listened to the debate on both sides of the House and it appears that we all agree with the vision that the President envisaged, that Ghana would get to a just, humane and prosperous nation; and I think we have laid the foundation for it.
His Excellency the President did say that Chapter One of Positive Change has laid the foundation for the lift-off of the economy and Chapter Two will build on those foundations; and he articulated those in his three-pronged approach.
In his three-pronged approach, he mentioned human resource development, private sector development and good governance. Mr. Speaker, the President also talked about Ghana Incorporated, that we can together as a nation develop this country without fighting among ourselves.
I am very much impressed with the way His Excellency in his first term has helped to build consensus especially through the National Economic Dialogue of which, Mr. Speaker, I happened to have been the co-ordinator until my elevation to become a Deputy Minister.
The National Economic Dialogue is a very useful tool for consensus-building and I recommend to this House to make all efforts to push the appropriate buttons to make sure that we build on what we have started and that we all actively take part in it. I notice some people just come there and show their faces but it is a forum which, if we all put our brains on and begin to push it, would really help us to build this Ghana Incorporated.
I notice the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, my senior brother, hon. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu talking about taking the National Economic Dialogue to the regions. I commend him for that and I believe Moses and I would be able to travel with him and improve on the National Economic Dialogue in those regions.

Mr. Speaker, another area that the President spoke about was the economy, in terms of savings, how the stock market is performing and how people can also take active part in saving through the stock market. Mr. Speaker, Ghana's Stock Exchange as we all know is performing extremely well, especially when you look at the performance of all the mutual funds that have come on the market. I also lend my support to the President's suggestion that Ghanaians should patronize the Ghana Stock Exchange and make some earnings out of the monies that they put in the stock market. It will help all of us, it will help the country cultivate the habit of savings.

Mr. Speaker, another area that I am glad

the President mentioned and emphasized was education. Education is very important to our economic development. Without education, most of us would not be where we are and so what we do to our children must concern all of us. Sometimes, Mr. Speaker, we think that education is just to produce children or young people to the workplace.

Whilst it is true to some extent, I believe that education should be a process of stimulating curiosity and that it should not be a means for an end, in itself, but an end in itself. If you stimulate the curiosity of somebody or the people of a nation, at every level where they find themselves, they will contribute to the development of the nation.

One area I want all of us to consider and to make sure that it happens is that employers and those who have established businesses in the private sector should also take training seriously. Whilst it is important for us to educate our young ones and to make them responsible citizens of this nation -- sometimes they tend to forget what they learnt at school. So when they go to the workplace, I would imagine that the continuous learning that we all say and advocate would be something that the employers would also take on board, and that we can begin to benefit even whilst working, through training.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that people should be treated not for the cost they incur to a company but that they are a resource to a company and that what they produce or yield must be of concern, it must be of importance to the employer not just employing people, paying them their wages and salaries and of course when they finish with their training they all shirk that responsibility. So whilst we talk about education, I will encourage all employers to take training very seriously.

Mr. Speaker, one other area that I was glad that the President mentioned was the National Identification System. Mr. Speaker, although I have been involved, one would say that is why I am mentioning this, but they are key to our national development and I am glad that hon. Member for Ayawaso East, Alhaji Mustapha Ahmed, did mention that; and I lend my support to that.

The National Identification System should be brought on stream very quickly. Whislt we do that, we obviously are mindful of the pitfalls in it. I have had the opportunity to talk to some of my hon. Colleagues and we are fully aware of what the hon. Member for Ayawaso East mentioned and we will take all necessary precautions so that people do not misconstrue that to imply that the Aliens Compliance Order is being brought back through the back door, which is not true.

The National Identification System will give us a database for us to build the economy, plan properly. It will help the banks in particular to be able to know what is going on, and it will help our economy in terms of even the liquidity in the system. Mr. Speaker, you go to the bank, almost always, and you take huge sums of money from the bank, the bank will note that you have taken 20 or 30 million from the bank but what you do with the money, the economy cannot capture. And so we cannot plan not knowing where people are investing. What is it that people are engaging themselves in? Of course, the informal sector being that large, it is very difficult to monitor. The National Identity will help us to capture people going into the formal sector and streamline our activities. I am very much in support of the National Identification System coming on stream.
Alhaji Abukari 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order. Mr. Sepaker, my
Mr. Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Hon. Member, you would have your time to contribute; this is not a point of order at all. Hon. Member for Mfantsiman West, you must be winding up.
Mr. Asamoah-Boateng 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I have got the figures here, so anyone who cares should come and look. They are all here; I have got all the documentation so you do not dispute them. Mr. Speaker, the point I am coming to is that we should encourage them to take active interest in building this economy, and in particular I want to refer to article 42 of our Constitution which talks about voting rights, and with your permission I quote:
“Every citizen of Ghana of eighteen years of age or above and of sound mind has the right to vote and is entitled to be registered as a voter for the purposes of public elections and referenda.”

Mr. Speaker, I recall that last year the Government brought a Bill to this House. I am not too sure about the Long Title of it, but I can recall it was the Representation of the People's (Amendment) Bill which did not go through the House. I would plead

with my Colleagues that when the Bill comes before this House, we all lend our support to it to afford Ghanaians outside the right to vote, so that they can feel proud as Ghanaians.

Mr. Speaker, my last point very briefly is on the deregulation of the petroleum industry. It is good for us but we need to also look at the bigger picture. Exploration of petroleum deposits or gas deposits must also be encouraged. I am glad to note that a company has been awarded some concession, if I am right, in the Cape Three Points area somewhere in the Western Region. I am not sure -- if I am wrong I will withdraw that one. But Mr. Speaker, what I want to say is that we need to encourage companies to come and explore.
Alhaji Collins Dauda 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I heard my hon. Friend say that he has a company. I want him to re-emphasize that -- whether he owns a company or a company is working in his constituency; he must clear that.
Mr. Asamoah-Boateng 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
it is not my company; it is a company exploring oil. I do not own any interest in that company. Thank you very much. But as I said, it is important that we pay attention to the exploration and be able to
exploit what we have got -- our natural resources.
Mr. Speaker in conclusion, I lend my support to the House to thank His Excellency the President for a very good speech delivered and for Positive Change Chapter II to take place and lift all of us to a humane, just and prosperous nation.
Mr. Charles S. Hodogbey (NDC -- North Tongu) 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, it is a great opportunity to comment on the President's speech on the State of the Nation. And the first thing I want to comment on is the statement made by the hon. Member for Ashaiman on textile industries because one textile industry is located in my constituency, that is Juapong Textiles.
The industry is dying now because of the policies of the present Administration. They have given the Ghana designs to China and Korea where the textile industry is flooded with designs made with cloths made of synthetic fibre. In view of that, the product which is used by Ghana Textile Printing (GTP) at Tema which comes from Juapong is now not being used. So the industry is dying and they are laying off people from this factory.
Mr. Manu 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order. Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member
Mr. Hodogbey 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I was talking about unemployment which was not mentioned by the President in his Address, and I said -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 10:40 a.m.
Hon. Member, you mentioned Juapong, could you deal with the point he raised?
Mr. Hodogbey 10:40 a.m.
The Nat ional Reconstruction Levy is part of the killing factors of this industry. Besides, you all know that today you see cloths coming from China or Korea, the designs of which had been sold to these countries. Therefore, our own textile prints are not being purchased as they are supposed to be; because the other printed ones from Korea, which people have code- named Kufuor meda woase, are cheaper. [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 10:40 a.m.
Hon. Member for Ahafo
Ano South, let us hear you again.
Mr. Manu 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, my point is for him to prove that the Government is selling the designs to these Chinese companies. I do agree with him that wax prints do come from China and elsewhere but to attribute it to the Government, that the Government sold the designs to the Chinese and Korean companies, is what I expect him to prove to the nation. Else, he should honourably withdraw the statement.
Mr. Hodogbey 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I did
not say that the Government sold the designs. Government is not in the business of selling products. I said these designs had been sold. Whoever sells them I do not know. But what I know is that these designs have been sold.

Mr. Speaker, I think our President's Message should have, at least, mentioned how many people are now unemployed and how many people would be employed within the next few months or years. But the Message actually or deliberately deleted or took out ‘unemployment' which is very important to our youth.

Let me go back to tourism. Tourism is one of the most important industries emerging in our economy as some hon. Members who spoke earlier on said. But unfortunately, our hotels are so expensive that tourists are not able to afford the rates charged by the hotels. When they compare the rates charged by hotels in other countries to ours, the prices are too much for our tourists.

The so-called transfer of money which normally comes in -- and they have been saying is about $800,000 -- As a matter of fact, if we sit down to analyse how many of the foreigners make up these tourists,
Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom 10:50 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member is referring to my hometown, Elmina, as a common place -- [Laughter.] We take our town, a historical town of such great importance very seriously and I think that the hon. Member should, at least, treat our town with a little respect.
Mr. Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Hon. Member for Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem, this is certainly not a point of order. I would give you the opportunity to contribute but not today.
Mr. Hodogbey 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I apologise if I have made any derogatory statement towards that town. But what I want to say is, when a tourist wants to travel to say, Aburi or to the Central Region where we have places of interest, it takes him more than two hours or three hours just to get out of Accra. Most of the time, even the taxis that -- [Interruption] -- I am speaking a fact. When hon. Yakubu went to the United States of America, these are the complaints some of these agents made. Some of the taxis that they take do not have air conditioners so the person leaves with a very distasteful notion of Ghana, that the place is good but travelling from a place to another place is not very easy. That is one point. I would therefore suggest that our roads to these important areas -- at least, it should be a little bit speedier to move out of Accra Central to those places.
The next thing I want to talk about is ICT -- information and communication technology.
Mr. Speaker, I think ICT is an ongoing profession. Unfortunately, even this House where we are today is not ICT ready. In most places, at least, Members of Parliament have on their desks computers whereby you can easily vote and you do not have to show your vote to somebody that, “This is what I am voting for”. But here, we do not have even a connection to the internet. I would therefore suggest that we make this House ICT ready whereby we would be able to access the internet.
Ms. Esther Obeng Dappah (NPP -- Abirem) 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the motion on the State of the Nation Address by the President, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor on the 3rd of February, 2005.
The Address was to provide the synopsis of the Government's three-tier development agenda of making Ghana a just, humane and prosperous nation and must be received by all in good faith.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to comment on two areas -- health and housing. Healthcare is the bedrock of every nation. Without healthy people, education, human resource development and all other programmes would be meaningless. Healthcare has not been easily accessible to many people in the past; as such people indulge in drug abuse by buying and taking medication on their own accord. This usually results in drug poisoning, causing premature death.
The President's vision on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in accordance with the millennium development goals is therefore welcome. The Scheme needs the support of all to make it a success. The Government's introduction of the National Health Insurance Levy to cushion the burden on the implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme is highly commendable in the sense that there would be adequate funding to run the Scheme irrespective
Ms. Esther Obeng Dappah (NPP -- Abirem) 11 a.m.
of individual premiums, although people must be encouraged to register and pay their contributions.
In order not to overburden the Scheme with waste and for it to stand the test of time, I would suggest that the Government should introduce a national identification system and have a database on individuals; and I believe that there is the technology to implement it. May I further suggest that emphasis be placed on preventive healthcare, with drains covered and stagnant waters sprayed, so that the number of people suffering from malaria, typhoid and other preventable diseases would reduce considerably.
May I also emphasise the need to tackle the vices caused by environmental degradation. Respiratory diseases could be halved if volumes of dust and fumes from faulty exhaust pipes are checked as well as the unhygienic manner of preparing food for sale.
Mr. Speaker, the District Assemblies have various bye-laws in relation to food presentation for sale and I would suggest they are enforced vigorously. The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) is waging a war on filth and that should be encouraged.
Mr. Speaker, if these measures are implemented the influx of patients would reduce considerably. The doctors and nurses would not be overburdened and “brain drained”. A healthy people is a healthy nation and productivity will increase. We need to ensure that the National Health Insurance Scheme works in order to serve as a model for other African countries. The President ought to be supported by all for taking this initiative.

On housing, Mr Speaker, as the President rightly stated, housing is one of the most urgent problems facing the country. Introduction of good housing policies will generate good health, better sanitation and increase productivity. To achieve its objective, may I suggest that housing policies be extended to include the following:

Availability of rental units as opposed to home-ownership and properties to be allocated according to need;

Affordable hostels built by the Government for the youth, well maintained and well managed by private business entrepreneurs.

Hostels will absorb a number of homeless people, resulting to some extent, in sanitation control.

Women's refuge -- With the Domestic Violence Bill in the pipeline, I will encourage the introduction of women's refuge homes for the victims of domestic violence. This will provide safety nets and encourage victims to report abuse.

Sheltered housing for the elderly and the disabled -- This should be warden- controlled and supported by a means-tested housing benefit scheme. All housing programmes should be extended to the rural areas.

Mr. Speaker, the Government has embarked on the policy of making Ghana a place where people would choose to live and work. I have lived in the United Kingdom for a period of time and I am happy to report that Ghanaians in the diaspora are returning home. This is because they believe these are the days of grace. People are proud to call themselves Ghanaians and many Afro-Caribbeans and
Ms. Esther Obeng Dappah (NPP -- Abirem) 11 a.m.
other ethnic groups identify themselves with Ghanaians.
The cancellation of debt by Germany and other countries is a sign of confidence in the management capability of the President and his team. [Hear! Hear!] Mr. Speaker, I agree wholeheartedly with the President's Statement that “This is a good time to be a Ghanaian”.

Mr. Moses A. Asaga (NDC --

Nabdam): Mr. Speaker, thank you very much for this opportunity. I am rising up just to make a few comments on the State of the Nation Address and my first comment is on the fact that the President did mention that the economy grew by 5.8 per cent. I think that figure is a figure he should not have mentioned because our economy did not grow by 5.8 per cent, looking at the situation on the ground at that time. Because the factors that should have propelled the economy to that level did not exist in 2004. For example, if you look at Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the year 2004, it is one ingredient that propels economic growth but we did not get enough FDI into the system.

Secondly, we a l so know tha t

unemployment was very high and Ghana's unemployment is still very high. Total factor productivity in Ghana is very low, and we can even see it on the street that a lot of our youth, who could have been employed into factories, et cetera, are all on the street. So where is that productivity coming from?

Thirdly, we also know that the national reconstruction levy was very harsh and it militated against production in this country. Energy prices also contributed to low productivity in factories. And once you are not getting higher productivity from the manufacturing sector, you cannot then be expecting the economy to expand at the levels that the President was mentioning. I thought that we needed to make this correction so that the Statistical Department would go back and look at the factors that actually contributed to this.
Mr. S. Asamoah-Boateng 11 a.m.
On a point
of order. Mr. Speaker, my hon. Colleague from Nabdam, if he is not sure about his own figures, should not dispute what the President said. He may have some ideas as to what goes into the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, but that does not in any way sum up to what the President said; the President gave a categorical figure of 5.8 per cent. So if he does not have any other figure, I would rather advise him to continue with his exposition and not to challenge the figure. I have some figures here; if I can take some time, I will come back to you and confirm that it was 5.8 per cent. But please, he should not mislead the House.
Mr. Speaker 11 a.m.
Hon. Member for
Nabdam, please continue.
Mr. Asaga 11 a.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, I will

Mr. Emmanuel A. Owusu-Ansah

-- rose --
Mr. Speaker 11 a.m.
Hon. Member up-
Mr. Owusu-Ansah 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I want a point to be clarified. The hon. Member for Nabdam is attacking the 5.8 per cent growth rate that the President mentioned in his Address. He has gone round and round but; he has not been able to tell us, an economist as he is, what the growth rate is at the moment. Yet, he is misleading this honourable House in saying that what the President said was wrong. One would have expected that if he had a figure that is more credible than what His Excellency the President mentioned, he would let us know; otherwise he should withdraw that part of his statement.
Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Hon. Member, I will give you the opportunity to contribute. Hon. Member for Nabdam, please continue.
Mr. Asaga 11:10 a.m.
Thank you very much,
Mr. Speaker. I know very well that computations are going on at the Bank of Ghana. I also know that revisions are being made at the Statistical Department; and I have also contacted the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) about this same issue but it is still a grey area. If he wants me to give the computation that I have done, I have 5.4 per cent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth and not 5.8 per cent GDP growth.
Mr. Speaker, having said that, I also
think that for the four years that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Government has been in power, one particular hurdle they have not been able to overcome is the single digit inflation. The President did mention that we are at 11.3 per cent and hoped that this will go down in the course of the year. But the contradiction to this
going to a single digit is the fact that the President again comes to tell us that there is likely to be increases in the fuel prices and therefore inflation will increase. So Mr. Speaker, I think that the President should be very clear in his inflation management policies. You do not say on one hand that within the course of the year you are going to get single digit inflation, and then on the other hand, you say that, because of the policies that you are going to put in place, inflation is going to go up.
Dr. Brempong-Yeboah 11:10 a.m.
On a point
of order. Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. Member for Nabdam (Mr. Moses Asaga) is grossly misleading this House. I think the reference to the statement made by His Excellency the President that inflation would go down did not end as he wants us to believe; it was taken out of context. What he was trying to say was that it would go up in a short term but then he hoped that it would come down by the end of the period.
Mr. Asaga 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think the
fact that my hon. Colleague is saying “he hoped” tells me that he himself does not believe in what the President was saying. [Interruptions.] Mr. Speaker, just to continue my -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Hon. Member for
Nabdam, I thought you were addressing the point he raised.
Mr. Asaga 11:10 a.m.
Yes, I addressed it by
Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Hon. Member, if you have another point to raise, go ahead and let us resolve this matter.
Dr. Brempong-Yeboah 11:10 a.m.
On a point
of order. Mr. Speaker, the point I want to raise is that His Excellency the President said that inflation rate would come down. [Interruptions.] -- If you can infer from what he was saying. But he said in the short term when petroleum deregulation is put into effect he expected that inflation would go up. But what I am saying is that this does not mean that inflation would persistently stay up for the rest of the year or for the whole year.
Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Hon. Member for
Nabdam, this is the point we want clarification on.
Mr. Asaga 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I have
Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Hon. Member for
Nabdam, the point which is being raised is that the President said inflation would go up but subsequently come down. Is this really captured in the Message? That is the point I want to find out.
Mr. Asaga 11:10 a.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, I am
just quoting page 19 of the President's Address, with your permission:
“Mr. Speaker, initially, this policy is bound to cause some shock to the
system. In the short-term, it is likely to result in a rise in inflation.”
rose
Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Hon. Member for
Mfantsiman West, are you rising on a point of order?
Mr. Asamoah-Boateng 11:10 a.m.
That is so,
Mr. speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want the hon. Member who just spoke to be sure of what he is saying. The President gave certain figures and this is found on page 4 of his Message. And Mr. Speaker, with your permission, I quote:
“ To sustain the macro-economic gains already achieved, Govern- ment will continue to maintain strict financial discipline and the monetary policy which aims at achieving single-digit inflation . . .”
Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Hon. Member, are
you raising a point of order or you are contributing? Let us hear exactly the point of order you are raising.
Mr. Asamoah-Boateng 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
the point of order is that he is misleading the House and so I want to put him right. If you read the policy document that was released, Mr. Speaker, on page 4, it reads as follows -- and Mr. Speaker, with your permission, I quote:
Mr. Asaga 11:10 a.m.
On a point of order. Which
document is he reading?
Mr. Asamoah-Boateng 11:10 a.m.
Well, Mr. Speaker, I have moved on to another document to explain that the hon. Member for Nabdam is misleading the House.
Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Hon. Member for Mfantsiman West, are you referring to page 4 of the President's Message?
Mr. Asamoah-Boateng 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
what I am saying is that when the President says that we are aiming to achieve single digit inflationary figure -- and of course, he said there would be shocks in the system after the deregulation -- that does not take away the fact that we are aiming to achieve a single digit.
There may be shocks but we could still achieve it because if you read the document I am referring to, the bank itself states -- and with your permission, Mr. Speaker, I quote:
“Looking ahead, the outlook is for continued convergence towards low and stable inflation. This depends on the stance of the Government's Budget for the year 2005.”
Mr. Asaga 11:10 a.m.
On the President's statement about the deregulation, we have seen a lot of it around but my thinking on the deregulation is the fact that, yes, it should be step by step and we should not go the full hog because our present economy would not be able to sustain a full deregulation, especially in the petroleum sector. I am saying this because if you look at the petroleum sector, first of all, it is capital intensive; secondly, most of our private people are not already in the business. We have more of multi- national
corporations which are operating and have the biggest market shares.
So to my mind, I thought that as much as there would be deregulation, we should not pass everything onto the private sector, the Government should have a stake in it. The Government should continue to rather improve the present state of the deregulation where Tema Oil Refinery and other competitors go to the Tender Board to procure products and then crude oil. Then if the economy expands, and as many more Ghanaians are in the business of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), then we can go a step further to liberalize the system.

If it comes to the electricity portion of it, yes, there can be a sequence of deregulation but to just deregulate petroleum at the same rate as the electricity sector, I do not think that that is in the right direction.

Then again, I looked at the President's State of the Nation Address and yes, he did mention these flowering macro-economic indicators, some of which, to some extent, we have achieved; some have not been achieved. But again, the good people of
Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom 11:20 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member for Nabdam (Mr. Asaga) has been misleading the House on deregulation.
The first point is the talks about deregulating electricity and petroleum together. Mr. Speaker, there is no such thing today as deregulating electricity. We are talking about deregulating the petroleum sector. And on electricity side, already it has been deregulated and the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) is taking care of the regulatory matters on electricity so that statement is not correct. What we are talking about is deregulating the petroleum sector; that is one.
Mr. Speaker, on the matter of him talking about deregulating electricity and petroleum, the hon. Member should withdraw that statement because it is not correct. It is misleading. It is not correct; he should withdraw that statement. And number two, the hon. Member talks about deregulation and says that it is being done all at once, in full force. That is not correct. Mr. Speaker, it is still being done on a stage by stage basis. Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) today is still providing over 70 per cent of the petroleum requirements of the country and the Government is part of it today.
Number three, the hon. Member mentioned that the Ghanaian private sector is not strong enough and it is not participating in the deregulation; that is not correct. Indeed, the tenders that were done last year, most of the tenders were won by the Ghanaian private sector including Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL) and Star Oil. [Hear! Hear!] It is a Ghanaian
private sector that is part of it. So Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member for Nabdam, may be an expert on finance but I do not know when he moved into energy. He must withdraw the statement.
Mr. Asaga 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, he knows how many times he has always thought that I should be one of his advisors. Mr. Speaker, what we are talking about is the energy sector deregulation. And the energy sector deregulation encompasses all the various facets of energy and petroleum is part of it. And what he said about the present situation of petroleum deregulation is not different from what I said. I am saying that we should continue to maintain the system as it is now and gradually be deregulating it. And so how is it different from what he has said?
I am saying that we should not go at a faster rate; I am saying that it should be gradual and we should maintain the present situation until such a time that the economy grows, the sector matures, and many more Ghanaians have the capital resources to go in fully like a developed economy. This is what I said so I do not see how different it is from what he is saying. I am only giving caution, unless he still wants to be the Minister for Energy and to be heard --
Mr. Speaker 11:20 a.m.
Hon. Member, I heard him talk about electricity. It is a point you wish to address? On electricity deregulation, did you talk about that?
Mr. Asaga 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, yes, of course, I have already defined energy to encompass petroleum and electricity, whether hydro, et cetera. I do not know what I said which was wrong about electricity. But under electricity deregulation it included the fact that we were going to make sure that independent power producers are also brought into the system and that the setting
Mr. Speaker 11:20 a.m.
Hon. Member, you are not talking about electricity are you? This was the point he raised.
Mr. Asaga 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, electricity was just mentioned in passing but the main bane is the petroleum price increase; that is what we are talking about.
Mr. Speaker 11:20 a.m.
Hon. Member for KEEA, are you still raising a point of order?
Dr. Nduom 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member is coming back to the point of order that I was making. The point on the floor was on petroleum deregulation. The point made by the President in his Address was on petroleum deregulation and not electricity deregulation so he is now explaining the situation. If he is accepting that indeed, it was not electricity but petroleum deregulation then, it is the same point that I was raising the point of order on.
Mr. Speaker 11:20 a.m.
Hon. Member, you proceed. He said he mentioned it only in passing.
Mr. Asaga 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, regarding this petroleum price increase which we are going to witness now, I think last year, some of us who were called “doomsday prophets of the economy” said that Ghanaians should brace themselves for an increase in fuel prices because this had been captured in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Document of Negotiation; and we were insulted all over the country as prophets of doom. In November/December, I told all Ghanaians
Mr. K. O. Agyapong 11:20 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I want the hon. Member to withdraw his last statement because before he can substantiate he has to give us the figures he would have given to Ghanaians if they had been in power. Because -- [Interruptions] -- He called it a doomsday, and that if NPP came into power we were going to experience this.
I am surprised that the hon. Member is very good at economics but he is not aware of the current situation of oil prices on the world market. He always comes up with these theories to deceive the House so, please, if he does not have figures for Ghanaians he should not tell us that if the NPP comes to power it would be a doomsday for Ghana. We want him to substantiate as to whether if NDC comes to power it will sell fuel at ¢20 or ¢10. But if he does not have it, I am afraid, he would have to withdraw that statement.
Mr. Speaker 11:20 a.m.
Hon. Member, you will have plenty of time to contribute, but I did not get your point of order. In any case, hon. Member, I have given you more than enough time so kindly wind up.
Mr. Asaga 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think I need some “injury time”. [Interruptions.] All that I am saying is that this was really captured in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) document that in February there will be an increase in fuel prices. And the tone I was setting for Ghanaians was that we should brace ourselves and start saving towards that shock that would be coming in February. I was told I was telling a lie. The President came out somewhere in November/December to say that they would not increase fuel prices. The former Minister for Energy
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:20 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I really hate interrupting my dear friend, the hon. Member for Nabdam (Mr. Asaga). I think he has been waxing in inconsistencies and deliberate confusion and misleading the House. Mr. Speaker, he first started talking about figures that were given by the President and he said that the President came out somewhere in November to say that he was not going to raise the price of fuel. Mr. Speaker, the President never gave absolute time that between this time and that time he was not going to raise any figure. Nobody is saying that over a period the price of fuel is not going to be increased, so “bedrocking” his argument on what the President said and making it appear that the President deceived this nation is rather misleading.
Mr. Asaga 11:30 a.m.
I think that the President was responding to our assertion that come February he would not increase fuel prices as the NDC was propagating -- because we gave a specific time to it. We said it was in the IMF document; it was February 15; and that was the response. Now we are being told that fuel prices are going to be increased. And all I am saying is that, if I had been listened to, we would not be getting this shock that we are getting -- [Interruption.]
rose
Mr. Speaker 11:30 a.m.
Hon. Majority Chief Whip, do you have another point of order to raise?
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:30 a.m.
That is so, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said, my hon. Colleague is deliberately misleading this House. Mr. Speaker, the President
never responded to whatever the NDC said. There were agitations leading to the elections that fuel prices were going to be upped and the President assured us that they were not going to be increased. That is what the President said and that is for 2004. Mr. Speaker, contextually it was for 2004. Nobody says that fuel prices are never going to be increased; nobody has said so.
Mr. Speaker 11:30 a.m.
Order! All hon. Members who want to contribute will be given plenty of time to do so. In the meantime, hon. Member, you have to wind up.
Mr. Asaga 11:30 a.m.
I am just winding up, Mr. Speaker. Finally, I just want to say that it is true that the stock market performance was very good, especially in Africa. Egypt recorded about 131 per cent increase in its stock market indices; Ghana got about 93 per cent increase which is very commendable. But the point that I want to make is, who are the investors in the Ghana Stock Exchange? They are mainly institutional investors; and because they are institutional investors, we must come out with policies that would increase disposable incomes of Ghanaians to also benefit from this big pie.
I thank you, Mr. Speaker.
PAPERS 11:30 a.m.
Chairman of the Committee (Mr. F. W. A. Blay) 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, with your permission, I beg to move, that notwithstanding the provisions of Standing
Mr. John Mahama 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to second the motion.
Question put and motion agreed to.
Resolved accordingly.
Third Report of the Appointments Committee
Mr. F. W. A. Blay 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, with your permission, I beg to move, that this honourable House adopts the Third Report of the Appointments Committee on the President's nomination for ministerial appointments.
Mr. Speaker, it is a 3-page Report on the nomination of hon. Christine Churcher who is a Member of this House for the position of Minister for Environment, Science and Technology. Mr. Speaker, I will crave your indulgence that the whole Report be captured in the Hansard. However, permit me to read only the conclusion of that Report, Mr. Speaker.
1.0 Introduction
Pursuant to article 78 (1) of the Constitution, His Excellency the President communicated to Parliament, for prior approval, his nomination of Ms. Christine Churcher for appointment as Minister for Environment and Science.
1.1 In accordance with Order 172 (2) of
Mr. John Mahama 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to second the motion for the adoption of the Committee's Report.
Question proposed.
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu (NDC -- Tamale South) 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, while congratulating hon. Christine Churcher on her nomination to the position of Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, I would like to draw this House's attention and indeed, the attention of the President -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Edward K. Salia 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I think the
Mr. H. Iddrisu 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you very much. I acknowledge the correction -- Minister for Environment and Science. Mr. Speaker, the approval of the hon. Minister by this House will mean that this House has so far approved at least, 35 Ministers of State. Indeed, the hon. Minister is privileged to be among just three women, or three females who have received some recognition by His Excellency the President to serve in that capacity.
Mr.Speaker, permit me to begin first with article 34(1), the Directive Principles of State Policy contained in this Chapter which says that Parliament and the President shall be guided (for purposes of paraphrasing) -- Mr. Speaker, the President is enjoined under article 35(6) (b) -- and I quote:
“… achieve reasonable regional and gender balance in recruitment and appointment to public offices.”
Mr. Joe Baidoe-Ansah 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member is giving an impression as if the President has finished with his
nominations and he is commenting on it. Mr. Speaker, I think he is jumping the gun. As we stand now, the President has not informed this House that he has finished with his nominations. So it would be unfair for anyone to be here blaming the President or making comments, or prejudging the conduct of the President. So Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. Member is misleading this House and I will pray that he should withdraw the prejud-gemental statement that he just made to this House.
Mr. H. Iddrisu 11:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, maybe the hon. Member for Kwesimintsim is privy to some information that I am not aware of. Mr. Speaker, I am not commenting on speculative matter, that is to happen in the future. I am commenting on the present, and the present is that, so far, 35 Ministers of State have been nominated by the President to this House for approval and, Mr. Speaker, out of the 35, we have only three women, representing less than 12 per cent. Indeed, it is less than 10 per cent. Three out of 35 is not even up to 10 per cent. [Interruption]
Mr. Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Hon. Member for Ahafo Ano South, do you have a point of order to raise?
Mr. S. K. B Manu 11:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to inform this House that I am not a lawyer; I am a teacher by profession. However, the Constitution that has been quoted by the hon. Member, who I know is a lawyer, does not tell at what time in the appointment of Ministers that the balance that he is referring to should come.
I would want to believe, as a teacher thinking logically, that this balance would be looked at when the entire appointment process has come to an end. It is there and then that anybody can judge how many women we have, how many we have from
North, South, East and wherever. So just as the hon. Member for Effia-Kwesimintsim intimated at first, I think the hon. Member should just accept the point, and maybe, if he has nothing else to say, just sit down and let us continue with proceedings.
Mr. Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Hon. Member for Tamale South, please do speak to the question.
Mr. H. Iddrisu 11:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, so far -- [Some Hon. Members: “so good”] --but not so good for our women -- [Interruptions.] Mr. Speaker, so far, the President has nominated 35 Ministers of State. Out of the 35 Ministers, only three women, representing less than 10 per cent of the appointments -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 11:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I respectfully want to argue on an issue of relevance. What we are discussing is a report on the hon. Christine Churcher, who is a woman. So even if the President had not done well, he is now correcting it. So I do not see the point that our hon. Colleague is making. The issue is whether Ms. Churcher is qualified to be appointed a Minister of State or not. It is not the wider issue of representation of women or other things. I think he is completely out of order and is the relevance is also very doubtful.
We have to talk about whether Ms. Churcher is qualified to be a Minister of State or not; is not a matter of how the proportion has so far been done. And we are told that the appointment process is not completed. So it is an issue of relevance; we do not have too much time in this House.
Mr. H. Iddrisu 11:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am making a point on the basis of what this House has been informed about
Mr. K. O. Agyapong 11:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I think it will help the hon. Member, if he argues without the Constitution, because what he read says “reasonable”. And what is reasonable to the President is the three. [Interruptions.] Yes, so far. So I think he will do well by not reading the article.
Mr. H. Iddrisu 11:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you very much. I hope the very able women sitting at the back of hon. Ken Ohene Agyapong have taken note of his comments about the reasonableness, about the three against 35.
But Mr. Speaker, permit me to refer to article 76 of the Constitution which is the basis of my argument, that there shall be a Cabinet which shall consist of the President, the Vice President and at least not less than 10 and not more than 19 Ministers of State.
Mr. Speaker, if we are to assume that all the three women will feature at the level of Cabinet, it still represents less than 15 per cent of that particular issue; and I am saying that as a country, we need to be working towards some 30 to 40 per cent representation for our women, if not 50 per cent.
Only two weeks ago, the hon. Member for Tarkwa Nsuaem raised an issue about the involvement of women. Recognizing that many of our women do not want to go through the rigours of political campaigning, the best way for them to adjust will be by way of public recruitment; and I think that we ought to encourage the
Mr. Baidoe-Ansah 11:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think the advice he is giving would better serve the National Democratic Congress side, because we have a lot of women here.
Mr. H. Iddrisu 11:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, Cabinet represents the highest decision-making body in this country. Indeed, policy initiative and its management is supposed to be at the level of Cabinet and one would expect that at least reasonable regional balance would be given. Apart from the Regional Minister for Upper West, at the sectoral level, not even one person from the Upper West Region has been nominated so far by the President -- [Interruptions.]
Mr. Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Hon. Member for Tamale South, there is a Third Report; kindly speak to it and if you have any other statement to make, make it available to me and I will allow you to make it, but not today. The hon. Member for Assin South, do you have a point of order to raise?
Prof. D. K. Fobih 11:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think my hon. Colleague is misleading the House because the premise of his argument is faulty. The fact is, the President has initiated a process and he has not come to the end of the process. So you cannot assume that he has completed the appointment of even Ministers, because who knows whether there are going to be additional Ministers to be appointed.
Therefore, his conclusion about the underrepresentation of women or regional parity is faulty. So he must wait. If he has any such comments he should wait until the President has completed the process; and then the end product is what he should criticize and not the process itself.
Mr. Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Hon. Member, I have directed that you speak to this question.
Mr. H. Iddrisu 11:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, while I congratulate the hon. Minister for Environment and Science, I think he has been made a Minister at a time that our country is engulfed by filth. Indeed, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) is currently engaged in some exercise. Malaria is on the increase as a result of sanitary pollution. I hope that she will advert her mind to dealing with the environmental difficulties in this country, especially the environmental problems created by mining companies.
Majority Leader (Mr. F. K. Owusu- Adjapong) 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I was trying to take note of the fact that the report is by consensus. Mr. Speaker, the First Deputy Speaker is telling us that in fact he has no problem because the appointee is a woman and therefore perhaps, any further discussion on this particular Report may not bring in any new thing; because it is the wish of my Colleague opposite and possibly people of like mind that we should be seeing more and more of such appointments on this floor.
I thought this is the type of debate one can then assume that all that we are going to conclude is to say we are going ahead. I do not want to make any agreement on it. Therefore, I thought maybe if that is the spirit in the House, the Chairman could wind up and then we move on to the other debates.
Mr. Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Chairman, will you briefly wind up?
Mr. F. W. A. Blay 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, if
that is the wish of the House, the general feeling of the House, I might as well not also wind up. I will move respectfully that the House adopts the Report.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, before the Chairman winds up, there was something that I thought we should advert our minds to, and that is in respect of the procedure adopted.
Mr. Speaker, the Report says that upon referral, the Committee held preliminary discussions on the nominations and agreed that this procedure on retained Ministers should be applied. That is articulated in the House's resolution of 8th July 1997.
Mr. Speaker, to the best of my knowledge, the resolution at the time said that we should not invite comments or petitions on the then held-over Ministers and that the House by the resolution that was adopted agreed that they should not go through any vetting process. This is not what is happening now. So Mr. Speaker, this cannot be correct; that is all that I am saying, and I believe the Chairman of the Committee will advert his mind to that.
Mr. Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Chairman, you wind
up, taking this one into account.
Mr. Blay 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, my hon.
Friend had already brought that to my notice and I had agreed with him that indeed there was one missing word, which is “not”, which should have been the nomination as agreed. I am talking about the Phase II, that is paragraph 30, that upon referral, the Committee held preliminary discussions on the nomination and agreed that its procedure on retained Ministers as stipulated in the House's resolution of 8th July 1997 should not be applied. So after the word “should”, “not” should be inserted. So Mr. Speaker, thank you very much.
Question put and motion agreed to.
Resolved accordingly.
Mr. Speaker 11:50 a.m.
In accordance with article 78 (1) of the Constitution,
this House has given approval to the nomination of Ms. Christine Churcher as Minister for Environment and Science. I shall accordingly inform His Excellency the President. Hon. Members, let me continue with the debate and I invite the hon. Member for Agona West (Mr. Samuel Obodai).
State of the Nation Address, 2005
[Debate resumed from column 659] Mr. Samuel K. Obodai (NPP --
Agona West): Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the State of the Nation Address delivered to this august House on the 3rd of February 2005 by the President, His Excellency J. A. Kufuor.
Mr. Speaker, the Address was inspirational and offered a lot of hope for Ghanaians to enable them confront the future in confidence and courage.
Mr. Speaker, one aspect of the Address which is of great importance to me is the area that talks about foreign policy, as captured in the booklet, at page 22. Ghana presently enjoys the full co-operation of excellent neighbourliness with its neighbours. Mistrust and suspicion as well as real and perceived antagonism which characterized the relationship between Ghana and its neighbours in the past have given way to absolute cordiality and total commitment of all the countries to healthy and strong neighbourliness.
Mr. Speaker, presently, healthy collaborative exchanges between Ghana and its neighbours are being fortified in every aspect of human endeavour. This certainly has strengthened the socio- economic and political co-operation between Ghana and her neighbouring countries. Mr. Speaker, these days you do not hear about dissidents threatening

Mr. Speaker, on the ECOWAS front, you will agree with me that during the era of President J. A. Kufuor, his chairmanship, that was not the first time that Ghana hosted the chairmanship of ECOWAS. But the right type of leadership that was provided by His Excellency and his vision for the West African subregion will continue to be a shining and monumental example for all leaders -- the present leader and all future leaders -- to emulate. No wonder he had to be re- elected for him to continue with his good works -- the second term.
Mr. Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order. The hon. Member is making reference to the election of our President to the chairmanship of ECOWAS and he is giving an impression that it is because of his leadership style that made him gain that respect and honour. What he is missing out is the fact that Ghana had goodwill which it inherited from leadership -- [Interruptions] -- right from independence to the immediate past President Jerry John Rawlings, which gave Ghana a certain calibre of respect, that President Kufuor inherited; and that should not be lost sight of. I think he is misleading the House.
Mr. Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Hon. Rashid Pelpuo, I will call you later to contribute.
Mr. Obodai noon
Mr. Speaker, His Excellency the “gentle giant” is really marketing Ghana to the outside world and the substantial gains made in this direction are very clear for all of us to see,
under his able and visionary leadership. He has made great strides in international relations.

Mr. Speaker, Ghana has now become the champion of peace and stability in the subregion, and many world leaders admire his achievement. The improvement in Ghana's relation with many countries in the world is yielding positive results.

What else do we want, Mr. Speaker? Indeed, I find it rather interesting when I hear some of my Colleagues opposite and others criticizing what they refer to as the numerous, wasteful travels and visits of His Excellency; it is interesting indeed. I do not want to believe that they expect the His Excellency the President to confine himself to Ghana, remain in his armchair and behave as though Ghana is not part of the global village the world has become. Or, are they suggesting that the President should remain in the country and co-ordinate the secret movement of troops to Togo and other neighbouring countries?

Mr. Speaker, if others will want President J. A. Kufuor and his Government to pursue and sustain their continuity principle with regard to the way international relations were handled in the past, then they will be certainly disappointed. This is the era of positive change and it must reflect on the way we manage our foreign policies.

Mr. Speaker, there is peace within and there is peace between Ghana and the other neighbouring countries. Mr. Speaker, that is why when the flag-bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Professor John Atta Mills goes about preaching peace, he does not excite anybody because people are already enjoying the peace. [Laughter] --
rose
Mr. Speaker noon
Hon. Member for Jomoro, do you have a point of order to raise?
Mr. Ocran noon
Yes, Mr. Speaker. The hon. Member is misleading the House. We had been enjoying peace and stability long before the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Government came to power. Yes, long before, and therefore if our flag-bearer went round preaching peace, it was in the context of continuity. They should tell us; when were we at war? When was the last time we were at war?
Mr. Speaker noon
Hon. Member for Jomoro, you have had your day. You have already spoken. Have you not?
Mr. Obodai noon
Mr. Speaker, I would want to observe that the President's Message on the State of the Nation has given fresh hope and confidence to the Ghanaian. It is a wake-up call for all to be committed to the renaissance of the economic and socio-political develop- ment of this dear nation. Ghanaians now breathe fresh air of freedom and go about their economic activities without fear. Really, there is development in freedom -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Agbesi noon
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order. Mr. Speaker, fresh air has not been imported from anywhere to Ghana -- [Laughter.]
Mr. Speaker, fresh air has always

been with us. It is as old as Adam and Eve. So for the hon. Member to say that fresh air is now being enjoyed in Ghana is misleading, is wrong and it is fundamentally and scientifically wrong.
Mr. Speaker noon
I hope you will resume your seat. Please, continue hon. Obodai.
Mr. Obodai noon
Mr. Speaker, if you are undergoing a special identification haircut, I do not think that even if you are surrounded with a whole world's air, you will enjoy it.
Mr. John Mahama noon
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I think it is most unfortunate. If the hon. Member is talking of fresh air of freedom and identification haircuts and you survive to breathe the fresh air, what about those who died -- Issah Mobila? He does not even exist to enjoy that fresh air.
Mr. Obodai noon
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would want to end by urging all my Colleagues to give their support to this motion because it has brought new life to all Ghanaians, including them.
Mr. Mathias A. Puozaa (NDC -- Nadowli East) noon
Mr. Speaker, thank you, for permitting me to make my maiden speech on the floor of the House.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to associate myself with the motion on floor and also join my Colleagues in thanking His Excellency the President for making the time to fulfil this constitutional obligation.
Mr. Speaker, a lot has already been said by hon. Members on this side of the House, on education. But I would want to make a few more comments on that. After that, I would want to conclude my submission with a comment or two on infrastructure support.
Mr. Mathias A. Puozaa (NDC -- Nadowli East) noon


Mr. Speaker, I wish to reiterate the fact that with the exception of change in name and the increase from three to four years in the senior secondary school (SSS) calendar, I do not see anything new with the educational reforms as mentioned in the President's Message on the State of the Nation. This is because there is nothing new since we are just going by what we have been following since 1987.
Mr. Manu noon
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order. Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member has just said that he did not see anything new with the educational reform that the President talked about in relation to what we have been following since 1987.
Mr. Speaker, I do not know if the hon. Member has had the privilege of being a teacher. But if you read page five of the President's Message on the State of the Nation, paragraph four says, and I quote:
“Formal education will now start at age four with two years in kindergarten. This is aimed at ensuring that equal opportunities are provided for all Ghanaian children from an early age.”
This, Mr. Speaker, has not been the case since 1987. So the hon. Member should address himself well to the issue.
I overheard an hon. Member say he attended a kindergarten. Yes, the privileged ones attended kindergarten. But we in the rural areas, whom the NPP Government is more concerned about, are praising this policy because it is now going to give kindergarten education to all Ghanaians at every nook and cranny of Ghana.
takes a second look at the issue of cost- sharing, that is, by really creating a fund. We could even allocate part of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) towards the cost of maintaining students at school.
Still on human resource development in the President's Message, I wish to comment on the apprenticeship and skills training programme. The President said that as much as ¢4.5 billion has been allocated to the youth leadership training institutes that we have in the country. These are about ten, I believe. If you look at the current cost of machinery on the market, ¢4.5 billion is not going to do anything good enough as far as expansion of these institutions is concerned. So I would rather suggest that each institution should be allocated the ¢4.5 billion.
If Government is really serious about the issue of implementing apprenticeship as part of the junior secondary school (JSS) programme because -- [Inter-ruption] -- It is not all parts of the country that have Kokompes and Suame Magazines outside the regional capitals. So the idea of apprenticeship for JSS students will be an intention that may never materialize. So if Government is really serious about it, then we have to look at the 10 youth leadership training institutes that we have and do something about their expansion.
I would want to make a short comment on the President's Message on infrastructural support. Mr. Speaker, may I refer to page 18 of the President's Message on infrastructural support. Mr. Speaker, with your permission, I beg to quote:
“Mr. Speaker, I wish to assure this House that there are aggressive ongoing infrastructural develop- ments to support our development
Mr. Puozaa 12:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. Member on the other side is not sure of what he is about. I am saying this because it has always been catered for, as far as the reforms are concerned, that we start school at age four. I would rather want him to go back to his records. I am an old teacher and I do not know how old he is. But I think I may be older than him in the field. Anyway, back to my point.

I want to say that I wish to question the President's statement on changing the period of senior secondary school (SSS) programmes from three to four years because, to me, it is very unnecessary since the universities that receive these students have agreed that the standard so far is good enough for them to be admitted.

Apart from wasting the students' time, of one full year, I also feel that it is going to be an extra burden on parents because parents would have to suffer for another year paying fees.

Fourthly, I think it is going to be a financial burden on the State as well because Government would need to create room for this additional class in all the 447 schools. So please, I think it is something that we need to reconsider before we start fixing an extra year in the school period.

I would also want to mention something on the issue of cost-sharing. It is true that cost-sharing has come to stay. It is very important and I think nobody can run away from the fact that it is necessary for funding our universities and other tertiary institutions.

My only worry is that there are many people in this country who are not able to take care of their share of the cost to really keep their children in the universities. I would therefore suggest that Government

of both the private sector and human resource base.”

Yes, I would want to add or I almost added that it is ongoing but rather very slowly because in many parts of this country, especially in the rural parts of the country, some of us are really deprived of any good roads.

The other day, a submission was made in this House stating that 56 kilometers of roads have been tarred in the Upper West Region in the past four years. I wish to state here categorically that if anything at all, in the past four years, we have had just about two kilometres of roads tarred in the region, and that is on the Wa-Tumu road.
Mr. G. T. Bayon 12:10 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, in my submission, I did not say that 56 kilometres of the road was tarred. I said 56 kilometres had been awarded and hon. John Mahama confirmed that he travelled the road and 20 kilometres had been tarred. So for him to say two kilometres have been tarred is untrue.
Mr. Puozaa 12:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I wonder whether my Colleague on the other side is talking of the Wa-Bamboi road, that is the Bamboi-Bole road, or the Wa road, much of which is really in the Northern Region. If he cares to know, only 24 miles of that road is really in the Upper West Region and not the rest. So the 56 kilometres, even if it had been done, is really in the Northern Region; and we were talking about the Upper West Region.
Mr. Speaker 12:10 p.m.
Hon. Member, time is not on your side.
Mr. Puozaa 12:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, so he may need to recheck his facts. I wish to add that as far as road infrastructure is concerned, my constituency has not seen a grader for the past four years -- [Interruption.] Yes,
Mr. Speaker 12:10 p.m.
Hon. Member, wind up, please.
Mr. Puozaa 12:10 p.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker. In fact, the road is so bad that just last year, we almost lost one illustrious daughter of this country, that is the hon. Mrs. Gladys Asmah when she was on official duties in the region. It occurred in my constituency and we hope that with that, we in this House and this country should see this country as one, no matter where we are, so far as this country is concerned, or where we are as far as political differences are concerned. We are one and we can find ourselves anywhere, anytime. So we should think of development holistically and not just Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi as Ghana.
Mr. S. K. B. Manu (NPP -- Ahafo Ano South) 12:20 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I thank you for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the motion on floor. Mr. Speaker, if you take the President's Address, at page 5, under First Cycle Education, the President told us, and I quote with your indulgence:
“Formal education will now start at age four with two years of kindergarten. This is aimed at ensuring that equal opportunities are provided for all Ghanaian children
from an early age.” Mr. Speaker, the President made this
statement and a lot has been said about it that it should not have been made. Many here have criticised the statement and I refer to the Constitution of Ghana, 1992, article 38 -- It reads and I quote:
“The State shall provide educational facilities at all levels” -- underline all levels -- “and in all the Regions of Ghana, and shall, to the greatest extent feasible, make those facilities available to all citizens.”
Mr. Speaker, to those who have criticised this statement by the President, saying that this is nothing new and that they had opportunity of attending kindergarten some forty, fifty years ago, the strength of the President's statement is what I have quoted, from the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.
Mr. J. Z. Amenowode 12:20 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I think my hon. Friend on the other side is misleading this House. Kindergarten education by the Ghana Education Service (GES) is not a new concept. I come from a very rural place and my village has had kindergarten for at least eighteen years, paid for by Government. What I think he should say is that it must be expanded to cover all other areas.
Mr. Manu 12:20 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I have said

it in the past and I would want to say it again for the benefit of the hon. Members who have joined us, and I have even made it categorical that maybe before we come to this House, one of the things that we have to go through must be hearing test because some of us, at least, seem not to hear well; because I said exactly what he said I should have said.
Mr. Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo 12:20 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, on two counts -- one, that my hon. Friend said people have raised certain issues which they should not have raised on education and he read something from the Constitution to buttress his point. My point of order is that he is attempting to be dictatorial and to gag people who have opinions and would want to make those opinions known. If he has any reason to bring anything to the floor of this House, he should please do it without attempting to gag people who have different opinions.
Secondly, I think he is indecorous by making reference to people needing to go for hearing test. The understanding is that people who are here have been sized up by their own constituencies and found to be competent enough to make contributions here; and so that statement is unacceptable and must be withdrawn forthwith.
Mr. Speaker 12:20 p.m.
Hon. Member for Ahafo Ano South, you were talking about some hon. Members who do not appear to hear. Is that the point you were making?
Mr. Manu 12:20 p.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker 12:20 p.m.
You may have to advise yourself on that.
Mr. Manu 12:20 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the advice I give to myself is that I have not denigrated any hon. Member for being voted for by his or her people. Hearing impairment is a disease and it can afflict anybody at any time -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 12:20 p.m.
Order! Order!
Mr. Manu 12:20 p.m.
Notwithstanding what I have said, if the hon. Member takes offence at that then I wish to withdraw that statement -- [Laughter.] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if I may continue, on the second cycle sector, in the Address made by His Excellency the President, he placed emphasis on the establishment of a National Council of Technical, Vocational Education and Training services. Mr. Speaker, this is a very good idea and I believe that if the Council is put in place, it is going to help in no mean way in getting second-cycle education on its feet. However, Mr. Speaker, my advice to the Minister for Education and Sports is that this Council, when it is finally established, should be resourced enough to enable it perform its duties as required, so that Ghanaians would benefit fully from its establishment.
Mr. Speaker, at page 6 of the President's Address, he talked about a programme of four years for second-cycle institutions. People have said it is going to increase the burden of parents and that the three years should have been maintained. Mr. Speaker, we are all aware that in the past, when one went to secondary school, it was not until after form three that one branched into science, arts, business or whatever.
Mr. A. Y. Alhassan 12:20 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. Member is misleading this House. All students who go into the senior secondary school go into classes of specialisation. They are either in the arts class, business class, science class or agricultural class; so
Mr. Manu 12:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, based upon your advice, I need not comment but those who listened carefully heard what I said.
Mr. Speaker, what I was saying -- and one day I know I would be vindicated by this statement I have withdrawn -- was that under the current system, students leave the junior secondary schools (JSS) and they plunge themselves headlong to a programme in senior secondary school (SSS) -- be it agriculture, science, business or whatever. But the four years duration that is being introduced will assist the student in the first year to know where his or her strength lies before he enters a programme in the second year.
rose
Mr. Speaker 12:30 p.m.
Hon. Member for Ada, do you have any objection to raise?
Mr. Tettey-Enyo 12:30 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member on the other side of the House is persistently misleading this House on this issue which we have comprehensively dealt with on the floor of this House. When we spoke about the extension of the four-year course, hon. Members of this honourable House referred to the Report of the President's committee on the reforms. And if he wants us to consider his contribution, then that should be the basis of his reference. Any story about what was happening in the past is not going to be relevant to the debate we are holding in this House on this issue.
Mr. Speaker 12:30 p.m.
Hon. Member, I hope you get him.
Mr. Manu 12:30 p.m.
I thank you, Mr. Speaker. But people will have to learn to crawl before they walk because Mr. Speaker, the
fact that the Report said something does not mean that it should be implemented hook, line and sinker. Mr. Speaker, with this, I proceed.
Mr. Speaker 12:30 p.m.
Get ready to wind up.
Mr. Manu 12:30 p.m.
Yes, sir, except that I would plead for some “injury time”. Mr. Speaker, on infrastructure, the President assured this House in his Message that efforts are going to be applied to expand infrastructure in our tertiary institutions. This no doubt, is a good idea that every Ghanaian would want to welcome because if you visit our universities, and you find students peeping through the windows to catch a glimpse of a lecturer and listen to what he is saying, you would only have to agree with the President when he says he wants to expand infrastructure for tertiary institutions.
He also said something to complement
this, that efforts were going to be made to attract the youth into lectureship. Mr. Speaker, this is a very good idea -- [Hear! Hear!] Before anybody attempts to raise any point of order, let me refer to page 7, paragraph 5 of the President's Address. And with your permission, I quote:
“Government is engaged in the upgrading of the physical infras t ructure a t the publ ic universities.”
And the next line, I want everybody to listen now, is:

That is on page 7 of the President's State of the Nation Address.
Mr. Amenowode 12:30 p.m.
On a point of order.
Mr. Speaker 12:30 p.m.
Hon. Member, your
time will come. Please wind up.
Mr. Manu 12:30 p.m.
In a statement I will do that,
sir. Mr. Speaker, we need to be closer to our neighbours and in doing so, we have to look at the French language as a key to good neighbourliness with our friends around us.
All the countries around us speak
French and for us to be good friends to them, I think our educational policy should do something about the teaching and learning of French in this country. This experience I have had from being a Member of the ECOWAS Parliament. And how our team suffers when we get there! Because the francophones, at least, are able to communicate and be understood in English, whereas we are not able to do that. So I think this should be taken up by the Minister for Education and Sports. He should formulate programmes that will enhance the teaching and learning of French. For lack of time, I thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker 12:30 p.m.
Hon. Members, let
us have two more contributions -- one from the Majority side and one from the Minority side.
Mr. Abdul 12:40 p.m.
None

Wa Central): Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for this opportunity. I would want to associate myself with those who are contributing to the motion and thanking the President for such an Address.

The first thing I would want to talk about is the statement made by the

President to the effect that these are good times to be Ghanaians and that these are exciting times. Even though I do not begrudge the President and all those who think so, my understanding and that of my constituents is that, it is not the case and that the statement is highly subjective and refers to those who actually see themselves as such.

My constituents think that these are definitely not good times. I come from a constituency where out of over 50 communities, small towns and villages, only three outside of Wa are connected to the national grid; and those three were connected by the previous regime.

And so they do not see themselves as

fortunate and they do not see these times to be good times. I also come from a constituency where out of the over fifty small towns and communities, only two towns have senior secondary schools (SSS) -- Wa Secondary School and Lasetoli Secondary School. And these are not good times for the majority of people who seek these facilities but do not have them.

Mr. Speaker, for my constituency, it is time for this Government to make good its promise of making the distribution of resources equitable to the people, especially those from the Wa Central constituency.

Mr. Speaker, on the issue of the youth, I commend the President for the fact that he is allocating ¢4.5 billion to the Afienya Youth Leadership Training Institute. But Mr. Speaker, this is wholly inadequate. We have ten other institutes in this country; Afienya is the most equipped, the most endowed.

For the fact that the President is thinking about supporting them, starting

with Afienya, arouses curiosity and I would want to encourage the President to go beyond that and extend the support to especially those in the Issa Youth Leadership Training Institute in the Upper West Region which has no running water and electricity, and which has inadequate facilities, especially accommodation for both teachers and students.

Mr. Speaker, my concentration on

the Message would also extend to the President's remark on Ghana's foreign policy. For me, I think his remarks on our foreign policy have been very inadequate because there is so much to talk about as a President who has been Chairman of ECOWAS for two terms. And for him to give the State of the Nation Address and not mention the highlights or spotlights of what took place and what he did and -- Because domestic policy actually contributes to foreign policy, and where we have come from as a nation would inform the present situation, as he tried to give the State of the Nation Address regarding Ghana's Foreign Policy.

Ghana has been at the forefront in the fight for independence as well as the fight against neo-colonialism and imperialism. He has inherited a wonderful system. He has inherited a wonderful heritage and therefore, with his contribution to ECOWAS and the AU, he should have had more to say than just that we have a strategic geo-political foreign policy, which in my opinion is inadequate.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to conclude

my remarks by saying that Wa Central and indeed, the Upper West Region is very dissatisfied that it is the only region where we do not have surfaced road linking it to any other region in Ghana, including the capital city. And we would want to call on the President to ensure that there is a linkage by tarred road from Wa, the capital of the Upper West Region to all

regional capitals in the country. Thank you very much.
Mr. K. Opare 12:40 p.m.
None

Adenta): Mr. Speaker, thank you, for giving me the opportunity to speak for the first time in this august House.

Mr. Speaker, I beg to associate myself with the motion that this House thanks His Excellency the President for the Message on the State of the Nation which was moved by hon. Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Member of Parliament for Akim Oda, and seconded by hon. John Mahama, Member of Parliament for Bole/Bamboi.

Mr. Speaker, our President is a visionary

leader and this has been epitomised clearly in his Address. Mr. Speaker, “Positive Change Chapter 2” is indeed going to bring more exciting times to Ghanaians. Never in our history have we as a country witnessed such a tremendous attempt to pursue programmes that will address the real needs of the country, Ghana.

Mr. Speaker, the three-pronged strategy, that is, human resource development, private sector development and good governance are very formidable pillars on which a country can experience accelerated growth and development. In fact, it is common knowledge that many developed economies have developed on these tenets. Mr. Speaker, the country, in times past, has experienced a lot of human capital flight -- our well-trained graduates and professionals have had to leave this country in search of jobs and greener pastures elsewhere.

Many of our professionals have travelled abroad to do jobs that are completely unrelated to their fields of study and professions. I therefore believe that the vision of promoting the private sector vis-à-vis developing our human resource is a step in the right direction.

Mr. Speaker, a major cause of our human capital flight has also been lack of patriotism. Patriotism is what would make one say that, “I love this country and I want to continue to be there to help build it.”

Mr. Speaker, I now want to touch on a subject that is very dear to my heart; and that is Education. Mr. Speaker, I want to agree with the statement that was made by the President on page 6, in the last paragraph of his Address and with your permission, I quote:

“The success of all these reforms would depend on the quality of our teachers and their contentment.”

Mr. Speaker, let me dwell a little bit on contentment. Mr. Speaker, as a pastor, I have got to know from the Bible -- [Interruption.] -- Mr. Speaker, the Bible says that godliness with contentment is great gain. For that matter I want to say that quality teachers who are contented is what will give us the gains that we are expecting from our reforms. Mr. Speaker, our teachers are not contented. Incentives, motivation, encouragement and that which should drive them to give of their best have been absent. One major problem facing teachers now is accommodation. Many teachers in my constituency live very far from the schools in which they teach and struggle to go to school and back every day.
Dr. Kunbour 12:40 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order. Mr. Speaker, because there is some conduct in the House that again has passed Mr. Speaker's blind side -- The hon. Member standing with his back to us -- the hon. Member for Mfantsiman West -- has gallivanted across here without even bowing to Mr. Speaker, on any occasion he walks across from one end to
rose
Mr. Speaker 12:40 p.m.
Hon. Member for
Evalue/Gwira, do you have a point of order?
Mr. Armah 12:40 p.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, I heard
the hon. Member say that teachers are not contented because of lack of incentives, motivation and so on, which do not exist. I know that they exist. Every year, there is the Teachers Award Scheme; for example, bicycles, cooking pots, et cetera are given to teachers, but they may not be adequate. So if he wants to urge the Government to increase the incentives, I am all right with that. But if he says they do not exist, he is misleading the House.
Mr. Speaker 12:50 p.m.
Hon. Member for Adenta, what do you say to that?
Mr. Opare-Hammond 12:50 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, what I wanted to say is that the incentives that are there are not adequate. And I was talking about accommodation and the fact that teachers who teach in my constituency live so far away from the schools that they teach and so everyday they have to commute long distances in and out of school.
Mr. Speaker, I would want to use this opportunity to call on the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) to try and do something about accommodation for teachers. Mr. Speaker, I have been reliably informed by some teachers that GNAT takes dues from teachers' salaries every month, amounting to billions of cedis, and so I would want to urge GNAT to look at the possibility of putting some of these monies into building flats for
Mr. Manu 12:50 p.m.
On a point order. Mr. Speaker, for the information of the hon. Member, GNAT has a housing scheme -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 12:50 p.m.
Hon. Member, you are not raising a point of order, are you?
Mr. Manu 12:50 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am saying that he is misleading the House into making it believe that GNAT has no scheme for teachers regarding housing. There is a housing scheme for teachers under GNAT except that the monies are such that it does not go round many teachers at a time. That is a problem we teachers know, but the facility exists.
Mr. Opare-Hammond 12:50 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. Colleague for drawing my attention to that. But I want to continue by saying that the incentives are not enough. I am still referring to His Excellency's statement that we can achieve quality if we have teachers who are content.
Mr. Speaker, I want to take us through history a little bit as I still talk about the incentives that we have to give our teachers. Mr. Speaker, my father was a teacher and he thought for many years. At the time he got to a grade as a Principal Teacher, he was literary begged to take a loan to buy a car. In 1972 the cost of the car was 4,000 cedis and because his salary at the time could afford the monthly deductions he took the loan.
Mr. Speaker, all that I am trying to say is that we have very laudable things that we have put together for our educational policies, but I am asking that we should
also look at our teachers and find ways in which we can help them so that we will be able to achieve these laudable ideas.
Mr. Speaker, before I resume my seat let me state once more that education is very crucial to the success of this three- prong strategy. In fact, it is the bedrock on which the strategy will succeed. That is why I am very happy at the reforms that have been introduced into this sector; and these reforms have been long overdue.
Mr. Speaker, permit me to say that something is seriously going wrong with our educational system at the junior secondary school (JSS) level. But the JSS system, as you may all be aware, was instituted by the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) Government. The problems and the bottlenecks started showing right at its inception. There was a lot of public outcry but the government at the time, with its stance that Moreka no koraa na mereye no more, did not do much about this problem. [Hear! Hear!] I am therefore happy that in our time, the President has instituted plans so that some of these problems can be addressed -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Alex N. Tettey-Enyo 12:50 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member on the other side -- I am happy he has stopped pursuing that line of argument but I overheard him say that the PNDC Government and the NDC Government that followed did nothing about the JSS programme. I wonder if the hon. Member has any idea about the Free Compulsory Basic Education (FCUBE) programme. If he does, then he should know that the programme was meant to improve the educational reform particularly with regard to basic education, that is primary and JSS -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 12:50 p.m.
Hon. Member for
Adenta, is it correct that you made such a statement?
Mr. Opare-Hammond 12:50 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I do not remember making a statement as to what he has just said.
Mr. Lee Ocran 12:50 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member is a pastor and he should tell the truth; he should learn to tell the truth at all times. He just said that, “The PNDC Regime with its stance of Moreka no koraa na mereye no more . . . .” which means that it did nothing about the problem. He should accept it, yes, he said so.
Mr. Speaker 12:50 p.m.
Hon. Member for Adenta, what was the point you were making?
Mr. Opare-Hammond 12:50 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, what I said was that there were a lot of calls on the Government but they did not do much on this issue; and I mentioned the PNDC Government; I did not mention
NDC.
Mr. Speaker 12:50 p.m.
You said they did not do much? It is a matter of opinion, anyway.
Alhaji Dauda 12:50 p.m.
On a point order. Mr. Speaker, I heard my hon. Colleague say that the previous Government, that is, the NDC pursued a policy of Woreka no koraa na yereye no more which I disagree. The NDC Government never pursued a policy of Woreka no koraa na yereye no more. In this case I wish to say that my hon. Friend has misled this House and must be called upon to withdraw.
Mr. Speaker 12:50 p.m.
Hon. Member for Asutifi South, the words that you spoke, it is not all hon. Members of this House who may understand them.
Alhaji Dauda 1 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, that is the way he put it and I am referring to what he said. I am saying that the NDC in its eight- year term of office never pursued a policy of Woka koraa na meye no more. He may be in a better position to -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 1 p.m.
Which by translation is what, so that hon. Members of this House will understand.
Alhaji Dauda 1 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, since he
used it he may be in a better position to explain it.
Mr. Speaker 1 p.m.
Hon. Member for
Adenta, the Standing Orders make it quite clear that if you say words in vernacular you might as well interpret it for the purposes of hon. Members.
Mr. Opare-Hammond 1 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
rose
Mr. Speaker 1 p.m.
Hon. Member for Ada,
make your point of order, if it is.
Mr. Tettey-Enyo 1 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the
hon. Member should be sincere enough to withdraw what he said because he said it. He started an argument by saying that the PNDC Government started the reform in JSS and because that Government had a policy of woka no koraa na meye no more, they never did anything about the public outcry against the system. This is what
Mr. Speaker 1 p.m.
Hon. Member for
Adenta, is this what you said?
Mr. Opare-Hammond 1 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
no, I did not say that.
Mr. Speaker 1 p.m.
Hon. Member, I thought
you were speaking from your notes, you could refer to that.
Mr. Opare-Hammond 1 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I have said that what I said was that they did not do much, and I did not also say that it was the policy of the NDC. I have not said that here.
Mr. Speaker 1 p.m.
Hon. Member for
Adenta, I heard you speak the vernacular.
Mr. Opare-Hammond 1 p.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, but that statement was not attributed to NDC and I did not also say that it was the policy of the NDC.
Mr. Speaker 1 p.m.
Hon. Member for Adenta, I think you should advise yourself. The vernacular that you used, why do you not withdraw it so that we may proceed?
Mr. Opare-Hammond 1 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
it is withdrawn.
Mr. Speaker 1 p.m.
You have done the right
thing but you must sum up and wind up; time is not on your side.
Mr. Opare-Hammond 1 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
Mr. Amenowode 1 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, on
a point of order. Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member was misleading this House when
he said that since the education reform of 1987 nothing was done despite the cries until this committee. But I want to remind him if he is not aware, that in 1994 there was an education review committee on pre-tertiary education headed by Prof. de Heer Amissah.
Mr. Speaker 1 p.m.
I thought we had dealt
with this matter long ago; let him proceed and end please.
Mr. Opare-Hammond 1 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
the system we inherited had a lot of bottlenecks and problems. Mr. Speaker, the results of the BECE have been very abysmal. Let me give you an instance in my constituency.
Mr. Speaker 1 p.m.
Hon. Member, your
time is up so you must conclude.
Mr. Opare-Hammond 1 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,

Nii Amasah Namoale: Mr. Speaker,

I rise on a point of order. The hon. Member is misleading the House. His constituency alone is not a reflection of what is happening in the whole country so he must go ahead and give us the statistics of what is happening in the country.
Mr. Speaker 1 p.m.
Hon. Member, I will
give you time later to contribute.
Mr. Opare-Hammond 1 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
what is happening in my constituency is a microcosm of what is happening in the entire nation.
Mr. Speaker 1 p.m.
Hon. Member, wind
up; time is not on your side.
Mr. Tettey-Enyo 1 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member is still persistently misleading the House. How can his constituency be a microcosm of the entire country on an issue like BECE results? Can we also say that the experiences of areas like Kushea which were not getting good results but where with determination from the community and the teachers they were able to improve upon their performance, cannot be taken as a facet of the effort the education sector is making to improve upon the system?
Mr. Speaker 1 p.m.
Hon. Member, let him
wind up. Please wind up; your time is up.
Mr. Opare-Hammond 1 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, in concluding, I want to urge all stake- holders, parents, teachers, politicians, everyone to take active interest in the reforms that have been proposed so that we can all together help arrest the decay in our educational system. Let us be non- partisan and dispassionate about this issue. Mr. Speaker, my humble plea is that we should do all we can to bequeath to our children, our grandchildren and our great grandchildren a better education than we have had.
Mr. Speaker, once again, thank you very much for giving me the opportunity and we thank the President for his Address.
Mr. Speaker 1 p.m.
Majority Chief Whip, at this stage, do you have any indications?
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1 p.m.
Well, Mr.
Speaker, I really thought that we would have some more time to grant opportunity to particularly the new Members of Parliament to get the exposure that they need. But Mr. Speaker, if it is your pleasure and the pleasure of the House that we adjourn till tomorrow, I have no problem, in which case, Mr. Speaker, with respect, I move that this House do adjourn

till tomorrow at 10.00 a.m. in the forenoon.
Mr. Bagbin 1 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, you actually
worked according to the understanding of Leadership that at 1.00 p.m. we should adjourn so that we can get time to go through the reports on the committees that are before the House to make sure that we correct some errors in them. That is why I believe you are calling for this adjournment. Mr. Speaker, I accordingly second the motion.
Question put and motion agreed to.
ADjOURNMENT The House was accordingly adjourned
at 1.10 p.m. until 16th February, 2005 at