Debates of 25 Feb 2005

MR. SPEAKER
PRAYERS 10:10 a.m.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 10:10 a.m.
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE 10:10 a.m.
Majority Leader/Minister for Parliamentary Affairs (Mr. F. K. Owusu-Adjapong) 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the Committee met yesterday, Thursday, 24th February 2005 and determined Business of the House for the Seventh Week ending Friday, 4th March 2005. The Committee accordingly submits its report as follows: Arrangement of Business
Papers and Reports
Mr. Speaker, Papers may be presented to the House and Reports may also be laid during the week under consideration.
Statements
Mr. Speaker may allow duly authorized Statements to be made on the floor of the House.
Motions
Mr. Speaker, motions may be debated and their consequential resolutions will also be taken when due.
Financial Policy of the Government for the year ending 31st December
2005
Mr. Speaker, in accordance with article 179 of the Constitution and Standing Order 140 (2), the hon. Minister for Finance and Economic Planning yesterday presented to this honourable House, the Financial Policy of the Government for the year ending 31st December 2005.
Mr. Speaker, the House will proceed to debate the Financial Policy in accordance with the practice, rules and regulations of this House.
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to this, the Committee has made the following proposals for consideration of the Financial Policy.
Time Allocation for Consideration of the Financial Policy (Budget Statement)
Mr. Speaker, the Business Committee decided that during the debate of the Financial Policy, the following time allocations shall apply:
Chairman and Ranking Member of the Finance Committee -- 20 minutes each
Leadership -- 20 minutes each
Any Other Member -- 10 minutes each
Time Allocation for Consideration of the Budget Estimates of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs)
Mr. Speaker, the Business Committee also decided that during consideration of the Budget Estimates of the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies, Chairmen and their Ranking Members will be granted fifteen (15) minutes each to make their presentations. Any other Member contributing will be granted five (5) minutes.
Mr. Speaker, in arriving at these time allocations, the Committee took cognizance of the need to thoroughly examine the principles underlying the Budget and budgetary allocations to Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
Mr. Speaker, it is hoped that the time allocations would also afford as many hon. Members as possible to contribute to the ensuing debate. The Committee was also guided by the approved calendar of the House for 2005.
Mr. Speaker, as I indicated last week, arrangements have been completed for a seminar to be held for Leadership, Chairmen/Chairpersons, Ranking Members and committee clerks from Friday, 25th to Sunday, 27th February 2005 at Elmina Beach Resort in the Central Region.
Mr. Speaker, the seminar is to assist the Leadership of the House and Committees to agree on the schedule for laying of Reports for the sectors and debates of same.
Conclusion
Mr. Speaker, in accordance with Standing Order 160 (2) and subject to Standing Order 53, the Committee submits to this honourable House the order in which the Business of the House shall be taken during the week.

Statements

Laying of Papers

Motions --

(a) That this honourable House approves the Financial Policy of the Government for the year ending 31st December 2005.

(b) Membership of the Pan African Parliament and the Community Parliament of ECOWAS.

Committee Sittings

Statements

Laying of Papers

Motion --

T h a t t h i s h o n o u r a b l e House approves the Financial Policy of the Government for the year ending 31st December 2005.

Committee Sittings

Statements

Laying of Papers

Motion --

T h a t t h i s h o n o u r a b l e House approves the Financial Policy of the Government for the year ending 31st December 2005.
Majority Leader/Minister for Parliamentary Affairs (Mr. F. K. Owusu-Adjapong) 10:10 a.m.


Committee Sittings

Statements

Laying of Papers

Motion --

T h a t t h i s h o n o u r a b l e House approves the Financial Policy of the Government for the year ending 31st December 2005.

Committee Sittings
STATEMENTS 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Kwame Osei-Prempeh (NPP - Nsuta/Kwamang/Beposo) 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I crave your indulgence to make a statement in connection with an event in this House yesterday.
Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to make this Statement on a matter which I believe is very important to the survival of democracy and for decorum in this House. Let me say that this House is governed by rules which are designed for the orderly business of this House. It is therefore unacceptable for anybody to attempt to impose his will on the House and do acts, which undermine the integrity of this House.
Mr. Speaker, to begin with, the Minority group in this House led by their Leader, hon. Bagbin staged a walkout three days ago, a walkout which to all intents and purposes was totally
misconceived.

Mr. Speaker, contrary to all known rules and norms of this House, the Minority Leader sought to prevent the hon. Minister for Finance and Economic Planning from moving the Second Reading of a Bill and for the Chairman of the Finance Committee to present his report. A little patience was needed for the hon. Minority Leader to appreciate the real essence of the Bill after the Finance Committee had presented its report.

Mr. Speaker, as if that was not enough, yesterday the Minority treated the authority of this House with contempt. After the hon. Minister for Finance and Economic Planning had finished with the Budget Statement and the hon. Majority Leader had made a brief statement, I saw the hon. Minority Leader standing on his feet. But from all indications, the hon. Minority Leader did not catch Mr. Speaker's eye and therefore Mr. Speaker adjourned proceedings of the House.

Mr. Speaker, I saw the hon. Minority Leader sit down and signalling his group not to stand up whilst Mr. Speaker was leaving. My heart was saddened at this disrespect of the Minority group led by the hon. Minority Leader. Mr. Speaker, I believe that every parliamentarian worth his seat knows that when we stand up for Mr. Speaker, it is not the person of Mr. Speaker that we stand up for.

The Mace, which leads Mr. Speaker, is the symbol of authority of this House. In Akan this is called Akyeame Poma, the symbol of authority of a chief. [Uproar.] And it is for that reason that when Mr. Speaker is being led by the Mace we stand up. It is an affront to the dignity of this House if the Minority refuse to get up when the Mace is being sent out and leading Mr. Speaker.

From where I was sitting it was clear
Mr. Kwame Osei-Prempeh (NPP - Nsuta/Kwamang/Beposo) 10:20 a.m.


that Mr. Speaker did not see the hon. Minority Leader and, in other words, he failed to catch your eye. And if everybody who fails to catch Mr. Speaker's eye decides to be so discourteous, there will be chaos in this House. Mr. Speaker, I believe that the Minority, led by hon. Bagbin, has without cause treated the authority of this House with utmost contempt and he needs to apologise to this august House.
Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom (CPP - Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/ Abirem) 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am a new Member of this House, so I cannot claim to know all of the traditions that have existed in this House; and so I speak rather cautiously.
Mr. Speaker, from what has been happening since the day you were elected Speaker of this House, I have a sense that there is a certain slowly coming, but creeping sense; that perhaps there is a certain kind of confrontation and confrontational attitude, however unspoken, that is coming to this House that perhaps, if we do not take care, will make the business of this House become rather, if I should use the word, “undoable”.
Mr. Speaker, let me use the example
of what we did at the Finance Committee just a few days ago. All of us members of the Finance Committee attended the meeting which my senior Colleague, the hon. Minority Leader attended along with Members from both sides of the House. Indeed, at the committee the views of the Minority and all the members were duly taken care of and some of us really tried to make amends, make some corrections based on suggestions made by the Minority; and I thought that it was in good spirit and we had all done the right thing. So I thought it rather unfortunate that the Committee's Report that came as a result of the discussion and deli-berations that we all participated in was not given the chance to be discussed in this House with all Members of the House present.
Mr. Speaker, I feel that what happened with the Minority walking out, whatever the reasons may have been, if we do not take care and if we do not resolve a number of these matters, there is this certain thing that - I believe that there has been a tradition in this House of consensus building. If I am wrong, as I said, I am a new Member, but what is happening is not moving us toward consensus building and making decisions on the basis of collaboration, listening to each other, sitting and making our case, and in the end, all of us, having been a part of making decisions in this House.
Mr. Speaker, all of us represent people and we contested elections to win the right to represent the people so that we can improve the quality of their lives. And after the elections, our people do not know “Majority”, and they do not know “Minority”; they know Parliament. But they also know that we are here in Parliament to do something positive for our people and that is why I wish to beg all hon. Members that we work hard; sometimes it may be under difficult circumstances, but we should work
Mr. Alfred Kwame Agbesi (NDC - Ashaiman) 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you for giving me the floor to make my comments on the Statement made by the hon. Member.
Mr. Speaker, to some extent, I would want to associate myself with the last hon. Member who spoke, the hon. Member for KEEA. Mr. Speaker, before some of us came to this House, we heard a lot about consensus building and we were hoping that when we came to the House that situation would continue. Mr. Speaker, what is developing now, as the last hon. Member said, is threatening that consensus building and that is the reason why I associate myself with the fact that a way must be found.
Mr. Speaker, with regard to what
happened yesterday, I believe sincerely that the Leadership of this House should take a look at it rather than us debating that issue. I know there are seasoned parliamentarians in this House, and some of them having been in this House since 1993, I believe if Leadership sits down over what happened yesterday, I am of the view that we will be going back to consensus building that has gone on for some time before some of us came to this House.

Mr. Speaker, the previous time when the Minority walked out, I believe that the Minority was of the view that article 107 of the Constitution should be adhered to. And looking at that article, I am of the view that the walkout by the Minority, a walkout being one of the weapons used in this House, was right; or the action taken by the Minority on that day was right.

Mr. Speaker, somebody may have a different view of what happened but I will go back to my point that as we are going to be in this House for four years, I do not think it will be good for all of us, good for our constituencies, good for the whole nation that this trend is allowed to continue. I am saying that it will not be appropriate at this time to try and find faults here or there. What should be done, in my view, is that the matter should go back to the Leadership for them to sit in conference and resolve it for the good of this House.
Alhaji Malik A. Yakubu (NPP - Yendi) 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to say that I also found what happened yesterday to be quite unfortunate. I admire the contribution of the hon. Member who just spoke. He has spoken in a level-headed manner and I think that it is commen- dable.
Alhaji Malik A. Yakubu (NPP - Yendi) 10:30 a.m.


Mr. Speaker, yesterday I was sitting here with hon. John Mahama, the Member of Parliament for Bole-Bamboi and we saw very clearly that the cameraman who had been positioned on your left side and who had fixedly been there throughout the proceedings was conspicuously in the line of vision between you and the hon. Minority Leader. So when the hon. Minority Leader rose, having seen that the position of the cameraman undoubtedly would block your view from the hon. Minority Leader, it resulted in hon. John Mahama almost screaming that, “Photographer, get away from there!” And I did hear some of the Minority Members also hitting at the cameraman to move because they could see clearly that where he was, he would be blocking the hon. Speaker's view.

So the probability and the likelihood that the hon. Speaker did not see the hon. Minority Leader was very high. And I was surprised therefore, when the hon. Minority Leader said on television when they had a press conference yesterday that the hon. Speaker saw him and bowed his head. I was surprised because I could see from what happened yesterday that the probability that the hon. Speaker did not see the hon. Minority Leader was very high.

I think that, as the hon. Member who spoke last and the other hon. Members have said, we should endeavour in all circumstances to uphold the dignity of this House. And if it is a question of rising and not catching the Speaker's eye, even if the obstacle that was in the way was not there, one would have expected that some effort would have been made to find out if Mr. Speaker saw the hon. Minority Leader and deliberately did not
Alhaji Malik A. Yakubu (NPP - Yendi) 10:30 a.m.


call him. And that would be so because since the hon. Speaker took the Chair, his firm-mindedness and balance in dealing with the House has been very manifest; it has been very conspicuous. And if on this occasion he did not call the hon. Minority Leader, it would have been very surprising and one would have wanted to find out why.

In any case, the hon. Minority Leader, being a man of great experience, knows that in the courtroom, for instance, when a judge gives a judgement which is not palatable to a party to a case, counsel for that party nevertheless will rise and bow to the judge and he may later on take measures which would show that he vehemently disagreed with the judgement.

So I would expect that respect given to the Chair should have been allowed to flow, then all the complaints with the force that the hon. Minority Leader would command would be made to Mr. Speaker. And I believe that if that simple investigation was done, the hon. Minority Leader would have seen clearly that the hon. Speaker did not deliberately refuse to call him; he did not see him.

So I would join voices with those who have called for consensus building to be embarked on and strengthened further and that this august House is where we belong; its dignity is our dignity; its indignity is our indignity. We are the first of Ghanaians to respect this House and we should be at pains to exercise the greatest restraint to do nothing that will mean disrespect to the House.

Obviously, disrespect to the House is done through disrespect to the Chair and I would therefore like to join other hon. Colleagues who feel that we should not be pleased about what happened. We should not drag it in a manner as if we are quarrelling but we should look at the hurt that was visited on the dignity of

the House. We have strangers, we have international visitors who were here and we would not like - either side of the House - that they should go away with the feeling that the Members of Parliament themselves do not respect this House. And I would appeal to all sides of the House that under no circumstance should we do anything to indicate that the very Members of Parliament who call this House “august House”, who want to be called “honourable” should do anything to let people think we do not respect this House.
Mr. Michael T. Nyaunu (NDC -- Lower Manya) 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to also comment on the Statement that has been made on the floor.
Mr. Speaker, frankly speaking, some of us were really disappointed at what happened. But to be honest with you, I am more surprised at the Statement that has come on the floor this morning. Mr. Speaker, this is not the first time that something of this nature erupted on the floor and I think there are several alternative ways of resolving this issue. But to allow a Statement of this nature to be made on the floor this morning is equally unfortunate. I must say that it is very, very unfortunate.
Mr. Speaker, I think that on what happened yesterday, I was expecting that Leadership would find a way of discussing this even yesterday and that this morning there would have been no need mentioning it at all.
Mr. Speaker, the Bible says that we can be annoyed but we should not allow the sun to set on it. There are times when emotions run far ahead of intelligence; and we must agree, if you are setting these two things on speed, the time intelligence will take to get to its place, emotion will overspeed it; and I think anything like this could have happened to anybody. And I
least expected that this Statement would be made on the floor here.
Mr. Speaker, to allege that the hon. Minority Leader did not catch your eye is an understatement or a deliberate attempt to be very economical with the fact. [Uproar.] Mr. Speaker, this is my humble observation. To say that the hon. Minority Leader did not catch your eye - and it is not being said by you, Mr. Speaker, but it is being said by people who are all alleging - to say the least, is to say that they are being very economical with the truth. Because from the angle where I am sitting, looking at the cameraman from here I can also say that from this place it should be too obvious for Mr. Speaker to see the hon. Minority Leader. [Uproar.]
Mr. Speaker 10:40 a.m.
Order! Order!
Mr. Nyaunu 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, for us to continue debating what happened yesterday, it is like the literal saying that, “We are washing our dirty linen in public.” Yesterday was a different day; this morning is a bright new day with many hopes, and I think that we should not bring yesterday into this one. In fact, what happened is shameful not only to the Minority side, as they are alleging, but to Parliament as a whole. Since we have demonstrated our inability to resolve our own internal problems but bring it to the fore like this, I think it is shameful to the whole Parliament.
Mr. Speaker, with these few comments, I associate myself with what is on the floor of the House.
Minister for Works and Housing (Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyemang) 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you very much and I apprecitate this opportunity to contribute to this Statement. Mr. Speaker, permit me to take a different line of argument on this issue.
First of all, the rules of this House are quite clear. Mr. Speaker, it is your prerogative and privilege, for that matter, to decide which Statements are allowed on this floor or not. The Statement by the hon. Member for Nsuta-Kwamang Beposo (Mr. Kwame Osei-Prempeh) was so allowed by your goodself, I presume. And for that matter it does not lie in the mouth of any hon. Member of this House to challenge the decision of the Speaker except by coming through a substantive motion.
Mr. Speaker 10:40 a.m.
Order! Order!
Maj. (Dr.) (Alhaji) Ahmed (retd): Mr. Speaker, I wish you will make a comment and give a directive on the hon. Member's dress.
Mr. Speaker 10:40 a.m.
Hon. Minister for Works and Housing?
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, if you would want me to answer, indeed, this nation has adopted the policy of “Friday wear” and we are all encouraged to wear this.
Mr. Speaker, if you go through the Hansard, your predecessor, I personally put the question to him in view of the
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10:40 a.m.


new policy of this State that on Fridays we should wear tie-and-dye, locally-made fabrics. We can check from the records; and he did say that we can come with this type of dress. And this dress is very decent and it is in conformity with what the Government has decided. I think it is proper.
Alhaji Sumani Abukari 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, n a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I agree that during the last Parliament it was agreed that to go in line with the general view in the country, Fridays should be reserved for national dress, and we agreed to that.
Mr. Speaker, but the type of dress we are talking about is the type the hon. Minister for Defence is wearing, the type of dress the acting Deputy Minister for Tourism and Modernization of the Capital City is wearing, the type of dress the acting Minister for Public Sector Reforms is wearing. Mr. Speaker, that is the tie-and-dye and it is beautifully designed, long sleeved; but this short- sleeved type we regard as - [Uproar.] This type the hon. Minister for Works and Housing is wearing is regarded as a singlet. [Laughter.]
Mr. Speaker 10:40 a.m.
Order! Order! Hon. Members, what the hon. Minister is wearing is decent enough. Let us hear him. It is enough - [Interruptions.] Hon. Members, when I take a decision, with the greatest respect, accept it.
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, everybody in this House knows that my sartorial sense is impeccable and nobody can question my dressing.
Mr. Speaker, the point that I was
making was that it is your prerogative to accept a Statement of this nature on the floor of the House, which you have so done; and our job is to debate it.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a different angle to the argument. For me, it is not a matter of whether the Speaker saw or did not see. That is not the issue. We were here when I was moving the motion on the five million dollar bribe allegedly given to the former President and when it was refused, I came by a substantive motion and I did it.
Mr. John Tia 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. Member is misleading this House. I was also in this House at the time the incident that he is talking about occurred. There was no fight; nobody threw a blow at the other and nobody responded. There was no such fight. There was an argument which caused one hon. Member to move from his seat to the other side to talk to the other hon. Member. Nobody touched the other, so there was no fighting. No fight took place in this House, as the hon. Member is alleging.
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think there was a scuffle and the records will show. When we raised the issue, the Right Hon. Justice Annan, one of your predecessors, said he did not see it. But that is not the point. The point at issue here is the respect for the symbol
of the authority of this House, which is the Mace.
Mr. Speaker, if you look at our Standing Orders, Standing Order 46 reads 10:40 a.m.
“During the existence of Parliament, the Mace shall be the symbol of the powers, privileges and authority of Parliament entrusted by it to Mr. Speaker.”

I am making the submission, Mr. Speaker, that if any hon. Member of this House refuses to respect the Mace then he cannot belong to this House. [Hear! Hear!] How can they snub, slight your authority of this House and continue to remain members of it? [Uproar.]
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, as far as I am concerned, it is the prerogative of Mr. Speaker, that whether you catch his eye or you do not catch his eye - I have been here for eight years, and we have not done anything. There have been several times that we all get up and Mr. Speaker thinks that he has made the ruling, so “I refuse to see”. There is no rule which says that the Speaker must by all means allow an hon. Member who gets up to speak.
As far as I am concerned, and the records would show, the Speaker said,
“May I be guided”, and the hon. Minority Leader said today on radio that the Speaker said, “May I be guided”. The guidance normally is given by the Leader, and the Leader did give the guidance by saying that in view of the fact that we had passed 2 o'clock there was no need for a motion. In the process of doing that, in his usual jovial self, he must have added a word or two.
But that does not detract from the fact that with that and the ruling of the Speaker, the case had been put to rest. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, if as a sign of protest - protest can take any form; you can walk out. We protested; we did not even come to Parliament in 1992. We protested; we did not even contest. Business went on. But to disrespect the Mace, to disrespect Mr. Speaker, I submit, is a situation which is unpardonable. Mr. Speaker, it is tantamount to somebody refusing to get up when the National Anthem is being played because he is upset. [Uproar.] Mr. Speaker, what is it?
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, it is even more disturbing; if the defiance is orchestrated it is even more painful. I am very proud to be a Member of Parliament. I fought hard to be a Member of Parliament and I defeated the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minister in place so that I could come here. So when I have come here I want to make sure that I protect the dignity of this House at all costs.
It cannot be the case that because the Minority Leader was not recognised or did not catch the eye of the Speaker, whatever it is, an orchestrated attempt would be made by the Minority to slight
the authority of this House. That Mr. Speaker, is unacceptable, at least, to me as an individual and it is unacceptable to this House. It flies in the face of the rules of procedure of this House.
Therefore, the Statement made by the hon. Member for Nsuta/Kwamang/ Beposo asking for an apology is completely in order. It is in order because even when we make ‘small' statements in this House against our own selves we apologise and we withdraw. But whatever it is, you are fallible; excuse my language, you are not Jesus Christ, neither are you God, nor are you Mohamed, so you are fallible. And even if you made a mistake, to orchestrate a defiance, to orchestrate a disrespect was not the best of things.
Mr. Nyaunu 10:50 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, he has mentioned my name. I just stated my opinion on the floor and I do not expect my hon. Colleague to debate my opinion; he can accept it or reject it. He need not comment on my opinion, Mr. Speaker. He has made a lot of points but I am not talking - [Interruptions.]
Mr. Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Order! Order!
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think my hon. Colleague has lost the sense of debate in this House. It is my right and privilege to disagree with him. I do not think he understands what the debate of the House means -- [Inter-
Mr. Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Order! Order!
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the point that I made was that I completely disagree with his view, and if he would take lessons from his front Bench, he would know that it is my privilege to disagree with him. I disagree with him. It is my right to disagree with him and he cannot take that away from me. The issue happened in the full glare - live transmission to the whole nation.
Some hon. Members: The whole world.
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, it cannot be said that indeed we are washing our dirty linen in public. We are an open society and we need to do things openly. And if the issue has been raised by the distinguished Member of Parliament for Nsuta/Kwamang/Beposo then we must debate it so that it does not happen again.
Today I heard one of the distinguished Members of the front Bench of the Minority saying that when we were in opposition we did that; we walked out. We never refused to stand up for the Mace. I want to be reminded. But the argument is neither here nor there. If Mr. Speaker did not allow the Minority Leader to speak, then obviously it was not right for him to say, “Let us all disrespect the Mace”.
Under the circumstances, I lend my voice to the Statement ably made by the Member of Parliament for Nsuta/ Kwamang/Beposo and say that the minimum that is required of this House is that the Minority, led by their distinguished legal brain, apologises to this House in the first instance because it was to the Mace,
then in the second instance, to the Right Hon. Speaker. Anything short of this would be unacceptable.
rose
Mr. Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Minority Leader, do you intend to make a contribution?
Mr. Bagbin 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, you want to hear my comments now?
Mr. Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Oh yes, I thought you would want to. Today is Friday, as you know.
Minority Leader (Mr. Bagbin) 11 a.m.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday we had the opportunity of trying as much as possible to make this House as democratic as possible. Yesterday, after the occurrence on the floor, I believe you and my goodself were in contact to exchange our feelings, and truly I took it that that was the end of the matter and that things were smoothened and we would work today. This morning, we were together again to discuss the Order Paper and the Business of the House. We did it together and, I believe, in good faith; and the meeting was very cordial.

Mr. Speaker, the Statement that has just been made was a surprise to me, a big surprise to me; and the language of the Statement was actually not meant to solve the problem. Again, Mr. Speaker, I reiterate that, that was not the first time that such a thing had happened in this House.

Mr. Speaker, I was here a number of times when our Colleagues who were then on the Minority side showed their disagreement with a number of decisions of the former Speaker, Rt. Hon. Justice Annan and refused to stand up when he

was going out and the Mace was being carried. [Uproar.] On one occasion - [Interruptions.]
Mr. Speaker 11 a.m.
Order! Order! Hon. Member, please address the Chair.
Mr. Bagbin 11 a.m.
On one occasion, my predecessor himself stood up but those behind him refused to stand up - hon. J. H. Mensah. In fact, on another occasion, even a letter was written by them, signed by the then Ranking Member on Communications, hon. Papa Owusu- Ankomah, now the Minister for the Interior, saying that he had exhibited the highest level of intellectual dishonesty. A copy of the letter is still there. Mr. Speaker, we can go for it and show it to people.
So Mr. Speaker, this is not the first time that it has happened. My understanding of what happened was to show that the Minority had disagreed that the House be adjourned and we showed it by sitting down; that we still intended to be heard. That was what happened yesterday.
Now, Mr. Speaker, yes, as to catching your eye, everybody struggles to catch your eye. But it is important that on ceremonial occasions where direction is asked of the House - Let me clear this impression. When we talk of direction from the House, we mean actually from the House; it does not necessarily mean from the Majority Leader. The House is made up of both sides. When the Majority Leader makes an intervention as a direction and I agree, I do not stand up; I sit, which means that, that is the direction from the House.
But when he makes an intervention and I disagree and I stand up, it means there is another side of the coin that Mr.
Mr. Bagbin 11 a.m.


Speaker has to listen to. Mr. Speaker, that is parliamentary practice. I say I am surprised because my hon. Colleague here, my senior Brother, hon. M. A. Yakubu, even added that people screamed, trying to draw away the cameraman. People made noise. At least if I did not catch the eye of the Speaker, as is being said, and Mr. Speaker says I did not catch his eye, there is nothing I can do than to accept. But at least, I would have ‘caught the ear'.

The noise could have drawn the attention of the Speaker that there was something happening. That definitely would either have brought the Speaker to say, “Order! Order! in the House” because there was some noise and therefore some disorder; or Mr. Speaker would then be trying to locate what was happening. Mr. Speaker, that is the practice of the House. And in doing that, Mr. Speaker would have seen that the Minority Leader was on his feet.

Apart from that, Mr. Speaker, with the greatest respect, my Colleague the Majority Leader is just facing me; the leadership of the Majority is just facing me. With me standing up and they looking at me, they could have drawn your attention that the Minority Leader was on his feet.
Mr. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I would not pretend here that I did not see the Minority Leader on his feet. Indeed, I did see him on his feet but, Mr. Speaker, that has no relevance to the argument because, I am not sitting in your Chair; and so the fact that we recognised him standing does not, in anyway, mean that from where you were sitting, you would recognise him standing. It has no relevance to the argument.
Mr. Speaker 11 a.m.
Minority Leader, proceed.
Mr. Bagbin 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, after seeing me, the reaction from the other side was rather, “Sit down! Sit down!” and my hon. Colleague, the Majority Leader said the Speaker could adjourn the House without listening to any person. Yes, I do agree that Mr. Speaker can adjourn the House after 2.00 p.m. without listening to any person; that is stated in the Standing Orders of the House.
In fact, Mr. Speaker, at three minutes to 2.00 p.m. you should have drawn our attention that we were going to have an extended Sitting. That is the Standing Order. That was not done. We have no problem with that but once you did request for direction from the House and my Colleague made an intervention, it was right and proper for me to make an intervention.
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 11 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I think there is a mathematical error here. In the 1997 Parliament, we had 61; they had 133, whatever. If you work out the relationship, which was more overbearing? And at that time, we survived it; we worked. What is his problem? We had 61 and they had 133. That was more overbearing, Mr. Speaker; that was more overbearing than the situation here. What is his problem? We are not trying to cow them into submission, or anything, no. We are not using the majority that way. But they had the bigger majority in 1993. It was 200 against zero and they still worked on
anyway. So what is their problem? They do not have a problem there.
Mr. Speaker 11 a.m.
That is not a point of order.
Mr. Bagbin 11 a.m.
Truly, Mr. Speaker, I do not have any problem with the numbers; I have a problem with the exercise of power or authority. Whether you are ten or you are two million, I am talking about the exercise of authority and power; that is what makes it overbearing.
Mr. Speaker, they referred to trials in court and said that even when a judge gives judgement and it is distasteful, the lawyer/counsel on the other side still rises to bow to the judge. In this case, where was the judgment? Was it a submission of both parties and Mr. Speaker gave a decision and I flouted it? That analogy, I believe, is not appropriate; it is not appropriate in this case.
Alhaji M. A. Yakubu 11:10 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I believe I preceded that example by saying that the Minority Leader is an experienced lawyer and I expected him to defend the spirit of what I said; that it does not necessarily mean a judgment that you have to look at - an act of the judge. And in this case, the act which the hon. Member reacted to was the fact that the Speaker did not call him. And I am saying that the hon. Member was displeased with that, and just like in court where the act of the judge may be either to disallow a preliminary point raised or a substantive judgment and then one bows - [Interruption.] I am talking about the hon. Member being displeased with an act of the judge; and we take examples from any professional calling, to enrich us in life generally. And when one is here in Parliament, I am expecting that, that would also be brought into play.
Mr. Bagbin 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, what I simply wanted to draw the attention of the hon. Member who just spoke to is that we are in a very different environ- ment. A court is a different place from Parliament; that was just what I wanted to draw his attention to. And Mr. Speaker, I think that that example is not appropriate - [Interruptions.] Yes, Mr. Speaker, my hon. Colleague, Mr. Hackman Owusu- Agyemang was also on air and that is how come I also responded to his submission on air, that is on Adom F.M. But clearly, he has stated here and Mr. Speaker, with your permission, I quote what he said:
“Nobody can question my dressing.”
He has said it here. Definitely, that is exercising power and authority which he seems not to have. He did the same thing on Adom F.M. and I reacted by saying that his attention should be drawn to what he did when he was in the Minority. And even that, my hon. Colleague the Senior Minister, Mr. J. H. Mensah, came to my office to sympathise with me because he had been in my seat before and he knows whether it is air-conditioned or it is on a heater.
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 11:10 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I was talking about the Friday dressing and I said that the fact that it is not long-sleeves does not make it out of place. If I did say that nobody can question my dressing, then it was out of order; but what I meant was that, that was the fourth time that I was wearing the dress to Parliament and I saw nothing wrong with it. If I did say that nobody could question my dressing, then it was out of order. That is all that I wanted to say.
Mr. Bagbin 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, you do not
write an examination and mark it yourself or give marks to yourself. That is what my hon. Colleague is doing.
Mr. Speaker, there was no orches- tration of defiance, as he stated. Definitely, when I stand up to talk, most of the time - I should say all the time - I am reflecting the view and the sentiments of the Minority. Whilst the proceedings are going on, I receive feedback from my Colleagues here and at the appropriate time, they decide together with me whether I should stand up or one of them should stand up.
Dr. Akoto Osei 11:10 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I agree with my senior Colleague, Mr. Alban Bagbin. As the Minority Leader, his job is to orchestrate and so it was not inconsistent. So he was orchestrating it; he told them to sit down. So he is misleading the House by saying that he did not orchestrate. If as Minority Leader, he does not orchestrate, then he is not doing his job well; and so orchestrating is all right. [Interruptions.]
Mr. Bagbin 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, my hon. Colleague who just spoke said that I am his senior; he is just coming here for the first time. I believe that leadership does not orchestrate; no, we do not. We try to lead, not to orchestrate. Orchestration
Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Hon. Member, please address the Chair.
Mr. Bagbin 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, this was addressed and settled and I believe that this was a very good precedent, and that precedent should be followed.
Mr. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:10 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I do not intend to disrupt the presentation of my hon. Colleague but he is misleading the House. Yes, there was an occasion when the former President J. J. Rawlings delivered a Sessional Address and when he was leaving the Chamber, because of
what had happened, we did not get up. But Mr. Speaker, the Mace was still here; we have never disrespected the Mace. The Minority Leader has consistently referred to this; let him cite the incident and when it happened.
Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Hon. Minority Leader, you are winding up, I guess.
Mr. Bagbin 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, yes, I am just winding up. It is important for my Colleague to recollect that that day, hon. J. H. Mensah was insisting on a point and the Rt. Hon. Justice Annan said he was not the Speaker and he could not speak for the Speaker. On that occasion, they took offence and they did not get up when he was leaving - [Interruptions.]
Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Order!
Mr. Bagbin 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the second occasion was when the hon. Speaker permitted the then Deputy Minister for Defence, Dr. Tony Aidoo, to come to the House and make a statement. On that occasion, Mr. Speaker, when the Speaker was going out, it was my Colleague, hon. J. H. Mensah who stood up but his Colleagues decided not to stand up.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:20 a.m.
On a
point of order. Mr. Speaker, my hon. Colleague is clearly misleading this whole House. He does not have a good memory. Mr. Speaker, when the former Deputy Minister for Defence was given the opportunity to make an intervention in this House, it related to his defence of issues that had arisen at the Appointments Committee.
The Right Honourable Speaker, after the adjournment of a whole Meeting, at the next Meeting, accorded the then Deputy Minister for Defence the opportunity to come to this House to respond to issues that had arisen at the Appointments Committee. We felt it
was a flagrant disregard of our Standing Orders. The Speaker, however, insisted that notwithstanding the clear provisions in our Standing Orders to the contrary, he was going to allow him to make his response. We disagreed and we walked out - we did walk out.
Mr. Speaker, in the first instance, again, we walked out but we did not show disrespect to the Mace. That is the clear distinction.
Mr. Bagbin 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think my hon. Colleague would have to refresh his memory from the Hansard and he will learn from the Hansard that hon. Dr. Tony Aidoo was not brought in to react to what happened at an Appointments Committee meeting. He was brought in to react to statements that were made on this floor when they were debating the prior approval of his nomination and people made statements attacking his integrity on this floor. Therefore, he was given the opportunity, under article 111 of the Constitution, to respond as a Deputy Minister of State. His memory is so faulty. But Mr. Speaker, as I said, I spoke this morning to the effect that this matter has been resolved amicably and that this House would continue to do business together. In fact, I spoke to so many people on it and was assured that we have come together once again and democracy is the winner. That was what I said.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I was on my feet for a long time but I did not catch your eye. I have not caught your eye, and I am not going to sit down. Mr. Speaker, the pith of the matter that we are talking about is that we never showed disrespect to the Mace; but we walked out -- exactly. That is the kernel of the matter.
Mr. Bagbin 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, my
Colleague is still insisting on this issue, but he has even added that it was not just disrespect to the Mace but even disrespect to the State Sword. The State Sword had been cited an example when the President was giving an Address. They refused to stand up when he was leaving, and they sat down. It is worse.
Mr. Speaker, the Sword is the symbol of the authority of the whole Nation, not even Parliament; and he said that they disrespected it. But I am being called upon to apologise, according to their understanding of what my Colleague called “a discourteous behaviour” - to quote him, “a discourteous behaviour”. But Mr. Speaker, what I want to insist upon is that, you see, it takes two to tango, it takes two to be friends. It takes two to build consensus, and I agree that we should try as much as possible to build consensus in this House.
Mr. Speaker, it is also important for us in our effort to building consensus not to convert multiparty democracy into a one-party State. It is important for us to agree to disagree and to dissent from time to time, using the various means that are at our disposal.
My hon. Colleague quoted Order 46, talking about the authority of the Mace. I do not know which rule in the Order he referred to shows that by refusing to stand up, there is a breach of the authority of the Mace. He can read the whole Order 46 and draw my attention to the rule that he is referring to. There is no such rule. He is trying to create an interpretation based on some provisions that are non- existent; and he is trying to equate that to disrespect of the Mace. There is nothing like that.
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 11:20 a.m.
On a point of order. I think that the ingenuity at twisting points made is not the sole
Mr. Speaker 11:20 a.m.
Minority Leader, please wind up.
Mr. Bagbin 11:20 a.m.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, because I was brought up in a good home, I will not react in the same language as my Colleague on the other side. Mr. Speaker, I believe that is why my hon. Colleague, hon. Hackman Owusu-Agyeman calls me Saint Alban. I will not react in that manner.
Mr. Speaker, I do agree that there is a need for us to build consensus, as I stated earlier on. I also do agree that there is the need for us to recognise the fact that we should agree to disagree. I also agree that in doing so we should make sure that we do not erode the whole authority and essence of democratic governance. But Mr. Speaker, I totally disagree with the conclusion of my Colleague who made the Statement, hon. Osei-Prempeh, that what happened yesterday was a complete discourteous act which amounted to disregard and disrespect of the Mace and that I should accordingly be called upon to apologise. With that disagreement, I do not find my way clear in offering any
apology; I believe I have not done any wrong.
So Mr. Speaker, I will abide by your ruling; that definitely I will do. If Mr. Speaker so says that it amounted to that, I will abide by his ruling. But for the meantime, this is my understanding of the situation and that is what I have put forward to the House. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, initially I had decided not to make any comments on the matter but the presence of hon. John Mahama has urged me to speak on this matter.
Mr. Speaker, this morning, I had the opportunity of delaying my movement from the house and therefore saw hon. John Mahama and I believe the Editor of The Independent spending some time whilst waiting for the other panellists to this morning's Metro Show. And I realised that what we are discussing now had ceased to be a private activity on our part. He knows the sort of questions that the Editor put to him, even to the extent of asking him that if an editor somewhere were to write something on this topic - and he described the form he would have wanted it to be written - would he now be brought to the House and cited for contempt? And I believed his answer was no.
Mr. John Mahama 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, let me just put this in the correct context. I said on that station that there was a cameraman between the Speaker and the Minority Leader and it is possible that the Speaker ‘may not have' - Those were my words.
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I accept his original statement because I was only paraphrasing his statement. So it means that he even could give the benefit of the doubt to Mr. Speaker, just like the Second Deputy Speaker said. Mr. Speaker, as I said, I do not intend going into the past but I want us to be guided a bit more by the events of yesterday and three days ago and see how we move forward; because there is a suggestion that we must build consensus and the rest.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday you never said “Majority Leader, what do you say?” Rather, you said “Mr. Leader, what do we do next; what is the direction?” Please, when I stand in this House, I always say that I wear various hats. I can come to this House one day and speak only as the Minister for Parliamentary affairs; and that should be a different scenario. I believe that when I speak for the House, I speak in my capacity as the Leader of the House. I know when I move a motion, it is always my wish that I get the Minority Leader or somebody from his side to second it.
In that case, most of the time I will be speaking as the Majority Leader. Yesterday, I did not see any need that warranted the Majority Leader speaking. Mr. Speaker, Order 140 (3) was what was invoked, and with your permission I quote:
“Whenever a motion “That this House approves the financial policy of the Government for the year
ending … 19…” has been moved by the Minister responsible for Finance, the debate on it shall stand adjourned for not less than three days.”
So there was no debate by anybody. I did not debate the matter; I did not. All I said -- and I think I was right in saying that -- was that there was no need for a motion. And if there is no need for a motion, then there is no need for anybody else to second it. Therefore, it is at the discretion, pure discretion, of the Speaker to decide what to do after that time.
So for anybody to suggest that the Majority Leader - and as I said I was speaking as the Leader of the House - having drawn the Speaker's attention to what possibly his attention could have been drawn to by the Clerk, that after 2 o'clock we do not need any motion , if in that context it amounts to us saying that people had done it before and therefore we should continue to do it, that is not the culture I have been trained in. When things were wrong in the past, and I am aware they were wrong, I will never -
Mr. Bagbin 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker is deemed to know the Standing Orders, and so Mr. Speaker knew that in such circumstances, the House stands adjourned for three days. So if Mr. Speaker, after that proceeds to want to ask the direction from the House, then it means that in spite of this knowledge, he still wants to hear from the House. So that does not mean that at that time, whatever he says would just mean that is the direction of the House. And what I was going to say did not mean that I was going to debate the Budget Statement. So please, let us be properly guided.
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, in this world things do hit us at the appropriate time. But yesterday I was supposed to give guidance that this
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 11:30 a.m.


document required that the earliest time we could talk on it would be on Tuesday next week. I also took opportunity to draw attention, and that was only by way of information, that today Leaders of the House, the Leadership of the Committees would have to be at Elmina. If this is an item that I should wait and consult and speak as a Majority Leader and then ask the Minority Leader to re-confirm, then this is what I do not seem to understand.

So if I had made no contributions which would warrant a response, then what was the need for anybody to say that the Minority Leader was not given the opportunity to respond and therefore we should disrespect the office of Mr. Speaker? Now, yes, I do not know but at least he has said he did it because previously it had been done by the Minority; and that is what I want to plead we avoid.

It is my plea that whatever we ourselves have become convinced now that was wrong in the past, we should never attempt to say that if it was wrong in the past, it was done against me, and therefore it must be done. That is what I want to suggest we avoid because once we begin to do that then we do not stand any chance of building consensus, as others are trying to say.

Mr. Speaker, we were told of why the walkout took place three days ago. I think I would not want to comment on that because we have said a lot about it. I think is a decision they took. But as has been pointed out, the Members of the other side were at the committee together with the Minority Leader. We all had a look at the Report and the best I thought we could have done that day was to have waited for the Report to be brought to the floor of the House and then say that we have changed our minds; we dissociate ourselves from it. There is one lesson all

of us are learning in this House; anytime it suits the Minority they shift the posts. I will give you instances. They talk about conventions -
Mr. Bagbin 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, my hon. Colleague is actually misleading the House. At the committee level, when we discussed it, we made it clear that our position was that the taxes and levies that have been imposed and are being collected be withdrawn first before the Bill is brought to the House; then when we pass the Bill the effective date of the Bill would be the effective date of the imposition of taxes and levies.
We made that known at the committee level and that is what we continued on the floor. We have not changed our minds; we have not shifted any post; it is the same thing. And we said that we were not going to participate in an illegality. That is exactly what we did by moving out. Mr. Speaker, please, he should not misinform the public.
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, it was stated on this floor by one of the contributors that we were talking about illegality with the passage of the law. I believe a Bill has been passed and I challenge anybody to tell me the illegality he sees in the Bill that has been passed. It is the duty of Parliament to pass Bills and Parliament has taken note of what the Constitution says and has passed a Bill which never had a retroactive effect. Therefore, what have we done? Parlia- ment has done nothing wrong. But people started confusing acts of Parliament with acts of the Executive.
Mr. Speaker, all I would want to say is that it looks like continuously, the Minority Leader and the Minority group only try to use conventions when it suits them. I think we should gradually begin to accept that we do away with conventions
these days and always go strictly to the application of the wording or whatever we have.
Mr. Speaker 11:30 a.m.
Order! Order!
Mr. John Tia 11:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want your guidance in this matter, Standing Order 72. Mr. Speaker, with your permission, I want to quote:
“By the indulgence of the House and leave of Mr. Speaker, a Member may, at the time appointed for Statements under Order 53 (Order of Business) explain a matter of personal nature or make a Statement on a matter of urgent public importance. Any statement other than a personal statement may be commented upon by other Members for a limited duration of time not exceeding one hour. The terms of any such proposed statement shall first be submitted to Mr. Speaker.”
Mr. Speaker, we have been discussing this Statement for more than an hour now, so I want your guidance in accordance with this Standing Order.
Mr. Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Hon. Minority Chief Whip, let him wind up.
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 11:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think I have now been proved right. I have now been proved right - the double
Mr. Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Order!
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 11:40 a.m.
And he is quoting this. And that is why I am saying that we will conclude. Mr. Speaker, I want to wind up by saying that we have now come to know the nature and it is proved that we shall continue to be guided by the rules rather than by convention.
rose
Mr. Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Hon. Deputy Minority Leader, are you raising a point of order? I was asking him to wind up. Are you on a point of order?
Mr. Adjaho 11:40 a.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker. You did the correct thing by asking him to wind up. But after your ruling he said that it is double standard. Mr. Speaker, is it your ruling which is the “double standard” or the reference to the Standing Order which is “double standard”? He should tell us.
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 11:40 a.m.
I want the hon. Deputy Minority Leader to use his conscience to know which is the one that I am referring to.
Mr. Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Hon. Majority Leader, are you not going to wind up?
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 11:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, my winding up is that we should accept that what the Minority did yesterday was wrong, especially when the hon. Minority Leader indicated that, “sit down”. And that was picked by one of the machines. He said, “sit down”, and therefore it is not a question of unanimous decision.
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 11:40 a.m.


And therefore, it is wrong; there must be admission that it is wrong; that it was disrespect to Mr. Speaker, and to all of us; but as regards whatever ruling the Speaker would want to make, I leave that to him. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
rose
Mr. Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Hon. Minority Leader, do you have a point of order?
Mr. Bagbin 11:40 a.m.
That is so. Mr. Speaker, we have just been taken through some scenario that is different from what happened yesterday. There was no Member on my side that stood up and I shouted at him or her: “Sit down!” There was no - [Uproar.]
Mr. Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Order!
Mr. Bagbin 11:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am just referring to what he said, that the hon. Minority Leader shouted at his people, “Sit down!” I never shouted at any person to sit down. The Hansard is there.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that when he said it, he was loud. Yes, indeed, the hon. Minority Leader was loud in his signal to the Minority that they should sit down. [Uproar.]
Mr. Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Order! Order! Hon. Members, I direct the Leadership of this House to take possession of this document and submit a paper to the House in due course.
There is a second Statement by the hon. Member for Bawku Central.
Achieving Universal Birth Registration - A Universal Right
Mr. Mahama Ayariga (NDC - Bawku Central) 11:50 a.m.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity

to make this Statement. Mr. Speaker, the Statement is about a subject matter that hardly receives public attention. It is the issue of Achieving Universal Birth Registration -- a Universal Right. The Statement is to mark the launching of a global campaign on universal birth registration.

Mr. Speaker, on the 22nd day of February 2005, Archbishop Desmond Tutu launched a global campaign led by Plan International at the United Nations in New York aimed at achieving universal birth registration. I wish to add my voice to this campaign. And in adding my voice, I wish to emphasize the importance of universal birth registration.

Mr. Speaker, lack of birth registration is a violation of the child's inalienable human right to be given an identity at birth and to be regarded as part of society. The right to be registered immediately after birth and to acquire a name and a nationality is recognized under article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child to which Ghana is a signatory.

Registration is a critical measure to secure the recognition of every person before the law and to safeguard the protection of his or her individual rights. Proof of age is an important first step in protecting children from age-related abuse, including exploitation, child labour and early marriage.

Without a strong civil registration system, it is virtually impossible to plan or implement effective development strategies. Unregistered children who do not show up in the data are often overlooked in social development planning. They are completely invisible when important policy and budget decisions are made. Registration brings children to the notice of decision-makers.

Mr. Speaker, Ghana introduced the

Registration of Births and Deaths Act (Act 301) in 1965 and was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, in February 1990. With the introduction of the above, it was envisaged that the geographical and content coverage of births and deaths registration would expand with time. However, after 39 years of operation, the coverage of births and deaths registration in Ghana is still very low.

Mr. Speaker, the statistics for 2003 show that in Ghana 28 per cent of children were registered at birth. As at September 2004, it is claimed that the percentage had risen to 49 per cent.

Mr. Speaker, what are the challenges? There are major challenges to effect birth registration in Ghana. These include staffing constraints, inadequate funding, lack of logistics, lack of motivation, limited access and lack of knowledge of the importance of birth registration, and multiple registration.

Lack of political will is at the root of all these obstacles. Lack of political will leads to low priority being given to the sector. This in turn means that adequate legislative framework may not exist. When legislation does not exist, there is likely to be weak enforcement and inadequate budgetary allocation, insufficient and poorly-trained personnel, ill-equipped offices and shortages of materials needed to get the job done.

Mr. Speaker, it means that the responsible authority would not ensure the supply of birth registration facilities, promote the necessary information and awareness campaigns or stimulate public demand for such services. Mr. Speaker, we as a country need to meet these challenges.

The difficulties confronting Ghana in this direction have attracted the interest of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Plan International. Plan International is presently collaborating with the Department of Births and Deaths Registry to devise convenient strategies to reach and register newly-born babies at birth at the community level and in a bid to increase national coverage.

To this end a scheme has been developed to be piloted in six commu- nities in four districts. Mr. Speaker, the target is to improve birth registration coverage from 28 per cent to 60 per cent by the end of 2006, and 80 per cent by the end of 2007. To this end, Plan International has committed itself to providing enormous financial and material support to the Department of Birth and Death Registry, which is a state department.

Mr. Speaker, this campaign to increase birth registration in Ghana is part of a global campaign to achieve universal birth registration being spearheaded by Plan International. On the 22nd day of February 2005, Archbishop Desmond Tutu launched this global campaign led by Plan International at the United Nations in New York. And in adding my voice, however, I wish to make a number of recommenda-tions regarding the conduct of the campaign in Ghana --

Mr. Speaker, the campaign in Ghana should involve all levels of society, including local com- munities;

The campaign should gain the commitment of all stakeholders by raising awareness of the importance of birth registration as a child right
Mr. Mahama Ayariga (NDC - Bawku Central) 11:50 a.m.


and increase demand for this service among Ghanaians;

Where necessary the campaign should target the modification of our laws to enhance birth registration;

Mr. Speaker, we should ensure co-ordination between relevant government Minis t r ies and institutions at all levels;

We should create the necessary infrastructure to reach the entire population;

We should build the capacity of relevant government officials through adequate training and provision of materials; and

We shou ld make adequa te budgetary provision to the relevant institutions involved in registration of births.

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I would like to reiterate two key points:

Birth registration acts as the starting point for engagement between the state and the individual. Registering a child at birth signifies the state's recognition of the child's existence and acceptance of its responsibility to ensure that the child enjoys the rights and privileges that he or she is entitled to.

Secondly, the statistics generated through birth registration can provide an effective tool for developing and monitoring effective social and economic development policies.

Mr. Speaker, I thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to make this Statement and I would call on all hon. Colleagues to be part of the campaign to

ably articulated by my hon. Colleague for Bawku Central - a powerful person.

Mr. Speaker, wi th th is shor t intervention, I thank you very much for the opportunity. I would urge my other hon. Colleagues to support this important Statement.
Mrs. Angelina Baiden-Amissah (NPP - Shama) 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to add my voice to the Statement made by hon. Member for Bawku Central. Mr. Speaker, birth registration is of paramount importance to the nation. This topic was discussed by the Local Government Committee during the last Parliament because it was realized that a lot of parents do not register their children at birth. It is only when they grow up and they want passports that they rush to birth registration centres to register themselves in order to collect their birth certificates.
Mr. Speaker, the absence of registration of the child is a menace to society and the nation at large. And just as the hon. Member who made the Statement said, it affects our infrastructural development because the Government must know how many people are in a particular locality or community, to be able to give the infrastructural requirements that the community needs. The number of teachers who are required for that community would also be dependent upon the number of people in that community. Even medical equipment and drugs are shared according to the number of people in a community. If the Government is not aware or does not know the number in the community, how does the Government share to meet these needs that we are talking about?
Mr. Speaker, at the local government level we made suggestions just as he has made, that chiefs are staying with
promote Universal Birth Registration.
Alhaji Collins Dauda (NDC - Asutifi South) 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to associate myself with the Statement made by my hon. Friend. Mr. Speaker, clearly, the State stands to gain if we are able to pursue this agenda of registering children at birth. Certainly, there are a lot of gains. For instance, at any point in time if the country wants to know, or government wants to know the number of children in a particular year, in a particular place, it would be possible to know this if children are registered at birth.
But Mr. Speaker, as my hon. Friend alluded to in the Statement, most people do not even appreciate the importance of registering their children at birth. It is important that whoever takes it up to ensure that children who are born are registered must embark upon a vigorous campaign. Without education this may not be attainable.
Mr. Speaker, if you go to the rural areas, I do not think that most people who live there think about getting their children registered at birth and therefore there is the need for us to do a lot of education in this area. In this regard I will suggest that an exercise of this nature certainly can be done better by District Assemblies, zonal/unit committees, area councils, the structures of the decentralization, and certainly chiefs and opinion leaders could all help in embarking upon a vigorous education to sensitize the people of Ghana so that we could also get on board this important exercise that will help us.
I know for a fact that Government wants to introduce an identification scheme this year and one of the things that has to be done to ensure the success of such a programme or such a scheme is to start off with this exercise that has been
the people and the people hear them more than they hear the Government, the President, or the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development standing somewhere and speaking on air; so if a chief can gather his own people and educate them it will go down well with them.
The unit committees are with them; they are members of the community and they know them better. They can be given the registration books so that they do the registration for a fee, according to the number of births that they can register. I am sure that if this is done, the Assembly members and unit committee members would rush and even nose around to find people who have given birth so that they can do the proper registration.
Mr. Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Hon. Members, we may have to adjourn. Is there any indication for adjournment?
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move that this House do now adjourn till Tuesday 10 o'clock in the forenoon.
Maj. (Dr.) (Alhaji) Mustapha Ahmed (rtd.): Mr. Speaker, I beg to second the motion.
ADJOURNMENT 11:50 a.m.
  • The House was accordingly adjourned at 11.55 a.m. till 1st March 2005 at 10.00 a.m.