Debates of 17 Mar 2005

MR. SPEAKER
PRAYERS 2:29 p.m.

VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 2:29 p.m.

PAPERS 2:29 p.m.

Mr. A. O. Aidooh 2:29 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, may we seek your permission for the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning to move this motion on behalf of the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs?
Mr. Speaker 2:29 p.m.
All right.
CONSIDERATION OF ANNUAL 2:29 p.m.

ESTIMATES 2:29 p.m.

Mr. S. K. B. Manu (NPP - Ahafo Ano South) 2:40 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, when we talk about democracy the most glaring evidence of democracy is the existence of Parliament. Without Parliament, democracy can be said to exist but it would only be a miniature form of democracy. So Mr. Speaker, when we are talking about Parliament, one would have just said that Parliament should be given the resources needed for the Parliament to be able to run efficiently and promote democracy.
But whenever it comes to the affairs of Parliament, we hear things like, “Take this for the meantime and later something would be done” and there is a condition - “when funds become available”. That clause there, “when funds become available” is something I find unacceptable. If we want democracy, if we want good governance to prevail in this country, then this institution which epitomises democracy and good governance should be enabled to carry out its functions as expected.
So I am not very much happy about the amount that has been allocated to Parliament; and I would have taken some consolation in the promise that later something would be done. But there too, there is another clause so that if funds do
not become available then Parliament is somehow left to be in the state that we find ourselves.
Mr. Speaker, I know Members would also like to contribute because this is about us. I know we would not be like what was said of Jesus that he saved others but he could not save himself when he was on the cross. We have been talking for others so now let us talk for Parliament because it is about ourselves and not ourselves as selfish people but ourselves as an institution that is carrying out the functions of democracy and good governance. And if we are not well empowered, we cannot carry out this function to its logical conclusion.
On this note, however, while awaiting funds to become available for the budget of Parliament to be topped up, I call on hon. Members to join hands in approving the budget. Thank you.
Capt. Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey (rtd.) (NPP - Berekum): Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute to this motion.
Mr. Speaker, all over the world, the status symbol for democracy is the institution of Parliament, and people have a simplistic view of Parliament that we just come here to make laws. Yes, we make laws, but Mr. Speaker, before one Bill is passed, the amount of work that goes inside it, many people are not aware of.
When the Bill comes from the Cabinet, it comes here; the Paper is laid and then the Speaker refers it to a committee. I recall that when the last Parliament was working on the National Health Insurance Bill, for instance, the Committee travelled the whole length and breadth of Ghana. They visited every regional capital and
Mr. S. K. B. Manu (NPP - Ahafo Ano South) 2:50 p.m.
took evidence.
Mr. Speaker, the Judiciary Committee also travelled the whole length and breadth of this country. Mr. Speaker, many of the committees of Parliament are made up of a minimum of fifteen Members of the House plus secretarial staff, the clerks - and then drivers. When they go to one particular place there is the need to attend to their hotel accommodation, their feeding, et cetera. Mr. Speaker, it is not a joke at all; huge sums of money are involved.
Mr. Speaker, without this, you just cannot make the law and if our constituents who voted for us and brought us here expect us to do proper work, then we must be empowered to do the work properly. Mr. Speaker, if you expect me to travel all over the country, definitely you are not saying that when I get to a place - for instance, one goes to Sekondi, one has never been there; one is there only because a committee is at work, definitely one must be in a hotel. Mr. Speaker, which hotel are we going to sleep in there?
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to note that the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning is himself a Member of Parliament who goes through these rigours that we go through similarly. Mr. Speaker, I expect him to appreciate the nature and seriousness of the work of Parliament, the intricacies involved, the competitiveness involved so that they would resource us properly.
Mr. Speaker, it is very sad that when the House is Sitting and you just go out of the Chamber, you see committee members sitting in the Lobby holding meetings and you see visitors criss-crossing and eavesdropping. Mr. Speaker, for the Parliament of the Republic of Ghana to do business in such a manner is just disturbing.
Again, I am happy to note that the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, himself a Parliamentarian, has been sitting in such committees and enduring the hardships and inconve- niences involved. All that it means is that funds should be made available so that we finish the office complex that is being built.
Again, Mr. Speaker, you come to this House as a Member of Parliament and then if you get a visitor, there is nowhere you can receive the visitor in privacy. In fact, Mr. Speaker, as we are Sitting right now, if it were to be possible for Mr. Speaker to look through this door and to see what is happening outside, he would find a very incongruous situation where hon. Members of Parliament are talking to their constituents standing in the corridors and transacting business.
For the highest office in Ghana where we make laws, Mr. Speaker, this is unacceptable. The only solution is for the Ministry of Works and Housing to quickly finish the Tower Block so that every Member of Parliament will have an office with a secretary so that our visitors can go there, wait for us in the comfort of the office and then we meet them and do business in a more congenial manner.
Mr. Speaker, if I should be mentioning all the rigours and the difficulties that we go through, I am sure I will not end because my hon. Colleagues appreciate the problems we go through.
So on this note, I will call on my hon. Colleagues - Small as the budget is, I do hope that in the course of the year, the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning will not say that because of X, Y, Z reasons they are reducing the amount of money meant for Parliament. Whatever the situation is, at least, Parliament must be resourced.

I have even noticed in the Committee's Report that the Speaker of Parliament has not got an official residence. So I begin to wonder where Mr. Speaker is staying right now - whether he is in a hotel or in a friend's house or whatever. And Mr. Speaker, it is very embarrassing. An hon. Colleague is signalling me that perhaps, Mr. Speaker is hanging - [Laughter.] Perhaps, I am not sure Mr. Speaker is hanging.
rose
Mr. Speaker 2:50 p.m.
Hon. Member for Ahafo Ano South, do you have any point of order?
Mr. Manu 2:50 p.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is actually a point of information. I would like to know from the hon. Member if he is saying that birds have nests but Mr. Speaker has nowhere to lay his head. Is that what he is saying? [Laughter.]
Capt. Effah-Dartey (rtd.): And so Mr. Speaker, on this note, I want to pray that all of us join together to support this motion. Mr. Speaker, before I sit down, I want to use this opportunity to pray that the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, anytime parliamentary matters come to his table, should remember that he is himself the Member of Parliament for Asante Akim North and is one of us.
Mr. D. K. Abodakpi (NDC - Keta) 2:50 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion and in so doing I want to note that the hon. Colleague who has just spoken has already made the case for Parliament in very strong terms. However, when the Minister was moving the motion which is before us,
he said “Parliament is the legislative arm of government”. Mr. Speaker, Parliament is not the legislative arm of government. Parliament is one of the three arms of Government and in fact, has the same status as the Judiciary and the Executive.
I think that we need to have this thing very clear so that we can all note and emphasize the important role of Parliament as far as the sustenance, the development, the practice of democracy is concerned. In fact, of all the institutions of State, Parliament is the fulcrum around which the wheel of democracy revolves and it is only when we respect it as such that we would give it its due to ensure that the practice of democracy, the principles of democracy, the philosophy of democracy are adhered to in a manner that would be beneficial to the well-being of this country.
We have been given some assurances in closed Sitting about this small budget that is being given to Parliament and we hope that those assurances would be adhered to very strictly and that this very limited resource which clearly is grossly inadequate, given the challenge facing this House, would be replenished in due time to ensure that Parliament discharges its obligations to the people of Ghana.
Mr. R. S. Quarm (NPP - Gomoa East) 2:50 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I was just looking at some few figures in the Budget Statement - page 304. Mr. Speaker, Parliament is being called upon to approve of a discretionary payment of ¢18.6 trillion. I am not talking of the total expenditure of Government for 2005 - just the discretionary aspect to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
Mr. Speaker, when the Revenue Agencies met us - They have a ceiling about 3 per cent of their collections to meet part of their expenditures for the year - their budget expenses. Mr. Speaker, you look at the figure for Parliament -- ¢119
[CAPT. EFFAH-DARTEY (RTD.)] [CAPT. EFFAH-DARTEY (RTD.)]

billion - as against that of the Office of Government Machinery, on that same page - page 304 - the Office of Government Machinery's budget is ¢658 billion. If you juxtapose Parliament with Office of Government Machinery, you are talking of just about 20 per cent of the amount allocated to the Office of Government Machinery going to Parliament and Parliament as an arm of Government is receiving only 20 per cent of that amount.

So I think that Mr. Speaker, there is the urgent need for the budget of Parliament to be seriously looked at, if democracy should be furthered in this country.
Alhaji A. B. Sorogho (NDC - Abokobi-Madina) 3 p.m.
I have a very simple message to give, Mr. Speaker. My problem is that as rightly pointed out by hon. Dan Abodakpi, we are not an arm. Perhaps, it is because we keep on saying that we are an arm and the arm can be cut away and the body can still live, that is why perhaps, things are not going the way they should go. But if we are seen as one- third of the whole body without which the others cannot work - [Interruption.] I am likening Parliament to either the head without which the body is useless or the stomach in the middle without which the legs and the head cannot operate or the legs without which the stomach and the
head would stay at one point. If we take ourselves to be like that then, of course, whatever we want to do would be taken seriously.
Mr. Speaker, you can imagine, our main work is to make laws. What do you think would happen if those who are going to pass the laws are themselves hungry? When I say hungry, it is not of our stomachs, no. Rather, it is the tools with which to work, the environment in which we operate. If this environment is not conducive and the tools are not sufficient, what kind of laws do you think would come out of us? It is input in, output out. So if you do not put in the proper input what do you expect at the end of the day?
All I want to say is that assurances have been given; we all know - It is surprising that at the time that the number in Parliament was even less than 230, things were different. Now, the number has jumped to 230 and still the amount which was approved or which we are being asked to approve for ourselves is even less than what we approved last year. We cannot sit here and say that we are not going to approve it.
Fortunately, however, the hon. Minister for Finance and Economic Planning himself is also a Member of Parliament and we hope and pray that that phrase - “When funds become available” - does not apply to us because that phrase is very, very dangerous - “When funds become available”. It implies that when funds are not available, then we have to stand where we are. The assurance is that something ought to be done so that it can enhance our capability, our capacity to perform because we are representing 20 million people.

Mr. Speaker, the Executive are there;

they also perform a very important function but they were not elected by the people. The Members of Parliament (MPs) who are here represent various constituencies and are direct represen- tatives of the people, elected through the universal adult suffrage.

Mr. Speaker, you can imagine, as Mr. Speaker is sitting down, he is very tired but because of the love of the country, Mr. Speaker is doing all that he can to make sure that those of us here, when you want to dose, you can go out and take coffee and come but - it is because the work is very important. Mr. Speaker, if this work is important, then we must also be treated as such. The dignity of the Office of Parliament must be such that people outside can respect us. Our capacity must be enhanced so that our output can be determined.
Mr. E. K. D. Adjaho (NDC - Avenor/ Ave) 3 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion. Mr. Speaker, I believe that all the issues raised by my hon. Colleagues are not so much in the interest of individual Members of this House as they are to the institution of Parliament.
Mr. Speaker, if we want to deepen our democratic process, one institution we have to resource effectively is the institution of Parliament. Mr. Speaker, you need to travel outside this country, even within Africa, and you will see that we have a problem as far as resourcing this honourable House is concerned.
Mr. Speaker, if you look at page
Mr. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu (NPP - Suame) 3 p.m.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity. Mr. Speaker,
Mr. Kwame Osei-Prempeh 3:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, perhaps there is a point of information for my hon. Friend. He is saying that apart from The Gambia we are the least resourced. Mr. Speaker, Members of The Gambia's Parliament are paid $2,000 a month. If you become a Member of Parliament in The Gambia, you are given $20,000 and a plot of land in Banjul to build your own house. If you go to Parliament for two terms you have a life pension. Mr. Speaker, with this, my hon. Friend cannot say that we are more resourced than The Gambia. It is a fallacy.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, that point is known to me. I was talking about Parliament as an institution and not parliamentarians; that is the distinction. But it is part of it; I agree, it is part of the greater whole. So if we come to consider the comprehensive picture, Mr. Speaker, then one would say that our parliamentarians are the least resourced. We are the orphans in the sub-region and Mr. Speaker, it is not the best of outlooks.
It is important therefore that we begin to take the necessary steps to correct this impression because, as I said, it is not the best of pictures that we are painting for ourselves. We talk about other countries. People talk about salary levels and so on but Mr. Speaker, by way of natural resources and GDP in the sub-region, we are not the worst. Ghana certainly is not the worst and that should find reflection in how we are building our Parliament as an institution and resourcing our Members of Parliament.
Mr. Speaker, I thank you for your
indulgence.
Mr. Baah-Wiredu 3:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I thank hon. Members for the comments. But I think all of us being parliamentarians know the history of this country, that whenever there are disruptions in the constitutional regimes, it is Parliament that suffers; we should not forget that. And that has stunted the development of Parliament in this country. I believe that we have that at the back of our minds, as we see how we can chart a course to make sure that Parliament develops on a more systematic basis.
Mr. Speaker, an hon. Member indicated that it is garbage in, garbage out, that it is what comes in which goes out. Really, we must determine our priorities. If about ¢2.1 trillion is spent to subsidize fuel and we have a problem with Parliament, where lies our priorities? I think that we need to sit up and discuss these things in detail because we need to enhance our revenue and then make sure that we get the resources that we need.
Mr. Speaker, this is the report from Prof. Ivan Addae-Mensah and these are the figures that he is quoting - what the cost is and then what we recover. The gap is there. Do we spend it here or do we spend it at that end? This is something we need to argue out, we need to debate on because the points that have been raised by all of us are with all of us. The figures are here, we can debate them. [Uproar.] It is here for you and me. [Interruption.] Mr. Speaker, the figures are here we can debate them. All that we have been talking about is the expenditure side. They want roads for their areas; we need money to do that.
So Mr. Speaker, we need a very good Parliament. As Members of Parliament, we know what has happened since 1982. As a Member of Parliament, I am interested in the fact that all of us develop this country. Mr. Speaker, what is very important is that when we talk about special arrangements, that is whatever
Mr. Joe Gidisu 3:10 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, the hon. Minister said that we all know what happened in 1982. We are talking about Parliament, so if he would be more specific in terms of coming out with what happened in 1982 - [Interruption.]
Mr. Baah-Wiredu 3:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, in 1982, if you were holding ¢2.75 you could get $1. In 2000, when they were leaving office it was ¢7,000 to the dollar, so our economy has come down. These are problems we are having and that is why Parliament is also having these same problems. So let us debate these things. Let us discuss them because we cannot say that we need money when the money is not there. Mr. Speaker, these are the issues that have been raised and we need to discuss them in detail.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to move accordingly for this motion to be approved.
Mr. Speaker 3:10 p.m.
Hon. Minister, what is the figure? Is it 119,876 or 119,877?
Mr. Baah-Wiredu 3:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, what we have here on the Order Paper is 119,876. Mr. Speaker, what we are picking is what is on the Order Paper.
Mr. Adjaho 3:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, as usual, we want to find out from the Chairman of the Committee - because they have given us different figures; they have gone to examine and given us a report.
Mr. Speaker 3:10 p.m.
Hon. Deputy Minority Leader, that is the matter I have raised.
Mr. A. O. Aidooh 3:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, it is
¢119,876.
Question put and motion agreed to.
Resolved:
That this honourable House approves the sum of ¢119,876 million for the
Minister for Finance and Economic Planning (Mr. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu) 3:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, That this honourable House approves the sum of ¢497,903 million for the services of Revenue Agencies for the 2005 fiscal year. And Mr. Speaker, in doing so I would just reflect on the objectives of the Revenue Agencies.
Mr. Speaker, the objectives of these institutions, especially the Revenue Agencies Board which controls all the revenue agencies co-ordinates and supervises the activities of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), Value Added Tax (VAT) Service and the Secretariat of the Board in the performance of their functions under the various statutes that govern their activities and operations.
Mr. Speaker, there is always benefit in harmonization of practices and procedures and the realignment of systems and strategies in order to maximize whatever we have with regard to the Revenue Agencies and the Revenue Agencies Board have been able to achieve those results. Mr. Speaker, the Chairman of the Committee would give out the details in the Committee's recommendations.
On that note, I move accordingly for the approval of this motion.
Chairman of the Committee (Mr. Samuel Owusu-Agyei) 3:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to second the motion in my position as the Chairman of the Finance Committee.
1.0 Introduction
The 2005 Annual Estimates of the Revenue Agencies was referred to the Finance Committee for consideration and
report in accordance with article 179 of the Constitution and the Standing Orders of the House. This followed the presentation of the Financial Policy of the Government for the year ending 31st December, 2005.
The Committee met with the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, hon. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, hon. Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, Executive Secretary of the Revenue Agencies Governing Board, Heads of the Revenue Agencies and a technical team from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to discuss the estimates.
1.1 Reference Documents
i . The 1992 Const i tu t ion of
the Republic of Ghana
ii. The Standing Orders of the House
i i i . T h e B u d g e t S t a t e m e n t
and Economic Policy of the Govern- ment for the 2005 financial year.
2.0 Background
The Revenue Agencies Governing Board (RAGB) as established by an Act of Parliament, 1998 (Act 558) is a central governing body.
The Revenue Agencies Governing Board started operations in August 2001 with the appointment of the Executive Secretary as the head of the institution.
2.1 Objective
The objective of this institution is to ensure supervision and co-ordination of the activities of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), Value Added Tax Service (VATS) and the Secretariat of the Board in the performance of their functions under the various statutes that govern their activities and operations.
2.2 Revenue Agencies and Revenue Agencies Governing Board
Expenditure Budget for 2005
An amount of ¢497.90 billion has been allocated to Revenue Agencies including Revenue Agencies Governing Board (RAGB) and disbursed as follows:
Personal Emoluments -- ¢250.0 billion
Administration -- ¢104.18 billion
Service -- ¢39.07 billion
Investment -- ¢104.66 billion
TOTAL 3:10 p.m.

GCNET 3:10 p.m.

Mr. A. W. G. Abayateye (NDC - Sege) 3:20 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion that this honourable House approves the sum of ¢497,903 million to the Revenue Agencies. Mr. Speaker, nowadays when you see the Revenue Agencies staff, for example the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) officials, you would feel proud of them. They are neat, well-behaved and well respected among equals. Mr. Speaker, three is a lot of work on their hands.
I travelled just last weekend and I
A 3:20 p.m.

PP 3:20 p.m.

E 3:20 p.m.

N 3:20 p.m.

D 3:20 p.m.

IX 3:20 p.m.

I 3:20 p.m.

VE 3:20 p.m.

XP 3:20 p.m.

ES 3:20 p.m.

SH 3:20 p.m.

EE 3:20 p.m.

LL 3:20 p.m.

ET 3:20 p.m.

IL 3:20 p.m.

TI 3:20 p.m.

P 3:20 p.m.

LU 3:20 p.m.

TS 3:20 p.m.

IN 3:20 p.m.

IS 3:20 p.m.

TR 3:20 p.m.

I 3:20 p.m.

V 3:20 p.m.

TM 3:20 p.m.

TA 3:20 p.m.

EX 3:20 p.m.

FF 3:20 p.m.

IC 3:20 p.m.

PE 3:20 p.m.

M 3:20 p.m.

AT 3:20 p.m.

IO 3:20 p.m.

LY 3:20 p.m.

SI 3:20 p.m.

TE 3:20 p.m.

X 3:20 p.m.

TT 3:20 p.m.

N 3:20 p.m.

EF 3:20 p.m.

ER 3:20 p.m.

TO 3:20 p.m.

IT 3:20 p.m.

ED 3:20 p.m.

L 3:20 p.m.

O 3:20 p.m.

D 3:20 p.m.

EM 3:20 p.m.

FO 3:20 p.m.

T 3:20 p.m.

H 3:20 p.m.

YE 3:20 p.m.

B 3:20 p.m.

Y 3:20 p.m.

TH 3:20 p.m.

R 3:20 p.m.

EV 3:20 p.m.

U 3:20 p.m.

E 3:20 p.m.

A 3:20 p.m.

G 3:20 p.m.

EN 3:20 p.m.

C 3:20 p.m.

IE 3:20 p.m.

S 3:20 p.m.

II A 3:20 p.m.

PP 3:20 p.m.

IX 3:20 p.m.

II 3:20 p.m.

I 3:20 p.m.

EP 3:20 p.m.

IR 3:20 p.m.

VE 3:20 p.m.

XP 3:20 p.m.

ES 3:20 p.m.

SH 3:20 p.m.

EE 3:20 p.m.

H 3:20 p.m.

EV 3:20 p.m.

EN 3:20 p.m.

EM 3:20 p.m.

ET 3:20 p.m.

IL 3:20 p.m.

G 3:20 p.m.

TE 3:20 p.m.

X 3:20 p.m.

B 3:20 p.m.

P 3:20 p.m.

LU 3:20 p.m.

TS 3:20 p.m.

IS 3:20 p.m.

TR 3:20 p.m.

IN 3:20 p.m.

V 3:20 p.m.

S 3:20 p.m.

TM 3:20 p.m.

T 3:20 p.m.

TA 3:20 p.m.

L 3:20 p.m.

EX 3:20 p.m.

D 3:20 p.m.

IT 3:20 p.m.

U 3:20 p.m.

ST 3:20 p.m.

F 3:20 p.m.

LL 3:20 p.m.

EC 3:20 p.m.

TI 3:20 p.m.

O 3:20 p.m.

FF 3:20 p.m.

IC 3:20 p.m.

IE 3:20 p.m.

PE 3:20 p.m.

FO 3:20 p.m.

M 3:20 p.m.

E 3:20 p.m.

R 3:20 p.m.

AT 3:20 p.m.

IO 3:20 p.m.

N 3:20 p.m.

A 3:20 p.m.

LY 3:20 p.m.

SI 3:20 p.m.

C 3:20 p.m.

Mr. Speaker 3:20 p.m.
One last contribution - hon. Member for Bole-Bamboi.
Mr. J. D. Mahama (NDC -- Bole/ Bamboi) 3:30 p.m.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the appropriation for the revenue agencies and in saying so I want to draw attention to an issue that has the potential for creating problems across the country.
Mr. Speaker, recently, in its efforts to draw more taxpayers into the tax net and more people from the informal sector into the tax net, the Internal Revenue Service has introduced what they call the Tax Stamps. Mr. Speaker, these are quarterly payments supposed to be made by small businesses like trading in kiosks, on table- tops, in garages, hawkers and all manner of persons who engage in small petty businesses.
Mr. Speaker, the difficulty with this Tax Stamp is that - I do not think that the research was done carefully before
Mr. Kojo Armah 3:30 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, my hon.Friend has mentioned three different roads I know Canton-ments, I know his village but I do not know HIPC Road; if he may give me an indication where HIPC Road is?
Dr. A. A. Osei 3:30 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, my Brother the hon. Member for Bole/Bamboi made an assertion without any basis. He implied that a table-top business at Cantonments certainly would make more money. Mr. Speaker, there is no basis for that. On the contrary, there is more evidence to support the fact that because people in Cantonments drive more than the people in say, Nima, they are not likely to stop at the table-top - So making that type of statement, I think he is misleading the House, unless he has empirical basis to support that assertion. If he does not, I would plead with him to withdraw.
Mr. Mahama 3:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I will just recommend to my hon. Colleague for Evalue-Gwira to take trotro from Madina to Accra and say he wants to alight at HIPC Junction and he will get to know where HIPC junction is - [Laughter.]
Mr. Owusu-Ansah 3:30 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, my hon. Brother knows very well that all streets and roads

are named and proper record is kept on all of them. Mr. Speaker, if the hon. Member is talking about an imaginary road called HIPC Road, he should let us know. But Mr. Speaker, I am talking about a road that has been so named by the proper authority and not by anybody putting a signpost by a roadside and calling it names. If there is no such name he should withdraw.
Mr. Speaker 3:30 p.m.
This is not a point of order. Please proceed.
Mr. Mahama 3:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, at that very junction, there is a clock - [Interrup- tion.]
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:30 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, with respect to my hon. Colleague, I do not know that the hon. Member for Bole/Bamboi is a “downtrodden” man. He enters the trotro and he knows the HIPC Junction and he knows the Boom Junction as well. [Laughter.]
Mr. Mahama 3:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. Majority Chief Whip is very right. I know Boom Junction as well - [Laughter.] There is no problem with that.
The simple point I am trying to make is that incomes differ in different places. Bole district is one of the 40 deprived districts in this country. Certainly, incomes differ from place to place and therefore the incomes that these petty businesses make would differ from place to place. So I am saying that to levy a flat tax of ¢50,000 on a kiosk or ¢150,000 on a kiosk in Accra and go to Mankuma in Bole and levy ¢150,000 on a kiosk is not realistic. Already, the repercussions are beginning to show.
Just yesterday or two days ago, there was a demonstration in Bolga and they said “Yentua” - This had nothing to do
Mr. Speaker 3:30 p.m.
Hon. Minister, please wind up.
Mr. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu 3:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I thank hon. Members for their contributions.
With regard to the Tax Stamp, I think we need to take into consideration the locational differences and the need for Internal Revenue Service to also intensify its educational system; and the Ministry is in constant touch with them. So the hon. Member for Bole/Bamboi has made a valid point which needs consideration. Because I know the Bole/Bamboi district is one of the richest districts in this country - very, very rich indeed in terms of natural resources and human resources.
So Mr. Speaker, I think the points that are made by all hon. Members are well considered and we will take them into
consideration.
On that note, Mr. Speaker, I would like to move accordingly.
Question put and motion agreed to.
Resolved:
That this honourable House approves the sum of ¢497,903 million for the Services of Revenue Agencies for the 2005 fiscal year.
Mr. Speaker 3:30 p.m.
Item 8, motion, hon. Minister for Finance and Economic Planning?
Mr. A. O. Aidooh 3:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, we have agreed to take that motion tomorrow morning. The Report is not yet ready for distribution. The report has not been distributed so we advise that you adjourn the House now.
ADJOURNMENT 3:30 p.m.

  • The House was adjourned at 3.41 p.m. till 18th March, 2005 at 10.00 a.m.