Debates of 15 Jul 2005

MR. SPEAKER
PRAYERS 10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker 10 a.m.
Order! Order! Correction of Votes and Proceedings of Thursday, 14th July, 2005. Pages 1, 2, 3, … 15? [Pause.]

We have the Official Reports for Tuesday, 12th July and then Wednesday, 13th July 2005. If there are any corrections or omissions you may wish to take them later.

Item 3 -- Business Statement for the 11th week. Chairman of the Business Committee?

BUSINESS oF THE HoUSE

chairman of the Business committee (Mr. Felix K. owusu-Adjapong): Mr. Speaker, the Business Committee met on Thursday, 14th July 2005 amd determined Business of the House for the Eleventh Week ending Friday, 22nd July 2005. The Committee presents its report to this august House as follows:

Arrangement of Business

Question(s)

Mr. Speaker, the Committee has programmed thirty-one (31) Questions to be answered by eight (8) Ministers of State during the week.

The details are as follows:

No. of Question(s)

i. Minister for Education and Sports 5

ii Minister for Communications 5

iii Minister for Food and Agriculture 5

iv Minister for Justice and Attorney-General 1

v Minister for Information 3

vi Minister for Energy

5

vii Minister for Road Transport 5 viii Minister for Health

2

Total Number of Questions 31

Statements

Mr. Speaker, you may allow duly admitted Statements to be presented in the House.

Bills, Papers and Reports

Mr. Speaker, Bills, Papers and Reports may be presented for consideration by the House.

Motions and Resolutions

Mr. Speaker, motions may be debated and the appropriate Resolutions taken where required.

Mr. Speaker, it would be recalled that the Public Accounts Committee presented its Report on the Auditor-General's Report on the Statement of Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments of the Bank of Ghana for the Four Half Years of 1999 and 2000 for consideration by this House on 28th October 2004. However, this Report was not debated until the term of the Third Parliament ended.

Mr. Speaker, for this reason, the Business Committee recommends that the said Report of the previous Public Accounts Committee together with the Auditor-General's Report be referred to the newly composed Public Accounts Committee for reconsideration and report.

committee of the Whole

Mr. Speaker, the Committee of the Whole will meet on Wednesday, 20th July 2005 to discuss general matters affecting hon. Members.

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.

Questions --

Minister for Education and Sports

-- 39, 41, 42, 55 & 79

Minister for Communications --

117, 136, 147, 148 &178

Laying of Papers --

(a) Report of the Committee on Mines and Energy on the Minerals and Mining Bill.

(b) Report of the Committee on Mines and Energy on the Volta River Development (Amend- ment) Bill.

Committee Sittings.

Questions --

Minister for Food and Agriculture

-- 114, 115, 139, 140 & 141

Minister for Justice and Attorney- General -- 138

Laying of Papers --

(a) Report of the Finance Committee on the request for tax and duty exemptions totalling UA 562,470.00 (US$843,705.00) on vehicles and motorcycles, office equipment, field equipment and supplies in respect of the
Mr. Speaker 10 a.m.
Implementation of the Livestock Development Project (LDP).
(b) Report of the Committee on Gender and Children on the Human Trafficking Bill.
Motion --
Adoption of the Report of the Public Accounts Committee on the Report on the Audit of the Accounts of the Office of the Auditor-General from 1993 to 2002.
Committee Sittings --
Committee of the Whole in addition to other Committee Sit t ings thereafter.

Questions --

Minister for Information -- 171,

172, 182

Minister for Energy -- 102, 103,

104, 105 & 120

Second Reading of Bills --

(a) Minerals and Mining Bill.

(b Volta River Development (Amendment) Bill.

Committee Sittings.

Questions --

Minister for Road Transport -- 92,

93, 106, 154 & 157
Minister for Health 10 a.m.
None

Human Trafficking Bill.

Motions --

Adoption of the Report of the Finance Committee on the Request for tax and duty exemptions totalling

UA 562,470.00 (US$843,705.00)

on vehicles and motorcycles, office equipment, field equipment and supplies in respect of the Implementation of the Livestock Development Project (LDP).

Committee Sittings.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. c. S. Hodogbey 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
almost four weeks ago I tabled a Question to the Minister for Trade and Industry, and it was stated in the provisional list but it was removed and when I asked why I was told the answer was not ready yet. I just want to know when that Question would be brought back to the floor.
Mr. Speaker 10:10 a.m.
Hon. Member, we shall
deal with that in due course.
Mr. owusu-Adjapong 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
my information is that the Clerk's Table has not been able to get in touch with the hon. Minister because he is currently not in the country. I will therefore find out maybe next week and see whether we can have it the following week.
Mr. J. D. Mahama 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, in
the business of asking questions of hon. Ministers, there are some hon. Ministers who appear only occasionally because
Mr. Speaker 10:10 a.m.
Hon. Member, the point
is well noted. Item 4 -- Questions. Yes, Question 87?
Mr. owusu-Adjapong 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I
crave your indulgence to allow the Deputy Minister for Road Transport who is also an hon. Member to answer this Question on behalf of the Minister for Road Transport.
oRAL ANSWERS To QUESTIoNS
MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Evans Amoah 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, as the hon. Deputy Minister rightly said, the Domama-Amponsaso road provides access for tourists and especially the Domama rock shrine is a very important tourist centre. In fact, apart from Cape Coast Castle and Kakum road, that is the next place that most tourists, after they have been to Cape Coast Castle and Kakum, would want to look at, but the road is very bad. This road leads to that place and I would want to ask the hon. Deputy Minister whether it will not be prudent to consider tarring that 8.6 kilometres portion so that it would provide an easy access for tourists to get to that centre.
Mr. opare-Asamoah 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
his request would be considered.
Mr. Eric opoku 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the
hon. Deputy Minister indicated in his
Answer that the Afrangua Junction-Abura Dunkwa Road was awarded to Messrs Gemap Construction Limited on the 25th November 2004 for completion on the 22nd June 2005. Today is 15th July 2005 and the hon. Deputy Minister has indicated that the progress of work is now 44 per cent. I want to know from the hon. Deputy Minister why is it that the contract works on the road has not been completed even though the time-frame has now elapsed.
Mr. opare-Asamoah 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I
do not think I have answered that Question yet. [Pause.] It is not part of the question I just answered. I am sorry.
Agyegyemakunu-Hindokrom Feeder Road
Q .88. Mr. Yaw Effah-Baafi asked the Minister for Road Transport if the Ministry had plans to construct the Agyegyemakunu-Hindokrom feeder road this year.
Mr. opare-Asamoah 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, Agyegyemakunu-Hindokrom link is un- engineered. It is 12 km long and located in the Kintampo district.
Future Programme
The Agyegyemakunu-Hindokrom link is not part of the current feeder road assets. It has however been earmarked for spot improvement in the year 2007 under GOG funding. Engineering studies and design will commence in January 2006 and it is expected to be completed in June 2006. After the studies the requisite interventions will be taken.
Mr. Effah-Baafi 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to find out from the hon. Deputy Minister the criteria used for the selection of a link for engineering.
Mr. opare-Asamoah 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I do not think there is any criterion used for the selection of the link. A link is a temporary road that has been created by
Mr. Effah-Baafi 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want
to find out from the hon. Deputy Minister whether he is aware that that link is unmotorable throughout the year, despite the community's impressive contribution to food production in the country.
Mr. opare-Asamoah 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I think we have recognized that. That is why steps are being taken to carry out engineering studies on that link and then do the necessary designs and construct it in the year 2007.
Mr. John Gyetuah 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would want to ask the hon. Deputy Minister the immediate intervention that can be put in place to make the road motorable before the final work or actual work is done.
Mr. opare-Asamoah 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I do not think there can be an immediate intervention because the road was not known until now. So the action that we are taking is to carry out the study before we can carry out any intervention.
Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.
Question number 89; and it stands in the name of the hon. Member for Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese.
Mr. Evans Amoah 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Andrew K. Mensah is not around so I ask permission to ask the Question on his behalf.
Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.
Please, go ahead.
Reshaping and Retarring of Roads in Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese
constituency
Q. 89 . Mr. Anthony Evans Amoah (on behalf Mr. Andrew K. Mensah) asked the Minister for Road
Transport if the Ministry had any plans for reshaping and retarring of the following roads:
(i) Afrangua Junction-Gyaban- krom-Abura Dunkwa
( i i ) A f r a n g u a J u n c t i o n - Ayeldu- Kwadoegya
( i i i ) Abak rampa Junc t i on - Nyame- dom-Asuansi
(iv) Abura Dunkwa town roads.
rose
Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.
Hon. Member for
Effiduase/Asokore?
Mrs. coleman 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, we
seem to be muddling up the asking of Questions in this House. Normally, what I know is that, if an hon. Member gets the permission of the questioner, the person who is asking the Question -- to ask the Question on his behalf, then Mr. Speaker can give that hon. Member the chance to ask the Question.
The hon. Member who just spoke said he was asking Mr. Speaker to give him permission to ask the Question, but the reason why we need the permission of the hon. Member in whose name the Question stands is that sometimes the follow-up Questions might have been discussed with you so that you would know exactly what you want to follow up with the Question. This is because the Answer is already given to the Question on the Order Paper but he may have other questions to ask; that is why one needs his permission and not just Mr. Speaker's permission to ask the Question.
rose
Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.
Hon. Deputy Minority Leader, unless you have something special, I do not think she is -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Adjaho 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I agree with you except to say that what you are doing is right because there are two levels of permission. One is actually authorization by the person who asks the Question. But then when he is not there, you have to authorize another person to ask the Question. He needs Mr. Speaker's permission before the Question is asked on behalf of that person. So you are right. What we have been doing so far is consistent with the rules of the House; the practice is consistent with the rules of the House.
Mr. Speaker 10:30 a.m.
I have granted him permission, I am aware that the hon. Member was involved in an accident and he is on admission in the hospital. Hon. Deputy Minister for Road Transport?

Afrangua Junction-Gyabankrom- Abora Dunkwa
Mr. Magnus opare-Asamoah 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the Afrangua Junction-Abura Dunkwa Road is 21 km. It is Regional road (R 80) in the Central Region. It is a surface-dressed (tarred) road and is in poor condition. Programme
The Afrangua Junction-Abura Dunkwa road is being resurfaced (tarred) in phases.
The contract for the works on this road was awarded to Messrs Gemap Construction Ltd. on 25th November, 2004 for completion on 22nd June, 2005. the contract sum is ¢5.48 billion.
Mr. Eric opoku 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think this time the hon. Minister can answer the question because that is the question he is answering. The hon. Minister indicated that the Afrangua- Abura Dunkwa road was awarded to Messrs Gemap Construction Ltd. on 25th November, 2004 for completion on 22nd June, 2005. My question is, today is 15th July, 2005 and the hon. Minister has indicated that progress of work is 44 per cent. And then he has also indicated that it is the policy of the Ministry to terminate all slow on-going projects. I would like to know from the hon. Minister why this particular contract has not been terminated and it is still ongoing even though the time
set for completion has elapsed.
Mr. opare-Asamoah 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, as I speak, the contractor is on site doing concrete works on culverts and drains. He has been told to speed up work and complete by the end of the year. Sometimes the delay in the project is caused by the contractor or it could be caused by delay in payment of certificates. So it is not always that we can blame the contractor for slow pace of work; that is why we have given him up to December to complete the work.
Sefwi Wiawso-Benchima Junction Road
Q. 90. Mr. Evans Paul Aidoo asked the Minister for Road Transport when work on the road from Sefwi Wiawso to Benchima Junction which was awarded to Interbeton Company Limited will start.
Mr. opare-Asamoah 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the Sefwi Wiawso-Benchima Junction road is made up of:
1. The Sefwi Wiawso-Buako road which is described as R 125, that is a regional road; and
2. The Buako-Benchima Junction which is part of an Inter-Regional Road (IRS) which starts from Sankore in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The road is largely gravel surfaced with only 5 km of bituminous surface dressing starting from Sefwi-Wiawso towards Buako.
The total project length was originally 45 km which was later negotiated to 50 km at no extra cost to the Government. The road would be constructed to a double surface dressing over crushed rock base. The contract for the reconstruction of the road was awarded to Messrs Interbeton on 14th April, 2004 at a contract sum of Euro24,247,000 for completion in 28
Mr. E. P. Aidoo 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, would the hon. Minister be specific on the time the project would commence since in his Answer he said his Ministry is taking steps to resolve the issue of tax exemption? And Mr. Speaker, when will that issue be resolved?
Mr. opare-Asamoah 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, we have told the contractor to start work whilst we resolve the issue of tax. The tax has to do with emoluments for expatriate staff and corporate tax. We have reached that agreement so it is going to start in August, that is, next month, at the site.
Mr. E. P. Aidoo 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, is the hon. Deputy Minister saying that the President was not briefed about the problems facing the contractor before he informed the chiefs and people of Sefwi at a durbar or a sod-cutting ceremony where at least construction equipment were on display to signify the commence-ment of the project?
Mr. opare-Asamoah 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think this supplementary question is outside -- [Interruption] -- It is.
Mr. Speaker 10:40 a.m.
Order! Order!
Mr. E. P. Aidoo 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I asked the hon. Deputy Minister whether the President was not briefed in November last year about the problems the contractor was facing before he informed the chiefs and people of Sefwi at a durbar or a sod- cutting ceremony on November 22 where, at least, construction equipment were on display to signify the commencement of the project. That is the Question I was asking -- whether he was not briefed about this tax exemptions and non-
Mr. opare-Asamoah 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, this statement was supposed to have been made by the President; I need to verify it before I can answer this supplementary question.
Mr. E. P. Aidoo 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, how then would the hon. Deputy Minister tell a story which was carried by the Daily Graphic of 23rd November, 2004 at the back page, a photocopy of which is in my possession now -- If Mr. Speaker may allow me to read the first paragraph -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Felix owusu-Adjapong 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, this is supposed to be a newspaper report. What the hon. Deputy Minister is saying is that he needs to get the official statement from the official source. There could have been misquotation here and there and the Question he has been called upon to answer is not to defend what is supposed to have been said by the President; and therefore he needs notice. If he wants to bring up this purported newspaper, he should ask for it and he will go and dig the archives and he will come and give him the true version. Therefore he is right in saying that this is outside the Question for which he was called this morning to come and respond to. Mr. Speaker, he will therefore need notice.
Mr. Speaker 10:40 a.m.
Hon. Majori ty Leader, I will expect the hon. Deputy Minister for Road Transport to answer that supplementary question -- [Hear! Hear!] Let him answer the supplementary question -- [Interruptions.] Order!
Mr. opare-Asamoah 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think I said that this statement was purported to have been made by the President. I need to verify from official sources the statement that was made
Mr. Sampson Ahi 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, we were told from the Answer given that the contract ought to have been started on the 10th of December 2004. We are in July and I would want to know from the hon. Deputy Minister whether the content of the contract is going to be changed now that the contractor has not started work with respect to the duration. This is because the contractor was given twenty-eight months to complete the job.
Mr. opare-Asamoah 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, in my statement I said that we had alerted the contractor that we would not take any excuses for delay in the execution of the contract. We realized that the contract was awarded in November 2004 and it is for a twenty-eight month duration. We expect that the contract would be executed during this period. If he has reasons for extension of time, we will allow him.
Mr. Lee ocran 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to know from the hon. Deputy Minister whether mobilization fees were paid to the contractor since the sod-cutting ceremony took place on 22nd of November 2004 and he assembled the equipment to start work. Was any mobilization fee paid to the contractor?
Mr. opare-Asamoah 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I cannot answer that supplementary

question because I do not know whether mobilization fee was paid. I need notice to find that out.
Mr. Lee ocran 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, as a follow-up question, is it the practice that contracts are awarded without mobilization fees being paid? Is it the normal practice to commence work on a project without any mobilization fee being paid?
Mr. opare-Asamoah 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am informed that mobilization fee was paid.
Mr. Herod cobbina 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, if you look at the hon. Deputy Minister's Answer to the Question, 5 km bituminous surface dressing starts from Sefwi Wiawso towards Buako. I would want to know when and under what contract was that portion performed.
Mr. opare-Asamoah 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am sorry I did not get his supplementary question clearly.
Mr. cobbina 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the last portion of the section two -- If he reads his Answer, it says “5 km of bituminous surface dressing started from Sefwi Wiawso towards Buako”. And I am asking, when and under what contract name was that portion of the road given out?
Mr. opare-Asamoah 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the 5 km portion of that road was completed in early 2004.
Mr. cobbina 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 10:40 a.m.
I have not called you yet.
Mr. cobbina 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, he is here
Mr. Speaker 10:40 a.m.
Hon. Member, go ahead.
Mr. cobbina 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the supplementary questions were two. I asked when and under what contract name was the project undertaken -- Two supplementary questions in one.
Mr. Speaker 10:40 a.m.
No, you please ask one supplementary question at a time.
Mr. cobbina 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, under which contract name -- because if you look at the Answer, the project is yet to start from Sefwi Wiawso again to cover the entire place. He said the area was completed some time back and I would want to know which contractor was awarded that portion, the 5 km of the road?
Mr. opare-Asamoah 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think the contractor is called K. B. Annan.
Mr. cobbina 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you.
Mr. Speaker 10:50 a.m.
You have already asked about two questions, so wait for another person to come in.
Mr. E. K. Salia 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, in
Mr. Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Hon. Member, one question at a time, please.
Mr. Salia 10:50 a.m.
Is the hon. Member aware that contracts are not paid for in advance but are paid for in arrears?
Mr. opare-Asamoah 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I know that an amount was outstanding, unpaid as at 26th November 2004. I need time to give out that particular figure.
Mr. Salia 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, if the amount was unpaid as at November 2004, why is he putting the responsibility for the payment on a Government that left office on the 6th of January 2001 and handed over to another Government on the same day in 2001? Why is it the responsibility -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 10:50 a.m.
You have asked your question; let him answer it.
Mr. opare-Asamoah 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, whether or not the amount was paid, it is a Government debt which we are obliged to pay. What I am saying is -- [Uproar] -- I said it was the NDC, because he asked a certain --
Mr. Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Order! Deputy Minister, do not be distracted.
rose
Mr. Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Hon. Member for Lawra, you are not Baba Abdul.
Dr. Benjamin Kunbuor 10:50 a.m.
Yes, I thought Mr. Speaker had not seen me when I was standing. I thought you had not seen me when I rose to actually ask the last question.
Mr. Speaker 10:50 a.m.
You want to ask a last question?
Dr. Kunbuor 10:50 a.m.
That is so, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker 10:50 a.m.
All right, I will give you that right, please go ahead.
Dr. Kunbuor 10:50 a.m.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to know from the hon. Minister
when that said amount was due to be paid. The outstanding amount, when was it due?
Mr. opare-Asamoah 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, this was in June 2000 when the project was executed. Hon. Salia knows.
Mr. owusu-Adjapong 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the Minister whether it is possible he can furnish the House with the list of such unpaid bills which were taken over in 2001-- [Laughter.]
Mr. opare-Asamoah 10:50 a.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, in due course.
Mr. Speaker 10:50 a.m.
All right.
Prang-Kintampo Road (Tarring)
Q. 91. Mr. Baba Abdul-Rahman Masoud asked the Minister for Road Transport when the Prang-Kintampo road would be tarred.
Mr. opare-Asamoah 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, The Prang-Kintampo Road is a 104-km gravel road. It is the Inter-Regional Road (IR9) in the Brong Ahafo Region. Its condition varies from fair to poor.
Programme
The road has been programmed for surface dressing (tarring) in phases.
The tarring of the section from km 0-5 from Kintampo was awarded to M/s Vision Construction Limited on 17th September, 2004 for completion on 16th September, 2005 at the contract sum of ¢7.82 billion.
The works are 35 per cent complete.
The remaining section of the road will be considered for surfacing (tarring)
under the Transport Sector Development Programme (TSDP), 2007 - 2010.
Meanwhile, the remaining stretch of the road is undergoing routine maintenance works. The grading works from Kintampo to Zabrama, km 5-40 and two other roads namely, Kintampo- New Longoro and Nkoranza-Jema, were awarded to M/s Damoah Limited on 22nd April 2005 in the sum of ¢1.8 billion.
The first grading works on the Kintampo-Zabrama section has been completed. Also, from Zabrama to Prang (km 40-104), the grading works were awarded to Messrs Emmahall Limited on 22nd April, 2005 in the sum of ¢1.1 billion. The grading works are in progress.
Mr. Masoud 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, from the
Minister's Answer, he mentioned that 35 per cent of the work has been completed. I do not know if he can explain to me what he means by 35 per cent of the work has been completed.
Mr. opare-Asamoah 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I need to get the details of completion before I can give him -- [Interruptions] -- yes.
Mr. Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Deputy Minister, do not be distracted, please.
Mr. Masoud 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister also mentioned in his Answer that the remaining section of the road would be considered for tarring under the Transport Sector Development Programme, from 2007 to 2010. I want to ask if it is not possible to draw the programme a bit forward to minimise the problems that are being faced on the road.
Mr. Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Hon. Member, are you asking a question or --
Mr. Masoud 10:50 a.m.
Yes, it is a question -- to draw the programme forward because he was mentioning 2007 - 2010.
Mr. opare-Asamoah 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think that is more of a request and it shall be considered.
Mr. G. K. Arthur 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister said that the tarring of the section from kilometre 0-5, from Kintampo, was awarded to Messrs Vision Construction Ltd. on 17th September and it is to be completed by 16th September 2005, which means that 35 per cent of the contract was completed within 10 months. Since it is left with two months for the contract to be completed, is it possible that the 65 per cent uncompleted portion can be completed within two months?
Mr. opare-Asamoah 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, it is not possible to finish the 65 per cent in two months. Initially, I said I did not have the details of the work that had been completed. It could be that all the culverts on the road have been completed and what may be outstanding would be filling laterite, compaction and then tarring could begin. I think, Mr. Speaker, we cannot finish in two months but if it calls for an extension, we shall look at the reasons for the extension and grant him extension if he deserves it.
Mr. J. A. Tia 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to know from the hon. Deputy Minister, how often and when was the last time he inspected work on the project.
Mr. opare-Asamoah 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I personally have not visited the site, but we get progress reports from our engineers on site.
Mr. F. A. Agbotse 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to find out from the Deputy Minister when the Transport Sector Development Programme (TSDP) started and which are the programmes under it.
Mr. opare-Asamoah 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, his question is not very clear.
Mr. Agbotse 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, in his Answer, he said part of the road would be tarred under the TSDP. My question is, when did this programme start and what are the programmes under it?
Mr. opare-Asamoah 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the TSDP is yet to start, in the year 2007. What we started was Road Sector Development Programme (RSDP), and the TSDP starts at the end of the RSDP.
Mr. E. K. Salia 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. Minister has said that the TSDP is not a programme in place yet; it is anticipated. How can he be so sure that the programme will encompass these works, since it is not an ongoing project and it has not started yet?
Mr. opare-Asamoah 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, we are in the process of drawing up the programme for 2007, and all these projects that I have mentioned will go into that particular programme. It is a follow-up of the RSDP that ends next year. So surely, the TSDP will start in the year 2007.
Mr. Speaker 11 a.m.
Hon. Member for Jirapa, let me give you the last bite.
Mr. Salia 11 a.m.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the hon. Deputy Minister provide us with a brief on the programmes or the roads that would form part of the TSDP, just for the guidance of the House, maybe as soon as practicable?
Mr. opare-Asamoah 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I cannot provide those details here and now; later, I can make the information available.
Mr. Salia 11 a.m.
When will he make it
available?
Mr. opare-Asamoah 11 a.m.
When it is available, I will let him know.
Mr. Speaker 11 a.m.
Deputy Minister for Road Transport, thank you very much for appearing to respond to these Questions. You are discharged.
STATEMENTS 11 a.m.
Mr. Sampson Ahi (NDc -- Juabeso) 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to make a Statement on the plight of my people in the Juabeso constituency of the Western Region.
Mr. Speaker, about 90 per cent of the people in the Juabeso constituency are cocoa farmers. In fact, my constituency is the leading producer of cocoa in the country. There are four cocoa districts, in the Juabeso constituency. These include Juabeso, Bonsu-Nkwanta Bodi and Asempaneye districts.
Mr. Speaker, there are three major forest reserves in the constituency. The constituency is a major source of timber supply to timber firms in Sefwi Dwinasi, Awaso, Kumasi and the country as a whole.
Juabeso constituency is also a major food supplier to Kumasi, Accra and Takoradi markets.
Mr. Speaker, in spite of the enormous contributions above made by my constituency, it is one of the poorest constituencies in the country. On the road network, nothing is being done. As I am making this Statement, about 70
Mr. Sampson Ahi (NDc -- Juabeso) 11:10 a.m.
per cent of roads in my constituency are unmotorable. For the past five years, the Juabeso-Kalo road has not seen a grader. There are several communities along this road (Datano, Manshia, Patakro, Amoaya, Besiase, Kwesikrom and Bia-Ano) whose people are dying through motor accidents because of the bad nature of the road.
Mr. Speaker, the Bonsu-Nkwanta road is nothing to write home about. The Krokosuie-Mafia-Asempaneye road is at the moment cut off from Juabeso, the district capital. The Bodi-Nsawora road is also very bad. I want to call on the Minister for Road Transport as a matter of urgency to come to our aid to improve upon the road network to save hundreds of people who are dying as a result of the bad roads in the constituency which also affect the transportation of goods and services.
Mr. Speaker, Juabeso constituency has only one Secondary School with a total population of over one thousand, two hundred (1,200) students.
Facilities in the school are very poor, and about five teachers share one bungalow at the moment. Most of the teachers live in the Juabeso town. Mr. Speaker, classrooms and hostel blocks to accommodate the students are major problems in the school. There is the need to upgrade the school to boarding status to facilitate teaching and learning in the school.
Mr. Speaker, in the year 2000, the Government of Ghana upgraded the Juabeso health post to a district hospital. The entire infrastructural work has been completed. The contractor has finished his work, what is left is the drainage system that needs to be awarded on contract so that the hospital can be commissioned for use. This has taken over nine months and nothing is being done about it. I wish to
call on the Minister for Health to expedite action on awarding the construction of the drainage system to a contractor to enable the district health directorate access the hospital.
Mr. Speaker, as I have already enumerated above, Juabeso district deserves better infrastructure than what is there at the moment.

Mr. Speaker, it is very sad to note that the poor state of communication facilities is a major worry to my people. This particularly discourages teachers and other professionals from accepting posting to Juabeso and its environs. One has to struggle to be able to communicate with families and relatives in the urban areas. Now that the country is wallowing in information communication technology, it is sad to note that there are no telephone exchange facilities in Juabeso. I hope by this Statement the Minister for Communications and the Ghana Telecommunication, cell phone service providers will extend their facilities to cover Juabeso constituency for us to link up with sister constituencies in the country and outside Ghana.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I find it very difficult to understand why the cocoa processing company was not sited at Juabeso to save the cost of conveying the raw materials which is the cocoa beans from the cocoa growing areas to Tema. I want to call upon the Ghana Cocoa Board to consider locating cocoa processing firms in Juabeso to provide jobs for the people and also to save the cost of transporting cocoa from the cocoa growing areas to Tema.
Mr. G. K. Arthur (NDC -- Amenfi central) 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Statement made by the hon. Member for Juabeso (Mr. Sampson Ahi).
Mr. Speaker, it is true that the people
of Juabeso, in fact, have been cheated for so long. But I would attribute this to the whole Western Region.
Mr. Speaker, when we talk of the Western Region, what most people think of, is Sekondi-Takoradi; the other parts of the Western Region are forgotten. But when we take development in Ghana, it started from the Western Region. It was in the Western Region that the manufacturing of car tyres started, at Bonsa. It was in the same Western Region that the first glass manufacturing factory was sited -- at Aboso. It was in the same Western Region that the first Government Hospital was built, and it was in the Western Region where the first railway line was built.
Mr. Speaker, the first President of this country came from the Western Region and even the current President, His Excellency Mr. John Agyekum Kufuor once stayed in the Western Region; and our Rt. Hon. Speaker too comes from the Western Region [Hear! Hear!] Yet, the Western Region has not seen any significant improvement. Mr. Speaker, you may be wondering whether it is the same Western Region where most of this country's products come from.
Let us talk about timber, cocoa, gold, bauxite and the lot. We have the biggest timber company in West Africa situated in Amenfi West District, ATS, which has now been renamed Samatex. If you go to Western Region schools, children cannot even get tables and chairs to sit on. Meanwhile, the bulk of the timber comes from the Western Region.
Mr. Speaker, talking about cocoa, Juabeso is the largest producer of cocoa in Ghana; but go and ask an old man or an old woman there how many times he or she takes cocoa drink in a month, and he or she cannot even mention even once. Cocoa drink is prepared only at Christmas time. Meanwhile, we produce the cocoa.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to add that we thank the previous Government -- the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Government so much -- [Hear! Hear!] -- because had it not been the NDC, we would not be able to count more than five roads tarred with asphalt or bitumen. It was during the time of NDC that the road from Kumasi to Bibiani was tarred -- [Hear! Hear!] -- when Bibiani to Wiawso was tarred, and when Sefwi Bekwai to Ayanfuri, then to Tarkwa, was tarred. [Hear! Hear!] It was during the time of NDC that electricity was extended beyond Tarkwa to the hinterland. [Hear! Hear!] Mr. Speaker, I can mention a lot more -- Had it not been the NDC, Western Region would not have been what it is today. [Hear! Hear!] Mr. Speaker, I am trying to -- [Interruption.]
Mr. A. K. obbin 11:10 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, my hon. Colleague has made a statement which is factually incorrect that the NDC built the road to Tarkwa. Mr. Speaker, this is factually incorrect. It is rather this Government which is doing the road from Agona Junction to Tarkwa. It is not the NDC Government which built the road and therefore he is factually incorrect. [Hear! Hear!]
Mr. Arthur 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I said from Sefwi-Bekwai to Ayanfuri and from Ayanfuri to Tarkwa. That is what I said and even the stretch from Agona-Nkwanta to Tarkwa was constructed by Messrs K. B. Annan. I was once a member of the Afrangua Construction Work and Messrs K. B. Annan was a partner. It was
Mr. obbin 11:10 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, still my hon. Colleague is making a wrong statement. -- [Interruptions.]
Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Order! Order!
Mr. obbin 11:10 a.m.
It is not the NDC; NDC has not constructed any road to Tarkwa. It is the present Government that is constructing an asphalt road to Tarkwa. So what he is saying is factually incorrect.
Mr. Authur 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, let me wind up.
Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Are you winding up?
Mr. Authur 11:10 a.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker. So Mr. Speaker, I am pleading with the present Government to continue the good work of the NDC in the Western Region. [Hear! Hear!]
Mr. A. K. obbin (NPP -- Prestea- Huni-Valley) 11:10 a.m.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to associate myself with the Statement made by the hon. Member for Juabeso (Mr. Sampson Ahi).
Mr. Speaker, it is true that Western Region has not got its fair share in road construction, but Mr. Speaker, the Government of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has done a lot over the last five years in terms of road construction. That notwithstanding, the Western Region has not got a fair share of the numerous roads that have been constructed within the period. However, I want to place on record that the Government of the NPP is constructing the roads from Agona Nkwanta and Afarikrom to Tarkwa.
But Mr. Speaker, it is true that Juabeso
Ms. Akua Sena Dansua 11:10 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I do not know if I heard my hon. Colleague right. He said the Government of the NPP. Is that the terminology? I do not understand what he means by that.
Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Let him continue.
Mr. obbin 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, it is true that the Western Region is producing the major foreign exchange earnings of this country -- cocoa, timber, gold, diamond and many other things -- but the development in the region is not commensurate with the economic production of the area.
Mr. Speaker, it is sad that as at now, when you go to Juabeso area, you would see that the area is so remote; we lack the basic infrastructure especially roads. But it is not limited to Juabeso Bia alone.

Mr. Speaker, if you come to the Western Region and you take Mpohor Wassa East, you take Aowin-Suaman, Wassa Amenfi and Wassa Fiase, the infrastructure there are anything but desirable. Mr. Speaker, I wish to appeal the Government that as we are developing the whole nation, as we are constructing a lot of roads in this country, we must draw our attention also to the Western Region. At least, Western Region could be given a special attention in terms of road construction.

Mr. Speaker, construction of roads in the Western Region is very expensive because of the heavy rains, the marshy terrain as well as the thick forest vegetation. Therefore, when contractors are given contracts in the Western Region they more often than not do not finish or do not do it early. I am also suggesting that contractors doing works in the Western Region must be given special rates so that the works
Minority Leader (Mr. A. S. K. Bagbin) 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I just want to add my voice to the Statement on the floor and to agree with my hon. Colleagues that Western Region contributes tremendously to the economic, political and social development of the country.
It is true that governments have not given a fair share of the national cake to the Western Region. We have heard quite often Statements made on the floor of this House and outside Parliament to the effect that work was going to be commenced and that Western Region would be given its fair share of the national cake. But what we see on the ground does not reflect the rhetorics and I think that it is proper that this House urges governments all over to try as much as possible to support the development of the Western Region.
I believe if we invest a lot in Western Region, we stand as a nation to gain a lot from that region in terms of revenue, in
terms of education, in terms of cultural and other aspects of our social lives. But Mr. Speaker, we seem not to be doing so just because as the hon. Member said, the cost of construction of infrastructure in the Western Region is that high. But that is only a challenge that should not prevent us from investing in the Western Region.
Mr. Speaker, people may be wondering why I am contributing, I am talking about Western Region, but I have a large portion of my family living in the Western Region; they are still living in the Western Region as at today -- [Interruptions] -- Yes, my brother is a headmaster and he has been heading a number of secondary schools in the Western Region, and he is now at Asankragwa, which is an inaccessible area -- very inaccessible. Mr. Speaker, I think that it is good for the country if we start now emphasizing development in the rural areas, instead of concentrating always on the urban parasites.
Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the opportunity.
Majority Leader (Mr. Felix K. owusu-Adjapong) 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, it is good our attention has been drawn to the level of development in that part of the Western Region. I think two or three days ago, viewing the television, I was saddened by the type of road that was shown of some parts of Ghana. We have a lot of our cocoa locked up, foodstuffs and timber, and Mr. Speaker, this is a general disease afflicting the whole of the country. Upper West, Upper East, Volta Region, Ashanti Region, Eastern Region and Brong Ahafo, even Greater Accra have this infrastructural development problem.
This means that we all need to work hard enough so that we generate more revenue and be able to quicken the pace of our development. It is only when we make enough money that we can have enough for distribution to all parties. When I say
Mr. Lee ocran 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. Deputy Minister is misleading the House. He is telling us that the Western Region has a peculiar problem that makes contractors not wanting to go -- rainfall pattern -- [Interruptions] -- What is your problem? The rainfall pattern is not peculiar; there is no peculiarity of rainfall pattern in the Western Region. Even in the monsoon areas, roads are constructed, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. opare-Asamoah 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the point I want to make is that it rains about eight months -- [Interruptions.]
Mr. Speaker 11:20 a.m.
Hon. Members, let us have decorum.
Mr. opare-Asamoah 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
in spite of this difficulty, there are a lot of road works currently going on in the Western Region. The maker of the Statement mentioned Juabeso. Currently, the Juabeso town road is ongoing. We also have the Benchima Junction-Juabeso road in progress and the contractors there are Seaman and Rainakad. We also have some development projects going on. The Agona Junction-Tarkwa road is ongoing, the Manso-Asankragua road is also ongoing. The Agona-Nkwanta-Elubo road is under study, funded by the African Development Bank (ADB).
Mr. Sampson Ahi 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. Deputy Minister is misleading this House. I want to know whether he is aware that the contractor working on the Juabeso township has abandoned the works.
Mr. Speaker 11:20 a.m.
Hon. Member for Juabeso, you will be given plenty of time to ask your question at the appropriate time but in the meantime, let the hon. Deputy Minister continue.
Mr. opare-Asamoah 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, to continue with the road works in the Western Region, currently, upgrading of the Telukobokazo-Ambe Junction road is ongoing. We also have upgrading of the Oseikojokrom-Bentsiman road and then the upgrading of Sefwi Bekwai bypass. A number of feeder roads --
Mr. Eric opoku 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order. The hon. Deputy Minister is seriously misleading this House. The Statement he is contributing to was specific; it is limited to Juabeso constituency but he has taken the opportunity to talk about the whole of the Western Region. He should
Mr. Speaker 11:30 a.m.
Order! Order! Deputy Minister for Road Transport, continue.
Mr. opare-Asamoah 11:30 a.m.
The impression was given that the Western Region was not having its fair share of development projects and that is why I have gone to the extent of mentioning the road projects that are in progress in the Western Region. And Mr. Speaker, there are quite a number of feeder roads in progress in the Western Region, details of which I do not have here. We are doing our best to provide roads in the Western Region, but we will encourage the big contractors to go into the Western Region with their experience and construct the roads they are in dire need of.
Mr. Speaker 11:30 a.m.
At the commencement of Public Business, item 6.
PAPERS 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker 11:30 a.m.
Hon. Members, may I refer you to the Addendum-Laying of Papers.
By the Chairman of the Committee --
Mr. Speaker 11:30 a.m.


Report of the Committee on Mines and Energy on the Volta River Development (Amendment) Bill.
Mr. Speaker 11:30 a.m.
We will take item 7 on the Order Paper.
MoTIoNS
Development credit Agreement between GoG and IDA
chairman of the committee (Mrs. Grace coleman): Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, that this House adopts the Report of the Finance Committee on the Development Credit Agreement between the Government of Ghana and the International Development Association (IDA) for an amount of SDR 84,200,000 (US$125.00 million equivalent) for the Third Poverty Reduction Support Credit
(PRSC-3).
Mr. Speaker, I beg to present the Report of the Finance Committee on the Development Credit Agreement. Mr. Speaker, I hope every Member here has a copy of the Report. I will therefore read the conclusion and request that the Report be captured fully in the Hansard.
1.0 Introduction
1.0.1 The above Development Credit Agreement was laid in the House on Wednesday, 6th July 2005 and referred to the Finance Committee in accordance with article 181 of the Constitution and the Standing Orders of the House for consideration and report.
The Committee met with the Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei and his technical team and reports as follows:
2.0 Background
2.0.1 The Third Poverty Reduction Strategy Credit Programme (PRSC-3) is designed to build on recent reforms carried out by the Government of Ghana under the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy
(GPRS).
2.0.2 Hon. Members may recall that the Second Poverty Reduction Support Financing (PRSF) was laid in the House on Tuesday, 15th June 2004.
The Poverty Reduction Support Credit will harmonize policies and reforms aimed at improving the living conditions of Ghanaians by promoting growth, incomes, employment, accelerated human resource development and strengthening governance and public sector management as outlined in the 2005 Budget Statement.
2.0.3 The Credit is meant to complement Government's effort to stabilize the economy and reduce poverty through the implementation of the following specific measures derived from the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) among others:
2.0.4 To promote growth, incomes and employment, the Government,
continued implementation of power sector reforms;
continued implementation of Private Sector Development Strategy action plan.
2.0.5 To enable the disadvantaged access basic educational and health services, Government,
eliminated all government controlled fees and introduced capitation grant for girls in public primary schools in deprived districts;
prepared options paper on the decentralization of human resource management, including identi- fication of options for decen- tralizing personal emoluments in the health sector.
2.0.6 To improve governance and public expenditure management, government,
began the implementation of priority of public sector reforms aimed at improving the service delivery capacity of the Civil Service;
strengthened payroll management, including control systems and began the development of a system to capture subvented agencies payroll;
increased the 2005 Budget share of non-salary poverty related expenditures.
3.0 objectives
3.0.1 The proceeds of the credit will be used to finance the 2005 Budget in two ways:
i) the Bank of Ghana on behalf of the Government shall use the foreign exchange to finance foreign expenditures and also to shore up the country's foreign exchange reserves.
ii) the Bank of Ghana shall credit the Consolidated Fund with the cedi equivalent of the facility, which shall then be used to finance local expenditures arising out of the Budget.
4.0 Terms and conditions of the credit
4.0.1 The terms and conditions of the
credit are as follows:
Loan amount - - SDR 84,200,000 (US$125.00 million equivalent)
Moratorium -- 1 0 years
Commitment fee -- one-half of one per cent (1/2 of 1%) per annum.
Minister for Finance and Economic Planning (Mr. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu) 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to second the motion and in doing so I would like to draw attention to the Report of the Committee to the “Terms and Conditions of the Credit” to the tune of SDR84,200,000 (US $125.00 million equivalent).
I think something was left out and that is the “Terms of the Loan”, which is thirty (30) years before the “Moratorium”. Mr. Speaker, as the Committee has indicated this facility normally comes from the World Bank to support the programmes of the Government. I think everything has
been articulated and presented and I think we need to approve this particular loan to support the operations of Government.
Question proposed.
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu (NDc - Tamale South) 11:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to associate myself with the motion on the floor and to raise some pertinent issues since the Loan Agreement is in pursuit of Ghana's Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS), which was launched as a key development policy framework in 2002.
Mr. Speaker, my major concern is whether or not GPRS ties in nicely with the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals (MDG) of which Ghana is a signatory. Indeed, one of the requirements of the MDGs is to half poverty by 2015 and to ensure that many Ghanaians do live above $1 per day.
Mr. Speaker, the incidence of poverty in this country is still acute. It is estimated at not less than 32 per cent nationwide. But Mr. Speaker, there are four particular regions of this country where the incidence of poverty is very acute and my worry is whether the pro-poor interventions of Government do focus on and target these regions. They include the Northern, Upper East, Upper West and Central Regions of Ghana where statistics, whether from the Ghana Demographic Health Survey or any other research conducted, indicate the high incidence of poverty in these areas. Over the last few years, since the implementation of GPRS started in 2002 little have been achieved by way of reducing the incidence of poverty in those areas.
Mr. Speaker, one of the core objectives - Even though Government can continue to pride itself with some attainment
of macroeconomic stability, it does not appear that this has reflected in an improvement in the standard of living of many Ghanaians and many Ghanaians are still living below the $1 per day requirement which is a commitment which the Government of Ghana made.
Prof. Gyan-Baffour 11:40 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I think my hon. Friend on the other side of the aisle is confusing everybody. Mr. Speaker, poverty has actually been reduced but not actually increased as he is alleging. He knows very well that the document that he is referring to, itself, says that in 1998 the proportion of Ghanaians living below poverty line was 42 per cent and by 2003 that document says that it has actually dropped to 35 per cent. So in effect, actually poverty is reducing, that is, those below the poverty line are shrinking; so I think that is misleading.
Again, my hon. Friend is saying that under-five mortality rate is worsening in the country; that is true, but they are actually getting better in the Upper East/ West Regions of this country. So in fact, poverty is actually doing better in the upper regions where poverty is alleged to be higher than everywhere else. So I think it is a misleading statement to say that we are not doing anything to reduce poverty. In fact, we are doing better in the upper
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu 11:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I do have a lot of respect for Prof. Gyan-Baffour, but indeed, he is rather strengthening my argument. I gave the figure of poverty nationally as not being less than 32 per cent and I still stand by that. Indeed, he has enhanced it to 35 per cent and I specifically said that there are four regions - And I think that pro-poor interventions, as we go into the implementation of GPRS with this loan facility, must concentrate on those four regions of Ghana.
Prof. Gyan-Baffour 11:40 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, focusing on regions is not the right way to go about reducing poverty in this country. The current GPRS is actually focusing on districts rather than on regions because there may be a district, even the Greater Accra Region which may actually be poorer than districts in the three northern regions. So focusing only on regions as the basis for poverty interventions may be a little bit misleading; so the GPRS is currently focusing on districts rather than on regions - [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Hon. Member, you are really contributing; we will give you the opportunity to do so when the time comes.
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu 11:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you very much for your indulgence. Mr. Speaker, as much as I agree with the hon. Member that the situation may differ
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu 11:50 a.m.


from district to district, I am simply saying that in one of the reports, which I believe he played a lead role in preparing, the Economic Dialogue Report, he himself indicated that a review of the expenditure framework does not give an indication that most poverty or deprived regions are beneficiary to those expenditures; and I am simply suggesting that.

Mr. Speaker, if you take Ghana as a country, we are saying that even though the national poverty rate is 32 per cent, the incidence vary from region to region, from district to district but the most pervasive regions which reflect in their districts are the Northern, Upper East, Upper West and the Central Regions of Ghana. I am simply suggesting to this House that in implementing this loan facility, let us give special focus and special attention to addressing the poverty in the most deprived regions of Ghana with a view to bridging the gap.

Indeed, part of the Millennium Development Goal - We have pledged as a country to half poverty and to ensure that many Ghanaians live above a dollar a day. I would hesitate to add that many of our countrymen live below a dollar a day. Indeed, Mr. Speaker, I was making reference to a document to guide the discussion. Mr. Speaker, if you take malnutrition, for instance, it is on the increase, especially in the Greater Accra and Eastern Regions as well as other regions not even to mention the three northern regions where poverty is visible.

Malnutrition is an indicator of poverty. Indeed, by their own statistics, Mr. Speaker, child malnutrition as at 2003 now stands at 35.8 per cent. It means that there is something wrong; it means that many of the Ghanaian children are underweight because they do not have

access to nutritious food.

Mr. Speake r, i f you l ook a t unemployment, we should seek to address the problem of unemployment with a loan facility of this nature by enhancing the private sector which should be able to create more job opportunities, especially for young people in this country. If you have unemployment on the rise and yet you pride yourself that there have been improvements in macro economic indices - Mr. Speaker, nobody is doubting Government's efforts.

Especially since 2001 GDP growth has increased from 4.5 per cent to 5.2 per cent to 5.8 per cent respectively from 2002 up to 2004, but we are saying that it does not manifest in an improvement in the standard of living of our people. If you take road infrastructure for instance, it is skewedly distributed. There are some regions which have benefited immensely from road construction yet the regions of which we say poverty is high like in the Upper West Region, as we were told by hon. Edward Salia, they do not have their fair share. How would we be addressing poverty if we do not open up the road infrastructure of this country.

Mr. Speaker, another indicator is health care. Access to health care is still problematic in this country, and as I rise to support this motion, I am simply saying that, let us target two core areas - improvement in education, especially ensuring that the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) becomes a reality. I am saying this because that is part of the commitment we made to the Millenium Development Goal.

Mr. Speaker, the hon. Minister for Finance and Economic Planning is here. My concluding note is that we need to

strengthen the relationship especially in the target between the GPRS, the Millennium Development Goal and then expenditure allocation to the various sectors of the economy.

With this, Mr. Speaker, I support the motion for the approval of this loan facility and believe that the Ministry, working in tandem with other sector Ministries, will give special attention to the nation's most deprived regions in addressing poverty. If we have improvement in the poverty levels in Greater Accra and Eastern Regions, that of the north still remains a gap that is widening backwards, it does not do us any good. Our commitment must be that we want to half poverty, we must ensure that many Ghanaians have access to education and improved health care.

With this, Mr. Speaker, I support the motion.
Mr. E. K. D. Adjaho (NDc - Avenor- Ave) 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion. If you look at the Committee's Report which is the subject matter of the motion, we have been told that the loan, among other things, is to introduce capitation grant for girls in public primary schools in deprived districts. I think this is a very laudable idea. Unfortunately, we have not been provided with a list of those deprived districts of this country.
Mr. Speaker, I think that it will do this House a lot of good, once the hon. Minister is here, if information on the districts that are going to benefit or the districts that are classified as deprived districts are made available so that we know that these are the districts that those girls are going to benefit from. Mr. Speaker, I think in that case this honourable House will also be in position to perform its oversight responsibility to make sure that those resources have actually gone to those deprived districts.
Mr. Speaker, I thank you and I support
the motion.
Mr. Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Yes, would you - [Pause] -- I wanted to find out whether the hon. Minister or the Deputy was winding up.
Mr. F. K. owusu-Adjapong 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I thought the hon. Minority Leader may want to contribute now. So if you can allow the hon. Deputy Minister to contribute and then after that the hon. Minority Leader and myself.
Mr. Speaker 11:50 a.m.
All right, if that is the case.
Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Planning (Prof. G. Y. Gyan- Baffour): Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the motion. I would want to say that the GPRS is actually an operationalisation of the Millenium Development Goal and therefore actually addresses all the eight goals in the MDGs.
Again, I think that capitation grant should not be an issue here because everybody remembers that in the Budget for this year we said that capitation grant was going to be extended to all districts in the country. So whether this facility will be for the poorest district is actually neither here nor there. It is going to be extended to every part of the country. So if part of it, that is, the loan component is being used for the deprived districts, I do not think it is any big deal that we have to go about thinking through.
But Mr. Speaker, poverty has actually been reducing in this country in the past years. In 1997, as I said earlier on, the proportion of our population below the poverty level was about 42 per cent. Currently, in 2003, it stands at 35 per cent. So poverty has actually reduced by about a seven (7) percentage point over the years and it is reducing further. So to say that poverty has not reduced in this country
Mr. Speaker 11:50 a.m.


is also neither here nor there.

Under-five mortality -- Yes, it is very

true that in 1997 about 109 per every 1,000 children died before the age of five; this has gone up slightly to 111. But in certain districts, in certain parts of this country it has dropped dramatically. So it is actually in these three regions where poverty is so endemic that this is happening, which implies that the Government is spending so much resources in these districts to ensure that under-five mortality rate falls.

On that note, Mr. Speaker, I think the poverty map of this country should not be based on regions but should be based on districts so that we can do better targeting. This is because there are certain districts in this country that are hidden in other so- called rich regions where if we do not take care, we will end up looking at the region rather than the district thereby forgetting about those poor districts.

So Mr. Speaker, the GPRS update is
rose
Mr. Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Hon. Deputy Minority
Leader, do you have any point of order?
Mr. Adjaho 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am a little
Mr. Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Order! Order!
Mr. Adjaho 11:50 a.m.
So it is important to know
the districts.
Prof. Gyan-Baffour 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
what I am saying is that the Loan Agreement mentioned deprived districts,
but the Budget Statement says that the capitation grant would cover every district in this country. So what is the problem?
Mr. Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Hon. Deputy Minister, I hope you are winding up?
Prof. Gyan-Baffour 11:50 a.m.
Yes, sir. So in winding up, I think, Mr. Speaker, the Government is spending so much money in the deprived regions and the deprived districts of this country and it is showing in the decline in the under-five mortality rates in the Upper East Region of this country, which I think my fellow hon. Members of that district are aware of. It is declining and therefore we are actually targeting the right places in an attempt to reduce poverty in this country.
Minority Leader (Mr. A. S. K. Bagbin) 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, any programme that is meant to reduce poverty in this country is a laudable programme and must be supported by all. Mr. Speaker, we have been along this road for some time now but there are worrying signals and we have been told a number of times by various sectors of the population that they are not benefiting from the programme. In fact, they think that their conditions are worse than before. And Mr. Speaker, I can simply refer to the recent seminar by our ladies where statistics were presented to show that the poverty reduction programme is not targeting areas that women indulge in and that the situation of women is worse than they were before the programme started.
Mr. Speaker, we are also looking at health indicators and the Report presented by the group itself shows that there are some worrying signs in some areas. Those are the areas that the hon. Member was referring to - infant mortality and
Mr. Bagbin noon
Mr. Speaker, I think that it is a point of information. But it is still relevant to stress that we should not just be looking at the perspective of the Executive; it is not the Executive that is drawing the programme to include us. I am saying that we ourselves should reach out there and make sure that we make some inputs; it is not just to wait for the Executive, maybe, to as usual, call workshops on validation or on consultation. That is what I am talking about.
I am talking about us participating in the formulation of the programme. I think that it was not properly done the other time and therefore the role of Parliament was not properly ironed out. And we find it difficult not only in the Budget process but even in monitoring and valuation and that is why Parliament seems to be out of knowledge with the Poverty Reduction
Programme.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to draw the attention of the House to the fact that there is the urgent need for us to spend some money on this programme to support the Statistical Service because we are not comfortable with some of the data that is being churned out and there is the need for us to support the Service so that they can come out with creditable data based on which we can now come out with policies that will actually have impact on the society.

I think we are not doing that for some time now and I hear that from time to time people doubt some of the figures that come out from that Service. And I have not seen any reference to some money being kept to support institutions that are policing or protecting or supervising the implementation of the Poverty Reduction Programme.

Mr. Speaker, I think that that should be done and I believe that Parliament itself should be resourced so that we can play our role as the watchdogs of the society.

It is with this, Mr. Speaker, that I also support the motion on the floor.
Majority Leader (Mr. F. K. owusu- Adjapong) noon
Mr. Speaker, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this debate. Any debate that will help us to reduce poverty, I give my hundred per cent support for it. But Mr. Speaker, it looks like we have concentrated on our data collection at the regional level for far too long. Somewhere in 2001 we were initially told that the three most deprived areas were in the Upper West, Upper East and Northern Regions -- Then somewhere along the line we were told that it was the Central Region and then at the tail end of it we were told that it was the Eastern Region.
Majority Leader (Mr. F. K. owusu- Adjapong) noon


Mr. Speaker, I think we have reached a stage in our development where we should come one step lower and begin to have statistical information district by district with the hope that at a point in time we would be talking about constituencies. Now I may say that my area should be included as one of the poverty-stricken area, but I come from the Eastern Region and therefore I am stuck.

So I would want to plead that as part of our developmental process we have concentrated on the regions for far too long and we should immediately set for ourselves that within the next three years we should have data per district so that within the same region we may be able to say that it is all right here but very bad there. And then we as Members of Parliament will definitely be more interested in data relating to our constituencies so that I can, for example, speak very well for my constituency and say that this is the data available.

Mr. Speaker, with this simple request, which I believe my hon. Colleague, the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning will take on board, I will 100 per cent endorse the Report of the Finance Committee.
Mr. Adjaho noon
Mr. Speaker, I am not too clear -- I do not know what the hon. Minister wants to do. He cannot speak again. He seconded the motion. He contributed to it and he has nothing to do again, Mr. Speaker. He did not move the motion for him to wind up. He seconded the motion -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker noon
Hon. Deputy Minority
Leader, I have already asked him to wind up very briefly.
Mr. K. Baah-Wiredu noon
Mr. Speaker, we thank hon. Members for their contributions and I believe the most important thing for us to do is what the Committee on
Government Assurances is doing now; and some other committees have been going to the ground to actually see what is going on. The Millennium Development Goals, Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the country, is closely linked up to the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS).
In fact, work has been done where the goals have been picked and then linked up with the themes of the GPRS. Normally, we also linked them up with the Budget preparation and for which Members of Parliament have access in looking at the Estimates of all the sectors and whether they have been linked up to the goal of reducing poverty; and then we have been approving the appropriation. So Mr. Speaker, those linkages are there. I think the hon. Minority Leader has just indicated that we have to be very proactive and take control of whatever we are part of.
Mr. Speaker, I think paragraph 986 of the Budget Statement for this year talked about the 2006 Budget and for which we call on hon. Members as individuals and then all corporate entities and all those who are interested in submitting ideas towards the preparation of the Budget are welcome. The deadline is 1st September and I believe all those of us who are interested will do so.
Mr. Speaker, the Statistical Service is a very important sector of the economy and I think we have captured a lot about that. The OECD and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) obviously are doing everything to support the Statistical Service and I believe we are improving upon that.
Mr. Speaker, finally, I wish to assure the
House that monitoring is very important and funds are being allocated to specific districts. For example, last year the Canadian Government through the District-Wide Sector Project actually gave about ¢630 million to each district in the
three northern regions. Let us go in there and find out what impact this money made.
Mr. Speaker, we thank hon. Members for their contributions; the points have been well taken and I believe, as we are debating, we will be improving upon that.
On that note, we thank everybody for making sure we approve of this motion.
Question put and motion agreed to.
RESoLUTIoNS
Development credit Agreement between GoG and IDA for the Third
Poverty Reduction Support credit (PRSc-3)
Minister for Finance and Economic
Planning (Mr. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu):
Mr. Speaker, WHEREAS by the provisions of article 181 of the Constitution and section 7 of the Loans Act, 1970 (Act 335), the terms and conditions of any loan raised by the Government of Ghana on behalf of itself or any public institution or authority shall not come into operation unless the said terms and conditions have been laid before Parliament and approved by Parliament by a Resolution supported by the votes of a majority of all Members of Parliament;
PURSUANT to the provisions of the said article 181 of the Constitution and section 7 of the Loans Act, 1970 (Act 335) and at the request of the Government of Ghana acting through the Minister responsible for Finance, there has been laid before Parliament the terms and conditions of the Development Credit Agreement between the Government of Ghana AND
the International Development Association (IDA) for an amount of SDR84,200,000 (US$125.00 million equivalent) for the Third Poverty Reduction Support Credit
(PRSC-3).
THIS HONOURABLE HOUSE noon
H E R E B Y R E S O LV E S A S noon
Mr. Adjaho noon
Mr. Speaker, I beg to second the motion for the Resolution.
Question put and motion agreed to.
Mr. Speaker noon
Item 9 -- Motion.
Mr. owusu-Adjapong noon
Mr. Speaker, if we can take the Addendum, item 2 first because I am yet to get the clearance from the Committee on this matter.
Mr. Adjaho 12:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the other item and the one he is referring to, I do not know whether the Report is ready. The Addendum, I do not know whether the Report is ready.
Mr. owusu-Adjapong 12:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the Report has been ready since three days ago. But it is because I have asked
Mr. owusu-Adjapong 12:10 p.m.


the Deputy to work on something on item 9, that is why I wanted us to take the Addendum.
Mr. Speaker 12:10 p.m.
Hon. Members, then may we turn to the Addendum, item 2 -- Motions.
Suspension of Standing order 80 (1)
Majority Leader (Mr. Felix owusu- Adjapong) 12:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, That notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order 80 (1) which require that no motion shall be debated until at least forty-eight hours have elapsed between the date on which the notice of the motion is given and the date on which the motion is moved, the motion for the adoption of the Report of the House Committee on the Welfare of Members and Composition of Sub-Committees may be moved today.
Mr. Kwabena Adusa okerchiri 12:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to second the motion.
Question put and motion agreed to. Report of the House committee on the Welfare of Members and composition
of Sub-committees
Majority Leader (Mr. Felix owusu- Adjapong) 12:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, That this honourable House adopts the Report of the House Committee on the Welfare of Members and Composition of Sub-Committees.
1.0 Introduction
2.1 The Committee met on Wednesday, 8th June and Tuesday, 12th July 2005 and discussed the Welfare of Members and Composition of Sub-

Committees.

3.0 composition of Sub-committees

3.1 The Committee discussed the welfare of Members of Parliament (MPs) in accordance with Standing Order 168 of the House and decided that in order to be effective and efficient in the performance of their duties, the following four (4) Sub-Committees be established:

Welfare and Remuneration

Research and Library

Accommodation, Transport and Catering

Security

Please find attached, the Composition of the Sub-Committees of the House Committee.

4 . 0 o r g a n i s a t i o n o f c PA - - African Regional conference, 2006

4.1 The Committee's attention was drawn to the fact that the Parliament of Ghana will be hosting the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association -- African Regional Conference next year, that is 2006. Since the organization of such an event falls within the functions of the House Committee and its sub- committees, it is recommended that the House Committee and its sub-committees be charged with the organization of the CPA -- African Regional Conference in 2006 with some supporting staff from the Clerk's Secretariat.

5.0 observations

The Committee observed that with the formation of the sub-committees, it is expected that the Committee will perform its functions effectively in providing

services to Members of Parliament including accommodation, catering, medical care, research and other working facilities in accordance with Order 168 (3) of the Standing Orders of the House.

6.0 conclusion

6.1 T h e C o m m i t t e e recommends to the House to adopt this Report in accordance with Order 168 (4) of the Standing Orders of the House.

SUB-coMMITTEES oF THE HoUSE coMMITTEE

Sub-committee on Welfare and Remuneration

1. HON. OKERCHIRI, KWABENA
KOFI 12:10 p.m.
JOSEPH 12:10 p.m.
ABDUL-RAUF 12:10 p.m.
HENNRIC 12:10 p.m.
TSATSU 12:10 p.m.
ADUSA 12:10 p.m.
ISAAC 12:10 p.m.
Mr. okerchiri 12:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to second the motion.
rose
Mr. Speaker 12:10 p.m.
Hon. Deputy Minority Leader, do you have any point of order to raise?
Mr. Adjaho 12:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, that is so. Mr. Speaker, I commend the House Committee for bringing their first Report to this honourable House. But Mr. Speaker, I oppose the whole of paragraph 4.1 of the Report because there is nothing in our Standing Orders that says that the House Committee is the Committee of the House that shall organize CPA Conference or for that matter any other conference. There is noting in Order 168 which the hon. Majority Leader or the Chairman of the Committee has quoted.
Mr. Speaker, this is not the first time that this House would be organizing the CPA Conference; we have done that on several occasions. Mr. Speaker, you are the branch chairman and the invitation is to the branch. The invitation of the CPA normally is to the branch of which, Mr. Speaker, you are the Chairman. And normally, the Leaders are our Deputies and the Clerk is the Secretary. It is a voluntary organization and therefore to say that it is the duty of the House Committee to organize CPA -- Mr. Speaker, it is not supported by the Standing Orders and I do not know which part of the Standing Orders -- Maybe the hon. Majority Leader has a different Standing Orders which states that they are supposed to organize the event.
Mr. Speaker, normally, we put committees in place and I believe that the hon. Majority Leader is involved in the people who will constitute the committee. When we get to that level and he wants his committee to play a certain leading role, he would be at liberty to submit the names to Mr. Speaker to constitute that committee, but to put it in this way, there
will be a problem.
Mr. Speaker, when we are forming a committee of this nature, where other people will be involved, the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) will be involved, the Ghana Police Service will be involved, the Ghana Immigration Service will be involved and he has made this categorical statement and he is inviting this House to adopt it, I cannot support such a Report.
Mr. Speaker, if he can honourably delete clause 4 of this Report, we will go ahead and support it. When the time comes to put a committee in place, it will be his duty to nominate hon. Members of this honourable House to constitute the committee and whoever is deemed fit from the membership of this House to be there, he will do that. But to put it -- Mr. Speaker, if this clause 4 is not deleted then I am opposed to the whole Report moved by the Chairman of the Committee.
Mr. owusu-Adjapong 12:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I thought that other hon. Members would have contributed before I respond to all this.
Mr. Speaker 12:10 p.m.
Hon. Majority Leader, this ought not to be a contentious matter. I would expect that you put your heads together. It is not any contentious matter. So please, put your heads together.
Mr. owusu-Adjapong 12:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the only response I can make is that we all keep on saying that the House Committee has been a dormant Committee. I looked at the type of sub-committees that we have formed and I felt that now that it ceases to be dormant, we should modernize it by getting them some work to do. But I will take counsel from you and discuss with the Minority that we suspend the portion dealing with paragraph 4, take a decision on the rest and then come back; and I am
sure I can at that time convince him to support it.
Mr. Speaker 12:10 p.m.
So it is the view of the House that we delete paragraph 4 and then put the Question?
Mr. owusu-Adjapong 12:10 p.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker.
Question put and motion agreed to.
Resolved accordingly.
Mr. Speaker 12:10 p.m.
We go back to item 9.
Mrs. Grace coleman 12:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the Report is not ready. They are being printed and they have not been brought yet. So I beg that it should be stepped down for a few minutes.
Mr. Speaker 12:10 p.m.
Are you going on with it?
Mr. Adjaho 12:20 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, apparently, the Report is not ready. As you know, it was laid this morning but she had a difficulty in laying it; we are now going to look at the Report, suspend Standing Orders, and take a decision on it. Mr. Speaker, we can take that as the first item under Public Business on Tuesday.
Mr. Speaker 12:20 p.m.
Hon. Majority Leader, my understanding is that the Report is not ready.
Mr. owusu-Adjapong 12:20 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, it is for this and other reasons that I am suggesting to you that it looks like they still need more time and today being a Friday, a lot of our hon. Colleagues would have to be encouraged to do business outside this precincts and I know, for instance, that the Gender Committee is supposed to go to the Central Region for a meeting and I therefore move --
Mr. owusu-Adjapong 12:20 p.m.


[Interruptions.] I have just been told that the Report is ready.
Mr. Speaker 12:20 p.m.
Hon . Major i ty Leader, you are moving that we adjourn proceedings, are you not?
Mr. owusu-Adjapong 12:20 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, taking the feeling from my hon. Colleague opposite, we would try and make it the first item for next week Tuesday so that we can -- [Interruptions.] Because it looks like we all support what is going to be presented but then they want the proper atmosphere. I therefore move that this House do adjourn till next week Tuesday 10.00 in the morning. [Interruptions.]
Mr. Speaker 12:20 p.m.
The House is not yet adjourned.
Mr. Adjaho 12:20 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to second the motion and to add that we support the project and that we want to look at the Report before we discuss it.
Question put and motion agreed to.
ADJoURNMENT
  • The House was accordingly adjourned at 12.23 p.m. till 19th July, 2005 at 10.00 a.m.