Debates of 21 Jul 2005

MR. SPEAKER
PRAYERS 10:05 a.m.
Mr. Speaker 10:05 a.m.
Order! Order! Correc-tion of Votes and Proceedings of Wednesday, 20th July, 2005. Page 1 . . .7 --
Mr. Herod cobbina 10:05 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, on page 6, yesterday I was in the House but I have been marked absent.
Mr. Speaker 10:05 a.m.
Correction will be done. Page 8 --
Mr. S. K. Adu-Gyamfi 10:05 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, page 8, Committee on Lands and Forestry, under “Attendance”, I was at the meeting but I was not recorded as present.
Mr. Speaker 10:05 a.m.
Your name is omitted?
Mr. Adu-Gyamfi 10:05 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, yes.
Mr. Speaker 10:05 a.m.
It will be done.
Pages 9 . . . 20. We do not have any issue of the Official Report.
Mr. Lee ocran 10:05 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to draw attention to a publication in The Independent of this morning with the headline “MPs EXPOSED OVER GHOST ATTENDANCE”. If you read the story, it does not give a good impression at
all of MPs to our constituents. I raised this issue at the Business Committee level and I was advised to raise it on the floor so that our Public Relations Department could be asked to deal with the matter.
The impression that the publication seems to create is that MPs do not attend Parliament; we come and sign and go about our private business. This would create a bad impression in the minds of our constituents, whereas that would not be so because parliamentary business is not done only on the floor of the House; some take place at committee level and at some other places.
On the day in question, many hon. Members of this House were somewhere else. So Mr. Speaker, I beg that this be referred to the appropriate committee. In fact, there is a quotation here purported to have been made by the Majority Leader, and I quote:
“You can compromise on attendance sometimes when there is light business but certainly one cannot compromise on attendance when there is a critical decision to take.”
It is as if it is a fact that sometimes we though come and when there is no business, we run away. Mr. Speaker, that is my issue.
Mr. Felix owusu-Adjapong 10:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that an article said to have been written by the Dean of the Parliamentary Press Corps should carry such wrong impression. I believe as the Dean of the Parliamentary Press Corps, he should know better when it comes to procedures in Parliament. I believe this article has been written in bad faith. But in line with the suggestions I made to hon. Members when I first became the Majority Leader, that in such matters we should try and educate each other instead of talking
about referring matters to the Privileges Committee, perhaps, possibly Leadership would have a talk with the Dean, in particular, and his members and advise them as to how to write on such matters.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I was told by an hon. Member that there was this intended article and the hon. Member had advised the dean to get in touch with me. He rang somewhere in the evening and listening to him, I found out that he had very little or no knowledge about what happens in Parliament; because he said, “ghost” and then I said “how can ghosts come about”? If rather there had been a situation where more people had voted than in the attendance register, then we would have had problems. I drew his attention to at least four hon. Ministers who had come to Parliament and two of them had answered Questions.

The hon. Minister for Education and Sports had come to answer Questions; the hon. Minister for Communications had come to answer Questions; the hon. Minister for Foreign Affairs was around; the hon. Minister for Regional Integration and NEPAD was around, but they were all not in when voting was taking place. Does it mean that those are ghost people?

Again, I drew his attention that the Committee on Mines and Energy had been meeting virtually the whole day and that they came in and went out and that others had in fact been authorized to do business outside. The Committee on Works and Housing had been given permission to visit one of the places and, therefore, there was no cause for concern. Then I suggested to him, that whenever we were doing business in Parliament, we never got the entire 230 people speaking. So if we were discussing an issue where you expected about 10, 20 people to speak
Mr. Lee ocran 10:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I raised the issue without the intention of the issue being referred to the Privileges Committee. I raised the issue so that the Public Affairs Department of Parliament could explain the issue more to the public so that they disabuse the minds of the public about our attendance.
Mr. Speaker 10:15 a.m.
Item 3, Question number 102. It is in the name of hon. Joseph Yaani Labik, Member of Parliament for Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo. [Interruptions.] Hon. Majority Leader, is the hon. Minister for Energy around?
Mr. owusu-Adjapong 10:15 a.m.
Yes, I spoke to him this morning and he assured me that by ten o'clock he would be here. He normally comes very early.
Mr. Speaker 10:15 a.m.
I think he has just appeared.
Mr. owusu-Adjapong 10:15 a.m.
Yes, I am told he is in. [Pause.]
Mr. Speaker 10:15 a.m.
Hon. Minister for Energy? [Pause.] Hon. Member for Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo, you may now ask your Question.
oRAL ANSWERS To QUESTIoNS
MINISTRY OF ENERGY 10:15 a.m.
Minister for Energy (Prof. Mike oquaye) 10:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, renewable energy resources are diverse including solar, biomass, wind, hydro, geothermal, et cetera. These resources however vary from one country to the other. With regard to Ghana, known sources include solar, biomass, wind and hydro.
Mr. Speaker, in terms of solar, Ghana has a high solar energy potential and the daily irradiation level ranging from 4 to 6 Wh/m2 with annual sunshine duration of 1800-3000 hours. Solar energy already plays a significant role in our agricultural sector and it is used for drying produce such as maize and cocoa.
With regard to biomass, about 69 per cent of total energy used in Ghana is derived from biomass, including firewood, et cetera. Other sources include agricultural organic residue such as maize cub, rice husks, palm kennel shells, saw- dust, animal and municipal waste, et cetera.
In terms of wind, Ghana has moderate
to high wind speed, which can be tapped. This resource is capable of generating some modest amounts of electricity to supplement power generation in the country. Good wind resources are generally located along the coast and the mountain ranges in the country.
With regard to hydro, Ghana's hydro potential, including Akosombo/Kpong, is estimated at 12,800 GWh/year. Of this, 50 per cent is derived from the Akosombo and Kpong power stations. Mr. Speaker, there are about 16 potential sites which can be tapped in this regard.
The Ministry of Energy has carried out a number of programmes in the promotion and development of renewable energy in the country. Mr. Speaker, these have been done over the years and include: Off-Grid Solar PV Electrification Project; and this has been done in collaboration with the Spanish Government.

Also, we have the Renewable Energy

Services Project (RESPRO). This project is being done together with the UNDP.

Mr. Speaker, we also have the JSS/

SSS Solar PV Project. This project was commenced around 2004 and it aims at installing solar PV systems in 130 JSS and SSS schools located in remote areas throughout the country. The objective of the programme is to assist the beneficiary students to study at night, and more importantly, to have access to the President's Special Initiative on Distance Learning. This will also include computerization. This project is in progress and so far, 120 installations have been carried out. The Ministry intends to expand this programme this year based on the availability of funds, which I must say is very short in this area.
Mr. Labik 10:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, we are told
that solar energy is a cheaper source of energy and Ghana as a country will definitely benefit from it so much if it is implemented. I would want to find out from the hon. Minister, why the solar energy programme has not been given priority by his Ministry during the past years.
Prof. oquaye 10:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, one thing about solar is that the initial capital outlay is very heavy. Nevertheless, when this is done the cost of its renewable nature and the fact that the sun shines everyday, maintaining it is less costly. It is because of this heavy initial outlay that sometimes this programme is stalled. The moment we are able to source regular funding, this will be implemented to the advantage of the country.
Mr. Labik 10:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, with regard
to biomass, there is a lot of the raw
material particularly in Accra and Kumasi. We would not have problem with the raw material for biomass. Why is this raw material that is needed to generate electricity in the area of biomass not being utilized in Accra and it is now a big problem for the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to handle?
Prof. oquaye 10:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, these techniques are relatively new and machines in that connection are also quite expensive. Mr. Speaker, it is part of the programme, therefore, with the help and assistance of Chinese and Indians, we would be able to develop this sector particularly, with regard to a decentralized formula so as to make it part of our decentralization programme and, for that matter, rural cottage industry develop-ment.
Mr. Labik 10:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I know the hon. Minister always wants to leave a landmark wherever he works. I would want him to tell me what landmark he is going to leave in the field of renewable energy in the Ministry.
Prof. oquaye 10:25 a.m.
Mr.Speaker, parti- cularly, we intend that we would be able to supply adequate cost-effective energy in the rural areas by way of renewable energy applications that would not only be used for lighting but also for cottage industry, to give employment to people in the rural areas.
Mr. Emmanuel K. Bandua 10:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to know from the hon. Minister, what the Ministry's policy guideline on renewable energy is -- whether there are any policy guidelines on it.
Prof. oquaye 10:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, in terms of guidelines, to provide adequate cost- effective and reliable energy for all our people; this is the essence of the policy of the Ministry, not only urban but also rural, not only for domestic consumption but for industry application at all levels; and also for learning, including school compu-terization, for example.
Dr. Kwame Ampofo 10:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, in the Minster's Answer he referred to the Apollonia Demonstration Facility. I wish to know from the hon. Minister how long that facility has been in existence and how his Ministry intends to replicate the viable attributes of the project in other suitable areas.
Prof. oquaye 10:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, if my hon. Friend on the other side would want dates, dates could be provided on notice -- date of commencement and so on.
rose
Mr. Speaker 10:25 a.m.
Hon. Member for South Dayi, you were calling me. As you see we have about seven Questions for today. But I will allow you to ask your supplementary question.
Dr. Ampofo 10:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I apologize for calling you. But Mr. Speaker, I am not satisfied with the hon. Minister's Answer.
Mr. Speaker 10:35 a.m.
Please, ask your supplementary question.
Dr. Ampofo 10:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would want to know for how long the facility has been in place. I do not want the date when it started. Is it two years? Is it three years? Within three years, there would have been some experience gained from the project. My supplementary question is, how does the Ministry of Energy intend to replicate those good attributes of the project in other areas? This is because we need to apply the results of such a project.
Prof. oquaye 10:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am advised that this commenced in 1988. With regard to replicability, when success has been chalked and when resources are available, replication would be done.
Mr. A. S. K. Bagbin 10:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would want to know when the master plan for renewable energy use in Northern
Ghana would be ready.
Prof. oquaye 10:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, in terms of release of what has been printed and to be distributed, that would be done by June next year. It would be ready by June next year.
communities in Sefwi Akontombra constituency
Q. 103. Mr. Herod cobbina asked the Minister for Energy when work would start in the communities under SHEP-4 in Sefwi Akontombra constituency and be connected to the National Electricity Grid.
Prof. oquaye 10:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the SHEP-4 project involves the connection of over 2,000 communities to the National Electricity Grid. The project is estimated to cost about US$350 million. Mr. Speaker, it is expected to be accomplished in phases over a priod of five years when funding is available. Currently, the Ministry of Energy is implementing the first phase of the programme, that is, SHEP-4, Phase-1 project.
Mr. Speaker, it is notable that only US$15 million has so far been secured for the procurement of materials under the Indian EXIM Bank loan facility.
Mr. Speaker, the only note of comfort is that India has just given another US$30 million in this regard.
Under the SHEP-4 programme, 36 communities in Sefwi Wiawso District have been earmarked for connection to the national electricity grid. These communities do not form part of the on- going SHEP-4 Phase-1 project, which is of limited scope. The 36 communities would therefore be connected to the grid under the subsequent phases of the SHEP-4 in line with the implementation schedule and the availability of funds.
Prof. oquaye 10:35 a.m.


Under the National Electrification Programme, 13 communities in the Sefwi Wiawso District of the Western Region have been connected to the National Electricity Grid. The breakdown is as follows:

Project Number of Names of communities

commmunities

SHEP-3 Phase-1 1 Ankwawso

SHEP-3 Phase-2 4 Achiachen, Ahokwaa,

Beposo, Nkatieso

Electrification in the 8 Adeembra, Anhweamu,

Western Region Atronsu, Futa, Nsawora,

under EU funding Nsuasua, Paboase, Surano
Mr. cobbina 10:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the hon. Minister for Energy whether he would be a little more specific with the names of communities, under SHEP-4, in the Akontombra constituency earmarked for the next programme. This is because if you look at the chart, some communities have been listed which do not fall under Sefwi Wiawso nor Sefwi Akontombra constituency, as project implemented under the district or the constituency. So I would want the hon. Minister to be a little more specific with the names of communities under Akontombra constituency.
Prof. oquaye 10:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, it is easier for us administratively to identify the district. A number of constituencies may form a district and having given the district,
this forms the totality of the area. And sometimes, Mr. Speaker, you would not easily know the full parameters of a particular constituency's dimension, in view of the interface of constituencies; but the district gives us a good picture of what is happening in that location.
Mr. cobbina 10:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would want to ask the hon. Minister what his Ministry's electricity programme is for Akontombra constituency this year.
Prof. oquaye 10:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, speaking about this year, we can only say that the Ministry will do as much as possible in line with the availability of funds.
Mr. Evans Paul Aidoo 10:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, is the hon. Minister aware that six out of the thirteen communities that he
mentioned as having benefited under the National Electrification Programme are in Wassa Amenfi and Bibiani-Ahwiaso- Bekwai Districts and not in the Sefwi Wiawso District? Only seven out of thirteen are in Sefwi Wiawso District. Is he aware that he mentioned communities in Wassa Amenfi and Bibiani-Ahwiaso- Bekwai Districts?
Prof. oquaye 10:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, if the hon. Member would like to know whether I am aware of what he is saying, I am not aware of what he is saying.
Mr. Speaker 10:35 a.m.
Hon. Member for Sefwi-Wiawso, do you have another question? Yes, go ahead if you have another question to ask.
Mr. E. P. Aidoo 10:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, it is
unfortunate but could I term the answer that the hon. Minister has given as the correct answer to the House? Once he is not aware, it is very misleading. He has given a wrong answer.
Mr. Speaker 10:35 a.m.
Hon. Member, do you have another question to ask?
Mr. E. P. Aidoo 10:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, is the hon. Minister saying that no community in the Sefwi Wiawso District will benefit or has been captured under the SHEP-4 programme? Is he saying that for the first phase of the SHEP-4 programme?
Prof. oquaye 10:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, as to whether I am saying that or not, I am not saying that -- [Laughter.]
Mr. Alfred W. G. Abayateye 10:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the Question was specifically on Sefwi Akontombra constituency but from the hon. Minister's Answer, it appears that everything is on Sefwi Wiawso constituency. I would want to know what he is being done for the Sefwi Akontombra constituency. The Sefwi Wiawso constituency and Sefwi Akontombra constituency belong to one district but the Question is on Sefwi Akontombra constituency. So what is its fate?
Prof. oquaye 10:45 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I gave the Answer with regard to the Akontombra constituency which is in the Sefwi Wiawso District.
Mr. Eric opoku 10:45 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister has indicated that 36 communities in the Sefwi Wiawso District have been captured under the SHEP-4. I would like to ask the Minister how many of these communities are within the Sefwi Akontombra constituency. This is because
the hon. Member who asked the Question has been very specific.
Prof. oquaye 10:45 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, as I have indicated, the constituency is within the district and if the detailed demarcations of all the constituencies should be given to us, we shall answer that accordingly -- if they will now come by way of one particular spot-by-spot naming of those areas within the constituencies.
constituencies in the Anlo District
Q. 105. Mr. Clement Kofi Humado asked the Minister for Energy when the following communities in the Anlo constituency would be connected to the National Electricity Grid:
(i) Bleamezado, (ii) Tregui, (iii) Adzato, (iv) Agortoe.
Prof. oquaye 10:45 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, with the exception of the Agortoe community which forms part of the SHEP-4 project, the Bleamezado, Tregui and Adzato communities have not been listed under any of the electrification projects to be carried out by the Ministry of Energy.
The Bleamezado, Tregui and Adzato communities may apply for consideration under the SHEP if they meet the eligibility criteria.
Under the National Electrification Programme, 22 communities in the Keta District of the Volta Region have been connected to the national electricity grid. The breakdown is as follows:
Project Number of N a m e s o f communities
communities
SHEP-3 Phase-1 12 Atiave-Atsime, Atiave-Glime,
Prof. oquaye 10:45 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, those were stated in relation to the Answer, and the owner of the Question is safisfied. [Laughter.]
Mr. Speaker 10:45 a.m.
Minister for Energy, I would expect you to answer the question. Just answer the question.
Prof. oquaye 10:45 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the answer was given in relation to the Question that was asked and it has been duly answered.
rose
Mr. Speaker 10:45 a.m.
One more, Minority Leader.
Mr. Bagbin 10:45 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the Question is that of the House. It is not for an individual. Once the Question is admitted by Mr. Speaker, it is a Question of the House, not that of an individual Member of Parliament. I have just asked a question. I am not talking about a question asked by another hon. Member. It is my question I want him to answer. In which district are Penyi and Tsiame?
Prof. oquaye 10:45 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, it is a specific question which would be answered specifically when it is brought on notice.
Mr. Speaker 10:45 a.m.
Hon. Members, let us make progress.
connection of Nante community to the National Electricity Grid
Q. 120. Mr. Yaw Effah-Baafi asked the Minister for Energy if the Ministry had any plans to connect Nante community in the Kintampo South constituency to the National Electricity Grid.
Prof. oquaye 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the Nante
community forms part of the SHEP-3 Phase-3 project. Installation works for the High Voltage (HV) and Low Voltage (LV) have been completed in the community. The major outstanding work to be done is the connection of the VRA high voltage shield wire system and the installation of transformers.
Mr. Speaker, we note that Nane and other communities in the Kintampo District of the Brong Ahafo Region will be served from the Techiman North and Tamale South shieldwire schemes. Thus the towers involved form part of the Techiman-Tamale transmission line which is the only line serving most parts of the Northern and Upper East Regions and parts of the Upper West Region including supplies to CEB and Burkina Faso. The works require outages on the Techiman- Tamale transmission line. From past projects, outages have been granted on weekends only.
Being mindful of this, the VRA has to select a capable contractor with the experience and capability in terms of organisation and resources to undertake the works with minimum interruptions to their operations. The key elements of this capability are knowledge of the design of the towers to enable the modification of the tower peaks, ability to start and complete daily activity schedule within the outage period such that the line can be re- energized, ability to immediately rectify any problems/damages/faults on the line resulting from his actions/inactions or natural causes and ability to guarantee the integrity of the towers, conductors, shieldwire after the project.
Mr. Speaker, in the previous instances, we had implemented such projects alongside major transmission projects in and around the NED operational area. This enabled us to award the work to a competent contractor, with the requisite
Hartogodo-Dormesi,
Hartogodo-Torgekope, Penyi,
Tsiame
SHEP-3 Phase-2 10 Aborluve, Anyanui, Dzita Abladome,
Dzita Mogadzi, Dzita Old Town, Heluvee, Norlopi, Sasieme/Lusukope, Serva, Weme
Under the SHEP-4 programme, 6 communities in the Keta District including Agortoe have been earmarked for connection to the national electricity grid. These communities do not form part of the ongoing SHEP-4 Phase-1 project, which is of limited scope. The 6 communities would therefore be connected to the grid under the subsequent phases of the SHEP-4 in line with the implementation schedule and the availability of funds and materials.
Mr. Humado 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am very satisfied with the Answer of the hon. Minister. Indeed, I was recently in touch with him and he has given me directions on this matter. I therefore do not have any supplementary questions.
Mr. E. K. D. Adjaho 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to find out from the hon. Minister whether he is aware that quite a number of the communities that he has mentioned in his Answer are not in the Keta District.
Mr. Adjaho 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to find out from the hon. Minister whether he is aware that Avenorpedo, Avenorpeme, Bayive and Dagbamete are towns and settlements in the Akatsi District which had been connected to the National Electricity Grid long ago. Is he aware that they are not in the Keta District as he wants this honourable House to believe?
Prof. oquaye 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am not aware of what the hon. Member is saying.
rose
Mr. Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Deputy Minority Leader, one more bite.
Mr. Adjaho 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to find out from the hon. Minister whether he has since assuming duty visited the Keta District.
Prof. oquaye 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I have not visited that district. I will visit relevant districts at relevant times. [Laughter.]
Mr. A. S. K. Bagbin 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, could the Minister tell this House in which district is Dodzi?
Prof. oquaye 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would tell my hon. Friend if he would come on notice.
Mr. Bagbin 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the last one. In fact, it is his Answer that I am using; he mentioned Dodzi. But could he tell us in which district Penyi and Tsiame are.
Mr. Bagbin 10:55 a.m.


resources and who was already mobilized in the area which thus greatly reduced the overheads, risk and overall cost.

We therefore intended to let the contractor who will be awarded the contract for the Transmission Line component of the Ahafo Power Project, which is likely to take off this year undertake the works to facilitate the supply of power to Nante and the other communities in the Kintampo district of the Brong Ahafo Region.
Mr. Effah-Baafi 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to find out from the hon. Minister if he could be quite specific about the timing of the execution of the project.
Prof. oquaye 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, it is very
difficult to fix a concrete time, but we shall do this as soon as possible, having appreciated the importance of the project.
Mr. Effah-Baafi 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want
to find out from the hon. Minister whether he is aware that the community has a small pipe water system which relies on electric energy for this operation.
Prof. oquaye 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, at this
stage, we have not spoken about pipe- borne water facilities in this connection. I think my hon. Friend meant ‘pipe-borne' when he made that statement.
Alhaji collins Dauda 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
in the Minister's Answer, he indicated that the line from Techiman serves the Upper East Region, the Northern Region and also supplies CED and Burkina Faso; I want to find out what “CED” is.
Prof. oquaye 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, if my
hon. Friend wants full details of what this does, I should be notified and I will answer accordingly.
Alhaji Dauda 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the
Mr. Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Hon. Member, if you
have a question, please ask.
Mr. Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Hon. Member, if you
have a question, please ask the question.
Alhaji Dauda 10:55 a.m.
“Professor I am not
aware” -- [Laughter] -- But in this particular case, because he has indicated -- [Interruptions.]
Mr. Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Ask your question.
Alhaji Dauda 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am
Mr. Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Hon. Member, if you do not have any question, you may resume your seat.
Alhaji Dauda 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am
asking for the full meaning of “CED” as indicated in his own Answer. What does CED stand for? I know Burkina Faso, I know Northern Ghana, I know Upper- West.
Mr. Speaker 10:55 a.m.
You have asked your
question; resume your seat.
Prof. oquaye 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, it is a
power utility in Togo and this is just an acronym for its name. It is a power utility, if he wants to know; the company is a power utility in Togo.
Mr. Stephen Kunsu 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
according to the hon. Minister, installation work for the high voltage and low voltage have been completed in the Nante community, in fact, as far back as the year 2000. Now his main concern is the selection of a capable contractor. As the hon. Minister's response implies that this very important Ministry for Energy could not identify a capable contractor for four good years, what is the guarantee that the contractor can be identified within the remaining five months in this year?
Prof. oquaye 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, we have
spoken about contractor and funding.
Mr. Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Hon. Minister for
Energy, thank you very much for appearing to answer these Questions. You are discharged, at least, for the time being.
MINISTRY OF HEALTH 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Hodogbey 11:05 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, in his
Answer to the Question posed, the hon. Minister cited petrol price increase as one of the factors which delayed the project. There has been another petrol price increase this year -- 2005. I would like to know if the hon. Minister had factored this petrol price increase before reawarding the contract to the contractor.
Maj. Quashigah (retd): Mr. Speaker,
I did say that the revised contract sum had been accepted already and sealed, so what has happened now does not affect it. We are saying that the contract is to be completed by August this year and so it has no effect.
Mr. Hodogbey 11:05 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, my
question to the hon. Minister is, will the provision of water, light, landscaping and furnishing be part of the contract awarded to the contractor?
Maj. Quashigah (retd): Mr. Speaker, the fact that I said Ghana Water Company has taken over to supply water to the project site presupposes that supply of water is part of the contract. I do not think that there is any hospital that can be put up in this modern time without water supply and electricity.
Mr. Hodogbey 11:05 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, my last
question is -- The hon. Minister stated that at the end of August this year, the project will be completed. And he said
the contractor is seriously working on the project as at now. I was at the site on Saturday but I did not see any sign of a contractor working there. So I would want to know if the contractor started work this Monday or this week.
Maj. Quashigah (retd): Mr. Speaker,
I did say that the contractor is working very hard with the assurance of fulfilling his contractual obligations of completing the project and handing over by the end of August. Between now and August some good things could happen and they could finish earlier, or some bad things could happen and it could be delayed. So we are working on his assurance and we are monitoring the work.
Mr. Kenneth Dzirasah 11:05 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
a similar project funded by the Saudis had been completed about three years ago at Adutor. I would like to know from the hon. Minister whether there is any obstacle to the commissioning and operation of that health centre.
Maj. Quashigah (retd): Mr. Speaker,
I wonder if that is really part of the Questions that I am supposed to answer this morning. I believe that Adutor hospital is being utilized right now. It is not sitting there idle. Commissioning should not be something that must happen necessarily before health facilities are utilized.
Upgrading of Dambai clinic to the Status of a Hospital
Q. 176. Mr. Wisdom Gidisu asked the Minister for Health when Dambai Clinic would be upgraded to a hospital.
Maj. Quashigah (retd): Mr. Speaker, the Ministry of Health recently completed a health centre at Dambai and it is expected that health care services will improve by this investment.
The Regional Health Director has also
posted a District Director to this newly created district -- Krachi East District -- which has Dambai as the administrative capital.
In addition, a District Public Health Nurse and other core members of the District Health Management team have been posted to the district who will start active work before the end of this month.
Mr. Speaker, the Ministry of Health being aware of the policy of Government to provide at least one functional hospital in every district is pursuing the implementation of this laudable policy. In that respect, a district hospital will therefore be provided at Dambai when resources become available.
Meanwhile, the Krachi Hospital would continue to serve the Krachi East District (Dambai) until Dambai Health Centre is finally upgraded to a District Hospital in the near future.
Meanwhile, a doctor in addition to the District Director of Health now provide services around the clock at the Dambai Health Centre.
Mr. Wisdom Gidisu 11:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to know from the hon. Minister whether he has ever visited the place since the health personnel he is talking about were posted there.
Maj. Quashigah (retd): Mr. Speaker, my programme of visit has not taken me to that place yet.
Mr. Wisdom Gidisu 11:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to know from the hon. Minister whether he is aware that the doctor he is talking of is not at post.
Maj. Quashigah (retd): Mr. Speaker, I guess I might also earn the name “Major I am not aware” -- (Laughter.] The doctor
who is visiting and rendering services there is not resident in that location but he is always moving from his place or location to offer services at the hospital.
Mrs. Juliana Azumah-Mensah 11:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, since the Dambai Health Clinic is not yet ready and working, may I know from the hon. Minister if he can tell us how efficiently the Krachi hospital is working in terms of the health services being rendered there?
Maj. Quashigah (retd): Mr. Speaker, the Krachi Hospital is effectively working and I think those who visit the Hospital would know that they are offering service to the people who come to the hospital.
Ms. Akua Sena Dansua 11:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to know from the hon. Minister if they have provided accommodation for the District Public Health nurses and the other core members of the District Health Management team who have been posted to the newly created district.
Maj. Quashigah (retd): Mr. Speaker, the provision of living accommodation for staff is a problem facing the Ministry at the moment, but there are all sorts of plans now to go a little into the Health Insurance Fund to upgrade all these facilities and ensure that accommodation is provided; and it is our policy from now on that any new health centre, district hospital or regional hospital that is constructed should have, as part of the plan, accommodation for staff. I believe it was because of lack of funds that some of these things have not been provided at the moment.
Mr. F. Y. osei-Sarfo 11:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to know from the hon. Minister if he has plans to encourage districts to sponsor trainee nurses in order for them to return to work in the district hospitals.
Maj. Quashigah (retd): Mr. Speaker,

this is an idea that I must frankly say we are pursuing at the moment because it looks like a lot of people want to go into nursing and the vacancies in the training schools are rather very limited. So I have had a number of requests from some of even the Regional Ministers that they are prepared to fund some of their own people to be trained so that they are retained in the various districts; and it is an idea that we are pursuing right now.
Mr. Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Hon. Minister for Health, thank you very much for appearing to answer these Questions; you are discharged.
Item 4 -- Statements -- Statement by Member of Parliament for Builsa South.
STATEMENTS 11:15 a.m.
Mr. Roger A. Abolimbisa (NDc -- Builsa South) 11:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, this Statement is to draw the attention of the House to a developing tragedy of the onchocerciasis (oncho)-free zone: that is Government's inability to fulfil its promise of sustaining the development of the deprived but richly endowed valleys of these areas in Ghana.
Thanks to the joint efforts of the World Health Organisation, UNDP/FAO, Ghana Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, the disease is no longer of public health importance in these areas. But the poverty, deprivation and exclusion in these areas are of grave significance that needs urgent attention by Government.
It is a well-known fact that the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions record the highest levels of poverty in Ghana, with oncho being a contributory
factor to this poverty syndrome. People had to abandon the fertile lowlands along the Volta, Sissili and Kulpawn rivers because of the disease and the nuisance caused by bites of the flies.
Fortunately, in 1974 Government agreed with the WHO and other development partners to fight the disease and foster the holistic development of areas that would be freed from the scourge because of their socio-economic potential. The National Onchocerciasis Secretariat was established the same year under the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to, among other things, co-ordinate the oncho control activities and ensure that the successful elimination of the disease was followed by developmental activities.
In the wake of the control activities (in the mid-1980s), the UNDP and FAO in particular supported Government in planning for the socio-economic development of the freed areas in the North, with the Government of Ghana (GoG) taking the lead role.
Additionally, it was agreed that the planning and implementation of development projects was imperative, and a necessary condition for reducing the severe poverty levels in the onchocerciasis free areas, and facilitating the reclamation/ reoccupation of the hitherto abandoned fertile lands. Thus, a number of studies were carried out under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and the UNDP/FAO. Workshops were held, development committees formed and regional, district and village levels, and the people were sensitised to await the implementation of these plans.
In the early 1990s, GoG provided minimal infrastructure -- a 35-kilometre road network, three health centres, a link bridge over Sissili River and hand- dug wells in ten communities -- in the “original overseas” area on a pilot
basis. However, since 1995 there has not been any indication that the planned development in terms of supporting agriculture, off-farm income-generating activities, and providing basic social infrastructure of the area would continue as no further representation on this has been made by Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.
It is noteworthy that Ghana Vision 2020, having been shelved at the close of 2000, the over thirty-five thousand population of hard-working farmers in the Fumbisi-Wiesi-Yagaba-Kubori area, has been forgotten. Vision 2020 clearly identified the onchocerciasis-free zone (OFZ) of the North as needing special attention in the investment programmes designed to upgrade deprived areas. The Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) document, as the current development template for the country, economises on the choice of words that favour any programme aimed at lifting the people of the OFZ out of deprivation.

It is clear from the above that the programme for the development of the OFZ in general and the Pride of the OFZ, that is the Gbedembilsi-Wiesi Rice Valleys in particular, has been shoved under the development carpet of Government. Farmers in the Fumbisi Valleys located in the Builsa South constituency of Upper East Region cry for tractors and rice milling centres while Government subsidises rice production in the developed countries by encouraging massive rice imports, under an externally triggered trade liberalization regime.

Women yearn for small credit for transporting their farm produce (rice, millets, groundnuts and processed fresh water fish in particular) to other marketing centres and to undertake other income-

earning activities without success.

For example, not a single woman from the OFZ Valleys has benefited from the Women Development Fund credit scheme, which has so far disbursed over ¢150 billion nationwide. Since 2001, not a single tractor has been made available to support rice farming in the valleys, not a single mill to process rice for the markets. How can poverty and deprivation be reduced and eventually terminated? How can the people cater for the education, health and well-being of their children?

To worsen the situation the Oncho Department, the agency mandated to co- ordinate and facilitate the socio-economic development of the OFZ is woefully underresourced in terms of budgetary allocation, personnel and logistics. Understandably, Government seems to be quietly in the process of winding up the activities of this agency in a bid to cut down on its budget. Should this happen, it is the poor farmers and their families who will be the worst for it.

To reverse this development tragedy of the Pride of the OFZ, I wish to draw Government's attention to some developmental issues:

First, accessibility is very poor. Builsa District as a whole can boast of only 5 kilometres of tarred road; for the Builsa South there is none. To be more realistic the footpath is the order of the day.

Second, for a population of 35,000 people in Builsa South, the inadequacy or lack of social infrastructure such as schools, health facilities gravely affect the development of the area.

T h i r d , t h e n o n - e x i s t e n c e o f telecommunication facilities negatively impacts on information dissemination and education.
Mr. Godfrey Tangu Bayon (NPP -- Wa East) 11:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to lend my support to the Statement made by my hon. Colleague.
Mr. Speaker, I come from a constituency and a district which falls under the Oncho Free Zone area, that is, the Wa East. The Oncho Free Zone area happens to be one of the areas that have the most fertile lands in the country. In my constituency, the land that stretches from Funsi to Kundugu happens to be so fertile, but for so many years it has been known as the “overseas areas” of the Upper West Region.
Mr. Speaker, if one went to the Funsi- Kundugu area five years ago, one would be told that the people did not have any government; the Catholic Church was their government. Why did they say so? They said so because no developmental projects of any kind coming from the Government ever took place in the area.
But Mr. Speaker, I would like to tell this House that for the past four years, quite a lot of good roads have been constructed. However, much is still left to be done
because we have a very important road which will serve the Wa East District which has recently been created. It will lead to accessibility of the district by the inhabitants. This is because people now have to circumvent or go round the district. They have to travel sometimes more than a hundred kilometres to get to their district capital. If the Kundugu road were bridged, definitely, residents of the district would easily move to their district capital.
Mr. Speaker, I also want to say that because the area has been neglected for far too long, the area has no good schools. And so children in this area have to travel down south to undertake the kayayoo business. So I would want to recommend that a secondary school should be set up within this area so that people who complete their primary and junior secondary school (JSS) education would have access to secondary education.
Then also, Mr. Speaker, I would like to say that in the whole of the Wa East District which falls under the Oncho Free Zone area, there is not a single hospital. We only have a few clinics. And as a result, people who fall victim to this disease always have to travel more than a hundred kilometres to Wa, the regional capital to undergo treatment.
Mr. Speaker, as we talk now, if the Government were to turn its attention to the area by providing dams and irrigation facilities in these areas, definitely, it would keep a lot of the youth at home to work on these fertile lands.
Mr. Speaker, on this note, I would like to add my voice to my hon. Colleague and thank him very much for making this Statement and that the Government should, as a matter of urgency, open its eyes and look at the Oncho Free Zone area and develop it for the good of this country.
Mr. Tanko Abdul-Rauf Ibrahim (NDc -- Yagaba/Kubori) 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am the Member of Parliament for Yagaba/ Kubori constituency, popularly known as “Overseas” as mentioned by the hon. Member who made the Statement.
Mr. Speaker, the two rivers he mentioned, Rivers Sissili and Kulpawn both run through my constituency and I would say today, that my constituency is the umbilical cord of the so-called Oncho Free Zone we are hearing of today. I say “so-called” because when the Oncho Secretariat was set up in 1974, it was with the view that it was not only going to eradicate the disease but to wipe out the blackfly in the whole of the Oncho Free Zone area.
But, Mr. Speaker, what is happening today? Today, if we go to the constituency and to the so-called Oncho Free Zone areas, the blackflies have regrouped. Mr. Speaker, they are wild and wilder than they were when they were identified. Previously, we knew that if one went to one's farm, there were wolfs that would frighten one to run back home. Today, Mr. Speaker, when one goes to the farm and sees the fly on him, that spot of his skin may be black but after just five seconds it becomes red. And this is something the Government has to take into consideration; the Government has to look at it very seriously.
Mr. Speaker, when the Oncho Secretariat was set up, it was not only to wipe out that disease but also to develop the area. But Mr. Speaker, what are we seeing today? Today, if one goes to the area for instance, in my constituency, there is not a single road on which one can travel apart from the highway from the Builsa South constituency capital, which is Fumbisi to Mankarugu. Even with the best of cars one can travel at thirty kilometres per hour.
Mr. Speaker, when it rains in August, in my constituency, for instance, one can only get access to only four villages and even with some difficulty. Talking of hospitals, when we mention hospitals it baffles me because in my constituency we do not know what a hospital is; we only have a clinic that was constructed by the Onchocerciasis (Oncho) Secretariat which is now not operational.

It would surprise you to hear that for common snake bites, we have to travel for about 40 kilometres to get vaccines. When we talk about water which falls under development projects, in my area we do not talk about pipeborne water at all. We drink from these rivers and some fishermen in these areas use unapproved methods to fish, some use DDT to fish in the area and this is all because they do not have anything to do; they have no means of livelihood. Even when they go to their farms they are driven away by the Oncho fly, there is no support and because of the poverty levels they have nothing to do. So it is something that Government would also have to take into consideration.

Mr. Speaker, on education, could you imagine that in the whole of that area, we do not have a senior secondary school? We only have two junior secondary schools where we do not even have teachers and chairs. So Mr. Speaker, it is very necessary that Government takes this into consideration. Concerning the suffering of the people, the least said about it the better.

With these few comments, I support the Statement.
Dr. A. Y. Alhassan (NDc -- Mion) 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, my contribution to this Statement is very short. I think that the idea of freeing the area of Oncho was not
Mr. E. K. Salia (NDc -- Jirapa) 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to associate myself with the Statement so ably made by my hon. Colleague. In supporting him, I wish to emphasise that it is important to go back to the historical background of the Oncho Free Zone (OFZ).
Mr. Speaker, when the Oncho Programme started, initially it was under the support of the World Health Organisation (WHO) which was doing a spraying of all oncho-infested areas and by the 1980s significantly progress had been made in the eradication of the disease.
Mr. Speaker, it then came to the turn
of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to see to the economic development of the area. At the onset, let me say that the key problem of development of the OFZ included the following: A small population most of whom have migrated into areas that were not infested by oncho and the similing fly. Secondly, access continues to be a major problem because from parts of the Northern Region, to cross to the West Mamprusi District, headquartered at Walewale, there is no access whatsoever because of the big river that needs to be crossed.
From the Builsa South District, it was
Mr. I. Z. Alidu (NDc -- Walewale) 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support this Statement with a very short intervention. This part of the region that is the Northern Region is called “nothing region”. The OFZ is called “nothing region”, nothing meaning that there is no development projects in the area at all and I am rising up to ask Mr. Speaker to call on the Minister for Education, the Minister for Health and Minister for Finance and Economic Planning to fear God and constitute a committee to visit this area.
Dr. A. A. osei 11:35 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I thought I heard my hon. Colleague saying that the Minister for Health and the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning should fear God. Mr. Speaker, this is not a church for my hon. Colleague to imply that those Ministers do not fear God. I think that in all honesty, he should withdraw that statement because the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning is a very God-fearing person
and to assert that he does not fear God is very improper.
Mr. Alidu 11:45 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I say fear God in the context, because I say he should visit the area. We pray everyday to God; why can we not appeal to you to use the name of God to visit an area that is deprived? [Interruptions.] I am not accusing any hon. Member.
Mr. Speaker 11:45 a.m.
Hon. Member, you wanted to say, “In the name of God”, not “fear God”. I am sure that is really what you wanted to say.
Mr. Alidu 11:45 a.m.
In the name of God, exactly so. They should visit the area, in the name of Allah. Thank you, very much, Mr. Speaker. On this note, I rise to support the Statement.
Mr. Abuga Pele (NDc -- chiana- Paga) 11:45 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to associate myself with the Statement just made, but also to indicate that this is not the first time a Statement like that has been made on this floor; and it leaves one wondering what purpose Statements really serve. Mr. Speaker, it has been the practice in this House for the Speakership to rule and at times even direct that Statements be taken seriously by Ministries or the sectors concerned.
Mr. Speaker, this is a very serious Statement and I will appeal to your good- self if it will be possible, to give direction in this light because when these Statements are made and the sector Minister is not on the floor of this House to listen, and if we expect that they will later on take the Hansard and read and give effect to the concerns that are being expressed by hon. Members, then Mr. Speaker, it leaves us in a vacuum. It defeats the purpose of making Statements.
Minister for Women and children's Affairs (Hajia Alima Mahama) 11:45 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to associate myself with the Statement, but to put in a word, in a different direction.
rose
Mr. Speaker 11:45 a.m.
Hon. Member for Wa West, do you have a point of order?
Mr. chireh 11:45 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I have a point of order and also I need your guidance in this matter. Statements on the floor of the House are not supposed to be argumentative. In any case, the practice is that Ministers are to look at the Statements and make responses if they have them immediately, or take the actions that Members are agitating for. Therefore, I would want the hon. Minister not to limit us to what we say about this, simply because they do not have ready answers. She is out of order.
Mr. Speaker 11:45 a.m.
Hon. Member for Wa West, you will give me the opportunity to rule.
rose
Mr. Speaker 11:45 a.m.
Hon. Member, do you have a point of order to make?
Mr. Speaker 11:45 a.m.
Let us hear him.
Mr. Pele 11:45 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member is misleading the House. This Statement was not attributed to a particular government. We are talking of a problem that had persisted in a particular area that
was being tackled by external donors, which programme has come to an end and we are appealing to Government to do something about the current situation that is aggravating. Mr. Speaker, I do not know why the hon. Member wants to interprete this to mean that we are saying that the Government of the NPP is not doing much. She is leading us into a debate and she should desist from that.
Mr. Speaker 11:45 a.m.
Hon. Minister, are you not commenting on that?
Hajia Mahama: Mr. Speaker, I am from the area; I was born there and I know there, [Uproar] -- I was born in Walewale and I know the area. I am not saying that onchocerciasis is not a problem in the area; I am not saying that the road network is not a problem in the area; I am not saying that.
And I know for example that the hon. Minister for Finance and Economic Planning has visited the area. I know that His Excellency the Vice President has visited the area a number of times and I know that the current hon. Minister for Works and Housing has been there --[Hear. Hear.] I, Alima, coming from that area, having been born in that area has visited there a number of times -- [Uproar.] I have.
Mr. Speaker 11:45 a.m.
Order! Order!
Hajia Mahama: Mr. Speaker, the problem of the area needs attention. The fact that the area is even called Overseas shows that we need to hasten our programme towards opening up the area. [Some hon. Members: Yes.] And I am very much aware -- [Uproar.]
Mr. Speaker 11:45 a.m.
Order! Order!
Hajia Mahama: And the Government is making efforts. I know that last year, the Ghana Highway Authority had an extensive exploration of the area, working
rose
Mr. Speaker 11:45 a.m.
Hon. Member for Upper West Akim, do you have a point of order?
Mr. Sallas-Mensah 11:45 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, is the hon. Minister giving to this House an assurance? She should be specific. Is it an assurance to this House, so that the Assurances Committee will note it and follow up?
Mr. Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Let her continue and wind up.

Hajia Mahama: Mr. Speaker, I am contributing to the Statement. And in doing so I am adding further information about the facts I know that Government is taking steps to do, to open up the area.

As I indicated, the area must be opened up; it is part of Ghana. We are waiting for the day that the area will no longer be called “Overseas Area”. It is part of Ghana and it must be opened up and I know, Mr. Speaker, that various steps have been taken to work towards opening up the area. I am further making the contribution that a number of government officials have been there, including the Vice President who has been there about three times.

A number of government officials have been there to look at the problem and direct that something must be done in that area. And the hon. Member of Parliament for Yagba-Kubori would agree with me that the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) have gone to the area and they are in the process of designing the bridges and the road, and to ensure that the area is opened up.
Mr. Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Minister for Health, if
you have something to say -- do you want to contribute? Please, go ahead.
Minister for Health (Maj. courage Quashigah (retd)) 11:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I stayed to listen to the Statement and I made a few notes. What I am aware of is that this onchocerciasis problem is a multi-sectoral problem involving the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Ministry of Works and Housing when it comes to water problems. We are also looking at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Develop- ment.
I have taken notice of the health aspect and I believe most people here are aware that the curative aspect of this disease is being dealt with. Those who were cured sometime ago, we were supposed to support with agricultural inputs.
The Statement which was made that not even one single tractor has been sent to that area will not be entirely true because I was there in that Ministry and we made sure that that became one of our programmes. If it is not very sufficient, it is a different issue altogether. We hope that we can link up with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, now that I am with the Ministry of Health, to see what can be done about the situation.
PAPERS 11:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Item (d), Chairman of the Committee on Mines and Energy.
Mr. owusu-Adjapong 11:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, we are having consultation with the Chairman of the Committee and the Minister and we want to step this Paper down since there has been some later developments. Tomorrow, we would be able to report on the matter.
Mr. Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Item 6 -- Motions.
Mr. owusu-Adjapong 11:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
you may recall that we asked this matter to be postponed because we wanted to have the Auditor-General around. We thought he would be in by today but we checked up and the earliest time we can get him will be Tuesday. Since it will be a good practice to have him around, being the first time we are considering such a report, we want this matter rescheduled for Tuesday when we believe the Auditor-General will
be around.

Suspension of Standing order 128 (1)

Minister for Energy (Prof. Mike

oquaye): Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, That notwithstanding the provisions

of Standing Order 128 (1) which require that when a Bill has been read a Second time it shall pass through a Consideration Stage which shall not be taken until at least forty-eight hours have elapsed, the Consideration Stage of the Volta River Development (Amendment) Bill may be taken today.
Mrs. Gifty Eugenia Kusi 11:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to second the motion.
Question put and motion agreed to.
Resolved accordingly.
BILLS -coNSIDERATIoN STAGE
Volta River Development (Amendment) Bill
Clause 1 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clause 2 -- Section 4 of Act 46 amended.
Mrs. Kusi 11:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to
move, that Section 4 (2), delete all the words after “misbehaviour”.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Clause 2 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 3 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 4 -- Section 5A inserted in Act 46.
Mrs. Kusi 12:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, delete.
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu 12:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you very much for your indulgence. Mr. Speaker, I think that it was not by consensus that the Committee agreed to the deletion of clause 4. And we are proposing further that that clause be maintained as originally provided for so that for section 5 A as inserted in Act 46, we propose that the Office of the Deputy Chief Executive be maintained, and that there shall be a number of Deputy Chief Executives in some respective areas.
So we think that this particular Bill seeks to ensure that there is efficiency in the activities of the Volta River Authority for them to concentrate on electricity generation. We do think that the management structure is as important in ensuring that VRA lives up to expectation. If you look at the period when Dr. Wereko- Brobbey was the Chief Executive of VRA, after his exit, there were serious problems regarding who was to take over from him because of the vacuum in the structure.
We think that the position of Deputy Chief Executive is so important that it ought to be maintained under this Bill. We propose further that the Authority should have as many Deputy Chief Executives that the Authority may require. We further propose that the Board and not the President appoint the Deputy Chief Executives, because the President is the appointing authority for the Chief Executive position.
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu 12:05 p.m.


So Mr. Speaker, we oppose the amendment for the deletion of clause 4 completely from this Bill.
Mr. K. T. Hammond 12:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I would implore my hon. Friend on the other side that next time when we go to these meetings, maybe, he may want to concentrate a bit more on the proceedings.
Mr. Speaker, he was there and there
was a clear agreement on this that it would be deleted. Now, if he has had a change of heart and he would want to make amendments, Mr. Speaker, he is entitled to that. But to say that there was no consensus, I beg to disagree.
Mr. Speaker, it was agreed and we believe that it is otiose; it is redundant and we do not any longer need that provision. It must be expunged from the Bill as has been proposed by the Chairman of the Committee.
Mr. Speaker, if in the course of time, there is a need for an appointment of Deputies, a certain course of action will be taken. Mr. Speaker, it is also factually inaccurate that at the time of the debacle with Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobbey, it was the case that there was a vacuum and that there were no responsible persons to take over by way of Deputy Chief Executive. That is not the case. There were responsible persons in place.
Mr. Speaker, we ask that that clause be deleted.
Dr. Kwame Ampofo 12:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, at the committee level, this matter came up and we debated it extensively. So the hon. Deputy Minister is right in saying that we debated it. But it is not correct that we agreed to delete the whole thing. What we said was that it was necessary for the Authority to have Deputy Chief Executives. But then the differences in opinion arose as to who should do the
appointment of the Deputies, and we are of the opinion that the Authority must appoint the Deputy Chief Executives, that is, the Board that is established. So the President appoints the Chief Executive, appoints the Board and then the Board is empowered to appoint the Deputies, because the Deputies will be functional in nature, they have expertise in their various fields. So we are proposing, and I support the amendment proposed, that we reinstate that clause except that the word “President” should be substituted with “Board”.
Mr. P. c. Appiah-ofori 12:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, if you look at article 195 (1) of the Constitution, it states and I beg to quote:
“Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the power to appoint persons to hold or to act in an office in the public services shall vest in the President, acting in accordance with the advice of the governing council of the service concerned given in consultation with the Public Services Commission.”
Mr. Speaker, I am of the opinion that the proposed amendment is in conflict with this constitutional provision and therefore ought to be rejected.
Mr. E. K. D. Adjaho 12:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, first of all, what we are saying should be retained is what the Government introduced into this House. We are saying that the Government proposed the position of every Deputy Chief Executive when it introduced the Bill into this House.
The truth of the matter is that whether we provide for it here or not, there shall be a Deputy Chief Executive. There will be a Deputy Chief Executive. The only area of disagreement at the committee was who should appoint these Deputy Chief
Mr. E. K. D. Adjaho 12:15 p.m.


Executives. Some of us feel strongly that if the Deputy and substantive Chief Executive all derive their authority from the President, it can create a certain level of indiscipline in the organization, because all of them will be saying that yes, they were both appointees of the President. And so, in order to give a certain authority to the Chief Executive as far as managing the organization is concerned, we are saying that the Governing Board of the Volta River Authority (the Board) should appoint the Deputy Chief Executives.

Mr. Speaker, we have also looked at the provisions of the Constitution, article 190 down to article 195, and we are convinced in our minds that the VRA is set up for a commercial purpose. So VRA does not fall, strictly-speaking, within the other ordinary public services.

There are two kinds of public services contemplated under article 190 -- those that are set up as public services simpliciter, and those, which are set up for commercial purposes. And if you look at the enabling legislation of VRA and all other legislations, you will see that they are set up to transact commercial business. Also if you look at the totality of the constitutional provisions, you will see that it is within the right of the Board properly constituted, to appoint the Deputy Chief Executive.

Mr. Speaker, if you look at article 190 (1) of the Constitution, we are told that public corporations other than those set up as commercial ventures - article 190 (1) (b) says: “public corporations other than those set up as commercial ventures”. So you would see that clearly the function of VRA is commercial in nature. Therefore, we believe that in order for the Chief Executive to have control, of course, subject to the Board and the appointing

authority who is the President, we agree with the proposal introduced in the House by the Ministry, except that we are saying that the only area of departure is that, yes, the Chief Executive should be appointed by the President but the Deputies should be appointed by the Board; and therefore, the Chief Executive would have full control and therefore indiscipline and all those things would not crop up unduly.

Mr. Speaker, unless those who are

opposing this amendment want to tell us that we are not going to have Deputy Chief Executives at VRA if we delete that clause - [Interruption] -- Then they should tell us who should then appoint them, because we have them and we are just giving recognition to the position. We would be having it, but who appoints them in order to maintain discipline in the organisation? Mr. Speaker, I support the amendment ably moved by hon. Haruna Iddrisu.
Mr. owusu-Adjapong 12:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
happily, I am a member of the Mines and Energy Committee. It is true that we kept on moving up and down on this particular clause.
Mr. Speaker, if you look at the existing
Act, there seems to be no position of Deputy Chief Executive created but we have Deputy Chief Executives in the VRA. So the argument that if we omit this then it means that we cannot appoint Deputy Chief Executives will not hold.
Mr. Speaker, we had one problem. When we were briefed by the Minister as to why we were putting in this clause for Deputy Chief Executives, we realised that we were going to create problems for ourselves. We were faced with the problem as to whether there should be two (2) or three (3) or four (4) Deputy Chief Executives, and as we began to look at the operations of the Board, we
became convinced. Those of us supporting the deletion became convinced that if we made a mistake and put in say three Deputy Chief Executives, and come the next time you give another function to the Board that would require the appointment of another Deputy Chief Executive, then it means that you have to come to Parliament.
rose
Mr. Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Deputy Minority Leader, do you have a point of order?
Mr. Adjaho 12:15 p.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker. I think when the hon. Member for Tamale South was moving his amendment he should have withdrawn amendment No. (iv) on the Order Paper. We are deleting that one because we want to give free hand to the - So we are withdrawing that amendment; he should have done it when he was moving the amendment.
Mr. Speaker 12:15 p.m.
So you are withdrawing the two amendments?
Mr. Adjaho 12:15 p.m.
No, Mr. Speaker. We are withdrawing the one that says they would be responsible for engineering, operations, finance and the administration. We are withdrawing that amendment. We want to give a free hand to the Board. If it is two, if it is three Deputy Chief Executives that they need, depending on the exigencies of the times -- So, Mr. Speaker, we are not pursuing amendment (iv).
At page 4 of the Order Paper, the first one, we are not pursuing that amendment; we are only pursuing item (iii); we are not pursuing amendment (iv). We are withdrawing that one and we are only substituting the “Board” for the “President”. That is the only thing that we are doing.
Mr. Speaker 12:15 p.m.
All right.
Mr. owusu-Adjapong 12:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I am happy that my hon. Colleague, the Deputy Minority Leader and our hon. Member for Tamale South have made the exercise even lighter for those of us who are supporting the deletion of this. The fact that they have now come out that they are no more pursuing the subsequent amendment they were going to move by creating three Deputies, really, is the beginning of the confusion; and that is why we said that there is no need to put anything on Deputies. This is because currently, there are Deputies but it is not in the existing Act.
Therefore, if the Board, at any point in time thinks that it needs one Deputy, it would announce it and then they go ahead with it. If they think they need three Deputies, they do it. But if now we are going to write in this Bill that there shall be Deputies, then that is all that we are going to write in this Bill, that is what it would then amount to because if you are going to delete the classification of the Deputies and the number of Deputies, then it means that there is no need inserting anything in this Bill to create a post called “Deputy --”
Mr. J. Y. chireh 12:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, he is
saying that currently, the parent Act itself does not provide for the appointment of Deputies and yet we have them. Is he sure that we have not been doing an illegal thing? And if so, why should we not correct the illegality now?
Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom 12:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
we must be careful how we choose our words. When you are talking about corporate governance, there is nothing that says Parliament has to give you an indication or make a law for you to have a certain position in an organisation. That is a corporate responsibility that is normally performed. Because it is not in an Act, it is not in a law and yet it is performed as normally as should be performed, does not make that an illegality. So it is important that the hon. Member does not use those kinds of words here.
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu 12:25 p.m.
Thank you, Mr.
Speaker, for your indulgence. Various statements have been made with apparent misunderstanding of our proposed amendment, one of which is just the one made by the hon. Minister for Public Sector Reforms. He should be interested in this particular amendment because we are helping him deepen corporate governance by proposing transparency in the appointment process. And indeed, Mr. Speaker, with your leave, as the proposer of the amendment, may I clarify the proposed amendment because of the doubts in the Majority Leader's mind.

Mr. Speaker, we are debating this motion having suspended the 48 hours notice, so I crave your indulgence to re- state our position. We are simply saying that section 5 A inserted in Act 46 must be reinserted - there should be the office of Deputy Chief Executive. We are saying that we will not further seek that the offices be named, whether engineering or finance or administration, but like the Majority Leader himself said, even now, even though the law does not provide for the existence of Deputy Chief Executive, they do exist, maybe, as a management practice. We are saying that for purposes of clarity, let us create an office of Deputy Chief Executive, and give the Board power to appoint them.
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu 12:25 p.m.


Mr. Speaker, may I refer to article
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:25 p.m.
On a point
Mr. Speaker 12:25 p.m.
Yes, but let him continue.
Majority Leader, let him continue.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:25 p.m.
Yes,
because he is debating and I do not think that is right.
Mr. Speaker 12:25 p.m.
Yes, let us hear his
argument, please.
Mr. owusu-Adjapong 12:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I believe that we want to create a society where Boards of Directors will also have some higher level of responsibility. Boards of Directors should one day be able to decide that they want to have this particular position. We do not need a Bill or an Act to appoint a Financial Director; we do not need a Bill to appoint a Deputy Chief Executive; we do not need a Bill to appoint a General Manager; and I have proved this by the current arrangement that even though the existing Act 46 never created Deputy Chief Executives, we have them there.
Mr. Speaker, the earlier documents some of us saw on this Power Sector Reforms, for instance, suggested that the thermal side of the Volta River Authority (VRA) should be taken away from it, in
addition to the transmission. As we all began studying the matter, we got a new thinking that, no, we should still allow thermal to be under VRA.
Fancy we had come in with an Act of Parliament, which had suggested that thermal was no more part of it, it means we would have needed an Act of Parliament. But currently, we are agreeing that for whatever it is, the current Power Sector Reform demands that transmission should be away; so we cannot have a Deputy Chief Executive for transmission.
We are now talking about the Gas Project in which VRA is a major player. So what we are saying is that let the Board have some freedom to decide how they will organise the company. Parliament should be interested only in ensuring that we have rules as regards the head of the place, that is the Chief Executive. Any other appointment should be left to them so that we would not always need to come back and say we want to make amendments to this Act. Because, it has now been found that, in fact, the title “Deputy Chief Executive” should have been changed.
This is all that we are suggesting and I think that we would agree to this and make progress, especially, since we have all accepted that the amendment that hon. Doe Adjaho and hon. Haruna Iddrisu were seeking to move by creating their new titles of Deputy Chief Executive - Operations, Engineering, et cetera -- we have all found out that we could not really legislate too much against the future and that we should allow him, for progress and development and for novelty.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I hope we would get the support.
Dr. Kwame Ampofo 12:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I do not know why we are moving forwards and backwards on this. The whole (Amendment) Bill was proposed by them and in the proposed amendment

or in the Bill, they sought to create the Office of Deputy Chief Executive, which we agreed to. What informed them to propose such a thing which we agree to? The only point we do not agree to is that those appointments must be made by the Board, and not the President; but then the President should appoint the Chief Executive and the Board.

So according to article 195(2) of the Constitution, the President can delegate those responsibilities to the Board, and so the Board has that authority to appoint the Deputy, which is what we are suggesting. So in effect, we agree with the initial proposal in the Bill, except that the appointing authority should be the Board; and I do not know why this is not agreeable.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:25 p.m.
Mr.
Speaker, initially, I thought I was going to agree with the amendment proposed by the duo, hon. Haruna Iddrisu and hon. Doe Adjaho. Unfortunately, as we travelled along, I think I have had cause to change my mind, not least because they themselves have withdrawn the other one, because that one even did not talk about the creation of many deputies.
Mr. Speaker, it was talking about the creation of the position of a Deputy Chief Executive, that is one Deputy Chief Executive to be responsible for these three things - Engineering, Operations, Finance and Administration; that is the clear understanding of the construction there. The language and tenor suggest that. That is what they have done - [Interruptions] - But then I will go on because they themselves have withdrawn it.
Mr. Adjaho 12:25 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr.
Speaker, the hon. Majority Chief Whip is
misleading this House. Mr. Speaker, if you look at the amendment, it just seeks to change “President” and substitute it with “Board”, and if you read the rendition in the original amendment Bill, then you will know exactly what is there. Mr. Speaker, as indicated, we have withdrawn that one so it is no longer a matter before this House. So in his submission, he should take note of that. Mr. Speaker, I have said that already so why is he referring to it as if it is still part of the amendment proposed?
Mr. Speaker 12:25 p.m.
Hon. Majority Chief
Whip, you continue but forget about that. That has been withdrawn.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:25 p.m.
Mr.
Dr. Ampofo 12:25 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr.
Speaker, the hon. Member is misleading the House because he seeks to imply that the Bill is talking about one Chief Executive; but if you read it from 5A (1), it says,
“The Authority shall have the number of Deputy Chief Executives that the Authority may require . . .”
But he only read the second part which says that “a Deputy Chief Executive”, implying that it is only one. So he is misleading the House and he should take that into consideration.
Mr. Speaker 12:25 p.m.
Let him complete his argument.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:25 p.m.
Mr.

Hon. Doe Adjaho is saying that he has withdrawn it and so we should not be commenting on it. But hon. Doe Adjaho knows that once the amendment
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:25 p.m.


is proposed and finds a place on the Order Paper, it does not lie in his power to just say that he is withdrawing and then it is withdrawn; it will have to come with the indulgence of the House; and so far, the House has not indulged him; but we will come to that.

Mr. Speaker, the substance in what I am making, that is clause 4, is that the Parliamentary Service Act proposes a Clerk-to-Parliament; there is no place for Deputy Clerks. Now, we have Deputy Clerks; they are functioning effectively and that is in no breach of any law; it does not breach the Parliamentary Service Act.

Mr. Speaker, in that same regard, we can have this, particularly when we are acknowledging the fact that even now the Board does the appointment and it does no violence to what obtains now. So I am inclined to go along with what the hon. Majority Leader is saying that we can delete it conveniently and it will not do violence to the Act. It will allow it to have smooth functioning and I believe that it is important and it is in order that we delete the proposal as contained in this.
Mr. Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Hon. Members, I am allowing two more contributions and then put the Question.
Mr. Lee ocran 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, it seems that what is bothering my hon. Colleagues on the other side of the House is the substitution of the word “Board” for “President” - that is what is worrying my hon. Friends on the other side of the House. The hon. Minister for Private Sector Development and President's Special Initiative stood up and spoke eloquently about corporate governance. There is nowhere that corporate governance is meddled in by politicians. If you have a board, it is the board that --[Interruptions.]
Mr. Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Order! Order!
Dr. A. A. osei 12:35 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, the Minister for Private Sector Development and President's Special Initiative has not spoken. He is misleading the House. [Interruptions.]
Mr. ocran 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, they have too many Ministers; that is the problem. Mr. Speaker - [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Order! Order! Hon. Member for Jomoro, please continue.
Mr. ocran 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, they have too many Ministers with too many titles so I do not know who is who. [Interruptions.] Mr. Speaker, Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, the Minister for Public Sector Reforms spoke eloquently about corporate management but he knows and I also know that when we talk of corporate governance, we are not talking about some President meddling in corporate affairs.
The Deputies should be appointed by the Board and that is the matter - if we want proper corporate governance. If we want a situation where politicians would be meddling in corporate matters, state enterprises to kill them, then we can give the authority to the President to appoint the Deputy Chief Executives.
Mr. Speaker 12:35 p.m.
One last contribution from the Majority side and then I will put the Question.
Mr. John Ndebugre 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, it is my view that if we retain clause 4 as contained in the original amendment it would amount to killing a fly with a sledge hammer. I am saying this because even if you look at article 190, it defines the Public Services of Ghana and then in article 190 (1) (c) it is stated that - and Mr. Speaker, with your permission, I quote:
“public services established by this Constitution; and (d) such other
Mr. John Ndebugre 12:35 p.m.


public services as Parliament may by law prescribe.”
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu 12:35 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order because the hon. Member for Zebilla (Mr. John Ndebugre) is making reference to a constitutional provision which does not affect the VRA as a commercial venture. And Mr. Speaker, with your indulgence, I would like to read article 190 (4) to emphasise that he is grossly misleading this House. Mr. Speaker, it says - and with your permission I quote:
“For the purposes of this article ‘public corporation' means a public corporation established in accordance with article 192 of this Constitution other than one set up as a commercial venture.”
In my view, VRA was established as a commercial venture; it is stated even in article 46 and therefore it cannot be affected by the provisions of article 190.
Mr. Speaker 12:35 p.m.
All right, let him continue.
Mr. Ndebugre 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, my hon. good Friend from Tamale South is totally wrong. He is talking about article 190 (1) ( c) and I am talking about article 190 (1) (d). I am saying that what the original amendment sought to achieve was to establish an office and that is why I am saying that if we retain it we would be trying to kill a fly with a sledge hammer.
The Constitution does not say that Parliament should establish offices by an Act; Parliament is mandated to establish services and the services through their governing council would appoint officers.
So what we are arguing about is the establishment of the Office of Deputy Chief Executive which is far below the authority of this House. So it is as if we are using a sledge hammer and chasing a small fly to kill it; and it is most inappropriate.
So I think it is in order that the whole of clause 4, as proposed by the Chairperson of the Committee, be deleted and then the governing Board would be free to determine for itself, in the interest of the organization and in the interest of the country, whether it needs one, two, three, four or ad infinitum number of Deputy Chief Executives. And through that the Board would be held responsible for any inefficiencies so they should be allowed to determine how to organize their affairs. I do not think this House should turn itself into a sledge hammer, chasing a small fly to kill it.
Question put and amendment negatived.
Clause 4 as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clause 5 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clause 6 - Section 10 of Act 46 amended.
Mrs. Kusi 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the Committee has rescinded its decision to propose this amendment. We are withdrawing the amendment as it appears on the Order Paper - [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Hon. Chairperson of the Committee, the point you are making is that you are withdrawing the first amendment to clause 6, is that so?
Mrs. Kusi 12:35 p.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker 12:35 p.m.
But there is also another amendment, is it not?
Dr. K. Ampofo 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am surprised at the Chairperson's proposal because she appears to be speaking for herself. I say so because the Committee is not aware of this decision to withdraw the amendment.
Mrs. Kusi 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, a VRA lawyer came to meet the Committee - I do not know whether the hon. Member had left at that time but then he explained that changing the name may cause problems because the dam was named after Kpong rapids and not after Kpong village and the Natriku village has been resettled.
Mr. Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Hon. Chairperson, I think the point the hon. Member for South Dayi (Dr. K. Ampofo) is making is that members of the Committee are not aware. That is the point he is making. [Interruption.]
Mr. E. K. D. Adjaho 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I was present. She knows very well that I was present when - [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Hon. Member for South Dayi, I will call you; exercise patience; I will call you. Let us try to resolve this matter first.
Mrs. Kusi 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, majority of the members were there and some of the members are here; they can speak for themselves. A VRA lawyer came to meet us and said that the dam was named after the Kpong rapids but not the Kpong village so it would cause a lot of problems. He did not think we should give it that name because we would be introducing so many other names.
Mr. Adjaho 12:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am a member of the Committee and I was there when the VRA lawyer that the hon. Chairperson of the Committee is referring to appeared before the Committee. Mr. Speaker, this amendment, after the Committee has taken its decision, is normally filed by the Clerk to the
Committee on behalf of the Committee. If that decision had been taken, the Clerk himself would not even have gone to file this amendment on behalf of the Committee in the first place.

Mr. Speaker, it is not true. Mr. Speaker, Committee is primus inter pares. No decision has been taken to change it and if at any point she wants to change her mind, she should call the Committee for us to look at it and change it. No decision has been taken to that effect and what she is attributing to the lawyer is not absolutely correct; it is not correct. Mr. Speaker, I do not know -- because if we have to work this way then I do not know the essence of taking committee decisions and whether we should all now come to the floor of the House and do whatever we want to do on the floor of the House; but that would bring confusion and lawlessness on the floor.
Mr. owusu-Adjapong 12:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think I need to assist. What is happening now is not new and this is not the first time in this Parliament where a Chairman had come to say that the Committee has changed its mind on an issue and then the other hon. Members say it has not.
Mr. Speaker, all that is happening is that we are at the Consideration Stage and if my hon. Colleague feels that he was not there when the decision was taken but he is convinced that he still needs to have this amendment then I think the best procedure is that -- The Chairperson is saying that this is what the majority are saying. I am a member of the Committee and it is not every meeting that I have sat through to the end hundred per cent of the time; one may be there and even the hon. Speaker may call him.
So if he is convinced that he wants it restated I believe the rules allow him to say
that, yes, it has been withdrawn by the hon. Chairperson but I would want -- In this case it would cease to be in the name of the Committee and it would be in his name and then he can canvass and we could make our minds on it rather than arguing as to whether it has been withdrawn or not. I still repeat that in 1997, 2000 we had similar situations; I believe 2001 we had similar situations where the hon. Chairperson came to announce that we said we were going to do this.
Again, I am not convinced with the theory he was proposing that the responsibility to file an amendment is that of the Clerk, no. Mr. Speaker, the exercise is that of the Committee and not of the Clerk so if the Clerk does something wrong it lies with the Chairperson to correct that. So we should not create a situation where one day we would be told that the Clerk filed something and therefore it overrides that of the Chairperson. But as I have said, we can have any amendment brought in by any other person and then we can move on rather than arguing about whether it has been done or not done.
Dr. Ampofo 12:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am the Ranking Member of this Committee. I was present throughout the sitting and for the Chairperson to say that the majority of the Members -- How was the majority established? The Committee just finished the work. In fact, there are other amendments that the same lawyer brought and I was there till we finished all of those. So if she has her own personal amendment to make, I do not have any objection; but if she is going to say that the Committee decided on that, and say that maybe I had left -- She knows very well that I was there till the very end and even after that we had lunch.
So why is she saying that maybe I was not there? If this is how we are carrying on with the work then it is not very good. Let us say that she is making that amendment

or change but that the Committee itself agreed on what is on the Order Paper. Let us not blame it also on the Clerk.
Mr. Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Hon. Member for South Dayi, I appreciate the point you are making, but do you have any objection to this application? Do you have any objection really?
Dr. Ampofo 12:45 p.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, until such time that the Committee as a whole looks at this and decides that it ought to remain as it is, my objection is that what is on the Order Paper was the decision of the Committee.
Ms. Josephine H. Addoh 12:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am also a member of the Committee. Initially, yes, we wanted to change that but it was explained to us that the Kpong thing was named after some rapids so we took the decision not to change that. I do not know whether the hon. Member went out or something but I think I side with the hon. Chairperson.
Minister for the Interior (Papa owusu-Ankomah) 12:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the objections raised by my hon. Colleagues, but certainly it is the Chairperson who is moving the amendment and she says she is no longer going to move the amendment. It may be that hon. Colleagues who are disputing the Chairperson's position may be wrong.
However, if they feel strongly about it, nothing stops them from moving the amendment. So I propose, Mr. Speaker, that you rule that the amendment has been withdrawn but any hon. Member who desires to move the amendment should do so; otherwise, the business of the House can never progress.
Mr. Adjaho 12:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, anyway things are happening -- [Uproar!] Mr. Speaker, this is a report - [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Hon. Deputy Minority Leader, but things must happen.
Mr. Adjaho 12:45 p.m.
That is so; and they are happening. [Laughter.] Mr. Speaker, this is the Report that this House adopted yesterday; this was the Report presented on behalf of the Committee by the Chairperson of the Committee and she did not make any amendment to the Report when she was presenting it. And this was after the lawyer from the VRA appeared before your Committee on Mines and Energy.
If you look at page 4 of the Committee's Report which was laid in this House, the first paragraph, clause 6, paragraph (c), sub-paragraph (3) “after Akosombo insert Natriku-Akuse.” This is the Committee's Report signed by the Chairperson, hon. Gifty Eugenia Kusi -- Committee on Mines and Energy, and Inusah Mohammed, Clerk to Committee on Mines and Energy. This is the Report which was presented to the House yesterday and this was what we agreed on. So if the Committee submitted a Report to this House and then we come back to the floor of the House after we have listened to the lawyer from the VRA and submitted this Report and start changing things, then things should be happening, indeed.
Mr. Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Hon. Members, in any case the hon. Chairperson of the Committee says she is withdrawing this. I would suggest that if there is anything at all, at the next committee meeting you could take whatever action you want; but in the meantime she says she is withdrawing that so let us take it.
There is another amendment proposed by hon. Kenneth Dzirasah, hon. Joe Gidisu and then hon. David Assumeng. Are you also withdrawing that?
Mr. Kenneth Dzirasah 12:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, with the leave of the Chair and with the indulgence of the House, I would like to
restate the proposed amendment to make it a little bit more restrictive. It should read like this --
Amendment proposed -- line 1, paragraph e, after the word “area” insert the following:
“and communities in the Lower Volta Basin affected by the construction of the dam”.
Mr. Speaker, if you grant me the permission to make the appropriate amendments to the amendment I would then move it - [Pause.] So in effect, what we are asking this House to deliberate on is that -- I beg to move, That in line 1, paragraph e, after the word “area” insert the following: “and communities in the Lower Volta Basin affected by the construction of the dam”.
Mr. Speaker, with that proposed amendment (e) would now read as follows 12:55 p.m.
“the development of the lakeside area and communities in the Lower Volta Basin affected by the construction of the dam for the health and well- being of the inhabitants and people living adjacent thereto”.

Mr. Speaker, by this amendment we are seeking to include all communities in the Lower Volta Basin affected by the construction of the two dams in the list of the Volta River Authority (VRA) responsibility as far as the health and the environmental needs of the people are concerned.

Mr. Speaker, we are not seeking to create a new policy for the Government or VRA since it is already a policy of the VRA to ensure the health needs of the communities affected by the dams. Mr. Speaker, at the time of enacting Act 46 neither did the drafters of the Act nor the Government foresee that the

health conditions of the people living in communities downstream would deteriorate to the level that prevails in the Lower Volta Basin today; so it was not captured.

The problems of the f if ty-two settlements that are located above the dams and those of the Lower Volta Basin below the dams were created by the construction of the Akosombo and Kpong Dams. Mr. Speaker, the problems are the same.

It is my submission that it is morally wrong for the relevant authorities, and in this case, the Volta River Authority, to pick some communities along the Volta River in order to address their needs and problems and totally ignore other communities that are suffering from the same problems.

And it is in this respect that we seek through this amendment to correct this anomaly by bringing on board those communities in the Lower Volta Basin that were affected and which, for over forty-five years have lived there, in the hope that the Volta River Authority will turn its attention to them.

Mr. Speaker, our proposal for amendment is further fortified by another amendment standing in the name of the Chairperson of the Commitee which seeks to reinforce the responsibilities imposed on VRA by Act 46. And this proposed amendment is itemized as ‘x' on page 5 of the Order Paper.

Mr. Speaker, there is clearly a defect in the law; there is a mischief that needs to be cured. The defect is that the law discriminated against some communities in favour of others and it is only fair that opportunity is given by an enabling legislation to the VRA to live up to its responsibilities.

Mr. Speaker, in the circumstances, I beg to move.
Mr. owusu-Adjapong 12:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
as I said, I am a member of the Committee. I can confirm that hon. Kenneth Dzirasah together with some other hon. Members, as indicated, appeared before the Committee and made this submission.
Mr. Speaker, the Committee could not adopt their proposed amendment for some reasons which I will give. But when he felt convinced that he needed this to be known, the Committee agreed that he could bring the matter to the floor.
Mr. Speaker, we found out that if one wants to bring this amendment, then one must first consider all the settlers along the Volta River, from the Northern Region down to the coast. Mr. Speaker, we were also confronted with the proper division of what amounts to the Lower Volta area. Mr. Speaker, we were told that we could use seven kilometres because there had been an earlier administrative under-standing with the communities in that area that they would benefit within seven kilometres.
Mr. Speaker, we then came to a conclusion that if in fact this administrative procedure has been going on, then why do we want to bring this into this Act, especially when the Bill we are considering for the moment is not dealing with that aspect of the Bill? We suggested that if in fact we wanted to change the whole Bill, that would be another exercise and that at the moment it is a question of reforming that area so far as institutions are concerned.
Now, with this wording, it makes it very difficult because we were being persuaded that there was going to be a limit as to the division of the Lower Volta Basin to seven kilometres on either side of the river. Apart from the fact that this would be another injustice to those people who are upstream -- Because we are now talking about those who are living on the lower basin, but there are problems also being faced by those who are upstream. It was for that reason that the Committee suggested that we should allow the VRA to continue with the administrative procedure with the assurance given by the hon.
Mr. David. T. Assumeng 12:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I must say that I am highly disappointed today by the trend of events that is going on in this House.

Mr. Speaker, I have lost words, actually - [Laughter.] Mr. Speaker, the issue of the Lower Volta Basin, as we are trying to propose - [Interruption.]
Mr. K. T. Hammond 12:55 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, he has lost words because he is attempting to put words in the mouth of the hon. Minister for Energy; that is why he has lost words.
Mr. Speaker, I have read what he is talking about. The hon. Minister for Energy did not come anywhere near towards saying the kind of things that he is saying over there. Mr. Speaker, the point was made about the development of that area and the fact that they are lacking developmental projects.
The hon. Minister, in the Hansard, which he showed me yesterday and I read - Because, Mr. Speaker, in the first place, he said that the hon. Minister said that he was constrained by financial consi- derations. When he brought the document there was no such statement in it. We were content to satisfy ourselves with a phrase in which the hon. Minister said that he had seen it, he appreciated it and the whole Act had to be looked at again. That is not what is happening today.
This Bill, Mr. Speaker, seeks completely to look at the question of institutions as the hon. Majority Leader has just indicated. It is not a compre-hensive review of this 1961 or 1963 Act. So he would lose words if he attempts to put words into the mouths of people who have not said - [Hear! Hear!] It is even worse; apparently, the hon. Minister asked him to come to the office and he did not come.
Mr. Speaker 12:55 p.m.
Hon. Deputy Minister, let him continue; if he says anything which the hon. Minister did not say, I expect the hon. Minister here present to contradict that. In the meantime, please, continue.
Mr. Hammond 12:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am his lawyer so - [Laughter.]
Mr. Assumeng 12:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the 8th June Hansard would testify to what I am saying, and I think that if we lay hands on the 8th of June Hansard, what I am saying would be proved wrong or right.
Mr. osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:55 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I think what my hon. Colleague is attempting to do is wrong. It has been shown to him that what he is quoting and attributing to the hon. Minister is incorrect. And now he goes on to say that if he had it here he would be proven right or wrong. I believe that if he does not have it to substantiate the allegation, he should withdraw it. Mr. Speaker, that is the practice of this House.
Mr. Speaker 12:55 p.m.
Hon. Member, you do
not have it here at the moment?
Mr. Assumeng 1:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, at the moment it is not here. Mr. Speaker, today is a great day and it will go into the annals of history - [Interruption.] Mr. Speaker, I do not have it here and so I withdraw that. Mr. Speaker, on the issue of the Lower Volta Basin I will never be harassed on the issue. As I stand here, I would be prepared or I am prepared to offer the utmost sacrifice as far as - [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 1:05 p.m.
Hon. Member, speak to the question.
Mr. Assumeng 1:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the issue is so pathetic and disappointing - [Uproar.] Mr. Speaker, I can never be harassed by what is happening - [Interruptions.]
Mr. Speaker 1:05 p.m.
Order!
Mr. Assumeng 1:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would never be intimidated by what is happening on the floor of the House. Mr. Speaker, I have a report from the same Volta River Authority (VRA) which I picked from the internet. Mr. Speaker, the report shows that the Lower Volta Basin, life along that area is so pathetic and so damaging; bilharzia has increased from 5 per cent to 55 per cent among the school children in the area. [Some hon. Members: Oh!]
Mr. Akwasi Afrifa 1:05 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member is saying that of late there has been bilharzia in his area; could he tell us when the
bilharzia started in the area?
Mr. Assumeng 1:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think that we should not read political meaning into this issue. Mr. Speaker, I was born and bred in the area and I know what I am saying. Mr. Speaker, to quote part of the report that I had from the internet -- There is a phrase which I want to quote:
Mr. Speaker 1:05 p.m.
Order! Order!
Mr. Assumeng 1:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, to answer a demand that has come as to whether I have one, there are a lot of people along the Lower Volta Basin who are suffering from bilharzia but are not even aware; it is common knowledge. Mr. Speaker, in 1989 when I had the chance to travel outside this country I was quarantined for three months, not knowing that I was suffering from bilharzia; and all the school children along the Volta Basin are suffering from this.
Mr. Akwasi osei-Adjei 1:05 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I think we are being bombarded with certain words of which I, and I think majority of hon. Members, feel not ashamed but embarrassed. To say that all children in his constituency in the Lower Volta Basin are suffering from bilharzia, can he as a Member of
Mr. Akwasi osei-Adjei 1:05 p.m.


Parliament testify? To stand in this House and say “all the children” - all -- Mr. Speaker, certain words should not be used on the floor of the House.
Mr. Speaker 1:05 p.m.
Hon. Member, were you saying “some” or “all”?
Mr. Assumeng 1:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I gave a percentage and I said it is from 6 per cent to 53.3 per cent; and I think that should be taken note of. What I am saying is that most of the children are suffering. Mr. Speaker, even though it is the right of the people to demand, I would plead that this issue be given a second look because this is the time that the door has been opened for something to be done. Irrespective of any affiliation, I am saying that the issue is so pathetic and it is so damaging that we need to look into it.
Papa owusu-Ankomah 1:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I thank you very much. I must say that we are all touched by the passionate submission of our hon. Colleague in talking about bilharzia and the adverse effects of the Volta River Project. But certainly, in everything that we do, we must as a House be guided by our procedures. Mr. Speaker, I refer the House to Standing Order 116 -- and with your permission I read:
“Every Bill shall be accompanied by an explanatory memorandum setting out in detail the policy …”
Certainly, having regard to this Order, any amendment that is proffered in this House must seek to promote the policy and principles of the Bill.
Mr. Speaker, I again refer to Order 118 -- and with your permission I quote 1:05 p.m.
“118 (1) Matters with no proper relation to each other shall not be provided for in the same Bill.

(2) No Bill shall contain anything foreign to what its Long Title imports.”

Mr. Speaker, if hon. Members would direct their attention to the Long Title of the Bill, it says:

“An Act to amend the Volta River Development Act 1961(Act 46) to remove the power conferred on the Authority to operate an electricity transmission system, to revise the membership of the Authority, the tenure of office of the members and for related matters.”
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu 1:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I rise on a point of order and then to remind the former Attorney-General that in considering the Bill, nobody has any obligation to restrict himself to the memorandum. And to quote his words, he said, “any other related matters”, Mr. Speaker, “related to this Bill” -- And with your indulgence, I want to refer the hon. Minister for the Interior to section 10 of Act 46, which is being proposed as amended under clause 6 now. That is the basis of the intervention of the hon. Member. So he should not be misleading this House by creating the impression that he could not be talking about the effects of VRA and its activities on people in the Lower Basin. I refer him to clause 6 of the
proposed amendment.
Papa owusu-Ankomah 1:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I thank him very much. But I believe that it will pay for neophytes to listen to those who are experienced in these matters [Hear! Hear!] Mr. Speaker, it is obvious, that the hon. Member who raised the point of order, being a lawyer knows the principles relating to interpretation. He should learn, Mr. Speaker - [Interruptions.] Nobody is saying that matters relating to the effects of the Volta River Project and the Lower Volta Basin are not important. We are saying that, this is not the appropriate time to seek such an amendment. [Hear! Hear!] Such amendments seek to amend the existing policy underpinning this amendment; that is all.
I really appreciate the concerns raised by hon. Colleagues and I believe that it is the responsibility of the Government, where such concerns are raised to seriously consider them. How we go about it, is a different matter. So Mr. Speaker, I am saying that the hon. Member who introduced this amendment, I pray that he should withdraw the amendment and explore other ways of dealing with this matter. And if he feels very passionate about it, nothing prevents him from proposing a Bill as a Private Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker 1:15 p.m.
I want to put the
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu 1:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I
need your direction. I heard him say he wants to propose a Question.
Mr. Speaker 1:15 p.m.
Yes, there is an amendment.
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu 1:15 p.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker,
even before you put the Question, I am on
a point of order and I would like to refer the House to Standing Order 190 (1) of our rules - [Interruptions] - It is not a point of order. I am craving Mr. Speaker's indulgence to refer to Order 109 (1) - [Interruptions.]
Mr. Speaker 1:15 p.m.
Hon. Member, who is
distracting your attention?
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu 1:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, in posing a Question, we must have one-half of hon. Members present. Looking round, I do not think we have the numbers for this Question to be proposed -- [Interrup- tions]
Mr. Speaker 1:15 p.m.
Hon. Member for
Tamale South, you are out of order at the moment.
Mr. Adjaho 1:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the total
Mr. Speaker 1:15 p.m.
Hon. Deputy Minority
Leader, what is your submission first before you refer me to the Order you are referring?
Mr. Adjaho 1:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, my
submission on -- [Laughter] - Mr. Speaker, the point being made is that we do not have the number for the determination of any matter. We have the number to transact business, which is one-third but we do not have the number for the determination of any decision in this House as we are now constituted. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, you may allow hon. Members to talk, but you cannot propose the Question from the Chair. With the greatest respect, the Question cannot be proposed from the Chair because we do not have the numbers for a decision to be taken - [Interruptions.]
Mr. Speaker 1:15 p.m.
Hon. Deputy Minority Leader, if you want us to continue debating, continue, go ahead.
Mr. Adjaho 1:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I do not
know - [Interruptions.] Mr. Speaker, I do not intend debating the matter because we are only drawing the Chair's attention to Standing Order 109 (1) so that we see what we can do from there.
The hon. Minister for the Interior,
Mr. Speaker 1:15 p.m.
Hon. Deputy Leader,
am I to take it that you are insisting on the application of the rule referred to?
Mr. Adjaho 1:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, it is not for
me, with the greatest respect, for me to insist. This is the rule and it is even grounded in the Constitution and therefore, to do so, in fact, article 104 - [Interruptions] -- to do so, Mr. Speaker, I cannot make what is constitutional unconstitutional. It is a very difficult question. So, Mr. Speaker, it is a constitutional provision which is captured here and to the extent that the Constitution says so, and we have sworn to uphold the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, we have no choice but to be bound by the provisions of the Constitution - article 104 -- [Pause.]
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:25 p.m.
Mr.
Speaker, I believe we are going on and as was said this morning, I think the issue has been set in context by the hon. Minister responsible for the Interior that the concerns are genuine concerns and we need really to look into them.

However, Mr. Speaker, the point being

made is that we cannot situate it in this (Amendment) Bill. That is the issue at stake. So let us look for an alternative and explore other avenues. If we have to come with another (Amendment) Bill, so be it. For the time being, Mr. Speaker, we believe that we should carry on without this new amendment.

So I support those of them who are saying that the amendment proposed should not have a place in this (Amendment) Bill.
Mr. Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Hon. Member for Tamale South, are you withdrawing the amendment?
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to contribute to the debate -- [Interruption.] Mr. Speaker, thank you for your indulgence. Mr. Speaker, I am by so doing - [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 1:25 p.m.
The question I put to
you is whether you were withdrawing the amendment; and the answer was “no”.
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
Mr. Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Hon. Member, I have
not called you to contribute at this stage. I was asking the question whether the proposers of the amendment were going to withdraw the amendment.
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I
Mr. Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Hon. Member for
Tamale South, I asked a question and I
have not been answered on the question of amendment. Is it being withdrawn or not?
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu 1:25 p.m.
No, Mr. Speaker.
I want to speak in favour of the proposed amendment by hon. Dzirasah to which they have made contributions.
Mr. Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Hon. Ken Dzirasah, are you withdrawing the amendment or you are insisting on it?
Mr. Dzirasah 1:25 p.m.
Certainly not, Mr.
Speaker -- [Pause.] No, sir, the House should take a decision on it.
Mr. K. T. Hammond 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I thought Mr. Speaker was going to put the Question and then erode the issue of quorum - [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Deputy Minister, I
have not called you to speak. Hon. Members, I am putting the Question on the amendment.
Question put and amendment negatived.
Clause 6 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clauses 7 and 8 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clause 9 - Transitional Provisions.
Mrs. Kusi 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move,
clause 9, subclause (1), line 1, delete “Despite” and insert “Notwithstanding”, and subclause (3) as well.
Papa owusu-Ankomah 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I understand probably the reason why this amendment is being proposed, that instead of “Despite” we should use “Notwithstanding”. Mr. Speaker, this House would recall that just a few months ago, this House had the benefit of hosting a course for drafters organized by the Commonwealth. Indeed, this
Mr. Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Chairperson, are you
minded to withdraw?
Mrs. Kusi 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the Committee
thinks it would want “Notwithstanding”.
Mr. K. T. Hammond 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
we would take advantage of the absence of the draftsman and insert in there “Notwithstanding” despite that they say it is a new phraseology. Mr. Speaker, some of us are scared of new things. So let us remain in our -- [Laughter] -- so “Notwithstanding”, Mr. Speaker.
Dr. A. Akoto osei 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, in
the 21st Century hon. Colleagues ought to be moving forward. Mr. Speaker, we are part of the Commonwealth. My hon. good Friend and younger brother (Mr. K. T. Hammond), I am afraid, ought to be moving forward. This House should be looking forward not behind us.
My distinguished junior Colleague has told us what the international best practice is. For this House to pretend that we are living in such ages beats my imagination.
I would like to ask my hon. Chairperson to withdraw so that we can move on. We cannot be living in the 18th Century; we have to move on.
Mr. Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Hon. Members, whatever it is, I am putting the Question.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Mr. Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Hon. Members, and this
goes also for the other amendment. Then, we would take the third amendment - hon. Haruna Iddrisu and hon. Adjaho.
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I would need to crave your indulgence to rephrase the wording. The rendition, as it appeared in the Order Paper, does not capture our true intent. Our proposed amendment is to add clause 4 to clause 9; and Mr. Speaker, it shall read:
“Until such a time that the Northern Electricity Department (NED) of the Volta River Authority (VRA) is integrated into the Electricity Company of Ghana, the VRA shall continue to perform the functions it had immediately before the commencement of this Act.”
Mr. osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I believe this amendment is not contentious. We clearly and without equivocation lend support to it.
Mr. Speaker 1:35 p.m.
I did not hear the point which you made. What was the point you were making? I did not hear you.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:35 p.m.
Mr.

Speaker, I was saying that without any prevarication or equivocation, we support the amendment proposed by my hon. Colleagues.
Mr. Speaker 1:35 p.m.
You support the amendment.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Clause 9 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
New Clause --
Mrs. Kusi 1:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, New Clause, delete and insert the following:
“Section 29 of Act 46 be Amended -
29. The VRA shall ensure so far as practicable that no person in the 52 resettlement townships under the Akosombo Hydro Electric Project as referred to in Schedule ‘A' suffers undue hardships or is deprived of necessary public amenities as a result of his/her resettlement.”
Mr. Kenneth Dzirasah 1:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the amendment but to say that this amendment is virtually in the same spirit as that which I proposed. So I am watching how the House will take a decision on this. This is because it would border on double standards for this amendment to go through. But I support it.
Mr. Speaker 1:35 p.m.
Hon. Member for South Tongu, what you said, was it meant to be a threat or a compliment?
Mr. Dzirasah 1:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, it is just - I am sorry.
Papa owusu-Ankomah 1:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, certainly in Parliament, once a while, we all get overcome by our emotions. I am one of those persons who once a while get
overwhelmed by emotions. Mr. Speaker, but certainly a committee of the house makes proposal to the House and it is up to the House to take a decision thereon.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that this amendment is totally out of place. It is not in conformity with our Standing Orders and is not in tandem with the intention of this Bill.
As I said earlier, looking at the Long Title, the purpose of this Bill is to amend the structure of the VRA. It is not to make a policy relating to the adverse effects of the Akosombo Dam. I am therefore calling upon the House to reject this amendment.
Mr. Adjaho 1:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I accept the amendment proposed by the Chairperson of the Committee. Mr. Speaker, the 52 settlements indicated there submitted a memorandum to your Committee. Mr. Speaker, one needs to live in these resettlement communities and indeed communities that had been affected by the construction of the dam to appreciate what the people are talking about.
Mr. Speaker, the opportunity has come for us to look at this Bill and I suggest that we should listen to those who petitioned us for very good reasons and accept this amendment. We have discussed this amendment with the VRA and they have no objection to this proposal, just as they do not have any objection to the amendment proposed by the hon. Member for South Tongu.
Mr. Speaker, it is in that spirit that we support the proposal.
Mr. Speaker 1:35 p.m.
I will take a maximum of two contributions and put the Question. Hon. Member for South Dayi, you exercise patience; you will be called.
Dr. Ampofo 1:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, in the
parent Act, section 29, says that
“the Minister responsible for social welfare shall be charged with the duty of taking all reasonable measures to assist …”
and it goes on. But we know the practice right now is that the Ministry or the hon. Minister for Manpower, Youth and Employment has not been performing this function. In fact, that function is being performed by the VRA itself through a trust fund deed established between the Authority itself and the Government, which is the VRA Resettlement Trust Fund. So this amendment is just to take account of the reality of the time and it does not affect anything because it is already in practice. VRA itself looks after those 52-resettlement townships. So this amendment must be supported and voted for massively.
Mr. owusu-Adjapong 1:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think the last hon. Member who contributed really made it very easy for us to vote against this amendment. If by law, one Ministry is performing a function and you have not consulted that Ministry to see the administrative implications and establish administrative understanding as to how to do it, and you just come here, without consulting the hon. Minister responsible for Social Welfare to tell you what he is doing, and then you come here and pass a law, it will be wrong.
That is why the hon. Minister for the Interior said that it could be a good proposition but that this is not the place for it.
It is in this vein that I urge all hon. Members to vote against the proposal.
Mr. Speaker 1:35 p.m.
Hon. Minister for Energy, do you have anything to say?
Prof. oquaye 1:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, it must be clearly stated that the Government is very sensitive to the problems of the area and matters arising out of the settlements relating to the VRA, particularly the dam which is so precious to the people of Ghana as a whole. A number of issues relating to the dam are still being considered. It is very, very clear that even certain functions which are to be performed by certain authorities, including Social Welfare, are now being done by the VRA. All these are matters that must be looked at holistically so that appropriate action would be taken, including even the appropriate law where necessary.
Mr. Speaker, the parameters of this particular law are clearly limited -- matters relating directly to the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in this country. Therefore, at the appropriate time, other aspects have to be fully studied with regard to which localities must be considered, and in which way.
In that connection, Mr. Speaker, the amendment should be withdrawn, and that we look at the law only within its stated parameters.
Mr. Speaker 1:45 p.m.
You are withdrawing the amendment?
Prof. oquaye 1:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, we are saying that the amendment should be rejected at this particular juncture.
Alhaji A. B. Sorogho 1:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am a little surprised as to what is happening because I expected that if such withdrawals or objections would come, they could come from people or hon. Members who are not members of the Committee. But having sat all this time and gone through the Bill, agreed on it - [Interruption.] I am not saying we are - [Interruptions.]
Mr. Speaker 1:45 p.m.
Order!
Alhaji Sorogho 1:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the Bill is now the property of the whole House, but what I am saying is that I am surprised that the hon. Minister who has participated with us and we have all agreed that this is what should be done, should now come to the House and object to the amendment that the Chairman is proposing - [Interruption.]
Mr. K. T. Hammond 1:45 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, there is a saying about people who are so very situated in their minds, in their positions that they do not change their minds. It is in the Bible but I do not want to quote it. So he should know that people can change - [Uproar.]
Mr. Speaker 1:45 p.m.
Hon. Member, what is your point of order?
Mr. K. T. Hammond 1:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, my point of order is that people are allowed to change their minds, so he must be conscious of that.
Mr. Speaker 1:45 p.m.
That is not a point of order. Hon. Member, please complete your argument.
Alhaji Sorogho 1:45 p.m.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for completely ruling him out. I am surprised that the hon. Member has now become a pastor and referring to the Bible. I think that we would all - [Interruption.]
rose
Mr. Speaker 1:45 p.m.
Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, are you raising a point of order to what he is saying?
Dr. A. Akoto osei 1:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, my hon. Colleague was misleading the House and I am raising a point of order on that.
Mr. Speaker 1:45 p.m.
Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, there cannot be a point of order against another point of order, so kindly resume your seat. Hon. Member, complete your argument.
Alhaji Sorogho 1:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Samuel Asamoah-Boateng - rose
- 1:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker 1:45 p.m.
Deputy Minister for Tourism this time; you have a point of order?
Mr. Asamoah-Boateng 1:45 p.m.
That is so, Mr. Speaker. I just want to say that my hon. Colleague there is out of order. He is saying that he is surprised that a committee has sat through a case and they have brought it to the House and they are changing their minds.
Just a day before yesterday, we sat through the Agreement between the Ghana Government and the KHI 01 Ghana Limited for the Ambassador Hotel, and the Committee looked at the whole case and brought it here yet they argued that it should not be brought to the House. So he is out of order.
Mr. Speaker 1:45 p.m.
Hon. Member, continue please and wind up.
Alhaji Sorogho 1:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am winding up but I am surprised again because he has actually come out to let us know that what - [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 1:45 p.m.
No, please, you continue.
Alhaji Sorogho 1:45 p.m.
All right. Mr. Speaker, what I am saying is that this amendment
Mr. Kofi Frimpong 1:45 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member continues to mislead the House. A similar thing happened, as the hon. Deputy Minister said. When the Joint Committee of Finance, Trade and Tourism met, we took a whole time; we met on about three occasions. We even met at the Minister's office and we agreed on principle that the agreement was in order. We came here and - [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 1:45 p.m.
What are you referring to?
Mr. Kofi Frimpong 1:45 p.m.
The Ambassador Hotel agreement.
Mr. Speaker 1:45 p.m.
Hon. Member, that is not a matter for discussion at the moment.
Mr. Kofi Frimpong 1:45 p.m.
It is an old one that I am citing, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker 1:45 p.m.
I am putting the Question. Chairperson, are you withdrawing the amendment or not?
Mrs. Kusi 1:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, no, I am not withdrawing the amendment; I do not have the authority to do that.
Ques t ion pu t and amendment negatived.
The Schedule --
Mrs. Kusi 1:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, the Schedule - add a new Schedule “A”
as follows:
1. Tongor Kaira
27. Gulubi
2. Todome
2 8 .
Makango
3. Tsohor Duyeye
29. Baukafaba
4. Botoku Dsani
30. Buma
5. Wusuta
31. Yapei
6. Vakpo Dunyo
32. Kajaji
7. Sabadu
33. Prang
8. Danyigba Aveme
34. Labum
9. Fesi
3 5 .
Yeji
10. Tepo

3 6 .

Forifori

11. Wuropong

37. Mem-

Chemfre

12. Bowiri Odumasi

38. Amankwakrom

13. Tapa Amanfrom

39. Ntonaboma

14. Pai-Katanka

40. New

Oworobong

15. Asukawkaw

4 1 .

Mpaem

16. Adonkwanta

42. Senchi

17. Tokoroano

4 3 .

Apeguso

18. Dambai

4 4 .

Mpakaban

19. Kete Krachi

4 5 .

Nkwakubew 20. Ntewusa 46. New

Adjena

21. Osramani 4 7 .

Onuku

22. Ehiamankyene 4 8 . D e d e s o -

Wireko

23. Grubi

49. Dominase

24. Kitare

50. Adukrom

25. Blajai

51. Anyaboni

26. Kpandai 5 2 .

Somanya
Ms. Akua Sena Dansua 1:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, mine is a point of correction. The fourth town, “Botilu Dsani,” is actually “Botoku”. That is where I come from so I know how the name of my town is spelt.
Mr. Kenneth Dzirasah 1:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the last amendment that was lost would have to go with the Schedule; the two are linked. When it is in the Bill, it is hanging; there is no cross-reference to it in the main body of the Bill.
Mr. Speaker 1:45 p.m.
I think we would leave that to the draftsmen. In the meantime, let us see what we have already done -- [Pause.] Chairperson, this Schedule, does it relate to the new clause which - [Interruption.]
Mrs. Kusi 1:45 p.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, it was related to clause 29 but I - [Inter-ruption.]
Mr. Speaker 1:55 p.m.
So that is also lost. Then we would take the Long Title.

The Long Title ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Dr. Ampofo 1:55 p.m.
None

ScHEDULE

ScHEDULE
Mr. Speaker 1:55 p.m.
Hon. Member for South Dayi, do you have any point to make here?
Dr. Ampofo 1:55 p.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker. I just want to find out. In the enactment, that is the next line, it says: “Enacted by the President and Parliament”. I thought what pertains is that it is enacted by Parliament and not the President and Parliament; so should we delete “the President”?
Mr. Speaker 1:55 p.m.
Which clause are you dealing with, please?
Dr. Ampofo 1:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, where we have after the Long Title the sentence - “Enacted by the President and Parliament”. I am saying that it should be enacted by Parliament and accented to by the President. We usually put in the Bill and the Act “enacted by Parliament” and not “enacted by the President and Parliament”. So I am proposing that we delete “the President and” so that it reads “enacted by Parliament”.
Mr. Speaker 1:55 p.m.
Why do we not leave it to the draftsmen?
Mr. Adjaho 1:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, that is the way we handled the National Petroleum Authority Bill that came to the House, so for the sake of consistency I think that we should go that way.
Dr. A. A. osei 1:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I just want to be guided. We have just gone through the amendments on the Order Paper and my senior hon. Colleagues are introducing some impertinence that we are not aware of; so I do not know what we are doing.
Mr. Speaker 1:55 p.m.
He was only reminding us of what we had done earlier; and this is for the draftsmen.
Dr. A. A. osei 1:55 p.m.
The draftsmen will take care of that so I do not know why.
Mr. Speaker 1:55 p.m.
That is all right, it is for the draftsmen.
Mr. Speaker 1:55 p.m.
Hon. Members, we have now come to the end of the Consideration Stage of the Volta River Development (Amendment) Bill. Leadership, do you have any other -
Mr. owusu-Adjapong 1:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think it is just one minute to 2 o'clock and I therefore move that this House do adjourn till tomorrow 10 o'clock in the morning.
Mr. Adjaho 1:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to second the motion for adjournment except that I thought he was going to move his Resolution.
Mr. Speaker 1:55 p.m.
Leadership of the House, I do not think I require any motion for adjournment. It is 2 o'clock. I hereby adjourn this House until tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock.
ADJoURNMENT
  • The House was adjourned at 2.00 p.m. till 22nd July, 2005 at 10.00 a.m.