Debates of 16 Feb 2006

MR. SPEAKER
PRAYERS 9:48 a.m.
CORRECTION OF VOTES 9:48 a.m.
AND PROCEEDINGS AND 9:48 a.m.
THE OFFICIAL REPORT 9:48 a.m.
Mr. Speaker 9:48 a.m.
Hon. Members , correction of Votes and Proceedings of Wednesday, 15th February, 2006. Pages
1…6?
Mr. S. K. Adu-Gyamfi 9:48 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, my name is on page 1, of the Votes and Proceedings as no. 10, and then my name is also appearing among absentees as No. 12, although I was in the House.
Mr. Speaker 9:48 a.m.
You made the correction, I think yesterday, did you not?
Mr. Adu-Gyamfi 9:48 a.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker 9:48 a.m.
All right, this would be corrected.
Mr. Speaker 9:48 a.m.
Page 7…13? Hon. Members, we have the Official Report for Wednesday, 8th February, 2006. If there are any omissions or corrections, kindly bring them to the attention of the Table. Item 3, Questions. Minister for Communications.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS 9:48 a.m.
Minister for Communications (Mr. Albert Kan-Dapaah) 9:48 a.m.
Mr. Speaker , parts of Gomoa are currently enjoying Ghana Telecom Onetouch service coverage. Ghana Telecom has recently acquired a site at Apam and has begun the construction of transmission towers from Kasoa. There are a few more to be constructed to cover the entire area.
I am informed that work on the mobile cellular service would be completed by the middle of 2006. This will extend telephone service to the surrounding towns.
Mr. Hackman 9:48 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, in the hon. Minister's response to the Question, he indicated that land has been acquired at Apam to enable Ghana Telecom begin work on the construction of the telecom communication towers, et cetera. I would like to find out from the hon. Minister if proper documentation, such as indentures et cetera have been signed so that work can continue without any litigation with the landowners and all those people associated with the land.
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 9:48 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, Ghana Telecom would normally start work when they would have completed all the documentation on the land. I want to believe that on this occasion that has been done. I will need sometime to confirm to him that it has, in fact, been done. But I will be surprised if Ghana Telecom will
commence construction without making sure that the legal documents have been acquired.
STATEMENTS 9:48 a.m.
Ms. Josephine H. Addoh (NPP - Kwadaso) 10:20 a.m.
Thank you Mr. Speaker for granting me this opportunity to contribute to the Statement on the floor.
Mr. Speaker, this is what I will call a one-point Statement.
The point is, Mr. Speaker, the Minister wants to fulfill the promise that he made to this august House on the said date, that he was going to furnish Parliament with figures pertaining to the monies collected on the 28th of June 2005. Mr. Speaker, the Minister has been able to do just that. Does this not go to show the commitment of this Government when it comes to accountability, [Hear! Hear!] - when it comes honesty, [Hear! Hear!] And when it comes to the respect this Government has for the nation as whole?
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to know that the Government has earmarked this money for the construction of the two markets in Kumasi and Accra. I would rather plead that the money is used in the construction of the Kumasi Central Market because of problems this market has been facing with regard to fire outbreaks. It needs some construction.
More importantly, Mr. Speaker, I will plead that for the market to be constructed in Accra, the Government should look at constructing what they call selwyn market which was pulled down sometime ago and is now called Rawlings Park. The Government that seeks to construct should please construct that market for us, and the
Mr. Simon Osei-Mensah ( NPP - Bosomtwe) 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to congratulate the maker of the Statement for bringing this information to the notice of Members of Parliaments and the general public. However, I wished that the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning at the appropriate time would also come and brief the House about the amount and the usage of this amount so collected; because this has come in the form of a statement from the Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Planning which might not be the official submission of the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning - [Some hon. Members: How! How! ] - Oh, it is a Statement.
Dr. A. A. Osei 10:20 a.m.
On point of order. Mr. Speaker, with all due respect it is a Statement read on behalf of the Minister for the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, so for him to say that he does not believe that the Deputy Minister is speaking for his boss is uncalled for. I will recommend him to please withdraw that statement immediately.
Mr. Osei-Mensah 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am sorry. I did not say I do not believe in the figures. What I said is that this is a Statement made by him. I did not know if officially it could be accepted as the Minister reporting to the House. That is why I am saying that if it is not then at the appropriate time the Minister can report to the House on the issue; but if it could be accepted as the official stand, then I do not have any problem.
Majority Leader/Minister for Parliamentary Affairs (Mr. F. K. Owusu-Adjapong) 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think my hon. Colleague will have to be a bit
careful with this statement he is making as regards the competency of the Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Planning to handle the matter, in the sense that from the exercise we have done, this Statement was, in fact, handed to me by the Minister himself and he indicated that for a number of good reasons, he would want his Deputy Minister to come and handle it.
So let us accept that this is the official Statement from the Minister himself; but if he has any comments that would help this House that can be a separate exercise. So if we can try and avoid a dialogue between the Ministry and your good self -- and that is why I found that the other Deputy Minister who was a co-actor to the whole exercise was getting up quickly to defend it.
Mr. Osei-Mensah 10:20 a.m.
Thank you very much Mr. Speaker - [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.
I have not called you.
Mr. Osei-Mensah 10:20 a.m.
Oh, sorry. [Laughter.]
Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.
Alright, you may go on. [Laughter.]
Mr. Osei-Mensah 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you. I do not think I am doubting the figures. Anyway, I also thank the Majority Leader for also clarifying certain aspects of it, but I was emphasizing the fact that it is a statement from the hon. Member. Mr. Speaker, this shows the openness of this Government when it comes to activities of Government.
Mr. Speaker, I am very happy that they are saying the money is going to be used for the construction of markets at Kumasi and Accra. Mr. Speaker, this is a very laudable idea, in the sense that most of these hawkers on our streets could
maker of the statement.
Mr. S. K. B. Manu (NPP - Ahafo Ano South) 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I also rise to add my voice to the Statement and to all that the earlier contributors have said. However, I want to draw attention to something that is missing in our development efforts.
We build marketing centres, we build stores and when you want to go there, like Makola, there they have a parking lot but in Kumasi as they are talking about, if you want to go to the central market and you are driving, there is nowhere to park your car before you enter the market to do any business there. If you go to other countries, they have very beautifully built parking lots for customers who go to such ,markets. I will therefore like to draw attention that as we build these modern markets we must take into account where people would park their cars before they do business with the traders in those markets.
Mr. John Agyabeng (NPP - Agona East) 10:30 a.m.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this Statement. Provision of markets is one of the surest ways of reducing congestion in our streets, but some of the markets already provided in our cities, the design and the structure as already mentioned by my hon. Colleague, hon. S. K. Balado Manu, is creating problem for the usage of such markets. So my appeal to the Ministry is to come out with a design that will suit all kind of people who want to do business in such markets.
Again, since decongestion in our streets is a problem, I want the Ministry to extend this facility to the two other cities such as Takoradi and Tamale.
Another area that we may face problem is with the allocation of market stalls.
be accommodated in these two markets thereby reducing the number of people who are on our streets.
Mr. Speaker, I think this has been a thorny issue for both Metropolitan authorities, the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) and Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) - to clear hawkers off our streets. Once these markets are put up at least we will have a place for these people to do their business. We can then get them out of the streets so that they will not be inconveniencing motorists and pedestrians who go to the central business districts of the two cities to do their business. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the maker of the Statement.
Mr. E. N. Y. Ofori-Kuragu (NPP BosomeFreho) 10:30 a.m.
Thank you Mr. Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this good news we have received this morning.
Mr. Speaker, it comes as a welcome relief that at last the traders in the Ashanti Region can see some light at the end of the tunnel. Recently, on my visits to Kumasi, I went to the Race Course Market and that morning it had rained very heavily. Mr. Speaker, it was an incredible situation; people could not move in that market. The whole place needs to be paved so I suspect according to what the hon. Minister has said that - the Race Course is an extension of the central market - this money would be used to re-develop the whole area. Majority of traders in Kumasi sell their wares from this area and the hawkers are part of that group. It is a very timely move and we will urge the Ministerial team to work very hard to implement these plans this year because any further delay would contribute to the already existing problems.
With these few words, I thank the
Mr. Peter Abum Sarkodie (NPP - Mampong) 10:30 a.m.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the Statement on the floor. Mr. Speaker, the intents of this release for the construction of markets is just to absorb the large number of hawkers that we find in our streets. Mr. Speaker, I am particularly interested in the expeditious execution of the project so that the number of hawkers in the streets could be contained in the shortest possible time. Mr. Speaker, I am also particularly interested in some of the issues that some hon. Members have already talked about. Some hon. Members have talked about sanitation problem and then the layout in the market.
Mr. Speaker, we are in Ghana when during fire outbreaks in our markets, our fire tenders have themselves in difficulty before they can enter our markets. So I would urge our planners to take this issue of fire outbreaks assurances into the markets seriously so that in the event of any of such unfortunate incidents we will have our men entering through the markets very easily to forestall any unpleasant situation. Mr. Speaker, with these few submissions, I thank the maker of the Statement, very much. Thank you, very much.
Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyemang (Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing) 10:30 a.m.
Rt. Hon. Speaker, I thought I should throw some light onto the exercise, as I happen to be the Chairman of the Cabinet Committee has been considering this. Most of the concerns that have been underscored here have,
the year. And we will see progress because it is going to be private-sector driven with this syndication of bend and financial institution and I have no doubt that it will be very pleasing to everybody.
But having said that, all the concerns are taken on board, when the Committee meets again, we shall check to see those issues that have been articulated on this floor that have not been incorporated, Mr. Speaker, will indeed, be incorporated. So I thank hon. Members for the support that they have given to the initiative. It means that the government is always thinking ahead and making sure that all the concerns are being addressed in a systematic programmed way and I am very happy that we have the support. I will convene this to our Committee and whenever we need your support, we will come back again. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker 10:30 a.m.
At the commencement of Public Business - Item 5, laying of papers. The following papers to be laid, Hon. Minister for Parliamentary Affairs
Mr. F. K. Owusu-Adjapong 10:30 a.m.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to crave your indulgence to differ the laying of this paper. We are still sorting out some printing issue.
Mr. Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Alright, that is differed. Item 7 - Motions. That this House thanks His Excellency the President for the Message on the State of the Nation Address which he delivered to this Honourable House on Tuesday, 31st January 2006. Hon. Member for Atiwa and Deputy Minister for Manpower. You have ten minutes, not more.
MOTIONS 10:40 a.m.
  • [DR. C. Y. BREMPONG-YEBOAH Motion: That this House thanks H.E. the President for the Message on the state of the Nation which he delivered to this honourable. House on Tuesday, 31st January, 2006. [Hon. Nana Akomea]
    • rose
    Mr. Speaker 10:50 a.m.
    Hon. Member for Abetifi, do you have any point of order?
    Mr. E. A. Agyepong 10:50 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I would have appreciated it if the hon. Member had quoted from the Quran.
    Mr. Speaker 10:50 a.m.
    Hon. Member for Abetifi, you have no point of order; let him continue.
    Mr. Speaker 10:50 a.m.
    Hon. Member, I have ruled him out of order so please continue
    Sheikh Quaye: In the Holy Quaran, Surah 2, this is what God says and with your permission I quote:
    “Rabbana Atina Fii dudniya hassa; Wa fir Ahirtil hasana; Wa kin Azaba qi'ons wa kin azaba nar.”
    Translated as follows:
    “Oh God, give us good in this world including liberty, peace, tranquility, freedom, justice and good in the hereafter”.
    ‘Woe to them, whoever thinks of creating mischief on us'
    So our prayer is that, our hon. Members on the other side of the House who have boycotted this House will see wisdom in coming back so that all of us will think alike and think good of mother Ghana.
    With these words, I support the motion.
    Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyemang 10:50 a.m.
    On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, my dear Colleague here, the Greater Accra Regional Minister talked about boycott of the House by the Minority. I want to know, when you are in a business, or you are a student and you do not attend classes or attend to your business, is that boycott or strike? If they are on strike then they are striking Members.
    I do not think it is a strike, I am not so sure and I want your guidance on that. If one uses the word “boycott” it represents it, they are on strike. I think they are on strike but I want your guidance on it. And if they are on strike - this time nobody goes on strike. I do not know whether you can talk about that. I want your guidance on it, Mr. Speaker.
    Mr. Speaker 10:50 a.m.
    Hon. Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, as you know, by our Standing Orders, I do not take part in debate.
    Mr. Freddie Blay (CPP - Ellembelle) 11 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I also rise in support of the motion on the floor, and I thank you very much that I have also had the opportunity to contribute to the motion.
    Mr. Speaker, my intervention is very
    short because in the past two days that the motion has been on the floor, various hon. Members have said a lot and I honestly
    And today here we are.
    So God, what is happening today is not
    rose
    Mr. Speaker 11 a.m.
    Hon. Member for
    Kwabre West and Deputy Attorney General do you have any point of order?
    Mr. Owusu-Ansah 11 a.m.
    On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, it is common knowledge that Arabic is not the linqua franca in this House yet our hon. Brother has quoted so copiously from the Holy Quran without translating and telling us what the quotation means. All we hear is ‘haram haram…[Laughter.]
    Mr. Speaker 11 a.m.
    Please continue.
    Sheikh Quaye: Mr. Speaker, maybe the hon. Member was in slumber and was not listening to me. I translated whatever I said in Arabic, reading it from the Holy Quran, not my own words. And so I have translated what I read in Arabic.
    ‘When it is said to them, make no mischief on this earth they say why? We only want to make peace. Of a surety they are the ones who make mischief but they are not'
    Now, when you look at what is happening today, when they go out they say we want peace and yet they are those who say that they are going to create mischief in Ghana if the Bill is not withdrawn. God says
    Mr. Speaker 11 a.m.
    Order! Order!
    Mr. Blay 11 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I would want
    to honestly and sincerely say that, that Address was one of the best that I have heard on the floor of this Parliament. And Mr. Speaker, I say this in all earnestness and with all sincerity. Indeed, I have had the opportunity to personally express my sentiments on it to the President and I did say that I was very happy with the Address.
    Mr. Speaker, it is not just the way
    it was delivered, but Mr. Speaker, the commitment, the emotion and all the issues that the Address raised. My hon. Friends had earlier on talked about facilities, infrastructure, the economy, particularly education, what is being done to ensure that the human resource of this country is developed so that we could improve upon our economy in a faster way.
    Mr. Speaker, I particularly wish to associate myself with what the President said about his wish that the growth rate of this economy instead of lingering around the 6 per cent which by all standards is very commendable should be about 8 per cent so that this country could attain the middle-income status or among the countries at that level.
    And I am convinced that like my Colleagues have all said, sooner than later, we will reach that level once we are all working hard, being disciplined, loving this country and in our own small way
    ensuring that roles that are given to us, we perform. But I did say that I would want it to be on record, Mr. Speaker, because of two issues. It is unfortunate that our dear Colleagues on the other side are not here with us, but be it as it may, let it be in the Hansard.
    Mr. President talked about three issues -- the ROPAB Bill, the Presidential Offices and Residence and the Peer Review issue. The Peer Review exercise that he had led this country to face. I congratulate him on that and I am proud that he has done that. He has shown the whole world that this country is open - [Hear! Hear!] and we are struggling towards good governance.
    We might not be out of the woods but people should not even judge this country by what is happening now, but by what we have attained and where we are coming from -- break down in discipline, fear, low standards and a whole lot of things that we have done. It is easy to spoil things but it is not easy to build. Within these five to six years, under his Presidency let us all be very honest, that this country has attained a very commendable status and respect of the whole world. And for this, we say we are proud of him.

    Mr. Speaker, let it be said loudly that

    we thought it was right and not that we have been whipped to do that. There has been a time when my very good Friends somehow on this floor have said that some of us stand for the extension of democracy. When it comes to good governance, we

    wind up.
    Nana Akomea 11:10 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I rise to conclude the debate on the motion to thank the President for the Address that he delivered to this House on the 31st of January, 2006.
    Mr. Speaker, the President said that the
    state of the nation is good, the spirit of the nation is optimistic, and all of us here, on all sides of the House, totally agree with the assertion of the President.
    The President chose four important areas to illustrate the assertion that the state of the nation is good and the spirit optimistic. And he went further to elaborate these four areas by encompassing issues like, investment in people, in jobs, free compulsory education, capitation grants. He talked about teachers and tertiary education, private sector development, housing, health, ICT, corruption, among others. It is a very comprehensive Address, Mr. Speaker, yet there were some who said that some issues were not raised, and because the President did not raise those issues the Address was not worth its while.

    But Mr. Speaker, we must continue to accept that the Address of the President was an address from his point of view. He may not cover everybody's point of view and everybody is at liberty to raise his or her point of view. But to say that because the President did not cover your point of view the Address is not important, is to be playing politics that is not worth the while of this House.

    Mr. Speaker, the President's vision that he has continuously outlined is that we would be a middle-income country by the year 2015; and he emphasised that to achieve this middle-income status by the

    would prefer that representation is brought in; that people must the choice to vote should be extended to all; and this is what the Bill is about. So we are proud of him for boldly arguing for it, for taking the bull by the horn and insisting that he has given it to us and he expects us to do the best for it.

    Mr. Speaker, one is proud that this Bill is coming and let us stand by it.

    But again, as I said when the President

    was on the floor, despite the heckling, when he was standing before us, he mentioned that maybe he may not see it himself. He is going to build an office and residency for the first gentleman of this country. It may not be completed during his term and it may be somebody else or someone else from some other party, but he is definitely going ahead to ensure that there is a good residence, good offices so that all Ghanaians, those who love good governance, those who respect authority will be proud that this country has one.

    Mr. Speaker, I congratulate him for

    that. Above all, as I said earlier on, the peer review exercise that was undertaken recently, I saw it on the television, I saw the President accompanied by the Foreign Minister (Nana Akufo-Addo) and others, meeting his own peers to lay bare his heart to let them examine what is happening in this country. We cannot say it is perfect but what he has done is a record; what he has done is pace-setting and we as Ghanaians should be proud of it.

    Mr. Speaker, having said so, I am

    so happy for that speech and I join my Colleagues in congratulating the President for the delivery of that speech.
    Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
    Hon. Member for
    Okaikoi South (Nana Akomea), you may
    BILLS - THIRD READING 11:10 a.m.
    BILLS - CONSIDERATION STAGE 11:10 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
    There is an amendment.
    Hon. Chairman of the Committee, move your amendment.
    Mr. Kwame Osei-Prempeh 11:10 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I would humbly want to withdraw the amendment.
    Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
    Hon. Member, you want to withdraw amendment (i)?
    Mr. Osei-Prempeh 11:10 a.m.
    Yes, Mr. Speaker.
    Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
    But there is still an amendment at (ii).
    Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo 11:10 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I beg to move that, clause 2 delete and insert “The Electoral Commission shall, by Constitutional Instrument, make Regulations to prescribe the modalities for the implementation of this Act”
    Mr. Speaker, clause 2 as it is, is clearly
    inconsistent with the terms of the Bill. If the Bill is being made to correct the law, it is being made to correct the law. We cannot have that correction be, therefore, suspended and
    put in the hands of somebody else to determine when the law would take effect.
    Clause 2 presently reads:
    “This Act shall come into force on a date determined by the Commission in an Executive Instrument issued under the hand of the chairman of the Commission”.
    Effectively, it is suspending the operation of this law until the Electoral Commission decides that the time is appropriate. That cannot be the purpose of the amendment that the Bill seeks to
    Mr. A. O. Aidooh 11:10 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the amendment proposed by the hon. Minister for Foreign Affairs. Mr. Speaker, for the same reason that he gave for his amendment, I have also filed an amendment to clause 2, seeking that, that clause be deleted. And the reason for that amendment that I proposed was just because I also thought that if we made the correction, and suspended its implementation, it would not make any sense. But in view of this amendment which I support, I beg to have my amendment withdrawn. So after the debate on the amendment you may put the Question on clause 2.
    Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyemang 11:10 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I want to support my hon. Colleague here and to state that for the avoidance of doubt, our responsibility should rest as stipulated in our Constitution. It would be a travesty of what is intended
    in the Bill if a veto power, so to speak, is given to the Electoral Commission. As presently composed, clause 2 is virtually saying that if the Electoral Commission Chairman decides not to issue the constitutional instrument, it means that it can put paid to the intentions of the Bill.
    Every Bill, every law, is made so that it can be implemented; and this is being done, Mr. Speaker, to make sure that there is equity and there is respect for the law and indeed, that people are not unnecessarily estopped from exercising their franchise.
    The issue of franchise, Mr. Speaker,
    can never, under any circumstances, be compromised; and the very integrity of the electoral process, the very integrity of being a citizen of this nation is to be able to assure yourself that you have certain privileges which are entrenched in the Constitution.
    On this basis and in view of the fact that, clearly, as stated the memorandum to the Bill seeks to correct this anomaly, I believe it would be incongruous to leave clause 2 as it stands here to pass. That is why I wholeheartedly support the amendment moved by the distinguished hon. Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South (Nana Akufo-Addo). On that note, Mr. Speaker, I give my full support.
    Mr. F. K. Owusu-Adjapong 11:10 a.m.
    Mr.
    Speaker, I stand to speak in support of this amendment which I believe to be a major solution to all the questions that have been raised here and there.
    Mr. Speaker, with your permission,
    let me make reference to the brief to Parliament by the Chairman of the Electoral Commission on 6th November 2002; and with your permission I quote:
    got the funding, as we have always been saying, to handle elections either for the President alone or for Parliament as well.
    Parliament is not abandoning its responsibilities because when that CI comes, Parliament would have the opportunity again to decide whether we want it the way he is bringing it or not. I therefore want to urge all hon. Members to wholeheartedly support this very important amendment so that we can make progress.
    Deputy Minister for the Interior (Capt. Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey (Retd): Mr. Speaker, I also want to support the amendment that has been moved by the hon. Minister for Foreign Affairs. Mr. Speaker, I am saying so because, in fact, I do not understand why the Committee has put the clause 2 there. I do not understand why it is there like that; that this Act shall come into force on a date determined by the Commission.
    rose
    Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
    Hon. Member for
    Zebilla, do you have any point of order?
    Mr. Ndebugre 11:30 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I think there should be a point of correction here, because the Bill was not brought to this House by the Committee. Your Committee only did the work you asked it to do. And so I want him to understand that the clause 2, as contained in the Bill, was drafted and signed by hon. Attorney-General and Minister for Justice.
    Mr. Speaker 11:30 a.m.
    Hon. Member for Zebilla (Mr. Ndebugre) you have made the point. Hon. Deputy Minister, this was the Bill given to the Committee.
    Capt. Effah-Dartey (Retd.): Mr. Speaker, thank you for the correction. Mr.
    “The legal issues are rather straightforward. Subsection 4 of section 7 of the Representation of the People Law to precludes the registration of Ghanaians who have been away from their places of residence in Ghana for a continuous period of six months. Section 8 of the same law restricts the exemption from this provision to only the category of persons that I have just said are eligible to register and vote . . .”
    Then he continues:
    “. . . Parliament must amend these sections of the Representation of the People Law to remove the restrictions on registration before the Electoral Commission can take steps to incorporate all Ghanaians living abroad into the election process”.
    So Mr. Speaker, it is clear that we have two stages to achieve what we finally want to do, and we are now at stage one which is aimed at giving legal basis for the Electoral Commission to move to the second stage.
    What I think we also need to recognize is that by this amendment we are recognizing the fact that the Electoral Commission would come back to Parliament with a Constitution Instrument (CI) and at that level, all the details would be done. All that I want to suggest is that we may have to end up changing the sub-heading because we are no more talking about commencement but we are rather talking about modalities for implemen-tation. So it is clear that in the CI that he would be bringing, he may have to consider what type of election that is due, the way it is going to be done, and whether he has

    Speaker, I just want to associate myself with the amendment; I support it.
    Nana Akufo-Addo 11:30 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, the amendment also goes to the sub-title - the heading on the grounds on which the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs spoke. So the amendment includes an amendment of also the sub-title to be replaced by “Modalities for implementation” as the new sub-heading; then the body of the amendment that I have sought. Respectfully, Mr. Speaker, that is the matter you should put before the House.
    Mr. Speaker 11:30 a.m.
    Hon. Member, you are referring to the Long Title.
    Nana Akufo-Addo 11:30 a.m.
    Not the Long Title, but of the particular clause, clause 2. Clause 2 talks about the “Commencement of the Act” and we want to remove that and have “Modalities for Implementation”; and then the body of the amendment that I have moved in the House. [Interruption] So we will capture also an amendment of the sub-title.
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Clause 2 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    New Clause
    Mr. Osei-Prempeh 11:30 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, that new clause PNDCL 284, Section 7 (1), paragraph (c), at end delete “and” and add “or hails from the constituency”
    Mr. Speaker, the Constitution allows a person to stand for election in the constituency where he hails from; that is article 94 (1) (b). But if you go to PNDCL 284, it does not allow a person to register in a constituency where he hails from, except if he is resident there. And the Committee if of the view that this is incongruous. If I can stand for election
    Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 11:30 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I do not seem to understand what my hon. Colleague is doing here because the Bill is what we are debating now; and if you like, the Consideration Stage is of this Bill; it is not of another Bill that is not here. So that if he wants to amend it, the way to do it is that he should include it in this Bill, and not to use this bill to amend PNDCL 284; it cannot be done. What is on the Table here today is the Bill, which is very short and clear. If he wants to amend provisions in PNDCL 284, he has to either table that Bill or add it to this, so that it automatically nullifies that particular provision in the Bill. What he is doing is completely out of order; I do not understand him. I do not think he should do it at all.
    Papa Owusu-Ankomah 11:30 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I beg to disagree with the hon. Member for New Juaben North (Mr. Owusu- Agyemang). Mr. Speaker, the Bill, by its Long Title, seeks to determine what the Bill is to do. So in terms of amendments to the Bill, what he ought to address is whether it is inconsistent with the intention of the Bill, which to my mind is not the case here. Because, the Bill is an Act to amend the Representation of the People Law to enable Ghanaians resident abroad to register to vote.
    The argument of the Chairman of the Committee is that if a Ghanaian is resident abroad and does not reside in the constituency, he is debarred by the provisions of the existing law from registering to vote. What he is seeking to do is to amend the Representation of the People Law to enable Ghanaians who are resident abroad, who hail from a constituency, to be able to register to vote; and that is consistent with the Constitution and in accord with the Long Title. I therefore support the amendment.
    Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 11:30 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I have no difficulty with the position he has articulated. My difficulty, the gravamen of my submission is that what is before us is this particular Bill. Therefore, I am wondering whether you can use this Bill, if you like, to amend another law which is not before this House. So if that law were here - What I am seeking is that for the avoidance of doubt, let us now capture this amendment in this law which seeks to address the difficulties of PNDCL 284. Nothing prevents the hon. Member or the Chairman of the Committee from adding whatever he wants to this particular Bill.
    What I want is just for the sake of clarify, whether we can use one Bill here to amend another law which is not before the House. So why do we not put it here and make sure that nobody disputes it in future. That is what I am saying. I agree with it, but the modalities, I summit, are wrong.
    Mr. Speaker 11:30 a.m.
    Hon. Minister, hon. Members are seeking to introduce new clauses in the Bill; that is the only procedure they can adopt.
    Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 11:30 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I agree to that. So then he should not say that - if he brings new clauses into it that will be fine. The argument was so weak, so we have to make sure that we do the right thing by making sure that we introduce the new clause, as you are saying.
    Mr. Speaker 11:30 a.m.
    All right. Chairman of the Committee, finish your argument.
    Mr. Osei-Prempeh 11:30 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, to what my hon. Friend said, I would want to say that we are amending the Representation of the People Law, PNDCL 284; and therefore any amendment which is necessary or coincidental can come into this.
    Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, the
    Constitution, article 94 (1) (b), allows people of this country to stand for elections in the places where they hail from. But PNDCL 284 does not allow people to register at places where they hail from. Mr. Speaker, in the event of somebody staying outside who wants to go to his constituency to stand for election, he cannot register there if he hails from the place; but the Constitution allows him to stand for election there. And we believe that this is untenable and there is the need to amend it so that people can register at places where they hail from. I believe that this runs in consonance with the Constitution, article 94 (1) (b) and it is even in conformity with the intention of the Amendment Bill.
    Mr. K. Adjei-Darko 11:40 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, in supporting the amendment, I would want to look at the fears which the hon. Minister for Water Resources and Works and Housing was raising. We are not repealing PNDCL 284. An amendment has been proposed to make Ghanaians outside be eligible to register and vote. So in looking at PNDCL 284 if there are any obstacles, it is now the duty of the House to remove all those obstacles; and this is what the Committee is seeking to do. So I think we all have to support that amendment.
    Mr. Yaw Baah 11:40 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the amendment being proposed. This is to ensure conformity and consistency by referring to section 7 and section 9 of PNDCL 284. If you look at the 284 section 7 (1) (c) on which a proposal is being made for us to add the issue of hailing from the area; that is how one qualifies to be a voter; but if you go to the one covering qualification of an aspiring parliamentarian, there are three conditions over there: The first one is that of being a Ghanaian over twenty-one
    Mr. John Ndebugre 11:40 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I also have an amendment which is not so different from the amendment proposed by my Chairman. So in order that we progress I want to speak to his amendment in the light of my own amendment which directly follows his.
    Mr. Speaker 11:40 a.m.
    Hon. Member for Zebilla, for purpose of clarity, let us take one amendment after the other - just that we do not want any confusion, please.
    Mr. Ndebugre 11:40 a.m.
    If I am in to win, Mr. Speaker - [Interruption.]
    Mr. Speaker 11:40 a.m.
    We will come to you.
    Mr. Ndebugre 11:40 a.m.
    The amendment is almost the same as his except that instead of using “the” I am proposing that we use “a”. So if we go on with his and it is accepted, it may lead to some absurd results.
    Mr. Speaker 11:40 a.m.
    Hon. Member for
    Zebilla, then you may wish to withdraw your amendment and team up with him.
    Mr. Ndebugre 11:40 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I believe very strongly that my amendment saves the situation in a better way. [Interruption] Very well, I may then withdraw mine and debate his. I wish to withdraw my amendment as stated in (v); and I wish to oppose the amendment as proposed by the Chairman - [Laughter.]

    (c) he is resident in the polling division. . .” and then the word “and” follows. He wants to delete the word “and” and add the words “or hails from the constituency”.

    Now, if you read

    (c) very carefully, “if . . . he is resident in the polling division”; it means if he is resident in the polling division where he wants to register. Now, if you add “or he hails from a constituency”

    it means he hails from the constituency where he wants to register. There are no constituencies outside Ghana so a person living in Germany cannot register there because he does not hail from a constituency in Germany. So we ought to say “or he hails from a constituency in Ghana” so that if you are resident in Germany and you hail from the Zebilla

    constituency, you can register whether you are in Germany or you are in Ghana. On this basis, I oppose the amendment.
    Mr. Speaker 11:40 a.m.
    Chairman of the Committee, is it possible to put your heads together to find a - [interruption.]
    Mr. Osei-Prempeh 11:40 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I humbly want to say that my hon. Friend is wrong. Mr. Speaker, the whole purpose of this Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill is to enable our brothers and sisters outside to be registered as voters. And PNDCL 284, section (a) which is being amended says that if you are a Ghanaian and you satisfy all the other criteria apart from the residence clause, you can register; and that takes care of what he is saying. So that if you are a Ghanaian and you come from Zebilla and you are in Germany, you can register and, therefore, it caters for you.
    The amendment that the Committee proposed is to remedy the situation where a Ghanaian who is resident outside cannot go to his constituency and register because he does not live there in the polling division, whereas the Constitution itself allows such a person to come and stand for election in that constituency. So if we add that you can register where you hail from, then you may decide not to register in Germany but come to Ghana, to say, Nsuta-Kwamang, where you hail from and register there. This is different from what he is saying. What he is saying is the general one we are doing to allow people outside who are not resident to be able to register. Therefore, I believe his amendment is unnecessary.
    Mr. A. O. Aidooh 11:40 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I have listened to the Chairman and the proposer of the amendment. Mr. Speaker, I have been trying to support the Chairman.
    The Chairman is right when he says that as regards Ghanaians resident abroad, Section (7) (1) (c) is being waived and so this amendment will not affect them, and so the amendment being moved in that regard is unnecessary.
    But Mr. Speaker, further than that, this amendment of section (7) (1) (c) will not apply to Ghanaians outside Ghana. Rather, it will, in fact, apply to Ghanaians inside Ghana because as regards Ghanaians outside Ghana, the residence requirement is being waived by this Bill. And so it will just enable Ghanaians inside Ghana to register to vote in their native constituencies, even though they do not reside there. But as regards Ghanaians outside Ghana, the mover of the amendment got it wrong because the Bill is deleting Section (7) (1) (c) as regards Ghanaians who are not resident here; so his fears are not founded at all.
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    New clause ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Mr. Speaker 11:40 a.m.
    We will now move to (vi), as (v) has been withdrawn - Chairman of the Committee.
    Mr. Osei-Prempeh 11:50 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, New Clause - PNDCL 284, section 8, add a new paragraph as follows:
    “Until otherwise determined by law registration and voting by Ghanaians abroad shall relate to only Presidential elections”
    Mr. Speaker, you set your Committee to work and in doing so we decided to study the electoral systems in other areas. Mr. Speaker, what we found out was
    Mr. K. O. Agyapong 11:50 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose the Chairman's proposal because in his own submission he made us understand that in 2001 Senegal started it and now they have extended it. In 2007, they are going to have parliamentary elections; they will allow outsiders to vote in their parliamentary elections. So why then does he say that we should restrict ourselves to presidential elections only when other countries that he cited have tested it and found out that it is going to work for them? Instead of waiting till another time I believe we should delete what the Chairman has proposed. I agree with hon. Aidooh on what he has suggested because those going there to vote for the Presidential candidate at the same time will vote for a Parliamentary candidate. So I do not see why we should wait for another two, four years. I will say that we should go with what hon. Aidooh has suggested -- allowing the cons- tituents to vote for the parliamentarian candidates that they want.
    Mr. E. A. Owusu-Ansah 11:50 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I have difficulty in agreeing with the Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. He started by expressing some fear about somebody taking the nation to
    court or taking the Electoral Commission to court for not extending some facilities to him to be able to vote in one particular election or the other. Therefore, in his view, we should restrict the Act at this time for purposes of presidential elections.
    Mr. Speaker, art icle 42 of the Constitution is clear that every Ghanaian who is 18 years and above and who is of sound mind has the right to be registered and to vote in all public elections and referenda. If we restrict this Act to only Presidential Elections, we will be going contrary to the Constitution and anybody who is so minded can go to court for proper interpretation of the Constitution. And I suspect that, that person is going to win because the Constitution gives every Ghanaian of 18 years and above and of sound mind an unfettered right to vote in all elections and referenda. If there is any law that runs counter to the Constitution, as in Article 42, that law will be unconstitutional. So if we restrict the law now, -- the Act before us -- to Presidential elections we stand that danger of having that law torpedoed in the Supreme Court.
    Mr. Speaker, I think that we should go strictly according to the tenets of the Constitution and ensure that the law is made for all public elections and referenda.
    Mr. K. T. Hammond 11:50 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I beg to disagree with the learned Deputy Attorney-General about his interpretation of article 42 of the Constitution.
    Mr. Speaker, if you look at the amendment proposed, it says, ‘until otherwise determined by law; that is not a foreclosure on Parliament's ability to subsequently legislate for those people concerned to be registered for the Purposes
    of parliamentary elections. What is being done here is that - Even if you look at the relevant article in respect of the functions of the Electoral Commission, it says that if he has the facilities, the modalities and all the powers at his disposal, he should make sure that registration is properly done. What the Constitution has done here is that it makes a broad statement.
    They should be registered but if at any material time Parliament has taken the view that for the purpose of this, this is what we propose to do, Mr. Speaker, that is not an infringement on the constitutional right of any citizen. So I think article 42 should not be so construed as the Deputy Attorney-General has done. For purposes of practicality, I think I support what the Chairman of the Committee has said. Mr. Speaker, take Adansi-Asokwa Cons- tituency for example, who is in London who comes from there and says that I want to vote because I come from Adansi Asokwa Constituency. It is very easy to identify a Ghanaian but it is not so easy to identify people on constituency basis.
    So it seems to me that the Chairman is right; we should go by the first amendment that has been proposed, that this election should, for the time being, be restricted to only Presidential Elections. The Constitution would not be breached.
    Mr. S. K. B. Manu 11:50 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose the amendment. My reason for opposing the amendment is that article 42 of the Constitution, as has been articulated, gives the right to every Ghanaian of sound mind and of 18 years and above to register and vote in all elections. The emphasis is on “all elections.” Now we are making a law that is going to say that they can only vote in Presidential elections. What about if a Ghanaian outside so wishes to vote for his parliamentary candidate back at home. Yet we are restricting him to vote only for
    Mr. S. K. B. Manu noon
    the presidential candidate of his choice, and he goes to court that he is so much interested in voting for a Parliamentary candidate in his constituency; what will be the status of this clause in the law that we are making?

    So in order that we may not be caught napping we should make the law in such a way that they can vote in all elections. If the Electoral Commission (EC) in its own wisdom comes out to say that it is not feasible for them to conduct elections for parliamentary, unit committee and district assembly elections, that will be the word coming from the EC which is the implementer of the law. In that case, we in Parliament would have done our duty. The implementer could then come out to say that it has difficulties in implementing certain aspects of it and there, Parliament would have been absolved.
    Prof. A. M. Oquaye noon
    Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose the amendment. Mr. Speaker, we would not want to confuse the principle of the matter with the modalities.
    Mr. Speaker, part of the whole debate going on has been that there will be no money, there will be no logistics, there will be difficulty in the implementation, and so on. That has nothing to do with the fundamental right of the Ghanaian abroad to register and to vote.
    Mr. Speaker, we have got it quite clearly by the amendment passed this morning that the Electoral Commission shall by Constitutional Instrument (CI) make regulations to prescribe the modalities for the implementation of this Act. So if it is going to be a step by step approach in terms of implementation and modalities,
    Papa Owusu-Ankomah noon
    Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose the amendment. Mr. Speaker, if we look at article 42 of the Constitution, it says and with your permission I quote:
    “Every citizen of Ghana of 18 years of age or above and of sound mind has the right to vote and is entitled to be registered …”
    This Bill deals with the right to be registered as a voter, it is not dealing with the right to vote; So let us restrict ourselves to that particular right. Let us ask ourselves - by the amendment to the Bill are we restricting the person's right to register? If the answer is negative then it means that we have no problem. If the proposed amendment is seeking to limit the right to vote, then it creates a problem.
    So I am saying that this amendment really will not be in conformity with this Bill, neither will it be in conformity with the Constitution, and therefore we must not vote for it.
    Nana Akufo-Addo noon
    Mr. Speaker, I want to support very strongly the sentiments that have been expressed by the Minister for the Interior, the hon. Member for Sekondi and my successor as Attorney- General. I would say that much as I think most of us appreciate the problems that have compelled the amendment being proposed by the Chairman of the Committee, because it is a practical matter
    that I think all of us are sensitive to, there are serious issues that are being raised by him for the consideration of the House and the electoral process in general.
    There can be no doubt that the attempt to restrict the right to vote to presidential elections only flies clearly in the face of article 42 of the Constitution. There can be no dispute about that. Even if there are practical considerations that make it possible to move in the direction that it seeks, this House ought not to be the origin of legislation that clearly, on its face, will be stigmatized as unconstitutional. We will have to make an effort to satisfy ourselves that whatever we are doing, even though we are not the last words on the constitutionality or otherwise of what we are doing, clearly when matters are brought to our attention, it is incumbent upon us, in the public interest, to take them into consideration. I think that the position that the Member for Sekondi ( Papa Owusu-Ankomah) has advocated is the position that should commend itself to all of us in the House.
    Nana Akomea noon
    Mr. Speaker, I think that the proposed amendment is raising very interesting questions.
    Mr. Speaker, I believe that the purpose of the amendment is to solve a practical difficulty, that in the immediate period the EC may not be able to make modalities to allow citizens abroad to vote in say unit committee elections. To the extent that the amendment is buoyed by practical difficulties, it can be argued that it should be left to the EC and we will deal with just the principles of extending the right to register. The practical difficulty should be left to the EC to deal with.
    But Mr. Speaker, the converse question
    is that if the EC in putting together the modalities decides, on its own, to limit it to presidential elections would the EC be opening itself up to legal challenges? Because, if we open it to citizens to register and vote, and in making the modalities as we have prescribed in the amendment to clause (2) the EC decides that I am going to make modalities only for Presidential elections, what will be the upshot? I would like Members to advert their minds to these consi-derations, as we consider this particular amendment.
    Ms. Christine Churcher 12:10 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, the amendment as proposed by the Chairman of the Committee is not only confusing but very limpy; and I say this for two reasons.
    Mr. Speaker, by this amendment, is the hon. Chairman of the Committee saying that it is only those of us who live in Ghana who have the right to determine who should represent us in Parliament? I want to know. Mr. Speaker, I thought that the purpose of this Bill was to ensure that every Ghanaian whether living in Ghana or abroad, will have the right to register and to vote.

    Mr. Speaker, if this is the case then, I think that one thing that is very important in the voting process is the ability of an individual to decide who should represent him or her in Parliament, and if for any purpose that right is denied somebody because the person is living abroad, for me, that is a very narrow way of thinking. The amendment is not only confusing, but the same amendment which seeks to extend the right to register and to vote to all citizens will be limiting the right to only those of us within the country, and therefore I think we should reject it at all cost.
    Mr. E. A. Debrah 12:10 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the decision of all hon. Members who opposed the amendment, spearheaded by hon. Balado Manu.
    All the issue is about is that Ghanaians who are not resident in Ghana are by law barred from voting in Ghana, and we as lawmakers want to give that right back to Ghanaians. Therefore, all that we are doing here is that, as lawmakers, we believe that it is wrong for Ghanaians outside Ghana not to vote. So that is what we are doing about this law so that the law would be in conformity with the Constitution. If we now decide to limit the voting to ‘a' or ‘b' or ‘c', then we are not doing justice to the Constitution.
    I believe that, as hon. Members have said, let us give Ghanaians the right to vote. When we give them that right, they themselves will decide whether they want to vote in presidential, parliamentary or local government elections. So I want to go with the hon. Members who believe that the amendment should not go through in the form that it is right now, and that all Ghanaians outside should be given the right to vote as stipulated in the Constitution.
    Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 12:10 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I believe the Chairman of the Committee might have had good intentions for bringing in this proposal. Unfortunately, his own amendment also says ‘otherwise determined by law'. [Interruption.] - It is not taking into account that in Ghana, law includes Constitutional Instruments. It means that he is not taking into account the fact that this is a primary law and that there would be another law. Therefore, if his worry is that it should be done by another law, it will come when the Constitutional Instrument is made.
    I was also thinking that with virtually
    Mr. Osei-Prempeh 12:10 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I have listened to the arguments. Let me say that of all the arguments I was convinced by the arguments of the hon. Minister for the Interior and, based on that, I beg to withdraw the amendment.
    Mr. Speaker 12:10 p.m.
    Hon. Members, (vi) is withdrawn.
    Mr. A. O. Aidooh 12:10 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I have an amendment to the same clause. I beg to withdraw the amendment.
    Mr. Speaker 12:10 p.m.
    Item (vii) is also withdrawn? [pause] Hon. Members, item (viii). [Interruption.]
    Nana Akomea 12:10 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I am sorry to barge in at this stage, but I am rising on a point of clarification. I believe this clarification is very fundamental to what we are doing here.
    Mr. Speaker, this point has been made earlier by the hon. Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, and I do not think it was satisfactorily resolved - the point about what we are doing here. We are proposing amendments to this Bill, not to PNDCL 284, but when you look at the Order Paper, all the amendments proposed are to PNDCL 284 when we are actually considering amendments to this Bill. I think it is fundamental; we need to resolve it before we proceed.
    Mr. Speaker 12:10 p.m.
    Minister for the Interior, you may wish to comment.
    Papa Owusu-Ankomah 12:10 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I thought you were going to answer him, and that was why I sat down.
    Mr. Speaker 12:10 p.m.
    Go ahead.
    Papa Owusu-Ankomah 12:10 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, the purpose of this Bill is to enable Ghanaians resident abroad to register to vote in public elections in the country. So during the course of the debate, any amendment directed towards that purpose is in order. Amendments must not be contrary to the objects of the Bill. So we have to ask ourselves, will this amendment proposed be contrary to or subvert the object of the Bill? If not, then the amendment is in order. Otherwise, you can never propose any amendment when you have got a Bill to amend another Act.
    Nana Akomea 12:10 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker - [Interruption.]
    Mr. Speaker 12:10 p.m.
    I have not called you yet, but I do not see your problem. You may go ahead.
    Nana Akomea 12:10 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, funda- mentally, we are talking about the same thing. It is just the format which has been presented that is causing this misunderstanding.
    Mr. Speaker, if you look at (iv) for example, it says, “New Clause Amendment proposed PNDCL 284 Section 7(1), paragraph (c), at end, delete “and” and add “or hails from the constituency.” This means that we are adding this amendment to PNDCL 284, but I believe that is not what we are doing. We are adding this amendment to the Bill that is before us, not to PNDCL 284. I think we need to straighten that out before we proceed.
    Mr. Speaker 12:10 p.m.
    We must make progress.
    Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 12:10 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I believe that if we assure ourselves that what is actually going to happen is that we are going to lift the relevant sections from PNDCL 284 and then give a new rendition and add it to the Bill that we have here, that resolves the issue. But the fundamental question that we raised is valid. Inasmuch as we would lift the relevant section from PNDCL 284, amend it and put a new rendition as part and parcel of this new Bill, then it is all right. I think that is where the confusion is, and I am thinking of resolving it with the Clerk. If he does it that way, then we would have resolved that, so that it will appear, for the avoidance of doubt, in the new amendment in the new Bill.
    Mr. Speaker 12:10 p.m.
    Hon. Member, the heading of the Bill is “PNDCL 284 (amended),” that is it. So let us make progress. Item (viii), new clause -- Chairman of the Committee.
    Mr. Speaker 12:10 p.m.
    Item (ix).
    Mr. Osei-Prempeh 12:10 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I beg to withdraw that amendment too.
    Mr. Speaker 12:10 p.m.
    Item (x).
    Mr. Osei-Prempeh 12:10 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I beg to withdraw that amendment as well.
    The amendments that:
    Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:20 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, the Chairman of the Committee informed this House that he was withdrawing the amendment, and we need to be told why he was withdrawing the amendment.
    Mr. Speaker 12:20 p.m.
    Majority Chief Whip, it may not be necessary - [Laughter.] he is withdrawing it. Chairman of the Committee do we have any(xi)?
    Mr. Osei-Prempeh 12:20 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, that too has been taken care of. That is the one we did. Is it six or seven? That was the one done in (iv). It is the same thing.
    Mr. Speaker 12:20 p.m.
    So (xii), hon. Yaw Baah, move your amendment.
    Mr. Baah 12:20 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I beg to move,
    New Clause PNDCL 284 section 7(5), lines 3 and 4, delete all the words after ‘defectiveness' and before ‘shall'
    Mr. Speaker, my reason for moving

    this amendment stems from the fact that if you look at the last limb of PNDCL 284, section 7(5), it says that anyone is legal custody for the purposes of residency test could not qualify to vote in an election.

    To me, voting is an unqualified constitutional right of every Ghanaian. In this very country I hope we have our two hon. learned Friends who are occupying the Ministry of the Interior here. It is on record that inmates who are in prison, on remand, are ore than those who have been tried, convicted and sentenced.

    Therefore, due to this very slow nature in the administration of justice we have a lot of these inmates who are being kept in prison beyond six months to even 18,20 years. So this category of Ghanaians, why are we denying them of their constitutional right to vote? It is on this ground that the necessary measures must be put in place to ensure that since the issue of residency is no more an issue, they must have the right to vote; and all that they need to do is to apply for their transfer so that they could exercise this right. -- [Interruption] - I am talking of inmates who are on remand; that is what I am saying - not convicted.
    Mr. Speaker 12:20 p.m.
    Do not be distracted.
    Mr. Baah 12:20 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I am talking exclusively for those inmates who are on remand who have not been tried, convicted and sentenced. We have many of these inmates. If you go to the prisons, those on remand are more than those who have been convicted, so what do you do with this category of people? Some of them continue to be at the various prisons for more than six months. So if the issue of residency test of six months is no more anything to go by, then I do suggest that any Ghanaian who is on remand and having spent six months, residency should not be an issue now; that the necessary measures must be put in place for such a person to call for a transfer for him or her
    to exercise his or her constitutional right.
    Capt. Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey (retd): Mr. Speaker, my hon. Colleague made a point which is factually incorrect, and I think it is important for the sake of the records and the Hansard to put the facts on the ground.
    It is not true that the majority of inmates of our prisons are prisoners. It is not true that remand prisoners are more than convicts; that is factually incorrect. I have nothing to say to his argument. In fact, agree with the spirit of his argument but that factual error must be corrected; that terminological inexactitude - [Laughter.] - must be brought to his notice.
    Mr. K. T. Hammond 12:20 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I oppose the amendment proposed.
    Mr. Speaker, it is trite knowledge that anybody in prison, for whatever reason, has his mind very much concentrated on what it is that he is doing over there. [Laughter.] He is trying to draw a distinction between those who have been convicted and those who have not been. Mr. Speaker, we have cases where the person - I think I am also prepared to read into what he means by those who are there, because the court has ordered that they should be kept in custody for a certain period of time.
    Mr. Speaker, in almost all these cases, there is a prima facie case that something is wrong and they should be there. Of course, the conviction has not come about or the cycle has not been completed, but he has more important things to concentrate on.
    Mr. Speaker, I do not think what they worry about at that moment is the question of whether they have a right to vote or they do not have a right to vote.
    I think he also accepts the basic premise that part of the constitutional dispensation or the social progress or development of a country is that people who are capable of anything should be deprived of some rights. It is in the Constitution; that is not itself an infringement of the Constitution. So Mr. Speaker, my submission is that let them concentrate on the matter for which they are in custody, and let those outside concentrate on the election proper. Mr. Speaker, that is my contribution.
    Mr. Ndebugre 12:20 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose the amendment; may be drawing my inspiration from the objection raised by the hon. Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing. I think amendments that are proposed must relate to the Bill before the House. If you read the Preamble to the Bill, it states: “An Act to Amend the Representation of the People Law , 1992, PNDCL 284, to enable Ghanaians resident abroad to register to vote in elections.” And this amendment is about prisoners on remand - [Interruption] - I am reading the Preamble to the Bill which says that the purpose of the Bill is to enact a legislation to enable Ghanaians resident abroad to register to vote in en election. We must relate amendments to this. I think that is the reason that was given as explanation to the objection taken by the hon. Minister. So I think that if we were to allow wholesale amendments to PNDCL 284, mindless of the purport of the Bill, we could be running into problems. On this basis I oppose the amendment.
    Mr. Joe Ghartey 12:20 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I think that for us to say that the amendments relate to residents living abroad is to give a rather narrow definition of what we are doing. What we are doing here today is to give full effect to article 42 of the Constitution. And it was identified through a Bill, that Ghanaians living abroad are one category of people who have been denied the right to vote under

    PNDCL 284 which we say is contrary to the Constitution. I believe it is Senghor who said that “a tiger cannot lose its “tigeritude”; and a Ghanaian does not lose his “Ghanaiantude” when a Ghanaian goes to prison.

    So I think that if we want to give full effort to this law, Ghanaians in remand and in prison are still Ghanaians and this is an opportunity for us to give full effect to this law. Their rights that have been curtailed are rights relating to free movement. Indeed, my hon. Friend who said that when you go to prison you are concentrating on your trial, I think those who have gone to prison and stayed there for a long time, like Nelson Mandela and so on, tell us that the only thing you cannot keep in prison is the person's mind. So if the body is in prison but the mind is free then the person must have the right to vote. So I support this amendment and we should allow people in prison to vote.
    Mr. Yaw Baah 12:20 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, my reference is to, maybe, the state of mind of my hon. Colleague. He appears to be confused; I am talking of John Ndebugre. Because, although we are dealing with that of 2005, at no point could we be dealing with this 2005 Amendment Bill without reading it in tandem with the parent law which is 284; so it should not be this. The two must be considered. That is the exercise we are doing over here.
    Question put and amendment negatived.
    Mr. John Ndebugre 12:30 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, that
    Long Title add the word “Law” between “People” and “(Amendment)”
    So that it will read, “Representation of the People Law (Amendment) Act,” when it has become law. Why am I saying this? The law we are amending is PNDC Law 284, otherwise called Representation of the People Law. So if you leave out the word “Law”, you are actually saying that you are passing an Act to either amend the people or to amend the representation of the people - [Laughter] - which does not make sense. So on this basis, I move that we add the word “Law” between “People” and “Amendment.”
    Nana Akufo-Addo 12:30 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, my understanding is that it is not the Long Title that he seeks to amend but it is actually the Short Title of the Bill. It is the Short Title, not the Long Title. As far as I am concerned, he might be right. Mr. Speaker, in the same vein, we will take the opportunity, in the presence of the Attorney-General, it cannot be right that we in this country, working a democratic system of government, that our fundamental law for elections is a Decree. Symbolically, it flies in the face of everything we are trying to do in this country. We should urge the Attorney- General to bring a bill for the passage of the Representation of the People Act - an Act of Parliament -- [Hear! Hear!] not something issued by people in Arakan Barracks or Gondar Barracks. That should not be the basis on which the electoral laws of our country are done. Mr. Speaker, thank you very much.
    Mr. Speaker 12:30 p.m.
    Hon. Member for Zebilla, what you are seeking to do is to amend the Short Title. It is not the Long Title, is it?
    Mr. Ndebugre 12:30 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, in fact I was - [Interruption]
    Mr. Speaker 12:30 p.m.
    Are you withdrawing this amendment?
    Mr. Ndebugre 12:30 p.m.
    No, I seek leave to further amend my amendment by stating “Short Title” and not “Long Title.” I agree with the learned hon. Minister for Foreign Affairs. (Nana Akufo-Addo)
    Mr. Speaker 12:30 p.m.
    You are then withdrawing this. The Short Title, I am sure, would be referred to the draftsmen.
    Mr. Ndebugre 12:30 p.m.
    On that understanding, I withdraw the amendment.
    Amendment by leave withdrawn.
    Mr. Speaker 12:30 p.m.
    Hon. Members, we have come to the end of the Consideration Stage -
    rose
    Mr. Speaker 12:30 p.m.
    Hon. Majority Chief Whip.
    Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:30 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I have just discovered something and I thought that you will allow me to move an amendment.
    Mr. Speaker 12:30 p.m.
    Which is that?
    Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu: The Long Title. Mr. Speaker, what the Bill before us seeks to do is to grant Ghanaians resident abroad
    the right to register to vote in public elections and referenda. Mr. Speaker, the sentiments is captured in the Constitution, that is in article 42, which states:
    “Every citizen of Ghana of eighteen years of age or above and of sound mind has a right to vote and is entitled to be registered as a voter for the purposes of public elections and referenda.”
    Mr. Speaker, it is not for “any elections”, but for “public elections and referenda.” Mr. Speaker, I believe we should accordingly amend the Long Title so that no one can take advantage of any elections and say that I want to exact his right.
    Mr. Speaker, for that reason, I beg to move that for the Long Title, the second line, after the word “in” delete “elections” and insert “public elections and referenda.” So that Mr. Speaker, the Long Title now becomes,
    “An Act to amend the Representation of the People Law, 1992 PNDCL 284) to enable Ghanaians resident abroad to register to vote in public elections and referenda.”
    Mr. Speaker, that will be in tandem with what obtains in Article 42 of the Constitution. Mr. Speaker, I beg to move.
    Mr. Speaker 12:30 p.m.
    I would like to invite the views of other hon. Members as to whether this amendment you are seeking is really necessary.
    Mr. Osei-Prempeh 12:30 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, we have no objection to it. We believe it is in order. It is in tune with the Constitution, we have no objection to it.
    Mr. Stephen Asamoah-Boateng 12:30 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I am not quite sure what the
    Nana Akufo-Addo 12:30 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I think that article 42 makes quite clear what we are talking about. It speaks about the right to be registered for the purposes of public elections and referenda. So if the amendment seeks just to amplify and clarify, I think it should be in order that we do so. The idea is very clear; we are talking about public elections and referenda, not local or institutional elections, et cetera. It is basically on public elections and referenda.
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    The Long Title as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Mr. Speaker 12:30 p.m.
    We now move to item 9, Subvented Agencies Bill at the Consideration Stage.
    Mr. Abraham Ossei Aidooh 12:30 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, we propose that we defer item nine, and reconvene as the Committee of the Whole to attend the business relating to the Ghana Education Trust Fund
    (GETFund) on page seven.
    Mr. Speaker 12:30 p.m.
    I would suggest that we finish with business on the Order Paper and then adjourn.
    Mr. A. O. Aidooh 12:30 p.m.
    Well, if that is your pleasure, we would do that, Sir.
    So, hon. Deputy Majority Leader, at this stage, what do you suggest? You want us to go on with item nine?
    Mr. A. O. Aidooh 12:30 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I was saying that we defer item nine and sit as a Committee of the Whole to consider the formula for the distribution of the GETFund.
    Mr. Speaker 12:30 p.m.
    Then let us get indication for adjournment.
    Mr. A. O. Aidooh 12:30 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I beg to move that we adjourn formal proceedings till tomorrow morning at ten o'clock.
    Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:30 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I beg to second the motion.
    Question put and motion agreed to.
    ADJOURNMENT 12:30 p.m.