Debates of 4 Jul 2006

MR. SPEAKER
PRAYERS 10 a.m.
CORRECTION OF VOTES 10 a.m.
AND PROCEEDINGS AND 10 a.m.
THE OFFICIAL REPORT 10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker 10 a.m.
Order! Order! Correction of Votes and Proceedings, Friday, 30th June, 2006. Pages 1…8. Hon. Members, we do not have any Official Report for today.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS 10 a.m.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND 10 a.m.
MINISTRY OF JUSTICE 10 a.m.
Mr. Agbesi 10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, in the 2005 Budget, provision was made for the establishment of weekend courts in Accra. In the 2006 Budget, the same provision was made. The Attorney- General and Minister for Justice is saying that modalities are being worked out. I would like to know how long these modalities are going to take.
Mr. Ghartey 10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think my
hon. Colleague would agree with me that it is not just the building or the establishment of the courts that matters. Crucial to it are the people to man the courts.
As can be seen from the Answer, the modalities that are left are the people who would man the courts. The first batch of career magistrates have finished the course -- Twenty-seven (27) career magistrates in all. They would commence the courts. The second batch are about to enter and they would finish soon; and so it is the question of the career magistrates, the people who would man the courts; those are the modalities that are being worked out.
Mr. Agbesi 10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the issue
is that for two consecutive years, this issue appeared in the annual budgets. The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice is now saying that modalities are being worked out when in two consecutive years, this issue featured in the budgets. Mr. Speaker, I want to know from the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice whether the first batch of career magistrates who passed out were not sufficient to man the Weekend Magistrate's Courts, particularly in Accra
where we have a lot of problems over the weekend?
Mr. Ghartey 10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think my hon. Colleague would agree with me that it being in the budget shows a commitment by the Executive to have the courts established. The process of establishing the courts is left to the Judiciary which is independent; and they are the people who are training the career magistrates. I believe that the beginning is to let them sit as normal career magistrates first, for a period, and afterwards extend it to the weekends.
Even the normal magistrate courts from Monday to Friday are not sufficiently staffed yet, and they were not trained only for the purposes of the weekend courts; they were trained to become an additional resource base for the Judiciary. And so first, they fill in the places that are empty, and hopefully as more people get trained, the weekend courts also would be established.
Mr. Agbesi 10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the Chief
Justice in a statement has said that the need for the weekend magistrate courts is to ease the courts, particularly at weekends.
Mr. Speaker, is the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice aware that there are some petty offences like careless driving, and drivers involved in these matters are to be put before court on Fridays but because of the absence of courts on weekends, they are bound to be remanded or put in cells until Monday? Is the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice aware? And if he is aware, what steps would he take to see to it that this situation does not arise in future?
Mr. Ghartey 10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. Member very much for bringing this to my attention. I would bring it to the Chief Justice's attention.
Mr. Francis Agbotse 10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to find out from the hon.
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice what happened to the provisions in the Budget for the weekend courts.
Mr. Speaker 10 a.m.
Hon. Member, would you be kind enough to repeat the question?
Mr. Agbotse 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, my question is that provisions have been made in two consecutive years for the weekend courts. What happens to those provisions?
Mr. Ghartey 10:10 a.m.
My understanding is that
if money is allocated and it is not spent, it is reverted to the Consolidated Fund. So when he asked what happened to the provision, I was a little confused as to what he wanted to ask me.
Mr. Agbotse 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to
find out whether the moneys were spent, and on what.
Mr. Ghartey 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, if I had
been given notice, I would have asked the hon. Minister for Finance and Economic Planning and the Chief Justice.
Mr. C. S. Hodogbey 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
since there are no weekend courts, if a criminal or the police arrests somebody, say on Friday at 1.00 p.m. and he is not bailed and he stays there all the way to Monday, is it not breaking the 48-hour detention rule which is not allowed by the law?
Mr. Speaker 10:10 a.m.
Hon. Member for
Mr. Hodogbey 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, my
question is, if somebody is arrested on a Friday and he is not granted bail, and there is no court to grant him bail, and he stays in the cells till Monday -- and mostly the courts sit on Tuesday -- is that not
Mr. Speaker 10:10 a.m.
Hon. Member for North Tongu, I will allow you to ask another question. [Laughter.] If you have another question, please ask.
Mr. Hodogbey 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I do not
have any other question.
Mr. A. S. K. Bagbin 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, in
one of his answers, the hon. Minister gave the impression that we do not still have sufficient magistrates to fill in the gaps in the system. But in his written Answer, he talked about modalities being worked out for the implementation of this programme.
What are the modalities that he is referring to here?
Mr. Ghartey 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the
modalities that are being worked out are all the processes that are necessary for the establishment of the courts, which include making sure that the buildings exist and making sure that there are personnel to man the court.
Courts in Ashaiman
Q. 475. Mr. Alfred Kwame Agbesi asked the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice what plans the Ministry had to open a court in Ashaiman to serve the Ashaiman, Katamanso, Zenu and Afienya communities.
Mr. Ghartey 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the District Assemblies, by their mandate, are expected to provide courts and accommodation for judges and magistrates. So far eighty-eight (88) District Assemblies have provided premises for courts in their districts, with a lesser number having provided bungalows to house the judges.
With regard to the Ashaiman court, it is hoped that other Assemblies, including the Tema Municipal Assembly, would do the same, that is provide premises and bungalows to help the Judicial Service promote the administration of justice in all districts, including Ashaiman.
Mr. Speaker, when I talk of districts, I include Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies. If this is done, the Judicial Service will be in a better position to open a court in Ashaiman.
Mr. Agbesi 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to know from the hon. Attorney-General, as the hon. Minister in charge of Justice, whether he or his Ministry has directed Tema Municipal Assembly to provide a court for the Ashaiman community.
Mr. Ghartey 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, with
respect, I wish I had the power to direct Municipal Assemblies; but the Municipal Assemblies are under the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment and I assure him that I have spoken to my colleague Minister about all districts, not only Ashiaman. And Ashiaman, I assure him, is one of the districts that I have spoken to my hon. Colleague about.
Mr. Agbesi 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to
know from the hon. Attorney-General, after having spoken to his hon. Colleague, what time precisely, will the court be opened at Ashaiman?
Mr. Ghartey 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, if I may
just correct the impression, Ashaiman is not a district; it is under the Tema Municipal Assembly, and I know that there is a court within the Tema Municipal Assembly. I would want to, with respect, remind my hon. Colleague that the hon. Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Environment and I have
been in office for barely two weeks. We are still talking and we do not want to promise and say things that we cannot abide by. So if he will give us a little more time, we will continue talking and we will get back to him either officially or unofficially and give him the time.
Mr. Agbesi 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to
know from the Attorney-General, when he says we should give him a little time, how little that time is -- [Laughter] -- And also, whether the Attorney-General is aware that the population of Ashaiman is more than the population of Tema itself, and that Ashiaman needs a court as early as possible.
Mr. Speaker 10:10 a.m.
Hon. Member for
Ashaiman, which question do you want him to answer?
Mr. Agbesi 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the question
is whether the Attorney-General is aware that the population of Ashaiman is even more than that of Tema itself and that Ashaiman needs a court as early as tomorrow. Is he aware?
Mr. Ghartey 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am not
aware. And indeed, as he was stating his position of fact, the Member of Parliament for Tema was also sitting by me and saying that his position was wrong. So now that he has stated that that is the situation, I think that the best thing for all of us to do is this: Being the Member of Parliament, if he thinks it is necessary that a district be created for Ashaiman he should please do what he can do; because up to this time that Ashaiman is not a district (Ashaiman is under the Tema Municipal Assembly; and which courts have been provided for the Tema Municipal Assembly), any extra thing that will be provided for Ashaiman, of course, will be done in consultation with the Tema Municipal Assembly and
the hon. Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Environment. But as to that statement of fact, I thank him very much for the information. I will check it up.
Mr. Lee Ocran 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would
like to know from the hon. Minister if he is stating categorically that not until a District Assembly has provided accommodation, a court cannot be opened in a district.
Mr. Ghartey 10:20 a.m.
I am not saying so; I am only bringing it to his attention as we are all Members of Parliament and we all represent districts; that 88 of the districts in Ghana have provided accommodation for courts. A lesser number have provided accommodation for the judges.
Indeed, it will encourage the Judicial Service and make it easier for them to open a court, if there is already a room to have the court and a place for the Judge to sit. All they need to bring is the Judge, the facilities are there.
It is not only when the District Assembly creates it, but also facilitates it. And so, I encourage all District Assemblies, those who have not done so, to do it to facilitate the administration of justice throughout this country.
Nii Amasah Namoale: Mr. Speaker,
in his Answer, the hon. Attorney-General said that the District Assemblies by their mandate are expected to provide courts and accommodation for judges and magistrates. Is it the mandate of the District Assemblies to provide courts or premises for courts?
Mr. Ghartey 10:20 a.m.
I thought my answer
was simple and could be understood by all. When I said “courts”, I meant premises for courts. You and I know that the administration of justice is the sole
Mr. E. K. Salia 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
Mr. Ghartey 10:20 a.m.
He is asking my
opinion; that is what he is doing -- “would it not be better” -- and what I will tell him is the other view. People argue also that we should become more decentralised. But I think that by the view that he is proffering by asking “will it not be better?” he is talking about more centralisation. He is saying that Central Government should provide resources to build these courts, if I understand him. He is saying that the Central Government should control the process rather than the District Assemblies.
Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.
Question No. 502 --
Hon. J. Y. Chireh.
Mr. J. Y. Chireh 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I do
not intend to ask the Question.
Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.
Thank you. Question

for appearing to answer the Questions. You are discharged.

It is now the turn of the Ministry of

Defence. Hon. Member, you may ask your Question.
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE 10:20 a.m.
Minister for Defence (Dr. K. Addo- Kufuor) 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, after the accident at Atiwa, I requested a board of inquiry (BOI) into Ghana Air Force helicopter crash in the Atiwa Forest on 20th March 2002. The board comprised six military officers and was presided over by a senior Air Force officer. The terms of reference of the board were as follows:
a. Investigate the circumstances leading to the accident
b. Determine the cause of the accident
c. Ascertain and assess the nature and extent of injury to persons on board the flight; and
d. Make recommendations.
Mr. Speaker, the board's report among other things confirmed that the Ghana Air Force was tasked to undertake an air medical evacuation in respect of Cpl. Adu Buxton and George Debrah, a civilian employee of the Ministry of Defence who had earlier been involved in a road traffic accident on the Kumasi-Accra road on their journey to the Volta Region for a
funeral of a departed colleague. None of the seven people on board the helicopter survived when the aircraft crashed in the Atiwa Forest. The deceased were:
a. Wg. Cdr. Ben Acheampong -- Pilot
b. Flt. Lt. Seth Lartey -- Co-Pilot
c . C p l . J o s e p h B o s o m e f i - - Aircraft Technician
d . C p l . Ya w A k o e n s i - - Aircraft Technician
e. Cpl. Adu Buxton -- Patient
f. George Yaw Debrah - - MOD Civilian
g. Mr. Victor Adu Nyarko -- Nurse at Nkawkaw Holy Family Hospital
Mr. Speaker, I wish to indicate that unlike civil aircraft which are required by law to be insured, military aircraft are not insured. Therefore in the event of any accident, compensations are paid only to civilian employees and soldiers of the Ghana Armed Forces in accordance with provisions under Chapter 21 of the Ghana Armed Forces Regulations (AFR), Vol. 1 (Administration). The claims for compensation in respect of such accident victims who are not employees of the Ghana Armed Forces are handled by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning in accordance with existing Government Financial Administration Regulations.
In the circumstance, appropriate compensation has been paid to the families of the accident victims who were in the employment of the Ghana Armed Forces. I must emphasise that the payments were effected in accordance with the
Ghana Armed Forces Regulations already mentioned.
Mr. Speaker, to the best of my knowledge, the estate of the late Victor Adu Nyarko, the civilian nurse at the Nkawkaw Holy Family Hospital has not yet been made as the representative of the family has not gone through the proper legal proceedings.
Mr. Speaker, a request for compen- sation has to come from the appropriate representative of Mr. Adu Nyarko's estate. Here, the advice we have is that the person claiming the compensation must produce letters of administration or probate in respect of the deceased's estate. These documents must be granted by a court of competent jurisdiction.
Even though Mr. Adu Nyarko is not employed by the Ghana Armed Forces, his presence on the plane was legitimately required by the authorities at the Holy Family Hospital and therefore if any request for compensation is made, it has to be sympathetically considered. When requested, the Ghana Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence will give it all the support it requires. But as I have said, it has to pass through the proper legal proceedings before we will be able to support it.
Mr. Mahama 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, this accident occurred in 2002, four years ago. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister for Defence, whether the Board of Inquiry or the Ministry of Defence has made any recommendations to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning for payment of such compensation.
Dr. Addo-Kufuor 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, as I have said, not everybody can come forward and claim the compensation. He has to be a person with due legal authority; the person who comes forward should produce letters of administration or
Mr. Mahama 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I will not consider another question; he has not answered my original question. My question was not about letters of administration; that is for the family to sort out. My question is the board of inquiry; did it make any recommendations and has the Ministry of Defence made any recommendations to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning?
In his answer, he said it was the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning that would pay and I am asking whether any recommendation has been made to that institution in order that when the family approaches the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, such payment would be made.
Dr. Addo-Kufuor 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think my hon. Colleague is putting the cart before the horse. [Interruption.] If you want compensation, whom should the compensation be paid to? It should be somebody with the proper legal authority to receive the compensation. What I am saying is that we have done what is expected of us. We have shown sympathy to the family but I hope that they will get the proper legal advice so that we assist them. It is not for the Ministry of Defence to direct the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to pay compensation. To whom?
Mr. Mahama 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am sorry to dwell on this point a bit. Mr. Speaker, if anybody just walked up to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and presented letters of administration and said, “I am the next-of-kin of Mr. Nyarko and I have come to claim compensation”, what information is available to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to pay such a person? It would be on the recommendation of the sector Ministry in which the incident happened, before the Ministry of Finance can recognize whoever is making that claim.
That is why I am making that point, whether any recommendation has been made to the Ministry, so that in the event that the family sorts out the letters of administration and goes to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, the Ministry would have been apprised of the incident and pay the appropriate compensation.
Dr. Addo-Kufuor 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, if a representative of Mr. Nyarko goes to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, I have no doubt that if he makes reference to the fact that his relation perished on a military aircraft, in the event of that information being made available to the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, he will definitely get in touch with us and we will provide the appropriate information in support of the claim. But till that is done, I do not think we should go around asking or instructing the Ministry of Finance to pay compensation. To whom? I still stand by what I have said.
Mr. Mahama 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the hon. Minister for Defence whether this advice and information has been provided to the family in terms of pursuing this compensation claim.
Dr. Addo-Kufuor 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, since
the unfortunate incident, I have personally called on the family, and many members of the Armed Forces have done so. I went with a large delegation; it was even shown on the television. I have also been to the hospital and there have been several interactions with members of the family. As Minister, I cannot say in the presence of this august House that I have directed the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to pay but I have no doubt that in the interaction with other members of the Armed Forces, such information has been made available to the family.
Mr. Mahama 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, finally, military aircraft are used everyday to convey civilians of this country. Even hon. Members of this House have been conveyed on military aircraft -- I do not know whether Mr. Speaker has flown in one of those military aircraft yet -- [Laughter] -- but Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister for Defence what procedures are in place for informing civilians who board military aircraft, that they are not entitled to any insurance or compensation in the event that an accident occurs.
I have ridden on a military aircraft myself yet nobody told me anything about the jeopardy in which I was placing my life. I would like to find out what procedures exist for warning the civilian public that this is the situation.
Dr. Addo-Kufuor 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, let me commend my hon. Colleague highly for giving me the opportunity to address this issue. The military aircraft, when it gets to Tamale especially -- I travel around a bit -- you get a lot of people coming from all walks of life jumping onto the aircraft. Maybe, this is the appropriate time to let everybody know that these planes are not insured. Nevertheless, there is something called Indemnity Certificate that should be signed by all travellers on military aircraft.
Indemnity Certificates should be signed so that anybody who travels on any military aircraft realizes that in the event of an accident, the Ghana Armed Forces or the Ministry of Defence would not be expected to provide any insurance cover, because these aircraft have no insurance cover.
What should be done -- and I hope everybody will be informed -- is that before you get on any military aircraft, you should sign an indemnity certificate. And Mr. Speaker, in view of what has transpired on the floor of the House, this information will be made widely available to the general public. I thank my hon. Colleague for bringing this matter to the attention of the House.
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister is very categorical that there is no insurance policy for the military aircraft. I am aware of some efforts, even by him, to improve civil -- military relations. In view of the increasing numbers of civilians who patronize the military aircraft, would he want to share with this House which best practices inform the decision not to insure the military aircraft; and whether he will consider a review of that policy in order to insure the aircraft.
Dr. Addo-Kufuor 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, what I am describing is international practice. Military aircraft are meant for combat and I do not think that any insurance company will be happy to insure vehicles meant for combat. Nevertheless, in view of the scarcity of aircraft in this country and the regularity with which many civilians patronize military vehicles, I believe he has brought out a very important issue.
First, we should take this opportunity to let the general public know of the indemnity clause that exists.
Secondly, I believe that whenever it becomes necessary for a lot of civilians to use military aircraft for purposes
Mr. A. S. K. Bagbin 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want the Minister to tell us the last time he, himself signed an indemnity certificate. [Laughter.]
Mr. Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Hon. Members, it seems we are going farther and farther away from the question. Minister for Defence, it seems you want to answer this question.
Dr. Addo-Kufuor 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the
question is asked in good spirit and I will give a good-natured answer. Mr. Speaker, the Minister for Defence is by association a military man and therefore if he travels, he does not need the indemnity certificate.
Mr. Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Minister for Defence,
thank you for appearing to answer this Question; you are discharged.
STATEMENTS 10:40 a.m.
Mr. John Gyetuah 10:40 a.m.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity to make a Statement on the devastating effects on the soil by erosion that is gradually but effectively taking a toll and hold on some communities in the Amenfi West constituency especially Asankrangwa, Asankran Breman, Asankran Oda, Asuohyiam, Samreboi, Kwabeng and
Moseaso.
Mr. Speaker, erosion is one form of soil degradation along with soil compaction, low organic matter, loss of soil structures, poor internal drainage, salinisation and soil acidity problems.
These forms of soil degradation, serious in themselves usually contribute to accelerated soil erosion in the constituency.
Mr. Speaker, Amenfi West Consti- tuency falls within the wettest part of the country. The entire district has five forest reserves covering a total of 413.94 square kilometres.
Average annual rainfall tapers off from 173 mm at the South to 140 mm at the North.
Mr. Speaker, the main agent of soil erosion in the constituency is water and considering the ecological or climatic conditions of the area, one could deduce the gravity of the problem.
Soil erosion may be a slow process that continues relatively unnoticed but that of Amenfi West constituency is occurring at an alarming rate, causing serious destruction to buildings and also leading to the formation of deep trenches, gullies and deep gutters.
Mr. Speaker, communities that have been affected by the unfortunate occurrence are on a slope and might have accounted greatly for part of the erosion. Naturally, the steeper the slope of the community, the greater the amount of soil loss from erosion by water.
Soil erosion by water also increases as the slope length increases due to the greater accumulation and speed of run-off.
Mr. Speaker, consolidation of small fields into larger ones often results in longer slope lengths with increased erosion potential, due to increased velocity
of water which permits a greater degree of scouring.
Soil erodibility is an ability of soils to resist erosion, based on the physical characteristics of each soil. Generally, soils with faster infiltration rates, higher levels of organic matter and improved soil structure have a greater resistance to erosion.
Indeed, Mr. Speaker, the soil texture in the constituency is susceptible to soil erosion coupled, with the incessant rains which are prevalent.
Mr. Speaker, soil erosion has assumed alarming proportions at Asankran Breman, Asankrangwa, Asankran Oda and Samreboi and need immediate attention to ameliorate the current situation.
The foundation of buildings in the affected communities have been washed away thus leaving them hanging as death traps.
Mr. Speaker, the situation is so dangerous that certain places are cut off from vehicular movement and pedestrians.
Looking at the extent of damage soil erosion has caused and is still causing, one could imagine what will precisely happen if any inertia like fire outbreak sets in in any of the affected areas.
Mr. Speaker, lack of concrete drains to control the run-off is the major problem facing the communities. Asankrangwa, even though is the district capital of Wassa Amenfi West, lacks concrete drains as the town roads are not paved or surfaced.
Mr. Speaker, I am aware that the development of every area largely depends upon the particular District Assembly. The current situation in Amenfi West constituency is beyond the capacity and
capability of the district in terms of its capital intensive and requisite expertise to handle the situation.
Mr. Speaker, although I have submitted an official letter to the Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing reporting of the situation, nothing fruitful has emerged.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to make a strong appeal to the Ministries of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Rural Development, Science and Environment, non-governmental organisations and philanthropists to come to the aid of communities in the Amenfi West constituency that are affected by soil erosion to salvage the current situation.
Mr. Lee Ocran (NDC -- Jomoro) 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, a visit to any of our old established towns and villages would reveal a very depressing sight. Most of these villages and towns are eroded and what is most depressing is that buildings which were one time majestic buildings have got their walls falling because they can no more be supported by the soil.
A survey was conducted by the National Disaster Management Orga- nisation (NADMO) in 1997 to identify towns and villages that needed assistance because of the menace of erosion. About 67 towns and villages were identified in the rain forest zone. It is a pity that of all the recommendations made by NADMO at the time, including proper drainage, planting of carpet grass to support the soils and other recommendations, none of these recommendations has been implemented, maybe because there is no money. But that is the responsibility of the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing.
It is a pity that the hon. Minister is not here. Even mining towns, like Tarkwa, which are supporting the economy of this
Mr. Speaker 10:50 a.m.
At the Commencement of Public Business -- Item 5 -- Motion -- Minister for Health.
Mr. A. O. Aidooh 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, may we seek your permission to allow the hon. Deputy Minister for Health to act for the hon. Minister who is unavoidably absent.
Mr. Speaker 10:50 a.m.
All right, Deputy Minister for Health?
BILLS -- SECOND READING 10:50 a.m.
Chairman of the Committee (Dr. Francis Osafo-Mensah) 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to present to you the report of the Committee.
1.0 Introduction
The Food and Drugs (Amendment) Bill was first referred to the Select Committee on Health on 25th October, 2005 for consideration and report. The Committee held several meetings with the Committee on Trade, Industry, and Tourism, Officials of the Food and Drugs Board (FDB), Ghana Standards Board, Ministry of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and President's Special Initiative and the Ghana Beverage Importers Association.
After the conclusion of its work, the Committee reports as follows:
1.1 Reference
In considering the Bill, reference was made to the underlisted documents:
i. The 1992 Constitution of Ghana
ii. The Food and Drugs Law 1992,
PNDCL 305B
iii. T h e F o o d a n d D r u g s
Chairman of the Committee (Dr. Francis Osafo-Mensah) 10:50 a.m.


(Amendment) Act, 1996, Act

523

2.0 Background

The FDB is mandated under the Food and Drugs Law, PNDCL 305B, 1992 to implement appropriate regulatory measures to achieve the highest standard of safety and quality of all foods whether manufactured locally or imported into the country.

Though the FDB has been operating under PNDCL 305B, 1992 for sometime now, it emerged quite recently that the operating Law does not mandate the FDB to charge fees.

The Food and Drugs (Amendment) Bill is to obviate the problem first, by allowing the Minister for Health in consultation with the Food and Drugs Board to provide a regulatory framework in which fees can be levied in the exercise of the powers granted by the law, specifically, section 36 of PNDCL 305B, 1992.

Second, to seek Parliamentary approval authorizing the FDB to retain moneys charged in the exercise of its responsibilities. 3.0 Deliberation

The Committee having satisfied itself with the object of the Bill agrees with all the amendments proposed therein:

3.1 Clause 28, add a new subclause to read:

“With prior approval of the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, moneys accruing to the Board in the course of the performance of its functions under this Act shall be retained by the Board for purposes

of defraying the expenses of the Board.”

The Committee is of the view that by retaining moneys from its operations, the FDB would be able to reposition itself as an enhanced and effective regulatory body.

3. 2 Clause 47, after subparagraph (v), add the following new sub-paragraphs:

“the registration of an article to which this Law applies if it is satisfied that the article complies with the required standard for that article, and the manufacturing operations of that article comply with the codes of good manufacturing practices”;

“the charging of fees to cover services rendered under this Law to any person”.

3.3 Add a new subclause to read:

“Despite the provisions of section 9 of the Statutory Instrument Act, 1959 (No. 52 of 1959), an instrument made under this section may provide for such penalty as the Minister shall after consultation with the Board prescribe.”

The Committee observed that this amendment is to enable the FDB to conduct audit inspections mainly for health and safety reasons or purposes, and also to levy appropriate fees to effectively discourage the importation of cheap and inferior brands of goods from companies found not to be complying with or whose products fall short of required standards.

The Committee noted that by instituting such a measure, it would minimize the dumping of imported products into the country and enhance the regulation and quality of imported food products.

4.0 Observation and Recommendation

The Committee observed that the

functional activities of the FDB are gradually grinding to a halt as a result of which it is unable to charge both audit inspection and listing fees. The situation would be ameliorated by the passage of the Bill and the Committee recommends that subject to the amendments proposed, the House should adopt its report on the Food and Drugs (Amendment) Bill.

Respectfully submitted.

Maj. (Dr.) (Alhaji) Mustapha Ahmed (retd) (NDC -- Ayawaso East): Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion and in doing so I would like to say that when we pass laws, we are very optimistic that the laws will last through the ages. However, we know that with changes in technology, politics and society, it may become necessary once in a while to rethink and sometimes revise our laws. Certainly, the need has arisen this time for the Food and Drugs Board Law to be amended and I believe that hon. Members would contribute positively to ensure that this very important organization is properly empowered to undertake its functions.

But in doing so I would like to say that it has become very fashionable currently to refer to food and drugs administration as “foods and medicines” so as not to complicate matters for anybody.

I would tell a story of a visitor in the United Kingdom who needed a particular drug urgently and then he sought the help of somebody in the streets. He said: “ I need some drugs very urgently for my ailment.” Immediately, the police was called because they thought this person was actually referring to hard drugs. So it has become fashionable to change the name from “food and drugs” to “food and medicines”. I hope the hon. Minister would take this on board. Thank you very

much.
Alhaji Muntaka M. Mubarak ( NDC -- Asawase) 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion before the House. But before I make my comments I would like to draw your attention to this observation. It saddens my heart to say this, but it is unfortunate that since I came to this House, the hon. Minister for Health has never come to this House on any of such important issues, that is, when it comes to Questions and issues that relate to the Ministry.
I am a member of the Committee and even during budgetary hearing the hon. Minister does not appear; he rather allows one of the hon. Deputy Ministers to do that. I think it is very, very unfortunate because the importance that is attached to this Bill, even though we believe that the hon. Deputy Ministers are capable, it is important that he himself surfaces so that he adds colour to whatever we are doing with regard to the Ministry.
Mr. Speaker, the amendment before us is a very important one. I remember some time last year when we met the Food and Drugs Board members, the Chairperson indicated that when they started visiting companies abroad -- We used to have over 100 companies in India that export drugs into our country. With the start of the inspection a lot of them immediately wound up and withdrew their exportation into our country, indicating clearly that they used all sorts of means and all sorts of certificates to deceive us that they were adhering to regulations that are very, very important in the regulation of drugs in our country.
When inspection started, they had to recoil, indicating clearly that it is very, very important that we resource the Food and Drugs Board to enable them carry out effective inspection of factories abroad so that whatever is seen on our markets
Alhaji Muntaka M. Mubarak ( NDC -- Asawase) 11 a.m.
can be presumed to be very safe for the consumption of the general public.

Mr. Speaker, I would urge my hon. Colleagues to support this amendment for the fact that we see currently -- I think last two weeks -- what happened to Euro Food Company right in our country. Some of the terrible things that we heard, we are hoping that a lot of companies will take cues from that and begin to adhere to most of the rules that we have in our country. I will also urge the Food and Drugs Board that once we have given them the mandate to be able to resource themselves, they will do that better so that we will be safe with whatever we take in in our country.

With these few words, I support the motion.
Mr. Kojo Armah (CPP -- Evalue/ Gwira) 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think the Bill is a very important one that needs all our support. Mr. Speaker, the Food and Drugs Board is an important regulatory outfit that seeks to regulate the level of health of the food that we consume and the drugs that are sold. There are two things that I want to talk about because they are a source of worry.
The first is about the attitude of us Ghanaians any time some sanctions are being imposed or some inspections have been done and people have been found out. The recent issue of the Euro Food Company brought about an example of what I am trying to relate.
There were some sections of the media that were trying to portray the Food and Drugs Board and those who went to do the inspection on their premises as violating their fundamental rights. I wonder what fundamental rights they had in bringing us contaminated food. And when the
Mr. S. K. B. Manu (NPP -- Ahafo Ano South) 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I also rise to make a contribution on the motion. Mr. Speaker, just as the hon. Member for Evalue/Gwira (Mr. Armah) said, with the proliferation of FM stations, every
morning, when you get up, every FM station tries to outclass the other FM station by the number of advertisements on drugs that they air. And I had the occasion of asking one of these presenters if indeed he believed what he told the public about a particular drug. He said, Aah, se me die, ode aba, w'atua ne sika, he has paid me so I have to do the advertisement for him or her.
Please, I want to caution our radio
presenters and the FM stations that the preparation of the drugs may not be as injurious as the person who promotes the drug. After all if the person prepares the drug in a village somewhere, he cannot sell it to the unsuspecting public if he does not get the promotion by these FM stations.
Mr. A. K. Abgesi 11 a.m.
On a point of order. The hon. Member is misinforming this House. Mr. Speaker, he has not told us that any FM station has advertised any drug which was taken and was injurious to the health of anybody in this country. Unless he is able to prove that point, all that he is saying against the FM stations is not true. So he should withdraw that statement against the FM stations, unless he can prove that any drug has been promoted by an FM station and somebody took it and it was very bad for his health. If not, he is misinforming this House and
the whole country.
Mr. Manu 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member for Ashaiman, I believe, when he leaves Parliament House, he gets to Ashaiman and does not listen to what goes on in this country. Some people have been arrested for promoting wrong drugs in this country and if he wants me to mention a name I can easily do that. But given the ethics of Parliament, I would not want to mention any name on the floor of the House to denigrate that station. I could have done that.
Mr. Speaker, all I am saying is that the Food and Drugs Board should organize workshops and seminars for radio presenters and FM station owners so that they will be sure of what they promote in order that they may not endanger the lives of unsuspecting Ghanaians.
With this I support the motion. Minority Leader (Mr. A. S. K.
Bagbin): Mr. Speaker, I want to speak to the motion and in doing so I would want to draw the attention of the House to a number of issues. Mr. Speaker, I am not sure the Minister for Justice had sight of this Bill because this is one of the ill- conceived and ill-prepared drafts that has been brought to this House.
Mr. Speaker, the law that is sought to be amended, if you look at the title of it and the number, it will be clear to you that this is one of the laws that were, in the last seconds of our transition to democratic rule, passed by the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) -- PNDC Law 305 (b).

Mr. Speaker, this proposed Bill has identified a number of defects of that law. It is stated, for example, that in spite of
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 11:10 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, this is a Bill presented by the Minister for Health on behalf of the President. So to say that he does not think the President is even aware of this Bill is totally wrong; no Bill comes here without the President's approval.
Mr. Bagbin 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, he is just simply stating his opinion, but that is theory; I am talking about practice. In this House we have had opportunity to reject some Bills because they were not seen by the President and they were withdrawn and sent back and redrafted and relaid. We are talking about practice; we are not talking about theory.
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. Minority Leader is misleading the House. Mr. Speaker, it is the duty of Parliament to consider Bills brought before Parliament. Parliament
reserves the right to reject a Bill; Parliament reserves the right to draw the attention of the Executive to certain anomalies and the Executive may then decide to withdraw the Bill, taking cognizance of the views expressed by certain Members of Parliament. That is not to say that the Bill did not go through the proper processes.
Mr. Speaker, the practice is that a Bill goes to Cabinet; Cabinet approves of the Bill; it goes to the Attorney-General's office for drafting; it goes back to Cabinet and then after approval it is laid before the House. That is not to say that we cannot commit mistakes, the Executive can, as it were, lose sight of certain matters, but to say that Government is run in such a haphazard manner that everybody can bring a Bill before the House is deliberately misleading.
Mr. Bagbin 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, my hon. Colleague opposite is just speaking his mind. Even most of the statements that he made are not statements that he can attribute to me; I have not said that. All that he has stated as representing the position of the law is wellknown to all of us; I have not doubted that; I have not contradicted that.
I am simply saying that looking at this Bill one has serious doubts as to whether it passed through the normal processes, if he wants me to use the words “the normal processes”. I even talked about the President because I said that it says “enacted by the President and Parliament” and that is what I am saying that “Iam not sure” -- that was the statement I used -- I said I am not even sure His Excellency the President had sight of it.
Again, I had drawn your attention to the fact that this is a Bill that has nothing urgent about it. There is nothing urgent about it. If there is nothing urgent about a Bill and we have the opportunity to revise
rose
Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Majority Chief Whip, do you have any point of order?
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:10 a.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the hon. Minority Leader is expressing an opinion; he is entitled to express his personal opinion. But Mr. Speaker, to go further to say that some Bills which have been introduced in this House had been withdrawn because the President had not seen them -- Mr. Speaker, I do not know of any example in this House. Let the hon. Minority Leader cite an example of a Bill that was introduced into this House and withdrawn because the President had not seen it, let him cite an example. Mr. Speaker, he is entitled to express his opinion but not certainly to mislead this House and the entire nation by such pronouncement. Let him cite an example.
Mr. Bagbin 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, people are young. [Laughter.] I think that my hon. Colleague should go back to history and read through -- [Interruptions.] He would know that there are a number of Bills that were withdrawn -- [Uproar.]
Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Minority Leader, please go on with your contribution.
Mr. Bagbin 11:10 a.m.
Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker, I think that we have enough time as a House, as a people -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Attorney-General, what is your point of order?
Mr. Joe Ghartey 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, having finished with the matter -- [Some hon. Members: Order number?] When I finish speaking I will say the Order number.
Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Order!
Mr. Ghartey 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, having finished with the matter of the President, my hon. Colleague also said that the Attorney-General's Department did not see it. I want to assure him that -- [Interruptions] -- He said the President did not see it and the Attorney-General's Department did not see it. He chastised not just the President but also the Attorney- General's Department, so I want to ask him about the basis for that statement so I can correct it if there is any anomaly.
Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Minority Leader, did you make that point that the Attorney- General's Department did not see this? I did not hear it.
Mr. Bagbin 11:10 a.m.
I said I am not sure the Attorney-General's Department even had sight of it. [Interruptions.] Mr. Speaker, I said I am not sure and I will draw your attention to areas that make me unsure. Mr. Speaker, let us go to the Memo-randum. Look at paragraph 3, and Mr. Speaker, I beg to quote:
“The law does not make specific provision for the charging of fees but by trying to rely on implied powers …”
“by trying to rely on implied . . .” -- [Interruption.] What are they talking about? Do you think the Attorney- General's Department will use these words -- “by trying to rely…”? [Laughter.] It says “…-- by trying to rely on implied powers the Board has been charging fees for its work” -- “by trying to rely,” not “by relying” -- “by trying to rely on . . .” [Uproar]-- You cannot convince me that the Chief Legal Advisor of the Government will present a Bill in this House with that kind of language; you cannot convince me, that is why I said I have my doubts.
Now Mr. Speaker, if I am being told
rose
Mr. Speaker 11:20 a.m.
Attorney-General, do you have any point of order? You are up, you are standing.

Attorney-General and Minister for Justice (Mr. Joe Ghartey): Mr. Speaker, I am surprised that when my hon. Colleague said that this Bill could not have passed through the Attorney-General's Department -- I thought he would raise much more substantive matters because my understanding of the fees is simply that even though it does not specifically state that they have power to charge fees, what they have been doing is that they have been attempting -- They have been charging fees.
Mr. Speaker 11:20 a.m.
Hon. Members, let us
make progress.
Mr. Bagbin 11:20 a.m.
It is a full stop, not a
comma. Mr. Speaker, in fact, paragraph (2) of the same memorandum and I beg to quote:
“Unfortunately these provisions
Mr. Speaker 11:20 a.m.
Hon. Minority Leader, it is his office, not he himself.
Mr. Bagbin 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am saying
this because I believe we have a very good opportunity to look at the area of food and drugs in this country and in doing that I expect that we should do a comprehensive review of the existing law and then make provisions that would cover other areas like food, beverages and the rest. But this is a Bill that is rushed through just to enable them rectify an earlier error where they were not given the power to charge fees which they were doing illegally.
Mr. Speaker, we would even ask them to file accounts as to how much was collected, where that money is, what has happened to it before we can go on to grant them -- We cannot give them retroactive legislation to try to rectify a wrong that they have committed. An hon. Member of this House raised it and tried to institute legal action. So Mr. Speaker, to try to forestall that they rush with a Bill to try to get Parliament to pass a Bill giving them
powers to charge the fees; that is what we have to prevent.
Mr. Speaker, we must make sure that they file accounts; that is one. Two, we must make sure that we take time to properly review the existing law on food and drugs in this country. This would mean that we have to come back again, sooner than later, to revise the whole law on food and drugs in this country.
Mr. Speaker, again, I believe strongly
that in drafting this Bill the proposer of the Bill has also quoted something which in my view, I believe is wrong.
rose
Mr. Bagbin 11:20 a.m.
Go on.
Mr. Speaker 11:20 a.m.
Minister for Education,
Youth and Sports, are you contributing or raising a point of order?
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I am raising a point of order. I heard the hon. Minority Leader talking about belief. I do not know whether we are discussing matters of faith here. [Interruptions] Belief has to do with faith; we are talking about facts. The hon. Minority Leader is very particular about language so I just want to know, are we talking about matters of faith here? Parliament deals with facts and not matters of belief. [Interruptions.]
Mr. Speaker 11:20 a.m.
Minority Leader, please
continue.
Mr. Bagbin 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am sure
my hon. Colleague said it in jest, but this is the Second Reading of the Bill where we are debating the principles and policies of the Bill and definitely we are not talking about facts. So I have the right to express my belief -- [Interruptions.] Yes, not only opinion. We can talk about opinion; we can talk about facts -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 11:20 a.m.
Minority Leader, you should not be distracted.
Mr. Bagbin 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, looking at
clause 1(3) -- Again, I know that the Bill is before Parliament and that we have to comprehensively review, update and come out with a law that is befitting the area that this Bill covers.
But Mr. Speaker, when they quoted section (9) of the Statutory Instrument Act of 1959, that gave me some evidence to talk about whether it passed through the Ministry of Justice because we comprehensively reviewed that instrument and in fact there is an existing new instrument on Statutory Instruments Act which was passed by this House. I do not have it here specifically, but I am very sure about that and we can cross-check from our records. So I know that the Committee would have to look at all these areas. But the Committee Chairman has presented the report of the Committee and again I did not see a lot of this work being done. In seconding the motion he read the report of the Committee.
Mr. Speaker, I am raising all these issues because I believe that this House should take some time off and look at this Bill critically. It is important that we take some time, review the legislation and make it a comprehensive Act of Parliament. This is very sketchy, it is incomplete and I believe that there are a lot of areas that have been left out; that is why I decided to excite my hon. Colleagues who were actually not paying much attention and engaged in other activities.
Mr. Speaker, it is with this that I support the motion and I believe that this House would take these views into consideration and let us come out with a legislation befitting the status of Parliament.
Mr. F. W. A. Blay (CPP -- Ellembelle) 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker 11:20 a.m.
Order! Order! Hon.
Member for Bole/Bamboi, do you have a point of order?
Mr. John Mahama 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, just as a matter of record, I thought I heard the hon. First Deputy Speaker saying that this is the only time he finds himself agreeing with the hon. Minority Leader. I just want to be clear whether this is what he actually said.
Mr. Speaker 11:20 a.m.
Hon. Member for Bole/
Bamboi, this is not a point of order. Let him continue.
Mr. Blay 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, as I was
rose
Mr. Speaker 11:20 a.m.
Majority Chief Whip,
do you have a point of order?
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:20 a.m.
Mr.
Speaker, the hon. First Deputy Speaker said that this is the first time that he finds himself associating with some aspects of what the hon. Minority Leader is saying. He then went on to use a very vile
language, saying that the work that has been done was shoddy. Mr. Speaker, I do not want to believe that on the occasion of associating with the Minority Leader he has fallen into the trap of using such a language. [Laughter.] Mr. Speaker, that is on a lighter side, but I believe coming from the First Deputy Speaker, that language really is unacceptable in the context. [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 11:20 a.m.
Order! Order!
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:20 a.m.
Mr.
Speaker, with respect to the First Deputy Speaker, he must be called to order for the use of that language. He must be called to withdraw that language.
Mr. Speaker 11:30 a.m.
Majority Chief Whip, you have no point of order, let him continue.
Mr. Blay 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, indeed, as I
Mr. A. O. Aidooh 11:30 a.m.
On a point of
order. Mr. Speaker, I believe that my hon. Colleague is not being very relevant. If we are talking about the Bill, the Bill has a purpose and this debate or his contribution must relate to the purpose of the Bill.
Mr. Speaker, the Bill states the
following as its purpose: (a) To provide
for regulations to be made by the Minister in consultation with the Food and Drugs Board for fees to be charged in respect of exercising its powers under section 36 and for the Board to retain monies received by it for the purposes of defraying the expenses related to the performance of its functions inclusive of which is inspection of factories abroad of manufacturers whose goods are imported to Ghana.
Mr. Speaker, that is the purpose of the
Mr. Speaker 11:30 a.m.
Deputy Majority
Leader, you have no point of order, let him continue.
Mr. Blay 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, it is an opportunity for us because at the moment we are in a liberalised economy, a lot of manufacturers are churning out drugs, food, beverages and everything else on the market for consumers. I am not saying we should only make laws to protect consumers, but at the same time we should also protect manufacturers.
Now, it is a good opportunity that we strengthen the Foods and Drugs Board so that they will have enough funds, if they cannot have enough from the Consolidated Fund. This is an opportunity to let them also keep part of what they are collecting to do their work so that they will restructure the Board, employ more efficient and qualified personnel to do the inspection. We should take the opportunity.
As it has been mentioned, this amendment does not talk about food or beverages; and these are areas that are expanding. If the Ministry hurriedly brings the Bill to this House only to amend the law so that it will be enabled to collect part of the fees, it is fair; I am not saying it is bad, but it should do more than that. It should come out with laws that will also take into consideration the entirety of problems and challenges that the Board faces.
I will say that this two-page Bill that
is before us, which is accompanied by a report from the Committee, definitely does not do justice to it; and I will also add my voice to the suggestion that a more comprehensive work be done before it is brought to this House.
Mr. Speaker, on that note, I also
associate myself with the motion on the floor.
Alhaji Mubarak 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am
on a point of order to the First Deputy Speaker even though he has sat down. I still believe that it is important to carry this message across. I am a member of the Committee and this is one Bill on which we have met several times. We met with the Food and Drugs Board, we met with the Committee on Trade and Industry, we met with the Standards Board and in all the meetings, we raised some of these issues.
The emphasis was that currently there is an overhaul of the Food and Drugs Board and that of the Standards Board, and they are coming up -- But since a Member of Parliament (Mr. Ayariga) raised the issue of the illegal charging of fees, they have not been able to inspect such companies and because of that, so many products were coming into our market that they have not been able to have the opportunity to inspect.
We felt that as a committee, why are we not going to enable them continue with the inspection whilst we look at the general overhaul of the system which was going to take a little bit of time? That was why we brought this and I felt Members should encourage the Food and Drugs Board to enable them carry out the inspection so that products that are coming in, we can be sure they are consumables as we have time to look at the Food and Drugs Board generally.
Mr. Speaker 11:30 a.m.
Deputy Majority Leader, would you want to wind up?
Mr. A. O. Aidooh 11:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, just briefly. My colleague Minority Leader raised few points and the First Deputy Speaker has also added his voice to the points that he raised pertaining to the limited purpose of this Bill.
Mr. Speaker, I do not think that there is anything wrong with amending a Bill in this particular instance even though there are other areas that may be amended which are not in this Bill.
Mr. Speaker, I just read the purpose of the Bill, I do not want to repeat it. I agree that the purpose of the Bill is as simple and as clear as it is stated here. So I will urge my colleagues who have the belief that a more embracing Bill would have been better to support it. But that not- withstanding, this will not be the first time that a Bill is seeking to amend an existing law in a limited instance.
Secondly, I do not share the view by the Minority Leader that because some fees are being collected, albeit illegally, this Bill seeks to give retroactive effect to that -- [Interruption] -- that was what I heard you say. Mr. Speaker, the Bill has no date of commencement, which is precedent to its passage. The Bill will not take effect from the date prior to the date that it received assent. Therefore, the issue of retroactivity does not arise.
More particularly, I want to emphasise that there can be and there have been several examples where Bills have been brought to this House to amend limited parts of existing laws, even though the law needs an overhaul. Therefore, that alone is not a defect in this Bill. And so I urge the House to support the motion.
Mr. J. D. Mahama (NDC -- Bole/
Bamboi): Mr. Speaker, one of the very important powers that the Constitution bestows on this House is the authority to approve the charging of levies and taxes.
Mr. Speaker, this present Bill seeks to amend the original law in order to allow the Food and Drugs Board charge fees for its services and retain those monies for financing its operations.
Mr. Speaker, there is a history to this
request to wanting to charge these fees and that is a situation where this same Food and Drugs Board unilaterally, without any legal authority, levy very huge fees on importers of goods. They were even levying charges on importers of goods to finance air travel and accommodation of officials of the Food and Drugs Board to visit the countries of origin of those imported products and visit those factories in order that they could register them to be able to import goods into this country.
Mr. Speaker, there was an outcry by
importers and freight forwarders and they threatened to go on strike. It was a Member of this House, the Ranking Member on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs who threatened to go to the Supreme Court and stop the Food and Drugs Board from charging those fees that led to a withdrawal of those illegal fees.

Mr. Speaker, now an amendment is proposed to enable this same body to charge those fees. Mr. Speaker, I was thinking that a schedule of the fees would be attached so that this House in its wisdom and with its power and will to approve taxes and levies will find out whether those levies are appropriate or not. Mr. Speaker, if we grant just a blanket amendment and the Food and Drugs Board starts charging the ten thousand dollars and amounts they were charging importers in order to approve the various foods and drugs that they bring into this country, we would have a problem on our hands.

I believe that we should send this

law back, let them go and do some more work on it and come and re-lay it before the House. They should have attached a schedule of the fees they intend to charge and this House in its wisdom will decide whether it wants to grant that amendment or not.
Mr. Yaw Osafo-Maafo (NPP -- Akim Oda) 11:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, sometimes poverty and other things on the side of developing countries allow us to be taken for granted by developed and developing countries.
Mr. Speaker, when hon. Dr. Apraku was the Minister for Trade and Industry, the European Union (EU) sent people to come and inspect the production of fish and other related products in this country and disqualified Ghana from exporting certain types of fish products to Europe. Indeed, the two of us were there to discuss this in detail because many countries are very cautious and careful about the safety standards of food and drugs that they send into their countries.
rose
Mr. Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Hon. Member for Bole/
Bamboi, do you have a point of order?
Mr. Mahama 11:40 a.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, on a point of order. The hon. former Minister for Education, Youth and Sports is misleading this House.
Mr. Speaker, the issue we are talking about is fees. Mr. Speaker, yes, the EU sent a delegation here to inspect our fish
Mr. Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Let hon. Osafo-Maafo
continue.
Mr. Osafo-Maafo 11:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I have
no problem with disclosing the schedule of fees. That is not my problem. My problem is that people are making it look like amending the total law and coming out with a completely new law and carrying out this amendment specifically are mutually exclusive. They are not. We have a problem and that problem is better addressed by this quick amendment to the law. There is no doubt that we need to review the whole law plus even the law on the Standards Board. There has been so much friction between the Food and Drugs Board and the Standards Board, and the review is ongoing.
Therefore, that is coming. But before it is completed, I think we should not delude ourselves that the fact that this inspection is necessary, that since it cannot be funded by the Budget, we need to find a way of financing it and therefore we are bringing to the fore internally-generated funds to enable us finance this, which is important. We do not really know how the Europeans finance theirs. Indeed, if you go to other jurisdictions you have to finance the inspection. And therefore with financing, yes, we have to make the decision and that is why we have the Parliament.
If this Parliament allows the Food and Drugs Board to use internally-generated
funds to do it why not? It is legal. I think it is important that we allow them to use internally-generated funds to do this to protect us, because it turns out that people are just using this country as a dumping ground for sub-standard foods and drugs.
That is my worry. Reviewing the whole law, yes; we must do it but we need to do this quickly to protect ourselves.
Mr. Joseph Yieleh Chireh (NDC --
Wa West): Mr. Speaker, I think that this amendment of the law is long overdue. The Food and Drugs Board as you know needs a lot of resources to ensure that quality products that we consume, either as drugs or as food are brought into this country.

Several hon. Members -- rose --
Mr. Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Hon. Member for --
Mr. Chireh 11:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I withdraw the Zongo area. Indeed, I wanted to say that -- [Laughter.] I have withdrawn that.
Mr. Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Yes, continue.
Mr. Chireh 11:50 a.m.
I wanted to say there are
some corner places where no inspectors are. In many of the countries we have people in business who even their countries cannot monitor, but they manage to link up with people in the developing countries
and they export all kinds of things. If our Food and Drugs Board wants to register these products, it is only proper for them to go there and see the conditions under which these things are produced. If we do not do that then we cannot be sure of the quality of the goods that we are getting here.
As to asking the Budget to provide for this, that is precisely the reason why they have not been able to do the independent things that should assure us of quality. As for the schedule of fees, indeed the proposed amendment states that you first amend the main law and provide for regulations which will still have to come to this House. So I think that no issue about fees should be raised until the regulations come and until we amend the law.
Of course, there are problems about the drafting, which I am proposing amendments to, but I think that we still have to pass the amendment law to enable the L.I. to come to the House with the schedule of fees to be discussed for these things to be done. If we pretend that it will be a burden on the importers and therefore we should not do anything about it, it is worse for our people who consume the foods and drugs.
So which one are we going to value now? In terms of cost we cannot finance this from the Budget and I know that they are on a shoestring budget and they cannot do many things there. I think that this House owes it a responsibility to have the amendment done despite the fact that we have a whole overhaul of the law itself.
I will recommend to the House to accept it, and with the modifications pass this Bill.
Minister for Education, Science
and Sports (Papa Owusu-Ankomah):
Mr. Speaker, I support the motion. Mr. Speaker, in trying to administer any law, you may encounter difficulties on the way. I know for a fact that there has been a view that the entire Criminal Code of our country, together with the Criminal Procedure Code be comprehensively reviewed. This is on- going but these things take time. And Mr. Speaker, as a country, as we go about our governance, we also need to be abreast with international best practices when it comes to certain areas of governance.
Mr. Speaker, in the area of Food and Drugs, increasingly, it has become evident that there is the need for a strict supervisory and inspection regime because there are so many manufacturers of drugs and food, where the countries of origin will not even permit them to sell those drugs and foods in those countries.

Furthermore, we have so many drugs in respect of which other countries not having the requisite trademarks are manufacturing, and when you go to a country like India, they have even manufacturing processes located in people's homes. Some of my hon. Colleagues would no doubt also support me in that regard because recently CNN, as it were, published a documentary on some of these practices.

But indeed, even to effect that necessary supervisory and inspecting regime is extremely expensive. And all over the world, provision has been made for such bodies to charge commercial rates for those services being rendered, so that if you decide to import into Ghana certain foods or certain drugs, it is important that

the country inspects the facilities under which some of these things are produced.

So whilst I agree that the time has come for us to comprehensively review our laws relating to standards generally and in particular, standards for foods and drugs, which is presently ongoing, I believe that where certain doubts have been raised as to the legality of charging fees for rendering some of these services by the Foods and Drugs Board, it is important that we take steps to remedy the defects in the law which give rise to some of these concerns that have been expressed.

Mr. Speaker, if you look at our Standing Orders, the Memorandum complies with our provisions so I am urging the House to support this amendment or the Bill. I believe that the purpose of the proposed Bill has been more than comprehensively expressed in the Memorandum. The Memorandum does not sin against our Standing Orders, neither does it sin against our Constitution.

Indeed, the mischief that is sought to be remedied by this Bill is a matter of urgent concern. We as a House must take cognisance of that urgency and support this Bill, and not wait for a time when there would be a comprehensive overhaul or review of the laws relating to standards, particularly in respect of foods and drugs. I therefore support the motion.
rose
Mr. Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Minority Leader, you
are standing, are you taking leave of us? [Laughter.] You have already spoken on this matter.
Mr. Bagbin 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, when I want
to take leave of you, I stand and bow and move out. So when I am standing for some time then it means I want to raise a point of order, especially as an hon. Member was on his feet. But he has completed and has
Mr. Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Go ahead.
Mr. Bagbin 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, what I was
trying to say was that he raised the issue of urgency. Firstly, the law we want to review was passed in 1992 and we are in 2006. Secondly, there is no evidence before us here of urgency. He is raising it, but in the Bill the Memorandum did not mention anything about urgency.
Thirdly, because we have not been able to define the turf and there is a struggle between the Ghana Standards Board and the Food and Drugs Board, there is going to be a struggle over who is to charge what if you are imposing fees. In fact, in his submission, he has touched on areas that are covered by the Ghana Standards Board, not the Foods and Drugs Board. Those are the areas covered by the Ghana Standards Board and that is the confusion; and that is why we have to take our time to review this law. Mr. Speaker, he is just supporting me.
Mr. Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Minority Leader, in any
case, you have supported the motion.
Hon. Deputy Minister, you may wish to wind up.
Dr. (Mrs.) Ashitey 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I wish to thank hon. Members for their support of this Bill. The law actually is being reviewed. The amendment is to enable the Food and Drugs Board carry on its activities to strengthen the health system that we have. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Question put and motion agreed to.
The Food and Drugs (Amendment) Bill was accordingly read a Second time. The Laws of Ghana (Revised Edition)
(Amendment) Bill
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice (Mr. Joe Ghartey): Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, that the Laws of Ghana (Revised Edition) (Amendment) Bill be now read a Second time.
Mr. Speaker, the Statute Laws Revision
Commissioner was appointed under the laws of Ghana (Revised Edition) Act, Act 562 and it is stipulated that the purpose was to revise the laws of Ghana and it stipulated 1998 as the cut-off date for the laws to be revised. Finally, by the time the Statute Laws Revision Commissioner had finished his work he had revised the laws up to 2004.
The purpose and object of this Bill is therefore to amend the original Act, which is the Laws of Ghana (Revised Edition) Act, 1998, Act 562 to enable the present position, which is that, all the laws and subsidiary legislations up to the end of 2004 having been revised, to reflect as being the true position. I beg to move, Mr. Speaker.
Question proposed.
Mr. Yaw Baah (on behalf of the
Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs) 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the Laws of Ghana (Revised Edition) (Amendment) Bill was presented and read the first time in Parliament on 25th October 2005. It was subsequently referred to the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs for consideration and report pursuant to article 106 (4), (5) and (6) of the Constitution and Standing Order 179 of the House.
2.0 Deliberations
In considering the referral the
Committee met on Thursday, 8th May
2006.
3.0 Reference Documents
The Committee had recourse to the following documents during its deliberations:
a) The 1992 Constitution
b) The Laws of Ghana (Revised Edition) Act, 1998 (Act 562)
c ) The S tand ing Orders o f Parliament
4.0 Background
The Statute Law Revision Commis- sioner is empowered by section 2 of the Laws of Ghana (Revised Edition) Act, 1998 (Act 562) to revise the laws of Ghana by bringing the language into modern terminologies and avoiding legalese in order to ensure clarity, simplicity, consistency, familiarity and flexibility in the text. The Amendment Bill in reference was issued in furtherance of the above stated requirement.
5.0 Object of the Bill
The Bill seeks to amend the Laws of Ghana (Revised Edition) Act, 1998 (Act 562) by providing for the year 2004 as cut-off date for the Revised Edition of the Laws.
6.0 Provision of the Bill
The Bill provides for amendment of the Laws of Ghana (Revised Edition) Act, 1998 (Act 562) substituting for paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 1 the following:
“(a) all Acts in force on the 1st January 2005
(b) all subsidiary legislation in force on 1st January 2005”.
7.0 Observations
The Committee observed that the
proposed amendments to the Act 562 were long overdue and therefore consider them a step in the right direction and that at the moment the revised edition of the Laws are ready for presentation to Parliament.
8.0 Recommendations and Conclusion
The Committee has examined the provisions of the Laws of Ghana (Revised Edition)(Amendment) Bill and considers it consistent with provisions of the Act 562 and therefore recommends its passage by this House in accordance with article 106 (1) of the Constitution.
Respectfully submitted.
Question put and motion agreed to.
The Laws of Ghana (Revised Edition) (Amendment) Bill was accordingly read a Second time.
Mr. A. O. Aidooh 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, that you adjourn proceedings to tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock. I wish to announce that there would be winnowing in respect of the Whistleblower Bill after adjournment.
Mr. Lee Ocran 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to
second the motion.
Question put and motion agreed to.
ADJOURNMENT 11:50 a.m.