Debates of 27 Jul 2006

MR. SPEAKER
PRAYERS 10:05 a.m.
CORRECTION OF VOTES 10:05 a.m.
AND PROCEEDINGS AND 10:05 a.m.
THE OFFICIAL REPORT 10:05 a.m.
Mr. Speaker 10:05 a.m.
Order! Order! Hon. Members, we do not have the Votes and Proceedings but we intend to take it later. We have the Official Report for Tuesday, 20th July 2006 -- [Pause] -- We shall move on to item 3 -- Questions. Hon. Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing. Question No. 516, and it is in --[Interruption.]
Mr. E. D. K. Doe Adjaho 10:05 a.m.
Mr.
Speaker, the hon. Member has taken permission to attend to a function in his constituency and he has authorized the hon. Member for Anlo to ask the Question on his behalf.
Mr. Speaker 10:05 a.m.
Hon. Member for Anlo,
you may ask the Question on behalf of the hon. Member for Keta.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS 10:05 a.m.
MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES, 10:05 a.m.
WORKS AND HOUSING 10:05 a.m.
Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing (Mr. Hackman Owusu- Agyemang) 10:05 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, since my visit to the Keta Sea Defence Project (KSDP) a little over a year ago, our Ministry has delivered additional eighty-five (85) houses for allocation at Kedzi, Vodza and Adzido.
Rt. Hon. Speaker, the Government of Ghana (GOG), through the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing is to construct, with HIPC support, eight hundred and thirty-six (836) houses of various types for about ten thousand (10,000) people under a phased-out programme. These houses are for those whose houses were destroyed by the execution of the Keta Sea Defence Project but not those whose houses had been destroyed by the sea before the commencement of the project.
Under Phase 1, one hundred (100) houses were completed in 2003. Additional three hundred and forty-four (344) houses under Phase II are on contract at Kedzi, Vodza and Adzido, and are at various stages of completion, out of which eighty-five (85) houses have so far been completed.
As at 21st July 2006, a total of one hundred and eighty-five (185) houses had been completed and distributed as follows:
ALLOCATION AS AT 21ST JULY,
2006
Phase 1 Phase II Total
Kedzi -- 46 46
Vodza 50 34 84
Adzido 50 5 55
Total 100 85 185
Rt. Hon. Speaker, it needs to be mentioned that construction of the houses is ongoing. Indeed, we got a special allocation to pay some of the contractors as these could
not be budgeted for under the regular programme.
Mr. Humado 10:05 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, in the hon. Minister's Answer, he mentioned that the houses that are being constructed are for those whose houses have been destroyed as a result of the execution of the Sea Defence Project. May I know from the hon. Minister when the remaining balance of 259 houses under the Phase 2 programme would be completed to enable the people to be housed?
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10:05 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
every year we continue to make requests for HIPC and other sources of funding, and as and when they become available we will continue. As I speak to you now, as I said, we have over ¢7 billion, which we have distributed to the contractors; and they are working. Electricity has been provided; water has been connected and as and when we get the money we will be able to accommodate the rest.They are at various stages of completion and I think what we need now is support and funds.
Dr. Ampofo 10:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would
like to know from the hon. Minister what arrangements have been made for the inhabitants of those areas who have not yet had their houses. What temporary arrangements? Where are they living now? What has the Ministry done to accommodate them temporarily, prior to the completion of the housing projects?
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, this project started quite sometime back and therefore the temporary arrangements made were for them to put up with relations and friends, and this is what is happening. Presently, pressure continues to mount on us to finish the project and allocate the houses to them. But for the time being, they are putting up either with friends and relations or in situations which are not exactly what we had anticipated.
But the fact is that this aspect of it, let me emphasize, was not part of the original programme of the Keta Sea Defence Wall. This has been added by this Government, since it took power in 2001, to resettle them, and we are doing this as and when the HIPC Funds become available. It needs to be said that it was not part of the original programme; it is out of humanitarian considerations that we have put in these HIPC Funds to accommodate them.
Mr. A. K. Agbesi 10:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to know from the hon. Minister -- Since this housing project is something which had been added later, whether it would not be equitable or fair for those who were affected by the sea before this project came in, for some sort of arrangement to be made for them so that they also could be settled somehow -- since it is a new addition that has been made to this project.
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, if resources were unlimited that would be the right way to go. But considering the fact that those that had been physically dislocated is costing us in excess of ¢56 billion, obviously we have to take care of them first and then, subsequently, we can on humanitarian grounds look at those who were displaced before the project started.
But my understanding is that , indeed, ¢105 billion or so was paid as compensation. I have to verify that figure; but they were given some funds and they should have been able to construct something for themselves. But if and when funds become available we would certainly be willing to take on board those that were catered for under the second phase of the project, under the HIPC funding.
Mr. C. S. Hodogbey 10:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, my question to the hon. Minister is that from 2003 the total number of houses completed so far is 185; so how long is it going to take them to complete the 836 houses for the people since their houses were destroyed as a result of the project?
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, as I intimated, it is because of lack of resources that we have not been able to do all of them. But the intentions were absolutely noble; and in fact, why the original proponents of the project did not make funds available for the resettlement beats my imagination. We are doing the best that we can but the resources are
restricted, that is why we are doing it in phases. And as soon as we find money we will do that.
Indeed, we were so motivated to provide it that we even went overboard, over our own ceiling that was allocated to us to do it, and we are now paying back the money that we have spent to make life comfortable for our compatriots in that area. As soon as we get money -- and I hope I can get your support to get some HIPC Funds or support from HIPC and then we will be able to finish it.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, whilst commending the Ministry for the effort that they are making to provide housing for the displaced people, I wish to draw the attention of the hon. Minister to the fact that ¢105 million, which some of us considered meagre at the time, was paid to those people whose houses had to be demolished to pave way for the construction of the Keta Sea Defence Wall.
Mr. Speaker, I want to know from the hon. Minister -- In the face of the efforts that the Ministry is making, may I know what has become of the ¢105 million which was paid to those people whose houses had to be demolished?
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, it became obvious that despite the fact that the compensation of ¢105 million was paid to the people, they did not construct the houses. So out of the benign nature of this Government we decided that, that notwithstanding, we would still construct these houses for them. And so I think that that deserves a lot of commendation; we took the humanitarian approach. We were very humane and decided to do that. But I have to delve further into the archives to find precisely what happened. As I stand here, I would urge him to bear with me and maybe come properly, and I can look at that particular aspect of this, the full facts of which I am not seized with.
Drainage System in Ejura Township
Q. 517. Alhaji Issifu P. Mohammed asked the Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing when the Minister would consider work on the drainage system in Mempe Asem and Kotokoli line in the Ejura township.
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, this problem only came to my attention when the Question was asked. For that matter, I will consider it a new problem which was not captured on my radar. I have instructed the Hydrological Services Department of the Ministry to assess the situation and report -- recommend measures to alleviate the situation.
Alhaji Mohammed 10:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, may I know from the hon. Minister within what timeframe he thinks the report would be submitted for action to be taken?
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I do not want to be caught in the web of the Committee responsible for monitoring our answers in this House. I will come properly and tell my hon. Colleague how long that will take. It should not take more than a month or two, but because the Committee has been very active I do not want to go down specifically and then be tied to a date. But I have asked them to look at the issue with dispatch.
Alhaji Collins Dauda 10:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that in setting up this committee the hon. Minister certainly may have thought about when the report should get to him. Therefore, would he tell us when he wants the committee to submit this report to him in his office?
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I did not tell my distinguished Colleague
Mr. Speaker 10:25 a.m.
Question No. 518, hon.
John Agyabeng, Member of Parliament for Agona East.
Mr. Joe Kings ley Hackman 10:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. Gentleman is unavoidably absent and he has asked me to ask the Question on his behalf with your permission.
Mr. Speaker 10:25 a.m.
Go ahead.
Kwanyako Water Treatment Area
Q. 518. Mr. Joe Kingsley Hackman (on behalf of Mr. John Agyabeng) asked the Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing whether the rehabilitation works currently going on at the Kwanyako Water Treatment Plant would include the extension of good drinking water to numerous settlements in the catchment area which are not linked to the Kwanyako Water System.
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the Kwanyako Water Supply system which is to serve five districts in the Central Region, and which I am very proud and happy to announce, is eight months ahead of schedule and is supposed to cover Awutu, Efutu, Senya, Agona, Gomoa, Mfantsiman, Ajumako, Enyan and Esiam. Some of the key towns that would be covered are Swedru, Senya Bereku, Bawjiase and Agona Nyarkrom.
The source of the water will be the Ayensu River.
Mr. Speaker, the present situation is that the installed capacity of some 3,000,000 gallons a day -- precisely 3,080,000 gallons a day -- would be improved and the output then will go to something like 4.6 million gallons a day. And this is being funded by The Netherlands Government with a 50 per cent grant and the rest by the Government of the Republic of Ghana. This project, when completed, will meet the needs of all the people in the environ up to the year 2015.
However, some minor existing distribution and transmission pipelines will have to be rehabilitated to restore water supply to such areas such as Bontrase, Kuntanase and Nkoransa whose water supply has been interrupted as a result of road construction; and this, Mr. Speaker, we are seeing to.
We also propose that in the short to medium-term the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) will source funds from the Budget for Swedru, Aboso, Benso, Akroful, Akropon, Nyarkrom, Kwanyako, Senya Bereku, Obrachire, Bawjiase, Buduburam, Odoben and Kuntanase for distribution and extension improvement.
Villages outside the distribution coverage area for the time being cannot be connected because of the limitation of water resources which must come from the Winneba Water Supply System. The Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) has accordingly been tasked to liaise with the respective District Assemblies to determine the intervention that would be required under that particular situation.
Mr. Speaker, I want to add also -- and
this is not in the published Answer -- that we are also in discussion with the Dutch
Government and they have decided that they may give us a grant of €4 million which will help us to extend the network even further, because there is nothing more distressing than to see the main water pipe passing by your village and you not being able to access it. I believe that the €4 million will come to pass and in that instance, therefore, we will be able to serve those smaller villages that were not catered for in the original design of the project.
Akwasiase, Mabang and Mamfo
(Small Town Water Project)
Q. 552. Mr. Kwame Owusu Frimpong
asked the Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing what plans the Ministry had to provide Akwasiase, Mabang and Mamfo, all in the Ahafo Ano North constituency, with small town water project.
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
our intervention activities have been financed by the International Development Agency (IDA) of the World Bank with a credit facility of some $26 million and this should cover Central, Western, Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Upper East and Upper West Regions.
The current phase is to construct 35
piped water supply schemes in these regions and bidding documents for the construction of ten water supply systems in the Upper East Region is in progress. Unfortunately, we could not cover all the towns indicated.
Now, for the year 2007 we have started discussions with the IDA of the World Bank for additional funding for the next stage, which I have every reason to believe shall come to pass. This then will begin in the year 2008 and that is when we would be able then to connect Akwasiase, Mabang and Mamfo which have been
programmed in this particular stage. Until then we have to see what we can do by way of rapid intervention through boreholes by the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA).
Mr. K. O. Frimpong 10:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I
would like to know from the hon. Minister what stage of the programme would be taken in 2008. Is it starting afresh or it is continuation of the bidding so far done; in the communities for the small town water as far back as June 2004?
Mr. Speaker 10:25 a.m.
Would you be kind to
repeat your question, hon. Member.
Mr. K. O. Frimpong 10:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I
would like to know from the hon. Minister -- Something has been done; drilling has been done and he said in 2008 they are coming on board. I would like to know if they are going to start afresh or continue with the work so far done. This is what I want to know from the hon. Minister.
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
as I did indicate, this would be a second phase of our intervention programme for these regions; and Akwasiase, Mabang and Mamfo would be taken on board. So it is a second phase. As to how it would be operated, that will be contingent upon what we get the technical officers and the consultants to do with that. It is basically a continuation of what we are doing but, of course, with the passage of time, technology and ideas change.
Just as we did for Sege only a couple of days ago, we had to completely rework the programme because it was better to go to the Volta River rather than to go down to the southern base, that is, in the Volta Basin area. So as and when we are drawing the project, we will then determine exactly how best we can handle the situation.
Dr. Ampofo 10:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would like
to know from the hon. Minister what the policy of his Ministry is, in respect of the technological intervention for addressing community or town water projects. What type of technology, by policy of his Ministry, is to be used to intervene in those situations?
Mr. Speaker 10:25 a.m.
Hon. Member, this is
not a supplementary question; this is not.
Maj. (Dr.) (Alhaji) M. Ahmed (retd):
Mr. Speaker, I would like to know from the hon. Minister whether this technology that is being applied in the rural areas can be adapted in some places within the city where there is acute water shortage currently.
Mr. Speaker 10:35 a.m.
Hon. Member, nobody
has talked about any technology here. It is not a supplementary question.
Question No. 553, hon. Raymond
Tawiah, Member of Parliament for Yilo Krobo.

Perennial Water Problem in Somanya

Q. 553. Mr. Raymond A. Tawiah asked the Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing when the perennial water problem in Somanya town would be solved.
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, Somanya and Odumase as well as the Akuapem Ridge, Dodowa, Kpong and the surrounding communities are supplied with water from the old Kpong Waterworks.
Mr. Speaker, the old Kpong Water
Treatment Plant is old and requires major rehabilitation, refurbishment and expansion.
Mr. Tawiah 10:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would
like to ask the hon. Minister -- In his Answer he said that frequent pipe bursts and leakages are being addressed with replacement of the old pipelines. I would like to know from the hon. Minister how true this is because just this week I was in my constituency, and there is no visible sign that any pipelines are being laid or being replaced.
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
the point that I was making is that when we detect leakages and bursts then we address them. Indeed, part of the Krobo area will also be served by the Koforidua water system, which this House approved, and for which the sod-cutting ceremony will take place on the 9th August, 2006. This way, we will be able to take part of the Krobo area on stream.
But specifically to his Question, as I
said, as and when these old pipes, which have not been replaced -- They are older than he is, my dear friend; they are older than him. They have not been attended to and when we detect them, we will fix them. That is what we are doing. I did not say that we are continuously changing them, because we do not have the resources as yet. But as and when we detect these things, we fix them.
Mr. Michael Teye Nyaunu 10:35 a.m.
Mr.
Speaker, I would like to know from the hon. Minister -- Considering the fact that Kpong Waterworks is situated in the Manya Krobo District, which is very close to Somanya and yet experiencing perennial water problem, especially during major festivities, will the hon. Minister consider hooking the service line of Odumase and Somanya onto the ATMA as a short-term measure, pending his long- term programme?
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
the old Kpong headworks and the so-called new one, which was done in 1963/64 -- So it is not that new, anyway. The output of that which is about forty million gallons a day meets less than a third of the supply to Tema and Accra. So the old one is what we intend to rehabilitate; the pipe work is linked to the old one. So we intend to do that.
It will be really robbing Peter to pay Paul, if we took it from the existing line, from the newer plant, and put it there. I think what makes more practical sense is to rehabilitate that one, which is what we are going to do as quickly as we can when we find the budget. And we are trying to have internally-generated funds to see to the old Kpong Waterworks, which I have personally visited myself. I do apologise that sometimes we have this problem, but we all have water problems, like in Koforidua; and we do not specifically make sure that water does not flow during major festivals.
Maybe, the festivals coincide with the dry season when there is no water. So I apologise for that, but we are really, really tackling the water issue as a number one priority of this Government throughout the country, both in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and our own Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) document that we have tabled before this House.
Nii Amasah Namoale: Mr. Speaker,
the hon. Minister said in the Answer that they were looking for funds; I would like to know what type of funding the Government is looking for. If it is a loan, grant from outside, or a loan coming from sources in Ghana or from private companies in Ghana, such as Areeba.
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, my hon. Friend there is being a bit mischievous. But truly, I know why Areeba comes into this. The Areeba one was a grant; it was not a loan. And the loan that we are looking for under our present financial dispensation will be one which will be concessionary. In other words, it must have 35 per cent element of grant. So we are looking for a loan with a tenure of about 20-25 years, five years moratorium, interest rate, libor plus 0.5 per cent or one per cent commitment fee -- the usual things that we have been approving in this House.
And that is what we are doing. But if we can raise funds from within, why not? We have to also look within. So if the hon. Member has ideas as to where we can raise the funds, I can meet him and then we can discuss this and make sure that we move the ATMA project forward.
But TAHAL assures me that by the 15th
August 2006 they may be able to find the money. They brought one, which was only 30 per cent, they did not meet our 35 per cent requirements, and so they had to go back again. Mr. Speaker, we are doing everything that we can.
Alhaji Seidu Amadu 10:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to find out from the hon. Minister whether as part of the rehabilitation works, they will consider the possibility of relocating the transmission lines that are buried within the middle of roads which also accounts for the frequent bursts of those pipelines.
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
precisely so. If you take a town like Koforidua, the pipes are right in the middle of the roads; and this is creating a whole lot of havoc. So in this modern day and age, we have to relocate the pipes on both sides of the road so that we do not have to keep them crossing the road. So, precisely, that
Mr. Speaker 10:35 a.m.
Hon. Minister for Water
Resources, Works and Housing, thank you very much for appearing to answer these Questions.
STATEMENTS 10:45 a.m.
Mr. Speaker 10:45 a.m.
Hon. Members , Commencement of Public Business, item 5, Laying of Papers, No. 5(a)(i) --
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 10:45 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
this particular memorandum is being brought by the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning and the Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, and therefore I crave your indulgence to let the Minister responsible for Water Resources, Works and Housing who is also a co-sponsor of the memorandum lay it on behalf of the two of them.
PAPERS 10:45 a.m.
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
if we can add Works and Housing so that it becomes a joint committee.
Mr. Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Right. Then in respect
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
Mr. Adjaho 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, on the first
one that they made, I do not know whether you have added the Committee on Defence and Interior.
Mr. Speaker 10:55 a.m.
You think it is proper to add Committee on Defence and Interior?
Mr. Adjaho 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think so.
Mr. Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Then in respect of (i) we add Committee on Defence and (ii) we add Committee on Works and Housing.
By the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning --
( i i i ) C r e d i t F a c i l i t y Agreement between the Republic of Ghana and the KBC Bank NV. of Belgium for an amount of €18,888,600.00 fo r the main tenance , o f desilting and dredging works on the Korle Lagoon Ecological Restoration Project including the construction of a treatment plant at Lavender Hill.
Referred to the Joint Committee on Finance and Works and Housing.
By the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning --
( i v ) S u p p l i e r ' s C r e d i t Agreement between the Republic of Ghana and China Internat ional Water and Electric Cor- poration totalling ninety million United States dollars (US$90,000,000) to finance the Self-Help Electrification Project (SHEP-
4).
Referred to the Committee on Finance.
Mr. Speaker 10:55 a.m.
(b) -- Minister for Energy?
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to crave your indulgence to lay the following two documents on behalf of the Minister.
Mr. Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Go ahead.
By the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs (Mr. Owusu-Adjapong) (on behalf of the Minister for Energy) --
(i) Agreement amongst the Republic of Ghana, Volta River Authority and Clark Sustainable Resources Development Ltd. for harvesting, processing and marketing of timber from the Volta Lake (Phase-1).
(ii) Amendment of Petroleum Agree- ment amongst the Government of Ghana, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and Devon in respect of Block in the Keta Basin.
Referred to the Committee on Mines and Energy.
By the Chairman of the Committee --
Report of the Joint Committee on Education and Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs on the ECOWAS Protocol No. A/P.3/01/03 on Education and Training and General Convention on Recognition and Equivalence of Certificates.
By the Chairman of the Committee --
Report of the Committee on C o n s t i t u t i o n a l , L e g a l a n d Parliamentary Affairs on the C r i m i n a l P r o c e d u r e C o d e
(Amendment) Bill.
By the Chairman of the Committee --
Report of the Committee on Defence and Interior on the Auction Sales Bill.
By Mr. K. Frimpong (on behalf of Chairman of Committee) --
Report of the Finance Committee on the National Lotto Bill.
Mr. Adjaho 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am a
bit surprised the hon. Member has laid this paper on behalf of the Chairman of the Committee of Finance because the Committee has not completed its assignment. In fact, it has not even met to look at the clauses; we had a workshop and that was all -- the Lotto Bill.
Mr. Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Deputy Minority Leader, we shall certainly look into that.
By Mr. F. A. Agbotse (on behalf of Chairman of the Committee) --
Report of the Committee on Subsidiary Legislation on the Civil Aviation Regulations, 2006 (L.I.
1824).
Mr. Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Item 6 -- Minister for Education, Science and Sports.
BILLS -- THIRD READING 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Item 7 -- That the
Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training Bill be now read the Third time.
Mr. Yieleh Chireh 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I filed an amendment to the Bill and I want to move that we go through a Second Consideration of clause 15 of the Bill.
Mr. Speaker 10:55 a.m.
What i s your
amendment? Hon. Member for Wa West (Mr. Chireh), was your proposed amendment advertised?
Mr. Chireh 10:55 a.m.
Yes, I circulated it and I
have also discussed it with the promoters of the Bill and they are agreeable to it because there will be a conflict if we pass the Bill as it is.
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I do not have any objection to the amendment.
Mr. Speaker 10:55 a.m.
You have no objection?
Papa Owuu-Ankomah 10:55 a.m.
No, Mr.
Speaker.
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 10:55 a.m.
Then we may
have to have a Second Consideration Stage.
BILLS -- SECOND 10:55 a.m.
CONSIDERATION STAGE 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Yieleh Chireh 10:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, clause 15, subclause (3), delete and substitute the following:
“The Secretary shall also perform the function that the Executive Director in consultation with the Board may assign him.”
Also, Mr. Speaker, I move that we delete the whole of subclause (4).
Mr. Speaker 11:05 a.m.
May we have the amendment properly formulated.
Mr. Yieleh Chireh 11:05 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg
to move, clause 15, subclause (3), delete and substitute
“The Secretary shall also perform the functions that the Executive Director in consultation with the Board may assign.”
Mr. Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Chief Whip, have you
come into an agreement?
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:05 a.m.
Yes, Mr.
Speaker, since we agree with the principle, I want to crave your indulgence that we leave the final drafting of it to the draftspersons because the Minister has said that he has no objection. Yesterday, we were looking at the formulation so if you can leave it with the draftspersons once we have agreed with the principle.
Mr. Speaker 11:05 a.m.
But I want to put the Question so that we go ahead.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Mr. Chireh 11:05 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, there is
another proposed amendment and that is on subclause 4. I beg to move, clause 15, subclause (4), delete.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Clause 15, as further amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Mr. Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Now there is a motion
for the Third Reading.
Mr. S. K. B. Manu 11:05 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, there is an amendment to be moved by the Co-Chairman.
Mr. Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Co-Chairman, which
other amendment are you proposing?
Mr. Paul Okoh 11:05 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am
proposing an amendment in respect of

clause 3 (1)(c)(iii). That is, the Ministry of Environment and Science; and yesterday there was an argument on that. Now the amendment we want to propose is, instead of “science” it should be “environment” -- “Minister responsible for Environment”.
Mr. Speaker 11:05 a.m.
So we should go back to
“environment” and not “science”?
Mr. Okoh 11:05 a.m.
That is so, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, clause 3, subclause (1), paragraph(c) (iii), delete “science” and substitute “environment”.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Clause 3, as further amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Mr. Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Hon. Member for Tamale South, do you have a further amendment?
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu 11:05 a.m.
Rightly so.
Mr. Speaker, with your indulgence, I beg to move, clause 16, delete. The entire clause 16 deals with delegation of power of appointment. With your indulgence, I beg to read:
“The President may in accordance with article 195 of the Constitution delegate the power of appointment under this Act.”
Mr. Speaker, this is superfluous because article 195 (2) of the Constitution is very clear, and with your indulgence, I beg to read it -- which will support the deletion of the entire clause.
Article 195 (2) --
“The President may, subject to such conditions as he may think fit, delegate some of his functions under this article by directions in writing to the governing council concerned or to a committee of the council or to any member of that governing council or to any public officer.”
This is about appointment to the public services; so the Constitution does make
provision for how the President will exercise the power of appointment to the public service. Therefore, it is superfluous to have clause 16 standing as part of this Bill.
Mr. Manu 11:05 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, from what
he has read, he affirms the need for us to have it in the law. It does not contradict the Constitution, it is only an affirmation of the constitutional provision.
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 11:05 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
the point made by the hon. Member is valid but ex abundante cautela we would normally include such a provision in the Bill so I urge my hon. Colleague to withdraw the amendment and let the clause stand as it is.
Mr. H. Iddrisu 11:05 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I have
no intention to withdraw unless he can provide me with some evidence of the practice. It is only then that I will be convinced beyond doubt. Other than that Mr. Speaker, if you read the opening words of article 195, it vests the powers of appointment in the President; it is not for us in another subsidiary legislation to say that the President shall do this. The Constitution imposes obligation under article 195 (1) and 195 (2). You only need to say that the President may in accordance with article 195 of the Constitution appoint the people; you do not need to say “delegate”; it is superfluous.
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 11:05 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
since the hon. Member is not prepared to withdraw the amendment, I urge you to put the Question so that we get the matter dealt with in accordance with our practice.
Mr. Chireh 11:05 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, if you look
at the Bill, they said that the President shall make the appointments in accordance with article 195. So once you state that, the whole clause applies. It will therefore be redundant to put in that one. You remember I raised this issue earlier on when we were passing Bills; I asked whether we have to

be going to the Constitution every time to refer to this.

Otherwise, we should just lift the words from the Constitution and put them in every Act where the President is supposed to do anything or where some officer is supposed to do anything. So long as that is not the case, I will ask that we delete this one because we have already mentioned it in the Bill that the President will make all these appointments in accordance with article 195. And article 195 must only be read in whole, it cannot be partly read. So it will be redundant to do so.
Mr. Manu 11:05 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I oppose the
amendment on the grounds that if clause 16 were contradicting the parent law of the land, the Constitution, then its deletion would have been appropriate. This is just an affirmation of what is in the parent law, the Constitution; so what crime or what impropriety does it cause in being in the law? Because if I take the law and you say article 195, do I now have to go and look for a Constitution, wherever I may be and we will be looking at the law? No. So if a person takes the law, and sees that the President shall delegate in accordance with 195, what is wrong with that? I therefore oppose the amendment and maintain that clause 16 should appear in the law.
Mr. H. Iddrisu 11:05 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would
like to refer hon. Members to clause 3 (2) of the proposed Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training Bill. Mr. Speaker, reference is made that the power of appointment by the President is to be exercised in accordance with article 70 of the Constitution. By that there is no opportunity of delegated authority under article 70.
Now, you come under article 16 to say that the power of appointment -- Which
appointment? Are you saying that the President should delegate the power of appointment of membership of the board? That will create some confusion. So we are saying that we should just delete article 16 of the Constitution.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that we are engaging in this tendentious argument and it is not being productive.
Mr. Speaker, if we take our own Standing Orders it refers repetitively to the Constitution.
Mr. Speaker, let us begin from the
election of the Rt. Hon. Speaker. What is stated in Standing Order 8 (1) is a replication of article 95 (1) of the Constitution. So when we come there we just say that refer to 95 (1) of the Constitution.
Mr. Speaker, let us refer to article
104 (4) of the Constitution; what is in the Constitution has been replicated in Standing Order 9 (1). And so I fail to understand the rather tendentious argument of my hon. Colleague from Tamale South.
Mr. Speaker, with respect to my hon. Colleague, I believe that we have so much work to do and I appeal to you to put the Question to end this whole exercise which I believe is going to be an exercise in futility.
Question put and amendment negatived.
Mr. Speaker 11:15 a.m.
We have come to the end of the Second Consideration Stage or are there further amendments?
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:15 a.m.
Mr.
Speaker, that is so. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I referred some proposed amendments to the Chairman of the Committee to have a second look at. It is in respect of clause 4 (4)(v). Mr. Speaker, clause 4 is on the
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 11:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
this proposed amendment -- Mr. Speaker, it is the President who appoints, and the power to revoke an appointment is vested in him. That is what our Constitution says. So this argument of my hon. Colleague is most untenable. And when you advise him not to propose the amendment, he says he will do it. Why?
Mr. Chireh 11:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the only
thing I would have agreed is to add “for stated reasons”. But as the hon. Minister for Education, Science and Sports has argued, if we look at it, ultimately, the
nomination is made by the various groups that are supposed to nominate. But the appointment is done by the President so it is only proper that the President should be the one revoking the appointment.
Mr. Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Hon. Members, in the
absence of any further amendments, let the Second Consideration Stage on the subject close.
BILLS -- THIRD READING 11:15 a.m.
Mr. Edward M. Ennin (on behalf of Chairman of the Committee) 11:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, that this honourable House adopts the Report of the Committee on Mines and Energy on the Petroleum Agreement amongst the Republic of Ghana, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and Gasop Oil (Ghana) Limited (GOGL) in respect of Block Offshore Saltpond Basin, Ghana.
1.0 Introduction
1.1 The Petroleum Agreement was
Mr. Edward M. Ennin (on behalf of Chairman of the Committee) 11:15 a.m.


laid before the House on Thursday, 16th March 2006 by the hon. Minister for Public Sector Reforms, hon. (Dr.) Paa Kwesi Nduom, on behalf of the hon. Minister for Energy and was subsequently referred to the Committee on Mines and Energy for consideration and report in accordance with article 103(3) of the 1992 Constitution and Standing Order 188 of the House. 2.0 Reference Document

2.1 The Committee made reference to the following documents in the course of its deliberations:

i) The 1992 Republican Cons- titution

ii) Standing Orders of Parliament

iii) PNDCL 64 of 1983

iv) The Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Law 1984 (PNDCL

84).

3.0 Purpose

3.1 The purpose of the Agreement is to seek the ratification of the House of the Petroleum Agreement negotiated among the Government of Ghana, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), and Gasop Oil (Ghana) Limited for the conduct of Petroleum Exploration and Production Operations in the Offshore, shallow water Saltpond Basin.

4.0 Background Information

4.1 The Agreement was negotiated within the framework of the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Law 1984, PNDC Law 84 and the Model Petroleum Agreement, which has served as the main guide for several Petroleum Agreements that have been signed with companies interested in undertaking Petroleum

Exploration and Production Operations in Ghana. The acreage applied for, is offshore shallow water and covers an area of approximately 2,050 sq. km.

4.2 Gasop Oil (Ghana) Limited (GOGL) is a subsidiary of Omega Maritime Energy Limited, an affiliate of Gasop Nigeria Limited with Zarubezhneft (Nestro) of Russia as a technical partner. 5.0 Terms of Agreement

a. Work Programme

5.1 U n d e r t h e t e r m s o f t h e Agreement, Gasop, in association with GNPC, will undertake the programme of exploration in the designated area. Gasop will be responsible for 100 per cent of the investments. GNPC will have 10 per cent Carried Interest and Gasop will have a 90 per cent equity interest.

5.2 The exploration period consists of a total of seven (7) years, and is divided into an initial period of two and a half (2½) years (the “Initial Exploration Period”); a first extension period of two and a half (2½) years (the “First Extension Period”); and a second extension period of two (2) years (the “Second Extension Pierod”).

5.3 T h e C o n t r a c t o r 's Wo r k Programme and minimum financial obligation are as follows:

Initial Exploration Period

Acquire, process and interpret a minimum of one thousand (1000) square kilometres of 3D seismic data;

Reprocess 600 km of existing 2D seismic data; and

Drill one (1) Exploration Well to a minimum depth of 3,700 metres

or until the Takoradi sands are penetrated, whichever occurs first.

5.4 The expenditure for the work in the initial exploration period is thirteen million United States dollars

(US$13,000,000.00).

First Extension Period

During this period, Gasop will acquire, process and interpret a minimum of 600 square kilometres 3D seismic data; and

Gasop will also drill one (1) Exploration Well to a depth and at a location to be determined by the Joint Management Committee

(JMC).

5.5 The expenditure for the work in the first extension period is nine million United States dollars (US$9,000,000.00).

Second Extension Period

Under this period, Gasop will drill one (1) Exploration Well to a depth and at a location to be decided by the JMC.

5.6 The minimum expenditure for the work in the second extension period is six million United States dollars

(US$6,000,000.00).

b. Fiscal Terms

5.7 The following is the agreed fiscal package negotiated with the Contractor in the event of a commercial discovery.

1. General Terms

Royalty 5 per cent

GNPC Carried Interest 10 per cent

GNPC Additional Interest 10 per cent

Petroleum Income Tax 35 per cent

2. Additional Oil Entitlements

The Government receives Additional Oil Entitlement upon the attainment of specified rates of return (ROR) as follows:
ROR 11:15 a.m.
AOE 11:15 a.m.
Dr. Kwame Ampofo (NDC -- South Dayi) 11:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I second the motion and in so doing, I want to take the opportunity to make a few observations. This particular agreement was laid before the House during the last Meeting and because of several question marks on the agreement and the background of the companies involved, the agreement did not pass through the House and was re-submitted to the Committee to look at. Even though I am seconding the motion, I am not entirely happy with some of the
explanations given.
We found out that the Report actually talks about the area not being a virgin area, which means that some work had been done there already and in the same manner as the Tullow Shallow waters situation, we were of the view that this company -- Gasop Oil appears not to have the experience and technical knowhow to be able to handle this type of job and that was why it was explained that they would be posing a Performance bond.
What I want to say is that, our country
needs companies that can actually work to find the resource there because Ghana is resource-starved in terms of petroleum resources. Therefore, we cannot just give these blocks of offshore or exploration areas to companies to more or less do some trial-and-error whilst we wait and hope that something would be found.
Mr. Speaker, another thing was that,
when we went into the background of the company behind this, there were a lot of forward and backward movements because all the information appeared not to be in place and kept coming in bits and pieces and that poses a lot of question marks on the credibility of the company.
But having said that, since in the final
analysis, certain arguments and defences were put to it, there was nothing we could do but to accept it with some reservation. What I want to add to it is that since a Performance bond is being required but the performance bond was not brought to us -- it is to be put in place only after the agreement had been ratified -- I would like to put on record that when ratified, the necessary steps must be taken to ensure that that Performance bond has been duly effected and that that information is made available to this House so that we can monitor whatever goes on.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the
opportunity.
Mr. David Oppon 11:25 a.m.
None

Ofoase/Ayirebi): Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion on the floor, and in so doing, I would like to draw attention to page 10 of the report on this issue of the Performance bond. I note in line 4 of paragraph 6.11 that Gasop shall pose a 30-day Performance bond after the agreement has come into effect and before the commencement of operations.

Mr. Speaker, I am a bit confused here as

to whether the 30-day Performance bond is the validity period of the Performance bond because normally a Performance bond is supposed to ensure the performance of the contract. So it is not very clear here whether Gasop is supposed to pose the Performance bond; within 30 days after the coming into effect or 30 days Performance bond is the validity period of the Performance bond and this needs to be cleared so that there is no confusion. With this I support the motion.

Mr. Haruna Iddrisu (NDC-- Tamale

South): Mr. Speaker, I rise to associate myself with the motion but to raise some concerns. Once again, we are dealing with the mineral resource of our country, in particular, some potential of oil resources or petroleum resources emerging from the Saltpond basin.

I have my doubts as to whether our country is getting value for money and I want to caution the rush with which we give ratification to many of these agreements. I would like to refer you to page 10, paragraphs 6.8 and 6.9 respectively. And Mr. Speaker, with your permission I quote:

“The representatives of the GNPC explained that the Saltpond South of the area in question is not entirely

a virgin land as some work was undertaken by the GNPC.”

Mr. Speaker, this is very significant. It means that in the Saltpond basin, GNPC as a representative of the Government of Ghana has made some investments, yet this formula is consistent with PNDCL 84 where we are just following the model agreement of a petroleum agreement without taking into consideration what investments have been made already in this particular area by GNPC; and we are giving GNPC the same tariff interest of 10 per cent and then you are giving the chunk of it to some other person who is coming in as a contractor. I think that our country is not being treated fairly.

Mr. Speaker, I would have wished

that the Performance bond was brought to accompany this particular agreement before ratification. If we are not too sure, why are we ratifying it as a House? We are saying that if the Performance bond is not honoured, the whole contract would be declared a nullity; by who? You are entering into an agreement, you want a Performance bond because of some uncertainty, and I think it is only proper that the Performance bond was brought to the notice of this House before we approved it.

Mr. Speaker, further, on paragraph 6.6, we are told that Nzenwa had 65 per cent of the shares and then we are again told that he has transferred 65 per cent of his shares. Yet many of the issues that cloud this transaction are not known to the Committee. I would associate myself with the motion but I think that we are not doing good to our country with the rush with which we are approving many of these petroleum agreements.

Mr. Alfred K. Agbesi (NDC --

Ashaiman): Mr. Speaker, I rise to support this motion and to make some few

observations. I am reluctantly supporting this motion because of the observations of the Committee itself.

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. Member for Tamale South (Mr. Haruna Iddrisu) has said, petroleum exploration is a big time business and is something which this country should be seen to be taking seriously. I have read the observation of the Committee on page 8 and Mr. Speaker, at paragraph 6.2 of the Report it reads as follows -- and with your permission, I quote:

“The Committee is of the view that the model agreement being used by the GNPC as its yardstick for the formulation of petroleum agreements needs to be undated in view of the technological advancements the industry is currently experiencing.”

Mr. Speaker, I was expecting that

before this agreement is laid before this House, these matters which concern the attention of the Committee should have been streamlined and the benefits that we are going to get as a nation from this agreement would be clear to some of us, particularly the citizens of this country. I think the Ministry needs to be up-and-doing so that at least, when these things go through, we the citizens of this nation would be sure that the GNPC is representing our interest and is doing the best for us to realise what we are supposed to realise under this agreement.

Mr. Speaker, I only want to say in conclusion that much is demanded from the GNPC and the Ministry in terms of this kind of negotiation. What we are being asked to ratify today, Mr. Speaker, is something which we are rushing through and we are rushing through because we need to do it. We are rushing through because we the people are not getting
Mr. Lee Ocran (NDC -- Jomoro) 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak to the motion and as already said, I do not see the necessity to rush to approve this agreement. Reading through the report, one notices a lot of uncertainties; and we are talking about non-renewable natural resources. Here, not too long ago, a ship came to Saltpond, loaded crude oil and disappeared. It is the same Saltpond we are discussing again.
Two weeks later somebody took a gallon of oil and showed us that the oil has been returned. Since then nobody has heard anything about it. Today, we are signing an agreement between a Kojo Poku and Nzenwa of Nigeria who is already transferring his shares to another company. Mr. Speaker, I would vote against this agreement because there are too many uncertainties connected with this report.
Mr. Ennin 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I thank hon.

Question put and motion agreed to.
Mr. Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Item 11 - Resolution,
rose
Mr. Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Hon. Members, then
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. Minister is not available, possibly because he went on this trip to Liberia and I want to crave your indulgence to move the Resolution on behalf of the hon. Minister.
Mr. Speaker 11:35 a.m.
All right, go ahead.
Petroleum Agreement amongst GOG, GNPC and GOGL
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I beg to move that,
WHEREAS by the provisions of article 268 (1) of the Constitution, any transaction, contract or undertaking involving the grant of a right or concession by or on behalf of any person or body of persons howsoever described, for the exploitation of any mineral, water or other natural resource of Ghana made or entered into after the coming into force of the Constitution is made subject to ratification by Parliament;
IN PURSUANCE of the said article 268 (1) of the Constitution, the Government of Ghana has caused to be laid before Parliament through the Minister responsible for Mines the Petroleum Agreement amongst the Republic of Ghana, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and Gasop Oil (Ghana) Limited (GOGL) in respect of Block Offshore Saltpond Basin, Ghana. NOW THEREFORE, this House in accordance with the said article 268 (1) of the Constitution hereby resolve to ratify the said Petroleum Agreement amongst the Republic of Ghana, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and Gasop Oil (Ghana) Limited (GOGL) in respect of Block Offshore Saltpond Basin, Ghana.
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I
need your guidance before seconding it. Mr. Speaker, in contributing to the motion we have raised significant issues. I think it is only fair that the hon. Minister for Energy himself is here to respond to those issues before we pass the resolution. I would not want the hon. Majority Leader to do this on his behalf because the concerns we have raised are legitimate concerns --
Who is Nzenwa? How have his shares been transferred? And there are other related issues. I would object that the hon. Majority Leader does this on behalf of the hon. Minister for Energy. We need him here to explain to us the basis and dynamics of this agreement because we are not satisfied with its contents.
Mr. Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Deputy Minority Leader, what do you say?
Mr. E. K. D. Adjaho 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, with the greatest respect, if hon. Members have raised serious concerns about an agreement it is only fair that the hon. Minister comes to clarify hon. Members' doubts concerning those matters. So if this matter can be deferred, any time the hon. Minister comes, he comes to clarify them, then it is taken so that the Business of the House can continue and move on.
Mr. Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Majority Leader, can we not take it tomorrow?
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, we have had serious objection but I thought that all those who contributed ended up that they endorse the motion -[Interruption ] - So I took it that they would be comfortable at any time for us to arrange with the hon. Minister to come in. But if it is the wish of the House that they would want to have the hon. Minister to be around to do the explanation, we can defer it to tomorrow then or maybe later in the day.
Mr. Speaker 11:35 a.m.
All right, it is so deferred. We will take it tomorrow. Item 12 - Chairman of the Joint Committee on Education and Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs?
Mr. Kojo Armah 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, we sat very late yesterday. The Report is not yet ready so if you could stand it down.
Mr. Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Deputy Majority Leader?
Mr. A. O. Aidooh 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I propose that we defer this motion as well until the report is ready.
Mr. Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Item No. 12 is deferred. Item 13 too is deferred. Item 15 - Chairman of the Committee?
Suspension of Standing Order
80 (1)
Dr. M. K. Antwi 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, that notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order 80 (1) which require that no motion shall be debated until at least forty-eight hours have elapsed between the date on which notice of the motion is given and the date on which the motion is moved, the motion for the adoption of the Report of the Joint Committee on Finance and Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs on the Loan Agreement between the Government of Ghana and Agence Francaise de Development (AFD) and Kreditanstalt Fur Wiederaufbau (KFW) for an amount of €23.4 million and grant amount of €2 million for financing the promotion of perennial crops in Ghana may be moved today.
Mr. K. Agyei-Addo 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to second the motion as moved.
Question put and motion agreed to.
Resolved accordingly.
Alhaji Sumani Abukari (NDC - Tamale North 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion on the floor of the House. The two committees went extensively into the agreements and we thought that it was in the interest of the agricultural sector that deals with perennial crops that we take this loan. In fact, this is not the first one; we have had one or two before. So this is just a follow-up for other crops in the Central and Western Regions.
Having been to the Western Region and seen the terrain there, having pushed buses in mud in the Western Region when we got stucked, I know that this loan would be of a lot of benefits especially to the palm nut producers in that area. I support the motion.
But having said all these, there was a very serious, heated debate about why sheanuts were not included in this because sheanuts are also perennial crops. We are assured by the hon. Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, the able Prof. Gyan-Baffour that arrangements would be made to secure a loan to take care of sheanuts. I have described him in those glowing terms because I believe him and I believe that he would see to it that this loan is secured for the development of sheanut which is now competing with cocoa on the world market.
Mr. Speaker, with these observations, and having been assured by the hon. Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, I support the motion.
Mr. M. A. Asaga (NDC - Nabdam) 11:45 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion that was moved for the amount that has
rose
Mr. Speaker 11:45 a.m.
Chairman of the Committee, do you have any point of order to raise?
Dr. Antwi 11:45 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I just moved for the Standing Orders to be set aside so that the motion could be moved. I moved and it was seconded. I have not even read the Committee's Report and debate has started.
Mr. Speaker 11:45 a.m.
We are dealing with motion number 16.
Dr. Antwi 11:45 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, we are dealing with motion 15. I read motion 15 and it was seconded, but I have not even read the Committee's Report.
Mr. Speaker 11:45 a.m.
The Committee's Report has not been read. Yes, it is true.
Hon. Members, let us go back to motion 15.
Report of the Joint Committee on Finance and Food, Agriculture and
Cocoa Affairs on the Loan Agreement Between GOG/AFD/KFW
Chairman of the Committee (Dr. M. K. Antwi) 11:45 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, that this honourable House adopts the Report of the Joint Committee on Finance and Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs on the Loan Agreement between the Government of Ghana and Agence Francaise de Development (AFD) and Kreditanstalt Fur Wiederaufbau (KFW) for an amount of €23.4 million and grant amount of €2 million for financing the promotion of perennial crops in Ghana.
1.0 Introduction
The above credit agreement was laid in the House on Tuesday, 18th July 2006 and referred to the Joint Committee on Finance and Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs for consideration and report in accordance with article 181 of the Constitution and the Standing Orders of the House.
To consider the document, the Committee met with the Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, hon. Prof. G. Y. Gyan-Baffour and the Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, hon. Clement Eledi and officials from the Ministries of Finance and Economic Planning, and Food and Agriculture and reports as follows:
2.0 Background
In Ghana, perennial crops have been playing a vital role towards the economic development. A million Ghanaians are engaged in tree crop farming and this supports over a million Ghanaians living in the country. Another half a million people derive their livelihood from processing, marketing and related ancillary activities associated with perennial crop production. Thus these crops are not only central to the
Chairman of the Committee (Dr. M. K. Antwi) 11:45 a.m.
In the light of this, Government of Ghana started the Rubber Outgrower Plantations Project (ROPP) in 1995 to be implemented in phases. Phases I and II have been successfully implemented in 1995 and 2001 respectively with a total of 4,055 ha planted with 900 outgrowers. Some farmers under the phase I have already started tapping and earning revenues of €3,000/yr.
As a result of these favourable results, other farmers are showing interest and enthusiasm in diversifying their farming systems to rubber cultivation. With favourable prices for rubber products, it is expected that phase III will produce 16,500 tonnes of rubber with expected revenue of € 16.5 million per year.
The Oil Palm Outgrower Project evolved as a result of a request from the Chief and people of Buabin in the Central Region in order to reverse the current environmental degradation and to improve on the socio-economic situation in the Buabin area. The dwindling economic circumstances in Buabin have caused its citizens to migrate into towns and cities and this project aims at addressing this and to counter the forecasted shortages of palm oil in the country.
The Coconut Sector Development Project (CSDP) started in 1999 with the objective of revitalizing the coconut sector in Ghana and to increase the incomes of those involved especially those affected by Cape St. Paul Wilt Disease (CSPWD) and for the people who depend on the exploitation of coconut.
The Disease has destroyed about 11,000ha of coconut farms but the project has been able to replant 1,300 ha of the farms with disease-tolerant varieties. This result has caused a strong increase in the demand for the expansion of the project for the rest of the devastated farms.
3.0 Objective
The overall objective of the project is to alleviate poverty and increase incomes of out grower farmers in the Western and Central Regions of Ghana.
3.1 Cost of the Project
The total project is €25.4 million made
up of the following:
3.2 Project Description
The main components of the project are as follows, among others:
To develop 7,000 hectares of rubber in the Western and Central Regions for 1,750 farmers and consolidate the 4,055 hectares planted by 900 farmers in the Western Region in Phases I and II of the Rubber Outgrower Plantations Project.
To develop 3,000 hectares of oil palm in the Central Region for 750 farmers.
To improve major access roads in the Buabin area and keep them

motorable all year round.

To develop vibrant outgrower associations in both Rubber and Oil Palm projects in the Central Region.

To institute support to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and develop Master Plans for Oil Palm and Coconut.

4.0 Terms and Conditions

The following are the terms and

conditions of the loan:

The project is expected to be completed

within five (5) years with effect from 2006

to 2011.

5.0 Observations

The Committee observed that perennial crops play a central role in Ghana's macro economy and also sustain the livelihood of a great number of small- holders and farmers. They also provide raw materials for industries both within the country and the rest of the world.

The Committee further observed that the project aims at providing jobs for the growing population, especially the people of the Central Region. The Committee was informed that farmers in Central Region have shown interest and enthusiasm in diversifying their farming activities by going into rubber cultivation.

The Committee noted that the project to be undertaken in the Buabin area would help reverse the current degradation being experienced in there.

Concern was expressed over the non-inclusion of sheanut which is also a perennial crop. It was explained that sheanut comes under COCOBOD which falls under the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. The Committee therefore recommends that future agreements include a policy that covers all tree crops in Ghana.

The Committee observed that the project is to be exempted from the payment of tax and duties applicable in the country. This request was brought before the Committee. Find attached Appendix 1. 6.0 Conclusion

Since perennial crops play a vital

role in the Ghanaian economy, and also sustain the livelihood of a number of Ghanaians, the Committee respectfully recommends to the House to approve by resolution the finance agreement between the Government of Ghana and Agence Francaise de Development (AFD) and Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) for an amount of €23,400,000.00 for financing the promotion of perennial crops (rubber, oil palm and coconut) in Ghana with the request for exemption for the payment of taxes and duties in accordance with article 181 of the Constitution and section 7 of the Loans Act, 1970, Act 335 and article 172 (4) of the Constitution.
APPENDIX I 11:45 a.m.
MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND 11:45 a.m.
ECONOMIC 11:45 a.m.
PLANNING, 11:45 a.m.
THE PROMOTION OF PERENNIAL 11:45 a.m.
Mr. M. A. Asaga (NDC - Nabdam) 11:45 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to second the motion and to make a few comments on the motion.
Mr. Kojo Armah ( CPP - Evalue-Gwira) 11:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I also rise to support the motion and to indicate that this is a very important facility which will do a lot to help the farmers in the regions concerned. But Mr. Speaker, coming from the Western Region I find that the Report does not actually highlight what support coconut farmers are getting in the Western Region.
R 11:55 a.m.
Alhaji Sumani Abukari (NDC - Tamale North) 11:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think I have said a few words on this already. And even though we were ruled out of order, I want to say that with your indulgence the Hansard captures as my contribution what I said earlier on.
I also want to add that the rubber problem is something that this country should look at very seriously. We import all types of tyres into this country but those of us who have had so many harmatans in our cap know that Bonsa Tyres produced
beautiful, durable Firestone tyres; and they were very useful to this country. They saved us a lot of foreign currency and I do not see why we should not look back to see whether we can revive or revamp it to make use of the rubber raw materials that we produce. Right now we produce raw rubber and we immediately export it; we do not add any value to it. So Mr. Speaker, I will suggest that we revamp that industry so that we can add value to the rubber that we produce. In fact we can produce more with this loan that we are getting so that the importation of tyres would thereby be curbed and we can save a lot of foreign currency.
Mr. Speaker, honestly when you look at our Ghanaian industries -- I am sorry to say that we do not seem to pay any attention to our industries or we pay very little attention to our industries. For instance, even matches, with all the wood we have, we import them. We import tooth paste; we import all sorts of things just because we have either divested or completely neglected factories which were set up to produce these things, just like the Firestone tyres.
So Mr. Speaker, apart from the Bonsa Tyre Company and the use of our rubber, I also think that we should take the opportunity to revisit some of the industries that were set up by Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah of blessed memory to save this country from all the types of - even to the point of importing tooth paste and matches.
Mr. Speaker, having said that I will go back to revisit the sheanut issue and will hold the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning responsible or accountable to me and my constituents for the promise they gave us at the committee meeting, that another loan would be
sourced to take care of sheanut industry.
Mr. J. B. Aidoo (NPP - Amenfi East) 12:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity given me to also support the motion on the floor.
Mr. Speaker, the three sectors for which the facility is intended are very important. Mr. Speaker, in the 1960s these three areas, that is, the coconut, the rubber and the oil palm industries were very important areas and they were also very vibrant. Somewhere along the line the three areas started dying down. Mr. Speaker, the facility is to inject more energy into the three sector areas to resuscitate the three industries.

Mr. Speaker, my hon. Colleagues have said a lot about the rubber industry. As we speak now, most of the trees are over forty years old and they have to be harvested. When rubber trees get to forty years their productivity goes down.

Mr. Speaker, what the facility seeks

to do is to assist farmers, outgrowers to plant new trees to meet the big market now available to us. Mr. Speaker, at the moment, there is a big market in China and our production is just a small amount when it comes to the international market. So we need to actually improve upon our rubber industry to get more exports and then earn more income.

Mr. Speaker, with respect to the facility for the coconut industry, we know the lethal “yellowing” disease has devastated a lot of the coconut plantations in the Western Region as well as other parts of the country. Mr. Speaker, the French Government through, L'Agence Fran- caise de Development (AFD) provided support for a study into the disease and this facility is intended to actually carry out further surveys so that the existing support being given to farmers can be expanded.
Mr. Lee Ocran (NDC - Jomoro) 12:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion on the floor because this loan facility is a very important one. I am, however, not happy with the scanty attention given to coconut contribution in the Report.
Mr. Speaker, as far back as 1999, the French Government through the AFD did a survey. In fact, it did a study and it came out that eleven thousand hectares of devastated coconut from the Central Region and Western Region should be rehabilitated with disease resistance seedlings. Large seedbeds were established at Anyenase, Princess Town and I hear that now part of it has been moved to Kade. What they are going to do in Kade, I do not know. But these things were started.
But in this report, it shows clearly that so far only 1,300 hectares, with disease tolerant variety, have been planted. We may ask ourselves, why so? Why is it
that out of 11,000 hectares, for a period of about six, seven years, only 1,300 hectares of coconut farms have been rehabilitated? The answer is that our farmers cannot buy the disease resistant seedlings. They consider the prices too high. I have had occasion to raise on this floor, this issue of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture trying to get some HIPC funds to subsidize the price of coconut seedlings.
rose
Mr. Speaker 12:05 p.m.
Hon. Member for Fomena, do you have a point of order to raise?
Mr. Afrifa 12:05 p.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member is misleading the House. I have been here for some time, since 1997. I cannot remember at any point in time that the House took a loan to help cocoa farmers in this country. He is misleading the House. He must withdraw that statement. It is not true.
Mr. Ocran 12:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, he did not hear me well. I did not say a loan was taken in this House. I said I had raised this issue on the floor of this House. But in 1999 - and I know because I was at the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology. The Ministry of Environ-ment, Science and Technology was encouraged by the AFD to establish coconut seedlings in areas such as Anyenase, and Princess Town -- [Interruption.]
Mr. K. T. Hammond 12:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, a point of order. It has been suggested that the hon. Member was not in the House in 1999. So how could he have raised this point in 1999 when he was not here? He is misleading the House.
Mr. Speaker 12:05 p.m.
Let him continue. Hon. Member for Jomoro, continue.
Mr. Ocran 12:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, this hon. Deputy Minister, if I were not looking for something from him, I would have told him something - [Laughter.]
Mr. Speaker 12:05 p.m.
Hon. Member for Jomoro, you are in this august House.
Mr. Ocran 12:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, in 1999, I do not know where he was. I was a Deputy Minister - [Interruptions] - Let me tell him - [Interruptions.]
Mr. Speaker 12:05 p.m.
Order! Order! Hon. Member for Jomoro, please continue.
Mr. Ocran 12:05 p.m.
And Ministers are allowed to attend parliamentary Sittings.
Mr. Speaker, I do not know why so much attention has been paid to this request by this chief somewhere in Buaben. It seems all attention in this Report is on Buaben. But the total project is for the Western Region, and I think a second look would have to be taken so that more money goes to outgrowers of rubber in the Western Region. Of course, from colonial times everybody knows that it is in the Western Region, especially the coastal Western Region where rubber is grown. If some people in the Central Region are now interested, they may have
some amount allocated to them, but that should not be at the disadvantage of the Western Region.
Mr. Speaker, with these points that I have raised, I think it is a very good loan and I will call on the House to support the motion on the floor.
rose
Mr. Speaker 12:05 p.m.
Hon. Deputy Minister, do you want to contribute?
Mr. Hammond 12:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, please, I need to deal with this. Please, help me.
Mr. Speaker 12:05 p.m.
Which one?
Mr. Hammond 12:05 p.m.
The hon. Member indicated in this House that but for the fact that he was looking for something from me, he would have responded to the issue I raised. Mr. Speaker, I am petrified; I am alarmed. Mr. Speaker, I am concerned. I would want to know what the hon. Member is expecting from me - [Laughter.]
Mr. Clement Kofi Humado (NDC - Anlo) 12:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I also rise to support the motion on the floor to adopt the Report of the Joint Committee on the development of perennial crops. Whilst I support the motion, to the extent that the development of these perennial crops will help to rectify our over-reliance on cocoa, as the main export earner, and will stabilise the export revenue sector of agriculture, I wish to comment on the aspect of coconut.

As indicated by other hon. Members, the aspect of coconut needs a little bit of highlighting.

Indeed, coconut is an economic crop of the entire coastal region of Ghana and it is a very important crop in the livelihood of the people along the coastline from the Western Region through East and West
Mr. Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Chairman of the Committee, you may wish to wind up.
Mr. Kwadwo Agyei-Addo 12:15 p.m.
Mr.
Speaker, I wish to express my sincere gratitude to hon. Members for the comments they have made on this loan agreement. I will pass on the comments they have made to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to take the necessary action on them. I cannot sit here to give the answers; I have to raise them at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
On that note, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank hon. Members for supporting the
motion.
Question put and motion agreed to.
RESOLUTIONS 12:15 p.m.
Minister for Finance and Economic Planning (Mr. K. Baah-Wiredu) 12:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, that
WHEREAS by the provisions of article 181 of the Constitution and section 7 of the Loans Act, 1970 (Act 335), the terms and conditions of any loan raised by the Government of Ghana on behalf of itself or any public institution or authority shall not come into operation unless the said terms and conditions have been laid before Parliament and approved by Parliament by a Resolution supported by the votes of a majority of all Members of Parliament;
PURSUANT TO the provisions of the said article 181 of the Constitution and section 7 of the Loans Act, 1970 (Act 335) and at the request of the Government of Ghana acting through the Minister responsible for Finance, there has been laid before Parliament the terms and conditions of the Loan Agreement between the Government of Ghana and Agence Francaise de Development (AFD) and Kreditanstalt Fur Wiederaufbau (KFW) for an amount of €23.4 million for financing the promotion of perennial crops in Ghana.
THIS HONOURABLE HOUSE 12:15 p.m.
H E R E B Y R E S O LV E S A S 12:15 p.m.
Mr. Kwadwo Agyei-Addo 12:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to second the motion.
Question put and motion agreed to.
Resolved accordingly.
GOG/AFD/KFW Tax and Duty Exemption Agreement
Mr. Baah-Wiredu 12:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, that
WHEREAS by the provisions of article 174 (2) of the Constitution, Parliament is empowered to confer power on any person or authority to waive or vary a tax imposed by an Act of Parliament;
THE ExERCISE of any power conferred on any person or authority to waive or vary a tax in favour of any person or authority is by the said provisions made subject to the prior approval of Parliament by resolution;
BY THE combined operation of the provisions of section 26 (2) of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (Management) Law, 1993 (PNDCL 330), the Export and Import Act, 1995 (Act 503), the Export Development and Invest-ment Fund Act, 2000 (Act 582), the Value Added Tax Act, 1998 (Act 546), the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Act, 2000 (Act 579) and other existing
Laws and Regulations applicable to the collection of customs duties and other taxes on the importation of goods into Ghana, the Minister responsible for Finance may exempt any statutory corporation, institution or individual from the payment of duties and taxes otherwise payable under the said Laws and Regulations or waive or vary the requirement of such statutory corporation, institution or individual to pay such duties and taxes;
IN ACCORDANCE with the provisions of the Constitution and at the request of the Government of Ghana acting through the Minister responsible for Finance, there has been laid before Parliament a request by the Minister responsible for Finance for the prior approval of Parliament to the exercise by him of the power to waive such taxes and duties or to exempt the payment of taxes and Customs duties, internal taxes and other fiscal levies totalling €501,300.00 on vehicle, equipment and other materials in respect of the Agreement between the Government of Ghana and Agence Francaise de Development (AFD) and Kreditanstalt Fur Wiederaufbau (KFW) for financing the promotion of perennial crops (rubber, oil palm and coconut) in Ghana.
NOW THEREFORE, this hon- ourable House hereby approves the exercise by the Minister responsible for Finance of the power granted to him by Parliament by Statute to waive such taxes and duties or to exempt the payment of taxes and customs duties, internal taxes and other fiscal levies totalling €501,300.00 on vehicles, equip- ment and other materials in respect of the Agreement between the Government of Ghana and Agence
Mr. K. T. Hammond 12:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to second the motion.
Question put and motion agreed to.
Resolved accordingly.
Suspension of Standing Order 80 (1)
M r. K w a m e O s e i - P r e m p e h
(on behalf of the Chairman of the Committee): Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, that notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order 80 (1) which require that no motion shall be debated until at least forty-eight hours have elapsed between the date on which notice of the motion is given and the date on which the motion is moved, the motion for the adoption of the Report of the Finance Committee on the Credit Facility Agreement between the Republic of Ghana and Barclays Bank, Ghana Limited for an amount of US$50,000,000.00 for the construction of Tamale and Sekondi Sports Stadia may be moved today.
Alhaji Sumani Abukari 12:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I beg to second the motion.
Question put and motion agreed to.
Resolved accordingly.
Credit Facility Agreement between Ghana Government and Barclays
Bank, Ghana Limited
Mr. Osei-Prempeh 12:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg
to move, that this honourable House adopts the Report of the Finance Committee on the Credit Facility Agreement between the Republic of Ghana and Barclays Bank, Ghana Limited for an amount of US$50,000,000.00 for the construction of Tamale and Sekondi Sports Stadia.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to present the report of your Committee and in doing so I pray that the Hansard captures the whole report while I read only the conclusion.
1.0 Introduction
The Credit Facility Agreement was laid in the House on Friday, 14th July 2006 and referred to the Finance Committee for consideration and report in accordance with article 181 of the Constitution and the Standing Orders of the House.
To consider the document the Committee met with the Minister for Education, Science and Sports, hon. Papa Owusu-Ankomah, two Deputy Ministers for Finance and Economic Planning, hon. Dr. A. Akoto Osei and Prof. G. Y. Gyan- Baffour and officials from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and reports as follows:
2.0 Background
As is known, Ghana has won the right to host the Cup of African Nations (CAN) 2008 Soccer Tournament. Following the example set by Egypt in successfully hosting the 2006 edition of the tournament and also flowing from the Black Stars splendid performance at the FIFA World Cup 2006 held in Germany, there is the need for the country to prepare adequately to meet the expectations of CAF and other soccer participants.
As a result of this, contracts were awarded for the rehabilitation of Accra and Kumasi and the construction of the
new sports stadia in Sekondi Takoradi and Tamale for the successful hosting of the event.
However, funds for the construction of the new stadia have become inadequate and are threatening the scheduled completion of work.
This has made it imperative for the Government to contract this commercial facility to help ensure the successful and timely completion of the stadia works.
The objective of the loan is to provide supplementary funds for the completion of the Sekondi/Takoradi and Tamale stadia projects.
3.0 Terms of the Credit Facility
The terms of the Credit Facility are as follows:
Loan Amount --
US$50,000,000.00
Commitment Fee -- 0.00 per cent per annum
Participation Fee -- 0.70 per cent per annum
Arrangement Fee -- 0.75 per cent per annum
Management Fee -- 0.50 per cent per annum
Interest Rate -- Barclays USD Base Rates +0.10 per cent per annum.
4.0 Observations
The Committee observed that the terms of the loan provides for an initial maturity of one year for each drawdown. The credit will therefore be a multi-tranched facility with each drawdown being treated as a tranche.
The Committee further observed that the financing structure also provides that, at the lender's option, the borrower may extend the repayment period provided that for each quarterly payment for a tranche, the borrower shall make a minimum payment of one-eleventh ( ) of each drawdown amount (assuming eleven (11) is the number of quarterly periods from March, 2006 to December 2008).
The Minister informed the Committee that the timely completion of these stadia would be necessary for the successful hosting of the CAN 2008 Soccer Tournament. Currently, works on the sports stadia is progressing steadily and therefore it has become very urgent for Government to access this facility in order to provide funds for the project.
The Committee noted that the project has provided jobs and its continuation would help maintain these jobs for the people employed on the project. The project would also help improve on the sports infrastructure of the country.
Members wanted to know the meaning of the interest rate as expressed as “Barclays USD Base Rates + 0.10 per cent per annum”. The Deputy Minister for Finance explained that the Barclays base as at the time of negotiation means the current base rate which was 8.5 per cent and any rate from time to time as shall be quoted by Barclays Bank of Ghana Limited. He further explained that this is usual in such dealings.
Mr. Asaga 12:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to just express a reservation and -- [Interrup- tions.]
Mr. Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon. Member, you
support the Motion and then you can make your reservations.
Alhaji Sumani Abukari (NDC - Tamale North) 12:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to second the motion and in doing so I would say
that we have discussed this at the committee meeting and some of us thought that it was in order to get this loan, to give Tamale a proper sports stadium. But Mr. Speaker, my problem is that, that stadium in Tamale is just too small for Tamale. There is the likelihood of Benin or Burkina Faso or Togo or Mali or any of our neighbouring countries, la Cote d'Ivoire qualifying to come and play these games and being hosted or camped in Tamale.
Mr. Speaker, if that happens many people will come from these countries in addition to the football-loving people of Tamale; they will fill up this stadium. Mr. Speaker, even people from Yendi constituency will come and the stadium will be too small to accommodate all of us.
Mr. Speaker, even though I endorse this loan agreement, we should think in future of expanding both the Tamale and Sekondi stadia; I think both need to be expanded as soon as CAN 2008 is over.
Question proposed.

Mr. S. K. B. Manu (NPP - Ahafo Ano

South): Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion and in doing so I want to commend Government for taking the initiative to build stadia at Tamale and Sekondi to international standards so as to host the

CAN 2008.

Mr. Speaker, Tamale has been a place of football loving people and a lot of players in this country have come from that part of the country, but the sports stadium that we had there was just like a child's play. There were stones here and there and players had to go through that ordeal playing football for this country.

So if today, the Government of the day has undertaken to put up a stadium there, I think it is a step in the right direction and the people of Tamale must show appreciation.

On the issue of building the stadium to accommodate the people of Burkina Faso, Benin and others, I beg to differ because no nation can do that. Other than that the stadia they built in Germany were meant for the world and they would have built a stadium that could accommodate all people of the world and that was not done in Germany.

You build a stadium meant for a certain capacity of a sizeable figure to watch the game; you cannot build a stadium
rose
Mr. Speaker 12:25 p.m.
Hon. Member for
Tamale North, do you have a point of order?
Alhaji Abukari 12:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think
that the hon. Member for Ahafo Ano South (hon. Manu) is completely misleading and misinforming this House.
Mr. Speaker, what I said was that it was likely that if we hosted our neighbours, their sports enthusiasts - football enthusiasts will follow their teams to our area and at least we must be able to accommodate a sizeable number from each area and that stadium will not even accommodate, as he described, the sports loving people of Tamale.
If you take the whole of the Tamale area including Yendi area, more than 20,000 people will come to watch these matches and I think that we could have made it a bit bigger, to accommodate many more people to help us pay off this loan.
Mr. Speaker, he said that the people of Tamale must show appreciation. I do not know what he means by “showing appreciation”. Are we not Ghanaians? Are we not entitled to those facilities? What does he mean by to show appreciation? I think that, Mr. Speaker, he must withdraw that aspect of his contribution and apologise to the people of Tamale.
Mr. Speaker 12:25 p.m.
You may wish to
conclude.
Mr. Manu 12:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker -- I do not know -- Jesus Christ came to die for us but when he gave back sight to the blind men,
they went back and showed appreciation. So if the Government is putting up a stadium in Tamale, the people of Tamale can show appreciation by patronising the stadium and that is showing appreciation. [Uproar.] There you are! Sit down; I have finished you. [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 12:25 p.m.
Order! Order!
Mr. Manu 12:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the people of Tamale must show appreciation by patronising the football matches that will be played there. That way, we would have had value-for-money.
On this note, Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity.
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu (NDC - Tamale South) 12:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I thank you very much for the opportunity to be associated with the Report of the Finance Committee for the approval of US$50 million for the construction of Tamale and Sekondi sports stadia.
Mr. Speaker, if you read paragraph 2, page 1 of your Committee's Report, I think it captures the national sense that we need to develop our sports infrastructure for the purpose of hosting CAN 2008. Without that, following the glorious performance of the national team in the World Cup in Germany, we have every reason to be associated with this facility.
Mr. Speaker, I want to raise a particular issue, referring to page 2 of your Committee's Report. Mr. Speaker, it states -- and I quote, the third paragraph, with your indulgence:
“The objective of the loan is to provide supplementary funds for the completion of the Sekondi/Takoradi and Tamale Stadia projects.”
Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago, the hon. Deputy Minister for Education, Science and Sports (Mr. K. A. Twumasi) was here to answer Questions from hon. Member for
Alhaji M. A. Yakubu 12:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, since the hon. Member for Tamale South is a subject of Yendi, he should refer to Yendi with deferral and not say even Yendi will come. Yendi is his overlord's constituency.
Mr. H. Iddrisu 12:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I do recognise that the Yendi constituency is ably represented at Deputy Speaker level in this House, but Mr. Speaker, because of the 59 kilometre's distance, they will need to travel to be able to use it for other purposes. [Laughter.]
Alhaji M. A. Yakubu 12:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, he is misleading the House seriously. The distance between Yendi and
Tamale is not 56 kilometres; it is 96 kilometres, so he should get the correction.
Mr. H. Iddrisu 12:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. Deputy Speaker; I did not know it was that long. [Laughter.]
Mr. Speaker, this House must know the agreement that the Government of Ghana entered into specific to the construction of the stadium. I want to even ask another further question. Mr. Speaker, did the process go through the procurement in accordance with the Procurement Act of this country? Because many other people would have gone into the bidding process and would have known who was the highest or lowest bidder and how Government subsequently arrived at choosing the Chinese construction company.
I do not think that we should just approve US$50 million because of the speed at which we want the issue facilitated; we want it completed. Mr. Speaker, how much was agreed upon before the contract was awarded? How was the contract for the construction of the stadia awarded? Who determined the cost of it? I think that we must be given justification as to approval of the additional US$50 million.
Mr. Speaker, with these comments, I associate myself with the motion.
Mr. H. Iddrisu 12:35 p.m.


Mr. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu (NPP

- Suame): Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity to associate with the motion on the floor.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to know whether indeed we are talking about the Sekondi that we know, the Sekondi that is close to Takoradi. Mr. Speaker, I know the Sekondi that is close to Takoradi is spelt with “k”. Mr. Speaker, the Sekondi that is spelt here appears to be a Spanish one. Mr. Speaker, I am not too sure whether we are talking about the same Sekondi. I believe the hon. Minister for Finance and Economic Planning will give us the clarification.

Mr. Speaker, but I agree with my hon. Colleague who raised certain issues. First of all, we must know the capacity of the two stadia. What is the capacity of the stadia that we are building? We need to know the facilities that are going to be provided, whether they include that for boxing, swimming, athletics and so on. We are not too sure of the kind of facilities that are there. I believe that we should not be kept in the dark.

The hon. Minister responsible for Sports should be able to give us this. We need to know whether at this time when we are discouraging the use of popular stands in stadia, we are going to have stands in these stadia or it is going to be an all-seating facility.

Mr. Speaker, coming to the amount involved - US$50 million for the two stadia, that translates to about $25 million each. Mr. Speaker, talking about the refurbishment of our own Job 600, we are talking about the involvement of about $25 million and one wonders if indeed, the $25 million for each of the stadia will be able to do a very good job.

Mr. Speaker, I am talking about

this against the background of what is happening in the subregion. The Chinese are noted for their high engineering skills but Mr. Speaker, the stadia that have been built by the Chinese, the one in Coutonu, the two in Senegal and the one in Sierra Leone, are not the best. Yes, the facility appears quite decent but if you look at the engineering, Mr. Speaker, they are not the best. So I would urge that the consultants doing the work will do their best so that we have the best products once the facilities have been completed.

Mr. Speaker, with this, I associate myself with the motion and I believe that at the end of the day, we should ensure that we have value-for-money that we are going to invest and if indeed the $25 million is not going to be sufficient then we better start early looking for supplementary funds just so that we may not be late in the hosting of the CAN 2008.
Mr. E. K. D. Adjaho (NDC - Avenor/ Ave) 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, this is a very important project and I believe that in terms of the project that the loan is supposed to be used for, there cannot be any disagreement among us. Mr. Speaker, there is a serious problem with the motion before us.
Mr. Speaker, I may refer you to the confidential memorandum from the Secretary to the Cabinet which was made available to this House, attached to the Joint Memorandum to Parliament by the Ministers for Finance and Economic Planning and Education, Science and Sports dated 4th July 2006. Mr. Speaker, with your permission, I quote:
“Cabinet notes that the contract with Shanghai Company of China for the construction of the Sekondi and Tamale Sports Stadia provided that 25 per cent of the contract sum be paid by mid-December 2005 and the remaining amount paid over
the remaining period. An amount of US$50 million of the remaining amount of $77million was to be sourced on short-term basis from Barclays Bank Gh. Ltd.”
Mr. Speaker, it shows that the basis of all this loan is grounded on the agreement with Shanghai. That is the basis. So this agreement is implementing the earlier agreement. We all know Shanghai is an international company. And clearly, that agreement is not before this House yet we are being called upon as a House to implement an agreement which this House has not approved.
Mr. Speaker, there is a Supreme Court judgement on this matter as far as article 185 (5) is concerned. It has been referred to by the hon. Member for Tamale South, that all international transactions are supposed to be ratified by agreement. I remember it is the Faroe Atlantic verses The Attorney-General where the Government of Ghana raised the issue that because the agreement has not been brought to Parliament to be ratified and approved, they were not liable and the Supreme Court upheld the submission of the Republic of Ghana.
Mr. Speaker, we have not seen that agreement and yet they are saying that we should implement that financial agreement. That agreement itself, in my view, violates article 181 of the Constitution.
Mr. Speaker, let me refer you again to the main agreement itself -- and I will refer you to page 11 of the agreement which is the subject matter of this motion -- the loan agreement between Barclays Bank Gh. Limited and Barclays Bank PLC Muritius on one side and the Republic of Ghana and page 11, clause 412 of that agreement. Mr. Speaker, with your permission again I quote -
“Borrower has complied with the applicable provisions of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of
Mr. Abraham Ossei Aidooh 12:35 p.m.
Mr.
Speaker, I do not understand what the hon. Member is saying. Mr. Speaker, assuming there are two agreements which must come here and one comes here and the other has not come yet is he saying that, in those circumstances, we must not handle the one that we have before us?
Mr. Adjaho 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I have made
my point and I hope this time around my hon. Colleague will listen carefully. The point I am making is that this $50 million loan from Barclays Bank Gh. Ltd is to implement the earlier agreement with Shanghai -- I will call it the master agreement because if that agreement does not exist, you will not need the $50 million to implement it. So this agreement is to implement an earlier agreement.
Mr. Speaker, if they were two separate agreements not related then the issue that the hon. Deputy Majority Leader raised would have been very relevant. We cannot decouple the first agreement between the Government of Ghana and Shanghai, the Chinese company from this particular agreement. That is why I started by quoting the memorandum from the Secretary to the Cabinet saying that it is to implement that agreement virtually. So Mr. Speaker, all that I am saying is that it will be possible - we all want to approve
Dr. A. A. Osei 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you
very much. I am not a lawyer so I will not go into the legal issues. But I just want to remind my hon. Senior Colleague that this House has approved an earlier loan of $19 million from SSNIT for this same contract. He is a Member of this House and the Finance Committee, he has seen the contract at that time, he cannot stand in front of us and say he has never seen it.
Mr. Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Order! Order!
Dr. A. A. Osei 12:35 p.m.
He is a member of
the Finance Committee and he seems to forget. We are all members of the Finance Committee and he seems to forget - [Interruption.] The down payment he was talking about, where does he think it came from? He should go and check his records and stop making these mistakes.
Mr. Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Deputy Minority Leader,
have you concluded?
Mr. E. K. D. Adjaho 12:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I believe the hon. Deputy Minister will take his time and listen carefully to me again. Where is the Agreement between the Government of Ghana and Shanghai? Where is that Agreement? He should listen to me carefully. What are the terms of that Agreement? What are the kinds of things to be constructed? And as the hon. Majority Chief Whip asked, what are the facilities available? That is the point
the hon. Majority Chief Whip has raised. He has raised very relevant points in his submission. If that Agreement had been brought here, he would not have raised those points. Where is that Agreement between Shanghai Company of China and the Republic of Ghana? That is all that we are asking for.
We are not opposed to the purpose for which the loan is being taken. What is preventing the Government of Ghana from making that document available to this honourble House? That is all that we are asking; it is nothing extraordinary that we are asking for. We want it so that we can facilitate the approval of this loan. That is what we are asking for. It is an international Agreement and that states the specifications, what is supposed to be done and all those things.
Mr. Speaker, that is what we are trying to say. I believe that if this thing is made available to the House which I believe we ought to approve, we will just go ahead and approve this loan so that it does not delay the construction of the stadia at Sekondi and Tamale. It is a very simple matter. Where is the Agreement between the Government of Ghana and Shanghai Company Limited?
Mr. Speaker, I referred to a Cabinet
Memorandum which talked about a contract of Ghana between Ghana and Shanghai Company Limited; where is that Agreement?
Mr. A. O. Aidooh 12:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I
believe my hon. Colleague does not seem to understand what is happening here. Mr. Speaker, you see, the Agreement between Ghana Government and Shanghai is one Agreement. Mr. Speaker, this Agreement is specifically a Credit Facility Agreement between Ghana and Barclays Bank. This
Agreement is an Agreement between Barclays Bank and Ghana. I made a point earlier that, Mr. Speaker, assuming that it had not been approved by Parliament, that does not preclude us from dealing with this. Ghana Government has the mandate and capacity to raise this loan for that facility. And so he cannot predicate this Agreement under that one; he cannot.
Majority Leader (Mr. F. K. Owusu-
Adjapong): Mr. Speaker, a few issues have been raised which I thought could have been resolved at the winding up but since we are somehow being blocked here, maybe, I need to give some more information on the matter to allow us make progress.
First, there was a public tender which
was responded to, but after consideration it was found to be not responsive in the sense that they were very exhorbitant. Then the Government sought approval of the Procurement Board to do sole-sourcing with the Chinese Company. The Chinese Company are not financiers; they are only contractors, and it is now that we are searching for money to pay for the projects so the two are different -- [Interruptions] - Please, allow me to finish.
Therefore it is a question that we are borrowing. We could have taken a form like this, that even before we awarded the contract to the Chinese Company, we could have been searching for the money with the hope that when we start the contract we will use it to pay.
So it is now that we are searching for the money for the project and it is independent of the fact that he is only a contractor; it is independent that I have worked and you must pay me. So I would want to plead that we make progress in the light of the interest we all have and that time is of the essence in this matter. It is a question of looking at the terms of the loan and see that this is the type of loan we will be comfortable with; that is
Mr. Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Hon. Deputy Minority
Leader, can you reach a compromise?
Mr. Adjaho 12:45 p.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, I
think that he is making progress. He is trying to make progress; his position I think is better than that of his Deputy on this matter. But Mr. Speaker, it is a very simple matter. Was there any Agreement between Shanghai Company Limited and the Republic of Ghana? The answer is yes, based on the Cabinet letter signed by the Secretary to the Cabinet. Number two, is it an international agreement? The answer is yes, because Shanghai Company of China is an international company.
The third question is that, does it need parliamentary scrutiny, the answer is yes. So it is not a simple matter of providing that information. Mr. Speaker, I am ready, we are ready and we are saying that they should go and bring that Agreement that they signed and then we will facilitate the thing. We will approve it; we want the project not to be disturbed. So whatever they have signed with Shanghai, they should make it available to us.
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 12:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
more information. Possibly, these are all events that would help us to look at the type of Standing Orders we may be preparing in future. Mr. Speaker, it is similar to the Agreement we have had on some road constructions which were not based on any loan from anybody. Fancy there was no loan; it would have been taken as part of the budgetary procedure. So like Taysec is doing -- Circle to Achimota, that is a construction contract. Unless we now want to decide that any time there is such a type of contract it should come through tender, it should come to Parliament.
I believe we are the masters of our own rules, so we can look at it. All I am saying is that that one is not a loan agreement and it is now that we are working on the loan agreement. But if we think that in future we should ensure that we attach the construction agreement to the loan agreement, I believe that we can all look at it and in future we work on it. I would want to plead that with this explanation, as he seems convinced that the two agreements are different, we may make progress and approve the loan with Barclays and then later on ask the Minister to come and discuss the construction agreement with China with us.
Mr. Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Deputy Minority
Leader, can we make progress in respect of this matter?
Mr. Adjaho 12:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, we on this
side will not do anything to sabotage this project because it is a very important project. Mr. Speaker, but it is important for us because the document speaks for itself. The document that they are talking about that they are not making available to us and they are putting their own interpretation on it, why did they not make it available to the Committee? If that document can be made available and we even look at it, we even discount it, then
it will facilitate this thing.
Mr. Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Hon. Minis te r for
Presidential Affairs, do you want to say something?
Mr. Kwame Mpiani 12:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, if I will help the hon. Member. Assuming that we had not started construction and we needed money to construct, all what we would have had to do was to initiate a loan, bring the loan to this House for approval of this House, and when the House approved the loan, start the bidding process and then award the contract. We would not have had to bring the bidding process and the contract of award to this House again.
What is happening is that because we want this thing to go faster, we sole- sourced, sought the permission of the Procurement Board and they allowed that this thing should go on. They approved this sole-sourcing procedure and so the hon. Minister for Finance and Economic Planning got some money to enable them to start the project. That is why the project has started.
So the loan for the project is completely different from the bidding process because what we have done with the Chinese is just bidding. We just invited bidders and awarded a contract based on that, and that I believe does not have to come to this House unless this House wants to change its rules and request that these things should come here.
Mr. J. H. Mensah 12:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, it is being suggested by my hon. Friend opposite that you look into the matter of bringing to the House procurement contracts of Government. We have passed the Procurement Act. The intention of the Constitution was that Government borrowing should be subject to parliamentary scrutiny, but it was not the intention of the Constitution that Government procurement should be subject to parliamentary scrutiny. This is because if we extend the ambit of our scrutiny in the ways suggested by my hon. Friend opposite, then it could create a lot of complications in Government.
I think that our procurement should continue to be governed by the Procurement Act and that the loans should, subject to the provisions of the Constitution, be subject to scrutiny in Parliament.
The second point is this, Mr. Speaker,
when we issue invitations for tender it is open to all bidders whether they are Ghanaian or foreign. The fact that a foreigner bids for a government procurement contract does not bring that transaction into the ambit of parliamentary scrutiny as intended by the constitutional provisions on Government borrowing. So I am just cautioning that if you are going to consider reviewing the rules then we should be clear in our minds that it is not the intention of the Constitution to make government procurement subject to parliamentary scrutiny in the way that is being sought.
Mr. M. A. Asaga 12:55 p.m.
On a point of order.
Mr. Speaker, my point of order is that even thought the former Senior Minister was taking us through the processes and has done very, very well, the two can sometimes be together in the sense that if it is, for example, a supplier's credit, we normally get the procurement schedule attached; that is first point. The second point is, when it comes to waiver of taxes for those giving us the loan, say, when materials are brought in, again the Finance Committee is supposed to scrutinise the works involved that are deserving tax waiver.
So it is not completely true that we do not have to know about procurement. We may not need to know about the procurement in the sense of the procurement law but in terms of works and what is supposed to be imported et cetera, we need to know that to be able to give them a tax waiver. So I am saying that in trying to fashion out our Standing Orders, we must also know that supplier's credit comes with works and tax waivers come with details. Therefore, both sides are right. Let us see how we can streamline it.
Mr. Speaker 12:55 p.m.
Deputy Leader, I have
a suggestion. I see the points you have raised but do you not think we should go on with this and later on ask the hon. Minister to come and give us more information about this project because of time factor?
Mr. Adjaho 12:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, this is not
the first time we are handling this type of thing. I would not even have raised the issue if, for example, the facilities available had been included in this Loan Agreement for us to know what is supposed to be done.
Mr. Speaker 12:55 p.m.
No, I have asked you
a question
Mr. Adjaho 12:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I do not have
any objection. If this document can be made available, we would just facilitate it through. Nobody is going to oppose this loan. We know the project is important and it has started. I do not know why they think they cannot trust this House and make this information available to us.
But Mr. Speaker, let me move on to my
Mr. Speaker 12:55 p.m.
No. Deputy Minority
Leader, you have not answered my question. We are rising tomorrow. You want these projects to be delayed?
Mr. Adjaho 12:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, if they
bring the document tomorrow, we would approve it.
Mr. Speaker, let me move on to my final point on this matter. My final point has to do with the waiver or sovereign immunity for this loan. Let me refer you to page 13, paragraph 5.9 of the Loan Agreement itself -- and with your permission I quote:
“Borrower undertakes to waive its sovereign immunity, from feud and or execution of judgement and render itself capable of suing and being sued in the court of competent jurisdiction within the Republic of Ghana.”
Mr. Speaker, I think that this clause in the Agreement is a very dangerous provision. What we have tried to do in recent times, especially when this similar clause was in the Newmont Agreement, for example,
Dr. Osei 12:55 p.m.
On a point of information!
Mr. Speaker 12:55 p.m.
Order! Order!
Mr. Adjaho 12:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, that line of argument by the hon. Deputy Minister is not the best line of argument to be pursued. You know the method of paying that loan; you know how it is going to be paid. So I do not want to debate that matter. The hon. Member should not try to divert my attention.
There is no risk; I am earning salary and the car loan is being deducted. So what is the hon. Member's problem?
Mr. Speaker, it is rather unfortunate that
the former Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, hon. Papa Owusu-Ankomah is not here. When we raised the matter of blank waiver or sovereign immunity which was in the Newmont Agreement, it went back to the Government and we tried to limit it to certain specific properties. What we are saying is that if we are in default, they can sell the Castle, they would sell our embassies, they would sell Parliament, and they would sell any property that we have. It is too open ended; it has to be qualified. We did it in the Newmont case, and we did it in the AnglogoldAshanti Agreement. This is not the first time. If one particular
one has escaped our eyes that should not offer justification for a wrong to continue.
Mr. Speaker, I think that we have to
take a look at it. But the purpose for which this loan is being procured is good. We want the stadium to be built at Sekondi; we want the stadium to be built in Tamale and if we have more resources, we send one to Ho.
Fortunately, the hon. Minister for Presidential Affairs is here. He should go and bring that document so that we look at it and we approve the process. We need not belabour this point. Let us look at it so that all of us as a House can go back and defend this Loan Agreement which we are being called upon to approve. The danger is that when you are asked, “Have you seen the facilities?” and you say ‘No,' it does not sound well of this honourable House.
Mr. Speaker 12:55 p.m.
Deputy Minority Leader,
do you want us to defer this matter till tomorrow?
Mr. Adjaho 12:55 p.m.
Yes.
Mr. Speaker 12:55 p.m.
Is it what you are saying? I want to find out. [Interruptions.] Order! Deputy Minority Leader, I think the best thing to do at this stage is to - [Interruption.]
Mr. Adjaho 12:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, you know
Mr. Speaker 12:55 p.m.
No. Let me make a
suggestion. If you have any problem I think you might as well resolve your problem outside and come back. Resolve this matter and come back.
1. 05 p. m.
rose
Mr. Speaker 12:55 p.m.
On this matter, I am not calling any other hon. Member until you have resolved it; we want to resolve this matter. - [Pause] Hon. Members, as we try to resolve this matter, let us take item 22 - Motion Attorney-General and Minister for Justice.
Mr. Kwame Osei-Prempeh 12:55 p.m.
Mr.
Speaker, with due respect, the Committee report is not yet ready so if it can be stood down.
Mr. Speaker 12:55 p.m.
The report is not ready?
Mr. Osei-Prempeh 12:55 p.m.
No, it is not ready.
Mr. Speaker 12:55 p.m.
Hon. Deputy Majority
Leader, what about item 34?
Mr. A. O. Aidooh 12:55 p.m.
That is what I said,
item 34.
Mr. Speaker 12:55 p.m.
Is the report ready?
Mr. A. O. Aidooh 12:55 p.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker 12:55 p.m.
Hon. Members, let us
move on to item 34 - Motions, Chairman of the Committee on Subsidiary Legislation.
rose
Mr. Speaker 12:55 p.m.
Hon. Member for
Tamale South, are you representing the hon. Chairman?
Mr. Iddrisu 12:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, if I would
have your leave to do it on behalf of the Chairman, yes.
Mr. Speaker 12:55 p.m.
Yes, you can do so.
Suspension of Standing Order No. 80 (1)
Mr. Iddrisu (on behalf of Chairman
of the Committee): Mr. Speaker, beg to
Mr. Speaker 12:55 p.m.
Hon. Deputy Minority
Leader, do you have any other reports?
Mr. A. O. Aidooh 12:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, may we take Motion 30?
Mr. Speaker 12:55 p.m.
Hon. Deputy Majority Leader, I think you need more consultations on this because at the meeting, which was held behind closed- doors, we did not - [Interruption.]
Mr. A. O. Aidooh 12:55 p.m.
They are yet to come in, Mr. Speaker, they are still consulting.
Mr. Speaker 12:55 p.m.
So do you want us to go on with this?
Mr. A. O. Aidooh 1:15 p.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker to motion number 30.

Suspension of Standing Order 80 (1)
Minister for the Interior (Mr. Albert Kan-Dapaah) 1:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, That notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order 80(1) which require that no motion shall be debated until at least forty-eight hours have elapsed between the date on which notice of the motion is given and the date on which the motion is moved, the motion for the second reading of the Auction Sales Bill may be moved today.
Mr. Speaker 1:15 p.m.
At this stage, Majority Leader -- [Pause] Yes, you have come back
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 1:15 p.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, we have made a lot of progress and we are of the opinion that the issues raised should be taken on board with this format that we will agree to take decision on the loan today with the understanding that the hon. Minister will make the documents available to the Leadership tomorrow. If leadership looks at it and we are convinced that there is the need for us to come back to the House and
Mr. Adjaho 1:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, that is the understanding. As you earlier on suggested, we can take the decision on the matter and then tomorrow they will make the information they are requesting available to Leadership, including Mr. Speaker, then Leadership will look at it -- [Interruptions.]
Mr. Speaker 1:15 p.m.
Order! Order!
Mr. Adjaho 1:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, then we will know what steps to take from that level. But Mr. Speaker, at the meeting the ranking Member of the Finance Committee raised a point that he thought that he should make for an explanation to be made and then after him if there is a winding up, it can be made and then you will put the Question.
Mr. Asaga 1:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity. This is an issue about the interest rate which I had previously raised with the Deputy Ministers of Finance and Economic Planning, hon. Dr. Akoto Osei and Prof. Gyan-Baffour. The point was that this facility is quoted as Barclays Bank USD base rate. After a little bit of pressure they came back to define the base rate to be 8.5 per cent plus a little margin. I am saying that, I thought that in the negotiations, first of all, it is too expensive for 8.5 per cent - It is very expensive as a dollarised contract or loan.
Secondly, the same Barclays Bank, last year when we were negotiating with them for the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) facility, they gave it to us around a maximum six (6) per cent. And my question is what has changed about Ghana? Ghana has even improved
with a B+ sovereign rating. So if we have a B+ sovereign rating plus government guarantee, we got it at six (6) per cent last year, what is the new risk that has been introduced for us to be paying at 8.6 per cent?
Dr. Akoto Osei 1:15 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I am surprised my hon. Colleague is trying to mislead this House. Mr. Speaker, yesterday he asked the question and we gave him the proper explanation. It appears that he is confusing LIBOR rates with the Barclays base rate. They are not the same. LIBOR plus something is different from what we are using now. Mr. Speaker, the Barclays rate that we are talking about is tied to the US Federal prime rate which, as I speak, is about 8.25 per cent. If somebody gives you LIBOR plus something - LIBOR could be six (6) plus three (3), it could be nine (9). So you do not mix apples and oranges and say last year we got it at six (6) and this year we are getting it at 8.5 per cent.
Mr. Speaker, I think that as a ranking Member, he understands the difference. But to try and mislead this House is not very good.
Mr. Asaga 1:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I have never ever been confused about international interest rates. All that I am saying is that whether it is an apple or it is an orange, it has a value. And I am saying that Barclays Bank USD rate of 8.5 per cent as defined is higher than what Barclays Bank gave us at LIBOR plus a margin. And I am saying
Prof. Gyan-Baffour 1:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think my hon. Friend is confusing everybody. Interest rates are not static; we are not in a static world. Things change, and over the years if they go up, they go up; if they go down, they go down. So you cannot say that last year it was this so this year it should be that. That is not how it works and I am sure he is aware that it does not work that way, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Asaga 1:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I know the fluctuations and he has even spoilt the case in the sense that he knows what LIBOR is right now. LIBOR is about 4.5 to five (5) per cent right now. So if you are to add a margin to it, with our B+, we should not be adding a margin of three (3) per cent.
Dr. Osei 1:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am not sure this is the place to try and give education in the financing of loans. Mr. Speaker, the issues he is raising, he is confusing the House. Mr. Speaker, the sources he is using - For example, he says LIBOR is maybe four (4) plus five (5); it cannot be four or four plus five. There cannot be a specific number today, and he knows that.
Mr. Speaker, I reminded him that Barclays used a Barclays base rate which is tied to the US Federal prime rate. So the proper reference is - what is the prime rate at what time? And then he will know the difference. The time he is talking about LIBOR -- He should tell the House what was LIBOR at that period of time? But Mr. Speaker, I think we can spend a lot of
time in trying to understand what interests rates mean or do not mean and we will still not solve the problem. The fact is that, Mr. Speaker, our sovereign rating of B+, they should have charged us much higher than they charged us. Because we are a sovereign nation Barclays went down a little bit. But a regular B+ would have been charged a higher rate than they did; and he knows that.
Mr. Asaga 1:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I still insist that the negotiations were not properly done, we have seen it before. [Interruption] What I am saying is that Parliament has the right to ask the Minister to do a negotiation. Last year, Barclays Bank came with LIBOR plus two cent and at the Committee meeting, we renegotiated with the Barclays Bank and they clicked it down by 0.5 per cent. And therefore it is not out of order when you are asking for renegotiation because we have done it before and we have been successful. Why are they fighting against me when I want to save cost for government? What interest do they have in it? Give Moses Asaga the chance and he will negotiate a lower price for you. [Uproar!] This is what I am saying.
Mr. Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Deputy Minority
Chief Whip, you were a Member of the delegation serving this matter out of Parliament; were you not? Were you a Member?
Mr. E. T. Mensah 1:25 p.m.
Yes, I was a
Member.
Mr. Speaker 1:25 p.m.
So what do I do now?
Mr. E. T. Mensah 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
the Majority Leader reported on the conclusions that we arrived at and so we
Mr. Speaker 1:25 p.m.
So I put the Question?
Mr. E. T. Mensah 1:25 p.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker.
Question put and motion agreed to.
Mr. Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Deputy Chief Whip,
what about the Resolution?
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, we can take the Resolution.
Mr. Speaker 1:25 p.m.
That is why I am
asking. Item 21, Minister for Finance and Economic Planning.
RESOLUTION 1:25 p.m.
Minister for Finance and Economic Planning (Mr. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu) 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, That
WHEREAS by the provisions of article 181 of the Constitution and section 7 of the Loans Act, 1970 (Act 335), the terms and conditions of any loan raised by the Government of Ghana on behalf of itself or any public institution or authority shall not come into operation unless the said terms and conditions have been laid before Parliament and approved by Parliament by a Resolution supported by the votes of a majority of all Members of Parliament.
PURSUANT to the provisions of the said article 181 of the Constitution and section 7 of the
Loans Act, (Act 335) at the request of the Government of Ghana acting through the Minister responsible for Finance, there has been laid before Parliament the terms and conditions of the Credit Facility Agreement between the Republic of Ghana and Barclays Bank, Ghana Limited for an amount of US$50,000,000.00 for the construction of Tamale and Secondi Sports Stadia.
Mr. Speaker, I move accordingly.
Alhaji Sumani Abukari 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I second the motion.
Question put and motion agreed to. Resolved accordingly.
Mr. Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Majority Leader, at this
stage do we have the Closed Sitting?
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, we shall clear the Gallery and have closed Sitting and thereafter continue with the rest of the business.
Mr. Speaker 1:25 p.m.
So we should have
Closed Sitting?
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 1:25 p.m.
Yes, Closed
Sitting, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Majority Leader, before
then there is an Addendum here, can we lay it?
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 1:25 p.m.
It will be laid
at the right time.
Mr. Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Not now, alright. We are
now going to have a Close Sitting and the Gallery ought to be cleared accordingly.
The Sitting was suspended at 1.27 p.m.
ADJOURNM ENT 1:25 p.m.
  • The House was adjourned at 8.45 p.m. till 28th July, 2006 at 10.00 a.m.
    • IN-LAWS 8:45 p.m.
    REST IN PEACE 8:45 p.m.