Debates of 2 Nov 2006

MR. SPEAKER
PRAYERS 10 a.m.
CORRECTION OF VOTES 10 a.m.
AND PROCEEDINGS AND 10 a.m.
THE OFFICIAL REPORT 10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker 10 a.m.
Order! Order! Correction of Votes and Proceedings - Wednesday, 1st November, 2006. Pages 1. . . 8.
Hon. Members, we have two Official Reports, Tuesday, 31st October 2006 and Wednesday, 1st November, 2006.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS 10 a.m.
MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR 10 a.m.
Minister for the Interior (Mr. Albert Kan-Dapaah) 10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, yes indeed, there is a plan that has been put in place to rid Ghanaians of the menace posed by the activities of the Fulani herdsmen in various parts of the country.
As a long-term solution, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture has embarked on

a project involving the development of demarcated and fenced communal grazing ground in some selected communities in the country where the Fulani herdsmen would send their animals, especially cattle for grazing.

The selected communal grazing grounds would be provided with basic amenities such as shelters, water, clinics, et cetera, to make the grazing grounds habitable.

The project which is being initiated on pilot basis starts from Afram Plains and Kintampo where a team of experts from the Food and Agriculture Ministry will negotiate with the Traditional rulers/ owners of the land to release plot of lands for the development of the grazing grounds. Herdsmen who send their cattle to the grounds would be charged a fee.

The landowners and the District Assemblies would eventually take charge and manage the project and also determine the sharing of the revenue accruing from fees charged the Fulani herdsmen for using the grazing grounds.

The pilot project at Kintampo and Afram Plains would be replicated in other parts of the country depending on the success or otherwise of the project.
Mr. John Ndebugre 10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, may I know this from the hon. Minister: Before the landowners and the District Assemblies eventually take charge and manage this proposed project, who is going to manage the project in the meantime?
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the
Ministry of Food and Agriculture will be doing that until the District Assemblies are in a position to take over.
Mr. Ndebugre 10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to know from the hon. Minister whether, when he said that the project is going to be carried out in selected
communities, he was talking about just the Afram Plains and Kintampo, in the meantime.
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, not
really. The problem is in many, many places. The project will start from these two places on a pilot basis and, as I said, if it is successful it would be replicated in the other areas where we do have the problem.
Mr. Ndebugre 10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would
like to know from the hon. Minister where the Fulani herdsmen themselves would be living, while their animals are being looked after in the communal grazing grounds.
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, naturally they would have to find some places to live within the community where the grazing grounds would be located.
Mr. J. K. Gidisu 10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to find out from the hon. Minister whether this has been a perennial problem over the years, and now that they are coming out with this strategy whether he, as the Minister, has been to the field -- any of the sites -- to have an oversight situation before responding to the situation in the way he has done this morning.
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, this
problem has been with us for a very, very, long time. Indeed, it is not considered a problem that can even be solved by one Ministry. The Ministry of National Security, the Ministry of the Interior and, as I have just said, the Ministry for Food and Agriculture have all been involved in it; this is something that Government takes seriously. I myself have not visited any of the places but I had seen it even before I became a Minister. I saw it at the Agogo area so I do know fairly well about the problem and I do recognize the important need for us to address this particular problem once and for all. We
are moving from the practice where the problem arises, we send policemen, or soldiers to go and arrest the situation, they go back and the problem resurfaces within another short space of time. We believe that what we are doing will be a permanent solution to the problem that needs to be addressed on a very, very serious basis.
Mr. E. A. Agyepong 10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
may the hon. Minister tell us whether he is aware that the Ministry of Food and Agriculture has voted some money to the District Assemblies to begin with the project?
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I said that we were starting two pilot projects and that these projects would be undertaken by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. At this stage, it is not necessary to vote any money for the District Assemblies because the project itself is being undertaken by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
Mr. Charles S. Hodogbey 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, these Fulani herdsmen are nomadic people and the Ministry's plan is to set up settlement grazing grounds and clinics for them. Has his plan factored in, the fact that when they move to another place, there would be another set-up of these kinds of facilities -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 10:10 a.m.
Hon. Member for North Tongu, what is your supplementary question?
Mr. Hodogbey 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, what I am saying is that the Fulani herdsmen are nomadic people; that means they move from one place to another. They do not have any permanent settlement. Is the Ministry trying to impose settlements in areas whereby these grazing grounds and clinics would be set up? And if they move, is the Ministry going to set up another place for them?
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the plan is very simple; the intention is very simple. We will allow them to bring their cattle into the country as long as they are going to go straight into a grazing ground. If they want to move them to a place where there is no grazing ground, it will not be allowed.
Fire Station at Juapong
Q. 638. Mr. Charles S. Hodogbey asked the Minister for the Interior what plans the Ministry had to open a fire station at Juapong in the North Tongu constituency of the North Tongu District.
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, eighty-five (85) critical areas in the country with no fire stations have been identified, including Juapong in the North Tongu District which indeed, we concede, is a fast-growing commercial centre. Mr. Speaker, the Government is currently working on a Belgian loan facility for the procurement of new fire fighting equipment, including fire tenders. I have been assured by the Ghana National Fire Service that Juapong will definitely be a beneficiary when the Ministry takes delivery of the fire fighting equipment.
Mr. Hodogbey 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the
hon. Minister has admitted that the eighty-five areas are very critical but the administration has failed to provide them with fire tenders. So if there is an outbreak of fire now -- now that the hon. Minister has admitted that they are critical areas, obviously, there is some kind of negligence -- can property owners sue the Government to pay for the damage as a result of negligence?
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the
fact that there is no fire tender at the fire
station does not mean that the Ghana National Fire Service has not got a contingency plan for that particular area in case of fire outbreak. What we are saying is that, there are eighty-five places where we think it will be most appropriate to have fire tenders at all times. If there is not one there now, when there is fire outbreak, there are contingency plans by the Ghana National Fire Service to take care of the situation.
Mr. Hodogbey 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, my last
question is, in establishing a fire station in critical areas like those eighty-five areas, how much does it take? And how far has the plan to source the loan from the Belgian Government gone?
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the
loan agreement was a subject of discussion at the last Cabinet meeting. I have been asked to do some more work on it. At the next Cabinet meeting, it will be re- submitted. I am hopeful that it will go through before Parliament rises at the end of this Meeting. I would have it brought to Parliament and would be looking forward to your support.
Mr. Kuntu-Blankson 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
in the absence of the establishment of a fire station, may I know the type of contingency plans his Ministry has for those areas?
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
the question really is, in the absence of a fire tender, what are the operational arrangements that have been put in place such that if there is fire outbreak it can be managed?
Mr. Speaker, for the specific operational strategies, I would need to find out from the Ghana National Fire Service. And if my hon. Friend wants to put up a Question, I will get the exact details and submit them to the House.
Mr. Evans Paul Aidoo 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I
would like to know from the hon. Minister whether he will be prepared to make a list of the eighty-five critical areas available to hon. Members of Parliament now.
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, that
should not pose any problem, except that I cannot do it right away. I would be very happy to provide it to the House if the request is made.
Permanent Office and Residential Accommodation for the Sampa Police
Q. 639. Mr. Alex Asum-Ahensah asked the Minister for the Interior what plans the Ministry had to provide permanent office and residential accommodation for the Sampa Police.
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I have had occasion to say in this House before that the provision of facilities such as permanent office and residential accommodation is one of the major challenges facing the Ghana Police Service. The Police Service has in fact, collated information on all uncompleted police stations and residential facilities nationwide. It is estimated that an amount of about ¢100 billion will be needed to complete such project. My Ministry in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning is desperately looking for appropriate funding to undertake this project.
Mr. Speaker, I can also add that the Ministry is aware of the urgent need for permanent accommodation for the Sampa police station. Although it is not possible to give exact dates as to when permanent office and residential accommodation will be established for the Sampa police, I want to assure the hon. Member that
both the Police Service and the Ministry of the Interior appreciate the urgent need to address the accommodation problems faced by the Sampa police in particular.
Mr. Asum-Ahensah 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, in the hon. Minister's Answer, he said that it was not possible to give the exact date when office and residential accommodation would be established for the Sampa police. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the hon. Minister the intended measures that his outfit is putting in place to enhance the security situation at Sampa since the acute accommodation problem has seriously affected the numerical strength of police personnel posted to the area.
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, it has
not been brought to my notice that the absence of accommodation for the police in Sampa has brought any peculiar security problems. I do know that in spite of the problem, the police have been operating there satisfactorily and that no security problems have arisen. If the hon. Member is suggesting to me that some security problems have arisen, and it is because of the absence of accommodation, I will certainly take it up and make sure that some contingency arrangements are put in place.
Mr. B. D. K. Adu 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I
would like to know from the hon. Minister what desperate effort his Ministry is making to complete all those uncompleted police barracks.
Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.
Hon. Member for
Okere, this cannot be a supplementary question.
Mr. E. T. Mensah 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to know from the hon. Minister whether his Ministry has done something about the type of residential accommodation, because the “10 th
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I
think I do agree with my hon. Friend. It is important that we improve tremendously on the residential accommodation that has been offered to the police for a very long time. But Mr. Speaker, I think my hon. Friend would also concede that recent buildings that have been put up for the Ghana Police Service are much, much better than what used to be the case. And the residential accommodation that we are talking about are modern ones, which we think would befit the status of the members of the Ghana Police Service.
Juabeso District Fire Service Station (Fire Tender)
Q. 641. Mr. Sampson Ahi asked the
Minister for the Interior when Juabeso District Fire Service Station would be provided with a fire tender.
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I can only repeat the answer I have just given to my hon. Colleague from Jaman North about the efforts that we are making to equip the 85 critical fire stations that have been identified. I can also add that the Service has assured me that Juabeso fire station will definitely be one of the beneficiaries.
Mr. Ahi 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. Minister in his Answer has referred me to Question number 639. Mr. Speaker, Question number 639 is asking for a police station and my Question is asking for a fire tender for Juabeso fire station. I want to know the basis upon which the

hon. Minister is referring me to Question number 639.
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I think my hon. Friend would need to recheck because the Question is not quite right. I referred him to Question number 640 which, in fact, is also about a fire station.
Mr. Ahi 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to repeat
Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.
Hon. Member for
Juabeso, would you be kind enough to ask a specific question so that he can deal with it?
Mr. Ahi 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would like
to know the basis upon which the hon. Minister is referring me to a Question posed by the hon. Member for Jaman North, since the hon. Member for Jaman North is asking for a police station and I am asking for a fire tender for Juabeso fire station.
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I can now understand his problem. Mr. Speaker, the Order Paper for yesterday also had a Question numbered 640 which was from the hon. Member for Jaman North; and the Question was to ask the Minister for the Interior what plans his Ministry had to provide the fire station. I have just observed that Question 640 was not captured here, so I have been reading
from a document which apparently has not been captured here. But if there is any consolation, I can read to him the answer that was given to Question 640, which I was repeating for him. [Interruptions.] You better ask the Clerk's Office how that arose - [Interruptions.]
Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.
Hon. Minister for
the Interior, do not be disrupted. Hon. Member for Juabeso, if you have other questions to ask, you may ask them.
Mr. Ahi 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would like
to ask my Question again. I would want to ask the hon. Minister for the Interior when Juabeso District Fire Station would be provided with a fire tender.
Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.
Minister for the Interior,
if you have the answer you can give it.
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, as
I have indicated, we have identified 85 critical fire service stations where we need to provide fire tenders. We are arranging for a facility from Belgium to provide fire tenders to these places, and when we do have such money and when we do have the equipment, the station that my hon. Friend has referred to would be taken into account.
Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.
I will give you one
more chance.
Mr. Ahi 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to know
from the hon. Minister, between now and such a time that they would be able to provide or procure the 85 fire tenders for the various districts, what temporary measures he is going to put in place to be able to control unforeseen fire outbreaks, since Wiawso, Juabeso and Nsuaem Districts have not got any fire tender.
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, where
Dr. Kwame Ampofo 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I
would like to know from the hon. Minister, who gives such policy assurances as are listed in his Answer, who says that he has been assured by the Service that the Juabeso fire station will definitely be one of the beneficiaries of whatever investment that is going on --
My question to him is, is the Service the appropriate institution that gives assurances to him or rather he should give the Service assurance? I know I am confused here; if he can clarify the situation.
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, when a Member has created a problem for himself, it becomes difficult for somebody to answer. Mine is to provide the fire tenders; how it is distributed is the responsibility of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS). So they will give him the assurance as to where he is residing.
Dadieso Police Personnel (Residential Accommodation)
Q. 642. Mr. Stephen M. E. K. Ackah asked the Minister for the Interior what plans the Ministry had in providing office and residential accommodation for the police personnel at Dadieso, a strategic border town.
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, as I
said in a response to a similar question by the hon. Member of Parliament for Jaman North, Mr. Alex Asum-Ahensah this morning, my Ministry is collaborating with the Ghana Police Service to find lasting solution to the office and residential accommodation shortages facing the Police Service, and my Ministry with the support of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning is actively looking for a loan facility to solve the accommodation problems facing the Ghana Police Service.
Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the hon. Member that both the Ministry and the Ghana Police Service share his concern and are working hard to address the problem.
Mr. Speaker, I am unable to give precise dates because as I talk now we have not been able to finalize the arrangement for the external loan that we are working on.
Mr. Ackah 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to
find out from the hon. Minister if rent for police officers in private rented quarters are paid by the Ministry.
Mr. Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Would you be kind
enough to repeat your question?
Mr. Ackah 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am
saying that I want to find out from the hon. Minister if rent for police officers in private rented quarters are paid by his Ministry.
Mr. Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Hon. Member, as you can see, your question does not arise out of this main question. In any case, if the Minister has the answer, he may wish to provide it.
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, yes, if a private residence is rented by the Ghana Police Service it would be paid for by the Ghana Police Service.
Mr. Ackah 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to draw the attention of the hon. Minister to the fact that there are some existing structures in the old Border Guards barracks at Dadieso, some of which have been renovated by the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service and the Ghana Immigration Service for their personnel; the rest are unattended to. May I know if it is beyond the Ministry's capability to renovate the rest so that the police in rented quarters can use them.
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I
am not aware of the project that he is talking about. I would need to do some investigation and find out what exactly the situation is.
Alhaji Collins Dauda 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
in view of budgetary constraints the Police Service in this country had mostly relied on private property owners for accommodation for both residential and office purposes. Is the hon. Minister aware that private property owners are hesitant these days to lease out their properties to the Police Service because of the extremely low rents paid by the Police Service to these property owners?
Mr. Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Hon. Member for
Asutifi South, is this a supplementary question?
Alhaji Dauda 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
yes, because we are trying to find accommodation for police officers in the country.
Mr. Speaker 10:30 a.m.
I advise you to come
properly. Question No. 643, standing in the name of hon. Simons Addai, Member of Parliament for Techiman South.
Mr. Alex Kyeremeh 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member is on his way to this House and he has asked me to obtain permission from you to ask the Question on his behalf.
Mr. Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Please, go ahead.
Techiman Municipality (Proper Police Station)
Q. 643. Mr. Alex Kyeremeh (on behalf of Mr. Simons Addai) asked the Minister for the Interior what plans the Ministry had to support the chiefs and people of Techiman Municipality in their bid to put up a police station befitting the municipality.
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am aware of the commendable efforts being made by the chiefs and people of Techiman to provide their municipality with a proper police station and wish on behalf of the Ghana Police Service and indeed on my own behalf to commend the chiefs and people of the Techiman municipality for the efforts they are making to construct a new police station to befit the status of the municipality.
I have recently visited the place and I did assure Nana Omanhene of Techiman that we regard the project as a priority and that the Government plans to provide financial support for the project early next year.
Mr. Speaker, I can say this with certainty because in the case of the Techiman police, we are not looking for outside funding to do it; we are hoping to capture it in this year's Budget and I am confident that it will be undertaken early next year.
Mr. Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Minister for the Interior,
thank you very much for appearing to answer these Questions. You are discharged.
PAPERS 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Item 6 -- Committee sittings. Leadership, any indication at this stage?
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
we have some important Loans and Agreements that we want the Finance Committee to look at and possibly report on tomorrow. So I beg to move, that this House do now adjourn till tomorrow 10 o'clock in the morning.
Ms. Ekua Sena Dansua 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to second the motion.
Question put and motion agreed to.
ADJOURNMENT 10:30 a.m.