Debates of 12 Dec 2006

MR. SPEAKER
PRAYERS 10 a.m.
CORRECTION OF VOTES 10 a.m.
AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE 10 a.m.
OFFICIAL REPORT 10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker 10 a.m.
Order! Order! Correction of Votes and Proceedings -- Monday, 11th December, 2006. Pages 1 . . . 18. Hon. Members, we have the Official Report for Thursday, 16th November 2006. [No corrections made in the Votes and Proceedings and the Official Report.]
Item 4 -- Laying of Papers.
Mr. Abraham Ossei Aidooh 10 a.m.
Mr.
Speaker, may we have the permission to allow the hon. Deputy Minister for Aviation to lay the Papers on behalf of the hon. Minister for Finance and Economic Planning.
Mr. Speaker 10 a.m.
Is the hon. Deputy
Minister for Finance and Economic Planning in the House? [Interruption] -- Oh, hon. Deputy Minister for Aviation --
PAPERS 10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker 10 a.m.
Item 7 -- Minister for
Chieftaincy and Culture?
Majority Leader/Minister for Parliamentary Affairs (Mr. F. K. Owusu-Adjapong) 10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. Minister for Chieftaincy and Culture is not available. I am told he has got a bad cold. I want to crave your indulgence to allow the hon. Minister for Harbours and Railways to move the motion on his behalf.
rose
Mr. Speaker 10 a.m.
I grant you permission. [Laughter.]
CONSIDERATION OF ANNUAL 10 a.m.
ESTIMATES 10 a.m.
Chairman of the Committee (Mr. Isaac K. Asiamah) 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to second the motion and to present the Committee's Report.
1.0 Introduction
Furtherance to the presentation of the 2007 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government by the hon. Minister for Finance and Economic Planning on Thursday, 16th November, 2006, and the subsequent motion for its adoption, the Annual Estimates for the fiscal year 2007 of the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture was referred to the Select Committee on Youth, Sports and Culture for consideration and report pursuant to Orders 140 (4) and 187 of the Standing Orders of the House and article 179 of the Constitution.
2.0 Committee Sitting
The Committee considered the Estimates of the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture with the assistance of the Minister for the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture and his technical team as well as officials of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.
The Committee is grateful to the Minister and all the officials for their extensive co-operation in this regard.
3.0 Reference Documents
Reference documents used by the Committee during its deliberations were:
i) The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.
ii) The Standing Orders of the House (2000 Edition).
iii) The 2006 Estimates and Actual Expenditure of the National Commission on Culture.
iv) The 2007 Draft Annual Estimates of the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture.
v) The Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Govern- ment of Ghana for the 2006 financial year.
vi) The Budget Statement and Economic Po l icy o f the Government of Ghana for the 2007 financial year.
4.0 Mission Statement and Objectives
The mission of this Ministry is to preserve, sustain and integrate the regal, traditional and cultural values and practices to accelerate wealth creation and harmony

for the total national development.

This would be achieved through the education of chiefs on government policies for good governance and conflict resolutions among the various cultural groupings. Also by supporting the various chieftaincy and cultural institutions administratively, financially and reviewing the various chieftaincy and cultural legal frameworks to conform to international best practices. 5.0 Performance in the Year 2006

Culture Sector

During the year under review, a total amount of forty-two billion, two hundred and sixty-six million cedis (¢42,266,000,000.00) was approved by Parliament for carrying out the activities of the Commission and its agencies.

The Internally Generated Fund (IGF) from the institutions under the Commission from January to June 2006 was ¢1,474,290,860. The breakdown is as shown below: 6.0 Projection for the Year 2007

For the year 2007, the Ministry's major activities and programmes to be

undertaken among others are as follows:

Further interaction with Regional Houses of Chiefs as well as Traditional Councils to share the vision of the Ministry.

Collaboration with international bodies to develop and sustain Traditional and Cultural Institutions by setting up a branch of Madame Tussaud's Museum in Ghana to showcase legendaries in the subregion.

Organisation of the National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFAC) in Kumasi.

A r c h a e o l o g i c a l S u r v e y o f Historical Sites.

Recording of Traditional Laws.

Dissemination of Cultural Policy.

Exchange of Cultural Delegates.

Review of syllabus and production of books for the teaching of culture, and

Ghana at 50 Celebrations.

In addition, the Ministry will also undertake the following:

Organisation of competition among theatre artists to achieve performance excellence and also to educate the populace on government programmes through drama.

Inventorisation of National Arts Collection.

Institution of effective strategies for commercializing of traditional and cultural products.

Collaboration with Ministry of Manpower Development, Youth and Employment on the Community Youth Cultural Centre schemes to train the youth and school dropouts in traditional skills acquisition.

Establishment of Craft Shops/Stalls within Centres for National Culture and Community Youth Cultural Centres.

Operationalisation of Culture Trust Fund to make available funding to needy applicants.

7.0 Total Expenditure Estimates for

2007

In order to achieve the above-mentioned activities, the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture and its affiliated bodies have been allocated an amount of seventy-three billion, nine hundred and forty-three million cedis (¢73,943 million). Apart from GOG funding of sixty billion, six hundred and seven million cedis (¢60,607 million), and Donor, seven billion, one hundred and ninety-one million cedis (¢7,191 million), it is expected that six billion, one hundred and forty-five million cedis (¢6,145 million) of IGF would be realized during the year for the programmes and projects of the Ministry. Culture Sub-Sector

The total budget for the Culture Sub-Sector is forty-two billion, one
TABLE 10:10 a.m.
ITEM 10:10 a.m.
PROGRAMME ALLOCATION 10:10 a.m.
Mr. J. Yieleh Chireh (NDC -- Wa West) 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion but in doing so I would like to raise a query. Unfortunately, the hon. Minister is not here to answer it. On page 6, under Service, if you look at it, we have service allocation to Culture and its agencies as ¢1.808 billion. Of this amount cultural activities -- [Interruption] -- is it trillion or billion? This amount is earmarked for National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFAC) 2007 in Kumasi, as part of the 50th Anniversary Celebration.
I remember that just a few weeks ago, we had NAFAC in Wa. Now another NAFAC in Kumasi; I think that is not the best way to spend money. Mr. Speaker, in any case NAFAC is supposed to be every other year or every third year. So I wonder why this NAFAC; it can be called something else, to mark the 50th Anniversary, but not NAFAC.
The other important thing is that when
you are celebrating and marking this important day of our independence, it is important that the activities are spread to cover as many places as possible, particularly the important ones. So I would have in any case liked it -- and if it was the NDC that was ruling, what we would have done would have been to postpone the Wa event to become the next year's activity. But this time that we are going to do this it means that we would be spending money twice.
I think this NAFAC thing must be looked at correctly. It can be given another name but NAFAC is an institutionalized arrangement to have our culture displayed and all those other things done, and it rotates from place to place. So this NAFAC, I think, is misplaced unless the hon. Minister has an explanation.
Mr. Speaker, the attendance of the NAFAC in Wa by the very important people who should make it an important
function was very poor; and I think that in future Ministers and the Presidency should arrange their timetable such that when we are getting people together, the whole Ghana comes together in one particular location; they should make sure they go there and identify with that group of gathering.
It is important, Mr. Speaker, to note that that unity we are talking about can only come about when we see that every part of Ghana is given fair opportunity to be part of Ghana. That is why I really did not feel happy at all that the Ministers, the Presidency, all of them relegated the matter to the background. Only a few Regional Ministers attended on their regional days.
So on this note, Mr. Speaker, I would like to support this motion but in future we must do things properly.
Mr. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu (NPP -- Suame) 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity to associate myself with the motion. Mr. Speaker, I believe that before I commence, I must point out a discrepancy in the figure that has been stated in the Report of the Committee on Chieftaincy and Culture.
Mr. Speaker, the figure that the Committee should be seeking approval for, which is stated in the Budget is ¢74.467 billion as captured on the Order Paper for today and not ¢73.943 as contained in the Report of the Committee.
Mr. Speaker, if I may, I believe the hon. Chairman may confirm my position and then I would go on, that is if I am right; because I believe the figure should be ¢74.467 billion and not ¢73 billion.
Mr. Speaker 10:10 a.m.
Yes, hon. Minister for Harbours and Railways, do you wish to
wind up?
Mr. Asiamah 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think the figure has been corrected by the hon. Chief Whip.
Mr. Speaker 10:10 a.m.
No, I have not called you yet; let us find out from the hon. Minister.
Prof. Ameyaw Akumfi 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, that discrepancy had been noted and indeed, the figure on the Order Paper is the correct one. There were some errors in the Report and so we are going by the figure in the Order Paper.
Question put and motion agreed to.
Resolved:
That this honourable House approves the sum of ¢74,467,000,000.00 for the services of the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture for the 2007 fiscal year.
Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.
Item, 16 -- Motion, Minister for Aviation?

Suspension of Standing Order 131

(1)
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, we should have qualified this on the Order Paper that I would want to seek your indulgence to move the motion for the suspension of the Standing Order so that the motion for the Ministry of Aviation can be taken today. So I so move for the Suspension of the Standing Order.
Mr. A. O. Aidooh 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I second the motion.
Question put and motion agreed to.
Resolved accordingly.
Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.
Item 16 -- Minister for
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, we need your guidance here. The Paper has just been laid and it is important that Members sufficiently peruse the document. And we on this side do not think that we should be rushed into approving this. It was just laid; if we are suspending Standing Orders, there are other key Ministries that we can look at and whose Ministers are available now. We think that for this particular Ministry it must be deferred until Members are able to adequately study the Report.
Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.
Hon. Member for Tamale South, if you want about 30 minutes to look at it, I will give you 30 minutes.
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, my hon. Colleague should have brought this to your attention when we were suspending the Standing Order. We have moved it; it has been accepted. In any case, the document was laid yesterday and what he is probably not aware of is that I have discussed this with my hon. Colleague, the Minority Leader and we agreed that we could take it today; that is why we went on.
Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.
Hon. Member for Tamale South, I wanted to give you 30 minutes to look at it.
Mr. H. Iddrisu 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would appreciate that -- 30 minutes.
Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.
All right, 30 minutes.
Mr. H. Iddrisu 10:20 a.m.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.
Majority Leader, which item should we take?
Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 10:20 a.m.
We can take Defence -- the Minister is around. I think it is item 12.
ANNUAL ESTIMATES 10:20 a.m.
Minister for Defence (Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufuor) 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, that this House approves the sum of one trillion and fifty-nine billion, three hundred and thirty-seven million cedis (¢1,059,337,000,000.00) under Vote Head 34 of the Annual Estimates for the running of the Ministry of Defence for the financial year 2007.
This amount is made up of the sum of four hundred and fifty-eight billion, five hundred and seventy-six million cedis (¢458,576,000,000.00) for Personnel Emoluments (Item 1) and four hundred and forty-nine billion, eight hundred and forty- two million cedis (¢449,842,000,000) for Administration Expenses (Item 2). The allocations for Service Activity Expenses (Item 3) and Investment Expenditure (Item 4) are forty-seven billion, two hundred and fifty-nine million cedis (¢47,259,000,000.00) and seventy-eight billion, six hundred and sixty million cedis (¢78,660,000,000) respectively.
The allocation also includes a projected amount of twenty-five billion cedis f 25,000,000,000or Internally Generated Funds from the 37 Military Hospital.
2.0 Mission Statement
Mr. Speaker, the Mission of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is to proactively promote national defence interest through:
a. Effective formulation, co- ordination, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes,
b. Maintaining our Armed Forces in a high state of preparedness
for national and international engagements, and
c. Active involvement in the promotion of peace and stability in the country and the sub- region.
In pursuit of its mission, the Ministry exercises supervisory role and ministerial responsibili ty over the following institutions:
The Ghana Armed Forces consisting of the Army, Navy and Air Force, and the following specified training institutions within the GAF:
Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College,
Military Academy and Training School,
K o f i A n n a n I n t e r n a t i o n a l Peacekeeping Training Centre,
Veterans Association of Ghana, and
Offices of the Defence Advisors attached to Ghana's Missions in London, Washington DC, New Delhi, Abuja, and Cairo.
Mr. Speaker, MOD is also responsible for 37 Military Hospital and many Medical Reception Centres located in Garrisons across the country. These health facilities do not only provide quality healthcare for the people of Ghana, but like 37 Military Hospital, with modest support, could help train and augment the medical manpower in this country.
3.0 Strategic Objectives of MOD Budget
Mr. Speaker, the 2007 defence budget was prepared in accordance with our
mission, goals and objectives as spelt out in our strategic plan for the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) for the period 2007 - 2009. For the realization of our stated mission, the following objectives are to be achieved:
a. To improve the state of combat readiness of the Ghana Armed Forces.
b. To support national efforts aimed at sustaining economic growth and acce le ra t ing poverty reduction, especially the vulnerable and excluded.
c. To improve logis t ics and infrastructure facilities.
d. To improve human resource capacity and staff utilization.
e. To improve civi l-mil i tary relations.
4.0 Policy Stance
Mr. Speaker, the Ghana Armed Forces has a constitutional responsibility to protect by land, sea and air -- the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ghana against internal and external aggression. This is to ensure an enabling democratic environment for accelerated and sustainable socio-economic develop- ment of the country. The need to promote peace in our sub-region cannot be over- emphasized, particularly in a situation where there is instability on our western border and tension along the eastern border. Inside the country itself there are many flash points.
5.0 Overview of Performance in 2006 and Highlights on Financial Year 2007 Budget
Mr. Speaker, for the financial year 2007, a total budgetary allocation of ¢760.54
Minister for Defence (Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufuor) 10:30 a.m.


billion was approved by Parliament for the Ministry of Defence. This amount included the sum of ¢23 billion being projected Internally Generated Funds for the year. I wish to underscore the fact that Government, within budgetary cons- traints, provided funds for the acquisition of operational and support vehicles as well as equipment for rapid response.

Funds were also provided to rehabilitate the Naval slipway and one Fokker 27 aircraft. Additionally, a contract for the supply of four (4) K-8 Trainer Aircraft and one (1) Simulator to the Ghana Air Force was signed. These were aimed at improving the operational capabilities and efficiency of the Army, Navy and Air Force.

Indebtedness

As a result of low level of our budgetary ceiling, the Ministry incurred indebtedness to the tune of ¢174.5 billion as at the end of June, 2006. The major items include: (1) Food Bills (¢22.0 billion), (2) Fuel Bills (¢41.7 billion), (3) Medical (¢15.3 billion), (4) Docking of Ships (¢2.5 billion), (5) Maintenance of Aircraft (¢3.5 billion), (6) CEPS Import Duties/Taxes (¢87.8 billion), (7) Others (¢1.7 billion).

The Ministry has made a special representation to urge the MOFEP to write-off the debt to CEPS to reduce the degree of indebtedness of GAF.

Supplementary Budget

Mr. Speaker, Parliament in July 2006, approved a Supplementary Budget amounting to ¢146.3 billion for the Ministry. This amount was disbursed to cover: (1) Peacekeeping Operations (¢27 billion), (2) Rehabilitation of Naval Slipway at Sekondi (¢37 billion), (3) Food and Medical Expenditure (¢28 billion), (4) Ghana Armed Forces Housing Project (¢17 billion), (5) Refurbishment of Fokker

Aircraft (¢10 billion), (6) Procurement of Vehicles (¢9.6 billion), (7) Procurement of Uniform (¢10 billion), (8) Others -- Docking of ships (¢2.5 billion), Overseas Training (¢3.6 billion) and Emergency operations (¢1.7 billion).

6.0 Programmes and Activities

Mr. Speaker, an overview of the programmes and activities carried out in 2006 is as follows:

6.1.1 Human Resource Development

To achieve a high level of professional competence and efficiency and further develop the human resource capacity base, the Ghana Armed Forces intensified the training of its personnel at both local and foreign military/civil institutions. Fifty-four (54) Officer Cadets were commissioned while 1,200 personnel were recruited into the GAF in 2006. (An additional 1,200 personnel will be recruited in 2007.) The over aged soldiers programmed to be released in order to revitalize the military was deferred for lack of funds.

6.2 Projects

The Ghana Armed Forces initiated a number of development projects to improve its logistics and infrastructure for rapid response. The major ones include:-

a. Ghana Armed Forces Housing Project

To address the housing needs of the GAF and improve the well-being of troops and their families, Government in addition to its own funding is sourcing a twenty (20 million US Dollar) loan for the construction of high rise living accommodation. Some of the existing accommodation would also be rehabilitated.
Minister for Defence (Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufuor) 10:30 a.m.
6 . 3 M e d i c a l E v a c u a t i o n a n d National Emergency
The Ghana Air Force also continues to organize numerous medical evacuations and other national emergency assignments which are undertaken at short notice. These services are provided within limited budgetary resources. The Ghana Air Force is therefore unable to meet all its expenditure in this regard.
6.4 37 Military Hospital
The 37 Military Hospital started a Post Graduate Medical Specialist programme for both military and civilian doctors during 2006. The Military Hospital and the Medical Reception Centres in the Garrisons provided 24-hour medical service during the nationwide strike by Ghana Health Service personnel. Health workers of the Ghana Armed Forces must be commended for their sacrifices during such times.
6 . 5 U n i t e d N a t i o n s Peacekeeping Operations
The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has been contributing troops to both the UN and AU Peacekeeping Operations over the past four decades. Currently, it has deployed about 2,600 troops to UN Peacekeeping Operations in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Liberia (UNMIL), la Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI) and DR Congo (MONUC). To enable MOD derive maximum benefits from the UN Wet Lease Reimbursement system, Government has agreed to source for the sum of US$12.0 million to support operations of the Ghana Armed Forces.
The amount will be utilized to meet shortfalls in the equipment, vehicles and logistics required for effective and efficient operations. The provision of the US$12 million credit facility will

improve inflows from our Peacekeeping Operations. The improved inflows will enable us service the loan without recourse to the Consolidated Fund.

6.6 Barclays Bank Credit Facility

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to inform this august House that the US$55 million Barclays Bank credit facility approved by Parliament in January 2003 has been utilized judiciously to enhance our peacekeeping operations.

For the first time in its peacekeeping history, Ghana has contributed an aviation unit of 120 personnel and three (3) helicopters for the UN peacekeeping duties in la Cote d'Ivoire. The helicopters were acquired with the facility. The outstanding balance under the loan now stands at US$13.5 million. This will be repaid in two tranches of US$5.0 million in December, 2006 and US$8.6 million in February, 2007.

Auxiliary Roles and Aid to Civil Authority

Mr. Speaker, the Ghana Armed Forces assisted civil authorities to conduct internal security operations with other security agencies to ensure national security. The GAF is currently engaged in the following operations:

a. Operation Calm Life

These are joint Military and Police operations in aid of civil power to combat crime, especially armed robbery in our society.

b. Operation Hunter

Military operations aimed at curbing the smuggling of cocoa and petroleum products across the borders.

c. Operation Gong Gong

Joint Military and Police peacekeeping operations in the Northern part of Ghana specifically in the Bimbilla and Dagbon areas and Kete Krachie areas of the Volta Region aimed at bringing peace among the warring factions.

d. Operation Halt

Military operations in support of the Forestry Commission aimed at curbing environmental abuses such as the illegal felling of timber from the forests.

e. Operation Cowleg

Military operations in support of the Ministry of Agriculture aimed at regulating the activities of alien herdsmen and preventing their cattle from destroying the environment.

7 . 0 B u d g e t a r y S h o r t f a l l f o r Financial Year 2007

Mr. Chairman, I wish to indicate that the financial year 2007 allocation of ¢1.059 trillion made for the MOD is inadequate. The attention of the MOFEP has been drawn to the need to provide extra-budgetary resources amounting to ¢485.30 billion. The additional funding is required for critical requirements of the Ghana Armed Forces.

The breakdown of the amount is as follows:

8.0 Conclusion

Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I want to state that through various operations, exercises and training programmes the Ghana Armed Forces has been able to improve its state of combat readiness this

year. Despite the limited resources, the GAF remains an effective, relevant and responsive force capable of carrying out

a wide range of operations independently or with sister security agencies. These single and joint operations have ensured a peaceful environment for national development.
TABLE 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Hon. Member for Central Tongu, you were up, what was the point you wanted to make?
Mr. J. K. Gidisu 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I
thought I would have caught your eye earlier to draw attention to the fact that the Committee has a report and the Minister was only to have moved a motion which unfortunately had gone into a statement, very lengthy enough. I do not know what

the Chairman of the Committee would have to add to what he has said.
Mr. Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Hon. Member, you have made a valid point.
Chairman of the Committee (Mr.
J. K. Hackman): Mr. Speaker, I rise to second the motion to approve an amount of ¢1,059,337,000,000. In so doing I wish to present the Committee's Report.
1.0 Introduction
1.1 The hon. Minister for Finance and Economic Planning delivered the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government to Parliament on Thursday, 16th November 2006. Following this, the Annual Budget Estimates of the Ministry of Defence were referred to the Committee for its consideration and report, in accordance with article 179 of the Constitution and Orders 140 (4) and 158 of the Standing Orders of the House.
1.2 The Committee met to deliberate on the referral. In attendance were the hon. Minister for Defence, the Deputy Minister, the Chief Director, the Chief of Defence Staff, and other Senior Officials of the Ministry. The Committee would like to express its appreciation to them for availing themselves to offer clarifications on issues raised.
2.0 References
The Committee made reference to the underlisted documents during its deliberations:
(a) The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana
(b) The Standing Orders of the House
(c) The Annual Budget Estimates of the Ministry of Defence for
the 2006 financial year
(d ) The Budge t S ta t emen t a n d E c o n o m i c P o l i c y of the Government for the 2007 financial year.
( e ) T h e A n n u a l B u d g e t
Estimates of the Ministry of Defence for
the 2007 financial year
3.0 Objectives of the Ministry
The following are the objectives of the Ministry:
(a) To improve the state of combat readiness.
(b) To support national effort aimed at sustaining economic growth and accelerating poverty reduction-especially the vulnerable and the excluded.
( c ) To i m p r o v e l o g i s t i c infrastructure for rapid response.
(d) To improve human resource capacity, organization, Professional development and management capacity of the Ministry of Defence
(MOD).
(e) To improve Civil-Military relations.
4.0 Sector Performance in 2006
The Ministry in spite of its budgetary
constraints was able to make some achievements. The Ghana Armed Forces continued to assist civil authorities in maintaining internal security by conducting routine and emergency land, sea and air operations and other exercises aimed at abating illegal fish poaching and drug trafficking. Joint exercises were also held with other security agencies some of our foreign partners to ensure security in the sub-region.
4.1 The multi-purpose Burma Hall Library Complex was commissioned in April 2006. Efforts are far advanced to commercialize the Complex to generate funds for the Ministry.
4.2 The rehabilitation of the Naval Slipway project at Sekondi which was suspended for lack of funds has been reactivated this year. The cedi equivalent of US $4,000,000 has been approved in this regard. When completed it would enable the Ghana Navy refit its vessels locally and also repair most of the fishing vessels in the sub-region.
4.3 The 37 Military Hospital started a Post Graduate Medical Specialist Programme for both military and civilian doctors during 2006.
5.0 2007 Annual Estimates
5.1 In 2007, the Ministry will seek to improve upon its combat readiness for rapid response. In line with this policy objective, the Ministerial and Command priorities for the year would be in the following areas:
Enhancement of operat ional capacity through the acquisition of command, operational and support vehicles and regular maintenance of existing land, sea and air assets.
Human resource development by providing quality training at all levels.
Completion of ongoing housing projects and maintenance of living accommodation.
Recruitment/Release.
5.2 For the Ministry to achieve the above aims, an amount of ¢1,519,634 billion was requested. This amount was however reduced to ¢1,034,334 billion by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning creating a shortfall of ¢485,300 billion.
In addition to the budgetary provision, the Ministry is expected to internally generate an amount of ¢25.00 billion. The total budgetary provision for the Ministry for the 2007 financial year is ¢1,059,337 billion. The details are as shown below:
6.0 Observations and Recommendations
6.1 The Committee noted that the Ministry incurred huge expenditure on printing awarded on contract. This, the Committee observed, could be reduced by providing funds to the Ministry's Printing Unit for the purchase of modern printing equipment to print its documents. The Committee was informed that the Ministry now prints its own exercise books.
6.2 The Committee observed that the minimum requirement of the Ministry in respect of Administration was ¢153.119 billion. However, an amount of ¢109.75
Mr. Speaker 10:30 a.m.


billion was approved leaving a shortfall of ¢44.044 billion.

6.3 The expenditure to be incurred under this item include aviation fuel, ships fuel, maintenance of official vehicles, maintenance of building equipment, remittances to the various Defence Advisors to some of the Foreign Missions and other activities aimed at achieving a high level of administration within the Ministry. However, due to the shortfall of ¢44.044 billion, some of the activities would be affected negatively.

6.4 The details of activities to be affected by the shortfall and the required

amounts are shown in Table 2 below:

6.5 The Committee would like to recommend to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to take a second look at the situation and assist the Ministry of Defence.

6.6 The Service Activity is the hub around which all the Armed Forces evolve. The Ministry requested for the amount of ¢147.739 billion for the 2007 financial year. A ceiling of ¢47.259 billion has been allocated by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning creating a shortfall of ¢100.48 billion.

The Committee observed that human resource development is the bedrock of

any Military Organization, and in order to maintain a high level of professional proficiency, it is very necessary to continue to train Armed Forces Personnel both locally and overseas. The Ministry requested for the sum of ¢21.751 billion for the training of its personnel. However, due to budgetary constraints only ¢4.9 billion could be allocated.

6.7 The Committee was informed that due to inadequacy of funds, some training programmes have had to be shelved including those allocated by Foreign Governments. The reality is that, these are aid courses and the Ministry is likely to lose these vacancies. The Committee recommends that enough funds be provided for the training of the personnel.

6.8 The Committee also observed that the sophisticated nature of naval ships requires day-to-day maintenance in order to keep ships afloat with the view to patrolling and protecting the territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zones of Ghana. In financial year 2007, the Navy would require ¢7.0 billion for the docking and maintenance of its fleet of ships. However, an allocation of only ¢1.5 billion has been made in the budget.

6.9 The Committee recommends that additional funds be sourced for the purchase of new ships since the existing ones are very old and slow which impedes effective patrols. In the meantime resources must be allocated for the maintenance of the existing ships.

6.10 The Committee again observed the inadequate provision made for Food and Feeding Supplement. In 2006, an amount of ¢16 billion was approved. However, by the end of October the food bill had risen to ¢17.965 billion. This is projected to reach ¢26.231 billion by the end of the year.

6.11 In 2007, the Ministry requested for ¢52,886 billion for food and feeding supplement. ¢18 billion out of the amount has been allocated. The Committee therefore recommends that the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning must look critically into the issue and offer assistance in that regard.

6.12 The Committee observed the crucial role played by the Ministry in Peacekeeping Operations. However, the equipment levels acceptable by the United Nations are not met by the Ministry due to inadequate resources. As a result, the UN does not pay for the use of the equipment by our Officers. The equipment are therefore serviced and maintained by the Ghana Government. It is therefore, the recommendation of the Committee that resources be found to meet the equipment levels of the UN to allow the UN pay for the use of the equipment which would still be retained by the Ministry as its property.

6.13 A very critical observation made by the Committee is in respect of the release of over-aged soldiers. The Committee since 2003 has been recommending to Government to make resources available to discharge the over- aged soldiers but the problem seems to be compounding every year. If the necessary steps are not taken, these soldiers could not be discharged because of the sums of money involved. The Ministry would need ¢67 billion next year to be able to discharge them. The amount is expected to rise to ¢91 billion in 2008 due to increases in salaries. The Committee was informed that if these soldiers are discharged, about 600 units of residential accommodation would be made available for use by the Ministry.

6.14 The Committee again observed

that the Ministry is currently facing massive encroachment on its lands which were acquired during the First Republic. The problem has arisen as a result of the

2007 BUDGETARY ALLOCATION

Table 1
Mr. Speaker 10:40 a.m.


Ministry's inability to pay huge sums of money involved as royalties. The encroachment poses a threat to civilians within those environs, especially areas where ammunition are kept. The total amount for the payment of royalties and fencing of some of these lands is estimated to cost ¢121,000,000,000.

The Committee recommends that funds

be secured for the payment of the royalties and also for the fencing of the lands to protect them from further encroachment.

7.0 Conclusion

In conclusion, the Committee would like to appeal to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to resource the Ministry to enable it carry out its functions effectively and efficiently.

Finally, the Committee wishes to recommend to the House to approve of the sum of ¢1,059,337 billion for the services of the Ministry of Defence for the 2007 fiscal year.

Respectfully submitted.

Question proposed.
Alhaji Sumani Abukari (NDC -- Tamale North) 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion as moved by the hon. Minister for Defence.
Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt whatsoever that the Ministry of Defence is a Ministry that is very important to this country and in fact, to any country in the world. There is also no doubt that to enable them perform their functions that will give us peace in this country and which has already in the past years given us the title of “peace oasis” in the sub-region -- Mr. Speaker, I think that we would have to
look seriously at the many, many budget shortfalls in the Budget Statement as delivered by the hon. Minister for Finance and Economic Planning.
Mr. Speaker, I have no doubt that the Ministry's shortfalls would be addressed by the very capable hon. Minister for Finance and Economic Planning during his Mid-year Review because the Ministry of Defence cannot function effectively with the huge budgetary deficits that we have in the Financial Statement. Mr. Speaker, I would just take a few areas.
Mr. Speaker, right now the country is fast becoming the cocaine sub-centre of the region. It has become the transit point for cocaine dealers in this region. We have all seen and heard in the past few months the quantity of cocaine that has passed through this country. And Mr. Speaker, nobody knows where this cocaine has gone to up till now. We realized that initially most of the cocaine came by air, so some very good equipment were installed at the airport to detect this. Now, the dealers have turned to the use of boats, so the cocaine now comes into our country through the coastal areas of our country at various locations.
Mr. Speaker, the only way we can curtail this development also is to provide the Navy with some speedboats that can patrol our coastal regions and can intercept the cocaine boats that bring the cocaine into this country. Mr. Speaker, until we are able to provide the Navy with speedboats, I am sure more and more cocaine would be transited through this subregion. Mr. Speaker, I am therefore calling on the hon. Minister for Finance and Economic Planning to do his best to assist the Ministry of Defence to procure these speedboats.
Mr. Speaker, the other thing that I would like to touch on is equipment for
our military who perform with the United Nations (UN). Mr. Speaker, during our budgetary discussions, it came up that Ghana was losing tremendously by not arming our troops with the desired or required or recommended equipment when they go out to serve with the UN.
The result is that even though we send these equipment and maintain them at our expense, the UN does not pay for them as they should. If we were to provide them with the equipment that they need to perform this meritorious service that they have been noted for -- we would not only get the allowances that they give them, but we would also have the UN paying for the equipment even though the equipment would remain ours but not that of the UN. So the hon. Minister for Finance and Economic Planning would also do his best to see how we can over time equip our military that are serving with the UN.
Mr. Speaker, again if you come to the area of feeding, last year there was a shortfall of ten billion cedis. By the end of this year, there will be a shortfall of ten billion cedis in the food supplement to the Army. Now, in this year's Budget, on page 9, paragraph 6.11, the Ministry requested for ¢52.886 billion but they have been granted only ¢18 billion. So there will be another shortfall of ¢34.88 billion -- actually, ¢35 billion.
Mr. Speaker, if you add this to last year's, that will be ¢40 billion. And this Ministry has become notorious for not paying its food bills. I know a number of food contractors who are always complaining that they are not being paid; that if they supply food items to the military, it would take them over a year to recoup their money, by which time their bank charges would have eaten off their profits and even gone into their
Mr. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu (NPP -- Suame) 10:40 a.m.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity to also associate myself with this motion.
Mr. Speaker, the requirements of the Ministry of Defence present us with a tall order but as we all duly recognize, security and the attainment of peace are vital cogs in our democratic dispensation. And so as the Committee has observed, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning is entreated to take a second look at the situation and assist the Ministry of Defence.
Mr. Speaker, it has become axiomatic that an army marches on its stomach. So if we are told that inadequate allocation is year in, year out made for food and feeding supplements of our Armed Forces, then it must be worrying for all of us. Mr. Speaker, a hungry man, we are told, is an angry person. And in order to maintain
Mr. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu (NPP -- Suame) 10:50 a.m.


stability and peace in the various barracks it is important that, at least, basic amenities like the supply of food to our Armed Forces is guaranteed.

Mr. Speaker, the Committee has also observed that our naval ships are very old. My hon. Colleague who just spoke alluded to this fact. We all do know that gaps in our defence system are occasioned by these old equipment at the disposal of our country. The most recent unfortunate incident of this cocaine saga -- we do know that if the Armed Forces were better equipped with patrol boats, naval ships as well as patrol planes, it would have been very difficult for the ship that is alleged to have brought the cocaine to have slipped through and come with it.

Mr. Speaker, what if -- perish the thought -- the ship was bringing ammunition to cause the overthrow of the regime? What would have happened? So it is important that we equip our Armed Forces, the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and to really guarantee the security and the peace that we are enjoying.

Mr. Speaker, another observation is that over-aged soldiers, who otherwise should be paid their pensions to leave the barracks are still there because we do not have enough resources to give these soldiers, for which reason they are still occupying their various structures in the various barracks. In the meantime, we keep paying them because we have not discharged them.

If there should be any increases in salaries, even though they are due for retirement, they will still be affected and that will still then go to increase the quantum of money which eventually has to be paid to these over-aged soldiers. So Mr. Speaker, we are only postponing the evil day, if we may so call it. So it is

important that we put our acts together, find money wherever we can find it, and pay off the men and women who are due for retirement. Otherwise, as I said, we would only be postponing the day of accountability.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, we are told that the printing machines of the Ghana Armed Forces are in a dilapidated state such that the printing of security documents has to be done outside. Mr. Speaker, that is very serious if, indeed, that is what is happening. It is important that we take immediate steps to procure printing machines because there are security matters that cannot certainly be printed outside. So it is important that we equip them with the printing machines to enable them put a seal on security documents and place them wherever they have to be placed.

Mr. Speaker, with these few words, I thank you for your indulgence.
Mr. C. S. Hodogbey (NDC -- North Tongu) 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to associate myself with the motion.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to make the
following observation. I think our military is more of supply-driven than demand- driven. In other words, our military is a place for jobs. People go in to seek jobs. In other advanced countries, they make the military attractive and then advertise for people to come in. Ours is not like that. If you look through the Report, in almost every paragraph there is a shortage.
The question is; is there a way we can reorientate our military as in advanced countries, where part of the military is made to even manufacture the equipment that they use, the shoes, the food they produce? Examples of such countries are Pakistan, India and Russia. We have so many of these soldiers who could be used to produce instead of only defending our
Mr. Kojo Armah 10:50 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, my hon. Colleague is misleading this House by saying that in our military people go in for jobs; that elsewhere, the vacancies are advertised and people apply for them, implying that it is not so here.
But it is also a fact that very regularly, these advertisements come in newspapers and even locations are shown where people can go and apply for the jobs. So the area he is delving into is a bit dicey and I think he is misleading this House. He must either correct himself or withdraw that portion of his statement.
Mr. Hodogbey 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am not talking about the officer corps; I am talking about the foot soldiers. In other places, they advertise and look for people to come in; and I am saying that what the Ministry should do -- [Interruption.]
Dr. Addo-Kufuor 10:50 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I have the impression that the hon. Member has not got the correct facts; and I entreat him not to mislead the House. We advertise for recruits, for all categories of soldiers. It is not correct that we do not advertise for these positions. Mr. Speaker, if he has not got the correct facts, he should contact us so that we can give them to him.
Mr. Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Hon. Member for North Tongu, please, take that on board.
Mr. Hodogbey 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I withdraw that statement. But the point I want to make is, instead of only going on peacekeeping as I said, there are some other countries where the military is involved in the production of the very tools that they use. They go into food production; they make shoes and clothing
that they use. Why can we not try to equip our soldiers so that at the time a soldier is off the scene, he has some kind of skill to use?
If you look at the Report, it indicates, and I beg to quote: “ . . . discharging of old, over-aged soldiers . . . ” Even the word “over-aged” is a pity, in the sense that the over-aged soldier does not want to go home just because he knows that he has not got any skill to use. Therefore, we are trying to appeal to the hon. Minister to ensure that soldiers are given some kind of skill and at the time of going on retirement, he or she should have acquired some skill.
Mr. Speaker, on housing -- people do not want to go home when the time comes; and I will suggest to the hon. Minister that a special housing scheme is put in place for soldiers so that at the time they are retiring, they should be able to get places to stay.
Mr. Speaker, on this note, I end my contribution.
Mr. Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Hon. Minister for Defence, you may wish to wind up.
Dr. Addo-Kufuor 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to take this opportunity to express gratitude for the bipartisan support the motion has received and the useful comments that have been made. Particularly, I would like to emphasise that there is the need for procurement of modern patrol boats to help us effectively and efficiently monitor the maritime territory of this country.
I would also like to take advantage of the presence of the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning to urge the House, to provide the means to help the Ministry release the over-aged soldiers. In this connection, we need ¢67 billion. The release of the over-aged soldiers would enable the Ministry to recruit fresh blood

into the Armed Forces. Also, the severe pressure on accommodation in all the garrisons would be reduced.

Perhaps, I must also take the

opportunity to let the House know that currently, it is the policy of the Ministry of Defence to ensure that the Ghana Armed Forces becomes a serious development partner of Government, especially in four areas:

(1) construction of feeder roads which we are already doing in the Sefwi area and also in the Afram Plains,

(2) construction of bridges,

(3) serious support for the afforestation projects in the country; and

(4) the resources to help with the construction of low-cost houses both for the troops and for the workers.

Mr. Speaker, in 2003, we came to the

House seeking the House's permission to borrow US$55 million from Barclays Bank (Ghana) Limited. I am happy to announce to the House that the loan is virtually paid back. This month, we are going to pay US$5 million. The next payment would be US$8 million.

So in a way, the peacekeeping operations and the reimbursements we receive are a source of income for the Government. We do not want to talk about this but because of the contribution of the hon. Member opposite, I think it is necessary for us to bring these facts to the notice of the House so that they know what the Armed Forces is doing for the country.
Mr. Speaker 11 a.m.
Hon. Members, we can now go back to item 16 -- Minister for Aviation.
ANNUAL ESTIMATES 11 a.m.
Minister for Aviation (Ms. Gloria Akuffo) 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, that this honourable House approves the sum of ¢15,509,000,000 for the services of the Ministry of Aviation for the 2007 fiscal year.
Mr. Speaker, the new Aviation Ministry, even though was gazetted in the year 2004 did not become operational until April of this year. The aviation sector has a far-reaching role in promoting the socio- economic development of the country, especially being the mode of transport responsible for the fastest movement of persons, goods and services and links Ghana to the rest of the world.
The sector oversees and monitors its programmes and projects through two public self-accounting agencies namely: Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and Ghana International Airlines Limited as well as the private sector airline operators.
The mission of the sector is to promote a competitive, efficient and cost-effective aviation sector all aimed at ensuring safety
and security standards as well as the orderly growth of air transport, to support social and economic development whilst minimising the negative impact on air transport operations and the environment.
Mr. Speaker, I now humbly request the hon. Members of the House to approve the sum of ¢15,509,000,000 to enable the Ministry of Aviation to carry out its function. I beg to move.
Mr. Speaker 11 a.m.
Any seconder to the motion?
Chairman of the Committee (Mr. S. K. Obodai) 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to second the motion and in so doing, present the Committee's Report. Mr. Speaker, I crave your indulgence to read the “Conclusion” and ask that Hansard captures the Report in its entirety.
1.0 Introduction
1.1 The Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, hon. Kwadwo Baah- Wiredu on Thursday, 16th November 2006 presented to the House, the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana for the 2007 financial year in accordance with article 179 (1) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.
In furtherance of Orders 140 (4) and 189 of the Standing Orders of Parliament, the Annual Budget Estimates of the Ministry of Aviation was referred to the Committee on Roads and Transport for consideration and report.
1.2 In considering the referral, the Committee benefited from further clarifications from the Sector Minister, Ms. Gloria Akuffo and officials of the Ministry of Aviation, Ghana International Airlines Limited (GIAL), Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and the
Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP).
The Committee is grateful to the hon. Minister and all officials present at the committee sitting for their cooperation.
2.0 Reference Documents
The Committee referred to the following documents in its deliberations:
a) The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.
b) The Standing Orders of Parliament.
c) The Budget Statement and Economic Po l icy o f the Government of Ghana for the 2007 financial year.
d) 2007 Budget Presentation by the Minister for Aviation.
3.0 The Ministry and its Agencies
As par t of the effor ts by the Government to promote tourism in Ghana by linking up aviation with other modes of transport, the Ministry of Aviation was established in June 2006 to handle the institutional restructuring and expansion of infrastructure and services of the aviation sector.
To assist the Ministry achieve this aim are the following two (2) non-subvented agencies which fall under the purview of the Ministry of Aviation:
a) Ghana Civil Aviation Authority.
b) Ghana International Airlines Limited.
4.0 Mission Statement of the Ministry
The Ministry of Aviation was created to promote a competitive, efficient and cost-

effective aviation sector. It also ensures safety and security standards as well as orderly growth of air transport to support social and economic development whilst minimizing the impact of air transport operations on the environment through:

a. the formulation and implemen- tation of policies that are responsive to the changing needs of the nation.

b. promoting private sector participation.

c. developing, implementing, monitoring and regulating standards.

d. carrying out strategic investment to establish safe, reliable, efficient and affordable services for all users.

5.0 Objectives of the Ministry

The Ministry of Aviation has set for itself, the following objectives towards the achievement of its mission:

i. to liberalize the legal and regulatory framework of the Aviation Sector.

ii. to restructure the civil aviation institutions.

iii. to develop and strengthen the institutional capacities in Human Resource Manage- ment, infrastructure (plant and equipment), policies and legislation for effective service delivery.

iv. to ensure high safety security and environmental standards.

v. to ensure the provision,

expansion and maintenance of air transport of all kinds.

6.0 Performance Review of year 2006

In reviewing the performance of the Ministry of Aviation for the year 2006, the Committee noted the following:

a. Bilateral Air Services Agreement

For the year under review, the Ministry of Aviation was instrumental in the review of three (3) Bilateral Air Service Agreements with the United Kingdom, Kenya and Qatar. The resultant effects of these Bilateral Agreements are the increase in air traffic by British carriers and Kenya Airways. However, Qatar Airways is yet to start its operations to Accra.

b. National Transport Policy

The Ministry of Aviation participated in preparing a National Transport Policy that is aimed at integrating all modes of transport to complement each other.

c. Infrastructural Development

i. Phase II Rehabilitation Project

To give the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) a new facelift, the Ministry of Aviation through the GCAA continued with additional works on the main terminal building as part of Phase II Rehabilitation Project of KIA which was substantially completed in December 2005.

Works undertaken include the provision of:

a. Flight Information Display Systems

b. Baggage Information Display Units

c. Closed Circuit Television

(CCTV)

d. Public Address System

e . Common User Termina l Equipment (CUTE)

To improve navigation, communication and surveillance in the Accra Flight Information (FIR), Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSAT) were also installed.

ii. Master Plan Studies

The Ministry of Aviation was also instrumental in initiating Master Plan Studies for Kotoka and Kumasi Airports. The Kumasi Master Plan Study is aimed at establishing a new international airport at Kumasi whilst that of Kotoka is geared towards the establishment of support facilities such as cold storage, courier services, among others.

d. Institutional Restructuring

Wi t h r e g a r d t o i n s t i t u t i o n a l restructuring, the Ministry of Aviation constituted a Decoupling Implementation Committee (DIC) to decouple airport functions from the existing GCAA in accordance with provisions in the Civil Aviation Act (Act 678). The decoupling exercise will give rise to an Airport Company which will be responsible for the planning, development, management and maintenance of all airports in the country whilst GCAA will be responsible for safety regulations and air navigation services. All things being equal, both entities will take off administratively by 1st January 2007.

e. Air Transport Operations

Ground Handling Operations

To e n c o u r a g e p r i v a t e s e c t o r participation in ground handling activities at KIA, the Government through the Ministry of Aviation has licensed a second operator, Aviation Handling Services, to undertake terminal and ramp handling services. It is expected that the presence of this second operator will engender competition in this area of service delivery.

7.0 Outlook for Year 2007

For the year 2007, the Ministry of Aviation intends to undertake the following activities:

i. to continue with the review of its bilateral agreements with African countries in line with the Yamoussoukro Decision which aims at liberalizing air traffic services in Africa.

ii. to develop an aviation policy framework and a strategic plan to guide the direction of the aviation sector.

iii. to rehabilitate the Kumasi and Tamale airports for the CAN 2008 games.

iv. to continue encouraging the private sector to invest and manage aviation activities, especially the promotion of ultra-light operations.

v. to provide training to existing and newly-recruited staff on aviation matters.

vi. to continue with infrastructural developments under the Phase II rehabilitation works at KIA.

8.0 2007 Budget Estimates

8.1 To execute its programmes for the year 2007, an amount of fifteen billion,
Chairman of the Committee (Mr. S. K. Obodai) 11 a.m.


five hundred and nine million cedis (¢15,509,000,000) has been allocated to the Ministry of Aviation for its general administration devoid of any donor support and HIPC Funds.

8.2 The breakdown of the total allocation is as follows:

A total amount of ¢4,367,000,000 has been allocated to the Ministry to cater for its administrative expenses. This amount is to meet expenditure such as the purchase of stationery, maintenance and running cost of official vehicles, maintenance of official buildings, among others.

8.2.3 Service

The Ministry of Aviation has been allocated a total sum of ¢4,938,000,000 to take care of its service activities which include:

ii. preparation of an Aviation Sector Policy and a Strategic Plan that will guide the development of the Sector.

iii. organizing stakeholders' work- shops on aviation issues and other workshops.

iv. holding bilateral meetings with West African, African and non-African countries on Air Services Agreements in respect of air transport services.

v. establishment of a Local Area Network for the Ministry.

8.2.4 Investment

For its investment activities, the Ministry has been allocated an amount of ¢4,950,000,000 for the acquisition of basic needs of the Ministry such as computers, furniture fixtures and fittings, vehicles and the rehabilitation of both office building and official residence, among others.

9.0 Observations

9.1 Special Service Vote

The Committee noted that apart from the ¢15,509,000,000 allocated to the Ministry of Aviation in the 2007 Budget, the Ministry will require a Special Service Vote of ¢350,980,000,000 to cater for the service needs of Ghana Airways (in official Liquidation) and the GIAL. The summary of this required special service vote is as follows:

Ghana Airways (In Official Liquidation) -- ¢298,540,000,000
GIAL - - 11 a.m.
Mr. S. K. B. Manu (NPP -- Ahafo Ano South) 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to contribute to the motion asking for the amount indicated to be approved for the Ministry of Aviation. Mr. Speaker, a lot has been said about Ghana's place in West Africa. Ghana has been described sometimes as the ‘gateway' to West Africa, but if you are a gateway and you do not have a door through which people would enter, then your “gateway” would not be successful.
Mr. Speaker, this country had a name
and Ghana Airways and its pilots were superb. But today, if you want to travel from Ghana or you want to come to Ghana and you do not rely on foreign airlines,
you cannot leave or come to Ghana, and this is all because our aviation industry has collapsed due to mismanagement and other inefficiencies in the industry.
Mr. Speaker, I would not want to say much but I pray that the authorities in the aviation industry, though the money being approved for them is not the best, do the best they can with the little that they have so that when we see positive signs, we can ask for more for the sector. It is not the best when Ghana is being described as a nation without an aircraft of its own.
Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. Minister and the people concerned with the aviation industry and Ministry would be up and doing to lift the name of Ghana to where it was, in terms of aviation, it being the gateway to Africa.
Mr. Lee Ocran (NDC -- Jomoro) 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, when the Committee met, we did not have much problem with the approval of the ¢15.5 billion for the operation of the new Ministry. Our problem, however, was with the liquidation of Ghana Airways and the new loan or the new vote for the Ghana International Airlines.
The hon. Minister tried to convince us that the Government of Ghana is the sole shareholder of Ghana Airways and therefore in liquidating Ghana Airways, the liquidator was given full assurance by the Government that some monies would be found to assist in the payment of the staff and other such matters.
The amount realized from the sale of Ghana Airways was only 20 million dollars which was woefully inadequate to carry out with the liquidation. It was a very difficult thing for us to accept but after some persuasion, the Committee agreed that in the course of the year, the Ministry should find some money in the supplementary budget to assist in
the liquidation and to also help the new airline so that it does not fall into the same situation that the previous Ghana Airways fell into, since the shareholders are not prepared to give even more money and even its partners have already taken the airline to court.
Mr. Speaker, with this explanation, we the members of the Committee thought that we should persuade our fellow hon. Members of Parliament to approve the amount of ¢15.5 billion plus an additional amount of ¢350 billion in the course of the year, to support the Ministry carry out its activities to liquidate Ghana Airways completely and then assist the new airline to establish itself.
With these observations, Mr. Speaker, I beg to support the motion.
Mr. Kwame Osei-Prempeh (NPP -- Nsuta/Kwamang/Beposo) 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion on the floor and would want to appeal to the House to approve it.
Mr. Speaker, before I go on, let me make a comment on what was said by my Colleague, hon. Manu. Mr. Speaker, it was unfortunate for him to have said that the aviation industry has collapsed. Mr. Speaker, I believe that is not true and even this Report shows that the aviation industry is growing. Anybody who knows what is happening, the number of airlines which are now struggling to come to Ghana is an indication that the sector has the potential and it is growing.
It is for this reason that I am supporting it. Ghana Airways has collapsed, but Ghana Airways is not the aviation industry of Ghana. Therefore, for anybody to say that it has collapsed means that the person has not appreciated the problems. Mr. Speaker, I believe that the Ministry is doing well; it is a new Ministry and if you see the effort being made by the
Mr. Kwame Osei-Prempeh (NPP -- Nsuta/Kwamang/Beposo) 11:10 a.m.


sector Minister and the staff, Ghana Civil Aviation Authority and everybody, they need the support of this House.

I would like to end by saying that perhaps we have to look at Kumasi Äirport. Now aeroplanes cannot land and take off in the night. It is a great disservice to us. Previously, some of us could stay in this House, work and when it was 9.00 p.m. we could go to the airport and take a flight to Kumasi but now we cannot do that because by 4.00 p.m., the last flight leaves. This is something which should be looked at.

With that I support the motion.
Mr. Dan Abodakpi (NDC -- Keta) 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion on the floor and to say that the Aviation sector is one of the very key components of the overall gateway programme, and therefore the sector needs total support. We are striving to make Ghana the gateway to the subregion. We have not as yet made Ghana the gateway. So it means that we need to put in a lot more effort.
I am happy that the new Ministry is moving with speed to implement some of the reforms that have been envisaged under the Gateway Programme in terms of decoupling airport management and administration from the landlord role the Aviation authority should be performing. I will urge this House to lend full support to the Ministry to execute its mandate.
The other thing I would like the Ministry to look at very critically is the whole issue of establishing maintenance facilities within our airports. If it is going to attract international airlines and encourage them to stay, then maintenance facilities are key. Sometime past it was
Mr. J. H. Mensah (NPP -- Sunyani East) 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, first of all, we have been toying around with this business of Ghana as the gateway to Africa for a long time. Where we have spent our money on is the 19th century road transport and not on the 21st century supersonic technology. We are going into the age of supersonic transport and our airport hardly is able to handle the biggest planes of today.
Mr. Speaker, it shows that we have not really been very serious with this Gateway Project. Airports are profitable enterprises all over the world so nobody should have been afraid of raising money to build airports and make money from the airports. The fact that we have to provide government money for the maintenance of our airports is a mark of failure in our administration and we must admit that.
Mr. Speaker, our communication with the North American continent broke down totally. I hear that Delta Airlines is coming in to fill some of the vacuum. All this is business that had been accruing to Ghanaian enterprises but is now going to accrue to foreign enterprises. This is because when we bought aircraft and placed them and other facilities under the management of our own people, they ran us into unbelievable losses. This is a matter that tends to be swept under the carpet but let us be forthright in this House in confronting that matter.
Ghana International Airlines majority shares are owned by Government. So those diseases that afflicted Ghana Airways can afflict Ghana International Airlines if we go along with the same method of management, staff indiscipline and poor training of staff.
Mr. Speaker, somebody tried our new airline, a patriotic citizen, and the first thing he told me when he gave up was that when he called the stewardess, she asked him, “What do you want?” If a stewardess asked you, “What do you want?”, you will not go on that airline again. This is a question of simple training. It is true that in our own tourism industry, we do not know how to train our staff properly, how to serve tables in a first class hotel. So we must take that matter seriously if we are going to become a gateway country, if we are going to become a tourist country.
Mr Speaker, again, I am grateful that our Ministry is beginning to make good use of our airport in Sunyani. Its service is unsatisfactory and of course you cannot land planes after 4.00 p.m. -- all kinds of restrictions.
Mr. Speaker, 40 years ago, under Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, we had two flights a day to Kumasi -- 40 years ago. Today, if City Link and Antrak had not established those small aircraft services, we would have had no air service to Kumasi. The talk is to make Kumasi an international airport. There is nothing in these estimates that I can see.
Finally, there is some controversy going on about handling of airport services. I do not know what role Ghanaian entities will have. It is a very lucrative business but again there is conflict going on and all kinds of stories are afloat. I will urge the Minister to bring clarity and openness in
that matter so that whatever share that we as Ghanaians can have in a very lucrative sector of the aviation industry will accrue to Ghanaian entities.
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu (NDC -- Tamale South) 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion for the approval of ¢15,509,000,000 for the Ministry for Aviation. But in doing so, Mr. Speaker, I find it quite intriguing that the agencies that operate under the Ministry are all non-subvented agencies -- Ghana Civil Aviation Authority and Ghana International Airlines. That for me raises a significant issue as to what the Minister supervises.
There is no indication to this House as to what they do with their internally- generated funds. Like the hon. J. H. Mensah said, the industry is a profitable entity and the Ghana Civil Aviation funds itself; so should Ghana International Airlines even in the era of Government intervention. I want to know what quantum of their internally-generated funds gets to the Ministry.
The second issue I would like to raise is for the Minister to consider what steps she can take to ameliorate the suffering of the former workers of the Ghana Airways. I believe that they have been given a very raw deal. Only recently, some of the former workers were ejected from their homes in an advertisers announcement that appeared in the dailies.
Mr. Speaker, having toiled and sacrificed to work for Ghana Airways, whether it is performing or it is not performing -- I hope that the Minister for Finance will take cognizance of that; he owes them their severance awards and he must support the Ministry to make do with those, by honouring the obligations to the former employees. I do not think that it is fair that having sacrificed your
rose
Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, do you have a point of order?
Mr. Baah-Wiredu 11:20 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. Member is making a very important point. There are lessons that all of us have to learn from state-owned enterprises. When we are alive, strong and kicking and we are working in state-owned enterprises, we must do it to the best of our abilities. I worked in Ghana Airways in 1987 and I just want to say that wherever we are working, we must work well so that we can benefit and get our gratuity and other benefits.
Mr. Speaker 11:20 a.m.
Hon. Member for Tamale South, have you concluded?
Mr. H. Iddrisu 11:20 a.m.
Not at all, Mr. Speaker. I thought the hon. Minister for Finance and Economic Planning was going to give this House an assurance -- and for that matter the hon. Minister for Aviation -- that he will honour his obligations since Ghana Airways was wholly Government-owned, by making the ¢350 billion available for them to look into the state and fate of employees of the Ghana Airways.
I think that is also important.
We also need to know what has happened to the assets of Ghana Airways. The hon. Minister should let us know. Even if he is going to pay his creditors, could part of the money not be used to deal with some of the immediate contingencies
affecting workers?
Mr. Speaker, with these few comments I support the motion and hope that the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning will support the Ministry to deal with the severance awards of the former employees of Ghana Airways.
Mr. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu (NPP -- Suame) 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I also rise to associate myself with the motion. In fact, the Ministry is an infant one and we all need to support the efforts of the very energetic 50-plus year old teenage hon. Minister who has hit the ground running.
Mr. Speaker, we are told that the aviation sector is a vital component of the Ghana @ 50 project. The gateway issue has been raised and I do not intend to belabour the issue. One matter that we should link with the aviation industry is the promotion of tourism. The most important tourist resort that we have up north is the Mole Park.
It is very difficult to access the park by road and the other alternative, a more credible alternative, is by air. Unfor- tunately, as has been said, the airport or aerodrome and airstrips up north are nothing to write home about.
Just last weekend we were in Navrongo.
I did not really know what is preventing us, as a nation, from putting to good shape the airstrip at Paga. When we were going we could not land. Our plane had to land at Tamale. Later without the passengers, the pilot managed to land. Coming back, we got to Tamale and the lighting system at the Tamale Airport was virtually non- existent. And when we got there we had an unfortunate incident. We had to bring down a medical case. Assuming we had not gotten there early to touch down early to pick up the passenger, how was the person going to fare? Perhaps, he would
have lost his life.
Mr. Speaker, coming down to Accra, three of us were told that they were going to drop us down at the Kumasi Airport. When we got there around 6.15 the plane could not land and they had to bring us down to Accra. We had to jump into the next available vehicle to ferry us back to Kumasi that same night. It was an ordeal. So if we have to do this, it is important that we put all these together.
Fortunately, I do observe that the Committee has observed that for the outlook for the year 2007, the Ministry intends to rehabilitate the Kumasi and Tamale airports for the CAN 2008. That is a very good programme.
Unfortunately, when one comes to look at the investments for 2007, to quote the Committee's Report,
“The Ministry has been allocated an amount of ¢4.9 billion for the acquisition of basic needs of the Ministry such as computers, furniture, fixtures and fittings, vehicles, and the rehabilitation of both office buildings and official residence, among others.”
I want to believe that the “among others” phraseology includes improving the lighting systems at both Kumasi and the Tamale airports. And if that is so, I thought that could have featured prominently in the investments portfolio of the Ministry. Unfortunately, it is not there.
So I would want to have some assurance from the Ministry that improving or rehabilitating the lighting system at the Kumasi airport and the Tamale airport and also the other leg, improving the airstrip at Paga, would be taken on board by the Ministry.
My information is that the airstrip at Paga is too close to the Burkina Faso border and that planes jetting off from the airstrip necessarily have to pass through the airspace of Burkina Faso which is why it is not been done as of now. If indeed that is the case and for security reasons it cannot be done, then we certainly need to relocate the airstrip and bring it closer to Bolgatanga.
Dr. Benjamin Kunbuor 11:20 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I am sure my hon. Colleague is not abreast with the developments. The airstrip for Paga has actually been moved to Sumbrungu, 14 kilometres outside Bolgatanga; and it has been tarred. So Paga is not presently designated as the airport. It has been moved from Paga to Sumbrungu, between Bolgatanga and Navrongo. You will see it. It is a very long, tarred edifice.
Mr. Speaker 11:20 a.m.
Chief Whip, you may now conclude.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the conclusion is to acknowledge and say that, that is a good development. Unfortunately, we landed at Paga so I did not know this. If a new thing has been done, that is all well and good for the country. I do not know what happens to the Paga airstrip. I do not know whether it is going to be maintained as a local landing strip or whatever. Mr. Speaker, I would urge the hon. Minister to respond to this.
With that, I believe I would be comfortable, except to also urge the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, that the ¢350 billion being sought by the Ministry should be made available to them. This is because, as my hon. Colleague said, the former employees are really suffering.
Minister for Aviation (Ms. Gloria Akuffo) 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, may I thank the House for the support that the request
Minister for Aviation (Ms. Gloria Akuffo) 11:20 a.m.


for the Ministry has attracted from both sides of the House. I have taken serious observation of the pieces of advice that hon. Members have given and I undertake that I will take them along so that the functions of the Ministry would be driven by these observations.

Mr. Speaker, concerning the Kumasi and other air facilities, for Kumasi, indeed the lighting system is not functioning and admittedly, like Sunyani and Tamale, the tarmac is not in good shape. But I wish to inform the House that it is one of the immediate things that the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority is seeking to do next year.

Mr. Speaker, concerning Ghana Airways, the hon. Haruna Iddrisu wanted to find out what had happened to the assets. There is a total debt of $200 million against Ghana Airways in liquidation as against an expected income of $20 million from assets. So far, a total of $16.5 million worth of assets have been given out but only $8 million has been realized. The balance continues to come in trickles and that explains why the assistance is being sought.

Mr. Speaker, the question was raised as to what is being done to former staff and an observation was made about the unfair treatment that they have been subjected to. The position is that the Ministry and for that matter Government as the hundred per cent shareholder is committed to alleviating the difficulties that former staff are facing. Some of the staff have, indeed, sued the liquidator for their entitlements. They had previously also sought to bring an interim injunction order to restrain the official liquidator from disposing of the assets. It became therefore impossible for a long time for their benefits to be provided. The court did not see how the

entitlements could be paid without the assets being disposed of, so it did not look favourably on that request.

It is also important to note that notices had been given to former staff who were occupying properties of the airline since about the time that the liquidation process started. The exercise that took place had a very humane face to it. They were given ample opportunity. Some of them willingly left.

In fact, as we speak, there are still some who are occupying premises and they are being considered because one, they have made offers to buy; that is being considered alongside others. Two there are also others who said they had put some moneys into rehabilitating and therefore have claims to make. They have not been asked to leave; therefore they are being given the appropriate attention.

Mr. Speaker, the investment that is taking place in the aviation industry largely arises from the activities of Ghana Civil Aviation Authority which uses its own income to develop its infrastructure and other services. It is for that reason that there is so little by way of allowance for investment in the amount that is allocated to the industry. So it does not include investment for the airstrips and other infrastructural developments that the Ministry is going to undertake.

With these few comments, Mr. Speaker, I once more thank the House, and I would go along with the pieces of advice that they have given.

Question put and motion agreed to.

Resolved:

That this honourable House approves the sum of ¢15,509,000,000 for the services of the Ministry of Aviation

for the 2007 fiscal year.
PAPERS 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, we will take the Estimates for the Ministry responsible for Trade.
ANNUAL ESTIMATES 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, three (3) Export Trade Houses targeting different markets, namely 11:30 a.m.
Ghana Export Trade Company (GEXTRACO), Ghana Trade Centre (GTC) and GhanexTrade have been established. The Trade Houses serve as commercial intermediates to promote Made-in-Ghana Goods abroad particularly
for SMEs, by negotiating export contracts as well as providing promotional and logistic support to Ghanaian companies.
Mr. Speaker, a tariff study of 200 companies to provide data for tariff analysis which will feed into the work of the new Tariff Advisory Board to be established, is currently being under- taken.
The “National Friday Wear” initiative was launched and promoted in all the ten (10) regions. The initiative promotes the use of Made-in-Ghana fabrics and designs as Business Wear.
Mr. Speaker, the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) established 13 additional Business Advisory Centres (BACs) in the following towns -- Obuasi, Enchi, Half Assini, Asamankese, Odumasi, Adidome, Sogakope, Kyekyewere, Keta, Asikuma, Damango, Bawku and Jirapa. This brings the total of BACs established to 102. In addition, the following activities were accomplished by NBSSI:
Directory on sources of funds for MSEs has been published and launched on 5th December 2006.
1,000 MSEs were supported to improve packaging and quality of their products.
1 6 0 c u s t o m i s e d b u s i n e s s i m p r o v e m e n t p r o g r a m m e s have been organized for 4,200 entrepreneurs. (Male -- 1,425; Female -- 2,775.)
Mr. Speaker, the Ghana Standards Board which is the agency with responsibility to develop and enforce standards undertook the following:
997 products have been analyzed and standardized.
1,198 export products were provided with Health and Export Certificates.
3,090 weighing and measuring instruments were calibrated and verified.
Mr. Speaker, the Ghana Export Promotion Council in pursuit of its objective to increase exports, especially non-traditional exports also implemented the following activities in 2006:
Seven market access facilitation activities including trade exhibi- tions, buyer-seller meetings and contact promotion programmes were undertaken. This contributed to total confirmed orders of ¢20.24 billion (US$2,200,000.00) for fruits, vegetables, medicinal plants and seeds, garments and fish products.
Group Export Marketing Schemes have been developed for 100 members of Chilli and Okro Growers Association at Abutia in the Volta Region and 150 members of Chilli Growers Association at Sefwi Wiawso. As a result, 50 boxes (2160 kg) exotic okro and chillies are exported weekly.
Total value of non-traditional exports for 2006 is estimated at about nine hundred and fifty million dollars (US$950,000,000).
Mr. Speaker, the development of technical skills, especially for the youth, is crucial to industrial development. For this reason, GRATIS Foundation has trained 268 women in food processing, textiles production and agro processing. The Foundation also offered employable skills to 260 unemployed youth in a 3-year Technical Apprenticeship Training in Welding and Fabrication.
Mr. Speaker, the Export Development and Investment Fund (EDIF) was
established to provide financial resources on concessionary terms to exporters. For the period January to October, 2006, EDIF provided to the non-traditional export sector, financial support to the tune of ¢155.2 billion. This is to address the credit needs of exporters, particularly those in the non-traditional export sector.
EDIF has provided in all, a total of ¢656.5 billion since 2001 to finance various projects in the non-traditional export sector.
Mr. Speaker, the Ghana Free Zones Board as at October 2006 had registered 23 companies in sectors which included metal fabrication, plastics, agro-processing, textiles, jewellery and machine manufactures. The 23 companies are expected to generate about 1,400 jobs.
Mr. Speaker, under the President's Special Initiatives (PSI) five (5) new garment factories are presently under construction at the Adjabeng Garments Enclave in Accra. The existing three factories are producing for the local and export markets. The three factories are currently employing over 1,200 workers with the potential to hit a ceiling of 1,200 per factory, operating on three (3) shifts a day, when all the production lines are engaged in manufacturing.
Under the Oil Palm Initiative, almost one million seedlings of oil palm were planted between June 2005 and June 2006. In addition, 2 million seedlings are presently being nursed and will be ready for planting in 2007.
Outlook for 2007
Mr. Speaker, the Ministry's policy direction for 2007 will be to develop a vibrant, technology-driven, competitive industrial sector that will significantly contribute to economic growth and employment creation, particularly for
Mr. Speaker, three (3) Export Trade Houses targeting different markets, namely 11:30 a.m.


rural communities and other vulnerable groups including women. This will lead to the diversification and structural trans- formation of the economy in a liberalized trade environment.

The Ministry will therefore in 2007 focus on:

Aggressively promoting Made-in- Ghana Goods and Services both locally and internationally.

Providing support and protection to producers which will encourage the development of competitive local industries.

Promoting strategic upstream production linkages.

Promoting entrepreneurship through Business Development Services; and

Facilitating technology transfer in strategic sectors.

Mr. Speaker, the Ministry will facilitate the establishment of a cold chain facility from farm gate, to export market centres. This will bring about the timely delivery of quality fresh produce to export markets to increase Ghana's export competi-tiveness. In furtherance of this, a Fruit Terminal is being established at Tema.

Mr. Speaker, the national industrial po l icy which wi l l focus on the development of strategic sectors to drive our industrialization process will be completed. The policy and its support programmes which will complement the national trade policy, will provide a road map for Ghana's industrialization.

The Ministry will promote cluster formation to increase the output of micro

and small enterprises (MSEs). Steps will be taken to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of micro and small enterprises as well as facilitate their access to credit.

Mr. Speaker, to fully implement the District Industrialization Programme, the Ministry has been allocated seed capital to support flagship industrial projects in each district for which business plans have already been completed. The seed capital is intended to leverage additional financial resources from the districts as well as from institutional and individual investors including Ghanaians living abroad.

In addition, the Government will continue to leverage resources from the African Development Foundation (AfDF) to support the district industries which are expected to open up job opportunities in the rural communities.

Mr. Speaker, under the PSI on Salt, support will be extended to at least 5 large, 10 medium and other small-scale salt producers, to expand production in the coastal basins of Western, Central, Greater Accra and Volta Regions.

Under the PSI on oil palm, 20,000 hectares of oil palm will be planted and one specialized technology centre (STC) for value added oil palm products will be established. The Ayensu Starch Factory will commence full production in 2007 to fulfil new market orders.

Mr. Speaker, in addition to the 102 Business Advisory Centres (BACs) spread over the Regions, eight additional Business Advisory Centres will be established in the various districts, to promote rural entrepreneurship, create employment opportunities, reduce rural urban migration and increase income

levels of the rural population.

These will be located in the following districts:

Bole District -- Bole

Sissala West District -- Gwoku

Krachi East District -- Dambai

Birim North -- New Abirem

Tain District -- Nsawkaw

Karaga District -- Karaga

Bunkpurugu Yunyoo District -- Bunkpurugu and

Gushiegu District -- Gushiegu

Five hundred tailor-made Business Improvement Programmes will be organized for 15,000 entrepreneurs by December 2007.

A new technical centre for capital goods will be established, to encourage agro-processing.

Appropriate agro-processing machines for palm fruit, cassava and citrus to facilitate increased production and improved quality, will be promoted.

Sixty export companies will be supported to participate in ten Trade Shows in Africa, Europe and North America by December 2007.

In order to further improve the competitive edge in terms of quality of products for the local and export markets, 345 standards will be developed, reviewed, adopted and gazetted.

The Ministry will facilitate the upgrading of the Testing Laboratories of Ghana Standards Board to ISO/IEC 17025-1999 Quality Standards.

Mr. Speaker, the Ghana Free Zones Board will register 25 new companies in the manufacturing sector in 2007. A dedicated power supply project at the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) at Tema which commenced in October, 2006 will be completed in June 2007, to ensure adequate and consistent power supply to enhance the operations of the companies.

M r. S p e a k e r, t o s u p p o r t t h e implementation of the afore mentioned programmes, the Ministry has been allocated a total amount of seven hundred and fifty-eight billion, five hundred and nineteen million cedis (¢758,519,-

000,000.00).

Ministry of Trade, Industry, PSD &

PSI 2007

The detailed budgetary allocation to the Sector Ministry is as follows:

GOG ¢ IGF

¢ DONOR ¢ HIPC ¢

P. E. 40,830,000,000

9,200,000,000 NIL NIL

Adm. Exp. 18,601,000,000

8,600,000,000 NIL
NIL 11:30 a.m.
Chairman of the Committee (Nana Akomea) 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to second the motion moved by the hon. Minister for Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and PSI and also to present your Committee's Report on the estimates of the Ministry.
Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to bring to your attention an amendment on page 5 of the Committee's Report regarding the
Investment -- 461,430,000,000
514,461,712,466
Ghana Standards Board -- 34,537,337,462
Personal Emoluments -- 22,737,337,462
Administration Expenses -- 7,000,000,000
Service -- 3,000,000,000
Investment -- 1,000,000,000
34,537,337,462
National Board for Small Scale Industries -- ¢12,846,799,136
Personal Emoluments -- 5,746,799,136
Administration Expenses -- 3,100,000,000
Service -- 2,000,000,000
Investment -- 2,000,000,000
12,846,799,136
Ghana Export Promotion Council -- 8,380,484,000
Personal Emoluments -- 4,280,484,000
Administration Expenses -- 1,600,000,000
Service -- 1,500,000,000
Investment -- 1,000,000,000
8,380,484,000
Gratis Foundation -- 7,579,216,000
Personal Emoluments -- 4,779,216,000
Administration Expenses -- 1,000,000,000
Service -- 800,000,000
Investment -- 1,000,000,000
TABLE 11:30 a.m.
ITEM ANNUAL 11:30 a.m.
BUDGET RELEASES 11:30 a.m.
JAN- 11:30 a.m.
OLD SITE 11:30 a.m.
NEW SITE 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Simon Osei-Mensah (NPP -- Bosomtwe) 11:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to support the motion on the floor and in so doing, I would like to make a few comments. Mr. Speaker, even though I agree that the budget for the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and PSI is not adequate, it is gratifying to note also that the budget increased from ¢94.1 billion to ¢125.5 billion, representing an increase of 33.3 per cent.
Mr. Speaker, as said by the hon. Minister responsible for Finance and Economic
Annexure
Respectfully submitted.

Planning when presenting the Budget, the wish budget is over ¢100 trillion, which presupposes that with the current revenue generating capacity of the country, it is impossible for the country to meet all the financial requirements of the various Ministries, departments and agencies. But the fact that this Ministry received an increase of about 33.3 per cent in their budgetary allocation from 2006 to 2007 is gratifying.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to zero in on the Ghana Standards Board, Free Zones Board and the resuscitation of some local industries that had collapsed. Mr. Speaker, with the Ghana Standards Board, some recent events have revealed that the Board has a lot to do. Some of them include, Mr. Speaker, checking the adulteration of fuel and short delivery of fuel at the various pumping stations.

Mr. Speaker, I know a number of our hon. Colleagues have been victims of this adulteration, thus the breaking-down of some of their engines. An example is the hon. Member for Asokwa (Mr. Kofi Jumah). He had his new Mercedes Benz car engine damaged because of adulteration of fuel. Mr. Speaker, I think the Ghana Standards Board should sit up and deal more seriously with this kind of problem that we have in the country.

Other areas, Mr. Speaker, include the cocoa weighing scales. Sometimes, you get to a cocoa station and when you decide to weigh it yourself or you take the weighing scale and test it, you would realize that the testing scale which should have weighed, maybe, 64 kg would be weighing about 60 kg or sometimes even below 60 kg. I think it is about time the Ghana Standards Board started moving so that our dear cocoa farmers are not cheated by these self-seeking cocoa purchasing clerks.

Also, it is better they start checking the delivery at the pumps. When there is over-delivery at a filling station, quickly they shut down that machine and refuse to sell; but whenever there is under- delivery, because they know they can cheat the people, they go ahead and sell. Mr. Speaker, just about three weeks ago, I was a victim. I went to a filling station at Nkawkaw and then my tank that takes 40 litres, they could fill it with about 43.5 litres, which means I was cheated in excess of about 3.5 litres.

Mr. Speaker, somebody might say that what is 3.5 litres, which when worked out would come to about say, thirty something thousand cedis. But assuming that a thousand people are cheated of ¢30 thousand, it means the person is getting a whopping sum of thirty million cedis free of charge. Mr. Speaker, I think the Ghana Standards Board should be more serious with these people so that they do not continue cheating us and making abnormal and undeserved profits.

Mr. Speaker, the next point is on the Free Zones Board. Currently they have a serious water problem which I know the Ministry is making efforts to solve, but I would like the hon. Minister responsible for Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and PSI to urge his people to speed it up so that we can maximize the benefits that we can obtain from the companies operating within the Free Zones Board enclave.

Mr. Speaker, again, with the recent power sharing system it is worsening the situation, but it is gratifying also to note that the Government in collaboration with the World Bank is spending about US$2.2 million to provide the area with a permanent energy system that would maybe reduce or mitigate the problem being encountered at the Free Zones enclave due to power shortages and due to

the load shedding programme of the Volta River Authority (VRA) and the Electricity Company of Ghana.

Mr. Speaker, resuscitation of local industries. All along we talk about lack of funds in our pockets but I do not think if the employment generation sector of the economy does not pick up very fast, we would have moneys in our pockets, in the sense that I do not expect any Government the world over to go round and start sharing money to people. People can have money in their pockets when they have work to do.

Mr. Speaker, now the Pwalugu Tomato Factory which was closed down several years ago, we are told that it has been resuscitated and that test runs have been carried out and sooner or later they would swing into full gear and then it would provide employment for the people in the area, not only those people who would work in the factory but also those people who would be producing tomato and other things.

Mr. Speaker, the next point is on the textiles industry, and I am also happy to note that the Juapong Textiles Factory, due to efforts of the Ministry in collaboration with the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), is trying to come back to life so that it would produce inputs for the textile industries. If such things are carried on, I think in the very near future enough employment would be generated for our people, and the income generating capacity of these people would also increase.

With these few words, Mr. Speaker, I support the motion on floor.
Mrs. Alice Teni Boon (NDC -- Lambussie) 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion on the floor and to urge all hon.
Members to do same.
Mr. Speaker, before I comment on any
aspect of this particular Ministry, I would like to urge the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning to relook the idea of always giving Members of Parliament the various Ministries' budgets. The various Ministries have their own budgets which spell out their activities, the amount that goes into each activity, and the objectives of each Ministry.
It will rather do us a very good service if we get to know and have a feel of what actually they do in the various Ministries. With that, Mr. Speaker, I know that when we are supporting any Ministry, we will be clear in our minds that well, this is where we are going -- especially now that Ghana is having a Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) Budget.
I think that we need to monitor our various budgets year in and year out for at least the three years. It is important. Certain times you might get up to support the budget but not having fore knowledge of what happened the previous year. It is sad. We are human beings and we can forget, but if we have the various Ministries' budgets, we will be able to follow and see which way we are going, and we will always contribute in a very good manner.
Mr. Speaker, that notwithstanding, I wish to now contribute to the issue at stake. We have heard the Minister talk about the activities that he will want to take on board; we have heard about the problems that he has and the money certainly is not enough. But Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about a few outfits in his Ministry. We heard the Chairman talking about Ghana Trade Fair Company Limited, and he said that it is important that they revamp it.
But I think that the Ministry also has
Mrs. Alice Teni Boon (NDC -- Lambussie) 11:50 a.m.


an obligation to make sure that such a big, useful outfit has some sort of support or push from the Ministry so that its inputs can have a great impact in Ghana. Yes, it is a company, and I think if it is doing well in Ghana, it is doing well in the name of Ghanaians; but first and foremost they will talk about the Ministry under which this company falls. And I think that the Ministry of Trade and Industry, PSD and PSI will take credit for it.

So I want to urge that the Minister

should also carry that one across and look at how best he will be able to support them. He will not give them money -- not signing loans on his Ministry's behalf for them to go and collect but looking for investors who can help them -- At least, put that company in a good shape for all of us to benefit.
Mr. Speaker, Ghana Standards Board 11:50 a.m.
I think that it is time we looked at how best we could let Ghana Standards Board work better. If you look at Ghana Standards Board, they have been housed in the same room with their equipment. And how will they work effectively? We are talking about they not being able to monitor here and there; how can they monitor when they do not have enough accommodation to keep their equipment, sit freely and work with sound minds?
I think that the hon. Minister needs to do something about that too. They are doing well, but they have to do better. For me, I think that there is the need to look at how best we will house them and let them work effectively.
GRATIS Foundation: Mr. Speaker, I think that GRATIS Foundation needs a lot of commendation and I want to recommend them to Members of Parliament in this House that they are doing very well and
we will only give them a pat at the back if each one of us does well by at least sending about five members each from our constituencies to train in their outfits. They must have them all over, and that will even give them jobs. And I think that they will be able to employ more people.
GRATIS Foundation is not doing
badly; they need a push and the Ministry alone cannot give them that push. Much as we need their services, we should give them that push by going to them with some of our constituents -- get the list, sponsor them in a way, let GRATIS Foundation train them, and let them use the training that they get from GRATIS Foundation to do something better to help this nation. I know we can do it, so please, hon. Members should make do with the little that they have, try to see if they cannot support GRATIS Foundation with their little resources.
Mr. Speaker, National Board for Small- Scale Industries (NBSSI) noon
I think that for the past year, I can vouch that they are doing very, very well. Since I am a member of that committee, I did monitor a few activities of this outfit and I think that they are getting down to the grass roots. I think that is the most primary issue about them. Their primary objective is to help our people down there.
But I still want to urge the Minister and his entourage to look at the training or assistance for women which I think is very important. If you look at the number of women we have as against the number of women who take up farming or little enterprises here and there, I think they deserve a little bit of a push.
So I want to urge the Minister to re- look this. It is important that we equip our women and then also get them to train at a higher level. I am not saying that they are going to match the men, but even if they
match the men, I believe that they do all these to support one another. So I think that we should be looking at how best we can increase the drive towards more women in this outfit, because we know that most of the women go in for these small-scale industry activities.
Mr. Speaker, let me touch on Private Sector Development and the President's Special Initiatives. Well, they have been doing very well but not in my area, per se, and so I want to encourage the hon. Minister, with all his good works; we want to have a feel of him.
Cassava will not do well in my area
but I know dawadawa will do well in my area. Let me get hon. Members to know what dawadawa is -- dawadawa has a lot of vitamin D. It has a lot of vitamins that can recycle your blood effectively, make you very vibrant. And Mr. Speaker, it helps to cure hypertension. And I want to recommend that the hon. Minister should look at how best they will encourage the growth of dawadawa such that we do not lose its importance.

As I drive around, I see that most of the trees are dying and this is not good. Let us see what we can do to grow more dawadawa trees and let us go in for dawadawa. It is better than maggie cube; I can vouch for that. It is unique. It does not have any impurities that will harm anybody. So please, let us relook that one; and let me quickly add shea trees.

The Ministry should link up with the Ministry of Agriculture and see how best they would be able to grow these shea trees. The Ministry of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and PSI knows how much people are yearning for shea butter to manufacture a lot of things

in the country, be it medicine or cocoa butter which people smear and testify on television as to how good it is.

I think that we also need to look at how we would be able to increase the growth of shea trees and make good use of their produce, that is the shea butter.

Mr. Speaker, last but not least is our made-in-Ghana textiles. Being a promoter with just my love for Ghana textiles, I think that we all have to sit up and make sure that the various factories that we have in this country are revamped and made to be in production again to frustrate those who are importing textiles into this country.

Mr. Speaker, it is because people do not know how rich our cloth is, or how unique the Ghanaian products are; that is why they go in for the inferior products that they bring in. Yes, they are cheap -- [Interruption.] But I think that there is the need for us to encourage it. Mr. Speaker, these Ghana-made textiles can make even suits for our men. I throw the challenge to the men. They should let us see them because we women have been wearing Ghana-made suits but I have not seen a man in them.

I throw this challenge to them. They should let us see them in Ghana-made suits. They can make a tie even out of it and it would be very beautiful.

Mr. Speaker, I thank you most sincerely for allowing me this opportunity.
Mr. K. K. Mensah (NPP -- Amansie West) noon
Mr. Speaker, I also want to support the motion on the floor. I however want to make one or two comments -- two ideas which are very dear to my heart which I have not seen in this Report. I notice that the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and PSI is in charge
Mr. K. K. Mensah (NPP -- Amansie West) noon


of the Ghana Standards Board. I also know that the Minister for Health is in charge of the Foods and Drugs Board.

I want to know whether it is possible for them to streamline their operations and perhaps harmonise them because this is an area that I find very disturbing. Every morning when I listen to the radio there are so many advertisements, most of which sound not only dangerous but have no merit in scientific terms at all and yet they are marketed all over the place and people are quickly patronising them.

Mr. Speaker, the second area I want to talk about is weights and measures. I find it frightening that 50 years down the road we are here in Ghana, and if we want to buy maize, people look at our faces and give us any maize -- no weight. If you want to buy meat the same thing applies. I want to urge the hon. Minister to enforce the Weights and Measures Act because I know that is the responsibility of the Ministry.

With these few words, Mr. Speaker, I thank you for your attention and time.
Mr. I. A. B. Fuseini (NDC -- Tamale Central) noon
Mr. Speaker, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to support the motion on the floor.
Mr. Speaker, in doing so I want to comment on two important matters contained in the Report submitted by your Committee. I will limit myself entirely to the Report herein contained and dealing with the Ghana Trade Fair Company.
Mr. Speaker, the Report contains only eight lines dealing with the Ghana Trade Fair Company. Mr. Speaker, when your Committee met on the Ghana Trade Fair Company they lamented seriously on lack of funds for the purpose of expanding the
Mr. Speaker, I understand that Ghana's cocoa is labelled exclusively “Ghana Cocoa in Japan”, that gives us an indication of the premium Japan places on Ghana's cocoa beans.
Mr. S. K. B. Manu noon
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member is misleading this House. The chemical that was found in the cocoa and which Japan did not like was not as a result of the Ghana Standards Board not being able to do their work effectively. It was a chemical used to fight the capsid disease that got into the cocoa which the Japanese did not like. It is a matter of quality control and not the Ghana Standards Board inability to work -- [Interruption.] I am talking on authority; I know what I am talking about.
Mr. Fuseini 12:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am aware that the hon. Member who has just spoken is the Chairman of the Education Committee. Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member talking presently is a member of your Committee on Trade and Industry and I was present when they came.
Mr. Speaker, if he cares to know, it is after the cocoa beans have been produced that they will be tested for the chemical residue level before exporting; and that being so the Committee was told that they still use the analogue system in testing
these produce, that is why they cannot meet the international standard. Mr. Speaker, their work, we are told, is being hampered by the fact that they operate from rooms that are meant to serve as laboratories.

Mr. Speaker, that being so, it is important that as a country, we take steps to complete the new office block that I understand was initiated some time ago and which is still there uncompleted. Mr. Speaker, if the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and PSI sources funds for the completion of the block, it will relieve the laboratories that are set up and meant purposely to examine produce that are meant for export and even for our local market.
rose
Mr. Speaker 12:10 p.m.
Hon. Member for Evalue-Gwira, do you have a point of order?
Mr. Kojo Armah 12:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member was saying that the Ghana Standards Board is operating from offices that are meant for laboratories. That surprises me a bit because I also know the Ghana Standards Board premises -- Maybe, the offices may not be adequate but they have offices and they have laboratories. So if he could explain it further, otherwise he is misleading this House.
Mr. Speaker 12:10 p.m.
Hon. Member for Tamale Central, please conclude.
Mr. Fuseini 12:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you so very much. All that I have to say is that I am talking from the information that I received and I have no reason to believe that what the Ghana Standards Board told
company and for the purpose of carrying out activities that would promote Ghana as a trade hub for the West Africa sub-region.
Mr. Speaker, indeed, we know that the availability of trade and the availability of facilities that will promote effective trade in Ghana are important for the development of this country. That being so, Mr. Speaker, it is important that the Ministry of Trade and Industry supports the Ghana Trade Fair Company by assisting them to access loans or whatever funds they would need for the purposes of carrying out their activities.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that if the Ghana Trade Fair Company comes out with a business plan that would ensure that their activities attract more investors into this country, those investors when they come, the fees they will charge for exhibiting their products over there will be enough to bring back whatever investments that have been made into their activities.
Mr. Speaker, the second thing that I would like to talk about is the report on the Ghana Standards Board. Mr. Speaker, the last two sentences on the Ghana Standards Board deal with a new office block. Mr. Speaker, it is for the purposes of presenting a concise Report that this report does not expatiate on what happened when your Committee met with officials from the Ghana Standards Board.
Mr. Speaker would recall that a few days ago we as a country were confronted with the issue of chemical residue in our cocoa beans. Mr. Speaker, our cocoa beans were rejected on the international market by Japan for the sole reason that the beans that we exported to them -- Japan is one of the major trading partners of Ghana in the purchase of cocoa.
Mr. Fuseini 12:10 p.m.


me was not the accurate information. I am talking on information and belief.

Mr. Speaker, I am just saying that the completion of the new office block is critical for the effective performance of the duties of the Ghana Standards Board and that if we complete the new office block, all of us, the whole country, will be the beneficiaries.

Mr. Speaker, with these few words, I

support the motion on the floor.

Deputy Minister for Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and PSI (Mrs. Gifty Ohene-Konadu): Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the motion.

Mr. Speaker, the role of the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and PSI in the economy cannot be overemphasized. It plays a pivotal role and offers invaluable services to the nation. Mr. Speaker, the Ministry needs the budgetary support to execute its programmes lined up in the Budget. These include programmes relating to international as well as domestic trade.

Mr. Speaker, the District Industria- lization Project is one of the programmes that will bring great transformation to our constituencies. Besides, the Ministry has oversight responsibility for all industries in the country be they large, medium, small or micro and whether it is in the formal or informal sector.

In addition, activities of its departments

and agencies also impact positively on the economy and also contribute to the overall economic growth of the country. Mr. Speaker, the dividends that will accrue from these activities would be enormous and the country and her people will be the

prime beneficiaries.

I would like all hon. Colleagues to support the Ministry for a rewarding outcome for our people and also for the nation.
Mr. Joe Kwashie Gidisu (NDC -- Central Tongu) 12:10 p.m.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity. I would be very, very brief in contributing to this motion.
Mr. Speaker, I want to draw the hon. Minister's attention to the various departments and agencies under his Ministry. Mr. Speaker, if they had been given the opportunity, most of those departments and agencies would have been self-financing by now. But Mr. Speaker, I want to appeal to him that there is the need for a more stringent control mechanism to be put in place in terms of their activities, especially with regard to internally-generated funds.
Mr. Speaker, if you look at the situation, one can suspect a lot of leakages within the operations of the departments but it is only the Ghana Standards Board that has come under close scrutiny. Mr. Speaker, there is need for a more stringent appraisal of some of those departments and agencies as to how to make them self-financing in the long run.
Mr. Speaker, one area of concern which affects my district that the hon. Minister talked about, is the resuscitation of the Juapong Textiles Factory. Mr. Speaker, I would only welcome the idea with caution in the sense that just at the initial stages, last year, when the factory was being closed down, I thought the Ministry would be more proactive in taking steps not to virtually close down the factory, but pay the workers their end-of-service benefits and within a year come back with money.
This is because the very excuse the hon. Minister gave at that time was the
non-profitability of the production of gray baft which was the main line of production of the factory. That had not changed but they are coming back with the same line of production which shows that, with some sort of circumspection, we would have been able to contain the situation and not closed down the factory at that time, causing a whole lot of dislocation both in economic and social lives of the people in the area. We are hoping that it will not be the situation that next year, by this time, they would say that the factory had not been opened.
It is my hope that everything will be done by his Ministry so that by the first quarter of next year it will be opened -- it extends up to April/May. I was thinking he would be talking about the first or second month of the year, but with that open quarter situation, I would want him to be more specific about the time that this factory will be opened --as it is the only industrial establishment and the main source of employment for the teeming youth in that district.
With these few comments, I want to urge that this House supports the motion and approves the allocation to the Ministry.
D e p u t y M i n i s t e r f o r Wa t e r Resources, Works and Housing (Ms. Cecilia Abena Dapaah): Mr. Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the motion that the House approves an amount of ¢758,519,000,000 for the services of the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and PSI for the 2007 fiscal year.
Mr. Speaker, I would dwell on the Ghana Free Zones Board. The Ghana Free Zones Board has started a house- cleaning exercise and for this reason, it is gradually picking up and improving upon its activities.
Mr. Speaker, the Legislative Instrument (L.I.) that established the Ghana Free Zones Board enjoins all companies that are located in the enclave or even working outside the enclave to export seventy per cent or more of their products and they could retain thirty per cent for sale locally. But it was realized that some companies would produce and sell everything in the country, thereby debarring the country of its foreign exchange earnings.
Mr. Speaker, the Ghana Free Zones Board together with the Secretariat has set up a monitoring team which is made up of members of the Board, some business tycoons, members of the Secretariat and some auditors to go round the companies to find out whether they are doing exactly what is expected of them. They go through their books, and some companies have been “caught”. Some companies have been warned. Those companies that do not pay rent persistently have been de- listed. Others are warned depending on the gravity of their offence.
Mr. Speaker, due to what is happening, even for the vehicles that are imported, “FZ” meaning Free Zone has been embossed on their number plates. This is to tell those who are around that those vehicles that are passing with “FZ” embossed are Free Zones vehicles. This is because, it was realized earlier on that some companies would import vehicles and resell them to other companies.
So if the “FZ” is embossed on them, that is a way of checking smuggling so that companies that had it in mind to sell Ghana Free Zones vehicles to other companies to make profits were all barred from doing that.
Mr. Speaker, a lot of companies are now locating in the enclave. Others are locating outside the enclave but they are all Ghana Free Zones companies. As a result of this, a lot of our unemployed youth have
Mr. Joe Kwashie Gidisu (NDC -- Central Tongu) 12:10 p.m.


been absorbed into the workforce and it is helping the nation as far as employment is concerned.

Mr. Speaker, with these few words, I support the motion.
Mr. Speaker 12:10 p.m.
The hon. Member for Keta would contribute and after him, the hon. Minister would wind up.
Mr. Daniel K. Abodakpi (NDC -- Keta) 12:20 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion and to make the following observations.
Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Private Sector Development and PSI is and must be the main fulcrum around which the growth and development of this country should evolve. Unfortunately, it does appear to me that over the years we have been paying lip-service to the importance of this sector in terms of the allocations that we make to it from year to year.
This year for example, the total budget that we put here, suggests to me that this Ministry is surviving largely by the grace of donors. Donors are contributing more than a hundred per cent what the Government of Ghana is contributing to this budget. That is very serious. It gives a clear picture as to what attachment; how seriously we take the workings of this Ministry and I think that we need to improve upon this for others to take us serious.
Mr. Speaker, having said that, I think that some reviews need to be made. This Ministry of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and PSI for me, is too large, and that therefore, renders its overall operations not that effective. Take the challenges of international trade alone; take the challenges that the EPA is imposing upon us; and then come to
Mr. S. K. B. Manu 12:20 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I have a very serious concern with the annexure to the Report. There is a town there, spelt “Wiawso” like the one in “Sefwi Wiaso” but the word is “Wioso”. The town is in my constituency in the Ashanti Region and if I am not careful, any money meant for there may go to Sefwi-Wiaso. I do not know any way I can get this corrected since you are saying that after him, the hon. Minister will wind up. So I am using this opportunity to correct that.
Mr. Speaker 12:20 p.m.
Hon. Member, you are out of order. Let him continue with his contribution.
Mr. Abodakpi 12:20 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member has succeeded in disturbing the trend of my thinking.
Mr. Speaker, I think that the GC- Net, as I was talking about, is key in this endeavour to ensure that corrective measures are put in place in a more significant manner to track down the operations of the Free Zones than we are currently trying to do.
The issue of using technology to drive
the economy is good, it is sound. We have in this House, Mr. Speaker, advocated a look at some of the local technology institutions that we have which we are not developing. We are not hoping that the Suame magazines of this world can blossom and become technology driving forces for this economy just because we
Mr. Abodakpi 12:30 p.m.


are wishing for it. We must work at it by identifying their strengths and capabilities and helping them grow.

As regards the machine industry that we are talking about, some skills already exist in that area. The question is what are we doing to enable them reach up to the standards that are needed to drive this economy forward? Not only the Kumasi Suame magazine, there are “Suames” in various parts of this economy.

I think that the Ministry may have to look at this matter, come out with proposals that I believe might engender cross-party discussion so that we can formulate national policies that would be non-partisan, to which all of us would be committed to ensuring that we place technology at the centre of the growth process in the country.

In addition to that, Mr. Speaker, I agree with the need for technology centres as incubators; incubators that would have horizontal relationships with public research and development (R&D) institutions. But I do not believe that we should invest in technology parks that would be tasked to go into direct production. I think I have serious reservations with that approach.

Talking about GRATIS, i t has performed some useful roles but due to the very nature of the design of the GRATIS project, it is still at where it is at point of conception with very little growth. I believe that private sector partnership in these endeavours would be the way out. If it would be the way out, then lending facilities available would have to be focused and targeted at them to make sure that they respond to the demands of the economy.
Mr. Alan Kyeremateng 12:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to use this opportunity to thank hon. Members for their comments which I found to be extremely useful. The variety and quality of the contributions are a reflection of their commitment and I believe the interest of hon. Members to private sector development in general, and I can assure them that we would take their proposals on board to enhance the operational efficiency of the Ministry's
projects and programmes.
Specifically, I would like to assure hon. Members also that the Ministry is working very closely with the management of the Ghana Trade Fair Authority to identify and negotiate with a strategic investor to recapitalize the Ghana Trade Fair Authority, to place it in a position to not only expand the infrastructure but also to expand the range of activities that they offer so that they can earn more revenue.
On the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) and Ghana Food and Drugs Board (GFDB) institutional rivalry, we consulted with the parliamentary sub-committee and we have agreed that we would hold stakeholders consultation process to examine in more detail the elements of this institutional rivalry. We hope that once we subject this to wider discussion and debate, we would very soon have an answer to the problems that have been bedeviling both instutituons.
On Juapong Textiles Limited, I would like to bring to the attention of the hon. Member for Talensi (Mr. John Tia) that the Juapong Textiles Limited was not closed down by the Government. As I am sure he is aware, it was a joint venture operation and the majority shareholder did actually file for private liquidation. Because the Government was interested in protecting the 1,000 jobs in the area, we decided to take it upon ourselves to reclaim, as it were, the assets that had been liquidated, and we brought in technical partners to revamp the operation of the factory. So I believe that that effort must be commended and very soon, you would find that, within the quarter -- I guess not necessarily at the end of the quarter but within the quarter -- the factory would be back in full operation. We can assure you of that.
The last but not least, we take a serious note of the comments that have been made by the hon. Member for Keta (Mr. Dan Abodakpi) and we hope that we would have an opportunity to have more in-depth
Mr. Alan Kyeremateng 12:30 p.m.


discussions with him on the issue that he has raised.

Once again, I thank hon. Members for their very useful contributions.

Question put and motion agreed to.

Resolved: That this honourable House approves the sum of ¢758,519,000,000 for the services of the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and PSI for the 2007 fiscal year.
Mr. Speaker 12:30 p.m.
Majority Chief Whip, what item next?
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, if I may just start, we need to consider the Estimates for the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, that is on the Addendum paper.
Mr. Speaker 12:30 p.m.
Majority Chief Whip, are we moving on to Addendum?
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:30 p.m.
That is so, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker 12:30 p.m.
Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing?
ANNUAL ESTIMATES 12:40 p.m.
Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing (Mr. Hackman Owusu- Agyemang) 12:40 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, that this honourable House approves the sum of ¢1,869,568,000,000 for the services of the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing for the 2007 fiscal year.
Mr. Speaker, this amount is made up of Government of Ghana provision of
Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing (Mr. Hackman Owusu- Agyemang) 1:20 p.m.


Mr. Speaker, again, the President during his visit to China, had negotiations and hopefully before the middle of next year, we should start a major intervention on the Volta River which we call Kpong Number 2. That will produce 40 million gallons of water per day and that added to the eight extra million gallons we get from Weija, will bring it to a total of something like 120 million gallons. This will break the back of the perennial water problem in the Greater Accra Region as that will serve Tema and the other parts of the Eastern corridor.

We shall also put in place a 90-million dollar programme, what we call the Accra Rural, covering Dodowa and those areas leading to the hills. We have almost finalised Wa water for a total of 32 million euros and the document or the technical contract should be signed before the end of the year. That intervention of Wa water is a very welcome relief for me personally because it has been very difficult trying to find the funding for it.

On Sunyani water, finally, the Ministry

of Finance and Economic Planning approved the terms that had been offered to us by the Lemna Corporation of the United States which is estimated at $85 million. On Berekum water, unfortunately, we have not made much headway but we will see what we can do as far as that is concerned.

But in the pipeline is also Assin water, which we hope to take under the second protocol of the Spanish grant, and then we shall take Kumawu water, as well as the water system for the Kwahu Ridge. All these are at various stages of completion and certainly within the next six months we will be able to hand over those.

As far as housing is concerned, we are trying to give the push for affordable housing construction in this country. You might have noticed the presence of the United States of America's Secretary for

Housing and Rural Development and UN Habitat Executive Director -- all towards making affordable housing available to our people.

Indeed, the Government has invested in excess of two hundred and fifty billion cedis in three sites, Borteman in Accra, Kpone near Tema and Ayigya. Before the end of this year, we should start Koforidua and Tamale, and God willing by next year, we should start allocating some of these houses. The idea is already to begin to sell some of these houses and to accept deposits so that we will be able to leverage these funds and recycle them for giving the further push to the housing sector.

Mr. Speaker, we are also selling the low- cost houses and the total amount, if sold, will come to something like two hundred and seventeen billion cedis. We are offering in the the first instance these houses to District Assemblies because we have noticed that they do not have accommodation for their staff and if we sell them to anybody else they will have difficulties in putting these up. So the first offer is to the District Assemblies but where they are not able to take them, Mr. Speaker, we will give these to the sitting tenants at the first refusal.

The land banks; so far we have sourced about fifty thousand acres and these will be given to private entrepreneurs who want to invest in the housing sector. Mr. Speaker, these will then be given to them to ensure that we do not have difficulties as far as getting land for their work is concerned. As I speak now, negotiations are going on with many a company and we will see what they can do to help us in this sector.

Meanwhile, Government has taken very delightful initiatives as far as mortgates are concerned and these would then be used to facilitate the acquisition of houses by our compatriots. In the first instance, OPIC in the United States has given us $30 million, which has been given to a very young company and they are beginning to deliver mortgage services

to some of our compatriots in this country. The interest rate is close to half the going market rate. These are some of the efforts we are making.

Mr. Speaker, we are also making sure that we assist in the development of local building materials as well as re-develop some of the residential areas. In this regard, we also have to look at Kumasi, Sekondi, Takoradi and other places that we can also take care of.

As far as “Works” is concerned, this is where we have had quite a lot of difficulties in trying to get funding for either dredging of lagoons or the constructions of drains and ancillary programmes. We are trying to get some loans and grants to handle the Ada Sea Defence Project as well as that for Dixcove and a few other places. These will be contingent upon our ability to attract the necessary resources.

For the flood control programme, we hope that we can still convince the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to give us some funds under the HIPC programme to be able to avoid destruction to lives and property which seem to be the regular occurrences here. We are going to develop the Odaw River basin and also try and relocate Old Fadama residents -- Sodom and Gomorrah. Yesterday, we had a presentation on that and we are on course because we have a ten million euro loan from KBC which we are going to use for that purpose. Yesterday, there was a delegation from Malaysia also looking into investing in housing and the water sector.

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I would like to state that there were major dramatic shortfalls in the request for all these modest programmes that we have outlined. As far as interventions are concerned, at the ministerial and housing level, there is a shortfall of close to six hundred and thirty-six billion cedis. For Hydrological Services, for 110 we only got 8.54, a shortfall of about 101. Again for Ghana Water Company, a shortfall of about 144

The Sitting was suspended at 1.05 p.m.

Sitting Resumed.
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 1:20 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
in conclusion, therefore, I would like to state that there are major shortfalls in our requirements for operations in the year 2007. But we are also hoping that the little that has been promised would be delivered to us, for us to make progress.
I would like to assure the House that our commitment to meeting the MDGs and our own GPRS II targets remains very strong and if we continue the way we are going, especially in the water sector, I have no doubt that by the year 2015 we would have reached and surpassed our own target of 85 per cent, especially in view of the enthusiastic support by the President for delivery of potable water.
As far as housing is concerned we
are also making sure that the promise that was made by the President is really delivered, and we hope that private sector organizations would also assist us in the delivery of that promise.
For operational hydrology, we are also hoping to receive some funding from HIPC to be able to make the necessary interventions. I am happy that the loans that we have taken have also assisted them in working not only on the Korle Lagoon but also on the Elmina Lagoon which is now seeing active intervention by the Government.
As far as the other lagoons are concerned, Sekondi and others, we will be handling them as and when we get money.
Mr. Speaker, the situation in Ada is quite critical. Today as I speak, a Malaysian team is there. A Dutch team has also been there to see what we can do to save Ada just as we did for Keta
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 1:20 p.m.


and maybe also be innovative enough to add some resettlement programme to it if indeed houses have been lost.

Mr. Speaker, I thank you and I hope that my hon. Colleagues in this House will assist in passing this motion.

Mr. B. D. K. Adu (on behalf of
Chairman of the Committee) 1:20 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, my Chairman is not in and I would stand in and second the motion by reading the Report of the Committee.
1.0 Introduction
In accordance with article 179 of the 1992 Constitution and Orders 140 (4) and 180 of the Standing Orders of the House, Mr. Speaker referred for consideration the Draft Annual Estimates of the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing to the Committee. This followed the motion by the hon. Minister for Finance and Economic Planning on 16th November 2006 which urged the House to approve the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government for the 2007 financial year.
1.1 Acknowledgement
The Committee during its deliberations on the Estimates met with the Sector Minister, his two Deputies, Heads of the various Departments and Agencies of the Ministry and Officials from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning who made valuable contributions during deliberations on the estimates.
2.0 References
In discussing the estimates, the following served as reference materials for the Committee:
a. The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.
b. The Standing Orders of the House.
c. The Budget Statement and Economic Po l icy o f the Government of Ghana for the 2007 financial year.
d. Report of the Committee on the 2006 Annual Estimates of the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing; and
e. The 2007 Draft Annual Estimates of the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing.
3.0 Mission Statement of the Ministry
The Mission of the Ministry is to formulate and implement policies and programmes which would ensure the provision of safe water, and the development of infrastructure in the areas of housing for the provision of adequate housing, drainage works, coastal protection works, hydrology and water related sanitation facilities throughout the country.
The Ministry abides by this duty by:
Ensuring efficient management of all water resources and increasing accessibility to safe water, adequate flood control systems and drainage as well as decent shelter.
Formulat ing, implement ing, monitoring and evaluating policies that enhance the provision of infrastructure facilities and services.
Promoting and facilitating Private Sector participation in housing delivery and safe water supply, flood control system and coastal protection works.
Providing, mainta in ing and protecting public property and inf ras t ruc ture and ensur ing protection for communities and infrastructure facilities.
Establishing an effective database for efficient planning and service delivery.
Improving Human Resource Development and Building Institu- tional Management Capacity.
Improving collaboration and co- ordination with Local, Sub-Regional and International Agencies in the provision of water and shelter.
4.0 Review of 2006 Budgetary Allocation
In the 2006 fiscal year, the Ministry was given one trillion, three hundred and twenty-six billion, eight hundred and forty million, two hundred and ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and eighty-five cedis (¢1,326,840,299,985.00) from a combination of GOG, Donor, IGF and HIPC sources for its operations.
5 . 0 T h e 2 0 0 7 D r a f t A n n u a l Budget Estimates
The focus of the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing this fiscal year will be to continue the implementation of its programme and projects which will be in line with its mission and which will also be in accordance with the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy II objectives.
The Ministry will thus focus on promoting urban infrastructure develop- ment and the provision of basic services including increased access to safe decent and affordable shelter.
In this regard the Ministry has been allocated an amount of one trillion-eight hundred and sixty-nine billion, five
hundred and sixty-eight million cedis (¢1,869,568,000,000.00) to carry out its activities in 2007.
The amount comprises the following:
i. One hundred and seventy- one billion, one hundred and twelve million cedis (¢171,112,- 000,000.00) from the Govern- ment of Ghana (GOG).
ii. Internally-Generated Fund (IGF) component of f ive bi l l ion, s ix hundred and twenty-seven million cedis
(¢5,627,000,000.00).
iii. Donor component of one trillion, five hundred and thirty- two billion, eight hundred and twenty-nine million cedis (¢1,532,829,000,000.00); and
iv. One hundred and sixty billion cedis (¢160,000,000,000.00) coming from the HIPC Funds.
5.1 Government of Ghana (GOG) Sources
¢
i. Personal Emoluments
-- 55,043,000,000.00
ii. Administration
-- 14,979,000,000.00
iii. Service -- 5,688,000,000.00
iv. Investments
-- 95,402,000,000.00
TOTAL -- 171,112,000,000.00
5.2 Donor Component
Chairman of the Committee) 1:20 p.m.


¢

i. Service -- 306,566,000,000.00

ii. Investment -- 1,226,263,000,000.00

TOTAL -- 1,532,829,000,000.00

5.3 Internally Generated Funds

¢

i. Personal Emoluments

-- 726,000,000.00

ii. Administration

-- 360,000,000.00

iii. Service -- 3,820,000,000.00

iv. Investment -- 721,000,000.00

TOTAL 5,627,000,000.00

5.4 HIPC Funds Allocation

-- 160,000,000.00

5.5 Personal Emoluments

An amount of fifty-five billion, seven hundred and sixty-nine million cedis (¢55,769,000,000.00) being an amount of fifty-five billion and forty-three million cedis (¢55,043,000,000.00) from the Government of Ghana and seven hundred and twenty-six million cedis (¢726,000,000.00) as Internally Generated Fund components have been provided as personal emoluments for the staff of the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, its Departments and Agencies. This amount is to cater for Salaries, Contract Appointments, Daily rated expenses and Social Security

Contributions.

5.6 Administration

Concerning its administrative expenses, the Ministry has been allocated an amount of fifteen billion, three hundred and thirty- nine million cedis (¢15,339,000,000.00). This amount is made up of fourteen billion, nine hundred and seventy-nine million cedis (¢14,979,-000,000.00) from the Government of Ghana and three hundred and sixty million cedis (¢360,000,000.00) from Internally- Generated Funds.

The said amount is to be employed for the day-to-day business of the Ministry and institutions under its authority.

5.7 Service Activities

The Ministry has been allocated a total of three hundred and sixteen billion and seventy-four million cedis (¢316,074,- 000,000.00) with an amount of five billion, six hundred and eighty-eight million cedis (¢5,688,000,000.00) as Government of Ghana (GOG) component, a donor component of three hundred and six billion, five hundred and sixty-six million cedis (¢306,566,000,000.00) and an Internally Generated Component of three billion, eight hundred and twenty million cedis (¢3,820,000,000.00) for its Service activities. This is meant for the purchase of materials and consumables, training, stationery, printing, publications, travel and transport.

5.8 Investment

A total amount of one trillion, three hundred and twenty-two billion, three hundred and eighty-six million cedis (¢1,322,386,000,000.00) has been allocated for investments for the Ministry.

The amount comprises ninety-five billion, four hundred and two million

cedis (¢95,402,000,000.00) from the Government of Ghana funds, a Donor component of one trillion, two hundred and twenty-six billion, two hundred and sixty-three million cedis (¢1,226,263,000,000.00) and an Internally Generated Fund component of seven hundred and twenty-one million cedis (¢721,000,000.00). This would cater for vehicles, construction, drainage and hydrological works as well as facilitation of housing projects.

6.0 Observations

During its hearings, the Committee made a number of observations which it believes should be brought to the attention of the House.

6.1 Main Ministry

It was noted that the Ministry plans to allocate to the rural water sector an amount of six hundred billion cedis (¢600,000,000,000.00) while urban water receives more than five hundred and ten billion cedis (¢510,000,000,000.00) for the coming year.

The Committee also noted that access to potable water for rural communities in the country had increased from 46.4 per cent in 2003 to 58.5 per cent in 2006.

However, the Committee learnt that whereas countries in the subregion were allocating over 10 per cent of their budgetary allocations to the Water Sector annually, Ghana committed less than 5 per cent of its total budget.

The Committee learnt with delight that finally the long awaited National Housing Policy Document has been completed and pending Cabinet consideration and approval. It was noted that the policy would set the framework and standards

for the construction and delivery of decent, safe and affordable housing units as well as office buildings, other landed properties and the development of local building materials industry.

The Commit tee observed that the Ministry had changed its initial plans of selling the low-cost houses to individuals, and would now sell them to the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies.

It is noted that the proceeds or revenue accruing from the sales would be used to continue the construction of affordable houses throughout the country.

In the area of storm drainage and sanitation works, the Committee learnt that the Ministry has plans to undertake the construction of a number of storm water drainage and sanitation systems in all the regional capitals to improve on sanitation and ensure sustainable environment.

In order for the Korle Lagoon to serve as a tourist centre, the Committee was informed that work would soon begin with the redredging of the Korle Lagoon, desilting of the Odaw, as well as the three feeding canals, and relocation of Old Fadama (Sodom and Gomorrah) to a new site at Adjein Kotoku near Amasaman.

Concerning the Peduase Lodge, it was observed that work is almost completed but left with the installation of a telephone system, horticultural, lighting and security works as well as auxiliary work which will be completed by the first quarter of 2007. The Ministry was optimistic that the Lodge would be ready before Ghana's 50th Anniversary Celebration.

6.2 Ghana Water Company Limited

The Committee observed that concer- ning the Water Company, most of its projects that it began last year were still ongoing.
Chairman of the Committee) 1:20 p.m.


It was noted that the Kwanyaku water supply expansion project which was being funded by The Netherlands Government was ongoing.

The Committee also learnt that expansion works at the Kpong, Cape Coast, Tamale, Koforidua, Sunyani, Baifikrom, Wa, Worawora and Kumasi water supply systems were all in progress.

Concerning adequate supply of water to sections of the Accra Metropolis, the Committee observed that the company had plans to improve upon water supply to Adenta and its environs. It was also noted that newly developing communities that lie between Dodowa and Adenta were also to benefit from the project.

The Committee observed with regret the inability of the company to fully compensate the people of Weija, Owabi and Barekese on lands acquired for the purposes of using those water bodies for water supply.

The Committee learnt that whereas the people of Barekese were demanding seventy billion cedis (¢70,000,000,000.00) as compensation, only an amount of three billion cedis (¢3,000,000,000.00) had been set aside for compensating all affected communities.

The Committee was satisfied with steps taken by the company to build and rehabilitate Water Treatment Plants in the ensuing year noting further that such initiative would hasten the realization of the GPRS goals through the eradication of guinea-worm in the country.

6 . 3 C o m m u n i t y W a t e r a n d Sanitation Agency

The Committee was informed that the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) was mainly donor funded. This was evidently demonstrated by the large

difference between the GOG aspect of the 2006 Budget which was ¢4,698,970,023 whilst the donor funding made up for the rest of the thirteen billion, four hundred and eighteen million, three hundred thousand cedis (¢13,418,300,000.00).

The Committee noted that the CWSA had an impressive target to distribute boreholes, household VIP latrines and household KVIP latrines in the country. They have targeted about 1,200 boreholes and 3,000 household latrines.

The Committee however was not in support of the 5 per cent contribution the Communities have to make towards the drilling of boreholes. Whereas Urban Centres pay almost nothing for extension of water facilities, rural areas have to pay 5 per cent service charge for drilling of boreholes. This the Committee viewed as unfair.

6.4 Hydrological Services Department

It was noted that the objective of the Department was to promote rural and urban infrastructure development and the provision of basic services.

Concerning coastal protection, it was observed that the Department would undertake various coastal protection programmes to protect life and property in the following coastal towns: Dixcove, Axim, Elmina, Anomabo, Prampram, Ningo, Osu Castle.

The Committee noted that the Department intended to seek financial assistance from the Dutch Government to tackle the Ada coastal erosion problem. This initiative was found as very commendable.

The Committee was concerned about the delay which was often associated with the issuance of commencement

certificates to the Department for their various projects.

It was also observed that monies allocated to them were inadequate since it could not carry out its projects smoothly. It was noted that its 2007 allocation was eight billion, four hundred million cedis (¢8,400,000,000.00) which was woefully inadequate.

6.5 Water Resources Commission

The Committee observed that to enhance its work, the Commission had to develop regulations on drilling and groundwater development to be submitted to Parliament for adoption and implementation.

On the International level the Committee noted with satisfaction the technical co-operation with Burkina Faso to safeguard Ghana's share in trans- boundary water issues.

The Committee observed with concern the lack of adequate professional staff for the Commission which had the effect of hampering its work.

It was also noted that, as one of its major activities for the year, the Commission would establish an Ankobra Basin Board with a full-fledged institute and offices to carry out the co-ordination and management of activities in the Ankobra basin.

6.6 Public Works Department

The core business of the Public Works Departments is to take care of government- owned properties and this, the Department has strived to achieve over the years.

The Committee was informed that, the Public Works Department had widened its scope to include consultancy services and construction activities generating a revenue of four billion and eight hundred

million cedis (¢4,800,000,000.00) in 2005.

The Committee noted that in addition to this additional scope of the Department, it was still maintaining the various Ministries, Departments and Agency buildings across the country.

The Committee was informed that about 250 government bungalows were in a very deplorable state and the Department would need an amount of sixty-three billion cedis (¢63,000,-000,000.00) to rehabilitate them.

The Committee expressed concern about the deteriorating nature of the equipment used by the Department and also the low staff level of the department.

6.7 Architects Registration Council

The Architects Registration Council is mandated under the Architects Decree, NLCD 357 of 1969 to regulate and control the practice of architecture in the country.

The Committee noted that the Council intended to strengthen its process of operation by recruiting a substantive registrar and training various technical personnel in the various regions and districts.

The Committee, however, noted with concern the inability of the Council to internally generate its own funds to support some of its activities. It also noted that the training activities of the Council did not extend to private contractors in the country. 6.8 Rent Control Department

The Rent Control Department pursued its mandate of ensuring fair play, equity and justice in settling tenancy disputes.

The Committee observed that, the problem of accommodation for staff in
Chairman of the Committee) 1:20 p.m.


the regional and district capitals, coupled with poor remuneration and conditions of service was affecting the operations of the Department and discouraging potential staff from taking up appointments at the Department.

The Depar tment informed the Committee of ejection threats from the Landlords of some rented offices in some parts of the country and the hiring of taxis by rent officers for lack of vehicles.

The Committee was however convinced of the enormous potentials the Department has to generate its own revenue.

6 . 9 P u b l i c S e r v a n t s H o u s i n g Loan Scheme Board

The Public Servants Housing Loan Scheme Board was set up to assist Civil Servants to acquire their own residential property through the granting of mortgage loans.

The Committee learnt that out of four hundred and eighty billion cedis (¢480,000,000,000.00) allocated to them, only three billion cedis (¢3,000,000,000.00) had been released to them by MOFEP. The Committee observed however that the Board had purchased ten flats at sixty-five million cedis (¢65,000,000.00) each.

6.10 Department of Rural Housing

The Department of Rural Housing continued with its aim of promoting rural development through the provision of affordable houses in the 2006 fiscal year.

The Committee observed that the Department uses local building materials and their houses were also affordable. The Committee noted that the budgetary allocation for the Department was very low.

Members therefore urged the Ministry to increase the budgetary allocation for the

Department to ensure proper planning and better rural development.

The deplorable state of the Department's offices including the National Headquarters at Okponglo in Accra was an issue that saddened Members of the Committee and called on the Ministry to intervene.

The Committee agreed that payment that is yet to be made by monies paid to the Department by the Lands Commission should be paid into the Consolidated Fund since the Department does not generate funds internally.

6.11 Technical Service Centre

The picture captured by the Committee on the Technical Service Centre was one of a Department under stress.

It was noted with grave concern that only forty per cent (40%) of the personal emolument was approved last year thereby leading to staff lay-offs at the Centre.

The Committee generally agreed that the Technical Service Centre was an important embodiment of the Ministry whose budgetary allocation needs to be released in time to meet their budgeted needs. They also urged the Ministry to increase the budgetary requirement of the Department to enhance staff recruitment.

7.0 Recommendations

The Committee would like to bring to the attention of the House the following recommendations which came up during the discussions with the Ministry, its Departments and Agencies:

i) Recognizing the importance of money to the implementation of almost all projects and plans envisaged, the Committee would want to call on the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to ensure the timely release of

funds to the Ministry.

ii) Concerning the Ministry's intention to rather sell the low cost houses to District Assemblies, the Committee recommends that it also looks into the possibility of selling them enmasse to the Public Servants Housing Loan Scheme Board so as to benefit civil and public servants.

i i i ) T h e C o m m i t t e e a l s o recommends that the Ministry ensures that it pays adequate compensation to landowners whose properties have been affected by dams especially in the Weija, Owabi and the Barekese areas to forestall encroachment.

iv It is recommended that the Ministry should take immediate steps to secure the lands allocated to the Departments of Rural Housing that is being seriously encroached upon by private estate developers and also increase their budget allocation significantly.

v) Similarly, it is recommended that the Ministry should put in place plans to acquire permanent structures for the Rent Control Department in all districts and regional capitals or in the alternative to ensure that their rents are promptly paid for. It is also recommended that the Department be given the mandate to increase the Department charges to enhance its work.

v i ) The Commi t t ee fu r the r recommends that the Personal Emoluments component of the Architects Registration Council should be released to enable them appoint a substantive registrar and needed staff to run the affairs of the Council and also to increase service allocation to the Council in order for them to accomplish their set goals.

vii) The Committee would also like to recommend to the Architects Council to extend their training programmes to cover local private contractors.

viii) The Committee recommends that the five per cent (5%) contribution which beneficiary communities have to pay before they benefit from CWSA projects be reviewed in the light of the inability of the communities to raise the capital. Government is thus being urged to take up this five per cent (5%) component if possible.

ix) The Ministry is also being urged to give approval to the Water Resources Commission to engage more professional staff to run the affairs of the Commission.

8.0 Conclusion

Mr. Speaker with the firm knowledge and belief that the provision of water and shelter are essential to the development of every nation and with the hope that these recommendations when adopted would go a long way to help the Ministry, its departments and agencies to achieve
Chairman of the Committee) 1:20 p.m.


their set goals and targets, the Committee recommends to the House for approval, the sum of one trillion ,eight hundred and sixty- nine billion, five hundred and sixty-eight million cedis (¢1,869,568,000,000.00) from a combination of GOG, Donor, IGF and HIPC sources for the 2007 operations of the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing.

Respectfully submitted.

Question proposed.
Mr. E. K. Salia (NDC - Jirapa) 1:20 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion for the approval of the Estimates for the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing.
Mr. Speaker, in doing so I would wish to add my voice to the appeal of the hon. Minister in respect of the size of the allocation. It must be common knowledge that even though we are what we eat, more importantly, I would say that we are what we drink because even to eat the food that we cook it must be with water, and most of us at some age drink more water than we actually eat the food.
I think that the importance of this Ministry cannot be overemphasized and therefore there is an absolute need to increase their budgetary allocation, particularly, in respect of the provision of water.
If you take a look at the Ministry's
Mr. K. T. Hammond 1:20 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member is misleading the House. It is not biologically possible to drink more than you eat. You
have got to eat something before you drink some water. So if the hon. Member says that some people drink more water than they eat, he is misleading the House and the country.
Mr. Speaker 1:20 p.m.
You are out of order. You continue.
Mr. Salia 1:20 p.m.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I was trying to point to the fact that if you take a look at the expenditure pattern of the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, there seems to be a drift towards the urban areas. I believe that there is urban poverty but I believe that a lot of us are pushed out of the rural areas into the urban areas largely because of the poor conditions out there. If we want to reverse the rural/urban drift, I believe that there is a need to improve conditions, particularly in the case of water supply in most of our rural communities.
I believe that at this point in time there is a need to check the drift from the rural areas to the urban areas and if we continue to argue that there is probably as much poverty in the urban areas as in the rural areas, the tendency would be for us to lay more emphasis on urban areas and this creates enormous problems for this country, as the population of urban areas expands to unmanageable levels.
Mr. Speaker, it is also the policy of this Government to give the private sector a more important role in the provision of services. I am gradually seeing a drift again towards the Government of Ghana directly involving itself in an area that if the private sector were given more support, probably, it could deliver housing more efficiently than it is currently allowed to do.
It is common knowledge that the Government is a poor provider of most
of these resources because they are more costly and there is more inefficiency in those provisions. I would therefore like to see a move towards providing the private sector with more opportunities to deliver housing.
In respect of the rural housing sector,
unfortunately, the Department of Rural Housing plays a major role in research, and the sort of housing we have in the rural areas leaves much to be desired. I think there is the need for this Ministry to increase the budgetary allocation and the support for the rural housing department so that their research work can be better carried out, they can come up with improved designs to, as it were, improve the sort of houses that we now have in the rural areas.
If you go back to a number of villages the houses that you see are probably worse than what they were 10, or 15 years ago because there is a lot of erosion and a lot of houses are hanging just because of increase in erosion in a lot of settlements.
If we are doing a bit for the coast, I believe that the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing could also take a look at the rural areas and see whether they can check the extent of erosion in some of the villages that make most of the houses there uninhabitable just because they are hanging on some weak basis as a result of erosion.
The other thing I would want to talk about is the sort of responsibility given the Ministry in the Budget Statement. If you take a closer look at the tasks given to them, the amount of money that has been allocated can in no way assuage the problems that they are supposed to address. It is largely because I think
everybody feels that the Ministry can do a lot, but when it comes to budgetary allocation, much of what is sent in the Budget in respect of the tasks given to them, there are no equivalent provision of resources.
With these few words, I believe that it is useful for us to approve these Estimates but to urge the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to reconsider their attitude towards the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing so that they do not continue to lay off some of their permanent employees such as was done in the Technical Services Department.
With this, I thank you for giving me the opportunity.
Mr. J. B. Aidoo (NPP - Amenfi East) 1:20 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I also rise to support the motion on the floor of this House and in doing so I would just want to touch on the provision of water for our rural communities.
Mr. Speaker, your Committee rightly captured a very important observation and has also recommended same, that it is very unfair for communities where water is being extended to, to pay 5 per cent as their contribution - that is to the rural communities. As we know in Ghana, poverty is very widespread and pervasive in the rural communities and therefore if we are asking the very people who are poor to contribute towards the provision of water whilst in the urban communities nobody is being asked to contribute anything when water is coming into their households, then truly, it is a very unfair treatment to our rural folk.
Mr. Speaker, what is being said is that the donor partners have a belief that the rural communities would have to have ownership of the facility being provided them and that is why they are being
Mr. J. B. Aidoo (NPP - Amenfi East) 1:30 p.m.


asked to contribute 5 per cent towards the installation of such facilities.

If the Ministry would find some means to also convince our donor partners enough that we are overburdening the very poor people that we have to help solve poverty, if they could be convinced to that effect, I believe that we would be doing a great service to our rural folk by cancelling this 5 per cent contribution which they have to make.

Mr. Speaker, another area which I want to touch is some wrong impression that has been created. I do not know where it is being created, that all is well with the provision of rural water in the Western Region. Some years back, the people of the Western Region depended on rivers, streams, and so on and so forth. In those days these traditional sources of drinking water were pure and clean but these days most of these rivers and streams are contaminated. They are polluted by various activities, particularly, by illegal mining activities and most of these rivers are also contaminated with chemicals.

Therefore, it is no more tenable to say that all is well with water provision in the Western Region, coming from the traditional sources of drinking water.

Mr. Speaker, as we stand now, we have just moved from 31 per cent coverage in 2001 to 34 per cent coverage of rural water provision in the Western Region. This clearly shows that almost two-thirds of the rural population of Western Region do not have access to potable water. And here I would want to urge the Ministry to also look at this issue very critically because the water supply system in rural Western Region is not the best.

Therefore, whilst donor agencies and partners would want to go to other regions -- that is what I have heard -- they are more interested in going to other regions than Western Region. Because in the Western Region it is presumed that we have heavy rainfall, we have so many rivers and so on and so forth and therefore the impression is that all is well. But as I am saying, all is not well with the Western Region. Therefore, the Ministry and Central Government should have a special or a second look at the provision of water for rural communities in the Western Region.

Mr. Speaker, with this brief comment, I support the motion and I am urging hon. Members to support same.
Mr. John Gyetuah (NDC -- Amenfi West) 1:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the motion on the floor. Mr. Speaker, in so doing I want to make a few observations.
Mr. Speaker, when you look at the Constitution, article 36 (2) (d) says, and with your permission I quote:
“. . . undertaking even and balanced development of all regions and every part of each region of Ghana, and, in particular, improving the conditions of life in the rural areas, and generally, redressing any imbalance in development between the rural and the urban areas.”
Mr. Speaker, when you look at the
Report of your Committee, it is a clear indication that there is an inequity in the distribution of resources so far as the rural setting and urban setting are concerned. Page 6, paragraph 6.1:
“It was noted that the Ministry plans to allocate to the rural water sector
an amount of ¢600 million while urban water received more than ¢510 billion cedis for the coming year”.
Mr. Speaker, if you look at the sort of problems that the rural settings are actually facing, it is very bad and I believe the Ministry will have to make amends in terms of this disparity in the provision of resources.
Again, the 5 per cent counterpart funding being paid by the rural communities is, in fact, a very bad thing that we need to change. This is because when we are providing water for the urban centres, we do not ask anybody to contribute anything but in the rural communities where they have the highest incidence of poverty, we just urge them to pay 5 per cent counterpart funding. I believe, as it is being said by some hon. Members, we have to have a look at that.
Looking at the Hydrology Department, the aim of the department is to provide, promote rural and urban infrastructure, development and the provision of basic services to the people. Mr. Speaker, when you go to some of the rural settings, especially my constituency, Amenfi West, there is much soil erosion in the area.
I believe a Statement to that effect has been read over here. I have written to the hon. Minister, he is aware of all these things; nothing has been done. Go to Asankragwa, which is the capital town of my constituency, and Asankra Breman -- almost all the villages are engulfed by this particular problem and I hope the Ministry would ensure that the rural settings are also considered in the budget allocation.
Mr. Speaker, with these few comments, I thank you for the opportunity.
Mr. Paul Okoh (NPP -- Asutifi
North): Mr. Speaker, thank you for the
opportunity to contribute to the motion on the floor. I would want to make just one point.
Mr. Speaker, this is about some serious anomaly in my constituency in the supply of water. There is a dam at a place called Biaso, and this in the Asutifi constituency but the resource -- [Interruption] -- [Laughter] -- but this resource is not being used to benefit the towns that are around this dam. Towns like Gambia No. 1, Gambia No. 2 and the rest -- [Interruption] -- Whilst the resource is being used to serve the Dormaa constituency.
I am not against the fact that the resource is being used to serve another constituency. But the fact is that if the dam is in a particular constituency and they are not benefiting from it, I do not see how it could be used for other places. So the Ministry needs to take a serious look at that.
Alhaji Collins Dauda (NDC --

Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyemang

--rose --
Alhaji Dauda 1:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, where
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 1:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
my hon. Good Friend, last time on radio,
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 1:30 p.m.


also said Bortianor and he was referring to Bortianor which is to the west and we are referring to Borteyman which is to the east. I think that he is misleading us, he has misled the nation once by mentioning Bortianor which is a different place. So I just want to tell him that it is Borteyman in Nungua, but not Bortianor; Bortianor is on the way to Cape Coast.
Alhaji Dauda 1:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank
you very much. But I thought that I added Nungua so even if I got the name wrong the person listening would know that I was referring to that place; it is just that I got the name wrong. Mr. Speaker, I know that there is a problem with regard to the land on which this facility is going to be done -- which is where this project is being carried out.
rose
Alhaji Dauda 1:30 p.m.
Why?
Mr. Speaker 1:30 p.m.
Hon. Minister, do you have any point of order?
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 1:30 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I do not know why my hon. Good Friend, my younger Brother, insists on misleading this House. The land we are using at Borteyman is a government-acquired land which has been paid for. There had not been one single problem in Borteyman; maybe, he is still thinking of Bortianor but in Borteyman -- it is not a problem at all. Over a thousand acres are owned by Government and that is where 300 acres were given to us. There is no problem whatsoever in Borteyman and
I want him to understand that.
Alhaji Dauda 1:40 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think it is about the use of the acquisition -- Mr. Speaker, the land was acquired long ago for agricultural purposes, and the hon. Minister cannot run away from that but it is now being used for some other purpose. I thought that if you acquired land for a specific purpose and you could not put the land to that use and you are changing it -- Mr. Speaker, it is wrong and I am saying that it is giving cause to the people of Nungua -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 1:40 p.m.
Hon. Member for Asutifu South, continue with your contribution. What is the problem? Go ahead.
Alhaji Dauda 1:40 p.m.
I am raising these issues as a concern that is being raised by the people of Nungua. I also live in Nungua -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 1:40 p.m.
Are you contributing towards the debate? Speak to the motion, please.
Alhaji Dauda 1:40 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would move away from there because I can see -- Then, I would support my hon. Colleague from Asutifi North (Mr. Okoh) on the issue of the damming of the Bia River for water supply to the people of Asutifi. The project is in the Asutifi District, precisely in the Asutifi North constituency, but the water that is supplied from that project is not being used for the benefit of the people of Asutifi on whose land we have the project. Rather the water is being sent to the people of Dormaa for use.
We have made several agitations that indeed, because the project is on our land we should also benefit from it but it would not happen. We are not against the fact that people of Dormaa are benefiting from
it but we thought that as a district where the project is located, it is just fair that we also benefit from the treated water from that project.
Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing would take note of it and ensure that after Christmas something would be done effectively for us to see that the people of Asutifi are enjoying water from the Bia project.
Mr. Speaker, with these few remarks, I would urge my hon. Colleagues to support the approval of the sum specified on the Order Paper for use by the Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing.
Minister for Public Sector Reforms
(Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom): Mr. Speaker, I would like to support the motion but I wish to draw the attention of the hon. Minister to two very important projects that are going on in the Central Region.
It is very important, this water project that is going on after several years of neglect in terms of water supply. All the areas from the Pra River towards Cape Coast and beyond -- The project has started and the pipes are being laid but there is concern on the part of many of the people in the area that, yes, the pipes are coming, new water supply is coming but -- They are concerned about the distribution lines that would lead to the many towns and villages and to make sure that indeed, after the pipes have crossed their areas the water distribution lines would all be put there so that they would be taken care of.
There is great anticipation and they are waiting for finally having this water shortage that they have been suffering for several years to be taken care of and I believe that the Ministry would do well to
Mr. B. D. K. Adu 1:40 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, on a point of information. I would like him to mention the Castle that is close by the lagoon. Something should be done about it.
Dr. Nduom 1:40 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, around the lagoon, once again, people are throwing garbage there; there are all manner of things going into the lagoon. We are

educating the community to make sure those kinds of things are not continued but all I am saying is that there is need for concerted effort to ensure that people who need to be moved away from the lagoon are moved properly so that what Government is spending significant amount of money on, we gain the full benefit of and indeed we do not return to a lagoon that is silted.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, since the lagoon is being dredged, there is great hope in Elmina that we would finally end up with a fishing harbour. Because if you go through the entire country, the place where most fishing is done outside of Tema is Elmina and we want to make sure that the project continues. We would support the efforts of the Ministry and others to make sure that this project is completed in a timely manner so we can move on to the next phase.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I definitely do support the motion.
Alhaji Amadu B. Sorogho -- (NDC -- Abokobi/Madina) 1:50 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion on the floor and in so doing just make two quick observations. Mr. Speaker, when the hon. Minister was moving for the motion, he mentioned certain interventions but reading through the report, I find it difficult to place exactly where those interventions have been captured, especially with regard to the improvement of water system within the eastern part of Accra. I have gone through the report but I have not seen it captured there.
Mr. Speaker, as we are all aware, if we are able to provide good drinking water for the people, at least 75 per cent of diseases which are water-related would have been curtailed. Mr. Speaker, coming from
my constituency, Abokobi/Madina -- If you should go to the Abokobi/Madina constituency and ask anybody what the problem of the constituency is, the first thing that the person would mention would be water.
Mr. Speaker, at least, more than ten Members of Parliament reside within my constituency and a lot of them can testify to what I am saying. Mr. Speaker, as a way of improving the water systems, boreholes have been sunk in certain areas, especially within the Ashongman area. Unfortunately, these boreholes continue to be operated by the traditional method that we know. Mr. Speaker, I was thinking that at this time when resources are scarce to come by, we should be thinking of small community water systems.
By this, what I mean is that, Mr. Speaker, these boreholes can be mechanized. When a borehole is mechanized, especially when the volume or, the yield is all right, Mr. Speaker, it can serve a lot of people within that community.

Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, all these

boreholes -- about 14 of them around the Ashongman area are still not mechanized and for that reason children would have to go and cue and pump them and it goes to waste the time of the school children as well as the “economic time” of the inhabitants. Mr. Speaker, it is very sad to note that when one hon. Member was speaking, he mentioned that in most of the African countries 10 per cent of the total Budget is allocated to the water sector.

Unfortunately, in Ghana only 5 per cent has been earmarked and for that matter what the Minister wants to say is that however hard he works, it will be difficult for him to use the five per cent allocation to be able to resolve the problems that

confront us in the water sector.

Mr. Speaker, I would urge that if there is any way by which they can increase the allocation, specifically for the city water systems, especially within the eastern part of Accra where water is a very, very big problem -- Mr. Speaker, it is sad to note that as the Member of Parliament for the last six and a half years, water has not flowed through my tap. Everyday I go to them and the same problem is cited that the amount of water that is pumped is so small that they cannot distribute to everybody.

Mr. Speaker, I think we must have a holistic attitude towards solving the water problem. It is not that the water is not there, I think the Kpong Dam is there, it is not dried up; but it takes the courage, the political will of the Government to be able to get resources to have another system from Kpong through Somanya, Dodowa, to serve the eastern part of Accra.
Ms. Cecilia Abena Dapaah 1:50 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I believe if my hon. Colleague was listening attentively to the hon. Minister in his submission -- He did say that it was on course -- the Kpong too -- meaning there is going to be another system in the Kpong township to make sure that the water problem in Accra and Tema is solved. He is speaking as if he was not paying attention and I wish to draw his attention to that.
Alhaji Sorogho 1:50 p.m.
Thank you very
much, Mr. Speaker. But I am surprised; I thought she was going to give me a time limit, that is if the Minister said by this time or that time -- [Interruption] -- Mr. Speaker, I cannot be detracted by what they are doing.
Mr. Speaker 1:50 p.m.
Order! Order!
Alhaji Sorogho 1:50 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I cannot be distracted by these boos, so they can continue. Mr. Speaker, what I want to say is that I am coming from the constituency and the problem of my constituents is that there is no water. If you tell me that the Kpong project is on course, how long is that going to take?
Mr. Speaker -- [Interruptions] -- I am saying that I agree perfectly with what the Minister said, but what I am saying is that the Minister would need resources to be able do it -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker, I want to conclude by saying that whatever plans the Minister wants to put in place to solve the water problem can only materialize if he is given the needed resources. So I am saying that as the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning is here, we must try as much as possible to provide those resources so that the people within those corridors of Accra can be satisfied.
Ms JosephineHilda Addoh (NPP -- Kwadaso) 1:50 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to support the motion on the floor of the House and I have this comment to make.
Mr. Speaker, more often than not we try to argue and the argument is that water problem is something to do with the rural areas. I would like to draw the House's attention to the fact that this is a big problem facing the country and the hon.

Minister, I know, knows it and he will take action to give water to all areas including the urban centres.

Mr. Speaker, I know the Government has the political will to do that. But the problem has to do with inavailability of funds to do this job for us. I am only drawing attention to the fact that with the money given or yet to be given to the Ministry to do this work, areas in the urban centres could also be taken into consideration.

As I speak now, the University of Ghana, Legon, is facing water problem. Nyankyerenease, an urban area in my constituency, Kwadaso Agricultural College, all those areas do not have water. And in my mother's house, I would like to say, for the past 10 years, we have not seen water flowing through the taps -- more than 10 years now. So it is a national problem and we need to look at it as such.
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu (NDC -- Tamale South) 1:50 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion for the approval of ¢1,869,568,000,000 for the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing.
Mr. Speaker, mine is just to draw attention to a small anomaly. If you look at page 327 of the Budget Statement -- HIPC Allocations for 2007, Water Resources, Works and Housing -- it appears wrongly as ¢150 billion but it is right in the Appendix 5; it is ¢160 billion. So I thought that the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning should take note so that the figure is made the same throughout.
My other comment has to do with the use of HIPC resources. Mr. Speaker, if you look at your Committee's Report, we are being told that ¢160 billion is allocated
to the Ministry yet we have no indication how those monies are to be used. I think that next time it would be important for the Ministry to give us an indication of how they are going to expend that ¢160 billion cedis that is allocated from the HIPC resources.
Mr. Speaker, in supporting the motion we recognize some of the major initiatives that the Ministry has taken in the last few years. We are told that the water projects for Baifikrom, Koforidua, Sunyani and Tamale have all been initiated. But Mr. Speaker, with many of them, including the Tamale water project, not significant progress has been made in terms of the assumption of full-scale work to ensure that the people of Tamale and its metropolis have access to quality drinking water.
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 2 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, my very good hon. Friend, I think he lost out on the mathematics of the ¢160 billion from HIPC. If he takes a close look, affordable housing and drainage will take ¢150 billion; but up there is water, guinea- worm eradication, water resources which take ¢10 billion. So ¢10 billion plus ¢150 billion make ¢160 billion. That is why we have captured ¢160 billion in all the reports; 150 + 10 make 160 and that is why I thought I should point it out to him.
Mr. H. Iddrisu 2 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I have
taken cognizance of it. My point is that he should let this come together as one item. Allocation of HIPC funds to the Ministry of Water Resources,Works and Housing we do not need to have a disjointed provision for it, in any case.
But Mr. Speaker, my other comment has to do with Rent Control -- paragraph 6.8 of your Committee's Report. Mr. Speaker, we have heard in the last few years that there would be an attempt to review the Rent Act. Not much has been done in the last few years and I think it is important that the hon. Minister assures us that some steps would be taken -- because we do know that a lot of poor tenants are being thrown here and there.
Landlords continue to determine what rate to charge and much of it is worrying. In fact, the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning acknowledged this in his 2006 Budget Statement yet no review to the Rent Act was done. Mr. Speaker, I was making particular reference to the initiative in the last few years. If we take the Tamale Water Project, even though it has been commissioned, a visit to the site does not give any indication of a commitment to full scale commencement of work under the project. I am sure that same can be said for other areas and it is important that the hon. Minister keeps an eye on it to ensure that the contractors execute the project by the time table given to them.
Mr. Speaker, finally, the comments, as we heard in this House from various hon. Members, suggest that access to basic water is still problematic and we should view it as a national crisis especially in terms of rural water.
Mr. Speaker, if we take Tamale, you may describe it as a peri-urban community but many of the communities less than 5 kilometres to 10 kilometres away from Tamale cannot access potable water. Sometimes, their requirement is just for a dam, construction of a dam. That dovetails into the work of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and I think that sometimes the
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 2:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I would like to thank my hon. Colleagues for all the interventions made, some of which we have taken on board. One of the most problematic issues has been the 5 per cent contribution by rural communities for interventions. This Government is on record as having said that we do not basically support that particular postulation and the donors have always insisted that the 5 per cent should be paid.
But Mr. Speaker, inasmuch as 94 per cent of all rural interventions in this country are made by the donors, of course, they call the shots. But we have said that where the communities cannot afford the 5 per cent then alternative ways would be found to do that. Indeed, it was the subject matter of a protest to the President by the Danish Ambassador on behalf of all the donors and that is why the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning and all of us had to come in and say, find the 5 per cent for the rural communities. So the Government completely agrees with the sentiments expressed that we should unburden the rural communities with that 5 per cent contribution and it is being done. Indeed, we are trying to convince the donors that it is not only the 5 per cent which will make them claim ownership of the facility but education and education and education.
Mr. Speaker, again, several of the various interventions -- Western Region -- For the information of my good friend, hon. Aidoo, there is a project funded by KFW and others which are ongoing in the Western Region and which can also resolve the situation.
The hon. Member of Parliament for

Amenfi West -- We have been in dialogue and what we are trying to do is to see if we can get some HIPC funds to construct a storm drain for his town because I know he has a major problem there. As far as Biaso and Asutifi North constituencies are concerned we shall look into the possibility of making sure that where the source is taken, they are also given water.

But Mr. Speaker, the affordable houses, Government had to intervene to make that critical push so that we would get what we wanted. Indeed, private sector was delivering two-bedroom flats at $25 thousand equivalent minimum. We are now on course to deliver a two-bedroom flat at $13 thousand which is about half of the amount. On that basis we are just leading the crusade using HIPC facilities but the emphasis is on the private sector to take over these things.

The State Housing Company is participating in the programme but they are just like any ordinary contractor because they were not able to offer us two-bedroom facilities around $13 thousand/$14 thousand. They were talking about $20/$25 thousand equivalent and that was unacceptable and that is why we are there.

There has not been any problem so far with any of the lands that we have acquired in Kumasi, Kpone or Borteyman so I do not know from where Alhaji Dauda got his information.

Mr. Speaker, as far as the Cape Coast intervention is concerned, where we are taking water from, Hemang Sekyere, the Pra River, every community en route is being served except maybe a hamlet or two. But when I presented it to this House I enumerated all the communities that are being served including all the ones that are in his constituency. So if anyone has

been left out he can let us know for us to put it in.

As far as the Benya Lagoon is concerned, yes, many decades of promises -- nobody did it; this Government is doing it and has started. Indeed, when I tried to cut the sod and hit the ground -- I thought it was an ordinary thing but when I hit it, the pick-axe bounced back. It is solid; it is like rock because over the years it has not been done but this Government promised and it is delivering. What I will ask my dear Friend and Brother to do is to ensure that they do not throw back the garbage into the Benya Lagoon.

As far as the harbour is concerned,

the President gave his word and just as he had delivered in the dredging of the Benya Lagoon and its rehabilitation to make sure that the canoes can go in, he will also deliver on his promise to give them the harbour; so I do not think he has any cause to worry.

As far as my friend, hon. Sorogho from Madina-Abokobi is concerned, we have made interventions in Madina and Ashale-Botwe where we can find water. Many a time when we drilled into the soil we found that the water was too senile so we could not use it. But what we can use we are mechanizing, so I do not know why he is saying that we are not mechanizing.

Indeed, until six months ago Madina and Ashale-Botwe had no water at all; now they are getting two times a week; it is a progress. But the main issue will be resolved when, God willing, the day after tomorrow, the President cuts the sod. We will start work from Weija and bring the water to Okponglo which will serve Madina and the environs and then we would do the Kpong II -- 40 million gallons a day, $190 million intervention, to bring water then to the other side of Accra.

But Mr. Speaker, he wants to know when this will be. Mr. Speaker, we hope to start by the middle of next year because we have not put the finances fully together yet. The President discussed this in China and hopefully the Exim Bank will facilitate it.

As far as my hon. Colleague from

Kwadaso is concerned, yes, we are trying to expand the Barekese Dam -- this House approved it -- and also rehabilitate the Owabi Headworks but the difficulty has been the fact that we still need a bit of money to expand the system. I will take a good look at what the problem is as far as Kwadaso is concerned. But I am assured by my hon. Deputy here that it is on course.

Mr. Speaker, Tamale -- they are

mobilizing to get to site. The site offices are completed. I checked only yesterday and they will go the full hog beginning of the New Year. I think that the contractors and people had to go home for vacation but they will start in January.

Mr. Speaker, it is not the case that we are delaying; Kwanyako water is eight months ahead of schedule and tomorrow, God willing, I am going to see the test-run of Kwanyako water.

Cape Coast water from Pra river is five and half months ahead of schedule. We are expressing a lot of urgency on the situation and I can assure you that Tamale water also would be pushed ahead of schedule. But as we come from Dalung all the way to Tamale, all the communities there would be served; and it is not five miles radius; it is a twenty-five kilometre radius. That is what we are dealing with. So the hon. Member for Tamale South can check the figures.

As far as the Rent Control Act is concerned, the draft is ready. It is with the Attorney-General's Department and as soon as they look at it, we will be able to bring it to the House.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. Colleagues for supporting us. Yes, we know the money is woefully inadequate, but we will do the best that we can and hope that with lots of interventions by hon. Members, just as they have done today, the hon. Minister for Finance and Economic Planning would see his way clear to give us some funding.

Question put and motion agreed to.

Resolved:

That this House approves the sum of ¢1,869,568,000,000.00 for the services of the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing for the 2007 fiscal year.
Mr. Speaker 2:10 p.m.
Item number 5 -- hon. Minister for Presidential Affairs.
ANNUAL ESTIMATES 2:10 p.m.
Chairman of the Committee (Nii Adu Daku Mante) 2:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to second the motion and in so doing, may I crave your indulgence to present the Report of your Finance Committee.
Mr. Speaker, I also crave your indulgence to read only the Recommendations and Observations and request Hansard to capture the entire Report.
1.0 Introduction
The 2007 Annual Budget Estimates of the Government Machinery was laid in the House on Thursday, 16th November 2006 by the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP) and referred to the Finance Committee for consideration and report in accordance with article 179 of the Constitution and Standing Order 140 (4) of the House. This followed the presentation of the Financial Policy of the Government
Chairman of the Committee (Nii Adu Daku Mante) 2:10 p.m.


general public;

v To p r o m o t e p o l i t i c a l tolerance, stability and peace in Ghana and the sub-region;

v To provide institutional capaci ty and enabl ing environment for effective, efficient and sustainable service delivery.

3.0 The 2007 Annual Estimates of the Government Machinery

A total amount of ¢572,394 million has been allocated to the Government Machinery for the 2007 financial year. The breakdown is as follows:

Million Personal Emoluments

GoG -- ¢78,915

IGF -- 0

Donor -- 0

Subtotal -- ¢78,915

Administration Expenses
-- 2:10 p.m.
R 2:20 p.m.
Mr. D. K. Abodakpi (NDC -- Keta) 2:20 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion on the floor and, in doing so, I would want to make just these very short comments.
Mr. Speaker, I think that some agencies
currently under Government Machinery should be realigned for greater efficiency. This matter has been on for sometime now. It was inherited by this Government, so it is not their problem. The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre is an operational entity and over the years, we reckon that because it has been placed under the Office of Government Machinery, effective supervision and monitoring by, say, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Private Sector Development PSI and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning have been lacking.
Since there is some realignment going on, may I propose to the hon. Minister to consider the possibility of offloading the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre under either the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning or Ministry of Trade and Industry, Private Sector Development and PSI.
I also think that now that we have a Ministry for Public Sector Reforms, the
State Enterprises Commission should be offloaded to that sector to help the reforms that are being effected under that Ministry. In the same way there is -- I have lost the other one.
These are some of the few comments
that I want to make, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu (NDC -- Tamale
South): Mr. Speaker, I rise to associate myself with the motion and to make a few comments, first, specifically on the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that if we initiate
some reforms, that entity can be self- supportive in terms of funding. And my recommendation is that even if we allocate 0.02 per cent of the revenues of the utility companies, whether Ghana Water Company or Ghana Electricity Company, that can generate adequate funds that can sustain the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission in order to be more efficient.
I remember that I was involved in some discussion with Mr. Kwame Pianim and this was his thinking, and I believe that the hon. Minister can look at it and bring a review of the Act that established the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission so that we can allow them to source just 0.02 per cent of the revenue of those institutions instead of the annual ritual of us having to allocate funds to them.
Mr. Speaker, my other comment has to
do with the National Identification System; and that is a matter of clarity that I need. I am aware that just recently, we approved a loan of about ten million US dollars for that purpose. I just want to know whether that is additional to this one hundred and twenty-eight billion cedis that we have here or is captured as part of the funding that will go into it. We would also want to know -- We are told that the programme will kickoff some time in March -- how much it will cost us in order to undertake
this important national exercise.
Mr. Speaker, my final comment has to do with the Office of Accountability. I am just repeating a call that the Office of the President should be courageous enough to consider either scrapping it or come properly through this Parliament for us to establish it by law. This is because as it stands now, it is being subvented. It is given the taxpayers' money, yet we do not know who that office accounts to in terms of the work that they do. Perhaps, if the hon. Minister can give us an assurance that the report of the work of the Office of Accountability since it was established can be brought to Parliament for our perusal, that will be very important since we are told that it is an addition to the Government's commitment to fight corruption.
We saw the passage of the Internal Audit Agency Bill; we saw the National Procurement Bill. I believe strongly that the Office of Accountability as far as we are concerned is not a creation of law; it is not a creation of the Constitution; yet we hear even public comments that seek to undermine a constitutionally established body like Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).
With these few comments, Mr. Speaker,
I would like to support the motion except to say that I find the budgetary allocation to the Office of the Vice- President inadequate, looking at what goes where and how much is being allocated to the Office of the Vice-President.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, the President
must be encouraged to do a lot of domestic travels. He should go to the countryside and have an appreciation. Once in a while, a visit to the regions or district capitals can give him a benefit of hindsight, of what goes on and pertains in the country.
Mr. Mpiani 2:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to
thank hon. Members for their comments, observations and suggestions. I want to assure them that they would be studied critically and those found appropriate would be taken into account for the subsequent budget.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to just comment on one or two things.
On the appropriation to the Regional Co-ordinating Councils, I think that all the Regional Co-ordinating Councils agreed that Ashanti Region, because of its peculiar position, where all those who are travelling to the northern regions, all those who are travelling to the Brong Ahafo Region and even parts of the Western Region, normally pass through the Region and in most cases sleep there, it should be given something more than what the other regions get. That is the reason why the Ashanti Region has its appropriation bigger than other regions.
The three northern regions -- what we have been trying to do is to as much as possible -- not only for the three northern regions -- curtail travelling to Accra. We think that we should be able to develop the centre so that whatever they wanted to do, they should be able to do it within their regions, and only on rare occasions should they travel down south to Accra to do anything here. We believe it is about time things were done and done in the regions.
Mr. Speaker, concerning the National Identification Authority, I do not have the figures here but I want to assure hon. Members that I will be able to provide all the figures they need on the National Identification Authority. The loan is additional to the budget proposal submitted to the House.

Concerning the Office of Accountability,

the Office is under the President and the President has the power to appoint such officers as he thinks desirable to help him in running his office. Actually, the Office of Accountability is one of such offices which have been set up by the President to help him in running his office, and the office reports to the President. It is an internal arrangement and I do not believe that the reports of that office should even be given to anybody, not even to this august House.

Mr. Speaker, I would wish to thank hon.

Members for their useful observations and suggestions and, as I said, we would look at them and put them into our subsequent budget, the budget for 2008.

Question put and motion agreed to.

Resolved:

That this honourable House approves the sum of ¢572,394,-000,000 for the services of Government Machinery for the 2007 fiscal year.
Mr. Speaker 2:30 p.m.
Which item is the next one?
Mr. A. O. Aidooh 2:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, motion number 10.
ANNUAL ESTIMATES 2:30 p.m.
Minister for Lands, Forestry and Mines (Prof. Dominic Fobih) 2:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, that this honourable House approves the sum of seven hundred and twenty billion, six hundred and seventeen million cedis (¢720,617,000,000) for the services of the Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines and for the 2007 fiscal year.
The Ministry has three Sectors, namely:
Lands;
Forestry; and
Mines. The Lands Sector comprises the
following:
Lands Commission;
Land Title Registry;
Office of Administrator of Stool Lands;
Land Valuation Board;
Survey Department.
The Forestry Sector comprises the following:
Forestry Commission;
Forest Services Division;
Wildlife Division; and
Timber Industry Development Division.
Mines Sector also comprises the following:
Minerals Commission;
Geological Survey Department.
The Ministry will pursue legislative reforms to review, update, harmonize and consolidate all existing Laws and Policies on Land, Forestry, Wildlife and Minerals to make them more relevant and applicable to our current and future needs.
Traditional Authorities (chiefs, queen mothers, family heads, et cetera) are to fully participate in land management and to pursue alternative conflict resolution mechanisms to resolve and minimize land disputes.
Par t ic ipatory natural resource management initiatives will be further strengthened to increase the involvement of landowners and fringe communities in the decision-making processes.
The Ministry will continue the promotion of plantation development towards augmenting the resource base and arresting environmental degradation. Local communities and private investors will be encouraged in plantation development.
To complement the plantat ion development efforts, Government is actively promoting the bamboo and rattan industry.
The Parliamentary Select Committee on Lands and Forestry, Mines and Energy's report details the budgetary provisions for the Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines.
In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, for the administration and realization of the Ministry's objectives, plans and programmes, a total sum of seven hundred and twenty bi l l ion, s ix hundred and seventeen million cedis (¢720,617,000,000) has been allocated to the Ministry.
Mr. Speaker, I beg therefore to move that this House approves the estimates for my Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines for the year ending 31st December, 2007.
MR. FIRST SPEAKER
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Alhaji C. Dauda (NDC -- Asutifi South) 2:40 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support this motion. In doing so I just want to make one or two observations.
Mr. Speaker, the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands has constitutional duty to collect royalties and to pay royalties into stool lands accounts.
Mr. Speaker, but because the Administrator of Stool Lands lacks capacity to carry out his constitutional duty some arrangements have been made between the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands and the Forestry Commission, for the Commission to carry out or to collect these royalties on behalf of the Office and then disbursement is done
based on the arrangements made between the Minister for Lands and Forestry and these two institutions.
Mr. Speaker, but the problem here is that, because of this arrangement, normally disbursement of the royalties into the stool accounts gets so delayed and chiefs sometimes make agitations. So I think that the Minister should take note of it and try to facilitate the transfer of royalties into the stool lands accounts to the benefit of our chiefs.
Mr. Speaker, besides, I know that the tenure of office of all the regional lands commissions has expired.
Mr. Speaker, the regional land commissions need to be reconstituted. They are not -- The Minister is here and I believe he would want to respond to why after the term of office of these regional offices nothing is being done to reconstitute them.
Mr. Speaker, at the committee level this matter was raised as to whether it was prudent for this House to approve of monies for commissions that did not exist by law, or whose term of office had expired. I think that we cannot continue appropriating monies for institutions like this.
Mr. Speaker, besides the Land Commission, the Forestry Commission and the Office of Administrator of Stool Lands delay a lot in submitting their annual reports and audited accounts to this House as required by the enabling enactment.
At the committee level, Mr. Speaker, it came out clearly that the reports are always prepared by the commissions and sent to the Ministry. The commissions cannot come to this House and therefore they send their reports through the Ministry for them to be submitted to this House by the Minister. Luckily, the Minister is here; we would want to find out why this long delay when the reports are made available
to the Ministry.
Mr. Speaker, with these few remarks, I support the motion which has been moved and will ask hon. Members to support it equally for the approval of the sum of ¢720,617,000,000 for the Ministry of Lands and Forestry.
Question put and motion agreed to.
Resolved:
That this honourable House approves the sum of ¢720,617,- 000,000 for the Services of the Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines for the 2007 fiscal year.
ANNUAL ESTIMATES 2:40 p.m.
Minister for Food and Agriculture (Mr. E. A. Debrah) 2:40 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, That this honourable House approves the sum of ¢1.206 trillion for the services of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture for the 2007 fiscal year.
Mr. Speaker, the de-segregation of this figure is as follows 2:40 p.m.
IGF -- ¢4.8 billion; GOG -- ¢338.6 billion; donors -- ¢688.9 billion; and HIPC -- ¢174 billion. Mr. Speaker, the major thrust of our policy is to modernize agriculture to enhance production and productivity of our farmers.
In doing so, Mr. Speaker, we are moving through the route of appropriate mechanisation, irrigation, provision of improved seeds and planting materials and breeds, improvement of economic and husbandry practices through effective extension services and effective linkage with research and development.
These activities, Mr. Speaker, will ensure that we have full security, raw materials for processing by our own facilities here, raw materials for export; and we should make bigger contribution
to GDP.
Mr. Speaker, last year, the Minister was given an amount of ¢682.1 billion for all the activities. To carry out those activities this year, we have been given this figure of ¢1.2 trillion. Even though it falls short of our expectation, it is a big improvement on what we had last year.
Mr. Speaker, on that note, I move that this House approves the figure of ¢1.2 trillion to enable the Ministry continue with its modernization policy.
Chairman of Committee (Dr. M. K. Antwi) 2:40 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to second the motion as moved by the hon. Minister for Food and Agriculture, that this honourable House approves the sum of ¢1.206 trillion for the services of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture for the 2007 fiscal year.
Mr. Speaker, in doing so, with your indulgence, I would want the Hansard to capture the whole Report as having been read. I will just highlight the major activities of the Ministry for 2007 and then the “Conclusion”.
1.0 Introduction
The Minister for Finance, Mr. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, on Thursday, 16th November, 2006 presented to Parliament, the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana for the 2007 financial year in accordance with article 129 of the 1992 Constitution.
Pursuant to Standing Orders 140
(4) and 176, Mr. Speaker referred the draft Estimates of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to the Committee for consideration and report to the House.
2.0 Deliberation
The Committee held a series of meetings with the following to deliberate on the 2007 Draft Annual Estimates:
1. The Minister for Agriculture, Mr. Ernest Debrah and the Deputy
Chairman of Committee (Dr. M. K. Antwi) 2:40 p.m.


Minister, Mr. Clement Eledi.

2. Directors and Project Co-ordinators of the following:

i. Directorate of Policy Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation

ii. General Administration

i i i . Stat is t ics , Research and Information Directorate

iv. Human Resource Development and Management Directorate

v. Irrigation Development Authority

vi. Inland Valley Rice Development Project

vii. ICOUR

v i i i . G r a i n s a n d Legumes Develo- pment Board

ix. Ghana Veterinary Council

x. Crop Services Directorate

x i . A n i m a l P r o d u c t i o n Direc- torate

xii. Agricultural Extension Services Directorate

x i i i . A g r i c u l t u r a l E n g i n e e r i n g S e r v i c e s Directorate

xiv. Plant Protect ion and Regula- tory Directorate

x v. Ve t e r i n a r y S e r v i c e s Direc- torate

x v i . W o m e n i n Agriculture Deve- lopment

x v i i . F o o d a n d C r o p Services Directorate

x v i i i . R o o t s a n d T u b e r s Improve- ment and Marketing Pro- gramme

xix. Cashew Development Project

x x . N e r i c a R i c e Development Project

x x i . L i v e s t o c k Development Project

xxii. Export Marketing and Quality Awareness Project

xxiii. Tsetse Eradication Project

The Committee is grateful to them for their support and co-operation. 3.0 Reference Materials

1. The 1992 Constitution of Ghana

2. The S tand ing Orders o f Parliament (2000)

3. The 2006 Draft Annual Budget of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture

4. The 2007 Draft Annual Budget of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture

5. The 2006 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana for 2006 financial year.

6. The 2007 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana for 2007 financial year.

4.0 Mission Statement

The Ministry of Food and Agriculture is established to promote sustainable agriculture and thriving agribusiness through research and technological development, effective extension and other support services to farmers, processors and traders for improved human livelihood.

5.0 Objctives of the Ministry

For the 2007 fiscal year, the Ministry will pursue the following objectives:

1. Formulate sound agricultural Policies

2. Facilitate modernization of agricultural production to achieve food self-sufficiency and food security.

3. Ensure the availability of timely, reliable and relevant data a n d information on agriculture.

4. Facilitate Farmers / Processors / FBOs access to credit, storage, market and other facilities.

5. Establish, strengthen, and maintain l inkages within the sector and enhance the integration with the rest of the economy.

6. Facilitate the production of raw materials for local industries and commodities for export.

7. Strengthen Institutional Capacity of MOFA

6.0 Budgetary Performance in 2006

6.1 Allocations for 2006

An amount of ¢682,138 million was

allocated to the Ministry to carry out its activities in the 2006 fiscal year. Out of the total amount ¢256,910 million was from GOG while ¢418,068 million came from donor support. IGF was ¢7,167 million. The breakdown of the allocation is as follows:

Within the scope of funds provided, the Ministry was able to perform the following activities:

6.2 Crop Sub-Sector.

The Grains and Legumes Development Board (GLDB) under the National Seed Support Service produced 55 metric tons of foundation seed of maize, processed 500 mt of certified maize seed, 8mt of sorgum and 25 mt of rice foundation seed for planting. A total of 200 metric tonnes of maize grains was produced for storage.

The inland valley rice development project extended credit to 905 farmers and also provided technical support in the areas of land and water management techniques in the 17 project districts. It also assisted 850 farmers with average holding of 0.4 ha to plant 340 hectares of rice under the Nerica Rice Dissemination Project.

The Irrigation Company of the Upper Region (ICOUR) facilitated the production of 200 tonnes of paddy rice seed, 1,800 tonnes of rice grain and also cropped 220 hectares of millet and 34 hectares of soya bean at its Vea and Tono dam sites.

To help stabilize food prices, improve the wellbeing of farmers and to facilitate the establishment of National Strategic Food Stock, the Ministry rehabilitated 3 warehouses at Tamale and Yendi for grain storage. In addition, the Ministry assisted farmers in the North with land preparation and seed for the establishment of 10,000 hectares of cotton.

6.2.1 Legumes

GLDB produced foundation seeds

to enhance farmers' access to viable and high-yielding leguminous seeds in the minor season. As a result, 20 mt
Chairman of Committee (Dr. M. K. Antwi) 2:40 p.m.


of foundation seed of groundnuts was produced to enable farmer's access rosette-resistant groundnut seeds.

About 1,571.9 hectares of cashew fields was established with the assistance of the cashew development project. 9,000 unproductive cashew trees (90) hectars within the 10 project districts were stumped and grafted with scion materials taken from trees with desirable characteristics to increase yields.

In collaboration with the Crop Research Institute (CRI), technological packages were developed to enhance cashew production. The packages include vegetative propagation techniques, development of a strategy for canopy substitution and control of cashew disease.

6.2.2 Roots and Tubers

Forty (40) trained farmers were supplied with 10,000 mother yams for multiplication into minisetts for out planting under the root and tuber improvement and marketing programme. GLDB has produced 100,000 units of yam sets at Kintampo and Ejura nurseries.

6.2.3 Plantain Production

In order to sustain interest in plantain production, the Grains and Legumes Develop-ment Board produced 50,000 high-yielding suckers in the minor season at Afraku near Juaben in the Ashanti Region.

6.2.4 Horticultural Industry

MOFA has started the implementation of the export marketing quality awareness project in four regions namely, Greater Accra, Eastern, Central and Volta Rgions. To facilitate the export of horticultural crops, the Ministry commenced the rehabilitation of shed 9 at Tema Port under the Horticultural Export Industry Initiative (HEII). Grain and Legumes Development Board has also produced about 15,000

citrus seedlings for sale to farmers.

6.2.5 Pineapple

About 1,800,000 MD2 pineapple plantlets have been distributed to small- holders through the collaborative rapid sucker multiplication scheme. The scheme aims at enhancing access of smallholders to the MD2 variety which is currently in high demand on the export market.

6.2.6 Irrigation

Nine (9) irrigation schemes located in various parts of the country are currently being rehabilitated. A total of 1,896,000 ha of irrigable land will be made available for the cultivation of maize, vegetables and rice after the rehabilitation. 6.3 Livestock Subsector

6.3.1 Animal Production

Fodder Banks were established under the livestock development project to ensure the availability of fodder for livestock. Reconnaissance at the 44 selected dugout sites and 28 selected borehole sites were completed.

6.3.2 Animal Health

MOFA organized three training sessions for a total of 3,500 farmers in 33 districts to provide reliable animal health service. The farmers were trained to recognize, prevent and control diseases like New Castle, Rabies, African swine fever and food and mouth diseases among others.

Although Avian Influenza has not spread to Ghana, MOFA is collaborating with other MDAs including the Ministry of Health to deal with any eventuality. Among some of the measures instituted are a ban on importation of poultry products from some affected countries, educational campaigns on the symptoms of the disease through distribution of

leaflets and flyers.

To effectively control an endemic poultry disease such as Newcastle in rural poultry, about 2.5 million I2 vaccines were produced by the Veterinary Central Laboratory at Pong Tamale and over 700,000 rural poultry were treated with the vaccines.

6.3.3 Other Activities

A total of 80 farmer-Based Organi- zations were strengthened to enable them access business development services such as credit and grants.

Extension-Research-Farmer linkages were also strengthened through fruitful collaborations during planning sessions and on-farm adaptive trials.

7.0 Allocations for 2007

For the year 2007 an amount of ¢1,206,050 million has been allocated to the Ministry to carry out its activities. Out of the allocated amount, GOG is ¢338,253 million, IGF ¢4,819 million, Donor ¢688,977 million and HIPC ¢174,000 million.

The Table below provides a breakdown of the sector's allocation:

Allocation to the agricultural sector in the 2007 fiscal year shows an increase of 76.8 per cent over the allocation for 2006. Funds from the HIPC funds contributed to the high increase. The increase further signifies an effort at reducing poverty which is an objective of the MDG and GPRS II. The priorities for 2007 were the same as those for 2006 because 2006 marked the beginning of the GPRS II.

7.1 Major Activities for 2007

Within the funds provided for 2007, the Ministry would perform the following activities by focusing on the following policies and programmes within the year:

Promote selective crop development

Modernize livestock development

Improve access to mechanized agriculture

Accelerate the provision of irrigation infrastructure

Increase access to extension services

Enhance access to credit and inputs for agriculture.

7.2 Specific Sub-Sector Activities for 2007

The major activities and programmes to be undertaken in 2007 under the sub- sectors are as follows:

7.2.1 Crops Sub-Sector

The major activities to be carried out include facilitating the provision of increased quantities of improved seeds and planting materials to ensure increased crop production.

7.2.2 Cereals

The Grains and Legumes Development Board (GLDB) will produce 80 metric tonnes (mt) of foundation seed maize to crop 4,000 hectares of certified seeds which ultimately will plant 200,000 hectares of maize grain fields.

At the Tono Irrigation site, the Board will further produce 20 mt of foundation seed rice and 10 mt of sorghum seed which will ultimately crop 24,000 hectares of rice grain and 400,000 hectares of sorghum grain fields, respectively. The Irrigation Company of Upper Region (ICOUR) will also assist participating farmers to produce 140 tonnes of sorghum grain.

Five hundred (500) ha of valley bottom sites will be developed and cropped for the production of 4,500 tonnes of rice under the Inland Valley Rice Development Project.

The Nerica Rice Dissemination Project will assist farmers to produce 200 mt of certified seed rice and further contract
Chairman of Committee (Dr. M. K. Antwi) 2:40 p.m.


the production of 150 mt of certified seeds during the off-season. A total of 2,400 farmers (160 farmer groups) will be mobilized for training in technology dissemination in Nerica rice cultivation.

7.2.3 Legumes

The Grains and Legumes Development Board will produce 25 mt of high-yielding foundation seed cowpea at Damongo and Salaga (N/R), Tono (UER), Afraku (A/R) and Kwamoso (E/R). The 25 mt foundation seed will plant 62,500 ha of cowpea grain fields. About 50 mt of foundation seed soyabeans will also be produced.

One of the major causes of low production in groundnut in recent years has been the infestation of groundnut fields by rosette disease. To overcome this and encourage production, the Board will produce 15 mt of rosette-resistant varieties. This will be made available to certified seed growers to plant about 300 ha of certified groundnut seeds. Farmers will then access the certified seed at the various agro-input shops to plant out about 12,000 hectares.

ICOUR will also assist farmers to produce 200 tonnes of certified seed soyabean and 240 tonnes of soyabean grain. The increase in production is to enable poultry farmers have access to soyabean to help them bring down the cost of production in the poultry industry.

The Cashew Development Project of the Ministry will collaborate with the Crop Research Institute, to identify, stump and graft about 30,000 unproductive cashew trees to increase yields. A further 4,000 ha will be established and interplanted with food crops. A total of 5 mt of improved cashew seeds will therefore be procured

and distributed to farmers in the 10 project districts.

7.2.4 Root and Tubers

The Grains and Legumes Development Board will plant about 50 hectares of high yielding varieties capable of producing planting materials to crop about 400 hectares with an expected production of about 800 mt of cassava. The Board will also produce 100,000 yam minisetts at the Kintampo, Ejura and Salaga Stations for distribution to farmers.

Under the Root and Tuber Improve- ment and Marketing Programme, 4 Farmers Participatory Varietal selection trials will be set up to develop improved varieties for cocoyam, yam, sweet potato, cassava and Frafra potato (Coelus). To improve the shelf life of sweet potato, trials will be conducted on storage techniques in two (2) districts in the Upper East and Upper West Regions. The Afram Plains Agricultural Development Project (APADP) will train farmers in rapid cassava multiplication and yam minisett production techniques to help increase the current production levels.

7.2.5 Plantain

The Grains and Legumes Development Board will produce about 100,000 high yielding plantain suckers during the minor season for farmers. Training pro-grammes would also be intensified on improved technologies for plantain production and production guide made available to farmers. Demonstration plots on plantain production to train farmers would further be set up.

7.2.6 Horticultural Industry

To improve on the export quality of horticultural crops, the rehabilitation of Shed 9 at the Tema Harbour will be completed. Cold chain facilities will also

be provided to further enhance quality of produce.

7.2.7 Citrus

To promote citrus cultivation 20,000 citrus seedlings will be produced at Afraku near Juaben in the Ashanti Region to complement those of other nursery operators in the Southern Sector.

7.2.8 Pineapple

The Ministry will source and distribute

3 million MD2 pineapple plantlets to smallholders through a collaborative rapid sucker multiplication scheme. The MD2 variety which is in high demand on the world market is being made accessible to smallholders since the smooth cayenne variety is no more in demand.

7.2.9 Post-Harvest Technology

To assist in the reduction of post harvest losses and improve the quality of local crops, the private sector in conjunction with MOFA will undertake the following:

1. MOFA will procure 20-tonner pro-cocoon grain storage
TABLE 2:40 p.m.
TABLE 2:40 p.m.
Alhaji Alhassan Yakubu (NDC -- Nanton) 2:50 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion and in doing so I want to make two comments.
Alhaji Alhassan Yakubu (NDC -- Nanton) 2:50 p.m.


Mr. Speaker, during your Committee's meeting, it became apparent that the Statistics and Information Division of the Ministry seemed to be struggling a bit and yet their job is extremely vital in providing information for the calculation of our GDP growth and the consumer price index. It is the view of the Committee that this particular division be resourced properly in terms of finance and human resource so that they can deliver their mandate appropriately.

The Irrigation Development Authority is a vital component of the Ministry. As a country that relies largely on rain-fed agriculture, development of irrigation is a vital component of our agricultural development sector. The Committee was of the view that the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning not releasing investment money particularly for the Tono Irrigation Development Project or development facilities was rather unfortunate.

Therefore, the appeal is that we need to put more resources in our Irrigation Development Authority and irrigation facilities so that we can produce raw materials and food all year round.

Mr. Speaker, informat ion has filtered through that the small-scale vegetable producers in our urban centres cumulatively generate as much as 45 thousand hectares of irrigable land. Perhaps, it is time this group of people were well organized and some technology introduced into their production system so that people do not feel apprehensive when they are eating vegetables, that they are irrigated from waste water. Perhaps, the technology will improve the purity of the water so that people do not get too apprehensive.

Mr. Speaker, our Agricultural Extension
Mr. S. K. B. Manu (NPP -- Ahafo Ano South) 2:50 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I also rise to support the motion, and in so doing I would like to look at page 14 of the Report where they talked about agricultural financing.
Mr. Speaker, it has been said in the Report that credit to disburse to farmers for group production and storage, processing and marketing of farm produce -- Mr. Speaker, this country has no reason to be less self-sufficient in food production and it is not that our farmers are not producing enough; they are.
The problem with agriculture in this country is marketing. When the crops are produced they are left to go bad on the farms. I come from an area where a lot of maize, tomatoes and plantain, roots and tuber crops are produced, but as I go round the villages on my visits, what I find is disheartening. You go there and the farmers will come to you and say:
“Member of Parliament, your Government has asked us to produce; we have produced and look at it, we cannot get buyers.”
Mr. S. K. B. Manu (NPP -- Ahafo Ano South) 3 p.m.


In this country, we tend to look at cocoa as the only area for which we should organize marketing. A cocoa farmer knows that whatever amount of cocoa he produces he will get somebody to buy; but the maize farmer, the potato farmer, the sorghum farmer, the rice farmer, they are not sure. So the youth that we find around selling dog chains, that is driving them from the villages to towns because when they produce there is nobody to buy. Then, they would have laboured in vain.

Please, if this country is serious about agriculture we must organize the marketing aspect of our agriculture so that the farmers would produce and get ready markets for their produce. And that would serve as a motivation for them other than various courses, seminars and workshops telling farmers to produce -- Those would never yield any success. Because practically they are producing but they are not getting anybody to buy.

The Report also talks about feeder roads; that is one bane of agriculture in this country. Why is it that the farmers produce and people are not buying? The roads leading to those areas are so bad and are inaccessible so the middle-woman who finds her way into those villages, goes there and dictates the price. And because they cannot keep the plantain for months they have to sell to her at her quoted price.

Then, it discourages them the next year; then the youngman would say:

“Last year I produced this, this is how much I spent, this is how much I had; I lost so much so why do it this time? Let me go to Kumasi and sell something there”.

They go there, sometimes they do not get any good thing to sell and they join the armed robbery gangs. Please, we must look at these issues seriously as a nation. I am passionate about this issue because it affects the people of Ahafo Ano South -- my constituents.

Please, I know we do not have much time but I hope that the authorities that be are listening and listening well, and they are going to act so that our farmers would not be discouraged from farming. Even the teaching of agriculture in our schools is suffering these days and if Ghana is an agricultural country and our school curricula are not emphasizing agriculture, who will take to farming in the near future when the old men -- my father who is 85, when he dies and goes away, which of his children is going to take to farming? [Some hon. Members: Balado, you!] -- I am here representing the people of Ahafo Ano South -- [Laughter.]
Mr. Asamoah Ofosu 3 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
the hon. Member, has grossly misled hon. Members of this House and the nation, if we believe what he said. He said that our school curricula do not reflect agriculture, if we say Ghana is an agricultural nation.
Mr. Speaker, he knows, he is a teacher and I was once a student. During our time when we were doing the Advanced Level and the Ordinary Level General Certificate Examinations, Agriculture at that level was a subject; under the new educational system of the junior secondary school (JSS) and the senior secondary school (SSS), Agriculture is a course.
Formerly, we used to have Science, Business and Arts and one could do agriculture as a subject out of the eight subjects one sat for the O' Level. But this time round it is a course; we have the
Visual Arts, General Arts and Agriculture and Science. So if there is any seriousness, this is the time that we are demonstrating seriousness and commitment to agriculture at the secondary and university levels and even at JSS. As Chairman of the Committee on Education, he should know this -- either he knows or ought to have known. Mr. Speaker, for such a misleading statement he should not only withdraw but apologise to the GNAT, NAGRAT and all teachers -- [Laughter] -- and his Committee.
Mr. Manu 3 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am glad
that after ranting and ranting and ranting he came to realize that I am the Chairman of the Committee on Education. [Hear! Hear!] Mr. Speaker, I am talking as the Chairman of the Committee on Education who is handling the education policy of this country. [Laughter.] Mr. Speaker, at the JSS level -- [Interruption] -- Mr. Speaker -- [Pause] -- Mr. Speaker, I am not a Minister; that I know. I am not a Minister. But when the Minister brings a document to this Parliament it settles on my laps. [Laughter.]
rose
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3 p.m.
Hon.
Minister for Education, Science and Sports?
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 3 p.m.
Mr.
Speaker, I believe the Chairman of the Select Committee on Education is being most unfair to the educational policy of this Government and thereby unwittingly misleading this House. To say that agriculture is not considered important is most unfortunate.
As the Chairman of the Committee on Education, he even knows about the proposals for the new educational reforms to be started in September 2007 -- [An
hon. Member: Oyeewa] -- where we are having senior secondary schools dedicated to agriculture.
I believe that if he has a problem with the way we demonstrate our commitment it may be fair for him to say that we need to deepen our commitment. But to give an impression that there is a cavalier attitude towards agriculture in the educational system of this country is grossly misleading and I urge him to rephrase his concern.
Mr. Manu 3 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. Minister has spoken. He spoke about the secondary sector of the educational system. I thought he was going to talk about the JSS level -- [Interruption] -- Please, I have studied the White Paper on Education seriously and he remembers that at one of our workshops I raised this, that agriculture is being swallowed under the vocational and technical education aspects of our educational system.
rose
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3 p.m.
Are you
also on a point of order?
Mr. J. K. Gidisu 3 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, very
well so. The Chairman of the Committee on Education is still exhibiting his ignorance of the educational reforms. The reforms I want to say did not start with the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Government, they started in 1987. The White Paper which he is referring to has not even taken off yet. And agriculture as a subject is being taught in other ways right from the basic level through the SSS level. So for him to still be defending the indefensible, that it is only at the SSS level -- That is not true.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3 p.m.
Hon.
Members, I think we need to make
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3 p.m.


progress. It is an issue of opinion. [Interruption] -- Hon. Manu, have you finished?
Mr. Balado Manu 3 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, sometimes they say it is better for you to keep quiet for people to think you are -- In fact, it is a quotation so let me quote it:
“It is better for you to keep quiet for people to think that you are a fool than to open your mouth to remove all doubts.”
Mr. Speaker, with this, I need not comment on what I was told. In fact, I know what I am talking about and for him to tell me that I am ignorant -- I have been fighting this here, not today. I have been saying that education in this country must put much emphasis on agriculture. And that is what the hon. Minister said that if I mean we must intensify agriculture education, that is what I should say; and I agree with him. In fact, that is what I mean.
Some hon. Members -- rose --
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3 p.m.
Hon. Manu,
please take your seat. -- [Interruption] -- Hon. Majority Chief Whip?
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:10 p.m.
We are
making progress but I think the language which has just been used by my hon. Colleague is unacceptable in this House. Mr. Speaker, the quotation that he used, -- Mr. Speaker, people heard it --
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:10 p.m.
What did
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:10 p.m.
Mr.
Speaker, he said it is better to keep quiet for people to think that you are a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubts. Mr. Speaker, an hon. Member of this House had just spoken and he made such an allusion.
Mr. Speaker, it is unacceptable and
Mr. Manu 3:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, action and
reaction, they say, are opposite but equal. When he said I was displaying my ignorance nobody here saw anything wrong with that. But when I also reacted in equal manner and with the same poignancy, now I am being put on the carpet. Did he hear what he told me? Action and reaction are opposite but equal.
However, if my senior, the hon. Majority Chief Whip and the Majority Leadership are calling on me not to have reacted the way I did, though opposite but equal, I withdraw.
Dr. Benjamin Kunbuor (NDC -- Lawra/Nandom) 3:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to make one or two points on the motion.
Mr. Speaker, my first concern is
that I guess the Ministry of Food and Agriculture must have to review its policy of concentrating on small-scale and medium-scale dams as against large- scale dams. I have been looking for the very strong scientific basis for indicating beyond the environmental impact that large-scale dams are no more sustainable as an alternative to rain-fed agriculture; and I think this is the difficulty. This is so because we are using generalities and I guess we would have only used each specific case to assess the studies and feasibility that have been carried out and decide whether it is sustainable or not.
Mr. Speaker, I say this because if you take the Upper West communities, one of the most important concerns that the Ministry of Food and Agriculture itself has acknowledged over the years is the Kambai Irrigation Project which is a large- scale dam and which has a lot of potential and might end up being uniquely different from other initiatives that are considered not to have worked.
Mr. Speaker, why I say this is that when you look at the small-scale and medium- scale dams, because of the level of siltation in most of the communities where we situate them, the life-span never goes beyond ten years and they have to do drainage of those medium-scale and small scale dams at relatively very high costs.
I also do know that the soil sample studies of most large-scale dam cons- truction would be an important factor in determining the sustainability or other- wise of large-scale dams and I can talk on authority that I know that the Akuse soil series which is a very rife phenomenon in northern Ghana was actually discovered during the soil science feasibility studies in the Kambai Irrigation Project.
So I would want us to treat proposals for large-scale dams on one-to-one basis and not use a general stereotype to assume their unsustainability.
Mr. Speaker, my second and last
point is that quite often when we look at the relationship between industry and agriculture, we should not be running very, very contradictory policies. If you take the 138 districts in this country, I can say for sure that about 50 per cent to 60 per cent of them are predominantly dependent on agriculture. So if we find in the Budget Statement, which for me looks quite mechanical, that we are going to put an
industry in every one of the 138 districts, it means that even when all the studies show that an industry is not viable in the district, we are going to put one.
It particularly becomes important where the industry is likely to be an agro- processing industry and where we do not build the capacity for the production of the raw material, you would find that that district project would be another white elephant. That is why I think that if we take the medium-term development plan of each of the 138 districts, it would be clear to us that there are priorities for each district and those priorities are not necessarily want of industry.
I say this, Mr. Speaker, because when you take our Constitution -- and we know that the District Assemblies are the highest political authorities in the districts, only subject to the Constitution -- they should be the ones to decide what are their development priorities.
One can say that for most parts of the northern savannah and the northern part of Brong Ahafo, agriculture would remain a priority issue for them, not only in relation to arable farming but also to livestock and the fisheries industry. So I think we need to take a closer review of our policy on these issues.
Mr. J. Y. Labik (IND -- Bunkpurugu/
Yunyoo): Mr. Speaker, thank you for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the motion on the floor of this House.
Mr. Speaker, looking at the seven
main objectives of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, one is very clear about the Ministry's or the Ghanaian farmer's contribution to the economy of this country. Mr. Speaker, there is one area of serious concern to the Ghanaian peasant farmer and which I would want to make
Dr. Benjamin Kunbuor (NDC -- Lawra/Nandom) 3:20 p.m.


very clear or mention for the hon. Minister for Food and Agriculture to take note, and that is the marketing aspect of the Ghanaian farmer's produce.

Mr. Speaker, we are in December and this is the time many of our peasant farmers are harvesting and this is the time most of them would have to rush into the markets to sell their produce. For that matter, the market becomes choked with a lot of farm produce and so the middleman takes advantage of our peasant farmers by cheating them.

I can cite one area of cheating. If you get down to Ejura market, Techiman market, or Nkoranza market, as at now, the normal weight of a bag is about 50 kgs. But if you get down to either Ejura, Kintampo or Nkoranza, as at now, you would see that there is always a hat -- they call it a cap -- over the normal sack and that is how the middleman takes advantage of our peasant farmers.

Mr. Speaker, this is so because most of

our peasant farmers buy cloth once a year for their wives or children to celebrate the Christmas and in doing so they are compelled to send these food items as at this time into the markets for sale and therefore market becomes a big problem and the middleman takes advantage of the situation.

Mr. Speaker, another area where the

middleman takes advantage of our peasant farmer is in the supply of inputs. Mr. Speaker, the farmer does not have the right to dictate the price of his produce when he is selling. The same farmer cannot dictate the price of the inputs that are being sold to him.

At the time of farming or cultivation, the middleman sells fertilizer and other inputs to the farmer and dictates his own price, and this is another area where the middleman takes advantage of our peasant farmers. I would want the Minister for Food and Agriculture to take note of these two areas of exploitation of our peasant farmers in this country and consider how to address them.

Mr. Speaker, we have just heard of the School Feeding Programme. If the Ghana Food Distribution Corporation that has been closed down -- this would have been the time that this particular organization would have played a very vital role in buying food from our peasant farmers for the School Feeding Pro-gramme. I believe the Minister for Food and Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs would take note of how our peasant farmers could be assured of guaranteed prices for their produce.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:20 p.m.
Hon. Members, we have quite a number of motions as well. So I will take one contribution from each side.
Mrs. Alice Teni Boon (NDC -- Lambussie) 3:20 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion on the floor and to urge all hon. Members in the House to support and pass the budget for the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs to enable them to do what they intend to do.
Mr. Speaker, I first of all would like to congratulate the Ministry for appreciating the efforts of women in this country and to thank them sincerely for choosing a woman as the best farmer for the year. [Interruption.] The best farmer for the year in two regions in the country. In the Volta Region it was a woman in one of the districts -- [Interruption] -- and in the Central or Western Region, I am not sure, but I can remember there were two women who won the best farmers' awards this year, re-echoing the best farmer for last year. So I think the Ministry appreciates women's efforts a lot and I
Mrs. Alice Teni Boon (NDC -- Lambussie) 3:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I also want to add quickly that the Minister can do more than he is doing to assist women and I know they will not hesitate to do so because it has come to light that women do farming with all their heart and do so nicely, even in animal husbandry. Women do animal husbandry very well and do sustain them.
Statistics in my area have shown that the women groups that they gave animals to from the agricultural sector have been able to maintain them and they did not die. But in some of the men's groups most of the animals died. So I want to encourage the Ministry to look more at women groups and empower them.
Mr. Speaker, I also want to look at irrigation in the country. I want the Ministry to compare what happens in Burkina Faso with what is in Ghana. Sometime back, I think the Ministry embarked on a tour of Burkina Faso to observe how they have been able cultivate in the dry season. They have a lot of vegetables, they do a lot of crop farming in the rainy season, and I think that there is the need for them to adopt this sort of technology in Burkina Faso in the dry areas in Ghana. I think it will be of much help to us.
With these few words, Mr. Speaker, I support the motion and I urge all hon. Members to help pass the budget for the Ministry.
Deputy Minister for Manpower, Youth and Employment (Mrs. Akosua Frema Osei-Opare): Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute to the motion on the floor.
Mr. Speaker, my contribution borders on post-harvest activities. We have heard from hon. Members about the need to focus also on marketing.
But Mr. Speaker, I think we need to recognize that if food is to be preserved for a very long time then we need to process. It is important for us to recognize that as much as we can ferry food from the hinterland to city centres and so on, food crops have a limited lifespan or shelf life. Because of that there is a limit to how much a farmer or a marketer can realize from the sale of raw products.
That is part of the reason our food- stuffs in the market are very expensive because by the time one brings tomatoes from Bolgatanga to maybe Agbogbloshie market, one would have lost maybe 30 per cent of it. One may need to recoup and therefore the consumer has to pay for it.
I am urging the Ministry to collaborate seriously with the research institutes, particularly, institutes like the Food Research Institute, the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Ghana and other such institutes to actually begin to seriously invest in research to process our foods.
For instance, somebody cannot process in every district -- Yes, but there is a correlation between the utilization of raw food and processing, in the sense that the longer you need to cart food to the processing site, the more the quality is affected; and the price shoots up.
Therefore, i t is important that processing sites are close to the producing sites than being far away.
One area that we can focus on is producing intermediary products -- products that can be made such that one can now reduce the volume and increase the shelf life. They can then be transported into the bigger towns for sophisticated handling such as canning or freezing

or further drying. These are important measures and that is why it is important that rural industries be focused upon. Rural industries can be the conduit for producing these types of intermediary products which then can come to the city for us to transform into the fancy products that we require.

Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I would like the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs to focus or give special attention to collaborating with the Ministry of Trade, Industry PSD and PSI towards the kinds of products that they can make at the rural level so that in the end there is more benefit for us as a nation and for the farmers in particular.

I thank you, Mr. Speaker, for this opportunity to contribute.

Question put and motion agreed to.
ANNUAL ESTIMATES 3:30 p.m.
Minister for Public Sector Reforms (Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom) 3:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, that this honourable House approves the sum of ¢31,875,000,000 to allow the Ministry of Public Sector Reforms to continue its implementation of the comprehensive work programme that includes items such as service delivery, pay reforms and others. I beg to move.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:30 p.m.
Yes, hon. Chairman of the Committee?
Chairman of the Committee (Mr. Paul Okoh) 3:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to second the motion moved by the Minister for Public Sector Reforms and in doing so I present the Report of the Committee.
1.0 Introduction
In pursuance of article 179 (1), (2) and (10) of the Constitution of the Republic and Standing Order 140 (1) the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana for the 2007 Financial Year was presented to the House on Thursday, 16th November 2006 by the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, hon. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu.
In compliance with Standing Orders 140 (4) and 184, the 2007 Draft Estimates of the Ministry of Public Sector Reforms were referred to the Select Committee for consideration and report, and the Committee having held a meeting to so consider the Estimates reports as follows:
1.1 Acknowledgement
The Committee is grateful to the Sector Minister, the Chief Director and officials of the Ministry who attended the Committee Budget hearing session to assist the Committee deliberate on the Estimates.
2.0 Reference Document
In considering the Estimates of the Sector Ministry the under-listed documents were referred to:
i) The 1992 Constitution of the Republic
ii) The Budget Estimate and Economic Po l i ce o f the Government of Ghana for the 2006 Financial Year
iii) The Budget Estimate and Economic Po l icy o f the Government of Ghana for the 2007 Financial Year
iv) The Annual Estimates of the Ministry of Public Sector Reforms
v) The Standing Orders of the Parliament of Ghana.
3.0 Mission Statement of the Ministry of Public Sector Reform
The Ministry of Public Sector Reforms exists as the Home of all Public Sector Reforms performing the role of a facilitator and co-ordinator of reform initiatives. To this end, the Ministry ensures, by working with all heads of MDAs, that reform projects are prioritized, time-bound and fully cost for which the Ministry would identify fund sources. The Minisry conducts follow-ups, monitoring and evaluation of all reform activities to ensure that implementation is effective.
4.0 Objectives of the Ministry of Public Sector Reform
In order to realize its mission statement, the Ministry of Public Sector Reforms has set for itself the following objectives:
i. To formulate, implement, co- ordinate, monitor and evaluate policies on Public Sector Reform;
ii. To strengthen the capacity of MPSR to deliver on its mission;
iii. To ensure the review and implementation of services del ivery improvement of programme in all MDAs as a means of creating a customer- oriented public service;
iv. To assist Subvented Agencies (SAs) reduce their impact on Government's budget and financial resources and help to improve performance;
v. To help determine and clarify the current status, role and funct ions of the Centra l Management Agenda and Strategic Management Agen- cies (SMAs) with the view to supporting agreed or revised implementation plans;
v i . To p romote t r ans fe r o f information on on reform as well as increase interaction for socio-economic transformation of the public services.
vii. To provide the requisite support in ensuring the harmonization and merging of decentralization process into the main public sector reform programmes as a means of achieving the broader objectives of Government.
5 . 0 R e v i e w o f t h e M i n i s t r y 's Performance in 2006
In order to achieve the set objectives, the Ministry of Public Sector Reforms was allocated an amount of thirteen billion and six million cedis (¢13,006,000,000.00) for the implementation of the programmes and activities of the Ministry of Public Sector Reforms for the 2006 Financial Year.
The breakdown of the approved sum of ¢13,006,000,000 under the various items of expenditure and sources of funding is as follows:
5.1 Achievements
The Committee noted with satisfaction the modest achievement made by the Ministry in spite of the teething problems relating to its physical establishment.
The Committee was impressed with the pace at which the Ministry was able to

develop a policy direction on pay reform structural programme with its implement- ation plan for the coming year. More impressive was the Ministry's ability to prepare a comprehensive work plan for the implementation of a sequenced and prioritized public sector reforms strategy in addition to restructuring of Civil Service and developing training pro-grammes.

6.0 Budgetary Allocation for the Public Sector Reforms

In order to achieve the set objectives with particular reference to the work programme for the 2007 Financial Year, the Ministry of Public Sector is being allocated an amount of thirteen billion, and ten million Cedis (¢13,010,000,000.00) from GOG sources and a donor component of eighteen billion eight hundred and sixty- five million cedis (¢18,865,000,000.00)

Figure 2 below presents the distribution of the said sum under the various cost centres and also gives indication of the sources of funding.

6.1 Comparison of Approved GoG Budgetary

Allocation of 2006 and 2007 Financial Year Analysis of the 2007 Budgetary Allocation

A cursory glance at figure 3 above indicates that on the whole, there was 42.73 per cent increase in the budgetary allocations for the 2007 Financial Year.

The Committee was informed that the Ministry had plans to improve in the office space and equipment as well as provide furniture, cross country vehicles, computers for the monitoring of PSR activities in 2007.

The Committee noted that the ministry had requested for a total of twenty-nine billion seven hundred and eighty-four Million Cedis (¢29,784,000,000) but had been granted 7 per cent more than they requested (¢31,875,000,000) from a combination of GOG and donor sources.

The Committee was informed that the Ministry is getting more response from Development partners and stated that adequate funding would be released.

The Ministry indicated to the Committee its plans to implement such programmes as organisational restruc-turing of the Civil Service delivery improvement programmes, compre-hensive pay salary scheme established, implementation of a communication strategy, et cetera.

6.2 Observation

Inadequate Office Accommodation

For reasons as afore-mentioned, the place the Ministry occupied in the development and productivity of the public sector of the country as a whole, the Committee deplored the lack of adequate office accommodation that the Ministry faced. The Committee recom- mends that government shows more commitment to resource the Ministry including ensuring that it acquires a permanent office accommodation to be able to discharge its responsibilities iin an enabling environment.

6.2 Inadequate Staffing

The Committee observed that the staffing level out the Ministry were low and was rather happy that the 2007 budget made provision for new recruitment.

The Committee was of the view that the Ministry needed to have its own permanent staff in order to be able to implement its policies and programmes.

The Committee there recommends that

the Ministry of Finance should release funds to the Ministry of Public Sector Reform timely to be able to carry out its programmes since it is the hub of all the major reforms in the country.

7.0 Conclusion

Public Sector Reform has been identified as a key activity in attaining both the Millennium Development goals of the country and the middle income status by 2015. It is therefore a necessary condition for development as it promotes wealth creation and increase employment generation

In this regard, the Committee recommends to the House for approval, the sum of thirty-one billion, eight hundred and seventy-five million cedis (¢31,875,000,000) made up of thirteen billion and ten million cedis (¢13,010,000,000) from GOG sources and eighteen billion eight hundred and sixty- four million Cedis (¢18,864,000,000) from Donor for the implementation of the programmes of activities of the Ministry of Public Sector Reform, for the 2007 Financial Year.

Respectfully submitted.

Question proposed.
Mr. Ofosu Asamoah (NPP -- Kade) 3:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would want to make a small observation in supporting this motion.
Mr. Speaker, we are now approving
of an estimate for the Ministry of Public Sector Reforms. Mr. Speaker, in doing so, I wish to urge the hon. Minister in reforming the Public Service not to limit itself to the Civil Service or the otherwise Public Service that we know but Parliament as well. Mr. Speaker, for the past week and this week we have been approving of Votes and Proceedings in this House.
Mr. E. T. Mensah 3:30 p.m.
On a point of order.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:30 p.m.
Hon.
Member, you are out of order. But hon. Member for Kade, I am wondering what you are bringing up. We are discussing a motion and you are making an observation that is absolutely out of the way of what we are doing.
Mr. Ofosu 3:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, we are
discussing the Budget for the Ministry of Public Sector Reforms. We have been described in certain quarters as Public Servants, some people also call us politicians but whatever we do is in the interest of the public and for that matter the Republic of Ghana. Mr. Speaker, therefore if it is Public Sector Reforms, I am saying the reform should not be limited to the Civil Service or the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) but Parliament as well. I am setting the example from here. Charity begins at home and the Holy Bible has said it that on the judgement day it shall start from the house of the Lord.
So Mr. Speaker, what I am saying is that we have not received any communication from Mr. Speaker or any quarters but the strength of this House has been reduced to 229 without notice. I have taken my time to go through and I have seen one name which is conspicuously absent. We do not know whether the hon. Member has resigned or is deceased but we keep on approving Votes and Proceedings to represent the true and correct position of
[NII ADU MANTE] [NII ADU MANTE]

this House for weeks and days.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:30 p.m.
Hon.
Member, you yourself pointed out that each day when we Sit we approve of the minutes and proceedings of the previous Sitting. If you find it necessary to question the numbers of hon. Members of Parliament here that would be the appropriate time to do so. At the moment, we are discussing the Ministry of Public Sector Reforms' Budget. Let us limit ourselves to that.
Mr. Ofosu 3:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am calling
for a reform in the approval so that what we approve must be the true position unless Mr. Speaker, one seat is vacant for which no communication has been received. I need your guidance.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:30 p.m.
I am saying that if you should contribute to the motion before us -- If you do not want to do that let somebody else take your place and at the appropriate time you raise the issue you want to raise.
Mr. Ofosu 3:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I will raise it at the appropriate time. However, this is my contribution.
Question put and motion agreed to.
ANNUAL ESTIMATES 3:30 p.m.
Minister for Education, Science and Sports (Papa Owusu-Ankomah) 3:40 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, before I move the motion, I would want to crave the indulgence of the
House to make a correction to the figure on the motion. The figure should read ¢11,322,257 trillion.
Mr. Speaker, this figure is the figure stated in the Budget Statement (Appendix 5) and it is also stated in the report of the Committee. The figure on the Order Paper presently does not include the GETFund resources and then HIPC resources.

Mr. Speaker, having made that correction, I beg to move, that this honourable House approves the sum of ¢11,322,257,000,000 for the services of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports for the 2007 fiscal year.

Mr. Speaker, the breakdown is as

follows: Personal Emoluments -- ¢7,255,- 684,000,000; administration -- ¢487,329,- 000,000; Service ¢391,257,000,000 and Investment ¢255,025,000,000.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to highlight a

few things and request that the Hansard reports the entirety of the statement I am going to make in respect of the motion.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:40 p.m.
Hon.
Minister for Education, Science and Sports, not all hon. Members have the statement that you want to make. In any case, there could be portions that some could oppose or would have expunged from it. They would not have the opportunity but be it as it may, go ahead.
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 3:40 p.m.
Very well;
it is about fifteen pages, I would not like to read it but I just want to highlight a few things.
Mr. Speaker, the Ministry has four major implementing agencies 3:40 p.m.
The Ghana

Education Service which is responsible for

P. 387

pre-tertiary educational programmes; the National Council for Tertiary Education which is in charge of tertiary education programmes; the National Sports Council which is responsible for the formulation and promotion of sporting policies and programmes in the country; and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research which is responsible for the promotion of scientific and technological research and utilization of research findings.

The above agencies have been allocated

about 93.7 per cent of the total budget. The other implementing agencies have been allocated the remainder and these are the Non-Formal Education Division, the National Service Secretariat, the Ghana Library Board, the Ghana Book Development Council, the West African Examinations Council, the Ghana National Commission for UNESCO, the National Co-ordinating Committee for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (NACVET), the National Sports College, Winneba, the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) and the President's Special Initiative on Distance Education.

The Ghana Education Service (GES) which is the largest implementing agency of the Ministry has been allocated a total amount of ¢6,465,095,900,000 representing 77.1 per cent of the Ministry's total allocation for the year. Out of this, an amount of ¢5,852,258,500,000 representing 90.5 per cent has been earmarked for personal emoluments.

Mr. Speaker, the Ministry has set itself

some targets in respect of the education, science and sports sub-sectors.

Mr. Speaker, I therefore urge the House to approve the sum of ¢11,322,257,000,000 for the services of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports for the 2007 fiscal year.

I beg to move.
Chairman of the Committee (Mr. S. K. B. Manu) 3:40 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to second the motion and in doing so, I want to observe that I have a thirty-one page report and given the time at our disposal, I want to read the General Observations and finally the Conclusion -- [Inter-ruption.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:40 p.m.
Hon. Member for Ahafo Ano South, the general observations is quite plenty. Since you are going to ask the Hansard Office to capture everything, why not start from the General Recommendation? But be it as it may, that is your choice, so continue.
Mr. Manu 3:40 p.m.
Yes, whilst reading this sheet I urge the Hansard Department to ensure that the entire document is published in the Hansard and deemed as having been read.
1.0 Introduction
The Annual Estimates for the fiscal year 2007 of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports was referred to the Joint Committee on Education, Youth, Sports and Culture and Environment, Science and Technology for consideration and report pursuant to Orders 140 (4), 186, 187 and 185 of the Standing Orders of the House and article 179 of the Constitution, following the presentation of the 2007 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government by the Hon. Minister for Finance and Economic Planning on Thursday, 16th November, 2006, and a subsequent motion for its adoption,.
1.1 Committee Sitting
The Committee had a number of meetings to consider the Estimates of the Ministry. Those who assisted the Committee in this endeavour were the Minister for Education, Science and Sports, hon. Papa Owusu-Ankomah and his technical team as well as officials from
the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. The Committee is grateful to the Minister and all the officials for their warm co-operation in this regard.
1.3 Reference Document
The following documents were used as reference guide during the Committee's deliberations:
(a) The 1992 Constitution of Ghana
(b) The Standing Orders of the Parliament of Ghana
(c) The Budget Statement and Economic Po l icy o f the Government of Ghana for the 2007 financial year
(d) The Draft Annual Estimates of the Ministry of Education for the 2007 financial year
(e) Report on the Actual Expenditure of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports for the fiscal year 2006.
1.4 Mission Statement and Objectives
As one of the key sectors contributing to national development, the mission of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports is to provide relevant education to all Ghanaians at all levels irrespective of gender, tribe, religion and/or political affiliation to ensure national development and also formulate and implement policies to accelerate Youth and Sports development for all Ghanaians to achieve national integration and international recognition.
In pursuit of this, the Ministry will provide:
a. Basic education for all
b. Education and training for skill development with emphasis on science, technology and creativity
c. Higher education for the development of middle and top level manpower requirements
d. Facilities to ensure that citizens are functionally literate and self-reliant. In providing these services, the Ministry will be guided by the underlisted values:
1. Quality education
2. Efficient management of resources
3. Accountability and trans- parency
Consequently, the Ministry seeks to achieve the following objectives:
i. To enhance the quality of teaching and learning
ii. To increase access to and participation in education and training
iii. To upgrade and extend technical and vocational, agricultural and business education and training
iv. To promote good health and environmental sanitation in schools
v. To strengthen governance, p l a n n i n g a n d r e s o u r c e m a n a g e m e n t w i t h i n t h e education sector
vi. To promote and extend provision

of science and technology education and training

vii. To improve the quality and relevance of academic and research programmes

vii i .To promote and extend provision of Science and Technology Education and Training

ix. To promote and extend Pre- School Education

x. To provide girls with equal opportunities to access the full cycle of education.

xi . To Identify and promote educational programmes that will assist in the prevention and management of HIV/AIDS

xii. To promote Good Health and Environmental Sanitation in schools and Institutions of Higher Learning

xiii. To facilitate the provision of sports and recreational facilities in deprived communities

xiv. To strengthen the existing managemen t sy s t em fo r optimum sports development

xv. To promote private sector i n v o l v e m e n t i n s p o r t s development; and

xvi. To research, formulate, monitor and evaluate policies to create enabling conditions for sports development.

2.0 Review of Performance in 2006

The Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, in 2006, focused its attention on achieving the targets set under the Education Strategic Plan and GPRS II. Ghana also participated in international sports including CAN 2006 in Egypt and the World Cup Tournament in Germany. Below are some of the specific activities undertaken by the various sectors for year

2006.

2.1 Education Sub-Sector

2.1.1 Basic Education

Mr. Speaker, as part of the effort to mainstream pre-schools into the basic education system, the Ministry continued to collaborate with the District Assemblies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in providing the necessary infrastructure for pre-schools. This contributed to a significant increase in Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) for pre- schools from 60.14 per cent in 2004/2005 to 75.2 per cent in 2005/2006.

During the year under review the Ministry continued with the programme of increasing access to basic education and implemented measures geared towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) target of Universal Primary Completion by 2015 and Gender Parity by 2008. Various enrolment drives including the implementation of the Capitation Grant Scheme and School Feeding, were introduced to remove barriers to enrolment and encourage participation and attendance.

As a result of these initiatives, the enrolment at the basic level increased by 16 per cent and GER at primary level grew from 87.5 per cent in 2004/2005 to 92.1 per cent in 2005/2006. In addition, the Gender Parity Index also grew from

0.93 in 2004/2005 to 0.95 in 2005/2006.

A total amount of ¢129.5 billion was paid as Capitation Grant for pupils in public basic schools. In addition, the Government spent an amount of ¢28.31 billion towards the conduct of the 2006 Basic Education Certificate Examination

(BECE).

The Ministry continued to expand physical facilities in basic schools. In all, construction works on 65 (6-unit) classroom blocks were started, whilst work on other 82 classroom blocks are at various stages of completion.

The proportion of public recurrent education expenditure on primary educat ion increased in 2006, to accommodate the resulting demands from implementing the capitation grant scheme and other ESP interventions for basic education. The target is to spend at least 33 per cent of public recurrent expenditure on education for the primary level by end of the year.

In order to ensure equity in the supply of teachers, to improve quality of teaching and learning at all levels throughout the country, conscious effort was made to deploy more teachers to the three regions in the northern parts of the countty, thereby reducing the wide regional disparities in the pupil/teacher ratios. The resultant ratios attained for the three regions of the northern sector compared to the national average are as follows:

Region 2004/2005 2005/2006
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