Debates of 16 Mar 2007

MR. SPEAKER
PRAYERS 10 a.m.
CORRECTION OF VOTES 10 a.m.
AND PROCEEDINGS AND 10 a.m.
THE OFFICIAL REPORT 10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker 10 a.m.
Order! Order! Correction of Votes and Proceedings, Thursday, 15th March 2007 -- Pages 1, 2, 3 . . 17. [No correction was made.]
Hon. Members, we do not have any
Official Report today. Item -- 3, Business Statement for the
Eighth Week -- Chairman of the Business Committee.
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE 10 a.m.
Majority Leader/Chairman of the Business Committee (Mr. F. K. Owusu- Adjapong) 10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the Business Committee met yesterday, Thursday, 15th March 2007 and arranged Business of the House for the Eighth Week ending Friday, 23rd March, 2007.
Mr. Speaker, the Committee presents its report to this honourable House as follows 10 a.m.
Arrangement of Business
Question(s)
Mr. Speaker, the Committee has scheduled seven (7) Ministers to respond to various Questions.
The details are as follows:
No. of Question(s)
Mr. Speaker, five (5) Urgent Questions have also been programmed for the week. The Questioners and the respective Ministers are as follows:
Members to ask Question Ministers to respond to Question(s)

i. Minister for Manpower, Youth and Employment 1

ii. Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Environment 2

iii. Minister for the Interior 5

iv. Minister for Transportation 1

v. Minister for Energy 1

vi. Ashanti Regional Minister 1

vii. Minister for Education, Science and Sports 6

Total Number of Questions 17

Urgent Question(s)
Mr. Speaker, the Committee presents its report to this honourable House as follows 10 a.m.
i. Alhaji Amadu B. Sorogho (Abokobi-Madina) Minister for the Interior
ii. Mr. George Kofi Arthur (Amenfi Central) Minister for Transportation
iii. Mr. Stephen K. Balado Manu (Ahafo Ano South) Minister for Energy
iv. Mr. Haruna Iddrisu (Tamale South) Minister for Energy
v. Mr. George Kofi Arthur Minister for Water Resources, (Central Central) Works and Housing
Mr. Speaker, in all, we have seventeen (17) Questions and five (5) Urgent Questions
which are expected to be answered during the week.
Statements
Mr. Speaker may allow Statements which have been admitted to be made in the House.
Bills, Papers and Reports
Mr. Speaker, Bills, Papers and Reports may be presented to the House for consideration and other business which have already been presented to the House would also be considered.
Motions and Resolutions
Mr. Speaker, motions may be debated and the appropriate Resolutions would be taken where required.
Committee of the Whole
The Committee of the Whole is expected to consider the Proposed Formula for Sharing the District Assemblies Common Fund for the Year 2007 and the Proposed
Formula for the Distribution of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) for the Year 2007 on Tuesday, 20th March 2007. We therefore do not expect any other Committee to meet until we finish the Committee of the Whole meeting.
Mr. Speaker, the Business Committee wishes to remind the leadership of all Committees to expedite action on their outstanding referrals.
Mr. Speaker, the Business Committee has noted with satisfaction that the Finance Committee submitted all their reports programmed for last week and hope all Committees will emulate them.
Mr. Speaker, the House is expected to rise sine die on Friday, 23rd March 2007.
Conclusion
Mr. Speaker, in accordance with Standing Order 160 (2) and subject to Standing Order 53, the Committee submits to this honourable House the order in which the Business of the House shall be taken during the week.

Oaths

Questions --

Minister for Manpower, Youth and Employment -- 877

Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Environ- ment -- 721 and 722

Laying of Papers --

(a) Report of the Finance Com- mittee on the Banking (Amend- ment) Bill.

(b) Report of the Joint Committee on Finance and Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs on the Anti-Money Laundering Bill.

(c) Report of the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs on the Laws of Ghana (Revised Edition) (Amendment) Bill.

(d) Report of the Committee on Employment, Social Welfare and State Enterprises on the Fair Wages and Salaries Com- mission Bill.

Consideration Stage of Bills --

(a) Ministries (Retention of Funds) Bill, 2006.

(b) Customs and Excise (Duties and Other Taxes) (Amendment) Bill.

(c) Internal Revenue (Amendment) Bill.

Committee Sittings --

Committee of the Whole to discuss the Proposed Formula for Sharing the District Assemblies Common Fund for the Year 2007 and the Proposed Formula for the Distribution of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) for the Year

2007.

Urgent Question --

Alhaj i Amadu B. Sorogho (Abokobi-Madina): To ask the Minister for the Interior what immediate steps the Ministry is taking to resolve the litigation between the people of Akporman and Boi in the Ga East District of the Greater Accra Region which has claimed a number of lives.

Questions --

Minister for the Interior -- 749, 819, 820, 860 and 862.

Laying of Papers --

(a) Report of the Committee of the Whole on the Proposed Formula for Sharing the District Assemblies Common Fund for the Year 2007.
Mr. Speaker, the Committee presents its report to this honourable House as follows 10:10 a.m.


(a) Report of the Committee of the Whole on the Proposed Formula for the Distribution of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) for the Year 2007.
Mr. Speaker, the Committee presents its report to this honourable House as follows 10:10 a.m.
Motions --
(a) Second Reading of Bills --
Banking (Amendment) Bill.
Anti-Money Laundering Bill.
T h e L a w s o f G h a n a ( R e v i s e d E d i t i o n ) (Amendment) Bill.
Fair Wages and Salaries Com- mission Bill.
(b) Third Reading of Bills.
Polytechnics Bill.
National Reconstruction Levy (Repeal) Bill.
2006 Supplementary Appro- priation Bill.
Data Processing Control Board Decree (Repeal) Bill.
(c) Adoption of the Report of the Committee on Lands and Forestry on the Revised African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

Committee Sittings.

Urgent Questions --

(a) Mr. George Kofi Arthur (Amenfi Central): To ask the Minister for Transportation when the bridge over River Ankobra which is at the verge of collapsing will be reconstructed.

(b) Mr. Stephen K. Balado Manu (Ahafo Ano South): To ask the Minister for Energy if he is aware of the acute shortage of kerosene in the Ashanti Region thus forcing some people to

travel to Sunyani to procure this vital commodity.

( c ) M r. H a r u n a I d d r i s u (Tamale South): To ask the Minister for Energy what accounts for the adulteration of fuel and what steps the Ministry is taking to deal with the problem.

Questions --

Minister for Transportation -- 655

Minister for Energy -- 930

Motions --

(a)Third Reading of Bills --

Ministries (Retention of Funds) Bill.

Customs and Excise (Duties and Other Taxes) (Amendment) Bill.

Internal Revenue (Amendment) Bill.

(b) Adoption of the Report of the Committee of the Whole on the Proposed Formula for Sharing the District Assemblies Common Fund for the Year 2007.

(c) Adoption of the Report of the Committee of the Whole on the Proposed Formula for the Distribution of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) for the Year

2007.

Consideration Stage of Bills --

Banking (Amendment) Bill.

Anti-Money Laundering Bill.

The Laws of Ghana (Revised Edition) (Amendment) Bill.

Fair Wages and Salaries Com- mission Bill.

Committee Sittings.

Urgent Questions --
Mr. George Kofi Arthur (Amenfi Central) 10:10 a.m.
To ask the Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing what the Ministry is doing to solve the acute water problem facing the constituency as a result of the pollution of the streams and rivers by miners.
Question --
Minister for Education, Science and Sports -- 684, 685, 686, 687, 688 and 719
Ashanti Regional Minister -- 742
Motions --
Third Reading of Bills--
Banking (Amendment) Bill.
Anti-Money Laundering Bill.
The Laws of Ghana (Revised Edition) (Amendment) Bill.
Fair Wages and Salaries Com- mission Bill.
The House Expected to Rise Sine Die.
Mr. Speaker 10:10 a.m.
Item 4 -- Questions,
Minister for Tourism and Diasporan Relations.
Mr. H. Cobbina 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member has asked me to ask the Question on his behalf and I am seeking permission from you.
Mr. Speaker 10:10 a.m.
Permission granted.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS 10:10 a.m.
MINISTRY OF TOURISM AND 10:10 a.m.
DIASPORAN RELATIONS 10:10 a.m.
Minister for Tourism and Diasporan Relations (Mr. Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey) 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the construction of the Kintampo Waterfalls facility has been completed. The only work left to be completed is the extension of electricity and water to the facility.
The Kintampo North District Assembly has agreed to assist by providing the facility with a generator and water tanks for the time being, while efforts are made for permanent supply of such utilities.
Mr. Cobbina 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member wanted to know when the receptive centre would be implemented. Looking at the Answer, he has given out the modalities and the processes, but the actual time for the project to be implemented has not been stated. I want to know from the Minister when the actual project will be implemented.
Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, as soon as the utilities have been put in place by the District Assembly and the manager for the facility has been appointed.
Mr. E. P. Aidoo 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister when electricity will be supplied to the centre.
Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, this is in the hands of the District Assembly and as soon as I know, I can pass it on to the hon. Member.
Ms. Akua Dansua 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to know from the Minister if the extension of electricity and water to the facility was part of the original design for the project.
Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, indeed, it was part of the original design for the project but it was not part of the contract that we gave. It is to be provided as a contribution from the District Assembly.
Mr. C. S. Hodogbey 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. Minister said the facility has been completed. When was it completed?
Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey 10:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I do not have actual date with me but I can get it for the hon. Member if he is so interested.
Mr. Speaker 10:10 a.m.
Hon. Minister, thank you very much for appearing to answer this Question. You are discharged.
Minister for Harbours and Railways, Question no. 747.
MINISTRY OF HARBOURS AND 10:10 a.m.
RAILWAYS 10:10 a.m.
Mr. E. P. Aidoo 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, apart
from the little intervention by Ghana Manganese Company to have the track between Nsuta and Takoradi put in a fair condition, what has the Ministry done on the whole stretch since its creation by H.E. the President in 2001?
Prof. Akumfi 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, for the
past two and a half to three years, minor maintenance work has been going on, on that stretch, in fact, from Takoradi all the way to Kumasi. I must admit this has not been extensive enough so the fear of derailment is still alive.
However, as I indicated, our search for a partner to enable us tackle the western line comprehensively has resulted in the availability of a company which will be introduced to the august House in a short while. So we are in the process of getting the problem permanently resolved. In the meantime, minor maintenance work is going on, using resources generated regularly by the Ghana Railway Company.
Mr. E. P. Aidoo 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to know from the hon. Minister how long it would take his Ministry and the Ministry of Transportation to stop the overweight vehicles from using the road.
Prof. Akumfi 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, at a
meeting organized between the Ghana Highway Authority, representing the Ministry, and the Ghana Bauxite Company
-- I happened to be there so I chaired the meeting -- the decision was taken that effective the beginning of February, the company was going to be stopped from using haulage trucks. But Mr. Speaker, monitoring of this decision, the implementation of the decision rests with the Ministry of Transportation and the Ghana Highway Authority. They will be the best organizations to answer the question.
Mr. Kojo Armah 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, in the hon. Minister's Answer, he said that “the Ghana Bauxite Company continues to pay the tariff that it was paying 17 years ago. Meanwhile, the company has engaged the services of haulage trucks which continue to cause extensive damage to the roads”.
May I know from the Minister, how much the Bauxite Company is paying to Ghana Railway Company and how much they are paying to the haulage trucks.
Prof. Akumfi 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, in 1990 some agreement was reached on the tariff to be paid by the Ghana Bauxite Company. This was $9.35 per tonne. Since the creation of the Ministry, I have had not less than half a dozen meetings with the authorities of the Ghana Bauxite Company. Sometimes we have been close to reaching an agreement on a reviewed tariff but they always go back and refuse to pay the new tariff. I learn that they are paying as much as $11 or $12 per tonne for the use of the haulage trucks. So clearly, in spite of the high tariff paid to haulage trucks, the Ghana Bauxite Company is now carting about 92 per cent of bauxite by road.
Mr. Speaker, the idea is, clearly, if Ghana Railway Company had very dependable rail transportation system, I am sure the mining companies would want to use it. However, because of the
inability of the Ghana Railway Company to maintain the tracks, because of its low revenue base, it has been very difficult to provide the needed service, especially to Ghana Bauxite Company. So it is a chicken and egg kind of situation. The Bauxite Company, I believe, ought to be able to invest in the maintenance of that line so that Ghana Railway can offer the service.
Mr. Speaker, monies provided by the two mining companies are not for free. The monies are normally taken out of the revenues generated when the companies cart the minerals. So it is a question of paying upfront for the maintenance of the line so that they can provide the service, and this has been a big problem between my Ministry and Ghana Bauxite Company.
Ms. Akua Dansua 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I did not hear the Minister read the last paragraph of his written Answer. Should we take it that it is no longer part of his Answer, and so we should expunge it from our records of proceedings for today?
Prof. Akumfi 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, we are still pursuing discussions between us and the banks. But all of this may be overtaken by the conclusion of some arrangements that we are discussing with a private company. It can be maintained for the records but what I am saying is, there is a bigger amount which is in the offing and when that materialises, we may no longer approach our local banks.
Mr. A. W. G. Abayateye 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, in the Answer by the Minister, the last paragraph, he says, and with your permission I quote:
“Mr. Speaker, the Ministry is greatly concerned about the continuous damage being done to the road as a result of the use of heavy vehicles and is taking steps to stop this practice. Currently, we are also talking to some local banks to source some funds to rehabilitate the tracks, and it is our fervent hope that when these arrangements materialise, we shall complete the rehabilitation of the railway line in order to forestall the damage caused by the overweight vehicles to the Awaso-Kumasi-Yamoransa- Takoradi Trunk Road.”
My question is this: knowing the state in which this side of the railway line is, last week he was in the House to talk to us on the new railway line system from Accra to the north. I do not know why this section of it was not factored in. What I want to find out is, if we can arrange for new construction, what about arrange- ments for the reconstruction of the old lines in existence knowing that they carry the minerals for us.
Prof. Akumfi 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I do not have access to the register but I did explain that indeed discussions were going on for the rehabilitation and the reconstruction of the western line, which would also tackle the Awaso stretch. I promised the House that just as I reported on the eastern line, I would also report on the developments for the western line.
So this is in the long-term and it may indeed turn out to be short-term because as soon as the company comes on board, that stretch in addition to the entire stretch from Takoradi to Kumasi will be tackled.
Mr. S. K. B. Manu 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, in the hon. Minister's Answer, he indicated
Mr. S. K. B. Manu 10:30 a.m.


that the company has been paying the tariffs that it used to pay fifteen years ago and whenever he reaches agreement they refuse to pay. May I know if his Ministry is helpless in the circumstance in collecting the tariffs and if so, do I understand it to mean that the company does whatever it wants to do without any law anywhere to check it?
Prof. Akumfi 10:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, there is a clear choice here. Even though I do not support that choice, that is what is happening. In this open market system where the company can get the services from the trucks, they can just simply refuse to talk to you on any review and that is what is happening.
This is why I indicated that if we manage to stop them from using the roads, they will then have no other choice than to come to Railways, to come to some agreement both on the tariffs and on short- term loans, and so on, for the maintenance of the tracks. If Ghana Highway Authority can stop Ghana Bauxite Company from using haulage trucks, I think we will make some moves in the shortest possible time.
Mr. Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Hon. Minister for Harbours and Railways, thank you for appearing to answer this Question; you are discharged.
STATEMENTS 10:30 a.m.
Dr. K. A. Busia 10:30 a.m.
The Doyen of Democracy
Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Planning (Prof. G. Y. Gyan- Baffour): Mr. Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to make this Statement which I have titled “Dr. K. A. Busia: The Doyen of Democracy”.
Mr. Speaker, Professor Kofi Abrefa
Busia was born in Wenchi on the 11th day of July 1913. He attended Bechem Methodist School and Wenchi Methodist School from 1918 to 1927. Between 1927 and 1930, he was a Methodist Synod Scholar at Mfantsipim College, Cape Coast.
He attended Wesley College in Kumasi between 1931 and 1932 and became a teacher at Wesley College between 1932 and 1934. He was a staff at Achimota School between 1935 and 1939 and obtained his first degree in 1939 in medieval history as an external student from the University of London.
Between 1939 and 1941, he was in Oxford University and read Politics, Philosophy and Economics. He was the First African to be awarded a degree from the University College, Oxford. Between 1946 and 1947 he obtained his MA and D Phil in Social Anthropology.
He was appointed the first African District Commissioner in the Gold Coast Colony between 1947 and 1949. He was also appointed the first African Lecturer at the University of Gold Coast, in the Department of Sociology between 1954 and 1959.
In 1951, he was elected member of the Legislative Assembly by the Ashanti Confederacy and became the leader of the Ghana Congress Party in 1952. In 1954, he became the leader of the Opposition in Parliament. After a series of unfavourable political developments in this country, he went into exile in 1959.
He came back in 1966 after the overthrow of the CPP government and held various advisory positions under the National Liberation Council (NLC). In 1969, he founded and led the Progress Party which won the 1969 general elections with a landslide victory of 105
out of 140 seats.
He became the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wenchi East constituency and the Prime Minister of the Second Republic of Ghana. His Government was sadly overthrown in a coup d'etat by Col. I. K. Acheampong in 1972. He died in exile in Oxford, England on 28th August, 1978 and was buried at Wenchi.
Mr. Speaker, K. A. Busia believed passionately in the rule of law, especially in the due process of the law. To him the means, the process, is as equally important as the end or the outcome. He believed strongly that following the right process will ensure peaceful, better and lasting freedoms and faster economic emanci- pation.
He believed in multiparty democracy. He believed in tolerance and respect for the views of others.
He believed in using dialogue rather than armed struggle. He believed in consensus rather than arbitrarism. He believed in peaceful coexistence rather than annihilation because of divergence in views. He understood better than others that whether one was on the left or on the right we all want to achieve one common ideal for this country but that parties only differ in approach, they differ in strategy and they differ in methods. These, Mr. Speaker, underpinned his belief in tolerance and the democratic ideal that he taught, that he lived and that he died for.
He believed in caring for oneself and one's family but more importantly he believed in ensuring that the interest of one's brother or one's sister was safeguarded. Indeed, he believed that each one of us should be his brother's or his sister's keeper.
He saw greatness in his love for Ghana and the consolidation of efforts towards economic emancipation of Ghanaians than in self-serving and self-promoting political expansionism beyond the shores of Ghana. He single-handedly and in a short spate of time made entrepreneurs of Ghanaians who were otherwise economic underdogs in their own economy.
During Prof. Busia's short tenure as Prime Minister, for the first time in our history, Ghanaians became owners of factories, owners of shops, owners of real estate and indeed owners of financial institutions.
Mr. Speaker, it will be a twist of history for anyone to assert and try to make people believe that K. A. Busia was opposed to the struggle for Indepen-dence. With your indulgence, let me quote him on the floor of Parliament when he supported Dr. Kwame Nkrumah's motion on the White Paper for the Independence Constitution on February 12, 1957; and I quote:
“Mr. Speaker, as stated by the Prime Minister, the opposition have agreed to accept the United Kingdom Government's White Paper and the order in Council to be based on it as a workable compromise. It does not indeed provide all we asked for but we are prepared to co-operate to make it a successful foundation for the democratic way of life which we all desire to see established and practised in this country.”
Mr. Speaker, it is crystal clear that K. A. Busia and indeed the Minority then supported the move towards indepen- dence without an iota of reservation.
Mr. Speaker, again on the 6th of March
Dr. K. A. Busia 10:40 a.m.


1957 in seconding the motion of the Address by the Prime Minister in reply to her Majesty the Queen, he had this to say:

“We have also benefited from British administration and law to which we owe our concepts of nationhood, democracy and individual freedom . . . Nevertheless, these benefits came to us on the basis of a relationship which could not but be an affront to us, resting as it did on assumptions [that] we were bound to question, and on injustices [we] were bound, sooner or later to seek to rectify. It happily accords with contemporary thought and feeling that such a relationship should end.”

Mr. Speaker, it is again very clear that K. A. Busia supported the independence struggle and indeed contributed to its attainment.

Notwithstanding however, Mr. Speaker, he believed as stated earlier that all legal means should be explored and the due process of the law exhausted before we resorted to armed struggle and indeed that was what happened. Mr. Speaker, while we lost Sgt. Adjetey of sad and blessed memory, and others we did not go to war but we got independence -- Mr. Speaker, Busia was right and the opponents were wrong.

Mr. Speaker, yes, Busia believed in multi partisanism, his opponents did not. They believed in one-party rule, they believed in military dictatorship, they believed in quasi-military dictatorship and after 50 years, we have all come to agree that multipartisan democracy is the preferred alternative. Again, Mr. Speaker, Busia was right and his opponents were wrong.

Mr. Speaker, yes, Busia believed in dialogue and consensus building.

Mr. Speaker, it is true that South Africa lost its great sons through armed struggle but Mr. Speaker in the end it is dialogue, tolerance, and consensus that have provided the enduring peace, stability, and accelerated development that South Africans are enjoying now.

Mr. Speaker, on this count too, I think Busia was right and his opponents were wrong.

Mr. Speaker, Busia believed that democracy and free enterprise was a better alternative to Socialism and state ownership. It is fairer, more humane and more enduring and will better advance the cause of our nation. His opponents argued that he was out of sync.

Mr. Speaker, 50 years later, Socialism has been discredited. Even those who nurtured it and whispered it into the ears of Busia's opponents in Ghana have abandoned it.

Mr. Speaker on this last count too, Busia was right and his opponents were wrong.

Mr. Speaker, these few words epitomize K. A. Busia, a rare gem of Ghanaian politics. A man whose politics was influenced by his intellectual brilliance. A man whose politics was underpinned by his strong religious beliefs. A man who blended traditional wisdom with modern political philosophy.

Mr. Speaker, this is a man, in whom one finds the trinity of politics, academia, and religion; a man who lived at a time when chaos and dictatorship triumphed over the rule of law; a man who lived when anarchy prevailed over due process. A man who lived when military interventionism was preferred to peaceful change of
Dr. K. A. Busia 10:40 a.m.


government through the ballot box; A man who lived when expansionism was preferred to internal economic consolidation.

This is the story of a man who lived at the time when he was 50 years ahead of his opponents.

I urge historians, politicians, church leaders, traditionalists, businessmen, the young and the old to realize that the subtle yet profound freedoms that we are enjoying: Freedom of the Press; Freedom of Association; Freedom of Religion; Freedom of Enterprise were fought for not single handedly but spearheaded by K. A. Busia as Minority Leader at the time of Independence and later as the Prime Minister of the Second Republic.

Mr. Speaker, the mortal remains of this great man lie in the bosom of the earth on which he was born 94 years ago near his own house which was taken over by some of his opponents and in their usual style ruined and destroyed it. This house now stands in Wenchi as a public monument.

I will encourage all Ghanaians, young and old, men and women to go to Wenchi to pay homage to this wise man, indeed to this sage of our times.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to make this Statement.
Minority Leader (Mr. A. S. K. Bagbin) 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I was trying to raise a point of order that this was a Statement and should not ignite debate but he was raising a lot of controversial issues and Mr. Speaker, I wanted to draw his attention to move away from those issues because it is going to bring a very serious debate on his Statement.
Mr. Speaker, it is true that the former
Prime Minister of Ghana, Dr. K. A. Busia, contributed a lot to the development of democratic culture in the country.
Mr. Speaker, there is however, a lot of controversy surrounding the role he played, in fact, right from his birth.
His birth itself was controversial. In some books, they say he was born in 1913. In some other books they say he was born in 1918. But finally going through the records it was accepted by historians that he could not have been born in 1913; that his birth was around 1918.
Mr. A. O. Aidooh 10:40 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, my hon. Colleague is completely out of order. If he intends to make a contribution he may, but this cannot be a point of order. He is completely out of order. If he intends to contribute to the Statement he may do so. Mr. Speaker, he cannot come this way. Mr. Speaker, he said he wanted to raise a point of order because the Statement was -- [Interruptions.]
Mr. Speaker 10:40 a.m.
Order! Order!
Mr. A. O. Aidooh 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, worse
than that if you (Mr. Speaker) admit a Statement, it is improper to come here and challenge the contents of the Statement because you have authorized it to be made. Mr. Speaker, that is the procedure. Once you okay a Statement nobody can come here and challenge the contents; that will be an affront on your dignity.
Mr. Speaker 10:40 a.m.
Minority Leader, you
are talking about different years, is that not it?
Mr. Bagbin 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, yes.
Mr. Speaker 10:40 a.m.
Anyway, go on but my point is that it may not be really relevant to these matters to talk about when he was born.
Mr. Bagbin 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, it is a Statement on one of our illustrious sons of Ghana, the former Prime Minister, Dr. K. A. Busia; and I am saying this because it is in a lot of books and we are just trying to set the records straight.
To start with, I did not get the opportunity to raise the point of order. So what I was doing was making a contribution. I was not raising a point of order again. Mr. Speaker, these references can be found in the autobiography written by Professor Danso on Dr. K. A. Busia. It is there; it is a published book and any of my hon. Colleagues could read the book. I am simply saying that from the records the arguments went to and fro but it was finally accepted that he could have been born around 1918.
rose
Mr. Speaker 10:40 a.m.
Deputy Leader, I will stop him if he is provoking debate.
Mr. A. O. Aidooh 10:40 a.m.
But Mr. Speaker, he must know that his comments are also subject to the same refutations that he wants the Statement to be subjected to. He is not entitled to raise any controversial matters just as he does not expect the Statement to raise; but that is what he is doing. He is not entitled to raise any issues that are debatable.
Mr. Speaker 10:40 a.m.
Minority Leader, I know you are not provoking any debate but kindly go to other matters.
Mr. Bagbin 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I just stated facts; I have not stated controversy. I talked about his birthday. There is no controversy I have raised. I said some
others were saying that he was born around 1913 but records have shown that he was born around 1918. Where are they going to debate me?
Mr. Speaker, I also stated that he did not benefit from early education and had to be supported to go to school by the Missionaries, and in fact he got his excellent English Language, the Queen's Language, from the support of these Missionaries.
Mr. Speaker, it is clearly stated in the books that he performed well at one of the national functions in Kumasi in the way he recited some poetry and his quotations of the Bible, and that led him to get a scholarship to go abroad to study. [An. hon. Member: Is that controversy?] [Laughter.] Mr. Speaker, the Missionary lady who supported him very much was known as Mrs. Whittle and it is Mrs. Whittle who after school took him on -- [Interruption.]
Mr. S. K. B Manu 10:40 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, the hon. Minority Leader is grossly misleading this House. Mr. Speaker, to say that the former Prime Minister never benefited from early education is totally incorrect; it is factually incorrect. Mr. Speaker, I taught in Bechem as a teacher and I know the school that Dr. Busia attended. To say that -- [Interruptions.]
Mr. Manu 10:40 a.m.
Please, he did not talk about age; he said early education. Mr. Speaker, if he says he did not benefit from early education but he recited a poem and was given scholarship to go and study abroad -- [Interruption.] I mean, it is not true. It is simply not true. He must get his facts together and articulate them very well -- [Interruptions.]
Mr. Speaker 10:40 a.m.
Order! Order!
Mr. Bagbin 10:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, it was because he was found in his childhood days playing with other children outside school that drew the attention of the White Missionaries to ask him why he was not attending school. [Laughter.]
Prof. G. Y. Gyan-Baffour 10:50 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, the hon. Minority Leader is misleading everybody. C. E. Donkor was not the uncle of Prof. K. A. Busia. He was actually the Convention People's Party (CPP) Member of Parliament for Wenchi, whilst Busia was representing the United Party (UP).
Again, he is misleading the House because Busia died in 1978. At the time of his death he was sixty-five years old. And simple arithmetic can tell us that he was born in 1913 and not 1918 as he alleged, because he died at 65 and not at 60.
Mr. Bagbin 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, that is initially what I stated that there is this controversy over the day he was born -- [Laughter] -- So he has just confirmed it. I mentioned that one of the dates that he was said to have been born was 1913 -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Hon. Minority Leader, please, comment and do not bring in this controversy.
Mr. Bagbin 10:50 a.m.
So Mr. Speaker, it is just that my hon. Colleagues are expecting that I will be critical of him. No, I am simply stating the history. And those are the facts on the ground. I am not critical of him; I am just trying to put records straight. So Mr. Speaker, can they kindly listen to my submission -- [Interruptions.]
Mr. Speaker, it is true that His Excellency Prof. K. A. Busia contested the Wenchi seat and lost in the 1950 elections. And it is true that Dr. Asafo-Adjei was the one who was elected to represent the Ashanti Confederacy but they held a meeting and prevailed upon Dr. Asafo- Adjei to hand over to Dr. K. A. Busia. That is why in Parliament Krobo Adusei used to say “Do not listen to this man; he does not represent any person; he was not elected by any person” -- [Interruptions] -- It is in the Hansard. Mr. Speaker, it is in the Hansard -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Hon. Minority Leader, do not provoke any debate over this matter.
Mr. Bagbin 10:50 a.m.
All right, Mr. Speaker, Dr. K. A. Busia wrote a number of books and in those early books he expounded very excellent principles, norms and theories of multiparty democracy and was extolled by all.
It is true, Mr. Speaker, that when he took over the reins of this country after being in exile for many years, as a result of an Act passed by the CPP Parliament which was the National Assembly Disquali-fication Act, which said that if a member stayed outside Parliament consistently for over twenty Sitting days he was presumed to have vacated his seat -- and that caught Prof. Busia who was then in the United Kingdom (UK) giving lectures. And Mr. Speaker, he could not come back to the country. Now, this Act was passed in 1958. It is in the books.
Mr. Bagbin 10:50 a.m.


Mr. Speaker, when he became Prime Minister, it was pretty difficult for him to abide by the principles that he expounded in his books. And in fact, if hon. Members were critical or very observant, recently there was an article in the dailies on that issue; people were measuring what he stated in his books against his performance.
Mr. Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Hon. Minority Leader, please comment. You are provoking a debate.
Mr. Bagbin 10:50 a.m.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I move away from that area.
Mr. A. O. Aidooh 10:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would be happy if our hon. Colleague can demonstrate how those policies contradicted Busia's writings. How Aliens Compliance Order, “Apollo 568” -- [Interruptions] -- We want to know how those policies contradicted his writings.
Mr. Bagbin 10:50 a.m.
I will not provoke debate but I can prove to my hon. Colleague how those things contradicted the principles.
Mr. Speaker, Prof. K. A. Busia was said to have believed in Pluto's ideals of democracy. It is true that it is the society that makes a person and that is why as politicians we must try as much as possible to create a society that can get the best out of people. You can be an angel but when you are put in a situation where the devil prevails, you are sometimes tainted by the characteristics of the devil.
That is what befell the early leaders of this country; that is what is happening in this country even now. And it is for us the
leaders who should create the conducive environment. So in spite of the qualities of our early founding fathers, including Prof. K. A. Busia, the terrain in which they operated, the environment, the political situation at the time tended to influence them a lot and it made them make a lot of mistakes which are still with us today.
Mr. Speaker, I am making these
remarks because I want to draw our attention to the fact that we should all be committed to doing what is right. Even if what was wrong was done by somebody, it is not right for us to continue to do what is wrong. And we should all now focus on the ideals so that we can expedite the development of this country.
Mr. Speaker, I want to add these remarks to the Statement by my good Friend the Professor with whom we worked for sometime before he came to Parliament.
Minister of State (Mr. Kwadwo Adjei-Darko) 11 a.m.
Mr Speaker, when they started with the celebration of the 50th Anniversary, the press and well-meaning Ghanaians started coming out with individual Ghanaians who at one time or the other might have contributed towards the growth of this nation in one way or the other.
People who came out with the Ghana flag, people who came out with the National Anthem, the Coat of Arms, we are now trying to find all these people because as a nation we have not placed them in their rightful positions and recognized whatever little achievements they were able to make towards the growth of this nation. This is what this Statement is seeking to do this morning.
As a nation, anybody who might
have occupied the highest position in this nation at one time or the other, no matter the faults of that person, would have contributed at least a little towards the growth of the nation in one direction or the other. And this is what we should acknowledge as a nation.
Unfortunately, we are now belabouring issues like when somebody attended school, whether at a tender age or at an advanced age. But whatever achievement, whether at a tender age or an advanced age -- Even in the academic sphere, whatever achievement or feats that he chalked, we are now down-playing it.
But Mr. Speaker, it is better even to be picked from the street at the age of fifteen or twenty and then be a late developer than perhaps coming from a very good home, attending school at a tender age and not even being successful in an examination.
So, Mr. Speaker, that should not be an issue.

Mr. Speaker, quite recently the chiefs and citizens of Anomabu honoured prominent citizens who at one time or another contributed in various ways towards the development of this nation. About a week or two ago some chiefs also in the Agona area also honoured some of their prominent citizens, including the current Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast.

I would want to see that the chiefs and people of Brong Ahafo where Dr. Busia happens to be a prominent son, at least, initiate something which would let us know that if for nothing at all, at one time or the other when we are talking about education, we have had such a great person from that region so that he can serve as
Minister of State (Mr. Kwadwo Adjei-Darko) 11 a.m.


a role model to people in the region. If others elsewhere would not recognise it, this should be a challenge to the Brong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs.
Mr. Bagbin 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think
that my hon. Colleague is misleading this House and the entire population. The Statement I made was not meant to downgrade Dr. K. A. Busia; we were stating facts. In people's lives we have pluses and minuses. If one is stating the plus/minus, it does not mean one is downgrading the person.
Dr. K. A. Busia opposed the creation of the Brong Ahafo Region. If I state that, does that mean I want to downgrade him? No! He initially, fought for the independence of the Brongs, but at the end of the day, when they were about to create it, he opposed it. Is that meant to downgrade him? No! It is a statement of fact; let us get things right.
Mr. Adjei-Darko 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, in the same way if we have to downgrade our leaders and one begins to talk about a statement of fact, that at one time or the other a leader had to be a stowaway before he travelled outside Ghana but he became a prominent person who even led us to independence, should we be looking at this negative aspect? If at one time or the other a leader had to credit food -- [Interruptions] -- a leader had to take seats from a plane -- [Interruptions.]
Mr. Speaker 11 a.m.
Order! Order!
Mr. Adjei-Darko 11 a.m.
Are those the things we should be looking at as a nation if we want to advance? Mr. Speaker,
all I am saying is this, that nothing is completely wrong in this world. Even a stop-clock is correct twice a day. So we should not be looking at the negative aspects just because a particular name has been mentioned.
Mr. Speaker 11 a.m.
Minister of State, comment on the Statement.
Mr. Adjei-Darko 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, as a nation we have to write our history properly; we have to recognise people who have contributed towards the growth of this nation. They might have had their ups and downs, but it will not serve any useful purpose for us because we do not want to hear specific names, because we have never agreed with them. When Dr. Busia talked about dialogue, he was given all sorts of names, but eventually it was dialogue which solved the South African problem.
Mr. Lee Ocran (NDC -- Jomoro) 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the Statement is an interesting one; it is about one of the leaders of this country. I have made a comment on this floor that at this time we should not make statements that divide us; we should make statements that would bring all of us together.
People have toiled for this country and even they might have made mistakes. But it is no use harping on their mistakes to diminish what they have done for the country. That is why I am very sorry

Yes, to say that Dr. Busia did not like military regimes at the time others were -- [Interruption] -- What was he doing in Lome? The arms he was buying in Lome, what was he using them for? These are the things we should not start doing -- [Interruptions.]
Mr. Speaker 11 a.m.
Hon. Member for
Mr. Ocran 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I will tone down. We were all in this country when the military took over. Who were the people who went and served the military in 1966? We know them. If one does not like tigari, one should not eat tigari soup; but people went to tigari -- [Inter-ruption.]
Prof. Gyan-Baffour 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member on the other side, actually everybody knows that he has a root in the Convention People's Party (CPP) and therefore he is actually thinking I am fighting the CPP. That is not the issue; I am just stating the facts as his Minority Leader claims to be also stating the facts. But he is saying I am raising Dr. Busia above everybody else in all issues.
Mr. Speaker, I only mentioned four issues and if the word “all” does not mean anything to the hon. Member, “all” does not mean four; it means everything -- more than four. So he should not mislead the people by saying that Dr. Busia was a saint above everybody; that is not what I said. I mentioned only four areas where I thought he was right and his people then were wrong.
Mr. Ocran 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to go on. For me four means all. [Laughter.] Mr. Speaker, my greatest admiration for Dr. Busia is the book he wrote about prostitution in Sekondi/Takoradi. I read that book when I was a very young boy and it gave me an insight into the social dimensions of prostitutes, vis-à-vis seamen and foreigners. [Laughter.] Apart from that, Dr. Busia engaged in a number of controversial matters -- [Interruptions.]
Mr. Speaker 11 a.m.
Hon. Member for Jomoro --
Mr. Ocran 11 a.m.
I am not going there, Mr. Speaker. [Laughter.] It is good to make indigenous people rich, but it is wrong to give a foreigner's assets to an indigenous person at rock-bottom prices; that was the beginning of kalabule. We must study the social concepts of this country very well. [Interruptions.] Do not frown; I will explain.
The Aliens Compliance Act might have been a very good policy for those who thought of it. But I grew up at Tarkwa and there was a very prominent man born at Tarkwa, a Nigerian called Issa. This man had worked all his life at Tarkwa-created wealth. He was given two weeks to leave Tarkwa. He could not sell; he left and on his way he died.

Nii Amasah Namoale: Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member stated something that I think must be corrected. He said the man was born in Ghana, that he was a Nigerian. At that time our laws said that if you were born in Ghana you could claim to be a

Ghanaian. The man was a Ghanaian by citizenship, but of Nigerian origin; it does not mean that he was a Nigerian.
Mr. Ocran 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think these are some of the small boys who are trying to learn more -- [Interruptions.]
Mr. Speaker 11 a.m.
Hon. Member for
Jomoro --
Mr. Ocran 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am trying to say that Dr. Busia had contributed to the development of democracy in Ghana; he did try. But in doing so he also made the same mistakes that those who started to develop democracy made.
The hon. Minority Leader has said that it is societies which make people. There are very nice people in this country, including myself -- [Laughter] -- But it is the society that shapes our lives and we respond to the demands of the society; and that is why I believe that in implementing whatever Dr. Busia had put on paper he made some mistakes. I remember the famous things he said when the British was going to grant us independence; he ran away to Britain with his colleagues and went and pleaded with the Queen -- “Why are you leaving us now? We still need you -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 11 a.m.
Hon. Member for Jomoro, I have advised you not to provoke any debate.
Mr. Ocran 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am quoting the man.
Mr. Speaker 11 a.m.
I may be compelled to stop you if you go on like that.
Mr. Ocran 11 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that it is the society that made the man. All of us are good people; people have thought of very nice things. In implementing these
Mr. Ocran 11 a.m.


things society had put pressure on them to do something quite differently.

I believe that if the hon. Member had made the Statement without condemning everybody and then giving all the marks to Dr. Busia, I would have supported him fully, because Dr. Busia was a good intellectual. He was the first African professor at the University of Ghana; we all admired him for that. But in politics, he was not the best.

Mr. Speaker, with these few words I will sit down.
Mr. E. A. Agyepong (NPP -- Abetifi) 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to contribute to the Statement made by my hon. Friend from Wenchi.
Mr. Speaker, we have autobiography and biography; I hope hon. Members know the difference between the two. I am not going to go into that but we have the difference.
I happened to know Dr. Busia after
Mr. C. S. Hodogbey 11:10 a.m.
On a point of
order. Mr. Speaker, the honourable man was a principled person. But this was the same Prime Minister who paid himself two years ahead before his overthrow on January 13. It was during his term of office
Mr. C. S. Hodogbey 11:10 a.m.


when he was a Regional Commissioner and kerosene was missing and he was dismissed. What is the principled aspect of it?
Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Hon. Member for North Tongu, who was Regional Minister or Regional Commissioner? Let him continue.
Mr. E. A. Agyepong 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
as said by the hon. Member for Jomoro, these are the small boys who do not know anything but pretend to know something. When I am talking about 1960s, I do not know where he was.
Mr. Bagbin 11:10 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I raised the issue of the Aliens Compliance Order. My brothers were deported outside the country because they could not be identified as Ghanaians. That was part of the Aliens Compliance Order. This is because they were Dagartis who could not be identified with the colonial masters and Ashanti tribes and because of that they had to be adding to their name, ‘Dagarti'.
So it is something that is being raised today. That is why I raised it. It was a mistake. The whole Aliens Compliance Order was a constitutional error and it is still haunting us today as we saw how Nigeria reacted. So Mr. Speaker, he cannot say that I am living in a fool's paradise by thinking that the Aliens Compliance Order was wrong.
Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Hon. Member for Abetifi, as I indicated, please do not provoke debate.
Mr. E. A. Agyepong 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am in no way provoking anybody. All that I am saying is that Aliens Compliance Order exists all over the world and everywhere. [Uproar.]
Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Order!
Mr. E. A. Agyepong 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, people were given time to regularise their stay. As you said, I did not want to wade into these waters. All that I wanted to say is that the Aliens Compliance Order by itself was not a bad policy. It might have been improperly implemented. That is a different issue, and that is the punctum salience of my argument.
I am saying that that matter was a perfect issue because it exists all over the world. You are given time to regularise your stay and if you are not able to regularise your stay, you are asked to leave. Sometimes, some are deported; sometimes some are bundled and put right on the plane.
The issue of Dr. Busia's achievements as against his faults, if we were to balance them we would have known -- But it is also stated in every quarter that it was during his time that we enjoyed a perfect democracy; what democracy means to you or me may be different, though.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to say this to end my contribution. Some think if we had followed Dr. Nkrumah to the end, others also think if we had followed Dr. Busia to the end, Ghana would not have been what it is now.
11. 20 a.m.
If we have a policy, it is going to come one day or another where, when a government comes into office, maybe the civil servants who are associated with a previous government, like it is done in the United States of America, would all give way to another government. The truth of the matter is this; let Ghana have a way of managing its administrative work so that matters like Compliance Order, matters like ‘Apollo' 568 and others --
Others would not bring ‘Apollo' 568, but there were a lot of people who were dismissed just by word of mouth or by radio announcement. These are all matters which, as I said, if the country is to progress, we must have a system of administering our Civil Service and our Public Service in the country.
Mr. Speaker, again, I would like to say
that whether it was Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, whether it was Dr. K.A. Busia who could have brought us up, these were leaders who did their part and left. What is now left to the whole country is that we must work. Whoever is in government now and whoever would be in government tomorrow must be assisted to bring Ghanaians up to enjoy what other nations are enjoying in life.
Mr. Speaker 11:10 a.m.
At the Commencement
of Public Business -- item 6, Laying of Papers -- Minister for Finance and Economic Planning?
Mr. A.O. Aidooh 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, may
we seek your permission to permit the Deputy Minister to lay the Paper.
PAPERS 11:10 a.m.
BILLS -- SECOND READING 11:10 a.m.
Prof. Gyan-Baffour (on behalf of the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning) 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, that the Customs and Excise (Duties and Other Taxes) (Amendment) Bill be now read a Second time.
Mr. Speaker, the subject of this Bill is to reduce the concessionary import duty on raw materials. Currently, there are local manufacturers who use materials admitted into the country at a concessionary import duty rate of 10 per cent which is the same as the import duty rate charged on finished products. This makes the product of local manufacturers less competitive than the products of importers of finished products.
Mr. Speaker, as part of a measure to make the prices of locally-produced goods competitive with similar imported ones, the Bill seeks to reduce concessionary import duty rate on raw materials imported by local manufacturers from 10 per cent to five per cent. Mr. Speaker, the hon. Chairman would present the Committee's Report. I beg to move.
Question proposed.
Chairman of the Committee (Nii
Adu Daku Mante): Mr. Speaker, I beg
to present to the House your Committee's Report.
1.0 Introduction
The Customs and Excise (Duties and Other Taxes) (Amendment) Bill 2007 was laid in the House on Tuesday, 30th January, 2007 and referred to the Finance Committee for consideration and report in accordance with the 1992 Constitution and the Standing Orders of the House.
To consider the Bill, the Committee met with the two Deputy Ministers for Finance and Economic Planning, hon. Professor George Y. Gyan-Baffour and hon. Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei, the Commissioner of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) as well as officials from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and reports as follows:
2.0 Reference Documents
The Committee referred to the following documents in considering the Bill:
(i) The 1992 Constitution
(ii) The Standing Orders of the House
(iii) The Customs and Excise (Du- ties and Other Taxes) Act, 1996 (Act 512).
3.0 Object of the Bill
The object of the Bill is to amend the Customs and Excise (Duties and Other Taxes) Act, 1996 (Act 512) to reduce the concessionary import duty rate on some raw materials and to provide for related matters.
4.0 Observations
The Committee noted that currently,
there are local manufacturers who use raw materials admitted into the country at a concessionary import duty rate of ten per cent (10%). Incidentally, this ten per cent (10%) is the same as the import duty rate charged on finished products, thus making the products of local manufacturers less competitive than imported finished goods.
The Committee therefore observed that this amendment would reduce the concessionary import duty rate on some specified raw materials in order to make their finished products compete favourably with similar imported ones.
Some members expressed concern as to why tax rates are being reduced when the country is experiencing revenue shortfalls. The Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Planning explained that the reduction in tax rate does not necessarily mean there will be reduction in total taxes collected, as the reduction could encourage more people into the tax net.
The Commissioner of Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) further explained that if the Ghanaian manufacturer becomes more competitive, there would be more national revenue through VAT, Corporate Tax and also boost employment.
Members expressed satisfaction with the intent of the Bill but said the measure does not go far enough. They advised that there should be a comprehensive overhaul of the tax system in the country in order to harmonise it with what pertains in the subregion.
5.0 Conclusion
The Committee has carefully examined the Bill and has found that its passage would enhance the competitiveness of certain locally-manufactured goods.
The Committee therefore respectfully recommends to the House to adopt this report and pass the Customs and Excise (Duties and Other Taxes)(Amendment) Bill 2007.
Respectfully submitted.
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu (NDC -- Tamale South) 11:10 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to associate myself with the motion and in particular to refer to page 2 of your Committee's Report. Mr. Speaker, with your permission I quote the third paragraph:
“Some members expressed concern as to why tax rates are being reduced when the country is experiencing revenue shortfalls.”
Mr. Speaker, as much as one agrees that we need to strengthen the capacity of our local industries, in particular those within the manufacturing sector, I believe this intervention is timely, especially at a time that many of our manufacturing industries are reeling under the ongoing energy crisis in our country which is affecting their cost of production.
But inasmuch as we want to protect our manufacturing or local industries, revenue is what Government strives on and I need an assurance from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. We are not just talking about customs and excise; there are related reductions even in income tax and other regimes.
Now, when they came with their 2007 Budget Statement, they made some projections as to what they expected to generate from individual incomes, what they expected to generate from import duty. With our increasing uncontrolled public expenditure against the revenue that we get, one becomes afraid whether we would not continue to have major deficits in meeting the requirements in our Budget.
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu (NDC -- Tamale South) 11:30 a.m.


With these few comments, Mr. Speaker, I associate myself with the motion and hope that we take other policy measures that would strengthen our own local manufacturing industry. The focus ought to be on agro-based industries. If you look at the structure of the Ghanaian economy, we have every right to want to depend on the agricultural sector.

But beyond the produce coming, what are we able to do in terms of transforming them and building the capacity of our own industries? Many of them still have problems with accessing capital and sometimes some of the loan facilities that are made available are not even distributed on the basis of merit but on other considerations which also undermine the growth of those industries.

With these few comments, Mr. Speaker, I associate myself with the motion.

Minority Leader (Mr. A. S. K.

Bagbin): Mr. Speaker, this is a Bill that should be supported by all. I think yesterday we tried drawing the attention of Government to the fact that Ghana has become a very uncompetitive country as a result of the level of taxation and the cost of doing business. So Mr. Speaker, if this is meant to reduce some of the taxes, it is something that we should all support.

Mr. Speaker, it is also important to

emphasize the point that Government would have to look at other areas of generating revenue. I believe strongly that some of the areas that Government could use are areas involved with taxation on properties, whether it is property rate or even the stamp duty. And therefore I was surprised Government rather reduced the stamp duty to about two per cent. I thought that the stamp duty dealt with property and if you do not have, you do not own

property.

We should rather be focusing on taxing my hon. Colleagues and our good selves who own properties, to pay more taxes than the ordinary civil servants and workers of this country. So Mr. Speaker, we should be looking at that area of generating more revenue.

Again, I think Government should also focus on rather producing the other raw materials that we can produce in the country instead of importing them and reducing the duties.

It is with these that I support the motion.

Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs,

Regional Integration and NEPAD (Mr. Akwasi Osei-Adjei): Mr. Speaker, I also support the amendment proposed and wish to state that if we ever reduce taxes, the compliance becomes more. In other words, if the taxes are reduced we generate more; so there should not be any fear that whilst we reduce taxes we cannot get the revenue required to support the Budget.

It is always interesting to know and there is empirical evidence to support what I am saying that whilst we reduce taxes, the compliance becomes more and then we collect more money. So that is the basis upon which this amendment is being proposed, and so I do support it.
Prof. Gyan-Baffour 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I
would like to thank all hon. Members of the House for supporting this Bill.
Mr. Speaker, this economy has been stabilized. The thrust now is to actually grow it faster. And the growth of the economy is actually not to be done by Government but by the private sector and therefore reducing taxes that will enable
BILLS -- SECOND READING 11:30 a.m.
Prof. Gyan-Baffour 11:40 a.m.
Thank you, Mr.
Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again I would like to thank Members of the House for their contributions. As I said earlier on, these Bills are all to be taken together, and the aim is actually to ensure that resources are released to the private sector for the private sector to grow the economy.
On that one, I would urge hon. Members to vote for the Bill.
Question put and motion agreed to.
The Internal Revenue (Amendment) Bill was accordingly read a Second time.
Mr. Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Item 9 -- Motion -- Hon. Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Planning?
Suspension of Standing Order 80 (1)
Prof. G. Y. Gyan-Baffour 11:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, That notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order 80 (1) which require that no motion shall be debated until at least forty-eight hours have elapsed between the date on which
notice of the motion is given and the date on which the motion is moved, the motion for the Second Reading of the Ministries (Retention of Funds) Bill, may be moved today.
Nii Adu Daku Mante: Mr. Speaker, I rise to second the motion.
Question put and motion agreed to.
Resolved accordingly.
BILLS -- SECOND READING 11:40 a.m.
Chairman of the Committee (Nii Adu Daku Mante) 11:40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, may I present your Committee's Report and crave your indulgence to read out the “Observations” and the “Conclusion”.
Mr. Speaker, your Committee also proposed various amendments to the Bill and at the Consideration Stage, we will consider same.
1.0 Introduction
The Ministries (Retention of Funds) Bill was laid in the House on Tuesday, 30th January 2007 and referred to the Finance Committee for consideration and report in accordance with the 1992 Constitution and the Standing Orders of the House.
To consider the Bill, the Committee met with the Deputy Ministers for Finance and Economic Planning, hon. Prof. George Gyan-Baffour and hon. Dr. A. Akoto Osei as well as officials from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and reports as follows:
2.0 Reference Documents
In considering the Bill, the Committee referred to the following documents:
(i) the 1992 Constitution of the Republic;
(ii) the Standing Orders of the House;
(iii) Financial Administration Act, 2003 (Act 654).
Chairman of the Committee (Nii Adu Daku Mante) 11:40 a.m.
3.0 Object of the Bill
The object of the Bill is to make provision for the generation and retention of a percentage of funds internally generated by a Ministry, Department or Agency under an Act of Parliament in accordance with article 176 of the Constitution and the Financial Administration Act, 2003 (Act 654).
The Bill seeks to enable Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to operate with enhanced resources in order to facilitate their role in good governance.
4.0 Structure of the Bill
The Ministries (Retention of Funds) Bill consists of six clauses and three schedules.
C lause 1 en jo in s Min i s t r i e s , Departments and Agencies in consultation with the Minister responsible for Finance to submit estimates of their revenues and expenditure for the financial year in accordance with the Financial Administration Act, 2003 (Act 654).
Clause 2 empowers Ministries to retain funds.
Clause 3 provides for specified Ministries to raise or receive moneys for the performance of their functions and to retain a percentage of the moneys raised or received.
Clause 4 deals with the functions, powers and the supervisory authority of the Auditor-General under article 187 of the Constitution.
Clause 5 empowers the Minister responsible for Finance to amend the Schedules to the Act through Legislative Instrument.
Clause 6 provides interpretations.
5.0 Observations
The Committee observed that currently some of the enactments that established certain Ministries, Departments and Agencies gave them functions which did not involve charging fees, but with time their activities have generated revenue. The money generated was with administrative approval of the governing bodies and in view of the constitutional provisions, this arrangement requires legal backing.
The Committee further observed that the funds to be retained would enhance the resources available to these Minis- tries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in order to facilitate their role in good governance.
The Committee also noted that in order to ensure transparency and accounta-bility, the moneys to be retained shall be subject to the powers, functions and supervisory authority of the Auditor-General.
The Committee further observed that there are other institutions such as the Mole National Park and the Kakum National Park which are also in dire need of such retention rights but which are inadvertently missing from the Bill.
It was therefore recommended that the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning act with dispatch to bring another Bill to the House to cater for the institutions that have not been included in this Bill.
6.0 Amendments Proposed
The Committee respectfully proposes the following amendments to the Bill:
(i) First Schedule (Section 1)
Amendment proposed: Delete “Efua Sutherland Children's Park” and substitute “Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs (Efua Sutherland Children's Park)”.
(ii) First Schedule (Section 1)
Delete “Register General's De- partment”.
This is because it appears in the Third Schedule.
(iii) Third Schedule (Section 3)
A m e n d m e n t P r o p o s e d : I n the “Proposed Percentage (%) Retention” column, l ine 11, delete “15%” as corresponds to “Registrar General's Department” and substitute “20%”.
(iv) Third Schedule (Section 3)
Amendment Proposed: Add the following -- “Office of State Protocol 50%”
(v) Long Title
Amendment proposed: Line 1 -- before “retention” insert “gene- ration and”.
Add new clauses as follows:
7. “Notwithstanding any provision in any enactment to the contrary, IGFs can only be utilized when the act ivi t ies on which the expenditure will be incurred have been programmed and approved in the MDAs expenditure budget by Parliament.”
8. “An MDA with the approval to
retain and utilize IGFs can only incur expenditure funded by IGF for a particular month if collection for the previous month duly reconciled with bank lodgements , and expenditure returns for the previous month have been submitted to the Ministry of Finance.”
9. “IGFs may not be used for the payment of staff benefits and other allowances except where such allowances are directly related to the provision of services that will lead to increased revenue, and payment of such allowances must be authorized and consistent with existing regulations.”
10. “Failure to comply with 7, 8 and 9 constitutes an offence for which the head of department is liable to sanction and on which a head of department will be assessed for any future promotions.”
7.0 Conclusion
After careful examination and deliberations on the Bill, the Committee concludes that its passage would help enhance the financial resources available to the Ministries, Departments and Agencies concerned.
The Committee therefore recommends to the House to adopt its report and pass the Ministries (Retention of Funds) Bill, 2007 subject to the amendments proposed.
Respectfully submitted.
Deputy Majority Leader (Mr. Abraham Ossei Aidooh): Mr. Speaker, I support the motion for the reasons given in the Report.
But Mr. Speaker, if you look at clause
6 of the Bill, the Bill intends to define “Ministries” to include departments and

[NII ADU MANTE] [NII ADU MANTE]

agencies. Mr. Speaker, I think this is not the best and it will introduce needless confusion into the public sector.

I would therefore be proposing an

amendment and that should not be too much for us to do, so that wherever “Ministries” appears in the Bill we state “Ministries, Departments and Agencies”. There is no reason why we should use “Ministries” and then define ‘Ministries' for the courts to act. In my view that will introduce needless confusion to the public sector.

Subject to that, I support the motion, sir.

Minority Leader (Mr. A. S. K.

Bagbin): Mr. Speaker, I equally support the motion and also support the proposal by the Committee that there are other institutions that need to be included in the list. Some are mentioned as the Mole National Park and Kakum National Park.

Mr. Speaker, I want to emphasize that the tourism sector is an area that we have to look at and maybe go beyond just the Mole National Park and Kakum National Park to include other revenue-generating institutions under Tourism.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to look at

the area of health. I see that in the Bill, they have included the Police Hospital and the 37 Military Hospital but I do not know why the Teaching Hospitals are not included. Maybe we need an explanation for that.

I also want to talk about the Tamale

Central Hospital which is in distress and the revenue that they generate there could be an easy source of support for the hospital. So the Ministry should consider including that and therefore support an amendment to include the Tamale Central

Hospital.

Mr. Speaker, I thought that Water

Resources, Works and Housing is an area that we should look at. I am surprised that they gave them zero per cent. Even though it is there, the Ministry of Water Resource, Works and Housing's proposed percentage retention is zero per cent. I think that we should give them a percentage for them to retain some of the funds they generate to be able to make some routine maintenance and serve as some motivation for the staff to be able to put up their best. I have been in the sector for some time and I know some of the challenges in that sector.

Mr. Speaker, it is with this that I

completely support the motion.
Prof. G. Y. Gyan-Baffour 11:40 a.m.
Mr.
Speaker, I will first of all thank hon. Members for this bipartisan support for this Bill. There are certain issues that probably during the Consideration Stage we would be able to bring amendments to resolve.
But Mr. Speaker, some of the areas
that have been mentioned already have some legal instruments that allow them to really retain what they generate. They include some of these Teaching Hospitals, especially the one in Tamale, Korle-Bu and I think the one in Kumasi as well. But where there are no such legal frameworks supporting their ability to retain -- I think at the Consideration Stage, we will encourage hon. Members to also try and bring them in.
On that note, I entreat hon. Members
of the House to support the Bill overwhelmingly.
Question put and motion agreed to.
The Ministries (Retention of Funds)
Bill was accordingly read a Second time.
Mr. Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Item 11 -- Motion.
Hon. Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Planning?

Suspension of Standing Order 128

(1)
Prof. G. Y. Gyan-Baffour 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I beg to move, that notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order 128 (1) which require that when a Bill has been read a Second time, it shall pass through a Consideration Stage which shall not be taken until at least forty-eight hours have elapsed, the Consideration Stage of the National Reconstruction Levy (Repeal) Bill may be taken today.
Nii Adu Mante: Mr. Speaker, I beg to second the motion.
Question put and motion agreed to.
Resolved accordingly.
BILLS - CONSIDERATION STAGE 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker 11:50 a.m.
We have come to the end
of the Consideration Stage for the National Reconstruction Levy (Repeal) Bill.
Suspension of Standing Order 128
(1)
Deputy Minister for Finance and
Economic Planning (Prof. G. Y. Gyan- Baffour): Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, that notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order 128 (1) which require that when a Bill has been read a Second time, it shall pass through a Consideration Stage which shall not be taken until at least forty-eight hours have elapsed, the Consideration Stage of the 2006 Supplementary Appropriation Bill may be taken today.
Mr. Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Deputy Minority

Leader, we are at this stage dealing with a procedural matter, are we not?
Mr. Adjaho 11:50 a.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, but
if you would just allow me to finish, you would see where I am coming from.
Mr. Speaker, you will see Office of Chief of Staff and Minister for Presidential Affairs -- Investment ¢182,920 million. Mr. Speaker, we know as a matter of fact that this amount which is for Ghana @ 50 is not for investment only, and that is why there is the need for classification to be there.
Mr. Speaker, I want to place on record that we met the Chief of Staff and Minister for Presidential Affairs himself and the information that he has made available to your Committee on Finance clearly indicates that it is not for investment only. We have publicity, we have adminis- tration, we have other things.
Therefore, for this Bill to go through, it is important for the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning and indeed the Chief of Staff and Minister for Presidential Affairs to do the classification in line with article 179.
Mr. Speaker, it is on that basis that I want this matter to be deferred so that this information can be provided. Maybe, at the next adjourned date with the information provided and meeting the requirements of article 179(2) of the Constitution in terms of classifying the items of expenditure under programmes and activities, we can all as a House approve the motion on floor.
It is on that basis that I am opposed to this matter being taken today.
Mr. A. O. Aidooh 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I
agree that my hon. Colleague is completely wrong. Mr. Speaker, the article that he
referred to speaks about programmes or activities. Mr. Speaker, it is very clear that the event he is talking of was a programme or activity. What he wants is the detailed expenditure which is not required by the Constitution. What the Constitution requires is that we should give money for programmes or activities. The event he referred to was a programme or activity and the Constitution does not require that at this stage we furnish detailed expenditure under the programme or activity.
Mr. Adjaho 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am talking
Mr. Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Hon. Member, I have
not called you yet. I would suggest that we stand this thing down for the next few minutes. Kindly go and put your heads together and see the best way to resolve this matter. In the meantime, we will take item 15.
Suspension of Standing Order 128(1)
Prof. G. Y. Gyan-Baffour 11:50 a.m.
Mr.
Speaker, I beg to move, that notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order 128(1) which require that when a Bill has been read a Second time, it shall pass through a Consideration Stage which shall not be taken until at least forty-eight hours have elapsed, the Consideration Stage of the Data Processing Control Board Decree (Repeal) Bill may be taken today.
Nii Adu Mante: Mr. Speaker, I beg
to second the motion.
Question put and motion agreed to.
Resolved accordingly.
BILLS -- CONSIDERATION 11:50 a.m.
STAGE 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker 11:50 a.m.
We have now come to the end of the Consideration Stage of the Data Processing Control Board Decree (Repeal) Bill.
I t em -- 17 , Food and Drugs (Amendment) Bill at the Consideration Stage.
Mr. A. O. Aidooh 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I
beg to suggest that this matter be further deferred, maybe to next week.
Mr. Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Deferred. Hon. Member
for Tamale South, do you have any comment?
Mr. H. Iddrisu noon
Mr. Speaker,
yesterday the same Deputy Majority Leader led the way in suggesting that this matter be postponed until today. I am yet, and I believe most hon. Members are yet to be convinced why he wants us to keep deferring this matter; it is an important thing.
This matter had arisen publicly. I remember my good Friend, hon. Ayariga taking issue with the Food and Drugs Board. We need to clothe them with the powers to charge and retain the fees that are due and I believe that Mr. Speaker, we must proceed with the Consideration Stage. It is just two paragraphs, we will get it done.
Why do we keep deferring? He knows that on 23rd March, this House will rise and we have many other issues of importance that must go on. Mr. Speaker, I want to suggest that we proceed with the Consideration Stage and discharge
this business about the Food and Drugs Board Bill.
Mr. Speaker noon
Hon. Member for Tamale South, I have already deferred this matter and I cannot review the ruling at this stage.
Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, have you resolved this matter--- items 13 and 14?
Prof. G. Y. Gyan-Baffour noon
Mr.
Speaker, we have not had a chance to resolve that but the issue is very simple. As the Deputy Majority Leader said, the Constitution does not state that the categories should be brought to the House but rather the projects and the programmes.
Mr. Speaker, with regard to the categories, it is the structure of the Budget and the structure of the Budget can actually be changed by the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning. So the Minister does not require parliamentary authority to do the structure of the Budget. But more importantly, if even it is brought here under a different item, the Minister has the authority to really vire.
If in his wisdom he thinks that for an item, say, Item (4), the monies there are more than what is needed but then for another item, say, Item (3), there is a shortage, there he can vire. If you do not have Item (3), you cannot run Item (4). So that power to vire -- and of course the Minority Leader is actually not being honest; he knows very well that the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning can vire. So that is the way it was brought to the House and it should not be a point of contention because that power is vested in the Minister.
But again, what I have always said is that none of the items here requires to be investigated now; the Auditor-General does this thing. If that is the case, then we
Prof. G. Y. Gyan-Baffour noon


should go and look at all the items and see what the details are, right in the House; but that is not what is done; it is done at the committee level.

Therefore, I do not see where the problem is coming from except of course because it is about Ghana @ 50. If that is the issue, then all the others should also be looked at in detail. Mr. Speaker, I do not think there should be a problem with this item.
Mr. Speaker noon
But have you resolved
this matter? I directed you to sit down and put your heads together. Have you resolved it or you need time?
Prof. Gyan-Baffour noon
Mr. Speaker, we
need some time.
Mr. A. O. Aidooh noon
Mr. Speaker,
our hon. Friend from Avenor/Ave (Mr. Adjaho) raised a legal matter and we have responded adequately and I thought that should settle the matter.
Mr. Speaker noon
The Deputy Minister is
saying he needs a bit of time to resolve this matter. Would you be in a position to resolve it now? Should I give you time now?
Prof. Gyan-Baffour noon
Yes, Mr.
Speaker, I think we can resolve it because it will not take much time to convince my Friend on the other side of the House. So we can just take some two minutes or five minutes and discuss it and then come back to the House.
Mr. Speaker noon
Deputy Leader, if it
is possible to resolve it in the next few minutes, would you want us to stand it down for the next few minutes?
Mr. A. S. K. Bagbin noon
Mr. Speaker,
today is Friday. It is now few minutes after 12.00 and we are poised to attend to other commitments -- attending mosque.
Mr. Speaker, this is not an urgent matter. I think that we can do it on Tuesday and there will be nothing wrong with getting more time to resolve the legal issues and the issues of budgeting.
Mr. Speaker, I will prefer that we get more time to consult and so we should adjourn the House now. But my hon. Colleague is here and he will have to be heard on this matter.
Mr. Speaker noon
Deputy Leader?
Mr. A. O. Aidooh noon
We may adjourn
and come back on Tuesday.
Mr. Speaker noon
At this stage?
Mr. A. O. Aidooh noon
Mr. Speaker, I beg
to move, that we adjourn and come back on Tuesday at 10.00 a.m.
Mr. A. S. K. Bagbin noon
Mr. Speaker, I
beg to second the motion.
Question put and motion agreed to.
ADJOURNMENT noon
THE 10 a.m.
PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC 10 a.m.
OF GHANA 10 a.m.
MR. SPEAKER
PRAYERS 10:20 a.m.
CORRECTION OF VOTES 10:20 a.m.
AND PROCEEDINGS AND 10:20 a.m.
THE OFFICIAL REPORT 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.
Order! Order! Correction of Votes and Proceedings, Friday, 2nd February, 2007. Hon. Members, we have the Official Report for Thursday, 7th December, 2006. [No correction was made to the “Votes and Proceedings” and the “Official Report”.]
Item 3 -- Questions.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS 10:20 a.m.
MINISTRY OF HEALTH 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Abraham Ossei Aidooh 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, may I ask your permission to allow the Deputy Minister to act for the Minister.
Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.
Deputy Minister for
Health. Question number 624, hon. John Gyetuah, Member of Parliament for Amenfi West?
Some hon. Members: He is absent.
Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.
Question number 625,
hon. Sampson Ahi, Member of Parliament for Juaboso?
Some hon. Members: He is absent.
Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.
Question number 626,
hon. Stephen K. Balado Manu, Member of Parliament for Ahafo-Ano South?
Mr. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:20 a.m.
Mr.
Speaker, the hon. Colleague has to follow up on some incident that has happened elsewhere with the Police and for which reason I seek your indulgence to ask the Question on his behalf.
Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.
Please, go ahead.
The Mankranso Hospital
Q. 626. Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu
(on behalf of Mr. S. K. B. Manu) asked the Minister for Health what programme the Ministry had put in place to upgrade the Mankranso Hospital to the status of a befitting district hospital.
Deputy Minister for Health, Mr.
Samuel Owusu-Agyei (on behalf of the
Minister): Mr. Speaker, the Mankranso hospital is considered as a district hospital by the Ghana Health Service. The upgrading of the facility is being done in phases. In collaboration with the District Assembly, a new block with a theatre has been constructed to augment the existing structures. The rest of planned projects such as additional staff accommodation and a modern block for diagnostic services would be considered when the Ministry secures the needed funding.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:20 a.m.
Mr.
Speaker, may I ask the hon. Minister this follow-up question. The Minister in his Answer says the rest of the planned projects such as additional planned accommodation and a modern block for diagnostic services would be considered when the Ministry secures the needed funding. I want to enquire from the Minister whether the Ministry has
programmed this for a specific period, that is sourcing for funding for this programme for a specific period or is it just being left in abeyance.
Mr. Owusu-Agyei 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I would like to explain that when we presented the budget for the Ministry of Health to Parliament, we did mention that the allocation made for capital investment was too low and that it was not even possible to fund the ongoing projects from the level of allocation made for the capital investment budget for this year and that there was going to be a difficulty for us.
What we have done is that we have re-prioritized the projects that we have. We even had to take a second look at all the projects that we have and see which of the prioritized ones should continue for the rest of the year.
You may even recall that when it came to the details of the budget during the debate on the Budget I did mention that equipment procurement would also suffer this year. I specifically mentioned ambulances. I do not know if you recall that. We planned to purchase additional ambulances for all the district hospitals and other facilities but the level of funding for the capital investment is so low that it will not be possible for us to achieve that objective.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:20 a.m.
Mr.
Speaker, the hon. Deputy Minister has talked about re-prioritization of health facilities; on behalf of the questioner I want to know from the hon. Deputy Minister if the Mankranso Hospital is captured as part of the re-prioritized programme.
Mr. Owusu-Agyei 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, my information from the investment unit of
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:20 a.m.
Mr.
Speaker, the answer given by the hon. Deputy Minister indicates succinctly that the upgrading of facilities into district hospitals is being done in phases. When is the cut-off period of the last phase?
Mr. Owusu-Agyei 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
normally they do not have adequate funds for a project, that is the reason why we normally have to undertake certain projects in phases. I will not be able specifically to tell my hon. Colleague here as to when the final phase would be completed. But what I want to assure the hon. Member is that the reason why we at times seek foreign funding for projects is that the fund will be there, so that you can start and complete a project within a certain timeframe.
That is the reason why at times when we procure foreign funding for projects, we give ourselves or the project implementation period, maybe only two years and work would be done because there is no limitation regarding the release of funds for work done. But when it comes to Ghana Government projects, as and when the revenue comes in -- revenue inflow.
We are all aware that even when the Budget has been prepared, the allocation made in the Budget -- the revenues may not be flowing in at the pace that we anticipated so that there may be a slow- down in the release of funds from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. So that is the reason why when a project is being undertaken by Ghana Government and we do not have the funding available immediately we do it in