Odekro | What has your MP done for you?

Mr. Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the debate ably moved by the hon. Member for Tarkwa-Nsuaem.
Mr. Speaker, the President came to Parliament to perform a function as indicated in article 67 of the Constitution. And with your permission, if I may quote:
“The President shall, at the beginning of each session of Parliament and before a dissolution of Parliament, deliver to Parliament a Message on the State of the Nation.”
Mr. Speaker, it therefore means that the President is expected to deliver another message to this House before his terms ends. That being the case, the President was obliged to do certain things, which in my opinion, he has faithfully and sincerely discharged. He was expected to tell us the state of the nation as he found it in 2001. He was expected to tell us what positive advancements have been made for the period he has been in power. He was also expected to tell us if he has brought the nation lower than he found it. But I do not believe he was expected to tell us where he has maintained the status quo.

Mr. Speaker

Hon. Member for Wa
West, do you have a point of order?

Mr. Owusu-Adjapong

Mr. Speaker, as regards the inability of the Navy or possibly the Air Force to give sufficient protection to our territorial waters, it is a fact known to all of us, and I believe what we all need to do is to possibly encourage the President that during the remaining months left of his tenure of office he

should see to what extent he can help in providing these equipment to our Armed Forces. Also, we should encourage him to realize that if he were to send the request to Parliament for more planes to the Air Force or more ships to the Navy, we would be with him.

I believe that is a right signal that we should be giving from now on and I want to encourage that we, as part of the thanksgiving we would be sending him, may draw his attention to it that the House is prepared to team up with him so that we resource our Armed Forces with the required equipment for them to give us sufficient protection of our territorial waters.

Mr. Speaker, the President indicated on page 8 of his Address and with your permission, if I may quote:

“Mr. Speaker, you will recall that in this very House, government announced a programme of five priorities, namely, the following:

Vigorous infrastructural deve- lopment.

Modernized agriculture centered on rural development.

Enhanced social service de- livery, with special emphasis on education and health.

Good governance.

Private sector development”.

Mr. Speaker, in my opinion, the President took each of these topics one by one and proved to us that he has added positively to what he found at the time he became the President. It is possible that there may still be some of the President's promises that have not been honoured. There too we as a House need to draw his attention that yes, he promised he was going to do certain things and if he can look at them

again and make sure that at the end of his term he leaves us with all his promises fulfilled. That being the case, I do not see why we should have the “Castro” type of speech, six hours, eight hours for a State of the Nation Address in Ghana.

Mr. Speaker, permit me however, to make a small comment on the Ghana 2008 tournament. Mr. Speaker, my comment is not to discuss what went wrong or what should have been done at that time. As the President indicated we are supposed to congratulate the Black Stars and the handlers for a good job done. But there are two things I want us to look at -- the facilities.

We have now been able to construct four modern stadia and what we need to do is to ensure that we get good facility managers to look after them so that they would not deteriorate. This is so because we always keep on complaining that our maintenance culture is low and the management culture is low because we do not make people responsible for the maintenance of these structures.

Mr. Speaker, the next thing is to look at the way forward for the Black Stars. I do not think it is for me to stand here and say that the coach must go or must not go but what I think we need to hear as a nation from those who engaged him is what the terms under which he was engaged are and whether he has fulfilled all those terms. It is only from that angle that we may be able to make meaningful contribution to it.

Mr. Speaker, I believe it is high time we found out how we can encourage more and more Ghanaians also to get themselves trained to the highest level so that even if they cannot handle our teams at the national level, they would be handling something at the regional level. If we talk about self reliance, it should appear in all areas and I want us to set ourselves programmes so that possibly within the next “X” years, we should be able to achieve this when it comes to coaching.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I want to make a small comment on the mini-hydros. I am happy to learn that we are going to have mini-hydros on some of the rivers like the Ankobra and Pra but I want to suggest to the Government that for us also to acquire technology, possibly we need to get the type of agreement that would enable our local experts to begin to have a feel of the construction of mini-hydros so that we would follow the Chinese experience that:

“I like the person who helps me to cultivate the maize or rice and not the person who only brings me the rice.”

Definitely, when we begin to get our people to have access to this new technology by being involved in the study, the design and the construction of these mini-hydros, we also may be on our own and be able to look at some of the other rivers for such uses when they are gone.

Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity given me to support the motion.

Mr. Speaker, if you consider that in 2005 CHRAJ was given ¢5.8 billion and that in 2008, it is ¢41 billion, that you cannot deny that is an astronomical increase and that is something to write home about. That is exactly the essence of this argument.

Hon. Member for Dome, please, conclude -- [Interruption.]

Mr. Speaker

Hon. Member, conclude on his behalf.

Item 11 -- Motion, Minister for Chieftaincy and Culture?

Minister for Chieftaincy and Culture (Mr. S. K. Boafo)

Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, that the Chieftaincy Bill be read a Second time. Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the Bill is to consolidate with amendments to the Chieftaincy Act, (Act 370) to bring the Act into conformity with the provisions on the subject in the Constitution and to include new proposals. The Bill also consolidates eight pieces of enactment which are amendments to the Act:
a. The Chieftaincy Act, No. 370, has been in existence since 1971, i.e. for a period of thirty- seven years. Since then, there have been two Constitutions in 1979 and 1992, our present Constitution. There have also been several military procla- mations and statutes, all of which have made far-reaching effects on the institution of chieftaincy and on chiefs.
b. The current 1992 Constitution has made serious changes in the law pertaining to chiefs and chieftaincy which are in conflict with existing statutory provisions. Rather than leave issues on conflicts to the chiefs or to the courts, it is deemed necessary to make amendments which will bring the laws in conformity with the Constitution. This is well spelt out in the memorandum to the Bill.
c. There has been the tendency to continue the use of old expressions inherited from the colonial period but which do not reflect the realities of modern times. It has therefore become necessary to amend

even the language that is used on chieftaincy matters in the interest of the nation and in order to modernize the institution. Expressions in previous statutes which have the effect of creating the dominance of the Akan language or Akan culture in statutes covering chieftaincy have had to be re-examined and redrafted.

New Features

From the foregoing, new features which have had to be made in the amendments to bring about the stated objectives are these:

i. Purely administrative functions were originally assigned to the Office of the President at the time when there was no Ministry for Chieftaincy affairs. This is found no more relevant in view of the establishment of a substantive Ministry charged with responsibility for chiefs and chieftaincy.

ii. The period for the President and Vice-President of the National House of Chiefs have been amended to coincide with the life of Parliament so as to allow the chiefs to retire with the Government which appoints them for the performance of some statutory functions.

iii. To facilitate the work of members of judicial committees of traditional councils engaged in the performance of judicial functions, provision has been made for the first time for lawyers to be recruited for service there. In order not to burden the Government with over expenditure on chiefs, the provision has been so worded

as to allow the recruitment of national service personnel.

iv. For the first time, provision has been made for capacity building for chiefs so as to assist them to improve the quality of the performance of their duties.

v. To reduce the incidents that tend to bring the institution of chieftaincy into ridicule and to avoid abuse of legal processes, provisions on the use of injunctions and effect of stay of executions have been re-examined and amended appropriately.

vi. To give the Act a truly national character, expressions connoting general concepts have been used in place of words which seemed to emphasize on the dominance of one tribe. These include words like installation instead of enstoolment or enskinment, deposition instead of destoolment and deskinment, adikrofo which has for the first time been given the English equivalent for the benefit of non-Akan speakers.

Mr. Speaker, another area which we feel must be retained is section 52 of the Modern Act but it has been amended which is now section 77 or clause 77 necessary to retain that clause but with the new clause appearing in the memorandum to the Bill to read as follows:

“In order to forestall unnecessary violence and arrest potential troubles arising from chieftaincy disputes which often lead to loss of lives and property, it is important to retain this section as is stated in clause 77.”

So Mr. Speaker, I would like to conclude by saying that the Bill which is before Parliament now has seen nearly eight years of drafting and redrafting. Let me emphasize that this is a golden opportunity for this Parliament to modernize the institution of Chieftaincy and give our nation what every citizen fervently cherishes as essential part of national life.

Question proposed.

Mr. Kwame Asiamah (NPP -- Atwima Mponua)

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present the Committee on Sports, Youth and Culture's Report to this august House.
1.0 Introduction
In pursuance of article 106 (3) and (4) of the Constitution, and Order 187 of the Standing Orders of Parliament, the Chieftaincy Bill was laid in the House on the 30th October, 2007 and referred to the Committee on Youth, Sports and Culture for examination and report.
2.0 Deliberations
The Committee held a two-day Stakeholders' Workshop and consultative session to deliberate on the Bill. The Minister for Chieftaincy and Culture hon. Sampson Kwaku Boafo and his technical team, the President and representatives of the National House of Chiefs, Mr. P. O. Appiah of the Attorney-General's Department were all in attendance at the invitation of the Committee to assist in its deliberations. Memoranda and other submissions were also received from stakeholders.
3.0 References
The Committee had recourse to the
underlisted documents in considering the referral:
i) The Chieftaincy Act, 1961 (Act
81)
i i ) C h i e f t a i n c y (Amendment) Decree, 1966
(N.L.C.D. 112)
i i i ) C h i e f t a i n c y (Amendment) Decree, 1967
(N.L.C.D. 112)
iv) Chieftaincy (Amendment) (No. 2) Decree, 1967 (N.L.C.D. 136)
v) Chieftaincy (Amendment) (No. 3) Decree, 1967 (N.L.C.D. 203)
vi) Chieftaincy (Amendment) (No. 4) Decree, 1967 (N.L.C.D. 205)
vii) Chieftaincy (Amendment) (No. 5) Decree, 1967 (N.L.C.D.
208)
v i i i ) C h i e f t a i n c y (Amendment) Decree, 1968
(N.L.C.D. 227)
ix) Chieftaincy (Amendment) (No. 2) Decree, 1968 (N.L.C.D.
287)
x) Chieftaincy (Amendment) (No. 3) Decree, 1968 (N.L.C.D. 312)
xi) Chieftaincy Act, 1971, (Act
370)
xii) Chieftaincy (Status of Chiefs) Act, 1972 (N.R.C.D. 99)
x i i i ) P r e s e n t a t i o n s a n d clarifications by Resource Person
xiv) Chieftaincy Bill
x v ) T h e 1 9 9 2 R e p u b l i c a n Consti- tution of Ghana; and
xvi) The Standing Orders of Par- liament.
3.1 The Committee also referred to memoranda from the following:
i. Presidential Commission on Chieftaincy Affairs
ii. National House of Chiefs
iii. Ashanti Region House of Chiefs
iv. Hon. Kosi Kedem
v. Volta Region House of Chiefs.
4.0 Background
The Chieftaincy Act, (Act 370) was enacted in 1971 and had since undergone several amendments. In recognition of the need to consolidate the amendments to the substantive Act, and bring it in conformity with the provisions of the Constitution, the Law Reform Commission initiated nationwide consultative sessions with critical stakeholder institutions on the subject-matter. Proposals submitted by the Law Reform Commission and the Chieftaincy institution identified legislative gaps and also highlighted areas of novelty all which necessitated the introduction of this Bill.
The Bill continues the existence of the various bodies subject to the provisions of the Bill. Under section 1 (9) of the current Chieftaincy Act, the tenure of office of the President, Vice-President and the other members of the National House of Chiefs is three years which can be renewed except that the President cannot hold office for more than two terms in succession.

Mr. Kwame Asiamah (NPP -- Atwima Mponua)

5.0 Object of the Bill

The Bill seeks to consolidate with amendments in the Chieftaincy Act, 1971 (Act 370) to bring the act into conformity with the provisions on the subject in the Constitution and to include new proposals. The Bill also consolidates eight pieces of enactments with the amendments to the Act.

6.0 Provisions of the Bill

6.1 The Committee examined the Bill in detail and observed that it provides for the National House of Chiefs; Regional Houses of Chiefs; Traditional and Divisional Councils; Chieftaincy matters, Jurisdiction and Judicial Committees; Proceedings in Chieftaincy matters; Stool Property; Customary Law; Chief and Miscellaneous Provisions.

Provisions of various Clauses of the Bill

6.1.2 National House of Chiefs

The composit ion, election and functions of members of the National House of Chiefs are provided for in clauses 1, 2 and 3 while clauses 4 and 5 empowers the National House of Chiefs to make Standing Orders for the orderly conduct of business and stipulates its meeting schedule respectively.

6.1.3 Regional House of Chiefs

Clauses 6, 7 and 8 make provision for the composition of the Regional Houses of Chiefs; creates the offices of the President and Vice-President of the Regional Houses and their election. Functions and Committees of the Regional Houses, their power to make Standing Orders to regulate their operation and their meetings are provided for in clauses 9, 10 and 11 respectively.

6.1.4 Traditional and Divisional Councils

Clauses 12 and 13 establish in each region a Traditional Council and provide for the office of President for the Councils. Membership and meetings of the Councils are provided for in clauses 14 and 15. The Divisional Councils, their membership, presidency meetings and functions are covered in clauses 16 to 21.

2

6 . 1 . 5 C h i e f t a i n c y M a t t e r s ,

Jurisdiction and Judicial Committee

Provisions on the original and appellate jurisdictions of the National House of Chiefs as well as appeals to the Supreme Court are stated in clauses 22, 23 and 24. The Judicial Committee of the National House is established in Clause 25. Clause 26 to 30 provide for the original and appellate jurisdictions of the Regional Houses, the Judicial Committees of these Houses, jurisdiction of the Regional Traditional Councils and power to resort to customary arbitration in settlement of disputes respectively.

6.1.6 Proceedings in Chieftaincy Matters

Clause 31 empowers Judic ia l Committees of Traditional Councils to receive in evidence any matter including hearsay. Clause 32 makes provision for the award of security of cost in proceedings before the Committee while clause 33 provides generally for proceedings before Houses of Chiefs and clause 34 also makes provision for particular types of appeal to operate as stay of execution.

The provisions of clauses 35 to 43 cover the conduct of proceedings before a Traditional Council, filling of vacancies in Judicial Committees of relevant House or Council, the enforcement of judgement of Houses of Chiefs or Traditional Councils, the protection of parties, counsel and witnesses, criminal sanctions for

obstruction of proceedings, the right to institute proceedings for destoolment, the recording of proceedings in Chieftaincy matters in writing, the procedure for making application in chieftaincy matters.

6.1.7 Stool Property

Stool properties and the procedure for alienation and seizure of such properties are stated in clauses 44, 45 and 46.

Provisions on the recovery of stool property affected by chieftaincy disputes as well as its preservation are addressed in Clauses 47 and 48.

6.1.8 Customary Law

Clause 49 mandates the National House of Chiefs to promote the development of customary law and clause 50 spells out the functions of the Traditional Council relating to customary law. Under clause 51, a Regional House may draft a declaration which it considers to be the customary law rule applicable in the region or any part of it following representations from a Traditional Council on its own initiative or on a written request by the National House.

Alteration of customary law, effects of customary law on Regional House of Chiefs and assimilation of customary law are highlighted in clauses 52, 53 and 54. Clause 55 dwells on the assimilation of customary law and clause 56 indicates the method.

6.1.9 Chiefs and Miscellaneous Provisions

Clause 57 defines a chief and categories of chiefs are listed in clause 58. Clauses 59 - 63 deals with the National Register of chiefs, their contempt charges as well as issues relating installation and deposition. These clauses also include a

number of offences in connection with chiefs. In clauses 64 -70 the issues of Traditional and Divisional Councils as well as Accounts and Audit are addressed. Regulations are provided for in clause 71. Under clause 74 - 77, it is stated that the annual statement of accounts are to be submitted to stools.

It also makes regulations for elections and mentions the performance of functions conferred on the President. Clause 78 is the Interpretation clause and repeals, savings and transitional pro-visions is stated in clause 79.

7.0 Observations:

7 . 1 U s e o f E x p r e s s i o n s l i k e Stool, Destoolment and Deposition

The Committee observed that the two main symbols of authority in Ghana are the stool and the skin. Skin is used in Upper East, Upper West and Northern Regions. Stools are used in the remaining Regions. The definition section of the Bill states that “stool” includes skin. The Bill uses destoolment and deposition in different sections. Destoolment means the unmaking of a chief who sits on a stool. Deskinment means the unmaking of a chief who sits on a skin.

The Committee further observed that to comply with the constitutional provisions in article 274 (3) (c), “deposition” which means destoolment or Deskinment must be used as the case maybe.

7.2 Categorization of Chiefs and the use of the word “Adikrofo”

The Committee was informed that “Adikrofo” is an Akan word and in fairness to chiefs who do not understand Akan, it will be safer to add “chiefs below the rank of a sub-chief” to that word.

7.3 “Appointment”/“Selection”

Mr. Kwame Asiamah (NPP -- Atwima Mponua)

of Chiefs

The Committee was informed that in this country, chiefs (traditional or conventional chiefs) as envisaged by the 1992 Constitution are not appointed. Before becoming a chief, a person from the appropriate family lineage is no- minated, elected, selected, enstooled or enskinned in accordance with customary law and tradition in articles 274 (3) (c) and 277.

The Committee also noted that their status is ancestral and hereditary and the process is generally described as installation.

The term “appointment” may properly

be referred to unconventional or honorary chiefs such as migrant chiefs (for example Mosihene of Kumasi, Fante Chief of Accra, development chiefs --Nkosuohene, entrepreneurial chiefs - Bayerehemaa, et cetera). Such chiefs are indeed appointed to their positions as chiefs. Their appointments do not involve their having to belong to any special family or lineage in a particular family and they are not nominated, selected, enstooled or enskinned.

The use of “appointment” in the Bill to refer to conventional chiefs should be replaced by the word “selection”. This is actually the word used in the Chapter on Chieftaincy in the Constitution and deviation from it would be contrary to the Constitution.

7.4 Chieftaincy-Related Violence and Security of the State: Clause 77

In the light of the seemingly never- ending chieftaincy related violence, it is important that clause 77 be maintained. The Memorandum can be amended with a new clause to read: “In order to

forestall unnecessary violence and arrest potential troubles arising from chieftaincy disputes which often lead to loss of life and property, it is important to retain this section as stated in clause 77”.

7 .5 Some problems relat ing to chieftaincy

The Committee is of the view that problems that relate to chieftaincy in this country are hydra-headed. They need to be tackled seriously else there would be constant insecurity. Some of these are:

failure or inability of judicial committees to dispose of cases on time

insufficient financial allocation to institutions, for example who pays for allowances of judicial committee members at traditional council level? If the committees are allowed to levy their own charges, room might be created for systemic corruption.

inherent potential for disputes -- nomination, selection, enstoolment and enskinment, registration and lack of clear guidelines or on rules on succession

family issues -- royal family, lineage, timing of occupation, rotation and narrow family disputes.

7.6 Appointment of Lawyers for Regional and National Houses of Chiefs

The Committee again observed that one of the obvious problems facing the institution is the appointment of Counsel for Regional and National Houses of Chiefs. The Constitution under articles 273 (3) and 274 (5) provides for these appointments and every effort should be made to implement the constitutional

provision.

The Committee considered the suggestion that appointment of lawyers for traditional councils is of great importance because the bulk of chieftaincy disputes commence from traditional councils. To improve justice delivery at the traditional councils, it is suggested that at least National Service lawyers could be recruited to assist at that level.

The Committee recommends that this suggestion be included in the Bill.

7.7 Resourcing and capacity-building for Chiefs

The Committee further observed that, considering the pride chieftaincy brings to the people of this country and the fact that many Ghanaians identify their culture as what distinguishes them from everyone else, it is imperative to adequately resource chieftaincy as an institution and in particular strengthen its Research Unit which is engaged in ascertaining the lines of succession of chiefs in the country.

The Committee again noted that,

members of Judicial Committees are generally knowledgeable in their fields of expertise but are not lawyers or judges. It is considered necessary to insert in the Bill a clause on capacity building which would require members of Judicial Committees to attend courses -- at least on trial of cases, writing of judgments and performance of judicial functions. Without such a clause in the Bill, it may be difficult to get the chiefs to attend the training courses voluntarily.

7.8 Stay of execution, injunctions and rushed installations

It came to the notice of the Committee that by section 34 of the Bill, an appeal

to the Regional House of Chiefs or the National House of Chiefs operates as automatic stay of execution.

Again, where an order has been made dismissing a petition to install a chief, the winning parties may rush and install their chief within a record time of twenty-four to seventy-two hours, thus hardly giving the appellant any time to file an appeal. Whether or not they comply with the requirements of installation, all that the public would be told is that a new chief has been installed. The aim of the fast installation is to frustrate the effect of the appeal operating as a stay of execution.

In all these situations, the design is to spite the opponent or to derail or deflect the course of justice with a view to defeat the ends of justice.

To avert this, it is proposed that a new clause to this effect be introduced in the Bill:

a. No installation of a chief or queenmother shall be valid unless public notice of the installation has been given at least fourteen days prior to the day of the installation. The notice shall be in accordance with the custom of the area.

b. An interim injunction shall not be effective if it is granted within the last seven days prior to the day of the installation.

c. An appeal shall not operate as stay of execution if it is filed within the last seven days prior the day of installation to which a two-week public notice has been given.

These suggestions are to be added to clause 34.

Mr. Kwame Asiamah (NPP -- Atwima Mponua)

7.9 Presidential Responsibilities and the Creation of Chieftaincy Ministry

The Committee took note of the fact that certain functions were assigned to the President at a time when there was no particular Ministry charged with the responsibility for chieftaincy matters. Now that there is a substantive Ministry in place, there is no justification for saddling the President with those purely administrative responsibilities. The Bill may reassign these functions and responsibilities to the Minister, as they are not entrenched in the Constitution. Some of these are:

a. Clause 71, add Minister for Chieftaincy to the clause

b. Clause 76, replace public officer with Minister for Chieftaincy.

c. Clause 62, include submission to Minister as well

d. All the administrative res- ponsibilities in clause 59 should be reconsidered and some of the Presidents' assignments there reassigned to the Minister for Chieftaincy Affairs.

7.10 In the l ight of the above

observations, the Committee proposes the following amendments for consideration by the House; the list includes corrections made to typographical errors, omissions as well as redraft of some of the clause to give clarity to the provision.

8.0 Amendments Proposed

(i) Clause 2, amendment proposed, subclause (3), delete and insert the

following:

“(3) A person is not qualified to be President or Vice-President of the National House of Chiefs if that person:

a) has been sentenced to death or to a term of imprisonment exceeding twelve months without the option of a fine or has been convicted of an offence involving dis- honesty or moral turpitude and in each case has not been granted free pardon, or

b) is adjudged to be a person of unsound mind, or

c ) hav ing been dec la red insolvent or bankrupt under a law in force in the Republic or in any other country is an undischarged insolvent or bankrupt, or

d) having professional quali- fication, is disqualified from practising the profession by the order of a competent authority of that profession not made at the request of that person.”

(ii) Clause 2, amendment proposed, delete subclause (5) and insert the following:

“(5) The Registrar of the National House shall by notice published in the Chieftaincy Bulletin provided for under section 60 convene a meeting of the:

(a) National House, where the vacancy is in respect of the President or Vice-President of the National House, or

(b) relevant Regional House,

where the vacancy is in respect of any other member of the National House within sixty days after the publication of the notice for the election of a President, Vice-President or member of National House and shall invite the Electoral Commission to supervise the election.”

(iii) Clause 6, amendment proposed, subclause (2), paragraph (a), line one, delete “National” and insert “Regional”.

(iv) Clause 8,amendment proposed, subclause (1), paragraph (b), for “Electoral Commission” substitute “Registrar of the Regional House”.

(v) Clause 11, amendment pro- posed,subclause (5), line five, delete all the words after “member” to the end of the paragraph and insert the following after “member” “not present”.

(vi) Clause 15, amendment proposed

Mr. J. Y. Chireh (NDC -- Wa West)

Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion but to make a few comments. The first is that this law that is being revised was passed at a time when the system of government had two levels of leadership a Prime Minister and a Ceremonial President. This time round we have a Presidential system and therefore some of the suggestions that have been made by both the Ministry and the Committee are not far-reaching enough.
There are some responsibilities, that have been assigned to the President to perform in the Bill but I think that when we come to consider all the amendments that have been proposed we should look at the context in which this Bill is being passed.
Secondly, in future, if any Bill is to be referred to any committee or appropriate

Mr. J. Y. Chireh (NDC -- Wa West)

select committee, we should look at its import, particularly chieftaincy and the fact that we are making the law subsequent to article 274 of the Constitution that deals with Chieftaincy.

So I will prefer that in future when we are going to make a law that touches on the Constitution, the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs should be jointly charged with that responsibility.

Mr. Speaker, if you look at the recommendations that the Committee has made, particularly on the need to streamline the way people become chiefs, it requires research to be conducted, it requires a lot of work to be done so that we have a lineage succession, we know who is next to be chief so that the needless conflict that arise as a result of this will be avoided.

Unfortunately, we are leaving that big responsibility of the funding to donors and other people. Even Government's own involvement is limited. I know it is always due to lack of resources but if you compare that to the fact that because of chieftaincy conflicts we can deploy soldiers, security men and spend money, I think we should look at the issue of funding the research that will go a long way to minimize the conflicts.

I also think that the process should be incremental. Not that we should wait until we get a whole picture and then legislate or incorporate this into regulations. We should take even the first things first where chieftaincy is so clearly established and the systems are clear, it should not take that long to compile the succession lines.

We should go from one traditional

Mr. J. Y. Chireh (NDC -- Wa West)

council area to another traditional council area and when people see that one traditional council area has been completely studied, the research is done, the lineages are established and it has been gazetted or put in the instrument the others will be encouraged to go the same direction, and we can make it faster.

Indeed, Mr. Speaker, the third point I want to make is about resourcing and building the capacity of chiefs. That is very important. Particularly, even the little duties we are giving them, the jurisdiction to determine cases, we need to let them know. Where it has not been possible for people who are educated and literate to be chiefs these people ought to be told in a formal system how they should go about their work in the judicial committees.

So it is very important that we build the capacity of the chiefs no matter their level of education. They should be guided through; and resourcing the chiefs, building their capacity particularly in relation to their judicial duties is very important.

I will therefore urge that again the Government should look at that because most of the conflicts arise from the fact that the chiefs too sit on committees. Some do not know the procedures; others do but let us eliminate the obvious ones through capacity-building and resourcing them to be able to do their work.

Again, the problem we have is about getting lawyers to serve as counsels for the various Houses of Chiefs and the Traditional Councils. We cannot again afford to leave this thing to chance because the cost of maintaining law and order when there is a conflict far exceeds the amount that we can pay handsomely to a lawyer to make him willing to serve on these councils.

Mr. J. Y. Chireh (NDC -- Wa West)

I will therefore urge that we look at how we can enable these lawyers to be appointed as counsels for the various Houses of Chiefs and traditional councils so that justice, speedy determination of the cases is carried out.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for this opportunity.

Minister for Women and Children's Affairs (Hajia Alima Mahama)

Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion. Mr. Speaker, we all appreciate the role our chiefs are performing, keeping social cohesion, adjudicating on matters at the community level. I will even dare say that more cases go to our chiefs than our courts - more cases go to their courts than the regular courts, especially in our rural communities.
Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to visit the National House of Chiefs and I was pleasantly surprised that it was warm. I enjoyed my interaction with members of the National House of Chiefs. Mr. Speaker, I have also interacted with a number of queen mothers and they have raised some concerns and I believe it behoves me to present some of the issues that the queen-mothers have raised.
Mr. Speaker, the queen mothers are concerned about their inability to participate in activities of the National House of Chiefs or for that matter Regional Houses of Chiefs, Traditional Councils and even in the District Councils. I have looked through the current Bill and I appreciate the fact that under the definition of “Chiefs” - Clause 57, queen mothers are included. But in the categories of chiefs, clause 58, I realize that queen mothers are not mentioned.
At the Regional House of Chiefs level in their original jurisdiction to listen to matters, they have responsibility to also
look at issues on queenmothers.
But Mr. Speaker, I am concerned that we have not given visibility to queen mothers in this Bill. And reading through the memorandum, I recognized that some research had been done, they had gone out to talk to people and they have had some information and what queen mothers told them or whatever deductions they made on the responsibilities of queen mothers are not reflected in this Bill.
So I will urge the Minister for Chieftaincy and Culture to take a second look at the Bill and propose something that will make our queenmothers feasible on the face of the law. They do have a lot of responsibilities. Apart from saying that they are not present in the various Houses of Chiefs, the institutional framework set up, they do not also have any share of the various royalties either from stool or mineral resources.
Meanwhile they have a lot of responsibilities. Even on issues of domestic violence, they are the ones who take responsibility for that. They are the ones who disseminate relevant infor-mation to women in the rural com- munities. The queen mothers have also indicated that if for whatever reasons they cannot be in the National House of Chiefs, maybe legally we should put in place a framework so that they can have a Queen mother's Association or House of Queen mothers so that they can dovetail that into the work of the National House of Chiefs.
Mr. Speaker, it is my plea that hon. Members of the House will look at this issue and let this Bill go through and be within our relevant outlook, the outlook that we want to promote women's rights, the outlook that we are promoting gender equality, equity in women's empower- ment. And if an amendment is proposed in this regard it is my hope that hon.
Members will see it as their responsibility to reflect this belief in promoting women empowerment and human rights in this document and make our women more feasible by this law.
Mr. Speaker, when you look at the responsibilities and the functions as proposed in the Chieftaincy Bill, be it under the National House of Chiefs, be it under the Regional House of Chiefs, it includes adjudication of customary matters, it includes codifying our customary laws, it includes even reviewing the various customary laws and ensuring that they are in tandem with modern governance approach or even our human rights regime approach. And I believe that women have a role to play in these matters especially at the community level.
When it comes to really playing it out, working at the local level, it is women who work to keep the cohesion. They interpret the customs, they work with the communities to implement the various customs and they are also the ones who are affected by the negative impact of such customs. So if you look at the roles again, the interpretations of these various customs will definitely have a bearing on women and I will only plead that it is fair that there should be some kind of framework that they can input into the process of this exercise.
Mr. Speaker, it is again my hope that the section on traditional councils will also deal with the functions of the traditional councils so that we can clearly see if that is the area that we should put in fitting framework for the queen mothers. I went through it and it is not consistent with the various other provisions that have clearly defined functions of traditional councils.
I will urge the Minister to look at this and see if we can look at the role of
queen- mothers in traditional councils. Alternatively, he could look at how the Queen mothers' Association can relate at the traditional level within their various traditional council framework to the various traditional councils and make the work of the chiefs hold for the benefit of both men and women.
Mr. Speaker, let all of us take a share of the responsibility for promoting gender equality and women's empowerment in this country in any way or in any situation or under any circumstances that we find ourselves in. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. H. F. Kamel (NDC - Buem)

Mr. Speaker, I am for the motion and I am very happy that the Bill takes into cognizance the changing times of society and how the institution of Chieftaincy which has played a very vital role in our developmental process should move along. But in spite of the very beautiful provisions, I have a problem with clause 19 of the Bill. I am saying I have a problem with clause 19 because it appears it might create problems if this House does not address the situation.
Maybe later on, I will evoke the necessary procedures to see if there could be an amendment. But with your permission, clause 19 says that,
“The presidency of a Divisional Council shall be held by the members of the Council on an annual rotational basis in alphabetical order of stool or skin name.”
What happens in many areas is that the Divisional Councils have a most senior chief and his authority is accepted, not questioned. They have for a very long time been presiding at Divisional Council meetings. If we are not careful and you

decide to allow the presidency to go on a rotational basis, it will create discontent because the most senior chief might not feel comfortable sitting with a junior chief presiding over the meeting. This is one grey area that I would like to draw the Minister's attention to. Maybe, when we come to the right stage, we might see what to do to be able to seek an amendment.

I also think that in spite of the laudable roles the chiefs have played in our local government administration, and even at the national level, there is still a lot of room to have chiefs to maximize the potential and expertise that they have in the administration of this country. If you look at the chieftaincy institution and you look at the constitutional provisions, you realize that chiefs are represented at the national level.

But at the local level where they are even much more needed there are no specific provisions for chiefs to play active roles at the local administration levels. Sometimes, as I move around as a Member of Parliament, I realize that there is a very big gap between the District Assemblies and the chiefs. What transpires in the District Assembly, what goes on in the District Assembly, whatever developmental programmes that are going on are not known to the chiefs. And you will realize that it creates a lot of discomfort for the chiefs and puts them in the dark.

If we can have chiefs on the Judicial Councils, Prisons Councils and Lands Commissions, I think that we should as a matter of role in the 30 per cent maybe specifically provide for a certain percentage of chiefs to be at the local level. By so doing we will be bridging the gap between the traditional councils and the District Assemblies and then the chiefs and the Assemblies.

One big concern of mine when I met my chiefs over the Bill had to do with money. We realized that the endowments are not the same. Royalties by way of financing the traditional councils, by way of financing the institution in certain areas is better more placed in certain areas than in other areas. In certain areas, we do not even have stool lands and when it comes to that the functioning of chiefs in that particular area is seriously called into question. It dehumanizes the chiefs and makes them lose the confidence that they have.

What I know is that some District Assemblies have taken it upon themselves to give some monthly allowances to their chiefs. I remember it was about, ¢1,200 a year those times. Right now in my area it is about - old Ghana -- ¢5,000; this is not the best. Various governments have put in a lot of interventions targeting specific segments of the society. But honestly, the chieftaincy institution has not benefited by way of any intervention in terms of financing them either individually or as an institution.

I know that some chiefs receive some allowances or remuneration on quarterly basis or at the end of the month. I think that it is time we took the issue up seriously and tried to see how we can remunerate some category of chiefs, at least for a start to make them function properly. Because as the hon. Minister for Women and Children's Affairs rightly said, at the local level the chiefs play a very big role in making sure that this nation moves. So I think the Ministry or the Government should look at the issue and once again see what can be done.

I also think that apart from the judicial committees that we are talking about, the capacity of our chiefs need to be built

on very seriously. Times are changing, new laws are being passed, new ways of administering people are being put in place. There is the need to build on the capacity of our chiefs to meet challenges either at the local level or the national level.

With these interventions, I once more wish to thank you.

Mr. Freddie W. A. Blay (CPP - Ellembelle)

Mr. Speaker, I also rise to associate myself with the motion moved by our dear Colleague and Minister for Chieftaincy Affairs. I have had the opportunity of looking a little critically at this Bill and I must confess that it is one of the most difficult Bills I can foresee that the Minister has tried to bring to this House, particularly dealing with an institution that is very old, that happens to be very different in terms of its nature depending on the kind of community that we are dealing with, as mentioned by my dear Colleague who just spoke.
He has mentioned that in some cases, in some areas, the chiefs have access to stool lands and therefore they have royalties. What about those areas where they may not even have stool lands? There are some localities, even in Accra here where chiefs are not entitled to royalties because the land may not belong to them and it creates a little problem. But I understand that the object of this Bill has been just consolidation of various laws that have been passed since 1971. Indeed, as he put it, we have had a couple of Constitutions and for that reason this is only brought to consolidate laws relating to that institution.
I am only a bit happy that there has
been a little attempt as to limit litigations and violence accompanying installations and succession which are brought up. It is good and we have done it in such a way that the court will have very little room in order that they may not lend themselves to be manipulated for the benefit of individuals who are struggling to be called chiefs. My biggest problem has been where they talked about coming out with the customary laws.

Mr. Speaker, I believe by the various laws we have in this country - the Constitution and so forth and so on - we have also captured the idea of customary laws forming part of our laws in this country. But in terms of its jurisprudence, it is a little bit controversial. Now that we have a modern state - one nation - and then we have this institution, are we saying that we are allowing the institution, whichever area chieftaincy or a custom is supposed to be pertaining, to come out with the development of some laws pari passu with the laws that we have given to ourselves as a nation? Is that what we want to do?

Is that what we want to say, that customary laws are also evolving and developing alongside the laws that we have, particularly laws that we in this House are making? Is that the intention? Do we think it will not, one way or the other, result in some conflict? Mr. Speaker, I am not too sure. But when we come to the consideration of the Bill itself, maybe, we will take a look at it.

But I must say, Mr. Speaker, that I also listened attentively when the hon. Minister for Women and Children's Affairs was talking and I could see she was making very serious efforts to introduce elements of gender into the institution

Mr. Freddie W. A. Blay (CPP - Ellembelle)

itself as we have it now. I think these are very innovative and we may take a good look at them and see what we could do. Again, the contradictions may be a little bit building up, in the sense that this is an old institution that indeed the Constitution itself has made and we should not tamper with it.

We must hasten a little slowly as to how we want to introduce a modern trend with regard to gender into that institution. Some are even arguing that this is an institution which at the moment is a little anachronistic. Some do say that if we consider the factors responsible for the kind of disturbances in the country, the violence that we have in this country, next to land is chieftaincy. And are we to institutionalize it or we are to modernize it?

To modernize it, some have suggested just as the Committee's Report does, that we should be building the capacity of chiefs and putting them in tune with modern trends and developments. But again, if one is not careful, this suggestion itself may have to turn round the institution; the Constitution itself has placed some serious limitation on this House and other institutions with regard to dealing with chieftaincy. For that reason, Mr. Speaker, I am glad and I sympathise with the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture.

I think it is a good idea to consolidate but we should also take the opportunity to look at some of the issues that have been brought up critically so that we will not turn round the next day to say we want to do something. Some chiefs have even suggested at one time that we should now free them to take part in competitive politics or partisan politics. We have not

Mr. Freddie W. A. Blay (CPP - Ellembelle)

tackled that issue now but I believe sooner or later, we might have to wake up to the reality as to whether to isolate or limit other people from various sections of the society from taking part in politics like other citizens.

Mr. Speaker, on that note, I support the motion on the floor.

Mr. I. A. B. Fuseini (NDC - Tamale Central)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to contribute to the motion on the floor.
Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity of sitting in when the Legal Resources Centre organized a seminar on this Bill and many issues were raised on the Bill. Mr. Speaker, I wish to identify myself strongly with the sentiments of the hon. Minister for Women and Children's Affairs.
Indeed, the women were of the view that this being a local government activity - chieftaincy principally - its activities are at the local level and they play very, very crucial roles and the Constitution recognizes queenmothers as chiefs and that there must be the need to incorporate them into the various Houses. In fact, they were very forceful on that and if there is an opportunity for us to do that we will be incorporating half or more than half of the population into the mainstream politics of chieftaincy in Ghana and that will go a long way to serve our purpose.
Mr. Speaker, clause 77 of the Bill presented a matter for worry. It says that the Minister should have a power to banish, prohibit a person from continuing to stay in a place if that person is identified as part of the problem of a chieftaincy conflict. I think this one is sending our Minister back to the colonial days and making him a District Colonial Governor and that he should have the opportunity to
determine who should be there and who should not be.
Mr. Speaker, I think this power should be conserved and reserved for the courts; the Minister should not have that power akin to the old power of giving recognition to the chiefs such that he can withhold such recognition. Subject to that amendment, I think that this Bill should be considered.
The chiefs were also of the view that the whole Bill is talking about administration and it does not give them functions. What are they to do? What functions do they play at those levels? Are they supposed to be adjudicating on matters? If they are, why is the Bill not giving them those powers?
In fact, an example was given by Nana Dr. S. K. B. Asante that in his area, the Assemblyman who had been elected had gone round to say that having been elected by the generality of the people to represent them in the Assembly, he was more powerful and important than the chief. The chiefs think that they should be given a role and their role should be defined in the Bill. Indeed, they had almost come to the conclusion that the hon. First Deputy Speaker came to, that on this Bill, we should hasten slowly because they do not see anything new.
I hope that we will take consolation in the fact that this Bill is to revise and consolidate. It is not introducing any new thing; it is revising and consolidating, except that in revising the thing, we should not give the Minister too much powers to determine who must live within our communities.
Mr. Speaker, with these few words, I support the motion on the floor.
Deputy Minister for Justice and Attorney-General (Mr. Kwame Osei-
Prempeh): Mr. Speaker, I also rise to support the motion on the floor. Mr. Speaker in doing so, I would like to say first and foremost that I do not agree with my hon. Friend who just spoke that the Bill does not assign any functions to chiefs.
Mr. Speaker, if you read the Bill, it has gone ahead to define clearly the lineage, the traditional functions of chiefs, the judicial powers and others and even summoning people - giving them powers. I believe anybody who reads the Bill thoroughly will agree with that.
Mr. Speaker, again, I agree with the Committee on violence from chieftaincy. This has been the bane of the society. It comes about because people do not want to follow the customary trend. Go anywhere in the world where we have monarchy or chieftaincy, whether it is in Britain, whether it is in The Netherlands, whether it is in Swaziland, whether it is in Lesotho, whether it is Saudi Arabia or in Ashanti anywhere else, chieftaincy is for a preserved few; it is customary.
If one has nothing to do with the installation of a chief, one has nothing to do with it. It is only a small group, which custom demands, who install the chief. The Constitution gives that mandate to them and the laws of this country give them the power to do so, such that if a concerned citizen sits outside and says that this person cannot be a chief, it should end there. Thus, if people get up and say that if this person becomes a chief, there will be bloodshed, we will fight and people will fight and people will die; it is unfortunate.
We are having this problem in this country because people who do not have the right to install and destool chiefs have taken that upon themselves to dictate who should be chiefs and who should not. And I believe that along with this Bill

Mr. I. A. B. Fuseini (NDC - Tamale Central)

people must be educated that if one has no customary role to install a chief - if a young man on the street cannot install a chief - one does not have to assign that role to oneself.

Mr. Speaker, in Akan we say mmrantee nsi hene. It is not the youth on the street who install a chief. It is for those who have that power - And Mr. Speaker, if we accept that, I believe we can have some peace and therefore if the law is going to try to attempt to restore peace, a way must be found to deal with people who bring mayhem to their traditional areas through their self-assigned roles trying to determine who can be a chief. Mr. Speaker, if we allow those who customarily have the right to install chiefs to do their work, I believe there would be peace.

Mr. Speaker, the next one is the resourcing and building the capacity of the chiefs. I do not agree with the Committee that they should go through training or we should legislate. I agree that they should be given training but to legislate that members of the judicial committees and others must go through a certain kind of training before they can become members, Mr. Speaker, would be asking for too much.

Mr. Speaker, some of our chiefs, even though have not been to school when it comes to native wisdom and customary law, they are experts. So you cannot tell us that you have to train them and put them in the classroom to learn this and that before they can perform that function. I do not agree to that.

Mr. Speaker, the next issue is the appointment of lawyers for the Houses of Chiefs. This came to the fore when

Mr. I. A. B. Fuseini (NDC - Tamale Central)

the recent troubles in Anlo came up. It is believed that it is the Attorney- General's office which appoints lawyers for the traditional areas. Mr. Speaker, that is a false notion. By the Constitution, the Attorney-General's office only recommends. Neither does the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture have any right to appoint counsel for the Houses of Chiefs.

It is for the Houses of Chiefs themselves to appoint. They should apply to the Attorney-General - [Interruption] - No, it is a different matter. Just like anybody is recruited, like the way hon. Members of Parliament are paid, the way lawyers in the Attorney-General's office are paid, the lawyers in the Ministries are paid, lawyers of the National House of Chiefs must be paid by the State.

Mr. Speaker, it seems it is out of ignorance that the Houses of Chiefs do not have counsel because everybody sits down thinking that somebody must do it. Mr. Speaker, from now on, I believe the chiefs must be more proactive and know that the Constitution gives them that right to appoint and they must exercise it.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to say that the drafters of the Constitution were very wise in taking Government out of chieftaincy matters and no attempt whatsoever should be made to push Government into chieftaincy matters. Mr. Speaker, it is not good for this country. If in a particular area people ask that the Government should step in to prevent a certain person from becoming a chief and the Government does so in that traditional area, next time the Government must be called upon to do it in another traditional area and it is not good for this country. I believe if there is anything that I found most acceptable in the Constitution, it is the insulation of chieftaincy from governmental interference and this nation

must strive to maintain that.

With these few words, Mr. Speaker, I support the motion.

Mr. Haruna Iddrisu (NDC - Tamale South)

Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to associate myself with the motion and to make a few observations.
Mr. Speaker, this Bill reminds me of a very popular first year examination question - whether the chieftaincy institution is not anachronistic -- and it was subject to the interrogation of young people at the time as to whether the chieftaincy institution has not outlived its usefulness. Indeed, Mr. Speaker, traditionally our chiefs perform customary, social, economic, judicial, spiritual and military functions. Those were their primary functions.
Mr. Speaker, with time modernity or modernization has withered away the central and key role that the chief played in many communities. Undoubtedly, Mr. Speaker, in many traditional areas today they are as relevant as they were before because they still undertake those religious, spiritual and economic functions.
But Mr. Speaker, my greates t disappointment with the chieftaincy institution is the fact that today, they are the source of intra and inter violent conflicts in many different parts of our country; and I regret it personally because it is the institution which should uphold and ensure sanity and peace in the area. Regrettably, whether we are travelling from Anlo through Dagbon, through Sefwi or through Bawku, it is either an inter ethnic conflict which borders on chieftaincy, largely on succession. Mr. Speaker, it is because opportunists, selfish and the wealthy people have infiltrated
the chieftaincy institution and have taken advantage to doctor even time-tested known traditions and customary practices.
I think that is what has withered away the centrality of the chieftaincy institution. Where even there are known customs, even defined rotational systems, it has been circumvented at the altar of the wealthy, the powerful, being persons in government. Indeed, I was glad when the hon. Deputy Attorney-General mentioned it.
Mr. Speaker, politicians and in particular governments in power must stay clear off the chieftaincy institution as was the wisdom of the drafters of the Constitution when they said that chiefs are not to be engaged in partisan politics even though some of them, in their public utterances are more partisan than those of us who do open partisan politics. But Mr. Speaker, in saying so, may I refer you to article 270 of our Constitution and to support an argument hon. I. A. B. Fuseini made.
Mr. Speaker, I hope that the hon. Minister would ensure that before we even proceed to the Consideration Stage, some grey issues are properly addressed. For instance, Mr. Speaker, with your indulgence, I quote clause 270 (2):
“Parliament shall have no power to enact any law which …”
and I am particularly interested in section (b) which states - and with your permission, I quote:
“in any way detracts or derogates from the honour and dignity of the institution of chieftaincy”
Mr. Speaker, how do we reconcile that

Mr. Isaac K. Asiamah

Mr. Speaker, I think not to deviate from what my hon. Colleague is saying, this is what the Committee has also recommended to the House; so it has already been catered for by the Committee that the hon. Minister in consultation with the National Security Minister, by a court order - So a court order is there and the court is the final determinant of the Minister's action. So that has been catered for in the Committee's report.

Mr. H. Iddrisu

Mr. Speaker, I have read comprehensively the report of hon. Asiamah's committee and I have accordingly even filed, with the blessing of my hon. Colleague, hon. Fuseini an amendment to support the Committee's own recommendation.

Mr. Speaker, we have
exhausted almost everything there that we are capable of doing today. There are committee meetings and I would respectfully move that we adjourn this Sitting till tomorrow at 10 o'clock in the forenoon.

Mr. Adjaho

Mr. Speaker, in seconding the motion for adjournment, it is important to state that we are not happy with the way some of our hon. Ministers are treating this honourable House. A Question has been programmed for an hon. Minister who has two Deputies. The Question has been printed, the Answers have been printed and we decided to see whether at the close of the day any hon. Minister or his Deputy would show up to answer the Question but it was a ‘no show.'
If we continue like this, this House would lose its respect. It would not be able to perform its oversight responsibility to the Executive. I think that we need an explanation from the government bench as to why the hon. Minister for Health has not come to this honourable House to answer Questions standing in the name of the Ministry. We ought to know from the government bench - very good reasons.

Debates of 21 Feb 2008

PRAYERS 10 a.m.

Mr. Speaker 10 a.m.

Mr. Lee Ocran 10 a.m.

Mr. Speaker 10 a.m.

Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10 a.m.

Mr. Speaker 10 a.m.

Mr. Ossei Aidooh 10 a.m.

Mr. Speaker 10 a.m.

Mr. Speaker 10 a.m.

Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10 a.m.

Mr. Speaker 10 a.m.

Mr. Speaker 10 a.m.

PAPERS 10 a.m.

Mr. A. O. Aidooh 10 a.m.

Mr. Speaker 10 a.m.

Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyemang (on behal f o f Chairman of the Committee) 10 a.m.

Mr. K. A. Okerchiri 10 a.m.

MOTIONS 10 a.m.

Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyemang (on behalf of the Chairman of the Committee) 10 a.m.

Mr. Okerchiri 10 a.m.

Mr. Speaker 10 a.m.

Mr. A. O. Aidooh 10 a.m.

MOTIONS 10 a.m.

Alhaji Sumani Abukari (NDC -- Tamale North) 10:10 a.m.

Mr. Speaker 10:10 a.m.

Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 10 a.m.

Alhaji Abukari 10 a.m.

Alhaji Abukari 10 a.m.

Papa Owusu-Ankomah 10 a.m.

Alhaji Abukari 10 a.m.

Mr. Speaker 10 a.m.

Alhaji Abukari 10 a.m.

Mr. Speaker 10 a.m.

Alhaji Abukari 10 a.m.

Nana Akufo-Addo 10:20 a.m.

Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.

Alhaji Abukari 10:20 a.m.

Nana Akufo-Addo 10:20 a.m.

Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.

Alhaji Abukari 10:20 a.m.

Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyemang 10:20 a.m.

Mr. Doe Adjaho 10:20 a.m.

Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.

Alhaji Abukari 10:20 a.m.

Mr. Abraham Ossei Aidooh 10:20 a.m.

Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.

Alhaji Abukari 10:20 a.m.

Mr. K. Okerchiri 10:20 a.m.

Mr. Speaker 10:20 a.m.

Alhaji Abukari 10:20 a.m.

Mr. Lee Ocran 10:20 a.m.

Alhaji Abukari 10:20 a.m.

Mr. Speaker 10:30 a.m.

Alhaji Abukari 10:30 a.m.

Mr. Speaker 10:30 a.m.

Alhaji Abukari 10:30 a.m.

Mr. A. O. Aidooh 10:30 a.m.

Alhaji Abukari 10:30 a.m.

Mr. Speaker 10:30 a.m.

Alhaji Abukari 10:30 a.m.

Mr. Speaker 10:30 a.m.

Alhaji Abukari 10:30 a.m.

Mr. Speaker 10:30 a.m.

Alhaji Abukari 10:30 a.m.

Mr. F. K. Owusu-Adjapong (NPP -- Akim Swedru) 10:30 a.m.

Mr. Speaker 10:30 a.m.

Mr. Chireh 10:30 a.m.

Mr. Speaker 10:30 a.m.

Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 10:30 a.m.

Mr. Speaker 10:30 a.m.

Alhaji Abukari 10:30 a.m.

Mr. Speaker 10:30 a.m.

Mr. Owusu-Adjapong 10:40 a.m.

Mrs. Juliana Azumah-Mensah (NDC -- Ho East) 10:40 a.m.

Mrs. Juliana Azumah-Mensah (NDC -- Ho East) 10:50 a.m.

Mrs. Juliana Azumah-Mensah (NDC -- Ho East) 10:50 a.m.

Mrs. Azumah-Mensah 10:50 a.m.

Mrs. G. E. Kusi 10:50 a.m.

Mrs. Azumah-Mensah 10:50 a.m.

PRAYERS

Mr. Speaker

Mr. Lee Ocran

Mr. Speaker

Mr. Owusu-Agyemang

Mr. Speaker

Mr. Ossei Aidooh

Mr. Speaker

Mr. Speaker

Mr. Owusu-Agyemang

Mr. Speaker

Mr. Speaker

PAPERS

Mr. A. O. Aidooh

Mr. Speaker

Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyemang (on behal f o f Chairman of the Committee)

Mr. K. A. Okerchiri

MOTIONS

Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyemang (on behalf of the Chairman of the Committee)

Mr. Okerchiri

Mr. Speaker

Mr. A. O. Aidooh

MOTIONS

Alhaji Sumani Abukari (NDC -- Tamale North)

Mr. Speaker

Mr. Owusu-Agyemang

Alhaji Abukari

Alhaji Abukari

Papa Owusu-Ankomah

Alhaji Abukari

Mr. Speaker

Alhaji Abukari

Mr. Speaker

Alhaji Abukari

Nana Akufo-Addo

Mr. Speaker

Alhaji Abukari

Nana Akufo-Addo

Mr. Speaker

Alhaji Abukari

Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyemang

Mr. Doe Adjaho

Mr. Speaker

Alhaji Abukari

Mr. Abraham Ossei Aidooh

Mr. Speaker

Alhaji Abukari

Mr. K. Okerchiri

Mr. Speaker

Alhaji Abukari

Mr. Lee Ocran

Alhaji Abukari

Mr. Speaker

Alhaji Abukari

Mr. Speaker

Alhaji Abukari

Mr. A. O. Aidooh

Alhaji Abukari

Mr. Speaker

Alhaji Abukari

Mr. Speaker

Alhaji Abukari

Mr. Speaker

Alhaji Abukari

Mr. F. K. Owusu-Adjapong (NPP -- Akim Swedru)

Mr. Speaker

Mr. Chireh

Mr. Speaker

Mr. Owusu-Adjapong

Mr. Speaker

Alhaji Abukari

Mr. Speaker

Mr. Owusu-Adjapong

Mrs. Juliana Azumah-Mensah (NDC -- Ho East)

Mrs. Juliana Azumah-Mensah (NDC -- Ho East)

Mrs. Juliana Azumah-Mensah (NDC -- Ho East)

Mrs. Azumah-Mensah

Mrs. G. E. Kusi

Mrs. Azumah-Mensah

Mr. Asamoah-Boateng