Debates of 27 Aug 2009

MR. FIRST DEPUTY SPEAKER
PRAYERS 11:15 a.m.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 11:15 a.m.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Hon Members, Correction of Votes and Proceeding. Page 1 … 10 -
Mr. Joseph Yieleh Chireh 11:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, page 10. If you look at “In Attendance” (xix), the name is G. K. Scot and not “Scoh”. And then (xxiv), it is Dr. Ebenezer Appiah Denkyira and not Mr. Ebenezer Appiah as appears there. And then (xxvi), the name is Saaka Dumba and not “Sadaka”.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Very well. Table Office to take note.
Page 11 -
Mr. A. W. G. Abayateye 11:15 a.m.
Mr.
Speaker, the same page 10, My name is Abayateye and not Abayeteye. So the “e” should be changed to “a”.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Pages
11, 12 -
Mr. G. K. B. Gbediame 11:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I am a member of the Public Accounts Committee and I was present on Friday, 21st August but my name did not appear in the list of people who were present. So the necessary steps can be taken to insert my name.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Very well. Page 13 -
Mr. M. Asaga 11:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think, item 3 on page 13, “In Attendance”, the spelling of the name of the Hon Minister for Finance and Economic Planning is “Duffuor” and not “Duffour”.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Very well.
Page 14 -
Dr. A. A. Osei 11:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I believe
that on page 13, the name of the Acting Chief Director of the Ministry has been left out completely but I recall he was at the meeting. I think the name is Professor Kusi but I do not see it on page 13.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Pages
15, 16.
Hon Members , the Votes and
Proceedings of Wednesday, 26th August , 2009 as corrected be adopted as the true record of proceedings.
Hon Members, let us correct the Official Reports of 25th and 26th August 2009. We start with that of Tuesday, 25th August 2009 [Pause.].
Hon Members, the Official Report of Tuesday, 25th August, 2009 is duly adopted.

Hon Members, the Official Report of Wednesday, 26th August 2009 is adopted as the true record of proceedings of that date.

Hon Members, item 4 - Laying of Papers.
PAPERS 11:15 a.m.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Item 5 - Chairman of Business Committee.
Suspension of Standing Order 140 (3)
Majority Leader/Chairman of Business Committee (Mr. A. S. K. Bagbin) 11:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I stand to urge my Hon Colleagues to let us properly situate the motion that is about to be moved on the Supplementary Estimates by urging us to go through the procedure outlined in the Standing Orders. That is why the motion is there --
“Tha t no tw i th s t and ing t he provisions of Standing Order 140 (3) and having regards to Standing Orders 140 (5) and 149, the debate for the approval of the sum of GH¢252,790,947.00 as Supple- mentary Estimates, of Government for the 2009 Financial Year may be taken today.”

Mr. Speaker, as intimated earlier,

Standing Order 149 directs us to adopt the procedure for the presentation of a substantive budget and that is outlined in Order 140, particularly Order 140 (3), which insists that a debate could only be done after the estimates stood adjourned for not less than three days.

But you will recall that these estimates were just laid two days ago, therefore, the need for us to suspend this provision in view of the fact that by Order 140 (5), the Business Committee is also mandated to propose the dates for the businesses of the House, which is approved by the House and we accordingly did that in the Business Statement that I presented on Tuesday, which was approved by the House, that the debate for the Supplementary Estimates for the year 2009 be conducted today.

In view of that, I just want to get the decision of the House to permit the debate to be conducted today in spite of the provisions of Standing Order 140 (3), which insists that it could only be done after three days.

Mr. Speaker, I beg to move.
Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei 11:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I beg to second the motion.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Motion
moved and seconded. This is a procedural motion, really, but Hon Minority Leader if you --
Question Proposed.
Minority Leader (Mr. Osei Kyei-
Mensah-Bonsu): Mr. Speaker, I acknowledge what has been put down for the motion but notwithstanding the provisions of Order 140 (3) -- and the next line says that “. . . having regards to Standing Orders 140 (5) and 149. If, indeed, we are having regard for Standing Orders 140 (5) and 149, I thought it was going to be “notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order 149. If, indeed, we are having regard to Standing Order 149, what does Order 149 say? Order 149 says --
“Supplementary Estimates shall be regulated by the same procedure as is provided for in these Orders for the Budget.”
And the provisions relating to the Budget do not really start from Order 140, they start from Order 138 and that is why I said that I thought we would say “. . . notwithstanding” the provisions provided for in Standing Order 149 but if we are going to have regard for it, then indeed, it is Order 138 where it should start and that requires one month. But while we cannot have it under the cir-cumstances and so I thought that it should be “notwithstanding” and not “having regards”. If we are using “having regards”, then we should consider Order 138.
Mr. Bagbin 11:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, Order 138 is dealing with the submission of the Budget for and on behalf of the President, that definitely is not what is germane to this debate. What is germane is the procedure to move the motion and therefore, we quoted the
relevant Standing Orders. If we have to quote all Standing Orders, it is not only Order 138, we will also quote Order 139 and then -- because that is the one that is talking about Standing Order 138 “The President shall cause to be prepared and laid . . .”.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Hon
Members --
Mr. Bagbin 11:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am saying
it is a matter of semantics, I have not even said it is the same. You and I are interpreting semantics to mean that it is the same. [Laughter.] It does not mean that. [Interruptions.] I did some Latin.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Hon
Members, there is a point there but you know that this is the first time we have this type of situation - we are confronted with this type of situation, that is why the other day Leadership made the point that when we come to look at our Standing Orders with regard to these matters, we may have to take a second look at it.
The difficulty is, when the Standing Orders state that we should follow the same procedure. The Standing Orders do not say that “as much as possible” but it says, we should follow the same procedure as the way we handle budgets. And so, we find ourselves in a certain difficulty let us take the spirit behind the motion and then next time, we will make an improvement over it. So on that basis, I would like to put the Question.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, what is worth doing, is worth doing right. I do not want to engage in any exercise to drag us back. No, that
is not the issue. I am talking about the language which has been captured here. We could have regard to Order 140 (5), that is the kernel of the issue being raised; we should have regard to Order 140 (5) but certainly, regarding Order 149, it should be “notwithstanding”, not “having regard.” Because we have “regard” and the Majority Leader is trying to split hairs here.
What he said, really, in my view, is much ado about nothing because indeed, we cannot have regard to Order 149. If we have regard to Order 149, we must proceed on that line. I agree that given the exigencies of the time, we do not have to do that, so it should be “notwithstanding”, Order 149, and if you like, other relevant provisions under this; just that, if we have “regard” for that, then we must go trajectory, that is what I am saying.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Hon Minority Leader, it is a drafting problem. You know that the Order 143 comes into existence because of Order 149, so are we suspending the relevant ones?
Very well. So in your view, we should suspend everything? Orders140(3) 140(5) 149 and the relevant provisions?
Mr. Bagbin 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I did not want to go into details but my understanding of “having regards” is taking note of -- That is my under-standing of “having regards”; that is, taking note of those Orders. And what does Order 149 say? We are just noting it. It is saying that, and with your permission, I quote:
“Supplementary Estimates shall be regulated by the same procedure as is provided for in these Orders for the Budget.”
So we are taking note of it. When you take note, it does not necessarily mean that you must be bound by it or you must comply with it, taking note. Because of
that Order, we have to go to Order 140 (3), because of Order 149, which we are taking note of, we are compelled to suspend Order 140 (3) and that is exactly what I have done.
That is why I said it is a matter of semantics; I did not say they are the same but it depends on the way you present your argument. And we are trying to iron out the details of procedures which were not done before. We all agree. So we are doing the right thing, we are moving in the right direction. So I do not know why these objections.

In any case, you know that this is a technical matter which is often drafted by the Clerks-at-the Table and even though I am to move it, I had to discuss with them to get the technical input and we went through and we thought that it was proper for us to move it. So your views were well noted by the Speaker, that in future we need to look at those renditions again and I think we should accept that and move ahead.

Thank you very much.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, given the explanation, I will agree that we move ahead but certainly, this is not in the right direction. We are headed towards a cul-de-sac. But I agree that given the exigencies of the time, we will have to move on. But certainly, this cannot be a plausible explanation. But given the exigencies of the time, we will tolerate the situation.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Hon Members, thank you. I think that the spirit behind the amendments is to suspend the Standing Orders so that business can proceed. That is the spirit behind the
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:35 a.m.


motion. It is procedural. So I think that we have to improve upon our own procedures in future. So I will put the Question.

Question put and motion agreed to

Resolved accordingly.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Hon Members, that paves the way for item 6 on the Order Paper and I will call on the Chairman of the Finance Committee.
MOTION 11:35 a.m.
Chairman of the Finance Committee (Mr. J. K. Avedzi) 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to second the motion, that this Honourable House approves the sum of GH¢ 252,790,947.00 as Supplementary Estimates of Government for the 2009 Financial Year, which was moved by the Hon Minister for Finance and Economic Planning on Tuesday, 25th August, 2009.
Mr. Speaker, in doing so, I wish to present the Report of the Committee. Before I begin with the presentation of the Report, I wish to amend a portion of it, that is, page 6, number 6, that is, Conclusion. We will amend there to read:
“The Committee respectfully recom- mends to the House to adopt this Report and approve by Resolution”.
So that is the amendment to the Report. 1.0 Introduction
The Supplementary Estimates for the 2009 Financial Year were laid in the House on Tuesday, 25th August, 2009 and referred to the Finance Committee for consi-deration and report, pursuant to article 179 (8) of the 1992 Constitution and Order 143 of the Standing Orders of the House.
To consider the Estimates, the Committee met with the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Hon Dr. Kwabena Duffuor and a technical team from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and hereby present this Report.
2.0 References
The Committee referred to and/or was guided by the following documents in its deliberations:
The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.
The Budge t S ta tement and Economic Policy of Government for the 2009 Financial Year.
The Standing Orders of the House.
Mid-Year Review of Economic Policy and Supplementary Estimates of the Government of Ghana for the 2009 Financial Year.
3.0 Background
In March 2009, the 2009 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of Government was presented to the House for approval in line with article 179 of the Constitution and Standing Order 140 of the House.
The Budget reflected the strategic focus of growth and poverty reduction and dwelt on investing in the economy and creating jobs for a better Ghana.
Since the 2009 Budget was approved by the House, many significant developments have arisen on the macro- economic front, especially with regard to interest costs
associated with domestic borrowing. As a result of the build-up in the stock of domestic debt and associated high cost of borrowing, as well as the need to liquidate some arrears and outstanding commitments, payments will exceed earlier estimates for 2009, thereby requiring additional resources to meet those additional payments.
The Supplementary Receipts and Payments to be undertaken have given rise to the need for some adjustments in the annual estimates approved for the 2009 fiscal year.
It is as a result of this, that these Supplementary Estimates have been laid before the House for approval in conformity with article 179 (8) of the Constitution and Order 143 of the Standing Orders of the House.
4.0 Supplementary Provision for 2009
The total amount of the Supplementary Estimates is two hundred and fifty- two million, seven hundred and ninety thousand, nine hundred and forty-seven Ghana cedis (GH¢252,790,947.00).
5.0 Observations and Recommendations
The Committee observed that there has been a consistent reduction in import duty exemptions and concessions granted during the first six months of the year. The outturn for tax exemptions was GH¢180.2 million against an estimate of GH¢209.1 million indicating a revenue inflow to the Consolidated Fund of about GH¢28.9 million.
To ensure that additional revenue is generated from reduction in tax exemptions, Government has asked the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), Value Added Tax (VAT) Service and the Ghana Investment Promotion
Centre (GIPC) to ensure that the necessary approval channels are followed judiciously.
The technical team informed the Committee that the National Fiscal Stabilisation Levy Act which imposes a five per cent levy on the profits of banks, insurance companies, non-bank financial institutions, breweries, mining, tobacco and communication companies is expected to generate an additional revenue of GH¢11 million for the rest of the year.
In addition to the revenue measures outlined above, an amount of GH¢153.0 million is expected from cocoa revenue (specifically income surplus from COCOBOD). Together, all the revenue measures will generate total additional (supplementary) receipts of approximately GH¢252.8 million.
The Committee noted that as a result of expected increases in import Value Added Tax (Import VAT), it is estimated that transfers to the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) and the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) which are directly linked to revenue performance will in total, increase by GH¢4.3 million, GH¢16.6 million and GH¢7.0 million respectively. This is expected to bring more development projects in consti- tuencies of Hon Members of Parliament.
Under Discretionary Payments, an additional amount of about GH¢109.5 million has been provided in the Supplementary Estimates to cater for the liquidation of arrears and some outstanding commitments, and the creation of an escrow account for the uptake of compressed gas from the West Africa Gas Pipeline (WAGP).
In consonance with the announcement by His Excellency, the President in his
first Sessional Address, an amount of three million Ghana cedis (GH¢3,000,000.00) has been allocated to the celebration of the 100th birthday anniversary of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, an illustrious son and first President of Ghana, which falls this year.
Hon Members would recall that His Excellency, the President mentioned that this anniversary will be commemorated as an African event in an appropriate and fitting manner.
The Committee was informed that as a result of Government's commitment to achieving the budget deficit target of 9.4 per cent of GDP, measures have been instituted to reduce domestic-financed capital expenditure by GH¢45 million. This reduction will mainly affect non- developmental capital expenditures, including the purchase of official vehicles and office furniture and equipment, such as air conditioners.
The Committee recalled that out of the amount of US$300 million the country recently received from the World Bank for budget support, an amount of US$150 million had already been factored into the 2009 Budget that was approved by this House in March 2009, while the US$150 million was an additionality. As a result of this additionality, the net domestic financing of the budget has been reduced to GH¢1,032.8 million, while programme loans have increased to GH¢611.7 million.
The Minister for Finance and Economic Planning informed the Committee that the US$602 million loan that the country successfully negotiated from the IMF for balance of payments support is expected to increase the foreign exchange reserves of the Bank of Ghana. With the G-20 decision to increase the IMF's Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocation by
Chairman of the Finance Committee (Mr. J. K. Avedzi) 11:45 a.m.


US$250 billion to member countries, it is expected that Ghana will receive US$425 million before the end of 2009 without any conditionalities.

Regarding the breakdown of the Programme Loans of GH¢375,000,000 contained in the Supplementary Estimates, the Committee was informed that US$150 million of that figure represents the World Bank facility additionality, US$50 million will be received from the European Union (EU) and US$50 million from the African Development Bank (ADB), thus bringing the total to US$250 million, which when converted at the rate of US$1 to GH¢1.5, will give us the total of

GH¢375,000,000.00.

The technical team from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning explained to the Committee that as part of measures to rid the Government's payroll of ghost names, headcount has been undertaken in the health and education sectors as part of public sector reforms. This was carried out in collaboration with the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), the Audit Service and the Controller and Accountant-General's Department (CAGD).

Some Members suggested to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to consider revising downwards its petroleum tax revenue projections for the year since the outturn for the first half of the year shows a decline in the demand for petroleum products.

The Minister for Finance and Economic Planning informed the Committee that real
Chairman of the Finance Committee (Mr. J. K. Avedzi) 11:45 a.m.


economic growth will slow to some extent due to the contagion effects of the global financial crisis and the threat it poses to Ghana's economy but the economy will remain strong.

It was noted that Government will maintain prudent and flexible macro- economic policy management in order to adjust to the global crisis and achieve the growth target for the year.

APPENDIX: Please, find attached as APPENDIX, comprehensive tables of the supplementary expenditure and receipts allocations for 2009.

6.0 Conclusion

The Committee respectfully recom- mends to the House to adopt this Report and approve the sum of two hundred and fifty-two million, seven hundred and ninety thousand, nine hundred and forty- seven Ghana cedis (GH¢252,790,947.00) as Supplementary Budget for 2009 Financial Year for the purpose of meeting expenditure to carry out Government's services in accordance with article 179 (8) of the Constitution.

Respectfully submitted.

Question proposed.
Dr. A. A. Osei (NPP - Old Tafo) 11:45 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion currently on the floor of this House and in so doing, I want to offer a few comments that have come to the attention of Hon Members of this side of the House.
Mr. Speaker, because of the importance
of the subject matter, it has been decided on this side of the House that I would spend not a long time looking at general trends, to allow my other Hon Colleagues
Dr. A. A. Osei (NPP - Old Tafo) 11:45 a.m.


TABLE HERE 1
Dr. A. A. Osei (NPP - Old Tafo) 11:45 a.m.


TABLE HERE 2
Dr. A. A. Osei (NPP - Old Tafo) 11:45 a.m.


TABLE HERE 3
Dr. A. A. Osei (NPP - Old Tafo) 11:45 a.m.


TABLE HERE 4

who have better insight into some of the specific areas, to talk about them. So you would see that we have submitted to you, a list of other contributors.

First, we want to thank the Hon
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:45 a.m.
Hon
Ranking Member, you are not taking more than ten minutes.
Dr. Osei 11:45 a.m.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I
know that - [Interruption.] I will do my best. We are following procedures, so once Mr. Speaker has ruled, I will go by it. I have not even started and Mr. Speaker is warning me to keep to time. I shall so do.
Mr. Speaker, first, I want to thank
the Hon Minister for agreeing to the recommendation we made in March that since the one he brought in March, was not necessarily in the best shape, that he would agree to come back and he has agreed to come back. I think that is to be Commended. Because in fact, if you read the Hansard, we said, he should consider it as interim and come back to us and I think it is good that he has come back.
Mr. Speaker, one of the things that
amazed me about this - [Interruption.] Oh, ten minutes. [Interruption.]
rose
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:45 a.m.
Hon
Member for New Juabeng North, is the point of order against the Hon Ranking Member?
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 11:45 a.m.
No. Mr.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:45 a.m.
Hon
Member, yes, it is true that the Hon Minister was here but he is not immediately on the floor. But I have been informed by the Hon Majority Leader that one of his Deputies would come while he goes to do certain works that are in the interest of this Honourable House. So Hon Ranking Member, continue.
Dr. Osei 11:45 a.m.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So,
Mr. M. Asaga 11:45 a.m.
On a point of order.
Mr. Speaker, maybe, it is a problem of eye sight, that is why he could not see the Hon Minister.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:45 a.m.
Hon
Member, you are grossly out of order. Hon Member for Nabdam, you are out of order.
Dr. Osei 11:45 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, what my Hon
Colleague from Nabdam meant to say was a problem of height.
Mr. Speaker, even though I commend
the Hon Minister for having lived up to his word and came back, there is something that he has done which I think that I need to talk about.
One of the things we said about the March Budget was that there was no full disclosure, that there were a lot of half baked statements that were made that were not necessarily true. It is so amazing that one of the first things I read in this book, in fact, there are two key words, one of them runs through - “prudence.” Then on paragraph 7 of page 4 -- I know the Hon Minister very well, I know he used to be a Governor, I know his record as a Governor, but I did not know he was a politician.
Listen to the Hon Minister, and Mr. Speaker, with your permission, I beg to quote:
“The Government inherited a rundown . . .”
Listen to the Hon Minister. This should be asked on a political platform. He has not run an election before.This is a historical document. The language you use, you can talk about it but you do not put it here. I want to take him on on that. Let Ghanaians - I am going to give the facts -- let Ghanaians decide when an economy is rundown.
Mr. Speaker, 2000, when the Hon
Minister was Governor of the Central Bank of Ghana and he is talking about a rundown of an economy -- inflation in 2000, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had 41 per cent. [Interruptions.] Listen to the facts. New Patriotic Party (NPP), 2008 had 18 per cent. [Hear! Hear!] Which economy is rundown? Forty-one or eighteen? Depreciation - 2000 - NDC - 50 per cent; NPP - 2008 - 22 per cent.

Maj. (retd) (Dr.) (Alhaji) Mustapha Ahmed -- rose --
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:45 a.m.
Hon.
Member for Ayawaso East, is it a point of order?
Maj. (retd) (Dr.) (Alhaji) Ahmed:
Yes, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the passion with which my Hon Friend is speaking, if he does not tone down, we may need to call the medical officer to come and attend to him. So I want to plead with him to tone down.
Dr. Osei 11:45 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, in recognition
of my Hon dear Brother's skills, that is
why I am speaking. I know he is a dentist, so if I have problems with my teeth, I can see him. But I have on my side, Drs. Anane, Prempeh and the rest -- Nsiah- Asare, a former Ashanti Regional Medical Director and soon to be, Dr. Ghartey, they will take care of me.
Mr. Speaker, I speak with passion
because the Hon Minister is my senior Brother and these are matters of great concern to the people of Ghana. So when my Hon Senior Brother uses the word that I am not used to him saying, it gives me great palpitations. I want to dissuade him from going the route that he should not be going.
Mr. Speaker, interest rates, I said, you,
I know you, my Hon Brother, you were borrowing at 50 per cent in 2000. When we were leaving, you could go to the bank - in fact, they could come to your house and give you a loan at 27 per cent. With respect, which one is a rundown economy?
Mr. Speaker, per capita income - 2000
- NDC -- US$290 per capita income; NPP -- $712. [Hear! Hear!] When from 290 - [Interruption.]
rose
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:45 a.m.
Hon
Member for North Tongu, is it a point of order?
Mr. C. S. Hodogbey 11:55 a.m.
On a point of Order! Mr. Speaker, I do respect the analysis of the Hon Member of Parliament but he should not forget that the conditions which existed at the time, there were no debt write-offs, no HIPC and many other things. Therefore, if he is trying to make comparative economic analysis, he should not forget the variables that existed at that time.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Hon Ranking Member, continue. Please, as much as possible, I will be very strict with
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:55 a.m.


points of order. Ordinarily, when a person stands up, I have to recognise him but if I realise that you are not raising serious points of order, I am not going to tolerate any interruptions.
Dr. Osei 11:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, he should have waited a bit because I have not even given the comparative context of the global economic conditions. Mr. Speaker -- [Interruptions.] We know what happened in 2008 [Interruptions.] Mr. Speaker, the point is that the Hon Minister said he inherited a rundown economy. I want Ghanaians to judge by facts which one is a rundown. So I am giving comparative indicators - [Interruptions.] Poverty levels - 1998 and 1999, 39.5 per cent -- [Interruptions.] New Patriotic Party (NPP) 28.5 per cent.
Mr. Speaker, the debt, GDP ratio, National Democratic Congress (NDC), 2000 - 159.8 per cent, that is, if you take all the debts, you divide them by your ability to pay, it is 159.8 per cent. Mr. Speaker, guess what? NPP, 2008 -- 24 per cent -- [Uproar.] Mr. Speaker, what that means is that, in the period of NPP, if you take all your income, you can spend 24 per cent to pay your debts and have 76 per cent left over to do anything you wanted.
Mr. G. K. Essilfie 11:55 a.m.
On a point of order! Mr. Speaker, my Hon Senior Colleague is misleading the House [Interruptions] because he is only trying to bring out what he thinks he can stand on but he forgets to note that indeed, in the domestic primary balance, as correctly stated on page 17 of this Report, specifically states that the economy as inherited by -- [Interruption.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Hon Member, if the Hon Ranking Member

If you have any other facts which will support the claim that the Hon Minister made here, you should also give those facts out. I hope you get my point. So let us listen to the Hon Ranking Member.
Dr. Osei 11:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, with respect, I have not gone to the part of the deficit yet, so when people talk saganomics, it gives me more palpitations -- [Inter-ruptions.] Mr. Speaker, he should wait, I will deal with his points -

Nii Amasah Namoale: On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I want to let the Hon Member know that he is talking of GDP growth by NPP and NDC Government. The 2008 GDP growth by NPP Government is as a result of the sale of Vodafone or Ghana Telecom; US$900,000,000 gave that growth. So it is not as a result of prudent management of the economy; about 2000 workers are now going home because of the sale of Vodafone.

So I am correcting him that his economic growth was not as a result of any good thing that they did but as a result of the sale of Vodafone and other assets of the country.
Dr. Osei 11:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, a Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, who is supposed to know better, comes to speak about Vodafone and divestiture, Mr. Speaker, if you ask his Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Planning here, the
14.5 excludes divestiture. Mr. Speaker, if I were the President and my Deputy Minister misinforms the whole nation, I will sack him today -- [Interruptions.] What! [Interruption.]
Mr. Inusah A. B. Fuseini 11:55 a.m.
On a point of order! Mr. Speaker, I admire the statistics of the former Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning that he is churning out. I did not know that he believed in statistics. But what we are talking about here [Interruptions.] Mr. Speaker, indeed, he has just told us that the minimum wage in 2000 was GHp42, that was 4,200 old cedis and that the minimum wage at the close of 2008 was GH¢2.20.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Hon Members, there are rules governing debates as provided for by our Standing Orders. If you want to give information, there is a procedure to follow and if you want to raise a point of order, there is a procedure to follow. If it is a point of argument, I am not going to allow it.
Hon Ranking Member, I have allowed you to exceed the time I gave you because of the interruptions.
Hon Minority Leader.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:05 p.m.
Mr.
Speaker, you sounded this caution when the first intervention came and I thought that you would find a way to truncate points that are raised which really are not points of order as we have witnessed in the two instances. But Mr. Speaker, I believe that you would carry on in that regard. Really if you detect such submissions, you would cut them off, otherwise, it will be a prodigal waste of our time in this House.
Mr. Bagbin 12:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I thought
that you should have taken a clue from the onset because when my uncle got up to raise the supposed point of order, it was a prodigal waste of our time -- [Laughter.] It was not any point of order. He introduced this complete waste of our time by raising something that was not a point of order. That was how it started, that was the genesis.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:05 p.m.
Mr.
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 12:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, to ask for the presence of the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning to listen to the debate, cannot be a waste of time and so I think that the Hon Majority Leader is completely out of order in this instance and he should be cautioned. The Hon Minister should be here to listen.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:05 p.m.
Hon
Ranking Member, continue.
Dr. Osei 12:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, before I came
here, I had about ten of my Colleagues from the other side warning me not to lecture, so I agreed not to lecture. So all I said was, I want to give facts so that Ghanaians can tell which one is a rundown.
That is all I have done. And to go further, Mr. Speaker, my senior Brother

who is not here but his deputy is here, wrote to the World Bank, IMF, to borrow money. Those of you who do not have copies, you go to www.IMF.org., you would see the letter which with your permission, I want to quote a few parts. This is only in July, 2009.

“Real GDP growth --”

I will not tell you which country he is talking about.

“Real GDP growth increased steadily from 3.7 per cent in 2000

. . .”
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:05 p.m.
After you
have read the document, I will let you lay it on the Table for the information of Hon Members.
Dr. Osei 12:05 p.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, with
respect -
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:05 p.m.
Because

Paper laid.
Dr. Osei 12:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, with your
permission, I read - this is signed by our current Hon Minister and our current Governor:
“Real GDP growth increased steadily from 3.7 per cent in 2000 to 7.3 per cent in 2008. This growth was fostered by significant debt relief which provided the country with fiscal space to embark on critical infrastructure investment particular- ly in the energy and road sectors as well as targeted social spending all under the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS).”
This is coming from our Hon Minister to the IMF Board.
Mr. Speaker, he goes on 12:05 p.m.
“The combination of higher output growth, declining inflation and improved social spending under the GPRS framework contributed significantly to lower poverty levels.”
Mr. Speaker, he goes on 12:05 p.m.
“In the education sector, gross enrolment ratios have increased. A major initiative for improved enrolment ratios was the abolition of mandatory school fees for basic education and the introduction of Capitation Grants in the 2005/2006 academic year.”
Mr. Speaker, which country and which government was then in power?
Mr. Speaker, in the health sector, he goes on 12:05 p.m.
“There have been progressive improvements in the delivery of a number of important inputs. Most notable are increase in life expectancy from 55 years in 2003 to 59.6 in 2006.”
rose
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:05 p.m.
Hon
Majority Leader?
Mr. Bagbin 12:05 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I would not have raised this point of order but I am doing so because the Ranking Member is focusing on the Minister. And the Ranking Member who was then a Minister of State in the Kufuor regime, is aware that they themselves wrote to the same World Bank contributing to what they wanted the World Bank to understand about the economic situation in 2001 -- [Inter-ruptions.]

The same Minister! I am going to quote that. Now, I am saying this because he was focusing on the Minister, that is why I am raising it, because the Minister's record is still impeccable and I am going to read it for him. It says -- [Interruptions] -- That is a point of order -- [Interruptions.]
Prof. A. M. Oquaye 12:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I will plead that this discussion should be properly contextualized so that we can make progress. Mr. Speaker, the point that the Honourable doctor on this side was simply making is that, they, having written a letter stating the achievements of the Kufuor Administration, which achievements made it possible for the World Bank to consider them and give them money.
Now, when they have got it, they turn round, in the presentation of this Budget to say that the economy is a rundown. This is the simple point that he is making. When that nexus has been appropriately put into context, then the matter is cleared. So I would say that he cannot digress in this manner, that is what I am saying, Mr.
Speaker.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:05 p.m.
Hon
Second Deputy Speaker, I allowed you because before the Hon Majority Leader started, he said he would not have intervened, but for the fact that he is putting too much emphasis on the personality of the Hon Minister. That is how he started and that is the reason why I allowed him to refer to that document that he is talking about - that is why I allowed him to read the document he is talking about. Quote your document, then you also lay it on the Table.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:05 p.m.
Mr.
Speaker, I take a cue from your indication. Clearly, what the Majority Leader is doing, is putting out information which in his view may go to contradict what the Hon Gentleman is doing. He should wait for his turn. This is clearly not a point of order at all and why Mr. Speaker should be entertaining him, I am at a loss. Mr. Speaker, what he is doing has no space in a point of order and you should rule him completely out of order. As simple as that, why entertain him?
Mr. Speaker, I know you are a wise Speaker - [Interruptions] -- and you know the rules of this House. Apply the rules meticulously and I want to believe that you want to be impartial in these matters.
rose
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Members, before the Majority Leader comes in, if you look at Standing Order 92, with reference to 92 (5), “The conduct of Mr. Speaker, Members, the Chief Justice and Judges. . .” and “Members”, here refers to people who come and transact business on the floor of the House here, have the same privileges apart from the
Dr. Osei 12:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, with respect, I have not said one thing about the personality of the Hon Minister. I have been speaking about issues. The issue of using statements like “rundown” when the evidence which I have put on the Table points to the contrary.
Mr. Bagbin 12:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think that the Hon Ranking Member will do himself good by toning down his emotionalism and listen to other people. It is very important -- [Interruption.] Please, I am going to finish with my point of order. He can refer to it in his contribution but he should let me finish with my point of order.
In the first place, what the Hon Second Deputy Speaker just submitted is a clear indication that it was rundown, that was why he had to apply to the World Bank for that money. [Hear! Hear!] If the economy was good, there would be no need to apply to the World Bank for that money. So he should just forget about it. If the economy was good -- because they had to write for that money to close the gap, the deep hole that was dug and
Prof. Oquaye 12:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, when you call such statistical presentation, facts, figures, in fact, learning for our young people who are up there, as emotional and sensational, you do not do this House any good at all, Mr. Speaker, seriously speaking. Mr. Speaker, that is why I would respectfully advise that this crossfiring should stop so that the Hon Member who is displaying such learning will continue to put facts and figures in the statistics of this House.
Mr. Bagbin 12:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, because it will be in the record, when I referred to emotionalism, I was not referring to the figures and data but to the attitude, the conduct which is not recorded in the Hansard. So that is emotionalism. Emotionalism is body feeling, exhumation of one's feelings. It is not one of data or statistics.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Members, let us listen to the Hon Ranking Member.
Dr. Osei 12:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, let us talk about emotionalism. In putting out facts, look at how my Majority Leader has suddenly got up and encouraged other
Mr. Bagbin 12:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the Hon Ranking Member is aware that there is a vast difference between passion and emotionalism, vast difference. What he was doing was completely manifesting emotionalism and not passion. Passion is different. When Hon Professor Mike Oquaye, the Second Deputy Speaker spoke, he spoke with passion, not with emotionalism. So there is a vast difference.
Dr. Osei 12:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, my Hon Senior, the Majority Leader has suddenly become a psychologist. [Laughter.]
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, again, taking a cue from your directives -- You referred us to Standing Order 93 (5) and the Majority Leader was talking about the conduct that he was being
emotional and he would appreciate that the conduct of the Hon Member cannot be questioned. So what is the exercise he is engaging in? Clearly, much ado about nothing.
Mr. Speaker, may I request humbly that you direct that the Hon Member is allowed free-flow of his thinking and I believe that by all analyses, by all intents and purposes, he is enriching the discourse of this House. Mr. Speaker, I plead that no more thorns and thistles should be put in his way. Let him continue.
rose
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Minister for Communications, do you have a point of order?
Mr. H. Iddrisu 12:15 p.m.
Righly so, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Against whom?
Mr. H. Iddrisu 12:25 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, the Minority Leader, in concluding, was usurping your authority and powers when he sought to give direction as to how the debate should go. That is motivating my point of order but more importantly, the Hon Professor Oquaye made a significant intervention which I believe should not be glossed over. He said that this debate must be situated in context -- [Interruption.]
The very Dr. Kwabena Duffuor that the Hon Ranking Member is stating that he did not manage the economy well, President Kufuor is said to have praised him for his management of the economy only a few days ago. The President who gave him
the opportunity to be Minister for Finance and Economic Planning has acknowledged the prudence in the management of the economy by Hon Duffuor.

But more importantly, paragraph 7, which forms the thrust of his debates must - [Interruptions] Paragraph 7, which is the thrust of his debate, of his concerns over a rundown economy.

The Hon Minister for Finance and Economic Planning gave explanatory details of what he meant by a rundown economy. So in context, he should not be misconstrued. Indeed, he said, and with your indulgence, I quote:

“Government inherited a rundown economy characterized by severe imbalances that resulted in a huge public debt.”

I do not begrudge his statistics but if he is contesting that there were no imbalances and a huge public debt, let him so say.

I thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Dr. Osei 12:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, we want to be guided by proper procedures in this House. Just one person on this side of the House, I get up to speak and a lot of people are coming to give unnecessary interruptions. Just in case they have forgotten, I want to remind them of what I said. They are trying to let people forget what I said.
I said when they left, inflation was 41 per cent, when we left, inflation was 18 per cent. The question Ghanaians should ask is, which one of those would they prefer
to call a rundown? That fact, they cannot debate. If you borrow at 50 per cent and we are living with 27 per cent interest rate, let Ghanaians decide that.
Mr. Speaker, that is the only thing I have said and I am saying it with passion.
Mr. Speaker, there is a thin line between passion and emotion. When you have worked to grow the economy from 3.7 per cent, to 7.3 per cent and somebody is telling you he or she is going to take it back to 4.5 per cent, you have to speak with emotion.
rose
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:25 p.m.
Hon
Member for Nabdam, is it a point of order?
Mr. Asaga 12:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, yes. [Interruptions.] I think that Hon Dr. Akoto Osei has said it all. He is saying that he is making these points so that Ghanaians will decide. Ghanaians just decided about seven months ago, so I did not see what he wants to talk about again. [Laughter.] Because there is no election next month. Ghanaians decided seven months ago, so what do they need to decide again? [Interruptions.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:25 p.m.
Hon
Members, do you know that you are wasting your own time because you do not allow this debate to flow? You see, he has been on the floor for the past forty minutes. Let us listen to him.
Hon Ranking Member, you should start

winding up.
Dr. Osei 12:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, since you are in charge of this House, your rules will be obeyed but if I am on my feet for forty minutes and you allow the other side to speak for thirty-five minutes -- [Laughter.] Mr. Speaker, I was checking. This is what is going to happen. If Hon Members do not want to listen to facts, it is all right but my job as the Member of Parliament for Old Tafo is to speak the truth. There is nothing as stuborn as a fact, you cannot wish it away.
To continue with the half truth in the previous Budget which some people call Sakawa and why it is continuing, let Hon Members go to table 2 of the Report we were given. The book is talking about surplus and we raising targets. I will take them through if Hon Members will follow me.
We are comparing the programme numbers for January to June, 2009 to the provisional item. The first one, and for me, that is the most scary one, I hope it is not true because if it is true, it means that we are saying that we have not fulfilled our external debt obligations which is a condition to be on the IMF programme.
Look at that line, External Debt Service Programme -- It means what we are supposed to pay. Three hundred and seventy-one million and more. Look at what we paid, page 8, appendix table 2 - Compare the second two columns. The second column talks about what they are expected to pay. The last column talks about what they paid. If you are under IMF, one of the conditions under the IMF programme is that you are current with your external obligations. Column 2 --
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:25 p.m.
Hon Member, I do not want to interfere with your debate but you also admit that that is the provisional outturn. And you have taught some of us in this House what “provisional” means when you were at the other side of the House.
Dr. Osei 12:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, appendix table 2, the third column, 2009 programme, January to June -- The next column says, 2009 provisional outturn, January to June. What the Hon Minister is telling us is that in column 3, that is what they are expected to pay. As of June, in column 4, is what they have paid. Are you with me? All right.
Some Hon Members 12:25 p.m.
It is provisional.
Dr. Osei 12:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, whether it is
provisional or not, that is what is here. That is the only thing that I can base my argument on. It says we are expected to pay 371 and we have only paid 232. I pray to God -- there are two things, either the numbers in the second column are completely hoax, they are wrong or that the last column, there is a typographical error. If it is not, what we are telling them is that we are not current with our external obligations. A clear violation of - the then Deputy Minister knows what I am talking about. He has worked at the IMF, he knows that this one, they do not joke with it.
Mr. Speaker, let me remind you. In 2000, we were made to pay 34 million for such infractions. It was reported that we had paid and it turned out not to be true. We came in as a Government, and we had to pay 34 million, so I am very scared. I hope they check this one.
If you go down the line, the Hon
Dr. Francis B. Dakura 12:25 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, thank you. I just want to say I am a bit concerned about the health of - [Interruptions.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:25 p.m.
Hon
Member, that is not a point of order. [Interruptions.] Hon Member, your concern is not a breach of the rules.
Dr. Osei 12:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, it appears my Colleague is very new to this House. All the seasoned Members of Parliament know that that is my style. He should not be worried. If I die, I will make sure I will remember him in my Will. [Laughter.]
Mr. Speaker, they talked about “we
Mr. Bagbin 12:25 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, for the records. He cannot die and then remember him in his Will -- [Laughter.] It is not possible. You are dead already, how can you now remember him in your Will. Why? It is part of the emotionalism, it is taking advantage of him.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:25 p.m.
Hon Member, kindly wind up.
Dr. Osei 12:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, it is important that I take Members through these numbers, so they know. The point about the District Assemblies Common Fund is that we were expected to pay 145, we have only paid 135. Mr. Speaker, if you have arrears and you tell me you are on target, whom are you fooling? These are the half truths.
If you go down the column, the next one is on -- [Interruption.] I will give you
Mr. Bagbin 12:35 p.m.
On a point of order. And
Dr. Osei 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, he is a good lawyer but - [Interruptions.] Mr. Speaker, I respect the Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, what he is saying, I beg him to stay away from it. Mr. Speaker, I beg the Majority Leader to stay away from these things. Mr. Speaker, this is current 2009, we are not talking about arrears, we will come to arrears later. These are current expenditures on Ghana Education Trust Fund.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Hon Member, your time is up.
Dr. Osei 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am told that
rose
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Chairman, I want him to wind up. Why are you
raising a point of order?
Mr. Avedzi 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, he made a point which, if not corrected, will go in the Hansard. I want to clear that one. He referred to the Table 2, that he wants to lecture Members, figures which I want to refuse to listen to on that lecture because he is misleading the House.
He said, under the District Assemblies Common Fund, we have budgeted to pay 145 million cedis but we have paid only 135 million cedis, which he is telling us that it is an arrears. He had forgotten today that this House passed a law which gave 7.5 per cent of revenue collection to the District Assemblies Common Fund. So, if we do not collect much, we cannot pay much. He should know that.
Dr. Osei 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, with respect to my esteem Chairman, these are facts which are not coming from me. The issue of whether you collected is neither here nor there. What this data is telling us is simply what I am repeating to you. He is accusing me of misleading this House, but he is the one misleading this House. He should know better.
Mr. Speaker, the point here is the following. It does help the nation for them to come and tell us they have reached a target simply because they have deliberately refused to pay. Mr. Speaker, as I speak, from January to now, we hear there has been an increase in the salary of workers but no one has received a single cedi. What is that? Is that cute accounting or what is it? Mr. Speaker, we were told that Ministers have not been paid - is this serious business we are doing?
Mr. Speaker, I will wind up finally, finally - [Interruptions.].
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Order! Order! He is saying “finally”.
Dr. Osei 12:35 p.m.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, one of
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Hon Members, let us listen to the Ranking Member.
Dr. Osei 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, finally, I have heard a lot of people on my side today - where is Hon Amadu Sorogho -- talking about the debt -- has been reduced from 8 to 7.8. Mr. Speaker, with respect, this is part of the things I talk about as being half truth. Mr. Speaker, this House approved and they have been disbursed, US$150 million from the World Bank, a little over one hundred million from IMF, together, it is over 250 million cedis. If you add that to the 7.8, what do you get?
Mr. Inusah A.B. Fuseini 12:35 p.m.
On a point
of order. Mr. Speaker, I am praying you to stop him from embarking on that course. He said that he heard Hon Sorogho say - Hon Sorogho is not here.
Dr. Osei 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, he is here --
Mr. Inusah 12:35 p.m.
Hon. Sorogho is not here.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Ranking
Member, you said “finally” and --
Dr. Osei 12:35 p.m.
He interjected, so I thought
- Mr. Speaker, finally, since he is doubting it, I just want to read it - [Interruptions.] Mr. Speaker, I will not read it. I will refer my good Friend to page 17, paragraph 62 just for his own information.
Mr. Speaker, all I am trying to say is that as we speak, the stock of debt is above 8 million cedis. So if they go and say, as of June, it is 7.8 and therefore, they have something to bring it down, it is disingenuous. And I have given them
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Hon
Member, I thought that I had given you all the chance on this topic for very good reasons. For very good reasons, I have given you a lot of time because you are the Minority Spokesman for Finance and I thought that we should listen to you but I think that you have exceeded your time. You have spent almost one hour on the floor.
Dr. Osei 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I did not say “thank you”. I just want to end by thanking you for allowing me --
Mr. Bagbin 12:35 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr.
Speaker, the Ranking Member misled this House and the whole country. The Ranking Member is aware that the loan that he talked about, we approved -- it was getting to the end of July when we approved that loan. This one is capturing from January to June. That amount was not factored into the figure. So he is misleading the whole country. That money was not factored into it. He is misleading the country.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Hon
Members, I think that the time has come for us to make progress. I think that in allowing the Ranking Member sufficient time, it is good for this House, it is good for democracy. And it is important that we listen to their side of the story. He is the lead person from the Minority and it is good that this country listens to their lead person. But from ten minutes to all the time I have given, I think that the time has come to move and hear Hon Moses Asaga.
Mr. Moses Asaga (NDC - Nabdam) 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the motion and to ask Members to support us to approve GH¢252,790,947.00 as a supple- mentary budget.
Mr. Speaker, as we all know, we needed this supplementary budget as an adjustment requirement to support some of the programmes of the current Administration.
rose
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Hon
Member, is it a point of order?
Ms. Cecilia A. Dapaah 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I wanted to be clear on the allotment of time to Hon Ranking Members because I know the Chairman is there and I want to know for the other Members of Parliament how many minutes they are given so that we can keep track of how long each one of us takes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Apart from
the Majority and Minority Leaders, that is, when they choose to speak, I am not giving more than ten minutes to anybody.
rose
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Dr. Osei,
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:35 p.m.
Mr.
Speaker, I believe that we should get the rules right. The Ranking Member on Finance, when he got up, you indicated that you would give him ten minutes -
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
But you
know, I exceeded ten minutes.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:35 p.m.
Mr.
Speaker, with respect, when you said that the Ranking Member was going to be given ten minutes, you cannot say that all other Members will be given up to ten minutes. Mr. Speaker, let us be consistent.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
How many
minutes did the Leadership agree on? I want you to tell the House - both Leaders should tell the House. Both sides, how many minutes did you agree on?
Mr. Bagbin 12:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the
understanding was that we give Hon Members ten minutes and in fact, the Chairman was given ten minutes and he finished in less than ten minutes but because the Ranking Member, you had to give him more minutes even if - I agree that because of the points of order and the rest, he took more time and he had problems at the end of it all to sum up properly; I agree. But I would want to urge that we allow each contributor not more than ten minutes. I think ten minutes would be all right.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:45 p.m.
That
excludes the Hon Majority Leader and Hon Minority Leader. Hon Majority Leader, that excludes the two of you.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:45 p.m.
Mr.
Speaker, I have nothing against Hon Members speaking for ten minutes because this is a very important document. I only thought that in that regard, the Hon Ranking Member ought to have had more time. I acknowledge that given the numerous points of order and not points of order, I acknowledge that you had to expand the period for him.
Mr. M. A. Asaga 12:45 p.m.
Thank you very
much for setting the rules and timing and I think without any interruption, I should be able to do it below ten minutes.
Mr. Speaker, I think that the Hon

Minister for Finance and Economic Planning was very humble in his presentation about the state of the economy and I think that the Hon Minister wanted to let Ghanaians know that the initial anxiety during the transition period where we saw some of the microeconomic indicators either deteriorating or mixing up, we needed to tell Ghanaians that we are beginning to straighten the micro- economic front and that was the reason why he did indicate the de-acceleration of the cedi to the dollar. This was a very important point -- somewhere in April where most Ghanaians were getting worried that the cedi was depreciating and that we needed to arrest it.

I think, for now, I need to let Ghanaians understand that the depreciation of the cedi against the dollar has now improved and therefore, importers of goods and services, including my Hon Colleague, Hon Hackman Owusu-Agyemang “Sikelele” -- his fears should be allayed now.
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 12:45 p.m.
On a point of
Mr. Asaga 12:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you
for the humour from my Hon Senior Colleague.
I think another quite consoling figures that came up was this current account surplus and I think that the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and the Government should be commended that within the short period, we have been able to attain a current account surplus of US$125 million. [Interruption.] I have been told to repeat that we have

Mr. Speaker, I was also very happy to
Dr. Osei 12:45 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Hon
Member, as much as possible, do not be making personal allusions.
Mr. Asaga 12:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, yes, thank
Mr. J. B. Aidoo 12:45 p.m.
On a point of order.
Mr. Speaker, the Hon Member is saying that Hon Ministers have not been paid. We want to know how Hon Ministers are living without being paid.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Hon
Member, continue.
Dr. Osei 12:45 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr.
Speaker, my Hon Good Friend, this is the point; that is why he was not listening. If they are not paying people -- they are not paying Education Trust Fund, then they say that they are doing better than their target, does that make sense? Mr. Speaker, if you add all those arrears, you would get exactly 6.5 per cent. So it is not true.
Mr. Asaga 12:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think that
we are on target with our budget deficit and we will continue to do our best so that the end of year target of 9.4 per cent would be achievable.
Mr. Speaker, I think that with the
reserve situation, the new Government inherited a reserve situation that was very critical and we are managing -- it was very critical and for now, the reserve situation is 1.7 billion. I am very happy that the (IMF) facility would improve our reserve so that we can hit a 2.5 -- month cover as against the previous regime which was low during the transition period.
Mr. Frederick Opare-Ansah 12:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am only begging you to avail your eye to be caught. There are a lot of Hon Members on their feet on my side of the House. So if you can avail your eyes, then they can catch them.
Thank you.
Mr. Asaga 12:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, you can see that the supplementary budget is also touching on the lives of the ordinary people in Ghana. We have, for example, subsidy for fertilizers, which means -- [Interruptions.] Mr. Speaker, with the subsidy for fertilizers, most farmers in the North and across the country will now be able to buy fertilizer at half price.
For example, the market price for a bag of 1515 fertilizer is about 500,000 old cedis but the Government has subsidised it and one can now pick it for 250,000 old cedis. [Hear! Hear!] Mr. Speaker, because we want to increase agricultural production, the Government is currently rehabilitating 43 dams in the northern sector of the country.
Mr. Speaker, with the increase-in-rice- production policy of the Government, the Aveyime Rice Project is now on course and soon -- [Interruptions.] Mr. Speaker, Nasia is now being rehabilitated; Fumbisi Valley is now having all the necessary agricultural inputs. Mr. Speaker, as we Sit right now, about 20 Combined Harvesters have been imported to support the rice industry. So I want to say it loud and clear that -- [Interruption.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:55 p.m.
Hon
Member, start winding up.
Mr. Asaga 12:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, rice farmers should support the Government for all its good initiatives.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, there is a point of order that my Hon Colleague wants to bring up. Mr. Speaker, with respect, I think he made allusions to the Aveyime Rice Project and I think he has vital information to contradict what he is saying; he is misleading the House. So with your indulgence, if you would allow him one minute to set the records straight.
Mr. Asaga 12:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, since my Hon Colleague is not the one to speak, I cannot yield to him.
Mr. Ernest A. Debrah 12:55 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I think in debating in this House, we must talk facts and I want to draw my Hon Colleague's attention to the fact that fertilizer subsidy was introduced by the last Administration, that is, the NPP Government; and this is known by everybody in Ghana -- [Interruptions.]
Mr. Speaker, the second fact, the
Aveyime Rice Project was revamped by the past Administration when I was the Minister for Food and Agriculture -- [Uproar] -- and this is a fact, Prairie Volta Company Limited, as it is called now, was inaugurated in August 2008 -- it was launched at Aveyime in August 2008. In fact, we must correct these facts.
Mr. Asaga 12:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, still on agri- culture, the Government has introduced
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:55 p.m.
Hon Member, your last sentence.
Mr. Asaga 12:55 p.m.
Yes, my last sentence is that even though the Hon Minister for Finance and Economic Planning described the economy as a “rundown economy”, he did give certain reasons. If I were to refer you to what President Kufuor described the economy of Ghana in 2001, you would be weeping. Therefore, this is an advice that when there is a change in Government, we should try and give the real picture of the economy.
Mr. Kofi Frimpong -- (NPP Kwabre East) 12:55 p.m.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for allowing me to add my voice to the debate on the floor, right now.
Mr. Speaker, in doing so, I want to zero in on the trade balance as can be found on pages 7, 8 and 9. Mr. Speaker, in the submission, the Minister for Finance and
Economic Planning enumerated some eight-point achievements of Government. He continued to say that these trade balance achievements have come by as a result of some prudent microeconomic management.
Mr. Speaker, I find it difficult to establish a correlation between the micro- economic management and the eight-point achievements as enumerated by the Hon Minister. Mr. Speaker, with reference to page 7, paragraph 18, the Hon Minister said that - and I read:
“For the first six months of 2009, the trade balance amounted to a deficit of US$995.8 million, a favourable position compared to a deficit of US$2,151.00 recorded at the end of June 2008.”
He went ahead to talk about the receipts, the revenue accruing from exports and made mention of cocoa. Mr. Speaker, the Hon Minister, in his submission, at paragraph 19, made us aware that revenue for cocoa has increased tremendously. But Mr. Speaker, my problem is, what is the contribution of Government? What microeconomic analysis or figures were put in place to achieve this aim?
rose
Mr. Frimpong 1:05 p.m.
I will not allow him. Please, Mr. Speaker, on what point is he
coming? I will not allow him, I do not need him.
Mr. Speaker, the cocoa income 1:05 p.m.
None

Let him tell us the point on which he is coming.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:05 p.m.
Chairman of the Finance Committee?
Mr. Frimpong 1:05 p.m.
On which point is he
coming in, Mr. Speaker? I will not allow him - [Some Hon Members: Sit down!] If it is information, I will not allow him - [Interruptions.]
Mr. Avedzi 1:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I do not know whether the Hon Member wants to disobey your ruling. But the point I want to make is that the Hon Member keeps on saying “microeconomic policy”, which is not correct. He says, “micro”, “micro” - “micro” is different from “macro”. So I want to correct him. It is “macroeconomic policy”, not “microeconomic policy”. That is what he has been saying; he says “micro”.
Mr. Frimpong 1:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, he is seriously out of order. Maybe, he is not hearing well. I have been on the Finance Committee as long as he has been and I know the difference between “micro” and “macro”; and I have read the document given to us by the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, where it talks of macroeconomic indicators. And I am saying that the revenue that we are getting from cocoa is not due to any help from the Government.
It is because, according to CNN, now cocoa is selling at US$2,983 per tonne, the highest in 24 years. So where is the correlation between the prudent macro- economic management and the revenue that we are getting from cocoa? If anything, what the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Government has done
rose
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:05 p.m.
Hon Member for Juabeso?
Mr. Frimpong 1:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, on what point of order? Let him tell us the point of order.
Mr. Ahi 1:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, my Hon Friend is misleading the House and the country for saying that the NDC Government has dismantled the cocoa mass spraying gangs. This is how the NPP Government prescribed the way the gangs in the various districts be managed. Every year the task force of the various districts meets and then reviews the programme and this was set out by the NPP regime and that is what exactly we have done.
So we are following what they did. Every year the task force - [Interruptions] -- So the task force which is made up of the District Chief Executive, as the Chairman, the District Agricultural Officer, as a member, and the LDCs also select one person as a member, and the District Chief Farmer, also a member, meets every year and reviews the programme. This is exactly what we have done, so if it is not good, it was introduced - In fact, it was prescribed by the NPP Government -- [Hear! Hear!]
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:05 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, clearly, for a Colleague of ours who insists that the cedi is appreciating the dollar -- [Inter- ruptions] - he can only understand that a review of a programme is the same as sacking or dismantling the people
operating the scheme. Mr. Speaker, clearly, the two are not the same. And with respect to my Hon Colleague from Juabeso, reviewing the programme cannot be the same as dismantling. So with respect to my Hon Colleague, the two are not the same; the two certainly are not the same.
But Mr. Speaker, may I plead with you -- the Hon Asaga himself profited from minimum interference and interruption. And Mr. Speaker, you yourself have appealed that we go that way and so I shudder to think of what is happening now. Mr. Speaker, if you would allow my Hon Colleague to continue, I think that would be the better way to handle this.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:05 p.m.
Hon Minority Leader, I agree with you. I will not allow people to be interfering unnecessarily. But let me hear from the Hon Member for Juabeso and then I will allow -- [Interruptions.] Please, let me hear from the Hon Member for Juabeso and then I will give you the floor.
Mr. Ahi 1:05 p.m.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Hon Minority Leader knows very well that as human beings, we sometimes make mistakes. So if I had wanted to say that the cedi had depreciated and I said the cedi had appreciated, that does not mean that I did not understand what I was saying.
Mr. Frimpong 1:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, indeed, I want to register my protest for allowing
my time to be used for settlement of personal scores.
Mr. S. M. E. K. Ackah 1:05 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, my Hon Colleague, Kofi Frimpong is misleading this House in the sense that when NDC was in power, during President Rawlings' time, when it got to the notice of Government that Ivory Coast was overtaking Ghana by cocoa production, they put a system in place which was the cocoa planting sort of plantation development and that went to actually shoot up the general production of cocoa.
When the New Patriotic Party (NPP) took over at that time, it was that increase in the production of cocoa that actually even helped Ghana to come out with almost about 700 tonnes.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:05 p.m.
Hon Member, you have made your point.
Hon Kofi Frimpong, continue.
Mr. Frimpong 1:15 p.m.
Indeed, Mr. Speaker, this is a serious breach of the Orders of the House. He has not shown any point of order and we expect that anybody who stands up on a point of order be able to quote from the book, where it is coming from.
I am talking of the mass spraying exercise. If we started planting cocoa -- [Interruption] -- that is not what I am referring to. I am not referring to President Rawlings' time. I am referring to President Mills' time. He went on to talk of - [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker, he should not forget a statement made by the past President when he said that we should burn - When President Rawlings said that the price of cocoa was so poor that we should gather all the cocoa beans and burn them. [Interruption.] That is the situation in which we find ourselves.
rose
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:15 p.m.
Hon Member for Mion?
Mr. Frimpong 1:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I will not allow it because when Hon Asaga was speaking, you did not allow anybody to interrupt him -- [Pause] -- I have not seen this Speakership before.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:15 p.m.
Hon Member, I think you should advise yourself properly. I am telling you. You should advise yourself properly. When you make a statement and Hon Members want you to substantiate it, I will give them the floor so that you will substantiate it. And how can I know whether the person is out of order or not, if I do not start listening to him/her.
Mr. Kwabena Mensah Woyome 1:15 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I would want my Hon Colleague there to substantiate the source of that statement
attributed to the former President Jerry John Rawlings.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:15 p.m.
Hon Member, I learnt you made a statement that the former President said they should gather the beans and burn them. They want you to substantiate that statement.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I believe my Hon Colleague is capable of addressing the issue on floor and he will do so presently.
Mr. Speaker, all that we on this side are asking for is equity. Mr. Speaker, with respect to you, all that we are asking for is equity. We cannot allow ourselves to be truncated, the way this matter is being conducted. We cannot allow that, with respect.
Mr. Speaker, when my Hon Colleague, Hon Asaga was on the floor, you decided to turn the other way and refused to acknowledge people who stood up here. Mr. Speaker, that is not fair. With respect, that is not fair. So if you allow them to address issues which you are entitled to, no question, you should accord same opportunity to us -- and that is most unfair.
Mr. Speaker, with respect, if you want to go on that lane, we will indulge you. Of course, the rules are in your bosom as far as the conduct of business is concerned. All that we are pleading for is impartiality and equity; and Mr. Speaker, we demand that. We will demand that.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:15 p.m.
Hon
Minority Leader, I would want to say that when a person is not here to defend himself and somebody makes a statement against him and he is asked that he should substantiate it -- people who do not have audience on this floor, I will call on the person to substantiate. People cannot hide under the privilege of this House to say things about other people. It will do this House no good.
I want to say that when the Hon Member for Nabdam, Hon Asaga was on the floor, he veered away as much as possible from controversy. And on all occasions that he made statements, I called on those who rose against him on a point of order. I called the Hon Member for New Juaben North. I called other people too.
Mr. Bagbin 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I believe we
need to assist the Chair to maintain order in the House for us to - [Interruptions.] I want to plead with my Hon Colleagues to let us try as much as possible to tolerate each other and control our emotions. Definitely, debates concerning budgets always ignite these kind of vibrant exchanges and the choice of words is always a problem for many particularly when there is frequent heckling of the Hon Member which sometimes derails his or her thoughts. So I just want to plead that we should listen to each other.
We can exchange words, but I also want to caution against attacks on the conduct of the Speaker. It is important that, yes, we draw the Speaker's attention when he also errs. But there is a provision in the Standing Orders as to how to do it. Because the Speaker is the representative of the whole institution of Parliament, he is the spirit and soul of the House and I think that we should consider that in our references to the Chair.

I want to repeat that we agreed that we give each other ten minutes for each Member to make his or her submissions. We also agreed that we are going to allow seven from each side of the House to contribute to the debate. That is inclusive of the Leadership and that is what I think we are implementing. And the understanding is that we want to

conclude this debate today so that we can all decide whether we are approving or disapproving the Supplementary Estimates. So let us try to cool down and continue with the debate.

I want to just plead with my very good Friend, Hon Kofi Frimpong to withdraw that allegation against the Speaker because it is actually not proper. Your Leader has tried doing that but again, in trying to put across the issue of equity, it was not properly captured. So could he kindly do that and then we proceed with our business.

Thank you very much.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Hon Kofi Frimpong, substantitat the allegation.
Mr. Frimpong 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, upon the advice of my much respected Leader, I seriously made a mistake when I said that I had not seen such a Speakership. Indeed, I thought my microphone was off, so I am sorry I said that and I withdraw. [Laughter.]
Mr. Speaker is a very good friend of mine; anytime we are on recess and he sees me, he says I am the one he had mostly missed. So I know he is not going to think seriously of this one - [Interruptions.] So I go on.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Hon Member, substantiate the allegation you made or withdraw.
Mr. Frimpong 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would not have mentioned his name if someone had not mentioned it on the floor of Parliament. And here is a statement -- [Interruption.] Mr. Speaker, wait; I am ready to defend it. That statement was made during the days when cocoa trees
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Hon Member, produce evidence or withdraw.
Mr. Frimpong 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, all right, on your advice, I will stand this one down and come again - [Interruption.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Please, rather withdraw. Withdraw if you cannot substantiate it now.
Mr. Frimpong 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, so be it. [Laughter.] So- [Interruptions.] I am not bothered. All right, be it withdrawn. [Laughter.] But Mr. Speaker, I will dive into my archives and bring the document; I will bring the document to you to substantiate my allegation.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Wind up.
Mr. Frimpong 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, no, no because I have spoken for only three minutes. [Interruption.]
On the receipts side, he mentioned gold and here again, government had no hand in the increase in the sale of gold. The revenue that we are getting from gold is not because of any prudent macro-economic policies of government. It is because gold price has shot up. So I am a bit flabbergasted when I hear that government is claiming credit for these revenues coming in.
On the Expenditure side, government is saying that and I quote - [Interruption.] government - I will not make mention of anybody - government is saying that the overall current - that is paragraph 24 -
“The overall current account registered a surplus of US$125.9 million, compared to a deficit of US$1.449.0 million registered
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Hon Member, wind up; make your last sentence.
Mr. Frimpong 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, two minutes.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Hon Member, your last sentence.
Mr. Frimpong 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, on the volume of imports, the Government is saying that due to prudent macro- economic policies, imported items, non oil items have also gone down. This shows that the economy is bad. People are not buying; government is also not getting revenue. That is why government is not able to pay contractors and that is why the private sector is going down and we are
saying that people have lost confidence in government.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Hon Member, thank you very much - [Interruptions.]
Mr. Dominic A. Azumah (NDC - Garu/Tempane) 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you so much. I also rise to support the motion and to make a short contribution to it. I think it is usual and as expected, the Supplementary Budget is most welcome. This is not the first time this House is approving a supplementary budget and the reasons adduced for introducing the it, I see them to be justifiable.

The Hon Minister made a certain statement and to quote him, he said on page 4, column 7 to justify the word “rundown”. He said:

“The huge deficit did not include expenditure arrears and commit- ments which are currently estimated at about GH¢1.7 billion, equivalent

to 9.7 per cent of GDP for 2008.”
Dr. Kojo Appiah-Kubi 1:25 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, my Hon Colleague talks about deficits. And indeed, the deficit that has been presented in this document is misleading. It is misleading; it is wrong - [Interruption.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Hon Member, does this relate to the statement being made?
Dr. Appiah-Kubi 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, yes, he is talking about the deficit.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Hon Member, does this relate to a statement, a specific statement?
Dr. Appiah-Kubi 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, yes.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
What is the statement?
Dr. Appiah-Kubi 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, he is talking about a deficit of 14.5 and that cannot be true.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
But is that what is in the document?
Dr. Appiah-Kubi 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, that is what is in the document.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Hon Member, continue, please.
Mr. Azumah 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, un- fortunately, my friend is not presiding over the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and he cannot - I am dealing with records from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and that is the authority that we are dealing with, not what we are saying, so if he can please, sit down.
rose
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
Hon Ranking Member, if you raise a point of order against a person, if the person makes a statement which is not factually correct -- He made a statement that he is referring to a document which is before this House. So if anything, this is a matter which can be raised. It should not be an order to the Hon Member on the floor. If it is another matter, we will give you the chance. But if it is the same matter, it is -
Dr. Osei 1:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, with respect, when my Colleagues on the other side get up, you allow them to make their point. I have not even started and you are anticipating what I am going to say. [Interruptions.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
I am saying that I will allow you if it is the same issue -- [Interruption.]
Dr. Osei 1:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, allow me to speak and then -- [Interruption.] Mr. Speaker, I will not speak - [Inter-ruption.]
Mr. Azumah 1:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, if one has been visiting the Ministry of Roads and Highways, one will be left with no doubt that they are faced with a lot of financial challenges in that Ministry; and the last time I got the opportunity to talk to the Minister, it was very clear that even the Road Fund, which is meant for periodic and routine maintenance was mortgaged sometime ago to Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and for that purpose, revenue inflows from the Road Fund virtually go to pay part of the loans
we took from them.
It is making it very difficult for the Ministry to be able to implement the immediate programmes assigned to it, especially within the first one year of this Government, and I think that the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning indicated that efforts were being put to pay off the junk of arrears, for that matter, set the budget on course to be able to address some of the concerns, which is most welcome.
Mr. Speaker, I will like to touch briefly on an issue Hon Asaga raised about the Government's intention to provide subsidy for fertilizer in the three northern regions. The idea was brought up sometime last year. There was really a subsidy but not to the quantum of 50 per cent as now projected by the current supplementary estimates. What I want to say in that direction is that, I am calling on the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to take a critical look at the sale of fertilizer in the three northern regions.
Mr. Ignatius Baffour Awuah 1:35 p.m.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to raise a point of order. The Hon Member is misleading this House. He is just telling us that he admits the fact that the subsidy on fertilizer was introduced last year but then the quantum was not 50 per cent. I just want him to know that it was exactly 50 per cent of the cost and so he is misleading this House.
Mr. Azumah 1:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am not dealing with this information, I am dealing with what would have been communicated to this House. I have been
in this House before him and nowhere were we told that fertilizer had been subsidized by 50 per cent. Nowhere in the Budget. This is the first time I am seeing it captured in a Budget.
Mr. Speaker, if I can make progress.
Mr. Ernest A. Debrah 1:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, point of correction. If the Hon Member does not know, I was the Minister for Food and Agriculture and I came to this House to talk about subsidy and I said that the subsidy was 50 per cent. He can go to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, he can go to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, the records are there and it was 50 per cent.
Mr. Bagbin 1:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think that we should not strive to ascribe to ourselves when we know that even before he was born, subsidies on fertilizer were in the country. It was not an introduction when he was Minister for Food and Agriculture. Subsidies on agricultural inputs including fertilizer have been there since Nkrumah's time. It was not during his time that they were introduced.
The phrase “it was introduced” is what I am referring to. The percentage is a different thing altogether but it was not introduced when he was the Minister for Food and Agriculture. It has always been there - subsidiy on fertilizer.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the point that my Colleague Hon Ernest A. Debrah made, it is rather to the point. Here we have our Colleague Hon Dominic Azumah alluding to the structure of the cost and he is now saying that he does not know. In fact, he is refuting the claim that there was a 50 per cent subsidy. Hon Ernest A. Debrah gets up and says “this was done when I was the Minister”. What is wrong with that?
Mr. Speaker, he says the 50 per cent reduction was introduced when he was the Minister. The Hon Majority Leader
is talking about the fact that subsidies have been with us for a long time. That is without doubt. But the percentage, he is talking about the 50 per cent and that that was introduced when he was the Minister.
Unless he can show proof that it is not true, he cannot just get up and say by word of mouth that it is not true. He was the Minister and he came to this House, he brought it here - to this House.
Mr. Bagbin 1:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, people easily forget. Even when I was in secondary school, subsidy on fertilizer was 50 per cent. We were using them on school farms -- Upper Regional Agricultural Development Programme (URADEP) and others and it was 50 per cent. What is he talking about? It was not introduced during his time. It was there as far back as even “Operation Feed Yourself” - Acheampong's time. What is he talking about?
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
Hon
Members, the issue deals more with percentage, not so much on the issue of subsidy - [Interruption.] So Hon Members, order! Order!
Hon Member for Garu/Tempane, what did you say about subsidy?
Mr. Azumah 1:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I did indicate that subsidy was introduced sometime in the last government but not to the quantum of 50 per cent, and that it was not introduced by he, the Minister. Indeed, I want to challenge him to bring evidence either by way of the Votes and Proceedings or by any statement that he, the Minister came to this House to make and which is documented to tell this House that they had subsidized fertilizer by 50 per cent. I challenge him and - he should produce that document. He cannot.
The evidence, I tell you, is in this
Mr. Ambrose P. Dery 1:35 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I think that my brother on the other side is being specific about a system introduced sometime last year. He referred to a coupon system, and on the coupon system, the percentage was 50 per cent. I was privileged to be a Regional Minister and I administered that 50 per cent. So we are not saying that there were no subsidies right from independence, but the coupon system, where you are given a coupon and as a result of that pay half the price, it was introduced under the last regime. It is as simple as that.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:45 p.m.
Hon Deputy Minority Leader, you are adding a new dimension, that is the issue of the coupon. But the issue really is the percentage.
Mr. Azumah 1:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I was referring to the percentage. In terms of the coupon system, I was saying that it needs to be improved. The system is there but not that I was talking of the 50 per cent subsidy. You go to acquire a coupon and then use it to buy a bag of fertiliser. That is the issue I am referring to and that is what I am saying needs to be refined.
Can I make progress, Mr. Speaker?
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:45 p.m.
Let me hear from the former Minister for Food and Agriculture, then I will --
Mr. Debrah 1:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, when I stood up on a point of order, what I said was, “point of correction”. So I am wondering what the Hon Majority Leader was talking about. I was only correcting the fact that the fertiliser sale that he was talking about was subsidised at the rate of 50 per cent.
I said that if he wanted confirmation on that he could go to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. The Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, currently, is sitting down here, he knows there is a subsidy, it is 50 per cent, and therefore, he can go anywhere and look at that. So I am correcting him that the thing was 50 per cent. I was not talking about fertiliser subsidy introduced in this country by me. I was only correcting the amount of subsidy that went to the fertiliser that was subsidised in the past Administration.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:45 p.m.
Hon Member on the floor, take that on board and continue.
Mr. Azumah 1:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, to make progress, I would like to talk on the issue of the - [Interruption.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:45 p.m.
Hon Members, in line with our Standing Orders and looking at the nature of business, we shall Sit beyond the prescribed time.
Mr. Azumah 1:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, my next issue is briefly on the Ghana Railways Company. I have been on the Transport Committee for some time; I have visited the Ghana Railways Company both in Accra and Takoradi and I know the situation of the railways very much.
The issue that confronted the GRC staff was the issue of salaries, conditions of service and there have been huge cries years back for Government to intervene to see how best they could address the concerns of the staff. Indeed, when you go to Takoradi to see some of them, they live in a very deplorable state.
I am very glad to see in the Budget that the Ministry is providing or has paid for the months of June and July, the sum of GH¢957,000 towards the payment of
salaries for this month and is making a provision of GH¢566,000 for the payment of retrenched staff who have all along been calling on Government to listen to their plight. I am sure if those workers, today, would be listening to Parliament, they will be very pleased that at least, their cries have been listened to and their concerns have been addressed.
Mr. Speaker, the decision coming from the North and the Government's decision to strengthen the youth in agriculture is very important, and I think, I want to highlight it here. Majority of our youth are running down South in search of greener pastures. From my constituency alone, the number of people who are resident in Accra and doing dry season gardening instead of doing it up North is quite huge, all because of the lack of resources, the equipment, the ability to provide themselves with fertiliser and others.
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning is making available GH¢10.7 million and I think it is a good step. I am hoping that the 2010 Budget would improve upon this, make it possible that we can retain our huge and hardworking youth back in the three northern regions, and I want to say that this call should go to every youth in the country.
I want to urge all institutions involved in this particular disbursement to take note that it is not a matter of NDC, NPP, CPP, the youth are the youth and that they should be carried along and any youth should benefit from this project. I hope that if this empowerment is given to the youth, certainly, we would be making progress.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:45 p.m.
Start winding up.
Mr. Azumah 1:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I know you are signalling me to wrap up but I just want to say that the kind of people who are handling our economy today - I am not trying to -- if they can continue -- In every system, we hand over to the next -- They have played their part before, they are gone, and we have taken over. I am very convinced that Dr. Duffuor, with his rich and vast experience, with his technical team, reading the documents, they are capable of delivering and that this country would see progress, come four years.
Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Joe Ghartey (NPP - Esikadu/ Ketan) 1:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would just start from where my very Hon Dear Colleague ended and he made a very important point that the business of government is an ongoing project, that they did their turn, and we came, we did our turn, they are doing their turn again.
Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, when you look at page 23 of the Supplementary Budget Statement, paragraphs 85 and 86, and Mr. Speaker, if I may start with paragraph 86. The statement there caught my eye when I was reading it; it shot up to me, and it stipulates:
“The quantum of these court j udgemen t deb t s i nc reased substantially over the last eight years due to bad governance.”
Mr. Speaker, all these statements are what we can describe as subjective statements. It is the person who is seized with a number of facts who has come to the conclusion that this is the reason for this state. But unfortunately, the facts show, as my Hon Friend said, that the business of government is an ongoing business.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
What is the total amount that you gave? You mentioned a figure, I did not capture it well.
M r. G h a r t e y : M r. S p e a k e r , ¢18,010,763,089.80 and that is only in respect of State Construction Company Limited and I could go on and give all the figures, all the suit numbers are available. Mr. Speaker, but this was not only a concern of DIC, there were State institutions also which were facing problems, which is part of the business of governance. We cannot expect to do business and not run into disputes and not run into possibility of debts. I will give you one example:
Mr. Speaker, for Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), I know on authority because after 2001, I was instructed as an external solicitor and they could not even pay me my fees -- They owed Angola, the rig that was in Angola, there was a judgment debt there. Mr. Speaker, CDH, there was a judgement debt there, even Maggie Guest House, a small guest house, there was a debt there; it is part of business of government.
SIIF (Ghana) Limited, generator was imported to this country to generate electricity in the time of energy crisis, there was nothing wrong with that, it was a very good policy. Unfortunately, by the time the generator came in, it was raining and so we did not use it and this happened
in the 1990s.
I am not questioning the purchase of the generator because in our time also when we had problems, we bought generators. But as a result of that, the party which brought the generator did not care about the act of God. He sued us in international arbitration and we were on our hands and knees to settle, to bring the figure down to
US$5,000,000.
Mr. Speaker, Alhaji Issif's hotel was broken down at airport, and he was asking for US$10,000,000. We negotiated and brought the thing down to less than 50 per cent. I would not even talk about some of the matters which are in court but I will just say that when you look at this statement, you can see that the Minister is saying that we have managed to pay this amount. I just sent a note of caution to the Minister that the same people who would advise you that “pay, pay, pay”, when the day of reckoning comes, the same people will turn round and say that “we advised him not to pay and he paid”. Because some of the payments that have been made, there are already whispers about them. I send a note of caution.
Mr. Speaker, that is what led me as the Minister at that time to say that before we pay these huge judgment debts, a committee made up of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Attorney-General's Department and National Security should authenticate the validity of the claims and indeed, that investigation revealed that some of the claims were fraudulent; as we know, as lawyers, the fact that somebody has taken judgement does not mean the judgement was taken properly. A judgement can be
initiated on the basis of fraud.
Mr. Speaker -- [Interruptions] -- the few matters that I have enumerated show quite clearly that by 2001, the debt level was more than US$100,000,000.00 - [Inter-ruption.]
Mr. Bagbin 1:55 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, when my Hon Colleague, Hon Joe Ghartey raised the issue, I thought he was going to address the issue of the phrase “bad governance”. So far, he has enumerated a number of claims and what led to those claims. But he has not actually stated why he disagrees with him to the statement of bad governance.
As for claims, I did ask the Minister myself and his reason for using that phrase is the fact that even when they were negotiating for settlements, it got to a stage and they stopped and allowed them to go for judgement debt and the interest piled on. I have the list; in fact, I did ask for, not only two, they are more than that, I can quote them. When I am submitting, I will quote them and you will see. So he may have to go to explain the issue of bad governance and not tabulating claims. There are plenty claims.
Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyemang 1:55 p.m.
On a point of order against the Leader.
Mr. Speaker, the Majority Leader will have his turn but if he keeps interrupting and saying “I have the figures, I will quote them”, it is futile. Let him argue his case, he has not got to tell him how to argue his case in Parliament.
Mr. Speaker, this business of the Leadership is a tyranny of the Leadership, always getting up and interrupting when you are arguing; it is not proper. When it gets to his turn, he will have a longer period than he has and can lay his Paper.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
Hon Member, we have “chosen” them as our Leaders and they are both leading us, both of them. So any time that they are on the floor, I have to recognise them, whether what they say is palatable to all of us or not, is a different matter.
Mr. Bagbin 1:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am sorry my Hon Colleague used the words “tyranny of Leadership”. I think our Leadership has been the most democratic.
In fact, if we are talking about tyranny, it is the Hon Hackman Owusu-Agyemang who has even terrorised Speakers on this floor; he stands up any time to disagree with Speakers and insists that he must be heard. That is tyranny. We do not, insist and we are only given the opportunity and we talk.
Tyranny of Leadersh ip! I t i s unacceptable and I think he should withdraw that statement. We are a very democratic people and we have been here longer than he has because we are
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 1:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I did say that the mere fact that the Leadership are consistently and constantly interrupting from their side is unacceptable. I cannot terrorise the Speaker. Today, I have not spoken. He has been here four years longer, yes, but when the procedure is wrong, I must point it out and I still maintain that we are being terrorised by the Leadership. I am using it and I stand by it, and I am not going to withdraw it. I am sorry, I will not withdraw it.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
Hon Minority Leader, are you comfortable with the term “tyranny of Leadership”?
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, you do know that I am incapable of inflicting any tyranny on anybody. But I thought that in context, perhaps, what we have learnt was the intervention of the Majority Leader, when he alluded to a document but did not furnish the House with the details.
Because, if he was not going to furnish the House with the details, then it was not worth intervening in the first place. [Interruptions.] He said he was going to furnish it, so what was the point in the intervention? Clearly, it was not necessary.
Dr. A. A. Osei 2:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that some word unwittingly came from your mouth and I crave your indulgence that you withdraw it. You meant to say “We have chosen Leadership,” but the word that came out was “chose” and I do not want the Hansard to capture it incorrectly.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:05 p.m.
We have chosen them.
Dr. Osei 2:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, with respect, “chosen” did not come out. The word “chose” is what came out. So I want to make sure that the Hansard - I think you intended “chosen”, but what we heard was “chose”. So I want to make sure that the Hansard - [Interruption.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:05 p.m.
Well, others heard what I said. Maybe, you also heard what you heard - [Laughter.] Hon Member, I am very clear as to what I said and what I meant.
Hon Joe Ghartey, since the Leaders could not agree as to whether “tyranny of Leadership” is parliamentary or not, I am not in a mood to rule on that. Continue.
Mr. Ghartey 2:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, at least, I am very confident that there will be no tyranny of Speakership in my case, you will allow me to spend my time.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:05 p.m.
You are left with two minutes to -
Mr. Ghartey 2:05 p.m.
It is not possible, Mr. Speaker, people spoke all the time.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:05 p.m.
No,
please. At the time that the Leader intervened, you had done ten minutes, nobody interfered with you. Please, I was watching the time, nobody interfered with you. But I thought that I should still give you additional minutes.
Mr. Ghartey 2:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I have shown before that the huge debts that were incurred before the last eight years and the quantum of judgment debts that have been paid far exceed this amount that is stated here. Mr. Speaker, it is not the result, in my view, of bad governance. Indeed, every decision that was taken was taken for good reason and I will repeat that nemo dano; I will say it in English - “No one is wise in his own counsel”.
Therefore, in situations where even after judgments have been taken, there is ample evidence that we managed to negotiate interests, we have negotiated damages away, we have negotiated - In the CP case, they were asking for US$19 million, but when we went into arbitration, they got US$1 million. The CP case, they were asking for loss profit. Mr. Speaker, for loss profit, they were asking for damages for roads they had not built. They did not build those roads and they were asking for damages. We refused to pay and I will support anybody who refuses to pay.
Mr. Speaker, anybody who pays, my view is that, there would be a time when the person would have to answer questions because they have not built those roads. Those are the loss profit roads.
Mr. Speaker, the contract was entered into on 5th December, 2002. We looked at it, I am still of the view that the Government is not liable for the loss profit cases.
Mr. Speaker, I am of the view that this statement is made in exceptionally bad taste. Unfortunately, the Minister is
not here. This is not Question time and I thought that when the Majority Leader stood up, he would have stated the matters because he knows that his view may not necessarily be right and my view also may not necessarily be right. He knows as a lawyer that when we go to court, parties argue, each one having a different view.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:05 p.m.
Hon Member?
Mr. Ghartey 2:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I will end, last sentence. Finally, before I come to finally, finally -- [Laughter.] This is a matter that should interest you because you have worked in the Attorney- General's Office previously.
Mr. Speaker, finally, it is important that we realize as a nation that there are various areas of the law that are specialized. But so long as we do not take special steps to attract the best people into the Attorney- General's Office -- the Attorney-General is not a person, it is an institution -- we may continue facing these problems.
Indeed, as I speak, ten lawyers are abroad training on oil and gas. One of them has confessed to me that indeed, before she went, she thought she was an expert in oil and gas because she was advising
Mr. I. A. B. Fuseini (NDC - Tamale Central) 2:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the motion on the floor of the House and to urge the House to approve the sum of
GH¢252,790,947.00.
Mr. Speaker, indeed, listening to the former Attorney-General of the State, I had a feeling that he had departed fundamentally from a position he held earlier on; he has said earlier on that the mandate given to any government ends on the 6th day of January of the year co- terminus with the four years in office, and I thought that was a view that he held and held tenaciously to it.
Mr. Ghartey 2:05 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I want to remind my very dear Friend that I did not say that. I strongly believe that you are given a four-year term and you keep the four-year term. I was pointing out that in the nature of things, Ghanaians, as it is happening now, when you sign - In fact, the Government perhaps, was three and a half years and people are being questioned for contracts they signed in September.
They are being asked why they signed a contract in September and I am pointing out to him that if people are being questioned today for signing contracts in September and December, somebody signed a contract two years to elections. So rather, he should join with me to condemn all those before, now and in the future, who do not realize that the term of a government is four years. So if somebody signs something one day before, the day before, two days before, it is still legal.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:05 p.m.
Hon Member, continue.
Mr. Fuseini 2:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy that this has been cleared.
Mr. Speaker, on the motto of the Legon
Hall of the University of Ghana, it says, “To whom much is given much more is expected.” I think it is a good motto. Also, Chinua Achebe in Things Fall Apart says that:
“. . . those whose palm kernels have been cracked for them by benevolent spirits must not forget to be humble.”
Listening to debates in this House and listening to what is touted as the achievements of the NPP Government from the year 2001 to 2008, I am tempted to believe that the saying in Chinua Achebe was true when he wrote it and it is still true now.
Mr. Speaker, listen to what the Trades Union Congress (TUC), in the Ghana Trades Congress Policy Bulletin, Volume 5, No. 1, March 2001 had to say of the NPP Administration:
“Ghana has recorded an average GDP rate of 5 per cent for the past 25 years. In the last couple of years, growth has averaged over 6 per cent, inflation has been relatively low. The budget deficit has remained largely under control. The exchange rate of the cedi against the major currencies has been quite stable. The total national debt stock at the end of September 2008 stood at 7.6 billion, representing 54 per cent of GDP as compared to the debt GDP ratio of 124 per cent in 2000. Thanks to the Highly Indebted Poor Countries and the multilateral debt relief initiatives as well as the high international price of Ghana's export commodities.”
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 2:15 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, my Hon Colleague should situate his arguments in the proper

context. He is talking about March 2001, and then he is talking about 2008 figures. The question was posed and he repeated March 2001 -- [Interruption] -- That is what he said, please. If it was a slip, he should please own up to that. But that is what he said and he has been captured by the Hansard as having said so. That is why I am saying he should situate it in the proper context.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:15 p.m.
Hon Member, I also heard you somewhere along the line mentioning 2001 and you ended with 2008. So for the records, let us get it right.
Mr. Fuseini 2:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the records are in the Ghana Trades Union Policy Bulletin, Volume 5, No.1, March 2009.
Mr. Joe Baidoe-Ansah 2:15 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, the Hon Member started by saying that he was quoting from a bulletin but now he is talking about what TUC said. I am at a loss as to whether it is the editorial of the bulletin or it is something that is emanating from the TUC, a resolution from the TUC or whatever it is; the voice of TUC could be situated as something coming from their Congress. But something coming from their bulletin, he cannot say that is the position of TUC. So I want him to situate it very well so that we know where it is coming from. Is it the editorial? What is it?
Mr. Fuseini 2:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am surprised at the intervention of my good Friend. Mr. Speaker, every year, the TUC supplies Parliament of Ghana its policy
bulletin for our perusal -- [Interruption.] I am reading from their policy statement which they supply to the august House of Parliament every year. We all have copies. He can read the Volume 9. He will see it. But Mr. Speaker, it is interesting to note that we made a lot of bones out of the rundown that were used by the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning. But listen to what the TUC says:
“Recent official reports indicate that the physical position of the country has deteriorated in the last two years.”
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 2:15 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, clearly, my Hon Colleague has difficulties with figures. He has difficulties with figures. He is quoting from a bulletin, 2009 March, yet he says last two years, and he begins from 2006. How did he get it? Mr. Speaker, clearly, he has difficulties with figures.
Mr. Fuseini 2:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am quoting relevant portions of the bulletin and I am sure if the Minority Leader reads the contribution in the bulletin, he would come to appreciate - [Interruption.] I am just basically saying that I am quoting these figures from portions of the bulletin and that if you read the bulletin, you will see that the economy of the State started deteriorating in 2006. It is in the bulletin.
But Mr. Speaker, the Minister has said that the successes chalked over the past six months have largely been due to prudent economic management and I totally agree with him and I think that all of us must agree with him.
Mr. Speaker, in September 2007, the
Government of Ghana issued bonds and contracted a loan of about $750 million. Mr. Speaker, the $750 million was ratified in this House and it was meant for designated activities and the House agreed that the Government of Ghana must apply the resources to the designated purposes as ratified by this House. But Mr. Speaker, what do we see?
Dr. Osei 2:15 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I want to caution my dear Friend who is a lawyer. He is a lawyer but he must be careful where he is going, seriously careful. Mr. Speaker, this matter will be heading for a place that he might have to withdraw the statement he is making. I just want to caution him.
Mr. Fuseini 2:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am fortified by the facts I have in my hand and the Hon Member can do whatever he wants. I have the facts. Mr. Speaker, I am saying that when we came to this House, we said that we were going to use US$556.81 million for energy. What did they use for energy? They used US$508.2 million for energy, varying the difference by US$51.47 per cent. Mr. Speak, we were told in this House - [Interruption.]
Dr. Osei 2:25 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, he said he has the document. No Member of this House has access to that document. He should first lay it so that it becomes part of the records so that we know -- we will ask him where he got that document from. It is important, he cannot just read it, he should lay it.
Mr. Speaker, it is not a TUC bulletin; he was so glad to put the TUC bulletin there. He has a paper there, if it is a legitimate document, we invite him to lay it. Mr. Speaker, it is important because he was eager to quote copiously from the TUC document and he is now coming to check. He has information, we also have information, we are inviting him to produce the facts; I challenge him, he should lay it.
Mr. Bagbin 2:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, my very good Friend and Ranking Member himself, in his submission, referred to documents and stated that he was going to lay them. A number of Hon Members have referred to documents and stated that they were going to lay them, and at the end of the debate, they did not even lay them. I am saying this because you do not lay the paper first before you quote it, no. You quote the paper -- if you are doubting it, after he has finished, he will lay the paper. I have one myself. It is not that he is cooking the figures from his head.
There is a credible document from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning where he was a Minister. It would be laid for him, so there is no damn fear about it at all -- the figures and the rest, there is no damn fear about them.
Dr. Osei 2:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, that is precisely my point. I said when he came with the TUC document, he was willing to refer to it and I just want to invite him to that particular Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning document and he should tell us what it is. I know the type of document he is talking about. I want him to make reference to it. If he is bold enough, let him make reference, he should make reference.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:25 p.m.
Hon Member, continue.
Mr. Fuseini 2:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I crave your indulgence to lay the document after I have finished. The document is from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:25 p.m.
Hon Member, time is running out.
Mr. Fuseini 2:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, my thesis simply is that, when we talk about prudent management of the economy, we mean applying resources for the purposes for which you have designated the resources. And we are saying that the Hon Minister came to Parliament and told us in the Budget that they were going to apply resources to a certain specific purpose and I am putting it in context and juxtaposing against what happened in this House in 2007. And you will see clearly that the economy from 7th January, 2009 to date has been managed prudently. [Hear! Hear!]
We were told in this House that out of the US$750 million Eurobonds, 198.61 were to be used for roads. Little wonder that when we were going to Saboba to bury Doris, the road was very bad. Out of this amount, only 92.27 was used, less than half of the amount that your august House, this august House, approved out of the Eurobonds for the use of the roads.
Mr. Dominic B. A. Nitiwul 2:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order and indeed, to correct my Hon Friend. We
never went to Saboba to bury Hon Doris. We went to Chereponi to bury Hon Doris. He should make that correction because Hon Doris was not buried in Saboba.
Mr. Fuseini 2:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am sorry for the mistake. Chereponi was where Hon Doris was buried, I meant the road.
Dr. Osei 2:25 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, we need your guidance here. About two days ago -- and this is why it is important that I was inviting him to quote the source of his document. A newspaper has mentioned these facts, he says he has a document. This is why I was saying he has to thread cautiously because if the Daily Post has access to a Cabinet memorandum and that is the one he is quoting, it is important that we see that.
The reason I said so is that, there are legal matters in this case, so he needs to put it in context so that he does not get caught in it. I am just advising my dear Friend that if he is quoting the Daily Post, it is not in his interest; if he is quoting another document, it is better.
This is why I was inviting him to be careful because two days ago, there was a publication in the Daily Post and I have instructed my lawyers to take the matter to court. So if he is not careful and he is going there, I will not have any choice but to include him in the matters that I do not want to do. He is a good Friend of mine, that is all.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:25 p.m.
Hon Member, the Ranking Member is interested in the source of your document.
Mr. Fuseini 2:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I have said that the document is from the Ministry
of Finance and Economic Planning. I do not see -- This is a memorandum on the utilization of proceeds from Ghana's Eurobond transaction. And I do not see the fuss that the Hon former Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning is making about all these things. I have not told him that he or anybody in the Government of President Kufuor utilized monies that were meant for other things. I am saying that in this House, we approved a loan or Eurobond facility of US$750 million. And I started saying that the US$750 million was meant for specific projects, that is what I am saying. And I am saying that the US$750 million was not used entirely for those designated projects that in this House, we approved.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:25 p.m.
Hon Member, start winding up.
Mr. Fuseini 2:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am winding up. I am only urging my Colleagues that we have seen the tremendous improvements that have come into this economy from 7th January, 2009 to date. The economy has been stabilized, the cedi has been stabilized, the Capitation Grant has been increased. School Feeding Grant has been increased and it only means that when we approve the US$252 million, it will go to the designated purposes for which we want the money.
I urge you, let us approve it and that
we will use the money for a better Ghana.
Mr. Isaac Osei 2:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I thank you - [Interruption.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:25 p.m.
Hon Members, when you disregard the Chair, at times there is difficulty. When I asked that this Paper should be laid, nobody laid it. You see, that puts me in a very difficult situation to enforce the document that the other person was talking about. Hon Isaac Osei, you have the floor.
Mr. Isaac Osei (NPP - Subin) 2:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I thank you for this opportunity to contribute to the debate. I believe that my good Friend and Colleague has already talked about the lack of candour with respect to certain aspects of this document which is before us. But I would like to concentrate on just a few areas.
First, I would like to say a few words about paragraph 70, that is on Youth and Agriculture Programme where some resources have been made available - GH¢10.7 million.
Mr. Speaker, I am very surprised that the Western Region was left out of the target regions because all of us know that especially in the Nzema, Wassa and Sefwi areas, there are many young men who are now engaged in valley bottom rice production and I would have thought that if we were talking about rice, the Western Region should have been included.
Second, Mr. Speaker, I wish to refer to paragraph 66 which talks about the fact that the Government had started discussions with the local textile industry towards the implementation of the school uniform programme. I thought that the Hon Minister could have admitted that actually the discussions were at the
instance of the Association of Ghana Industries. We would like to see that the local textile industries are given the opportunity to produce the materials for the school uniforms and I am glad, however, that the local tailors and seamstresses will be sewing all the school uniforms and that they will not be purchased from China.
I wish also to refer to paragraph 96 where the Government recognizes the role of the first President of the Republic. It is very good but there is one admission which I will like to emphasise -- the reference made to Dr. Nkrumah is that he is an illustrious founder of our nation. This is an admission that he was not the only founder of the nation and I think on that day - [Interruptions] - we should perhaps, also remember men like Obetsebi Lamptey, J. B. Danquah, Akufo-Addo, Ofori Atta and Ako Agyei and indeed, we should also remember Paa Grant who was the financial backbone of the UGCC. [Interruption.]
Mr. E. T. Mensah 2:35 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I advise my Brother to veer away from the road that he is treading on. There is always a founder. When you go into the details - we do not have time here; let us find another platform. Always a founder, Nkrumah happens to be the only founder of the nation.
Mr. Speaker, you know what happened on 12 th June l949? You know what brought about the break? You know what Danquah and others were involved in? You know all the roles that they played? [Interruptions.] Let us not talk about that - [Interruptions] -- We are talking about one person - he was the captain - he was the one who got independence for us. So this is something that we should not veer into. He should not go there.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:35 p.m.
Hon
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:35 p.m.


Member, he is saying that we should add others and that is his view.

Hon Member, continue.
Mr. Osei 2:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would not
even have discussed this issue but I noticed that the Hon Minister for Finance and Economic Planning was correct when he described Nkrumah as an illustrious founder, which clearly indicated that there were others who also contributed. So I thank the Hon Minister for Finance and Economic Planning for correcting history.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:35 p.m.
Yes, Hon Member, continue.
Mr. Osei 2:35 p.m.
Yes, I will continue. If he had said “the illustrious founder” - but he said “an illustrious founder” -
rose
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:35 p.m.
Majority Chief Whip, let us make progress.
Hon Member, continue.
Mr. Osei 2:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, as you have directed us to make progress, I will continue.
Mr. Speaker, I also want to refer to something which we seem to be repeating here in this House. Documents coming to us sometimes contain mistakes. For example, on paragraph 77, the reference is made to 21.2 million Ghana cedis which Ghana Cocoa Board has paid as outstanding bonuses for the 2008/2009 cocoa season. The 2008/2009 cocoa season is what we are currently in. Therefore, bonuses could not have been paid for that period.
This is a reference to 2007/2008 and
indeed, these bonuses are scheduled bonuses from that era. Let me explain, at the end of the cocoa season, when everything has been factored in and the average price is realized, that is when bonuses are paid. So the reference is just a mistake and I think it should be corrected. The bonus due the cocoa farmers will be bonuses for the 2008/2009 season when it is over and not 2009/2010.
Mr. Sampson Ahi 2:35 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, my Hon Colleague is misleading the House because he knows -- I am sure because at that time he was the Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Cocoa Board and he is aware that the Government at that time, instead of paying bonus to the farmers, he divided the payment of the bonus and paid half and left the other one.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:35 p.m.
Hon Isaac Osei, continue.
Mr. Osei 2:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think all of us expected that intervention, even though it is completely wrong. The fact of the matter is that, the GH¢21.2 million which was paid last year is still much higher than what was paid during the NDC era. Not only that, the reason for breaking it into two, last year and the year before, was to give the farmers an opportunity to have some money prior to their children going to school in September.
Mr. Speaker, I am very happy that Ghana Cocoa Board has been able to arrange a facility of US$1.2 billion. The fact that COCOBOD is borrowing does not mean that COCOBOD is weak or on bad footing. I heard somebody from the other side of the House say that we are borrowing to fill a gap because the economy is bad. No, you do not borrow because the economy is bad, but you borrow for a specific cause.
COCOBOD has borrowed and it is the highest ever and I congratulate them. But I wish to add that it was as a result of the extension clause which we put in last year's deal that we were able to get this deal through as it has been done.
Mr. Speaker, I just want to refer to page 26 of the Report in which the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning refers. He says and Mr. Speaker, with your permission, I quote:
“despite very difficult . . .” -
he talks about notable feats - notable denotes significant. Notable feats within six months of being in office. Indeed, when you read all the paragraphs before, what is he talking about? He is talking about mainly two things. One surplus which has been registered in the overall current account and he is also talking about gross international reserves covering 1.9 months of imports. These are the significant achievements.
All of us know that when the NPP left office, it was 2.1 months import cover. So what is notable about this? There is nothing notable about this.
Also, Mr. Speaker, the reduction of imports from 5 billion dollars to 3.8 billion dollars is really a reflection of
Mr. Osei 2:35 p.m.


the reduction in crude oil prices in 2009 as against 2008 and not a matter of fiscal prudence at all. In fact, there had been a 900 million cedis bounty, if you go by the figures given by the Hon Minister.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I wish to say that, all over the country, with the new programmes which have been put in place by the previous Government and which this Government fortunately is continuing, there is a lot of disaffection, disaffection because people who are at post are being removed and replaced by others. What we want to see is an expansion of the programmes so that many more Ghanaians can benefit from these programmes. Today, the better Ghana that was promised has turned into a bitter Ghana.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:45 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader, I think that you may have to advise me. I want to take one from each side and then I call on you the Leaders because where we have reached now - I have a list here, so you may have to -
Mr. J. T. Akologu 2:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I crave your indulgence to stick to the list. Maybe, just that the interruptions are minimised so that we can finish with the business and -- At least, I think both sides have prepared and they have some points to make. That is why we submitted the list as it is.
Mr. A. W. G. Abayateye (NDC - Sege) 2:45 p.m.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity given to me and I would like to urge all Hon Members of this House to support the motion approving the Supplementary Budget overwhelmingly
for the running of the country, leading to a better Ghana.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to make a little point and then just go back. The prudent management of the economy has resulted in issues which I will like to bring out.
One, I will like to talk a little on the National Health Insurance Levy and what we have been able to achieve within the first six months of the year. I would like to quote a statement made by the Hon Member for Dormaa, Hon Agyeman- Manu on the 13th of March, when he was contributing to the Budget Statement. Hon Agyeman-Manu was very emphatic, but I want to assure him that prudent management of the economy has led to the state of people registering more and Mr. Speaker, with your permission, I quote the Hansard of 13th March, 2009, columns 1648 and 1649. I will not quote all --
“Madam Speaker, let me go to National Health Insurance -- We were promised a one-off premium for our lives. When the President came here to deliver his State of the Nation Address, he made mention that that policy was achievable, was possible. We were waiting for a statement to declare that in the Budget. Mr. Speaker, our hopes are dashed. There was nothing there; the only thing the Finance Minister said was that they are going to do an actuarial studies, they are going to do whatever and they will come out with it.”
He went on again to say that,
“Previously, as at December, 2008, we had 79,000 people on the register of Health Insurance in our district. As I speak, between January and now the sad thing is that because we are waiting for the policy
declaration on the single premium payment thing, less than 30 people have registered with the Scheme.”
This is what is recorded in the Hansard, made by the Hon Member of Parliament for Dormaa. But I am happy to say that the National Health Insurance Levy, for the first six months of 2009, raised GH¢¢153.3 million as against the budgeted figure of GH¢140.9. This is 20.3 per cent higher than the outturn for the same period of
2008.
Again, I want to put on record that transfers to date for the first half-year was GH¢116.7, which is 2.4 per cent higher than the budgeted target of GH¢114. And again, this is also 16.1 per cent higher for the same period of 2008. Myself, as I thought is that, at the end of 2008, when the previous government was leaving, they were unable to pay National Health Insurance Scheme with - They were left with an outstanding amount of almost a hundred million Ghana cedis but we were made to be aware that everything was on course.
Dr. M. O. Prempeh 2:45 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I would like you to really concentrate your mind on what my Hon Friend is saying because he is veering out of what the Hon Minister for Finance and Economic Planning had to present on behalf of his own Government. When he made a statement that the Government owed the National Health Insurance over $100 million, I referred him to page 2
of the Budget highlights, 2009, and the Hon Minister for Finance and Economic Planning who is still the current Minister states -- November arrears -- it is written, “Payment to NHIS”, that is the arrears, GH¢53 million.
When final VAT receipts and revenue receipts were totalled, as at - [Inter- ruption] -- I am a member of the Health Committee and I am talking about the facts. When we last met, the total arrears was GH¢63 million. Of course, there would be arrears because receipts are gathered after the sixth month. You are the Chairman, Mr. Speaker, the arrears had never been hundred million dollars.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:45 p.m.
Kindly leave me out.
Dr. Prempeh 2:45 p.m.
Thank you. It is not true. As we speak, I am a member of the Health Committee. Moneys that were appropriated by this House for specific institutions under the National Health Formula have not been paid. I was at a meeting with the Hon Minister for Health just yesterday or two days back and that fact is clear. If he wants to speak about things, he should speak about things on facts, he should not speak about things on garnishing, he should not speak about things -- Look, when you look in the - [Interruption.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:45 p.m.
Hon Member, you are not contributing. It is not a point of order really, you want to
clarify something.
Mr. Abayateye 2:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think
my Hon Colleague has missed the boat.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:45 p.m.
Hon Member, please, continue.
Mr. Abayateye 2:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, please, I did not say hundred million dollars. I said hundred million Ghana cedis - [Inter- ruption.]
Dr. Prempeh 2:45 p.m.
It is not true.
Mr. Abayateye 2:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, he should listen to me; he is young in the House. I am saying that as at December 2008, the outstanding commitment on NHIS arrears is hundred million Ghana cedis. The fact is from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. I have the paper here and he was not here, a hundred million Ghana cedis is different from hundred million dollars.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:55 p.m.
Hon Member, start winding up.
Mr. Abayateye 2:55 p.m.
It is on record that during the term of President (Prof.) Mills, the economy was managed well. At least, the minimum primary balance as percentage of the GDP in Prof Mills'
Mr. Abayateye 2:55 p.m.


time was 2.3 but as at the time of President Kufuor, it was -10.1. Who managed the economy well? I am bringing this to the notice of Ghanaians that we were really ruined. Prof. Mills managed the economy well; President Kufuor and his people ruined the country.

With these short words, I want to encourage all of us to vote massively for the budget and to see a better Ghana.

Thank you very much.
Mr. D. B. A. Nitiwul (NPP - Bimbilla) 2:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to associate myself with the motion on the floor of the House.
Mr. Speaker, when the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning came, he said and I quote:
“Mr. Speaker, I therefore deem it a great honour to present to this House, the mid-year review of the 2009 Budget on behalf of His Excellency, President John Evans Atta Mills and to seek your approval for supplementary appropriation of GH¢252.8 million . . .”
Mr. Speaker, the mid-year budget review we hold, has what some will term it as mathematical inaccuracies; some will term it as mistakes and others will term it as errors. And I will start with paragraph 46. Mr. Speaker, paragraph 46 says, and I quote:
“Transfers to the Road Fund and Petroleum-related Funds totalled GH¢63.7 million, against a budget target of GH¢60.4 million.
Of this, and I repeat that figure, GH¢61.1
million was disbursed to the Road Fund indicating a 52.1 percentage increase over the first term for the first half of 2008 and GH¢2.5 million was transferred into the Petroleum-related Funds. Mr. Speaker, when you deduct GH¢61.1 million from GH¢63.7 million, you do not get GH¢2.5 million. Mr. Speaker, there is a shortfall of a GH¢100,000; where is that money? [Interruptions.] These were disbursements and where is the GH¢1 billion, Mr. Speaker?
Mr. Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo 2:55 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I think he is getting confused. If you add 2.5 to 61.1, you get 63.6 and the amount here is 63.7, so the one he is talking about is also accounted for -- [Uproar.]
Mr. Nitiwul 2:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the mid- year Budget review has some mathematical inaccuracies, some will term it as mistakes and others will term it as errors. This is a fundamental inaccuracy and I do not know how I can continue the debate with the fact that one billion cannot be accounted for. Mr. Speaker, where is the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning? The Deputy is here, can he kindly help me so that I can continue?
Alhaji Seidu Amadu 2:55 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, those of us who listened very attentively to the Hon Minister, I think that there were undisclosed expenditures. In other words, when roads are under construction, you do not expect that all the certificates would be made available at the same time.
So at the time the outstanding balance was submitted to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning for payment, there was some amount that was oppressed and this is what is accounting for, what has been stated in this particular paragraph. Suppression of information by the road agencies -- if they had told the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning that
this was the total amount being owed to contractors in respect of jobs that were executed, this thing would not have arisen.
Mr. Nitiwul 2:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, these are completely two Funds we are talking about. One is the Road Fund and the other is the Petroleum-related Fund. Transfers were done into two of the Funds. It does not match up Mr. Speaker, I just want to find out where the one billion Ghana cedis went, simple, so that I can continue with my submission. Mr. Speaker, in any case, that point is made - [Interruption.]
Maj. (Alhaji) (Dr.) Mustapha Ahmed
(retd): On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, the Hon Member is out of order because these transfers were made in 2008 and not 2009. I wish to draw his attention to that. So he should seek for the answers from the Minister at the time.
Mr. Nitiwul 2:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the reviews we are doing is from January to June, 2009. Mr. Speaker, the reviews that were done in 2008 were in the main Budget -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 2:55 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I think the two gentlemen who intervened are really confused. Mr. Speaker, the paragraph speaks for itself. Hon Maj. (retd) (Alhaji) (Dr.) Ahmed is one person that I respect very much. He should read the thing before he intervenes and he should with respect to him, not waste our time.
Mr. D. A. Azumah 2:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I just want to clear the doubts of my good Friend. Mr. Speaker, there is a main account at the Bank of Ghana where CEPS lodges all petroleum monies.
In that account, at specific periods, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning makes transfers to the Road and Petroleum-related Funds. In that account,
Mr. D. A. Azumah 2:55 p.m.


the statement is saying that 61.1 has been transferred to the Road Fund, 2.5 has been transferred to the Petroleum-related Fund and the balance of one per cent still sits at the Bank of Ghana ‘s account. It is not for anybody -- because there is a main account.

But it will certainly reflect in the subsequent explanation from July to December. So it is not that anybody can go to Bank of Ghana and take that one billion US dollars. In the main account, there is 63 sitting at the Bank of Ghana, transfers totalling 63.6 has been transferred; the balance is still sitting in the accounts at the bank. So if he is not aware, he should be told.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:55 p.m.
Hon Member, continue.
Mr. Nitiwul 2:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you very much. I can see the difficulty my friends opposite are going through. I just want to think that in the conclusion of the Hon Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, he has to tell us where that money is before we can, at least, go through this, with the approval.
Mr. Speaker, on page 8, paragraph 21, the Hon Minister says 2:55 p.m.
“Total merchandised imports amounted to US$3,872.4 million for the first half of 2009 compared to US$500.9 million for the correspon- ding period of 2008, indicating a decline of 22.5 per cent. The value of oil imports during the first half of 2009 amounted to US$449.6 million compared with US$1,326.5 million . . .”
Mr. Speaker, if you come to paragraph 22, it tells us that the non-oil imports for the first half was US$3,425.8 million and the corresponding period for 2008, the non-oil imports is US$3,674.4 million.
Mr. Speaker, if you total the oil imports of US$449.6 to that of US$3,425.8, you do not get US$3,872.4.
Mr. Speaker, you will get US$3,875.4. There is a shortfall of - there is another shortfall there.
Mr. Pelpuo 3:05 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr.
Speaker, I think we need to be very clear about this document and what it represents. This document is an economic document, it is not an accounting document. If he wants the accounting of what has happened, he should go and find out the workings and see where the money goes. So there is a vast difference between financial management, economics and then accounting. He is talking about accounting but we are dealing with economics.
He should question what the money is used for and not whether the money tallies. The tallying of accounts is in the field of accounting, not in the field of financial management.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:05 p.m.
Hon
Member, assuming there is an arithmetical error in the adding up --
Mr. Abayateye 3:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, it is not
an arithmetical error, he must look at the thing well. Oil imports is different from merchandise imports. He must look at the thing well, so that when he is talking, he must understand what he is saying. The statements are different.
Mr. Nitiwul 3:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, clearly,
my Vice-Chairman does not understand what he is talking about. Mr. Speaker, I said “the total merchandise” and “non-oil
imports” and I added it to the oil imports and I gave the total. Mr. Speaker, he can add them up and see. I started by saying “there may be mathematical errors, mathematical inaccuracies, errors or mistakes”, that is what I said. It is up to them to tell us which one it is supposed to be. But be it as it may, let me continue. That is the second mistake.
I will go with the third one. Mr. Speaker, on page 7 -- [Interruptions] -- It says that:
“For the first six months of 2009, the trade balance amounted to a deficit of US$955.8 million, a favourable position compared to the deficit…”
- [and I keep repeating the word “deficit”] -
“… of US$2,155.0 million recorded at the end of June 2008”.
Mr. Speaker, if you turn to page 8, there is a graph that seeks to explain and in any mathematical explanation, a graph is as good as the words. Now, when you look at the graph carefully, you would realize that there is a deficit that depicts June, 2008. But then, when it comes to 2009, it is talking of surplus and not deficits. That is wrong. That is completely wrong. Mr. Speaker, let me put those things aside and come to the real issues.
Mr. Speaker, the Hon Minister says in
paragraph 24 that:
“The overall current account registered a surplus of US$125.9 million, compared to a deficit of US$1,449.0 million registered during the same period in 2008.”
It is good that the Hon Minister -- and I will pat him on his back. But Mr. Speaker, the oil imports for 2008, the period we are talking about was 1,326.5. The same period we are talking about, our oil imports is only 449.6. But what do we
see today? Fishermen do not have premix. A third of the bill that we had to incur to import oil, the current Government used just about a third of that but we do not have premix for the fishermen. It is a fact. We are having queues for the first time, it is a fact. Arrears of teachers, government workers are not being paid, it is a fact.
Mr. Abayateye 3:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise
on a point of order. My Hon Friend is not abreast with time. I come from the coast, I am a fisherman. He is from the North -- [Uproar] - We are fishing; we have - we are fishing, there is premix in abundance and we are fishing. Let me tell him, he does not know. Where we are not getting fish, it is not because of lack of premix; it is because of the lighting and other things which are being used in doing the fishing. He must come properly, he does not know anything about water. I beg to correct him.
rose
Mr. Nitiwul 3:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:05 p.m.
Wind up.
Mr. Nitiwul 3:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you
very much. I just wanted to say that the Hon Minister says that we ran down the economy because of commitments and arrears. Arrears accrue when you do not pay a contractor for well over six months.
When the Government on assumption of office in January, chose not to pay contractors and stopped all the cheques, and still has not paid -- whom did the Government think the arrears were going to be a burden on?
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:05 p.m.
Hon
Member, kindly wind up.
Mr. Nitiwul 3:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank
you. The total roads under construction in 2009 started by the NPP Government are twenty-nine. Of these, Volta Region alone has six roads, Eastern Region has eight, Ashanti Region, only three roads, Greater Accra - three roads. Mr. Speaker, I just want to say that these roads started, some in 2008, some in 2007 but most are completing in 2012.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:05 p.m.
Hon
Mr. G. K. Essilfie (NDC - Shama) 3:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to add my voice to the debate on the floor of this august House.
Mr. Speaker, it is very important, as we review and debate on this Supplementary Budget, to put things in perspective and by putting things in perspective, we have to make sure that we compare similar periods on the performance indicators that we have. Mr. Speaker, let us look at what the NDC Administration inherited.
In my previous submission during
Mr. G. K. Essilfie (NDC - Shama) 3:15 p.m.


the original Budget debate, I stated emphatically that the NPP Administration was very economical with the truth about the economy to the people of Ghana. Today, what are we seeing?
Dr. Kojo Appiah-Kubi 3:15 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity. I think that the Hon Member is misleading the House. He keeps on laying emphasis on the budget deficit of 14.5 per cent and I would like to put on record that the budget deficit is never 14.5 per cent. A budget balance is always calculated on the basis of a cash concept.
It sets the cash receipts against cash expenditures and every cash receipt, every cash expenditure must be included in the cash balance. And if we go along that line, the budget balance should be minus 11.25. It is mischievous that even in the main Budget, this figure was put there as if it is the actual. It was put at 14.9 per cent. It is never true. It should have been characterized as provisional. That was never done and I think that was mischievous.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:15 p.m.
Hon Member, you have made your point. Continue.
Mr. Essilfie 3:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think my Hon Colleague is very confused. I am basically quoting what is at page 4, paragraph 7 of this Supplementary Budget.
Indeed, after factoring in the actual arrears that we have, which is 1.7 billion, the deficit percentage would have been 24.2 per cent of GDP. That is all there at page 4, paragraphs 7 and 8.
Mr. Speaker, looking at the current
Mr. Kwaku Agyeman-Manu 3:15 p.m.
On
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:15 p.m.
Hon
Member, the Hon Member did not breach any - [Interruptions] He is quoting from an official document. He is not the author of the document. He is quoting from an official document before this Honourable House.
Mr. Agyeman-Manu 3:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
he is giving wrong information and I am correcting him.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:15 p.m.
Hon
Member, continue.
Mr. Essilfie 3:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want my
Hon Colleague over there who happens to be an accountant to understand that full disclosure in accounting requires that you tell the users of your information everything, the truth. They did not tell the people of Ghana the truth. All the things that they did, using cash basis alone was not going to give us the truth. So, please, let me go on because this is the official document.
Dr. Osei 3:15 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I respect my Hon Good Friend from Shama as a good accountant if he so tells us that, as he is, but he is contradicting himself.
Mr. Speaker, the point my Hon Colleague was making was that there were receipts of divestiture which should have been used to calculate the deficit that he called the number 11.52. He is not using that number and he is telling us that by accounting standards, we should have used it. If he follows his advice advisedly, he should not be using 13.5 either. So, he should tell us the thing that -- I do not want to call him Shamanomist but at least, he should be consistent.
Mr. Essilfie 3:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I was not
going to deal with all that and that is why I was quoting what the official document is. If he has a problem with the official document, when he had his chance, he should have challenged it. So, he should please, allow me to use it.
Mr. Speaker, today, what do we see?
Dr. Osei 3:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, with respect, no one on this side of the House has attempted to impeach the personality of the Hon Minister. Mr. Speaker, if inflation in 2000 was 41 per cent and in 2008, it is 18 per cent, it is not -- it is just a fact. Meanwhile, in this House, we are talking about facts. So for him to make that statement, he is grossly misleading this House and he is being very disingenuous.
Mr. Speaker, we have chosen to deal

with numbers and not people. He should deal with issues.
Mr. Bagbin 3:15 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr.
Speaker, my Hon Friend, the Ranking Member, Dr. Akoto Osei is running away from the import of his submission. He referred to those figures in trying to show that at that time this was the same person who was the Governor of the Bank of Ghana and that today, he is the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning. And he is saying that there is bad governance.
So he was comparing and trying to ask who brought that bad governance. That was the import of his submission. It is in the Hansard. That was the import.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:15 p.m.
Mr.
Speaker, indeed, the trend of arguments by the Ranking Member did not suggest to anyone of us here the attribution being now made by the Hon Majority Leader. Indeed, the import of it is that the man was here at stage one, now, he is in stage two. He is a living witness, so he cannot contradict himself. That is the import of it and if it was lost on the Majority Leader, Mr. Speaker, that is his problem.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:15 p.m.
Hon
Member, start winding up.
Mr. Essilfie 3:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, as we can
see -- and I do not need to read what is here-- all the performance indicators show that the economy is on right footing. Indeed, if you look at page 17, what did the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Government leave us with domestic primary balance? They left it at 10.1 per cent. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) left them with 2.3 per cent in 2000. When we look at what has really gone on, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, our Hon Minister for Finance and Economic Planning is capable of turning this nation's economy around. Indeed, former President Kufuor, in the August, 16th 2009 report of the Insight, did say --
and if you allow me, I will quote:
“Mr. Kufuor even claims that the credit for the stability of the cedi and the reversal of what he calls, ‘the inflationary spiral' in the first few months of his administration should go to Dr. Kwabena Duffuor.”

What that means is that we have the capable people to do what we need to.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:25 p.m.
I say,
kindly wind up.
Mr. Essilfie 3:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, in conclu-
sion -- this was in 2001, that he wrote to him.
I want to advise my Hon Colleagues on the other side to take note that indeed, drinking tea is good for planning, to move a nation's economy forward in the right direction. [Interruptions.] And that if they will learn from us 24 years from now, when we finally have our six terms and give them power, they will then not spend our money by buying gold and other ornaments to wear, they will rather drink tea to be able to think and do the right thing for the nation.
Mr. Speaker, I thank you. Mr. E. N. Y. Ofori 3:25 p.m.
None

Bosome-Freho): Mr. Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the motion on the floor.

Like the Ranking Member, I was quite surprised at the Hon Minister's comments on page 4, article 7 in the mid-year review of the Budget. It was the same Hon Minister that advised his own Government not to be saying the economy is broke, yet he is now telling us the economy is rundown. What is the difference?

I think the Hon Minister and for that matter, the NDC Government is losing

all credibility with the people of Ghana. [Interruptions.] Indeed, in today's Chronicle, they have told us why NDC may be a one-term Government, it is clear. But I will go straight to my point.

As an economic student at school, I was taught that deficits have a few meanings but in the document we have today, the impression being created is that deficit is a bad thing. Fiscal deficit is a tool used to control the economy, and according to the famous economist, John Maynard Keynes, it is a positive and a good thing to borrow to stimulate the economy. [Hear! Hear!] This is the practice that the NPP Government adopted and that is why the Government was so successful. Indeed, some of the achievements we need to remind the other side include:

1. Redenomination of the cedi.

2. Entering into the Capital Market to borrow $750 million.

Never in the history of Ghana has this ever happened. We were able to increase the share of the District Assemblies Common Fund from 5 per cent to 7½ per cent. This was no mean feat. And we managed to create 25 new districts. These achievements are very serious. Like I said, the NPP used fiscal deficits to chalk up those achievements. In today's Business Standard, in the United States of America (USA), the economy is also running a fiscal deficit. In fact, it is stated in the Business Standard that the US deficit is going to touch nearly ten trillion dollars in the next few years. So the US Government is leading the way for Ghana to follow.
Mr. E. T. Mensah 3:25 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I want to draw my Hon Friend's attention to the fact that the lesson he is trying to put across, we knew about them long ago. They are now learning. When they first got power, they were the ones who introduced opee pii pii pii. We know what deficit financing means, so he should teach his people and not us.
Thank you.
Mr. Ofori-Kuragu 3:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I
Mr. Joseph Yieleh Chireh 3:25 p.m.
On a
point of order. Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. This Member who is the Chairman of the “Association of Independent Members of Parliament,” now says the NPP Government - “we of the NPP”. I really do not know what he is talking about but my point of order is a matter of relevance. A matter of relevance, because he is talking about US economy and we are talking about Ghanaian economy.
Mr. Ofori-Kuragu 3:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I
am an independent candidate but if I see something that is good, I will say it, and if I see something that is bad, I will say it.
Back to the deficit -- it is not necessarily a good thing to shrink the economy of Ghana. The road the NDC has chosen is to shrink the economy and that is not going to do us any good in the long run. Government debts -- At school,
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:25 p.m.
Hon
Member, start winding up.
Mr. Ofori-Kuragu 3:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, eh!
Mr. Speaker. [Laughter.] This budget review does not lay a good foundation for this new Government. In fact, the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning has not created the so-called viable environment that this economy needs and a sustainable environment that the NDC promised in its manifesto. Rather, in the eight months, the NDC has turned the economy upside down and they are moving backwards in the wrong direction.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:25 p.m.
Thank
you very much. At this stage, we will reach Leadership. Where is the Hon Minority Leader? [Interruptions.] Where is the Hon Minority Leader?
We have come to the Leaders, so I will call the Hon Minority Leader and the Hon Majority Leader and then the Hon Minister or his Deputy so that if they choose to wind up, they will do so.
Mr. Osei-Prempeh 3:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
we have one more. As suggested by the Deputy Majority Leader, let us go by the list. We have the list here. [Inter-ruptions.] He suggested that -- [Interruptions.]
Dr. Osei 3:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, my under-
standing is that there will be six Members excluding the Ranking -- and my Deputy Ranking, for that reason - That is the
understanding.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:35 p.m.
Hon.
Member, the list has been submitted to me by both sides of the House. [Interruption.] Wait. When I saw the list, I did not know the agreement the Leadership of both sides reached. So I tried to consult. I sent the Clerk to consult the Leadership of both sides. While the Majority got seven, including the Chairman of the Committee and the Majority Leader, you brought eight which includes the Ranking Member and the Minority Leader.
In fact, it was subsequently that the Minority Leader added his name -- [Interruptions.] His name was not on the original list submitted to me. His name was not on the original list. So I wanted to find out - [Interruptions]. Please, so I sent the Clerk to find out from the Minority Leader to reconcile the list and in the reconciliation, he added his name -- [Interruption.] but I say it was seven, seven. So I have the seven here. I was not there when they reached the agreement. I have seven and I am about to exhaust the list which is put before me and I am now calling on the Hon Minority Leader to speak and then we call on the Hon Majority Leader to make his submission.
Minority Leader (Mr. Osei Kyei- Mensah-Bonsu) 3:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to add my voice to the motion on the floor, that is, in respect of the approval of the sum of GH¢252, 790, 947 as Supplementary Estimates of Government for the 2009 Financial Year.
Mr. Speaker, if Government is purposed to spend to develop the country, I believe nobody should be putting impediments in its way to do what it might have decided to do to advance the socio-economic well- being of Ghanaians. Mr. Speaker, but in doing so, one expects Government to be very honest and truthful; we are talking
about prudence. We want the Government to be very truthful and sincere with the good people of Ghana.
Mr. Speaker, when one looks at page 23 of the document before us, .86 point -- and my Hon Colleague, the Member for Esikado/Ketan has already related to that -
“The quantum of these court j udgemen t deb t s i nc reased substantially over the last eight years due to bad governance. In situations where local and foreign courts had ruled that payments should be effected, Government was adamant.”
Mr. Speaker, such language, we believe, is clearly overboard and unacceptable against the background of the revelations made by the Hon Member for Esikado/ Ketan
Mr. Speaker, when one refers to the President's own comment in the Daily Guide of 10th April, 2009, the language of the President himself, with respect to His Excellency, is unacceptable.
Mr. Speaker, listen to the President in the Daily Dispatch. [Interruption.] I am sorry if I said the Daily Guide; it is Daily Dispatch, the Monday edition, the l0th August, 2009. Mr. Speaker, the President is quoted as having said -
Some Hon Members 3:35 p.m.
That is true.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I hear some Colleagues of mine saying “that is true” - [Interruption.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:35 p.m.
Hon Members, order! Order! Let us listen to
the Hon Minority Leader.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, that indeed, is the truth, if you spend in excess of what you collect. And if that is a symbol of bad housekeeping, Mr. Speaker, then the record from 1997, 1998, l999 and 2000 -- In all these years, when the Vice- President -- then Prof. John Evans Atta Mills was the Vice-President, we were in deficit financing for all those years. So then he must tell Ghanaians -- he must then be honest with Ghanaians --
If he is saying that when you spend in excess of what you collect, it is bad housekeeping, then the tract record from 1997 up to 2000 supports the claim that he then introduced bad housekeeping in this country. Because in all those years, we were spending more than we were collecting.
Mr. Speaker, he tells us that our foreign reserves are gone. Yes, indeed, in 2000, the net reserves were negative US$294 million. This time round, the statistics are there -- 1.3 billion reserves. And he says that our reserves are gone. Against what background?
Mr. Speaker, that is why we are saying that they ought to be prudent and sincere to Ghanaians. The Hon Minister responsible for Finance and Economic Planning presented this document to us on behalf of the President. Mr. Speaker, listen to him again, listen to the President again. He says:
“As time goes on, we are dis- covering more details about things that were hidden from us.”
Mr. Speaker, when a President speaks this way, that things were hidden from him and from his Government, it connotes an element of deliberatism and I do not think that the President can prove that there was any such intent to hide anything from the Government. In any event, if based on his own understanding or perception of the
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:35 p.m.


Mr. Speaker, the point has already been made about the fact that in the Youth in Agricultural Programme, three important regions have been left out - the Greater Accra Region, Eastern Region and the Western Region. Perhaps, they may have very good reasons for excluding those three regions. The Hon Minister is here; we want to listen to him on the reasons why the youth in these regions, Greater Accra, Eastern Region and Western Region have been left out in this programme.
rose
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:35 p.m.
Hon
Minister for Communications, do you have a point of order?
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu 3:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
rightly so. I believe that the Hon Minority Leader in using the word, “fraud” as foundation because the Hon Minister for Finance and Economic Planning indicated that he did not know or referenced to the document he himself had related to that the President did not know the real state of the economy.
Mr. Speaker, I have with me here the Official Report of Friday, 9th March 2001 and it is not out of place. I think that we should accept it as the challenge of a transition.

I can quote verbatim Hon Osafo- Maafo, then Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, presenting the Budget Statement to this House, even said that the economy was in chaos and that the magnitude could not be determined. I want to be able to paraphrase same. So I think that my concern is the use of the word ‘fraud'. I think that it is not parliamentary. The fact that you did not have the details

cannot be said to be “fraud”; and this is not new.

The Hon Osafo-Maafo on Friday, 9th March, 2001 quoted that the then Kufuor Administration inherited an ailing economy -- to paraphrase him. He went further to say that the magnitude of what they were inheriting was not known and went further even to say that that was motivating an audit in order to establish these issues.

So I think that the word “fraud” -- It is a transitional challenge and I think that we all can find an antidote to it. But to say that it was based on fraud, I think that that is misplaced.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am struggling to see if we can find space for a point of order in the submission of my Hon Colleague. But the kernel of the issue that I raised was the very words that he used, that “the details were hidden from us”. That was the point that I dwelt on. My Hon Colleague, I saw him hurrying into the Chamber and I want to believe that he did not even listen properly to what I said before he jumped into it with his intervention.
Mr. Speaker, the import cover, in one
breath, the Hon Minister had acknow- ledged that it was for 2.1 months. However, in this document, he is now telling us that it was for seven weeks. Which one are we to believe? Because earlier on he had told us that it was for 2.1 months. Today, he comes with another document, and he is saying that it is for seven weeks. Certainly, 2.1 months will translate into about nine weeks but today, in this document, it is seven weeks. He needs to come clear and let us know.
Mr. Speaker, it is quite baffling. The Hon Minister, in presenting the Budget Statement to us early in the year, alluded to some provisional figure of GDP growth and he said they had agreed to use 6.2 per cent as the percentage growth of the GDP.
The Hon Minister comes with the mid- year review and wants a Supplementary Budget. We wanted him to come clean on this.
Surprisingly, in the entire document, the Hon Minister could not find space to tell us that the GDP growth rate, after carefully considering everything, he now admits that we grew the economy at 7.3 per cent -- [Interruption] -- in all these documents. Mr. Speaker, some people are saying, that that is basic dishonesty. I do not want to say that. [Laughter.] But clearly, he did not come clean; the Hon Minister did not come clean.
Mr. Speaker, the Hon Member for Old Tafo has brilliantly articulated the position of this side regarding juxtaposing facts and figures. The GDP growth rate which we met at 3.7 per cent, now 7.3 per cent -- and we insist that is the official one. I believe that when you do the calculations well, before the end of the year, you will come to realise that it is hovering around 7.5, 7.6 per cent -- The Hon Minister is laughing in appreciation and I believe that he would own up to it.

Mr. Speaker, depreciation of the cedi - 50 per cent -- yes, in 2000. Go back to 1999, 120 per cent of the cedi. September 1999 to December, check the calculation of the depreciation of the cedi and you tell us that we have rundown the economy because depreciation was 22 per cent.

Mr. Speaker, per capita income, already

the point has been made - $290 to $712. Anokware, as our elders say, a Woanya biibi amma wo ase a, wo mmo no krono. If the Hon Minister has nothing to acknowledge about the performance of the NPP, the track record of the NPP, please, as Krobo Edusei of blessed memory would say, “Do not spoil our name”. If he has nothing commendable, “do not spoil our name”.

Mr. Speaker, poverty levels - and I am quoting from the Hon Minister's own admission. In the health sector -- and that is their own letter of intent to the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund -- [Interruptions.] We would lay the document but I have written on it so I cannot lay this one. I have a fresh one, when I finish, I will certainly lay that one.

Mr. Speaker, the Hon Minister himself acknowledges that in the health sector, there has been progressive improvement in the delivery of a number of important outputs. Most notable are increase in life expectancy from 55 years in 2003 to 57.9 in 2006. That is a tremendous improve- ment. But why the Hon Minister chose to even use the figure in 2003, only he can tell us. Only he can tell us because clearly, in 2000 and 2002, life expectancy in Ghana was 52 years.

Why did the Hon Minister not use that figure but he chose to use the 2003 one and says it was 55 years? Mr. Speaker, and then he is ending at 2006 where life expectancy increased to 57.9 years. 2008, we know that it is in the region of more than 59 years. We should be candid with ourselves that the moneys were not swallowed. [Uproar.] The moneys were used to develop the country and the Hon Minister says the introduction of pre-paid National Health Insurance Scheme in 2004 and the introduction of free maternal care for expectant mothers have really expanded our landscape in health delivery.
Mr. E. T. Mensah 3:45 p.m.
On a point of
order. Mr. Speaker, the Hon Minority Leader is used to using civil language but today, the innuendoes and “moneys were not swallowed” is hitting below the belt and I think it is not parliamentary. He may wish to withdraw that aspect of it.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:45 p.m.
Mr.
Speaker, I take a cue from my Hon Friends. I know the Hon Minister responsible for Finance and Economic Planning is an Honourable man. [Hear! Hear!] He is an Honourable man and how come against this background he now goes round to say that we have run down the economy? It is quite amazing. It is beyond amazement; it is rather tantalising for him to say that -
Mr. J. Y. Chireh 3:55 p.m.
On a point of order.
Mr. Speaker, what my Hon Colleague, the Minority Leader is seeking to do is to raise issues for us on this side of the House. But to be judgemental and decide at one stage that the man is honest and later that he is not candid, no, this is not the issue. [Interruptions.] He himself is sure how to debate and he knows that you do not use words as if we all must see things in the same perspective. Indeed, on the achievements he is talking about, Ghanaians expected much more because of the kind of resources that the NPP -- [Interruptions.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:55 p.m.
Hon
Member --
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:55 p.m.
Hon
Minority Leader, how many more minutes do you have? We agreed on a certain number of minutes? How many minutes do you have? That is why as much as possible, I make sure that Members do not interrupt you.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, legion.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:55 p.m.
How
many minutes do you have so that I will be guided accordingly? You have been speaking well over the time that we have agreed.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:55 p.m.
Mr.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:55 p.m.
Try and
reduce it to 10 minutes.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:55 p.m.
Mr.
Speaker, I will endeavour.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister owned up and went further to say that
“The combination of higher output and improved social spending under the GPRS framework contributed significantly to lower poverty levels.”
Mr. Speaker, again, the national incidence of poverty level declined from 39.5 per cent in 1998, 1999 to 28.5 per cent in 2005/2006. That was very accurate. Why did the Hon Minister not tell us the poverty levels in 2007 and 2008? Because the Hon Minister knows that in 2008, the poverty levels further declined to around 25 per cent. That is a fact. The
Hon Minister is an Honourable man and I believe that he will own up to these facts.
Mr. Speaker, again, education sector,
the Hon Minister admits that gross enrolment ratios have increased, and almost doubled, between the 2000 figure and the 2008 figure; that is a matter of fact, and that was why I said that the monies were expeditiously spent. That is not to say that no mistakes have ever been made; that is not to say that at all.
Mr. Speaker, the Hon Minister admits that gender disparities are gradually declining in some areas of service provision, such as in primary education where the country has almost achieved gender parity.
Mr. Speaker, he goes on 3:55 p.m.
“Recent estimates suggest that gross enrolment ratios have been higher girls than boys putting Ghana on the track to achieve MDG 3-gender parity in primary enrolment.”
And that was the symbol of an economy that had been run down.
Mr. Speaker, again, the Minister says the improved macroeconomic environ- ment during the period ( the NPP period) paved the way for Ghana to make a debut on the international capital market in October 2007, raising US$750 million as additional capital targeted at infrastruc- tural development for growth, especially in the key area of energy.
That is what the Minister himself admits. And now they come here and say that the economy has been run down. Conflicting arguments.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister also admits 3:55 p.m.
“In the Financial Sector, important structural and institutional reforms have also been undertaken recently; in particular comprehensive legal and regulatory framework and strengthened risk-based prudential supervision policies have been put in place to further deepen the Financial Sector and safeguard the safety and soundness of the financial system.”
That is the gospel according to the Hon Minister responsible for Finance and Economic Planning, and he is a very Honourable man. So one would ask, how come the same Minister responsible for Finance and Economic Planning is coming to this House to say boldly that the management of the economy has been run down? Mr. Speaker, how do we reconcile these statements? [Interruption.] Mr. Speaker, if he is on a point of information, then I would want to yield to him.
Dr. Mathew O. Prempeh 3:55 p.m.
On a
point of order. Mr. Speaker, I would like my Hon Leader to make it clear, the distinction between the letter he is reading and -- The addresses we have here show that one is from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to the World Bank and the other one is from our President to us. Budget Estimates -- is a letter from the President to the House. So if there is a problem, then I would like to inform my Leader that the fault is not from the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, it is from His Excellency the President.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 3:55 p.m.
You are
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:55 p.m.
Mr.

Mr. Speaker, now, total depreciation
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 4:05 p.m.
In 2000, depreciation was 50 per cent. When we came, attributable to sound and prudent fiscal management, that first year, depreciation was only 3.7 per cent -- in 2001. They are talking about sound and prudent fiscal management and within seven months, depreciation is more than 33 per cent. And we are to believe in the soundness of their prudence.
Mr. Speaker, certainly, that cannot be true. However, as I said, the Government wants to stabilise the economy. Indeed, it is true that over the past few weeks, the cedi is starting to stabilise and that is good for us.
If, indeed, the attention of His Excellency the President and the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning has been drawn to this rather than from the chorus of “the economy is broke”, “the gold reserves have disappeared from the Bank of Ghana”, which the Minister knows it is not true; if the focus had not been on the fact that the economy has been mismanaged at that time, if the focus had not been on car- snatching, if the focus had not been on ex-gratia, and they had addressed their minds to curing the ills, perhaps, by now, we would have stabilised long before and the economy would have started growing.

But as they say, Mr. Speaker, in this case, I would not say half a loaf is better than none. I would say that a quarter loaf is still better than none. So even

though it is late in the day, it is still better than nothing. It is a useful step that the Minister is introducing. We just want greater transparency and sincerity and honesty in this.

Mr. Speaker, before I wind up in a minute -- I would take just one minute to wind up, if I may yield to the point of information that is coming from my Colleague.
Mr. J. B. Aidoo 4:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am on a point of information and the information is that - [Interruption.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:05 p.m.
Hon Member, you know that the information must relate to what the Hon Minority Leader is saying?
Mr. J. B. Aidoo 4:05 p.m.
Certainly, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:05 p.m.
If it does not relate to what the Hon Minority Leader is saying on the floor, I will rule you out.
Mr. J. B. Aidoo 4:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister has talked about the budget deficit and related that to the imbalances in the previous economy. But Mr. Speaker, the information is that the Hon Minister has explained why this imbalance came about and with your indulgence, I would want to read the document that has already been referred here -- [Inter-ruptions.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:05 p.m.
Hon
Member, with the greatest respect -
Mr. J. B. Aidoo 4:05 p.m.
It is a point of information - [Interruption.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:05 p.m.
With the greatest respect, the Hon Minority Leader has got that document. He has made copious references to it. He said he was going to lay it for the information of Hon Members. So if it is the same document you are going to read, I beg you --
Hon Minority Leader, continue.
Mr. J. B. Aidoo 4:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, it is important.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:05 p.m.
I beg you.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 4:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, in winding up -- and I was talking about sincerity and honesty -- Let me just wind up on a note. The Hon Minister also owned up in the document, in paragraph 10:
“The global food and fuel increases in 2007 and 2008 adversely impacted most Sub-Saharan African countries including Ghana. In the context of these global shocks and the 2008 elections, public sector spending increased substantially, attributable to the external shocks and the 2008 elections. These two combined and conspired to increase public sector spending substantially.”
The gospel according to the Minister once again, and the Minister is a very Honourable man. raising the fiscal deficit from 7.5 per cent of GDP in 2006 to 14.5 per cent of GDP in 2008.
So Mr. Speaker, the explanation has been provided by the Minister right here in this document. So why is anybody talking
about rundown economy? And again, as I have been harping on, the Minister is a very Honourable man - Mr. Speaker --
“. . . contributing to the strong fiscal expansion were high energy- related subsidies , increased infrastructural investment, higher wages and salaries and a rise in social mitigation expenditures to dampen the effects of the global price shocks.”
The Minister is a very Honourable man. And Mr. Speaker, I understand that he is an elder of the Church of Pentecost - [Laughter] - and so he wants to be very candid. How come he comes to this House -- [Interruption.]
Mr. E. T. Mensah 4:05 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I am very glad that Hon Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu and my Friends opposite have now realized that there is a way in which external shocks can destabilize local economies. In 2000, the same things happened and they refused to accept them. I am glad that he has learnt the lesson and being a very Honourable man as such, I think he has over-flogged the issue and it will be in our interest for him to land - because he has just been going in circles. The weather is all right, I do not know why he does not want to touch down and then end his submission.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 4:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, with respect, are you ruling on that intervention?
Mr. Speaker, yes, indeed, external shocks impact positively or negatively on the economy and given the fragility of our own economy, whenever there is any tremor, it will certainly impact on us. But you know there was an election in 2000 and the highest point of crude oil price at the time was US$36 per barrel. Today,
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:05 p.m.
He is winding up, so let us allow him to wind up so that we can make progress.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 4:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister needs more funding to further bolster the economy. We agree with him, we will lend our support, except we want to qualify it that he should come clean on these things that we have raised in order for us to move the developmental agenda of this country forward, in a positive direction, devoid of all manner of negative innuendoes. Mr. Speaker, we need to move this country forward so that all of us, our children, and our children's children would stand to benefit in future.
Majority Leader (Mr. A. S. K. Bagbin) 4:05 p.m.
Thank you and thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Dr. Osei 4:15 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, with respect, the Hon Majority Leader always admonishes those of us he is leading to use proper language. He just said as if people are landing from the moon. Mr. Speaker, I find that language not very good. If he goes that way, he teaches the rest of us to use such language, which we do not want to use. So I plead with him that “landing from the moon” is unparliamentary and he should withdraw it.
Mr. Bagbin 4:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am going to refer to statements that he made in his submissions -- maybe, he prefers “landed from the stars”. I will refer him to statements because it is important that as much as he wants us to use decent language, we expect him to use the same. But if he fails to use them and he is now tempering us to use decent language, definitely, he will not get compliance.
I am saying that because for example, even my Hon Colleague, who just finished, throughout, the kind of statements he was making about the integrating of even the Hon Minister for Finance and Economic Planning and the Government, I think that I was not expecting them to come from him. But he kept on talking about “he is an Honourable man” and he has stated - [Interruption] - Very good. So they must be prepared to also accept the same language. They must grow that skin that they expect others to grow. That is all that I am saying because I believe strongly in this world and when I say anything here, I stand by it, that whatever you do, you do it for yourself.
Do not let us behave as if we are latter day saints. No, we were there before. I sat on that seat for eight years, 2001 -- [Interruption.] I make also this with passion because I was shocked to the bones when in 2001, the then Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Hon
Osafo-Maafo stated that our Government went on an irresponsible spending spree. [Interruption.] Go and read the 2001 Budget Statement - [Interruption.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:15 p.m.
Hon Balado, do you have a point of order?
Mr. S. K. B. Manu 4:15 p.m.
Yes, I do. Mr. Speaker, the Hon Majority Leader has taken the floor and in his attempt to demonstrate to those of us of this House using language that is intemperate, has demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that he himself can use more intemperate language than he accused us of.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:15 p.m.
Hon Member, you have made your point. Let the Majority Leader continue. Hon Majority Leader, kindly take the floor.
Mr. Bagbin 4:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, very interesting that the language of “landing from the stars” or “from the moon” is what is being referred to as “intemperate”. I cannot fathom that. I have not used any intemperate language yet. I only referred to what their Minister said and I just want them to see this language as against what this Hon Minister said. Let me say that Ghanaians are very grateful to the Almighty God for the change.
Let me emphasize that it is important that we in this House, including my Hon Friends opposite, show gratitude to a person like the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning. If it had been somebody else, the language would have surpassed what their Minister used in

I know that language such as “chaotic”, if they read their Budget Statements, they are all there. They were attributed to us. But they knew at the time they were making those statements, that before they qualified even for HIPC, if they look at the eligibility criteria, they would have been adjudged to have been managing their economy prudently and that is why in 2001, they managed to access HIPC but Nigeria was refused. It is there but they went ahead in 2001 when they knew that what they were saying was not true.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:15 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader, let us as much as possible deal with the Budget Statement and the Estimates before us because when somebody wanted to talk about security, I stopped the person. So let the rules be adhered to.
Mr. Bagbin 4:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am going to situate my submission on this introductory remarks and let me just quote what the former Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Mr. Osafo- Maafo said. It is in the Hansard of 12th November, 2002. Just to see why some of these things are stated. He said, and I quote:
“There are those all too ready to believe that our economic management problems are solved
if only the hard facts can be hidden away and a stony silence maintained about it. It should be a matter of rejoicing that this silence is dying under the NPP administration . . .”
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 4:15 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, clearly, my Hon Colleague might be reading a different Hansard. [Interruption.] There has never been any occasion that in an applause to a statement that has been made on this floor, we had chorused “Year! Year!” We have not. We have never done so. [Interruptions.] When the occasion demands, we would have said or chorused “Hear! Hear!”. [Laughter.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:15 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader, he is telling us how they say theirs.
Mr. Bagbin 4:25 p.m.
Maybe, my Friend is trying to learn how to say “Hear! Hear!” But truly, even today, what they say is “Yeah! Yeah!” even today. But Mr. Speaker, let me say this, I expect that in future - because we are learning from our experiences that we try as much as possible to be considerate in the use of our language. That attests to the tempo of debates in this House. But it is important that we state some facts in just a few areas, cocoa spraying, we all know how it started. Cocoa spraying was started initially by CASHPRO. It was made national by the NPP Government. But initiating cocoa spraying, it was by CASHPRO, that is a fact, we want facts, that is a private
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 4:25 p.m.
On a point
of order. Mr. Speaker, with all respect to the Majority Leader -- [Interruptions] - But certainly, in his presentation, he is misleading the House; Members of the House may murmur and some of us will rise up on points of order. When he says that cocoa spraying was started before the NPP Government, the inference is that the NDC Government was the one which was doing the cocoa spraying. So when he says “CASHPRO” and we say that CASHPRO is not government, it does not mean that we are preventing him from saying what he wants to say.

So if the Majority Leader wants to make statements which will provoke interruptions, then he brings it upon himself. I am sorry about this. I feel very strongly about it. Please, I mean, we are here, we are all adults and nobody wants to interrupt him, no, but if we disagree with him or if he is misleading the House or he is making comparisons which are not sequester, he can rest assured that we will

rise up and raise a point of order.

Thank you.
Mr. Bagbin 4:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, my Colleague, Hon Papa Owusu-Ankomah has just exhibited the hard skin that he developed when he was the Majority Leader. This small thing, he could not take it and he said he developed hard skin when he was here -- very small thing. [Interruptions.] That hard skin has suddenly disappeared -- [Laughter.]
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 4:25 p.m.
On a
point of order. Mr. Speaker, with respect to my Colleague, the statement really, was not a small thing. It was a gigantic factual inaccuracy. [Interruptions.] My father was a cocoa farmer and every year he was spraying his cocoa farm twice. Mr. Speaker, I am a cocoa farmer, every year, I spray my cocoa farm twice. So the exercise could not have started from
CASHPRO.
He means something else, I know; he means something else. Let him come properly; he means something else, not the actual spraying and I know that the Hon Minister for Finance and Economic Planning knows about cocoa spraying because he has a cocoa farm. And he will tell the Majority Leader that cocoa spraying was not introduced by CASHPRO. As I said, he means something else, so he should tell us what he means.
Mr. Bagbin 4:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, my Friends opposite definitely know that when we were talking about cocoa spraying, we were talking about mass cocoa spraying, not individuals spraying their cocoa farms. Definitely, some of them may own cocoa farms but they will all admit that when we are talking about farming or cultivating cocoa farms, the fact that cocoa farms

The implication he drew was to refer to the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning who is a cocoa farmer as if I am not a cocoa farmer, so I do not know. That accepted, my friends are aware that the Tetteh Quarshie Cocoa trees take averagely six years to fruit - average -- [Pause.] It is the agric that takes averagely four years - [Interruptions.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:25 p.m.
Hon Members, let us listen to the Majority Leader. [Interruptions.] Hon Majority Leader, you have the floor.
Mr. Bagbin 4:25 p.m.
I got these figures on authority -- [Interruptions.]
Again, it is important for us to look at the issue of judgement debts. My Colleague, Hon Joe Ghartey dwelt a lot on it and he was very worried about the use of the words “bad governance”. He talked about what they paid, what they inherited and what they managed to pay, while the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning was talking about what we have inherited and then in some of the cases, why he thought that with prudent governance, with good governance, we could have reduced the debts.
A typical example is what Hon Joe Ghartey himself referred to, that he disagreed with the judgement in the Construction Pioneers (CP) case and that he thought that some of them were paid on fraud and that he was advising anybody against paying those judgement debts. But as a lawyer, he is aware that if you disagree with them and you think that there are legal basis for setting them aside, you go to court to do that. When you do not do that and you leave it, it attracts interest and that is all what have accumulated.
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 4:35 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, it is a matter of concern. At the Finance Committee meeting, the Committee requested that the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning should give us this information to enable us meaningfully contribute to this debate. I made the request. This morning, I enquired from the Chairman and he said he would get it for me. As of now, I have not received it. But the Hon Majority Leader, who is not even a member of the Committee has been given a copy. Is that how we want to advance the cause of this House? Oh, no, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Bagbin 4:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am surprised that my Colleague is talking this way. The fact that he requested for it at the Finance Committee meeting, does not mean that anybody else could not have requested for it. I requested for this at the Cabinet level before this matter came here. So what is he talking about? It is not because he requested for it that it was given to me. It is because I also requested for it - [Interruption.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:35 p.m.
Hon Members -- I have got your point. I think that the Hon Majority Leader is saying that he did not get his from the Minister. But I think that you have a point but once it is part of this matter that we are discussing and we all as a House have to appreciate the issue, it is important that this information is made available to anybody who requested for it.
Mr. J. K. Avedzi 4:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, it is true that the Hon Member made a request yesterday at the Committee level. This morning, he asked me and I promised him that I will get him a copy. I just got a copy less than ten minutes ago. So he will definitely get the copy that he wanted.
Mr. Bagbin 4:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, it is because Hon Joe Ghartey dwelt on it and tried to use that to attack the Minister or the Government, that is why I am referring to it. That, yes, he talked about the use of the word “bad governance” and I am saying it is because of that. Because if you do not set aside the judgement and it is in the judgement books, it attracts interest and as a result of that if I quote you the debt on the CP case, you will be surprised - [Interruptions.]
CP -- Construction Pioneers -- What is even still outstanding after Government has paid the outstanding debts up to a stage, is still thirteen million, nine hundred and eighty thousand, one hundred and seventy-eight point ninety- nine euros, as at now, what is left.
Dr. Osei 4:35 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I see where he is going but it is important that he situates it in the proper context. I do not believe most of the people here know what the CP case is. It is important that he tells us what is the CP case and how the debt came about, then we will be able to talk about good or bad governance. But to say the CP case - I know about it but most Hon Members do not. If he can give us that information, we will know whether it is good or bad governance. So, please, it will help us.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:35 p.m.
Hon Member, we are talking about judgement debts. And so the question is whether CP has got any judgement debt against the
Government of Ghana.
Dr. Osei 4:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, it is important
that we follow the debate. I can vouch that 90 per cent of the Hon Members here do not know the details of the CP case. The Leader is aware of this. I am only requesting that he humbly shares that information with us. It will give Hon Members a feel for whether or not - [Interruptions] -- so that we know. It will help all of us.
Mr. Bagbin 4:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I admire the zeal of the Ranking Member, Hon Akoto Osei but he just sat by Hon Joe Ghartey when he was making his submissions and he referred to the CP case, he did not ask him to tell us what is the meaning of “CP”, what is it about, what is the case about. He referred to the Alhaji Yussif's case. He did not ask him what that case is about. Now, I am referring to it, “hey, hey, Majority Leader, tell us what that case is about”. Why? [Interruption.]
Dr. Osei 4:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker -- [Inter- ruption.]
Mr. Bagbin 4:35 p.m.
He is saying “hey, hey, Majority Leader, tell us the facts of CP case”. [Interruption.]
Dr. Osei 4:35 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, the difference is that everybody here knows about the Alhaji Yussif's case because - [Interruptions.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:35 p.m.
Hon Ranking Member, you are out of order.
Mr. Bagbin 4:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am not going beyond those cases he mentioned. He mentioned one, the then CP case and he mentioned two, the Alhaji Yussif Ibrahim's case. Now, in that case, the judgement which was taken -- both cases, judgements were taken during their time and in that case, the judgement debt was five million, one hundred and seven thousand, seventy-five point twenty-nine
dollars; these were all taken during their tenure of office.
Now, when you do not pay, they attract interest and “Rockshell” -- [Interruption.] Have you paid? You have not paid. So we are paying, that is why he mentioned it. We are paying those debts. So Mr. Speaker, I think that the use of those terms are in some instances appropriate and we should not run away from the facts. I am moving on to another issue.
Mr. Speaker, I want to also say a few words about the mention of lack of candour. Hon Ambassador Isaac Osei used those terms, the lack of candour with respect to certain areas of this document. And he went on to talk about so many things, including paying of bonus to cocoa farmers and he wanted us to believe that the cocoa farmer could not manage his bonus. So the Government had to keep part until the time that students are going to school so that they pay them and they use it to pay school fees. But definitely, that impression is very, very incorrect.
The bonus per bag was four Ghana cedis and what their Government paid was two Ghana cedis per bag. The balance was left for our Government to pay. So for him to try to say that it was reserved so that when it gets to the time that school pupils are going to school, they pay the cocoa farmer, it is giving the impression that the cocoa farmer cannot manage his money, which is incorrect.
My Friend, Hon Dominic Nitiwul, in trying to look at data, ended up confusing himself. I sympathise with him because the details were not all in the document and these details definitely are available and you can cross-check, there was no mathematical error. Now -- [Inter- ruptions] -
My Colleagues dwelt a lot on the euro- bond and I just do not want to reiterate what they stated. But it is important for us to look at it because what we contracted was in dollars. It was 750 million dollars. And what we approved, even though Hon Akoto Osei was cautioning Hon Inusah
Fuseini, clearly, the documents speak for themselves. And the issue of proceeding to court is welcome news, so that if the matter goes to court, we will all get the facts and figures.

But at the end of the day, you will be questioning why without coming to this House, those moneys were used for other purposes and that the amount that was used for other purposes was as much as 126,950,000 and that is an issue that we felt must be raised. And I think that the concerns that were expressed in the mid- year review and in the Supplementary Estimates is as a result of this act of the Government. I think that the Hon Minister was being not just candid, he was being very decent and charitable in the choice of words.
An Hon Member 4:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker --
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:45 p.m.
He is
winding up; let him wind up so that we make some progress.
Mr. Bagbin 4:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the NPP
Government submitted this document titled “Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies of the Government of Ghana from 2001 to 2002”. And at paragraph 5, it says this and I quote:
“These positive results were achieved by f i rm monetary discipline. The Bank of Ghana succeeded in reducing the stock of reserve money by 5 per cent during
Mr. Bagbin 4:45 p.m.


the first 8 months of 2001 aided by government's strict control of cash expenditures reversing a good part of the excessive monetary expansion that occurred in the year

2000.”

This was during the time the current Hon Minister of Finance and Economic Planning was Governor of the Bank of Ghana.

Now the excessive monetary expansion in 2000 is what the NPP regime referred to in the first paragraph and this is what they said which caused that. I quote:

“Following the severe trends of trade shock and financial crisis from

2000 . . .”

So you admitted that it was as a result of this that Government had to go in for domestic borrowing and the rest including Ghana Commercial Bank where Government went in for about 900 billion at that time to import oil and that was what they referred to as “irresponsible spending spree.” [Interruption] Well, my Hon Colleague was - [Interruption.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:45 p.m.
Hon
Majority Leader, I thought you were winding up?
Mr. Bagbin 4:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my Hon
Dr. Osei 4:45 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:45 p.m.
Hon
Ranking Member, you have not caught my eye. We have just been advised by the Hon Member for Sekondi that all of us should develop thick skins. Anyway, you respond.
Dr. Osei 4:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think that

Mr. Speaker, in 2000, I was at CEPA and in fact, in 2000, the then Governor came to visit us at CEPA on this particular issue about monetary expansion. So he should get his facts right. The advice we gave was what led to the improvement in 2001. That is a fact.
Mr. Bagbin 4:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, my Hon good Friend knows very well that he was still at CEPA. He had not severed ties with CEPA in 2001 and he was a Special Assistant from CEPA to support the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning - [Interruption.]
Dr. Osei 4:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, not Special
Assistant, Special Advisor.
Mr. Bagbin 4:45 p.m.
Special Advisor -
Dr. Osei 4:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, these days they
call them Special Aide. Special Advisor is different.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:45 p.m.
Hon
Ranking Member, which one is higher, Special Aide or Special Advisor?
Dr. Osei 4:45 p.m.
Definitely, he knows it.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:45 p.m.
No, I am
asking you.
Dr. Osei 4:45 p.m.
I will give him a good
example.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:45 p.m.
Which one is higher?
Dr. Osei 4:45 p.m.
Let us ask Hon Victor Gbeho
- Special Advisor on Foreign Affairs.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:45 p.m.
Which
one is higher?
Dr. Osei 4:45 p.m.
It is much higher.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:45 p.m.
Advisor?
Dr. Osei 4:45 p.m.
Advisor. In some places,
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:45 p.m.
Hon
Majority Leader, use the higher title.
Mr. Bagbin 4:45 p.m.
Special Advisor, where he was paid in dollars -- [Laughter.] As the Hon Minority Leader, I knew that he was paid in dollars - [Interruption.]
Dr. Osei 4:45 p.m.
As a Special Advisor to the Hon Minister?
Mr. Bagbin 4:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I just want
to end by thanking my Hon Colleagues and really congratulating us for the spirit of the debate. It is important that you yourself stated that we give more room, more space to the Opposition to give alternatives to the proposals of Government. We welcome these proposals. We welcome the criticisms and I think we have all benefited from them.
As I stated earlier on, it is important that we veer away from the use of indecent, intemperate and unbecoming language because that determines most at times the tempo of the debate in Parliament.
I think we are learning as a country.
In spite of our shortcomings, we are still seen as the best and it is true that both Governments at the end of their tenure of office, faced a lot of difficulties and those difficulties were similar. They were
Mr. Bagbin 4:45 p.m.


very similar - from oil, from financial crisis, external shocks, the elections and all those things - they were similar. It is a learning process and I think we need - [Interruption] -- It is the intensity that differs but they were similar - reckless spending. [Laughter.]

I thank Hon Members and I want to

urge all to vote massively to approve the Supplementary Estimates of Government so that we can continue to give them more resources. In fact, I had early this year talked to my Colleague, Hon Akoto Osei -- because even at the end of 2008, there were serious difficulties with the finances to the extent that even the salaries for the Legislature for the months of November and December 2008 could not be released and therefore, we had to chase for them.

I still have a copy of the letter. We had to chase to get that to pay, so there were severe difficulties. He is aware, Parliament had to rely on our own resources to pay the salaries of Hon Members of Parliament for November and December, 2008.

I thank you very much for the opportunity.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 4:45 p.m.
Mr.
Speaker, you gave some indication about the laying of some Papers and I think that you will - [Interruption.] It is very necessary. Mr. Speaker, we were speaking to some documents. It is important that we lay them for evidential purposes.
However, may I just ask, as a matter of truthfulness that in November 2000 and December 2000 we faced the same problem about paying the salaries of Hon Members of Parliament. The Hon Majority Leader made that - Of course, at the time, he was not the Hon Majority Leader.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:55 p.m.
Hon
Members, those who have their Papers here should lay them on the Table. [Interruptions.] Hon Members, please, order.
Mr. A. S. K. Bagbin -- Lays Paper on
the Table.
Mr. I. A. B. Fuseini -- Lays Paper
on the Table.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:55 p.m.
Hon
Members, I have been advised by my Clerks that laying the Papers have no effect. The details will not be captured. That is the advice I have received from my Clerks and they are my advisors. Once they have brought the advice, I thought that I should be - Hon Members, the time that I asked for the Papers, I needed them so that they could help me in the performance of my duties as Speaker. Nobody, both sides did not make your Papers available.
Now, the debate - [Interruptions] You did not make those Papers available to me. We have concluded the debate. But I will take them on board even though that was the advice I have been given by them. I will take those things -- for infor-mation and purposes of Parliament, I will take those Papers and meet with them. We are masters of our own procedures and once it is not against the Constitution, we will see what to do with those Papers in consultation with the Leadership on both sides of the House.
Hon Minister, do you want to wind up or after listening to the two Leaders, I should propose the Question?
Some Hon Members 4:55 p.m.
No.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:55 p.m.
Very
well. Hon Minister, it is your choice. Do you want to wind up? If you do not want to wind up, I can go ahead now and
propose -- Hon Minister, I normally take the sense of the House, the mood, you should be very brief.
Dr. Kwabena Duffuor 4:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
the Finance and Economic Planning Minister has always been brief.
Mr. Speaker, thank you for this opportunity. Let me thank Hon Members of this august House for the lively debate we had today. All the comments, we will take note; we will certainly make sure that if we need to make adjustments, we would do that.
Mr. Speaker, in order for the Hansard Department to capture what has appeared to be some confusion, I would like to quote the real figures, which because of the single decimal that we had, nearly created the confusion, that is 46; the figure for Road Fund is 61,142,091 and Petroleum Fund is 2,531,081.
Mr. Speaker, as I finish by thanking all of you here, I would like to emphasise that history is powerful, in that it cannot be washed away. I was the Governor during the first year of the NPP Administration; yes, when they took over, inflation was 40.5 per cent in December 2000, and in March 2001, inflation had jumped to 42 per cent; nobody talks about that.
Mr. Speaker, if you look at the IMF publication which the Hon Majority Leader read, inflation fell from 42 per cent to 21.5 per cent and those who understand what transmission mechanism means, what effects or policies they live in, you cannot ignore the impact that my policies made during the first year of the NPP -- [Uproar.] To the extent that President Kufuor wrote to thank me and I am very grateful to him that he saw my contribution in the first year of his Administration, I
will always remember that letter I had.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank them again for what they have done today and I hope they will allow and give us the approval to enable us go and use this money so that the NDC agenda for better Ghana would be on course. [Hear. Hear.] And that, Mr. Speaker, will be able to deepen the economy so that we will have a share growth which will give Ghana the prosperity we are all looking for.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, thank you Hon Members of the House.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 4:55 p.m.
Thank
you very much Hon Minister for Finance Economic Planning. I will now put the Question.
Question put and motion agreed to.
Resolved:
That this Honourable House approves the sum of GH¢252,790,947.00 as Supplementary Estimates of Government for the 2009 Financial Year.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 5:05 p.m.
Hon
Members, I thank you very much for your support. Those of us who have been in this House for a while know that financial debates have always been one of the most difficult debates on the floor of this House. So when they are happening, we normally do not get surprised or worried, even if in the process, the Speaker is caught in a crossfire. I thank you all sincerely for your support and co-operation to get this business through.

Hon Members, the adjournment of

the House is at my discretion but I want to find out from the Leaders whether they have something to say in relation to

tomorrow --
Mr. Bagbin 5:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, there are a
few pending matters we want to streamline well tomorrow. We would be Sitting at 10.00 a.m. as usual and we would be looking at some urgent pending matters that we could not conclude before we took off, which is the issue concerning the EarthWater, which was considered by the Finance Committee but we could not complete deliberations. It is the Finance Committee and Works and Housing, it was a joint committee.
So we are proposing that we take that tomorrow - [Interruption ] -- There is no problem with gratuity, there are other housekeeping matters that would happen tomorrow and therefore, I want to urge my Hon Colleagues to once again turn up in their numbers for us to properly adjourn the House tomorrow.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I can only concur, but I believe the Hon Finance and Economic Planning Minister, judging the mood of this House, would know that he has to attend to some other very serious matters. Mr. Speaker, I hope he catches the drift.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 5:05 p.m.
In fact,

ADjOURNMENT
  • The House was adjourned at 5.08 p.m. till 28th August, 2009 at 10.00 a.m.