Debates of 28 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 Proceedings of 27th August, 2009. Page
1 . . . 6?
Mr. Wisdom Gidisu 11:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, page 6, number 13 -- I was present here yesterday but I have been marked absent.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Very well. Page 7. . . 10 - [Pause.]
Hon Members , the Votes and Proceedings of Thursday, 27th August, 2009 as corrected be adopted as the true record of proceedings.
Hon Members, I have been informed that the Official Report for yesterday is not available, so we will go ahead and take Statements and when the Official Report is ready, we come back.
The Hon Minority Leader is signalling me that we should send it to October. I hope that is the feeling of the House? [Pause.] Very well.
Hon Members, we have two State- ments today and both of them are in respect of paying tributes to two illustrious

sons of Ghana and the United States of America. I will call on the Hon Member for Kwadaso to make the first Statement.
STATEMENTS 11:15 a.m.
Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto (NPP - Kwadaso) 11:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am most grateful to you for affording me this opportunity to pay this tribute to celebrate the life of Mr. R. R. Amponsah, who passed away on 3rd June 2009, and whose funeral is on Saturday, 5th September,
2009.
If there ever was a man who persistently triumphed over extreme adversity during his entire adult life, then surely, that man was Mr. Reginald Reynolds Kwabena Amponsah. Car accidents, long periods of political incarceration, medical surgeries -- this iconic figure of our time consistently triumphed over them all.
Growing up as a child in the mid-1950s, his name was constantly around together with the other political heroes of the time. Those were the years of political turmoil leading to Ghana's Independence. He was R. R. to the literate members of my family and “Wra Wra” to the illiterates who obviously could not pronounce the initials correctly because of the nascent fixation to the nasal sound of the Asante Language.
I was too young to know then but I grew up to understand that the close relationship between the two men -- and I will come to mention the name of the other - was dictated by their positions in the Party they were serving: Baffuor Osei Akoto, my father, who was the founder and leader of the National Liberation Movement (NLM) and Papa R. R., his General Secretary.
For those who may not know, the NLM together with the Northern People's Party and others metamorphosed into the United Party (UP) -- the precursor of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
My father 's house was always swarming with people from all walks of life. The other leaders seemed to be in endless meetings with Baffuor in the upstairs lounge. They ranged from the grey-haired J. B. Danquah (always in suit) to the younger Joe Appiah, Victor Owusu and R. R. Amponsah among others. When these political figures came in and left, they were the subject of endless, adorable conversations among the adults, including my stepmothers, aunts, uncles and their friends. But of all the politicians, Papa R. R. was the most frequent visitor.
The bond which developed between the two men at that time remained strong throughout their lives. Equally significant was that when we grew up, Papa R. R. was generous enough to extend his bond of friendship with our father, Baffuor to us his children. He became our “adopted” father and his concern for our welfare and progress through life never diminished.
The late Reginald Reynolds Kwabena Amponsah was born on 30th December, 1919 at Daaman, near Asante Mampong. He had his formal basic education at the Presbyterian Lower Primary School at Asante Mampong from 1929 to 1931; Methodist Upper Primary School at Obuasi from 1932 to 1934; and Methodist Senior School, Obuasi, from 1935 to 1938. He was awarded a scholarship to enter Achimota School in 1939. After a brilliant performance in the Cambridge School Certificate in 1942, he gained another scholarship that enabled him to pursue a three-year course at the Institute of Arts, Industries and Social Sciences
Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto (NPP - Kwadaso) 11:25 a.m.


After his education at Achimota, Papa R. R. proceeded to the United Kingdom on Government Scholarship to study industrial design at Loughborough College at Stoke-on-Trent in England and pursued further studies at the Royal College of Arts in London. He graduated in 1951. In July that year, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA). In his final year at the College, he was elected President of the Students Union.

He returned home in August 1951 and was appointed Education Officer. The following year, he was promoted as a District Education Officer and posted to Obuasi and later to Asante Bekwai.

In 1953, he was appointed by the then Government, led by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah to go to Germany and open a Liaison Office for the Cocoa Marketing Board. In that same year (1953), he met his life partner, then Miss Adelaide Afriyie from Juaso in Asante-Akyem District. They were married on the 19th December, 1953.

From 1952 to 1954, Papa R. R. was a close associate of Nkrumah and a member of the Convention People's Party (CPP).

However, when the National Liberation Movement (NLM), a political party, was founded in September 1954, Papa R. R. resigned from Nkrumah's CPP and joined the NLM in 1955. He was appointed the General Secretary of the NLM under the Chairmanship of Baffuor Osei Akoto. He stood for the general elections of 1956 and was elected NLM Member of Parliament for Sekyere-West Constituency. That was his first entry into Parliament.

He was a very active Opposition

Member of Parliament and an astute politician. When the splinter opposition groups in Parliament came together to form the United Party (UP) in November 1957, just after Independence, he was elected the Party's General Secretary. He became an early victim of the notorious Preventive Detention Act (PDA) enacted by Kwame Nkrumah's CPP Government in July 1958 -- [Interruptions.] Under this obnoxious law, Papa R. R. was arrested and detained without trial from November 1958 until February 1966 when, thanks to the 24th February 1966 coup d'etat, he was released -- [Interruptions.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Hon Members, order! Let us listen to the Hon Member on the floor.
Dr. Akoto 11:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, may I through you, appeal to the other side to give solemnity to this occasion because it is a very sad occasion and this heckling will not do for the occasion.

Mr. First Deputy Speaker; Hon Members, there is too much background noise, let us listen to the Hon Member. A tribute is being paid, it is a solemn occasion.
Dr. Akoto 11:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you and I hope Hon Members will heed to you.
With the return of the country to constitutional rule in 1969, Papa R. R. was for a second time, elected the Member of Parliament for Mampong North Constituency on the ticket of
Professor K. A. Busia's Progress Party. Papa R. R. was appointed Minister for Education, Culture and Sports and later, Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources. As a Member of Parliament for Asante Mampong, he consistently demonstrated considerable interest in the development of the area and the improvement of the quality of life of his people.
It was during his term of office as Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources that afforestation, that is, the planting of trees to reclaim our forests, began to receive the needed attention. Several species of trees, such as the teak tree, were planted.
Following the Acheampong coup of 13th January 1972, Papa R. R. was arrested again and thrown into jail without trial for one and a half years.
When the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was founded in 1992, he served on the Council of Elders and was subsequently unanimously elected Chairman of the Council of Elders, a position he held until his death.
As a result of Papa R. R.'s dedicated service to this country, he became a recipient of the national award of “The Order of the Star of Ghana” on 30th June
2006.
R e g i n a l d R e y n o l d s K w a b e n a Amponsah was an educator, deeply concerned about the intellectual and professional development of the young people of this country. He was an ardent nationalist, resiliently concerned about the success and progress of his nation in all spheres of its life; a patriot, devoted to the service of his country. Finally, he was a responsible and dependable husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle and friend to all who courted his friendship.
R. R. was called to eternal rest on 3rd June 2009. He is survived by his lovely and caring wife, Mrs. Adelaide Amponsah, four adult children, eleven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Papa R. R., you served your Maker and worked tirelessly for your country. We shall always miss your wise counsel and abundant patience.
May your soul rest peacefully in the bosom of the Lord.
Damirifa due! Due! Due ne amanehunu.
Mr. Emmanuel A. Owusu-Ansah (NPP - Kwabre West) 11:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the tribute to the late R. R. Amponsah by the Hon Member for Kwadaso.
There is no doubt that the late R. R. Amponsah served his country well. That he was detained on many occasions, appears to be no news at all because R. R. Amponsah's vision and concern were for the advancement of his country. He obeyed the dictates of his conscience and would speak his mind, no matter the consequences.
When he was the Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources, R. R. Amponsah, we would all recall, announced to an overjoyed country, that Ghana had found oil. Sadly, oil did not flow then, making the statement by R. R. Amponsah almost look like a huge joke. But today, R. R. Amponsah is vindicated; the nation has found oil in large commercial quantities. And what appeared to be a joke, is now a reality.
Mr. Speaker, those who came in contact with the late R. R. Amponsah will never fail to acknowledge his selflessness,
humility, as well as his love for his country. He stood for unity in his Party and among all countrymen. And he would always advise that if one disagreed with one's position, that did not make them enemies. He stood for peace and development. He was a great elder Statesman. His demise has robbed Ghana of a great son. He will forever be remembered.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to contribute.
Mr. S. K. B. Manu (NPP -- Ahafo Ano South) 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to contribute to the tribute ably paid by the Hon Member for Kwadaso. Mr Speaker, I came, for the first time, in contact with the name R .R. Amponsah when I wes in Middle School Form Three in 1969. Those were the days when - [Interruption.]
An Hon Member 11:35 a.m.
Where?
Mr. Manu 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, at Domeabra in the Ashanti Region where I happen to be the Member of Parliament today. Those were the days when before one wrote the final examination, which we called HALL, one had to know the names of all Ministers and all capital cities in the world. And the two or three names that I remember very well as Ministers were R.R. Amponsah for Education; Miss Lydia Akanbodipo, the first lady parliamentarian; and V.C.R.A.C. Crabbe -- for the uniqueness of his name I still remember that name.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Hon Member for Ablekuma South, I will allow -- If you want to contribute, you can contribute but I do not intend to take any point of order.
Mr. Fritz F. Baffour 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I just want to make a correction. He said first lady parliamentarian. The first lady parliamentarians were Susanna Alhassan and Comfort Asamoah Anna. So I think he made a mistake. It should be first lady parliamentarian in the Second Republic.
Thank you.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Very well.
Mr. Manu 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I thank him but when I was talking about 1969, I thought that everybody would know that I was talking about the Second Republic. But if he wants me to mention the Second Republic, then I thank him for that addition but I will continue.
Mr. Speaker, Mr. R.R. Amponsah at the time, in 1992 liked me so much because I was the youngest among the parliamen- tary candidates for the Ashanti Region and he encouraged me so much that -- He and Mr. Appiah Menka, were so fond of me, encouraged me to fight hard and I fought to win the seat and I have since - but we boycotted - But when we came back for the election, I won again and I have since been in Parliament. I used to go to him from time to time for his wise counsel and I stand here to bear testimony that his wise counsel went a long way to direct me as to how to live my life as a parliamentarian and I have been a parliamentarian to today.
Mr. J. K. Avedzi 11:35 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I just want direction from your Chair. I do not know whether the Hon
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Hon Member, continue.
Mr. Manu 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the Parliament of Ghana had been turned into a theatre of comedians - [Laughter] - I would have reacted to that. But I know this is a serious House and we have to treat issues seriously -- I, therefore, ignore him with the contempt that it deserves.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Hon. Member, I said you should continue. Definitely, this House has not been turned into a theatre of comedians, you know that.
Mr. Manu 11:35 a.m.
Yes, that is what I thought he was doing. Thank you for your assurance that nobody can turn this House into a theatre of comedians.
Mr. Speaker, as I said, the wise counsel of the late R.R. Amponsah together with that of Mr. Appiah Menka and the late Baffuor Akoto, the father of the Hon Member who made the Statement, went a long way to make me what I am today. And on his demise, I join the entire family and Ghana to share my condolences and pray that the good Lord will receive him into his bosom for eternal rest.
I thank you for the opportunity.
Minister for Local Government and Rural Development (Mr. Joseph Y. Chireh 11:35 a.m.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for giving me the opportunity also to pay a tribute to the late R. R. Amponsah.
Now it is important for us as a House also to share in the grief of the family and urge that they take his death as a renewal of the faith in what he believed in.
R. R. Amponsah, as you all know, was not only a Minister in the Second Republic; he also had been a statesman in
a number of ways. And we recall that the family, when they called on the President, talked about how as a politician, he lived and fought for democracy.
Mr. Speaker, if we are all in this Chamber, all those people who in various ways supported that we democratize and have a common voice, we argue about issues and then have different perspectives and yet live as one nation -- It is important that when elders, people who have fought in their different ways -- We may disagree with the ways they had adopted to fight for what they felt was right, but what is important for us is to normally recognize these people, pay our tribute to them and urge all of us to begin to identify the things that they lived for -- those that are good, we should emulate them so that in their death ,we still have a nation which is united, which is fighting for the truth, which is fighting for democracy and which is why he lived all his life fighting for it.
As a patriot, also as a Party man -- and we are all Party people -- when somebody has consistently followed a Party's programme, we should admire him although we may not like what he supported. His ideology may be wrong, some of the methods may not be completely agreeable to everybody but so long as the person was consistent and had faith in what he did, we all need to do that.
Mr. Speaker, when we have a certain belief and we think that it is important for us, we should stand committed to it. When we do so, it does not mean we can get ideas to change our position but that we have a firm principle that we follow. I believe that on all discourse, R. R. Amponsah died as a man that we all have to respect. I have seen quite a number of tributes already paid to him and I believe that reading through, each one of us in this Chamber can learn a lesson from one aspect of his life that will guide us in our
own political career.
May his soul rest in perfect peace and may the family know that this man is marching on in his grave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Prof. M. A. Oquaye (NPP -- Dome- Kwabenya)) 11:45 a.m.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, for this opportunity to associate myself with this tribute.
Mr. Speaker, a politician must have conviction; he must believe in something, it does not really matter whether one agrees with his conviction or not. If that were not so, we would not be having two sides even in this august House.
I believe the most important thing is consistency, honesty, dedication and commitment to a cause so that by the interplay of various convictions we would arrive at any given time, what is best for our country Ghana. And this, to my mind, is one thing about the man that we are paying a tribute to here in the Parliament of the Republic of Ghana on this occasion.
Mr. Speaker, the late R. R. Amponsah was a Member of Parliament from 1956 to 1958. It means that in the experimental House before independence was brought, that was soon after the 1954 elections and subsequently in the 1956 elections, he had started as one of the real pioneers leading Ghana to independence. Then he came back in 1969. But the interesting thing is that on each occasion, his career was truncated, first, by detention in 1958 and subsequently by a military coup d'e tat in 1972. These are aspects of political instability which also should be things of the past.
Mr. Speaker, I had the occasion to
interview Mr. R. R. Amponsah at length after the 1992 elections when a scientific study was commissioned between the
Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyemang (NPP - New Juaben North) 11:55 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to add my voice to all that has been said about this great man in Ghanaian politics.
Mr. Speaker, here was a man who despite his incarceration was never bitter. I asked him one day, “How come that you have managed to rise above all these and what happened to you?” And his answer was simple. “Our common humanity demands that we pull together to move this nation forward. In the process, there are bound to be divisions and if I happen to be on one side and somebody happens to be on the other side, it does not make us enemies, it makes us only contestants for the guidance of the State.”
Mr. Speaker, I listened attentively to the tribute by the Hon Member and Minister for Local Government and Rural Development. There is no doubt that all politicians, as said also by H.E. President P r o f e s s o r M i l l s , admired the sincerity, the commitment of this great politician. Indeed, for us as a political tradition, he was very much concerned about the youth to the extent that he was very instrumental in setting up the youth training institution in Ashanti.
Not only that, Mr. Speaker; at least, in our political tradition, he almost single- handedly funded the youth wing - because
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Your tribute sounds presidential and I do not know whether you are going to declare your intentions again - [Laughter.]
rose
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Hon [Pause] - I was going to call the Minority Leader but gender, Hon Member.
Ms. Cecilia A. Dapaah (NPP - Bantama) 12:05 p.m.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to add my voice to the flood of tributes in honour of our illustrious son, grandfather, father, uncle and husband.
Mr. Speaker, I believe various tributes have been paid to this great son of the land in his political life, as well as being a political strategist. But I want to talk about his role or R. R. Amponsah as the family man. I call him Nana R. R. because he is my grandfather and I will just say a few words concerning his family life.
Mr. Speaker, now the labourer's task is over, and I am quoting this particular line because of the exemplary and special qualities of this great son of Ghana. Nana R. R. was a great Methodist, -- my church elder is reminding me. He worshipped at the Calvary Methodist Church and I can stand here and safely say that Nana R. R. always made sure that his contributions to his church were constant. There were times that he could have used great capital to acquire properties but he made sure that he invested in his church.
I believe we in the Methodist Church, we have lost a dear, dear soul. We hope to give him a befitting burial.
Nana R. R. came from an ardent political family and one of his nephews,
Ms. Cecilia A. Dapaah (NPP - Bantama) 12:05 p.m.
K. G. Osei Bonsu is also our own father, and one can see that he has other nieces and nephews and grandchildren like me following him. I believe we all have to emulate him and I will urge that if no book has been written about him, somebody should be tasked from the family like myself and others to chronicle his great deeds.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to pay a

tribute to his dear wife Auntie Adelaide who I learnt only yesterday, never left his bedside during the past two years that her husband was virtually bedridden, and she needs to be applauded for this. We the women also need to stay loyal, committed and serviceable to our husbands; in the vows we say that in sickness or in death, our commitment should be to the last letter.

I also want to talk about Nana R R as a very humble politician in a small way because at the end of the day, he never distinguished between an elderly politician and a young politician. He had respect for all his political friends and opponents and I believe this needs to be put on record.

Finally, I want to urge again that if it is possible he should be given a State burial for the political colossus that he was.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker for giving me

the opportunity.
Minority Leader (Mr. Osei Kyei- Mensah-Bonsu) 12:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to also add my voice to the tribute to the late Mr. R. R. Amponsah, which has been ably made by our Colleague, the Hon Member for Kwadaso.
The late R. R. Amponsah was a product of the school of thought which strived to mainstream the dictum of politics without malice. He was a man of extreme bene- volence. He catered and cared for many, many people. He was a man who had great passion for education. But for him, his push, perhaps, some of us might not be where we are today. He was a man who could be trusted.
Accordingly, he was a man who always wanted to trust his fellow beings and for that matter, if he engaged any person, he wanted mutual trust to be exuded. He remains a passionate, political animal even in death. By his sudden transition, this country has lost one of the greatest, one of the most astute politicians and one can only hope that the rest of us, particularly those of us in this House will learn useful lessons from the likes, the deeds and the utterances of Mr. R. R. Amponsah.
May his soul rest in perfect peace.
Majority Leader (Mr. A. S. K. Bagbin) 12:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I just want to add my voice to the tribute that is being paid by Parliament to one of our forebears, the late Reynolds Reginald Kwabena Amponsah. The picture I have of him is an old grey bearded short man who was always very visible at all State functions.
I can recollect the last time I saw him was during the celebration of Ghana @50 where he was part of one of the lectures. I like him for two things, courage and integrity. He has served for so many years as a politician but I have not heard, I have not read of him aggrandising wealth.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Majority Leader.
Hon Members, we will take the second
Statement, after which we will observe a minute's silence in memory of the departed.
I will now call on the Hon Member for Dome-Kwabenya and Second Deputy Speaker.
Tribute to the Late Senator Edward Kennedy
Prof. Mike A. Oquaye (NPP 12:15 p.m.
None

Kwabenya): Mr. Speaker, I thank you very much for the opportunity given me to make this Statement on the floor of the House, titled “Senator Edward Kennedy, Legendary Legislator is no More”.

The Senate of the United States of America, one of the most reputable Houses of Legislature in the world, has lost an illustrious son - Senator Edward

Kennedy. It is a loss to all Legislators throughout the world and should be duly acknowledged. The Senator who died at age 77, served for 47 years in that capacity.

Mr. Speaker as a Legislator, his interest spanned every aspect of national life in the USA. He stood tall in the application of law as an instrument of social engineering. He was thus instrumental in the making of a whole range of federal laws which have given a new face to capitalism in the US and provided social security to the needy and deprived. Particularly, he was committed to and championed the education and health care of children. He was persuaded that every single child should be given an opportunity to fully realize his/her God-given potential.

We the legislators in Ghana should be so committed and help expand the parameters of National Health Insurance, Free Maternity Care, School Feeding Programme, Capitation Grant, Youth Employment Programme et al, to their logical conclusion.

Mr. Speaker, Senator Kennedy had a sophisticated machinery of competent researchers and administrators. Indeed, he had a machinery nearly equivalent to a Ministry in Ghana. This made him stand tall on issues including health, education, race, gender, et cetera.

The Ghana Parliament should look towards the day when we shall have facilities and staffing with computerized systems which will make our delivery effective on various areas of specialty and competence.

Mr. Speaker,his background know- ledge and experience made him a formidable foe in debate, particularly in areas that ensured government accountability. Presidents shuddered when

he quizzed nominees. Indeed, in several instances, nominations were withdrawn through confidential memoranda which he dispatched to Presidents. The wise listened; those who dared, often faced subsequent embarrassment.

After one attempt to be President which was frustrated by the Chappaquiddick accident, Senator Kennedy did not seek any executive appointment. He could have resigned and became Secretary of State, for example. But his presence in the Senate showed the dignity of the legislative institution. I look forward to the day when this will be fully emulated in Ghana. As we consider constitutional amendments in Ghana today, we should ensure that the doctrine of separation of powers as espoused by great thinkers as Montesquieu, takes root in Ghana.

Mr. Speaker, we should look forward to the day when our senior MPs will be legislators per se, with pride, with dignity, not bending backwards for appointments when our Parties are in power. The Hon Majority Leader and myself had an occasion to espouse this view at a vital seminar held by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences recently. I respectfully call on our august House to set up a bipartisan committee for us to be actively involved in the constitutional amendment process and make positive recommendations, with particularly, the dignity and welfare of Parliament in mind.

Mr. Speaker pertinently, even though Senator Kennedy was in the Senate for 47 years, there are two others who have spent longer time in the House. It is gratifying to note that there are Hon Members in this House who have been here since 1993.

I have noticed some sarcastic remarks associated with “Mugabe” in the House. President Mugabe is not a Legislator. His democratic credentials could be a subject of some dispute. Senator Kennedy will be
Ms. Shirley A. Botchwey (NPP -- Weija) 12:15 p.m.
Thank you Mr. Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the tribute.
Mr. Speaker, today, the whole world is mourning the passing away of an illustrious son not just of America but of this world.
Senator Ted Kennedy's career spanned over 40 years and today he is being applauded by all because of the great contribution he made to the Senate of the USA. This was in spite of his personal problems and that of his family. He rose above all these problems and even his foes in politics described him as the single most effective Member of the Senate, that is, if you wanted to get results.
He was a great man, his career, although was marred by quite a number of very bitter personal issues, remained very, very forthright and also made sure that his contribution to the Senate was very well recognized by all.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Hon Members, in consultation with the Leadership, we have been on Statements, for some time. I will take one more from the Majority and I will call the two Leaders to make their contributions and then we finish with Statements.

Acting Minister for Youth and Sports (Mr. Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo): Thank you Mr. Speaker, for this unique opportunity and I would like to start by thanking the Second Deputy Speaker, Prof. M. A. Oquaye [Interruption] -- for bringing up this very important issue and paying a tribute to Senator Edward Kennedy who was known throughout his life as Ted Kennedy.

Senator Kennedy is a member of the

dynastic Kennedy family of the United States of America (USA), very well respected in the USA. He himself in his life demonstrated very high quality of life both in politics and in private life and was the younger brother of the former President of the USA, John F. Kennedy.

Mr. Speaker, this man had a life quality which was very distinguished in the USA because of his very make and perception about social life and the quality of his political career. Being a capitalist and coming from a capitalist setting, he espoused the principles of social democracy and was known for his human approach to life and his determination to support in all Bills that pointed at bringing solace to the poor. And in all his life, he had worked with his opponents, has stretched his hand to them, has asked them to support him and has found a way of touching their hearts to support him in bringing about legislations, some of which today is the foundation of USA's welfare system.

Mr. Speaker, because of his ability to reach out to his opponents which is a mark of life that many, many politicians should begin to think of emulating, he was capable of influencing the very thought of USA and of the over 2,500 legislations that he brought to the Senate; he was also able to get 500 of them passed into law. That is unequal in the history of USA and that is why many people in the USA and outside USA are thinking that this is a man who may not be equalled in the years to come.

Mr. Speaker, even in his life and as he approached his own workers, they have testimonies to say today that he was a very kind person, a person who wished to see them rise and it is not by mistake that many, many of his workers whom he employed, about 47 years span of his life as a Senator, have become people who
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I thought I heard you say that you were going to call one person from each side - [Interruption.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
I said I want to take two from each side apart from the maker of the Statement. And I
have taken the Hon Member for Weija and the Acting Minister for Youth and Sports. My understanding is that the two Leaders want to contribute to the Statement and that will make it five in all.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:35 p.m.
In this case, I may want to yield to the former veteran Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.
Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyemang (NPP - New Juaben North) 12:45 p.m.
Thank you very much ,Mr. Speaker. The veteran, yes, yet another veteran in the USA Senate is no more and the point was adequately canvassed by the distinguished Second Deputy Speaker of this House that indeed, a blade of experience, youthful exuberance is what is required in any legislative process, that he, at the age of 76, could endorse a 47-year old, Mr. Speaker.
But one may ask oneself how come that we in Ghana, so far away, are paying a tribute in this august House to a Senator who has passed away somewhere in the USA? He is not the first Senator to have died in USA but this has become precious because of the special qualities of that man. Indeed, the Minority groups in USA associate themselves with him and his passion for health care, to ensure that health insurance for all is also there for everybody to see.
Mr. Speaker, he was one of the few Senators who have received praise both from the Republicans and Democrats. President Bush had a lot of fine words to say about him and so did President Obama. Information has it that all the former Presidents will be at that funeral. That says a lot for the man, and his stature in society.

But I remember very well, Mr. Speaker,

his efforts to bring peace to Northern Ireland so that they could develop and that is what we need in this country -- peace, co-existence, peaceful co-existence and I believe all these and those that have been canvassed by the distinguished Deputy Speaker, the Hon Minister for Youth and Sports, the Ranking Member for Foreign Affairs and all others go to show that these are the qualities that any man wouild -- that we may have to emulate.

Indeed, many a time we have had to take partisan positions on issues because that is what the party says. But as he said, in the fullness of time, we would come to realize that it is in the wider interest of this nation that we begin to look at things from both sides of the political divide and make sure that we move this nation forward. Mr. Speaker, it was not easy, he as a second generation migrant or third generation migrant from Ireland to the United States and then be there for all of us, is what is important and I believe that President Obama has also recognized, appreciated the wisdom in blending the youth and the early old for the advancement of America.

Mr. Speaker, apart from Tim Geithner, who is 57, and the Secretary for the Treasury, each and every member of President Obama's Cabinet, he himself at 48 notwithstanding -- is over 60 years old. And that is what was meant by the Deputy Speaker when he said we have to take the old experience and add the young ones to it and then I think it becomes a coherent whole.

Mr. Speaker, in mourning with America, we want to underscore the fact, as I said in Mr. R. R. Amponsah's tribute, of our common humanity and the need for all of us to ensure that justice is done. I will not forget the special trip that was made by Senator Kennedy to South Africa where he met with Nelson Mandela's Winnie Mandela and there he told the whole world of the injustices of the apartheid system.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Member. Hon Majority Leader?
Majority Leader (Mr. A. S. K. Bagbin) 12:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, we are all paying this tribute to the illustrious statesman because he served humanity. It is out of service that he acquired this fame, it is not out of the acquisition of wealth. Mr. Speaker, he also did that through the support of the State and that is how come he was able to distinguish himself as a sterling legislator. It is our prayer that sooner than later the Parliament of Ghana should also be supported with facilities, with equipment, with staff -- both professional, technical and supporting staff, to be able to effectively and efficiently perform our duties.
A legislator is just not an individual, it is an institution and that institution represents a whole constituency. But in Ghana, it is seen differently. I hope we would be able to clear the dark cloud in our eyes and see properly.
Mr. Speaker, I just want to emphasize
that partisanship - the person who referred to it unfortunately has left the floor - but partisanship is an acknowledgement and admission of diversity and that is why we opted for multiparty democracy, we opted for partisanship. But unfortunately, what we are witnessing is not partisanship. We are encouraging what the musician referred to as Rokpokpo - obey the wind. We are encouraging people who are fair- weather friends, people who flatter all over, speaking from both ends of their mouths at the same time. That is not partisanship.
Par t isanship is commit t ing to
principles, to value systems, a conviction that you believe in and that is different from another's. Therefore, if we follow critically, the convictions and the values of our party, that is partisanship that should be encouraged because we are different -- but where people change today and tomorrow the same people would speak differently, that definitely is not partisanship.
I am drawing the attention of my Colleague who is no longer on the floor of the House to this because it is eating into the body politic of this country and some people are feeling that partisanship is not good and therefore, we should go for maybe, one-party system, which is why I am raising -- [Interruption] - One- party system is not partisanship, that is what I am raising so that people understand the difference.
Mr. Speaker, the late Senator Kennedy stood for the total liberation of humanity and in fact, it was not just about people but also about individuals liberating their energies to the extent that the capacity and potential find expression in their lives and it is something that we should all recommend to politicians in this country.
I believe that he died too early, because the age of 77 is not too much. Our father we just paid glowing tribute to died at the age of 90. That could be termed ripe but 77 is too early in the day. [Interruption.] God said minimum of - [Interruption.]
12. 55 p.m.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Hon
Majority Leader, I thought you are a staunch Catholic. The Bible says it is 70. Anything after 70 is a bonus.
Mr. Bagbin 12:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, it is the
minimum, that is, three scored and ten. The maximum is four score. So 77 is less
than the maximum. [Interruption.] The same Bible -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Emmanuel Owusu-Ansah 12:45 p.m.
On
a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I am sorry that the learned Majority Leader is leading us into some religious inconsistencies. If he would be kind enough to let us know which section of the Bible creates a maximum of four score, we would be grateful.
·
Mr. Bagbin 12:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, my pastor is
not around - [Laughter.] [Inter-ruption.] It is important you go and read Revelation.
It is good that we acknowledge the late Senator Keneddy as a global figure and in fact, the last time I saw him was when he was shaking the President of the United States, President Obama as part of his indication of support for his presidency and we should support and encourage people to emulate such great men.
It is with this, Mr. Speaker, that I add my voice in praying that his soul rests in perfect peace.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Hon Members, we will observe a minute's silence in honour of the two.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:45 p.m.
May their souls and the souls of the departed rest in perfect peace.
PAPERS 12:45 p.m.
MOTIONS 12:45 p.m.
Chairman of Committee on Water Resources, Works and Housing (Mr. D. T. Assumeng) 12:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that notwithstanding the provi-sions of Standing Order 80 (1) which require that no motion shall be debated until at least forty-eight hours have elapsed between the date on which notice of the motion is given and the date on which the motion is moved, the motion for the adoption of the Report of the Joint Committee on Finance and Works and Housing on the Offtake Agreement among Ghana Water Company Limited, Earth- Water Ghana Limited (EWG) and Government of Ghana for the Abstraction and Production of Potable Water for Delivery to Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) may be moved today.
Mr. J. K. Avedzi 12:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to second the motion.
Question proposed.
Mr. Emmanuel A. Owusu-Ansah (NPP -- Kwabre West) 12:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the matter before us now is a very important one. It is usually said that water is life. But unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, the Report on this subject has been given to us just this morning. I appreciate that under
Standing Order 80 (1), it is within the power of this House to abridge the time for a motion like this to be moved.
But Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier on, it is a very important subject matter. If for instance, it had been given to us yesterday, over the night, we would have had time to read. It was given to us this morning, nobody has read it and we are going to rush through such a very important matter. It is my view that we stand it down, when we come next time, we would have been able to go through it and it would have given us enough time, to read it, digest it and do due diligence to the matter.
Mr. Speaker, this is my position.
Minister for Local Government and Rural Development (Mr. Joseph Y. Chireh) 12:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, my Hon Colleague, the former Minister for Ashanti Region has said something that he should not have said. He said that nobody has read it. If he has not read it, he should confess that he has not read it. But how can he be confessing a thing like this on our behalf? I have read it and I know that I am “somebody” and I have read it. If he says that nobody has read it and we have read it and we are “somebodys”. We are not “nobodys”. So what he is saying, he should correct himself.
In any case, this is a very essential thing and I will urge this House to agree for us to go ahead and deal with the matter. They are not contentious issues, everybody was at the committee meetings. So if there were controversies, fine. So let us do the thing.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Hon Members, we should as a House decide what is our pleasure. We should not end this Special Sitting on any acrimonious note because I remember when I met Leadership of both sides of the House, as far back as Tuesday this issue cropped up and I asked the Leadership to put their heads together and advise me and we have it this morning. Indeed, there were
some concerns and I sought the opinion of the two Leaders and we thought that we could arrive at a certain compromise on the matter.
So Hon Minority and Majority Leaders, we had a certain understanding today. But I do not know, you had a certain under- standing. You have some reservations but we thought that there could be a compromise in dealing with this matter. What is your pleasure?
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that delivery of potable water, indeed, is very crucial and it is a matter that should have paramount concern, not least, because of its contribution to the sustenance of life. In this direction, ordinarily, it must be supported. However, I am told, initially when it was laid, that there were some difficulties with the finances. We now have assurance that that one has been resolved.
Mr. Speaker, my worry, really, is on the technical appraisal of the project and it is in that regard that I think that, yes, we may not have anything against the enterprise to deliver water but I believe that we must be a bit cautious to have some time to deal with the technicalities. That is my only worry, otherwise, I think the enterprise must be supported. But there are serious matters that should concern us before we deal with the matter before us.
Papa Owusu 1:05 p.m.
None

Sekondi): Mr. Speaker, thank you very much for recognizing me. I support the statements made by the Hon Minority Leader. I am a member of the Committee on Finance, we were recalled from recess to discuss this matter but really my point is that, it is time that this House followed a certain pattern or principle.

We have been recalled from recess
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:05 p.m.
Hon Member for Sekondi, I just want to draw attention to the fact that on 17th July, when I was in the seat, if you look at the Order Paper, this matter was on it that day. So strictly speaking, it is not a new matter being introduced except that we did not take it that day because that day, we worked so hard into the night
Just for the records. Hon Member, continue.
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 1:05 p.m.
Mr.
Speaker, the point is that I am not saying it is a new matter in the sense that, it is not a matter that was before the House or before the Committee. My point is that, Parliament is recalled for very pressing and urgent matters. We have come, we have dealt with it, however, this matter, insofar as we are seeking to abridge the time for debates, is more or less a new matter. It was introduced -- the Paper was just laid this morning even though some Hon Members may have read it.
So it is not so much that somebody is for it or somebody is against it. I believe if we take it when we come for the Third Meeting of this First Session, no harm would be occasioned.
Sometimes too, we should as a House, try and get the sense of the House when it comes to these matters otherwise, we may realise that a matter which really may not even evoke controversy, then becomes a subject matter of controversy. It is really not necessary. And on a Friday, on a weekend, when we have been recalled
to Parliament, to debate such a matter, I do not believe that it is fair to this House. That is just my point. So I am urging Leadership to concede.
Mr. Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo 1:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I just heard that there had been a discussion on this thing and there had been an understanding. Besides that, the Hon Member is making reference to some technicalities that need to be looked at, but we all know how Parliament operates. Technical issues are often referred to committees; the Committee has delibera- ted on them, has written a Report and to their thinking, they have dealt with the technical issues. There is a Report in front of us which we have been looking at since morning. We have read it and we are prepared to contribute to it.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:05 p.m.
I thought
you were rising on a point of order, that was why I called you; you were standing on your feet for a very long time, that was why I called you. But if it is not really a point of order, I will let the Hon Member for Secondi conclude, then maybe, depending upon the thinking of the House, I may have —
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 1:05 p.m.
Mr.
Speaker, my point is that, this is not really controversial as such but definitely, we cannot do justice to it today in terms of contributions by Members -- let us wait for a regular Sitting and we deal with it. That is why I am urging this House -- there is no point in pushing. [Inter-ruptions.] Sometimes, please, just listen, this is not controversial, it is not that urgent, as if though the Report is not approved today, this thing will elapse, it
is not right.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:05 p.m.
Hon
Member, let me listen to the Hon Majority Leader, then we decide what to do.
Mr. Bagbin 1:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the motion
is already being debated but I thought the objection was to prevent us from going further to the debate, the motion but It is important I put this across.
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 1:05 p.m.
On a point
of order. Mr. Speaker, I am sorry the Hon Majority Leader may be unwittingly misleading this House. The Report was never laid, it was listed but it was never laid because the Committee had not concluded discussions on this matter. The Committee met during this recess but I concede some issues were raised and then the Hon Majority Leader went back to Government but the Report was not ready.
Mr. Bagbin 1:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am aware
I was given a copy; as to the technical laying, I will not dispute that. When my attention was drawn, I had to consult Government on the issue. Government advised that the matter be withdrawn for reconsideration. This was done and all the financial and technical issues that were raised were considered. In fact, a workshop was called to go through these two agreements. Then they were brought back to the House in July.
The Committee again went into consideration but it did not finish and it was not submitted because it was late in
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 1:15 p.m.
On a point
of order. Mr. Speaker, I am sorry. The Hon Majority Leader is persistently misleading this House. The Committee never met until this recess. No workshop was held before we went on recess. The Committee met during this recess. It was a good meeting, we were briefed. I agree but it is not as if this matter was brought before the House and because of something the House could not deal with it. The Committee met during the recess. That is all.
Mr. Bagbin 1:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think
my Friend is not listening to me. When I mentioned the workshop, I talked of Government. I did not mention the committee. I did not say a workshop was called for the Committee. I said it was withdrawn for reconsideration by the Government and a workshop was called by the Government. It was considered there and the technical and financial issues were looked into.
The matter was brought back in July but because of time, we could not consider it before we went on recess. So if you look at the recall for this Special Sitting -- because this is not an emergency Sitting, it is a Special Sitting of the House to consider some urgent matters. Now, in that recall, you will see that they added “and other matters”. They were two items - “and others”. So when we came, we decided to see whether this matter could be looked into because Parliament cannot Sit idle while Rome burns.
We all know the water situation in the country. We know the cries of the people, so we said that if we had time, which was today, why could we not look at it? So it was referred back to the committees - a joint committee. The Committee considered it. We got input from the
Mr. Bagbin 1:15 p.m.
Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyemang

I have only the Report and not the document itself. And so we believe that because of the time available and the need to discuss -- for example, I started this project and I know its value and I believe that -- sometimes for example, Papa Owusu-Ankomah was saying that some of the hydrologists are saying something else. Let us take our time and approve it and then we will move forward.
Mr. Haruna H. Bayirga 1:15 p.m.
On a point of
order. Mr. Speaker, thank you very much for giving me the floor.
With all respect to our senior Member, this is not the first time. In the last Parliament, it happened several times. So I will want to plead that we really take this agreement through. The last Parliament, it happened. Nobody should deny it, I was there and I was there in person and I saw it - during the last days, a lot of things
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 1:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I do not know whether it was a point of order but you allowed it as a point of order.
Mr. Speaker, the point that I am making here is that it will enjoy bipartisan support but it gets to a point in this House -- and I have complained quite a few times that the very last day is too overloaded and we are all human.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:15 p.m.
Hon
Members, let us listen to the Hon Member on the floor.
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 1:25 p.m.
I have the
floor, I do not know why people are so intolerant. I have the floor. I am saying my views and I go on.
Mr. Speaker, I sincerely believe that to do justice to the subject matter and to make sure that posterity will know that we have done that, I believe that at 1.30 p.m. on the last day of a special recall to Parliament -- even on the first day when the Hon Majority Leader gave us the Report, we knew what to do. But really, to come and start this debate -- unless we want to truncate it, it will take quite a long time; I believe that we need some rest and then travel. So I am suggesting that -- [Interruptions] - Can you let me please, talk - [Interruptions.]
Mr. Speaker, I want to support the Hon Member for Kwabre West and also the Member for Sekondi as well as my Leader, that we can take this as soon as we come
back in October. Personally, I feel that we are overstretching things and the next time we do that it may not inure to the benefit of the Leader who would be guiding us. I think it is too much, every time there is the last minute rushing and it is too much. I really think that, we should suspend the debate and do it first thing in October when we come back and then pass it.
Mr. Bagbin 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I do not
Some Hon Members 1:25 p.m.
No.
Mr. Bagbin 1:25 p.m.
But it has been accepted.
Do not go into areas that you know are not justifiable. Raise real issues, not that there is too much work on the last day. What is too much work? Tribute and one item? Is that too much work?
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Hon
Members, I think that strictly speaking, on motions, you do not speak more than once, but I just want to get the sense of the House so that we know what to do.
Mr. Bagbin 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, let me
finish before you give your ruling - [Inter-ruptions.] Mr. Speaker, we agreed as stated by my Hon Colleague here and even by Hon Hackman Owusu-Agyemang that it is not a controversial matter. We agreed that it is something that both parties considered. In fact, it was started during the New Patriotic Party (NPP) regime and as far back as July 2007 when he was the Hon Minister, he considered those items.
rushing through this matter. We are not rushing through it. It has been before us since June.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Hon
Members, there is a motion before us. This is a procedural motion really. I want to put the Question. Let us start the debate. Let us see how the debate is going and then as a House, we can decide to suspend the deliberation, vote and reject the motion or whatever it is. In fact, I have also looked at the Committee's Report this morning and I have realized that it was not a majority or minority kind of Report.
The Committees agreed and they recommended it to the House. Most of the time, we depend on committees to do our work. No Member of Parliament can read all the documents, so we rely a lot on the committees and this morning the Leadership held a meeting and certain reservations were expressed. We decided that those matters should be taken on the floor of the House.
Let me put the Question and let us see how the debate will go. We are masters of our own procedure - [Interruption.] If we think that this is not a matter for us to take, we can advise ourselves. I do not think we should waste time on this procedural motion; I have listened to the two Leaders.
Mr. Owusu-Ansah 1:25 p.m.
On a point of order,
the Majority Leader in his contribution said we could discuss it and vote either for or against it. Unfortunately, the same statement was also made by the Chair. Mr. Speaker, nobody is for the rejection of this motion. When I started my submission, I said “water is life”. We all need water. It is very important that we have water for Ghanaians but then the document that is before us, some of us have not read it. It is important that we do due diligence to it so that we will be able to contribute meaningfully to the debate. So that if
Mr. Owusu-Ansah 1:25 p.m.


They could not be approved before the elections. We are continuing them, the matter has gone to the Committee, and the Committee has recommended that the matter be approved. It is not like a majority decision, it is not; so it is not controver-sial.

If it is not controversial and this matter was before us since June and it was reconsidered and brought back, the Report is now before us, it is not controversial, so let us use a few hours to approve it before we go -- and objections are raised, for what reason?

I think it is important that we approve it. Mr. Speaker, I urge you to rule that we should proceed to consider this matter.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
This is
a procedural motion and I think that we are wasting too much time on it but I will recognize the Hon Minority Leader, then I will put the Question.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:25 p.m.
Mr.
Speaker, I believe that we all agreed that the matter before us is a very serious one and we should look at it critically and even have to approve of it.
I think that the posture of the Majority Leader in respect of issues that have been raised, when he insists that we have had time over two hours to pay tributes but we cannot take one hour to discuss a matter relating to water, which is life -- then he asks rhetorically, “what is this?”
Mr. Speaker, I believe that, really that statement is misleading. It is not as if anybody wants to trivialise the issue of water. That really is not the case. And as I indicated, I think that it is a matter that should be supported. The matter relating to the production of water, the abstraction of potable water, is a matter that should be supported by all.
The issue that we are raising, is the technical consideration whether indeed, we can go on in the face of matters
that perhaps them, we might not have considered. I thought that that under- pinned the objection raised by my Hon Colleague, the Hon Member for Kwabre West when he said that given the time at our disposal, perhaps, we need to stand it down.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Hon
Members, I have listened to opinions expressed and it is clear that there are some who want the motion to be taken and others who do not want it to be taken today. I think that the only option available to the Chair is to put the Question since there is no agreement.
Question put and motion agreed to.
Resolved accordingly.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Hon
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
point of order.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Hon Member, point of order against who? [Interruptions.] Hon Member, you are a very respected senior Member of this House; point of order against whom?
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 1:25 p.m.
Whatever you want --
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Hon Chairman of Committee, item 6 --
Report on the Offtake Agreement among GOG/GhanaWater Company Ltd. and EarthWater Ghana Ltd. on
Potable Water
Chairman of Joint Committee 1:25 p.m.
(Mr. D. T. Assumeng): Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, that this Honourable House adopts the Report of the Joint Committee on Finance and Works and Housing on the Offtake Agreement among Government of Ghana, Ghana Water Company Limited, and EarthWater Ghana Limited (EWG) for the Abstraction and Production of Potable Water for Delivery to Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL).
Mr. Speaker, in doing so, I present the Report of the Joint Committee.
1.0 Introduction
The Offtake Agreement among Government of Ghana, Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) and the EarthWater Ghana Limited (EWG) for the Abstraction and Production of Potable Water for delivery to Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) was laid in the House on Thursday, 16th July, 2009 and referred to a Joint Committee on Finance and Works and Housing for consideration and report in accordance with the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and Standing Orders of the House.
The Committee met and discussed the Agreement with the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Hon Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, Hon Albert Abongo, Acting Managing Director of the Ghana Water Company Limited and technical teams from the Ministries of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP) and Water Resources, Works and Housing (MWRWH) as well as Ghana Water Company Limited and presents this Report.
2.0 Background
The Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing (MWRWH) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Messrs Earthwater Global, LLC of New York on 7th July, 2007 to deliver potable water to augment water supply in designated locations in the country.
The purpose of the project is to supplement water supply in areas identified by the Ghana Water Company Limited by exploring for and developing significant new supplies of water from previously undiscovered bedrock sources within Ghana's megawatershed and constructing the pipeline infrastructure to make the water available to GWCL's existing transmission and distribution systems.
The project developer, Messrs EarthWater Ghana Limited is to use its own capital, proprietary technology, equipment and associated services to locate, develop and make available potable water to GWCL's existing system.
Following successful negotiations between the Government of Ghana (represented by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP)), Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing (MWRWH), the Attorney- General's Department and Ghana Water Company Limited) and Messrs EarthWater Global, LLC, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission has approved competitive tariffs for the payment of water exploration and delivery service by the Ghana Water Company Limited from the project developers, Messrs EarthWater.
The Government of Ghana is required to guarantee the payment obligations of GWCL to ensure that in case of default by GWCL to pay for potable water exploration and delivery services provided by the project developers, the developers can fall on Government for payment.
Chairman of Joint Committee 1:25 p.m.


3.0 Finance Details

The project is to be financed solely by Messrs EarthWater Ghana Limited.

4.0 Term of the Agreement

In accordance with clause 7.1 of the Offtake Agreement, the Agreement shall remain in force for a period of twenty-five (25) years from the effective date, unless terminated earlier in accordance with the provisions of the Agreement.

4.1 Purpose of the Offtake Agreement

The purpose of the Offtake Agreement is to provide the technical and operational responsibilities and obligations of EarthWater Ghana Limited, Ghana Water Company Limited and the Government of Ghana in the exploration and production of bedrock potable water in Ghana.

5.0 Observations

The Committee noted that EarthWater Ghana Limited (EWG) is obliged to fully finance the exploration and development of Bedrock Potable Water and where commercially feasible make the Bedrock Potable Water available for delivery to GWCL's water distribution system.

The Government of Ghana is required by the Agreement to grant the right to the Company (EWG) to undertake the exploration and development of Bedrock Potable Water.

The Committee further noted that any mineral resources discovered by Messrs EarthWater Ghana Limited in the process of development of water from Ghana's Megawatershed shall be the property of the Government of Ghana.

It was observed that the project has the

potential of delivering water within a few months upon the discovery of potential sources.

The Committee noted that the project would initially target Accra which has a water supply deficit of nearly 70 million gallons per day and is designed to provide about 10 million gallons of water per day within the first twelve months of operation and 60 million gallons per day within three years.

The Committee observed that the

facility would be on a Build-Operate- Train-and-Transfer (BOTT) basis and that the developer would transfer the facility to GWCL after 25 years.

The Committee was informed that the project developer, Messrs EarthWater has previously implemented such projects in other countries including Trinidad and Tobago, Sudan, Somalia and New Hampshire in the United States of America.

The Committee noted that the project does not impose any direct financing or operational cost or responsibility on the Government of Ghana. These are the sole risk and responsibility of the developer. Government's liability would crystallize only when GWCL defaults in payments to EarthWater in accordance with the Agreement.

The project is expected to entail the introduction and transfer of EarthWater's technology to Ghana.

The Offtake Agreement among Ghana Water Company Limited, EarthWater Ghana Limited and the Government of Ghana requires EarthWater Ghana Limited in section 8.1.8 to construct water transportation infrastructure and facilities required to convey water from the water well production facilities to within not more than 10 metres of the

water distribution system of GWCL.

This would help bring the water to GWCL's existing distribution network for further pumping to customers in underserved areas.

According to clause 3.2.4 of the Offtake Agreement, the Government of Ghana shall not expropriate (directly or constructively) any company equipment or the rights and anticipated benefits conferred upon the company (EWG) by the Offtake and Support Agreements.

Clause 4.1.2 of the Offtake Agreement requires the Company (EWG) to provide “all backup electric energy generators for use in the event of outages on the electrical grid, reasonable supply of fuel to operate such backup generators for short-term and/ or emergency outages of up to seventy- two (72) hours within a calendar month, and other operation and maintenance for extraction and delivery of potable water.”

Subject to the terms of the Agreement, GWCL shall be obliged to take and pay for the potable water made available by the company (EWG) for delivery at the Demarcation Point (DP) up to the agreed volume (clause 6.4).

However, if the company makes available at all Demarcation Points (DP) total available potable water up to the agreed volume but GWCL is unable to take delivery of such potable water for any reason not attributable to the company (EWG), then GWCL shall pay for such potable water as if the full agreed volume had been taken by GWCL.

The Committee further noted that the Company is required by the Agreement to use commercially reasonable efforts to cause the developed production well systems to be available for operation seven

(7) days a week, twenty-four (24) hours a day, except for maintenance periods and outages resulting from any event of force majeure or failure of the electrical grid.

It was again observed that the Company shall construct at its own cost, all necessary temporary access roads to its production well sites, electrical wiring and associated hardware to connect the production wells to the local electrical power grid.

The Company is further required to conduct a detailed chemical analysis on water from each of its production wells on an annual basis. The test results of any such detailed chemical analysis shall be submitted to GWCL.

The Committee was informed that EarthWater is the only company in the World with the unique and proprietary technical and intellectual protocols to successfully execute and finance the proposed project.

The technical team explained to the Committee that the project would draw from water that seeps from the hydrological cycle deep into the belly of the earth and ultimately into the sea. The Committee learnt that water has been seeping deep into the earth for millions of years.

It was noted that the developer would utilize North American Space Agency (NASA) photographs to locate specific sites to drill. After the water is found, EWG would lay the pipelines to bring the water to within 10 metres of GWCL pipelines.

As to what will happen if the investor does not find any water, the Committee was informed that in such a scenario, the investor would simply walk away without any cost to the Government of Ghana or Ghana Water Company Limited.

It was noted that the project has the potential to bring drastic, powerful and significant improvement in water delivery in Accra; with the ability to deliver the first
Chairman of Joint Committee 1:35 p.m.
water within 12 months of commencement of the project.
A representative of Aqua Vitens Rand Ltd (AVRL) informed the Committee that on behalf of GWCL, the company is currently able to collect averagely 95 per cent of the bills it issues to customers and therefore, this puts GWCL in a position to maintain the required escrow account to service the payment obligations under the Agreement.
It was further explained that even if 25 per cent of the water goes ‘waste' as “non- revenue water”, the remaining 75 per cent would generate enough revenue to service the payment obligations.
Anticipated net profit to GWCL after payments to the investor is about GH¢1.3 million per annum but in the worst case scenario where the earth water is channelled to low-priced domestic consumers, then the net profit would drop to GH¢64,000 per annum for the start year with the net profit increasing as the volume of water delivered increases in the subsequent years.
Officials from GWCL informed the Committee that water to be received from the investors would be pumped to areas where water is in high demand and also to industrial consumers who would be in a better position to make payments and at commercial rates; and that pre-paid metering would be used to ensure prompt payment for the water by customers. All these will relieve water used by industrial consumers to be redirected to domestic consumers to solve the deficit.
Some Members expressed the opinion that the water to be received from the project should rather be pumped to domestic consumers who need the water the most.
6.0 Conclusion
The Committee respectfully re- commends to the House, in view of the foregoing observations, to adopt this Report and approve by Resolution, the
Offtake Agreement among Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), EarthWater Ghana Limited (EWG) and Government of Ghana for the Abstraction and Production of Potable Water for delivery to Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) in accordance with article 181 of the Constitution and Standing Orders of the House.
Respectfully submitted.

Ms. Cecilia Abena Dapaah (NPP -

Bantama): Mr. Speaker, I rise to second the motion on the floor of the House and in doing so, make the following obser- vations on the Report.

Mr. Speaker, it is true that indeed, this project was first introduced to the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing in July, 2007 and subsequently, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with Messrs EarthWater Global LLC of New York, specifically on July 7, to deliver potable water to augment water supply in designated locations in the country.

Mr. Speaker, initially there was a request for a sovereign guarantee and that was the bone of contention. We argued against that and that was withdrawn and the project was resubmitted. That is the more reason why no approval was given by the Kufuor Government. If anybody stands on the floor of the House to say that indeed, our side of the House is trying to hinder or against the provision of water for the people of Ghana, that will not be true. I believe both sides of the House know what it is to have shortage in the supply of water.

We support the provision of water to the people of Ghana. I want to state that emphatically and that is why we have nursed and always kept this project on the front burner to make sure that it does not get burnt or the water in it does not get dry. What is at stake, Mr. Speaker, and even it came up at our Committee level, was the level of scientific and geophysical knowledge of members of the Committee.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
Hon
Member, I do not want to interrupt you but the way business is organized in this House, nothing comes from - those types of things cannot come from the Speaker's Office -- Maybe, from the Clerks-at-the- Table, but definitely, not the Speaker's Office.
Ms. Dapaah 1:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
Very
well, it is very clear now.
Ms. Dapaah 1:35 p.m.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I believe with the little background that I can give, all stakeholders within the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing have made their input and the company is coming in with their own finances to undertake this project. The question boggling people's minds has been, we have enough surface water, so what is the need for this highly scientific way of abstracting water? That is for us to answer. I believe that indeed, Ghana has, will and can have a multifaceted way of providing water for the people of Ghana. So, if, indeed, we have enough surface water and other projects are coming on within the system and this will augment the water supply, I believe we are all for it.
I stated it at the Committee level again that we should make sure that the scientific way of the aquifers being refilled to make
Ms. Dapaah 1:45 p.m.
So I will plead with my Hon Colleagues, when we are giving approval to this, to have a proviso that all the geophysical studies, the scientific studies, and all other studies, and all other aspects of the project should be transparently made available to Government and therefore, to Ghana and to all of us to be able to monitor and evaluate whether they should go on covering the whole nation or to do a pilot project, et cetera.
Mr. Speaker, that is where I am coming from. I support the motion and I believe, after other Hon Members have made their contributions or expressed their views on this all-important issue, we would see our way clearer.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for giving me the opportunity.
Mr. J. K. Avedzi (NDC - Ketu
North): Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity. I rise to support the motion and urge the House to approve this Report so that we can provide water for the people of Ghana.
Mr. Speaker, this project for now is at no cost to Government. Government is not going to provide any funding for the project. The developers are going to look for their own capital, use their own proprietary technology and equipment to develop the water, and abstract the water, and provide that water to the Ghana Water Company Limited. It is at the point of the delivery of the water to the Ghana Water Company Limited that the Government comes in. Ghana Water Company Limited is fully prepared to pay for whatever water is delivered by the developer to them.
Mr. Speaker, in Accra alone, the deficit
for water demand is about 70 million gallons a day and this project, when approved, is going to provide water in the
first year -- 10 million gallons a day, and then in three year's time, it would provide 60 million gallons a day. In that way, in three years to come, we would have been solving the water problem in Accra alone.
So Mr. Speaker, this is a good project
and the only issue that cropped up at the Committee level is the escrow account where Government must come in and provide payment guarantee to the developer. Once the developer is going to source his own capital and produce the water, there must be some kind of guarantee for payment and the Ghana Water Company Limited provided an analysis of revenue that whatever they are collecting now, whatever bill they issue now, they collect about 95 per cent on average. And then if we have about 25 per cent loss of water, they will still be able to collect revenue to pay for the water. So Mr. Speaker, there is this assurance that even the payment guarantee that the Government is providing will also become redundant.

Mr. Speaker, this is a good project and I urge every Hon Member of this House to support it and vote for it so that in a year's time, we would be delivering water to the people of Ghana. If this becomes successful, it would be replicated in other areas of the country and water can flow to all areas because water is life.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:45 p.m.
Hon
Member for Dormaa West, will you be speaking?
Mr. Kwaku Agyemang-Manu 1:45 p.m.
Mr.
Speaker, yes.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:45 p.m.
Take
the floor.
Mr. Agyeman-Manu 1:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:45 p.m.
I got the
Mr. Agyeman-Manu 1:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
the Hon Member for Sunyani West is a Ranking Member for the Finance Committee and I would want to yield to him.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:45 p.m.
Very
well. Thank you very much.
Mr. Ignatius Baffour Awuah (NPP -
Sunyani West): Mr. Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to add my voice to this debate on the floor.
Mr. Speaker, I rise also to support
the motion. But I am doing so on some commitment given to us during the Committee sitting by EarthWater Ghana Limited that, one, we at the Committee, as it is in the Report, noted that the project does not impost any direct financing or operational cost or responsibility on Government. What I am trying to say is that I am supporting this motion based mainly on this statement which was given to us by the operators that not at any point in time will the Government of Ghana bear any direct financing or operational cost responsibility.
Mr. Speaker, apart from that in the Report we were also told that when the investors come and do all the necessary survey and drilling test and eventually they do not find any water, they will walk away without any cost to the Government of Ghana. I want this also to be noted because I am basing my support on this commitment given by the company.
Mr. Speaker, that notwithstanding, I have some problems with some of the provisions of the Agreement because we are also told that the company is going
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:45 p.m.
Hon
Members, looking at the nature of business, we shall Sit outside the prescribed time.
Mr. Awuah 1:55 p.m.
So Mr. Speaker, while agreeing to this particular motion, we should also look at the possibility of building the capacity of Ghana Water Company Limited so that the 25 per cent of water which goes waste, we would be able to reduce it to perhaps the barest minimum so that at least, we can have revenue for more water that they produce.
Mr. Speaker, the last point that I would
want to touch on is the distribution mix, the distribution mix in the sense that if you look at the last paragraph of page 7 of the Report, it says that should the water be supplied to the high-income group, GWCL is estimated to make GH ¢1.3 million per annum but should the water be supplied to

low-income domestic areas, then GWCL will make a profit of GH ¢64,000 per annum at the onset of the programme.

Mr. Speaker, by this, there may be the temptation to focus more on the high- income areas as against the low-income areas. But that is why it is even more important because majority of Ghanaians fall within the low-income areas and they are the people who need the water most because the high-income group, even without supplying them, can find their own means of acquiring the water. So we should focus more on the low-income areas as against the high income areas.

Mr. Speaker, for these submissions, I strongly believe that if we are able to incorporate the observations into the Agreement, I will have no problem that it will be a very successful programme. So on that note, I support the motion on the floor.

Thank you.

Mr. Simon Edem Asimah (NDC -
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
Hon
Member, I know that you are from the water sector; address the issue of whether this company cannot operate under the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) because when we passed the PURC, what it was supposed to do was to deregulate the water sector and to bring in competition to electricity and the water sectors so that it will allow for competition. Why is this Agreement also linked to GWCL and why not they come and operate and compete on the market? I want you to - because of your expertise,
I would want you to address this House on that matter.
Mr. Asimah 1:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, please, can
you come again? I did not get you clearly.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
I want to
tap into your expertise.
Mr. Asimah 1:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, like I said
earlier on, this initiative is a bold one that EarthWater Ghana Limited is taking. It is a bold initiative because if you look at what is happening in the water sector, for a very long time, the demand has never been met by the Ghana Water Company Limited because it is capital-intensive. And if you look at the responsibilities of EarthWater Ghana Limited, you see that they are taking up all the costs that are associated with this project. They will be involved in the hydrogeological studies and investigation and they take care of all the implications that go with it.
We all know that drilling a mechanized borehole is very expensive. More so, if you look at the area that is being targeted, that is Accra, you see that about eighty per cent of Accra is underlaid with saline water and in areas where you even get a little potable water, there is high concentration of iron. So when I read this Report, I told myself that this is a bold step that EarthWater Ghana Limited is taking because it involves a lot of cost.
We also know that this company is going to use all the modern technologies including the NASA photographs to site the suitable areas. We know that in the Greater Accra Region, especially in Accra, the mechanized boreholes are very few. We can get them in Dodowa, Patang, Abokobi, Oyarifa and Nii Kweiman. So there is a huge area which can be exploited. And this EarthWater Ghana Limited is actually venturing into a very expensive area.
But I think one good thing is that the Ghana Government is not taking up any cost. My concern is that we have not been able, as a Committee, to discuss the issue of tax exemption because surely EarthWater Ghana Limited will bring in some equipment. We have to look at whether there will be tax exemptions on these issues.
I also want to say that if you look at the health aspects of this project, one could say that it will bring a lot of reduction in the cost of health because water will be made available to the most needy areas and some industrial concerns. And these areas where the urban poor live are areas that are the most prone to health risks.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
Kindly
wind up.
Mr. Asimah 1:55 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to
say that one critical thing that we need to look at is the technical integrity of the distribution network of Ghana Water Company Limited because most of the distribution networks that have been built were built very early in the 60s and there have not been much improvement. So if they are going to produce water and the water will be lost in the system, then there will be a problem.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. With these few words, I call on the House to humbly approve this Offtake Agreement between GhanaWater Company and Earth Water Ghana Limited and the Government of Ghana for the production of water for
the urban areas of Accra.
Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh (NPP
- Manhyia): Mr. Speaker, thank you. I rise to support this motion wanting the Committee to look at certain salient points and find out how they can help. You asked my Hon Friend a specific question and I thought his response to that would help us come to a sort of agreement to this House.
Nobody wants to deny anybody of water, no matter which part of the country the person lives. But like my Hon Friend from Sunyani West just said, this is based on the water-purchase agreement and in this country, in the energy sector, we have power-purchase agreement. If we are going to go that way, we do not need to give anybody an exclusive right against anybody. That is an issue that has been raised that we have to look at.
In the energy sector, individuals have built power plants all over Tema and they are all given power-purchase agreements to feed into the national grid and I clearly support such a move in the water sector.
But we have given a water-purchase agreement and short-change ourselves with a take-or-pay contract. If you read the law of contract, a take-or-pay will not help in our development growth. Because if somebody comes in and can generate or turn sea water into potable water at a minimal cost, what do we do? So that is why my Friend was saying, that even though we want to support the Agreement, we should take time and look at some of the exclusivities that we are giving, taking cognisance of what has happened in the energy - [Interruptions] - I am supporting the Agreement, let me finish. You do not understand what I am talking about. You do not understand me.
The second thing I have noticed is that, like the Hon Friend from Sunyani West said, we are going to use NASA photographs, so we are going to give NASA the permission to focus on Ghana.
Mr. Asimah 2:05 p.m.


Satellite imaging will not be limited to only Accra; it will focus on the whole Ghana and we know that geophysical studies can be used for other things.

In this Agreement, we have stated that other minerals that are found will belong to Ghana Government, thank you very much. But how are we monitoring that? I think the Committee may have satisfied itself; but the House, has it got anything to stand on? That is the second one.

The third thing that has to do with the

studies that I will want the House to know about -- If we are going to take oil from the rock level, what effect has it got on the water table and its relation to drought and environmental catastrophes that can come when the water table goes low? So I expected my Hon Friend, in supporting this Agreement, to have used his position in Ghana Community Water and Sanitation Agency to enlighten the House. We are in support of this Agreement but we should know the negative sides to mitigate them from this House before the taps flow.

So in that sense, if we have examples of power-purchase agreements where other companies can compete, I do not think it is right to give an exclusive right to EarthWater even though we all support it. How are we going to police our minerals that will be found together with the water? We have to know about it. If we are given a water-purchase agreement, should we short-change ourselves with a take-or-pay contract? I know that in other industries they call something “carpet” - your capacity, the water you produce -- And if we are not producing, we pay them a minimal sum for maintaining their equipment. It happens in the energy industry.

So if Ghana Water Company Limited cannot take the water because of certain

limitations, we should not be saddled with the pay and governments are moving away from take-or-pay to “carpet” - where the water they produce, we will buy. But if for a reason we cannot buy the water, we will still pay them something to help them maintain themselves.

In that sense, Mr. Speaker, I thank you for allowing me to speak. We support the motion but we should take serious cognizance of these issues raised for mother Ghana's interest.

Thank you.

Several Hon Members -- rose --
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:05 p.m.
You
know today is Friday - [Laughter.]I am constrained to call the Minister of State.
Minister of State (Alhaji Seidu
Amadu): Mr. Speaker, for a long time water supply to Accra comes from two major sources -- Weija and Kpong, both are based upon surface water treatment. The combined production of these water systems is around the neighbourhood of one hundred million gallons a day as opposed to about one hundred and fifty million gallons needed for people in Accra. Therefore, there is a shortfall of about fifty million gallons.
If we relate this to the growing population of Accra and if nothing was done to rehabilitate the current systems and build many more treatment plants, there is a likelihood that we might run into very serious water crises in future. It is for this reason that, Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of this motion.
Now, looking at the management contract which is currently running as far as water production and distribution is concerned in Ghana, Ghana Water

Company Limited is only limited to the production of water, expansion and then servicing of the treatment plants. When it comes to sale of water, they are not responsible. It is Aqua Vitens Rand with which Ghana Company Limited has a management contract - they are supposed to be in-charge of that.

Now, Mr. Speaker, what concerns me is actually the role of Public Utility Regulatory Commission. In fixing the tariff, Public Utility Regulatory Commission takes into consideration the cost of chemicals Ghana Water Company Limited takes to purify their water, the cost of energy they use in treating their water, cost of labour and other parameters. Now, with EarthWater, they are only going to punch the earth at depths that one can term as very, very deep; they are talking about four, five or six kilometres deep, where they are likely to get the mega water- shed of Ghana and extract this and then sell to Ghana Water Company Limited.

Now, what we are not told in the Report is what constitutes the parameters that has made the current tariff for EarthWater competitive because the technology is based upon underground water. Much of this underground water is already treated water. They may only need very limited chemicals to make it safe - [Inter- ruptions] -- They may also need minimal - Maybe, energy wise, I am not very sure of the level of -- [Interruptions] - Yes.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:05 p.m.
Chairman
of the Committee, is the tariff fixed in the Agreement? And what is the involvement of PURC which has the statutory mandate to fix tariffs for water in the whole scheme of things?
Mr. David T. Assumeng 2:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
it is attached to the Agreement.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:05 p.m.
Very well.
Hon Minister, kindly wind up.
Alhaji Amadu 2:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the tariff is there. If you look at page 2 under paragraph 2.0, subparagraph 4, it is there -- it talks about tariffs and com- petitiveness. And I was just saying that because what determines tariff as far as water production is concerned might not at all affect EarthWater; we, therefore, do not expect that the cost of production will be higher.
We expect that the water that is going to be sold to Ghana Water Company Limited should be cheaper. And if that water is going to be cheaper then consumers must prepare to pay lower tariffs. This is the argument I have been trying to put together.
Mr. Speaker, I think that the Agreement itself is good because it is going to increase the supply of water to Accra. If you look at Abidjan, the whole of Abidjan depends upon underground water supply. There is a French company called Sodisea, and they have been involved in the production of water for Abidjan using underground water sources. It is, therefore, good that we are also exploring our opportunities here to get more water for the people of Accra.
With this, Mr. Speaker, I support the motion.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 2:05 p.m.
Mr.
Speaker, I agree with the issues raised by the Minister of State but I thought that they really relate to the second Report. For now we are dealing with the Resolution which will allow Government to have the Agreement. So now that we have decided to go on, it - Maybe, I thought we would have saved that argument for the second Report. So I will rest my own submission until we get there.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:05 p.m.
I direct

Item 7.
Mr. Bagbin 2:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am just rising to ask the permission of my Hon Colleagues to permit the Deputy Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing to move the Resolution on behalf of the Minister who is outside this country on official duty.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:05 p.m.
Hon Minority Leader?
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 2:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I have no objection.
RESOLUTION 2:05 p.m.
Ms. Cecilia A. Dapaah 2:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to second the motion.
Question put and motion agreed to.
Resolved accordingly.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:05 p.m.
Item 8.
Suspension of Standing Order 80 (1)
Minister for Finance and Economic
Planning (Dr. Kwabena Duffuor): Mr. Speaker, I beg to move,that notwith- standing the provisions of Standing Order 80 (1) which require that no motion shall be debated until at least forty-eight hours have elapsed between the date on which notice of the motion is given and the date
on which the motion is moved, the motion for the adoption of the Report of the Joint Committee on Finance and Works and Housing on the Water Concession and Support Agreement between Ghana Water Company Limited, EarthWater Ghana Limited (EWG) and the Government of Ghana for the Abstraction and Production of Potable Water for Delivery to Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) may be moved today.
Ms. Cecilia A. Dapaah 2:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
I beg to second the motion.
Question put and motion agreed to.
Resolved accordingly.
GOG/GWCL/EarthWater Ghana Ltd., Water Concession and
Support Agreement
Chairman of the Joint Committee (Mr. David Assumeng) 2:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, that this Honourable House adopts the Report of the Joint Committee on Finance and Works and Housing on the Water Concession and Support Agreement between Ghana Water Company Limited, EarthWater Ghana Limited (EWG) and the Government of Ghana for the Abstraction and Production of Potable Water for Delivery to Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL).
Mr. Speaker, in doing so, I present the Report of the Joint Committee .
1.0 Introduction
The Water Concession and Support Agreement among Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), EarthWater Ghana Limited (EWG) and the Government of Ghana for the Abstraction and Production of Potable Water for delivery to Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) was laid in the House on Thursday, 16th July,
2009 and referred to the Joint Committee on Finance and Works and Housing for consideration and report in accordance with the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and Standing Orders of the House.
The Committee met and discussed the Agreement with the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Hon Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, Hon Albert Abongo, Acting Managing Director of the Ghana Water Company Limited and technical teams from the Ministries of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP) and Water Resources, Works and Housing (MWRWH) as well as Ghana Water Company Limited and presents this Report.
2.0 Background
The Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing (MWRWH) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Messrs EarthWater Global, LLC of New York on 7th July, 2007 to deliver potable water to augment water supply in designated locations in the country.
The purpose of the project is to supplement water supply in areas identified by the Ghana Water Company Limited by exploring for and developing significant new supplies of water from previously undiscovered bedrock sources within Ghana's megawatershed and constructing the pipeline infrastructure to make the water available to GWCL's existing transmission and distribution systems.
The project developer, Messrs EarthWater Ghana Limited is to use its own capital, proprietary technology, equipment and associated services to locate, develop and make available potable water to GWCL's existing system.
Chairman of the Joint Committee (Mr. David Assumeng) 2:05 p.m.


Following successful negotiations between the Government of Ghana (represented by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP, Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing (MWRWH), the Attorney- General's Department and Ghana Water Company Limited) and Messrs EarthWater Global, LLC, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission has approved competitive tariffs for the payment of water exploration and delivery service by the Ghana Water Company Limited from the project developers, Messrs EarthWater Ghana Limited.

The Government of Ghana is required to guarantee the payment obligations of GWCL to ensure that in case of default by GWCL to pay for potable water exploration and delivery services provided by the project developers, the developers can fall on Government for payment.

3.0 Object of the Guarantee

The object for the provision of payment guarantee is to provide security to Messrs EarthWater Ghana Limited against default by Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) to pay for potable water exploration and delivery services.

The guarantee, if approved by Parliament, would take effect from the date of delivery of potable water by Messrs EarthWater Ghana Limited to Ghana Water Company Limited.

4.0 Financing Details

The project is to be financed solely by Messrs EarthWater Ghana Limited.

5.0 Observations

The Committee noted that pursuant

and Support Agreement, EarthWater Ghana Limited (EWG) is obliged to fully finance the exploration and development of Bedrock Potable Water and where commercially feasible, make the Bedrock Potable Water available for delivery to GWCL's water distribution system pursuant to the Offtake Agreement.

The Government of Ghana is required by the Agreement to grant the right to the Company (EWG) to undertake the exploration and development of Bedrock Potable Water.

Section 4.1(d) of the Agreement further requires Government of Ghana to guarantee the payment obligations of GWCL under the Offtake Agreement.

The Committee further noted that any mineral resources discovered by Messrs EarthWater Ghana Limited in the process of development of water from the Megawatershed shall be the property of the Government of Ghana.

It was observed that the project has the potential of delivering water within a few months upon the discovery of potential sources.

The Committee noted that the project would initially target Accra which has a water supply deficit of nearly 70 million gallons per day and is designed to provide about 10 million gallons of water per day within the first twelve months of operation and 60 million gallons per day within three years.

The Committee observed that the

facility would be on a Build-Operate- Train-and-Transfer (BOTT) basis and that the developer would transfer the facility to GWCL after 25 years.

The Committee was informed that the project developer, Messrs EarthWater has previously implemented such projects in other countries including Trinidad and Tobago, Sudan, Somalia and New

Hampshire in the United States of America.

The Committee noted that the project does not impose any direct financing or operational cost or responsibility on the Government of Ghana. These are the sole risk and responsibility of the developer. Government's liability would crystallize only when GWCL defaults in payments to EarthWater in accordance with the Agreement.

The project is expected to entail the introduction and transfer of the necessary earthwater production technology to Ghana.

It was further noted that payments

to Messrs EarthWater shall be made by GWCL every sixty (60) days in accordance with the PURC approved tariffs.

The Offtake Agreement among Ghana Water Company Limited, EarthWater Ghana Limited and the Government of Ghana requires EarthWater Ghana Limited in section 8.1.8 to construct water transportation infrastructure and facilities required to convey water from the water well production facilities to within not more than 10 metres of the water distribution system of GWCL.

This would help bring the water to GWCL's existing distribution network for further pumping to customers in underserved areas.

In addition to the guarantee being provided by Government, Government would assist Messrs EarthWater with such benefits as tax holidays and related incentives, visas and immigration clearance, customs clearance, protection of intellectual property, procurement permits and approvals and ensuring that the company has access to sites to carry out its activities.

The Committee was informed that EarthWater Ghana Limited is the only company in the world with the unique and proprietary technical and intellectual protocols to successfully execute and finance the proposed project.

The technical team explained to the Committee that the project would draw from water that sips from the hydrological cycle deep into the belly of the earth and also into the sea. Water has been sipping deep into the earth for millions of years.

The developer would use NASA photographs to locate specific sites to drill. After the water is found, EWG would lay the pipelines to bring the water to within 10 metres of GWCL pipelines.

As to what will happen if the investor does not find/deliver any water, the Committee was informed that in such a scenario, the investor would simply walk away without any cost to the Government of Ghana or Ghana Water Company Limited.

It was noted that the project has the potential to bring drastic, powerful and significant improvement in water delivery in Accra. The satellite imagery will take about a year to complete, while it will take a further six (6) months to deliver the first water.

A representative of Aqua Vitens Rand Ltd (AVRL) informed the Committee that on behalf of GWCL, the company is currently able to collect averagely 95 per cent of the bills it issues to customers and therefore, this puts GWCL in a position to maintain the required escrow account to service the payment obligations under the Agreement.

It was further explained that even if 25 per cent of the water goes waste as “non- revenue water”, the remaining 75 per cent
Chairman of the Joint Committee (Mr. David Assumeng) 2:15 p.m.
would generate enough revenue to service the payment obligations.
Anticipated net profit to GWCL after payments to the investor is about GH¢1.3 million per annum but in the worst case scenario where the earthwater is channelled to low-priced domestic consumers, then the net profit would drop to GH¢64,000 per annum for the start year; with the net profit increasing as the volume of water delivered increases in the subsequent years.
Officials from GWCL informed the Committee that water to be received from the investors would be pumped to areas where water is in high demand and also to industrial consumers who would be in a better position to make payments and at commercial rates; and that pre-paid metering would be used to ensure prompt payment for the water by customers. All these will relieve water used by industrial consumers to be redirected to domestic consumers to solve the deficit.
The Minister for Finance and Economic Planning Hon Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, explained to the Committee that GWCL's financial documents have been scrutinized and found to be able to sustain the project to mitigate direct recourse to Government. Again, the escrow arrangement will be maintained to ensure that the Government guarantee bears minimal risk and even becomes “redundant” in the long run.
Some members wondered whether this payment guarantee being provided by Government does not infringe on Ghana's recent arrangement with the IMF in which the country is restricted to non- concessional borrowing or guaranteeing to US$300 million for the energy sector exclusively.
It was however, explained that it will
not affect the IMF arrangement because this is not a sovereign guarantee.
Others also expressed the opinion that the water should rather be pumped to domestic consumers who need it the most.
5.0 Conclusion
The Joint Committee respectfully recommends to the House to approve the Water Concession and Support Agreement among Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), EarthWater Ghana Limited (EWG) and the Government of Ghana for the Abstraction and Production of Potable Water for delivery to Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) in accordance with article 181 of the Constitution and Standing Orders of the House.
Respectfully submitted.

Mr. Kwaku Agyeman-Manu (NPP

- Dormaa West): Mr. Speaker, I rise to second the motion on the floor. But by doing so, I just want to reiterate that none of us on the side of the House is against provision for water in this country. Those of us who have been Members of Parliament (MPs) for some time would realise that both sides go to various communities and even help these communities with their District Assemblies Common Fund and what have you to provide water and therefore, this is not an issue that should be controversial at all.

But Mr. Speaker, we have been in an Agreement that is going to last for time and Ghana Government is involved and that is why some of us want to call the attention of the Hon Minister and those who are working on this project to take serious note of some of the concerns we are bringing out.

Mr. Speaker, I am a bit incapacitated this morning because I do not even have

the actual Agreement in hand to be able to make references as is being captured by the Committee. So I am only relying on the Committee's Report and I want to just draw attention to a few issues.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:15 p.m.
Hon
Member, page?
Mr. Agyeman-Manu 2:15 p.m.
Page five. I
am reading with your indulgence, Mr. Speaker. “The satellite imagery will take about a year to complete” -- that is about last but one paragraph, “ . . . while it will take a further six (6) months to deliver the first water”. If you go to page 4, the first paragraph, “It was observed that the project had the potential of delivering water within a few months upon the discovery of potential sources”.
If you go to the earlier agreements that had just been adopted, there again - page 4 of the Report -- we are talking about the first water coming within 12 months. So here, for me, there seems to be some inconsistencies within the time frame that we will receive the first water coming and I want that to be looked at.
Mr. Speaker, we are also looking at
the situation where Ghana Government is guaranteeing payments to EarthWater Ghana Limited. In the first place, Mr. Speaker, I think it is a very dangerous path for us as MPs to put our Government in. Why do I say so? We do not even know the quantum of the amount Government is being obliged to guarantee. That is my concern.
Secondly, we are being told that AVRL and Ghana Water Company Limited are now collecting as much as 95 per cent of water arrears and we have known in this country that this seems to be new
information that is coming out. We do not have evidence to prove it to some of us, but I want to believe in what briefing the Committee may have had. But what is happening today, is that going to be so in years to come?
A situation where we are not able to collect 95 per cent, what obligations are we placing on our Government for this particular guarantee that we are talking about?
Mr. Speaker, we are also talking about the situation where mineral resources that may be discovered in the project will belong to Government. What about other resources which cannot legally or in any other terms be described as mineral including even the water that EarthWater Ghana Limited will discover? Who will that belong to? I think that should also be addressed, yes, in the Agreement.
Mr. Speaker, there are still several
obligations that are being placed on Government. If you look at page five and paragraph two, we are talking about Government to assist EarthWater Ghana Limited with such benefits as tax holidays and relative incentives. What can these incentives be apart from tax incentives? Yesterday, we were talking about relief and when we are going to grant relief to a private company that is coming to make money out of us by providing water and Government is subsidising by virtue of tax incentives, do we not consider that we are being too generous in this quest?
I believe that we should look at this again. Tax revenues are the only way that the Government can fund its projects; and Government has an obligation to give us so many things, from shelter to water to whatever, and if we are giving away taxes that should belong to the State, in this respect, to a private company which is going to charge commercial rates, we should look at that situation quite well.
The Report is talking about pro-
Mr. Agyeman-Manu 2:15 p.m.


curement permits and approvals. What procurement permits are we looking at? Is EarthWater Ghana Limited going to ask Govern-ment to grant them permission to do sole sourcing for what? For what amount of money? I think we should also have a look at this situation while we are finalising the Agreement also with them.
Alhaji Seidu Amadu 2:15 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, looking at the law that established the Ghana Water Resources Commission, all water resources in Ghana are managed by the Water Resources Commission and therefore, for anybody who goes to abstract water for whatever purpose is supposed to take a permit and pay a fee to the Ghana Water Resources Commission. Therefore, the legitimate concern the Hon Member is raising has been adequately catered for in the contract agreement through Water Resources Commission.
Mr. Manu 2:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I will
continue and try to wind up.
The sentence I was trying to read was talking about IMF arrangement and I was explaining that this particular guarantee they are seeking from Government is not sovereign guarantee.
Mr. Speaker, what else can this guarantee be if not sovereign? I would want somebody to tell us and let us be satisfied before we leave here.
Mr. Speaker, with these few words, I will wind up and urge my Colleagues to support the motion, subject to the Minister, as you directed, coming back here to address the House of what considerations they have taken on the issues that Hon
Members have raised on these agreements.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:25 p.m.
I will just
take the Minority Leader and the Majority Leader and then I will put the Question.
Minority Leader (Mr. Osei Kyei-
Mensah-Bonsu): Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, as I indicated in my earlier intervention, I think that the delivery of potable water to the good people of Ghana is paramount and not least because of its effect on the sustenance of life. Mr. Speaker, for that reason, any effort in that direction must be welcome and supported.
Issues have been raised about the
Mr. Bagbin 2:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, just on a
point of order because my Colleague is misleading the House and the entire nation. Copies of the Agreement were distributed to Hon Members. When this thing first came in June, we were all given copies and we still have them.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 2:25 p.m.
Mr.
Speaker, that is the supposed position, but many Hon Members on this side of the House including me are saying that we do not have copies of it. Mr. Speaker, that indeed, is the truth. But that is not in any way to block the discussion. I am stating a matter of truth. I do not have a copy of it and some people from my side have complained that they also do not have
copies. That is the issue that I was raising.
Mr. Speaker, in our quest to provide
water, I believe that we should exercise some caution so that mistake, particularly avoidable ones are not made. It is in this vein that I thought that some of us, including me, as I have said, would have been availed of the Concession and Support Agreement in order for us to have done greater scrutiny. [Interruption.] But I understand many of our Colleagues have seen it. Be that as it may, maybe, we could go on.
Mr. Speaker, the point has been made
about pumping of water from deep down under. It really involves huge cost and so without doubt water that is so pumped necessarily comes with high rates. The Hon Colleague, the Minister of State, (Hon Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo) cited the case of la Cote d'Ivoire and he agrees with me that in la Cote d'Ivoire, on the average, the cost of water is far higher than what obtains in Ghana.
And so Mr. Speaker, we should be aware of this fact and that we could, by this enterprise, be heading towards a new landscape of higher tariffs for potable water delivery because there would have to be some levelling off between the production from our dams - Weija and Kpong which you have spoken about - and drilling from deep down under.
It is far more expensive and of course, there would not be any discrimination that those of them who are being supplied from the waters of the abstraction from deep down under should pay higher tariffs, whereas those of them having water from Kpong and Weija would be paying lower tariffs. There will be levelling off and so people should be prepared that they will be paying higher tariffs. That is the truth.
Mr. Speaker, perhaps, it is for this reason that the focus on this endeavour on the delivery is geared towards industry and not for home consumption primarily. The people know that and that is why they are saying they are targeting industry and not home consumption. Some will be coming to the various homes though, for domestic consumption. But the point needs to be stressed that it is going to come at a higher cost.
Mr. Speaker, now, the track record of this company. They have cited where they have done these projects. Mr. Speaker, they have done some in Sudan and Somalia. The question to ask is, why Sudan and Somalia? Sudan and Somalia because surface water is hard to come by in those regions. In northern Sudan where they are operating, and Somalia, surface water is hard to come by.
Mr. Speaker, again, they are engaged in water extraction in Trinidad and Tobago. You know the salinity of water in Trinidad and Tobago, that is why they are there. That is why they are drilling underground water in Trinidad and Tobago. New Hampshire, the same thing. Mr. Speaker, we do not have that problem in Ghana and that is why we should be concerned.
Mr. Speaker, the other issue worth
considering is that we should beyond this be concerned with the Build, Operate, Train and Transfer (BOTT) analysis, the cost-benefit analysis. They are talking about 25 years and so on, that is another matter.
The Chairman of the Committee on Water Resources, Works and Housing, in presenting the Report, indicated to us that unaccountable water in Ghana is about 25 per cent. Mr. Speaker, I do not believe that; and the Minister of State who was the Minister responsible for Water Resources,
Mr. J. K. Avedzi 2:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I
just want to respond to the point that the Minority Leader made -
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:25 p.m.
Is it a
point of order or . . . ?
Mr. Avedzi 2:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, it is a point
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:25 p.m.
Hon
Member, with the greatest respect, you know how to come properly. But the response you - yes?
Mr. Avedzi 2:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I just want
to correct an impression that is being created that even though we have surface water in abundance, why should we go looking for ground water? I just want to say that in the previous government, there was an effort made to desalinate sea water for consumption. So we are also looking at all sources from which we can provide water for our people of this country.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 2:35 p.m.
Mr.
Speaker, if we have sources, clean sources, cheaper sources, why that? You remember that we were talking about provision of water from the Pra, from the Tano, the interconnectivity that we wanted to do, that is still on the drawing board. You remember also that we have been talking about constructing another dam on the Volta before the waters enter the sea. Mr. Speaker, Ghana has the potential, if you expand the facility, of producing at least

Mr. Speaker, that being the case, why go into this enterprise that ultimately is going to generate 70 million gallons per day? Why go into that enterprise when there is a source that can guarantee us at least, a further 200 million gallons of water delivery per day at a cheaper cost and for this reason, consumers would be paying lower tariffs? Why that?

Mr. Speaker, the other issue relates
Mr. D. T. Assumeng 2:35 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I am worried by the response of the Minority Leader. But for the change of government, this project would have been commissioned by the NPP and like Hon Hackman said, this was a project that was initiated by their Government at that time. It is a matter of continuity. Does he not like continuity? My Ranking Member is there and he can testify that this - [Interruption.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:35 p.m.
Hon
Member, that is not a point of order. If they initiated it and he is saying that there is a problem. why can we not improve on it as a House?
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 2:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I was thinking that the Chairman of the Committee was going to say that the issues that I was raising were not true. I thought he was going to say that. He is only saying that my Government -- In any event, let me drive it home.
The Government that we have today is not for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) alone. It is the Government of Ghana. It is my Government as well.
rose
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:35 p.m.
Hon
Minister of State, please, time is running out. Hon Members are really tired so quickly and let us adjourn.
Alhaji Seidu Amadu 2:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the issues that the Minority Leader is raising are really legitimate. The only difference is that it takes three years to build a surface water treatment plant. In this particular instance, it is going to take about a year. So to address the shortfalls, we need a facility. Besides Ghana -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 2:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I am surprised at the Minister. He should just read the Report. We are talking about one year first and another one year, so why should he say that? Clearly, he is off tangent.
Mr. Speaker, I was coming to the
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:35 p.m.
Minority Leader, kindly -
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 2:35 p.m.
Mr.
Speaker, I will just articulate the points and leave them.
Mr. Speaker, the issue about la Cote d'Ivoire, it is true that they are in that resort. They are also tapping from deep under. Mr. Speaker, what we do know and understand is that in Abidjan, they are tapping from a dried lake and that the quantum of the water underground is
huge, and that is why they are doing that exercise.
However, they themselves know that after 50 years it is likely to dry up. Yes, in la Cote d'Ivoire where they even have it, they know that after 50 years it is most likely to dry up.
Mr. Speaker, we are here being told that
this BOTT endeavour, they will operate it for 25 years and hand over to us. What if after 30 years, it dries up? You have it for 5 years and it dries up. Mr. Speaker, would we not be causing financial loss? Anyway, let us go on.
Mr. Speaker, the other consideration
Mr. S. E. Asimah 2:35 p.m.
On a point of
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 2:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, my Hon Colleague, above everything, is a good friend. He himself knows what I am talking about. Why he has chosen this path, only he can explain. But he knows what I am talking about. Mr. Speaker, he knows what I am talking about but I will go on.
Mr. Speaker, the other thing that we
should concern ourselves with is the
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 2:35 p.m.


Majority Leader (Mr. A. S. K.

Bagbin): Mr. Speaker, I urge the House to approve the motion and permit the company to go into the production of earth water for the consumption of the good people of Ghana.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 2:45 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, this credential being given by the Majority Leader cannot be appropriated to himself alone. He knows that I succeeded him. There is nothing that he is going to add to this.
Mr. Bagbin 2:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, he succeeded
me in 2001 and lasted for less than a year [Laughter] -- because they changed the whole structure. It was during my tenure that we did all the reforms including the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), including the establishment of the Water Resources Commission and in fact, real studies into how we could produce enough water for the good people of Ghana, not only Accra but nationally.
And we toured a number of countries and therefore, some of the allegations my Colleague, the Minority Leader stated are wild allegations. It is not true that the production of earth water is more expensive than that of surface water, it is not true.
What is true is that the production of earth water is cheaper because you spend less chemicals in treatment, and you also spend less energy in distribution. [Hear!
not surface water and we are distributing it. There are companies producing earth water. It is not from boreholes; not from boreholes, earth water.
Again, the Minority Leader will not even listen. When he was talking about the structural difficulties, he raised them yesterday and we looked at them. There are two types. It depends on the depth of the drilling. It is the drilling that will go below the rock -- that is what they say, watershed -- to the water level that flows into the sea. It is the watershed and that is the one they will tap as the water source. It is there, a mega watershed which flows into the sea. It goes far below the main rock.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:45 p.m.
Hon
Minority Leader, today the two of you have become experts -- [Laughter] -- In a lot of fields but let me listen to you. In actual fact, let us make progress.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 2:45 p.m.
Mr.
Speaker, we will ,except to make two interventions.
The first one talking about the EarthWater thing. No company in Ghana as of now is engaged in the enterprise EarthWater Ghana Limited is going into. So when he cites companies in his backyard doing that, it is incorrect. It is incorrect. [Laughter.] In the whole of Ghana, there is no company that is in that enterprise.
fact that this thing is going to be done in Accra, Accra because it is in the zone of earth tremors. If we are not careful, it could trigger some tremors. I am saying that if we are not careful, it could trigger some tremors.
In fact, we have been told that in extreme cases, we could even have some miniature tsunamis and that is why it is important to do greater diligence, technical appraisal. Yesterday when I had this information, I was in serious discussion with the Majority Leader and we were trying to call - [Interruptions.] this one does not involve geologists. It is the business of geophysicists and in Ghana there are only three geophysicists and the foremost one was the one who gave me this indication. I passed on the information to the Majority Leader and we have since been trying to get the other man in Ghana called Dr. Armah, and unfortunately, we have not been able to reach him for his own comments.
I think it is important we leave this to them for their expert advice because we here are not experts and that is why we feel that there should be greater diligence. The enterprise, nobody would be against it in the sense that it is to produce water for us.
Apart from the issues that I have raised, apart from the referrals that I have raised, I think that the output, if it is going to be one gallon, is fine. It is going to satisfy some thirst. But what we need to concern ourselves with is the issue that I have raised. Mr. Speaker, if we are going to approve of this, I will plead that we do the approval subject to these considerations so that if we are better informed, to tread cautiously, we can always go back and do the right thing.
Mr. Speaker, I thank you for your
indulgence.
Hear!] But with surface water, you have to spend on a lot of chemicals to make the water quality, potable for drinking and you need more energy to pump the water.
Again, the issue of tariff is an issue that is handled by PURC and there is nothing in this Agreement which is saying that it is only EarthWater Ghana Limited that has exclusivity to the supply of water to Ghana Water Company Limited. What it is saying is that whatever they produce, Ghana Water Company Limited should ensure that it will buy it. And it does not mean that another company cannot come into Ghana and produce water and sell to it. There is nothing in the Agreement to that effect, so there is no exclusivity. It is important that - [Interruptions.] Mr. Speaker, when he was talking and I disagreed with him, I did not say that he did not know what he was talking about. He cannot be making such statements.]
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 2:45 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, the Hon Majority Leader is misleading the House. EarthWater Ghana Limited enjoys exclusivity in terms of producing underground water in this country, in this Agreement, so he should read the Agreement closely.
Mr. Bagbin 2:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, as at today,
we have companies producing earth water. There is no way that EarthWater Ghana Limited can be given exclusivity when you already have companies producing earth water. It is not there. Even in my village, what we use is earth water, it is
The other one about the cost, let us compare all the countries where they are doing this enterprise. He says that it is less expensive. Trinidad and Tobago, Chile, Somalia, Sudan, let us know the rates in these countries. If it is not more expensive, how come that the rates are far, far higher than what it is in Ghana? This is the truth, but I will allow him to go on.
Mr. Bagbin 2:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think my
Colleague must develop the skin to also listen to people even though we disagree with what they say. All what he said, I disagreed with him but I sat down. It is important to listen to divergent views.
During my tenure of office, we did serious studies into the willingness to pay and the ability to pay. I came clearly that it was the poor in this country that will pay more for water than the rich; they buy the water in buckets and sometimes in Kufuor gallons. [Laughter.] And the cost of that water per day -- [Interruptions.]
So Mr. Speaker, it is not the case that people should prepare themselves for higher tariffs just because EarthWater Ghana Limited is coming to produce water for distribution.
Again, clearly, if you look at the statistics, there is no evidence that EarthWater Ghana Limited will produce so much water that we will not need it, we will be compelled to buy it and we will not have anywhere to distribute it. There is no such evidence anywhere.
The population growth rate in this country -- and that is one of the areas challenging our efforts to get to a middle income country; the growth rate of the population is one of the indicators as to whether you are a middle income country or not. There is no evidence anywhere and it is important for me to emphasise that if
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 2:45 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, you will recall that during the earlier part of the Majority Leader's presentation he intimated that there was no exclusivity. I have in my hand the Water Concession Agreement between EarthWater Ghana Limited and the Government of Ghana. If you look at page 15 (6), for the initial 15 years of this Agreement, the Government of Ghana hereby grants to the company exclusive rights to perform the services of identifying, drilling, developing, abstracting and making available for delivery to GWCL bare drop potable water pursuant to the Offtake Agreement.
Thank you very much.
Mr. Bagbin 2:45 p.m.
Definitely, he has
succeeded in supporting my point. What he just read - there is nothing in this Agreement saying that EarthWater Company Limited is going to have exclusivity ad infinitum for the production of water. There is nothing - [Interruption] - His understanding of “exclusivity” is very, very different from mine - [Laughter] - and exclusivity means that you are given the right to do something in perpetuity - [Inter-ruption] - No competition? There is competition.
Already, Ghana Water Company Limited is producing water. So you cannot say there is no competition. There is competition. It is no monopoly.
Mr. Speaker, it is important for Hon Members who are supporting the approval of the motion and arguing against it to state a position in which they belong. You support the motion and then you argue against it and raise issues that cannot be supported and when your attention is drawn to it, you raise other things.
Mr. Speaker, it is important for us because somebody raised the issue of
the grant of licence and the rest. If you have a company that is coming to invest in your country and the Government is not contributing towards the investment financially, the company will want to know whether your laws will be able to create the environment for the company to invest and that was why they raised the issue of grant of licences and the rest. I do not think there is anything wrong with it.
I just want to end by urging all Hon Members to support the motion to adopt the Report of the Committee and in one year's time, we will have the opportunity to go and look at the investment of Earth Water to satisfy ourselves as to whether they are abiding by the terms of the Agreement or not.
I thank Hon Members for raising these issues. I support Mr. Speaker that the Minister responsible for Water Resources, Works and Housing appears before this House for us to go through it. The concerns that are raised should be a guide to the implementation of the two Agreements.
I support the motion.
Thank you very much.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:45 p.m.
Thank you
very much, Hon Leaders of the House. Now, I will put the Question.
Question put and motion agreed to.
RESOLUTION 2:45 p.m.
Ms. Cecilia A. Dapaah 2:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I
beg to second the resolution subject to the discussions, issues and concerns raised.
Question put and motion agreed to
Resolved accordingly.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 2:45 p.m.
Hon Minority Leader, I do not think there should be any comment as such but if you want to, I will give you the chance. [Pause.]
Hon Members, on behalf of Madam Speaker, who is out of the jurisdiction and on my own behalf, I wish to thank you most sincerely for cutting short your recess to attend the Special Sittings. It is a clear demonstration to your commitment to your duties as Hon Members of Parliament - [Hear! Hear!].
It is also a testament to the good people of this country that Parliament will at all times support the Government to realize its objectives. Parliament has through this Special Sitting dutifully discharged its responsibility as prescribed under article 179 (8) of the Constitution in relation to the supplementary estimates.
In the process of discharging this responsibility, viewpoints might have been canvassed rather strongly and with passion and emotion but I believe that is what parliamentary debate is all about
I wish to thank all Hon Members for their co-operation with the Chair to steer the affairs of the House during this four day Special Sitting.
I wish to particularly thank the Leadership for their support in managing the affairs of the House.
To the media, I say thank you for bringing the business of the House to the doorsteps of the people of this country.
I wish also to thank the Clerk and the Parliamentary Service staff for their able support.
I will like to take liberty to put Hon
Members of the Appointments Committee of this House on notice that they may be called from recess after due consultations with the Leadership of the House to sit on the nominees of the President to the Supreme Court of Ghana.
I wish you all Hon Members a restful but fruitful working recess until the House reconvenes.
This House now stands adjourned sine die.
Thank you very much - [Hear! Hear!].
ADJOURNMENT 2:45 p.m.