Debates of 3 Dec 2009

MADAM SPEAKER
PRAYERS 11:05 a.m.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 11:05 a.m.
Madam Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Hon Members, we go to Correction of Votes and Proceedings of Wednesday, 2nd December, 2009. Pages
1 -- 6 --
rose
Madam Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Yes, Hon Member?
Mr. Yaw Ntow-Ababio 11:05 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I was present in this House throughout from nine o'clock. And it will interest you to note that on page 10, I attended your Business Committee meeting which started at 9.00 a.m. and closed at 9.50 a.m. and I headed straight to this Chamber. But I find my name strangely on the list of those who were absent.
My name is listed on page 6, number
23.
Madam Speaker 11:05 a.m.
All right, thank you.
Page 7, then.
Mr. J. A. Bosompem 11:05 a.m.
Madam Speaker,
there is a slight error on page 7, paragraph 8, item (a) (ii), the last line:
“. . . of Acrow Permanent Steel Bridges in the Ghana.”
I think “the” can be deleted. The “… in the Ghana”, the “t-h-e” must go.
Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Madam Speaker 11:05 a.m.
All right, thank you.

Hon Members , the Votes and

Mr. Frederick Opare-Ansah -- rose
-- 11:05 a.m.
Madam Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Yes, Hon Member?
Mr. Frederick Opare-Ansah 11:15 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I just want to make a point which is worthy of note.
In the Votes and Proceedings that we have just adopted, if you look at the last page, page 11, you would notice that on the Committee on Communications, apart from the Vice Chairman who presided, who is from the Majority side, all the other Members that attended came from the Minority side.
Madam Speaker, this is the second time I have had an occasion to urge my Colleague Members on the other side to join us in taking the work of this House a little more seriously. As I pointed out the other day, they are supposed to be championing Government Business. But in this case, when you take a look at the structure of attendance of this particular Committee meeting, it was as if it was totally left in the hands of the Minority.
So I am pleading with my Hon Colleagues to join us all the time so that the Business of the House truly reflects the strengths that appear on the floor here.
Thank you.
Madam Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Hon Leader?
Mr. A. S. K. Bagbin 11:15 a.m.
Madam Speaker, this was a committee meeting and in fact, at committee meetings, we do not talk about “other side”. We sit there as a House and I am surprised he said the Members of the Majority side never attended when it was chaired by a Member of the Majority side.
It is there, the Vice Chairman, the Hon Member for Sefwi Akontombra (Mr. Herod Cobbina) is a member from the Majority side. Now, if he is talking about majority coming from the Minority side, that I agree with him. But it is as a result of a trip that has been undertaken; he is aware of the Chairman.
We have the Hajj that is on and -- [Interruptions.] Madam Speaker, I am looking at the Members who are members of that Committee and why they were not available and that is what I am saying, including my Hon Colleague the Chief Whip who was committed to fighting for the interest of this House. We specifically instructed him to do so for and on behalf of Parliament.
So my Hon Colleague knows all this and he just wants to raise this to embarrass the Majority. But definitely, we will always exhort Hon Members to attend all committee sittings and we have noted his concerns and we will continue to make sure that all Hon Members, at all times, commit themselves to the work of the committees; it is very, very important.
Madam Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Yes, he has undertaken to see that whenever feasible, then they -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Opare-Ansah 11:15 a.m.
Madam Speaker, the Hon Majority Leader's response would have been taken without further comment, except to say that he is now imputing improper motives to me. I had
only one motive for bringing up this matter and that was to ensure that the Business of the House is taken more seriously by both sides. Now, he is saying that I raised it to embarrass the other side. I want to assure the Hon Majority Leader that I had no such intention.
My intentions are clear, it is to ensure that when we say a committee is sitting, it has the opportunity to reflect the views of both sides. And indeed, I did allude to the fact that the person that presided was from the Majority side, except to add that apart him, all other Members that attended the meeting, six of them, were from the Minority side. And as the Majority Leader knows, the person presiding does not even have an original vote as per our Standing Orders of this Parliament.
Madam Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Hon Leader, he says his intention was not -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Bagbin 11:15 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I really raised that issue of imputing his motives because it is not the only committee that you have this large disparities in attendance and why is he talking about it? Even my own committee, the committee I chair, which is the Business Committee, is at page 10, then the Communications is at page 11; he has seen that and I do not know why he is not talking about the Business Committee but he is talking about the Communications --
At the Business Committee, yes, there were some Members of the Minority. But if you look at the disparity, I chaired it; it was very clear. But that is not what is reflected in the composition. So from time to time, sometimes, you would get some committees having more members from one side attending. But the focus as I stated is that, we sit there as Members of this House; a matter has been referred
by the Executive or whatever, it is now in the possession of this House and we would look at it that way.
Mr. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:15 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I think that the Majority Leader, in his response, I would want to believe, was acting as the Leader of the House and he knows that he is not exempted under any circumstances by the rules to say that “I imputed improper motives because there were so many instances” and he picked only one and so “I am justified”.
Madam Speaker, he knows he cannot do that. He cannot embark on that journey at all and the Standing Orders would not excuse him in that exercise. And so if he has erred, he has erred; what is wrong is wrong in this case. He cannot say that he chose to dwell on this, “so I am justified in imputing improper motives”; he cannot under any circumstances impute improper motives.
But Madam Speaker, it is interesting sometimes observing the somersaults of the Majority Leader, because when he was the Minority Leader, he raised these things on many occasions, even at committees and he was urging that the Business of this House must be taken seriously by those of us in the Majority at the time. In fact, committee work is an extension of plenary work, anyway.
So Madam Speaker, I think I would
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE 11:25 a.m.
Madam Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Thank you.
I think we move on to item (3), the Business Statement for the Seventh Week; Chairman of the Business Committee, Majority Leader.
Majority Leader/Chairman of the Business Committee (Mr. A. S. K. Bagbin) 11:25 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I stand to present the Business Statement for and on behalf of the Business Committee for the Seventh Week ending Friday, 11th December, 2009.
Madam Speaker, the Committee met yesterday, Wednesday, 2nd December, 2009 instead of the usual Thursdays, and arranged Business of the House for the Seventh Week ending Friday, 11th December, 2009. The decision to meet on Wednesday was as a result of the declaration of Friday, 4th December, 2009 as a statutory Public Holiday, that is, Farmers' Day.
Madam Speaker, the Committee accordingly submits its Report as follows 11:25 a.m.
Question(s)
Madam Speaker, the Committee has programmed the following Ministers to answer specified Questions during the week:
No. of
Question(s)
i. Minister for Health 5
ii. Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing 5
iii. Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration 2
iv. Minister for Food and Agriculture 5
v. Minister for Roads and Highways 5
vi. Minister for Energy 5
Total Number of Questions 26
Madam Speaker, in all, six Ministers are expected to attend upon the House to respond to twenty-six (26) Questions during the week.
Statements
Madam Speaker may allow Statements duly admitted to be made in the House.
Bills, Papers, and Reports
Madam Speaker, Bills may be presented to the House for consideration and those already before the House may be taken through the various stages. Papers and committee reports may also be laid.
Committee Sittings on the Annual Estimates
Madam Speaker, the House, having approved the Financial Policy of the Government for the 2010 financial year, the Business Committee urges all committees to immediately commence deliberations on the Annual Estimates of the respective sector Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
Madam Speaker, presentation of committee reports on the Annual Estimates of the respective Ministries, Departments and Agencies are expected to commence on Wednesday, 9 th December, 2009. (Schedule on presen-tation of Reports and dates of Motions is attached.)
Madam Speaker, Leadership is in the process of concluding discussions on the respective venues for consideration of the Annual Estimates which would be communicated to Members in due course.
Motions and Resolutions
Madam Speaker, motions may be
debated and thei r consequent ia l Resolutions, if any, taken during the week. Madam Speaker, the Business Committee once again, urges Hon Members to avail themselves next week when the House begins to debate the Annual Estimates of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies. Sittings of the House on Mondays/Extended Sittings
Madam Speaker, the Business
Madam Speaker, the Committee accordingly submits its Report as follows 11:25 a.m.


Committee wishes to remind Hon Members that judging from the state of Business before the House, Sittings would continue to be held on Mondays. Sittings may also be extended beyond the prescribed period when the need arises.

Conclusion

Madam Speaker, in accordance with Standing Order 160(2) and subject to Standing Order 53, the Committee submits to this Honourable House the order in which the Business of the House shall be taken during the week.

Questions --

Q. 162. Mr. Samuel Johnfiah (Ahanta West): To ask the Minister for Health when the Agona Nkwanta Health Centre will be upgraded to meet the status of a hospital since Agona Nkwanta is a district and also centrally located in relation to the 123 communities that make up the district.

Q. 163. Mr. Stephen Kunsu (Kintampo North): To ask the Minister for Health what measures the Ministry is putting in place to decentralise mental health at the primary health care or community level.

Q. 164. Ms. Cecilia Abena Dapaah (Bantama): To ask the Minister for Health when the North Suntreso Health Centre will be upgraded.

Q. 165. Mr. John Agyabeng (Agona East): To ask the Minister for Health what is the current state of the National Health Insurance Programme.

Q. 166. Mr. Tanko Abdul-Rauf Ibrahim (Yagaba-Kubori): To ask the Minister for Health when the contract for the renovation of the Kubori Health Post was

awarded and when it is expected to be completed.

Statements

Laying of Papers --

(a) Report of the Finance Committee on the Concessionary Credit Line Agreement between the Government of Ghana and Export-Import Bank of India for an amount of US$21.72 million to finance Improved Fish Harvesting and Fish Processing Project and Waste Management Equipment and Management Support Project.

(b) Report of the Finance Committee on the Financing Agreement between the Republic of Ghana and OPEC Fund for Inter-national Development (OFID) and Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) for an amount of thirteen million, five hundred thousand United States dollars (US$13,500,000.00) for the upgrading and expansion of Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine Services in Korle-Bu and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospitals.

(c) Report of the Finance Committee on the Financing Agreement between the Republic of Ghana and Fortis Bank N.V. of The Netherlands for an amount of twenty-eight million euros (€28.00 mi l l ion) for the rehabilitation and upgrading of Tamale Teaching Hospital.

(d) Report of the Finance Committee on the Financing Agreement between the Republic of Ghana and KBC Bank of Belgium for an amount of two million, eight hundred and sixty-seven thousand, two hundred and

thirty-three (2,867,233.00) euros for the supply and installation of heavy duty washing machines for 13 hospitals in the country.

(e) Report of the Finance Committee on the Ghana Revenue Authority Bill, 2009.

Committee Sittings

To consider the Annual Estimates.

Questions --

Q. 230. Mr. Samuel Ayeh-Paye (Ayensuano): To ask the Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing when the following communities will benefit from the Small Town Water Supply and Sanitation Project (STWSS):

(i) Teacher Mante

(ii) Asuboi

(iii) Amanase

(iv) Anumapapam

(v) Kraboa-Coaltar

(vi) Krabokese

(vii) Ofoase

(viii) Dokrokyiwa.

Q. 231. Mr. Frank Boakye Agyen (Effiduase/Asokore): To ask the Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing what is being done to restore water supply to Seniagya, in the Sekyere East District in the Ashanti Region and to improve the whole water supply system in the district capital of the twin town of Effiduase and Asokore.

Q. 232. Mr. Dominic B. A. Nitiwul (Bimbilla): To ask the Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing how many government

bungalows have been renovated or are under renovation, the total cost of all the bungalows and the cost of each unit or bungalow.

Q. 233. Mr. Charles S. Hodogbey (North Tongu): To ask the Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing what plans are in place for the communities in the North Tongu Constituency, stretching from Juapong, Dofor Adidome to Mepe Horkpo areas to provide them with pipe-borne water.

Q. 234. Mr. John Duoghr Baloroo (Lambussie): To ask the Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing when Piina Senior High School, Piina town and Karni town will get potable water.

Q. 275. Mr. Justice Joe Appiah (Ablekuma North): To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration when the Ministry will operationalise the decentralisation of the issuance of Ghanaian passports and ensure the elimination of the activities of “middlemen”.

Q. 276. Mr. Christopher Addae (Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai): To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration why Members of Parliament are not issued diplomatic passports.

Statements

Laying of Papers --

Report of the Committee on Mines and Energy on the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Bill, 2009.

Second Reading of Bills --

Ghana Revenue Authority Bill,

2009.

Committee Sittings --

To consider the Annual Estimates.
Madam Speaker, the Committee accordingly submits its Report as follows 11:25 a.m.


Questions --

Q. 243. Mr. Raphael Kof i Ahaligah (Afram Plains South): To ask the Minister for Food and Agriculture how much was paid to the consultants of the Afram Plains Agricultural Project and how much was given out to persons and groups who applied for loans.

Q. 244. Mr. Raphael Kofi Ahaligah (Afram Plains South): To ask the Minister for Food and Agriculture how many people have so far benefited from the Afram Plains Agricultural Project and who they are.

Q. 245. Mr. John Duoghr Baloroo (Lambussie): To ask the Minister for Food and Agriculture when the Lambussie-Karni District will be provided with a District Agricultural Officer.

Q. 246. Mr. John Duoghr Baloroo (Lambussie): To ask the Minister for Food and Agriculture when the following communities in the Lambussie Constituency will be provided with dams:

(i) Suke

(ii) Koro

(iii) Napaala

(iv) Kpare

(v) Bellow

(vi) Sina-Dendee. Q. 282. Mr. Raphael Kofi Ahaligah (Afram Plains South): To ask the Minister for Food and Agriculture to what extent the Millennium Challenge Account and the Afram Plains Agriculture Project impacted on the life of the people of Kwahu North.

Statements

Laying of Papers --

(a) Report of the Finance Committee on the Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill.

(b) Report of the Committee on Local Government and Rural Development on the Annual Budget Estimates of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development for the year 2010.

(c) Report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs on the Annual Budget Estimates of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration for the year 2010.

(d) Report of the Committee on Employment, Social Welfare and State Enterprises on the Annual Budget Estimates of the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare for the year

2010.

(e) Report of the Committee on Roads and Transport on the Annual Budget Estimates of the Ministry of Roads and Highways for the year 2010.

(f) Report of the Committee on Works and Housing on the Annual Budget Estimates of the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology for the year 2010.

(g) Report of the Finance Committee on the Annual Budget Estimates of the Government Machinery for the year 2010.

(h) Report of the Committee on Gender and Children on the Annual Budget Estimates of the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs for the year

2010.

(i) Report of the Committee on Communications on the

Annual Budget Estimates of the Ministry of Communications for the year 2010.

(j) Report of the Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism on the Annual Budget Estimates of the Ministry of Trade and Industry for the year 2010.

Motions --

(a) Adoption of the Report of the Finance Committee on the Concessionary Credit Line Agreement between the Government of Ghana and Export-Import Bank of India for an amount of US$21.72 million to finance Improved Fish Harvesting and Fish Processing Project and Waste Management Equipment and Management Support Project.

(b)Adoption of the Report of the Finance Committee on the Financing Agreement between the Republic of Ghana and OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) and Arab Bank for Economic Develop- ment in Africa (BADEA) for an amount of thirteen million, five hundred thousand United States dollars (US$13,500,000.00) for the upgrading and expansion of Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine Services in Korle-Bu and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospitals.

(c) Adoption of the Report of the Finance Committee on the Financing Agreement between the Republic of Ghana and Fortis Bank N.V. of The Netherlands for an amount of ewenty-eight million euros (€28.00 million) for the rehabilitation and upgrading of Tamale Teaching Hospital.
- 11:25 a.m.
Madam Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Thank you, Honourable. Any comments?
Mr. Samuel Johnfiah 11:25 a.m.
Madam
Speaker, the Question no. 162 that is to be posed on Monday stands in my name and I would want to effect some minor change that will not affect the import of the Question itself, neither will it affect the Answer that would have to be provided. Ahanta West is a district but when we talk of Agona Nkwanta, it is the district capital; so when you come to line 3, the last word is “district” and I believe we have to add “capital” there to read “the district capital” otherwise, we create Agona Nkwanta as
SCHEDULE SCHEDULE 11:25 a.m.
Prof. (Emeritus) S. K. Amoako 11:35 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I am looking at the Questions listed for the week, and I am a little uncomfortable when things do not add up. The Hon Minister for Health is supposed to answer five Questions, Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing five and so on and so forth. When you add these up, they come to a total of 27.
Madam Speaker, but what we see here is 26, I do not know whether a particular Question has been left out.
Madam Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Yes, Hon Member, I think so.
Hon Majority Leader, the number of Questions totalled 27, not 26 -- [Pause] -- You put down 26, but when you total them in paragraph 2 of page 1, you get 27, do you not?
Yes, Hon Member, thank you, I think you are right.
Mr. J. A. Bosompem 11:35 a.m.
Madam
Speaker, I want to draw the attention of the House to a Question that stood in my name slated for 2nd December, 2009, that was yesterday. Question numbers 178, 179, 180; that was 2nd December, 2009. Those Questions were not dealt with. Incidentally, the same Questions could not find their way into the Business Statement of the Seventh Week ending Friday, 11th December, 2009. I should be grateful to know when these three Questions that touched on the very life of Ghanaians would be dealt with.

Madam Speaker, thank you.
Madam Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Thank you, Hon
Mr. Bagbin 11:35 a.m.
Madam Speaker, well,
I thank the Hon Member for correcting the total number of Questions that we slated for the week. They are really 27, he is very right.
The three Questions that are being referred to by the Hon Member are Questions that should have come on and the Hon Minister concerned had to embark on an emergency travel. And therefore, we are expecting the Hon Minister back early next week, and then we will try to reschedule them. And immediately we do that, we will let the Hon Member know.
Mr. O. B. Amoah 11:35 a.m.
Madam Speaker,
I need guidance from the Leadership. If we looked at the Business Statement for the week ending 4th December, I was supposed to have asked a Question this morning -- Question number 154; incidentally, I have not heard anything about this Question from the presentation of the Hon Majority Leader. There is no indication when this Question will be asked. I do not know any scheduling. And somehow, when these things happen, they get lost in the system; the Questions are never asked.
I need to know what measures we take when such Questions are thrown overboard, never to be brought back.
Madam Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Yes, Hon Majority
Mr. Bagbin 11:35 a.m.
Madam Speaker, yes,
his Question will definitely come on -- [Pause] -- it is not thrown overboard at all. It is just that we want the relevant Minister
to come and answer the Questions. I think the Answers were published, but because of the unavailability of the Minister -- I raised this issue this morning, and the Table Office was drawn to my office and they gave the explanation. But it is put there to be rescheduled in consultation with the Ministry. So his Question is not thrown overboard, it will come on.
Mr. Johnfiah 11:35 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I
Madam Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Yes, let us check
Mr. Bagbin 11:35 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I
thank the Hon Member for scrutinizing the Questions. But the Questions that we approved for that Friday were five, so one Question is left out of this Report. We will cross-check on it and include it.
Mr. F. Opare-Ansah 11:35 a.m.
Madam Speaker,
Madam Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Are you sure it was
Mr. Opare-Ansah 11:35 a.m.
Madam Speaker, the Speakership.
Madam Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Yes, but it was not
Madam Speaker.
Mr. Opare-Ansah 11:35 a.m.
Madam Speaker,
rightly so. I think it was Mr. Speaker; the First Deputy Speaker presiding at the time. So I want to urge the Hon Majority Leader to remind the Minister to use the opportunity, probably, next week, because we have only two more weeks remaining, as Ghanaians are very anxious to hear about the energy situation before the country becomes a disco country.
Madam Speaker, thank you.
Madam Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Yes, Hon Majority
Leader.
Mr. Bagbin 11:35 a.m.
Madam Speaker, in fact,
that explains the situation on Friday, 11th December, 2009. There were two Questions of similar nature calling on the Hon Minister to come and answer in respect of the frequent outages that we have been experiencing as a country.
We considered it at the Business Committee and decided that it was better to go by the directive of the Rt. Hon Speaker. And therefore, we are going to schedule the Minister to appear before the House and to brief the House on the situation in the form of a Statement and give Hon Members the opportunity to make inputs; that is why one of the Questions was taken off. But accidentally, they took two off, and that is why it is four instead of five. So we will rectify the situation.
Madam Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Hon Members,
the Business Statement as presented is adopted.
Hon. Members, I have admitted a Statement from Hon Alhaji Mohammed- Mubarak Muntaka, Member of Parliament for Asawase.
Yes, Hon Member.
STATEMENTS 11:45 a.m.
Mr. Kwame Osei-Prempeh (NPP -- Nsuta Kwamang/Beposo) 11:45 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I rise to support the Statement ably made by my Hon Colleague from Asawase.
Madam Speaker, one of the very important institutions established by the Constitution is the Audit Service. The Audit Service, by the intention of the Constitution, should be an independent body. In this House, we passed the Audit Service Act and gave them the independence intended by the Constitution.
Unfortunately, over the years, we have treated the Audit Service like any other department. As said by my Hon Friend, the administrative expenses of the Audit Service are to be charged on the Consolidated Fund and by article 179 (2) (b), if it is a charged on the Consolidated Fund, it is just laid in Parliament for the information of Hon Members. We have no right to cut; strictly speaking, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning does not have to cut and decide what the Audit Service gets.
I remember last year, when we were considering the Constitutional Instrument for the Audit Service, it became a tug of war between the then Minister for Finance and Economic Planning and the Auditor- General as to the autonomy of the Audit Service. Despite the intervention from some of us, still, it was felt that the Audit Service should be subject to appropriation like any other department.
Mr. Kwame Osei-Prempeh (NPP -- Nsuta Kwamang/Beposo) 11:55 a.m.


I believe that if we are to perform our functions as the managers of the purse, look after the purse of this country, then we have to move to strengthen the Audit Service.

One other thing which I believe is bothering me on the Audit Service is the attempt or the idea that we in this House seem to have that when the Audit Service brings its report, it should be lodged with us or come into effect after Parliament has debated on that. It sends wrong signals.

I remember when I was in the Attorney- General's Department and the Public Accounts Committee had its report, had public hearings, the question which came up was that the Public Accounts Committee was saying that we should prosecute those who had erred and I had to explain several times that we did not need Parliament's fiat for the Attorney- General to prosecute those who had been found culpable by the Auditor-General. If the Auditor-General carries out an audit and finds out that somebody is culpable, nobody needs to wait for Parliament to decide on that before.

Parliament has a function given to it by the Constitution and it does not go

to the realm of curtailing or subjugating the Auditor-General's Report under Parliament. No, that is not the intendment of this. So I believe that we should all help in making the Auditor-General free and independent and give it the resources that it needs to perform its functions. I believe that this country stands to win a lot if we allow the Constitution and the Audit Service Act which this House passed to work as it is envisaged to do.

Madam Speaker, with these brief comments, I support the Statement.
Minister for Communications (Mr. Haruna Iddrisu) 11:55 a.m.
Madam Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to associate myself with the Statement ably made by the Hon Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka .
In commending him, I think it is important this House resolves the constitutional challenges amidst the economic constraints of Government and taking a decisive decision on the fate of three independent institutions - Parliament, the Judiciary and the Audit Service. To what extent can this House through releases from the public purse make those institutions, accordingly, independent?
We have all made references either to the Audit Service Act or the review of Office of Parliament Legislation that this House considered and then reference has always been made to article 179 (5), I hope I am right, relating to the Judiciary. It is always that their budgets are not subject to any revision. But the difficulty is the constraint of public resources and I think that this House must pass a resolution, if it has to, I believe a constitutional instrument, to tie the hands of the Executive in ensuring that these independent institutions are adequately
Minister for Local Government and Rural Development (Mr. J. Y. Chireh) 11:55 a.m.
Thank you, Madam Speaker, for the opportunity to also make comments on the Statement.
It is, in fact, very important. We in Ghana, we boast of being the best in everything, including football and when it is governance, because we have changed governments through the ballot box, everybody commends us but the measure of good performance is good governance.
The Auditor-General is one institution that if you want to show that you are a good performing country in terms
Minister for Local Government and Rural Development (Mr. J. Y. Chireh) 12:05 p.m.
However, we all know that, you cannot give something that you do not have. So realistically, if the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning is to do a budget and then they say, “This one going to the Judiciary, you cannot touch; one going to Auditor-General, you cannot touch; Parliament, you cannot touch” -- But what is there to be distributed? I believe somebody must distribute it. We must be realistic about “charged on the Consolidated Fund”.
If you also say “charged on the Consolidated Fund” we are sometimes misreading the Constitution as far as that is concerned. It is varying the conditions of occupants of the offices that are being indicated those who function there. But the other charges, like any other activity of Government need to be properly scrutinised and I believe that for Parliament to be able to strengthen itself in this area, we should distinguish between that charge that is in the Constitution for institutions like the Judiciary, Parliament and the Auditor-General.
Indeed, the funding of the Auditor- General is very important but equally so would be the funding for the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and Serious Fraud Office (SFO). All those offices that strengthen governance and ensure that corruption which people put at a very high rate -- sometimes they say it is about 40 per cent of the cost of all the activities we do.
If we are able to do this and fund these agencies properly, then we can rightly belong where we think we are, that we are a good performing country in
terms of governance. It is not just about changing governments but making sure that resources that are available are used for the benefit of the people.

Indeed, when you look at the funding of the Auditor-General, it becomes more serious when you look at the number of District Assemblies that we have - 170 of them and ideally, we should have Audit offices in each of them. It requires making provision for payment of those officers who would be employed. But we all know that, Governments upon Government' have faced this problem of how many people we can really put on the Government's payroll. That is why sometimes it is required that the Auditor- General can delegate or appoint private auditors to do the audit on its behalf. We must look at the calculations there to see whether there is a benefit in appointing private auditors or we need to employ people permanently, stuff the offices and make sure that they function.

Indeed, if you open all the offices in the 170 District Assemblies, you may have the difficulty of resourcing them adequately to be able to perform this task. But if we had private sector operators in auditing and we fund them as well, that may perhaps reduce the cost element involved. I think that the Auditor-General must be taken serious and as the Hon Member who made the Statement is saying, we all have to look at it because they are the best allies.

They tell us what is going on in the public sector and they also tell us what is going on in the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Therefore, if we want them to do the work diligently and be up to date with their audited reports, then we must give them sufficient support. The constitutional

instrument that is before us, I do not know which committee is handling it, but if it is the Committee on Subsidiary Legislation, I urge them to expedite action so that we pass that instrument to ensure that we maintain the few qualified personnel within the Audit Service.

With this, Madam Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity.
MR. SECOND DEPUTY SPEAKER
Mr. E. T. Mensah (NDC -- Ningo/ Prampram) 12:05 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I also rise to speak to the motion on the floor and to commend the Hon Member who made the Statement.
Mr. Speaker, as was just said by the Hon Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, when you talk about good governance, there are very important ingredients. Having delved into the Constitution and having gone through elections and so on, the result emphasises the issue of good governance.
We have made all the constitutional provisions for audit and audit is so important, it is the internal control mechanism in any organisation. We have internal and external audit; the internal auditors are there to keep watch and draw management's attention to financial infractions that go on. The Hon Member for Nsuta-Kwamang/Beposo, Hon Osei-Prempeh raised the issue about some who were recruited and trained and had to leave.
Concerns were also expressed by the
Hon Member who made the Statement about the lack of adequate coverage of the various institutions. What we need to do first is to think about modernising the institution of Audit Service that we have in the country today. You go to the offices and you will be surprised about the environment in which they work. In
this information technology age, some are still using old typewriters. There are no incentives; people want to work in an environment, not mainly for the salaries but if you work in a very respectable environment, you want to remain there. So we need to look at the intuitions again, we must check the environment in which they work and also pay them well -- If we do not pay them well -- accounting personnel are needed by all the private organisations.
All public sector organisations pay high premium on auditing and so, you train them and you do not pay them well, they will be poached and you will be the loser. The cost of labour turnover in our audit institutions is so high. This is because in some of the Ministries, people do not even understand the value of the qualifications that they hold and they equate them to some administrators who are not as qualified and as important as they are.
So Mr. Speaker, I think that this is a very important Statement and a very important issue in the Constitution, if we are able to establish the internal audit units in all the organizations, like he said, in all the 170 District Assemblies, those with real capacity, we will save so much money to this nation and we will be able to address many of the issues that we are talking about.
We were comparing the cost of one kilometre of road here and elsewhere; if we do not have effective internal controls, money will just be going down the drain and Ghana will be poorer for lack of empowering the institutions that we have put in place in the Constitution to make sure that these leakages are blocked.
Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity.
Ankomah (NPP
Papa Owusu 12:15 p.m.


Sekondi): Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, for giving me the opportunity of contributing to the Statement.

Mr. Speaker, the substance of this Statement, it seems was the subject matter of debate in this House in the previous Parliament when the Special Budget Committee submitted its report among other things.

I believe, presently, what we ought to consider as a priority in this House is to follow up on comments, observations, et cetera made in respect of various matters of public interest. We have been talking about this for many, many years. The Audit Service or the Auditor-General is an independent institution only insofar as the Auditor-General is discharging his work and we ought to know that. And I refer, Mr. Speaker, the House, with your permission, to article 187 (7) of the Constitution which says that:

“In the performance of his functions under this Constitution or any other law the Auditor-General

(a) shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.”

During the course of contributions, it was also indicated that an Hon Minister had requested the Auditor-General to conduct an audit in respect of a certain institution, and in this regard too, Mr. Speaker, I will refer the House with your permission to article 187 (8). Article 187 (7) talks about the independence of the Auditor-General, and the performance of his duty. Article 187(8) particularly says:

“Paragraph (a) of clause (7) of this article shall not preclude the President, acting in accordance with the advice of the Council of State, from requesting the Auditor- General in the public interest . . .”

Mr. Speaker, we want to look at this particular clause and also remember that as the Auditor-General is not subject to any control or authority in the discharge of his functions, indeed, no individual, even the President can only do that, acting not in consultation but in accordance with the advice of the Council of State. So even the way the Auditor-General does his work, as a House we should be interested in how the Auditor-General conducts his work when it is a direction from any person or authority.

Mr. Speaker, I will urge this House to consider this matter seriously. I know the Auditor-General works directly with the Public Accounts Committee, but in respect of its budget, it is the Special Budget Committee, normally and ordinarily headed by the Hon Majority Leader of this House in his capacity as Leader of the House and it is important to emphasise that --

So if there are any concerns relating to the office of the Auditor-General and the concerns have been expressed on the floor of this House, the Special Budget Committee of this House should look at it, and in consideration of the budget of the Auditor-General and the Service supporting the Auditor-General's office, that is the Audit Service, should consider how we can resource it.

But Mr. Speaker, even though article 108 seems to disable this House from financial matters, there are other methods of getting the Executive to respond positively to the concerns of the House relative to financial matters, and so we should be using those opportunities more. I am sure the Hon Leader of this House would be doing this in a way that would also promote accountability in this country.

I thank you, Mr. Speaker, for this opportunity.
Mr. Albert Kan-Dapaah (NPP -- Afigya-Sekyere -West) 12:15 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Hon Member for making this very important Statement about an institution which is so important to us in this country.
Mr. Speaker, once a year, the Executive is obliged to make an estimate of revenues and expenditure -- revenues that they are hoping to receive during the year and the expenditure that they are hoping to incur during the year, which is presented to this House in a form of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government.
It becomes the duty of this House to approve the Budget and Economic Policy document that is presented to us. Thereafter moneys are released to the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as approved by this House.
The Constitution then requires that at the end of the year, an independent body, the Audit Service, goes round to examine the accounting systems and the accounting records and books of the various MDAs and submit a report to this House whether moneys have been properly spent, moneys that were spent were authorised and that the financial resources that were made available to the MDAs have been properly accounted for.
Mr. Speaker, this is very important and indeed, a key oversight role of this Parliament is exercised through and on the basis of the audit report that is submitted to this House by the Auditor-General and the Audit Service and Mr. Speaker, this is how important the Audit Service and therefore, the Auditor-General is.
Mr. Speaker, the Constitution made sure that the Auditor-General is accorded
Mr. Albert Kan-Dapaah (NPP -- Afigya-Sekyere -West) 12:25 p.m.
all the independence that it requires for the proper discharge of its functions. This is important because, Mr. Speaker, a dependent auditor is a contradiction in terms: an auditor who is not independent does not qualify to call himself an auditor. An essential attribute of the auditor is that he must be independent. Which is why the Constitution says that the President cannot even order the Auditor-General to undertake an audit examination or an investigation.
In recent times, we heard of the President asking the Auditor-General to conduct some investigations into the District Assemblies. I can only hope that this has been with the consent of the Council of State because the Constitution says that the only time that the Auditor- General should accept any order, any directive from the President is when it comes with the consent of the Council of State.
I can also refer to what my Hon Colleague just said that clearly, it is wrong for any Hon Minister of State to direct the Auditor-General to undertake any audit examination for him. The Hon Minister is part of the Executive; the Constitution says that, yes, you can do it but first of all, you must talk to the Council of State before you do that.
All these provisions, Mr. Speaker, are necessary because of the need to protect the independence of the Audit Service.
Again, Mr. Speaker, if we are to guarantee the independence of the Audit Service, then some amount of financial independence ought to be given to the Auditor-General. If the Auditor-General cannot have the resources that it needs to undertake its work, then the Audit Service is not sufficiently resourced and equipped to undertake that very, very important
function of ensuring that public funds are properly accounted for.
Today, the Executive allocates to the Audit Service such amount as they think they can cater for in the Budget. Normally, the request by the Audit Service is much much higher than what is given to them and we appreciate the constraints that the Executive has in this area. But as has already been said by the Hon Minister for Communications (Mr. Haruna Iddrisu), we must probably find a way of making sure that sufficient resources are given to this important institution on a year-to- year basis.
Mr. Speaker, talking about this independence, one issue that we must also reflect upon is the mode of appointment of the Auditor-General. The Auditor- General is supposed to examine and audit the accounts of the Executive but the Constitution says that he must be appointed by the President, that is all right, but does that give him that independence that he would need?
Let us be a bit blunt about this, Mr. Speaker. There has been a time when, or let me say, it has become the practice of Auditor-Generals to go with the outgoing governments; this is clearly not good enough and we must probably examine some modem which would make it possible for the appointment of the Auditor-General not to be only on the basis of appointment from the President. Can the House, or Parliament for instance, be involved in the process of appointing the Auditor-General?

After all, the Constitution demands that his reports are not given to the Executive, that his reports should come to us in Parliament. In other words, we are the employers of the Auditor-General and it is fair that we have a role to play in the
Mr. Albert Kan-Dapaah (NPP -- Afigya-Sekyere -West) 12:25 p.m.


they have that financial independence and the financial resources to employ the right calibre of persons.

Mr. Speaker, today, for any young accounting officer or professional accountant, the best place to look for work is not the Audit Service. Most experienced auditors will certainly not go there in search of jobs. The conditions of service there are simply not among the best and we need to do something about it.

Finally Mr. Speaker, the Auditor- General is supposed to submit his reports on the MDAs six months after the year ends and the Audit Service takes a lot of pride and pleasure in its ability to meet this deadline. Indeed, the pride of the Auditor- General today is that he was able to submit the audited accounts for the year ending 2008 within six months of the year ending.

Mr. Speaker, having been an auditor before, this worries me because the same Constitution also gives the Accountant- General three months to prepare the accounts before they are sent to the Auditor-General to audit.

By the rules of the Auditor-General, he also has to give his draft reports to the person who was audited, they call him the audittee. The audittee has to be given one month to respond to audit queries and therefore, four months out of the six months are gone. The audit time that the Auditor-General has to do all these audits is therefore, two months.

Mr. Speaker, even if some interim audit was done during the year, I want to submit that it is simply not possible for the Auditor-General to do this and any audit report which comes after that two months' audit period, in my opinion, can only be described as less than perfect and we probably need to have a look also in that area.
Alhaji Ibrahim Dey Abubakari (NDC -- Salaga) 12:25 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you for giving me this opportunity to make my contribution towards this Statement. First, let me commend the maker of this Statement, Hon Muntaka for bringing this brilliant Statement.
But I want to start from where the last
Alhaji Ibrahim Dey Abubakari (NDC -- Salaga) 12:35 p.m.


contributor has just ended, that there is an improvement in the lot of the Ghana Audit Service in the country. This has been so, by the introduction of the Public Financial Management Reform System (PUFMA) by the NDC Government in 1998 and continued by the NPP Government. The PUFMA system has five components -- that is, the Internal Audit Agency, the Procurement Act, the Audit Service, BPEMS and MTEF.

Among the five components of the PUFMA, the Ghana Audit Service, I think, is the most important because of its independence in the institution. A lot of improvement has happened through the World Bank giving them funds. But let us go to the substance of this Statement. The issue is how do we continue funding the Ghana Audit Service? And here, how would this House contribute to ensure that the funding of the Ghana Audit Service is sustainable?

I think this is the most important issue and with this, I agree with the re- commendations made by the maker of the Statement and with your permission, Mr. Speaker, I want to quote, that is the last paragraph of the last paper which states:

“Mr. Speaker, also this House should consider some amount of audit fees to be charged on all audit services rendered by the Audit Service as internally generated funds to support its activities.”

Mr. Speaker, as he stated rightly, in other jurisdictions like South Africa and others, Audit Service charges all their clients some fees. When you consider that of Ghana, the Statement stated that Audit Service has about 6,775 institutions in number, that is roughly about 7,000 institutions in the country to audit and if this House can consider amending the Act

of the Ghana Audit Service so that these institutions pay just 10 per cent of the cost of auditing them, I think this will go a long way to generate some kind of funding for the Ghana Audit Service.

If we have about 7,000 institutions -- take some of these institutions like the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), even those corporations that can generate funds like Registrar-General's Department, Births and Deaths, Parks and Gardens, et cetera, which the Ghana Audit Service is supposed to audit them - if they are to pay 10 per cent of the cost of this auditing, that will bring a lot of money to the Ghana Audit Service and take this burden away from the Central Govern-ment.

So Mr. Speaker, my humble con- tribution is, how can this House consider the Ghana Audit Service Act, amend it, so that all those bodies including all the MMDAs, that is the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies in drawing their budgets, an amount is allocated for the Ghana Audit Service so that this will help them to generate enough funds?

Why did I say so? Auditing is a very expensive job. If an institution knows that it has to contribute to the progress of the Ghana Audit Service, I am sure that institution will ensure that the work or its internal control would be improved because the depth of the work that the auditor will do will amount to how much the auditor will charge. If the auditor has a lot of work to do on an institution, then the charge will go high. If the work is small, the charge is little.

Therefore, i f an inst i tut ion is contributing part of its budget, maybe,

ten per cent towards the audit, then I think that institution will be more guided and ensure that it strengthens its internal control system.

I am therefore, making this humble statement that as I support the Statement made by Hon Muntaka, will this House consider amending the Ghana Audit Service Act to ensure that, at least, all institutions that are being audited by the Ghana Audit Service in the country contribute towards the cost of auditing and in this way, a lot of funds will be generated for the Ghana Audit Service?

I want to thank you Mr. Speaker, for giving me this opportunity.
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader?
Majority Leader (Mr. A. S. K. Bagbin) 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to add my voice to the commendation that has already been given to the Hon Member who made the Statement.
We have had opportunity to deliberate seriously on this issue a number of times and, in fact, the Special Budget Committee chaired by me, took up the matter and this year we have managed to get the President not to tinker with the budget that was submitted by the Ghana Audit Service.
In our deliberations, we will try to see whether there was any arm-twisting behind the scenes, between the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and the Ghana Audit Service. We want to ensure that enough resources are sent to the Audit Service for it to perform its duty.
I support the line that the Hon Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Hon Albert Kan-Dapaah has taken. The Auditor-General works to Parliament and therefore, in the appointment of the
rose
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Hon Member, do you rise on a point of order?
Mr. Osei-Prempeh 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker,
Mr. Osei-Prempeh 12:35 p.m.


perhaps, I ought to have waited for him to end the sentence he was making because what he is saying is very, very dangerous.

You cannot separate the Auditor- General from the Audit Service; he is the head and the institution he heads is insulated. That is the essence and spirit of the Constitution; not to protect the Auditor-General and not to insulate the Audit Service.

Mr. Speaker, the intendment, the letter and spirit of this Constitution will not support the argument the Hon Majority Leader is making. It is very unfortunate. I do not agree with him.
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader?
Mr. Bagbin 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think my Hon Colleague has missed his way. Exactly the issue I am raising because when you go to article 188, it says and with your permission I quote:
“There shall be an Audit Service which shall form part of the public services of Ghana.”
Mr. Osei-Prempeh 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, article 187 and with your permission, I quote -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Please, take time. Which article?
Mr. Osei-Prempeh 12:35 p.m.
Article 187 --
“There shall be an Auditor-General of Ghana whose office shall be a public office.”
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader, just for the sake of our mutual instruction, is a High Court Judge a public officer? Is the Chief Justice a public officer? Apart from the Civil Service, public office has a broader nomenclature. Is the Chief Justice a public officer and are the rules and regulations including those of corruption and so on applicable to those people? Are they public officers? If you may help us there.
Mr. Bagbin 12:35 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, definitely, they are public officers and they occupy public office. And that is why in the Constitution when we want to add something to it, we specifically say so. Public office could be in a statutory corporation. And there is a vast difference between the powers, the autonomy of statutory corporations from that of public service generally, and it is there in the Interpretation section. In the Interpretation section of the Constitution, page 183, it is very clear -- Please -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Order!
Please, go on.
Mr. Bagbin 12:35 p.m.
“‘public corporation' means a corporation or any other body of persons established by an Act of Parliament or set up out of funds provided by Parliament or other public funds;”.

When you come to “public service”, the same page, 183, it

“includes service in any civil office of Government, the emoluments attached to which are paid directly from the Consolidated Fund or directly out of moneys provided by Parliament and service with a public corporation;”

So, we have the public service which

is larger. But for some good reason, we decide to establish by Acts of Parliament public corporations and there is a bit of difference. And that is why the public corporations, sometimes are allowed to operate on commercial lines.
rose
Mr. Bagbin 12:45 p.m.
Oh, my learned colleague wants to make an intervention.
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:45 p.m.
I would let him come in, but please, land; I think you were in the middle of a sentence. [Interruptions.]
Mr. Boafo 12:45 p.m.
But Mr. Speaker -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Let him finish the sentence; it may help you to -- But let his sentence be completed, so we know exactly -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Boafo 12:45 p.m.
It is not a point of order.
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Hon

Majority Leader, please, complete your sentence; he would have his chance.
Mr. Bagbin 12:45 p.m.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Hon Boafo.
Mr. Boafo 12:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to refer to a substantive provision in the Constitution on public office instead of the Interpretation column; that is article 190. It sets out the institutions which comprise the public services; it is not exhaustive because it says:
“The Public Services of Ghana shall include . . .”
So it could be extended. Therefore, the substantive provision in the Constitution tallies with what the Majority Leader is saying and it clears the question that you asked in respect of the Chief Justice, because the Judicial Service is part of the Public Services.
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Majority Leader.
Mr. Bagbin 12:45 p.m.
Thank you very much. I am grateful to you because I was going to add that article 190 clearly includes the Audit Service as part of the Public Services of Ghana. I am saying that that is why the Constitution is cautious, very careful and therefore, decided to insulate the Auditor-General from interference,
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Thank you very much, Majority Leader and I think it would be very useful if this important matter and the very vital issues you have raised be referred to the Public Accounts Committee and the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee to actually look into this matter in some depth and make appro-priate recommendations. It goes to the root of the oversight responsibility of Parliament.
Thank you very much; very useful debate.
Majority Leader, any indications, at
least, at this stage?
Mr. A. S. K. Bagbin 12:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, we will want to crave your indulgence and that of Hon Members to let us take an adjournment at this time so that the committees that are now considering the estimates before them would continue with those considerations.
Also, the Parliamentary Service Board is billed to meet immediately and I think that from Monday, we would then have time to complete the remaining work that is on the Order Paper.
So I beg to move, that the House do adjourn till Monday where we shall reconvene to continue with proceedings.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:45 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I believe what the Majority Leader has said, we have done quite some work. The outstanding business really relates to the Interpretations Bill which I believe the time is most unpropitious for its consideration. But it has been on the Order Paper for the entire week.
Having finished with the debate on the principles underpinning the Budget, indeed, the Financial Policy of Government, I believe we would be enabled on Monday to consider the Interpretations Bill and for that reason, Mr. Speaker, we may appeal to those Hon Members, especially the Hon Member for Akropong, Mr. W. O. Boafo, who has filed a basket-full of amendments to be with us on Monday.
Mr. Speaker, I second the motion to adjourn the House till Monday next week at 10.00 o'clock in the forenoon.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:45 p.m.


Question put and motion agreed to.
ADJOURNMENT 12:45 p.m.