Debates of 10 Dec 2009

MADAM SPEAKER
PRAYERS 10:35 a.m.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 10:35 a.m.
Madam Speaker 10:35 a.m.
Hon Members, Correction of Votes and Proceedings of Wednesday, 9th December, 2009.
Pages 1 - 20.
Hon Members, in the absence of any corrections, the Votes and Proceedings of Wednesday, 9th December, 2009 is hereby adopted as the correct record of proceedings.
Shall we move to the Official Report. Correction of the Official Report of Thursday, 26th November, 2009.
Mr. Isaac Osei 10:35 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I refer to column 1752, the first paragraph. The first sentence should have read “I hesitate to comment on what Dr. Duffuor said but I can say without fear of contradiction” -- not contraction -- “that his statement was inexact”. “Contra- diction” that was what I said.
Then the last paragraph, “They must compete with other processors . . .” Then the very last words, “ no special arrangements” -- that was what was said. It just said “no special”.
Madam Speaker 10:35 a.m.
Thank you. Any other correction?
Dr. A. A. Osei 10:35 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I refer to column 1760, the last but two paragraphs attributed to me -- “GDP completed.” It should be “computed” and

not “completed”.
Madam Speaker 10:35 a.m.
Any other correc- tion?
Hon Members, the Official Report of Thursday, 26th November, 2009, as corrected, represent the true record of proceedings.
Hon Members, we are moving to item 5, the laying of Papers before we come back to item 4. Hon Leader, item 5 (a), Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs?
Mr. A. S. K. Bagbin 10:45 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I think we will have to stand that item down and move to 5 (b).
Madam Speaker 10:45 a.m.
Item 5 (b) then.
Mr. Bagbin 10:45 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I have just been informed that that report too is not yet ready, so we will look at Communications.
Madam Speaker 10:45 a.m.
So we stand that down too?
Mr. Bagbin 10:45 a.m.
Yes, Madam Speaker, I think we will stand down the items listed under 5 and move straight to item 6. During the course of the day, the items under 5 will surface with copies because we are insisting that the Reports be seen and laid before we can proceed on them; so we will look at item 6.
Madam Speaker 10:45 a.m.
Hon Leader, item 6 is the Consideration Stage -- [Inter- ruption.]
Mr. Bagbin 10:45 a.m.
Madam Speaker, that is so. Item 6 because the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice is due to attend Cabinet meeting and then she is here because we need her to assist the House to finalize some discussions on a few clauses that are outstanding on the Interpretation
Bill. So once she is in, we will just start with her and others will continue later.
Madam Speaker 10:45 a.m.
The Chairman of the Committee, is he here?
Honourable, the Second Deputy Speaker is coming to finish up, so can we then start with the Questions and maybe, leave it when he comes in?
Hon Members, we move to item 3, Questions, Minister for Roads and Highways.
Hon Leader, is the Minister for Roads and Highways here to answer Questions?
Mr. Bagbin 10:45 a.m.
Madam Speaker, well, we have the Deputy Minister for Roads and Highways. The Minister is billed to commence some discussion of items at the Cabinet meeting, so he got in touch and pleaded that we should permit his Deputy to answer the Questions on his behalf so that he could rush to the Cabinet meeting. So the Deputy Minister is here to answer the Questions.
I will just plead with my Colleagues and seek your permission to allow the Deputy Minister to answer the Questions for and on behalf of the Minister for Roads and Highways.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS 10:45 a.m.
MINISTRY OF ROADS AND 10:45 a.m.
HIGHWAYS 10:45 a.m.
Mr. J. B. Aidoo 10:55 a.m.
Madam Speaker, is the Deputy Minister aware that the Bawdie Dompim-Dawuranpong -Nsuaem road was last year captured under the cocoa roads programme for tarring.?
Mr. Mettle-Nunoo 10:55 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I am not aware. [Interruption.] He asked me if I was aware and I said I am not aware.
Madam Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Hon Member, you have your answer, another question.
Mr. J. B. Aidoo 10:55 a.m.
Madam Speaker, if he is not aware, then now, I am making it known to him that this -[Interruptions] -- Empty drums make the loudest noise [Interruptions.]
Mr. E. T. Mensah 10:55 a.m.
On a point of order. Madam Speaker, I heard my Hon Member make a statement which is unparlia- mentary. He threw this at them that “empty drums make” -- [Interruptions] -- “empty barrels make the most noise”. I want him to point at those empty barrels here otherwise, he must withdraw because it is very unparliamen-tary.
Madam Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Yes, the question is, you never mentioned who. So who are the empty barrels?
Mr. J. B. Aidoo 10:55 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I have not mentioned any barrel. I hear - I stand to be corrected. [Interruptions.] I have not mentioned any barrel here.
Madam Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Hon Member, you
heard barrel but he said he did not mention barrel.
Dr. A. A Osei 10:55 a.m.
Madam Speaker, the Majority Chief Whip is misleading this House -- [Interruptions.]
Madam Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Why?
Dr. Osei 11:05 a.m.
Madam Speaker, he just said that this Hon Member used the words “empty barrels”, that is misleading this House. He should come properly if he wants to come on a point of order. He did not say “empty barrels”.
Mr. E. T. Mensah 11:05 a.m.
Madam Speaker, he said “empty barrels” otherwise, called “empty drums”.
Madam Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Let us find out from the Hon Member what he actually said.
Mr. J. B. Aidoo 11:05 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I have not mentioned anything like barrels and therefore - [Interruptions.]
Madam Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Well, I must confess I heard “empty” but I do not know what followed. [Laughter.] So I think since the horse himself is here, let us hear from his own lips.
Mr. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:05 a.m.
Madam Speaker, our Colleague is making a serious allegation against the person who was on his feet. Madam Speaker, he cannot prove his own allegation. The burden of proof lies on the Chief Whip from the Majority and certainly not him. And so far, what he has said does not in any way represent what the person on the floor said. He should be listening and if he did not listen very well and attentively, he cannot ascribe any words that the Hon Colleague has not uttered to him.
Mr. E. T. Mensah 11:05 a.m.
Madam Speaker, the Hon Member is a Friend and very honourable; he mentioned “empty drums”. He did mention “empty drums make the most noise”. So we are demanding that he withdraws because it is unparliamentary.
I thank you very much, Madam Speaker.
Madam Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Honourable, even if he said “empty drums”, whom was he referring to?
Mr. E. T. Mensah 11:05 a.m.
Madam Speaker, the statement was in reaction to comments from Hon Members on this side, that he was a Regional Minister and what did he do? They posed a question and his response was that “empty drums make the most noise”. We heard him, he did. He is an honourable man, he said so.
Madam Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Honourable, I am in some difficulty. Was he referring to himself as a Regional Minister or who?
Mr. E. T. Mensah 11:05 a.m.
Madam Speaker, that is the issue. When he started posing the supplementary questions, Hon Members on this side reminded him that he was the immediate past Regional Minister and what did he do? And his response to the question was that “empty drums make the most noise”. So he could not have spoken to himself.
Madam Speaker 11:05 a.m.
So you think he was referring to who?
Mr. E. T. Mensah 11:05 a.m.
Some of the Hon Members who shouted that “he was the Regional Minister and what did he do”? They posed the question and I can mention Hon Abayateye, Member of Parliament for Sege, who led the crusade on this issue.
Madam Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Well, I was going to
ask you who are the people who shouted.
Mr. Abayateye 11:05 a.m.
Madam Speaker, he asked the Minister if he was aware and the Minister said he was not aware and then I said “you were the Minister and that was your constituency” and then he made reference to me as an “empty drum making the loudest noise”. And that was his constituency; he was the Minister, he did not do it and now he is asking someone and he is referring to me as an “empty drum”.
Mr. Isaac Osei 11:05 a.m.
Madam Speaker, if Hon Members of this House seek to speak, I think they have a duty to catch your eye. Anybody who decides to talk without first seeking your permission will certainly be making noise. [Uproar.] And those noises must be regarded as empty because they are of no effect and will not be recorded as such.
Mr. E. T. Mensah 11:05 a.m.
Madam Speaker, Hon Abayateye made a statement; he did not make any noise. He made a statement that he was a former Regional Minister. So that cannot be noise which could be empty.
Madam Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Honourable, that statement, was it made when he was called upon to talk or was it recorded in the Hansard - Did he have the floor? If he did, I will look at it differently. Just shouting across so many people - [Interruption.]
Mr. E. T. Mensah 11:05 a.m.
Madam Speaker, he did not shout across. Hon Abayateye, Member of Parliament for Sege said that “you were a former Minister and what did you do?” And he reacted to the statement. If he had ignored the statement, that would have been all right but he reacted to the statement by making an unparliamentary statement against the Hon Member and we are demanding that he withdraws. This is because heckling is permitted here and when you are being heckled and you make a statement which is considered to be unparliamentary, you are asked to
Madam Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Hon Majority Chief Whip, I have some difficulty here because whoever said anything was not permitted on the floor to speak. And so when you do that and objection is taken then I find it difficult. Otherwise, I would be ruling hundred times because there is so much background noise.
Now, tell me, do we take cognizance of the background noise? If we do, then things may be different.
An Hon Member -- rose --
Madam Speaker 11:05 a.m.
I have not called you. That is my difficulty. I want to know.
rose
Madam Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Honourable, let us hear you. It may help us.
Mr. Hodogbey 11:05 a.m.
Madam Speaker, everything we do here is captured by the Hansard. We know that when you are not called, your statement is never captured by the Hansard. So whatever Hon Abayateye said, whether it is unparlia-mentary or not was not captured but the one captured was made by the person who was standing. Therefore, he is the right person to apologize or to withdraw that statement, not Hon Abayateye. He must explain that.
Madam Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Honourable, I see the point you are making and that is why I called on the Leader, to whom -- If you say what Hon Abayateye said is not on record, then we do not consider that. So we are considering only his speeches.
So if somebody stands here and says “empty barrels make the most noise” without regard to any background -- because you are asking him to ignore the background noise because it is not reported in the Hansard -- The two must
Madam Speaker 11:05 a.m.


be linked and that is why I am calling on the Leader to help me here.

Leader of the House, we will have it recurring, let us thrash it out. Somebody shouts or many people shout and it is not on record --
Mr. Bagbin 11:15 a.m.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, the Official Report will capture either -- [Hear! Hear!] -- “Interruptions or Laughter”, those are captured. But usually, the Member on his feet is the one that is preferred to be captured verbatim, so we are likely to have in the Hansard some “Interruptions or Laughter”. But the statement by my very good Friend, the Hon former Regional Minister (Mr. J. B. Aidoo) will definitely be captured. That statement was to the effect that “empty drums make the most noise”, that was the statement.
I realize that usually, that is not his nature, I think he was carried away to make that statement. It is for us to decide whether that statement is parliamentary or unparliamentary, and Madam Speaker is being called upon to say, by her ruling, that it is unparliamentary.
Now, I sympathise with Madam Speaker because the acoustics that we have are not too effective and Madam Speaker only heard “empty” and she did not hear the other words and I think it was proper for you to have given the opportunity to the Hon Member to repeat what he is alleged to have said.
The Hon Member, to use the common parlance, is pulling foot and running away from repeating what he was alleged to have said. So that is the difficulty, but being an Hon Member, I know he will do that -- I have dealt with him for so many years, I know he will do that and -- [Laughter] -- and at the end of the

day -- [Inter-ruptions] -- the gentleman that he is, the Hon Member that he is, if he is at fault, he will admit it and do the right thing. But if he is not at fault, he will insist on his right.

So Madam Speaker, I think it is proper we let him repeat what he said and for us to decide whether it is parliamentary or not parliamentary.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:15 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I think we are witnessing something that is very strange in this House. It is strange because a person is on his feet, he makes a statement, somebody raises an objection, the person who raises the objection is unable to quote the Member on his feet and then the burden of proof now shifts to the person who was speaking. On what basis is the person rising on a point of order to challenge any statement by the Member?
In any event, Madam Speaker, the Hon E. T. Mensah, the Majority Chief Whip, who came in with this point of order, he started by attributing a word to the Hon Member, but it is found out to be untrue. The second leg is that, it said the person shouted and now he is backtracking; he said he did not shout and that he only reacted and made a statement. Madam Speaker, this interjection is not credible.
If I may, beyond what I have said, Madam Speaker, I would let us flash back. We go back to l998, in this very House, there was a ruling which is akin to what is happening today -- [Interruptions] -- I was a back bencher, the Hon Member was a Deputy Minister, the Deputy Minister for Finance and 8 years in the interregnum, when the NDC was in the opposition, he kept repeating in this House that he was going to be the next Finance Minister -- [Laughter] -- and here he is -- [Laughter.]
Madam Speaker, let him not go there.
Madam Speaker, coming to the sub- stantive matter, and I know the Attorney- General and Minister for Justice must be leaving us very soon because we have to deal with the Interpretation Bill.
Madam Speaker, I just wanted us to flash back. When some labelling was made in this House by the current General Secretary of the NDC, he was a Member of this House at the time and castigated some group as terrorists, words to that effect, he did not fix the label on any particular group, just like we are witnessing today.
The Speaker was called upon to rule and he said “if the cap fits, you wear it” - [Laughter] -- Madam Speaker, nobody has been labelled. If the cap fits anybody, the person should wear it and I invite you to rule in sync with that earlier ruling.
Madam Speaker 11:15 a.m.
I think you have
put your finger on my problem; since it is not the person who was called an “empty barrel” objecting, I find it rather difficult but I think this is on all fours, and I would not say wear it.
Hon E. T. Mensah, you are not supposed to speak for an Hon Member who has been offended. If the man himself is here and he takes objection, I can give a ruling on it.
But let us finally come to Hon J. B. Aidoo and really get what was said because we are saying we do not know what he said.
Mr. J. B. Aidoo 11:15 a.m.
Madam Speaker, it is good to hear the Majority Leader referring to me as being honourable and a gentleman and I do not want us to stretch this matter. We have to make progress and therefore, whether it is “barrel”, whether it is “drum”, whether it was “empty”, they are all withdrawn.
Madam Speaker 11:15 a.m.
He has withdrawn.
Mr. E. T. Mensah 11:15 a.m.
Madam Speaker, you made a statement. I objected to the statement in my capacity as the Majority Chief Whip and not the person who made the statement and I think that is permissible.
I thank you, Madam Speaker.
Madam Speaker 11:15 a.m.
The matter has been brought to a happy end. It has been withdrawn.
Yes, Hon Member, can you ask your second question?
Mr. J. B. Aidoo 11:15 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I will continue with the supplementary but before then, the interjection that I was a former Western Regional Minister, Madam Speaker, I just want to say that I do not need any platform, particularly, even on the floor of this House, to come and present my performance when I was the Western Regional Minister before asking a question -- [Interruptions] -- I do not have to come here and display my performance and therefore, such interjections -- “you were former Western Regional Minister, what did you do” and all that; I believe they are unnecessary -- [Interruption.]
Madam Speaker 11:15 a.m.
But I always hear the same talk from the other side. Now that you have withdrawn, let us put a stop to it and continue with your question.
Mr. J. B. Aidoo 11:15 a.m.
Madam Speaker, the supplementary question which I was asking was that, will the Ministry consider including the Bawdie Dompim- Dawuranpong-Mansiso-Nsuaem road in this year's cocoa roads programme because last year it was captured? It was my hope that this year it would be implemented. Will they consider that?
Mr. Mettle-Nunoo 11:15 a.m.
Madam Speaker, the feeder roads network is very important

to the Government and we have a very comprehensive programme where we are trying to prioritise the road network in the feeder roads chain. So we will consider broadly and I believe that the Ministry will look favourably at considering the specific thing he is referring to.

However, because of the budgetary constraints, we do not have a specific programme for cocoa roads but we have some programming for doing routine maintenance and I believe that in the event that we can do some routine maintenance on the existing road network, this will be done.
Madam Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Yes, Hon Member, your third question.
Mr. J. B. Aidoo 11:15 a.m.
Madam Speaker, similarly, the Nkonya- Pewuako- Dompaase feeder road -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Mettle-Nunoo 11:15 a.m.
I will respond
to that. Madam Speaker, he asked two questions and I addressed only one but the second one relates to the Nkonya- Pewuako-Dompaase feeder road. The background is as follows: the Nkonya- Pewuako-Dompaase feeder road is 17 kilometres in length and it is located again in the Amenfi East District of the Western Region. This road is engineered and is currently in a fair condition.
Currently, the feeder road was awarded for spot improvement in August 2006 at a contract price of GH¢230,000 to be completed by October 2007. The works comprising, clearing, construction of culverts of various sizes, filling of culvert approaches and sectional gravelling were supposed to have been taken care of in that award. The contract was however terminated in August 2009 due to non- performance by the contractor. At the time of termination, only clearing and reshaping works had been executed.
Our future position on this particular
road network is as follows: the outstanding works on this road will be repackaged for completion within the 2010 Budget. After completion of the spot improvement works, the road will be programmed for surfacing when funds are available.
Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Madam Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Hon Aidoo, you have another question? Shall we move on to the other Question?
Roads in Cocoa Growing Areas (Surface Dressing)
Q. 99. Mr. J. B. Aidoo asked the Deputy Minister for Roads and Highways when the surface dressing of the following important roads in cocoa growing areas would commence:
(i) Abesewa-Gyaamang
(ii) Wassa Akropong-Grumisa
(iii) Wassa Akropong-Moseaso.
Mr. Mettle-Nunoo 11:15 a.m.
Madam Speaker, the background to the Question is as follows:
The Abesewa-Gyaamang feeder road is 3.3 kilometres. It is located in the Amenfi East District of the Western Region. The road is engineered and is in a good condition.
The Ministry has no immediate plans to tar this road. The tarring of this road will be considered alongside others when funds are available.
This is for the Abesewa-Gyaamang feeder road.
With the Wassa Akropong-Grumisa

feeder road, it is 5 kilometres long and located in the Amenfi East District of the Western Region. It is engineered and is in a fair condition.

Again, the Ministry has no immediate plans to tar this road. The tarring of this road will be considered alongside others when funds are available.

The Wassa Akropong-Moseaso feeder road is 6.4 kilometres. It is located in the Amenfi East District of the Western Region. It is engineered and the road surface condition is good.

Future plans are as follows: Engineer- ing studies will be carried out and based on its outcome and the availability of funds, the appropriate intervention will be undertaken. Meanwhile, routine maintenance will be carried out on the road in 2010.
Mr. J. B. Aidoo 11:15 a.m.
Madam Speaker,
I am surprised by the Answer given by the Deputy Minister to the effect that the Ministry has no immediate plans to tar the Abesewa-Gyaamang road.
MR. SECOND DEPUTY SPEAKER
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Hon Member, please, continue.
Mr. J. B. Aidoo 11:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the three roads in question total 14.7 kilometres and they were packaged for tarring under the 15-kilometre road surface dressing programme by the previous Adminis- tration; it was billed to commence this year.
Mr. Speaker, engineers from the headquarters, that is the Feeder Roads
Mr. Mettle-Nunoo 11:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, if I can give a little explanation. You know, the Cocoa Roads Programme is clearly a priority of the Government and indeed, the previous government had plans as you have indicated.
However, the cocoa roads come under severe stress particularly in the Amansie West District the weather conditions, the traffic and because of the very heavy axle load vehicles that use that corridor. At times we would normally expect that heavy axle load vehicles will not ply such roads during the rainy season.
However, what we have as a problem and constraint is that there are no funds currently available. The feeder roads programme nationally is also heavily over- subscribed. That is why we think that the current condition of the road is, yes, it has been engineered, it is in a fairly good condition and we will try and maintain the road, but to move beyond that and tar it. We do not have funds available immediately in the 2010 Budget to deal with that.
Mr. J. B. Aidoo 11:15 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I was on my feet more or less on a point of order. The Hon Deputy Minister is referring to Amansie West, sometimes they say Amansie Central. The constituency which is the same as the district is Amenfi East

and not Amansie, that is the first point.

Secondly, the roads he is talking about were not captured under the cocoa roads programme. They were captured under the 15-kilometre tarring of roads which was a programme instituted last year and that is what I am asking, since they were captured under the 15-kilometre, which is different from the cocoa roads. I know they are all within cocoa growing areas. We are talking about communities that produce cocoa for this country and they were captured under the 15-kilometre tarring of roads programme last year. So what is he going to do about them?
Mr. Mettle-Nunoo 11:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I was definitely referring to Amenfi East; so if there was a slip, you pardon me.
Secondly, the 15-kilometre programme did not come on because there were no funds. That is a simple answer. So what we are saying basically is that even though it was supposed to have come on, there were no funds to make that programme come on.
However, we have tried to maintain the road; we would continue in 2010 to maintain the road but we cannot tar it because there are currently no funds available.
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Very well, apparently there are no further questions on this.
Dr. R. W. Anane 11:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, in the given Answer by the Hon Deputy Minister to the Question raised by the Hon Member, he said the15-kilometre road project which was a policy initiative of the past Government did not start because of lack of funds. I would want to know whether he has been fully briefed the direction given and whether it actually started or
it did not start. This is because it did start and there was a realignment about the start and I want the Hon Deputy Minister to let this House know whether he has not been briefed on that matter.
Mr. Mettle-Nunoo 11:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I did not say that the programme nationally did not start. I was speaking specifically about the road that he was referring to and the reasons for the non-performance, is not just a question of funds -- the contractor's performance, the amount of work that the contractor on site was able to do is what I am referring to. But the programme itself, in terms of the 15-kilometre programme did not start. It did not start. It has nothing to do with whether I was briefed or not, my beef is that it did not start.
Dr. Anane 11:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I still want to maintain that the programme started, there was a realignment of the programme in the sense that new projects perceived were restrained. Only in a few places were new projects to be started but old places -- because it was based on the fact that there was a need to equitably distribute especially the tarring of road projects in the country and therefore, ongoing projects which were not going to be tarred were even assigned to be tarred and, Mr. Speaker, I do say they were started and I would want the Hon Minister to rather seek for clarification from his staff before he says so.
I do see that he has been given a note but I still want to say there is a need for him to clarify and come back to tell this House whether it was or it was not.
Mr. E. T. Mensah 11:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, Hon Dr. Anane's intervention contravenes Standing Order 69. I, therefore, wish that you rule him out of order so that we
make progress.
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 11:25 a.m.
To what extent does it offend that Order or rule?
Mr. E. T. Mensah 11:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, with your permission, for the avoidance of doubt, let me quote Order 69 (1):
“As soon as a Question is answered in the House any Member beginning with the Member who asked the Question may, without notice, ask a supplementary Question for the further elucidation of any matter of fact regarding which the answer has been given, but a supplementary Question must not be used to introduce matter not included in the Original Question.”
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 11:25 a.m.
And to what extent does that breach the rule?
Mr. E. T. Mensah 11:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, if I may go back, Order 68 (5), and with your permission I quote:
“No Member shall address the House upon any Question, nor in asking the Question shall any argument or opinion be offered.”
The Hon Member argued and offered an opinion that the Hon Deputy Minister should go and ask for clarification and I am saying that it is his opinion and so it should be overruled.
Dr. Anane 11:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, we can see that the Hon Member's intervention does not appear to hold water but I am not speaking here on the basis of opinion. I am speaking here on the basis of an Hon Minister who supervised these works to be done and I would want to concede that I do not expect the Hon Deputy Minister
Mr. E.T. Mensah 11:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, the Hon Member infringed many, many sections of the rules. Rule 68 (5), I have quoted already. Rule 68(6), says
“When any Question has been asked and answered no debate on it shall be permitted.”
He has debated the issue. He has introduced new matters.
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Hon Member, if the Hon Deputy Minister would please answer the Question. But if he would need time to come and do so, he may say so. And if he wants notice, he may also say so.
Mr. Mettle-Nunoo 11:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I would say that, maybe, I need notice because the specific reference he is making to, is a policy-related thing and even if he was the previous Hon Minister of the sector, we do not have the specific answer now to the question he is asking, so I need notice.
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Thank you, Hon Deputy Minister.
Mr. J. B. Aidoo 11:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, based on the Answer the Hon Deputy Minister gave, I have to terminate asking further questions, because he said the programme did not come on board due to lack of funds. But now that we have been informed that the programme actually took place and funds were available -- [Interruptions.] The programme took

place, funds notwithstanding. Would he now consider taking on board those three roads under the 15-kilometre road?
Mr. Mettle-Nunoo 11:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, what I said was that the programme did not start. There was no budget available for the programme. He asked a specific Question relating to feeder roads, so we gave him the status of those roads based on the fact that they are feeder roads. He was then asking for the tarring or upgrading of the condition of the road for which we said “there is no budget or funds available”. But the 15-kilometre programme referred to as the follow-up question did not start because there were no funds available.
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Deputy Minister.
Dr. Anane 11:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, thanks so much for permitting me to make an input. I insist that the programme started. I do know that a budget is not run as if when you make a budget for a year, you may have a surplus to put for the next year. It is about prioritisation and if a government decides not to prioritise, that is a problem for the Government.
Mr. Speaker, the project started -- If today we are being told there is no money, that is a problem of priority because any government decides to place the money where it wants to place it and you can never ever have enough money for all the programmes in the country at the same time.
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Member. Started or not started, I think if a specific Question would be asked and the Hon Minister given notice, we would then be able to resolve that matter.
Mr. C. S. Hodogbey 11:25 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I was trying to stand on a point of order to the Hon Member, but he has already
finished.
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 11:25 a.m.
I am afraid the Hon Member is not on his feet -- [Interruption.]
Mr. Hodogbey 11:25 a.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 11:25 a.m.
And he cannot be out of a point of order.
Mr. E. T. Mensah 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I think we need to make progress, as you rightly said, started or not started ,is not the issue here. The Hon Deputy Minister has asked that he should be given time to come back to this House and answer the question; so we need to cease the debate and make progress.
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Hon E. T. Mensah, we do not want to go back. I think that matter is rested for now.
Hon Members, any question other than that matter on which I have ruled?
Mr. J. B. Aidoo 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, a related issue. Mr. Speaker, the Hon Deputy Minister in his Answer, said that I asked about the status of those feeder roads and he has given an Answer and he is now telling me what is to be done about those roads when funds become available.
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Hon Member, you have not received an Answer
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 11:35 a.m.


as to the Ministry's plan in tarring that road?
Mr. J. B. Aidoo 11:35 a.m.
There is some factual
-- 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 11:35 a.m.
If that is the question and if that has been answered, then I think the matter can be put to rest.
Mr. J. B. Aidoo 11:35 a.m.
Not fully answered.
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Please, to what extent is the question not answered for which matter you want further elucidation?
Mr. J. B. Aidoo 11:35 a.m.
When will the tarring of these roads start?
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Hon Deputy Minister, can you tell us, perhaps, a date? When will the tarring of those roads start?
Mr. Mettle-Nunoo 11:35 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I thought I had made it very clear that funds were not available, and that as and when funds were available, we would consider the programming for tarring.
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 11:35 a.m.
So the roads would be tarred as soon as funds are available?
Mr. Mettle-Nunoo 11:35 a.m.
Yes, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Deputy Minister.
Hon Deputy Minister for Roads and Highways, I am afraid you will have to still wait a while, we will respectfully move to item 6 -- Interpretation Bill at the Consideration Stage so that the Hon Learned Attorney-General and Minister for Justice can help the House as much as she can and then go over to attend to other matters of State.
So Hon Members , i t em 6 -- Interpretation Bill at the Consideration Stage.
  • [Oral Answers to Questions continued
    • BILLS -- CONSIDERATION 11:35 a.m.
    STAGE 11:35 a.m.
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 11:35 a.m.
    Clause 4 -- there is an amendment.
    Chairman of the Committee, if you may please move your amendment.
    Vice Chairman of the Committee (Mr. R. L. Agbenyefia): Mr. Speaker, the last day we proposed to amend clause 4 -- but we got a proposal from the Attorney- General's office which the Committee looked at. Mr. Speaker, after looking at the Attorney-General's statement, the Committee has decided to abandon the said amendment. Mr. Speaker, however, the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice herself is here and I will give her the opportunity to explain the statement that was distributed to us.
    Mrs. Betty Mould-Iddrisu 11:35 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, the Ministry of Justice and myself in particular, with my colleague the Director of Legal Drafting wish to state that an enacting formula gives the Act the jurisdictional identity and cons-titutional authority.
    The enacting clauses in the Inter- pretation Bill, clause 4 -- enacted by the President and Parliament is essentially a term of Act.
    Mr. Speaker, the words of enactment are important; they are critical and without the usage of the words “enacted by the President and Parliament”, we find that the meaning would change. The use of the verb “enacted” in the ordinary English Language means ‘to establish by legal and authoritative act' to make into law, to perform the last Act of legislation upon which a Bill is given the validity of law.
    Mr. Speaker, the verb “enact” should, with reference to the Constitution include the passage of an assent to a Bill. The enacting formula being enacted by the President and Parliament, Mr. Speaker, is the formula which has been used by

    the Statute Revision Commissioner in all of the revised statutes of Ghana; it is also the formula which is used in all of the Commonwealth Jurisdictions and we would be grateful if the Learned Hon Members would enable clause 4 to remain as it is in clause 4 (2).
    Mr. Speaker it reads 11:35 a.m.
    “In a Bill presented to the President for the assent, the words of enactment shall be ‘enacted by the President and Parliament'.”
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 11:35 a.m.
    What this means therefore is that, in fact, the amendment proposed is being abandoned and substituted with “enacted by the President and Parliament”. Is that the rendition?
    Mr. W. O. Boafo 11:35 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, the restored clause 4 could be found in the Preamble to the Bill where it is stated “enacted by the President and Parliament”. Mr. Speaker, in order to holistically tackle this issue, I am craving your indulgence so that we can go to page 5 of the Order Paper, item (vi) where we are seeking to propose an amendment to the Preamble by the deletion of the expression “the President and”, thereby making a new rendition to the Preamble in these words “enacted by Parliament”.
    So with your permission, if we can take that at this stage, in view of the fact that the clause 4 had been abandoned so that if we are able to carry the House with us under the amendment to the Preamble under the second Consideration Stage, we would seek to tackle clause 4.
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 11:35 a.m.
    Hon Boafo, in that connection, what renditions are you proposing?
    Mr. Boafo 11:35 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, my rendition is “enacted by Parliament” and not
    “enacted by the President and Parliament”.
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 11:35 a.m.
    That is an amendment that you seek to move?
    Mr. Boafo 11:35 a.m.
    That is precisely so, Mr. Speaker.
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 11:35 a.m.
    Very well, if you will formally move it and if it will be seconded then perhaps, it can be debated. Very well, you need not second it.
    Can we have your argument presented on that, then we see other Members' consideration of it?
    Mr. Boafo 11:45 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, Preamble, delete “the President and”.
    Mr. Speaker, the current enactment formula which is being proposed by the Hon Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, in my view, is offensive to the concept of separation of powers.
    Mr. Speaker, the current enactment formula could be traced to the provisions under the 1960 Constitution; and under the 1960 Constitution, article 20 (1) provides that:
    “There shall be a Parliament consisting of the President and the National Assembly,”
    and the National Assembly at that time, consisted of the Speaker and not less than 104 Members.
    Mr. Speaker, so it is not strange that because the composition of Parliament at that time, was the President and the National Assembly, you will find in the
    Public Collections Act of 1961 -- the Preamble to that Act is stated as follows:
    “Be it enacted by the President and the National Assembly in this present Parliament assembled as follows” --
    Consistently with this pattern, in 1969 when we had the Second Republic, the 1969 Constitution under article 69 (1) of that Constitution, there is a provision that:
    “There shall be a Parliament of Ghana which shall consist of the President and the National Assembly.”
    The “National Assembly” defined under article 70 of that Constitution states that:
    “The National Assembly shall consist of not less than 140 and not more than 150 elected Members.”
    So it is not surprising that, Mr. Speaker, under the Loans Act of 1970 which was passed under the Constitution of 1969 we have the enacting formula as follows:
    “ N O W T H E R E F O R E B E
    I T E N A C T E D B Y T H E 11:45 a.m.
    PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION 11:45 a.m.
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 11:45 a.m.
    Which
    Mr. Boafo 11:55 a.m.
    Article 93 (1) and (2) of the Constitution of 1992 read as follows:
    “(1) There shall be a Parliament of Ghana which shall consist of not less than one hundred and forty elected members.
    (2) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the legislative power of Ghana shall be vested in Parliament and shall be exercised in accordance with this Constitution.”
    Mr. Speaker, if you go to article 295 of the 1992 Constitution, “Act of Parliament” means:
    “an Act enacted by Parliament and includes an Ordinance;”
    Mr. Speaker, if you go to, as we do, in the Interpretation and we follow the Judges -- Mr. Speaker, if you go to the Oxford Advanced Learner's Encyclopaedic Dictionary, the 1994 Edition (paper back), Second Updated Edition, page 293, column (1), the definition of “enact”, the second leg of the definition of “enact”, -- “make or pass a law”.
    So if you read this in conjunction with article 295 (1) where it said that -- “Act of Parliament means an Act enacted by Parliament” -- and there is no mention of “passed by Parliament and assented to by the President”. Then Mr. Speaker, we are at a loss and we want to urge this House that having regard to the origins of this “as enacted by President and Parliament” which was in conformity with the composition of Parliament at that time, we cannot import it into an era where the composition of Parliament excludes the President.

    Mr. Speaker, I quite acknowledge the fact that the President has a role to

    play in assenting to the Bill. But Mr. Speaker, my contention here is that, this is a role assigned to the President by the Constitution and that role is already recognised by the Constitution. There is no need for us to bring it here. We do not live in the same belly with the President. If we live in any belly at all, the natural belly that we live in is that of Madam Speaker; it is not the President's belly that we live in. So, we must extricate ourselves from the presidency.

    Mr. Speaker, the other contention is

    that, if you look at the process, from all that we have said, one could submit that, so far as assenting to the Bill is concerned, it is not the part of enactment but it is validation of what has been done by this House. We only send it to the President to validate it for us. But so far as the enactment is concerned, we do it in this House.

    If we are to acknowledge the fact that the Bills emanate from the Executive, then he assents to it, so we should put it in the Bill. Mr. Speaker, then the other contention is to go to the extreme and say that if in any case, wherever there is an input by anybody, that input must also be recognised by this House.

    If the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) champions the passage of the provision laid through Transition period, what are we going to do with that? Because they will have a substantial input in that legislation? And Mr. Speaker, there is no repository from the Executive so far as we are concerned. They take themselves as separate from us because under the Constitution, we are assigned a role to approve international financial and economic agreements and transactions.

    But when these agreements come to this House and leave this House, when
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 11:55 a.m.
    Definite-
    ly, the Hon Attorney-General and Minister for Justice may want to let us have a few insights. Who actually legislates in this country under our Constitution?
    Mrs. Mould-Iddrisu 11:55 a.m.
    Mr. Speaker, it
    is clear that in legislation, this Honourable House is joined by an umbilical cord to the presidency. I do not think that that can be denied.
    I would not go as far back as 1960 even
    though I could. But let me just say that it is a twin process. Under article 106 (1), the power of Parliament to make laws shall be exercised by Bills passed by Parliament and assented to by the President. This was stipulated under article 88 (1) and (10) under the 1979 Constitution.
    The legislative power at that time, which was exercised by the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) reverted
    Mrs. Mould-Iddrisu 12:05 p.m.
    However, under the 1979 Constitution we found, strangely enough, enacting formula, “be it enacted by Parliament as follows” was first introduced. We believe that this was an error because it created the impression that the passage of a Bill by Parliament was sufficient to create an enactment.
    Mr. Speaker, I have defined an enactment -- Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, an unabridged, defines “enact” as: “establish by legal and authoritative act, make into law, especially . . .” and I emphasise “. . . especially to perform the last act of legislation upon a ‘Bill' that gives the validity of law.”
    Mr. Speaker, the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English further defines “enact” as: “make a “Bill”, et cetera law”. As I have said before, these two definitions clearly show that the verb “enact” relates to the definitive act of transforming a Bill into law. Until that final act, therefore, Mr. Speaker, that transforms the Bill into law takes place, the enactment is not and cannot be complete. So, there is no law or enactment. Therefore, the verb “enact” should include all the processes by which a Bill becomes law.

    To go back to article 106 of our present 1992 Constitution, a Bill becomes a law when it is passed by Parliament and assented to by the President. We have said that the verb “enact” with reference to the Constitution should include the passage of and assent to a Bill. Assenting to a Bill is

    the validation of the Bill that makes the passage of the Bill complete.

    It is, therefore, neither in conformity with the Constitution nor in accord with the meaning of the verb “enact”, where you need to have an assent to a Bill by the President to transform a Bill into law. Parliament has its role and the President has his role. The two are joined; in order to enact, you have to have the two joined together.

    Mr. Speaker, I believe that I have made the case convincingly.
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:05 p.m.
    Hon
    Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, just to assist the House further, how do we look at the ordinary interpretation of section 93 (1) and (2) of our Constitution, in terms of the statement there regarding “to who has the legislative power in the Republic of Ghana”? In the Republic of Ghana, in whom is legislative authority reposed in terms of the ordinary meaning of section 93? It will help us, I believe.
    Mrs. Mould-Iddrisu 12:05 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker,
    with your permission, I do not think that article 93 (1) is in dispute:
    (1) “There shall be a Parliament of Ghana . . .”
    (2) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the legislative power of Ghana shall be vested in Parliament and shall be exercised in accordance with this Constitution.”
    However, article 106 (1) consequently says:
    “The power of Parliament to make laws shall be exercised by bills . . .”
    which are not enactments yet until they are assented to by the President. So until
    the time the President assents to it, Mr. Speaker, you may make a Bill but it is not enacted and it is the ordinary meaning of the word “enacted” that we are looking at here in conjunction with the interpretation of both articles 93 and 106 (1).
    Mr. Speaker, I believe it is plain on the face of it that the two are one and that when you use the word “enacted”, it cannot be completed until the President signs and assents to the Bill. That is the reason why under the Interpretation Bill , clause 4 (2) it states that it is enacted by the President and Parliament.
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:05 p.m.
    Hon
    Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, and in effect, article 106 should be read conjunctive with 93 in order to have a holistic effect, if that is what you are saying, so that you can help this House to make progress.
    Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:05 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I think we should be very clear in our minds about what an Act of Parliament is. Mr. Speaker, from our own Standing Orders, and I believe we should start from there, Order 7 provides, ‘“enactment” means an Act of Parliament .' Simplicita. An Act of Parliament, and an Act of Parliament is defined by the Constitution, that is article 295 (1). Already, my Hon Colleague has referred to that so I will not belabour the point.
    Mr. Speaker, yes, I agree that we should also be looking at article 106 (1) which the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice has referred to, but that is not a stand- alone. If you go to article 107, it reinforces the point that legislation is the business of Parliament and it is not a shared duty with the Presidency. Mr. Speaker, 107 (1) which refers to what Parliament cannot do says:
    “Parliament shall have no power to pass any law --
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:15 p.m.
    Hon Minority Leader, please, stick to your argument.
    Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:15 p.m.
    Mr.
    Speaker, he was doubting what I was saying and that is why I was drawing his attention to what is contained in the provision before us and being shepherded by the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice. The Speaker only gives a certificate that Parliament has passed this Act. So I believe that nobody should have any doubt at all in his or her mind that what the President is called upon to do is the act of validation or certification or authentication.
    You would, if you address your mind to article 106, realize that the President could refuse to assent to a Bill and he will be forced by Parliament to do it because Parliament representing the people of this country has passed an enactment. That is how come Parliament can force the President to assent.
    My Colleague, the Member for Ningo- Prampram is asking “how”. Mr. Speaker, he has not even considered the provisions of article 106, the President can be forced -- I am addressing the Chair -- by a two- thirds vote of Parliament to override the President's intention not to assent.
    This Parliament can force the President to sign against his wishes, and that is what it means that what he does is just certification and authentication. He will be an unwilling person to be called upon
    to just append his signature, that is because the people have decided, “I agree”. It does not make him a participant in the business of legislation.
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:15 p.m.
    Hon
    Minority Leader, address the Chair. Please, go on.
    Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:15 p.m.
    Mr.
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:15 p.m.
    Hon
    Minority Leader, please, go on.
    Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:15 p.m.
    Mr.
    Speaker, so I was making the point that what the President does is a mere act of authentication, he is not a participant in the business of legislation. And Parliament should not allow this Executive intrusion into Parliament.
    Even in the United States of America, we have been given the example. If you look at the Commonwealth countries, particularly United Kingdom, Australia, India and the rest where we have Prime Ministers who are Sitting Members of Parliament, this would not apply because they themselves are Sitting Members of Parliament; they participate in the proceedings. And because they are primus inter pares, they are required after they have participated to authenticate and that is why we have that provision in those Commonwealth countries.
    I believe we should not surrender the powers that we have to the Presidency. We should stick to our grounds and protect the sovereignty of this Arm of Government.
    Mr. Speaker, the question has been
    asked about when this has become a reality. If we discover that what we have done is not the best, nothing prevents us from doing some serious introspection to stop -- And that is why whenever we have
    passed laws, as the implementation rolls on, we have come to proffer amend-ments, we are not sacrosanct.
    As an organ, as an institution, we are not sacrosanct and that is why we go back to proffer amendments. So the fact that it has been done earlier, if we see that maybe, it is wrong, nothing prevents us from going back to correct whatever failures, whatever mistakes that we have made.
    Mr. Speaker, I thank you for your indulgence in the hope, in the brightest hope that no Hon Member of Parliament who is not from the Executive will rise up to further argue -- [Interruptions] -- That the rights and duties of Parliament should be surrendered or ceded on a silver platter to the Executive.
    I do not think that my Colleague, the Hon Doe Adjaho would do that as the First Deputy Speaker of this House. He would not allow himself to be unduly influenced in the negative by the Executive.
    Mr. Doe Adjaho 12:15 p.m.
    Thank you very
    much, Mr. Speaker. I must start by confessing that the first time that I saw a Bill enacted by President and Parliament, some of us were a bit worried. And I have never hidden my intentions at all that I have a problem with that rendition, that was why when I was in the Chair and this matter came up, the Hon Deputy Attorney- General and Minister for Justice made the application -- we thought it will be fair to bring the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice here for us to listen to her and then the House as a whole can take a decision on this matter.
    I am also very clear in my mind that this has nothing to do with eroding the powers of this House in making laws at all. That is, not the issue at stake. The issue at stake is when does an Act of Parliament
    Mr. Doe Adjaho 12:25 p.m.
    become an Act of Parliament? That is the only fundamental question that must be posed and answered.
    In my view, the most important provision of the Constitution that settles this matter and which is consistent with the Webster's Dictionary that the Hon Attorney-General and Minister for Justice has referred to -- and I have the privilege of reading the definition there -- is article 106 (11). In my view, that solves the problem, and Mr. Speaker, with your permission, I quote:
    “Without prejudice to the power of Parliament to postpone the operation of a law, a bill shall not become law until it has been duly passed and assented . . .”
    We are talking about an act of Parliament, we are not talking about a Bill. So when does a Bill become law? Without the assent of the President, it cannot become law. There is no way, in fact, until he agrees, until he signs under clause 10 which the Hon Minority Leader referred to.
    When he vetoes it and returns it, we need two-thirds of this House to do it. Even when it goes back to him, he must assent before it becomes an Act of Parliament. And it is that process in my respective view that we are talking about, and I entirely agree that it is a twinned effort. I agree.
    In fact, the former Deputy Attorney- General suggested to me that since the process starts with us in a way before the assent comes, it should be Parliament and President. I think that if you look at article 106 (11) of this Constitution, it stipulates that we cannot have any Act of Parliament without the assent of the President.

    In my view, that is the most important -- It has nothing to do with the Executive taking away the law-making powers of Parliament. No Executive will come here and vote on it. All that we do here until the Third Reading when we say it is passed remains a Bill until that last effort comes into play. I do not want to go into detail, I am very clear in my mind, it is consistent with practice, it is not based on what the Americans are doing, it is not based on what is in the Commonwealth.

    What I am saying is that until the President of the Republic of Ghana performs that last act, it can never, never be called an Act of Parliament. Therefore, we should use the Constitution to interpret the Constitution.

    In any case, if people say that because of the definition of Acts of Parliament, we should include decrees and all those things, are they telling us that we should go back to the military era and define it to include decrees that had been passed? [Interruption.] -- Look at “enactment”; people have referred to the definition of “enactment” which includes “decree”. Does it mean that we should go back and bring -- They are just -- [Interruption] -- I will ignore -- [Laughter.]

    So, Mr. Speaker, I just got converted this morning -- [Laughter] -- and I have not hidden the fact that I got converted this morning. And Mr. Speaker, you know my position before you took the Chair. And after I had been converted, I made an effort to convert others -- [Laughter] -- and I did not hide it at all, that the proper thing to do --

    Mr. Speaker, on a more serious note, the proper thing to do, looking at the totality of the clauses of the Constitution, is to add the President. But I suggest

    that Parliament should come before the President because the President's act is the last act of the process. That is my submission.

    T h a n k y o u v e r y m u c h , M r. Speaker.
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:25 p.m.
    Hon First Deputy Speaker, being a fresh convert, how strong is your locus? [Laughter.] Very well. I thought I saw -- Hon Member, please, come in.
    rose
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:25 p.m.
    This is very important to the House, I believe. In a way it is regrettable that the numbers are not strong enough. Please, go on.
    Mr. Osei-Owusu 12:25 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, the arguments so far have hinged on the definition of “enactment” and how the constitutional provision “assented to” should reflect in the passage of a Bill. The definition of enactment as given by our Standing Orders has been articulated by the Hon Minority Leader. The definition of a Bill or an Act of Parliament is provided by our Constitution, and I suggest that we should not look anywhere else for the definition of an Act of Parliament.
    Mr. Speaker, the argument which finds favour with me is that, when a Bill has been passed by this House, the President must assent to it before it becomes an Act of Parliament. Be that as it may, should this House accept an enactment which suggests that a Bill is properly passed when it is described as “enacted by the President and Parliament”? The President assents to it. I suggest we should reframe that to: “enacted by Parliament and assented to by the President”.
    In that case, we recognize the roles of Parliament as having enacted and a constitutional responsibility assigned to the President also recognized. Parliament enacts and the President recognizes.
    Mr. Speaker, that is my contribution.

    I thank you.
    Mr. I. A. B. Fuseini 12:25 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I take it from where the last Hon Member left off.
    Indeed, when we had our meeting, we came to that compromise that we should use words like “passed by Parliament and assented to by the President” as captured in our Constitution. But Mr. Speaker, what do those words mean, “Passed by Parliament” and “assented to by the President”? The verb there, “passed”, and “assented to by the President” constitutes the enactment.
    Those two words, when they conjoin, constitute an enactment. Mr. Speaker, that is why I have since moved that position and I think that the proper thing to do is to be consistent with what is the best practice in Commonwealth countries.
    Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:25 p.m.
    On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, the Chairman of the Committee represents the collective opinion of the Committee. The Committee has met, the Committee had proposed an amendment; and here we have a Chairman abandoning the position of the Committee. Mr. Speaker, I am surprised. Mr. Speaker, I hope I am right that he is the Chairman -- [Some Hon Members: He is.] -- [Laughter.]
    Mr. Speaker, this is really strange and if indeed, he is, let him tell us that he is abandoning the position of the Committee; he no longer is in link with the Committee before he proceeds, then we can take him serious. But what he is doing -- He is supposed to articulate the position of the Committee.
    Mr. Fuseini 12:25 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, he has got it all wrong. The Committee has all along believed that the enacting formula must be “enacted by the President and Parliament”. In fact, when the Committee said that should be the enacting formula; then a proposal emanated from Hon W. O. Boafo; then Parliament recommended that we had a conciliation meeting. And at the conciliation, which is not my Committee -- my Committee has always believed that the enacting formula must be:
    “enacted by the President and Parliament”.
    So, it is not that I am abandoning my Committee. In fact, I am now, even standing solidly by my Committee and saying that they had been right all along except that when the conciliation committee met, they were able to introduce materials that -- [Interruption] -- Yes! So, I am of the view that this matter should be put beyond debate, Mr. Speaker, because -- [Interruption.]
    Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:25 p.m.
    On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I find myself in a very awkward position. The Committee's proposal is here before us. And now, the Chairman is saying that, no, this is not the position of the Committee.
    Mr. Speaker, so, why did he advertise this amendment in his name? Is the Chairman being sincere with this House? And if he is, why would he put his name here as the sponsor of this amendment, only to tell us that, oh, this indeed, was not the position of the Committee, and yet he agreed to be the sponsor of this amendment, for and on behalf of the Committee, not in his own individual name? Would he tell us?
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:25 p.m.
    Hon Members, it appears we have a difficulty, and so if the Chairman of the Committee
    would really -- We have under item 6 (i) --
    Clause 4, amendment proposed. Subclause (2), line 3, delete and substitute “passed by Parliament and assented to by the President” (Chairman of the Committee); Debate to continue.
    It looks as if our difficulties are becoming a lot and continue to get rather more complicated as we proceed. I thought we would have made progress, but this is what we have here.
    Mr. Fuseini 12:25 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, consequent upon a prayer by the Hon Minority Leader, you directed that a smaller committee be formed to do a winnowing of the Bill. That was your directive, Mr. Speaker. Indeed, effect was given to your directive.
    Before that directive, the amendment that was proposed was filed by Hon W. O. Boafo. So the winnowing committee met, which included, Mr. Speaker, the Hon Minority Leader. The Hon Minority Leader knows that the committee met to propose that we should adopt the words of the Constitution; that was not the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.
    rose
    Mr. Fuseini 12:25 p.m.
    I have never abandoned my Committee, but that was consequent upon your directive, which was given effect to. Subsequent to that, information has emerged that, yes, we are not doing anything different, but probably, we are departing from the norm, and our -- [Interruption.]
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
    Honour-able, just with a little caution. I will -- we will proceed with the line that we allow the arguments to be well settled.
    Mr. O. B. Amoah 12:35 p.m.
    Very well. Mr.
    Speaker, I heard my Chairman saying that a winnowing committee was formed and it is a committee of the House. I beg to differ. Indeed, what transpired was that because we were going back and front, Mr. Speaker thought that the committee should be assisted to come to a certain conclusion and we had all along said, as members of the Committee, that we did not have a problem with “Passed by Parliament and assented to . . .”
    Our Chairman wants to say that this also means “enacted by”. But that is not the definition of the Constitution, and enactment by the Constitution does not say this. Enactment by the Constitution with all due respect, Mr. Speaker, I want to refer to it: “An Act of Parliament”, which also goes to enforce the definition given by the Constitution in respect of Act of Parliament which means “An Act by Parliament” and it includes an Ordinance.
    Nowhere is the “President” mentioned. That is why we said that as a compromise, we could then say that “Passed by Parliament and assented to”. If this compromise is not accepted, then we cannot say “Enacted by Parliament and President” .
    We will be going back to what we argued on and came with this compromise. With all due respect, there is no winnowing committee as such, he was asked to be assisted by Hon Boafo and those who brought in inputs. That cannot be a committee of the House.
    Mr. Fuseini 12:35 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, it is un-
    fortunate that he was not part of the winnowing committee and that is why he is arguing this way. So we can choose to continue with the argument.
    Mr. Speaker, what I am saying is that subsequently the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice wrote to this House expressing her views on the compromise- enacting formula and then drawing our attention to the fact that this is the best practice used in Commonwealth countries and inviting us to adopt that enacting formula.
    Mr. Speaker, having looked at the Constitution carefully, I think that that is the proper thing to do in the circumstances. Why? I have heard arguments to the effect that if we introduce an enacting formula that introduces the President, then we are compromising our authority and probably abandoning our legislative functions.
    Mr. Speaker, that cannot be the case. Article 93 of the Constitution subjects the power of this House to make laws to the Constitution. That provision subjects the power of Parliament to provisions in article 106 of the Constitution, and clearly, article 106 of the Constitution tells us that there cannot be a law in this country without an assent of the President. There cannot because when a Bill is passed by this House, it remains a Bill, it is no law, effect cannot be given to it - [Interruptions.] Well, we are not talking about Legislative Instruments (L. I.s)
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
    Hon
    Member, please, continue.
    Mr. Fuseini 12:35 p.m.
    Very well. What I am saying is that clearly, Mr. Speaker, the key words are very important. The key words have been captured in a single word “enact”. And I am just saying that, yes, probably, I agree perfectly with the First Deputy Speaker, that we must give ourselves the pride of place because we start the process. There is nothing provided in “Enacted by Parliament and the President” because the process of considering the Bill starts here. In fact, the Constitution recognizes that we must start it before the President can assent to it.
    But I am saying and I am inviting Hon Members of this House to consider this argument carefully, that, yes, we have a duty to jealously guard our power to make laws, that we have an ultimate responsibility to uphold this Constitution of the Republic of Ghana. And the Constitution clearly shows the path along which a Bill must take before it becomes law. The Bill contemplates two institutions conjoining in the act before the process that is started here can become law. And so those two institutions are the Legislature and the Executive.
    Mr. Speaker, enactment by Parliament and the President should be the enacting formula.
    Mr. Boafo 12:35 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, he was
    misleading the House.
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
    Hon
    Boafo, may I please, intervene in a way that perhaps, would allow us to make progress?
    In view of your position and mindful of the fact that sometimes the long description is a way of solving certain difficulties, do you have any difficulty with “Passed by Parliament and assented to by the President”? Look at that as a descriptive formula virtually describing what every party does in the process and which will then become a term of art that would save this situation. I am just gathering this from the level of the

    argument.

    We will continue.
    Mr. Boafo 12:35 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, our going
    back to the amendment as proposed in the Order Paper appears to be in order. If only it is descriptive, Mr. Speaker, we can have either at the beginning just after the Long Title or at the back. “Date of Assent by the President” and it is there and everybody knows that the President has assented instead of making it “Enacted by Parliament and President”; we should put “Date of assent by the President”. The date itself is inserted there before it is sent for gazetting.
    Mr. Speaker, I still maintain that this
    is not a partisan issue; this is a matter for the entire House. It is a constitutional matter for the entire House. Mr. Speaker, if you look at the Public Collections Act of 1961 -- Act 51, after the Long Title -- “An Act to consolidate the law relating to public collections of money or in kind”. Date of Assent, 20th May, 1961; it is there. It is an acknowledgement of the role of the President. But the enactment is Parliament.
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
    Well,
    our numbers are quite few. Hon Boafo tells us the law here is a constitutional matter, and mindful of its constitutionality, I want Leadership to give some indication so that we can take this important matter with the seriousness that it deserves.
    Leadership, Hon Boafo has drawn our attention to the constitutionality of the matter; it is a very important matter. We are all aware of the numbers as at now.
    Leadership, any indications from you? Hon Boafo has mentioned the constitutionality of the matter. We see clearly our numbers, I do not see my way clear as to Hon Members having quite exhausted this; I would like to know your indications as Leadership.
    Mr. E. T. Mensah 12:45 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, given the importance of this Bill that we are considering and the numbers that we have here, I suggest that we stand it down again for the Committee to go back and come with one voice.
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:45 p.m.
    I thank you for taking the cue accordingly.
    At this stage we would move back -- I recognised the presence of the Deputy Hon Ministers -- to Question time. When the Hon Deputy Minister has finished, we may proceed with other matters regarding our Bill.
    Question No. 100, standing in the name of Hon Blankson, Mfantseman East.
    ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS 12:45 p.m.
    Mr. Mettle-Nunoo 12:45 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, the Ekumfi Amisano-Suprudo feeder road is 0.5 kilometres and it is located in the Mfantseman East District of the Central Region. Currently, the road is in a very poor condition.
    The Suprudo road cannot be assessed from Amisano during the rainy season due to the absence of a bridge over River Ochi. There is, however, an alternative route through Mankessim which would make it an additional 22 kilometres. Due to the
    Mr. Mettle-Nunoo 12:45 p.m.


    length of the alternative route, people in the community are always eager to cross the river even during the rainy season at their peril.

    Preliminary assessment and condition survey have been carried out for a possible construction of a bridge. The span of the river is 60 metres which exceeds the span being covered by the ongoing bridge programmes. In other words, we have some bridge material but they do not span to cover the 60 metre length of the present existing river.

    Future Programme

    The construction of the bridge will therefore be considered in future under our bridge programmes involving spans of 60 metres and above.

    Background

    Ekumfi Essakyir Junction-Ekumfi Essakyir feeder road is 2.9 kilometres and is located in the Mfantseman District of the Central Region. A section of this road lies in the flood plains of the same River Ochi Narkwa and hence gets flooded during heavy rains.

    Current Programme

    A spot improvement contract was awarded in July 2007 for completion in January 2009. All the four culverts proposed for the construction were completed. However, before filling of the approaches to the culverts could be completed, the road was inundated with floodwater following the rainfall of June

    2009.

    The flooding situation was assessed and construction of additional culverts and raising of the flooded sections have been recommended. In other words, the existing roads and the culverts are below the flood level so it is important that we raise the level of the culverts and the level of the road.
    Mr. Mettle-Nunoo 12:45 p.m.


    Future Programme

    The additional works have been repackaged for implementation in 2010. The current contract cannot accommodate the additional cost involved.

    Mr. Speaker, I am done.
    Mr. Blankson 12:45 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, this
    bridge has been on the drawing board for far too long and I want to know from the Hon Deputy Minister with regard to the futuristic plans that they have in provision of that 60-metre span for the area.
    May I know if I can get an assurance from the Hon Deputy Minister of the period that they will be able to provide for my people to be happy because it is a bother to my people and when I go there I do not have peace.
    Mr. Mettle-Nunoo 12:45 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I understand his frustrations but with the availability of funds, we will consider that. However, there is always a possibility of some potential investors showing interest in doing bridges that span beyond 60 metres and above and as and when we do conclude such proposals and memoranda of understanding, we would consider his constituency's bridge problem.
    Ekumfi Roads (Construction)
    Q. 101. Mr. George Kuntu Blankson
    asked the Deputy Minister for Roads and Highways when the following roads in Ekumfi would be constructed:
    (i) Ekumfi Adansi
    (ii) Ekumfi Ebiram
    (iii) Ekumfi Ekumpoano
    (iv) Ekumfi Moboroto
    (v) Ekumfi Akra.
    Mr. Mettle-Nunoo 12:45 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, the background to the Question is as follows: Adansi, Ebiram, Moboroto, Akra are villages in the Ekumfi traditional area and are linked to the Essuehyia-Akra feeder road. The total length of this feeder road is 13.5 kilometres. The first 6.5 kilometres from Essuehyia to Adansi is bituminous- surfaced while the remaining 7 kilometres has a gravel surface. The condition of the road is fair.
    Current Programme
    The 7-kilometres Adansi-Akra section of this feeder road was advertised for routine maintenance in October 2009. Tenders for the works were received in November, 2009. Evaluation for the selection of a contractor is in progress.
    Mr. Speaker, Ekumpoano Junction- Ekumpoano feeder road is 1.6 kilometres. The road branches off at Essuehyia-Akra feeder road just before Akra village. This is located in the Mfantseman District of the Central Region. The road is engineered and has a gravel surface. The road is in a fair condition.
    The Current Programme is as follows: The road was advertised for routine maintenance in October 2009. Tenders for the works were received in November, 2009. Evaluation for the selection of a contractor is in progress.
    Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
    Mr. Blankson 12:45 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, may I
    know from the Hon Minister -- This road was started during the former Government regime and we started putting bitumen from Esakyir to Adansi and I remember we had a meeting with the Hon former sector Minister and we were promised
    under the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) that they were going to continue with bitumen from where they ended.
    May I know from the Hon Deputy Minister if there is any programme of that sort in the Ministry?
    Mr. Mettle-Nunoo 12:55 p.m.
    The Millennium Challenge Account Programme for sections of the Central Region will definitely be moving in that direction, but the specific details whether the programmes will address the challenges that he is currently talking about is not immediately known to me. My understanding is that that may not be the case, but I can get back to him on that point.
    Ekumfi Roads (Construction)
    Q. 102. Mr. George Kuntu Blankson
    asked the Deputy Minister for Roads and Highways when the following roads in Ekumfi would be constructed:
    (i) Ekumfi Nanabey
    (ii) Ekumfi Narkwa
    (iii) Ekumfi Asaafar
    (iv) Ekumfi Emisano.
    Mr. Mettle-Nunoo 12:55 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, Nanabey and Narkwa are villages along the Eyisam-Nanabin-Narkwa feeder road with total length of 11 kilometres. They are located in the Mfantseman District of the Central Region. The road is engineered and is in a fair condition. From Eyisam to Nababin is 6 kilometres. This particular surface has been treated with bitumen. The remaining 5 kilometres section from
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:55 p.m.
    Hon
    Mr. Kuntu-Blankson 12:55 p.m.
    No, I do not
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:55 p.m.
    Hon
    Member, you may want to formulate it
    Mr. E. T. Mensah 12:55 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, as we
    said in the morning, we may want to stand down all the Papers in item 5.
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:55 p.m.
    You want to stand down the entire item 5?
    Mr. E. T. Mensah 12:55 p.m.
    We are standing
    down the entire item 5.
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:55 p.m.
    This is
    affecting the entire Budget business, and we are continuously seeing that somehow work on these committees is not making progress.
    Hon Leader, what can you tell us? This is very important and it looks as if a lot of these Papers are not even ready for discussion.
    Mr. E. T. Mensah 12:55 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker,
    the committees, as we are all aware, are constrained. As we Sit here, various committees are meeting. I had a chat with the Ranking Member for the Committee on Health and the documents for discussion will not be ready today. They are moving out of the city to go and work on it.
    The problem was that the Ministries did not make the appropriate estimates available early enough, and that is why we have this problem. People sitting out there will think that Members of Parliament are having a jolly time somewhere; they are all meeting in committees. The constraint of the committees is the expenses, that is the difficulty.
    That notwithstanding, people are bent on working through Saturdays and Sundays. For the past few weeks,
    Members have been meeting through Saturdays and Sundays and we are saying that we will not advertise them until we have the Reports henceforth.
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:55 p.m.
    Hon Majority Chief Whip, it should not be a matter of not just advertising them. It is Government Business, national business and what the Ministries are not making available, the House must be very clear with this. We cannot simply appear not to be doing what we are supposed to do when in effect, material is not made available to this Honourable House. What can we do about this? What assurances can you please give?
    Mr. E. T. Mensah 12:55 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I will
    consult the Hon Majority Leader after he has returned from Cabinet meeting and together with the Clerk's office we will see what to do. We would want to know who have not submitted their documents and we would follow suit.
    Prof. Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi 12:55 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, I can see the Chairman for the Committee on Environment, Science and Technology is in the House and maybe, he has to comment.
    Mr. Speaker, the problem we have with that sector Ministry is that the Hon Minister is waiting for the House to look at the Report so that she can fly out to attend the conference on climate change. So if the Chairman is here, maybe, we can hear from him as to where we are with the Report.
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 12:55 p.m.
    In
    fact, this matter is increasingly becoming a problem and the earlier we resolved it the better.
    Mr. E. T. Mensah 1:05 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, it is true that the Chairman of the Select
    Committee on Environment, Science and Technology is here, but he tells me that the Report is not ready. They are working around the clock to make sure that they make it available tomorrow. So we would cross our fingers and follow suit.
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    I should
    think that all these items should stand, because they are seriously outstanding, and that Leadership should tell the House tomorrow the state of readiness of all these Reports, so that the House really knows what it is about to do.
    Mr. E. T. Mensah 1:05 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, we
    will make sure that we follow through and see what the difficulties are and try to assist them to address the difficulties. I am informed that some have finished their drafts and they are processing it. They will wish this afternoon, we would go through the drafts and then make them available to the Clerk-at-the-Table's office.
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    Thank you. Any further indications at this stage? I would have thought that with regard to the Interpretation Bill, those clauses that are not contentious, we could have done business on them and then leave only outstanding, the areas where we think some work needs to be done. In the circumstances, what do we do to the remaining portion of item 6, particularly, as the Chairman of the Committee is not here?
    Mr. E. T. Mensah 1:05 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, we
    have decided that we will stand down the whole item 6 for them to go and clean up item 4, so when they come we will just take that at a go.
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    Hon
    Majority Chief Whip, I will be glad if you will kindly inform the Chairman of the Committee, that clause 5, for example, does not necessarily flow from clause 4.
    I know when you come to the latter part, (vi), under Preamble, for example, some portions could be affected. But otherwise, we can do some work and clean the rest of the outstandings, and leave only that little part for further deliberation of the House.
    Mr. E. T. Mensah 1:05 p.m.
    Very well, I will
    inform the Chairman of the Committee.
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    In
    the circumstances, \Leadership, what indications do you have?
    Mr. E. T. Mensah 1:05 p.m.
    Mr. Speaker, in
    view of the importance of the committee meetings, and since some of the Members here are also itching to go -- One of the Chairmen of the committees is even here and he is needed by his members.
    I therefore, move, that this House do adjourn, till tomorrow at 10.00 o'clock in the forenoon.
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    Hon Leadership from the left?
    Prof. Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi 1:05 p.m.
    Mr. Second Deputy Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    What a blank cheque, indeed.
    Prof. Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi 1:05 p.m.
    I therefore, wholeheartedly, second the motion.
    Question put and motion agreed to.
    ADJOURNMENT 1:05 p.m.
  • [MR. SERCOND DEPUTY SPEAK-