Debates of 5 Feb 2010

MADAM SPEAKER
PRAYERS 10:50 a.m.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 10:50 a.m.
Madam Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Hon Members, Correction of Votes and Proceedings and the Official Report.
We start with the Votes and Proceedings
of 4th February, 2010.

Hon Members, in the absence of any

corrections, the Votes and Proceedings of Thursday, 4th February, 2010 is adopted as the true record of proceedings.

We move on to the Official Report of

Tuesday, 15th December, 2009, which we have not corrected.

Any corrections in that Official Report?

Hon Members, in the absence of

any corrections, the Official Report of Tuesday, 15th December, 2009 is hereby adopted as the true record of proceedings.

Hon Leader, item 3, Business Statement for the third week.
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE 11 a.m.
Madam Speaker, the Committee accordingly submits its Report as follows 11 a.m.
Arrangement of Business
Question(s)
Madam Speaker, the Committee has programmed the following Ministers to answer specified Questions during the week:
No. of
to thirty (30) 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. The Business Committee urges committees with referrals to expedite action on them.
Motions and Resolutions
Madam Speaker, Motions may be debated and their consequential Resolutions, if any, taken during the week.
Briefing by IMF Official
Madam Speaker, we just want to serve notice that the First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Mr. John Lipsky is expected to address Hon Members on 17th February, 2010. Madam Speaker, it is proposed that the address by the IMF official be presented at a Committee of the Whole at 11.30 a.m. on the said date.
Winnowing of Amendments
Madam Speaker, winnowing of proposed amendments to the Alternative Dispute Resolution Bill is scheduled to take place today Friday, 5th February, 2010 at the Majority Leader's Office immediately after adjournment. Hon Members who have proposed amend- ments are hereby entreated to appear to defend their amendments. Conclusion
Madam Speaker, in accordance with
Standing Order 160 (2) and subject to 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 -

*329. Mr. Asamoah Ofosu (Kade): To ask the Minister for Education how many contractors have been paid, how much was paid, and for undertaking what projects under the GETFund since 2009.

*379 . Mr. George Boakye (Asunafo South): To ask the Minister for Education the measures the Ministry has put in place to ensure the early completion of the boys' dormitory funded by the GETFund at Kukuom Agricultural Senior High School.

*380. Mr. George Boakye (Asunafo South): To ask the Minister for Education what pragmatic steps the Ministry has put in place to improve supervision in public basic schools in the country.

*381. Mr. Theophilus Tetteh Chaie (Ablekuma Central): To ask the Minister for Education what the Ministry is doing to ensure that facilitators of the non- formal education literacy classes are motivated during and after their services to the community.

*382. Mr. Ernest Attuquaye Armah (Trobu-Amasaman): To ask the Minister for Education when the Ministry will provide the Amasaman Senior High School with a boarding house facility.

Statements

Laying of Papers -

Report of the Committee on Mines

Question(s)

i. Minister for Education 5

ii. Minister for Finance and Economic Planning 3

iii. Minister for Food and Agriculture 4

iv. Minister for Environment, Science and Technology 2

v. Minister for Lands and Natural Resources 4

vi. Minister for Chieftaincy and Culture 1

vii. Minister for Roads and Highways 11

Total Number of Questions 30

Madam Speaker, in all, seven Ministers are expected to attend upon the House to respond
Madam Speaker, the Committee accordingly submits its Report as follows 11 a.m.
and Energy on the Petroleum Agreement among the Government of the Republic of Ghana and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation on one hand and Afren Energy Ghana Limited, Gulf Atlantic Energy Limited and Mitsui E&P Ghana Keta Limited on the other hand for further exploration work in the Offshore Keta Contract Area.
Consideration Stage of Bills --
Alternative Dispute Resolution Bill, 2009.
Committee Sittings.

Questions --

*178. Mr. Joseph Ampomah Bosompem (Akim Swedru): To ask the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning what practical measures the Government is taking to stimulate productivity and economic growth.

*179. Mr. Joseph Ampomah Bosompem (Akim Swedru): To ask the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning what measures the Ministry is putting in place to reinvigorate the private sector to absorb the teeming unemployed y o u t h , w i t h t h e f r e e z e o n employment in the public sector.

*180. Mr. Joseph Ampomah Bosompem (Akim Swedru): To ask the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning in view of current trends, what practical measures the Government is putting in place to stimulate private sector productivity. *76. Mr. George Boakye (Asunafo South): To ask the Minister for Food and Agriculture why work on

the Nobekaw Irrigation Project has come to a standstill.

*350. Mr. Gabriel Kodwo Essilfie (Shama): To ask the Minister for Food and Agriculture when the L. I. for the enforcement of the ban on the use of light, carbide, DDT, dynamite and other explosives for fishing in our territorial waters will be laid before Parliament.

*351. Mr. John Agyabeng (Agona East): To ask the Minister for Food and Agriculture what measures are being put in place to ensure increased food production in 2010.

*442. Mr. Iddrisu Zakari Alidu (Walewale): To ask the Minister for Food and Agriculture when the irrigation farms at Nasia will be operational.

277. Ms. Cecilia Abena Dapaah (Bantama): To ask the Minister for Environment, Science and Technology how the law on noise pollution is being enforced in the country.

*340. Mr. Augustine Collins Ntim (Offinso North): To ask the Minister for Environment, Science and Technology what measures are being put in place to address the problem of desertification arising mainly from perennial bushfires in the Trans-Savanna areas of Ghana.

Statements

Motions -

Second Reading of Bills --

Minerals and Mining (Amend- ment) Bill, 2009.

Committee Sittings. Thursday, 11th February 2010

Questions --

*352. Mr. Isaac Kwame Asiamah (Atwima Mponua): To ask the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources when the Nyinahin Bauxite Mining Project will take off.

*353. Mr. Christopher Addae (Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai): To ask the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources what steps Government is taking to support local mining companies to enhance their capacity to compete effectively in the industry thereby enhancing the benefits accruing from mining to Ghana.

*354. Mr. Kwasi Ameyaw- Cheremeh (Sunyani East): To ask the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources when vested lands in the Brong Ahafo Region, particularly within the Sunyani Municipality will be de-vested.

*441 .Mr. Kwas i Ameyaw- Cheremeh (Sunyani East): To ask the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources what measures Government is taking to return to the original owners all State lands in the Brong-Ahafo Region which are not being used for the purposes for which they were acquired.

*443. Mr. Kwasi Ameyaw- Cheremeh (Sunyani East): To ask the Minister for Chieftaincy and Culture the measures the Ministry is putting in place to minimise/reduce chieftaincy conflicts in the country as a whole and the Brong-Ahafo Region in particular.

Statements Laying of Papers --

(a) Report of the Committee on Const i tu t ional , Legal and

Parliamentary Affairs on the Intestate Succession Bill, 2009.

(b) Report of the Joint Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and Gender and Children on the Property Rights of Spouses Bill

Motions --

Adoption of the Report of the Committee on Mines and Energy on the Petroleum Agreement among the Government of the Republic of Ghana and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation on one hand and Afren Energy Ghana Limited, Gulf Atlantic Energy Limited and Mitsui E&P Ghana Keta Limited on the other hand for further exploration work in the Offshore Keta Contract Area.

Committee Sittings.

Questions --

*203. Mr. Richard Akuoko Adiyia (Ahafo-Ano North): To ask the Minister for Roads and Highways when the Ministry will complete the tarring of the road from Akwasiase- Kotei Nkwanta- Manfo-Dwaaho- Asuhiaye.

*204. Mr. Richard Akuoko Adiyia (Ahafo-Ano North): To ask the Minister for Roads and Highways when the Ayinansuso-Suponso- Betiako- Abonsuaso-Danyame road will be gravelled and tarred.

*206. Nana Abu-Bonsra (Fomena): To ask the Minister for Roads and Highways when the Pra Bridge at Adansi Praso will be expanded to cater for two lanes.

* 2 0 7 . N a n a A b u - B o n s r a (Fomena): To ask the Minister for Roads and Highways when the remaining 60 kilometres of the
Dr. M. O. Prempeh 11 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I want to ask the Leader of the House, when in his estimation, does he think the formulae for the GETFund and National Health Insurance Fund would be laid in this House for consideration. This is because we are almost in the second month of the year.
Mr. Akologu 11 a.m.
Madam Speaker, well, I cannot say, but we are in touch with the Administrators of these two schemes to expedite action on them and as soon as we receive them, we will programme them to be taken in the House. But it is good notice that he has given us, we will
follow up again.
Alhaj i Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka: Madam Speaker, I rise to ask the Leader with regard to item 3 - “Briefing by the IMF Official”, I will want some clarification here.
Madam Speaker, I want to know, is it going to be a kind of question and answer session -- will they open up for questioning?
Madam Speaker, my worry is, foreign dignitaries coming to address our House, the liberty of this House, that anyone could just come and say he wants to give us a briefing. Is it going to be done -- even though it is at the Committee of the Whole, is it going to be done with some kind of questioning and answers or he is just coming to give a briefing? I want to know some details from the Leader.
Madam Speaker 11 a.m.
Yes, Hon Leader?
Mr. Akologu 11 a.m.
Madam Speaker, the practice at these meetings has always been an interactive type. The person appearing will present whatever information he has for us and then Members are allowed to seek clarification where they do not appreciate some of the issues.
So it will be interactive, but it is important to note that as a country, we have on a daily basis, connections and dealings with the IMF - in fact, economic transactions with the IMF and so on. It is important that representatives of the people get to know the update of all these bilateral relationships. So that is why I think the Leadership of the House is allowing it.
Also, the institution is not being lowered in any respect. We have taken care of it by not allowing him to address us as a Parliament in plenary, that is why we are doing it at the Committee of the Whole. So we are still preserving our respect and dignity.
Dr. Kojo Appiah-Kubi 11 a.m.
Madam
Speaker, I just want some clarification.
I would like to know why Questions that are slated to be answered and announced on several occasions are all of a sudden dropped on the day that these Questions are to be answered without explanation. I have submitted a lot of Questions since last year and for the first time that a single one was supposed to be answered, it was announced in the Business Statement last week - yesterday, it was announced in the Order Paper and all of a sudden, the Question disappears today when it is supposed to be answered. Why? And why is it that some of us do not get any of our Questions answered?
Madam Speaker 11 a.m.
Yes, Hon Leader, that is a recurring Question, I think you should explain.
Mr. Akologu 11:10 a.m.
Madam Speaker, in the particular case of his Question that was programmed for yesterday, in fact, you would realise that the World Bank officials are in town and they have been holding discussions with the Presidency and Ministers. Yesterday too was a Cabinet meeting day and all these Ministers were there. So, he could not come here to take it. We should have programmed it for today, but the discussions with the World Bank officials are still ongoing. So, that is the reason why it has not come on. But we shall programme it for next week.
The other instances that he cited, I think that before we went on recess, we indicated that we could not complete all the programmes for the House and that we advised Hon Members to contact the Table Office and crosscheck their Questions. Those that may have lost out in reason and purpose should be taken out. Those that can be reprogrammed, I think, we are reprogramming them.
You would realise that we have programmed for next week alone 30 Questions to be answered. We want to cover the backlog. So, Hon Members should bear with the Business Committee. We shall do our best to take care of
Mr. John Gyetuah 11:10 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I am toing the same line as my Hon Colleague. A Question was posed in my name to the Hon Minister for Health. It has been advertised for three days. So, I want to find out from the Hon Deputy Majority Leader, what occasioned the removal of that particular Question.
Madam Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Yes, Hon Deputy Majority Leader?
Mr. Akologu 11:10 a.m.
Madam Speaker, since he is following the same line as the Hon Member, I think my response is the same as I have given. He should bear with us. We will reprogramme it.
Dr. A. A. Osei 11:10 a.m.
Madam Speaker, on
the matter of the so-called address by the Deputy Managing Director (DMD) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), I know the gentleman very well and I respect him and I respect the institution. But I am wondering that an august House such as ours, somebody decides to come and give us an address; he is not the President. We heard President Obama and we do not even know what issues the DMD wants to talk about.
As I speak, we have a programme with the IMF. Only the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning knows the status of it. I think we should negotiate the basis upon which he is coming, to see if it is in our interest or not. So, I really beg the Leadership that, let us not set up a practice where everybody would soon want to come and address this august House.
At the minimum, we have a programme with them, if that is what we want to discuss, then we know, so that Hon Members can be adequately prepared to be able to interact with him. If he was just coming to have tea with us, I would not have a problem. But he is coming to address this august House. Trying to force it by saying the “Committee of the
Whole”, does not cure the deficit that I am talking about. So, even though it is not too late, it will be important for Leadership to demand from the Fund what he wants to talk about, to see if we would want to discuss that with him.
We may have other issues that we want to address. So, I want the Leadership to take this matter very seriously.
Mr. Akologu 11:10 a.m.
Madam Speaker, it is for this very purpose that we are sounding notice. You see, we said it was a proposal. We are teasing out this information, we would address them. So that the next time the Business Committee is sitting, it will have sufficient information whether it will proceed or not. And then, we will inform you at the next Business Committee Report.
Thank you.
Mr. M. A. Asaga 11:10 a.m.
Madam Speaker, an addition to what the Hon Member for Old Tafo (Dr. A. Akoto Osei) said.
I was of the opinion that one, we are having a programme with them. Two, we the same Hon Members of Parliament have always said that those multilateral institutions have been dealing with governments and then they try to ignore the Legislature. So, this is probably an answer to those concerns, especially anytime we attend the network of Parliament for the World Bank, this issue comes up.
But my beef with the whole thing is, how did the message come to the Rt. Hon Speaker?
Again, the Hon Minister for Finance and Economic Planning is centre to this. He has not been mentioned. He has not briefed us like Hon Member for Old Tafo (Dr. Akoto Osei) said. What is it that he is coming to tell us? Even the IMF programme, we have never seen it in this Parliament -- so to speak. So, I think that for this to actualise, we must make sure we get the Hon Minister for Finance and Economic Planning also involved in it to brief us sufficiently.
Dr. A. A. Osei 11:10 a.m.
Madam Speaker, just a point of information. The Hon Member for Nabdam (Mr. Moses A. Asaga) is an Hon Member of the Finance Committee. We brought the IMF programme for this Parliament to approve. So, it has come before this House. What has not happened is that, we have not had any briefing from the Ministry even though we have requested him to do it. And that is a legitimate concern.
At the minimum, the Hon Minister should give us an update of the status because there may be difficulties or not. It was approved by this Parliament, so in terms of our oversight responsibilities, if there are difficulties, the minimum we ought to do is to know what is going on. And I think that point is a legitimate point. But the programme has already come before this House. We have approved it.
Madam Speaker 11:10 a.m.
I was going to say that the letter asking for permission was written by the Hon Minister for Finance and Economic Planning to the Speaker. So, it is not from Mr. John Lipsky himself. So, if you would want the Hon Minister to brief you before the day, it will really solve the situation.
But before I stop, I have seen you wearing something round your neck -- [Laughter] -- Is it something parliamentary?
Dr. A. A. Osei 11:10 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I am a law abiding citizen and we have been tagged with these IDs that we are supposed to hang round our necks. I like putting it on -- [Laughter.]
Madam Speaker 11:10 a.m.
I must commend him because this is the first time I have seen the ID and nobody else is wearing it. [Hear! Hear!] You are always a pacesetter. So, Hon Members, if you have IDs, please, wear them. It is a protection for us here before we go on military
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 11:10 a.m.
Madam
Speaker, thank you very much. Just on this IMF address.
I am proposing that Leadership -- the Hon Chairman, Hon Vice Chairman, Hon Ranking Member and Hon Deputy Ranking Member of the Finance Committee constitute themselves into a committee, get the Hon Minister for Finance and Economic Planning to discuss these matters with them, so that before the date, we know what we are going to talk about.
I must admit that the lack of participation by Parliament and the lack of monitoring by Parliament of these bilateral relations with these international bodies has always been a source of concern, not only to Parliament but to those institutions. And just last week, we happened to be invited to a small meeting; I happened to be present due to the inability or unavailability of the Hon Ranking Member and his Deputy -- I happened to be there, where I think a consultant had been engaged to discuss with Parliament how Parliament could best participate, give an input into this sort of agreement.
So, I believe it is an opportunity for us to take advantage of and ensure that whatever is going to happen becomes meaningful for our benefit and for the benefit of the people of this country.
Thank you, Madam Speaker.
rose
Madam Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Yes, is it on the same
lines? Because I wanted to hear from the Hon Deputy Majority Leader what he thinks of the suggestions.
All right, Hon Member for Tamale Central (Mr. Inusah A. B. Fuseini).
Mr. I. A. B. Fuseini 11:20 p.m.
Madam Speaker, I
Madam Speaker 11:20 p.m.
Yes, that is a useful suggestion.
Mr. Akologu 11:20 p.m.
Madam Speaker, I think we should -- [Interruption.]
Madam Speaker 11:20 p.m.
Hon Member for New Juaben North -- (Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyemang), let us hear a few -- Because I think to receive the man, interact when you do not really know what to ask -- it is a good thing to find out the programme.
Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyemang 11:20 p.m.
Madam Speaker, it is a good thing -- the consensus seems to be that one way or the other, we must hear the First Deputy Managing Director of the IMF. So I cannot take issue with that, but as they are saying, there may perhaps need to be briefing first, by the sector Minister before we hear him.
But Madam Speaker, I have worked in the United Nations (UN) system for twenty years. It is not normal for a Deputy

Managing Director to come and address the House. It is not normal; if you notice, since we have only one House, it is just like addressing joint Houses of the Senate and the House in the United States. It does not happen anywhere; Deputy Managing Director addressing the House? No, it does not happen and I know the system, but we have agreed.

So I would say that we would let it go on and we would hear him. But in future, we should make sure -- this is an august House and must be treated like any other august House in the world and I do not think it is the right thing to do. But having said that, Deputy Managing Director, no! But let him come and let us hear him.
Mr. Owusu-Agyemang 11:20 p.m.
So I think that Leadership should take this very seriously and let us see what we can do -- because sometimes this is the only way Members of Parliament articulate the concerns of their constituencies and their constituents hear that they are representing their interests. So the Questions are very important, even if they are constituency-specific. I think that a more proactive and a more businesslike attitude should be taken vis-à-vis the Questions and let us to do as many -- If there is the need to extend the one hour session per day, I think we better do that so that the majority of people would have had access to the Ministers for them to answer their Questions and their constituents will also be happy.
I thank you, Madam Speaker.
Madam Speaker 11:20 p.m.
Yes, Hon Tia.
Mr. Joseph Y. Chireh 11:20 p.m.
Madam Speaker -- [Interruption.]
Madam Speaker 11:20 p.m.
Oh! Yes, all right, you have started, let us hear you then we will call on Hon Member for Talensi.
Mr. Chireh 11:20 p.m.
Madam Speaker, I have listened very attentively to the debate on whether the Deputy Managing Director of the IMF should meet us or not and some are talking about the sanctity of this House and giving prominence to an international civil servant or whatever. But that is why our Leadership decided to make it a meeting of the Committee of the Whole, which means that the funfair and ceremony that accompany addresses by Heads of State and prominent people in society to this Parliament would not be flouted.
Mr. Chireh 11:20 p.m.
I do not want to listen to the shouting at the background. But our Leadership -- [Interruptions.]
Madam Speaker 11:20 p.m.
Order! Order!
Mr. Chireh 11:20 p.m.
Our Leadership took a wise decision for us to meet these people. So I believe that it is important for us, first to hear what the person is coming to tell us rather than want to predict, or already knowing what the person is coming to - If the person tells another person to come and tell us, “this is what I am coming to tell you”, how are we going to enjoy the
Prof. Aaron M. Oquaye 11:20 p.m.
Madam Speaker, respectfully, in international relations, especially when you are dealing with sovereign powers or authorities, there are certain protocols which need to be observed.
The IMF are our development partners and they are most welcome, generally speaking. Madam Speaker, we must do things right. This is the Parliament of the Republic of Ghana. Madam Speaker, how can we say that it is not necessary that Hon Members should know what the august visitor is going to say?
Madam Speaker, even if it is a president of another republic, that person would present to you a copy in advance of his speech and it would be presented to Hon Members before that person would come and address us. Because Madam Speaker, that is to show respect.
Madam Speaker, secondly, we are also entitled to be able to interact meaningfully, intelligently as the representatives of the people of Ghana. How do we do it when we are presented ad hoc, suddenly, without notice, with a presentation -- a speech?
So Madam Speaker, it is just proper that while welcoming the visitor, that we know in advance what it is going to be about and also that our Minister for Finance and Economic Planning also briefs us in detail about that matter, then we can have a meaningful interaction as the true
representatives of the people.
Madam Speaker, it is a good idea, it must be done properly.
Madam Speaker 11:20 p.m.
Intervention from Hon Deputy Minority Leader. Do you have anything to say about this matter before we close? Because you are also a member of the Business Committee. Before I say any other thing, what do you have to say to all the suggestions? And remember we have accepted that he should interact with Parliament. So wherever he has to interact -- can you comment on that? He will come; as for coming, he will come and maybe, you will need to be briefed. But if it is not in the whole House, where? I am asking because you are a member of the Committee.
Mr. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:30 a.m.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, you referred to me and I should think rather inadvertently, as the Deputy Minority Leader -- [Interruption.]
Madam Speaker 11:30 a.m.
Minority Leader,
please.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:30 a.m.
Madam
Speaker, we have often bemoaned the fact of non-participation by this august House in IMF/Government consultations. And indeed, it is not a today event; it is not even a yesterday event. All along we have been bemoaning this fact that government, in this case, the Executive, have often pushed the Legislature to a footnote and because we are the representatives of the people, we need to be informed in these engagements. So that way, there is some relevance in the Deputy Managing Director coming to meet Members to confer with Members of Parliament; I believe that is very, very relevant.
Madam Speaker, the Minis ter

responsible for Finance and Economic Planning, wrote to you, to your goodself to inform you about the impending visit of the Deputy Managing Director of the IMF. And you referred the matter to Leadership for further consultations. And I believe what we decided on was that, yes, the idea is welcome, we could meet him.

However, it would be most inappro- priate to let him address Parliament in plenary. It is not even the substantive Managing Director of IMF who is coming -- it is the Deputy Managing Director, so we cannot entertain him here. We agreed to meet him at a committee level.

One would say that the Finance Committee would be an appropriate Committee to meet him, except that, Madam Speaker, the IMF support for government programme is multi-faceted and so, if the entire House is meeting him in a committee, we proposed to this House that that would be better than confining him to the Finance Committee alone, which is why we agreed to meet him in the Committee of the Whole.

Now, the next issue that people have raised, is the subject matter for discussion. That is really very relevant, we need to know what we are going to talk about. Overall, we know that it is going to hinge on the budgetary support of IMF to Government but we need to know the status of the programme in order for us to ask relevant questions. So it is important that we have this. What is the vehicle to assessing this?

The Finance Minister has written to us, so certainly, we may have to invite the Finance Minister for further discourse on this, for further briefing. Maybe, that will involve Leadership and if you like, the Leadership of the Finance Committee, then we will inform the House appropriately. Fortunately, the visit is on the 17th , which is about two weeks away from now. So we have sufficient time to

invite the Minister responsible for Finance and Economic Planning to brief us on the subject matter and then we can move on.

Madam Speaker, we also need to know how long the interaction is going to take. If, indeed, it is going to be for about ten minutes or fifteen minutes, we might as well not have it because it might be productive to this House and to the nation. So we may determine for ourselves how long the interaction is going to last in order that we can derive maximum benefit from it.

We do know for a fact that that same day, on the 17th of February, he has an appointment with civil society. He is going to have a broad interaction with civil society. Now, if it should happen that maybe, upon adjournment, we go into a Committee of the Whole, maybe, 2 o'clock, 3 o'clock and meet him and maybe, about fifteen to twenty minutes, he has to move away, it would not be relevant.

So we must determine for ourselves when we are going to meet him and how long we are going to meet him. At the Business Committee, we were even proposing that if the idea is acceptable to the House, then we may further propose that we break into the plenary and move into a Committee of the Whole to have the meeting and thereafter move back into plenary to continue with the business of the House.

That, the engagement is relevant, Madam Speaker, I believe, it is without dispute. What we need to know is the subject matter, how long it is going to last and when we are going to meet him. I believe these are the issues that should concern us and indeed, Leadership possibly Leadership and the Finance Committee would meet to further dialogue
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:30 a.m.


on this and proceed on very firm grounds.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.
Madam Speaker 11:30 a.m.
Thank you. I think
the debate on item 3 has been long and I will summarize it.
There is consensus that the meeting is good, that we need to meet him. But it is not a meeting where he comes to address and goes away, it is an interaction and we will need to ask questions. And so, because of that we need to know what we are going to discuss.
So I think the suggestion that the Minister should brief us, even if it is on paper and distributed and that you could ask him questions, find the time to brief you before you meet Mr. Lipsky.
Another question is, what time of the
day? That has not been fixed. How long we are prepared to tolerate him? These are the three items.
There has also been a suggestion that there should be a committee in this House, Leadership and Finance Committee, and others also said Leadership, Finance Committee and Chairmen of the other committees because it is a multi-faceted thing. The Chairmen of the other committees also need to be there. And then it would be productive if we do it this way, considering that it is not just an address, ten minutes address and the man leaves.
It is a good thing, let us take the opportunity, use him and find out and put our views and questions. I think that is the reason why he wants to schedule a meeting. So the decision must come from the planning committee, what time, so that it does not disturb our work.
It could be after 12 o'clock and then after the meeting, committee meetings will take place. And for how long, I do not
Mr. Alfred K. Agbesi 11:30 a.m.
Madam Speaker,
the Hon Member for Asawase, Hon Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka made a Statement on funding the Ghana Audit Service. This Statement attracted a lot of comments from Hon Members.
Madam Speaker 11:30 a.m.
Honourable, can we
finish with this and then you could bring up the matter?
Mr. Agbesi 11:30 a.m.
Very well.
Madam Speaker 11:30 a.m.
I think you are
Mr. Agbesi 11:40 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I was of the view that the visit of the Deputy Managing Director had been taken care of.
Madam Speaker 11:40 a.m.
All right, let us
hear you. Kindly continue with your inter-vention.
Mr. Agbesi 11:40 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I was
saying that at the end of that Statement, what came out was the appointment of an auditor to audit the accounts of the Auditor-General's office. I am just asking the Leadership of the House what has come out of that. Parliament appoints an Auditor to audit the accounts of the Auditor-General's office and that is what I am worried about, because we are not hearing anything on that.
Madam Speaker 11:40 a.m.
And that was why
I said, let us adopt this one that we have presented with and then you could bring the matter up too, why it has not been scheduled. So let us finish with adopting this Business Statement.
Hon Members, if you have nothing
to say about the other paragraphs, 4 and 5, let us adopt it without paragraph 3 which will be brought back, about time, place -- Hon Leader, since they have not agreed simpliciter to what is in paragraph 3 -- without time, without briefing -- I do not think we can adopt it; there was no consensus.
Mr. Akologu 11:40 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I
rather propose that we adopt it subject to the concerns that have been made so that they would be properly captured in our Votes and Proceedings and the Hansard. If we say we are taking it out, then all the things that we have canvassed do not hold.
So let us adopt it subject to those things being met. That is why it is a proposal. We said we were notifying Hon Members so that we get their concerns and then proceed from there.
Madam Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Well, I will agree
with you up to the point where you say it is proposed that he will visit us at 11.30 a.m. You saying that you will get the Minister to brief the House is not appearing in paragraph 3. So you want us to adopt it subject to what?
Mr. Akologu 11:40 a.m.
Madam Speaker,
subject to the observations that have been made so that before the next Business Committee meets, those observations would have been handled.
Madam Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Yes, are you
agreeable to that? We are now trying to adopt the Business Statement for the week.
Dr. A. A. Osei 11:40 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I
Madam Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Hon Leader, we are
trying to adopt your Business Statement and every word matters. If we adopt it, it means we have to perform. So you are asked that “address” is the wrong word. What word should we use, “interact”?
Mr. Akologu 11:40 a.m.
Madam Speaker, while the Hon Member was making his submission, I heard some comment like ‘address' or ‘interact' may even be the same. People said we could even use the word ‘intercourse'. [Laughter.]
Madam Speaker 11:40 a.m.
So which one
should we substitute?
Mr. Akologu 11:40 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I think the middle way is “ interact”. So we should use the word ‘interact'. That is the middle, so that we could be able to proceed on this thing.
Mr. J. B. Aidoo 11:40 a.m.
Madam Speaker, since we are about to adopt this arrangement, I want to suggest that the visitor, our guest provides us with the synopsis of --
Madam Speaker 11:40 a.m.
That is part of the observations that were made here. That is what we are going to include.
Mr. J. B. Aidoo 11:40 a.m.
Madam Speaker, in actual fact, we need to know the motive behind this meeting. It is very important that we know as a House. It is very, very important.
Madam Speaker 11:40 a.m.
I think the answer came from the Minority Leader who said that this House bemoaned often the fact that they are not in the know about what happens. So if he comes here, and we put questions, interact, you will know his motives, would you not? But would he state his motive, why he wants to come? He just wants to interact.
Mr. J. B. Aidoo 11:40 a.m.
Madam Speaker, it is important. [Interruption.] Let me make my observation. The synopsis will give us an idea, certainly, about -- [Inter- ruption.]
Madam Speaker 11:40 a.m.
That is so. It has been agreed that the Minister will give you the synopsis; well, in which case, we accept paragraph 3, with ‘address' changed to ‘interact' subject to observation made here by Hon Members. If we all agree, then we can adopt the Business Statement. But you must remember to serve them with the summary and get the Minister's briefing and how long it should be by the next Business Statement.
Mr. Akologu 11:40 a.m.
Madam Speaker, that is acceptable but maybe, in presenting the Business Statement, I indicated that the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning will be here in the course of the week. So we will hold discussions with him such that if it is possible, when he comes, he interacts with Leadership before we finalize it.
Madam Speaker 11:40 a.m.
So as I said, it has
been adopted.
Can we move on to Question time? Question time is one hour.
Is the Minister for Trade and Industry here?
Hon Minister, can you take your seat?
rose
Madam Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Yes.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:40 a.m.
Madam Speaker, it is not in respect of the Question that the Hon Minister is slated to answer. It is in respect of the Business Statement.
Madam Speaker, unfortunately, we are beginning to witness a new phenomenon of Hon Ministers asking Questions of colleague Ministers. Unfortunately, when the time arrives for the Questions to be asked then the Ministers withdraw the Questions. They might have taken the places of others who may have relevant Questions to ask.
I have seen the name of Hon Ernest Attuquaye Armah, to ask a Question of the Minister for Education. We do not want the situation where the Minister comes and says he wants to withdraw it. Madam Speaker, we have seen this.
The Hon First Deputy Speaker, files a Question which was admitted by himself to be answered and that same day he withdrew the Question.
Madam Speaker, we do not want that situation to arise again because they might have taken the place of others who might have useful Questions to ask.
So if they are not going to ask the Questions, they should sound the Business Committee so that the Questions are not stated in the Business Statement for the ensuing week, and space then would be given to other people who have relevant
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:40 a.m.


Questions to ask.

Madam Speaker, that is the application I want to make to you.
Madam Speaker 11:40 a.m.
But then, in respect of the First Deputy Speaker, he never knows when he would be acting as Speaker. Would he? If we follow your prescription, he never knows when he will become the Speaker for which reason he cannot ask his Question. He stood up but I thought probably, I could come in here.
But it affects other people, yes, I know. But we should be careful we do not take away the rights of Hon Members of Parliament even though they are Ministers, to also ask Questions. So you are urging that when they ask Questions, they should either come or if they cannot come, give long notice. This is what you are asking them, which is in order.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:50 a.m.
Madam Speaker, the issue is, the Ministers relate to their colleague Ministers, even behind the scenes. They can know the Answers to Questions that are filed. This Question in the name of Hon Ernest Attuquaye Armah; perhaps, the Question was even asked before he became a Minister. Perhaps -- [Interruption] -- he is not a Minister? Oh, All right. Madam Speaker, then I thought it is in respect of “Lion,” the lion that we know in this House. But the other one relating to the Hon First Deputy Speaker, yes, I know the issue that Madam Speaker raised that he might not know when he was going to preside. But we do know that the Hon First Deputy Speaker is highly placed within the corridors of government. Within the corridors of government, he is highly placed, and so asking Questions and dragging Ministers to the floor of the House, Madam Speaker, there could be some other resort.
Madam Speaker, that was the point that I was making, in particular, when he had
Madam Speaker 11:50 a.m.
I think it was a very
gracious way of acting by withdrawing the Question; do you not agree?
Mr. E .K. D. Adjaho 11:50 a.m.
Madam
Speaker, you are absolutely right and I am very grateful for your ruling that every Member of this House, once you are a Member of this House, you have a right to ask a Question.
Madam Speaker, in my case, I wrote to the Table Office telling them the reason why I withdrew the Question because before the time for the putting of the Question on the Order Paper, the Answers were provided, and I thought that it would be a waste of the Honourable House's time to pursue that Question, and that was why -- I did not just withdraw it, I wrote to the Table Office giving them the reason why I withdrew the Question.
Madam Speaker, the truth of the matter is that every Member of this House has the right to ask a Question irrespective of his or her position. We are Members of Parliament first, before other positions come to add to it.
Madam Speaker, thank you very much.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:50 a.m.
Madam
Speaker, the Hon First Deputy Speaker started by thanking you for your ruling, and he knows that after you have ruled, he is incapacitated to come in with further comments; he should not have offered those comments. So, Madam Speaker, I would not proceed further the path that he traversed, I would not proceed further, recognizing that you have already given a ruling.
Mr. Akologu 11:50 a.m.
Madam Speaker, I
have taken due notice of the observation the Hon Minority Leader has made about further actions after you have ruled. But I just want to remind the Hon Minority

Leader that he is a member of the Business Committee and the Business Committee has been urging Hon Members that in order that we speed the work of this House, Questions that have lapsed, have lost relevance should be withdrawn by their proposers.

So, if the Hon First Deputy Speaker listened to the Business Committee and did the right thing, I do not think he should be faulted. And I would urge all other Hon Members whose Questions might have lapsed and lost their relevance, not to shy away. They should approach the Table Office to withdraw them whether they are Ministers or not.
Madam Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Yes, thank you.
Shall we get on with the Questions now?
The first Question stands in the name of Hon Andrews Adjei-Yeboah, Member of Parliament, Tano South.
URGENT QUESTION 11:50 a.m.
MINISTRY OF TRADE AND 11:50 a.m.
INDUSTRY 11:50 a.m.
Minister for Trade and Industry (Ms Hannah Tetteh) 11:50 a.m.
Madam Speaker, the recalling of Toyota vehicles is mostly to those manufactured in the USA. Toyota (Ghana) Limited is the main importer of Toyota vehicles in Ghana. It receives advice from Toyota Motor Company of Japan in connection with such matters.
But so far, no advice has been received
Minister for Trade and Industry (Ms Hannah Tetteh) 11:50 a.m.
since all the vehicle consignments are directly from Japan. According to Toyota (Ghana) Limited, the importation of Toyota Camry cars is not done on a large scale basis, but most by individuals who have resided in the USA and decided to bring their cars home. So far, Toyota Ghana Company Limited has been contacted by two individuals who purchased their cars from the USA and complained about the recall problem.
Another major importer of Toyota vehicles into the country is Sterling Automobile. The company has indicated that its main source of import is the Middle East and that such vehicles are built to suit the hot weather condition of the Middle East and they also have not received such information. The only Toyota brand the company imports from the USA is Toyota Avalon, and to date, only one Avalon has been imported into the country by the company.
In the USA, on 21st January, 2010, Toyota announced its intention to recall approximately 2.3 million select Toyota division vehicles equipped with a specific pedal assembly and suspended sales of eight models involved in the recall on the 26th of January. The Toyota vehicles affected by the recall include certain models of the 2009/2010 RAV 4; certain models of the 2009/2010 Corolla; certain models of the 2009/2010 Matrix; the 2005/2010 Avalon; certain 2007/2010 Camry; 2010 Highlander model; 2007/2010 Tundra and 2008/2010 Sequoia.
Madam Speaker, no Lexus division or Scion vehicles are affected by these actions. Also not affected in the USA are Toyota Pruis, Tacoma, Sienna, Nexus, Solara, Yaris, 4Runner, FJ Cruiser, Land Cruiser, Highlander Hybrids and certain other Camry models including the Camry Hybrid, all of which remain for sale.

Madam Speaker, we are informed further that Camry, RAV4, Corolla and Highlander vehicles with vehicle identification numbers that begin with “J” are not affected by the accelerator pedal recall. However, the Ministry of Trade and Industry will work with the destination inspection companies to ensure that such vehicles, if any, are not released onto the Ghanaian market without being checked for defect.

Madam Speaker, thank you very much.
Mr. Adjei-Yeboah 11:50 a.m.
Madam Speaker,
in the Hon Minister's Answer, she makes allusion to the formal channels of importation, that is those who are having dealership. What happens to individuals who actually import but they do not import through Toyota, Ghamot, and other recognized dealers in the country?
Ms Tetteh 11:50 a.m.
Madam Speaker, that is the reason why I indicated in my Answer that we will work with the destination inspec-tion companies. We are having a meeting with the destination inspection companies this morning in the Ministry as I am here, to ask them to check the import of all Toyota vehicles within these brands. So what will happen is that, as they come into the country through the authorized ports and entry points where we have destination inspection facilities, they will be checked.
We will make sure that with the relevant agencies from the Driver, Vehicle and Licensing Authority (DVLA), we are able to determine whether or not they have these defects. I quite agree with the Hon Member that not all vehicles are imported through the recognized authorized dealers. So that will prevent such vehicles from being brought onto the market.
Madam Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Your next question,
please.
Dr. M. O. Prempeh noon
Madam Speaker, this brings to point those who sell cars in this country without proper franchises. My Mercedes Benz. -- I have a realized recently through my Hon Friend that Mercedes Benz has not got a franchise -- yes, Silver Star. [Interruption.] And to those of us who also brought our own Avalons into this country two years ago, the Minister has not answered --
What is the Ministry doing to win proper consumer protection in this country? That is because it is a bigger problem than just what my Brother highlighted. Those of us who brought the cars before this recall, what do we do? And those agencies selling cars in this country without proper franchise agreements, what is the Ministry doing about them?
Ms Tetteh noon
Madam Speaker, those
are two questions, so I will deal with the first one.
With those of you who have imported Avalon cars or Camry cars into the country before this information was made available, we strongly suggest that you get in touch with Toyota Ghana, so they can advise you on the appropriate steps to take.
With regard to the issue of having proper authorized franchises, once again, it is something that we would very much like to encourage.
On the other hand, we do not think it is the problem of the Ministry of Trade and Industry to interfere in people's independent purchasing arrangements as long as they are not illegal; otherwise, you would not have brought your Toyota Avalon into the country.
Dr. Prempeh -- rose
Madam Speaker noon
No, I have not
called you.
Dr. Prempeh noon
Madam Speaker, my
Hon Colleague yielded his subsequent questions to me. [Uproar.] He is here. So Madam Speaker, one question, only one question, allow me one question.
Madam Speaker noon
I will grant it
because this is affecting all of us and putting suggestions and nobody is standing on the other side; otherwise, I would have crossed.
Dr. Prempeh noon
Thank you. Madam
Speaker, Members of Parliament, as we speak, bought cars from certain dealers and they are having problems -- those people who are importing cars from certain agencies around the world and even selling to Hon Members. Some of them, before the cars were arrived, they were having problems in this House. That is why I am saying it is the duty of the Government to make sure that people who are bringing things to sell in this country have the proper agreements so that should it happen that luxury Land Cruisers that Hon Members of Parliament have bought, they are being recalled, we know what to do. I have a case.
Madam Speaker noon
Yes, Hon Minister, He asked, what do they do in such cases?
Ms Tetteh noon
Madam Speaker, I believe
that the legal principle is ‘let the buyer beware', caveat emptor. You are expected to do everything as a consumer to ensure that you purchase something which is fit for the purpose.
With the larger issue of consumer protection, the Ministry of Trade and Industry has developed a draft consumer protection policy which, because of some inputs from some of my Colleagues, we feel the need to revise and expand further, to deal with some of the challenges that consumers are facing in this country, not only with regard to vehicles but with other
goods as well. And once we are finished with that, we would be very pleased to inform Hon Members of the steps that we have taken.
Thank you very much.
Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyemang noon
Madam Speaker, within the context of consumer protection, does the Minister really think that Toyota Ghana is a neutral and independent protector of the interest of the people, to the extent that their advice is solely what we are taking?
In America, they have a whole government department which certifies all these defects and what have you, but here we have the person who is the franchise owner or who are the owners now advising us.
Does the Minister think that Toyota Ghana really will bona fide, in all sincerity, represent the interest of the good people of Ghana? Consumer protection is very dear to my heart.
Ms Tetteh noon
Madam Speaker, what I am aware from the information that I have read since this recall took place is that, the Toyota Company is very intent on protecting the image and reputation of its brand and therefore, has interacted with its dealers across the world to ensure that as much as possible these defects are addressed in order that the value of its brand and reputation do not go down.
Because Toyota (Ghana) Limited is the legitimate holder of the franchise for the sale, distribution and servicing of Toyota vehicles in Ghana, one would think that they would add to the principle in order to ensure that the right thing is done. But I take on board the Hon Member's point and we will have an interaction with them to ensure that we do our possible best to protect the rights of Ghanaian consumers.
Prof. G. Y. Gyan-Baffour noon
Madam Speaker, it looks like the Minister, in her Answer, is trying to actually relegate the protection of Ghanaians into the hands of the dealers. My question is, what is the Government's position on what is happening? What are we going to say? What are you going to tell the public? What message are you sending to Toyota wherever they are whether or not - There is the tendency, as these things were unfolding, that they will find themselves from America into other places if they are unable to resolve it. What is the Government's position?
Ms Tetteh noon
Madam Speaker, I think I
addressed that when I initially answered the Question. I said that with regard to vehicles that are coming into the country, especially Toyota vehicles, now that we know that there is this recall, we will act with the destination inspection companies and we will also involve DVLA, in order to make sure that those vehicles are examined and checked before coming onto the Ghanaian market.
As far as Toyota Ghana is concerned, they are an independent company. It has to ensure that its operations do not contravene the laws of our Republic. It is the laws of our country that protect the people of this country and Government does what it can to ensure that the laws are respected and obeyed, and we will continue to do that.
Madam Speaker noon
Thank you.
Can we move to Questions?
The next Question stands in the name of Mr. Theophilus Tetteh Chaie (Ablekuma Central).
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS noon
MINISTRY OF TRADE AND noon
INDUSTRY noon
Ms Tetteh noon
Madam Speaker, the Procurement Law is being administered under the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, so, any amendment to the law would have to be spearheaded by the Ministry.
However, it is the policy of the Ministry to use the Procurement Law to promote the use of local products and services to support local industry.
The Ministry, in collaboration with the National Procurement Authority (NPA) is developing a training programme to enhance the capacity of the domestic private sector, especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to enable them to respond to and wind bids for provisions of goods and services. The programme will also cover the capacity of MDAs' procurement entities.
Mr. Chaie noon
Madam Speaker, in the Answer to the Question, paragraph 2, she said “it is the policy of the Ministry to use the Procurement Law to promote the use of local products and services to support the local industry”.
Currently, if you visit most of our Ministries, you will realize that even with regard to the procurement of furniture, most of the entities are of foreign origin. Most of our furniture shops or companies are folding up and moving into the importation of foreign products. I want to find out from the Minister what her Ministry is doing to ensure that our local businesses are given the opportunity to compete favourably.
Ms Tetteh noon
Madam Speaker, with the greatest of respect to the Hon Member, I did answer the Question.
The problem that the Ministry has identified as far as the capacity of local business is concerned, to be able to compete and win bids, is that they are not too familiar with how to be able to present the documentation in their bids when public procurement notices are advertised. And which is the reason why we are working with the National Procurement Authority to train them, to give them the capacity to respond and win bids for the provision of goods and services. It is not the issue that they cannot provide the goods and services; it is the issue that they do not know how to respond properly when they see these things advertised.
That is what we have seen, and that is the reason why we are developing a programme for them to be able to address that.
Mr. Chaie 12:10 p.m.
Madam Speaker, I want to find out if the Minister is aware that bid security is an issue that is affecting most of our local entrepreneurs when it comes to procurement -- The bid security that is demanded, the 3 per cent.
Ms. Tetteh 12:10 p.m.
Madam Speaker, I did
indicate when I began the Answer to the Question that any amendment to the law has to be brought to this Honourable House through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. We are aware that there are challenges with the Procurement Law and I am informed that my Colleague, the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning is looking at reviewing it.
It is within the province of the Ministry of Trade and Industry to bring these proposals to the House for amendment and
Madam Speaker 12:10 p.m.
Yes, your third question; have you finished? Yes?
Mr. William O. Boafo 12:10 p.m.
Madam
Speaker, I will like to know from the Hon. Minister, to what extent her Ministry is using the provisions of section 60 of the Procurement Law on marginal preference to assist the domestic manufacturing goods and domestic suppliers.
Ms. Tetteh 12:10 p.m.
Madam Speaker, indeed,
section 60 of the Procurement Act provides a margin of preference for all manufacturers. The whole issue is that it allows them to be more competitive in spite of the fact that they may or may not have a slightly higher price for their offering. But it goes back to the issue of the capacity of local manufacturers to be able to engage in the bid process, to understand what is expected of them to respond to them and that section allows for a margin of preference to be given to local suppliers in the event that they correspond to what is required of the bid.
With regard to the Ministry of Trade and Industry once again, our role in this particular matter, we see it as one of training and facilitation. But it is not the only Ministry that advertises for the procurement of goods and services. And so, as far as we are concerned, we want to provide the capacity so that local industry as the law stands now, can compete within the framework of the law as it stands today.
Dr. A. A. Osei 12:10 p.m.
Madam Speaker, if I understood the questioner carefully, even though the Ministry of Finance and
Ms. Tetteh 12:10 p.m.
Madam Speaker, the local
content policy and the provisions of the Public Procurement Act are two different things. What we do at the present time is that we are currently developing the Private Sector Development Strategy phase II and within the context of that phase II, we are looking at having an improved local content policy. That is still a policy paper, that is in the works.
Prof. D. K. Fobih 12:10 p.m.
Madam Speaker, in the Minister's Answer, she suggested that her Ministry had already identified some challenges that local industries face in competition with foreign ones for local contracts. I will like to know some of these challenges which might inform her to make proposals to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning towards the future amendments of the law.
Ms. Tetteh 12:10 p.m.
Madam Speaker, I would
be able to identify the challenges but on the other hand, I am not too sure that I am going to be able to provide what you intend to suggest as future amendments to the law because that is something we have not yet defined properly. So let me identify the challenges as we understand them.
The problems that we have identified that quite a number of our local businesses have is that they do not understand what is required in the procurement procedure. So they would prefer a situation where they could come and see somebody and say I have x, y, z to offer, could you have a contract with me? But you know that with our current public procurement regulations, that is not an option.
Where they do go through the process of bidding, the bid security is also a challenge. Sometimes, the costs of the products and services that they offer are more expensive than the foreign competitors. However, the section 60 margin of preference makes some allowance for that but perhaps, we could be looking at an expanded margin of preference to support domestic industry. So far, those are the main considerations and the main challenges we have identified.
Madam Speaker 12:10 p.m.
Yes, Hon Members,
shall we move to the next Question, which stands in the name of Hon Theophilus Tetteh Chaie?
Dealers in Spare Parts (Tax Incentives)
Q. 342. Mr. Theophilus Tetteh Chaie
asked the Minister for Trade and Industry what measures were being put in place to ensure that the spare parts dealers at Abossey Okai and other areas were given tax incentives to enhance their trade.
Ms. Tetteh 12:10 p.m.
Madam Speaker, in Ghana, incentives are aimed mostly at attracting Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) and also in promoting exports to accelerate the pace of the country's development.
Generally, incentives are not provided for imports. The spare parts dealers at Abossey Okai and other areas are mostly importers of spare parts, especially used ones.
However, under the Ministry's Trade Sector Support Programme (TSSP), there is a project called the Technology Innovation Centre for Capital Goods which aims at establishing an integrated foundry, metal working, machine tool and training centre for the manufacture of high precision capital goods and

machine components, parts and planting equipment.

The Centre will produce precision parts and components of machinery/equipment and assemble the same for subsectors like food processing, automobile spare parts, et cetera.
Mr. Chaie 12:10 p.m.
Madam Speaker, when these spare parts dealers go to the ports, the import duty that they pay is normally made up of about 15 different elements including VAT which is about 15 per cent. But when these goods are also brought to their shop, they are made to pay a VAT of three per cent and this is a worry to most of the traders. I will like to find out from the Minister if her Ministry can do something about this double taxation.
Ms. Tetteh 12:10 p.m.
Madam Speaker, I will like
to have notice on that question so that I can provide more details.
Madam Speaker 12:10 p.m.
Yes, Hon Member.
Mr. Chaie 12:10 p.m.
Madam Speaker, I am
done.
Madam Speaker 12:10 p.m.
We have to thank
the Hon Minister for coming to answer our Questions.
Thank you very much.
Next item is Statements.
We have no Statement for today.
MR. FIRST DEPUTY SPEAKER
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:20 p.m.
Hon
Members, item 7 - Presentation and First Reading of Bills. Minister for Justice and Attorney-General?
Mr. Akologu 12:20 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, for the
same reasons that I gave for the absence of the Hon Minister for yesterday -- [Inter- ruption] -- and today, I indicated that the Hon Minister for Finance and Economic Planning was still attending to the World Bank people and the Hon Minister for Justice and Attorney-General is deeply involved in those discussions and has not been able to come here.
I want to seek your permission and the indulgence of the House to allow the Hon Minister for Communications to -- [Interruption.] Mr. Speaker, I think from the signals from my Hon Colleague opposite, I would rather substitute the Hon Minister for Communications with the Hon Deputy Minister for Justice and Attorney-General to lay the Paper.
BILLS -- FIRST READING 12:20 p.m.
Mr. Akologu 12:20 p.m.
I am sorry, Mr. Speaker. Before we proceed on that one, you have just referred this Bill to the Committee on

Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, but upon a second thought, we think that we should join the Committee on Communications to it.

In view of the experience that we have been having in this House that when a subject matter falls under the purview of a committee, the committee should be involved in it notwithstanding which committee is for it legally -- So we would appeal to you to join the Committee on Communications to the consideration of this Report.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:20 p.m.
Very well, if that is the pleasure of the House, I refer it to Joint Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and Committee on Communications.
MOTIONS 12:20 p.m.
Chairman of the Committee (Mr. Albert Kan-Dapaah) 12:20 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, that this Honourable House adopts the Report of the Public Accounts Committee on the Performance Audit Report of the Auditor-General on Business Registration in Ghana.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to present the Committee's Report.
1.0 Introduction
The above Performance Audit Report was laid in the House on Tuesday, 9th June 2009 in accordance with article 184 of the 1992 Constitution and the Standing Orders of the House.
This Audit Report was referred to the Public Accounts Committee in accordance with Standing Order 165 for examination and report.
To consider this Report, the Committee met with Hon Betty Mould-Iddrisu, Minister for Justice and Attorney-General, Mr. Suleman Ahmed, Acting Chief Director, Ministry of Justice, Nana Kwadwo Ohene Obeng, Deputy Registrar and a technical team from the Ministry of Justice.
The Committee wishes to thank the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana for the immense assistance that it gave to the Committee, especially from the team of consultants that supported the Committee during its work.
2.0 References
The Committee referred to the following relevant documents:
i. The 1992 Constitution
ii. The Standing Orders of the House
iii. The Financial Administration Act,
2004
iv. Companies Act, 1963
3.0 Background
The Government of Ghana has declared a golden age of business in the country to transform Ghana into a world-class business destination. Under the programme, the private sector is to become the engine for growth and development. Business registration plays a key role in private sector development and the achievement of the desired golden

age of business.

The Registrar-General's Department is a key service provider to the private sector. The Department registers new businesses and thereafter ensures that limited liability companies comply with the demands of the Companies Code.

There is, however, widespread public and international concern about the time it takes to register a business in the country. The cumbersome process thereby prolongs the commencement of new businesses by both local and foreign investors. Some business ventures have been abandoned as a result of frustrations encountered during the registration and licensing processes.

The Government of Ghana, therefore, started a review of the registration and licensing regime for businesses in 2003 with donor support. The objective was to promote efficiency in the registration process.

Despite these efforts, a report by the World Bank titled “Doing Business in 2006” indicated that it takes approximately 64 days to start a business in the country while Ghana did not rank among the top 127 countries where it is easy to start a business.

It was as a result of this and other concerns that the Auditor-General, in collaboration with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) decided to conduct a Performance Audit to establish the reasons for the difficulties in starting a business in Ghana with specific reference to the Registrar- General's Department.

4.0 Purpose of this Audit
Chairman of the Committee (Mr. Albert Kan-Dapaah) 12:20 p.m.
The purpose of the audit was to evaluate the effectiveness of business registration processes and determine the extent of collaboration with stakeholders in licensing business activities. Specifically, it was to ascertain whether:
i. business registration is done in a timely and expeditious manner and in accordance with the relevant statutory requirements;
ii. key players in business registration are guided by the appropriate standards, procedures and relevant benchmarks in their activities;
iii. there is collaboration between the key players to capitalize on synergies;
iv. the Registrar-General's Department is maximizing revenue;
v. the Department has performance repor t ing s tandards and to determine the effectiveness of reporting relationships between various players.
5.0 Objectives and Scope of the Report
The aim of the Committee's Report is to present to the House the outcome of the Committee's examination of the Performance Audit Report of the Auditor- General on business registration in the country.
The Report also discusses:
i. the extent of the implementation of the reforms;
i i . he challenges faced by the Department; and
iii. issues which in the Committee's opinion ought to engage the

attention of the House.

6.0 Audit Findings

6.1 Duration of Business Registration

The Registrar-General's Department embarked on a reform programme to improve its services to the public and specifically to enhance its capability to improve business registration processes, filing and retrieval of information and documents by applying information technology in the business registration activities processes.

It was observed that it took 19 working days prior to the reforms to register a new company in the country.

This improved to five working days and anticipated to improve to three working days in the medium-term. This significant achievement was mainly due to the introduction of a computerized system known as RGDPro Software. This software has significantly reduced the time it takes to conduct name searches from 4 days to about half a day on the average. It now takes about 11 days on the average to register limited liability companies.

6.2 RGDPRo Software

The audit, however, noted that the RGDPRo Software is incapable of meeting certain functional requirements:

The system is unable to generate business directory, errors and exception reports automatically. The system is unable to restrict or control how objects are classified or described. This creates problems for users when they try to extract data on companies.

Key modules that are to be used to undertake amendments and renewals automatically have not been activated. Hence amendments and renewals are done manually

leading to a situation where changes/ amendments are not captured/ saved on the RGD system.

The Department continues to conduct searches on names of registered businesses both manually and electronically because it estimates that 20 per cent of its files (on manually registered businesses) are still not captured on the system.

With respect to the acquisition of the software, the Auditor-General observed that:

i. the supplier did not fully deliver the ICT requirements as agreed;

ii. the service delivered by the supplier was generally not satisfactory;

iii. the system is not user-friendly; and

iv. the system does not have the necessary features to achieve its intended purpose.

6.3 Data Input

The system is unable to classify business objects into the sectors in which the businesses are operating as a result of the poor configuration. Additionally, the system does not allow inputs of receipt numbers with their corresponding amounts preventing assurance on completeness of income and cross-referencing of data fields.

6.4 Output Controls

The poorly configured system does not facilitate the retrieval of data saved in the database. It cannot generate exceptional reports particularly on overdue renewals nor standard reminders, among others.

6.5 Supervision

The Committee was informed that there was laxity on the part of management in supervising the Software Supplier and holding them to deliver on schedule. As a result, the Business Registration Software which was to be delivered and completely installed by the end of 2005 had not been completed by the end of 2006. Furthermore, not all the functionalities and modules had been activated. As at 2007, these matters remained unresolved. The situation was compounded by the inability of RGD to sanction the supplier who had already been paid.

6.6 Client Services

RGD has established customer services at all its localized offices as well as the head office in order to provide a better service and respond to the needs of its customers.

The Auditor-General, however, noted that the head office client services unit had not been fully developed, while the regional offices client services have been reduced to mere collection points. Many customers who visit the Department do not know the processes and requirements for registering a business. They rather resort to the use of middlemen and ‘contacts' at the Department. This practice encourages corruption.

6.7 Decentralization

In an attempt to expand its services and reduce the centralization of registering businesses in Accra, the Department is opening up offices in other parts of the country. It has opened branches in Takoradi and Kumasi. The programme envisaged that these offices would be linked up to the Wide Area Network to enable them complete registration processes at these locations so as to reduce the number of days it takes to register a business in these areas.
Chairman of the Committee (Mr. Albert Kan-Dapaah) 12:20 p.m.


Unfortunately, the Department is yet to complete this link-up and as a result, the regional offices are only responsible for educating applicants on filing of registration documents, collecting fees, and collating completed applications for submission to Accra for processing.

7.0 Observations and Recommendations

7.1 Current State of Reforms

On the current state of the reforms, the Minister for Justice and Attorney-General, Hon Betty Mould-Iddrisu informed the Committee that the findings in the Performance Audit Report were the true reflection of the challenges facing the Department at the time of the audit (that is, as at 2006). She conceded that at the beginning of the reforms, there were substantial teething problems as observed by the Auditor-General. However, since then, the Department has progressed considerably.

She informed the Committee that it now takes 7 working days to register a limited liability company and five working days to register a business name, popularly known as Enterprise. It is the aim of the Department to bring registration of businesses down to 3 days.

7.2 RGDPro Software

The Minister explained to the Committee that the Reforms, for which the computerization of the RGD was part, were part of the PECTA credit which was funded by the World Bank. She acknowledged that some problems occurred in 2004 (when the PECTA programme was coming to an end). She said the Department did pay the software company before it completed the execution of the contract.
Chairman of the Committee (Mr. Albert Kan-Dapaah) 12:20 p.m.
However, the Deputy Registrar-General lamented that some members of the public still prefer to go to the back office to part with money for services disregarding all the warning signs posted at vantage places in the Department.
7 . 8 D e c e n t r a l i z a t i o n o f t h e Registration Process
On the decentralization of the registration process, the Minister for Justice and Attorney-General informed the Committee that there are plans to link up each regional capital by 2011. Also, the Department has plans to introduce online registration to reduce the need for people to come to Accra for registration forms. The Minister said two regional offices had been opened at Kumasi and Takoradi and she hopes to inaugurate the Tamale office within the next few days.
8.0 Conclusion
Business registration plays a key role towards achieving a vibrant private sector. It is, therefore, important that every effort is put in place to ensure that registration of business is done smoothly. This, in the Committee's view, will go a long way to attract investment. The Committee, therefore, urges the Auditor-General to follow up and report on the current state of affairs at the Department.
In the light of this, the Committee recommends to the House to adopt its Report on the Performance Audit Report of the Auditor-General on Business

Registration in Ghana.

Respectfully submitted.
Minister for Communications (Mr. Haruna Iddrisu) 12:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity to second the motion, and with your indulgence to make a few observations to the Committee's findings and recommendations.
First of all, Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for a very diligent and thorough work on the Registrar-General's Department, and to assure this House that Government is continuing with the reforms in order that the number of days used to register a company and even to conduct a search would be reduced significantly.
Indeed, it is the wish of Government that it should not take more than 24 hours or two days for purposes of a search. And with your indulgence, let me quote paragraph 7(1) of your Committee's Report, which was an assurance given by the Hon Betty-Mould Iddrisu, the Minister for Justice and Attorney-General when she considered that - and I am quoting:
“. . . at the beginning of the reforms, there were substantial teething problems as observed by the Auditor-General. However, since then, the Department has progressed considerably.”
She informed the Committee that it now takes seven working days to register a limited liability company and five working days to register a business name, popularly known as “Enterprise”. It is the aim of the department to bring registration of business down to three days; and Government is accordingly working on that.
Indeed, under the E-Ghana Project which my Hon Colleague, then Minister
rose
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:30 p.m.
Hon Minister, is he coming by an L.I. or the law itself has to be amended?
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 12:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, this House has enacted a law reviewing
various fees - road tolls, licensing, et cetera; it is included. Yes, that is included in this, but that is not what you are saying. You are saying that Government has approved the upward adjustment and I am saying it is rather this House which has enacted them.
Mr. H. Haruna 12:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, he knows that before it walked to this House, it had policy approval, from the Executive and government, that is all that I am communicating -- [Interruption.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:30 p.m.
The Hon Member for Sekondi is saying that after the approval, it must come to this House. It has already come to this House and this House has also passed the legislation.
Mr. H. Haruna 12:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I admit that; but before the legislation, there was approval given to it and that he knows. I am not saying anything different. Indeed, I was going to refer even to the Public Agenda publication, the Friday issue, February 5, 2010 - “Registrar-General's Department makes a Bounty”. That is the headline of the Public Agenda which gives some encouraging details as to how much revenue Government was mobilizing as a result of the upward adjustment in the rates.
With these few comments, Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the PAC for a diligent work.
Question proposed.
Papa Owusu-Ankomah (NPP -- Sekondi) 12:30 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I also wish to thank you for the opportunity given me to contribute to this debate and to observe that the major problem relating to commencement of business in Ghana over the past two years has not been the length of registration of businesses.
Mr. Speaker, in 2008 when I had the opportunity of serving as the Minister responsible for Trade and Industry, it became apparent that the major problems related to steps that one needs to take to
start a business -- acquisition of land, building permit -- where one wants a permit to put up property, it may take as long as 90 days, licences that one needs to obtain from an agency in order for one to commence one's business.
So I am urging Government, particularly the Ministry responsible for Trade, which is the focal Ministry in terms of facilitating business, to consider these aspects so that comprehensively, we can review the bottlenecks relating to commencement of business in this country.
Before I left office, I set up a multi- departmental task force to act on the observations made by the World Bank so that these bottlenecks would be removed. I do not know the status. It involved Ghana Immigration Service, Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), the Registrar-General's Department, et cetera, and I think that we ought to follow this up.
Mr. Speaker, it is also true that the Registrar-General's Department is a revenue-generating agency. However, the problem that we have is that the registration of businesses relates more to trade and industry. So it is important that the mandate of the Registrar-General's Department is even reconfigured, so that when it comes to marriage, et cetera ,it can be taken on board by another department, and when it comes to business, it is taken by another agency so that we do not lump these things together.
The Registrar-General's mandate also includes -- Err, Mr. Speaker, I have just forgotten -- when it comes to bankruptcy or something, the Registrar-General's Department -- liquidator! It is also the official liquidator. So it has various mandates; some relate to business, some relate to life. You start life, you register your birth, when you marry, it is a continuation. So, probably, that mandate for registration of marriages could be better served under the Department of

Births and Deaths so that it is from the beginning of life to the end of life. So Government should also look at some of these things.

Mr. Speaker, it is important for me to emphasize that there are certain actions that ought to be taken, which if not monitored, supervised by the political authorities, they will never get done. However, when there are problems, it is those of us who are in political authority who take the heat -- and I am urging government to pay particular attention to this aspect of doing business in Ghana.

In 2008, the ranking went down. I am not aware of 2009. It may come up sometime this year. But we ought to consistently improve upon the time that we can do business in this country.

For the Registrar-General's Depart- ment, registration of businesses, I believe that we have done substantially well since reforms were introduced in 2003. We have to go to the next steps relating to the licensing regime, permit regime, et cetera and even acquisition of land which serves as a major barrier to the smooth operation of businesses in Ghana.

I thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Alhaji Ibrahim Dey Abubakari (NDC -- Salaga) 12:40 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, thank you for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this motion.
First, let me thank our Hon Chairman for doing a good job and for steering the affairs of the Public Accounts Committee to produce this beautiful Report.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:40 p.m.
Hon Members, that brings us to the end of the debate.
But before I put the Question, Hon Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, in view of the information provided by the Hon Minister for Communications and the Hon Member for Sekondi, I think that paragraph 7.4 on page 7 -- there is a small problem there, because we passed that law in December at the close of last Session. Your Report is dated January 22nd.
So, if you have a Report that you want the House to adopt, which creates the impression that since 2003, the fees have not been increased, it can be misleading. I want you to clean up that place so that I can put the Question. [Pause.] The truth of the matter is that, it has been increased. And now, your Report is dated January, 22nd.
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 12:40 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, you
are right except that this is a performance audit report as at a particular date. And because there has been such a long delay in considering it, we have the problem that you are talking about. But I do share your

concern that it can be misleading.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:40 p.m.
They appeared before the Commit tee , subsequently, and they made that assertion which you have captured. Now, that is not the position. So if you can just add one sentence there that “However …” to indicate that it has been passed. Then, anybody who takes this Report - that is why the two Hon Members raised the matter on the floor.
Mr. Kan-Dapaah 12:40 p.m.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I think the amendment is acceptable and it is accepted.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:40 p.m.
Very well.
Question put and motion agreed to.
Resolved accordingly.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:40 p.m.
Item 9, Hon Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee?
Or Hon Deputy Majority Leader -- [Pause.] Very well.
MOTIONS 12:50 p.m.
Alhaji Ibrahim Dey Abubakari (NDC -- Salaga) 12:50 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to second the motion and in so doing, make a few observations. First, let me thank the Chairman of the Committee and the Auditor-General for providing this beautiful Report.
Mr. Speaker, the Report is talking about accountability arrange-ments and the corrective measures being taken to ensure that these accountability arrangements are in place.
Mr. Speaker, if you go to the Report, phase one, we know that the important aspect of accountability is to ensure that there is understanding of the respective roles of the responsibility of each of the agencies involved in waste management in the country. And this responsibility has been put under the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.
From the Report, we realise that the National Environmental Sanitation Co- ordination Council (NESCC), which is under the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, has met only once in about four years, hence the monetary system was not effective.
With these observations, I am appealing to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to ensure that those agencies that are under the Ministry should try to do their responsible work to ensure that the monetary aspect is properly done.
Also, another problem is that of measuring the reporting. Here, most of the issues are how waste is being costed and budgeted. Most often, Mr. Speaker, you would realise that at the end of each year, the actual cost of waste is always twice or one-and-a-half times of what has been budgeted for in this country -- Anybody can go to the records and see that.
This is because of the issue of how we cost waste and measure it and set up the standard performance. I, therefore, think that the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development should ensure that all these monetary systems are established with its agency to ensure that the battery system can be as realistic as possible to ensure that Government pays more than what they have budgeted for.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 12:50 p.m.
Hon Members, today is Friday and I would take two brief comments and then I would ask the Chairman of the Committee, if he is so willing, to wind up.
Mr. Simon Osei-Mensah (NPP -- Bosomtwe) 1 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to add my voice to the motion on the floor that this Honourable House does approve of the Report of the Public Accounts Committee on the Report of the Auditor- General on Accountability Arrangements in Solid Waste Management. In so doing, I want to make a few comments.

Mr. Speaker, if one listens carefully to the Report, one realizes that there are inadequacies in the legal framework relating to accountability arrangements in the solid waste management of the country.

First of all, the Constitution itself makes little comments on waste management; and when you get to the regions and districts, the situation is even worse. Mr. Speaker, the agencies that are also responsible -- Even the little legal framework -- the few agencies that have been established are also inefficient and ineffective. There are a lot of cases, as my Hon Colleagues said, a whole agency that has not met for more than four years is a dead agency. Definitely, it is not a cold thing; it is even better that we do not have one existing; and this cuts across. And Mr. Speaker, we should not forget that if we manage our solid waste properly, we can have a lot of benefits from that.

We have several countries that are turning their solid waste into energy supply. With the inadequacies of our energy sources in this country, it is a potential source of energy supply. And if we could make proper arrangements, I think it could help reduce the problem that we have in our energy sector.

Mr. Speaker, look at the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDA); sometimes they put a container somewhere which is supposed to be picked up, maybe, weekly or fortnightly, but you realise that it gets full and over one year, nobody gets there even to pick it, and at the end, it turns out to be a health hazard. Instead of helping to improve upon the health situation of the country, it rather worsens the health situation of the country.

I think it is time we looked at the laws governing our solid waste management and get proper legislation in place to help ensure that we obtain the proper benefits
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1 p.m.
Thank you very much. Yes, the last contribution from the Hon Minister for Local Government and Rural Development?
Minister for Local Government and
Rural Development (Mr. J. Y. Chireh): Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to also contribute to the debate on whether we should accept the Report of the Public Accounts Committee on the arrangements for solid waste management in terms of accountability.
First of all, let me commend the Committee for the good work they have done and the recommendation that they have suggested to us. Indeed, our objective is to develop a policy -- and currently, the
policy will be debated at Cabinet -- that will outline the roles of all stakeholders. It will also draw out the map for legislative reforms that are being requested. The idea is the fact that we want to strengthen the waste management departments of the Assemblies to be able to handle solid waste in particular, in various MMDAs.
Mr. Speaker, one important thing that the Committee is recommending is how to eliminate corruption in the billing system. Again, this calls for technology change, how to measure, how to weigh and bill properly. All these things are what were engaged in in terms of building capacities of the Assemblies to be able to do this. But largely, the issue is one of attitude and therefore, in the policy document, there is a communication aspect that will ensure continuous creation of awareness, education; and starting at the primary school level, getting people to get used to how to keep the environment clean in terms of all these things.
So once again, I thank the Committee for the recommendation, and we will in conjunction with the MMDAs ensure that the recommendations are put into effect and new ideas also incorporated.
Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity.
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1 p.m.
Thank you very much.
That brings us to the end of the debate.
Chairman of the Committee, do you want to wind up? [Interruption.] Very well. I will now put the Question.
Question put and motion agreed to.
Resolved accordingly.
Mr. J. T. Akologu 1 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the
next item is committee sittings.
I, therefore, move, that this House do now adjourn until Tuesday, 9th February, 2010 at 10.00 before noon for business of the House to continue.
I beg to move.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to second the motion, but to remind the Hon Deputy Majority Leader of his own request that we have winnowing on the Alternative Dispute Resolution Bill -- [Interruption.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1 p.m.
Will that be taken today?
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, that is the application he himself -- [Interruption.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1 p.m.
Is he sure
we can take that today?
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1 p.m.
Mr.
Speaker, that is the application he himself made.
Mr. J. K. Akologu 1 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, let us look at the items on the Order Paper, it is not -- [Interruption.]
Mr. First Deputy Speaker 1 p.m.
Anyway
-- 1 p.m.
ADJOURNMENT 1 p.m.