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Mr First Deputy Speaker

Hon Members, Correction of Votes and Proceedings of Friday, 19th November,
2010.

Hon Members, in the absence of any

correction, the Votes and Proceedings of Friday, 19th November, 2010 is hereby adopted as the true record of proceedings.

Hon Members, we also have the Official

Report of Wednesday, 17th November,

2010.

Hon Members, in the absence of any correction, the Official Report of Wednesday, 17 th November, 2010 is hereby adopted as the true record of proceedings.

Hon Members, item 3 on the Order

Paper - Question time.

Mr Speaker, I just want to
ask that the other advantage is that, they are from within the same area -- Amenfi East, Amenfi West and Amenfi Central - and he may be more conversant with the terrain and supplementary questions. Other than that, we appreciate what you have said. So if we can treat this as an exception to the practice.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr Speaker, this is not to disagree with what you have said but I reckon that by this preface, you are more or less going to disarm the Hon Minister from asking supplementary questions. [Laughter.]

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Once he
is asking the Question, he is entitled to the supplementary questions.
Anyway, permission is granted, once you have been authorized by the Hon Member.

Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah

Mr Speaker, K. Boateng and Grant communities have been earmarked to benefit from the Ghana Energy Development and Access Project (GEDAP) being funded by the World Bank and other development partners. Construction works for the Western Region component of the project are scheduled to commence by the end of the year. The project will be executed over a period of 18 months.
Mr Speaker, Jerusalem, Domeabra (Camp) via Juabo, Nso Nyame Ye (via Adj. Manso), Amokrom No. 2, Mmerewa Mmerewa, Annankrom communities do not form part of any of the ongoing electrification projects being undertaken by the Ministry. These communities would be considered under subsequent phases of the National Electrification Programme when funds become available.
Completion Electrification Projects (Measures)
Q.705. Mr David Nana Larbie asked the Minister for Energy what measures were being put in place to ensure that the electrification project in the Awutu Senya Constituency was completed.

Mr Buah

Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Energy is currently working in 23 communities in the Awutu Senya Constituency under the SHEP-4. There are 2 packages of contract works involved. The first package comprises 17
communities, while the second package has six (6) communities. Package 1
Mr Speaker, two (2) communities, namely, Ahuntem and Oshimpo have not provided the Low Voltage Poles (LVP) expected to be procured by the communities under the SHEP; and therefore, installation works have not yet commenced in these communities.
For the remaining 15 communities under the first package, installation works have substantially been completed. The delay in the executing of the works is attributed to an investigation over theft of materials by the contractor. The Ministry has just completed the investigation and is in the process of replacing the contractor with a new one to allow for the completion of the outstanding works. It is expected that the installation works under the first package would be completed by the end of March, 2011.
Package 2
Under the second package, High Voltage (HV) works have been completed at Ofaso, Fianko, Otobiase and Ofadaa. Low Voltage (LV) works have also been completed at Okwabima. HV works are ongoing at Dankwa and Okwabima. At Ofaso, Fianko, Otopiase, Dankwa and Ofadaa, LV works are also ongoing. The project in these communities has been scheduled for completion by March, 2011.

Nana Larbie

Mr Speaker, the Hon
Minister's Answer has satisfied my second and third questions and with that I am satisfied with further questions.
Thank you.

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Question
number 706 standing in the name of the

Hon Members, we now move to item number 6 - Motion.

The Hon Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Planning?

Chairman of the Committee on Finance (Mr James K. Avedzi)

Mr Speaker, I rise to support the Motion ably moved by the Hon Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Planning.
Mr Speaker, in doing so, I present the Report of the joint Committee on Finance and Mines and Energy on the Petroleum Revenue Management Bill.
1.0 Introduction
The Petroleum Revenue Management Bill, 2010 was presented and read the First time in the House on 20th July, 2010 and
subsequently referred to a joint Committee on Finance and Mines and Energy for consideration and report in accordance with the Constitution and Standing Orders of the House.
As part of the programme to consider the Bill, the Committee undertook a nationwide consultative exercise by holding three public fora for the northern, middle and southern sectors of the country. These were held in Sunyani, Takoradi and Accra respectively. Participants at the fora included chiefs, District Chief Executives, Assemblymen and women, members of the security agencies, the media, organised labour, students, among others.
The Committee also had a number of interactions with civil society particularly the civil society, platform on oil and gas to seek their views and input on the Bill.
A delegation of the Committee also visited Norway to gather views on petroleum operations and management of petroleum resources and to draw lessons from the success story of that country.
In addition to the above, the Committee requested and received written memoranda from individuals and organisations on the Bill.
With the public input and international best practices gathered, the Committee met with the Hon Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Hon Dr Kwabena Duffuor and his deputies, Hon. Seth Terkpeh and Hon Fifi Kwetey, the two Hon Deputy Ministers for Energy, Hon Alhaji Inusah A. B. Fuseini and Hon Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah and officials from the Ministries of Finance and Economic Planning and Energy, and the GNPC, and considered the Bill.
1.1 Appreciation

Chairman of the Committee on Finance (Mr James K. Avedzi)

The Committee wishes to acknowledge and express its profound gratitude to all individuals and organisations who submitted written memoranda on the Bill for their inputs. The Committee is equally grateful to the public for their attendance and the oral submissions during the regional fora. The Committee further wishes to express its gratitude to the German Technical Co-operation (GTZ) and the Parliamentary Centre for their support during the regional fora.

The Committee extends its profound gratitude to the Norwegian Embassy and the Norwegian Foundation, Petrad for their facilitation of the visit to Norway. The Committee is also grateful to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Ministry of Energy and the Attorney-General's Department for the immense support provided to the Committee during the consideration of the Bill.

2.0 Reference Documents

Mr Speaker, the Committee referred to the following documents in its deliberation of the Bill:

1. The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana;

2. Financial Administration Act, 2003 (Act 654);

3. Ghana Revenue Authority Act, 2009 (Act 791);

4. Bank of Ghana Act, 2002 (Act

612);

5. The Standing Orders of the Parliament of Ghana.

3.0 Purpose of the Bill

Mr Speaker, the Bill seeks to provide a framework for the collection, allocation

and management of petroleum revenue in a responsible, transparent and accountable manner for the benefit of current and future generations of Ghanaians and for related matters. The Bill therefore, provides clear assignment of responsibilities from the point of collection to the final utilisation of petroleum revenue in addition to regularity of audits and publication of receipts and disbursement of petroleum revenue.

4.0 Contents of the Bill

The Bill contains a total of sixty-four (64) clauses and two schedules.

Clause 1 to 6 deal with preliminary

matters. These clauses established a Petroleum Account to be held at the Bank of Ghana. This account will receive and disburse petroleum revenue due the Republic and derived from upstream and midstream petroleum activities.

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) is assigned the responsibility of assessing, collecting and accounting for petroleum revenue and this revenue is not to be treated as part of the normal tax revenue pool. There is also prohibition on the use of petroleum resources as security for borrowing by Government, public agencies and private sector entities.

Clause 7 to 9 provide for petroleum revenue due the Republic to be paid directly into the Petroleum Account. This is to ensure transparency and ease of tracking. The capital and operational expenditure of the national oil company is to be incorporated into the national Budget for scrutiny and approval by Parliament. Quarterly publication of petroleum receipts into the Petroleum Account and the deduction of management expenses by the Bank of Ghana are also covered under these clauses.

Clause 10 to 25 are on allocations and disbursements. A Ghana Stabilisation Fund is established to cushion the economy and

sustain public expenditure capacity during periods of petroleum revenue shortfalls.

A Ghana Heritage Fund is also established as an investment fund for the benefit of future generations when petroleum reserves are depleted. The clauses further provide a procedure for withdrawals from the Ghana Stabilisation Fund and the Ghana Heritage Fund.

The clauses define the types of disbursements that are permitted from the Petroleum Account. These are:

disbursements for Budget support;

disbursements into the Ghana Petroleum Funds; and

exceptional disbursements permitted by the Act.

Mr Speaker, the clauses further define steps to be followed in determining a benchmark revenue and how much of that would be allocated to support the Budget each year. Additionally, rules and guidelines have been outlined for the transfer of petroleum revenues into the Consolidated Fund for the period when petroleum is produced and the period when petroleum production ceases. At the end of commercial production, the Ghana Stabilisation Fund and the Ghana Heritage Fund are to be consolidated into a single Fund to be known as Ghana Petroleum Wealth Fund and the rules for withdrawal are to follow international best practice.

The allocation of the Annual Budget Funding amount is to be in line with a long- term national development plan. However, broad areas of spending priority have been identified in clause 22 in the absence of a long-term national development plan. Earmarking of petroleum revenues for any special considerations is prohibited. The Bill also anticipates petroleum operations

Chairman of the Committee on Finance (Mr James K. Avedzi)

Clause 26 to 30 deal with the management and investment of the Ghana Petroleum Funds. The Minister is mandated to oversee the collection, disbursement and overall management of the Petroleum Account and the Ghana Petroleum Funds.
In taking any decision in relation to the investment or management of the Ghana Petroleum Funds, the Minister is obliged to seek advice from an Investment Advisory Committee established under this Act and the Bank of Ghana. The Bank of Ghana is charged with the day- to-day operational management of the Ghana Petroleum Funds. Clause 29 defines qualifying instruments in which amounts in the Ghana Stabilisation Fund and Ghana Heritage Fund are to be invested.
Reporting obligations are placed on the Bank of Ghana to produce quarterly performance reports on the Ghana Petroleum Funds. The Bank is also required to publish the semi-annual reports on its website.
Clause 31 to 42 are on the Investment Advisory Committee (IAC). The IAC is established to advise the Minister and to monitor the performance and management of the Ghana Petroleum Funds. The functions of the Committee include the development of performance benchmarks of desired returns from the appropriate risks of the investments of the Ghana Petroleum Funds for the Minister. Other matters covered under these clauses include appointment of members of the Advisory Committee, tenure of office of members, disclosure of interest, publication of membership of the IAC, allowances, a secretariat, release of advice from the IAC as well as oversight and reporting on the Ghana Petroleum Funds.
Clause 43 is on Encumbrances,

Auditing and Reporting. The clause provides that amounts in the Petroleum Account and the Ghana Petroleum Funds shall remain the property of the Republic of Ghana at all times. It prohibits any contract, agreement or arrangement that purports to encumber the assets of the Petroleum Account whether by way of guarantee, security, mortgage or any other form of encumbrance.

Clause 44 to 50 cover audit of the Petroleum Account and the Ghana Petroleum Funds. Under these clauses, the Petroleum Account and the Ghana Petroleum Funds are declared public funds for the purpose of article 175 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana. The Internal Audit Department of the Bank of Ghana is responsible for the internal audit of the Ghana Petroleum Funds while the Auditor-General is given responsibility for the external audits.

The Auditor-General is further given authority to conduct special audits or reviews of the Ghana Petroleum Funds in the public interest and to submit to Parliament reports on the audits or reviews undertaken.

The Minister is also required to submit an annual report on the Petroleum Account and the Ghana Petroleum Funds as part of the annual presentation of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of Government to Parliament.

Clause 51 to 59 address issues of accountability, transparency and public oversight. The management of petroleum revenue and savings is required to be carried out with the highest internationally accepted standards of transparency and good governance. A Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) is, therefore, established to, among other things, monitor and evaluate compliance with the Act by Government and other relevant institutions in the discharge of

their duties in relation to the use and management of petroleum revenues and resources.

The PIAC is also to provide independent assessment on the use and management of petroleum revenues and resources and to ensure that petroleum revenue is used for the benefit of current and future generations. Other matters covered under these clauses include membership of the PIAC, tenure of members, reporting and allowances.

Clause 60 to 64 contain miscellaneous matters. These include the requirement for the Minister to simultaneously publish in the Gazette and in at least, two national daily newspapers record of petroleum receipts.

Under penalties, a person who fails to do anything required by the Act, unlawfully discloses a document/ information pertaining to the Ghana Petroleum Funds or uses the information or document for personal benefit or advantage commits an offence.

The penalty for such offence on summary conviction is the cedi equivalent of five hundred thousand United States dollars or a term of imprisonment for two years or both.

Other issues covered under these clauses include transitional provisions, regulations and interpretation.

First Schedule provides the mechanism for determining the Benchmark Revenue and Annual Budget Funding Amount from the petroleum revenues.

Second Schedule provides a model agreement to be entered into between the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning (representing the Government of Ghana) and the Bank of Ghana in which the Bank agrees to undertake the daily operational management of the Ghana Petroleum Funds.

5.0 Observations

Chairman of the Committee on Finance (Mr James K. Avedzi)

Mr Speaker, the officials from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning informed the Committee that Government took into account international best practice and experiences from other oil producing countries, including Sao Tome and Principe, Norway, Nigeria, Trinidad and Tobago and Angola, among others in drafting the Bill.
In addition, extensive regional consultations and town hall meetings were organised throughout the country to collate the views of Ghanaians on the management and utilisation of petroleum revenue.
Inputs were also received from children through a platform provided by UNICEF and from Ghanaians abroad.
The Committee noted that under the Bill, fifty per cent (50%) to seventy per cent (70%) of total petroleum revenue would be used for Budget support each year with the remaining put into savings. Thirty per cent (30%) of the amount saved would be allocated to the Ghana Heritage Fund for future generations with the remaining seventy per cent (70%) put into the Ghana Stabilisation Fund. Withdrawals could be made from the Ghana Stabilisation Fund to support the Budget in the event of a petroleum revenue shortfall. However, moneys invested in the Ghana Heritage Fund cannot be withdrawn until such a time that petroleum resources are depleted.
The Committee was informed that in determining the ratio for Budget support and savings, the Ministry took into consideration, the production profile of the Jubilee Field, the country's infrastructure deficit and the minimum amount required to replace donor support to the Budget.

5.1 Petition from Chiefs of Western Region

The Speaker referred a petition from the Chiefs of the Western Region to the Committee for consideration. The petition

among other things prayed the House to:

es tabl ish a Western Region D e v e l o p m e n t F u n d b y t h e Petroleum Revenue Management Bill into which ten per cent (10%) of petroleum revenue will be paid into;

that the Western Region be represented on the Investment Advisory Committee (IAC) and the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) and all other governing bodies of institutions to be established under the laws relating to oil and gas;

that ten per cent (10%) of the membership of the Oil and Gas Commission to be established, should be represented by indigenes from the Western Region;

that oil companies should be encouraged to employ and give business opportunities to indigenes of the region; and

that a Fund be established to take care of any environmental disaster that may arise as a result of exploration and production activities.

The Committee considered the petition and acknowledges that the region is endowed with many resources which have been used to support the development of the country over the years. The Committee also noted that the region had suffered underdevelopment over the years and it is, therefore, important that special interventions are taken by Government to expedite the development of the region.

It is, however, the view of the Committee that ceding ten per cent (10%) of the petroleum revenue to a Fund for the region may defeat one of the primary objectives of the Bill, which is to avoid ring-fencing of petroleum revenues. It is for this reason that Acts establishing Statutory Funds such as the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF), the Road Fund and National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) do not apply to petroleum revenues.

Chairman of the Committee on Finance (Mr James K. Avedzi)

It is also the considered view of the Committee that the other concerns of the chiefs of the region cannot be addressed by this Bill. The Committee, however, recommends that due cognisance be given to these concerns in the consideration of the Petroleum Exploration and Production Bill, 2010 and the drafting of the local content policy.

The Committee strongly appeals to

Government to come up with a policy that will target the accelerated development of the Western Region.

6.0 Clauses of concern

While the Commit tee reached consensus on majority of the clauses of the Bill, there were a few clauses that the Committee was unable to reach consensus on. These were as follows:

i . Prohibited use of petroleum accounts and reserves:

Some members of the Committee held the view that the provisions of clause 5 appropriately protects the Petroleum Account as it insulates it from being used as collateral for loans, commitments, guarantees and other liabilities of Government or any entity. Some members further argued that petroleum reserves should not be used as collateral against any borrowing by Government as captured in clause 5 (2). The members, therefore, contended that the said provision in clause 5 (2) should be preserved and not amended.

Other members however, argued that the savings should not be used as collateral against Government borrowing or a guarantee for any entity. However, it is the view of these members that the Annual Budget Funding Amount is part

of the Consolidated Fund and therefore, Government should be permitted to determine its use subject to approval by Parliament.

Some members also argued that given the infrastructural deficit of the country, Government should be permitted to use petroleum revenue as collateral against Government borrowing for a period of ten years (10) subject to review as done with cocoa.

ii. Annual Budget Funding Amount

The Committee could also not reach consensus on the Annual Budget Funding Amount as contained in clause 19(1). Some members advocated an Annual Budget Funding Amount of 50 per cent with the remaining 50 per cent saved for future generations. The members contended that petroleum resources are finite and therefore, an equitable percentage should be saved for the benefit of future generations.

Some members however, argued that given the infrastructural deficit of the country and the high percentage of donor support for the Budget, it was important that a greater percentage, that is, 70 per cent of petroleum revenues should be used to support the Budget each year and this ratio should be reviewed after five years.

iii. Public Interest and Accountability Committee

Some members suppor ted the establishment of a Public Interest and Accountability Committee as stated in clauses 53 59 of the Bill. The members contended that the establishment of such a committee will enhance public accountability and transparency in the management of the petroleum revenue and also complement the efforts of other oversight bodies, such as Parliament.

They further noted that the establishment of such a committee was supported by most Ghanaians during the public fora and the questionnaire administered by the Ministry. These members were however, of the view that the composition of the PIAC should be relooked at.

Other members however, held the view that Parliament and the Auditor- General are the constitutionally mandated oversight bodies of public funds and therefore, the existence of a PIAC will be a duplication of effort. They further argued that Parliament is the elected representative of the public and that the composition of the PIAC as contained in the Bill cannot be said to represent the generality of public interest.

The third school of thought however held the view that a PIAC is necessary but its mandate should only be advisory and that their decisions should not be binding. This school further argued that the object of the committee is similar to the object of the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI), which Ghana had signed to and which had been extended to cover petroleum sector and that the EITI is a platform for civil society to oversight government performance within the extractive industry generally.

In view of its inability to reach consensus on the above issues, the Committee decided to submit these divergent views to the House for consideration.

7.0 Amendment Proposed

The Committee respectfully proposes the following amendments to the Bill:

1) Clause 1 -- subclause 2, paragraph (b), after “terms” insert “and conditions''.

2) Clause 1 -- subclause 2, line 5, delete “use” and insert “allocation”.

3) Clause 2 -- subclause 1, line 2, delete “to receive and disburse” and insert “for” and delete “all words after “Republic”.

4) Clause 2 -- subclause 2, line 2, delete all words after “transfers” and insert “as permitted under this Act”

5) Clause 3 -- subclause 1, delete all words before “petroleum” in line 2.

6) Clause 3 -- subclause 4, delete and substitute the following:

“For the purposes of this Act petroleum revenue paid into the Petroleum Account shall not be:

(a) considered as part of the normal tax revenue pool for purposes anticipated in relevant laws; and

(b) used as the basis for the determination of any s t a tu to ry ea rmarked funds”.

7) Clause 4 - subclause 1, delete and substitute the following:

“ (1) Where Government elects for payment in petroleum instead of cash, the US dollar currency equivalent of the petroleum on the day the petroleum is received by or on behalf of the Government shall be reported and recognised as the payments for the petroleum by the Ghana Revenue Authority”

8) Clause 4 - subclause 2, line 1, delete “crude”

9) Clause 4 - subclause 3, delete

10) Clause 4 -- subclause 4, line 1, delete “crude” and on the same line,

Chairman of the Committee on Finance (Mr James K. Avedzi)

delete “currency” and substitute “US dollar” and in line 3, delete “an asset of” and insert “receipt into” and on the same line 3, delete all words after “account”.

11) Clause 6 -- paragraph (a), line 2, delete “initial carried interest”.

12) Clause 7 -- Headnote, delete and insert “Carried and participating interest”.

13) Clause 7 -- subclause 1, delete and substitute the following:

“ R e v e n u e d u e f r o m t h e Republic's direct or indirect participation in petroleum operations, including the initial and additional participating interest shall be paid into the Petroleum Account.”

14) Clause 7 - subclause 2, delete and substitute the following:

“(2) The payment into the Petroleum Account shall be net of:

(a) the equity financing cost, including advances and interest of the Republic's carried and participating interest; and

(b) the cash or the equivalent barrels of oil that shall be ceded to the National Oil Company out of the carried and participating interest recommended by the Minister and approved by Parliament”.

15) Clause 7 - add a new subclause as follows:

“For a period specified by

Chairman of the Committee on Finance (Mr James K. Avedzi)

21”.
23) Clause 15 - Headnote, delete all words after “payment”
24) Clause 16 - Headnote , delete and insert “Adjustments and reconciliations of the Petroleum Account”.
25) Clause 16 - subclause 1, line 1, after “year” delete “beginning 2012” and insert “after the commencement of this Act”.
26) Clause 16 - subclause 3, line 2, delete “national dailies” and insert “two state-owned daily news- papers”.
27) Clause 18 - delete and substitute the following:
“The Minister shall estimate and certify the benchmark revenue using the formula set out in the First Schedule not later than September 1st of each year.”
28)Clause 19 - subclause 1, line 1, delete “Beginning the year 2011”.
29)Clause 19 - subclause 2, delete
30)Clause 20 - subclause 1, paragraph (a), line 1, before “one quarter” insert “an amount not more than” and in line 2, delete “or as the Minister may recommend”
31)Clause 20 - subclause 1, paragraph (b), line 3, delete “fiscal” and insert “financial” and wherever “fiscal” appears in the Bill, delete and insert “financial”.
32)Clause 21 - Headnote, delete “ production ceases” and insert “reserves are depleted” and wherever “production ceases” appears in the

Bill, delete and insert “reserves are depleted”.

33)Clause 21 - subclause 1, line 3, after “single” delete “Ghana Petroleum” and insert “Fund to be known as the Ghana Petroleum Wealth”.

34) Clause 21 - Subclause 2, delete and substitute the following :

“After petroleum reserves are depleted, the Annual Budget Funding Amount shall not exceed the sum of dividends f rom the Nat iona l Oi l Company and the earnings on the Ghana Petroleum Wealth Fund.”

35) Clause 21 - subclause 3, delete 36)Clause 22 - delete and substitute

the following:

“22 (1).The Annual Budget Funding Amount, its use and expenditure is part of the national Budget and shall be subject to the same budgetary processes that are necessary to ensure the efficient allocation and monitoring of any use.

(2) The allocation of the Annual Budget Funding Amount shall be:

(a) to maximize the rate of

economic development;

(b) to promote an equitable distribution of the national wealth and equality among citizens, and

(c) guided by a medium-term expenditure framework aligned with long-term national development

strategy approved by Parliament.

(3) Where the long-term national development plan, approved by Parliament, is not in place, the spending of petroleum revenue within the budget shall give priority to, but not limited to programmes or activities relating to

(a) agriculture and food

security

(b) health and human resource development

(c) physical infrastructure in transportation and tele- communication;

(d) water and sanitation;

(e) rural development;

(f) environmental protec- tion

( g ) e f f e c t i v e management and protection of natural resources

(h) housing

( i ) p r o t e c t i o n of physically handicapped and dis-

advantaged citizens; and

(j) the strengthening of the State's institutional

capa- city for good gover- nance

(4) For any financial year, a minimum of seventy per cent (70%) of the Annual Budget

Funding Amount shall be directed towards public investment expenditures consistent with the long-term national development plan, or with subsection (3)”

37) Clause 23 - Headnote, before “Statutory” insert “Extra budgetary activities and”.

38) Clause 23 - delete and substitute the following:

“Extra budgetary activities and statutory earmarking of petroleum revenue for any exceptional purpose is prohibited.”

39) Clause 24 - subclause 1, paragraph (a) , line 4, delete “14” and insert “19” and after “dollar” insert “currency”.

40)Clause 24 - subclause 1, paragraph (b), line 4, delete “year” and insert “quarter”.

41) Clause 24 - subclause 4, line 1, delete “amount” and insert “ceiling” and in line 2, delete “earmarked” and insert “allocated”.

42) Clause 24 - subclause 5, line 2, delete “following” and insert “after”.

43) Clause 25 - subclause 1, line 2, delete “in the event of” and after “overpayment” delete “of tax”.

44) Clause 26 - paragraph (a), after “develop” delete “the” and insert “an”.

45) Clause 26 - paragraph (c), line 1, before “decisions” delete all words and insert “make” and in line 2, delete “without first” and insert “after”

46) Clause 27 - subclause 1, delete and substitute the following :

“(1) The Bank of Ghana is responsible for the day-to- day operational management of the Petroleum Account, the Ghana Petroleum Funds and subsequently, the Ghana Petroleum Wealth Fund under the terms of the Operations Management Agreement”.

47) Clause 27 - subclause 2, line 1, delete “Petroleum Reserve Accounts” and insert “Ghana Petroleum Funds and subsequently the Ghana Petroleum Wealth Fund”

48) Clause 27 -subclause 2, paragraph (a), delete “prudential standards” and insert “investment guidelines”.

49) Clause 28 - subclause 1, line 2, delete “in this Act” and insert “by Executive Instrument”.

50) Clause 28 - subclause 2, line 2, delete “every three years or sooner” and insert “from time to time”.

51) Clause 29 - delete.

52) Clause 30 -subclause 2, transpose “Ghana Stabilisation Fund” before “Ghana Heri tage Fund” and wherever it appears thereafter in the Bill.

53) Clause 30 -subclause 2, at end, add “and to Parliament”.

54)Heading after clause 30,delete “Investment Advisory Committee” and insert “Establishment and object of Investment Advisory Committee”.

55) Clause 32 -subclause 1, paragraph (c ), line 1, after “Minister” insert “as part of the investment guidelines”,

Chairman of the Committee on Finance (Mr James K. Avedzi)

and in line 4, delete “prudential standards” and insert “investment guidelines”.

56) Clause 33, subclause 1, line 1 before “Advisory” insert “ Investment”.

57) Clause 33 - Subclause 1, line 3 delete all words after law and insert “or similar disciplines”.

58) Clause 33 - subclause 2, delete and substitute the following:

(2) A person is not qualified to be a member of the Advisory Committee who --

(a) is not a citizen;

(b) has entered into terms with a person for the payment of his or her debt, has suspended payment of his or her debt or has been declared insolvent;

(c) has been convicted of a felony or an offence involving dishonesty;

(d) is adjudged to be a person of unsound mind; or

(e) in the case of a person possessed of professional qualification, that person is disqualified or suspended, otherwise than at the request of that person, from practising the profession of that person by order of a competent authority made in respect of that person”.

59). Clause 33 -- subclause 3, delete and substitute the following:

“The Minister in consultation

with the Governor may nominate the members of the Advisory Committee.”

60) Clause 33 - subclause 4, delete and substitute the following:

“The Pres iden t sha l l , i n accordance with article 195 of the Constitution, appoint the members of the Advisory Committee for the Ghana Petroleum Funds.”

61). Clause 33 - add a new subclause as follows:

“The President shall select a member to be the chairperson of the Advisory Committee.”

62) Clause 34 - subclause 1, line 2, before “illegible” delete “is” and insert “may be”.

63) Clause 34 - subclause 4, line 1, before “illegible” delete “is” and insert “may be”.

64) Clause 34 - Insert a new sub-clause as follows:

“The President shall appoint three of the members for three years and four of the members for two years.”

65) Clause 35 - subclause 1, after “functions” in line 2, delete all words.

66) Clause 38 - line 2, after “Minister” delete all words.

67) Clause 40 - subclause 1, line 1, delete “does not” and insert “fails to”

68) Clause 40 - subclause 2, after “section” insert “26 (c) and.”

69) Clause 40 - subclause 3, line 2, delete all words after “shall” and substitute the following:

“(a) immediately report the decision to Parliament; and

(a) report the decision to the Advisory Committee in writing within forty- eight hours after taking the decision.”

70) Clause 41 - line 2, delete “without

delay” and insert “within seven days”

71) Clause 43 - Add a new subclause as follows:

“A court shall not make an order for the attachment of moneys in the Petroleum Account, the Ghana Stabilisation Fund, the Ghana Heritage Fund and the Ghana Petroleum Wealth Fund”

72) Heading after clause 43 - delete “Reserves”.

73) Clause 45 - delete “headnote” and insert “Books of the Petroleum Account, the Ghana Petroleum Funds and the Ghana Petroleum Wealth Fund”.

74) Clause 45 - line 2, after “Account”, delete all words and insert “the Ghana Petroleum Funds and the Ghana Petroleum Wealth Fund”.

75) Clause 46 - line 1, before “Petroleum” insert “Petroleum Account and the Ghana”.

76) Clause 47- subclause 1, line 2, delete “Reserves Accounts” and insert “Account and the Ghana Petroleum Funds”.

77) Clause 47 - subclause 2, delete and substitute the following:

“Where the Auditor-General delegates the duties to an external auditor, the appointment of the external auditor shall not exceed five years and is not renewable.”

78) Clause 47 - subclause 3, line 1, delete “independent” and insert “external”.

79)Clause 48 - subclause 2, line 2, after “submit” delete “the Auditor- General's” and insert “a”.

80) Clause 50 - subclause 2, line 2, delete “contain” and insert “include”.

81) Clause 50 - subclause 2, paragraph (a), after “statements” insert “of the previous year”.

82) Clause 50 - subclause 2, paragraph (b), line 3 , delete “Investment”.

83) Clause 50 - Subclause 2,paragraph (d), item (ii), after “years” delete all words.

84)Clause 50 - subclause 2, paragraph (e), line 1, after “borrowings” delete all words up to “and” in line 5

85)Clause 50 - subclause 2, paragraph (f), line 1, delete “for” and insert “to” and in item (iii), delete “of the Bank of Ghana”

86)Clause 51 - subclause 3, delete and substitute the following:

“The Minister may declare as confidential, information or data, the disclosure of which may significantly prejudice the performance of the Ghana Petroleum Funds”.

87) Clause 51 - subclause 4, line1,

Mr First Deputy Speaker

But some of us would be alive because that is the most important thing - [Laughter.]

Dr A. A. Osei

Mr Speaker, the probability that majority of us may not be alive is very high; I will not say how high. [Interruption.]

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Hon Members, let us listen to the Hon Member. That is on the lighter side.
Ranking Member, continue.

Dr A. A. Osei

Mr Speaker, I say that to suggest that we Hon Members of this august House are about to, as it were, pass
a Bill that would have ramifications for the times that we may not be around. So it is important that we pay attention to the impact on the future.
Mr Speaker, petroleum is a very unique resource. It is non-renewable, unlike cocoa and other things which are around. It is non-renewable, so its use must be subject to very critical analysis. It is for this reason that some of us, having sat with the Committee for almost two to three weeks now, do think that this is one of the most important pieces of legislation that this House is going to pass.
Mr Speaker, if we look at the
experiences around the world, and here I want to recommend that Hon Members of the House read an article by Colleague, Professor Appiah-Kubi on the case of Nigeria, that was published sometime last week in one of the newspapers -- very brilliant article on what happened to Nigeria when they were in a similar position twenty something years ago.
Mr Speaker, what I find amazing is that, and here the Government needs to be commended, it has spent a considerable amount of time, not only looking at the aspect of the Bill, but also touring the nation to find out what others think about that. So as we look at so-called proposed amendments, we should pay particular attention to the Government's own intentions as embedded in this explanatory memorandum so that when we offer amendments, we are conscious of the reasons for the Government bringing this Bill.
One of the things that I find most remarkable about this Bill is clause 5. Why do I say that? Mr Speaker, with permission, let me read the first paragraph of the memorandum which says -
“The purpose of this Bill is to provide for a framework that will guide the efficient collection,
allocation and management of petroleum revenue for the benefit of current and future generations of Ghanaians.”
The key words here are “the benefit of current and future generations.” This is why I find clause 5 as originally submitted, one of the most important clauses.
Mr Speaker, if you go to (ii) in the Exploratory Memorandum, you will find why this is so important to the Government and with your permission, let me read the last line:
“They also underscore the important fact that, except for stabilisation purposes, what is set aside for long- term savings is not to be seen as development fund but rather as an endowment for the future.”
Mr Speaker, this is the Government bringing this Bill to us and this is the main reason, the crux of why savings are being made. So, if you go to clause 5 and you see the heading that says, “Prohibited use of Petroleum Account”, it is important that Members advert their minds to why that is there because the savings are not for development but as endowment for the future.
As I said, we will not be here or we might be here but not in Parliament. So it is important that the decision we take now, we are conscious of what our grandchildren are going to do. This is why I think, if there is any provision in this Bill, which must be kept in its current form, it must be this clause 5 that talks about -- particularly subclause 2 -
In order to preserve revenue stream from petroleum and ensure the object of this Act, there shall not be any borrowing against the Petroleum Reserves.”
Precisely because we want to create an endowment for the future; we should not think about the current generations,

so as to spend it on current things. So, as we look at the Committee's Report, it is important to find out that the arguments being proffered, I believe on page 8 of the Committee's Report, are quite essential.

The Committee found it difficult also to agree to a provision about what should be the Annual Budget Funding Amount. When the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning team went round, this is what they found and with your permission, I want to read:

“Specifically, about 56 per cent of respondents want Government to spend between fifty to seventy per cent of current petroleum revenues.”

This is what they found out there, slightly more than half of this group favours spending between sixty to seventy per cent. So it appears that the Ministry's information is partially informed by what they heard out there and they are sort of trying to address the concerns of the community. Should we be spending more than seventy or more than fifty? If you think about - it is true that there are huge infrastructural deficits in this country, so as we debate the specific sum, we should be paying attention to that.

But let us not forget that because there is also a stabilisation fund, which in times of crisis, automatically, part of it goes to the annual budget funding amount, in principle - in theory, a large amount of it close to ninety per cent as currently proposed may be going to the budget amount. So it is important as we debate this, we look at the concerns of the people out there and exactly what the priorities are.

Mr Speaker, there is a problem in the Bill, serious deficit. The Bill is being proposed when there is a big vacuum

in terms of any agreed upon long-term national development plan. This is a huge deficit and Parliament ought to be paying attention to how we can cure this deficit because without that, there is difficulty in agreeing on the way forward. And here, I think the Bill does not address itself to that. It says, where there is no national development plan, such must happen but it is important that if there were a long term national development plan, we will know the requirements and it will be much easier for us to determine the Annual Budget Funding Amount for the year.

Clearly, any government should be given the opportunity once money is going into the Budget to be able to use it to propagate its development agenda. So some of us have no difficulty, no difficulty that if Parliament, in its wisdom, chooses “X” percentage, then it is only fair that just like normal tax revenues, Government can use that amount to do what it says it wants to do. But here, we do not even have a formal medium-term plan that Parliament has seen. We do not have a long-term plan, so the best we can work on is perhaps, a manifesto of a sitting Government and that is what we have.

So it is difficult for some of us to want to jump to a high number when there is no solid basis for proposing that number. So there, I want to caution that because we do not have an approved medium-term plan and also we do not have a long- term plan, we should be cautious and maybe, for the first year, limit ourselves to the bare minimum and when we have agreed to come up with a long-term plan -- and here, I urge Parliament to strongly recommend that, that long-term national plan should be produced within a year, so that we can see our way forward.

Mr Speaker, the third issue and perhaps, one of the most controversial issues in this Bill, is the different views on oversight and transparency.

When the Government went round, and here, let me read what it found.

On page 9 of the Report submitted by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and here, I quote:

“. . . about 83 per cent see the need for some form of separate public oversight committee.”

Mr Speaker, it is true that we those who are in Parliament are elected representatives of the people. But it is this same people who are saying 83 per cent of them wish to have another committee working with us in a complementary way. So, I find it difficult for some of our colleagues to believe that the same people who are electing you, who are requesting that they be given an opportunity, we are saying that their work is going to crush us.

Mr Speaker, some Members expressed the fear that they will be doing our work. How can they be doing our work? Our work is defined by the Constitution, unless we have changed the Constitution for some other body to do our work.

An oversight committee, which at best is only advisory, cannot take the role - after all, they are not elected, so they cannot take the role of Parliament. If they had responded that 83 per cent of them wanted this institution, I think we should have been careful not to dismiss it. It is a very important provision that must be maintained and some of us feel strongly that if we are not careful and we dismiss this 83 per cent, come 2012, they will be telling us how they feel. So we should be very careful about it.

Mr Speaker, the other issue which my Chairman has alluded to is the issue about whether or not to cede a certain proportion of revenue to a

what is the purpose? The Bill is not yet ready, you want us to come through the Budget; we have not done that and you have allocated that amount.

Mr Speaker, obviously, my revered Chairman of the Finance Committee does not follow my argument.
Mr Speaker, even in this Constitution, there is nothing like a budget. Where do you see a budget here? It talks about revenues and estimates and we are talking about petroleum revenues. So what is he

talking about? Where is the budget in the Constitution?

Mr Speaker, article 179 and here, this is where I make reference to. Mr Speaker, let me read to him article 179 (1) --

“The President shall cause to be prepared and laid before Parliament at least one month before the end of the financial year, estimates of the revenues and expenditure of the Government of Ghana for the following financial year.”

Mr Moses A. Asaga

I am surprised my Hon Colleague is saying there is nothing like a budget. First of all - [Interruptions.] The Hon Member is saying the Constitution does not mention budget and I am saying, for all the eight years he was a Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, he had always read a budget and economic statement, he did not refer to the Constitution.
Secondly, if we use the word “revenue and expenditure”, I believe these are accounting terminologies and Hon Kan- Dapaah is there to tell us -- [Laughter]-- that that estimate is called a budget and in the corporate world, it is a budget; at the national level, it is a budget; in the business world, it is a budget.
So Hon Kan-Dapaah, could you kindly help him?

Dr A. A. Osei

Mr Speaker, going on to article 179 (2):
“The estimates of the expenditure of all public offices and public corporations, other than those set up as commercial ventures -
(a) shall be classified under programmes or activities which shall be included

Mr Alfred W. Abayateye (NDC - Sege)

Thank you, Mr Speaker , for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the Petroleum Revenue Management Bill. I will not talk much but I would like to draw our attention to some issues.
Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, in their national tour to carry out survey, my Hon Brother who spoke quoted and I would like to quote from the same place when they carried out the survey, the need for a huge percentage to be given to support the Budget.
On page seven of the Survey Report by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, he quoted that specifically, about 56 per cent of people say the Government should spend between 50 per cent and 70 per cent. The next statement is that, slightly more than half of this group favours a spending of between 50 and 70 per cent.
So the survey carried out shows that many people were of the view that a lot of the resources must be given to Government to support the budget. Because what a cedi would do today, that cedi would not do tomorrow. Therefore, there is the need to vote a higher percentage from the oil revenue to support the budget to keep Government going.
Again, in that way, Government will have the free-hand in utilising the money in all sectors of the economy.
Mr Speaker, I would like to caution here, that with the oil revenue coming, and I am not a prophet of doom, but I am drawing our attention to it, that it is the duty of us all not to put our whole heart on the oil to the detriment of agriculture. Ghana is an agricultural country; when the oil was not there, the country was being run and I want to plead with all, that as this is coming to us as a supplement, we should continue to depend much on agriculture, and things would be better for our country. But if we dare say oil is coming and we leave the other issues, it might not be well in the interest of the country.
Mr Speaker, there was an issue on the establishment of Public Interest Accountability Committee, the Committee was divided on that issue; but I want to draw the attention of the House as we submit this Report that there is an Investment Advisory Committee which is supposed to assist the Hon Minister as to how the implementation should be.
Then there is the Public Interest Accountability Committee. Firstly, the proposed composition itself is not nationalistic, I mean the object of it. Mr Speaker, if I may read; I just do not know what that is about, but it says one of the issues is this -- that the Public Accountability Committee is --
“to provide independent assessments on the use and management of petroleum revenues and resources to assist Parliament and the Executive in the oversight of and performance of related functions”.

Mr Dominic B.A. Nitiwul

On a point of order. Mr Speaker, if I do not comment on this statement and it is left to pass, it would not be good.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Vice-Chairman of the Committee is misleading this House. Mr Speaker, nowhere in the Committee did anybody recommend Government

Mr Dominic B.A. Nitiwul

should have a free-hand in the usage of the oil resources.

It will be dangerous, extremely dangerous for any government to have a free-hand in the usage of the oil resources. He should either recapture that phrase or withdraw it completely because nowhere in our deliberations did anybody suggest that Government would have a free-hand in the usage of the oil resources.

Mr Abayateye

Mr Speaker, I believe my Hon Brother was not of himself. [Interruptions.] If he contacts the Hansard, he would see that I did not say what he said. I said that - and I am quoting again,
“When the survey was done, majority of the people were of the view that a greater percentage of the revenue should be used to support the budget, so that Government would have a hand in utilizing the money in carrying out developments.”
I did not say what he said; he should contact the Hansard.
Mr Speaker, I was making a point -

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Hon Members, the Hon Member who just spoke says he did not say what the Hon Member, Mr Nitiwul said he did say. So there is nothing there to withdraw.

Mrs Gifty E. Kusi

He said the Hon Member was not of himself. [Interruptions.] Mr Speaker, have you called me? Should I go ahead?
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker, I just want to tell all of us here that we should use expressions that would not bring problems. If he

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Hon Member for Sege?

Mr Abayateye

Mr Speaker, I believe he was not listening, hence the statement he made - [Interruptions.] So he was not listening -

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Hon Member for Sege, they want you to withdraw the earlier one, that “he was not of himself”.

Mr Abayateye

All right, I withdraw the phrase, “he was not of himself” and replace it with “he was not listening to me.”
Mr Speaker, on the issue of this Public Interest Accountability Committee, which was a proposal in the Bill, the Committee could not come to a consensus. Mr Speaker, I beg to say that I do not personally know what that committee is to do also; the composition as proposed in the Bill is not nationalistic. Let me give a specific example of what I am sying. Queen mothers' association is not a nationalistic body in Ghana. The Bill proposes that there should be representative of that.
The area from where I come, we
do not have queen mothers, but we are also in Ghana. There are other issues - teachers are not there, the Ghana Medical Association is not there, the Christian Council. and religious bodies are not there, engineers, architects are not there and I wonder how it is going to work.
But Mr Speaker, it would interest you to note that one of the objectives of that body is that, to quote section 54 (c):
“ To p r o v i d e i n d e p e n d e n t assessments on the use and management of petroleum revenues and resources to assist Parliament and Executive in the oversight of the performance of related functions.”
I am confused - [Interruptions.] I am at a loss what that body would do. Mr Speaker, Parliament has bodies -- The Public Accounts Committee is there, Committee on Government Assurance is there and other committees are there performing the duties of oversight and scrutiny. So Mr Speaker, it is good that your Committee was unable to come to consensus on this.
Again, Mr Speaker, the Bill is good. In article 43, on the performance of Bank of Ghana, your Committee met and we made a very good suggestion that a clause should be put in so that no one can attach the oil revenue to cases in the courts. Therefore, in a provision on section 27, we made a suggestion that nowhere should Bank of Ghana be attached, because other issues going on now reveal that the wealth of the country is being attached to some cases. When that is done, it would help. This is a very good thing that your Committee has done and would ask all Hon Members of the House to see this good job of the Committee and push it through.
Mr Speaker, Government needs money to run the country. We have been
dependent on donor support. Donors have been giving us money and if by God's grace, at God's own timing, we are getting oil, we need to use the money of the oil to develop the country and not to stockpile it somewhere, because the value of one dollar today would not be the value of one dollar tomorrow.
With these few words, I would like to urge the whole House to support this Bill and push it through so that Ghana would be a better place for us to live in.

Mr Joseph K. Adda (NPP - Navrongo)

Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Motion on the floor.
Mr Speaker, normally, I would readily support the Motion and call for my Hon Colleagues to support it. But today, I support it with some hesitation. Hesitation in the sense that, if you look at page 10, between paragraph 7, sub-paragraphs 10 and 11, we see no recommendation from the joint Committees for any amendments to clause (5).
Indeed Mr Speaker, if the Report stays as it is and if there is no amendment that comes to clause (5) as the page reflects now, I would readily support it. [Interruption.] I said page 10 of the Report.
Mr Speaker, we have had a lot of serious debates in the joint Committee meetings, particularly revolving round clause 5. It is a good thing that this Report has come without any amendment to clause 5. But if given the experience we have had in the committee meetings, and I dare say that, if we sneak up any amendment to clause 5 eventually, I would not support this Motion, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker, the Report in itself is a
rich one; the Bill is a very good one, well intended and it is our hope and desire that we would be able to make the law that

Mr Joseph K. Adda (NPP - Navrongo)

would guide us in managing the resources that would come out of the petroleum sub- sector very effectively and to the best interest of this nation.

Mr Speaker, all of the major principles that we are all concerned about - transparency, accountability - they were all reflected in the Bill, and the joint Committee went through discussions at length to ensure that they are best formulated in the interest of the country. Indeed, Mr Speaker, I think the ultimate objective that we are all looking out for, is for the sound and effective management of the oil and gas revenues to enhance the development of this country.

I commend the technical team and the sponsors who have been able to facilitate our ability to go round the whole country, and also I commend those who submitted memoranda.

But Mr Speaker, let me refer you to page 2 in the Appreciation paragraph, where we have identified some of the organizations that have supported us. I wish, for the record, to mention that we have left out the Commonwealth Secretariat - it has done a good job in supporting the petroleum sub-sector over the years and particularly for this Bill.

Mr Speaker, I wish to take my Hon Colleagues through a few of the points that have been raised in the Report, so that we give Hon Members who were not members of the joint Committee the opportunity to reflect, for us to bring out ideas that are better than what we discussed at the joint Committee meeting.

Mr Speaker, on page 3 of the Committee's Report - clauses 10 to 25 - the issue of the Ghana Stabilisation Fund

is a sound one, a solid one, which we all support. But Mr Speaker, if you look at the clause in the Bill itself, here we are talking about cushioning the economy as well as making up for shortfalls in the petroleum revenue when prices go down.

Mr Speaker, I do understand that the cushioning of the economy implies supporting many other sectors of the economy. But there are certain major aspects of the economy which usually affect us adversely. The general global shocks that arise out of the credit crunch for instance, that arise of gold price dipping, cocoa price dipping, these are also important things that need to be captured.

If we are going to specify the downward trend or shortfall in petroleum revenues, perhaps, we need to also state the downward trend or shortfalls in gold and cocoa revenues. Otherwise, we re- state it in that context to reflect any major revenue shortfall that would affect the economy. Otherwise, it seems to me any time the petroleum prices go down, we just take up money from the Stabilisation Fund and support the economy. But what happens if cocoa prices go down or gold prices go down and so on?

With these, I am drawing the attention

of my Hon Colleagues in the House to think through so that we find a better way of capturing it.

Mr Speaker, indeed, if you go to page 5 of the Report, you would see, in the last two lines of the page, under clauses 60 to 64, it states:

“The penalty for such offence on summary conviction is the cedi equivalent of five hundred thousand United States dollars or a term of imprisonment for two years or both”.

Mr J. Y. Chireh

Mr Speaker, on a point of order. We should not allow this to stand because this is an allegation that has been made which has not been substantiated. Apart from that the person who is alleged to have made this statement is not in this House to defend himself. It is not right for him to have this on the record.

Mr Enoch T. Mensah

Mr Speaker, I am surprised my Friend and Brother, Hon Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu is leading him into a minefield. He is on record as having stood in this House and guided people on his side, and I think the Majority has the right to guide its men when they are straying or moving into minefields.

Papa Owusu-Ankomah

Mr Speaker, I do not think that any Hon Member of this House cannot express a view that is contrary to what is contained in any report and I do not think that that is what we are seeking to do in this House.
But I would urge the Hon Member, some of these matters are so sensitive and we should all recognize it. Probably, that is why he is being advised. It is a sensitive mater and all of us who speak up must recognize that and then decide how we are going to express our views.
Some views, when expressed in a certain way may be considered quite offensive and I can tell the Hon Member, coming from the Western Region, that this is a very sensitive matter. So I urge him to please, be guided by that.

Mr Dery

Mr Speaker, I agree with what my Hon Brother has said. But I just wanted to say that the Minority Leader is not leading anybody into a minefield. That is really an improper motive. The Minority Leader is trying to facilitate the discussion. But I would advise that we all
listen to what Hon Papa Owusu-Ankomah has said and be guided by that. But he is not leading anybody into a minefield.

Mr Twumasi-Appiah

Mr Speaker, I just wish to assure the Hon Deputy Minority Leader that if there are any mines anywhere, I will see them first before the Minority Leader sees them. [Laughter.]

Mr First Deputy Speaker

On this occasion, are you sure of that? [Laughter.]

Mr Twumasi-Appiah

Mr Speaker, I am very, very sure. [Laughter.] Yes, I understand Hon Papa Owusu-Ankomah about the sensitive matter of this particular petition. My problem is the arguments that are being put forward. Somebody talks about oil spillage. There is no scientific basis that when there is a spillage at 70 nautical miles, it would even come to Ghana. In any case, it may even very well go to Togo or Ivory Coast while the Ivorians are also demanding their share.
Look at what happened in the United States of America where the oil spillage happened; look at where it spread to. So when people are talking about oil spillage, I have a problem.
Others are also talking about local fishermen. Hon Papa Owusu-Ankomah knows very well that no local fisherman -- it is not even economically viable for them to go as far as 64 nautical miles; they would not go. It is a fact. The maximum they would go is five, fifteen nautical miles and then come back. So what basis are they using to justify this?
I think I l ike the Committee's conclusion. I do not think it is fair and proper, given the fundamentals the basis for this particular Bill that we are looking at. I think the fundamental has to do with the referencing of the revenue that we are talking about. I do not think it is fair for us to sit here and say this region, take this. It would only be fair, given that we have ten regions, that if we are requesting for ten per cent, Brong Ahafo would be given, Greater Accra be given 10 per cent,
Central Region be given ten per cent.
My understanding is that, we are all sharing the revenue equally; ten, ten among each and I think, if that is the understanding, I would support it. But in doing so, we must also have Brong Ahafo Regional Development Fund that will also come from the oil revenue and that one, we all support it.
Mr Speaker, the other thing that I am also looking at has to do with the prohibited use of the Petroleum Account Revenue and I am at a loss here. The Report says that some group of persons, as per clause 5 (2) are saying that we should not use the oil revenue to guarantee loans and other things. And I heard very clearly and loudly, from the Hon Ranking Member on Finance, Hon Dr A.A. Osei, who was also re-echoing that sentiment. And in doing so, Mr Speaker, he telling this House that petroleum is non-renewable but cocoa is renewable. I do not know where he is coming from.
Mr Speaker, in my own village, my grandfather has cocoa, he can decide to cut the cocoa trees down today and plant cassava - yet under the administration of his Government, they used our cocoa for the Bui Dam. So what is he talking about? Even Hon Akoto Osei, his wife's family -- the whole Ghana knows, he hedged his four years' salary to buy a vehicle - [Interruptions] - four years, to buy a vehicle - [Interruptions] he should tell me if it is not true -

Dr A. A. Osei

On a point of order. Mr Speaker, we are debating the policies and principles of the Petroleum Revenue Management Bill and the Hon Member is trying to talk about my family in this
House. [Interruptions.] -- Mr Speaker, he should withdraw it. He cannot be talking about my family when we are talking about a Bill.
Mr Speaker, we have to be decorous to each other. If he wants to joke with me outside, it is a different matter but I will not dare talk about his family in this House. He should steer away from there.

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Hon Member, address the issue of relevance.

Mr Twumasi-Appiah

Yes, Mr. Speaker. So I do not think there would be any problem if the whole House -- if we, as a nation, decide that given the fluctuation of the oil market and the fact that we even found it prudent and necessary as a nation to go and hedge against the fluctuations on the oil market, so that when it comes, the ex-pump price would be maintained -- I do not think there would be any problem if we also decide that today a barrel may be US$100 dollars, tomorrow it may be US$12 or US$20. So let us also use that one as a collateral.
In any case, I do not think that in doing so, we are in advance giving the money to anybody because for instance, if the Executive or the Legislature so deems it fit that, yes, let us use our oil revenue to guarantee -- unless of course, to do “419” to where we want to borrow - we have the intention of not paying back - [Interruptions] -- Of course, if you have the intention of paying back, then what is your business using that oil revenue as a collateral? Unless we want to say that we do not want to pay, we are going to borrow the money under “4l9” basis, so we would not use our hard-earned revenue to guarantee it. Otherwise, what is wrong with us having a good intention of paying the money back and we have a commodity and we say, let us use that commodity to back up as a collateral - [Interruptions] - There is absolutely nothing wrong with it.

Mr Twumasi-Appiah

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, I am a left- handed man and I use my left hand quite so often. I am also holding something in my right hand. I have not realized using my left hand at anybody, but if I so did, I want to apologize.

Mr Speaker, I think if my Hon Colleague had listened
to me, I said I did not know what informed the framers of the Bill to put such a provision in the Bill. And I am saying that there are constitutionally mandated bodies in Ghana here to deal with public interest accountability. We know the Public Accounts Committee even in this Parliament, we know the Auditor-General's outfit that does that, the Government Assurances Committee has been mentioned by my Hon Friend. Even here, the Committee on Energy, the Committee on Finance and several other committees --
Indeed, Mr Speaker, you have with us, and if my Hon Ranking Member will bear witness to that, the Freedom to Information Bill would also enable members of the public to go and ask specific questions on what they need to know about petroleum revenues. It is specific.
Individuals do not need to go through any committee or we should not set up any committee or duplicate any committee anywhere. They can just go - even an enactment. They can just go straightforward to the appropriate quarters and write a paper and say, “I want information on how the oil revenues are being used on A, B, C, D”, and the Hon Minister will be forced to provide such information.
I wonder why the framers of this particular Bill found it necessary and important to put such a clause in here, which I think is superfluous. It does not actually go to do anything to the Bill. Otherwise, what we are doing is that, we are setting up a lot of bureaucracies.
When somebody wants just simple information, he has to go through a committee, when in this House, they have laid a report that allows us to pass a Bill, that will see to it that members of the public can get up anytime, anywhere, go to even their districts - they do not even have to come to Accra and this committee, I suppose, will be based in Accra. They do not have to come to Accra but go to the district office and write a simple
sentence that “I want information on A, B, C, D” and within 21 days, those pieces of information will be supplied to them.
So I wonder why the framers of this particular Bill found it imperative or necessary to bring this particular clauses -- clauses 53 and 59. I think that I intend to move an amendment here and repeal this whole clause which, I think, will not be beneficial to this Bill.
Mr Speaker, on this note, I thank you
for the opportunity to contribute to this Motion.
Mr Joseph B. Aidoo (NPP - Amenfi
East): Mr Speaker, I am humbled to have this auspicious opportunity to contribute to the consideration of the joint Committee Report of the Petroleum Revenue Management Bill.
Mr Speaker, I wish to relate to the petition from the Western Regional House of Chief, which was referred to the joint Committee on Finance, Mines and Energy, particularly in reference to the recommendations that have been captured on pages 6 and 7 of the Committee's Report. Mr Speaker, I do so to make friends and not enemies on this particular matter and to unite the country but not to tear it apart.
Before then, Mr Speaker, the oil that has been discovered in the Jubilee Fields, we all know, is in the Off-Tano Basin. A little oceanography will tell all of us that under the ocean, the bed of the sea, the physical topography we see on land also exists in the sea. So, we have valleys, we have hills, we have basins and whatnot, and that is why the discovery has been defined as “having occurred in the Offshore Tano Basin”. It is not in the Offshore Ayensu Basin or maybe, Offshore Volta Basin or Offshore Pra Basin or any of these rivers, but it is “Offshore Tano Basin” and we all
know that Tano Basin is in the Western Region. It is an extension of the Tano Basin. It is very significant.
Two, Mr Speaker, the joint Committee's Report, particularly in reference to paragraph 3, page 7, in my opinion, is a bit strange and spurious. It is at variance with the consensus that was reached at the Committee's meeting at the new block. I was privileged to be at the meeting and what we all came at, that is, the consensus that was reached was that, the request that had been brought from the Western Region bordered on a major policy decision and therefore, because this Bill was emanating from Government, because this is Government Bill, there was the need to refer the matter to the Government, that is, the Executive for its determination.
At the meeting, it was clear and most Members there-- the consensus was that it was beyond the jurisdiction of this House and therefore, we were to refer the matter to the Executive for its determination. Strangely, whether by some ambush or whatever, the recommendation now is that the Committee rejected the request from the Western Regional House of Chiefs.

Dr A. A. Osei

On a point of order.
Mr Speaker, with due respect to my Hon Senior Colleague, there is no word in here in the Committee's Report, that said that the Committee rejected the concerns; there is nothing in here like that. In fact, the last paragraph from where he is reading, is where the consensus came in and with your permission, let me read:
“The Committee strongly appeals to Government to come out with a policy. . .”
That is the consensus he is talking

about, that was raised because it was not a policy decision committee. So, it is a policy that will target the accelerated development of the Western Region. This was what was arrived at. There is nothing here that talks about rejecting and I think he should take note of that.

“Extraordinary” is

Mr Speaker, I recognize that I am a Deputy Minister for Energy but I am also the Member of Parliament representing the good people of Ellembelle.

Mr Speaker, in the same provision, you would see also in terms of membership of this Accountability Committee, you look at the membership and it is talking about independent policy think-tank groups; it is talking about civil society groups.

Mr Speaker, while a lot of the independent think-tank groups have been doing very good work, a lot of civil society groups have been doing good works, we also must be very, very careful in really understanding some of these civil society groups, these think-tank groups, so that we do not find ourselves being represented by bodies that get their funding and directions from sources that we as a country know do not have our interest at heart. I think it is very, very important.

Mr Dominic B. A. Nitiwul

On a point of order. Mr Speaker, the Hon Member is an Hon Deputy Minister of State. He is privy to a lot of information. Probably, he has information to the effect that some civil society organizations are not working in our interest. I would be very glad, in this House, if he can name some of them. This is because just to generalize like this, is very dangerous and it is not good for the image of all the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the civil society organizations. Let us get specifics, then we could all go and find out whether what he is saying is right or wrong.
Mr Speaker, he is an Hon Deputy Minister and he has information and I am very much sure that he knows what he is talking about. So let us get that information in this House and the people of Ghana would be very glad with him.

Mr Buah

Mr Speaker, in the Chairman's Report, he made it clear that there was a real division of opinion in terms of how we would utilize the petroleum accounts and whether or not we use reserves. Then, there was one group that was in support of ensuring that we use the revenue to address infrastructural deficit. I tend to support that group.
Mr Speaker, a recommendation in one of them was that we should have a ten- year period where we focus on massive development. I think we need to look around the world, in countries which have actually found oil and have been very successful, like Norway and ask the question, what did they do?
The people of Norway found oil. For over twenty years, they focused on
infrastructural development and ensured that they had classrooms, they had good roads; that they had good hospitals and then later on when they were very sure that their infrastructure was in place, that is when they focused on savings and ensuring that they had put all this money in reserves.
I think that I am urging Hon Members to take this recommendation seriously because if we talk about future generations, what are we leaving for them?

Mr Kobina T. Hammond

On a point of order. Mr Speaker, I am getting a bit anxious about my Hon Colleague - the drift of his argument. Mr Speaker, the point has been made by “Papa” by the Man being part of the Executive. He seems to be oblivious of that. He is talking about the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, of the Government to which he belongs, he forms part of it. He is talking about them accumulating debt.
This is not the proper forum. He should wait and when they go to Cabinet, these matters should be coming up there. I do not know what he is doing here on this floor. He is risking something very, very monumental. Advise him, Mr Speaker. He is my younger Brother, talk to him.

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Hon Deputy Minister, continue.

Mr Buah

Mr Speaker, I think what I am calling for is that we must ensure flexibility that allows us as a country to focus on fixing our infrastructure challenge, taking opportunity of this - [Interruption.]

Mr J. B. Aidoo

Mr Speaker, two years on and the Deputy Minister is still lamenting about ideas and problems. Is it an admission of incapability?

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Hon
Member, you are out of order.
Hon Deputy Minister, continue.

Mr Buah

Mr Speaker, my last point
has to do with the Western Region.
Mr Speaker, I want to thank the Committee for the consideration of the request by the Chiefs of the Western Region. Mr Speaker, I thank the Leadership of this House for the kind reception that the Chiefs of the Western Region received. Mr Speaker, I am very, very concerned because the issues of the Western Region are real. They did not start two years ago. They did not start last year. The infrastructure challenges, the problems of the Western Region started so many years ago and successive governments have failed to live up to the promise of the Western Region.

Mr Dery

Mr Speaker, my Hon
Friend on the other side should be told that nobody talked of 25 per cent for
the Northern Region - [Interruptions] - Talking about a figure of a million. So, if he is talking of 25 per cent, he should say so. He should get his facts.

Mr Buah

Mr Speaker, this House
has recognized it, the Committee has recognized it. But if we are to make an argument about numbers for each region, the Constitution clearly states it, that this country must live up to its promise to every region. That is the call. So it is all right for SADA to be allocated twenty-five million, it is all right for CEDECOM to be allocated 5 million for development. It is good for Ghana.
But the issue is that, if we are saying that, then we have to also look at what we are talking about in terms of the focus of this present Government. I happen to be a member of the Gas Task Force, because the President strongly believes that this oil find will be good for Ghana, it is how we develop our gas sector. And I see about five hundred million investment in the gas sector alone, all going to the Western Region, for example and so we have to put some of these in perspective.
But what we all agree is that, the time has come that we as a House, as a country, must be united to ensure equitable distribution of resources. But we must do so in a way that unites us, not divide us.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker, in winding up, I do believe that this Bill is important but there are three schools of thought on whether we should carve a percentage of money in clause 19, to be put directly into the budget or we should re-fence this very important resource and use it for developments that will benefit our people so that there will be something that could be pointed out that look, this Government at this particular time, used

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Hon Member, conclude.

Mr Nitiwul

So I believe that we should really look at it. I am a member of the Committee, I argued it out, well, the Majority voted against me but I think we should re-fence this oil money and use it for something that we can point our fingers at.

Report of the Public Accounts Committee on the Report of the Auditor-General on multi-donor budgetary support programme of inflows in the Government of Ghana account for the years ended 31st December, 2004 and 2005. Mr Speaker, this is a sentence on page (5):
“A major audit finding was the issue of cars irregularities. It was noted that the underlying cause of these serious violations was ineffective supervision and control of revenue collections.”
M r S p e a k e r , t h e C o m m i t t e e recommended that issues raised in this Report had already been captured in the Auditor-General's Report and we want to say that most of these irregularities have been occurring. What teeth does Parliament has in biting? We know that the Auditor-General has been doing its part but every year, we read reports here that people have embezzled funds, people have misapplied funds and we just recommend.
So I think that the committee would help us -- We have always been having this problem - it will help us to do our work better.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity.

Mr Gabriel K. Essilfie (NDC - Shama)

Mrs Irene Naa-Torshie Addo (NPP - Tema West)

Thank you Mr Speaker, for allowing me to contribute to this Motion.
I wish to lend my voice to the petition of the Chiefs of the Western Region and also to ask the House to adopt the recommendations of the committee. But in doing so, I will like to chip in an aside, which forms my disappointment in the Committee's work in that the Committee, in coming up with their recommendations, failed to look at other areas that are part of the chain of distribution of oil in this country.
I am specifically talking about the Tema Municipal Area. Mr Speaker, I do not see how Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) can be in Tema and will be responsible for the explorational needs of this country, and Ghana Ports and Habours Authority (GAPOHA) would be

Mr Second Deputy Speaker

Order! Order!

Mrs Addo

No one is linking up the developmental needs of the Tema area to the oil find. Mr Speaker, more than 50 per cent of the Hon Members of Parliament in here live in the Tema West area. One cannot deny the fact that the roads are bad. The General Hospital and other hospitals are not in good shape. Children in the Tema West are sitting on stones, and I say it for a fact in a particular school, and yet we talk about the Western Region, which I support fully, without doing a linkage with the Tema area.
Mr Speaker, there is a well-known case as the “Bhopal catastrophe” that happened in India where the exploration company got burnt. They fought for five years and indeed, the inhabitants of the area were compensated. If the chiefs are asking that an authority be made in the Western Region, which I support and that the indigenes be part of the Board of Directors, I call on this House not to forget that but to also make sure that the indigenes of Tema are on the board of TOR.
I am also asking, Mr Speaker, that there is some linkage between the oil find, that the money coming out of the oil meets the needs of the Tema Municipal Area and that the people living in Tema be allowed to work in these areas. I can say for a fact that from the survey that I conducted, less than 30 per cent of the people working at TOR live in that area and I think it is a shame.
There are too many industries in

Tema and yet little sustainable developments are being made in the Tema Municipality. Mr Speaker, if you write a letter to GAPOHA, TOR, CMB, or any of the corporations for some kind of charity work to be done in the schools, it would be at the discretion of the Chief Executive there and not because some amount or percentage has been set aside for the development of Tema.

We are fighting for SADA, we fought and made sure that the mining companies reserved a certain part for the development of the localities of the area. Who is thinking about Tema? What is happening to Tema? We have all the free zone companies, we have all the industries in Tema, TOR is in Tema. GNPC has been given a large chunk of money for business under the Budget. It is true that their businesses would not be in Tema but their headquarters is in Tema.

Hon Members of Parliament here present, please, give me this opportunity and lend your ears to the area that you live in so that tomorrow you do not find yourselves wanting.

I pray that this House will adopt the recommendations of the Committee but in doing so we must consider the entire chain in which this oil will affect. You cannot do without Takoradi and Tema ports. You cannot do without TOR, you cannot do without the Tema area.

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for this opportunity.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker

That will bring us to the end of the debate as earlier indicated by Leadership. I have been trying to adjourn but just in case Leaders have something special to say, they may please, do so.

Mr Avoka

Mr Speaker, there is nothing special at this stage, the discretion is yours.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr Speaker, the happy observation is that there are still many more people who would want to have the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I recollect that originally, we had programmed it to have begun last Friday and if it had, we were minded to end it tomorrow.
But given the number of people still on the touchline warming up to contribute, I do not know whether it may be possible to end tomorrow. But let us see how it goes. If we end up exhausting the list by and large, then I believe that we can bring it to a closure, otherwise, Mr Speaker, I do not have any other useful thing to add.

Debates of 22 Nov 2010

PRAYERS 10:30 a.m.

VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 10:30 a.m.

Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:30 a.m.

Mr Cletus A. Avoka 10:30 a.m.

Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:30 a.m.

Mr Avoka 10:30 a.m.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:30 a.m.

Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:30 a.m.

Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:30 a.m.

Mr Gyetuah 10:30 a.m.

Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:30 a.m.

Mr Gyetuah 10:30 a.m.

Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:30 a.m.

Mr Avoka 10:30 a.m.

Mr Ambrose P. Dery 10:30 a.m.

Mr Avoka 10:30 a.m.

Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:40 a.m.

Mr Avoka 10:40 a.m.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:40 a.m.

Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:40 a.m.

ORAL ANSWERS TO 10:40 a.m.

QUESTIONS 10:40 a.m.

MINISTRY OF ENERGY 10:40 a.m.

Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah 10:40 a.m.

Mr Buah 10:40 a.m.

Nana Larbie 10:40 a.m.

Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:40 a.m.

Mr George Boakye 10:40 a.m.

Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:40 a.m.

Mr Boakye 10:40 a.m.

Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:40 a.m.

Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah 10:40 a.m.

Mr Boakye 10:40 a.m.

Mr Buah 10:40 a.m.

Mr Boakye 10:40 a.m.

Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:50 a.m.

Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:50 a.m.

Mr Avoka 10:50 a.m.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:50 a.m.

Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:50 a.m.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:50 a.m.

Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:50 a.m.

Mr Buah 10:50 a.m.

Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:50 a.m.

PAPERS 10:50 a.m.

Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:50 a.m.

Mr Fredrick Opare-Ansah 10:50 a.m.

Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:50 a.m.

Mr Opare-Ansah 10:50 a.m.

Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:50 a.m.

Mr Opare-Ansah 10:50 a.m.

Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:50 a.m.

Mr Avoka 10:50 a.m.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:50 a.m.

Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:50 a.m.

BILLS - SECOND READING 11 a.m.

Chairman of the Committee on Finance (Mr James K. Avedzi) 11 a.m.

Chairman of the Committee on Finance (Mr James K. Avedzi) 11 a.m.

Chairman of the Committee on Finance (Mr James K. Avedzi) 11 a.m.

Chairman of the Committee on Finance (Mr James K. Avedzi) 11:10 a.m.

Chairman of the Committee on Finance (Mr James K. Avedzi) 11:10 a.m.

Chairman of the Committee on Finance (Mr James K. Avedzi) 11:10 a.m.

Chairman of the Committee on Finance (Mr James K. Avedzi) 11:10 a.m.

Chairman of the Committee on Finance (Mr James K. Avedzi) 11:10 a.m.

Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:10 a.m.

Dr A. A. Osei 11:10 a.m.

Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:10 a.m.

Dr A. A. Osei 11:30 a.m.

Mr Joe K. Gidisu 11:30 a.m.

Dr A. A. Osei 11:30 a.m.

Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:30 a.m.

Mr J. K. Gidisu 11:30 a.m.

Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:30 a.m.

Mr J. K. Gidisu 11:30 a.m.

Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:30 a.m.

Dr A. A. Osei 11:30 a.m.

Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:30 a.m.

Mr Ambrose P. Dery 11:30 a.m.

Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:40 a.m.

PRAYERS

VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Mr Cletus A. Avoka

Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr Avoka

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Mr Gyetuah

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Mr Gyetuah

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Mr Avoka

Mr Ambrose P. Dery

Mr Avoka

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Mr Avoka

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr First Deputy Speaker

ORAL ANSWERS TO

QUESTIONS

MINISTRY OF ENERGY

Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah

Mr Buah

Nana Larbie

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Mr George Boakye

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Mr Boakye

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah

Mr Boakye

Mr Buah

Mr Boakye

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr Avoka

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Mr Buah

Mr First Deputy Speaker

PAPERS

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Mr Fredrick Opare-Ansah

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Mr Opare-Ansah

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Mr Opare-Ansah

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Mr Avoka

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr First Deputy Speaker

BILLS - SECOND READING

Chairman of the Committee on Finance (Mr James K. Avedzi)

Chairman of the Committee on Finance (Mr James K. Avedzi)

Chairman of the Committee on Finance (Mr James K. Avedzi)

Chairman of the Committee on Finance (Mr James K. Avedzi)

Chairman of the Committee on Finance (Mr James K. Avedzi)

Chairman of the Committee on Finance (Mr James K. Avedzi)

Chairman of the Committee on Finance (Mr James K. Avedzi)

Chairman of the Committee on Finance (Mr James K. Avedzi)

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Dr A. A. Osei

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Dr A. A. Osei

Mr Joe K. Gidisu

Dr A. A. Osei

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Mr J. K. Gidisu

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Mr J. K. Gidisu

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Dr A. A. Osei

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Mr Ambrose P. Dery

Mr First Deputy Speaker

Mr First Deputy Speaker