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Madam Speaker

Hon Leader, there will be no Statements.
Shall we now move on then?

Yes, Madam Speaker, with your kind permission, we move to Motion on item 4, that the intestate Succession Bill, 2009 be now read the Second time.
Madam Speaker, I would also want to Respectfully apply for your permission to allow the on deputy Attorney -General and Deputy Minister for Justice, who is a Member of the august House to move the Motion for and on behalf of the Minister. He has taken part in piloting this Bill, and he is very conversant with the issues or the (principles of the Bill. So with your kin permission, I would like Hon Ebo Barton-Odro to move the Motion.
Thank you.

Madam Speaker

This is an application for the Motion to be moved by the Deputy Minister for Justice and Deputy Attorney-General.

Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Madam Speaker, I believe, ordinarily, one should not have any problem with that but I thought the Majority Leader was going to tell us the whereabouts of the substantive Attorney-General and Minister for Justice. I understand Parliament has not been officially informed of anything. So he should tell us because it is the Minister who should be addressing us.

Madam Speaker

So, yes, it has been agreed -- as it not? T at he should move it --
Kindly speak a little louder into the microphone.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Madam Speaker, I think the Majority Leader heard me quite well. I said he knew that this role must be performed by the Minister. If the Minister is absent or whatever has happened, he needs to inform us before we grant permission for the Deputy Minister to perform the role of the Minister.

Mr Avoka

Madam Speaker, with respect, I thought the Minority Leader would appreciate the fact that the position of the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice is one of public notice. He is no

more in office; the Attorney General and Minister for Justice is no more or no longer the Minister for Justice. I think that is in the public domain, that it did not need further announcement in this Chamber. The position is vacant as of now -- [Interruptions] Yes, I am talking about the substantive Minister.

Dr Benjamin Kunbuor has been given an oversight responsibility - [Interruptions Yes, but as I indicated earlier - if you listened to me carefully - - I said that all along, it was the Hon Deputy Minister who had been piloting this Bill and therefore, he was more conversant with the issues and policies on the Bill. So Dr Kunbuor has an oversight responsibility but the Deputy Minister is more in tune with this Bill and Will inure better to the benefit of this august House and this country. So that is why he is doing so.

Chairman of the Committee (Mr Emmanuel K. Bandua)

Madam Speaker, I rise to support the Motion and present the Report of the Committee.
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Parliament was seized with the Intestate Succession Bill on November 3, 2009 when it was presented and read the First time in the House. Madam Speaker, pursuant to article 106 (4) and (5) of the Constitution and Standing Order 179 of the House, referred the Bill to the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs for consideration and report.

2.0 Deliberations

A 2.1. The Committee held preliminary consultative sessions and meetings with relevant stakeholders and also conducted public hearings in five regional capitals, namely -- Tamale, Kumasi, Cape Coast, Ho and Accra to solicit public input on the referral. Ms Edna Kuma of the African Women Lawyer's Association (AWLA) and Mrs Barba1aAyensu of LAWA Ghana Alumni Incorporated (Leadership and Advocacy for Women in Africa), both participated in the regional public hearings conducted by the Committee.

The then Hon Minister for Justice and Attorney-General, Mrs Betty Mould - Iddrisu, Director, Legislative Drafting of the Attorney-General's Office, Mrs Estelle Appiah, were also among others in attendance at the deliberations of the Committee on the Bill.

3 .0 Acknowledgement

3.1 The Committee is grateful to the Above-mentioned persons for their participation in the deliberations and GTZ-Ghana in particular for co-funding the public hearings on the Bill.

4.0 Reference documents

4.1 The Committee had recourse to the underlisted documents during the deliberations:

a. The 1992 Constitution;

b. The Standing Orders of Parliament;

c. Intestate Succession Bill; and

d. Intestate Succession Act, 1985 (PNDC Law 111).

Chairman of the Committee (Mr Emmanuel K. Bandua)

5.0 Background
5.1 The application of the present law on intestate succession continues to pose challenges emerging mainly from the changes in the nature of the system of inheritance and the family law system. The focus of the family law system and inheritance generally, now seem to be shifting from the extended to the nuclear family as obtains in other parts of the World. This development continues to gain important recognition which needs to be adequately reflected in the law on intestate succession.
Meanwhile, the well-entrenched customary law system has provided very little protection for surviving spouses and children. Indeed, such class of persons particularly within the matrilineal system of inheritance have no more than a right to maintenance by their father's customary successor and a right to reside in their father's house subject to good behaviour. There is also very little provision for additional spouses in polygamous marriages where the deceased is survived by more than one spouse.
The need to remove the anomalies in the present law relating to intestate succession and to provide a uniform intestate succession law applicable across various customary jurisdictions irrespective of the inheritance system of the intestate and the type of marriage contracted necessitated the introduction of this Bill.
6.0 Object of the Bill
6.1 The Bill seeks to provide for intestate succession and to particularly make the law in this regard, more responsive to the needs of the nuclear family of a person who dies intestate.

7.0 Provisions of the Bill

7.1 This Bill provides for 29 clauses:

7.1.1 Clauses 1 and 2

Clause 1 provides for the devolution of the estate of a person who dies without making a Will and the provisions of clause 2 relate to cases of intestacy and partial intestacy.

Clause 3

This clause confers on a surviving spouse or child or both as the cases may be absolute right to the household property of the intestate.

Clauses 4

This clause indicates that where there is one house and the surviving spouse made contributions towards the acquisition of the only house of the marriage, he/she is entitled to more than 50 per cent of the estate.

Clauses 5 and 6 .

Under these clauses, provisions are made for the apportionment of the estate of an intestate who is survived by a spouse and a child and for the devolution of the estate of an intestate who is survived by more than one spouse.

Clause 7

This clause deals with a surviving spouse who is estranged from the deceased and has been living separately for three years or more.

Clause 8

Clause 8 spells out the interest of a surviving spouse in the matrimonial home.

Chairman of the Committee (Mr Emmanuel K. Bandua)

Clause 9.
This clause gives the surviving spouse the option to buy out the share of other beneficiaries where the estate consists of only one house and the surviving spouse contributed to the acquisition of the house.
Clauses 10 and 11
These clauses make provision for joint ownership of property other than the matrimonial home and for the sale or redemption of a mortgaged estate.
Clause 12
Clause 12 stipulates that before the estate of the deceased is distributed, adequate provision should be made for dependent and incapacitated children first.
Clauses 13, 14, 15 and 16
Under these clauses, provisions are made for the distribution of the deceased's estate depending on who survives the deceased.
Clauses 17
Clause 17 addresses the situation where a foreigner makes Ghana his domicile.
Clauses 18 and 19
Clause 18 makes provision for succession by family under customary law and clause 19 provides for situations where the intestate is not survived by a spouse, child or parent.
Clause 20
This clause makes provision for significant contributions to the intestate's family under small estates.

Clause 21

This clause enables the Minister responsible for Justice to amend the value of small estates under the previous clause.

Clauses 22 and 23

Clause 22 stipulates that where two or more persons are entitled to a share of the estate of the interstate, the beneficiaries will equally divide it among themselves. Clause 23 stipulates that where spouses died for purposes of which it is not clear who died first, the older will be presumed to have died first.

Clauses 24, 25 and 26

Clause 25 provides for the maintenance of a grandchild of the intestate who is a dependent of the intestate. Clauses 25 and 26 prohibit the ejection of a spouse from a matrimonial home and unlawful deprivation by a person of a spouse or a person entitled to the use of the property.

Clauses 27, 28, 2.9 and 30

Clause 27 relates to other offences and clauses 28 and 29 provide respectively for power to make Regulations and Interpretation, while clause 30 relates to repeals and savings.

8.0 Observations

8.1. The Committee observed that intestate succession and its attendant socio-legal issues continue to pose challenges largely due to the plural legal nature of the family law system of the country. After over twenty-five years of the coming into force of Law 111, there are still difficulties in its implementation and the gaps in the law have become more evident due to the increasing importance of the nuclear family. Consequently, the essence of the existing law seems to be withering.

Chairman of the Committee (Mr Emmanuel K. Bandua)

The Committee, having regard to a number of concerns which emerged during deliberations, particularly during the public hearings noted a number of key issues, some of which in the view of the Committee have been addressed by the Bill.
These include the need for_ enhancement of provisions for children of school-going age, the need to put a cap on the amount of cash to be treated as household property, the need for enhancement of entitlements for the longest serving spouse within the context of a polygamous marriage, status of additional spouse married under customary law in relation to the spouse under the ordinance and vice versa, the legitimacy of the rights, if any, of an estranged spouse, possible double inheritance by a customary successor both as a customary successor and a family member and the silence of Intestate Succession Act, 1985 (PNDC Law 111) on the issue of joint acquisition of property and how such acquisition should affect the fraction of the estate that the surviving spouse is entitled to.
8.1.1 The need for enhancement of provisions for children of school going age
The cumulative view of the public during the hearings in all the four regional capitals on the subject matter called for adequate provision to be made under the Bill to cater for children of school-going age. 'While appreciating this concern of the public, borne out of the absence of any such provision in Law 111, which has resulted in practical challenges in its implementation over the years, the Committee noted with satisfaction that clause 12 of the Bill remedies the defect by making special provision for

dependent children of school-going age. It is the expectation of the Committee, that upon the passage of the Bill, the Minister would, as soon as practicable, initiate appropriate measures to enable affected beneficiaries to be availed of their entitlements under the law.

8.1.2 The need to put a cap on the amount of cash to be treated as household property

The public advocated that as household property has been defined in the Bill to include cash and moneys in bank accounts, a ceiling should be placed on such moneys deemed as household property. In the absence of such ceiling, they argued that, where the deceased died, possessed of only household property, the effect would be that aged and dependent parents who may have survived the deceased are entitled to nothing from the deceased estate.

The Committee is, therefore, of the considered view that the House critically considers this concern and make provisions for children of persons dying intestate according to their ages and status in life and also provide for surviving parents who may have solely depended on the deceased.

8.1.3 The need for enhancement of entitlements for the longest serving spouse Within the context of a polygamous marriage .

The public also advocated the need to enhance the entitlements of a longer or longest serving wife in a polygamous marriage. This concern, the Committee noted, is born out of objective realities associated with the potentially polygamous nature of the Ghanaian society in which some male spouses are used to devoting more attention and care to their younger wives to the neglect of

Chairman of the Committee (Mr Emmanuel K. Bandua)

the older wives, a situation which eventually leaves them in a deplorable state. The Committee notes that even though clause 6 of the Bill provides for a situation Where the intestate is survived by more than one spouse, there is no specific provision to compensate a longer serving spouse except that the Bill, recognises the interest of a joint owner who is a surviving spouse and makes provision in respect of that in clause 10.
The Committee, while recognising the legitimacy of the case of a perceived inequity against a longest serving spouse, which may arise out of equal distribution of property among all the spouses, the committee is unable to make a recommendation to remedy the perceived inequity and therefore, invites the House to consider the matter and give some direction in that regard.
8.1.4 Status of additional spouse married under customary law in relation to the spouse under the ordinance and vice versa
The case of a male spouse married under the customary law ignorantly taking on additional Wives under the Ordinance and vice versa also featured prominently throughout the public hearings as a major concern for Women in particular. The Committee observed that even though any such subsequent marriage by the man within the above context would be illegal and therefore, voidable, majority of women who fall victim to such cases tend to be either ignorant of the remedies available to them in law or afraid of the consequences of opposing their husbands in that regard.
The Committee is of the considered view that effective public education and strong advocacy in this connection, is

the right direction to pursue. In addition, the appropriate State agencies in charge of social Welfare and legal aid need to be empowered to provide requisite assistance to persons who may suffer in this regard.

8.1.5 The legitimacy of the rights if any of an estranged spouse

Sections of the public also resented The provision for an estranged spouse captured in clause 7 of the Bill. They argued that this provision could occasion injustice to lawful beneficiaries and also lead to unjust enrichment of such spouse, particularly Where the estranged spouse may not have rendered support in any form to the deceased or the children who may also not be her biological children and yet make gains upon the husband's intestacy.

Without prejudice to a spouse's right to initiate divorce proceedings if that spouse feels strongly dissatisfied with the attitude of the other spouse who may have become an estranged spouse, the Committee considers the concerns of the public justifiable and accordingly recommends the deletion of the clause.

The Committee observed that Where spouses are estranged and have been separated for a period of three years or more, the legitimacy of the rights of the estranged spouse should be determined and a percentage of the estate be apportioned to such spouse.

8.1.6 Possible double inheritance by a customary successor both as a customary successor and a family member

The issue of possible double inheritance by a customary successor both as a successor and as a family member was raised. The Committee

Chairman of the Committee (Mr Emmanuel K. Bandua)

observed that a customary successor who constitutes part of the larger family under customary law should not be allowed to inherit twice as a family member and as a customary successor -- as by virtue of being a successor, he is a member of the family.
8.1.7 The silence of Intestate Succession Act, 1985 (PNDC Law 111) on the issue of joint acquisition-of property and how such acquisition should affect the fraction of the estate that the surviving spouse is entitled to
A cross-section of the public raised an issue about the fact that where a surviving spouse jointly acquires property with the deceased spouse, the surviving spouse should be entitled to a percentage more than the fifty per cent share that a spouse is entitled to by law. The argument they espoused is that, having contributed to the acquisition of that property, the surviving spouse is an automatic fifty per cent owner of that property. In addition to this, by virtue of being the surviving spouse of the deceased, that surviving spouse is entitled to another fifty per cent share of the deceased's property.
This concern, the Committee observed, has been catered for in the Bill. Upon the passage of this Bill, a surviving spouse who owns property jointly with the deceased other than the matrimonial home is entitled to an additional twenty-five per cent share of the property by virtue of being a spouse in addition to the fifty per cent share that a spouse is entitled to by law as a joint owner of the property.
9.0 Proposed Amendments
9.1 The Committee proposes the following amendments for consideration by the House:

i. Clause 5 (1) -- amendment proposed -paragraph (b), delete "forty" and insert "forty-five"-

Clause 5 (2) --- amendment proposed - paragraph (a), delete "forty-five" and insert "thirty-five".

Clause 5 (2) -- amendment proposed - paragraph (b), delete "forty-five" and insert "sixty".

iv. Clause 5 (2) - amendment proposed -- paragraph (0), delete "ten" and insert "five".

v. Clause 7 - amendment proposed - delete the clause.

vi. Clause 10 - amendment proposed - delete the clause.

vii. Clause l2 - amendment proposed --- Head note - after "school- going" insert "and other".

viii. Clause 12 (2)(a) -- amendment proposed -- after "fees" insert "up to the university level or its equivalent".

ix. Clause l2 (3)(a) - amendment proposed -- define "incapacitated" in the interpretation section as follows:

" ‘incapacitated' means a person who suffers from a mental disorder, is physically challenged or is vulnerable".

x. Clause 12 -- amendment proposed -- add a new sub clause (5) as follows:

"(5) For the purpose of this section, educational needs include vocational ' training, apprenticeship and other forms of skill acquisition".

Chairman of the Committee (Mr Emmanuel K. Bandua)

xi. Clause 13 (2) -- amendment proposed -- after "surviving", delete "and child".
xii. Clause 14 (1) -- amendment proposed - before "devolves", delete "estate" and insert "residue". Clause 15 - amendment proposed - delete "estate" and insert "residue".
xiv. Clause 15 - amendment proposed - paragraph (a), delete "fifty" and ' insert "forty".
XV. Clause 15 - amendment proposed -- paragraph (b), delete "thirty- five" and insert "forty".
Xvi. Clause 15 -- amendment proposed - paragraph (c), delete "ten" and insert "fifteen". xvii. Clause 17 - amendment proposed - line three, after "residue", delete and insert "shall devolve the following manner".
(a) to the surviving,
(b) where there is no child, to
the surviving spouse, and (c) where there is no surviving spouse, to the surviving parent".
xviii. Clause 20 - amendment proposed - paragraph (a), line 1, delete "... one" and insert "ten" and repeat same in paragraph (b).
xix. Clause 20 - amendment proposed -paragraph (a), line 3, after "both", delete.

xx. Clause 21 -- amendment proposed --- delete the clause-

xxi. Clause 22 --- amendment proposed -- delete the clause and insert "Subject to the rules of customary law related to a member's interest in communal property, where two or more persons are entitled to share a portion of an estate under this Act, they shall divide it among themselves in equal shares."

Clause 24 -- amendment proposed - in line 5, insert "grand" before "chi1d".

xxiii. Clause 25 (1) - amendment proposed- line 2, after "estate of', delete "a deceased person whether testate or interstate" and insert "an intestate where the matrimonial home is".

XXiv._ Clause 25 (1) - amendment proposed -- paragraph (a), delete "where the matrimonial home is" and repeat same in paragraph (b), (c) and xxv. Clause 25 (2) -- amendment proposed - delete and move to the interpretation section.

xxvii. Clause 26 -- amendment proposed- line l, after "estate of', delete "a deceased person whether testate or" and insert "an" and repeat same in clause 27.

xxviii. Clause 29 -- amendment proposed -- "residue", delete "and" between "3" and "4" and insert "8, 10 and 12" after "4".

xxiii. Clause 29 -- amendment proposed - "spouses", delete "polygamous" and insert "polygamous" and after "marriage" delete all the words.

Madam Speaker

Hon Members, pursuant to Order 127, a full debate shall arise on the principle of the Bill on the basis of the explanatory Memorandum and the Report of the Committee. Hon Members who wish to speak may make their contributions.

Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu (NPP - Bekwai)

Madam Speaker, when the Bill was referred to this Committee with the public hearing round the country, certain concerns raised by the public are reflected in this Report and are recommended to the House to consider in reviewing the Bill.
Madam Speaker, some of them for example -, the need to enhance the provision for children of school-going age. Throughout the public hearings, it came out that the public concern was that not much emphasis has been placed on children of -school-going age and probably, children -who are still quite young and studying a trade. For that reason, the public call was for specific provisions to be made to enable special care to be taken of children of school- going age and those studying a trade.
There is also the call for a need to put a cap on the amount to be treated as household property. It can be observed from the Bill that if appears on died intestate

and he had no immovable property, virtually every cash he had, would be considered as a household chattel, which would have been distributed without regard to people like the aged parents if they were dependent on the children.

There was sufficient public outcry to commend that the Committee reviews that and 6I1SurB.that adequate arrangements are made that when people die intestate and they have surviving parents who are dependent on the intestate, adequate provisions are made to cater for the dependent intestate.

Madam Speaker, there are very controversial ones regarding spouses in polygamous situations. There were interesting public discussions as to which of the spouses should get more and all those have been captured in the Report and which recommendations have been made that the longer a spouse had served or had been married to a deceased, the spouse should be considered for an enhanced benefit as against those who may have joined in very recently.

Madam Speaker, what is interesting is that, throughout the public discussions, it came out that there had been sufficient public dissatisfaction with the operations of the existing law, which clearly demonstrates the need for the current law to be passed.

With these few words, Madam Speaker, I support the Motion.

Papa Owusu-Ankomah (NPP -- Sekondi)

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute to this debate and to note that, well, after so many years of the operation of the Intestate Succession Law, the time is ripe to reconsider it.
Madam Speaker, but just to make a very important point.

Papa Owusu-Ankomah (NPP -- Sekondi)

Page l of the Report, bullet 11 says that "The Bill was referred to the Committee on November 3, 2009." That is over two years now. Madam Speaker, I wish to draw the attention of the House to article 106, clause 14 of the Constitution and with your permission, Madam Speaker, I will read it in extenso:
"A bill introduced in Parliament by or on behalf of the President shall not be delayed for more than three months in any committee of Parliament."
Madam Speaker, I wish to_ state that it is inexcusable that the Report of this Bill is being submitted to Parliament over two years. I believe the Committee itself may have been faced with certain challenges. However, on any occasion, where a committee finds itself unable to report on any Bill within three months, that committee ought to bring this to the attention of the House for the House itself to extend it further.
Unfortunately, there is no provision in the Constitution for failure to comply with this particular provision. But of course, as a House, we should be very, very careful when it comes to the observance of the spirit and letter of certain provisions of the Constitution that affect the work of the House. I believe three months was stipulated only to serve as a guide to this House for the House not to unduly delay referrals of Bills presented to this House.
Having said this, I know there are a couple of other Bills that are in breach of this particular clause of the Constitution and the Committees would be well advised to submit a report indicating their inability to conclude their work, so that the House would be apprised of these problems if any and then take necessary action.

Madam Speaker, having said that, I believe the Report is comprehensive. But there is one matter that also worries me. Madam Speaker, a committee of the House is given a referral - the committee is supposed to make recommendations as a guide to the House. If it has no recommendation to make, then probably, it needs not make any comment. And I refer Madam Speaker to bullet 8.1.3 of the Report, that is the last paragraph, page 8; it says:

"The Committee while recognizing the legitimacy of the case of a perceived inequity against a longest serving spouse which may arise out of equal distribution of properties among all the spouses, the Committee is unable to make a recommendation to remedy the perceived inequity ..."

I believe if the Committee had stopped there, it would have done the House a lot of service. But to continue to state,

". . . and therefore, invites the House to consider the matter and give some direction in that regard."

Madam Speaker

Yes, is it a point of order?

Hon Leader, we are not saying that this is not the way it should read. All we are saying is that the wording: "give us some direction"; we Wanted to find out what they meant by that.

Mr Avoka

But we are debating on the policy issue involved, not the narrow technicality of giving direction. We are belabouring the point, with due respect.

Dr Anthony A. Osei

Madam Speaker, those of us who are not lawyers would not want the Hon Majority Leader to think for us. I went to Achimota and they thought us English Language - [An Hon Member: Where is Achimota?] - "Give some direction" means give some direction. I do not know what the law says, but this is simple English. So, I have been wondering what type of direction they want -- to go back after two and a half years?

Madam Speaker

I think we should allow Hon Papa Owusu-Ankomah to finish with his submission.

Papa Owusu-Ankomah

Madam Speaker, but from the points canvassed by Hon Members, it is clear that the point made by the Hon Member for Esikadu/ Ketan was a point of argument. Those were my views I was expressing. He held a contrary view. I am sure, when the time comes for him to contribute, he can say so many things.
Madam Speaker, I thank you for appreciating the point that I have raised, which is that committee reports that come to the House must be clear and unambiguous, particularly when it comes to sections that may evoke some controversies.
Madam Speaker, there have been occasions where we have had reports that say that majority of Hon Members took this view, minority took a contrary view and for these reasons - and my point is that, as the Hon Majority Leader said, we are debating on policy based on the Report - based on the Report. So the Report is very important. So, I would urge committees, henceforth, as much as possible, to be definitive in their position.
If you are not in a position to propose an amendment, then do not say that well, any Hon Member could propose; after

all, that is what this House is for, any Hon Member can propose an amendment. If the committee itself cannot propose an amendment, then he should not throw a red-herring to the House, so that we come and re-argue all the matters that were before the committee.

Having said that, Madam Speaker, I thank you for this opportunity.

Madam Speaker, I am surprised very old Hon Members of this House are bringing this matter up. There used to be a time when Bills referred to committees elapsed after the Meeting and they had to be relaid. But this ‘House took a decision that notwithstanding that, they should be allowed to go on. At that time, Hon Owusu-Agyapong was the Leader of this House; we took a decision.
In fact, when referrals were made and they could not meet the time, the deadline, the three months elapsed, they had to be relaid; we realized that some had spent time before committees, work had been done, and if they were withdrawn and relaid, it sent the committees back. So this House took a decision that, notwithstanding the fact that they stayed beyond the mandatory terms, they be allowed to proceed.
I believe that the Hon Owusu- Ankomah and the Hon Minority Leader were in this House when that decision was taken.

Papa Owusu-Ankomah

Madam Speaker, we should always be guided by the Standing Orders of this House and I am even surprised at what the Hon Member for Nsuta/Kwaman/Beposo is saying.

Madam Speaker, one issue which needs to be taken note of is the definition or the remit of this law.
Madam Speaker, during the rounds, most witnesses felt that this law was being made for women but for them "spouse" means a husband dies for the wife to inherit him. Madam Speaker, that is the preponderant view. And even listening to my Hon Colleagues debating, it seems that It is only men who will die for their wives to inherit them.

Mr Balado Mann

On a point of order.
Madam Speaker, if the popular view, as he is saying, is that men will die for women to inherit their property, that popular view IS not based on nothing; it is based on practice and experience. The fact is that before a man marries- Men normally

marry people who are younger than them, and all things being equal, the older one will die before the younger one. So if the popular view is that men will die before their wives, it is a truism and I think that should be taken as such.

Thank you.

Mr Osei-Prempeh

Madam Speaker, that wealthy woman was surprised when said that the law applies to both men and women and her words were that, "So this useless man is going to take my property?" At once, she was against the law.
So Mr Speaker, let us educate people that this law is for both spouses. In fact, now, there are many women who are more well to do than their spouses, their husbands; they work harder, they are traders, they are everything. So let us educate them and let them know.
The other issue which was not captured by the Report is expressed by Moslems - I remember in Kumasi, some ladies who were Moslems appeared before us and their concern was that ever since PNDC Law 111 was made, Moslems have always rejected it because in their opinion, the Quran is supreme and it says that the eldest son must take the property, so that they would not abide by any law which says anything to the contrary. Madam Speaker, that was the concern expressed by the lady there.
So Madam Speaker, notwithstanding where one belongs to, whether we are Christians, Moslems or what, this law is a national law, which is to be obeyed, and applies to everybody in the country and therefore, we need to educate people to understand, so that they will not decide to breach the law because it does not conform to their religion or their tribal, marital laws.
Madam Speaker, the other thing is on the status of additional married --

Alhaji Inusah A. B. Fuseini

On a point of order.
Madam Speaker, the Hon Colleague has said_that the Quran and Moslems say that on the death of a person intestate--

Madam Speaker

He said, some people came to say that--

Alhaji Fuseini

Madam Speaker, the Quran does not say that. Indeed, the Quran clearly shows how the estate of a person must devolve on death intestate. And it is the only book of religion-that deals with succession on death intestate.

Mr Osei-Prempeh

Madam Speaker, happily, he reienforces my point and the point I am making is that this is a national law, notwithstanding whatever the Quran says; this is the law which should rule every sphere in this nation.
Madam Speaker, the next thing is on the status of additional spouses. We also need to educate people that in this country and in this law, there is no issue of a child being illegitimate, every child born under whatever circumstance comes under this law.
When we were going round, some people came and asked this question several times -- "What about children? If my husband goes outside and have children, what about them? Do they have a share of his property?" Madam Speaker, people do not take the answer that they have equal share; like children born in marriage, they have equal rights.
Madam Speaker, I believe that this law will come but there is need for a lot of education. Otherwise, the law will be observed more in breach than in compliance.
Madam Speaker, with these few words, I support the Motion.

Madam Speaker

Yes, Hon Leader, finish with your contribution; it is almost 1.00 o'clock.

Mr Avoka

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, let me-- [Interruption]

Hon I. B. Aidoo, can you second the Motion then?

Madam Speaker, my very good Friend is clearly out of order. We have moved a Motion for adjournment until tomorrow; what has that got to do with Bills? He is clearly out of order. He is either seconding the Motion or not seconding it. Madam Speaker, you should give him that direction. [Pause]

Debates of 25 Jan 2012

PRAYERS

ANNOUNCEMENTS

VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT

BILLS- SECOND READING