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Madam Speaker

Hon Members, Correction of Votes and Proceedings of Wednesday, 1st February, 2012.
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Mr. Alfred W. G. Abayateye

Mr. Asimah

Madam Speaker, I want to find out from the Hon Minister what has been the involvement of the sub- structures in the preparation of the 2012 composite budget.

Mr. Ampofo

Madam Speaker, the composite budget concept had been introduced and it was first experimented last year during the preparation of the 2012 Budget. Assembly members, their unit committee members, urban, town and area and zonal council members, traditional authorities and some identifiable organizations were all made part and parcel of the budget hearing processes.
In fact, the composite budget hearing processes were conducted at the various Regional Co-ordinating Council levels and chiefs, opinion leaders, Assembly members, unit committee members were selected to join the core assembly staff to do the presentation of their composite budgets during the budget hearing.
So it is a novel idea, it was started only last year and we believe that as time goes on, there will be more involvement of all stakeholders in the preparation of the composite budget.

Mr. Charles S. Hodogbey

Yes, Hon Minister, I that is a fair Question. He is telling you and saying that because of that -

Mr. Ampofo

Madam Speaker, I first want to correct the impression the Hon Member, is trying to create, that Assemblies have been forced.

Madam Speaker, Assemblies out of their own volition passed resolutions and then sent them to the Ministry and the Common Fund Administrator's office asking that motorbikes be procured to enhance the effectiveness of their work. So l do not have anything to show and there is no evidence that anybody has forced any of the Assemblies to procure motorbikes.

Madam Speaker, on the second side of his Question, there are other ways that the Ministry is helping the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to get extra funding for their activities. One of the ways is through the Functional Organizational Assessment Tool (FOAT), which is conducted annually based on performance and the Assemblies are rewarded when they pass.

For last year, 159 out of the 170 assemblies qualified under the FOAT Assessment and all of them were given handsome cash rewards for passing those assessments. This has gone a long way to assist them.

In addition to that, there have been a number of interventions including the Local Government Capacity Support Programme which the Honorable House here approved of US$175 million facility for 46 Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies. These are also going to support and inject more funds into it. So these are all other ways that the Ministry is exploring to get other funds other than the Common Fund to enable them to meet their development commitments.

Madam Speaker

The last Question must come from the Hon Minority Leader. We have spent too much time on this Question. If you want the other Questions

Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Madam Speaker, the Hon Minister said in his last but one paragraph of that Answer, that the Assemblies have been directed to resource the sub-structures to intensify their revenue mobilization efforts of which 50 percent of revenue mobilized by them would be retained for administration and personnel emoluments. Madam Speaker, that certainly is a useful beginning.
But given the fact that the various Assemblies are not uniformly resourced, even though it is a useful beginning as I said, does he consider it as a fair remuneration to the players considering the fact also that in those most deprived areas, they have the widest geographical expanse? So it means that the people there will have to even work harder, and those of them in compact areas.
Does he think given these circumstances, it is a fair way of remunerating them?

Mr. Ampofo

Madam Speaker, I will not say it is fair but what we are doing is to encourage them to also look out for other areas of generating internal resources. And when you go to some of the communities, by encouraging them to set up market centers of their own, they generate revenue from toll collections and several others.
We have also encouraged a number of them to look out for tourist attraction areas where people can go and pay some money and the local communities will retain some of the money to support their Unit Committees. In fact, at the Boti Falls and other areas in the Eastern Region where

they have identified a number of tourist potentials, we encourage them to develop them so that they can attract more people there and also raise more internally generated funds to support these activities.

In other areas where they are doing farming activities and others, they also take market tolls from even transportation of goods and services. These are all revenue that is generated and is used to support the various units Within that area. So, as for fairness, it may not be fair because of one geographical location and some challenges that one would be facing as a result of depravity but that is the best we can do under the circumstances.

Mr. Kyei- Mensah-Bonsu

Madam Speaker, this business of composite budgeting is to comply with article 240 (2) of the 1992 Constitution. That is ensuring that functions, powers and responsibilities and resources are at all times transferred from the Central Government to local government units in a co-ordinated manner. Madam Speaker, so it is to comply the relevant provisions in the Constitution.
Madam Speaker, but the Hon Minister agrees that, given the fact that there are no strong countervailing structures at the local government level, resources that are allocated to the local government units end up, a great proportion of it, being misappropriated and misapplied. And this is borne out by the Auditor-General's Report to this House year in, year out.
Given that fact, would the Hon Minister not consider that it would be more appropriate to have stronger structures at the base level first before allocating more resources to those levels? And would he not consider that given the, fact that it has not been done, channeling more resources would be a prodigal waste of allocating resources to be misapplied and misappropriated?

Mr. Ampofo

Madam Speaker, resources that are allocated to the various units are controlled by the Assemblies and they, have put in structures. The Assemblies have their finance and administrative sub-Committees and other bodies. By law those committees are mandatory committees of the Assemblies that are supposed to do that.
So With the various audit implementation committees, one of the criterion for qualifying is their response to audit queries and how they deal with it. Most Assemblies have failed the FOAT because they were unable to respond to audit queries and account for monies that were collected. By so doing, they lose colossal sums of money. Some lose about 70,000- [Pause.] So Madam Speaker, I am saying that we have put in measures - [Interruption] _

Madam Speaker

Is it a point of order? This is the last Question, otherwise I will have to adjourn all the other Questions. We are getting past one hour.

Madam Speaker, the Upper Manya Krobo District Assembly was created in February, 2008 out of the then Manya Krobo District Assembly. The new Assembly was not provided with seed money by the then Administration which created it.
Madam Speaker, I wish to inform the House that the Upper Manya Krobo District Assembly awarded the construction of a three-storied office complex to Antarctic Construction Works Limited on 6th April, 2011 at a cost of one million, four hundred and ninety-eight thousand, five hundred and eighty-five Ghana Cedis (GH¢1,498,585.00). The office complex is expected to be completed within a period of eighteen (18) months.
Madam Speaker, the Assembly has so far paid mobilization of GH¢ 189,237.75 and work done is 20 percent complete (that is, at the footing level).

Madam Speaker

Hon Member, can we have your three supplementary questions?

So we move on to item number 7. This, Hon Members, would be taken by the Hon First Deputy Speaker. Yes, Hon Members, item number 7 is Data Protection Bill, 2010 and it was at the Consideration Stage. There Was some problem with the last few clauses and that IS why the Hon First Deputy Speaker will come in and finish it.

Mr. First Deputy Speaker

‘Hon Deputy Majority Leader -

Alhaji Pelpuo

Mr. Speaker, we are on item number 7. As you recall, two clauses were not found in the Bill and I am very sure that they are now ready. The Hon Chairman is here, the Hon Minister is here and they will spell them out for us.

Mr. First Deputy Speaker

Clause 96 - [Pause.]

Mr. Avoka

Mr. Speaker, I thought we concluded at clause 96; we took clause
96.

Mr. First Deputy Speaker

Minister for Communications (Alhaji Haruna Iddrisu) (MP)

Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, that notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order 13 1(1) which require that when a bill has passed through the Consideration Stage, the Third Reading thereof shall not be taken until at least twenty-four hours have elapsed, the Motion for the Third Reading of the Data Protection Bill, 2010 may be moved today.

Mr. Joseph Y. Chireh

Mr. Speaker, I beg to second the Motion. Question put and Motion agreed to. Resolved accordingly.

Mr. Avoka

Mr. Speaker, I thought that we could do the Companies (Amendment) Bill but it does not appear the Deputy Attorney-General and Deputy Minister for Justice has come today to prosecute the Bill.
After that one, it is this same Deputy Attorney-General and Deputy Minister for Justice who will be doing items 12 , 13, 14, 15 and even 16. All those are for him.

Mr. First Deputy Speaker

Hon Majority Leader, is it possible to discuss with your Hon Colleagues opposite so that we can take, at least item 10, as there are just two amendments there standing in the name of the Committee? It is not very substantial. I think the House can take it.

Mr. Avoka

Mr. Speaker, the Chairman of the Committee is in the Chamber, if he can give us the green light as to item 10, then we can take those two amendments and progress.

Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim

Yes, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. First Deputy Speaker

Very well, you have the floor.

Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim (NDC-Tain) (on behalf of the Chairman of the Committee)

Mr. Speaker, I beg to support the Motion and in doing so, I beg to present the Committee's Report;
1. Introduction,
The Electronic Transactions (Amendment) Bill, 2011 was laid in Parliament on 21st December, 2011 by the Minister for Communications, Alhaji Haruna Iddrisu and was referred to the Committee on Communications in accordance with article 106 (4) of the Constitution and Orders 125, 179 and 182

Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim (NDC-Tain) (on behalf of the Chairman of the Committee)

of the Standing orders of the House for consideration and report. The Committee having discharged its obligation in respect of the Bill hereby reports as follows:
1.1 Terms of reference The Committee made references to the following documents during its work:
i. The Electronic Transactions Act, 2008 (Act 772).
ii. The 1992 Constitution of the Republic.
iii. The Standing Orders of the House.
1.2 Object of the Bill
The object of the Bill is to amend the Electronic Transactions Act, 2008 (Act 772) to ensure that the registration of companies, partnerships and sole proprietorships can be done by electronic means to conform to the New Companies Bill and to make the automation of the Registrar-General's Department effective.
1.3 Background
The Electronic Transactions Act, 2008 (Act 772) was passed in 2008 and provides for electronic communications and related transactions in the public interest. It ensures the prevention and removal of barriers that affect electronic communications and transactions in Ghana. The Act promotes legal certainty and confidence in the electronic communications and related transactions in Ghana.
The Act applies to electronic transactions and records of every type. It helps to facilitate the use of electronic medium by recognizing the need to provide a framework for the preparation,

processing, storage, transmission and receipt of electronic data in a secured, efficient and trustworthy manner.

Even though the Act provided for and facilitated the use of electronic communications and related transactions, it excluded, under Section 4, certain aspects of documentation or records that at the time were directly regulated under specific regulations.

Section 4 (g) and (h) of the Electronic Transactions Act, 2008 (Act 772) which excludes aspects of documents and records from the scope of electronic transactions and records recognized by the Act states as follows:

This Act does not apply, among others, to:

g) documents required for the registration of a company, partnership or sole proprietorships;

h) the swearing of affidavits or statutory declarations before a Commissioner of Oaths or Notary Public.

Section 4 (g) and (h) above, that deals with documents required for the registration of companies under the Companies Act, 1963 and other laws and the swearing of affidavits and statutory declarations before a Commissioner of Oaths or Notary Public through manual processes, conflicts with the new Companies Bill that seeks to promote the use of ICT and electronic records or documents in the registration of companies to expedite business registrations in the country.

The Bill is therefore to guarantee that the issues connected with these specific areas of registration of companies by electronic means are unambiguously regulated through the amendment of Act

772

Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim (NDC-Tain) (on behalf of the Chairman of the Committee)

1.4 Deliberations
The Committee held a sitting to consider the Bill. The sector Minister and relevant officers of the Ministry attended upon the Committee to assist in the deliberations. The Committee expresses its appreciation to the Minister and his team of experts for their invaluable assistance.
2. Observation
The Committee made the following observations during the consideration of the Bill.
2.1 Business orientation
The Committee observed that the inclusion of Section 4 (g) and (h) of Act 772 was a restraint to the establishment and development of business concerns.
In the era where technological advancement has simplified procedures, processes, documentation and activities involved in establishing and developing business entities with particular reference to business registration, the exclusion of the swearing of statutory declarations before a Commissioner of Oaths or a Notary Public, and documents required for registration of business concerns from the coverage of the Electronic Transactions Act, 2008 (Act 772) was not only inconsistent with emerging global trends but also had the tendency to slow down business registration processes and procedures.
Besides, the Committee observed that this could result in discouraging investment in general as it would make Ghana appear to be an unattractive destination for investment.

2.2 Technology

The Committee observed that the Continued application of the said Section 4 (g) and (h) was disincentive to technological development as it precludes the application of technology to certain statutory declarations and business registration.

Technological revolution has become a driving force behind the development agenda of the world at large.

Restrictions such as those imposed by the continued application of Section 4(g) and (h) were therefore found. To be detrimental to the quest for technological breakthrough in various fields of endeavor.

It was also a disincentive to the creation of the paperless environment in response to the global environmental concerns in the midst of the climate change phenomenon.

2.3 Consistency in legal regime

The Committee observed that certain pieces of legislation including the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2011 provided for the electronic filing and registration of businesses, among others, such as would render Section 4 (g) and (h) of the Electronic Transactions Act, 2008 (Act 772) inconsistent if left unrepealed from the statute books.

3. Proposed amendment Paragraph 3, line 8, substitute comer (",") for "and" and insert "and (i)" after "(h)"

4. Recommendation /conclusion

The Committee taking cognizance of the e-Government project is of the view that the development of application

Alhaji Mohamed Mubarak Muntaka (NDC -Asewase)

Mr. Speaker, I thought the Motion would be seconded to enable us

Mr. First Deputy Speaker

Hon Member, at Second Reading you do not second a Motion. I made this point very clear yesterday.

Alhaji Muntaka

Mr. Speaker, I beg to associate myself with the Motion and urge my Colleagues to support the Report of your Committee. Mr. Speaker, in doing so I just want to draw attention to one very important item which is in your Committee's Report paragraph 2.1.

Mr. Speaker, I do not know what informed the decision to exclude the registration of businesses. We think that the swearing of oath could be excluded. Even though internationally many of these things could be done electronically because of where we find ourselves, it could be excused.-

But on the issue about business registration, Mr. Speaker, I found that to be inconsistent just as the Committee itself has observed that when you want to register a business this one cannot be done electronically, you need to do it physically. I mean that is especially what we are proposing in the Bill. I think we need to look at it because almost every document could be scanned and forwarded.

Mr. Speaker, business registration, the length of time and the bureaucracy involved serve as a great disincentive for people who want to come and do genuine business in our country. You are forced to engage goro boys, people who are not legally supposed to assist you, to enable you get this documentation done quickly.

I think in trying to promulgate a law that will help using technology, we should not exclude the business registration and I want us, to take serious note of this so that when we come to the Consideration Stage, We may have to reconsider this and include business registration. All the documents that are needed are things that you can scan and forward, and all those documents when scanned and forwarded, could be verified from other relevant institutions if we intend to use electronic communication effectively.

Mr Speaker, I want my Hon Colleagues to support the Motion because I think that this is a very good thing that could happen to our country; it will reduce the

[ALHIAJI MUNTAKA].

amount of time spent; it will cut down a lot of cost, it will fast-track a lot of processes that could be done to enhance business and other operations in the country. I thank you Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity.

Mr. First Deputy Speaker

Any other comments?

Dr Matthew O.Prempeh (NPP Manhyia)

Mr. Speaker, I beg to support this Report with a caveat that, excluding business registration electronically, is a bit problematic and I hope by the time we get there, we think through it very, very carefully. In the modern era, everywhere you go, you can register your business electronically.
But I do agree with the Committee that even if you are out to do the business registration electronically, there are certain things that must be in it- Ghana has not developed its infrastructure well to get the computer signature and other things in place to allow this to happen, especially businesses where there are two, three or four companies. You can have business partnerships with other businesses involved, how do they register electronically?
So even though agree that certain bits of the registration of businesses can be done electronically, I think the final completion stage must involve the appearance of certain persons in front of certain things.
Mr. Speaker, we realize that We probably agreed and passed the Data Protection Bill which is very, very important for this Electronic Transactions Bill. But Mr. Speaker, it is even more important now that we are doing a myriad of biometric registrations in this country from Driver, Vehicle and Licensing

Authority (DVLA), Passport Office, National Identification Authority (NIA), Electoral Commission. They are veering even into more dangerous territory with biometric registration. So I think the Minister, even though we have passed the Data Protection Bill, should look at it if we should not elevate it from the Ministry and give it to the Attorney General because it encompasses everything we are going to do in this country very soon. This is because things that are given to one sector to manage is, probably, in this country, not well managed. I can give an example.

Mr. Speaker, in the Food and Drugs Law, we have outlawed the advertisement of certain products electronically in the mass media But because it has not found itself in the National Communications Act or any broadcast information, people are just flouting it and on air you hear all sorts of advertisements which should not happen.

So I would crave the indulgence of the Minister that in setting up a Data Protection Commission to help in this business transaction and everything, we should elevate the Data Protection Commission to a level that it would be able to do its job so that this Electronic Transactions Bill can be applied very well.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Papa Owusu-Ankomah (NPP - Sekondi)

Mr. Speaker, in this modern era, where things are being done electronically, any law that disables the use of electronic means to transact business is inhibiting progress generally. So I believe this Bill is in the right direction.
I am sure when it comes to the Consideration Stage, we would be looking in the details. I am just wondering how one can swear an affidavit or make a

Papa Owusu-Ankomah (NPP - Sekondi)

statutory declaration without the one executing it appearing before the Notary Public or the Commissioner of Oaths. So, we need to deal with these matters comprehensively. I do not know whether in Ghana now, any Notary Public can notarize a document, without the person appearing personally before him to notarize the document. As regards statutory declarations in relation to registration of companies, these things may differ. But the time has come for us to comprehensively look at some of these things.
We are being told now that, because the Companies (Amendment) Bill permits it, this thing needs to be amended. What happens to other existing legislation? So we need to look at some of these matters comprehensively. As the Hon Member for Manhyia (Dr Matthew O.Prempeh) said, this is not the only time where you may find conflicts within legislation. But if we are going electronic, then what we need to do is to ensure that all existing legislations promote electronic transactions so that we do not have conflicts in enactments.
This is one aspect of our legal regime that as a country we do not seem to be considering very well, where various sectors deal with matters relating to their sectors. Also to give another example, now I do not even know whether we have resolved the seeming conflict between the Food and Drugs Board and the Ghana Standards Board. That thing used to exist; I do not know whether it has been resolved now. It was not a legal problem but an administrative one and we also need to look at that.
Having said this, Mr. Speaker, I beg to support the Motion that the Electronic Transactions (Amendment) Bill, 2011 be now read a Second time.

Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Planning (Mr. Seth Terkpeh): Mr. Speaker, I Wish contribute to the discussion on the floor and to state that from a tax perspective and business promotion perspective, this Bill is in the right direction.

Mr. Speaker, indeed, under the e- government project which the Ghana Revenue Authority is launching, the registration of businesses is part of the joint effort that is taking place with the Registrar-General and we are moving towards a situation where the tax authorities are going to be dependent on the Registrar-General for registration, which is a move that also simplifies and improves the business environment for small as well as large entities.

Mr. Speaker, the trend is also in line with the initiative which the Ghana Revenue Authority is launching to encourage businesses to engage in e-filing and e- payment of their taxes. Therefore, as the other contributors have already noted, it is important that the issue at stake is viewed in a broader context from a business promotion perspective as well as the citizens of this country meeting their tax obligation.

Mr. Speaker, with these few words, I wish to support the passage of the Bill.

Mr. Ghartey

Mr. Speaker, arguably, I am the most technologically advanced Member of Parliament- [Laughter] Mr. Speaker, save yourself. In fact, all the books I write, Mr. Speaker, I typeset them, I type them myself, I do not have a secretary, I do not need a secretary. I Skype, I do everything, I am on Facebook, Twitter, anything; you can call it. Mr. Speaker, I am ahead of my time, my classmates are the Steve Jobs, allow me to be a little modest in this regard.
Mr. Speaker, so I think those challenges that the learned Member for Sekondi was talking about, are challenges that we can face. One interesting thing that came up when we were discussing the Companies (Amendment) Bill was that there was a provision there that said that both the electronic and the manual will run side by side. There were some indications that after five years, the manual should stop running.
I wonder whether much as we intend to move this process forward, we do not intend to disfranchise certain people by taking away the manual. This is because

Mr. Kwabena O. Darko-Mensah (NPP - Takoradi)

Mr. Speaker, I beg to support the amendment being put forward by the Select Committee on Communications. Mr. Speaker, I believe that we need to support this amendment for the simple reason that the world is becoming a global village and we cannot continue to be outside the kind of transaction that helps companies and countries to be able to compete effectively. '
Mr. Speaker, when you take the issue of electronic transactions in this country, not until even the Nigerian banks came into Ghana, Ghanaian banks were not effectively engaged in electronic transactions.
Today, even when somebody goes to your account and picks money, you are notified of how much is left in your account and that helps you manage the accounts you have been doing.
Mr. Speaker, I also do believe that if you go to other advanced countries like the United States of America (USA), you do not need to physically go to the Registrar- General's Department to check on companies that are doing business with you.
Today, they even have what we call the Better Business Bureaus where all information on companies are online and therefore, if you wanted to do due diligence, you just have to go to the Registrar-General's Website where the databases are being kept.

Hon Joe Ghartey has also made mention of the fact that, when they were doing the computerization of the Registrar General's Department, they were planning that over five years, manual systems will stop. But we all know what has happened. When it became internal, it became very difficult for the district and the regional Registrar-General Departments to function. This is because every time there was a system breakdown.

Today, we have GCNet which has been awarded this contract to manage these processes. I believe that since it is a public private partnership, these processes will be better handled than they were handled before.

As a country, we still do not have a permanent payment gateway. Mr. Speaker, I do believe that in trying to amend these laws and Bills, we should be able to ensure that Ghana has a permanent payment gateway so that more Ghanaians can transact and complete their transactions online.

Today, we have what is called the I- wallet being developed by a private company. A lot of the banks in Ghana still do not issue even credit cards and therefore, if you even have to get a credit card in Ghana today, you eventually have to either go to Ecobank or GT Bank.

The rest of the banks like Commercial, UBA and the rest do not have it. Therefore, if you have a bank like Ghana Commercial Bank that is widely spread across the country, where a lot of Ghanaians are banked, they do not even have this access to ensure that they can transact business online.

I believe that in amending this law, We should be making sure that the processes are well put in place such that Ghanaians can transact business and finalize those businesses online.

With these few words, I would like to add my support to the amendment.

Mr. First Deputy Speaker

Last Contribution, Hon K. T. Hammond.

Well, to the extent that it is not going to render it obtuse, obsolete and completely irrelevant, then I probably do not have that much of a difficulty. This is because if it is going to exist side by side the old one and if you want this - and those who cannot even go through Skype, the Hon Member does not even know what Skype involves [Laughter]- To that extend, Mr. Speaker, I am constrained to accept if that is what they Want.
But if the suggestion is that it is going to be done away with altogether, then I am afraid, no. This is because I heard some suggestion that Within the next five years or so, they are going to do away with this.
My uncle is a notary public, he is a Commissioner of Oath, they do the

stamping and all that, licensed writer, are you going to put him out of business or what? It is not fair.

Mr. Speaker, I will give you some information. Some parts of London, the one mile square radius, the Lloyd Insurance area, there is a particular law which has ancient antiquity, it is about shipping. Some documents would never ever be allowed to be done electronically. [An Hon Member: that is London]- What do you mean by that is London? London is the center of the economic world so what are you talking about?

So what are you talking about? Mr. Speaker, I am happy if the suggestion is that, well, they are not intending to do away with it altogether. But those who are electronically savvy could opt to operate by that means and those of us who, as I said, have our brains engaged in older technology, we can go by the technology as we know it now. I have no difficulty, but at least, that was what troubled me.

Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to make my words heard this morning.

PRAYERS

VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS

MINISTRY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT