Debates of 12 Mar 2013

MR SPEAKER
PRAYERS 10:25 a.m.
ANNOUNCEMENTS 10:25 a.m.
OFFICE OF PARLIAMENT 10:25 a.m.
STATE HOUSE 10:25 a.m.
OSU-ACCRA 10:25 a.m.
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC 10:25 a.m.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 10:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker 10:25 a.m.
We start with the Votes and Proceedings of Friday, 8th March,
2013.
Page 1 . . . 5 --
Mr Kingsley Aboagye-Gyedu 10:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, my name is, “Kingsley Aboagye- Gyedu”, Member of Parliament for Bibiani- Anhwiaso-Bekwai but I have been marked absent.
Mr Speaker 10:25 a.m.
Very well. But we have not reached page 6.
Mr Aboagye-Gyedu 10:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, first page.
Mr Speaker 10:25 a.m.
What number?
Page 6 --
MrAboagye-Gyedu 10:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, it is supposed to be number 3.
Mr Speaker 10:25 a.m.
You should be marked among those who were present? Very well.
Ms Rosemund C. Abrah 10:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, please, number 3 is erroneously printed “13” and 4, “14”.
Mr Speaker 10:25 a.m.
Which page are you referring to?
Ms Abrah 10:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, page 3 and page 4. On my sheet that I am holding, the inscription for page 3 is “13” and that for page 4 is “14”; 5 is correctly written but on mine, it is “13”, “14” instead of pages 3 and 4.
Mr Speaker 10:25 a.m.
Very well.

Hon Members, the Votes and Proceedings of Friday, 8th March, 2013 as corrected are hereby adopted as the true record of proceedings.

Hon Members, we also have the Official Report of Thursday, 7th March, 2013, for correction.
Mr Habibu T. Mohammad 10:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, column 1286, last paragraph, line 4, it should read this way: “Which require that no Motion shall be debated until at least.” We add the “d”.
Mr Speaker 10:25 a.m.
Any other correction?
Hon Members, the Official Report of 7th March, 2013 as corrected is hereby adopted as the true record of proceedings.
Mr William A. Quaittoo 10:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I was up but you did not recognise me. There is a mistake somewhere.
On column 1289, third paragraph, “Mr Debrah served as a member of the Ghana Tourist Development Company Limited from 2009 to 2012 -- Ghana Tourist Board Authority. . .” Is it “Ghana Tourist Board” or “Ghana Tourist Authority””? I think one should be out.
Mr Speaker 10:25 a.m.
Hon Member, we will look at the Committee's Report.
Mr Quaittoo 10:25 a.m.
I think the right name is “Ghana Tourism Authority”.
Mr Speaker 10:25 a.m.
Well, it is a question of what the Committee reported. That is a Committees Report. So, I will direct the Clerks-at-the-Table to look at the Committee's Report and have it properly captured in the Hansard.
Hon Members, the Official Report of Thursday, 7th March, 2013 subject to the correction, is hereby adopted.
Hon Members, I would not take any Statement today.
PAPERS 10:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker 10:35 a.m.
Hon Members, item number 5.
Hon Majority Leader, who is starting the debate?
Dr Benjamin B. Kunbuor 10:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, well, as custom normally demands, the Minister for Finance moved the Motion and it is expected that the Minority will second the Motion and possibly kick-start the debate but that will depend very much on Mr Speaker's indulgence.
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 10:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, yes. The Motion is not really seconded. The debate just follows as far as I am aware, according to the procedure of this House. If there should be any seconder, I believe it may probably be the Chairman of the Finance Committee. But certainly, it is not seconded by practice of the House. The debate just ensues. I am sure the Hon Majority Leader --
Dr Kunbuor 10:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, very well. We thought that -- we have two sides of the House and to be fair, we thought that the Ranking Member or any other Member could kick-start. But if that opportunity is given to the Majority, we would like to proceed.
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 10:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am sure the Minority is ever ready, except that when he talked about seconding the Motion -- no. The Minority definitely does not second the Government's Motion. It is not the business of the House, it is the business of Government. But I am sure the Ranking Member is able, willing and ready to kick-start the debate.
Mr Speaker 10:35 a.m.
Hon Members, I raised the issue because we keep on trying to second or not second it. But my understanding of Standing Order 140 (3) is a specific provision relating to financial procedure and it might not need secondment. I do not know. I think we have to settle this rule once and for all. There are some people who hold the view that it must be seconded.
Indeed, if it has to be seconded, then the debate must start from the Majority side as the Hon Member for Sekondi has stated. But if it does not need secondment, then we can start from the Minority side. I would want to hear from the Hon Member for Sekondi.
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 10:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, generally, the Standing Orders provide that every Motion shall be seconded. But where the Orders specifically state a procedure, the general rule does not apply. This is because if you look at and with your permission, Mr Speaker, I beg to quote Standing Order 140 (3):
“Whenever a motion “That this House approves the financial policy of the Government for the year
ending . . . 19. . .” has been moved by the Minister responsible for Finance, the debate on it . . .”
Mr Speaker 10:35 a.m.
Hon Members, you know that some time ago, reference was made to Standing Order 81, which says:
“Unless otherwise provided in these Orders . . .”
So, that is the one that has been provided
-- 10:35 a.m.
Dr Kunbuor 10:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, yes. That is why I said the issue was not as clear as the Order seems to suggest. You cannot make a separation between seconding a Motion and then getting involved in the debate. This is because there is also the procedure in which in the process of actually seconding a Motion, you can initiate debate if it is a substantive Motion.
But I am saying we would want to be guided by what the House thinks is the most convenient one in relation to financial statement. But nothing debars us from proceeding to second the Motion and then go ahead with the debate. Nothing prevents us from deciding that we would not second --
Mr Speaker 10:35 a.m.
I agree with you. In fact, we have nothing to lose by seconding the Motion.
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 10:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, if a thing brakes, you do not attempt to fix it. What the Hon Majority Leader is saying may well be true, but then one would wonder, if the Motion has not been seconded, it is not ripe for debate. But the Standing Orders specifically state that immediately after the Motion has been moved, the debate is suspended for not less than three days.
Mr Speaker 10:35 a.m.
After the three days that we have come to debate, do we second it? That is the issue.
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 10:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am saying that if the Standing Orders specifically require that it be seconded, it would have been so stated. This is because if a Motion has not been seconded, then it is not a Motion that is ripe for debate. So, where the Standing Orders specifically state that the debate shall stand adjourned for not less than three days, it presupposes, impliedly, that there is no need to second the Motion. Other than that, immediately after the Motion has been moved by the Minister for Finance, it would have to be seconded. But never have we seconded the --
Mr Speaker 10:35 a.m.
In fact, we did on one or two occasions. I have looked at the precedence and we have seconded it. But apart from those two occasions, we have not been seconding these Motions.
Mr Dominic B. A. Nitiwul 10:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would suggest that we follow the precedence and get the Ranking Member of the Finance Committee to kick-start the debate. This is because, clearly, we are at the debate now, so, if we kick-start the debate, it would help all of us.
Dr Kunbuor 10:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, as the House grows, it is important that when you get across such issues, you clear them with a ruling once and for all. That is why we were of the view that if Order 81 is read together with Order 140 (3), it would
show clearly that we would have to proceed under Order 81. This is because Order 140 (3) does not decide that they cannot be seconded. It simply says, it stands adjourned, and there is no reference whatsoever to the fact that, that Motion, which is a substantive one, should not be seconded.
But I am saying it is subject to Mr Speaker -- If Mr Speaker thinks that we should continue to proceed on these financial matters without a secondment, we can proceed. Mr Speaker, I am not holding too fast into coercing anybody to second the Motion.
Mr Nitiwul 10:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I think I made a proposal for the way forward. But if the Hon Majority Leader thinks that we should read Orders 81 and 140 (3), clearly, in our convention here in the House, when a Motion is moved by a Minister, it is seconded by the Majority. So, we would ask the Majority to second the Motion and let us kick-start the debate, if that is the way they want it.
Mr Speaker 10:35 a.m.
Hon Members, I have decided that it should be seconded. So, whoever is going to speak next, whether from the Majority or Minority side, may have to second the Motion.
Dr Anthony A. Osei 10:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I know you have ruled. But I think that if you take our practice over the years -- you have been here longer than me; I have been here not too long, but every time when we read the budget, it was never seconded by the Minority then. So, I think following your ruling, it would follow that the Chairman of the Committee on the Majority side ought to second it, start the debate and we will continue.
Dr Kunbuor 10:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I think we have to be guided by the official records. I do remember when I was the Ranking Member of the Finance Committee in 2007, that I did second that particular Motion and then commenced the debate. It was at that point that we ran into a difficulty whether the debate had actually commenced or not in relation to that. And I remember-- We can cross-check from the official record to see what happened.
But I am amenable to the fact that we can get the Chairman of the Committee to start.
MOTIONS 10:45 a.m.
Chairman of the Finance Committee (Mr James K. Avedzi) 10:45 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion, that this Honourable House approves the Financial Policy of Government of Ghana for the year ending 31st December, 2013.
Mr Speaker, this Motion was moved by the Finance Minister, Hon Seth E. Terkpeh. The Motion was moved on the 5th March, 2013.
Mr Speaker, in seconding the Motion, I would like to begin by saying that Ghana has achieved macroeconomic stability and growth on the basis of strong, real and external performance. This performance include low rate of inflation, build-up of substantial foreign exchange reserves and relative stability of the local currency.
Mr Speaker, GDP growth rate from 2008 to 2012 averaged around 7 per cent but in 2008, the growth was 8.4 per cent, dropped to 4 per cent in 2009 and again picked up to 8 per cent in 2010 and 14.4 per cent in 2011 due to the production of oil which began in 2011. By September, 2012, the growth was 7.1 per cent. Mr Speaker, it is anticipated the economy will grow between 8.5 per cent and 9 per cent at the end of 2012 when the final GDP estimates are updated in April this year.
Mr Speaker, even the 7.1 per cent as at September, 2012, is still a very high performance, given the performance of the global economy which is only 3.2 per cent. The growth of 7.1 per cent is more than double the performance in the global sector. Mr Speaker, if you come to the sub-Saharan Africa, the average performance is 4.8 per cent. Again, the performance of Ghana, which is 7.1 per cent as at September, 2012, was more than the average of the sub-Saharan African Region by a figure of 48 per cent.
Mr Speaker, the 7.1 growth per cent in 2012 by September, came up as a result of the growth of the three sectors of the economy, the first one being the agricultural sector which grew by 2.6 per cent from a growth of 0.8 per cent in 2011. Mr Speaker, this is a good performance. If the sector grew by only 0.8 per cent in 2011 and in 2012 by September, this figure was more than double 2.6 per cent; it means that the Government is putting in place measures and policies that will arrest the fall in growth of the sector.
Mr Speaker, if you come to the industry sector, the growth was 7 per cent; here it was a drop from a figure of 41.1 per cent. So, this is an indication for us to look at what is happening in the industry sector, what is the sub-sector of industry that is pulling the figure to drop from 41.1 per cent in 2011 to a figure of 7 per cent in September, 2012.
Mr Speaker, the service sector has been growing over the years. In 2011, it grew by 8.3 per cent and by September, 2012, it grew by 8.8 per cent. Mr. Speaker, if you come to the fiscal sector, talking about revenue and expenditure, it was clear from the Budget Statement that there was a shortage in the revenue generation, that the budgeted figure for tax on domestic revenue was not achieved. Therefore, there was a difference of GH¢259.2 million.
Again, what we should think about in this area is -- are we overestimating the revenue generation or there are people who are supposed to pay their taxes and they are not paying them? This is an area that as a Government, as a country, we have to focus. I am happy that along the line, which I will come to later, the Finance Minister has identified areas where effort will be made in order to collect more revenue from taxes and other sources.
Mr Speaker, one of the reasons for the shortage again was the shortage in terms of grants from our development partners, which was about GH¢389.4 million, about 0.5 per cent of our GDP. There was also a shortage in corporate taxes of GH¢708.2 million -- 1 per cent of GDP that was not collected from the petroleum sector. Mr Speaker, I have over-heard people ask, was Government not aware that they will not be able to collect that amount yet they budgeted for it?
Mr Speaker, Government was aware that the petroleum sector must be taxed and the Income Tax Law, Act 592 must be amended in order to take care of the petroleum sector and the Government, during the course of the year, did submit to this House, a Bill to amend the Income Tax Law. This was taken through the committee stage but the House was not able to approve this before it was adjourned.
Papa Owusu Ankomah 10:45 a.m.
On a point of order.
Mr Speaker, I believe the Hon Chairman may unwittingly be misleading the House. He says the Bill could not be taken because the House was adjourned. I do not really believe that the Bill was not taken because the House was adjourned. The House was dissolved by effluxion of time. It was not as if the Bill was brought before the House and the House decided to adjourn and so, the Bill could not be taken.
The Bill was Government's business. If it considered it a priority, Government should have ensured that the House dealt with it. The Hon Chairman must not mislead the House.
Mr Avedzi 10:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I think that my senior Colleague is telling me here that whenever a Bill is presented to Parliament, Government should come and twist the hands of Parliament to work on it -- [Hear! Hear!] Mr Speaker, the Government submitted the Bill to Parliament, it was the duty of Parliament to pass that Bill into law, which Parliament failed to do -- [Hear! Hear!]
Mr Speaker, we should not blame Government for not doing that.
Mr Speaker, I thank you very much and I thank the Hon Colleague for the intervention.
Mr Speaker, another area of concern under the fiscal sector is government expenditure. The budget for the year was GH¢21.5 billion. The actual expenditure was GH¢25.3 billion, a difference of GH¢3.7
Mr Avedzi 10:55 a.m.


billion. This over-expenditure was due to the following reasons as was given to us in the Budget Statement.

Mr Speaker, there was a higher current expenditure and an increase in the clearance of arrears. Definitely, if there are arrears, Government must pay. So, in clearing these arrears, definitely, the recurrent expenditure would increase.

Mr Speaker, there was also another area which must be a concern to all of us, which is the higher level of personal emolument. The Single Spine Salary Scheme contributed about 2.7 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as over expenditure.

Again, there was an issue whether Government was not aware that it was going to spend that money and for that matter, to budget for it. I think that was explained by the Minister for Finance, that the initial programme for the implemen-tation of the single spine programme was for a five-year period. But it had to be implemented within two years. So, definitely, there were payments of arrears.

When Government is owing you in arrears and you do not want Government to spread this money over five years, you want the money within a year, definitely, Government would overspend in that area.

So, over-expenditure of GH¢1.9 billion also contributed to the over-expenditure that we have in the 2012 Budget.

Mr Speaker, there was also the area of utility and subsidy. Again, when Government is paying for goods that you and I must pay for, then definitely, Government would over-spend. So, if Government is taking the subsidy, and which I believe, people even do not want Government to leave the subsidy -- Even

the recent increase in petroleum products, Government was blamed for that. Mr Speaker, it is one of the areas that Government has over-spent and therefore, if we do not want to complain that Government is over-spending, then we should be willing to accept to pay and not for Government to take over the payment of subsidy.

But as consumers, we should be prepared to pay realistic price. Then, we can blame Government if it is over- spending.

Mr Speaker, there are other areas where Government over spent -- like higher interest cost, where about GH¢245million, which is about 0.3 per cent of GDP was spent.

Another area of over-expenditure was goods and services to the tune of GH¢354.7 million.

Mr Speaker, if you combine the revenue and the expenditure for 2012, there was overall fiscal balance of GH¢8.6 billion, which must be financed either through external or internal -- In 2012, the domestic financing amounted to GH¢7 billion.

Mr Speaker, what we should find out again, is that, the fiscal sector, the monetary sector -- What is happening in the monetary sector? We all know the issue about inflation; that for a period of more than 30 months, the headline inflation went up marginally from 8.6 per cent in 2011 to 8.8 per cent in 2012. All in single digit column. This is good news for us as a country --
Mr Speaker 10:55 a.m.
You have two minutes more.
Mr Avedzi 10:55 a.m.
We have been able to contain the inflation in a single digit, so, the private sector must take advantage of this in order to ensure that they plan and
expand their businesses to create more jobs for the youth.
Mr Speaker, one good thing about the budget, which I am happy with, is the programmes and the plans of the Minister to increase revenue and reduce expenditure. If we have deficit all the time, it means that our evpenditure exceeds the revenue.
To correct that, we either maintain the revenue and reduce the expenditure drastically, or we increase the revenue and maintain the expenditure or do both. Increase revenue and expenditure but the rate of increase of revenue must be higher than that of the expenditure. Then, we will be correcting the deficit problem that we have.
So, the measure the Government is putting in place to reduce expenditure and then increase our revenue through the introduction of revenue Bills that would be coming, the Tax Administration Bill that would be coming --
Mr Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Hon Member, your time is up.
Mr Avedzi 10:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, just to conclude by saying that this Bill that the Hon Minister is bringing in, must come to the House early for us to work on in order to ensure that we get more revenue for Government, so that Government can run and reduce the deficit that we have in
2012.
Dr Anthony A. Osei (NPP -- Old Tafo) 10:55 a.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to contribute to the Motion, that this Honourable House approves the Financial Policy of the Government of Ghana for the fiscal year ending, 31st December, 2013.
Mr Speaker, as I was going to a programme at the British Council, I happened to be reading the newspapers, and before I read it, I was smiling -- [Interruptions.] Mr Speaker, before I read it, I would want my Hon Colleagues on the other side of the House to see it. It says -- “Ghana's economy poor.”
Mr Speaker, let me just quote something that I liked about the article and it is coming from the President -- [Interruptions.] Mr Speaker, I am aware that Hon Colleagues on the other side of the House are not ready to learn but I will not let that bother me. Mr Speaker, the President is reported to have said and I beg to quote:
“One of the things that we want to do is to be transparent in putting out the numbers and letting Ghanaians know that this is what the state of our economy is.”
Alhaji Amadu B. Sorogho 10:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I think that everybody here is an Hon Member of Parliament, but for my Hon Brother to get up and say that it seems we on this side of the House are not ready to learn-- It is completely -- He is my senior and he knows that very well -- I do not know how he has been able to enter into our minds and brains, sitting here and drawing a conclusion-- our students are here.
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Hon Member for Old Tafo, did you make that statement?
Dr A. A. Osei 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, when I am speaking and he has not even heard what I am saying, and he is heckling me, it means he does not want to learn. [Interruption.]
Dr A. A. Osei 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you. But in fairness, you should also tell them to comport themselves.
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Hon Member, withdraw that and continue.
Dr A. A. Osei 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, which one?
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Have you withdrawn it ?
Dr A. A. Osei 11:05 a.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Very well. Continue.
Dr A. A. Osei 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, when I was contributing to the budget debate last year, I raised two issues and I intend to raise them again.
Last year, at that time, I invited Madam Speaker to give a ruling. This year, I am not inviting you to give a ruling but I am drawing your attention to it because these are serious matters for the very existence of this House.
The first one relates to non-compliance with an Act.
The second relates to a blatant breach of the Constitution. We, as Members of Parliament, cannot sit here and allow this to happen. The Petroleum Revenue Management Act is very clear what the Minister must do. This is why when the Paper was being laid, I asked the question -- The Paper this time-- thankfully, and I have already commended the Minister for it-- was laid by the Leader of Government Business but it is not in full compliance with the Act.
This is because the Act specifically states that it must come with audited accounts. Mr Speaker, the statement in the Report said that at the time of bringing the Report, the accounts were not ready. Either the Auditor-General is not doing his job or he did his job but we have not
complied. We, as Members of Parliament- - this has nothing to do with politics. If anybody does not comply with an Act, we must be seen to make sure that they do the proper thing. So, even though I am commending the Hon Minister for bringing the Report, I think that we should take note, and you, as the Speaker, I am sure, will lead us to correct this thing before we pass the budget.
The second thing relates to the breach of article 179 (8). When my Chairman was speaking, he made note to it but he gave the wrong figure. Parliament has a role in passing the budget by passing the Appropriation Bill. The Act imposes a ceiling on spending by Government. He mentioned the figure 21 something, it is not. The figure is 22. something, so says the Minister. If you want me to, I will refer you to the page.
Nevertheless, the total Appropriation Act and the supplementary budget was 22. something. Lo and behold, this Government spent over GH¢25 billion -- billion. Mr Speaker, the excess over spending is GH¢2.8 billion. This poses a very serious challenge to us as Members of Parliament.

Mr James K. Avedzi — rose —
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Hon Member, do you have a point of order?
Mr Avedzi 11:05 a.m.
Exactly so, Mr Speaker.
My point of order is on the over expenditure the Hon Ranking Member of the Finance Committee is talking about. I hold in my hand, 2009 Financial Budget Statement. The Budget Statement usually talks about the actual outturn for the previous years. Now, if you look at page 303 of the 2009 Budget, it talked about 2008 Budget Estimates, which is 7.1 billion
—
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Hon Member, what is your point of order?
Mr Avedzi 11:05 a.m.
My point is —
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
You see, a point of order- - What did he say that you are objecting to? Go straight to the point, do not argue the point. What is your point of order?
Mr Avedzi 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, my point of order is that in 2008, the Government also over-spent. [Interruption.] The budget was 7.1 billion and they spent 9.5 billion. I have it here.
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Hon Member, my understanding of his point is that, the issue of over-expenditure is something that happens always. That is the point that he is making.
Continue.
Dr Kunbuor — rose —
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Hon Majority Leader, what is your —
Dr Kunbuor 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I guess that the Chairman of the Committee was raising the point of order in relation to the peculiar nature of the over expenditure. [Interruption.] Wait, listen. [Interrup- tion.] Let me explain to you.
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Hon Majority Leader, the point is that, he is making a point of over- expenditure. The reason I called the Chairman was that he made reference to him when he was making his submission, when he got to “over expenditure”. The Chairman got up to say that it is nothing peculiar to 2012. He has explained it.
Any other debate on this issue, whether it is a breach of the Constitution or there is a breach of a certain Act, it is a matter of argument. So, that one will be taken properly when the debate continues.
So, Hon Majority Leader, I will call you at the appropriate time, so that you can respond to those issues.
Dr Kunbuor 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, very well.
Dr A. A. Osei 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I wish you had taken note of this time. The reference he made to 2012, he gave a certain figure “21. something” and I was correcting him that the figure is 22.5. Because he said the over-spending was 3.8 and it is not. That is the only reason I made reference to it.
Thank you -- I have said that this is an important matter —
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
The point is that, was there over expenditure in 2008? That is the point.
Dr A. A. Osei 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, with respect, I did not mention 2008, he did not mention it either, so, how could it have come in?
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Hon Member, he men- tioned 2008. I heard him mention 2008.
Hon Members, this is a very important point, the issue of deficit. This is because I have been in this House for a very long time. This House must device means of addressing this issue. I have looked at almost all the budgets of all the Governments since we came into constitutional rule and the issue of deficit
Dr A. A. Osei 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, in any case, what we are talking about is not the deficit. The deficit was 8.7. We are talking about expenditures over and above Appropriation Act and that is different from a deficit. Nevertheless, as I have said, I wish to invite you as the Speaker to help us as a Parliament, to deal with this matter.
I would want to delve into some aspects of the budget, which will throw some light on the current fiscal crisis that our dear nation is faced with. Once the President has admitted that we are in a crisis, I think he said that we ought to know the facts.
To be honest, I will not be able to cover all the issues that are contained in the budget, including the rising public debts, the high interest rates, those who are fleeing the private sector, the high cost of living, the filth in our urban areas, the amounts owed by TOR, et cetera. I would want to focus on a specific area, that is the fiscal situation, which in my view, is at the root cause of our problem.
The Chairman, when he was talking, tried to proffer arguments why things did not happen. I would want to draw our minds to a particular date and you will see that that is where the problem started.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister came to this House on 18th July, 2012, if you recall, to bring a supplementary budget. You put it in context, the first half of the year, Government had had a programme with the IMF. On 13th July, the IMF approved that programme. After 18th July, 2013, everything went haywire. This is what I called “Usain Bolt” spending. The way

But there are two issues that-- first of all, he refers to the idea of revenue over estimation. I have said that there are competent people in the Ministry of Finance, so, I do not doubt their capacity to forecast but this has been consistent over the years.

On 18th July, 2013, the Hon Minister came here, what did he say? “I have revised revenues upwards by 1.3 Billion”. All right. How?” I am going to bring a law to bring tax profits on mining.”

The law was never promulgated. So when he came here on 18th July, there was no legislation and it was obvious that that money was not going to come. Mr Speaker, that law itself, when he came and said that, “oh, revenue losses were GH¢708.00 million”. And in July, he was expecting GH¢700.00 million -- This was a mere coincidence and he calls that by chance? It is not by chance.

Mr Speaker, that same day on 18th July, he said donor partners were going to give us GH¢393.7 million more money. So, what happened between August and Decem- ber? --
Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Hon Member, you have two minutes more.
rose rose
Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Hon Members, this morning, I have decided that all the Ranking Members are taking 10 minutes each but he would take 15 minutes, and then they agreed that he and the Hon Chairman of the Committee take 15 minutes

each and the rest will take 10 minutes each. I gave him 15 minutes and I gave the Chairman 15 minutes. Apart from that all the Ranking Members will not take more than 10 minutes.

Hon Member, you have two minutes remaining.
Mr Nitiwul 11:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I thought we had a gentleman agreement before we came here and so, when he was speaking, I was actually looking at his time -- [Interruption] -- He started, by my own watch, ten minutes to eleven and by ten minutes after eleven, you would cut him.
So, I was satisfied that the 20 minutes gentleman agreement was all right. And you also said that if it is not the fault of the Member speaking, that the interruptions are coming, you would not count it, and it was not his fault that they were doing that -- [Interruption] -- And it took at least, five minutes for the Hon Member --
Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Hon Member, you saw that when the Hon Majority Leader got up, I did not allow him to make his point because I did not want him to eat into the time of the Ranking Member. That was why I did not allow the Majority Leader to make the point that he wanted to make. I have given 15 minutes, and he started at -- Fortunately for me, I am not the only person keeping the time, I am keeping the time with the Clerks-at-the-Table.
I am not the only person keeping the time and I am working with the Clerks-at- the-Table with regard to the time.
Hon Ranking Member of the Finance Committee, continue.
Dr A. A. Osei 11:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I was told by my Leadership that I had 20 minutes,
so, I have been working with that assumption. But if the Speaker, so rules, so be it.
Mr Speaker, let me go to one area of over expenditure that occurs --
Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
This is not a matter of ruling, it is a matter of how minutes you have spent -- [Laughter.]
Dr A. A. Osei 11:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker, you normally meet with our Leadership and they communicate to us. I am saying that my Leader communicated to me that I would have 20 minutes.
Mr Speaker, let me go into this area of over-spending, which is becoming a serious canker. Mr Speaker, information available to us tells us that in 2009, over- spending by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) was only GH¢300 million. By 2010, it had gone to GH¢800 million and in 2012, the latest information is GH¢1.8 billion.
Mr Speaker, for the benefit of the Select Committees, let me give you a list of MDAs which have over spent.
I will start from the lowest to the highest: Ministry of the Interior -- GH¢19 million, Ministry of Health -- GH¢27 million, Ministry of Education -- GH¢46 million, Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology -- GH¢60 million, Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs -- GH¢200 million, Ministry of Roads and Highways -- GH¢270 million, Ministry of Youth and Sports -- GH¢350 million -- [Uproar] -- Mr Speaker, Office of the President -- GH¢654 million.
Mr Speaker, this is GH¢1.8 billion and the excess expenditure was GH¢2.8 million, and that represents 64 per cent. Mr Speaker, this is very serious. We, as a Parliament, are supposed to control this.
Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Hon Member, conclude; your time is up.
Dr A. A. Osei 11:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker, since you want me to conclude, I would want to conclude on the programme for 2013.
Mr Speaker, tough times are ahead. For the Government to achieve the deficit target of 9 per cent, it would have to cut expenditure by at least, GH¢3 billion. No question about that. My only concern is, where is it going to come from? Is it the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection budget, Ministry of Education or the Ministry of Health?
Mr Speaker, already, we know fuel prices are going up. I am sure by the time we approve this budget, utility tariffs would go up. Mr Speaker, we must sit, as we go through the budget, to determine where the cuts are going to be coming from because if we make a mistake, we are all in trouble. I think that Parliament should focus on the difficulties. It is not
because Government wanted to underestimate it, it is indiscipline on the part of MDAs and we cannot stop them. If we do not, we would become irrelevant.
Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Hon Members, before we proceed further, I want to draw the House's attention to the Business Statement that the House, as a House, adopted. I am not a member of the Business Committee. The Business Committee brought a proposal to this House last Friday, which was adopted and it stated:
“Rt Hon Speaker, the Committee recommends the following time allotments for Hon Members to make their contributions:
i. Leadership/Chairpersons/Ranking Members -- 10 minutes
ii. Other Hon Members -- 5 minutes.”
I decided to use my discretion and I discussed it with the Hon Member, that he, being the Ranking Member and speaking for his side on the budget, he should be given more than the 10 minutes and that was when we agreed on the 15 minutes. Otherwise, if we went strictly by what the House brought and which was adopted, he should have spent only 10 minutes. I want this to be put on record.
Dr A. A. Osei 11:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I cannot disagree with you. My point was that my Leadership this morning, informed me that the agreed time --
Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
In fact, the 20 minutes came. I even raised the issue that you must do more than the 10 minutes, in my view -- speaking for your side on the
budget, you must be given more time. As the lead speaker on the budget from your side, you must be given more than the 10 minutes. I raised the issue but the compromise we reached before leaving the House, was 15 minutes.
Dr Kunbuor 11:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker, this is exactly the context in which I was inviting the Ranking Member on Finance to actually second the Motion and be able to take advantage of the adjustment outside the Business Committee's Report that was adopted.
But we agreed actually on 15 minutes. So, I am not sure that Leadership would have conveyed to him that he was entitled to 20 minutes. We actually agreed on 15 minutes outside the Business Committee's Report. Just for purposes of the record.
Mr Dan Botwe 11:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would have thought that based on the discussions we had with you this morning, maybe, we did not have to bring it to the Chamber. But Mr Speaker, you would recall that right from the onset, you said that because the Hon Dr Akoto Osei would be leading our discussion, you were very sure that he certainly would be speaking up to about 20 minutes and that was what was communicated to him.
But Mr Speaker, I think the most important thing was your decision, that as much as possible, we were not going to encourage unnecessary points of order, and if the Hon Member speaking did not generate it. then you were going to give that person more time. That was why I thought that considering the about two or three points of order raised especially the one by the Majority Leader, which you overruled, he was going to get more time.
But it looks as if that has been subtracted from his time. In my view, that is the point of the issue.
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
In fact, I have added everything. Hon Members, we now move to Hon Essilfie --
Mr Gabriel K. Essilfie (NDC -- Shama) 11:25 a.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute to the Motion to approve the Financial Policy of the Government of Ghana for the year ending December 31st, 2013.

Mr Speaker, for years, just as you rightly said, since we entered into the Fourth Republican Constitution, we, as a Parliament, have always been approving budgets that are in deficit. Every blessed year, when budgets are presented to us, they are presented with deficit spending, and we, as a people, the representatives of the people, approve them.

But now, Mr Speaker, today, because of the size of the budget deficit, we are all talking about it as if it has never happened.
Dr A. A. Osei 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, my Hon good Friend is grossly misleading this House.
There are two issues here and he cannot confuse the two -- spending above the Appropriation Act and having a deficit, are two separate issues. There is no law that says that you cannot have deficit spending. But there is a law that
Mr Essilfie 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I was going to get to exactly what his point of order was. [Interruption.]
Mr Speaker, I was talking about deficit; I was not talking about spending over the amount appropriated just as he has rightly mentioned.
rose
Mr Essilfie 11:25 a.m.
Now, my rhetoric --[In- terruption.]
Dr A. A. Osei 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, people have short memories. If there is a supplemen- tary budget, you have to add it to the Appropriations Act earlier. Mr Speaker, it is as simple as that. And then the appropriation of the supplementary comes the following financial year. Mr Speaker, he should know that. I know he is an accountant from America, but he should understand Ghana's budget. [Interruption.]
Mr Essilfie 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, my point is, when I came to this House in 2009, I never heard my Hon Good Friend on the opposite side getting up to ask Parliament to question why the NPP Administration spent 2.4 billion over the amount appropriated -- [Interruption.]
rose
Mr Essilfie 11:25 a.m.
So, why is it that today he is saying that Government has over- spent, over and above the amount appropriated and therefore, it is a violation? A violation in 2008 is a violation in 2012; you cannot change the goal posts in the middle of the game --
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
A point of order, Hon Deputy Minority Leader?
Mr Nitiwul 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member is grossly misleading this House.
The NPP Administration never spent in excess of Appropriation. There were two -- [Interruption] -- Listen to me. Go and ask for the supplementary budget ceilings and you would realise that what you are referring to as the excess spending, was captured in the Appropriation Act. That is what we are saying -- [No! No!] -- So, please, go and look at the supplementary budget. So Mr Speaker, I would want to let him know that it is wrong, that spending was captured in the supplementary budget.
Unless you can point out that the supplementary budget was not captured, then you can talk about it.
Mr Speaker, he is misleading this House. The 2.4 billion was captured in the supplementary budget, so, there was no over-spending when you combine the supplementary budget and the budget itself.
Mr Essilfie 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I think I would like to leave it there because the point is well made -- [Interruption] -- that indeed, the supplementary budget figures are added to come to the final figures and these are the final figures. If he does not know, I am telling him. [Hear! Hear!]
Mr Speaker, but let us come to the most important aspect of my debate. Too bottom line is, as a nation, we have always
been spending in deficit. But Mr Speaker, how do we correct it? How we correct it are the very things that this budget has enumerated at paragraph 156, page 7 of the Budget Statement.
Mr Speaker, we need to have fiscal discipline, fiscal controls, but most importantly, we have to raise more revenue and until we raise enough revenue in this country, we would continue wallowing in deficits and deficits and deficits.

Several Hon Members -- rose --
Mr Essilfie 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, it is very clear that the only way since our needs in this nation are more than the income or the revenue we raise, the only way this country can have a balanced budget or a surplus budget, is to curtail expenditure, which we cannot do. This is because our people need those services. So, the only other way is to increase revenue mobilisation through taxation.
As a House, now that the chicken has come home to roost, let us make sure, while we are discussing this, we take the bull by the horn, and indeed, support the Minister for Finance to bring about tax reforms --
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Hon Member, your time is up.
Mr Essilfie 11:25 a.m.
Tax reforms which will help bring in more revenue for us to balance the budget.
Mr Speaker, on this note, I thank you.
Mr Nitiwul 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would use your time. I am saying that I am happy that at least, now, the second speaker has been given ten minutes, even including all the interventions. So, the standard has now been set, we can move on from there.
Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah (NPP -- New Juaben South) 11:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Motion of the House, to move the Financial Statement of the Government for the year ending 31st December, 2013. On the cover of the budget is: “The Budget Statement and Economic Policy.” Mr Speaker, instead of presenting a job creation budget, we were presented with a job scaling budget. [Hear! Hear!]
The prudent management of the economy that was seen between 2001 and 2008 under President Kufuor's leadership, has given way to excessive borrowing, increasing national debt stock, reckless spending and payment of dubious judgment debts.
Meanwhile, Mr Speaker, Ghanaians face high unemployment and rising cost of living. As a matter of fact, for the first time in Ghana's history, there is an association of unemployed graduates. Mr Speaker, the international rating agency, Fitch ratings, has revised the outlook of Ghana's long-term foreign and local currency issues default ratings from stable to negatives.
What this means is that, the cost of borrowing is going to go up for the Government. Simply put, Mr Speaker, the economy is in a mess. 2012 was a year of mixed targets. In the budget presented
Dr Kunbuor 11:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I think the Hon Member is misleading this House.
The reason is that, I know a large number of Ghanaians that owe more than GH¢500,000.00. I even know a number of Ghanaians who owe GH¢1million. So to say that all Ghanaians owe at this rate, is not accurate.
Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Hon Members, I hope you should get the point the Majority Leader is making.
Hon Member, continue.
DrAssibey-Yeboah 11:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the 248 per cent increase in the debt does not even include the CDB Chinese loan. Mr Speaker, why must my 10-month old son at home be saddled with this debt even before he starts walking? As of 2008, the GDP deficit was nine per cent and Ghana was classified as HIPC. In 2012, the deficit was 12 per cent and we are coming to 9 per cent in 2013. So, without doubt, Mr Speaker, Ghana is again a HIPC country.
Mr Speaker, let me talk about the West African Monetary Zone and their convergence criterion. We are supposed to have a single currency, the ECO by January 1, 2015. All our neighbours are performing well. As a matter of fact, Liberia had a budget surplus in 2012. Nigeria reduced their deficit to 2.17; Sierra Leone also did better. Ghana had a deficit of 12 per cent.
My question is, are they more West African than us; what is it that they are doing that we cannot replicate? Mr Speaker, we missed all the convergence criteria; the only one that my Hon Colleagues would talk about that we met, is the single digit inflation.
Let me address that single digit inflation hoax. That single digit inflation is a hoax. Mr Speaker, there are established relationships in economics. If you have low inflation, there has to be attendant low interest rates, low cost of
living, stable current. It is only Mills and Mahama's Ghana that you have a single digit inflation and the cost of borrowing is at 22.9 per cent.
Mr Seth E. Terkpeh 11:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, on a point of order.
The correlation which the Hon Member is speaking about is not accurate. If you go back between late 2009 and early 2012, there is a correlation which is quite clear between the interest rates, the fall in inflation and -- It was when we started using interest rates as a measure to correct the economy that that correlation was misplaced.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 11:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I think the intervention by the Hon Minister was totally unnecessary. I have in my hands here Mr Speaker -- [Interruption.] In 2010, the rate of inflation was 8.6 per cent, the treasury bill rate was 12.3 per cent. Inflation has only inched up by 0.2 to 8.8 and the Government itself is borrowing at 22.9 per cent. Do you call this a correlation? [Interruption.]
Mr Speaker, where did we go wrong? It seems as though we are blessed but cursed with poor management. [Hear! Hear!] For the first time, we are an oil exporter. Mr Speaker, our major exports have seen record prices on the world market but all this windfall has not benefited the Ghanaian people. In any case, I would prescribe some solutions to the Hon Minister.
Mr Speaker, the Minister, please, limit the fiscal deficits, reduce the spending; all that spending on Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) and the creation of unnecessary Ministries, tell the President to cut them.
Mr Speaker 11:45 a.m.
Hon Fifi Kwetey.
Minister of State (Mr Franklin Fifi F. Kwetey )(MP) 11:45 a.m.
Thank you very much -- [Uproar.]
Mr Speaker 11:45 a.m.
Hon Members, let us have order in the House.
Mr Kwetey 11:45 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would want to support the Motion ably moved by the Hon Minister for Finance, Hon Seth Terkpeh, asking that this Honourable House approves the Financial Policy of the Government of Ghana for the year ending 31st December, 2013.
Mr Speaker, in doing so, I wish first and foremost, to commend our Hon Friends on the other side for finally coming to the level where they can appreciate that we have a legitimate President for this country, which legitimate President has a Finance Minister that has been vetted dutifully and has presented this Budget Estimate for our discussion today -- [Uproar.] I wish to commend them for finally coming to that realisation.
Mr Speaker, I wish to say that far from creating the impression that this country is on the brink of disaster, we actually are talking about a country that in spite of difficulties that we may be having now, continues to show a path of sustainable growth, continues to be an icon for other countries as far as economic management is concerned.
Mr Kwetey 11:45 a.m.
Mr Speaker, four years ago, around this time, we had a deficit in old basis of 14.5 per cent; in the new basis, it stood at about 8.5 per cent. But it is not -- [Interruption.] Mr Speaker, it is not simply an issue of the numbers. If it were simply an issue of numbers, we actually would not have made the noises.

Mr Speaker, we are talking about an economy that even though in 2008, saw growth in the region of about 8.4 per cent, brought in its wake a lot of difficulties, some of which brought about what we call “high non-performing loans” in our banking sector. Non-performing loans in our banking sector went to as high as 21, 22 per cent in our history over the last four years.
Dr A. A. Osei 11:45 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr Speaker, I was trying to catch your eye.
It looks like my Good Friend, Hon Fifi Kwetey, cannot tell the difference between import cover and billions of reserves. Mr Speaker, he said US$1.8 billion; that is factually incorrect. He meant 1.8 months of import cover. The dollar amount was way over US$2 billion; that is the difference.
Mr Kwetey 11:45 a.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much.
The truth of the matter is this, that we had months of import cover below two months of cover; the dollar amount was not way beyond the US$2 billion as he claimed; that is not the truth. That is verifiable, can be ascertained, Mr Speaker.
But the point I made is this, that over the last four years, in spite of the fact that we may be having high deficits at the end of 2012, we are looking at, as we speak, our reserves stand in the region of US$5.5 billion and that is by no means a small achievement for a country that has gone through the difficulty that we went through last year.
rose
Mr Kwetey 11:45 a.m.
In 2011, it actually went up at an unprecedented level --
Mr Speaker 11:45 a.m.
Hon Member, do you have a point of order?
Mr Opare-Ansah 11:45 a.m.
Exactly so, Mr Speaker. The Hon Minister of State mentioned in this Chamber that the
reserves as 2008 was US$1.8 million. The Hon Ranking Member --
Mr Speaker 11:45 a.m.
Hon Member, the Hon Akoto Osei has made that point and he also has responded. I am not taking any argument because all of you are not putting any document or you are not quoting any source for me to make any ruling. So Hon Members, let us continue the debate. Please, let him continue the debate.
Mr Kwetey 11:45 a.m.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker, the deficit situation at the end of 2012 is worrying and nobody should run away from that difficulty. But the difference is this, that we are looking at a situation that clearly can be explained; a situation that clearly we have been able to give you the exact reasons that deficit is the way it is. Any country that goes on a situation where on yearly basis, your public sector wage has moved up from about 2.5 billion annually to a region of about 7.5 billion annually, you obviously would have difficulty with deficit.

In a situation where in the final year of 2012, we did not only have to contend with that high, what you call increase in public sector wage; we also had to deal with arrears that originally there were agreements on, that we were going to pay

over a period of five years, and so, we had to pay all that within the short space of two years. That obviously, would cause difficulty to every country.

But, Mr Speaker, the most important thing is not the deficit. The deficit in 2008 was high; the deficit in 2012 was high but the difference has to do with the fundamentals of the economy. In 2009, the deficit brought about huge serious problems to our inflation, to the currency depreciation, the cedi depreciated in 2009, three per cent every single month from January to June. This year -- [Interruption.] It was their fault.

It was the fault of the NPP, because the depreciation did not just start in January. Mr Speaker, the depreciation actually started in the last four to five months of 2008 and continued into the sixth month of 2009. As a result of the prudent management of the economy, we were able to bring that problem to a halt until the year 2012 when we had diffiulties.

The deficit may be high today but just as we have been able to tackle very masterfully, the issue of depreciation of the currency, just as we were able to bring the cedi back into stability, brought
Mr Kwetey 11:45 a.m.


Mr Speaker, let me actually go on to the issue of revenue. We needed as a country, to have a collective resolve to dealing especially with the vast revenues that are available within the informal sector of our economy. For many decades, we have all paid lip- service to the fact that a lot of revenues remain uncollected within the non-formal economy. But we need as a group and across the political divide, come together and find out how we can tackle this problem once and for all.

The final thing I would say and that actually I am transcending the partisanship. I would want actually for us after 20 years of this political cycle, together, to find how it is we can do whatever we can to reduce the extent to which politicking affects us in election years. In 2008, the same problem was there; in 2012, it emerged again. We can continue to play the ostrich to feed but it would continue haunting us and affecting the develop-ment of our country --
Mr Speaker 11:45 a.m.
Hon Minister, your time is up.
Mr Kwetey 11:55 a.m.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.

Dr Richard W. Anane (NPP -- Nhyiaeso) Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to associate with the Motion.

Mr Speaker, I would want to say a few words on the National Health Insurance
Mr Kwetey 11:55 a.m.


bearers were no longer to be entertained. Three, cash and carry was back. Mr Speaker, you would have found that we assign certain reasons to some of these emerging problems under our true State of the Nation Address. Under that Address what we wanted to point out was that, the healthcare provider had not been paid since August last year, which is about eight months now.

Mr Speaker, the National Health Insurance Authority owed the Christian Health Association of Ghana Health Institutions alone, GH¢50 million, which translates into 500 billion old cedis.

Mr Speaker, the healthcare has been thrown under huge indebtedness to the banks and thence were in distress. These were what we pointed out in our true State of the Nation Address, even when it is that indebted and that is not less than GH¢210 million, which also translates into 2.1 trillion old cedis.

Mr Speaker, the NHIA under the urging of Government, has contracted huge loans from banking institutions and mortgaged its expected accruals and investment to this indebtedness.

This is where I say we must tackle this matter on a bipartisan basis. Both of us from both sides must take it up and push the Ministry of Finance to appreciate the need to ensure that statutory funds are transferred to the institutions for them to work.

Mr Speaker, the National Health Insurance (NHI) Law which was passed last year and assented to, has deepened the Kufuor free maternal and childcare under the NHIS. All expectant mothers as well as all children by the NDC Manifesto too as well as the 71 beneficiary house- holds are all going to be automatically

enrolled. This brings unto the Health Insurance Authority a burden and therefore, the Fund is going to find problems in managing this situation.

But Government, in its consideration for the need for an upward adjustment of the National Health Insurance Levy, Mr Speaker -- and this can be referred to from paragraph 690 of page 170 of the 2013 Budget Statement -- did not find the above as a paramount reason for an increase in the National Health Insurance Levy.

Government was trying to push for other reasons, but Mr Speaker, we believe that the need to put all expectant mothers, to put all children and also to put all beneficiaries of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) would constitute about 71,000 --
Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
Hon Member, your time is up.
Dr Anane 12:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, yes, I would want to conclude. But Mr Speaker --
Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
Your time is up. Your last sentence --
Dr Anane 12:05 p.m.
My last two sentences, Mr Speaker, will be on maternal health and the fake drugs.
Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
No! Hon Member, you know nobody intervened you and no point of order was raised. So --
Dr Anane 12:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, our mothers are dying, our wives are dying and there is the need for us to take good care of them. [Interruptions.] But what do we find? The importation of fake drugs, and the fake drugs which have been imported Mr Speaker, are drugs such as oxytocin
and ergometrine, drugs which are needed to ensure that bleeding or hemorrhage in maternal postpartum hemorrhage as well as pre-partum hemorrhage are controlled. [Interruption.] Mr Speaker, this provides a very serious condition and the Government must take a very deep look and ensure that we do not go through such of these problems.
Well, Mr Speaker, with these few words and with my inability to conclude what I want to say, I would want to say a big thank you for giving me the opportunity to associate with the Motion.
Alhaji Amadu B. Sorogho (NDC -- Madina) 12:05 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the Motion on floor.
Mr Speaker, before I go to my main contributions, I would also want to take this opportunity to thank my Brothers, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament, who are watching me and to tell them that I am happy that they themselves have realised they missed a lot during the debate.
Mr Speaker, I am using part of my time, you can count it. I choose to do what I want to use my time for.
Mr Speaker, looking at the contributions and the interjections, I know that they have regretted staying away from the vetting of the President's nominees to become Ministers -- [Hear! Hear!] They have regretted staying away from the debate of the State of the Nation Address which heralded in this budget that we are discussing [Interruptions] - - I know that they have regretted, they have decided to make amends. But they should take their time; they would be given the opportunity. I am happy that they have come back and they are with us.
Mr Nitiwul 12:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, on a point of order.
Mr Speaker, I actually wanted to cede to my Hon Colleague but I did not catch your eye.
Mr Speaker, I would want to let my Hon Colleague know that the Minority side of the House took the decision and we have not regretted, even a bit of it -- [Interruptions] -- Even a single bit of it. So, please, the Hon Member should be informed that we took the decision on principle and we stand by that principle. [Hear! Hear!]
Alhaji Sorogho 12:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, if you want to grow cocoa, you plant and apply fertilizer and when it is time for you to water it, you refuse, but sit in your house and crocodiles, grasscutters and ants take over -- when you want to come back, you do not say that you are on principle. The principle is that you should continue, because this is the budget of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana. [Hear! Hear!] This budget is being presented -- [Interruption]
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 12:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, on a point of order.
Mr Speaker, I refer you to Standing Order 93 (4), which states that 12:05 p.m.


Mr Speaker, we are debating the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government, “planting”, “crocodiles”, and “cocoa farms” Mr Speaker, I would want you to rule him out of order.
Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
I think he is happy to see you here and taking part in the debate. [Laughter.]
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 12:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we have always been here.
Alhaji Sorogho 12:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member has always tried to be here and so -- but I am talking seriously -- this is part of the budget. Before they even agree to debate, they must agree to the legitimacy -- [Interruption.]
rose
Alhaji Sorogho 12:05 p.m.
Hon Botwe, what is your problem? They are counting my ten minutes. So, what is your problem?
Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
Hon Member for Madina, address the Chair.
Alhaji Sorogho 12:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, this year's budget, 2013 Budget, I would want to talk about the strong and resilient economy. Mr Speaker, if you watch the private sector, this morning, for the first time in the history of Ghana. Ghanaians were given the opportunity to contribute towards this budget. In the conference room, Mr Speaker, it was telecast live and you can understand the contributions that came in from Ghanaians appreciating this budget.

We owe more than that. So, if we sit here and only cry for somebody who owes only GH¢1,600, that is serious. [Interruptions.] Mr Speaker, the Government of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) borrowed to acquire assets that would increase employment in Ghana, assets that would grow the economy, it is not a liability -- [Interup- tion.]
Mr Daniel Botwe 12:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, on a point of order.
Mr Speaker, we can understand the strategy His Excellency the President is using in order to determine those who would become Deputy Ministers. [Interruptions.] Therefore, it is likely people may want to catch --
Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
Hon Member, under our rules, you cannot impute improper motive to an Hon Member. You are imputing an improper motive. So, please, make your point.
Mr Botwe 12:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, under our rules, if I have been allowed to finish with my statement -- But I am saying that, I was just drawing the House's attention to the fact that His Excellency the President is using some strategy and it seems to be working. That is my observation.
Alhaji Sorogho 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would want to emphasize that even the United States of America goes round the world borrowing. The most important thing is, if you borrow, do you borrow to invest in areas that would promote your economy? Yes. You do not borrow to pay salaries as they did. You borrow to develop the infrastructure and that is what we are doing.
For the first term, Mr Speaker, this is the Government that knows where the deficits came from and it is prepared to take measures to correct them.
Mr Speaker, I want to state that this morning, as I was entering here, this letter was delivered to me and it contained the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre Bill.
It is coming to Parliament. Mr Speaker, at the end of it, you will see what this Bill is coming to do --
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Member, you cannot anticipate a Bill; make your contribution -- [Interruptions].
Alhaji Sorogho 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I know the strategy that they are adopting. They have missed the debate. So, they want to do everything today. Unfortunately, it does not work that way. They cannot go back and roll time.
But Mr Speaker, what I want to say is that, the economy is in gear, the Government is focused, the President knows what it is doing and they themselves know within themselves that, this is the Government that they must support.
The deficit that came, measures have been put to address it -- [interruptions] -- Measures are contained in the budget. They should go and read them. Mr Speaker, because they are not interested, they did not even read -- they should go and read and know what it tells them --
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Member, your time is up.
Alhaji Sorogho 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, on this note, I would want to implore all of them to give the President and the NDC the support, so that we can deliver the goods.
Thank you very much.
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Collins Ntim.
Mr Collins Ntim 12:15 p.m.
Thank you Mr Speaker -- [Interruptions.] Mr Speaker, I am yielding.
Mr Joe Ghartey 12:15 p.m.
All right, Mr Speaker, he has yielded to me. Mr Speaker, my comment -- [Interruptions.]
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Member, I am the only one who decides who should speak on this floor.
Mr Joe Ghartey 12:15 p.m.
But he has yielded to me.
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Member, please, you are my Deputy -- [Interruptions.] Hon Member, it is in your interest that you do not take part in this debate because there is a likelihood that you will Chair these proceedings. It is not-- [Interruptions.]
An Hon Member 12:15 p.m.
So now your Deputy does not know his rights, Mr Speaker?
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Make your point.
Mr Joe Ghartey 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, with respect, I will not take part in the debate. I would not do that.
I am just appealing to Members of Parliament that these days, unfortunately for us, we received as a Parliament, a lot of bashing from the public. It is our responsibility -- I know you are concerned about it -- that as we argue, we say things that will uphold the dignity of Parliament and so, I was just pointing out to the Hon Member that this statement, I know he made it in jest, that people owe over five hundred million.
I know that for us as Members of Parliament to leave it in the air -- So, who owes five hundred million -- Mr Speaker, so, I was just appealing -- It was an appeal -- that as we speak on this debate, we do not say things which will bring the dignity of Members of Parliament into disrepute. That is my appeal.
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Second Deputy Speaker, I agree with you 100 per cent. But also, I want to say that both sides of the House are guilty.
Hon Members, this is a matter that should be taken at Closed Sitting of the House. You heard the Hon Member shouting through the microphone on the floor of the House this morning --You saw it this morning and everybody was
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.


quiet. You saw an Hon Member clapping, which is against the rules of the House, but everybody was quiet. I saw all these things but kept quiet. The truth of the matter is that, what we all do not know is that, the whole world is watching each and everyone of us here.

Hon Collins Ntim, you have the floor.
MR FIRST DEPUTY SPEAKER
Mr Augustine Collins Ntim (NPP-- Offinso North) 12:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity given me to contribute to the debate on the Budget Statement and the Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana for the 2013 fiscal year.
Mr Speaker, Hon Members who contributed earlier, have dwelt extensively on the fiscal policies and the macroeconomic dimensions of the budget, so I will want to limit myself to the health issues.
Mr Speaker, the ultimate goal of the health sector, is to ensure a healthy and productive population capable of contributing to the socioeconomic development and wealth creation.
To achieve this, Mr Speaker, the health sector policies of the 2013 Budget Statement may be analysed under three main thematic areas. One, bridging the equity gap in access to quality healthcare and nutrition service, two, ensuring sustainable financial arrangement and protect the poor and the vulnerable and three, strengthening efficiency in the health service delivery.
Mr Speaker, on the issue of bridging the equity gap and access to primary healthcare and nutrition, the 2013 Budget Statement as captured in paragraph 686 proposes to construct 450 functional Community Health (Based) Planning
Services (CHPS) zones based on the population to community health nursing officer ratio. Mr Speaker, that is just a mere rhetoric because CHPS zones are just geographical earmarking of a number of communities into zones for convenience of health and administrative workers and that in itself will not bring any significant improvement in the primary healthcare delivery. The poor and the vulnerable of Ghanaians will continue to be unable to access quality healthcare.
Mr Speaker, what is relevant is the construction and operationalization of community based improvement com- compounds and CHPS zones. Mr Speaker, I think that it is about time that the Ministry of Health gave a clear definition between CHPS zones and the CHPS compounds. Mr Speaker, in the 2010 Budget Statement, proposals were made to construct and make functional 450 CHPS compounds in the rural areas to give meaning and bridge equity gap in access to healthcare.
Mr Speaker, as we speak now, after two years, just 20 of them have been completed and made functional. This clearly shows the lack of commitment on the part of the NDC Government towards the provision of quality and affordable healthcare to Ghanaians particularly the rural folks.
Mr Speaker, between 2001 and 2008, when the New Patriotic Party was in power, a number of health interventions were introduced to improve upon the access and the quality of healthcare. Some of the major interventions within that period included the implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme, the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the National Ambulance Services, expansion programmes including the promotion of private sector participation in training of doctors, pharmacists, herbal medical practitioners, physician assistants, midwives, nurses and so forth.
Mr Speaker, in addition to the above interventions, the Kufuor Administration also introduced free maternal and child care and the school feeding policies, which went a long way to provide real access to quality healthcare to Ghanaians. Mr Speaker, on the issue of pre-emergency health care services as captured in paragraph 680 of the 2013 Budget Statement, 161 ambulances were procured and 28 new ambulance stations were also opened.
But Mr Speaker, the procurement of ambulanaces per se will not significantly bring improvement in the pre-emergency healthcare delivery unless it is linked with a comprehensive manpower training programme to operationalize it. But Mr Speaker, the budget as presented to this House, is very silent on it.
Mr Speaker, on the much touted one- time premium payment policy in 2008, the NDC then in opposition made so much noise about the so-called one time premium payment policy. I believe, Mr Speaker, every Ghanaian now knows that it was a mere propaganda machinery manufactured to deceive Ghanaians for their votes because as it is now, the one- time payment premium policy is a total fiasco and all the Hon Members here seated will attest to that fact.
Mr Speaker, in conclusion, it is obvious that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Government has failed totally when it comes to providing quality healthcare to Ghanaians. They have virtually collapsed the “Kufuor's National Health Insurance” which came to reduce the health burden of Ghanaians.
Alhaji Muntaka 12:25 p.m.
On a point of order.
Mr Speaker, I have been on my feet for some time now, unfortunately, you were not paying attention.
Mr Speaker, my Hon Colleague is grossly misleading this House. He has made emphatic statements that he knows himself, are not accurate. One; he said that, provision of ambulances without provision of manpower training. He knows the institute that has been set up for training of personnel for the ambulance services in his own constituency.
He says that the current Government has completely collapsed the “Kufuor's Health Insurance”. We do not have any thing in this country called “Kufuor's Health Insurance”. To his information, he has been a member of the Health Committee for the past four years; he knows, even by just this budget Statement, the number of interventions that have been made to the National Health Insurance that even brought the law itself for review in this House just to strengthen the National Health Insurance.
So, he should stop misleading the general public; we have a lot of students here; he should stop misleading them. He should speak to the Budget Statement and not deviating and creating more controversies.
Mr Ntim 12:25 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would not want to speak to what the former Chairman of the Health Committee said. That because he himself knows that the National Ambulance Service is struggling to have some amount of monies earmarked for the operations of the Service. He himself is aware of that. That has not been done and the budget is silent on that. That is what we are talking about.

Mr Speaker, the international world is watching us, the NDC Government wants to carry false message across that the National Health Insurance is not limping. Mr Speaker, I would like to refer this House to a study conducted by the World Bank in November last year and I beg to quote:

“The National Health Insurance Authority has serious structural and operational inefficiencies and it is on a purgatory to go bankrupt as early as 2013.”

Mr Speaker, that is what we are seeing; that is what is happening.

Again, Mr Speaker, the National Health Authority's own strategic document for 2011 and 2014 attests to that and if I may quote, Mr Speaker, from paragraph 512;

“The deficits of GH¢239 million takes into consideration amount of GH¢93.6 million representing 20 per cent cut in the expected Regional Health Insurance Authority --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:25 p.m.
Hon Member, you have one minute to go.
Mr Ntim 12:25 p.m.
Mr Speaker, 2011 earmarked for social interventions -- Mr Speaker, what is more important, a social intervention than a National Health Insurance.
Mr Speaker, finally, the one time premium policy is a total failure and it is said -- on arrival, it was exceedingly a political propaganda.
Mr Speaker, the creation of the functional CHIPS zones is just bogus and needs a clear definition --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:25 p.m.
Hon Member, your time is up.
Hon Murtala Muhammed Ibrahim.
Mr Murtala M. Ibrahim (NDC -- Nanton) 12:25 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I rise to support the Motion, that this House approves the Financial Policy of the Government for the year ending 2013.
Mr Speaker, I would want to quickly say that, if there has ever been any reckless spending in this country as my Hon Colleague indicated, then we should remind ourselves of buying gold ornaments to put on the necks of people who are party cronies and to some extent, Ministers the President himself sacked for non- performing. If there has ever been any reckless spending, then buying of the gold ornaments to hang on the necks of people their President sacked.
Mr Speaker, the good thing about this budget is that, we know where we are, we know the reasons we have this budget deficit of 12.1 per cent. Permit me, Mr Speaker, the 12.1 per cent was calculated on the basis of 14.4 per cent. Mr Speaker, the good thing about this budget is that, His Excellency the President indicated when he had the State of the Nation Address, the challenges facing us and admitted as a President that he had sleepless nights.
At least, he did not tell Ghanaians that they are lazy. That is why they do not have jobs, just as we had experienced in 2008. At least, he respected the good people of Ghana and he never attributed the challenges that they faced to the fact that they are lazy. I think that these are some of the things that we have to look at.
Mr Isaac Osei 12:25 p.m.
Mr Speaker, Hon Dr Akoto has not spoken today, therefore, the Hon Member should not mention his name. Hon Dr Osei was the one who spoke and not Dr Akoto. Get the names right.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:25 p.m.
I think the point is well taken.
Mr M. M. Ibrahim 12:25 p.m.
He is called Dr Akoto Osei, so, if I say “Akoto”, the fact that -- it is interesting.
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 12:25 p.m.
On a point of order.
Thank you Mr Speaker, for recognising me.
Mr Speaker, I believe that it is time that we reminded ourselves of the rules of debate of this House. Order 86 (3) says; and with your permission, I beg to read:
“Minsters shall be referred to by their Ministerial titles. The Deputy Speakers and the Deputy Ministers shall be referred to by the names of the offices held by them. All other Members shall be referred to as “Honourable” together with the name of their constituencies, that is, “the Hon Member for …”, where an Honourable Member has already been so described in a speech he may be further referred to as “My Honourable Friend” or “The Honouable Gentleman, Lady or Member”.
Mr Speaker, there is a good reason for this, so that we do not confuse names and also when we make comments, it does not appear as if we are alluding to people personally -- it helps us.
Mr M. M. Ibrahim 12:25 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I think that I would take that advice in good faith and more so when the Hon Member is
nearing becoming the “Mugabe” of the House, it is appropriate that such pieces of advice come from him.
But the point still stands that, I challenge the Minority side of the House to provide us with any documentary proof that the presidency had an excess spending of GH¢600 million. It is absolutely not true.
Mr Speaker, I indicated that we have been able to explain to the good people of this country the reasons we are where we are. Indeed, if you compare the growth of the economy by 7.1 per cent vis-à-vis the growth of the economy globally or sub-Saharan Africa, you cannot tell me that this economy is not doing well. Except that there is an understanding of economy that some of us do not know.
The last time I checked the very principles that we used in analysing economic figures in this country, are the same principles my Brothers and Sisters on the other side of the House are also using.
Again, under this Government, we have been told today that inflation is nothing, when we know that inflation was one of the cardinal principles of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in eight years, the extent to which their flagbearer in the 2008 Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) debate used the reduction of the inflation as the basis to justify how well the economy was managed under the NPP.
Today, we are told that if there is a reduction in inflation, it is nothing. This is because people do not see the reflection of the reductions in businesses. But I think that we need to appreciate one point. If you have projects like “the gang of six” but you did not have a definite source of funding, yet you expected the NDC
Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu 12:35 p.m.
On a point of order.
Mr Speaker, I think it would be very, very good for all of us to begin to mention figures and do things that are consistent with principles of economics. In 2009, a growth rate of 8.4 per cent was so bad for the economy of this country.
Today, a growth rate of 7.1 per cent, we should hail and praise it; what is the principle behind this? Mr Speaker, not only that, my Hon Colleague who is on the floor is comparing apples with mangoes. Nobody here should attempt to compare budget deficit of 13.4 per cent of the old series to 9.12 per cent on the new series. They are incomparable. So, my Colleague should correct himself; I do not need to correct him.
Mr Alfred K. Agbesi 12:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I think when we take objection to a contribution by Hon Members, then we have to get the facts for which we are challenging other people's figures. The Hon Member who has just spoken, took objection to the figures mentioned by the Hon Member who was on the floor. I expected that he would have brought the supporting documents to prove his
challenge to the Hon Member, but he also spoke from his mind. It made the condition unclear for us to go on with this debate. I woul expect that we support our arguments with valid points, so that we can know what we are talking about.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Hon Members, I would want us to bring this segment of the debate to a close and allow the contributor to go ahead with his presentation. I think that is the best way forward.
Mr M. M. Ibrahim 12:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I think that I would inform my Senior Hon Colleague that the IMF World Economic Outlook indicated clearly -- January 2013, the rate at which the economic globally grew in 2012 and the rate at which in sub- Saharan Africa grew. Clearly, 7.1 per cent, if you look at the projection, in fact -- the contribution of oil is negative. I think that the facts are very clear.
It is not my responsibility to do the research and give to my Hon Member to know what the facts are; it is his responsibility as a Member of Parliament to do that because we are here to debate and this is economics.
Mr Speaker, I will proceed. The other point has to do with the fact that when we reached the completion stage of Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC), naturally, the kind of grants we were supposed to get as a nation, certainly reduced. Therefore, if you project -- and there is one thing that Hon Members must understand -- a budget statement is just nothing but projections. But people create the impression as if when you project, you must automatically be able to achieve the projections.
In which year have we been able? I think that one good thing about the deficit that we have, has to do with the fact that the expenditure is huge. I listened to the Head of Economics Department from the University of Ghana —
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Hon Member, you have one minute left.
Mr M. M. Ibrahim 12:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, on Joy FM somewhere last two weeks, he said that if you move round the country, you would see massive infrastructural development, when indeed, in that contribution, he was making allusion, he was indeed, providing an antidote how we can reduce the deficit.
He said that, when you move round the country, you would see massive infrastructural development, therefore, Government can reduce that. We are where we are; part of the reasons have to do with the fact that as a political party, take our 2008 Manifesto, we fulfilled over 80 per cent of the promises in the Manifesto.
If you look around the universities that we have provided, the two universities that we have provided, and we are yet to provide another university in your flagbearer's hometown and the fact that we have been able to reduce schools under trees with school blocks, the fact that indeed, we have provided tractors for SADA, we have indeed, improved some of the social interventions of this Government, it would only take — Someone who cannot see to say that nothing is happening.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Hon Member, your time is up. Your time is up.
The next to have the floor is Hon Irene Naa Torshie.
Mrs Irene Naa Torshie Addo (NPP -- Tema West) 12:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this debate.
The budget that is before us in my estimation, is empty �keke .
This budget does not give hope to women and children of this country. If you look at the number of pages the sector that deals directly with gender,
children and social protection covers, it shows you that this Government really has no plans and programmes for women and children of this country. When you look through the entire budget and listen to what have been said so far, you would see that it looks like the “cash and carry” system is back. There are inadequate health facilities, fake drugs issue on the market has not properly been dealt with and the women and children are dying.
It is all right that the Ministry has been allocated GH¢38,596, 470.00 . Indeed, they should have been allocated more than that for programmes that would benefit the women and children and the vulnerable in this country. What do we see here? In paragraph 670, it would say:
“The Ministry will complete the selection of award of scholarships to 466 girls from poor households”
It will complete. Where has it got to that it will be completing and what is the ratio of 466 poor girls to the number of constituencies we have?

Mr George Loh — rose —
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Hon Member, are you up on a point of order?
Mr George Loh 12:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, yes. When the Hon Member started speaking, she held the budget and said it was empty. Then she started reading from it; mine has got words in it. [Laughter.]
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Hon Naa Torshie, please, proceed with your presentation.
Mrs Addo 12:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, if the intention was to take me out of line, I would assure him that I am walking on the path of righteousness. [Laughter]
Mr Speaker, what ratio is that to our constituencies and who determines who a poor girl, child is? What is the criterion? What the Ministry has been doing over the years and is still going to do, is to look for 466 girl-children to sponsor on scholarships. This cannot be what this Ministry has been sent there to do. If they want to do scholarships, let us see something that would mean something to all of us to approve.
We do agree that, that sector must be adequately funded but the problems that should come up should not be ones that would let everybody keep laughing. We are told that they are going to continue to be drafting the Domestic Violence Legislative Instrument. Everything under gender and children is, “we will continue”, “we will continue”, “we will continue”.
Is it the process of continuation that needs the GH¢38 million or what programmes does the sector have? Any government that loves its people would realise that the women and children of this country form over 50 per cent. Indeed, if we add children, then I believe that we are way above 60 per cent to 70 per cent.

Mr Speaker, there are more schools under trees. So, I am not sure what they mean by they have brought it down drastically. Bringing a thing down drastically is in itself argumentative.

Where was it and where did they bring it? How many more children are out there? What plans do they have for women and children and what special emphasis do they have for the girl-child? A budget that comes into a country, I believe, is to give hope to the citizenry and this budget, with the greatest of respect, does not give me hope.

This budget does not speak to the needs of the women and children and the vulnerable in this country. Indeed, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor, in his time, separated the Ministries and put the “social protection” on another side, so that it could be well attended to -- [Interrup- tion] -- But His Excellenciey the President, in his wisdom, has added it to that of the Ministry of Gender and Children.

I would have expected that in so doing, there would have been a lot of money put into that sector and that there would be programmes to show the needy and the vulnerable people, the women and children out there, that this Government cares.

Mr Speaker, if you look through the budget from the energy sector to the education sector, to the sector that works with water, all the way, you would see that this is a budget that has been done not to alleviate poverty in any way but rather to lead us into a path of doom.

Mr Speaker, I am not at all impressed with the budget put before me. There is nothing in there for gender, children and social protection. One cannot tell me that they would keep on formulating laws and policies and the formulation of those laws which was started a few years ago, is what they still need GH¢38 million for. Mr Speaker, I wish to ask the Ministry of Finance to do something about this.

The sector Ministry should come up with programmes that would let the supporters know that we care for them. There is no ibi keke in this country with this budget; there is no ibi keke. This budget is hopeless keke.
Mrs Della Sowah (NDC -- Kpando) 12:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I rise to support the Motion moved by the Hon Minister for Finance and urge this Honourable House to forget about all politicking and massively approve the budget -- [Hear! Hear!]
Mr Speaker, I would want to comment on two aspects in the Budget Statement and the first is the single digit inflation rate that has been achieved. I heard one Hon Member this morning say it is a cooked figure but I would want to say that the West African Monetary Institute did not cook the figures. For the past four years, Ghana has achieved a single digit inflation and I think this is very commendable.
Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah 12:45 p.m.
On a point of order.
Mr Speaker, my Hon Colleague on the other side said that somebody made a submission on our side that the inflation figure is a cooked figure and that the West African Monetary Institute did not cook the figure. I would want to believe that it is not the West African Monetary Institute that determines our inflation figures but it is the Ghana Statistical Service. So I would want to put it on record.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Hon Sowah, please, go ahead.
Mrs Sowah 12:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I added the “West African Monetary Institute” as a reference because if I said Ghana Statistical Service, some Hon Members may be quick to say that the Government influenced them. So, I made reference to an external body.
In any case, I also would want to comment on the general growth of the economy. It is obvious that economic
management has been very prudent -- [Hear! Hear!] If you look at it from GH¢30 billion in 2008 to GH¢71.8 billion in 2012, that is a huge leap and must be commended.
The general view was that oil and gas were going to be the contributory factor but even without the oil and gas, the economy still grew by leaps and bounds -- [Hear! Hear!] -- And I think seriously this should not be politicised but commended.
Mr Speaker, I also want to touch on revenue mobilisation and say that indeed, it is a very important issue. I would want to suggest that the Government forms partnership with churches. Mr Speaker, most churches have been very successful in teaching their members to pay tithes. Government must elicit their help to teach their members about the importance of paying taxes.
In fact, the head of the church, Jesus Christ, gave an example in Matthew Chapter 17:27 by paying his tithe and also, his parents left Galilee for Nazareth to pay their taxes. I would want to urge the Ministry of Finance therefore, to partner the churches to generate revenue.
With these few words, Mr Speaker, I support the Motion.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Thank you very much. It is now the turn of Hon Baffour Awuah.
Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah (NPP -- Sunyani West) 12:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I wish to contribute to the Motion on the floor.
Mr Speaker, I would want to take off from where the last contributor ended. Mr Speaker, the last contributor, in making a submission on the expansion of the economy, indicated that in 2008, the size of the economy was GH¢30 billion and now, it is GH¢71.8 billion.
Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah (NPP -- Sunyani West) 12:45 p.m.


Mr Speaker, the Hon Member made reference to this without also taking into consideration the fact that within the same period, the cedi had depreciated by about 70 per cent. Indeed, if we were to use a more stable currency as a measure, then the 2008 figure of GH¢30 billion would be US$27 billion. In the same way, the GH¢71.8 billion, when indexed to the dollar, is US$37.7 billion.

So, indeed, the growth is just 10 billion when indexed to the dollar. But then when it is read in the Ghana cedi series, the picture painted is that within the period, the base of the economy has more than doubled.
Mr Kwetey 12:55 p.m.
Mr Speaker, a point of order.
Mr Awuah 12:55 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I do not know where Hon Fifi Kwetey is getting his figures from and I do not know whether that is all in Ghana. But Mr Speaker, as of December, 2008, the rate was one cedi, ten
pesewas to the dollar (GH¢ 1.10: US$ 1.00). But as we speak now, the cedi is one cedi ninety pesewas to the dollar (GH¢1.90: US$ 1.00). [Interruption.] Mr Speaker, what I am saying is that --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:55 p.m.
Hon Members, please, let us proceed because you have not produced any source of information; let us proceed.
Mr Awuah 12:55 p.m.
Mr Speaker, what I am saying is that, indeed, if we should index the growth of the cedi between 2011 and 2012 to the dollar, the end result is that there was even a contraction in the economy. By indexing it, there was a contraction in the economy. Mr Speaker, so, in real terms, there has not been any growth. Let me just end there and continue.
Mr Speaker, I recall that in February 2009, when His Excellency the then President, Professor Mills came to this House, he described our debt situation as so worrying to such an extent that even in describing trillion, he used the words “opepepeepee huuhaa”. He said that our total debt was “opepepeepeehuuhaa” -- 91 trillion. Mr Speaker, now-a-days --
Mr Terkpeh 12:55 p.m.
On a point of order.
Mr Speaker, I wish to take the opportunity to make a factual correction. The Hon Member said the economy did not grow in real terms. Mr Speaker, I wish to draw his attention to page 267 where we state the real GDP over there.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:55 p.m.
Thank you.
Please, proceed.
Mr Awuah 12:55 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am using nominal terms; nominal terms in dollars. And I am saying that if we use nominal terms in dollars, in 2011, the growth was 40 billion dollars. But then in 2012, the growth is 37.7 billion dollars, a contraction of about two billion dollars.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:55 p.m.
Hon Member, we have had enough on the growth. Can you move to some other --
Mr Awuah 12:55 p.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker; what I am saying is that, when His Excellency President Mills came to this House, he described Ghana's debt then as “opepepeepeehuuhaa -91 trillion”. Mr Speaker, since then, I have not heard the President mentioning the debt again because it has gone beyond control.

Mr Speaker, what is even worrying is that besides all these debts that we are accruing, there are equally some debts which have not even come into the kitty. We do know in this House that we have approved of several loans which are yet to add to our debt stock. But apart from that, Mr Speaker, we also have an accumulation of huge arrears, especially to the power and energy sectors.

My search indicates that within the power sector alone, we owe about 1.5 billion Ghana cedis and then within the petroleum sector, we owe to the tune of about 1.3 billion Ghana cedis. Mr Speaker, where are we going? What is even more worrying is the fact that if you look at the formula for calculating the price of petroleum products, it is indicated there -- TOR debt recovery levy. But then

when you look at the Schedule of the budget -- Mr Speaker, I would want to refer to page 276, the table there indicates that in 2012, there was no receipt of TOR debt recovery levy. Indeed, there is no projection for future receipts. Meanwhile, if you look at the formula, it is indicated that we still collect --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:55 p.m.
Hon Member, you have two more minutes to go.
Mr Awuah 12:55 p.m.
So Mr Speaker, where is that money going? [Interruption.] Where is that money going? Is it going to somebody's pocket? Perhaps, that is why we said there were “Stealers” in the system -- [Hear! Hear!]
Mr Speaker, in concluding, I would want to say that this budget gives no hope -- [Interruption] -- and therefore, I am calling on the Hon Minister for Finance, if he has any opportunity within the year, to come clean again, perhaps, to present a better document for consideration by this Parliament.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:55 p.m.
Thank you very much.
Hon Members, it is now the turn of Hon Benjamin Komla Kpodo --
Mr Benjamin K. Kpodo (NDC -- Ho Central) 12:55 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I wish to solidly support the Motion moved by the Hon Minister for Finance, asking this Honourable House to approve the Government's Financial Policy for 2013. This is on the back of all the good macro-economic policies which the document contains and which would provide opportunities for the micro-units to expand their businesses and therefore, the economy at large.
rose
Mr Kpodo 12:55 p.m.
But the issue is, when there is deficit financing and it results in public debt, our concern as financial analysts would be, how jeered is the country? How jeered are we? We can see from page 53 of the Budget Statement that an assessment has been made by the World Bank --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:55 p.m.
Hon Member, are you up on a point of order? Under what Order are you coming?
Mr Agyeman-Manu 1:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my Hon Colleague, a very good Friend, the Hon Member for Ho Central, is saying that it is not bad to do deficit budgeting. That is correct, Mr Speaker. But I would want to tell my Hon Colleague that if you target a budget to do 6.7 per cent GDP budget deficit and you end up realising 12 point something per cent, it is bad. If we have done that --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:05 p.m.
Hon Member, I do not know that is a proper point of order.
Hon Member, please, proceed.
Mr Kpodo 1:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my Hon Colleague, the Hon Member for Dormaa Central knows very well that when you do a budget and you have a deficit at the reporting time, you should explain it. That is what the Hon Minister for Finance has

If we are satisfied, then the deficit financing is good. What I am saying is that it is good to even borrow GH¢1.9 billion to settle the tumultuous labour front; it is. You know what a disturbed labour front can cost the whole nation; it can lead to anything -- destabilise the entire political system. So, to borrow and pay that, it is good.

Mr Speaker, that notwithstanding, the Hon Minister has clearly demonstrated that the economy has to be controlled in such a manner that the deficit would come down to nine per cent, which is a very good step. Those things that the budget seeks to do are very clear. There would be increase in revenues -- [Interrup- tion.] They are outlined; then there would be controlled expenditure. The Hon Minister told us that items not budgeted for would not be allowed to be executed so, we can keep within the budget.

Mr Speaker, I think that what we should be thinking of is how we use whatever debts we accumulate as a result of deficit. If we use debts to build the eastern corridor road, is it not good? If we borrow to build the gas project in the Western Region, is it not good? [Interruption.] So, what are you saying? If we borrow to complete the Sofo Line Interchange, is it not good? Mr Speaker, I think we should -- I would call upon the Hon Minister for Finance to -- [Interruption]
Mr Kofi Frimpong 1:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member is seriously misleading the House. [Interruption.]
Mr Speaker, nobody is saying that borrowing to undertake projects is bad. But we must plan for the projects within the budget. You cannot just start from
anywhere and midway you say you are going to borrow money to execute projects. This is why we say that we must budget for every project that we undertake. There is nowhere in the budget
-- 1:05 p.m.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:05 p.m.
Hon Frimpong, your point is well made.
Hon Kpodo, you have the floor. [Interruption.] Proceed.
Mr Kpodo 1:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would want to further note in this Honourable House that there are some major policy initiatives included in this budget document. I have heard people say that the budget is empty; people say that there are no bold initiatives in it. That is not correct. I would want to state one major point here and I would continue with one or two more if I have the time.
The Hon Minister said on page 12 of the budget document that --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:05 p.m.
You have two more minutes to go.
Mr Kpodo 1:05 p.m.
That because of our middle income status, we can now move into the foreign capital market to borrow for projects and that would reduce domestic borrowing, which tends to crowd out local entrepreneurs who would want to borrow in the country. That is a major policy statement and that should assure the private sector. The Hon Minister has also indicated that the Ghana Airports Company Limited would be allowed to retain its full APSC and that would rake in 1.10 million for the Airport Company -- [Interruption]
Dr A. A. Osei 1:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my good Friend is misleading this House.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister is here; he knows that -- and this is a very serious matter. Our international credit rating has just been downgraded from B+ to B+ negative. And Fitch has come back and said, given what is in the budget, they may downgrade further. If that happens, we would not be able to go to the market.
So, he has to be careful about these statements. Mr Speaker, we are all Ghanaians; we should not be making statements that would further affect our international credit rating. So, I would want him to be aware of that.
Mr Kwetey 1:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker -- [In- terruption.] The record must be straightened, Mr Speaker. It is not the case at all that any credit agency has downgraded us from B+ to B; it is not the case. It is rather from a neutral outlook to a negative outlook; that is what has happened. There has not been a downgrade from a B+ to B; that is not factually correct. So, let us set the records straight, Mr Speaker.
rose
Mr Speaker 1:05 p.m.
Hon Kpodo, please, proceed with your presentation; you have one minute to go.
Mr Kpodo 1:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member for Old Tafo has made a statement; how does he juxtapose that with the assessment made by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which appears on page 53 of the budget document? [An Hon Member: That what?] You want me to read? Go and read the document.
Mr Speaker, another major policy by the Minister for Finance is that we would consolidate all the various tax laws, which would make for easy reference and implementation.
Mr Isaac K. Asiamah (NPP -- Atwima- Mponua) 1:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the 2013 Budget, like its sisters of 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, is a catalogue of failed promises, unrealistic targets and unachievable projects. [Hear! Hear!] Mr Speaker, before I even go there, I would go to the budget and open to page 937; it talks about the National Peace Council. [Interruptions.] Mr Speaker, it is rather paragraph 937 -- [Interruption]
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:15 p.m.
He has corrected himself.
Mr I. K. Asiamah 1:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, they should check paragraph 939, page 216, which is on the National Peace Council.
Mr Speaker, I believe you have seen it, that the project to engage the youth on peace issues is so great to the hearts of every Ghanaian. But the major concern is that Ghana needs sustainable peace. Ghana needs peace that is long lasting. The crucial point here is that peace is hinged on fairness and justice; yes, it is very crucial. Peace is dependent on fairness and justice. It is most appropriate that as a House, whatever we do, we seek the kingdom of justice first and peace shall be added unto it. [Hear! Hear!] So, let us seek first the kingdom of justice; that underpins everything.
Mr Speaker, we cannot sacrifice justice for peace in whatever we do and that is why, as Hon Members of Parliament, we need to encourage fairness. We need to create a society of openness and justice; a just and open society we should create.
Mr Speaker, my concern is that in every arrangement, there should be justice first. In our electoral arrangements, we should seek for justice and fairness -- [Some Hon
Members: Yes!] -- And I say that Ghana can only enjoy sustainable peace when our electoral arrangement is hinged on justice and when there is a dispute arising out of our electoral arrangement, there should be expediency; there should be fastness in the resolution of those disputes, so that Ghana can enjoy long lasting peace. [Hear! Hear!]
rose
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:15 p.m.
Hon Woyome, do you have a point of order?
Mr Woyome 1:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, yes, I have a point of order.
Hon Asiamah actually alluded to the fact that the electoral process, there is no justice, when in actual fact , we are all aware that there is a case before the Supreme Court; there has not been any ruling and we do not know the outcome and so, he needs to probably be well informed about that, so that he veers totally away from that and then stick to the matter before us.
Mr I. K. Asiamah 1:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would not want to entertain such tangential matters. Mr Speaker, I chose my words carefully as an Hon Member of Parliament, so he should listen and listen well.
I have gone through all the documents relating to the budget, and indeed, I went further to read the NDC Manifesto for the year 2000, the King James Version of that Manifesto. That Manifesto had different versions but I went to the King James Version.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:15 p.m.
Hon Members, order. Let us have some order. Let us have some order, Hon Members.
Mr James K. Avedzi 1:15 p.m.
On a point of order.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member is seriously misleading this House. The Hon Member said that the NDC Manifesto promised to build 20,000 sports stadia. He should come back again; he is misleading the House.
Mr I. K. Asiamah 1:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we can refer to page 76 of that document. I am not lying; it is in the --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:15 p.m.
Is it 20,000?
Mr I. K. Asiamah 1:15 p.m.
It is 20,000 seating capacity, Mr Speaker -- [Uproar.] It is 20,000 seating capacity sports stadia in all the district capitals --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:15 p.m.
All right; we accept “seating capacity.” So, proceed.
Mr I. K. Asiamah 1:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, they also went further to state that they were going to construct or build 50,000 seating capacity sports stadia in all the regional capitals. Let us ask them, as we speak, not even a pickaxe has dug the soil; yet they have spent over GH¢300 million in that Ministry. So, we are asking them - - [Interruption.]
Alhaji Amadu B. Sorogho 1:15 p.m.
On a point of order.
Mr Speaker, he has just misled the House again. He refers to NDC Manifesto and says “King James Version”. Please, Mr Speaker, can he produce a copy of King James Version of the Manifesto of the NDC? Without that one he should withdraw the statement and apologise to the people of Ghana for changing the name and saying, “King James Version of the NDC Manifesto”.
Mr Speaker, he should produce it now or else he should shut up and sit down.
Mr I. K. Asiamah 1:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I have many points to make but I do not want to be distracted. Let me go on.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:15 p.m.
Hon Member, I believe you can proceed without making reference to King James Version or any version for that matter.
Mr I. K. Asiamah 1:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for your advice.
Mr Agbesi 1:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, a serious objection has been taken -- A point of order has been taken against that statement --
Mr Speaker, the statement was made against the NDC, which is a party, that its Manifesto is called “King James Version”. That is not true and he must withdraw it, for the records. For the records, he must withdraw it--simple and short.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:15 p.m.
Hon Member, I made it clear to the Hon Member that he should avoid using the “King James Version” expression, so that he can proceed with his presentation, and I think that settles it.
Dr Kunbuor 1:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, just for the purposes of the record. The NDC has no “King James Version” of its Manifesto.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:15 p.m.
All right.
Hon Asiamah, proceed.
Mr I. K. Asiamah 1:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, so as I said, we are calling for prudent management of our scarce resources. If the Ministry can afford to over-spend that GH¢300 million, if we were more prudent, we could have built four new stadia. Meanwhile, Mr Speaker, Cape Coast --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:15 p.m.
Meanwhile, you have two minutes to go.
Mr I. K. Asiamah 1:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, Cape Coast Sports Stadium -- the NPP arranged that sports stadium on contract. Storm drains were built -- constructed. As we speak now, not a single cement has been added to that sports stadium; nothing has happened.
It has been captured in every year's budget since 2009. Mr Speaker, it is in your constituency; that is why I am more concerned. It is in your constituency.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:15 p.m.
I hope you do not want to draw me into this debate.
Mr I. K. Asiamah 1:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the people of Cape Coast need a very decent sports stadium.

Nii Lantey E. Vanderpuye: On a point of order.

Mr Speaker, my Hon Colleague is again misleading this House.

Mr Speaker, I know Cape Coast very well. I do not know of any facility which was started in Cape Cpast and needed cement to be added. The Hon Colleague is totally misleading this House.

I have another Hon Colleague here who is an Hon Member of Parliament from Cape Coast and he can testify to that, even though Mr Speaker does not want to talk --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:15 p.m.
All right. Hon Asiamah, please, conclude.
Mr I. K. Asiamah 1:25 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in the 2010 Budget, they even wrote that Government was going to continue with the construction of the Cape Coast Sports Stadium. They themselves admitted it in the 2010 Budget. So, what is he talking about? He admitted it in the 2010 Budget. He should go back and read the 2010 Budget. It is there, captured boldly, that they were going to continue with the construction of the Cape Coast Sports Stadium. What was there that they were going to continue?
Mr Speaker, the key point is that indeed --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Hon Member, conclude.
Mr I. K. Asiamah 1:25 p.m.
Mr Speaker, on the youth front, you know that we have numerous challenges confronting the youth of this country. Mr Speaker, instead of us to have used that over-expenditure so prudently, we only used it on ghost names. The money was just dissipated --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Hon Member, your time is up.
The next to take the floor is Hon George Aboagye Kwame.
Mr George K. Aboagye (NDC -- Ahanta West) 1:25 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I wish to support the Motion, that this Honourable House approves the Financial Policy of Government of Ghana for the year ending 31st December, 2013, Motion moved on Tuesday, 5th March, 2013 by the Minister for Finance, Hon Seth E. Terkpeh.
Mr Speaker, I see this Motion as beholding a lot of hope, and a lot of hope
moreso for the private sector, the business community. This Budget Statement is better read if you take the President's State of the Nation Address into consideration.
In the President's State of the Nation Address, he pinpointed support and incentives for the Ghanaian businesses, particularly in manufacturing and that the tax element would be reviewed, so that incentives are given to Ghanaian businessmen. There again, there was also a provision that a Fund would be set up to support businesses of Ghanaians and also industrial parks will be developed, which of course, will be economic in terms of price to encourage Ghanaian businesses to be able to be well located and to be located on economic basis.
Mr Speaker, in the budget, we see that there was the policy statement made on the National Export Strategy (NES) and also on enhancing businesses. What we realise now and we have always had this problem prevailing, is that the private sector, the business community has not been given the real opportunity to contribute its quota to national development.
We have had a situation where public sector recurrent account is around 60 per cent of our revenue and therefore, we need the private sector to assist or to support Government in creating jobs and also in ensuring that the rates we are paying for salaries are contained.
Mr Speaker, I think this budget provides enough opportunity and also hope for the private sector and therefore, in discussing this budget, we must be looking at the chances that we can give, the opportunities that we can further provide the private sector to increase their contribution to national development.
In the reference by the President to the review of the Investment Promotion Act, which also my Chairman of the Trade and Industry Committee showed a letter that this document is coming to Parliament, is something that we need to take seriously.
I know from my experience and from where I am coming from that, in that document, references are made, provisions are made for the local content element to reflect in the private sector development that Ghanaians would get the opportunity to partner foreigners not by design or by wishy-washy means of doing business where in the past Ghanaians have been given a token 10 per cent of whatever business comes into this system in the form of gratuity.
But Ghanaians as a right, would have the opportunity to secure equity in most of those businesses that come into this country
Dr A. A. Osei 1:25 p.m.
On a point of order.
Mr Speaker, I would want to remind my good Friend that the Speaker has already ruled that a letter purported to have been sent to a Chairman cannot be used to anticipate a Bill to the House. But he made reference to it. So, I would want to remind him that, once the Speaker has ruled on that, he should not make reference to it.
I thank you.
Mr Aboagye 1:25 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank my Hon Colleague from Tepa. I would say that
-- 1:25 p.m.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
He is not from Tepa. He is from Old Tafo.
Mr Aboagye 1:25 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank my Hon Member from Tafo for reminding me of your ruling, which I did not get wind of.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
Hon Member, I know your constituency is Old Tafo, so the point is well taken.
Mr Aboagye 1:25 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much. Old Tafo, I do not know where the new one is, but there is the Old Tafo.
Mr Speaker, in this House, we have businessmen and I expect them to add their voices to ensuring that business is developed and promoted and that this budget has a lot of material in it to support businesses and that as far as I am concerned, perhaps, the real golden age of business is coming under President Mahama's Administration.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
We now have Hon Ursula Owusu.
Mr Nitiwul 1:25 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I sent you a list and I think in the case of Hon Baffour Awuah, which was corrected, it looks like since then you have not really adverted your mind to that corrected version. So, in our list, Hon Kennedy Agyapong should come before Hon Ursula Owusu.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
It is not reflected here. But if that is what you say, we will go by what the Minority says.
So Hon Kennedy Agyapong.
Mr Ken O. Agyapong (NPP -- Assin Central) 1:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to add my voice to the debate.
I am extremely worried when I hear my Colleagues arguing that budget deficit is good. Indeed, if budget deficit is well utilized -- [Interruptions] -- A lot of argument --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
Hon Member, please, proceed with your contribution.
Mr Agyapong 1:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, if you say budget deficit is not bad, what do you mean? So, they should allow me. Mr Speaker, I want -- [Interruptions.]
Mr James K. Avedzi 1:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, on a point of order.
Mr Agyapong 1:35 p.m.
I still maintain my point, Mr Speaker, that Colleagues have been making argument that our budget deficit is not bad. [Interruptions.] I agree with that point to some extent. But what I want them to do know is that, the only time your budget deficit is not bad is when it is well utilized --[Interruptions]-- not when we have a document like this here.
The Minister for Finance presented this document in support of his budget. Mr Speaker, if you allow me, I will give you a breakdown of how our petroleum funds were utilized.
In 2011, the petroleum funds -- What was given to the Annual Budget Funding Amount that was given to the Ministry of Finance and to utilize, there are four priority areas and these areas are: amortization of loans for oil and gas, road and other infrastructure, agriculture modernization and capacity building. I will stress on this capacity building.
Mr Speaker, in 2011, they spent GH¢750,000 on capacity building. [Uproar.] My Colleagues are screaming “eh!” They are yet to know how much they spent in 2012. In 2012, the capacity
building moved from GH¢750,000 to GH¢111,959,000. It is here; let us check; page 21. [Interruptions.] I can read it. This is 2012 Annual Report [Interrup- tions.]
Nii Amasah Namoale: Mr Speaker, on a point of order.

The Hon Member's capacity was built, my capacity was built, equipment were bought. Mr Speaker, should we develop this country without capacity building? The Hon Member is portraying capacity building to be something negative, something bad. Human resource development is one of the pillars of this country -- infrastructure. So, Mr Speaker, the Hon Member should know what capacity building is. Can you improve production without training? You cannot.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
Hon Namoale, I think you have made your point.
Nii Namoale: Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
The point is that, if you are not challenging the figures, allow him to quote from the document.
Mr Agyapong 1:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my Hon Colleague is asking what is capacity building? He is in the position to explain what is capacity building --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
Hon Member, you go ahead without responding to what the Hon Member has said.
Mr Agyapong 1:35 p.m.
Their capacity building is the “chop chop” to “foot soldiers.” I would want to repeat to him that from GH¢750,000 in 2011 to GH¢111,959,000 in
2012 -- [Uproar.] So, they should explain that to Ghanaians how this money was spent. It is here, page 21 -- They should read. So, Mr Speaker, I continue.
The only time you can say that deficit financing is good is when you utilize your resources allocated to you judiciously. Not that you would come out with fishy --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
I think you have made that point. Can you move on to other points?
Mr Agyapong 1:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am moving on. I am stressing on this issue because -- [Interruption.]
Alhaji Sorogho 1:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, on a point of order.
Mr Speaker, I think in contributing to the budget, let us be mindful of the words that we use. If we sit here and the Hon Member concludes that it was fishy -- Mr Speaker, please, let us be very careful about the words that we are using.
The Hon Member has no evidence; he has not provided us with the details; he is only looking at figures and he concludes that they come out with fishy --
Mr Speaker, it is not acceptable in this House. How does the Hon Member conclude that it is fishy? He must withdraw it. If he does not understand it, he must ask for more details but he should not conclude. He is an experienced Member of Parliament; please, he should not do that. He must withdraw that. [Interruptions.] This is not a political platform. This is --
Mr Agyapong 1:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would want my Hon Colleague to read this document. It looks as if he has not read anything. This same document indicates that US$230.9 million was given to GNPC over the budget of US$225 million -- [Interruption.]
Mr Terkpeh 1:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, on a point of order.
Mr Speaker, I would wish to draw attention of the House to the fact that, the GH¢111.9 million approximately GH¢112 million is being split into two components: GH¢49.8 million for goods and services and GH¢62 million for assets. So, it is not the case that everything was used for training --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
Hon Member, please, proceed with our presentation.
Mr Agyapong 1:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am surprised the Hon Minister is defending this. When you tell me that it is capacity building and now, you are telling me it is asset, what asset is that? [Interruptions] -- He should break it down. What asset is that? He gave us goods and services --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
Hon Member, your time is running out. Please, concentrate on your presentation and avoid their sights.
Mr Agyapong 1:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, when you even look at page 20 of this document, the Hon Minister himself said that the money that was projected for 2012, is GH¢243 million --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
Hon Member, you have two minutes to go.
Mr Agyapong 1:35 p.m.
Oh!

Mr Speaker, US$383 million. This US$¢383 million; there was a shortfall of US$96.6 million. The question is, how come the Hon Minister was able to give GNPC over their budget by US$5.1 million dollars? Where did that money go? You sow money only when you have interest there.
Mr Terkpeh 1:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, on a point of order.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
Hon Members, let us have some order. Order! Order! Please.
Mr Agyepong, proceed.
Mr Agyapong 1:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister himself admitted in this document, that they gave extra US$5.1 million to GNPC. When we say positive deviation of US$5.1 million, what do you mean? My argument is that, the Hon Minister stated that there was a shortfall with the benchmark of US$383, 52 million. That was US$96. 6 million. How come they had extra money for GNPC? That is my simple question I am asking. [Interrup- tions.]
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
Hon Member, please begin to conclude.
Mr Agyapong 1:45 p.m.
Again, Mr Speaker, before I wind up, when you take this document again, in 2012, page 139 -- Ministry of Communications was given GH¢66,105.15. In 2013, Ministry of
Communications is given GH¢56,968,314 -- Interesting. My point is, in 2012, internally generated funds (IGFs) that supported the Ministry was GH¢26,
481,200.
My simple question to them again is that, how come in 2013, with all the IGFs collected from the Telecoms and whatever, they committed only GH¢898, 880.00 -- [Interruptions.] Yes, it is here. I want to know.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:45 p.m.
Hon Member, your time is up -- [Interrup- tions.]
Hon Hajia Laadi, Member of Parliament for Pusiga, you have the floor.

Hon Ursula Owusu.
Ms Ursula G. Owusu (NPP -- Ablekuma West) 1:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I know every Member of this House takes oversight responsibility over the public purse very seriously and that is why we are engaged in this vigorous debate.
Mr Mahama Ayariga 1:45 p.m.
On a point order.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member began her contribution with a statement that they take the oversight responsibility of this House very seriously. I would want to find out when they began taking this assignments very seriously -- [Interruptions] -- and whether the vetting of the Finance Minister whose budget they are discussing was not an important oversight responsibility.
Ms Owusu 1:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member misquoted what I said. What I said was that, “I know that every Member of this House takes our financial responsibility over the public purse very seriously.” We are considering the budget and financial estimates of the Government and that is his/her prime responsibility here today and so, whatever I am doing now, is in furtherance of what we all understand to be our prime responsibility.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:45 p.m.
Hon Member, your time is running out. Please, concentrate on your presentation.
Ms Owusu 1:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, when the Ministry was re-designated Gender, Children and Social Protection, we were expecting that it would come with some terms of reference for all of us to know exactly what the Ministry was supposed to be doing. Mr Speaker, looking through the budget, I am completely at sea over what this Ministry is supposed to be doing -- [Interruption.]
Mr Ayariga 1:45 p.m.
On a point of order.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Ursula Owusu made reference to the re-designation of Ministr ies without accompanying explanations. Mr Speaker, if she had taken her oversight responsibilities seriously, and had participated in the work of the the Appointments Committee of which she is a member, the President's appointment letters were accompanied with statements explaining the re- designation of the Ministries and the re- assignment of the Ministries.
Mr Speaker, it does not lie in her mouth today to say that the re-designation has not been explained.
Dr Kunbuor 1:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I guess that we should allow the Hon Member to continue with her contribution. But what I would want to register is that, the re- designation of Ministries has actually been done under an Executive Instrument, which is a law and ignorance of the law is not a defence -- [Uproar.] And if you see that Executive Instrument, you will see clearly what this Ministry is supposed to be doing.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:45 p.m.
Hon Ursula Owusu, please, proceed.
Ms Owusu 1:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the budget -- [Interruption.]
Mr Nitiwul 1:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much. But the Majority Leader knows that no Executive Instrument brought to this House explains the aims and objectives of any Ministry and I do not know why he is saying that. Unless he wants to say and bring it to this House and prove it that, that was the case, which I doubt and he knows it.
Dr Kunbuor 1:45 p.m.
Actually, that is what I am explaining to him. When you see the Executive Instrument, it came together with an attachment, which gave the
rationale for the re-designation and the core functions of the particular-- I would want us to clear this hurdle.
What I am simply telling the Hon Member is that, it does not lie in the mouth of a Member of this House to come and say that something that has been designated and a creature of law, when you have to relate to that legal institution, you are asking people to go and bring that memorandum accompanying the law for you to understand what is happening.
If you take an Act of Parliament, even your Standing Orders, you would know the amount of material that accompanied and explained the Standing Orders. Do we refer to these Standing Orders with those issues?
I am saying that if you want us to bring before this House what exactly the re- designations are, we will be able to give you that and the re-focusing that gave the re-designation. So, you can ask for that information because as rightly said by the Hon Member, all Members of the Appointments Committee received these documents and they are in their custody.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:45 p.m.
Hon Deputy Minority Leader, just the last comment because I will not take any more of these points of order.
Mr Nitiwul 1:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, what is the number of the Executive Instrument (E.I.) that came -- [Interruptions.] No, it is important and two, if the Majority Leader gives us the E.I. number now, we want the Table Office to distribute it because the Minorty side does not have that document.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:45 p.m.
Hon Minority Leader, that information can be furnished to you subsequently. Let us go ahead. This is not the time to be dealing with such matters.
In the meantime, Hon Members, having regard to the state of business, I direct that this House Sits beyond the prescribed period as per Order 40 (3).
Hon Ursula Owusu please, go ahead.
Ms Owusu 1:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, this budget is providing us the policy direction of the Government in 2013-- Economic Policy and Financial Statement of the Government for 2013. Looking at what the outlook for 2013 for the Ministry is, there is nothing in there, which indicates its social intervention is, social policy direction is -- The budget is completely silent on the expanded mandate of the Ministry. From paragraph 668 to 673, all the outlook for the Ministry, which is indicated in there --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:45 p.m.
Hon Member, if I may just intercede. I have been advised that the E.I. is numbered 1. and that one does not come to Parliament. It is dealt with by the Assembly Press. So, they have copies of it and I believe that they can be made available to Members if you so request.
Dr Kunbuor 1:55 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I guess the Hon Member is misleading the House. In fact, when you are looking for the mission and the policy statements that should accompany a financial estimate of this nature, it is going to come in the estimate as you consider them of the MDAs. When those estimates come, you would see the mission, the vision and objectives for which the appropriation is going to be done. So, that would be made available.
Dr A. A. Osei 1:55 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to differ. That is incorrect. In fact, this Motion is debating the principles and policies, the estimates are pure estimates. So, for the Majority Leader to tell us that

will come with that, it is misleading. We are debating it right now, that is the Motion. That is what we are doing. So, I think that he should withdraw it.
Mr Alban S. K. Bagbin 1:55 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the E.I. is Civil Service, Ministries Instrument, 2013 E.I. (1). Mr Speaker, in such debates, we refer to the principles and policies. Now, if you go through the budget Statement, and the budget document, you will see the principles and policies.
But when you are talking about objectives, the mission and the vision, those are documents that come at the committee stage where you are debating the details. They are different things. Objectives, visions and missions are different from policies and principles.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
Hon Ursula Owusu, continue.
Ms Owusu 1:55 p.m.
Mr Speaker, that is exactly what I have been trying to say. The policies contained in the provisions under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection do not say anything about any policy relating to social protection. That is all I have been trying to say.
Mr Speaker, gender, children and social protection are very, very important because women and children --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
Hon Member, you have two minutes to go.
Ms Owusu 1:55 p.m.
Mr Speaker, gender, children and social protection policy direction of the State are very critical to the vast majority of women, children, the vulnerable, excluded and the weak in this country. So, when the entire statement of outlook for 2013 talks about engagement of technical assistance, consultation to validate policies, completion of selection
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
Hon Member, your time is up.
Can we have Hon Woyome.
Mr Kobena M. Woyome (NDC -- South Tongu) 1:55 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for granting me the opportunity to contribute to the debate, that this Honourable House approves the Financial Policy of the Government of Ghana for the year ending 31st December, 2013.
Mr Speaker, looking at the budget for the year, and reading through it, and comparing it with the happenings in the entire world, this obviously gives hope and assurance to Ghanaians. This is because it admits some challenges to an extent and has also prescribed how to come out of those challenges and has given a very positive outlook for forward move.
When we discussed the budget and of course, the economy of the country and do not relate it to the happenings around us, that is in the entire global village that

we live in, we may not be making some justice to the outlook. The Government has been able to manage the economy very, very prudently. And the reasons are these. If you watch carefully, the balance of trade deficit as was talked about, simply comes from the fact that our exports are not getting to those external countries and why is it so?

Looking at the happenings in Greece, Portugal, United States of America, Italy and the rest, these are all partners our country trades with and various private sectors trade with. With the turmoil in their countries, how are they going to patronize our exports? Of course, in the face of all these challenges, Mr Speaker, the managers of the economy have been able to chalk very wonderful successes. We should give them the credit.

That in spite of all these, Mr Speaker, you would notice that the usual talk that, the private sector is the engine that propels the growth of our economy, the President sees it prudent to chair a very important council to be able to give the needed impetus to its forward move and I think this will be very significant in moving our economy forward.

If you have the number one man himself in the saddle to make sure that everything is done to make sure that the private sector gets the needed oxygen to move forward, we should give credit to this Government that has given, of course, which has realised the need to give true meaning to what we have been talking all these years.

All of these, I think that the outlines and all that have been stated in this budget, I would not want to repeat all that our very good Hon Colleagues have mentioned early on than to say that, this

is a budget that has given Ghanaians the hope.

In fact, it is also admitting challenges all right, but again, it has given the hope that we would be out of it and it is not a making of any mismanagement. It is actually where the country finds herself in the global or comity of nations. So, I think whatever happens in all those other countries, we would have some degree of effect, positive, or negative on Ghana's economy and we would then have to see how to wean ourselves through that.

Mr Speaker, I think we should be able to see the positive budget that has been ably delivered to this august House by His Excellency the President through his Minister for Finance.

I would want to congratulate my Hon Colleagues on the other side for of course, coming on board in giving a full deliberation on this particular subject.

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:05 p.m.
Thank you very much. This brings us to the end of the debate for today with regard to the Motion.
Hon Majority Leader --
Dr Kunbuor 2:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, very well. Mr Speaker's direction is sound in this matter.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:05 p.m.
Hon Members, I direct we adjourn proceedings for today.
Dr Kunbuor 2:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, very well.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:05 p.m.
Hon Deputy Minority Leader.
Mr Nitiwul 2:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I believe the Speaker had directed a bit earlier that Leadership may meet to look at extended Sittings and I would want to bring that to the notice of the Majority Leader --So that tomorrow, we can look at that, so that many more Members will be able to get the opportunity to contribute.
For arrangements, of course, once the Hon Minister for Finance is sitting behind the Majority, those arrangements should be made enough to cater for Hon Members.
Thank you.
Dr Kunbuor 2:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it was actually —Today took us by surprise but the contingencies are being put in place. It was anticipated that we would have about four Hon Members from each side today, but we will take serious note of the concern that has been raised.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:05 p.m.
Hon Members, proceedings are adjourned to tomorrow at 10.00 in the forenoon.
ADJOURNMENT 2:05 p.m.
  • The House was adjourned at 2.07 p.m. till Wednesday, 13th March, 2013 at 10.00 a.m.