Debates of 18 Jul 2013

MR SPEAKER
PRAYERS 11:15 a.m.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 11:15 a.m.
  • [No correction was made to the Official Report of Friday, 12th July, 2013.]
    • Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
    Hon Members, we also have the Official Report of Tuesday, 16th July, 2013.
    Mr David T. Assumeng 11:15 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, column 1711, the fifth paragraph which reads as follows: “Mr Speaker, may I thank you for the Statement”. What happened was that, I thanked you and also thanked the maker of the Statement. They are two separate things.
    Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
    Very well.
    Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
    Hon Members, the Official Report of Tuesday, 16th July, 2013 as corrected, is hereby adopted as the true record of proceedings.

    Hon Members, I have admitted some Statements for today. But I would want us to move to Public Business, then come back to Statements.
    Dr Benjamin B. Kunbuor 11:15 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, if we could alter the day's Business and take Motion numbered 5.
    Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
    Hon Members, can we have those Papers laid, then move to Motion numbered 5? [Interruption.] Very well. Let us take item 5.
    Dr Anthony Osei 11:15 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I would want to crave your indulgence. I thought that yesterday, we did not fully finish. So if they are going to the Third Reading, he would move that and then we do a Second Consideration.
    Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
    Hon Member, let me call the item first and then whoever wants to move the Motion to pass it through the Second Consideration Stage, can do so in line with the rules of the House.
    Item 5-- the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre Bill, 2013 be now read the Third time --
    Alhaji Amadu B. Sorogho 11:15 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I seek your leave and coming under Standing Order 130, the Bill should go through a Second Consideration Stage as a result of new developments. We would look back at what we have done and then introduce a few amendments.
    Mr Speaker, clause --
    Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
    Hon Member, you would want to move this Bill through a Second Consideration Stage with regard to which clauses?
    Alhaji Sorogho 11:15 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, clauses 5, 10, 26, 27, 31, 41 and 42. [Interruption.] No! They are just either ‘if' or ‘us' and it makes a lot of difference. So minor, minor amendments --
    Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
    Hon Chairman of the Trades and Industry Committee, can you mention the clauses again?
    Alhaji Sorogho 11:25 a.m.
    Clauses 5, 10, 14, 26, 31, 41 and 42. [Interruption.] Yesterday, we went through clause 27; unless there is something that you would want to --
    Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
    Any seconder?
    Prof George Y. Gyan-Baffour 11:25 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.
    Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
    Hon Members, the Question is that we pass the Ghana Investment Promotions Centre Bill, 2013 through a Second Consideration Stage in respect of the following clauses: 5, 10, 14, 26, 27, 31, 41 and 42.
    Question put and Motion agreed to.
    Resolved accordingly.
    BILLS -- SECOND 11:25 a.m.
    CONSIDERATION STAGE 11:25 a.m.
  • [Resumption of debate from 17-07- 2013]
    • Alhaji Amadu B. Sorogho 11:25 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 5, subclause (1), paragraph (d), delete and insert the following:
    “Four other members appointed from outside the Public Service at least, two of whom are women and one nominated by the Private Enterprise Federation.”
    Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
    Hon Member, let me get the point clear. Are we therefore, deleting all the words in the original paragraph (d) and substituting it with those words?
    Alhaji Sorogho 11:25 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, rightly so.
    Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
    Very well.
    Yes, you are going to give explanation?
    Alhaji Sorogho 11:25 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, the reason is that, the Private Enterprise Federation is the umbrella body--but the Hon Minority Leader says I should say a canopy body because he is not comfortable with the word “umbrella”. Unfortunately, that is the best word we can use under the circumstance, so, he should forgive me. I cannot get any close substitute -- [Laughter.]
    It is the umbrella body of most of the private enterprises, in particular the Association of Ghana Industries, the Ghana Chamber of Mines, the Ghana Employers Association, the Federation of the Association of Ghanaian Exporters, the Ghana Association of Bankers, the Chamber of Telecommunication, the Insurances Association, the Ghana Oil Marketing Association and several of them.
    Indeed, Mr Speaker, the Federation represents about 75 per cent of all the private businesses in Ghana.
    Also, if one goes back to our own Acts -- a lot of the Acts that were passed by this very House gave them recognition and gave them one slot on all those Acts.
    Mr Speaker, this aside, the Federation has performed --
    Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
    Can you mention one of the Acts for the record?
    Alhaji Sorogho 11:25 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, the Ghana Revenue Authority Act is one of them. I have others which I was trying to get --
    Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
    Very well.
    Alhaji Sorogho 11:25 a.m.
    We think it was an oversight that we did not include them. So, it is important to include them.
    Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
    Hon Ranking Member of the Committee and Hon Member for Wenchi, do you have something to add before I put the Question?
    Prof. Gyan-Baffour 11:25 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I agree with the Hon Chairman on that. The only one I do not agree with is that, it is not an “umbrella” organistaion. It is actually an organisation that oversees all of them. [Laughter.] Yes, it is an organisation that defends all the other organisations just as in elephant. So, I think, I do not agree with him.
    Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
    Hon Members, I have received a communication from the Private Enterprise Federation, unfortunately, the word they used is “umbrella.” [Laughter.]
    Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:25 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I think it is enough having this statement from you that “unfortunately, the word they used is ‘umbrella.' [Laughter.]
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Clause 5 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Clause 10 -- Technical Committee
    Alhaji Sorogho 11:25 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, clause 10 is following from what we have just done for clause 5. The technical committee is a specialised committee that goes into the details of the operation and reports to the Centre. It is only fair that such an umbrella body is given a representation on that. It is as a result of the amendment that we have just passed. It is consequential.
    Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
    Hon Chairman, what will be the terms of the new proposed amendment? We are at the Second Consideration Stage, so, how should the proposed amendment read?
    Alhaji Sorogho 11:25 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 10, subclause (1) (c), line 2, delete after “by private sector institutions and associations” and substitute with “Private Enterprise Federation”.
    So, the new rendition will be:
    “two representatives of the private sector nominated by the Private Enterprise Federation”.
    Prof Gyan-Baffour 11:25 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, my Hon Chairman keeps saying “Federation”. It is “Foundation.”
    Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
    It is “Federation”. It used to be “Foundation” but it is now “Federa- tion.”
    Hon Chairman, you want the two from the private sector to be nominated by the Private Enterprise Federation (PEF)? Is that the spirit behind the proposed amendment?
    Alhaji Sorogho 11:25 a.m.
    Yes, Mr Speaker.
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
    I would now put the Question on --
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:25 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I do not know whether earlier -- that is at the first Consideration Stage -- whether we effected some amendment. If we did, may we know from the Hon Chairman of the Committee the composition now? What is the number because originally, it was 15? Normally, for these bodies, we have an odd number. With all these amendments, what is the number now?
    Alhaji Sorogho 11:35 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, the number has not changed. The two -- if one reads it very well -- “the two nominated” is already taken care of by the private sector. We are only saying that that two must be nominated by the PEF. It does not change anything except the nomination.
    Clause 10 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Clause 14 -- Chief Executive Officer of the Centre
    Alhaji Sorogho 11:35 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 14, subclause (3), delete and insert the following:
    “The Chief Executive Officer shall hold office for a term of four years and is eligible for re-appointment for one term only.”
    Mr Speaker, this is to give certainty, so that it is not just open and the Chief Executive does not know when he is going to end. There must be a term, so that when he is there, whatever he is doing, he is guided by the fact that his time will come and that he can only be re- appointed for only one term.
    This is to bring it to terms with all other appointments -- Hon Members of Parliament, District Chief Executives and what have you. So, we cannot just leave this open-ended and think that the right thing would be done.
    Mr Speaker, that is why we are proposing this amendment.
    Mr Joe Ghartey 11:35 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I have a little difficulty with the proposal. Hon Members of Parliament have a four-year contract, which is based on an election. The Chief Executive Officer of any State-
    1827 Ghana Investment Promotion 18 July, 201 Centre Bill, 2013 -- 2nd Con. Stage 1828
    owned enterprise is a member of the Public Service, especially, this organisation where he is under the Office of the President. Are we saying that, by law, we are creating a term for that Chief Executive Officer which disables the appointing authority to revoke his appointment if he is not working? That the Chief Executive Officer has a four-year term and then, after that, he can be re-appointed for only another four years?
    If during the four-year term, there is reason to believe by the Board, the Board advises the Chief Executive of this country, the President, that the Chief Executive Officer is not fulfilling the conditions of his appointment, he is not promoting the objectives of the Centre, can it be said that because of the four-year term, it is as if he cannot be changed?
    Mr Speaker, especially when in proposing this debate the Hon Chairman of the Committee made reference to Hon Members of Parliament-- Also because under the Interpretation Act, when any court is interpreting this section, it would look at the proceedings in Parliament --
    Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.
    Hon Chairman, can you remove the example of the Hon Members of Parliament?
    Alhaji Sorogho 11:35 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I graciously and wholly remove the example cited for Hon Members of Parliament but all others stand. We want to depoliticise --
    Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.
    Hon Second Deputy Speaker, have you finished? Have you concluded your --
    Mr Ghartey 11:35 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, even though he has removed the example, my position has not changed. I believe that appointments to the Public Service should not be a fixed term. They should be subject -- The person appointed is
    Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka 11:35 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I would want to draw the attention of my Hon Colleague, the Second Deputy Speaker, to the fact that the Bills that we worked on in this House in the last Parliament, we tried to create some consistency where we agreed that the tenure of Chief Executives should be stated.
    The only aspect that I may want to agree with him and which I would want the Hon Chairman to also consider, is that, if you look at clause 14 (3), it did not talk only about the term; it was also talking about the other conditions, whether he could further amend his proposal and add the other conditions.
    But with regard to fixed term, if you look at the Bills that we have worked on, the National Health Insurance Scheme, the Health Institutions and Regulation, when they came to this House, we agreed as a
    House that for the sake of consistency, we must have a tenure for the Chief Executives and I thought that it was for the sake of consistency that we must have this.
    But in addition, we have to add the -- The Hon Chairman should look at the possibility of adding, for “the other conditions to be specified in the appointment letter.”
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:35 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I think, as you saw, the Hon Majority Chief Whip came to me and we had some consultations.
    The construction being offered by the Hon Chairman would limit us to the tenure, that is to say, the four-year term of office. But what is captured in clause 14(3) is not limited to the tenure alone. It talks about the terms and conditions of the appointment. It goes beyond mere tenure. So, how do we capture that; the terms and conditions relating to the office? I think that should concern us, not merely the term -- that is, the tenure.
    Mr Frederick Opare-Ansah 11:35 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I tend to agree with the position taken by the Hon Second Deputy Speaker, in the sense that I do not think what the Hon Chairman seeks to do, is to impose a certain term of office of the Chief Executive on anyone but to find a mechanism to limit the number of years that he can be appointed for. So, the current rendition could only be modified by putting a “may only be appointed for two terms of four years each”. Some rendition like that should be able to resolve the matter.
    Mr Peter W. Pepera 11:35 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I agree with the Hon Minority Leader, in the sense that we should, maybe, split it into two clauses whereby one talks about the terms and conditions and the other one talks about the term limit.
    I think when we are talking about the term limit, I believe, actually, that even though it would be nice for us to have security of tenure, we would then have a problem if the person is not up to scratch and his appointment is revoked, whereby there would then be a claim for the remainder of his contract as in football matches or --
    Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.
    You can fire him, except that you have to use the due process in firing him. If he is not performing, he can be fired except that you have to use the due process.
    Mr Pepera 11:35 a.m.
    Well, alright.
    I thank you for your guidance, Mr Speaker.
    But I still think that sometimes it is a qualitative assessment of a person's performance. Let us take it that if there is somebody who can perform better, you may like to change him. I revert to the analogy of football managers. They lose a few matches and they get changed. Removal sometimes results in legal action.
    So, I would say, if we are going to put a term limit, I think it should be two years renewable, rather than four years, so that you do not get huge potential judgement debts. So, I think if we should --
    Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.
    Hon Members, listening to both sides of the House, there are two issues before us here; one is a fixed term and the other is the issue of other conditions of his appointment.
    But let me hear from the Hon Member for Sekondi.
    Papa Owusu-Ankomah 11:45 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am wondering whether clause 14(1) stands as it is in the Bill or has been amended --
    “The President shall in accordance with article 195 of the Constitution appoint for the Centre, a Chief Executive Officer.”
    If you look at article 195 of the 1992 Constitution, it says, and Mr Speaker, with your permission, I beg to quote:
    “ Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the power to appoint persons to hold or to act in an office in the public services shall vest in the President, acting in accordance with the advice of the governing council of the service concerned given in consultation with the Public Services Commission.”
    I am just wondering whether with the Hon Chairman's proposed amendment, we are not intending to whittle down the power of the appointing authority as stated in the Constitution. This is because the “tenure” is a term and the President does not even act in a vacuum. He is acting in accordance, so, he has no alternative; he is bound by law; he is acting in accordance with the advice, so, he cannot even go contrary to the advice. That is my understanding of the Constitution.
    So, while I believe that probably, the Hon Chairman may have had some good reasons for proposing this amendment, I am of the view that it may be better if we leave it as it is. I know, but sometimes as politicians, we know that we are very troublesome. But sometimes too, in our efforts, we are troublesome just like every other human being and in enacting laws -- Oh! Mr Speaker, unless you are saying that we are not human beings. I have said that politicians, like all human beings, are sometimes troublesome. That is all. It does not --
    Papa Owusu-Ankomah 11:45 a.m.
    Yes, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Speaker 11:45 a.m.
    Where is the tenure?
    Papa Owusu-Ankomah 11:45 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am saying that subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the power to appoint persons to hold or to act in an office in the Public Services shall vest in the President acting in accordance with the advice of the governing council of the Service concerned.
    Mr Speaker, what does the appointment involve? I am saying that the power to appoint, what does it involve? Can you appoint somebody with a limitless term?
    Mr Speaker 11:45 a.m.
    Hon Member for Sekondi, would we be offending the Constitution when we put a fixed term on it?
    Papa Owusu-Ankomah 11:45 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, my view is that, insofar as the Constitution says “it shall vest in the President, acting in accordance with the advice of the governing Council” and I am saying that, if you will try and manage the term and so forth, you are even limiting the power of the governing council.
    Mr Speaker 11:45 a.m.
    Would it offend the Constitution? It is a specific question I am asking. I get the point you are making but I want to know whether it will offend the Constitution.
    Papa Owusu-Ankomah 11:45 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, not entirely. But I would even ask, will fixing the remuneration of a public officer in an enactment be in conflict with the Constitution? Then we might as well state all the terms. That is my point. We might
    as well state all the terms. I am saying that, if we say that giving a term limit is not in conflict with article 195, then I guess that we can then specify all the terms. That is all. That is my view.
    Dr Kwabena Donkor 11:45 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, if legislation is to be informed by practice, then we have got to look at this again. Almost every Chief Executive in this Chamber or anyone who has been a Chief Executive in this Chamber has been appointed first and later the Public Services Commission conducts an interview for security of tenure. In our history, any Chief Executive -- [Interruption.]
    rose
    Mr Speaker 11:45 a.m.
    Hon Member, is it on a point of order?
    Dr A. A. Osei 11:45 a.m.
    On a point of order.
    Mr Speaker, I do not know anybody in this Chamber who is a Chief Executive Officer. There is nobody. If they are, they are breaking the rules.
    Mr Speaker 11:45 a.m.
    I thought he said anybody who had ever acted as a Chief Executive?
    Dr A. A. Osei 11:45 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, that is what he said at first.
    Mr Speaker 11:45 a.m.
    I thought he said anybody who had ever acted as a Chief Executive.
    Hon Member, what did you say?
    Dr Donkor 11:45 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, anybody who has ever been a Chief Executive in this Chamber. [An Hon Member: We do not have any Chief Executive Officer.] Who has ever been -- Mr Speaker, we will tell you that, Chief Executives are normally, for sensitive organisations such as Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC), will be appointed by the President.
    However, the Public Services Commission tends to conduct some interviews to situate the appointment within the correct preserve of the law. And our experience has been that in the past, Chief Executive Officers whose appointments had not gone through the Public Services Commission, were kicked out of office without compensation because they did not have a term specified by the Public Services Commission. Therefore, if in this process, we can put in a tenure, it will only enrich our practice.
    Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu 11:45 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I tend to take the view that the Constitution gives the power to the President, only the President. If we prescribe the term, then we are attempting to limit the power that has been given to the President to determine for each position, how long each person should serve. What term of period do I need to evaluate him to determine whether he should continue or not.
    Mr Speaker, the Constitution is clear that the President shall have that power, and he shall exercise that power on the advice of the Board, given in consultation with Public Services Commission.
    My Friend, Hon Kwabena Donkor was referring to experiences in the past. For some of us, whose names were mentioned before the Public Services Commission negotiated conditions of service, not the term. The appointment letter said you were appointed for one year. At least, from my experience, my appointment letter said, you will be appointed for one year subject to renewal”.
    Mr Speaker, what it did was that, it gave the President the opportunity to evaluate me on a yearly basis. If I was not performing to his satisfaction or meeting his vision, then he would be empowered to relieve me or to terminate my appointment. I think that power should be left for the President. The attempt by Parliament to hold the President ransom,
    to appoint somebody for four years, I think it is in a way putting a fetter on the constitutional powers conferred on the President.
    Mr Haruna Iddrisu 11:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, thank you very much.
    I have keenly followed the debate and the suggestions made therein to the proposed amendments by the Hon Chairman of the Committee.
    Mr Speaker, with your guidance, let me just refer you to the Institute of Local Government Studies, Act, 2003, (Act 647). Again, I will make reference to a particular legislation and it is for this House to take a decision.
    In respect of the Director of the Institute, this is what this House legislated.
    We said:
    “The Director of the Institute shall hold office:
    (a) For a period not exceeding two terms of five years each and on the other conditions specified in the Letter of Appointment.”
    We did so as an august House, when the Institute of Local Government Studies Act came before us.
    Mr Speaker, the policy decision is that, you want the Chief Executive to be given an opportunity to be appointed at least, for two terms, whether four years or five years, it is for this House to guide. But it should be renewed only once and Mr Speaker, we have grown as a democracy. But just to give practical example.
    We have seen instances until the Presidential Transition Act where successive Governments asked Chief Executives to proceed on leave. What was the basis? Were we respecting the appointing authority when we did so viz- a-viz what was provided in their Letter of Appointment.
    Mr Haruna Iddrisu 11:55 p.m.
    For instance, we have the Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance, who was given four years by the President and maybe, he had two years into the new administration who was asked to go home. We have, as a country, improved in terms of what I say by the transition; so what the Chairman is proposing, we can fine tune it by saying that:

    Let me just end by debating with the Local Government Institute. I am sure we would be guided to provide for a fix term renewable only once. That is the import of this proposal.
    Mr Speaker 11:55 p.m.
    Hon Members, if we are going to say that “for a term not exceeding four years” then the certainty that we are trying to inject in, is always taken away. So, let us know exactly whether we want to give the person a tenure. This is because if we say “not exceeding”, it means that even after six months, the person can still go because it is not exceeding four years. So, in my view, let us know exactly what this House as a House wants to do.
    Dr A. A. Osei 11:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I think that spirit of the amendment is alright. But if we are going to be consistent, then we should say “not to exceed the period of five years” so that the sum -- [Interrup- tion.] There is a reason for five years, so that, it is not coterminous with the time of the Presidency, then we are consistent.

    But I think that we should give the President room. As I recall, most Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) get a letter for one year subject to -- anyway. Most of the time, it is one year subject to, that is why the words “not exceeding” I think is very important. But the way we have it now, the Chairman may agree to your Minister's suggestion just with the slight amendment “not to exceed five years” to be consistent.

    This is because if the Local Govern- ment position is important, I think this is equally important.

    The spirit was that, five years would not be coterminous with that of the Presidency. Mr Speaker, I am not a Lawyer, but I do not think that there is anything that this amendment constrains the President. I am convinced it does not.
    Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka 11:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I would want to agree with my Hon Colleague from Old Tafo, except to say that, I still think that it should be four years.
    Mr Speaker, I believe that the intention is not to constrain the President, that is why the words “not exceeding” is important. We do not want a situation where we would cast it in a kind of concrete or metal steel. We want the President to be able to do it in a year, in six months, in two years, but in total, no single person should occupy that office beyond eight years. I thought that that is the import.
    If you look at what we did with other Bills, the intention is just to make sure that whatever the situation, people should not be allowed to stay in that office exceeding a total of eight years. But the discretion for the President to be able to say that you should do one year or only two years or six months, should still remain.
    That is why, Mr Speaker, I would want to urge the Chairman to use “ not exceeding” and it should be four years.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I think we are making progress. But I think that if we qualify the period, it would take care of the problem that the Hon Second Deputy Speaker articulated. So, if you have a construction like:
    “The Chief Executive Officer shall hold office for a period of not more than four years and may be appointed for a period of one more term only”.
    Mr Speaker, that would be the first leg. The second leg relates to the conditions --
    Mr Speaker 11:55 p.m.
    Which should be specified in his appointment letter?
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:55 p.m.
    Yes. The second leg relates to his conditions, and I guess we do not even have to delete what is in (3), so that that one would be retained as (4) because that relates to the conditions of service. So, we must retain that one as well.
    Ms Ursula G. Owusu 11:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I believe the Hon Minority Leader --
    Mr Speaker 11:55 p.m.
    What is your name?
    Ms Owusu 11:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, my name is Ursula Owusu, representing the good people of Ablekuma West. [Hear! Hear!]
    Mr Speaker 11:55 p.m.
    I thought you were going to add another name to the “Owusu”?
    Ms Owusu 11:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, my name is Ursula Owusu. [Laughter.] Mr Speaker, maybe, you are proposing, I can add “Adjaho” to my name.
    Mr Speaker 11:55 p.m.
    Hon Member, you have the floor. [Laughter.]
    Ms Owusu 11:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I believe the amendment proposed by the Hon Minority Leader addresses the concern that I had, that the appointing authority,
    as indicated, should also not be fettered in ensuring that his appointee also lives up to his own mandate. He should also be given the power to terminate his appointment and not be fettered in the exercise of that power. So, the rendition of the Hon Minority Leader addresses the concern that I had.
    Mr Speaker 11:55 p.m.
    Hon Members, I think that we have made progress on this matter. Let me have the new rendition and then I put the Question.
    Hon Member for Akwapim North, let me get the new rendition and let me put the Question on the amendment.
    rose
    Mr Speaker 11:55 p.m.
    Hon Chairman, I thought there was a consensus building?
    Mr William O. Boafo 11:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I just wanted to comment on the submission made by the Hon Member for Sekondi about the fact that this happens to conflict the constitutional provisions in article 193 --
    Mr Speaker 11:55 p.m.
    I asked him whether it offends and he said, no, it does not offend the Constitution. Then he chose to use the word “undermine”.
    Mr Boafo 11:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, very well. I will resume my seat.
    Mr Speaker 11:55 p.m.
    So, what is the new rendition?
    Alhaji Sorogho 11:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I associate myself with the amendment that the Hon Minority Leader has proposed.
    Mr Speaker 11:55 p.m.
    Hon Chairman, we are at the Consideration Stage. Let me have the amendment for me to put the Question.
    Alhaji Sorogho 12:05 p.m.
    Hon Minority Leader, can you repeat exactly what you said for the Chairman to take it? [Laughter.]
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, what I said was:
    “The Chief Executive Officer shall hold office for a period --
    Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
    Please, one at a time. I am writing it down and the Table Office also wants to get it since it has not been advertised on the Order Paper.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, it reads:
    “The Chief Executive Officer shall hold office for a period of not more than four years and may be re- appointed to a period of one more term only”.
    Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
    Can I have the second leg to the amendment, so that --
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the second leg, as I indicated, is to maintain what already exists, so that what is there now becomes (4).
    Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
    Hon Members, there would be a problem because we have used the word “term” in this amendment and there is the word “terms” here.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:05 p.m.
    If you like, we can take away the “terms” -- “conditions of service” -- [Interruption]- - “The Chief Executive Officer shall hold office on conditions specified in the letter of appointment --”
    Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
    Hon Majority Leader, we have finished with the first part but I want to get the rendition for the second leg, so that we would not go back and waste a lot of time on the clause.
    Dr Kunbuor 12:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the way it is rendered here is sufficient in terms of terms and conditions. The appointment is a contract and every contract has got terms and conditions. So, the use of the term and conditions are appropriate for this -- Terms and conditions.
    Alhaji Muntaka 12:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, can you take the question but probably, refer the rendition to the draftspersons to capture the sense of the House, the way it is? So that probably, even the 3 will become the 4 and what was moved would --
    Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
    Hon Members, the numbering is for the draftsperson. Let us move our amendment, the draftsperson will know how to arrange the clauses.
    Hon Members, the amendment as moved by the Hon Minority Leader and standing in the joint names of the Chairman and the Minority Leader --
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Mr H. Iddrisu 12:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, just that when the draftspersons are making it more elegant -- I note that in previous legislation, we have always stated that the candidate may be eligible for re-appoint- ment for one term only.
    Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
    Very well. The drafts- person should take note accordingly. I want to put the Question on the entire clause 14. Very well.
    Clause 14 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Clause 26 -- Activities reserved for Ghanaians and Ghanaian-owned enter- prices.
    Alhaji Sorogho 12:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 26 (h), the --
    Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
    Hon Chairman, there is no (h) in the original Bill. So, you move your amendment and explain.
    Alhaji Sorogho 12:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, we amended it to include (h) --
    Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
    Yes.
    Alhaji Sorogho 12:05 p.m.
    And that is why that amendment --
    Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
    So, you move your amendment.
    Alhaji Sorogho 12:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am moving that the entire (h) be deleted and the reason is that under General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS), we --
    Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
    What did the (‘h') state, so that everybody here can understand what you are trying to do.
    Alhaji Sorogho 12:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, it states that the areas that are limited exclusively for Ghanaians, should include the operations of freight forwarding and customs house agency duly licensed under the Customshouse Agents Licensing Act, 1978 (SMCD 188).
    Mr Speaker, the argument is that, if already SMCD 188 is taking care of it, then there is no need to again legislate it under a new law that is coming purposely for investments and number two, GATS will not allow us to exclusively limit operations in that area to only Ghanaians.
    It runs contrary to the GATS, which Ghana has committed herself to under the Schedule and that is why we think that it should be deleted.
    Mr Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus-Glover 12:05 p.m.
    Thank you very much for the opportunity.
    I have listened to my Chairman and with the greatest of respect to your Chair, I wish that that clause was maintained.
    This was because from what he read, he is holding the Schedule of the Ghana side of the GATS rules and with your permission, Mr Speaker, he is talking about the international transport freight and passengers. Over here, what we are talking about or the explanation to this side is that, the bulk of all cargo that are transported from overseas into our sea ports, that is Tema and Takoradi, it is in the hands of these foreigners and there is competition by Ghanaians with these foreigners at all.
    So, what we are saying is that, Mr Speaker, the freight forwarders and the customshouse agents, which he has brilliantly mentioned here by the SMCD 188 clearly states that that is a reservation for Ghanaians.
    Mr Speaker I hold in my hands “Structure of GATS -- General Agreement on Trade and Services” and in one of the headlines, it states misunderstanding and scare stories -- The new round of services negotiations would force WTO member countries to open all their service sectors to foreign competition and it is marked “force”.
    Mr Speaker, it is hear. Again, when you go further, it says that Governments within the WTO are free to choose those services which they will make commitment guaranteeing access to foreign supplies. Each member must have national schedule commitment and this is a copy of the national schedule commitment. Clearly, it is explaining that the bulk transportation of all these goods into Ghana is the preserve of these foreigners.
    Mr Speaker, I will plead with my Chairman and Colleagues from the other side that let us maintain, we want the security of this country -- There is a reason the SMCD 188 reserved that clause for Ghanaians -- for security of this country.

    In my earlier submission on this article 26, Mr Speaker, you would recall I made mention of India; I made mention of the United States of America for the reason that it is the preserve of those nationals including Ghana. Why do we open our doors? Mr Speaker, before I take my seat, let me make another strong argument in support of why I would want my Chairman and Colleagues from the other side to maintain it as it is.

    Mr Speaker, trade related agenda development and equity, GATS conditions to achieving developing country policy objectives and I read, Mr Speaker: “The aim of the Article 12 --”
    Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
    Hon Member, the Chairman gave two reasons. You are dealing with the GATS negotiations -- [Interruptions] -- I want to find out from you, you made a point whether it is true or not, I do not have the law before me but I would look at the law before I put the Question. The point he made was that, the SMCD 188 takes care of the issue. Is that the situation? I just want to find out from you.
    Mr Titus-Glover 12:05 p.m.
    Please, come again, Mr Speaker --
    Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
    The Customshouse Agents Licensing Act, 1978, (SMCD 188), he gave two reasons, addresses a certain concern and therefore, they want to leave it as such. The second reason that he raised was the GATS and I want to find out from you whether the issue that he raised with regard to SMCD 188, whether your take on it too is the same as his.
    Mr Titus-Glover 12:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, that is so. But what my Chairman said was that, the SMCD 188 is taking care of the customshouse agents.
    Dr Kunbuor 12:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the arguments seem to be a bit confusing. I think we are dealing with legal regimes, one that deals with investments and one that regulates whether one is permitted to carry out a business activity and the two are not the same. You can prevent somebody from taking part in a line of business activity without necessarily preventing the person from investing from that line of activity.
    Let us get this distinction clear. This is because when you go and pick SMCD which is dealing with regulating permissible and non-permissible areas and bring it into an investment environment, then it makes the argument very, very difficult. More significantly, the GATS that we are talking about, has national commitments attached to it as a schedule which is part of the convention to which Ghana has acceded. Your national commitments were express.
    So, if you do not expressly indicate that freight forwarding would be one of the areas you would want to reserve to nationals, you cannot come and do that in domestic law without running into problems with your obligations. This is the argument that is being raised. We are not saying it cannot be done, but you have to go and re-negotiate your national commitments.
    Yesterday, we took up this argument and we said that we could let the amendment go with the understanding that we go back to re-negotiate our
    national commitments and you cannot do it through the process that you would want to do it in an investment Act. That is the issue because the tenure of your investment Act is for completely different purposes than dealing with monopoly and competition law. Do not go and confuse these things and then get the House not to have a clear focus in terms of what it wants to do.
    You must know clearly how you deal with competition law and monopoly law as against investment regimes. That is the difficulty you are having.
    Mr Agyeman-Manu 12:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the Majority Leader is talking about conventions and we have to go for re- negotiations and we cannot bring them into domestic law --
    Dr Kunbuor 12:15 p.m.
    On a point of order.
    Mr Speaker, I would want the Hon Member to keep faith and understand the distinctions between the two international obligations. In the one of ITT aid that they were talking about, there was a reservation clause that allowed a sovereign State in its own national interest to come out with that revenue provision. You do not have a similar thing in GATS. So, the two are not the same.
    Mr Agyeman-Manu 12:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, let me make reference to the schedule my Hon Colleague mentioned and the SMCD 188. Are they not conflicting? This one is an international convention we have signed unto but we managed to put it in a domestic law, that is still binding on us.
    Dr Kunbour 12:15 p.m.
    These things are quite clear. Do you know when GATS was acceded to by Ghana? 1995? Do you know when SMDC (5) was passed? So, which one takes precedence? It is implied that when you go into international legal obligation later in time, you are deemed not to continue with what commitments you had earlier. That is the implication. And you must look at the time frame to determine whether it is one or the same thing.
    Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
    Let me hear from the Hon Deputy Attorney-General and Deputy Minister for Justice.
    Dr Dominic A. Ayine 12:15 p.m.
    Thank you Mr Speaker. Just to make --
    Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
    Oh sorry, Hon Agyeman- Manu.
    Mr Agyeman-Manu 12:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I think what the amendment seeks to do to the Bill is quite clear. We are thinking of taking away some services that cannot be undertaken by foreigners no matter what levels of investments they have in the oil industry.
    The area we are talking about, Mr Speaker, is only that maritime terminologies are different from road transportation terminologies. Other than that, freight forwarding is no different from the work a bookman does at a lorry station.
    Now, if you look at the supply chain of production, the Chinese will produce their goods by Chinese, they will lift them unto a ship by Chinese, the ship will be piloted to the shores of Ghana by Chinese and you want Chinese to come and meet them here to offload the goods for us to buy and consume and then they take the money away? That is why some of us are saying that --
    Dr Ayine 12:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, in terms of what it means, the Schedule deals with two aspects. Limitations on market access and limitations on national treatment. Now, market access means that you cannot restrict entry to your market either by placing a limit on the number of enterprises that may come into that sector or on the value of services that may be rendered.
    What we did here when we negotiated the GATS was that, we limited access to maritime transport services in terms of bulk and liner cargo to 20 per cent, which means that Ghanaians can own 80 per cent of that sector. But the catch is this, in terms of freight forwarding and I believe that those who are well versed in the industry will agree with me.
    Usually, there is what we call forward integration of the services, which means that, in the example that was given, it was possible for a foreign shipping line that engages in the provision of these services to also provide freight forwarding services
    by itself when the goods land at the ports in Ghana. That is why in our Schedule, Mr Speaker, we said “international transport freight and passengers”. In respect of that, we put the word “non” against it, which means that there was no market access restriction. If we put market access restriction here limiting it to only Ghanaians, then it means that we are in violation of the market principle of GATS.
    Then also, as far as national treatment is concerned, which requires that you treat your nationals or you give a quality of comparative conditions with foreigners, then we also put -- Mr Speaker, basically, what we are doing here will be in violation of GATS national treatment obligation as well as the market access obligation.
    Thank you, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Kofi Brako 12:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, thank you very much for this opportunity.
    Mr Speaker, like you rightly asked, the section (a) that handles maritime transport services, talks of limitation. And in this limitation, it talks of access to only 20 per cent of bulk and liner cargo. Mr Speaker, by bulk cargo, they are moved by train vessels. In this instance, even at the time that we were negotiating, we limited just 20% to the foreigners. Now, with liner cargo, it talks about containers. Liner vessels carry containers into the country.
    Mr Speaker, as at that time, we limited their participation to only 20 per cent.
    Now, the second Deputy Minister for Justice part, that the Deputy Attorney- General looked at talks of international transport, freight and passengers and it mentions none. This one particularly refers to shipping lines that carry the freight;
    that is the cargo and then the passengers. This one is none -- Shipping lines that carry them -- Yes, we know we do not have the capacity, so, that one, there is no limitation.
    Mr Speaker, if you go further, even when it talks about cabotage transport. Over here, it talks of cabotage transport where the fleet of vessels would carry Ghanaian flags. In this case, even before it can carry cabotage transport here, it means the vessels must be registered here in Ghana, that is when they would be given total access to these commodities.
    Mr Speaker, what we are talking of is that -- As Hon Agyeman-Manu just said, customhouse agency, what is it? Custom- house Agency --
    Mr Speaker 12:25 p.m.
    Hon Member, do you have any interest to declare --[Laughter.]
    Mr Brako 12:25 p.m.
    Yes, Mr Speaker --
    Mr Speaker 12:25 p.m.
    Hon Member, please, do you have any interest to declare? Hon Member, it is in your interest that I am asking this question.
    Mr Brako 12:25 p.m.
    Yes, Mr Speaker. Tema is the Harbour City and I am privileged to be the Member of Parliament for Tema Central. [Hear! Hear!]Tema Harbour now is the gateway to the sub-region.
    Now Mr Speaker, I happen to be a freight forwarder. I have been a -- [Inter- ruption] -- I happened to be a freight forwarder. I have been a President of Freight Forwarding and Mr Speaker, I am an expert in this business. So, what I am offering today is not about my interest, it is about my professional competence that I am trying to offer to this House -- [Hear! Hear!]
    Mr Speaker, all what we seek to do is that looking at the GIPC Bill, section 26 reserves some sections of businesses for citizens of Ghana. All what we are seeking to do is that, at this time of Ghana's development, where a lot of our youth are not employed Mr Speaker, all what we seek to do, is to look at the maritime industry and find out services that the youth of this country can easily have access to and make sure that we can support/restrict it, so that it would meet the vision of this country.
    Mr Speaker, with the General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) laws as my Colleague espoused, there are some conditions that developing countries are allowed even to get out of when they realise that they are having these problems.
    Mr Speaker, as Hon Titus-Glover read earlier, there is a very simple question here, that is, it is quite untrue that there is no obligation on any World Trade Organisation (WTO) member to allow foreign supply of any particular service, not even to guarantee domestic competition. And here, they say it is false. It says:
    “Governments are free to choose those services on which they will make commitments”.
    And then it ends by saying that:
    “There is agreement among all governments that in a new round of negotiations the freedom to decide whether to liberalise any given service and the principle of progressive would be maintained”.
    Mr Speaker, I go again to another section under article (iv) and it says 12:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker 12:25 p.m.
    Hon Members, you see, there is a very simple question I want the House to resolve and that is, are we in breach of any commitment that we have made -- [Interruption] -- Please, please. In my view, that should be the fundamental question because if we are in breach, it would lead to retaliatory action by other countries. So, for us as a nation and as a House sitting here representing the people, that is the fundamental hurdle we must clear.
    Dr Kunbuor 12:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, you see, because this has a lot of international implications, I would want us to be sure how we are putting the facts on the ground. Mr Speaker, the Hon Member is referring to the moratorium of 10 years that was granted to developing countries to adjust themselves to address these obligations. That has since past in 2005. So, that moratorium no more applies to what we are doing today.
    Mr Speaker 12:25 p.m.
    Hon Members, I did not want to make this information available, but I am constrained to make it available.
    I have been informed, there is a representation that if we do not look at this issue, it would trigger retaliation from other countries -- [Uproar] -- It is an information and that is why I want to find out from the Members, whether it is true or not.
    Mr H. Iddrisu 12:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity.
    I beg to speak in support of the amendment ably proposed by the Chairman of the Committee on Trade and
    Industry and to insist that when our Colleagues who were sponsors of this particular amendment to insert “freight forwarders and customs- house” approached us, I was emphatic in indicating to them that policy did not support that particular position. But we were amenable to encouraging it as a signal of giving more opportunities to Ghanaians.
    Mr Speaker, let us remember that the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre Bill is intended to encourage and promote investment, in particular, foreign direct investment. This is because domestically, the state of our economy does not support our own citizens to invest quantums of money that we expect them to do.
    Mr Speaker, one, this particular amendment will give a signal of great uncertainty to foreign investors and we do not intend to use this Bill to cure our inability to enforce an existing legislation. We have been told that SMCD 188 is already categorical on this. So, let us not visit a question of enforcement in importing a new provision which would send wrong signals to foreigners.
    Mr Speaker, there are foreigners already in this business and it would mean that they would have to quit business or wind up their businesses because we would want to reserve it exclusively under clause 26 for Ghanaians. Mr Speaker, we do not want also to give a signal that we are engaged in nationalisation, which also would send uncertainty -- [Interruption] -- You can hold your opinion. That also would send uncertainty to foreign investors about our country.
    This Bill is to promote foreign investment; even though we encourage local investment, we do not want that uncertainty.

    Mr Speaker, let me speak on authority that this particular provision offends our WTO commitment and offends our General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) Commitment and our attention has been drawn to it by some of our major development partners.

    In fact, only this morning and yesterday, I have been engaging, with the EU and also with the Japanese Ambas- sador this morning, to draw attention to some aspects of this Bill and I think that policy does not support it and we support the deletion. [Interruption.] You may choose to walk your path.

    Thank you.
    Mr Speaker 12:35 p.m.
    Hon Members, we have devoted enough time to this issue. I will take one or two and then if the Hon Leaders have anything to say. But let me start with the Hon Ranking Member on Trade. Let me hear from him.
    Hon Member, before you proceed, the Hon Chairman, in moving this amend- ment, made reference to (h). I have tried to crosscheck, it is rather (e); so, just for the record.
    Hon Member for Wenchi --
    Prof. Gyan-Baffour 12:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I think the Hon Member here from Tema was very clear on what is it that the WTS and the WTO actually prevent us from doing. If I heard you clearly, then it does not affect these operations. Let us go and be very sure about it. If we are sure about it that it does not, then I think we should go ahead. Mr Speaker, the fear of retaliation -- I do not think it is real.
    The fear is that, probably, we would violate the WTO or WTS and then, we would have to go to court. If the Hon Attorney-General and Minister for Justice is here and we can go to court to actually argue for who the President of Ghana is, how can we not go and argue with the
    WTO?
    Mr Speaker, the third issue is that, you see --[Interruption] -- The commitment; if we do not have the commitment now and there are two options -- One, probably, would be that we suspend this thing and go out there for the commitment or we do it and then change our commitment.
    Mr Speaker, I do not see why we should allow WTO and WTS to actually cripple the development of the country. We should be very clear on it. If the Schedule that we have there is something which is not in our interest, we should go there and re-negotiate. If we say every time we raise a point where we are trying to give something back to Ghanaians, we go back to WTO and WTS and then we are crippled, Mr Speaker --
    Mr Speaker 12:35 p.m.
    Hon Member, as a country, if you make a certain commit- ment and you want to change it, you must go back and re-negotiate before you come and make a law. You do not make a law, breach it before you go. It is --
    Prof. Gyan-Baffour 12:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, if it is so, then maybe, we would have to keep this law aside with the commitment from the Hon Minister that he is going back there to actually re-negotiate it and pass the law as it is now --[Interruption] -- And then whenever that commitment is changed, we can come back and amend it.
    But for now, we can go ahead and actually pass the law without this but with the commitment from him that he would go to the WTO to get that thing changed.
    Mr Joe Ghartey 12:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, let me first say that unlike what has been urged upon us that perhaps, we are acting in a manner that would create uncertainty, rather we are acting in a manner that would create certainty.
    Mr Speaker 12:35 p.m.
    I thought you were going to answer that one before you move to the second question?
    Mr Ghartey 12:35 p.m.
    My view, Mr Speaker, is that, it comes under Maritime Transport Services; it does not come under International Transport Freight and Passengers. But I hasten to add Mr Speaker, that I am not an expert in maritime law.
    Mr Speaker, the second question is that, if we had a law already - Customs- house Agency Act, 1978 (SMCD 188), which deals with this matter, then it can be said, why have we not had from the SMCD time -- I believe SMCD was in the 1970s -- So, why have we not had retaliation up to now? And that gives me more confidence, that in fact, what SMCD 188 and what we are talking about comes under Maritime Transport Services and not under the second one.
    I would say, Mr Speaker, I would urge that unless we are shown something else that convinces us that perhaps, we have negotiated ourselves out of this situation, I would hesitate to add that perhaps, we should limit ourselves to the limitation that we negotiated under GATS, that is, that 80 per cent Ghanaian, 20 per cent foreign. The maximum should be the limitation here.
    That is my comment, Mr Speaker.
    Alhaji Sorogho 12:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I think if what the Hon Second Deputy Speaker said is a guide to us, then it means there is no need even for us to have introduced in the first place, the amendment to reserve that one for Ghanaians. This is because
    when we introduce that in the GIPC Bill, we are definitely running counter to what it contains. This is because this one says that 20 per cent can go to foreigners, 80 per cent is reserved for Ghanaians.
    If it falls under the second one which he thinks that it does not, then definitely, Mr Speaker, we cannot at all make any law restricting it to Ghanaians. I have been trying as much as possible to see exactly what it means because I have been with my Hon Colleagues at the other end and going to the last Schedule, I even went and saw Cargo Handling Services. As the Hon Agyemang-Manu said, it is just like a “trotro mate” who is there to load the people --
    Mr Agyemang-Manu 12:45 p.m.
    Say “bookman”, I would not charge you for anything --
    So, Mr Speaker, that one too, limitations on market access, we said none; when you go to limitations on national treatment, we say, none. So, what I would beg is that, let us all see that, as coming under the first one and making sure that we only allow 20 per cent to foreigners and insist that 80 per cent stays with Ghanaians and that would satisfy all our sides.
    By so doing, I then wish to re- emphasise the amendment that I have introduced that we should delete that portion to allow the status quo to begin.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:45 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I think the question that you posed to us, is to help us achieve some certainty with respect to what we are doing. We should not do anything that would turn out to haunt us or to tie a noose round our necks. So, yes, we must relate to the WTO and GATS conventions and protocols.
    Mr Speaker 12:45 p.m.
    In fact, my Second Deputy attempted but whether he succeeded, is another matter. [Laughter.]
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:45 p.m.
    Yes, Mr Speaker, I think he wanted to be very cautious --
    Mr Speaker 12:45 p.m.
    Of course. The Minister for Trade and Industry; he was categorical; he says that it is in breach.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:45 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, he said so, except that he has not pointed to this House the specific provisions that the House would be in breach of. He said that we would be in breach. I do not want to take anything away from him. But what are the provisions that we would be breaching? He has not alluded to those specific provisions and that is my worry.
    That is number one; Mr Speaker --
    Mr Speaker 12:45 p.m.
    Hon Members, this is Consideration Stage, so, Hon Members can speak as many times as possible. So, let us listen to the Hon Minority Leader and I would call others. So, do not worry.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:45 p.m.
    The second thing Mr Speaker, that is, if we are not offending any provisions, is that the leg that my Hon Colleagues and some other Hon Members in this House are referring to really, is perhaps, the most insignificant portion of the chain; because it is a
    Mr Speaker 12:45 p.m.
    Hon Members, the difficulty and the challenge that we have, we may need some expert opinion on the matter, that is, if you look at what Ghana has negotiated under the GATS, you would see that the place where they used the word “freight” is where they have the “none”. Limitation on market access, that is where we have the “none”. But when we come to maritime transport services as has been said on the floor, it is 20 per cent to the foreigners and 80 per cent for Ghanaians.
    It is important for us to know exactly what constitutes this area of business. What activities does it constitute vis-à- vis our own commitment under GATS. That is the fundamental issue and that would clarify all the challenges.
    Hon Members, I thought that we could pass this Bill today, but I want to defer it for us to do one or two consultations while we take the rest and then we would come back to it today, so that we can clear all the other clauses that the Chairman mentioned.
    Dr Kunbuor 12:45 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I would want to draw our attention to the type of history that these particular clauses have gone through. There have been a number of discussions across board in relation to this. In fact, it was the process of those discussions that led to these documents being made available even to the specifics of Ghana's commitments under the Schedule.
    As the Hon Minority Leader said, “freight forwarding” has been attached. We want to see whether “freight forwarding” is outside the remit of these commitments that we have made and this is a matter of interpretation.
    One interpretation that was given yesterday by the Hon Deputy Attorney- General and Deputy Minister for Justice is the two categories in terms of market access and the other category. So, what we need to do here, we certainly cannot be learning international trade and investment law and the law of carriage of goods by sea and air within the time span of this.
    So, the GATS provisions and the commitments are not in isolation; they were arrived at within a broader body of legal knowledge and that is why we are running into these challenges. So, the onus would be on the one that is challenging that there is no breach to
    establish it. The presumption is that, on the face of these records, if we were to proceed in this way, we would be infringing on the commitments. Let somebody prove that, that is not the case; that in my opinion, would be the issue. But I do agree with you that we can take another path at this stage.
    Mr Speaker 12:45 p.m.
    Hon Members, I have also looked at the SMCD 188 and section one says:
    “A person shall not engage in the business of Customhouse Agent unless that person has been granted a licence by the Commission or an officer …”
    So, under this law, we can achieve a certain compromise, but it is for the House to decide; I am a servant of the House.
    But I believe that if we use this law effectively with regard to our commitment and getting the technical interpretation and implications, we can use this law to know the people we would grant licence to and people that we would not grant licence to. That is my view on the matter.
    Mr H. Iddrisu 12:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I do not intend to respond to specific issues, but to state that yesterday, even before the Consideration Stage, we were engaged and we all agree that the GATS is not perpetually binding on Ghana and that we would have an opportunity someday in the future to renegotiate it.
    But let us pass the Bill as it is, then the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and the Minister for Trade and Industry - - Mr Speaker, this was at the instance of the Ranking Member on Trade and
    Industry, attended by the Hon Member for Ayawaso West Wuogon who was here when we engaged -- and I said that the GATS is not perpetually binding on us. But we only have an opportunity to respect our international protocols and commitments to get this Bill passed, we go back and renegotiate and properly come to this House.
    Mr Speaker, if you read yesterday's Hansard, I stated same on the floor of this House.
    But finally, to respond to the Hon Minority Leader. If he would recall -- And I respect his opinion on many issues. On the day that we were debating this particular issue, I made reference to SMC Decree 188 and he took me on, on the definition of “business of customs” and I again referred him to read the definition of the “business of customs” and said that “business of customs” within the annals of trade facilitation, was more encom- passing.
    Maybe, the Hon Member for Old Tafo would help him. For instance, GcNet single operations can be construed as “business of customs” depending upon who is interpreting and what mechanism of interpretation is being used. If we had destination inspection company -- Business of customs -- Depending upon who interprets it, one may stretch it. I stated so.
    But, Mr Speaker, I have indicated and I am guided by what the Hon Second Deputy Speaker said. Mr Speaker is clear, in respect of freight forwarding, it is already 80 per cent driven by Ghanaians, per the interpretation he gave. And I said, on authority, I have had to engage our multi-lateral partners in the last few days, to have an appreciation of what the position is.

    I am encouraged that we can go back and renegotiate General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) but it should not make this Bill suffer.

    This Bill is about attracting foreign investment. It is about investment promotion. Whether erroneous or not, let us not give an impression that we are taking over businesses hitherto run by foreigners.

    I thank you, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Speaker 12:55 p.m.
    Let me hear from the Hon Ranking Member and let me get the sense of the House.
    Yes, Hon Member for Old Tafo, your name was mentioned.
    Dr A. A. Osei 12:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am surprised that the Hon Minister for Trade and Industry would want us to legislate on the basis of his negotiation with some donor partners. When they were doing the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), what did they do? As we speak, he knows we cannot sign onto the EPA. What is our permanent interest?
    I think that is what we should be looking at. This is because they know we are looking at the law, they are going to his office. That should not matter to us. What is our permanent interest? If we believe that this is proper, let them go and sue us. They are cheating us.
    Mr Speaker 12:55 p.m.
    Hon Member, the Hon Minister has stated his position and he has stated the policy.
    Dr A. A. Osei 12:55 p.m.
    That is why I believe that if we believe --
    Mr Speaker 12:55 p.m.
    Hon Members, I will put the Question but let me go and clear the non-contentious ones and then come back.
    Prof. Gyan-Baffour 12:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, let us follow your wise counsel. Let us stand this down for now. [Interruption.]
    Mr Speaker 12:55 p.m.
    Hon Members, the point I made is that we have spent so much time here. So, let me go and take the non- contentious ones and come back and put the Question today on this one. I said it.
    Prof. Gyan-Baffour 12:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, while we are doing the non-contentious ones, maybe, a couple of us will go out there and look at it and come back and then we can do it today.
    Mr Speaker 12:55 p.m.
    Hon Members, we are rising tomorrow and the discussion I had with the Hon Leaders was that we should not delay a lot of things and rise very late tomorrow. So, what I intend doing is that, as I said, let me clear the non-contentious ones and then I will come back to this one and I will put the Question on this one. [Interruption.]
    Hon Members, let us have order in the House.
    Order! Order!
    Hon Chairman, clause 27?
    Alhaji Sorogho 12:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, you have given your ruling, so, I cannot go back to it but I would have wished that --
    Mr Speaker 12:55 p.m.
    Hon Member, let us take the non-contentious clauses and then we come back to it today.
    Alhaji Sorogho 12:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, under clause 26 (2), we still have subclause (2), which deals with only a small thing --
    Mr Speaker 12:55 p.m.
    Hon Chairman, I have called clause 27.
    Alhaji Sorogho 12:55 p.m.
    Before we go to clause 27, there is something on clause 26
    (2) --
    Mr Speaker 12:55 p.m.
    Hon Member, I am aware. I say, let us go to clause 27.
    Clause 27 -- Enterprises eligible for foreign participation and minimum foreign capital requirement.
    Alhaji Sorogho 12:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 27, subclause (6), after “goods” insert “and services”.
    Initially, we deleted “and services”, we are restoring the phrase “and services”.
    So, it would read:
    “For the purposes of this section “trading” includes the purchasing and selling of imported goods and services.”
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Mr Speaker 12:55 p.m.
    Hon Chairman, do you have any other proposed amendment to clause 27?
    Alhaji Sorogho 12:55 p.m.
    No, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Speaker 12:55 p.m.
    Hon Members, I will put the Question on the entire clause 27.
    Clause 27 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Dr A. A. Osei 12:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, it is just a consequential amendment to clause 27(2). After the Hon Chairman has made that original amendment, there is a consequential one to clause 27(2).
    Mr Speaker 12:55 p.m.
    With regard to “and services”?
    Dr A. A. Osei 12:55 p.m.
    Yes.
    Mr Speaker 12:55 p.m.
    I so direct.
    Clause 31 -- Investment guarantees, transfer of capital, profits and dividends and personal remittances.
    Alhaji Sorogho 12:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 31, subclause (2),delete.
    Mr Speaker, subclause (2) reads 12:55 p.m.
    “An expatriate person employed or engaged in an enterprise may, subject to the fulfilment of all tax obligations make remittances which do not exceed the basic net salary of that person.”
    Mr Speaker, we think that if a person has fulfilled all the tax obligations, we do not have the right to decide how much one can send home or how much a person may want to retain here, so long as the taxes have been paid and the person does not owe the State, one has every right to use one's money the way one wants it.
    Mr Speaker 12:55 p.m.
    What is the new rendition? How will it read?
    Alhaji Sorogho 12:55 p.m.
    Yes, we are deleting the whole subclause (2).
    Mr Ghartey 12:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I heard the Hon Chairman also say that he is deleting subclause (1). Is it the whole of clause
    31?
    Mr Speaker 12:55 p.m.
    Is clause 31(2).
    Mr Ghartey 12:55 p.m.
    So, clause 31(1) remains as it is?
    Mr Speaker 12:55 p.m.
    Yes. It is clause 31, subclause (2).
    Mr Ghartey 12:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I do not know whether it is appropriate to say something now. I confess that I have not filed an amendment. But I was just wondering since we are dealing with clause 31 as a whole. Does the purpose of -- One of the things we offer in investment in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) legislation is the ability to transmit one's proceeds outside Ghana.
    Indeed, that is what has even influenced the proposal by the Hon Chairman to delete subclause (2). I was wondering that this clause 31(1), which says that --
    “Subject to … Foreign Exchange Act and the Regulations and Notices issued under the Foreign Exchange Act…”
    Is a different rendition from what used to be the case.
    What used to be the case is that, in spite of the Foreign Exchange Act, in spite of the Regulations under the restrictions under the Foreign Exchange Act, foreigners are allowed to remit certain things outside the country -- dividends, net profits. In fact, that is one of the things that we pride ourselves with and we hold out and tell foreigners that our laws are investor-friendly.
    But if we subject this very important condition or very important carrot that we give for FDI -- we subject it to other laws which are not even available there and to notices by the Bank of Ghana. The Bank of Ghana can make a notice tomorrow where it says that one cannot take money out of Ghana, then indeed, it undermines the letter and spirit of the whole of clause 31. It has the potential --
    The Bank of Ghana has the power to, by notices, regulate things related to foreign exchange. So, for example, the Bank of Ghana can say tomorrow that one cannot send foreign exchange out of the country. If the Bank of Ghana says that, it totally undermines this.
    Mr Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    Hon Member, I think that -- I do not want to take part in the debate but you must also have in mind the international attitude now towards money laundering and all those issues. So, it is important in that light in terms of money laundering and all those things to subject it to the Foreign Exchange Act and all those things.
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Clause 31(2) accordingly deleted from the Bill.
    Clause 31 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Mr Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    Clause 41 -- Regulations --
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, you have already put the Question but I do not know whether we cannot consider what you have just done. “Subject to this section”.
    Which section are we talking about? Section 31?
    Mr Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    Section 31, yes.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, and what does it contain? It is that, it is subjecting it to the Foreign Exchange Act. The other leg in this section --
    Mr Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    It is true.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:05 p.m.
    The other leg in this clause which we have deleted -- So, I should think that it would really relate only to “Subject to the Foreign Exchange Act” --
    Mr Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    I agree, especially so when we have deleted subclause (2).
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:05 p.m.
    Precisely, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    So, I direct the drafts- person to take note of the concern of the Hon Minority Leader. This is because having deleted subclause (2), there is no need to subject it again to this section.
    Clause 41 --
    Alhaji Sorogho 1:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 41, subclause (1), paragraph (b), line 1, delete “amend” and substitute “revise”.
    We met with the draftsperson -- [Interruption.] Revise. You can revise; the Hon Minister can revise the list and that it is better than the word “amend”. It is not anything controversial.
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Clause 41 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Alhaji Sorogho 1:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 42, under definition of “trading enterprise”, line 3, delete after “not” “and provision of services” and in line 4, delete -- [Interruption.]
    Now, we are no more going to delete it because we have already inserted the “services”. So, I would withdraw that amendment; it is consequential. Wherever the “services” deleted as a result of the first amendment, now that we have restored the “services”, it should all come back. So, it is consequential. So, I am withdrawing my amendment to that one.
    Mr Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    You are doing what?
    Alhaji Sorogho 1:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, clause 42, the proposed amendment --
    Mr Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    I would want to understand before I put the Question. You know that I do not have the amendment before me, so, I would want to understand you before I put the Question.
    Mr H. Iddrisu 1:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, just to support the Hon Chairman, I beg to move, “trading enterprise” as defined in page 25 of the Bill, should be maintained.
    Mr Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    Very well.
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Clause 42 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Mr Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    Let us go back to clause
    26.
    Mr Danquah 1:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker --
    Mr Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    I have put the Question.
    Mr Danquah 1:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, please, during the debate, I think the Hon Minister for Trade and Industry said that on clause
    42 --
    Mr Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    Hon Member, you should have alerted me.
    Mr Danquah 1:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I was up.
    Mr Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    Hon Member, I know that you have something at clause 26 --
    Mr Danquah 1:05 p.m.
    No, Mr Speaker, clause
    42.
    Mr Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    That one, you alerted me?
    Mr Danquah 1:05 p.m.
    Yes, Mr Speaker, the clause 42, there was a problem of --
    Mr Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    Why did you not alert me?
    Mr Danquah 1:05 p.m.
    I did, Mr Speaker. It is a small amendment to clause 42. On the definition of “enterprise”, the Hon Minister, during the debate, where it reads that --
    Mr Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    What is your amend- ment?
    Mr Danquah 1:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 42, “enterprise”, after line 4, “business”, delete “other than the exploration and extraction of petroleum and other minerals”. This is because at that time, the Hon Minister for Trade and Industry, as he gave the reason, this deletion is important -- It was because when you go on investment promotion, you cannot stop the GIPC boss from promoting our gas and mineral sector and our oil sector.
    So, that was why we needed to remove this rendition or this definition of “enterprise”, “other than the exploration and extraction of petroleum and other minerals”. We should include all and not restr ict it to other industr ies and exploration --
    Mr Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    What definition are you looking at?
    Mr Danquah 1:05 p.m.
    The definition of “enterprise” under “Interpretation”, clause 42.
    Mr Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    Hon Chairman, what is your comment on his amendment?
    Alhaji Sorogho 1:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the amendment that he proposed has already been taken care of -- [Interruption.] If he were following, he would have known that in the first amendment, we deleted that portion, to the extent that there was an argument here relating it to the object and we said that, no, even though it had been mentioned, nothing was said about the actual Bill” and so, we deleted it.
    Mr Danquah 1:05 p.m.
    No, Mr Speaker. I think I must refresh my Hon Chairman's memory that the amendment stood in my name during the Consideration Stage and I stepped it down only for the Hon Minister for Trade and Industry and the Hon Minority Leader to make reference --
    Mr Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    Hon Minister for Trade and Industry, what do you have to say to the amendment that he has proposed?
    Mr Danquah 1:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, if I could repeat the amendment--
    Mr Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    Yes, Hon Member.
    Mr Danquah 1:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, on the definition of “enterprise”, I would read all
    -- 1:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    You want it to be deleted?
    Alhaji Sorogho 1:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, it is something that we agreed on. If it was not deleted, then it was an oversight.
    Mr Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    Are you sure we have not done it?
    Alhaji Sorogho 1:05 p.m.
    Yes, Mr Speaker. This is because we agreed that there are other laws that take care of the exploration and the oil services and so, we decided that it should be deleted. The petroleum laws
    Mr Danquah 1:05 p.m.
    He has got it wrong, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    But that is precisely what is here. “Other than” means that it is not part of the definition.
    Alhaji Sorogho 1:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, it is the same --
    Mr Danquah 1:05 p.m.
    It is a promotion of investment and therefore, if you promote investment, you cannot limit it. So, that is why. So, it is deleted.
    Mr H. Iddrisu 1:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, our Hon Colleague is asking for the deletion of “other than”. If you would recall, in the course of the debate, the Hon Minority Leader pointed out that in the Memoran- dum accompanying the Bill, we had referenced that the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre will now affect investment promotion in the mining and gas sector and it was in pursuant to that that he moved a particular amendment and we are agreeable to it.
    Question put and amendment agreed to .
    Clause 42 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Mr Speaker 1:15 p.m.
    Clause 26.
    Hon Members, if I had not done this, we would still have been on clause 26.
    I will take the Hon Member for Abetifi and after that the Attorney-General and I will put the Question.
    Mr Pepera 1:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, early on, I did stand up on a point of order because the Hon Member for Tema Central was actually on the floor and he was interrupted by your goodself to ask a

    specific question. After he had asked the question, it then went straight into other contributions --
    Mr Speaker 1:15 p.m.
    Make your point. I will call the Attorney-General and then put the Question.
    Mr Pepera 1:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am saying that he was in the middle of explaining certain points to this House, which I think are very relevant and germane to the whole discussion. So, I personally would wish he would continue because I have made my contribution but I am not an expert in this field. But he is an expert in this field and he was in the middle of his contribution whereby the House was getting some advice. I, therefore, cede to the Hon Member for Tema Central.
    Mr Speaker 1:15 p.m.
    Hon Deputy Attorney- General.
    Dr Dominic A. Ayine 1:15 p.m.
    Thank you, Mr Speaker.
    In the course of our debate, the Hon Minority Leader asked a very specific question, which I answered yesterday. It was in relation to which specific provisions of the General Agreements on Trade and Services (GATS) we were undermining in the course of the enactment of clause 26.
    I did refer yesterday to article 16, that is (xvi) of the GATS on market access and I made mention of the fact that, in any domestic legislation, when you reserve exclusively that sector to your nationals, you will be undermining the market access obligation.
    I also referred to article 17 on national treatment which requires that you provide equality of competitive conditions for foreigners as well as your nationals. So, when he asked the question, I probably thought he was not around yesterday when the debate was going on with respect to clause 26. So, I just wanted the House to note the clauses involved.
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Clause 26 (1) (e) accordingly deleted from the Bill.
    Mr Speaker 1:15 p.m.
    Hon Member, move your amendment.
    Once he had moved that, we have pushed clause 26 through the Second Consideration Stage and he has an amendment to clause 26. There is no need for him to move the amendment again and once that the House has agreed that clause 26 should pass through a Second Consideration Stage, he now comes under that decision by the House.
    Hon Member, you have the floor.
    Mr Danquah 1:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 26, subclause (1), paragraph (f), add the words “and wholesale of pharmaceutical products.”
    Mr Speaker, the basis for this is very simple. We must exist as an economy or as a country to better the lives of our own nationals.
    Mr Speaker, we make laws to better the lot of our own nationals and the basis for this amendment is to ensure that the Ghanaian is the vehicle by which and through which pharmaceutical products will enter the markets of Ghana. There is a capacity to import, there is a capacity to wholesale. On this basis, I am asking that both sides of the House should support this amendment.
    It will be sad to go back to the days of AWAM. I might not have been born by then but AWAM means Association of West African Merchants. At that time, AWAM denied the Ghanaian the basis to import their own products. Those were those days. Today, with independence,
    we cannot allow the basis of AWAM to still dictate our import policy. This is because if in those days they were able to deny the Ghanaian from importing under the Association of West African Merchants (AWAM) before the Independence Day, we should not allow post-independent era AWAM to exist in our pharmaceutical products.
    Mr Speaker, with these few words, if we do not support such an amendment, then we are all supporting AWAM policy before independence.
    With these few words, I beg the House to support this important amendment because the pharmaceutical industry through KAMA, through KINAPHAR- MA, through Ayrton and all these manufacturing pharma-ceutical compa- nies have the capacity to import and to wholesale our products.
    The laws we make must encourage manufacturing of pharmaceutical products. It must not encourage the importation of pharmaceutical products to the demise of our own country. It is said that the health of a country is the wealth of her people. We cannot deny the wealth of this country by denying the health of this country.
    Let the importation go through the Ghanaian. Let the Ghanaian be the vehicle through which and by which we will get our pharmaceutical products. We have the capacity. I will urge the House to support this amendment.
    Thank you.
    Mr Speaker 1:25 p.m.
    Hon Members, I will take one person because this is a matter that has -- Hon Members, please.

    Hon Chairman, I will put the Question.
    Alhaji Sorogho 1:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, that is the beauty of democracy. You would attempt it the first time, you would fail and when there is a chance, you would try to route it through a window. But that is all right; that is legitimate.
    Mr Danquah 1:25 p.m.
    On a point of order.
    Mr Speaker, my Chairman is misleading this House.
    Alhaji Sorogho 1:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I think the amendment proposed by my very good Friend should be rejected outright. This was something that was proposed the first time and we all debated it. We saw the import and we voted it out. I am saying that, Mr Speaker, nobody is stopping the Ghanaian from importing finished pharmaceutical products. So, I think we should just vote it out. It is not necessary.
    Mr Speaker 1:25 p.m.
    Hon Members, as many as are in favour of the amendment --
    Hon Members, this matter has been debated. In fact, what the House agreed on, on Tuesday, 9th July, 2013 was “retail of finished pharmaceutical products”. Then when he wanted to move the amendment, I told him that it contradicts with the clause the House has earlier agreed to and I advised him on how he should move the amendment to be consistent with the decision taken by the House.
    We have moved the amendment and all that he is adding is “procurement”. Is it not “importation and procurement”?
    rose
    Mr Speaker 1:25 p.m.
    Let me hear from you briefly, then I will put the Question.
    Mr Agyarko 1:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, because it is a House of record, I need to correct an impression.
    The Hon Minister for Trade and Industry mentioned that I agreed or in a certain context -- but it is not so. However, I will come back to this point.
    Mr Speaker, I would want to place on record that this matter has not been debated. Indeed, Mr Speaker --
    Mr Speaker 1:25 p.m.
    Hon Member, please, let me set the record straight.
    On 9th July, 2013, the House agreed to “retail of finished pharmaceutical products”. On the 10th of July, 2013, the amendment being moved says, “procurement and internal retail and distribution of finished pharmaceutical products”. It was my view that it was inconsistent with the earlier decision by the House and it offended the rules of the House and therefore, we could not take it at the Consideration Stage.
    I went further to say that if he brought it in that form, it would be inconsistent with the earlier decision of the House, otherwise, we would be having two clauses in the Bill. So, I even advised that, then he must add -- Before then, all these things had been debated, so, I offered him the opportunity.
    So, the record here shows that the amendment is deemed to have been withdrawn, and based on that, he said, alright, he would come at the Second Consideration Stage. That is what he has moved and that is why I want to put the Question.
    Mr Agyarko 1:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, we have not debated the “importation and the wholesale”.
    Mr Speaker 1:25 p.m.
    Hon Members, please.
    Hon Member for Ayawaso West Wuogon, you have the floor. This is a Consideration Stage, so, give brief comments. That is why I gave a lot of time to you to say all things you wanted to say.
    Mr Agyarko 1:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, very well. I would be as brief as possible.
    Mr Speaker, I think that this House, all of us, on both sides, must support this amendment. Mr Speaker, there is a long history of the Ghanaian having been at the forefront of this --
    Mr Speaker 1:25 p.m.
    We have a specific amendment, so advert your mind to the amendment moved by the Hon Member.
    Mr Agyarko 1:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, it is with specific reference to the issue of reserving the importation for the Ghanaian. Mr Speaker, as far as the history goes, the Ghanaian has been at the forefront of this business. It is only lately --
    Mr Speaker 1:25 p.m.
    Hon Member, is the law saying that Ghanaians should not import?
    Mr Agyarko 1:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, no. There is no such law.
    Mr Speaker 1:25 p.m.
    Absolutely.
    Mr Agyarko 1:25 p.m.
    But Mr Speaker, I think a few things have come up in the industry that create a very threatening situation for the Ghanaian, and it is because of this, that is why we believe that it is necessary

    Mr Speaker, in my previous life, it was before me that an issue which was most unfortunate and which was most detrimental to the Ghanaians in the pharmaceutical industry broke.

    Mr Speaker, there was this company that had taken a pharmaceutical product from scratch, built it until it was doing so very well. All of a sudden, the mother organisation came and said, “I do not want you to do it again; I am taking it and giving it to somebody whose address I am comfortable with.”

    Mr Speaker, these things -- and the real danger is that to the extent that this economy continues to improve, if all the indices continue to do well, we would have all of them flooding in and what would happen is that they would elbow out the Ghanaian who has held the fort to this -- Mr Speaker, there is a history; if something happens and something goes wrong with our economy, I can assure you, all of them would go away. There has been a history of that in this country.

    In the past, there was JL Morrison Son and Jones; I would ask this House, where is JL Morrison Son and Jones today? There was Roger and Company. Where is Roger and Company? When they cannot get the foreign exchange --
    Mr Speaker 1:25 p.m.
    Hon Members, we are addressing a particular amendment.
    Mr Agyarko 1:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I think that there is a background to this. [Interrup- tion.]
    Mr Speaker 1:25 p.m.
    Hon Members, let us listen to the Hon Member for Ayawaso West Wuogon. He has the floor.
    Mr Agyarko 1:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, today, there is a popular place in Accra called Okaishie. It is a testimony and testament of what the Ghanaian entrepreneur in the import of pharmaceuticals can do. Therefore, it is because of the present danger -- It has happened already with one or two incidents that might not be too proper to mention in this House. But I can say, without equivocation that, I know personally, that a couple of them, the international companies, have lined up to come in here.
    Mr Speaker, when they come in, it is our people who would be elbowed out.This is because they are international or multinational companies and they would come in with such muscles that our people cannot compete with them.
    Mr Speaker, it is essentially because of the disparity; the kind of capital leverage they come in with which our people cannot match it. Mr Speaker, I would want to mention that it is only when we allow this, that the local people can gather enough capital to go on from just the trading to the manufacturing.
    Mr Speaker, this nation --
    Mr Speaker 1:35 p.m.
    Hon Member, conclude.
    Mr Agyarko 1:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, in this nation, all the ones we know -- [Interruptions] --Mr Speaker, I will speak on the Kinapharmas -- I will speak on the Ernest Chemists and I will speak on the Kamas. They started off as traders and because they had the opportunity to build capital, today, they have graduated from just being importers and traders to

    manufacturers. If we do not create this opportunity, Mr Speaker, we will just be left at the low echelons of this and the real danger is that, if we do not do something about it, one day, our children will become hewers of stone and drawers of water in our own land.

    I thank you, Mr Speaker.
    rose
    Mr Speaker 1:35 p.m.
    I thought I had wanted to put the Question -- Anyway, you are the Hon Majority Leader.
    Dr Kunbuor 1:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, that was precisely what I wanted to indicate because I have sat down and enjoyed the debate on the matter but given the time table, I wanted to crave Mr Speaker's indulgence. I am almost certain that everyone of us on this issue has duly earned our wages. The debate has been fruitful.
    Thank you.
    Question put and amendment negatived.
    Clause 26 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Mr Speaker 1:35 p.m.
    Hon First Deputy Speaker to take the Chair.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, yesterday, I raised an issue and I think we were not very conclusive. But the Hon Member for --
    Mr Speaker 1:35 p.m.
    Hon Minority Leader, I would want to bring the Second Consideration Stage to an end because we have finished, unless you would want to move it through another clause.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:35 p.m.
    Yes, Mr Speaker, just for us to have a second look at what you have just done.
    Mr Speaker 1:35 p.m.
    So, we should add “promotion”.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am saying the other leg that should concern us with respect to clause 27, is, the clause 26 excludes certain enterprises to Ghanaians and clause 27 then opens some window to foreign participation and we have raised the ceiling to one million.
    Mr Speaker, if by this new interpre- tation, we exclude “other than the exploration and extraction and other minerals”, as has been proposed by my Hon Colleague, what then we will succeed in doing is reintroducing into the operations of small scale mining, foreign intrusion and I think we should be very careful about that.
    I have had some discussion with the Hon Majority Leader and the Hon Minister responsible for Trade and Industry.
    Mr Speaker 1:35 p.m.
    So, are you moving an amendment or what are you doing, so that we direct the draftsperson?
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I think that the original rendition should stand.
    Dr Ayine 1:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I rise to support the position taken by the Hon Minority Leader. I think that is the correct position of the law. If you look at the Constitution, it is very clear that there are Natural Resources Commissions that are mandated to regulate the natural resource sectors. So, we have the Petroleum Commission in charge of oil and gas and then the Minerals Commission in charge of solid minerals.
    If we define “enterprises” this way, it means that in terms of substantive regulation, we are putting them within the scope of this Bill. So, I agree with and support the amendment that he is proposing.
    Mr Speaker 1:35 p.m.
    Who amended the proposal?
    Dr Ayine 1:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the Hon Minority Leader -- [Interruptions.]
    Mr Speaker 1:35 p.m.
    I just want to see, if it is not substantial, then I can direct the draftsperson; but I want to get the import of the point being made. But if it is substantial, we may meet --
    Mr H. Iddrisu 1:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, it is substantial, because the Hon J.B. Danquah earlier moved for the deletion of “other than”, which I supported. But noting that the Hon Minister for Lands and Natural Resources and Government are currently engaged in an exercise to ensure that the small scale mining remains an exclusive reserve for Ghanaians--
    If we do not re-insert “other than”, we may be opening a window of opportunity for foreigners to enter that area. So, I accordingly associate myself with the proposed inclusion of the words “other than” in the definition of “enterprise” as captured on page 23.
    Thank you, Mr Speaker.
    MR FIRST DEPUTY SPEAKER
    Alhaji Sorogho 1:40 p.m.
    So, the amendment which was proposed by Hon J.B. Danquah and which was agreed to, is a further amendment -- It is dropped, so that we maintain the -- [Interruptions] -- No! We are maintaining the original --
    Dr A. A. Osei 1:40 p.m.
    The House approved that amendment, so, he cannot just say it is withdrawn. A decision has been taken. Now, if he wants to offer a Second Consideration, he should say so but to say that we withdraw the amendment -- We took a decision; you cannot withdraw it any longer -- a Motion of recision.
    Alhaji Sorogho 1:40 p.m.
    A further amendment to the amendment proposed -- [Interrup- tions] -- I am proposing an amendment to the amendment which was accepted by this House. It is the same thing. Alright. It is, to the decision accepted by this House.
    Papa Owusu-Ankomah 1:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that this House rescinds its decision on the amendment moved by Hon J. B. Danquah and accepted by this House in respect of the definition of “enterprises” to exclude “exploration . . .”
    I so move.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:40 p.m.
    Now, we move to restore the original rendition of “enterprise” -- [Interruptions] -- He moved an amendment, so, where are we? For the avoidance of doubt, I am saying that we reinstate the original definition of “enterprise”.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:40 p.m.
    I believe it is implied. Right?
    Now, this brings us to the end of the Second Consideration Stage of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre Bill, 2013.
    Yes, I believe we can now take the Third Reading.
    Hon Minister for Trade.
    1. 45 p.m.
    BILLS -- THIRD READING 1:40 p.m.
    Mr Alfred K. Agbesi 1:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, if we can go back to item (4) on the Order Paper -- Presentation of Papers.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:40 p.m.
    Are we starting with item (4a)?
    Mr Agbesi 1:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I would want to crave the indulgence of the House for the Minister for Trade and Industry to lay the Papers on behalf of the Hon Minister for Government Business in Parliament.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, with respect, these Papers listed are laid in this House by the Hon Majority Leader in his capacity as Leader of the House, not as an Hon Minister. So, he cannot draw in a Minister to lay it on his behalf. He is the Hon Deputy Majority Leader, he has the capacity to do that. This is not the business of a Minister.
    Mr Speaker, let the Minister “unbow”
    Mr H. Iddrisu 1:40 p.m.
    [Unbowed] -- [Laughter.]
    Mr Speaker, may the Hon Deputy Majority Leader do what is appropriate.
    Papa Owusu-Ankomah 1:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, this reminds me -- there was a trotro driver who was driving and was turning to the left and then he signalled to the right and realised it was a mistake, so, he
    PAPERS 1:40 p.m.
    Mr Agbesi 1:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, we were earlier informed that Statements had been admitted, so, if we can go back to the Statements.
    Dr A. A. Osei 1:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, since the Hon Deputy Majority Leader laid the Papers (vi) and (vii), I thought he may want to explain to us why those reports have been available since last year September, 2012 and they are now being laid. Those reports have been in the mails room since September 2012 and I am asking why they are being laid now.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:40 p.m.
    Are you talking about the previous Parliament?
    Dr A. A. Osei 1:40 p.m.
    This information was brought to the previous Parliament in September, 2012. They were not laid then so, I thought he may have a reason for -
    - 1:40 p.m.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:40 p.m.
    But this is a new Parliament. He is the Hon Deputy Majority Leader --
    Dr A. A. Osei 1:40 p.m.
    But this was here, if he does not know, he must say so.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:40 p.m.
    He was here not in this capacity.
    Dr A. A. Osei 1:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, if he does not know, he must say so.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:40 p.m.
    He was here but he was not here in this particular capacity.
    Dr A. A. Osei 1:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, talking about this new Parliament, we came in since January. Since January, they have been there.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:40 p.m.
    If you want him to talk about the period from January, fine but not from December or from September last year.
    Yes, Hon Deputy Majority Leader?
    Mr Agbesi 1:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I have no idea. [Laughter.] Mr Speaker, if we can go to item number (4) (c).
    By the Chairman of the Committee --
    Report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs on the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) for the establishment of an ACBF Regional Office in Ghana.
    Mr Agbesi 1:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, if we can take Motion (8) on page (3) of the Order Paper.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
    Very well. Motion number (8).

    Suspension of Standing Order 80 (1)
    Mr Emmanuel K. Bandua 1:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order 80(1) which require that no Motion shall be debated until at least, forty-eight hours have

    elapsed between the date on which notice of the Motion is given and the date on which the Motion is moved, the Motion for the adoption of the Report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs on the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) for the establishment of an ACBF Regional Office in Ghana, may be moved today.
    Mr Isaac Osei 1:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.
    Dr A. A. Osei 1:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, he moved Motion number 8; there is no Motion number 8 on the Order Paper -- [Interruption] -- No! He said Motion number 8; that is what he said. Check.
    Mr Bandua 1:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I particularly said Motion numbered eight on page 3 of today's Order Paper -- [Interruption.]
    No! I said “Motion numbered”, not “number.”
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
    Hon Members, it is the Motion numbered 8 on the Order Paper for today. It has been moved and seconded, so, I would put the Question.
    Question put and Motion agreed to.
    Resolved accordingly.
    Agreement between GoG and the African Capacity Building
    Foundation (ACBF)
    Chairman of the Committee (Mr Emmanuel K. Bandua) 1:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that this Honourable House adopts the Report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs on the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) for the establishment of an ACBF Regional Office in Ghana.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
    Hon Member, please, let me intervene with this.
    Having regard to the time factor, I direct that we Sit beyond the stipulated time but again, I direct that we do not go beyond 30 minutes outside of the stipulated time.
    Improved socio-economic impacts
    Mr Bandua 1:55 p.m.
    The Committee observed that the location of the regional office in Ghana would result in the hosting of many seminars and workshops in the country, which will make the country a net recipient of international visitors. This, the
    Committee observed, will undoubtedly translate into increasing economic activities in the country, having regard to the volume of goods and services that will be consumed by participants of programmes of the Foundation, which will be hosted in the country due to the Foundation's physical presence in Ghana.
    Besides, the Committee observed that the continuous increase in international visitors to the country would not only create avenues for increasing exports of the country's products but would also generate employment as the economic base of the country widens as a result.
    Socially, the country's customs and culture will be widely accepted, embraced and promoted abroad, given the increasing number of international visitors who will become acquainted with Ghana as a result of their connection with the activities of the regional office when it is finally established. This will also facilitate the country's integration with other countries, and thus enable tremendous benefits to be reaped from such integration.
    Improved capacity of Ghana's workforce
    The Committee learnt about how the Foundation had supported the capacity development initiatives of many countries on the continent and was convinced that the establishment of the regional office in Ghana will facilitate access of the working population, of the country to the projects and products of the Foundation, which will ultimately enhance their capacities.
    The Committee was, particularly impressed with the grants given by the Foundation to enhance the capacity development initiatives of organisations
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
    Thank you very much; it is open for contributions.
    Mr Isaac Osei (NPP -- Subin) 1:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion and in doing so, I wish to, first of all, make a correction.
    The Hon Chairman would agree with me that under the “Recom- mendations” we should probably have indicated “benefits which are expected to inure to the country.” I think that is probably what we should have said.
    But having said this, Mr Speaker, I do not think this is a contentious matter at all. During our deliberations, all of us agreed that it was important for Ghana to have a body such as the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) hosting their sub-regional office in Ghana. This sub- regional office would cover the activities of the Foundation in 24 African countries.
    Mr Speaker, if you look at the remit of the Foundation, one area which we have not taken advantage of, is the area of strengthening the policy analysing capacity of national Parliaments. I think this Parliament would have to look at this area to see how we can also access the funding which is made available by this Foundation in order to strengthen the capacity of the individual separate committees that we have here.
    Mr Speaker, we also know that given the resources available, the Foundation has spent close to US$500 million, US$40 million of which has been spent in Ghana and the benefits which would accrue to this country have been stated even though we may have gone a little over the top when we said that it would make this country a net recipient of international visitors.
    We know that it would add more international visitors to our country because of the various workshops and others which would be organised by virtue of the fact that Ghana would be hosting the Foundation.
    With these few remarks, Mr Speaker, I urge all Hon Members of the House to ratify this Agreement which has been signed between our country and ACBF.
    I thank you, Mr Speaker.
    Dr Anthony A . Osei (NPP -- Old Tafo) 1:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I just wanted to say a few words about it.
    I think this is a very important development. In particular, I do not know how many Members are aware of this. But the African Development Bank (ADB) is relocating back to Abidjan, so la Cote d'Ivoire is going to become a very important city.
    Ghana is going to be in competition. ACBF is a smaller unit, of course but to get such a regional institution in Ghana, helps us, otherwise, we are going to be competing. That movement of the ADB from Tunisia to la Cote d'Ivoire is going to make Ghana feel insignificantly in the world of cities. So, having this small group coming here, I think it is useful to us.
    As has been stated, ACBF has been very useful to Ghana. I, particularly my first job I got at CEPA when I came back, was fully funded by ACBF. The Masters Degree has helped a lot of people in Ghana. So, I think that having its regional location here, is an important thing and the Government needs to do whatever it can to provide the facilities, so that they can come quickly.
    But I think it may bring some professional staff but not to the degree that ADB is going to absorb all these people coming from la Cote d'Ivoire.
    With those few words, I urge Hon Members to vote for the Committee's Report.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:05 p.m.
    All right. Hon Members, I think it is a straightforward Report, unless you still want to contribute.
    Mr Samuel Atta Akyea (NPP -- Abuakwa South) 2:05 p.m.
    Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity.
    Mr Speaker, I take it from the dimension of our democratic governance and our strategic location. It seems to me that by this arrangement, in which the African Capacity Building Foundation wants to locate in Ghana, we should take ourselves very serious.
    This is because, then it seems to me the whole attention of the world is on Ghana. If we have international bodies of this stature, trying to locate in Ghana, it goes to show our sense of rule of law and the peace we want to enjoy. And nothing should ever happen to disturb the peace and the democratic credentials that we have secured so far.
    There are several international interventions, which would come to help our economy and improve our lot, provided always that the prerequisites are met -- peace, security, rule of law, democratic governance. And in the wake of what is going on, the Supreme Court about to retire to determine how the system would progress or otherwise, I think the most important consideration is the fact that we need peace in this country for many more serious interventions to come to improve upon the lot of our people.
    There was another dimension to the Agreement which was not too clear but maybe, some space would be found to make sure that it is in sync with the laws of this country -- The waiver of income -- I find it a bit nebulous what it meant. Income tax -- For a set-up of this nature,
    Dr A. A. Osei 2:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, point of information.
    The Hon Member from Abuakwa South is my lawyer, so, I need to provide some information to him.
    This is consistent with all our international obligations. It is reciprocated; our diplomats would also do the same. So, it is the standard.
    Mr Akyea 2:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am grateful for the light he has shed on it.
    My only concern is that this set-up -- Are they into any serious economic activities to generate income and for that matter, there would be the need to waive taxes? That was my concern. But the clarification is welcome.
    So, in brief, all that I would like to say is that this is a clear indication to us that serious things are about to happen to Ghana, if we preserve the peace of this country and we would be better off for it. And I urge all Hon Members to ratify the Agreement; it is in order.
    I am grateful, Mr Speaker. Question put and Motion agreed to.
    Mr Agbesi 2:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, if we can take
    the Resolution on page 4, under item 10. And in this regard, I would like to ask the indulgence of the House for the Hon Minister of State at the Presidency, Hon Fifi Kwetey to take the Resolution on behalf of the Hon Minister for Finance.
    RESOLUTIONS 2:05 p.m.
    Minister for Finance) 2:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move,
    WHEREAS by the provisions of article 75 of the Constitution any Treaty, Agreement, or Convention
    Mr Emmanuel K. Bandua 2:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.
    Question put and Motion agreed to.
    Resolved accordingly.
    Mr Agbesi 2:05 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, we would go back and take the Statements that have been admitted by your goodself.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:05 p.m.
    Well, actually, it is true that Mr Speaker admitted two Statements but having regard to the time, I wonder if we would be able to deal with them adequately. So, I think we would defer them until further notice.
    Accordingly, I direct that the House be adjourned till tomorrow at 10.00 o'clock in the forenoon.
    Thank you.
    ADJOURNMENT 2:05 p.m.
  • The House was adjourned at 2.10 p.m. till Friday, 19th July, 2013 at 10.00 a.m.