Debates of 30 Oct 2013

MR SPEAKER
PRAYERS 11:16 a.m.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 11:16 a.m.
Mr Speaker 11:16 a.m.
Hon Members, Correc- tion of Votes and Proceedings of Tuesday, 29th October, 2013.
Page 1 … 9 --
Mrs Gifty E. Kusi 11:16 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am sorry to take you back to page 7, number 70. My name has been captured as absent but I was present yesterday.
Mr Speaker 11:16 a.m.
Very well.
Mr Patrick Y. Boamah 11:16 a.m.
Mr Speaker, on page 9, item 10, the Question that was answered by the Hon Minister for Energy there is a typographical error -- “14 Mr Stephen Kunsu.” It is supposed to be “Mr Stephen Kunsu” and not “14 Mr”
Mr Speaker 11:16 a.m.
Very well.
Thank you very much.
Mr Annoh-Dompreh 11:16 a.m.
Mr Speaker, on page 2, my name is Frank Annoh-Dom- preh. I was actually absent yesterday but it has been captured as present.
Mr Speaker 11:16 a.m.
Thank you for your honesty.
Page 10 … 13.
Ms Sarah Adwoa Safo 11:16 a.m.
Mr Speaker,

I will take you back to page 11, item 1. I believe the word is “opening” but it has been spelt “ope” and there is a space and “ning”, “Attendant” is also “A ttendance”.
Mr Speaker 11:16 a.m.
You are right.
Thanks.
Dr Owusu-Afriyie Akoto 11:16 a.m.
Mr Speak- er, the same are for the following pages 12 and 13, “Attendance” and “Opening” have been split up, and page 14 too.
Mr Speaker 11:16 a.m.
So, it is pages 11, 12, 13, 14 --[Interruption] -- and 17? Any- way, let us continue.

Hon Members, the Votes and Pro- ceed- ings of Thursday, 29th October, 2013 as corrected are hereby adopted as the true record of proceedings.

Hon Members, we do not have any Official Report for correction; so, we move to item number 3 on the Order Paper-- Questions.
Mr Joseph Y. Chireh 11:16 a.m.
Mr Speaker, yesterday we did not consider the Official Reports from 16th --
Mr Speaker 11:16 a.m.
You are absolutely right.
Thank you very much for reminding me.
Mr Ignatius B. Awuah 11:16 a.m.
Mr Speaker, yesterday we deferred the Official Reports because that of 16th September, 2013 was not available and till today we do not have them. So, I do not see how we can --
Mr Speaker 11:16 a.m.
Yesterday I had the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th. Unfortunately, my Usher did not bring my copies here. So, are we going to defer them again? You do not have the copies of the 16th; you should have it?
Mr Awuah 11:16 a.m.
Mr Speaker, we do not have them.
Mr Speaker 11:16 a.m.
I learnt it was distributed when we came for the Emergency Sitting.
Hon Members, in order to have it corrected, make sure you all bring your Official Reports from 16th of September 2013 for correction tomorrow.
Hon Members, now, Questions.
We start with the Hon Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUES- 11:30 a.m.
TIONS 11:30 a.m.
MINISTRY OF TOURISM, CUL- 11:30 a.m.
TURE AND CREATIVE ARTS 11:30 a.m.
Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts (Mrs Elizabeth Ofo- su-Agyare) 11:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Fuller Waterfalls is one of the prime natural attractions in the Kintampo North Munic- ipal Assembly located at Yabraso, about eight kilometres west of Kintampo, along the New Longoro road, off the road from Kumasi to Mole National Park.
The falls has a unique appeal to vis- itors, because of its beautiful setting. Currently, the falls enjoys considerable patronage from tourists, majority of whom are domestic tourists, including the youth and religious groups.
As part of its mandate to develop and promote tourism in the domestic and international markets, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts works closely with key stakeholders including other Ministries, Departments
and Agencies and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to provide basic infrastructure necessary to add value to the tourism products.
The provision of basic infrastructure, notably access roads, electricity, potable water, communication facilities, among others, serve as a conduit to attract req- uisite investments from the private sector for visitor facilities such as highway rest- stops, eco-lodges, hotels, restau-rants, souvenir shops, supermarkets, to mention but a few.
The successful development and repackaging of our tourism resources, including the Fuller Falls, therefore, be- comes a collective responsibility of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts and her key partners. This calls for public-private partnership, which is now the trend in many countries committed to developing tourism as a viable economic sector.
Additionally, the National Devel- op-ment Planning Commission (NDPC) requires MMDAs to engage local stake- holders and civil society groups in prepar- ing their medium-term develop-ment plans and annual budgets for implementation of the plans. Over the years, the MMDA's have been encouraged to incorporate tour- ism development in their annual plans and budget to ensure that funding is set aside for the provision of requisite infrastructure to develop the tourist sites in the districts.
This is rightly so; this is because significant revenue accruing from the tourist businesses, that is, food vendors, handicraft sellers and transport services, et cetera, directly benefit the districts and local communities which host the tourists.
To this end, our information is that, the Kintampo North Municipal Assembly has planned to rehabilitate the 1.8-kilometre access road from the Fuller Falls Junction
Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts (Mrs Elizabeth Ofo- su-Agyare) 11:30 a.m.


to the falls. The project is to be funded from the District Development Facility. The district also has plans to incorporate development of tourism facilities at the falls. This is captured in the successor District Medium Term Development Plan

(2014-2017).

I am happy to note that Hon Stephen Kunsu was the Vice-Chairman of the Par- liamentary Select-Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism who had worked closely with the Ministry over the years in the development and promotion of tourism in Ghana. The Ministry will work closely with the Hon Member to engage the Kintampo North District Assembly and the private sector to mobilise the requisite resources for the development of Fuller Falls and other attractions in the district.

Mr. Speaker, may I conclude by indi- cating that following the passage of the Tourism Act, 2011 (Act 817), and associ- ated regulations, specifically the Tourism (Levy) Regulations, 2012, which provides basis for collection of per cent levy from patrons of tourist facilities and enterprises into a Tourism Development Fund for the prospects of developing and re-packaging of our numerous tourism resources, is brighter than before. This is because as the Fund develops, the Ministry will be in a better position to support tourism projects and programmes as well as creating more jobs in the various districts and commu- nities across the country.

In this regard, may I pledge the Min- istry's commitment to work closely with the Kintampo North Municipal Assembly and indeed, all Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies as well as other development partners and the private sector for development, repackaging and promotion of tourism products within the districts and communities.

We are poised to add value to our tour- ism products for increase patronage by tourists. This is a sure way of generating revenue, creating jobs and improving incomes of host communities engaged in tourism activities and businesses.

Mr Speaker, thank you for your kind attention.
Mr Speaker 11:30 a.m.
Hon Member, you may ask your supplementary question.
Mr Kunsu 11:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, according to the Hon Minister, the successful devel- opment and repackaging of our tourism resources is a collective responsi-bility of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts and her key partners.
May I know what the Ministry has done so far in promoting this laudable idea?
Mrs Ofosu-Agyare 11:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, fortunately, the Kintampo Waterfalls is a popular tourist attraction and we are engaging with the Ghana Tourism Fed- eration (GHATOF), the umbrella body of the tourism industry in Ghana, to look for investors to invest in the Kintampo Waterfalls. Fortunately, two people have come and we are awaiting their response.
Mr Speaker 11:30 a.m.
Hon Member, have you exhausted your supplementary question?
Dr Matthew O. Prempeh 11:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, counting from the last paragraph upward, about the third or fourth from the back, I heard the Hon Minister made reference by saying:
“I am happy to note that Hon Ste- phen Kunsu was the Vice Chair- man of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism who had worked closely with the Ministry over the years in the development and promotion of tourism in Ghana.”
The Hon Member of Parliament asked
Mr Speaker 11:30 a.m.
Hon Member, rephrase the question.
Dr Prempeh 11:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, parlia-
men-tary Questions are serious business of the House.
Mr Speaker 11:30 a.m.
I know.
Dr Prempeh 11:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, they are se- rious business of the House and we should not allow surreptitious people to introduce things that are not relevant.
swering a Question from the Hon Member on serious problems in his constituency on the Fuller Falls
Mr Speaker 11:30 a.m.
Hon Member, if you want to know how closely he had worked with the Ministry, ask the question for the Hon Minister to answer.
Dr Prempeh 11:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, that is not the question. I have a different question.
Mr Haruna Iddrisu 11:30 a.m.
On a point of order.
Mr Speaker, my point of order is for you as the Speaker of Parliament to refuse to admit this particular question on ques- tion of relevance. It also undermines the authority and mandate of a parliamen-tary committee in exercising oversight in pro- moting tourism. Therefore, his question is misplaced.
Mr Speaker 11:30 a.m.
Hon Member, I think the question is proper because the Hon Minister introduced the name of the Hon Member into the Answer.
Mrs Ofosu-Agyare 11:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I wish the Hon Member had Waterfalls, I would have developed it for him.
But suffice to say that, the Hon Member of Parliament, even though has not developed Kintampo Waterfalls, has worked for the collective improvement of tourism in Ghana. Even working on the Committee, all the things that he had done have helped other constituencies that have not included his constituency.
So, the fact that he has not developed Kintampo Waterfalls, does not mean that working on the Committee, he has not worked for the betterment of Ghana in respect of tourism.
Mr Ignatius B. Awuah 11:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister, in her Answer, stated that 1.8 kilometre access road from the Fuller Falls Junction to the Falls is going to be rehabilitated by the Assembly with funds from the District Development Facility (DDF).
I would want to know from the Hon Minister how sure she is, the Assembly qualifying for the DDF. This is because it is not automatic that every Assembly qualifies for the DDF; it depends on their performance. So, how can she rely on that source of funding?
Mr Speaker 11:30 a.m.
The quantum depends on their performance; so, every Assembly is entitled-- [Interruption.] The quantum depends on their performance.
Mr Awuah 11:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, it is not au- tomatic; it depends on their performance. So, I would just want to know from the Hon Minister --
Mr Speaker 11:30 a.m.
I just want to get clari- fication from you to -- Is it possible for a District Assembly to get zero (0) per cent?
Mr Awuah 11:30 a.m.
Yes.
Mr Speaker 11:30 a.m.
Very well. So, how can she rely on this as a source of funding for that particular road?
Mrs Ofosu-Agyare 11:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, fortunately, Kintampo District Assembly tells me they are in a position to use their funds to do so.
Mr Govers K. Agbodza 11:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity. I would want to say that the World Economic Forum says that, last year, International Tourism generated about six hundred mil- lion dollars for Ghana, which is all good. May I ask the Hon Minister if efforts are being made that we can encourage internal tourism?
In my mind, that can encourage un- derstanding of ourselves in the country. This is because there are situations where people from one region--
Mr Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Hon Member, so far your question is not --
Mr Agbodza 11:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am just giving the preamble. [Laughter.]
Mr Speaker 11:40 a.m.
No! All right. You have done enough preamble, so, let us get to the question.
Mr Agbodza 11:40 a.m.
What effort is the Min-
istry, maybe, in collaboration with their partners, doing to encourage internal tour- ism? This is because I believe that there
Mr Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Hon Member, that is not a supplementary question. The sup- ple-mentary question by the rule is that. it should be related to the Question or the Answer provided by the Minister.
Mr Benjamin Ayeh 11:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister, in answering part of the Question asked by the Hon Member for Manhyia South, said in part, that while he had not developed the Falls in his constit- uency -- my question to the Minister is, is it the responsibility of the Member of Parliament to develop that Falls?
Mr Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Hon Member, the Min- ister was responding to the question, that if she says he has worked closely with the Ministry, how come he has not developed his own Fuller Falls? That was why he said that even though he had not done that yet he had contributed generally to the development of tourism.
Mr Ayeh 11:40 a.m.
So, to begin with, is it the responsibility of the Hon Member of Par- liament to develop the Falls? That is my question to the Minister.
Mrs Ofosu-Agyare 11:40 a.m.
Honestly, you will see that my Answer was flowing from a Question posed by the Hon Member who said that, the Hon Kunsu had not developed the Falls; he did not add that why -- so my answer was in response to what had been said already. So, I think his question should rather be directed to the Hon Member who posed that question.
Mr Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Hon Minister, is it the responsibility of the -- I get your point. But is it the responsibility of the Member of Parliament?
Mrs Ofosu-Agyare 11:40 a.m.
I would not say so. No!
Mr Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Yes, that is all.
Dr A. A. Osei 11:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, in her Answer, the Hon Minister appears to be excited about the possibility of receiving moneys from the one per cent Tourism Levy. Could she tell this House how much has been collected thus far?
Mrs Ofosu-Agyare 11:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, as I speak to you now, the Tourism Devel- opment Fund is still accruing. Yes, it is accruing every minute of the hour. This is because they are now in. Every minute of the hour the Tourism Development Levy is accruing. So, if I mention a figure now, it would not be accurate. So, I can furnish him with the exact money when I leave here.
Dr A. A. Osei 11:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, my ques- tion was “-- thus far”?
Mr Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Hon Minister, so far, how much have you collected?
Mrs Ofosu-Agyare 11:40 a.m.
The last time they
checked? Mr Speaker, I would get back to you with the exact amount -- [Inter-rup- tions.]-- because it is at the bank and it is accruing every minute. It has not been touched, gladly -- I would let you know the amount.
Mr Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Very well. She has an- swered the question.
DrA. A. Osei 11:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would want an assurance when she is going to bring it to the House.
Mr Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Hon Minister, how soon will you provide the information?
Mrs Ofosu-Agyare 11:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I
would furnish the House with what I have tomorrow.
Mr Stephen Kunsu 11:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member for Manhyia said something which I would want to --
Mr Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Very well. Is it a point
of order you want to raise or a statement made on the floor?
Mr Kunsu 11:40 a.m.
In his contribution, she said the Minister was praising me as for- mer Vice Chairman of the Committee on Trade and Industry and Tourism and that I have done nothing about the development of the Waterfalls.
Mr Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Hon Member, I thought you were going to take that one on the lighter side?
Mr Kunsu 11:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, my constit- uents are listening to us. So, I have to explain things to him if he does not know. I have helped my constituency and my district to qualify for the DDF -- [Hear! Hear!] So, this is one of the things I have done for them.
Mr Speaker 11:40 a.m.
I am not going to open the floor on this matter. Let us make progress.
Mrs Appiagyei 11:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, in an answer, I did not get the impression that the Hon Minister is speaking to a comprehensive development plan for the development of the falls.
Mr Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Hon Member, what is your question?
Mrs Appiagyei 11:50 a.m.
I would want to ask if there is a comprehensive development plan which the Minister is speaking to. This is because I find --
Mr Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Hon Member, that is not a supplementary question.
Yes, I may give you the chance to ask the question
Hon Member, I still believe that, that is not a supplementary question.
Mr Ben Abdallah Banda 11:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker,

in the last but one paragraph of the Hon Minister's Answer, she did indicate that the tourism industry has a brighter future of being developed, and if this is done, more jobs would be created.

Can the Hon Minister tell this august House, in the Ministry's estimation, how many jobs are likely to be created?
Mr Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Hon Minister, do you have an idea as to the jobs? Hon Minister, do you have any projection? That is the question.
Mrs Ofosu-Agyare 11:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, what I can say is that, it could create as many jobs as possible but I cannot give you specifics. I cannot give you a num- ber but I know it will create a lot of jobs. [Interruptions.]
Baba Jamal Mohammed Ahmed: Mr Speaker, thank you very much. For- tunately, I was part of those people who worked —
Mr Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Hon Member, ask your question.
Baba Jamal Ahmed: Mr Speaker, I am making a --
Mr Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Please, ask the question.
Baba Jamal Ahmed: Mr Speaker, I would crave your indulgence to listen to me. This is because there are two things I would want to make clear. One is about the Tourism Levy and what projections are ahead. The second thing —
Mr Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Please, please, if you want to make a Statement on Tourism Levy, come and make it. What is the question you want to ask? I have called you to ask a supplementary question.
Baba Jamal Ahmed: Mr Speaker, I am making a contribution not supplemen- tary question.
Mr Speaker 11:50 a.m.
No! You are out of order. We do not make contributions. You are out
of order; this is Question time.
Mr Kwabena Donkor 11:50 a.m.
I would want to ask the Hon Minister whether she will make a direct commitment from the Tourism Development Levy to the Fuller Falls project. If it has not been thought of, I would recommend that such a commit- ment is made.
Mr Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Do you want to make a commitment? Hon Minister, that is the question for you.
Mrs Ofosu-Agyare 11:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, a commitment will be usurping the pow- ers of the Board that will administer the Tourism Development Levy. So, I cannot respectfully make that commitment.
Thank you very much.
Mr Isaac K. Asiamah 11:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, a question has been asked specifically to the development of Fuller Falls. I have gone through the Answer provided and there is no specific answer to the development of Fuller Waterfalls. There is no specific — all what is here is about general issues. But the question, people in Kintampo —
Mr Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Hon Member, you are out of order. Please, you are completely out of order.
Hon Members, I will take the last two questions. Hon Member for Salaga and then Okaikoi. Is it Central?
Mr Patrick Y. Boamah 11:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, that is so.
Alhaji Ibrahim DeyAbubakari 11:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, in the Hon Minister's Answer, she said that the Ministry works closely with the key stakeholders providing basic infrastructure, notably, potable water and communication. I would want to know whether the Ministry is not in a position to provide this basic infrastructure at the tourism sites.
Mrs Ofosu-Agyare 11:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, as
we all know, tourism is multi-sectorial and it is not the mandate of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts to provide water. This is the mandate of the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing. [Interruption.] No! It is true.
It is not our mandate to provide roads and then water; there is the Ministries of Roads and Highways and Water Resourc- es, Works and Housing whose mandate it is to provide roads and water. We have been working closely with all these Ministries to provide these amenities. It would be recalled, the one per cent levy develops the tourism attraction itself. So, we have dealt well with all the Ministries, to make sure that they provide the neces- sary amenities. And I would say that the Ministries have really cooperated with us.
Mr Y. Patrick Boamah 11:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, during the vetting of the Hon Minister, she promised the people of Ghana certain key innovations [Interruption] in the tourism industry. Can she tell us one, the latest tourist attraction in this country where she wants Members to visit?
Mr Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Hon Member, that is not a supplementary question.
Hon Members, that brings us to the end of Question time with regard to the Hon Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts.
Hon Minister, we thank you very much for attending upon the House to answer Questions.
Mrs Ofosu-Agyare 11:50 a.m.
Thank you very much Mr Speaker, and this august House. Thank you very much for having me. I would develop it and you would get waterfalls.
Mr Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Question number 16 standing in the name of the Hon Member for Kintampo North.
Mr Ben Abdallah Banda 11:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, for Question number 16, the Hon Minister responsible to answer it, Hon Clement Kofi Humado is outside the country. He is in Brazil on an official assignment and I would want to seek your permission if
you can step it down and re-list it when he comes back, so that he would come and answer it.
Thank you very much.
Dr Matthew O. Prempeh 11:50 a.m.
Mr Speak- er, I sincerely want you to use your good office and your high Chair, so that when Ghanaians demand from us accountabil- ity and oversight responsibilities-- these Questions were advertised long before; there are two Deputy Ministers who are even Members of Parliament in that Ministry. --
Mr Speaker, it is not just good enough to even come and expose the fact that the Hon Minister is not respectful of Parlia- ment, so he is in Brazil. That is not even a good reason to give.
Mr Banda 11:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member has a case but the problem is, the Question was supposed to be answered on the 22nd but because it was rescheduled to be answered today-- Meanwhile, the Brazil assignment has already been sched- uled and the Hon Minister was outside the country and that is why it has happened this way.
Mr Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Hon Member, you are on the Governments' Bench, why did you then programme the Question? If you knew that 22nd was proposed but the House was not Sitting on that day, why did you not communicate it to the Business Committee to reschedule the Question? You allowed the Question to be put on the Order Paper before giving that explanation. Why?
Mr Alfred K. Agbesi 11:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, we are aware that the Hon Minister would come and answer the Question, that was why he sent the Answer to the Question. Unfortunately, the call to go to Brazil had become urgent. We are aware that he has two Deputies who should come-- unfor- tunately too, the two Deputies are also not available. That is why we are asking that the Question —
Mr Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Where are the two Depu- ty Ministers? You are saying that they are not available, where are they?
Mr Agbesi 11:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, we as Leaders have done our best to get the Deputies to be present. Indeed, they also gave excuses that they could not come this morning. That is why they are not here. Mr Speaker, we tried to bring them here; we did our best to bring them here; that is the only problem.
Mr Speaker noon
Hon Members, the point raised by the Hon Prempeh is absolutely right but to the Hon Minister for Food and Agriculture, this is the first time. He is also responsive to the House. He always responds when the House calls him, so, I will give him the benefit of the doubt. But we do not accept situations when Ministers are summoned to the House and they do not appear before it. They should know the powers of this House over all the Ministers of this country and their Deputies.
Mr Agbesi noon
Mr Speaker, we are grate- ful.
Mr Speaker noon
Hon Members, I have admitted a Statement from the Women Caucus but they have just informed me that they would like to make the Statement tomorrow; so, we do not have any State- ment for today.
We move to Commencement of Public Business, Value Added Tax Bill, 2013 at the Consideration Stage.
Dr A. A. Osei noon
Mr Speaker, if I recall, yesterday, I think it was the Hon Deputy Majority Leader who suggested that there would be some winnowing. I was around till almost five o'clock, no winnowing occurred. If we did not do winnowing yes- terday, I do not know why they think that we can continue here. Nothing happened.
Mr Speaker noon
Hon Deputy Majority Leader, yesterday, we announced that we would go for winnowing?
Mr Agbesi noon
Mr Speaker, it is true that yesterday, we announced that we were going to do winnowing of this Bill. Unfortunately, Mr Speaker, Leadership had a meeting with the Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which took us the whole of the afternoon. By the time everybody was ready to go there, it was late in the after- noon, so, we could not do the winnowing. I believe that must have accounted for the point being raised by the Ranking Member of the Finance Committee.
Mr Speaker, in the circumstances, I would also agree that since this is an important Bill, we need to do some win- nowing. And if it is the pleasure of the House, we would stand the Bill down for another time to do the winnowing before bringing it.
Mr Awuah noon
Mr Speaker, I think this was discussed at our level and it was agreed that we stood it down for further discussions before it was reintroduced.
Dr A. A. Osei noon
Mr Speaker, more importantly, this is a very major revision of the VAT Bill but I do not see the Hon Minister for Finance nor any of his Dep- uties here on such a significant overhaul of the tax Bill. Mr Speaker, this attitude
about wanting us to go through such a monumental job and their not being here, does not give any serious respect to the work we do in this House.
Mr Speaker, we have been brought back from our vacation when some of us needed more vacation. We have come and this is the type of attitude we are being shown. I would want to plead to you to urge the Hon Deputy Majority Leader to talk to his Ministers that we are here to do their work, not our work, and they should take us more seriously.
Mr Speaker noon
Where is the Minister for Finance? The Bill is in his name.
Mr Agbesi noon
Mr Speaker, yesterday af- ternoon, after the meeting with the Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, the Deputy Minister for Finance was in the House, in fact, to attend the winnowing of the Bill but it did not come on -- [Interruption.] He was with us; he was in the House.
Dr A. A. Osei noon
Mr Speaker, the Deputy Finance Minister --
Mr Speaker noon
Hon Member for Old Tafo, I will call you; take your seat. Let us hear from him; I will hear from Hon Yieleh Chireh and then I will get back to you.
Dr A. A. Osei noon
Mr Speaker, it is on a point of order.
Mr Speaker noon
All right. Let me hear your point of order.
Dr A. A. Osei noon
Mr Speaker, the Deputy Minister for Finance was not in the House; he was meeting with some of us on a dif- ferent matter. It had nothing to do with this -- [Interruption.] -- He was not in the House. He met with us in the Office of the Minority Leader -- [Interruption.] -- He said “after the meeting” -- [Interruption]
Ooh, he is not listening. After the
meeting, I met with the Deputy Minister for Finance and my Minority Leader on a completely separate matter. He was not here for this purpose because we met with Moody's people, and he was here for a different reason, which I am not -- [Interruption] -- [Some Hon Members: Tell us.] Mr Speaker, if he wants, I shall reveal that discussion.
Mr Agbesi noon
Mr Speaker, yesterday, the Deputy Minister for Finance met me here in the House before we closed. When we closed from the meeting in the Speaker's conference room, he came back to attend the winnowing but it did not come on. That was the position when I left the premises yesterday.
Dr A. A. Osei noon
Mr Speaker, the Dep- uty Majority Leader is encouraging me to go more than I would want to --
Mr Speaker noon
I hope the negotiation is in the interest of the House--
Mr Chireh noon
Mr Speaker, my point is that the way we are debating and the way this Mace is tilted, there is a problem.
Mr Speaker noon
I called for the Con- si-deration Stage of the Bill but we are not taking any decision. So, it is at the end of the day before we would decide whether we should take the Consideration Stage or not.
Mr Chireh noon
So, Mr Speaker, my sug-
Mr Chireh noon


ges-tion is that from all the discussions, we should let the Mace be upstanding for us to decide.
Mr James K. Avedzi noon
Mr Speaker, I think the Deputy Minister for Finance was here yesterday for the winnowing but because we had a meeting with the Naoyuki Shinohara and then Moody's also met the Minority side of the House, it was becoming too late for the winnowing to take place. So, I told him that looking at those situations, we could start the Consideration Stage of the Bill today, after which we could do the winnowing today in the evening.
For this morning, one of the Deputy Ministers for Finance would be coming for us to take the Consideration Stage of the Bill today.
Mr Speaker noon
Hon Members, it would have been neater if the Minister for Fi- nance or any of his Deputies was in the House. This is because, strictly speaking, the winnowing is not a rule of the House, it is a convention, it is a practice, it is not captured by our Standing Orders.
So, a Bill can still go through without winnowing and if the person who intro- duced the Bill into the House thinks that it is a very important Bill, he should be serious about it; so, he should be pres- ent. When the House decides that we are not going to take it, is another matter. I hope today, you would find time to do the winnowing, so that we can start the Consideration Stage tomorrow.
Mr Agbesi noon
Mr Speaker, I think both sides of the House have agreed that we would do the winnowing and tomorrow, start the Bill.
Mr Speaker noon
Very well.
Hon Members, item 5 is accordingly deferred to tomorrow.
Yes, Hon Deputy Majority Leader, any
indications?
Mr Alfred K. Agbesi noon
Mr Speaker, at this stage, I would want to move that the House do adjourn till tomorrow at 10.00 o'clock in the forenoon. -- [Interruption.]
rose
Mr Awuah noon
Mr Speaker, before I second the Motion, I would want to defer to the Hon Dr Akoto Osei.
Dr A. A. Osei noon
Mr Speaker, I would want to crave your indulgence -- I know you take these matters very serious.
When we are recalled and we come back, we expect that there is Business to be done. When such things happen, they discourage some of us from wanting to show up in the House. I would want to urge the Deputy Majority Leader, that if they have brought us back -- Yesterday we came, we left at 12.00 noon; today, we have come and we are leaving at 12.00 noon. It is not that we do not have other things to do but it does not give a good impression of parliamentary business.
We were told yesterday that this is a
very busy time; this cannot be. The report would not be looking good on us. So, please, I urge that we take these matters serious otherwise, the opposite is going to happen and I would be fully in support if my Colleagues go in that direction.
Mr Speaker noon
Hon Member, there is Business to do, that is why I summoned the House. I am ready to go through the Bill. I have informed my two Deputies to be on standby to assist me, so that we can pass it. I gave them notice yesterday and I have been informed -- As I indicated yesterday, I have been advised that this is a major Bill as you have indicated some few minutes ago. So, there is Business in
the House.
But I would give them “honeymoon” for this week -- For this week, I would give all the Ministers who have Business in the House “honeymoon”. But for next week, the honeymoon would be over. If you are a Minister and you have Business in the House, you must come and transact your Business.
Prof. Gyan-Baffour 12:10 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in addition to what my Hon Colleague just said, this Meeting is for the budget and sooner than later, they would bring the Budget Statement. So, if we do not take serious view at what is here, we may not be able to do it. We came during the recall to look at it; we could not do it. Now, we are back and it looks like we are not even ready to do it again.
Two weeks from now, we would be doing the budget and I am not sure we can finish with this Bill within two weeks. [Interruption.] So, Mr Speaker, do not give them one week “honeymoon”. Let us begin tomorrow and work on this Bill. We can talk about it while we --
Mr Speaker 12:10 p.m.
Hon Member, I have de- ferred the Consideration Stage of the Bill to tomorrow; do you get me? I deferred the Consideration Stage to tomorrow. That is the directive I gave. But general- ly, applying and invoking all the rules at our disposal, is where the “honeymoon” comes in.
Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah 12:10 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion for
Dr A. A. Osei 12:10 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Min- ister for Allied and Financial Affairs --
Mr Speaker 12:10 p.m.
Hon Member for Old Tafo, you are out of order. Your “honey- moon” would end tomorrow -- [Laugh- ter.]
Question put and Motion agreed to.
ADJOURNMENT 12:10 p.m.
  • The House was accordingly adjourned at 12.03 p.m. till Thursday, 31st October, 2013 at 10.00 a.m.
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    SPACE FOR APPENDIX - 12:03 p.m.