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Mr Speaker

Item 2 on the Order Paper -- Correction of Votes and Proceedings of Thursday, 7th November, 2013.
Page 1 ….13 --

Mr Speaker, we have corrected this thing over and over and everyday when we get the Votes and Proceedings, it re-occurs -- “Ope ning”, “A ttendance” -- I do not know what the problem is. Is it the formatting of the computer or what?

Mr Speaker

I learnt it is from the printer.

Mr Boar

For the record, it is good that the Table Office takes note of this, so that this thing does not revisit us.

Mr Speaker

Table Office, kindly take note of that.

The Votes and Proceedings of Thurs-

day, 7 th November, 2013 are hereby adopted as the true record of proceedings subject to the comments made by the Hon Member.

Hon Members, we do not have any Offi- cial Report for correction. So, we move on to Business Statement for the Third Week.

Hon Majority Leader and Chairman of the Business Committee?

Mr Alfred K. Agbesi

Mr Speaker, the Hon Chairman of the Business Committee is not in the House and as the Hon Vice Chairman, I wish to present the Business Statement on his behalf.

Mr Speaker, the Committee according- ly submits its Report as follows

Arrangement of Business
Question(s)
Mr Speaker, the Committee has pro- grammed the following Ministers to re- spond to Questions asked of them during the week:
No. of
Question(s) i. Minister for Finance -- 1 ii. Minister for Food and Agriculture -- 1
Total number of Questions -- 2 Mr Speaker, in all, two (2) Ministers are expected to attend upon the House to respond
to two (2) Questions during the week. The Questions are of the following types:
i. Urgent -- 1
ii. Oral -- 1
Statements
Mr Speaker, pursuant to Order 70 (2), Ministers of State may be permitted to make Statements of Government policy. Your goodself may also admit Statements to be made in the House by Hon Members in accordance with Standing Order 72.
Bills, Papers and Reports
Mr Speaker, Bills may be presented to the House for First Reading and those of urgent nature may be taken through the various stages in one day in accordance with Order 119. Papers and committee re- ports may also be presented to the House.
Motions and Resolutions
Mr Speaker, Motions may be debated and their consequential Resolutions, if any, taken during the week.
Conclusion
Mr Speaker, in accordance with Stand- ing Order 160 (2) and subject to Standing Order 53, the Committee submits to this Honourable House the order in which the Business of the House shall be taken during the week.

Urgent Question --

Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto (Kwada- so)

To ask the Minister for Finance whether there has been an increase in the producer price of cocoa for the 2013/2014 buying season and if not, why?
Statements
Presentation and First Reading of Bills --
(a) Chieftaincy (Amendment) Bill,
2013.
(b) Ant i -Money Launder ing (Amend- dment) Bill, 2013.
(c) Property Rights of Spouses Bill,
2013.
(d) Right to Information Bill, 2013.
Motions --
(a) Adoption of the Report of the joint Committee on Commu- ni-cations and Defence and In- terior on the Supply Contract for Dedicated Security Information System between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and ZTE Corporation of China.

Third Reading of Bills --

Value Added Tax Bill, 2013

Committee sittings.

Questions --

*16. Mr Stephen Kunsu (Kintam- po North): To ask the Minister for Food and Agriculture the status of the New Longoro Irrigation Project.

Presentation of Papers --

(a) Petroleum Agreement among the

Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto (Kwada- so)

Government of the Republic of Ghana, Ghana National Petro-le- um Corporation (GNPC), GNPC Exploration and Production Company Limited and AGM Petroleum Ghana Limited in respect of the South Deepwater Tano Contract Area.

(b) Petroleum Agreement among the Government of the Republic of Ghana, Ghana National Petro-le- um Corporation (GNPC), Cola Natural Resources Ghana Lim- ited and Medea Development Limited, British Virgin Island for Petroleum Exploration Rights in respect of the East Cape Three Points Block Offshore Ghana.

Statements

Consideration Stage of Bills --

Plant Breeders Bill, 2013

Committee sittings.

Statements

Consideration Stage of Bills --

Plant Breeders Bill, 2013

Statements

Consideration Stage of Bills --

Plant Breeders Bill, 2013

Mr Speaker

Hon Members, that is
the Business Statement -- accordingly adopted.
There was no comment. I gave some time; nobody was on his feet, so the Statement accordingly --

Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr Speaker, I noticed that there has been provision for some Presentation and First Reading of Bills in respect of the “Chieftaincy (Amendment) Bill, 2013”, “Anti-Money Laundering (Amendment) Bill, 2013”, Property Rights of Spouses Bill, 2013, and the much delayed “Right to Information Bill, 2013”.
Mr Speaker, I believe that these Bills are meant for discussion and conside- ra-tion, and possibly, termination. May we have some indication about the anticipated date of the presentation of the Budget?
This is because, Mr Speaker, it would affect how we deal with these Bills. It is not for nothing that they would want to state them and put them here as Papers ready for First Reading. Subsequent to the First Reading, there may be a Second Reading and consideration of, at least, some of these Bills.
So, if we have an indication of when the Budget may appear in the House, then we know which of them we would be able to deal with. Otherwise, we would be deluding ourselves. We would just make it appear as if Parliament is considering them, when in actual fact, they would be meant for appearance and not hearing.
Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Speaker

The Hon Minority Lead- er wants to know whether there is any in- dication when the Government Financial and Economic Policy for the year ending 31st December, 2014 would be presented.

Dr Benjamin B. Kunbuor

Mr Speak- er, it is expected that it would be presented on 19th November, 2013.

Mr Speaker

Hon Minority Leader, we should do the referrals. The rest is for the Committee to decide as a committee.
Clearly, you know that if the Budget is presented, there is little that we can do about these Bills. But at least, there would be referrals and then the Committee can programme itself and work on them even during recess. At least, let us take the first steps with regard to these Bills.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr Speak- er, what the Hon Majority Leader has indicated -- It is good information when he indicates to us that the Budget may be presented on 19th --

Mr Speaker

You said he should give an indication; that is the indication he has given.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

That is what I am saying. But I would want to believe that it is a firm indication. This is because earlier, we were told --

Mr Speaker

Hon Minority Leader, you asked for an indication and he has given you an indication. But now, you are qualifying the “indication” with “firm”.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr Speaker, the reason is, as we do know, normally, when the Budget is presented -- and budg- ets are presented to this House, usually on Thursday or Friday. When they come on Thursday or Friday, we have to stay, debate on them for the ensuing week and have our post-budget workshops.
If it should happen -- and we are ask- ing that it comes on maybe, Tuesday or Wednesday, at least, so that the resource persons would be enabled to handle the issues arising therefrom during the ensu- ing weekend. So, in my opinion, if it is a Tuesday or Wednesday, at least, it satisfies some of the issues that we want to raise. That is why I am saying that I would want a firm commitment because we do not want a situation when it would come on Thursday or Friday --

Mr Speaker

Hon Minority Leader --

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr Speaker, with respect, can I finish?

Mr Speaker

Hon Minority Leader, you want a firm indication or firm com- mitment? Which one?

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr Speaker, he is not only a Majority Leader; he is the Leader of Government Business.

Mr Speaker

Hon Minority Leader, you know that these matters are being discussed at Leadership level and you have made a lot of input into these matters?

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Yes, Mr Speaker, so that it would be clear in our minds. By now, we should have a firm indication.

Dr Kunbuor

Mr Speaker, I thought
that over the period -- and using the normal channels of communication, both sides of the House have been going through consultations in relation to the date.
Mr Speaker, you would recollect that we disagreed and insisted that instead of 21st November, 2013, it should be on the 19th November, 2013. We needed to get a firm position from Cabinet, which was only given to me this morning.
But in the interim, we had asked the Whips to liaise with the appropriate agen- cies to prepare the House for the matters that are normally consequential after the Government Financial and Economic Pol- icy had been read. So, all those processes are being put in place even to the extent of the almighty estimates which are normally one of the challenges and we now have a firmer position on that as well.

Mr Speaker

Any other comment on the Business Statement?
Hon Members, in the absence of any

Mr Speaker

other comment, the Business Statement for the Third Week ending Friday, 15th November, 2013 is hereby adopted.

Statements -- Hon Members, I have admitted a Statement -- Hon Member for Ketu North:

Mr James K. Avedzi (NDC -- Ketu North)

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to make this Statement on the tragic and painful death of the former Chairman of the Council of State.
The late Prof. Kofi Nyidevu Awoonor was born on 13th March, 1935 and died on 21st September, 2013 in a tragic and pain- ful situation in Nairobi, Kenya -- where he went to deliver a Paper at a conference organised by the Writers Association of Kenya -- as one of the victims of the Westgate Mall attack, where over 60 people were killed. Tomorrow, the 9th of November, 2013, his last remains will be laid to rest at his residence in Weta in the Ketu North District.
A distinguished poet, novelist, literary scholar, essayist, diplomat and polit- ical activist, the late Professor served as Chairman of the Council of State in the Government of the Republic of Ghana. He has been a Visiting Professor/ Writer-in-Residence in the English De- partment, University of Ghana, Legon. He was a graduate of the University of Ghana, Legon, where he obtained a BA Degree; the University College, London (MA); and the State University of New York (SUNY) where he obtained PhD in Comparative Literature.
In the early stages of his public service career, he was an Assistant Secretary, Ghana Academy of Science and Letters; Lecturer, School of Administration; Re- search Fellow, Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana. He was also the Managing Director, Ghana Film Industry Corporation; Chair of the Comparative Literature Programme at the State Univer- sity of New York (SUNY), Stoney Brook.
From 1972 to 1975, he held visiting professorships at the following schools: University of Texas -- Austin; New School for Social Research -- New York; Queen's College -- New York; and Kala- mazoo College--Michigan.
On his return to Ghana in 1975, he joined the University of Cape Coast and became Head of the Department of Eng- lish and later Dean of Faculty of Arts.
From the early 1980s through the late 1990s, he was Ghana's Ambassador to Brazil, with a concurrent accreditation to Surinam, Argentina, Venezuela, Uruguay and Guyana; Ambassador to Cuba, with a concurrent accreditation to Nicaragua, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago; Am- bassador and Permanent Represen-tative to the United Nations; and then Minister of State, Office of the President.
During his term at the United Nations, he served at various points as Chairman of a Committee on Implementation of UN Resolutions Against Apartheid, UN Disarmament Commission on Transfer of Technology, States Parties to the Con- vention Against Apartheid in Sports, the African Group, and the Group of 77. He was very active in politics and served as Vice Chairman and Executive Commit- tee member of the National Democratic Congress.
He was best known for his work as a poet with several collections. He also
published two major novels, oral poetry in translation from Ewe to English, a ma- jor scholarly work on African literature, The Breeze of the Earth -- 1975), some autobiography, and three books of essays.
He was a recipient of several major awards, including the Cruzeiro du Sul and Rio Branco -- Brazilian Government highest award to foreigners (1988); Dillon Commonwealth Poetry Award (1989); Distinguished Authors Award (1991); ECRAG Poet of the Year (1992 and 1994); Agbonugla of Anlo State; and the highest National Honour, Officer of the Order of Volta. Very multi-lingual, Awoonor was fluent in four Ghanaian languages and English.
He also spoke some Portuguese, French and Spanish. He has published several journal articles, including the biographi- cal essay titled Kofi Nyidevu Awoonor, in Contemporary Authors Autobiographical Series Vol. 13.
Prof. Kofi Nyidevu Awoonor was an astute politician, diplomat, scholar, father and a mentor to many people including myself.
Through the works of the late Profes- sor, a number of development projects were initiated and completed in his home district, Ketu North and other districts in the region. Notable among them are the Weta Senior High Technical School, Weta Market Project, the small town community water system at Weta, Tanyigbe and Ehie, large quantity library books and computers for Weta and many others.
Ghana has lost an illustrious son. Volta Region, the Anlo State, Ketu North Dis- trict, and especially, the Weta Traditional Area have lost an important personality whose vacuum will take some time to fill.
May His Soul Rest In Perfect Peace.

Mrs Juliana Azumah-Mensah (NDC -- Agotime-Ziope)

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker, the untimely death of Prof. Kofi Awoonor was a shock to all of us. Since I got to know him in 1988 when I came back from London to Ghana, he became a great mentor to me and the people whom I know were all around him. We found out that, even his normal conversation had become like the poetry that we knew him for, that he wrote. He had been a father and an adviser to me as a budding politician, and definitely, we would miss that.
Mr Speaker, we must all admit that we have lost a great man in Ghana, in the Volta Region, and in the family. We also wish to console the family, friends, and indeed, Ghana as a country. All I would like to say is that, we console them and may his soul rest in perfect peace.

Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh (NPP -- Nsawam-Adoagyiri)

Mr Speaker, thank you very much.
Just to share a few words in showing collaboration to the Hon Member who made this Statement.
Indeed, that day was a sad day for our dear country and even as the Hon Member read the Statement, I still recollect the sad moments I had to go through as a Ghana- ian. So, I take this opportunity once more, to express our deepest condolences to the family and the people of this country.
Mr Speaker, even though I may not agree with the good Professor and poet on many of the things that he said, wrote and stood for, the sad event was indeed, very unacceptable.

Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh (NPP -- Nsawam-Adoagyiri)

Mr Speaker, I wish to take the State- ment from a different angle, to state that terrorists attack, which for a long time, has been a challenge and a problem of the de- veloped world or developed jurisdictions, increasingly rearing its ugly head in the sub-region.

Mr Speaker, least did we expect that a fine country like Kenya could witness such a disturbing act. I would want to take this opportunity - Even though I have heard His Excellency the President on a number of occasions making definite statements of the Government's preparedness to fight acts of terrorism, Mr Speaker, we need to go beyond just words and equip the secu- rity agencies of our country to ensure that any such unfortunate or sudden attacks on our dear country could be contained.

Again, could Mr Speaker --

Mr Speaker

Hon Member, the State- ment is on the late Professor more than on terrorism. So, be guided accordingly.

Mr Annoh-Dompreh

Mr Speaker, with your kind indulgence, in winding up, as we remember our late Professor, we also remember the sad event which occasioned his demise and ensure that we do not have a repeat of that event in our dear country.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much.

Mr Simon Edem Asimah (NDC -- South Dayi)

Mr Speaker, I rise to associate myself with the Statement made by Hon James Avedzi.
Mr Speaker, Prof. Kofi Awoonor, in my view, was a great father, mentor, a great adviser, and for that matter, a very good political strategist.
Mr Speaker, I got to know Prof. Kofi
Awoonor in 1998 when he invited me to his house to discuss with me the Weta Water Project for the people of the Weta community. Prior to this time, Mr Speak- er, I had heard a lot about Prof. Awoonor, especially his poem -- The Songs of Sorrow, specifically --
“Dzogbeselisa has treated me thus.”
Mr Speaker, here, Prof. Awoonor portrays his emotions in a depression and melancholy manner as a result of the calamity that befell him. One of the critical messages of Prof Awoonor's poem Dzogbeselisa is that, one has to be proud of his country, irrespective of the status of that country on the international scene.
Prof Awoonor has taken this so much and one can see the love for his motherland in his attitude, in whatever he did. One can see that love for his home region in whatever he did. One can see that love, especially for the developmental projects that he undertook in his home village, Weta.
Mr Speaker, I met Prof. Awoonor on a number of occasions and he was a gentle- man, a perfect gentleman for that matter, a man full of humour and a man ready to resolve conflicts when they come up.
Personally, Prof Awoonor was in my constituency a number of times to resolve some of the political challenges that I went through in the 2009-2012 elections. He was able to bring all the factions together for the success of the elections in my constituency. Personally, I have missed a great adviser, a father and a mentor. And I believe strongly that Prof. Awoonor would rest peacefully in the bosom of the Lord God Almighty.
I thank you very much for the oppor- tunity.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration (Ms Hannah S.
Tetteh) (MP): Mr Speaker, I would like to associate myself with the Statement made by my Hon Colleague, James Aved- zi, in memoriam and tribute to Prof. Kofi Awoonor, who undoubtedly was a great Statesman.
But I would especially like to pay trib- ute to him as a diplomat because indeed, as Ghana's representative, an Ambassador, and as a representative to the United Na- tions, he was always able at every point in time, portary our country in a wonderful way and with much possibilities. He did that to the best of his ability.
He did that through his use of language and his ability to command and express. He did that to the admiration of all those who had the opportunity to listen to him in these industrial fora conducting his responsibilities on behalf of our country as a diplomat.
Mr Speaker, even when he met his un- timely death in Kenya, though he was not attending as a former, very senior Govern- ment official, he was attending a workshop that had to do with his true calling and with his profession, he still continued to be a very excellent representative for this country. And in my view, that was reflect- ed in the expressions of condolences that we received as a Government from His Excellency the President of Kenya and also from the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration on behalf of the people of Kenya.
Therefore, Mr Speaker, it is important for us in this House to pay tribute to a man who in so many ways exemplified what diplomacy, good counsel, forthrightness and being able to project your national identity should be and should look like.
Associating myself with Hon Col- leagues, I would also like to express my
condolences to his family, his son who was with him at the time when this very tragic incident happened and who was separated from his father in what can only be de- scribed as extremely tragic circumstances and wish that the good Professor rests in perfect peace.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the op- portunity.

Minister of State (AlhajiAb- dul-Rashid H. Pelpuo) (MP)

Mr Speaker, I would like to thank the Hon Member who made this Statement for helping us all to pay tribute to this great man who lost his life in circumstances that are painful and that require our reflection about who we are and what we want to do with ourselves as a people in consideration with other people who are also interested in our lives.
Mr Speaker, it was Shakespeare who said that ---
“Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon
the stage, and then is heard no more; it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
He characterised it as a candle that goes off and that it signifies nothing. But in these circumstances, we see that this man who lived his life and died, signified so much to the people of Ghana. Indeed, he was a giant, a man of many, sides to life, a distinguished Ghanaian, poet and writer, politician, an academic, a diplomat per excellence, a man who was an exemplary life to many people.
Mr Speaker, the last time I met him was right in front of Parliament House and I asked him why he was not picking

Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh (NPP -- Manhyia South)

Mr Speaker, I rise to support the Statement made by our Hon Friend about an exalted Ghanaian who is now dead.
The passing on of this exalted Ghana- ian in a very rather sad circum-stance far away in Kenya, is worth knowing and it is very sad that he did not have a more befitting end to his illustrious career.
Mr Speaker, I support the Statement made, basically because as we grow up, there are tendencies that we may exhibit in our youthful age that will come back to haunt us. Little did Prof. Awoonor realise that one day, he would be chairing the Council of State. Some of us who had the chance to meet him reminded him that, “look back and see what you have done.”
We should all, as politicians, realise that the footsteps we start taking when we start growing up would always be imprinted in the indelible sands of time, that whatever we say, whatever we do, no matter how little or how big it is, it would always be remembered.
Prof. Awoonor would be remembered not only as the Chairman of the Council of State, not only as an exalted member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), not only as a patron of Ghanaians but a man we all cherished but had his dark sides.
We all hope and pray that we, as youth would learn, not only from the good sides
of people but from the dark sides, so that we do not repeat them.
Mr Speaker, I use the occasion to send a heart-warming appreciation to Prof Kofi Awoonor.
May his soul rest in peace.

Mr Alban S. K. Bagbin (NDC -- Nadowli/Kaleo)

Mr Speaker, the late Prof. Kofi Awoonor was a true gem. As a literature student, I learnt a lot from his works; and as a politician, I was his stu- dent. The late Professor was a true son of Ghana and the Volta Region. He marketed this country and the Volta Region globally. And we all know that he stood tall wher- ever he went.
He was a great Pan-Africanist and a fighter who liberated so many people. When I talk about liberation, I may talk about liberation of the mind. He instilled a lot of good qualities, -- a man who was forthright, who had the courage and spoke his mind. He exhibited it wherever he went and truly, that is what took him to Kenya where he met his untimely death. I believe it was a shock, not only to Ghana, but to Africa as a whole when he had to untimely leave this great world in that manner.
As we express our condolences and our sympathies to the bereaved family and our Party, it is important we do something to make sure that we keep his memory indelible in the history of the world. It is with this, Mr Speaker, that I pray that some initiative be made, not only in the form of foundation, but something that can truly represent who and what Prof. Kofi Awoonor was and stood for.
It is with this I support the Statement and also express my deepest condolences to the bereaved family, to the NDC Party and particularly to his son who was really, I must say, luckier than him, but who had
the shock of his life and we need to support him to get over that shock.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.

Mr Alfred K. Agbesi (NDC --As- haiman)

Mr Speaker, I rise to associate myself with the Statement and to pay glowing tribute to the late Prof. Awoonor.
Mr Speaker, the Agbonogla of Anlo State is no more. The Agbonogla of the Weta area is no more; the Agbonogla of Volta is no more. Mr Speaker, the man, when he was alive, was the Agbonogla of Anlo State.
Mr Speaker, that position gave him the chance to be the gateman of Anlo State of theWeta area of the Ketu District. Mr Speaker, that is an important position in the Eweland of the Anlo people. Mr Speaker, our son is no more; who would then be our gateman? Mr Speaker, I pray that wherever he goes, and wherever he would be, he continues to be Agbonogla to keep safe whatever is entrusted into his hands.
Mr Speaker, I associate myself with my Hon Colleague, the former Leader, to say that something should be done to immortalise his name. And I would urge that, nothing short of establishment of an institute, which would teach and study his literary works, and cultural works --what he stood for -- we must establish an insti- tution in his name.
Therefore, I call for an institution that would study the African culture, the Anlo culture, the Ewe culture that he portrayed in his poems to show that we are not only paying tribute to him, but that we cherish his memory and that a cultural and heritage institute is established at Weta, his home- town, so that his works would not be lost.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the op- portunity.

Mr Emmanuel K. Bedzrah (NDC-Ho West)

Mr Speaker, thank you for allow- ing me to contribute to the Statement ably

Mr Emmanuel K. Bedzrah (NDC-Ho West)

made by the Hon Member for Ketu North, Mr James Klutse Avedzi.

Mr Speaker, if you would permit me I would want to sing a song that the Ag- bonogla used to sing:

Lã le me loo Lã le me aah Nye deka metsi to dome Lã le me looo …

Mr Speaker, a tree has fallen; indeed, a big tree has fallen --

Mr Speaker

Hon Member, what is the meaning of the song you have sung?

Mr Bedzrah

That is exactly what I am giving, Mr Speaker. I would sing again and explain it. --

Mr Speaker

But you have already sung it?. [Laughter.]

Mr Bedzrah

Simply meaning, a big tree has fallen; an animal has taken our dear one out of sight.
Indeed, a big tree has fallen, Mr Speak- er. A tree not only for the people of the Volta Region, but Ghana and the whole of Africa. We all know the achievements of Agbonogla Wedevu Kofi Awoonor.
Mr Speaker, I got to know Prof. Kofi Awoonor some few years ago -- and he is one of the pillars of our Party and this country. We know that he was a great lead- er, a politician, an academia and a mentor to we, the youth. He used to call me Vi nye Koshi; that means “my son Kwasi if you have a problem just come to me for a piece of advice”. And anytime I took his advice, Mr Speaker, I realised that things went on well for me.
In the wake of the creation of District Assemblies, Mr Speaker, my district was left out; so, I went to him as an elderly Statesman and a mentor. He sat me down and said: “Koshi, I would make sure your district would be included”. Lo and
behold, he did just that. The people of Ho West District would forever be grateful to Prof Kofi Awoonor for that initiative.
I would want to share with the bereaved family and agree with my senior Col- leagues that a monument should be built in honour of Prof. Kofi Awoonor, so that we, the young ones, would learn from his contribution to this nation.

Mr Speaker

Hon Members, before I move to the Leaders of the House, the Hon Minister for Trade and Industry would want to make a brief comment --for about two minutes.

Minister for Trade and Industry (Mr Haruna Iddrisu)

Mr Speaker, thank you very much.
I would like to commend the Hon Member who made the Statement, Hon Avedzi and to associate myself with the tragic loss of a hero, political stalwart, an academic luminary and an international diplomat, whose blood was alive in Ghana but got lost in Kenya, in the tragic and dastardly act in the name of Muslim or Islamic terrorism.
Mr Speaker, let me emphasise that vio- lence of any kind, including violent death, is un-Islamic. It is not the teaching of the Holy Qur'an that people would engage in such acts.
Mr Speaker, my last opportunity to have physical interaction with the late Prof. Awoonor, was when he sat right by the Hon Member for Nadowli, (Mr A. S. K. Bagbin) in a major Party meeting.
One of his major attributes was that, he was fearless, courageous and never felt intimated by authority, irrespective of your status. To put it in the Ghanaian language, he said it bluntly, as it should be.
I am sure, in my token tribute to eulogise his memory, I would support like-minded persons like Hon Avedzi to begin a library project -- since he dedi-
cated himself to the teaching of English, which he did so excellently, in order that we would pay respect and keep his name alive.
Mr Speaker, for the NDC Party, we have lost a reconciler. Most of the turbu- lent internal politics of the NDC, especial- ly those that were akin in the Volta Region and in many parts of the country, he led the way in resolving them -- particularly in the Volta Region. For many reasons, he was always made Chairman of the Conflict Resolution Committee.
A Party as big and great as the concil- iator NDC, must naturally have a descent. -- Its management was what persons like the late Prof. Awoonor did; and I am sure the NDC would miss him in that respect.
Mr Speaker, Ngugi wa Thiong'o described his death as poetic, because he thought it shaped the bond between Ghana's First President Nkrumah and that of Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya, given the par- ticular day that this sad incident happened. That was how he chose to describe it.
He was an international diplomat and served the country in his capacity as Ghana's permanent representative at the United Nations (UN). I am sure we all, in paying tribute to him, must --
Mr Speaker, I would want to express my sympathy and condolences to the family, and hope that we would recognise his contribution to mother Ghana as an academic luminary, a person with distinct international reputation and his contribu- tion in diverse parts of our national life.

Minority Leader (Mr Osei Kyei-Men- sah-Bonsu)

Mr Speaker, thank you for this opportunity to also associate with the Statement made by a Colleague, the Hon James Avedzi.
The death of Prof. Awoonor came to me as a shock. I had gone to Takoradi to share experiences in Parliament's oversight role in extractive industries as part of a collab- orative effort with Members of Parliament from Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. Hon Bedzra was in our company in Takoradi.
Mr Speaker, I first heard of Prof. Awoonor, then known as Awoonor Wil- liams, when we had to pour through West African verse which was a collection of poems by celebrated poets in Africa in secondary school Form Three. That was many, many years ago. I believe my Colleague, the Hon James Avedzi, perhaps, was a small boy at the time. But the poems of Awoonor Williams, then, were very exciting to engage; and we saw in his writings, a warrior, a rebel. Unfor- tunately, his poems and novels were not easily accessible at all. His writings were by and large, enclosed, and very difficult and required painstaking efforts to dissect and digest.
Mr Speaker, his prose was equally inaccessible to many people and yet, as I said, it was often very intellectually exciting to engage his writings and we were encouraged by our literature tutors to pour through his writings because they were supposed to be soul lifting.
Mr Speaker, in reality, I did not agree with the political writings of Prof. Awoonor, but as democrats, we agree to disagree and I believe that in spite of that, his intellectualism is unquestionable. The circumstances of his death remain as opaque as many of his writings.
Mr Speaker, the least as a nation we can say to him is that, he has served his cause, he has paid his dues to this nation and we can only plead that his soul rest in peace.
Majority Leader (Dr Benjamin B.
Kunbuor): Thank you, Mr Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the Statement made by Hon Avedzi on the death of Prof. Kofi Awoonor.
For those of us who belong to the po- litical left, we got to know Prof. Awoonor at a very young age. Sometimes I tell my friends at the political right, that they missed a lot, by not trying to engage in issues of the left, because we have been trained in liberal thinking; so, we have the opportunity to understand what liberal thought is.

Mr Kyei-Mensah- Bonsu

Mr Speak- er, this is really not conventional at all. I know the Hon Majority Leader has often confessed that he remains an unrepent- ant communist; and communists are not known to be liberal thinkers unless he is propagating a new thinking. Mr Speaker, that is where he belongs. He should re- main there. [Interruption.]

Dr Kunbuor

Mr Speaker, indeed, there is a difference between saying somebody is a liberal thinker and saying that one reads a lot of liberal works, and reading liberal works does not make you think liberally. [Laughter.] I am saying this because if you had the opportunity to sit closely with Prof. Awoonor and you discussed a number of these issues, you would see the level of in-depth knowl- edge he had about classical and liberal romantic work.
I am saying this because I had an oc- casion to ask him what was pushing him to get into this, and he was the first person
that made me understand clearly that, all radical politics and thinking emanated from a proper interpretation of liberal thinking and he was right.

Papa Owusu-Ankomah

Mr Speaker, I believe this is a Statement you allowed under Standing Order 71, a ceremonial speech to commemorate the death of a distinguished person. We are not here to discuss the philosophies of the deceased or Karl Marx. The Hon Majority Leader can wait for another day, because this is certainly provoking a lot of debate. This is because his theories characteristically are not meant for this Chamber, where we deal with practical matters.

Dr Kunbuor

Well, I would take a cue from the former Leader of the House. But significantly, I would want to remind him that practice without theory, is blind. [Laughter.]
I was laying this foundation because, there were two major things that Prof. Awoonor did and discussed with me that gave me a very clear insight about what he stood for, and the first one was that: He said, “Ben, in the type of politics we are engaged in, you do not strive to leave this world as a good person but strive to leave a good world behind”. That was significant because quite often because of personal aggrandizement, we are too eager as public office holders to do the wrong things, so that they will say we are good people and very few people would want
to leave a good world behind.
The second significant thing, Mr Speaker, was when he wanted to have the current edition on the book Shakespeare and the Law. He said there was a revision of that particular work that intrigued him, which he wanted to make a review. I did send him a copy of that book and was particularly surprised when he invited me back for that book. He had been able to go over the 450 pages of the revised edition, and we had a very lively discussion.
There is something you could call premonition that exists. In the last discus- sion that I had with the Professor, it was increasing becoming clear that he was actually trying to leave this world. I am saying this because, he said, “Ben, why we cannot understand --” and I appreciate the Hon Minority Leader's difficulty of assessing his poetry and prose. He said that when you would want to represent reality, reality happens simultaneously.
But if you have to put it down into literary work, you have to do it in a linear manner; one paragraph, one sentence, after the other. But the real occurrence that takes place is one that takes place in a simultaneous way. So, we should start learning how to write side, by side, to make sure that the simultaneity of social reality becomes relevant.
This is important and I guess that we must begin engaging the top processes of people like that. Let us not get into the laziness of the mind, which is again, one of the strongest points that he made. He said, when a person does not eat food, you can grow lean and get emaciated. In the case of children, they can refer to it as Kwashiorkor. But it is worse when you do not feed the mind. This is because a mal-nourished mind is more dangerous than a malnourished body.
In my view, these are clear nodal points of who exactly Prof. Awoonor was; and what were his thought processes and how he sought to live a better world behind.

Mr Speaker

Hon Members, if you
would permit, I would like to say that I am yet to recover from the shock of the death of Prof. Kofi Awoonor, not because I was close to him. He entered Kenya a week after I had left there. I was there, at the invitation of the Speaker of the National Assembly of Kenya, to assist their new Parliament in training their Members of Parliament (MPs).
I went beyond Nairobi, to Mombasa and I had to drive 35 miles across the ferry with two of the Clerks from Parliament, to go and help them organise the induction seminar. Indeed, I left Kenya a week be- fore Prof. Awoonor entered there. Maybe, I was lucky one week earlier than him.
Hon Members, it is quite frightening because the activities of the terrorists were rather on the Indian Ocean, around Mom- basa, where I went and what happened to the late Professor could have happened to me and the two Clerks that I went with. So, if today, some of us are alive, we should just thank God.
May his soul rest in peace.
The second Statement stands in the name of Hon Shirley A. Botchwey.
Irregular Migration -- The Deaths of 92 Citizens of Niger

Ms Shirley A. Botchwey (NPP -- An- yaa/Sowutuom)

Mr Speaker, a couple of weeks ago, the world woke up to read about the death of 92 illegal migrants, citizens from Niger who were on their way to Algeria to seek greener pastures. These gruesome deaths shocked the world and made headlines in all major news networks the world over.
It is my view, Mr Speaker, that these deaths cannot go without mention. I there- fore, would like to thank you for giving me

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration (Ms Hannah S. Tetteh)

I thank you very much, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute to the Statement that has just been made by the Hon Member, on indeed, what undoubtedly, was a tragic accident that happened in the Sahara Desert.
Your Excellency, the problem of ille- gal migration -- [Laughter.] I beg your pardon, Mr Speaker. It just tells you that I have to adjust to the forum I am in.
Mr Speaker, the problem of illegal mi- gration is the problem that is bedevilling a number of African countries, especially those that have recently emerged out of conflict and which have had challenges with establishing effective governance within their States.
The tragedy in Niger is even more so because, having the majority of those victims as women and children, suggests that they may have actually been victims of human trafficking. This is because whenever you have a situation, where women and children are much more pre- dominant in the group of illegal migrants being shipped, there has been the tendency to have some of these women and children moving to other parts of the world under the illusion that they are going to be able to find jobs or find the better life, when ac- tually, on the recieving end, they may find themselves involved in prostitution, both at the adult and child level and indeed, in actions and activities that we would not want our citizens to be part of.
So Mr Speaker, it raises a number of issues because it is not only about migra- tion policy, but it is also about educating people to understand that when somebody comes and promises you the world and that you would have paradise in another country, and has to take you through those gruesome circumstances to get there,
the chances are that, what you are going through is certainly not going to be better than the journey that you are suffering to arrive at that destination.
In educating the public, especially our women, it is important for them to understand that they should not allow themselves to be victims to this menace. This is because indeed, it has destroyed a lot of homes, created a lot of problems and has also helped to further entrench the activities of people who are involved in or- ganised crime because human trafficking is organised crime.
Mr Speaker, at the last emergency African Union meeting, that was called specifically to deal with the issue of His Excellency, President Kenyatta's upcom- ing trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC), because the recent incident in Lampedusa had come on almost be- fore that particular meeting, it gave the opportunity for African leaders who were present, to also deliberate on the issue of international migration policy, especially, in discussions with the European Union.
Indeed, it is tabled as one of the issues that would be raised at the AU/EU meet- ing, which is going to take place next year, I think in April, in order to be able to streamline and focus on matters of mutual concern between Africa and Europe.
Mr Speaker, we also look forward to participating in that particular conference. This is because it is important to manage the flows of migration across that thin strip of sea, which is the Medi-terranean.
Mr Speaker, the fact also remains that
the overthrow of the Government of Libya has contributed to this increased move- ment of people across the Sahara and the Mediterraneans, who are coming to their

Mr Alexander K. Afenyo-Markin (NPP -- Effutu)

Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Statement ably made by Hon Ayorkor Botchwey, Member of Parliament for Anyaa/Sowutuom.
Mr Speaker, indeed, this Statement flows from yesterday's Statement by the Hon Member for Weija/Gbawe, an edu- cationist who drew the House's attention to the female dropout and the level of education at the BECE and the SHS levels.
The alarming rate of inability of many of our young ones to continue to the ter- tiary level became a matter of concern. Today, this Statement, so made about migration, flows from the fact that most of the youth in Africa have the perception that Europe is a better place.
The Hon Member and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration (Ms Hannah Tetteh) ended her contribu- tion by saying that Europe was made by
Europeans, therefore, Africa must be made by Africans. If Africa is to be made by Africans, then it is largely dependent on African leaders, Members of Parliament (MPs), Ministers and Presidents --

Mr Speaker

African people or Afri- can Leaders.

Mr Afenyo-Markin

Mr Speaker, I add that. Mr Speaker, we, as leaders who know our responsibility to lead, must not be petty. If indeed, we want to create a platform of equal opportunities, we must not be cheeky in responding to criticisms. And reminding that indeed, when we are so criticised about the need to put in prag- matic policies, we say elections are closer, so, we should not worry.
We should not talk about comrade- ship, we should not talk about betrayals, pettiness, but we must take criticisms as constructive. We should not say that leadership is a lonely and a difficult one.
We should know that if we are to lead and create prosperity, we owe it a duty to ourselves and the people who put us in there, that those who disagree with us must voice out their views.
Mr Speaker, it is said that although
distinctions among men are necessary to preserve subordination, ought not emi- nence of situation make you feel that you are superior over the other, for a time will come, that the wisest among men knows not when death, the grand leveller of all human greatness shall reduce us to the same state. Therefore, we should square our conducts, level our steps and keep our intentions upright.
That is the surest way to create equal opportunities for the people we lead.
Mr Speaker, with these few words I
thank you for the opportunity.

Mr Speaker

Last comment on the Statement, Hon Member for Biakoye.

Mr Emmanuel K. Bandua (NDC -- Biakoye)

Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity to associate myself with the Statement made by the Hon Member for Anyaa/Sowutuom. In- deed, the death of these illegal migrants from Niger invokes the memories of the brutal murder of Ghanaians in The Gambia some time back. This is because, they also embarked on a similar journey to Europe in search of greener pastures.
I doubt if indeed, there are greener pastures anywhere. I believe that in order to make it in life, you have to work at wherever you find yourself. You realise that many of these people embark on these journeys without knowing the hazards ahead of them. This is because they just go in search of opportunities without thinking of the difficulties that they would face on the way.
I believe that we must put in place a system that would educate our nationals to know that, indeed, the moneys that they mobilise before embarking on these trips, if they stay at home and invest the moneys, they can make better things here.
Some of them go out there and spend the moneys and come back home penniless if they are able to survive the dangers on their way. I would also advise that gov- ernments in the ECOWAS sub-region, even the AU, should try and put in place, an efficient transportation system.
In fact, if we have continental railway systems along the African region, many people would not embark on the trip and go through the Sahara. Transportation is difficult and hazardous, so many people try to find various means by which to get
out of the country through that. I would also add that, indeed, the main reason people leave our shores is that, they go in search of greener pastures. If our govern- ments are able to put in place structures that would enable people to stay at home, work and earn decent living, I do not think that they would be encouraged to leave their home countries in search of greener pastures elsewhere.
Mr Speaker, on this note, I would want to thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Statement made by Hon Ayorkor Botchwey.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the oppor- tunity.

Mr Speaker

Hon Members, that brings us to the end of Statements.
We move on to commencement of Public business.
Hon Majority Leader.

Dr Kunbuor

Mr Speaker, if we could take item 5 and I would like to ask for your indulgence to allow the Hon Deputy Attorney-General and Deputy Minister for Justice to move the Motion because the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice is currently held up.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr Speak- er, ordinarily, I would not have anything against that but the Hon Majority Leader informs us that the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice is currently being held up. What does he mean by that?

Dr Kunbuor

Mr Speaker, well, I guess that these are matters that we could have discussed, but the reality is that, the Hon Attorney-General and Minister for Justice returned late yesterday evening from a crucial meeting in Ivory Coast in relation to the Ghana-Ivory Coast border and they are currently briefing His Excel- lency the President -- and it is a matter of significant national importance.

Mr Speaker

Hon Members, the Hon Majority Leader has told us where the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice is, and that was the request made by the Hon Minority Leader.

Chairman of the Committee (Mr. Alban S. K. Bagbin)

Mr Speaker, I rise to present the Committees Report.
Introduction
The Plant Breeders' Bill was pre- sented to Parliament and read the First time on Wednesday,12th June, 2013. In accor-dance with article 106 (4) and (5) of the Constitution and Order 179 of the Standing Orders of Parliament, the Bill was referred to the Committee on Consti-tutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs for consideration and report.
The Committee held a number of meet- ings to consider the Bill. The Committee invited memoranda from the public and attendance of various stakeholders.
During the consideration of the Bill, the Minister for Justice and Attorney-Gen- eral, Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong, the Attorney-General and Minister for Juastice and Deputy Attorney-General and Deputy Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, the Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr Alhassan A. Yakubu and the Director of Crops Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Dr Hans Adu-Dapaah, attended and participated actively in the discussions of the Committee.
Also in attendance were some Mem- bers on the Committee on Food, Agricul- ture and Cocoa Affairs and officials from the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General's Department. The Committee sincerely thanks the Ministers and the officials for the assistance and support. Reference
The Committee referred to the fol- lowing laws and documents during its deliberations.

Chairman of the Committee (Mr. Alban S. K. Bagbin)

xiii. Clause 18 -- Amendment pro- posed -- paragraph (b), line 1, after “decision” delete “of” and substitute “on”.

xiv. Clause 19 --Amendment proposed -- subclause (1), paragraph (b), line 2, after “trees or” delete “of”.

xv. Clause 19 -- Amendment proposed -- subclause (2), line 1, before “ap- plies only” delete “subsection (1)” and substitute “This Section”.

xvi. Clause 20 -- Amendment proposed -- subclause (6), line 1, after “ob- tained” delete “for example”.

xvii. Clause 21 -- Amendment pro- posed -- Subclause (1), paragraph (c), after “varieties” delete “and”.

xvii. Clause 21 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (1), paragraph (c) (ii), line 1, before “acts referred” delete “for”.

xix. Clause 24 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (1), delete “An application for the grant of”.

xx. Clause 24 -- Amendment proposed -- subclause (3), line 1, after “as- signment” insert “or transfer”.

xxi. Clause 25 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (1), line 1, after “of”, delete “or the applicant for”.

xxii. Clause 27 -- Amendment pro- posed -- delete subclause (5) and insert “(5) Where there is no agree- ment on the amount to be paid for the licence, the Registrar shall apply to a court of competent jurisdiction to determine;

(a) the amount to be paid; and

(b) the method of payment as regards the remuneration,

taking into account the cir- cumstances of each case.”

xxiii. Clause 40 -- Amendment pro- posed -- delete subclause (2) and insert “(2) The Registry shall be headed by the Registrar who shall be assisted by a person not below the rank of a Principal State Attorney.”

xxiv. Clause 41 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (3), paragraph (d), line 1, delete “and applications for the grant”.

xxv. Clause 43 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (1), paragraph (a), after “the Registrar” ‘who shall be an ex-officio member”.

xxvi. Clause 43 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (1), delete paragraph (c) and insert “(c) the Director of the Crops Services Di- rectorate of the Ministry responsible for Agriculture;”

xxvii. Clause 43 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (1), paragraph (d), line 1, after “Services” insert “Directorate”.

xxviii. Clause 43 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (1), paragraph (d), line 2, after “Ministry” delete “of” and substitute “responsible for”.

Xxix. Clause 43 --Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (1), paragraph (e), line 2, after “the” insert “pub- lic”.

xxx. Clause 43 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (1), paragraph (e), line 3, after “the” insert “public”

xxxi. Clause 43 --Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (1), delete par- agraph (g), line 2, after “the” insert

“plant breeding”

xxxii Clause 43 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (1), insert a new paragraph “(h) one person with expertise in intellectual property law not below the rank of a Principal State Attorney.”

xxxiii. Clause 43 -- Amendment pro- posed -- Insert a new sub-clause (2) after subclause (1) as follows:

“(2) The Registrar shall not vote on a matter for decision at a meeting”.

xxxiv. Clause 43 -- Amendment pro- posed -- delete subclause (5).

xxxv. Clause 43 -- Amendment pro- posed -- Insert the following new clauses after clause 43:

Tenure of office of members of the Tech- nical Committee

(1) A member of the Technical Committee appointed otherwise than by reason of that member's office, shall hold office for a period of three years and is el- igible for re-appointment, but a member shall be re-appointed for one term only.

(2) A member of the Technical Committee who is absent from three consecutive meetings of the Committee without sufficient cause, ceases to be a member of the Technical Committee.

(3) The office of a member of the Technical Committee becomes vacant if the member at any time

resigns from office in writing addressed to the Minister.

(4) The Minister may by a letter to a member, terminate the ap- point-ment of that member.

(5) Where a member of the Technical Committee is for sufficient rea- son, unable to act as a member, the Minister shall determine whether the inability would result in the declaration of a vacancy.

(6) Where there is a vacancy

(a) under sub-section (3) or (4) or section 44 (2),

(b) as a result of a declaration under sub-section (5), or

(c) by reason of the death of a member the Minister shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy.

Meetings of the Technical Committee

(1) The Technical Committee shall meet at least once every three months for the dispatch of busi- ness at the times and in places determined by the chairperson in consultation with the Registrar.

(2) The chairperson shall at the re- quest in writing of not less than one-third of the membership of the Technical Committee con- vene an extraordinary meeting of the Technical Committee at the place and time determined by the chairperson in consultation with the Registrar.

(3) The quorum at a meeting of the Technical Committee shall be four.

Chairman of the Committee (Mr. Alban S. K. Bagbin)

(4) The chairperson shall preside at meetings of the Technical Com- mittee and in the absence of the chairperson, a member of the Technical Committee elected by the members present from among their number shall preside.
(5) Matters before the Technical Committee shall be decided by a majority of the members present and voting, and in the event of an equality of votes, the person pre- siding shall have a casting vote.
(6) The Technical Committee may co-opt a person to attend a Tech- nical Committee meeting but that person shall not vote on a matter for decision at the meeting.
xxxvi. Clause 44 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (1), delete par- agraph (b) and substitute “(b) shall recuse himself or herself and shall not participate in the deliberations of the Technical Committee as regards the matter”.
xxxvii. Clause 46 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (3), paragraph (a), after “the” delete “regular”.
xxxviii. Clause 46 -- Amendment proposed -- subclause (3), delete paragraph (d) and insert “(d) the maintenance of the register for the protection of plant breeder rights”.
xxxix. Clause 47 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (1), after “The” delete “funds of” and substitute “sources of money for”.
xl. Clause 47 -- Amendment proposed --- subclause (1), paragraph (a), line 1, after “fees” delete “as re- gards” and substitute “and charges
paid for”.
xli. clause 47 -- Amendment proposed -- Subclause (1), delete paragraph (d) and substitute “(d) any othe moneys the are recommended by minister responsible for finance and approved by parliament.”
xlii. Clause 47 - Amendment proposed -- subclause (2), line 1, after “may” delete “retain” and substitute “apply for.”
xliii. Clause 47 -- Amendment pro- posed -- delete subclause (3) and insert “(3) The percentage of inter- nally generated funds applied for by the Registrar shall be as approved by Parliament”.
xliv. Clause 48 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (1), line 1, after “The” delete “Technical Commit- tee” and substitute “Registrar”.
Xlv Clause 48 -- Amendment pro- posed -- delete subclause (2) and substitute “(2) The Registrar shall, subject to the Financial Admin-stra- tion Act 2003, (Act 654), make rules and procedures for the operation and management of the Fund subject to the approval of the Minister.”
xlvi. Clause 48 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (3), line 3, after “ the” delete “Controller and Accountant-General” and substitute “Minister responsible for Finance”.
xlvii Clause 48 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (4), line after “expenses” delete “of the Fund”.
Xlviii. Clause 49 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (1), line 1, after “The” delete “Technical Commit- tee” and substitute “Registrar”.
xlix. Clause 49 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (1), line 1, after “records” delete “in relation to them”.
l. Clause 49 --Amendment proposed -- subclause (2), line 1, after “The” delete “Technical Committee” and substitute “Registrar”.
Ii. Clause 50 -- Amendment proposed -- subclause (1), line 1, after “The” delete “Technical Committee” and substitute “Registrar”.
lii. Clause 50 -- Amendment proposed -- Subclause (3), line 2, after “with” delete “a statement” and substitute “any other comment”.
liii. Clause 50 -- Amendment proposed -- ubclause (4), line 1, after “The” delete “Technical Committee” and substitute ‘Registrar”.
liiv. Clause 51 -- Amendment proposed -- delete “Appeal” from the heads note and substitute “Appeals”.
Clause 51 -- Amendment proposed -- subclause (1), line 1, after “an” delete “Appeal” and insert “Ap- peals”.
lvi. Clause 51 -- Amendment pro- posed -- delete Subclause (2) and substitute “(2) The Appeals Board consists of
(a) one expert in legal matters who is the chairperson; and
(b) four experts qualified in agricultural science”.
lvii. Clause 51 -- Amendment pro- posed -- Subclause (3), after “ the” delete”Appeal” and substitute “Appeals”.
lvi. Clause 51 -- Amendment proposed -- delete subclause (4) and substi- tute “(4) The provisions of sections 44 and 45 as regards disclosure of
interest and allowances shall apply to a member of the Appeals Board”.
lvii. Clause 51 -- Amendment pro- posed -- delete subclause (5) and substitute “(5) The Appeals Board may co-opt an expert to attend its meetings but a co-opted member shall not vote on a matter for deci- sion at a meeting”.
Ix. Clause 51 -- Amendment proposed -- delete subclause (6)
lxi. Clause 51 -- Amendment proposed -- delete subclause (7) and substi- tute “(7) The Appeals Board shall have the power to
(a) summon and compel the attendance of witnesses; and
(b) order the production of documents.”
lxii. Clause 51 -- Amendment pro- posed -- insert a new subclause after subclause (7) as follows: “(8) The Minister may by legislative instrument, make Regulations to govern the proceedings of the Ap- peals Board.”
lxiii. Clause 51 -- Amendment pro- posed -- delete subclause (8) and substitute “(9) The Appeals Board shall record its proceedings and shall submit the record to the Reg- istrar.”
lxiv. Clause 52 -- Amendment pro- posed -- delete head note and insert “Tenure of office of members of the Appeals Board”.
lxv. Clause 52 -- Amendment proposed -- delete subclause (1) and substi-

tute “(1) A member of the Appeals Board shall hold office for a period of three years and is eligible for re-appointment for one term only”.

lxvi. Clause 52 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (4), line 1, after “the” delete “Appeal” and substitute “Appeals”.

lxvii. Clause 52 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (4), line 4, after “proceedings” delete “for a period of not more than six months at one time”.

lxviii. Clause 52 -- Amendment proposed -- subclause (5), line 1, after “appointed” delete “to act as a member for a period” and substitute “under sub-section (4)”.

lxix. Clause 53 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (1), line 2, after “the” delete “Appeal” and insert “Appeals”.

lxx. Clause 53 -- Amendment proposed -- subclause (2), line 2, after “the” delete “Appeal” and substitute “Appeals”.

lxxi. Clause 53 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (2), line 3, delete “Appeal” and substitute “Appeals”.

lxxii. Clause 53 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (3), line 2, after “with” delete “the appropriate” and substitute “supporting”.

lxxiii. Clause 53 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (4), line 1, after “The” delete “Appeal” and substi- tute “Appeals”.

lxxiv. Clause 53 -- Amendment pro- posed -- delete subclause (5) and

insert “(5) The Appeals Board may affirm, set aside or vary a decision of the Registrar.”

lxxv. Clause 53 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (6), after “The” delete “Appeal” and substitute “Appeals”.

lxxvi. Clause 53 -- Amendment pro- posed -- delete subclause (7) and substitute “(7) The Appeals Board may review a decision made under sub-section (6) on an application by an aggrieved person, if the Appeald Board is of the view that because of new evidence or developments, the previous decision is inappropriate”.

lxxvii. Clause 53 -- Amendment proposed -- subclause (8), line 1, before “person” delete “A” and substitute “An aggrieved”.

lxxviii. Clause 53 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (8), line 2, after “the” delete “Appeal” and substitute “Appeals”.

lxxix. Clause 53 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (9), line 1, after “The” delete “Appeal” and substi- tute “Appeals”.

lxxx. Clause 53 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (10), line 2, after “the”, delete “Appeal” and substitute “Appeals”.

lxxxi. Clause 55 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (2), delete paragraph (b) and substitute “(b) ensure that the Varieties Bulletin is accessible in both the hard and electronic copy forms.”

lxxxii. Clause 55 -- Amendment pro- posed -- delete subclause (4) and substitute “(2) The Varieties Bulletin shall contain only matters related to

this Act.”

lxxxiii. Clause 56 -- Amendment proposed -- subclause (1), line 1, after “Gazette” insert “or Varieties Bulletin”.

lxxxiv. Clause 56 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (1), paragraph (d), line 1, after “decisions” delete “of” and substitute “on”.

lxxxv. Clause 56 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (1), paragraph (f), before “any” delete “and”.

lxxxvi. Clause 57 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (1), line 2, after “action” insert “in the High Court”.

lxxxvii. Clause 57 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (1), paragraph (d), line 2, after “goods” insert “that infringe on the rights of a plant breeder”.

lxxxviii. Clause 57 -- Amendment pro- posed -- subclause (1), paragraph (e), after “considers” delete “fit” and insert “necessary”.

lxxxix. Clause 57 -- Amendment proposed -- subclause (2), line 2, after “enforcement of ” delete “a person's right” and substitute “the right of a person”

xc. Clause 58 -- Amendment proposed -- line 10, delete “of not more than two thousand penalty units or to a term of imprisonment of not more than two years or to both” and insert “of not less than five thousand pen- alty units and not more than eight thousand penalty units”.

xci. Clause 60 -- Amendment proposed -- subclause (1), paragraph (i), after “the”, delete “Appeal” and substi- tute “Appeals”.

xcii. Clause 60 -- Amendment pro- posed -- delete subclause (2).

xciii. Clause 61-- Amendment pro- posed -- insert after line 17, “ ‘harvested materials' includes entire plant or parts of plants obtained through the use of propagating material.”

Mr Speaker

Who is the Ranking Member on the Committee?

Mr Ben A. Banda

Mr Speaker, the Ranking Member on the Committee is the Hon Member on Bekwai (Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu) but he is unavailable due to certain circumstances. He has therefore, asked me to step in his shoes. I am the Deputy Ranking Member.

Mr Speaker

Very well.

Mr Ben A. Banda (on behalf of the Ranking Member))

Mr Speaker, I rise with your indulgence, to contribute to the Motion.
Mr Speaker, the passage of the Plant Breeders Bill into law in Ghana is long overdue. Since the year 2000, Ghana has been struggling to initiate the procedure for acceding to the UPOV Conventions.
Mr Speaker, countries like Morocco,
South Africa, United States of America, United Kingdom, Israel and others have benefited a lot from the promulgation of Plant Breeders Laws.
Mr Speaker, the promulgation of the
Bill into law in Ghana, would trigger a lot of benefits to the Ghanaian economy.

Mr Ben A. Banda (on behalf of the Ranking Member))

Nowadays, Mr Speaker, access to large tracts of farming lands in some parts of our country is a problem.

There is too much pressure on our

farmlands. The passage of the Bill into law would thereby reduce the pressure on the land because farmers may not need large tracts of land to engage in farming activities.

Mr Speaker, embedded in plant vari- eties are high yielding capabilities; and therefore, if a farmer is given a small chunk of farmland, the farmer can engage in farming activities and thereby bring out abundant dividends.

Mr Speaker, when this Bill is passed into law, a lot more people would be interested in engaging in breeding of plant varieties. Mr Speaker, we all know that any time population increases, it goes side by side with food insecurity, if proper measures are not put in place. The passage of this Bill will therefore take care of the increasing population problem that we have, which normally goes side by side with food insecurity.

Mr Speaker, individual investors, pri- vate companies within and outside Ghana, who currently may not be willing to invest heavily into plant breeding because of the absence of a well defined legal re- gime to protect their varieties, will all be -- subsequently when the Bill is passed into law, interested in ensuring that their investments are made into the Ghanaian economy.

Mr Speaker, there are also people who may be resident outside the country and wanting to export plant varieties into the country, but are unwilling to do so because of the absence of a legal regime. The passage of this Bill will therefore, take care of that problem.

Mr Speaker, plant breeding is very expensive. It takes a lot of time for it to mature, access to adequate laboratory facilities and experimental sites involve some cost; engaging experts to assist in plant breeding also involves some costs. But the Bill makes available, civil remedies for those whose rights may be trampled upon.

The Bill also makes provision for criminal prosecution to be initiated against those who sell or try to market the plant varieties to people without the consent of the plant breeders.

Mr Speaker, with these few words, I support the Motion and urge the august House to also support it and to ensure the accelerated passage of this Bill into law.

Mr Emmanuel K. Bandua (NDC -- Biakoye)

Mr Speaker, I also rise to support the passage of this Bill into law. Indeed, in the face of global challenges as far as food security is concerned, the least we can do is to protect those who invest their monies into the process of plant breeding.
It is an expensive process; and if we leave them to the mercies of people who would hijack the varieties that they have brought into being, it would not be in the interest of anybody.
In addition to this and being a mem- ber of an international organisation like UPOV, we stand to benefit from several things that entail therein. For instance, the researches that are available, we would benefit from them; we would share ideas and be able to grow several types of plants.
In order to facilitate our membership of UPOV, it is important or necessary that we pass the law. Once this law is passed, it would facilitate our entry into membership of UPOV. Secondly, being a members
of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the treaty agreements under WTO also requires we pass the law protecting those who breed varieties of plants.
I think it is very important and very necessary to support the passage of this Bill into law.
Mr Speaker, on this note, I thank you for the opportunity to associate myself with the Motion.

Dr Matthew O. Prempeh (NPP -- Manhyia South)

Mr Speaker, I rise to draw the House's attention to some serious problems associated with this Bill if it is passed in this country.
Mr Speaker, not speaking on behalf of the Ghana National Association of Farmers and Fishermen who obviously are against, and have written to Members of Parliament (MPs) and are adamantly against --

Mr Speaker

Chairman of the Com- mittee, listen to the Hon Member.

Dr Prempeh

-- who have written to MPs that they are against the promulgation of this law -- Mr Speaker, why would farmers and fishermen be against a law protecting their livelihood? That is what, as Members of Parliament , we should put our thinking caps on.

Dr Prempeh

Oh, let me finish.

Mr Speaker

Hon Member, you have the floor.

Dr Prempeh

Thank you Mr Speaker.
He will have the floor.
Mr Speaker, farmers, since Adam have been exchanging the diversity of seeds to promote their survival. Mr Speaker, you heard Hon Members say that we are now going to make sure that criminal sanctions are applied to people who use seeds not purchased from these investors.

Dr Prempeh

Let me finish.

Mr Speaker

Hon Chairman, do you have a point of order?

Mr Bagbin

Yes, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker, I do not recollect any Hon Member on floor talking about criminal sanctions against people who exchange seeds.

Dr Prempeh

Mr Speaker, he did not let me finish; he just heard criminal sanctions and got up. Let me finish with my story and he would come up.
Mr Speaker, when the Hon Member spoke, he said he was protecting the right --

Mr Speaker

Hon Member, I gave the floor to the Chairman because he rose on a point of order. I have to listen to him.

Mr Bagbin

Mr Speaker, straight from the Memorandum of the Bill and from all the presentations, we said it was creating rights for plant breeders. That is all what this law is meant to do. And plant breed- ing is already ongoing in the country; it is not going to criminalise any person trying to use -- In fact, we have been buying, for example --

Mr Speaker

Hon Member, at the Sec- ond Reading of a Bill, three documents are -- The memorandum to the Bill, the Bill itself and the Report of the Committee. Is there any criminal sanctions in the Bill or in the memorandum or in the Committee's Report?

Dr Prempeh

Yes, Mr Speaker, there is.

Dr Prempeh

Mr Speaker, what I
meant by the argument I was developing is that, literature abounds to the fact that the plant seeds may be introduced into a country. It might even be given to farmers for free, as yielding abundant harvest -- as drought resistant. But Mr Speaker, the amount of pesticides and fertilisers you have to apply on the land, the effects are abundant in the United States of America and South America.
Mr Speaker, the other thing with these seeds is that, once you give them to the farmer, he does not have the chance to always store his own seed and use it the following year. Every farmer who uses genetically modified seeds, would have to buy the seed every year.
Mr Speaker, when you go to CSIR, they develop seeds and things for our farmers and they have been --

Mr Speaker

Hon Member, let me get the substance of your submission. Are you against the Bill or certain portions of the Bill?

Dr Prempeh

Certainly, Mr Speaker, I am against certain portions of the Bill, not the whole Bill.

Mr Speaker

Very well.

Dr Prempeh

Mr Speaker, if the Bill was even promoting the work of CSIR that
has been developing locally indigenous breeding seeds, I would not have a prob- lem. Why is it now that we are trying to legitimise something?
Mr Speaker, a portion of a document circulated by the Ghana National Associ- ation of Farmers and Fishermen says, and I beg to quote:
“Ghana is a signatory to the Inter- national Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), which affirms that the rights recognised in the Treaty to save, use, exchange and sell farm saved seeds and other propagating material . . .”
Mr Speaker, when we pass this Bill, the Ghana National Association of Farm- ers and Fishermen are saying this Bill stands in contradiction to this Treaty. We should not rise by throwing our hands in the air and say “No”. Genetically mod- ified food is being resisted even in some countries in Europe. Why? Research is far better there. Why are European countries resisting the genetically modified foods?
It is not for nothing, that in Afri- ca, it is being introduced just like the International Criminal Court (ICC) was introduced. The ICC was introduced and creating sanctities and now, it is only Af- rica that is going there.

Mr Speaker, when you are speaking and you are being terrorized from left and

right, maybe, I have to stop --

Mr Speaker

Hon Member, I am here to protect every Hon Member --

Dr Prempeh

Mr Speaker, thank you for your protection.
That is what I have been craving for.
Mr Speaker, I know that there are very, big boys in this House who happened to be on the Committee promoting the Bill; so, even when I lift up my head and I see their faces, I need your protection. Mr Speaker, I seriously need your protection.

Dr Kunbuor

On a point of order.
Mr Speaker, just to give some sanity to the discussion in relation to your direction. This is because Mr Speaker did direct here that there are three essentials for this stage of this Bill and you did cite the three considerations.
I have observed that the Hon Member is beginning to confuse issues of botany with intellectual property; so, the issue of relevance comes up here. When you are dealing with a right that is abstracted from any situation, you should deal with it at that level.
But when we go into genetically modified things and the botanical prop- erties that are involved here, we are not dealing with the relevant issue, which is a purely legal intellectual property issue. So, I just thought that the Hon Member could come back to that. This is because all that is stated in the Memorandum of
the Bill -- why this Bill is being brought and what it is seeking to do, regardless of what genetically modified fruits, debates and resistance across the country has been and we must get the relevance.
If you cannot do that abstraction, you would be running into a difficulty in rela- tion to the Bill. So, I would want Mr Speaker's guidance on this.

Mr Speaker

The Hon Member on the floor made a very important point. The point that he made was to the effect that he is not against the Bill. So, let him make his point. When we get to the Consideration Stage, I was going to tell you that he has made sufficient explanation on that.
So, those offensive portions of the Bill, in his view, he would file the necessary amendments and the House would take a final decision whether to carry those amendments -- except that he had bela- boured that point for far too long.
Hon Member, if you would want to canvass the point by the farmers and fishermen, there is nothing wrong; but then you may make it and when we get to the Consideration Stage, you can file your necessary amendments.

Dr Prempeh

Mr Speaker, on page 4 of the Report, it says:
“The Bill seeks to establish a legal framework to provide and promote an effective system of plant variety protection, also called a ‘plant breeders' right -- an exclusive right . . . ”

Mr Speaker

That is the point --

Dr Prempeh

But the Hon Majority Leader says I am confusing botany and intellectual property right. This Bill is trying to establish the property right.

Mr Speaker

Hon Member, look at page (ii) of the Memorandum, the second or third paragraph dealing with “recent breeding initiative by the Crop

Mr Speaker

Research Institute”. When they invest money to come with a certain variety, my understanding is that, I stand corrected, is to protect that investment as a result of the money that they have invested into it. That is my understanding of this Bill.

Dr Prempeh

Mr Speaker, I am not against that understanding but there is more to that understanding.

Mr Speaker

Hon Member, what are you against?

Dr Prempeh

Mr Speaker, let me give you three examples of what I am against. If a plant breeder introduces a seed into this country that makes you grow more rice per acreage to be protected that every farmer who is going to use that seed would have to pay something to me. Two --

Mr Speaker

Hon Member, there are portions of the Bill that I have looked at. There are even exceptions to it. If you look at clause 21, for example -- the way the argument is going -- We have the Consideration Stage.
I asked you a very fundamental ques- tion -- whether you were against the whole Bill or certain portions. If it is against certain portions, you would want the Bill to go through, except those clauses you are not in favour of; and that one will be taken at the Consideration Stage. We are now at the Second Reading, which is basically the principles of the Bill.

Mr Samuel Atta Akyea

Mr Speaker,
I am very grateful for this opportunity.
I was a bit worried that the Leader of the House, in whom I am well pleased, said, “Let us bring sanity to bear on the debate.” I felt that was a strong language coming from the Majority Leader because at the end of the day, the one who is pre- siding over the sanity of this House is the
Hon Speaker. And if we are on the path of insanity, he will bring us to book.
So, I felt that the language was too strong. When a Member of this House is making strong arguments and you disa- gree, That is not on the verge of insanity. So, I am afraid the language was too strong and I wish to invite him to withdraw that word.

Dr Kunbuor

Mr Speaker, he did not need to invite me, I was rising myself to actually withdraw that word and apologise profusely to the Hon Member. But when I talked about sanity, I was not referring to compos mentis. I was talking about the circumstances. It has no mental element whatsoever, but it is capable of being misinterpreted. So, I withdraw it.

Mr Speaker

The Majority Leader has withdrawn it.
Yes, Hon Member, please, wind up.

Dr Prempeh

Mr Speaker, I would
want to wind up.
I know that the Majority Leader will never insult me. He will call me to his office to chastise me, which I am grateful.
Mr Speaker, all I am saying is that if I, a plant breeder, owns the exclusive right to a seed and the seed has been breeded, that every year, you have to come and buy that same seed from me or apply the pesticides I have developed for the seed, ultimately, it would be to the disadvantage of the Ghanaian farmer. Let us think about it; it has happened in the United States of America, South America and Europe does not allow it. Why are we in Africa allowing it?
Deputy Minister for Food and Agri- culture (Dr Ahmed Y. Alhassan)(MP): Mr Speaker, I rise to support the Motion and to urge Members to vote for it.
I would like to reinforce the point made early on, that this Bill is long overdue and
it has taken 13 years to get it on the statute books, which is actually a very long time.
Mr Speaker, the Bill is meant to protect plant breeders and I would like to state clearly that farmers are also scientists and so farmers who come out with varieties as a result of their farming activities on a daily basis, would be protected by this Bill. This is because there is a definition for a breeder and it does not even mention scientists. It does not say so.
So, it could be varieties coming from scientists, it could be varieties coming from public institutions; it could be va- rieties coming from private institutions including farmers. That point has to be made clearly and so, that Bill, is section neutral or constituency neutral. It is meant to protect somebody who comes out with a plant variety and deserves to be protected. The arguments about farmers et cetera is not right.
Let me also say that our scientists be- long to a global community of scientists and there is an exchange of germplasm between them on a daily basis. But what is happening today is that, every country is taking steps to protect their varieties, the varieties that we ought to have had for free to combine with our genes in country to get varieties that are suitable for our environment, which are currently being protected by those countries.
So, if we do not protect ours, what it means is that, our material will go out to other countries for free and we cannot bring materials from other countries be- cause we cannot pay. Noting that plant breeding is an expensive business, it takes an average of five to eight years and in certain cases, 15 years to come out with one variety.
Talk about coconut breeding, which is
a very expensive business, very arduous task and how can it be that a scientist or institution takes 15 to 20 years to come out with the coconut variety and that scientist or institution is not rewarded, meanwhile, the downstream activities are going on accumulating wealth for other individuals?
Mr Speaker, it must be noted that it is extremely embarrassing that even our re- search institutions cannot pay subscription fees in the global market, so that they can leverage materials that can come into our country to improve our science and the wellbeing of the small scale farmer.
Let me also say, before I proceed, that even the materials that the farmers use are materials from plant breeders. The material that they save and replant the following year, are materials coming from plant breeders. But because they are coming from public research institutions, they are not asked to pay.
There is enough protection in the Bill, Mr Speaker, for varieties that farmers al- ready have or are yet to possess because non-commercial use is the emphasis. If it is for non-commercial use, farmers are free to use the materials on a regular basis.

Dr A. A. Osei

On a point of order.
Mr Speaker, I need your guidance.
My good Friend, the “Hon Deputy Minister keeps saying “before I proceed”.

Dr Alhassan

Mr Speaker, before I proceed to my next point.

Dr A. A. Osei

Thank you.

Dr Alhassan

Mr Speaker, the Bill allows farmers to save their own seed and replant. It does not force farmers -- [Interruption.]

Dr Prempeh

Where is the Bill?

Dr Alhassan

The Bill is here. I am holding a copy. Section 21 of the Bill, read it --

Mr Speaker

Please, the two Hon Members, address the Chair.

Dr Alhassan

Mr Speaker, let me also quote a portion of the Memorandum of the Bill. Paragraph 3 of the Memorandum says:
“The plant breeders' rights system permits farmers to save and replant seed and provides them with the right to use protected varieties as a source of further research and breeding activities.”
What this means is that, if a breeder comes out with a particular variety and a farmer takes that variety to his farm, the farmer has the right to use that variety on a regular basis as part of the farmer's gemplasm. It does not criminalise the use of that particular variety, Mr Speaker. So, those who say so are not right.
There was a quote read by “Hon Nana Poku”, a Member of Parliament from the

Dr Prempeh

On a point of order.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member for Mion (Dr Ahmed Y. Alhassan) who is my sen- ior Colleague in the Chamber used some name -- “Hon Nana Poku”. I am holding the Votes and Proceedings; I was won- dering, and going right through 275 Hon Members but there is no Hon Member called “Nana Poku”.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member for Mion cannot introduce Members who have not been accredited by the Electoral Commission. Who is the Hon Member talking about?

Dr Alhassan

Mr Speaker, I am talking about the last Hon Member who spoke, the Hon Member of Parliament for Manhyia South.
Mr Speaker, let me also say that there is enough protection for small scale farmers, and if you look at section 1 of the Bill, it is clearly done.
I was commenting on the quote that was made by the Ghana National Associa- tion of Farmers and Fishermen. Indeed, the Bill in its entirety reinforces the Interna- tional Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. It reinforces it; it does not go against it because it protects farmers' varieties.
Mr Speaker, let me say that many pieces of legislations have been passed to protect other people who invent. It is sur- prising that we do not want to pass a Bill or people are saying this Parliament should not pass a Bill to protect people who breed varieties of crops. Why should they not be protected? I find it extremely difficult to understand. If it is an invention and there is a law to protect it, it must also be done.
Mr Speaker, it is not surprising that
people are a bit nervous about the intro- duction of this Bill because it comes in the wake of new variety of crops that we have to use in agriculture system. This is because it took 30 years for hybrid maize to be produced in the world. Today, hybrid maize is all over the place, it has not killed anybody.
Mr Speaker, let me say that in the final analysis, we are not importing varieties from other countries to use in Ghana. We are talking about varieties that we produce in Ghana and use in Ghana and we deserve to protect the breeders who generate them.
Mr Speaker, there is a lot of comment also from the Hon Member of Parliament for Manhyia South around genetic engi- neering and products of genetic engineer- ing. Let me say that genetic engineering as a cutting edge technology development system is meant to protect the environ- ment, not to run the environment down.
It is a technology that is meant to cut down on pesticide use. It is a technology that is meant to cut down on fertiliser use. It is a technology meant to enhance the development of seeds that would yield properly without the application of these chemicals. So, let us not understand the issue upside down or convince --

Mr Speaker

Hon Deputy Minister, conclude.

Dr Alhassan

Mr Speaker, let me conclude by saying that the quotations and importations that are being made about Europe and America, these are countries that build hotels for their dogs. Food security is not an issue there. They build hotels for their dogs. We are still trying to put food on our table and if there is a tech- nology to let us achieve so, let us embrace it and do so within the legal framework.
In the final analysis, food security is not about arguing from the right or arguing from the left, it is about arguing on a sci- entific basis to ensure that life goes on as it makes our nation to ensure food security.

Mr Speaker

Hon Members, I have got the sense of the House. Maybe, certain portions of the Bill, at the appropriate stage of the Consideration, we may look at them. So, I will take one from this side and I will put the Question.

Mr Dominic B. A. Nitiwul

Mr Speaker, I was actually giving you a sign language. It is not a contribution.
I went to the Hon Member of Parlia- ment for Manhyia South (Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh) to find out the document he was quoting from because it was not properly before the House. I went to seek his concern on whether he would like to table it. This is because this is one Bill that is supposed to benefit the farmers.
Now, he has a document from these same farmers who are rejecting it. Mr Speaker, we said to the people -- and it is in my interest to take on board what they think. If the Committee and Parliament think that at the end of the day, there is superior argument for the Bill, I do not think we should have a problem with that at all. They have served it informally to all of us. So, I was just whispering to the Hon Majority Leader that we should allow him to table that particular document, then we can go on --

Mr Speaker

Hon Member, he has canvassed his points using this document as a basis. What is important is that at the Consideration Stage -- That is why I posed the question on whether he was against the Bill or portions of the Bill and the response was that he was against portions of the Bill. Now, let us use that document to file the necessary amend- ments and get the sense of the House at

Mr Nitiwul

Mr Speaker, according to the Hon Member, they had served every- body, but I do not have it. And it would be an opportunity for all of us to formally have it. This is because Mr Speaker, if you look at paragraph 4.3, I was glad with that particular paragraph. When I looked at paragraph 4.4 and the fact that they were going to regulate not just the production but also for resale, I began having some doubt.
So, I am interested in getting that; the document is formally laid and then I would --

Mr Speaker

Who is the petition addressed to?

Mr Nitiwul

Mr Speaker, I have seen it. I do not have it, so, I do not know. The two Hon Members seem to have it, so, let them table it.

Mr Speaker

Hon Member, if they want the House to get copies, they would have written to the Clerk or the Commit- tee. Wherever they got it from, my view on the matter is that it should form the basis of the amendments that they would file. They want to canvass the point on behalf of those who prepared this document and then we make progress.
Hon Chairman of the Committee, let me hear from you.

Mr Bagbin

Mr Speaker, I am most grateful for this opportunity.
I took time to even state when the Bill
was laid in this House -- June -- when the country started making efforts to pass this Bill -- in 2000. Before we started the Consideration Stage, we published to invite memoranda.
As the Hon Chairman, as I stand, I do not have a copy of the paper they are talking about. So, when somebody says that farmers, it might not be true that, that may be the position of farmers. It might not even be true that it is from the associ- ation. It might not.
Mind my words. It could be one or two people who have put the paper together. But we discussed this Bill openly. Nobody was prevented from appearing before the Committee to put across his or her views and Mr Speaker, I am not discounting the issues that they are raising.
But I totally agree with you that with those issues, during the time of Consider- ation -- after all, the Committee itself, has proposed so many amendments, as many as 93. So, we can go through them together, improve upon the Bill that is before us. But to try to create -- What he was talking about were civil rights. That is why I raised my first objection. They were not criminal.
Civil rights are being given to people who invest, create and innovate in plant breeding. If you publish a book, you have the copyright; if you design this shirt I am wearing, you have a designer right, it is there. And so -- [Interruptions. ]-- when we pass the Bill -- So, Mr Speaker, we are just trying to create that same environment for people who breed plants and it is not only food.
If you go to Burkina Faso, it is one of the world's highest producers of cotton. That is because they are using a different variety which was bred by plant breeders and they are creating a right for them, protecting them there. It is the same thing we want to do for Ghana if -- [Interrup- tions.] This is because the Hon Member
brought criminality into the Bill and there is nothing like that.
I would want to say that it is a civil right not a criminal -- they are not going to arrest somebody and prosecute. It is not an offence against the State.

Mr Speaker

Hon Members, as I indi- cated, I have got the sense of the House, nobody is against the Bill as a whole; there are portions that they are expressing concerns about. So at that stage, we would have to find the necessary amendments, get the sense of the House and see how best we can improve upon it. So, I will take the last comment on this matter and then I will put the Question.
Yes, Hon Minority Leader.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr Speaker, no, I am not going to make any --

Mr Speaker

Very well.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

But I just picked on what you said, that we should be careful; these days when we have constant and consistent springing up of concerned citizens. If there are concerned Members of Parliament, we should be cautious. [Laughter.]

Mr Speaker

You are out of order. [Laughter.]
Hon Member for Keta, do you want to make contributions?

Mr Richard Quashigah

Very well, Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker

All right. You have two minutes.

Mr Richard Quashigah (NDC -- Keta)

Mr Speaker, to start with, this document in itself is very suspicious and it is most unfortunate that my Hon Colleague decided to refer copiously to it. In that it
says that --

Mr Speaker

Hon Member for Keta, the Hon Member is entitled to refer to the document. The Constitution and the rules of the House allow him; so what is your problem?

Mr Quashigah

Mr Speaker, my problem is that, this document says that it is on the Ghana National Association of Farmers and Fishermen and it was signed; if you look at the signature column, it says signed by the technology and strategy di- rectorate, “Mr M. K. Boman Amoa” “on behalf of the 3,700,000 strong and grow- ing farmers and fisher-folk who make up our vibrant membership.” I do not think, largely, that this is a credible document for one to refer to.

Mr Speaker

Hon Member, please, how do you know it is not credible? It was signed by a directorate.

Mr Quashigah

We all know --

Mr Speaker

Please, please, you have not done any investigation on this matter. [Interruption.]You should be very careful the language you use on the floor of the House.

Mr Quashigah

Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker, this document is not ad- dressed to anybody; it has no address and if we want to trace the source of it, we are going to have a challenge. This is the rea- son for which I made the comment I made as far as this document is concerned, and I think it is most unfortunate for my Hon Colleague on the other side of the House to begin to make derogatory remarks in that direction.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr Speak- er, I thought you had rather cautioned my Hon Colleague to be circumspect in the use of his language. He rather said that what the Hon Member said was derogatory.
Mr Speaker, he began his own inter- vention by saying that the whole thing is suspicious and so on and so forth, when he had not conducted any research into what document he was holding. And you counselled that he should go softly and rather he wants to turn the heat on the other person.
In that regard, Mr Speaker, not having conducted any research into the paper that he is holding, he rather should withdraw his opening remarks.
Mr Speaker, he should withdraw it.

Mr Speaker

Hon Members, there is a document --

Mr Speaker

All right. Let me hear from the Hon Majority Leader.

Dr Kunbuor

Mr Speaker, I guess this matter is generating controversy that ought not to be generated. This is Because it is just a question of procedure. There are many levels at which the public, civil society intervene to enrich the legislative process. It is just because the point of en- try of this document cannot be ascertained.
It could be at the committee level, it could be an individual Member of Par- liament that people have lobbied but the individual Member of Parliament must introduce it at the appropriate level to give it the type of discussion that we are having. If you have directed that the Consideration Stage still provides another point of entry, that should be --

Mr Speaker

Hon Majority Leader, there is a document that has been signed by a human being, so, there is a name attached it. Unless you have verified and found out that that person disowned his name and signature to this document, I think there is somebody and that does not make the document incredible.
We are Hon Members in this House, so, we must mind our language, we should know the phrases to use. For 20 years, I have been in this House: I have debated and I can count the number of points of order that have been raised against some of us in this House. You can make your point without using any harsh language on the floor of the House.

Dr Kunbuor

Mr Speaker, we were speaking on two completely different purposes. Perhaps, I should have waited for you to make the ruling on the statement and objection by the Hon Minority Leader.
What I was indicating, basically, is that, there is indeed, still room for this document regardless of its privative value, regardless of its origins to be introduced to enrich the process.

Mr Speaker

That is the point the Chairman of the Committee made, that at that stage, let us look at it. He said he was not discounting the contents of the document. But when a Member gets up and says that it is incredible and it is suspi- cious, then it carries it to another level and that is the complaint that is being raised by the Hon Member for Manhyia South and the Hon Minority Leader.

Mr Quashigah

Thank you so much, Mr Speaker.
Considering all that has been put across by your very self, in spite of the fact that this document has no address to it, I --

Mr Speaker

Hon Member, can you not make your point without making ref- erence to this document?

Mr Quashigah

I withdraw all com- ments that I have made with regard to this document which is supposed to have been left in our pigeonholes by the Ghana National Association of Farmers and Fish- ermen, signed by one M. K. Boman Amoa.
Mr Speaker, to touch on the substance of the issue before us —

Mr Speaker

Hon Member, I have got the sense of the House with regard to this Bill. You have one minute; I want to put the Question.

Mr Quashigah

Mr Speaker, the Bill is in the right perspective and this Honour- able House ought to support it.
We are talking about the intellectual work of people and I believe strongly that in any environment or society where some intellectual work has been done, a lot of efforts and investment go into it, and for that reason, there is the need for that investment to be protected.
I do not think that this document will prevent farmers from continuing to do what they are supposed to do or what they have naturally been doing. If somebody comes out with a variety that is supposed to bring about increased yield and at the end of the day, they think that it is going to benefit them and for which reason, they would want to use it, it is just fair and proper that they pay some royalties for using it. And in doing so —

Mr Speaker

Conclude.

Mr Quashigah

Mr Speaker, thank you.

Mr Speaker

Your last sentence, I want to put the Question.

Mr Quashigah

Mr Speaker, again, to put it straight, what is being proposed by this Bill has nothing to do with bio-engi- neered seeds as is the case in the United States of America. This is because with bio-engineered seeds, if they plant them, they cannot have the opportunity of plant- ing them again during the next season.
But this is a situation where if the farmer uses the variety, he is able to use that variety over and over again. There is nothing incriminating about this whole proposal that this Bill seeks to put across. I, therefore, think that there is the need for this august House to support it wholly.

Mr Speaker

Hon Members, that brings us to the end of the debate.
Question put and Motion agreed to.
The Plant Breeders Bill, 2013 duly read the Second time.

Mr Speaker

All right. Hon Kobina -- [Interruption.]Any indication?[Laughter.]

Dr Benjamin B. Kunbuor

Mr Speak- er, sorry, I was having some consultation with the Hon Minority Leader because of a number of commitments today. I guess that the Leadership too is committed to a number of programmes and therefore, I beg to move, that the House be adjourned till Tuesday next week at 10.00 a.m..

Mr Dominic B. A. Nitiwul

Mr Speak- er, I beg to second the Motion.
Question put and Motion agreed to.

Debates of 8 Nov 2013

PRAYERS 10:27 a.m.

VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 10:27 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:27 a.m.

Mr Solomon N. Boar 10:27 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:27 a.m.

Mr Boar 10:27 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:27 a.m.

Mr Alfred K. Agbesi 10:27 a.m.

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE 10:27 a.m.

Mr Speaker, the Committee according- ly submits its Report as follows 10:27 a.m.

Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto (Kwada- so) 10:27 a.m.

Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto (Kwada- so) 10:27 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:40 a.m.

Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:40 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:40 a.m.

Dr Benjamin B. Kunbuor 10:40 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:40 a.m.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:40 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:40 a.m.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:40 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:40 a.m.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:40 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:40 a.m.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:40 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:40 a.m.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:40 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:40 a.m.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:40 a.m.

Dr Kunbuor 10:40 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:40 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:40 a.m.

STATEMENTS 10:40 a.m.

Mr James K. Avedzi (NDC -- Ketu North) 10:40 a.m.

Mrs Juliana Azumah-Mensah (NDC -- Agotime-Ziope) 10:50 a.m.

Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh (NPP -- Nsawam-Adoagyiri) 10:50 a.m.

Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh (NPP -- Nsawam-Adoagyiri) 10:50 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:50 a.m.

Mr Annoh-Dompreh 10:50 a.m.

Mr Simon Edem Asimah (NDC -- South Dayi) 10:50 a.m.

Minister of State (AlhajiAb- dul-Rashid H. Pelpuo) (MP) 11 a.m.

Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh (NPP -- Manhyia South) 11 a.m.

Mr Alban S. K. Bagbin (NDC -- Nadowli/Kaleo) 11:10 a.m.

Mr Alfred K. Agbesi (NDC --As- haiman) 11:10 a.m.

Mr Emmanuel K. Bedzrah (NDC-Ho West) 11:10 a.m.

Mr Emmanuel K. Bedzrah (NDC-Ho West) 11:10 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:10 a.m.

Mr Bedzrah 11:10 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:10 a.m.

Mr Bedzrah 11:10 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:10 a.m.

Minister for Trade and Industry (Mr Haruna Iddrisu) 11:10 a.m.

Minority Leader (Mr Osei Kyei-Men- sah-Bonsu) 11:20 a.m.

Mr Kyei-Mensah- Bonsu 11:20 a.m.

Dr Kunbuor 11:20 a.m.

Papa Owusu-Ankomah 11:20 a.m.

Dr Kunbuor 11:30 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:30 a.m.

Ms Shirley A. Botchwey (NPP -- An- yaa/Sowutuom) 11:30 a.m.

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration (Ms Hannah S. Tetteh) 11:40 a.m.

Mr Alexander K. Afenyo-Markin (NPP -- Effutu) 11:40 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:40 a.m.

Mr Afenyo-Markin 11:40 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:40 a.m.

Mr Emmanuel K. Bandua (NDC -- Biakoye) 11:40 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:40 a.m.

Dr Kunbuor 11:40 a.m.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:50 a.m.

Dr Kunbuor 11:50 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:50 a.m.

BILLS -- SECOND READING 11:50 a.m.

Chairman of the Committee (Mr. Alban S. K. Bagbin) 11:50 a.m.

Chairman of the Committee (Mr. Alban S. K. Bagbin) noon

Chairman of the Committee (Mr. Alban S. K. Bagbin) noon

Mr Speaker noon

Mr Ben A. Banda 12:10 p.m.

Mr Speaker 12:10 p.m.

Mr Ben A. Banda (on behalf of the Ranking Member)) 12:10 p.m.

Mr Ben A. Banda (on behalf of the Ranking Member)) 12:10 p.m.

Mr Emmanuel K. Bandua (NDC -- Biakoye) 12:10 p.m.

PRAYERS

VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT

Mr Speaker

Mr Solomon N. Boar

Mr Speaker

Mr Boar

Mr Speaker

Mr Alfred K. Agbesi

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE

Mr Speaker, the Committee according- ly submits its Report as follows

Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto (Kwada- so)

Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto (Kwada- so)

Mr Speaker

Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr Speaker

Dr Benjamin B. Kunbuor

Mr Speaker

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr Speaker

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr Speaker

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr Speaker

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr Speaker

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr Speaker

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Dr Kunbuor

Mr Speaker

Mr Speaker

STATEMENTS

Mr James K. Avedzi (NDC -- Ketu North)

Mrs Juliana Azumah-Mensah (NDC -- Agotime-Ziope)

Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh (NPP -- Nsawam-Adoagyiri)

Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh (NPP -- Nsawam-Adoagyiri)

Mr Speaker

Mr Annoh-Dompreh

Mr Simon Edem Asimah (NDC -- South Dayi)

Minister of State (AlhajiAb- dul-Rashid H. Pelpuo) (MP)

Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh (NPP -- Manhyia South)

Mr Alban S. K. Bagbin (NDC -- Nadowli/Kaleo)

Mr Alfred K. Agbesi (NDC --As- haiman)

Mr Emmanuel K. Bedzrah (NDC-Ho West)

Mr Emmanuel K. Bedzrah (NDC-Ho West)

Mr Speaker

Mr Bedzrah

Mr Speaker

Mr Bedzrah

Mr Speaker

Minister for Trade and Industry (Mr Haruna Iddrisu)

Minority Leader (Mr Osei Kyei-Men- sah-Bonsu)

Mr Kyei-Mensah- Bonsu

Dr Kunbuor

Papa Owusu-Ankomah

Dr Kunbuor

Mr Speaker

Ms Shirley A. Botchwey (NPP -- An- yaa/Sowutuom)

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration (Ms Hannah S. Tetteh)

Mr Alexander K. Afenyo-Markin (NPP -- Effutu)

Mr Speaker

Mr Afenyo-Markin

Mr Speaker

Mr Emmanuel K. Bandua (NDC -- Biakoye)

Mr Speaker

Dr Kunbuor

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Dr Kunbuor

Mr Speaker

BILLS -- SECOND READING

Chairman of the Committee (Mr. Alban S. K. Bagbin)

Chairman of the Committee (Mr. Alban S. K. Bagbin)

Chairman of the Committee (Mr. Alban S. K. Bagbin)

Mr Speaker

Mr Ben A. Banda

Mr Speaker

Mr Ben A. Banda (on behalf of the Ranking Member))

Mr Ben A. Banda (on behalf of the Ranking Member))

Mr Emmanuel K. Bandua (NDC -- Biakoye)

Dr Matthew O. Prempeh (NPP -- Manhyia South)