Debates of 27 Nov 2013

MR SPEAKER
PRAYERS 11:30 a.m.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 11:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker 11:30 a.m.
Hon Members, we do not have any Official Report for correc- tion. So, we move to Question time.
Hon Members, we have the Hon Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing in the House to answer a Ques-
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS 11:30 a.m.
MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES, 11:30 a.m.
WORKS AND HOUSING 11:30 a.m.
Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing (Alhaji Collins Dauda) 11:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Koforidua Water Pro- ject was constructed to serve Koforidua and Tafo. As a result, communities listed below in the Manya and Yilo Krobo Districts with a total population of about 25,000 (2010) were not included in the project.
Although the raw water source is locat-
SPACE FOR NO. OF 11.30
A.M DISTRICTS - PAGES 2
SPACE FOR NO. OF 11.30
A.M DISTRICTS - PAGES 2

ed within the Krobo area and the pipeline carrying it also runs through several of these communities, the communities have not been supplied with treated water. Drilling of boreholes in the area has come with little success due to poor groundwater conditions. This has made it difficult for the water needs of these communities to be met over the years.

Proposal

Since these communities are essen- tially rural and therefore, fall within the jurisdiction of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), the Agency has prepared a project which involves a take-off from the GWCL system to serve these communities.

Bulk water will be supplied by GWCL to the various communities who will then set up community management structures to manage the distribution and sale of the water to residents. This is in line with the Community Ownership and Management (COM) concept underpinning service pro- vision in the rural water sector in Ghana.

Components of the proposed project

The project components would include the following:

1. Booster Station from where water would be pumped to dedicated reservoirs

2. Storage reservoirs

3. Transmission lines

4. Distribution lines

5. Provision of standpipes within the various communities

Cost estimate

The total estimated cost of the project is GH¢5,943,960.00 and the total popu- lation to be served is 29,861, which is the projected population of the communities for the year 2023.

Funding

Funding is currently being sought to undertake the project as soon as possible.
Mr Amoatey 11:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I have
two supplementary questions and the first one is, are there any contingency plans to alleviate the acute water challenge of the communities during the forthcoming harmattan season when several streams would have dried up?
Alhaji Dauda 11:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I ap- preciate the concerns raised by the Hon Member, particularly in the peak of the dry season. Periodically, Ghana Water Company Limited in collaboration with Community Water and Sanitation Agency, would supply water to these communities through tanker service.
Mr Amoatey 11:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, if I may take my last supplementary question.
Mr Speaker, I would want to ask the Hon Minister, how soon would funds be sought to solve the problem permanently for the Krobo people.
Mr Speaker 11:30 a.m.
How soon are you going to get funding for the project?
Alhaji Dauda 11:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, unfortu- nately, I am unable to tell how soon the resources would be ready for me to start the project. It is my wish to have the resources tomorrow to do it tomorrow.
Mr Speaker 11:30 a.m.
Hon Members, that brings us to the end of Question time.
Hon Minister, we thank you very much for attending upon the House to respond to Questions.
Hon Members, we have Public Busi- ness to transact.
Hon Deputy Majority Leader?
Mr Alfred K. Agbesi 11:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, if we can take item number 5 -- Motion.
Mr Dan Botwe 11:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, it is agreed that we should take it.
Mr Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Hon Members, I want us to move to the Budget debate as early as possible. I want to find out whether it is a controversial matter.
Hon Chairman, is it controversial?
Alhaji Amadu Bukari Sorogho 11:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I do not believe it is; and this is straightforward. In the Committee meeting, we all agreed and thrashed out this thing.
Mr Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Very well. I just need some guidance from the floor.
Very well. Item number 5 -- Hon Min- ister for Trade and Industry?
BILLS -- SECOND READING 11:40 a.m.
Minister for Trade and Industry (Mr Haruna Iddrisu) 11:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that Export Trade, Agricultural and Industrial Development Fund Bill, 2013 be now, read a Second time.
Mr Speaker, the purpose of the Bill is to establish a Fund for the export trade, agri- cultural and industrial development. The Fund was established in the year 2000 by Act 582 as an agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, which principally was responsible for export financing to
Chairman of the Committee (Alhaji Amadu Sorogho) 11:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to support the Motion ably moved by the Hon Minister responsible for Trade and Industry.
Mr Speaker, I present the Committee's Report.
Introduction
The Export Trade, Agricultural and Industrial Development Fund Bill, 2013 was presented to Parliament and read the First time in the House on Tuesday, 5th November, 2013. The Bill was referred to the Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism for consideration and report, in accordance with article 106 (4) and (5) of the Constitution and Order 159 of the Standing Orders of Parliament
The Committee held a number of meet- ings to consider the Bill. A stakeholder workshop was held in Tamale during the consideration of the Bill.
The Committee is grateful to the Min-

ister for Trade and Industry (MoTI), Hon Haruna Iddrisu, the Acting Chief Execu- tive Officer for Export Development and Agricultural Investment Fund (EDAIF), Mr. Sulemani Ibrahim and other officials from MoTI, EDAIF, the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), the Exim Guarantee Company, the Export Finance Company and Venture Capital Trust Fund for their contributions during the consid- eration of the Bill.

References

In examining the Bill, the Committee referred to and was guided by the fol- lowing:

The 1992 Constitution of the Re- public of Ghana.

The Standing Orders of the Parlia- ment of Ghana.

Export Development and Invest- ment Fund Act, 2000 (Act 582)

Export Development and Invest- ment Fund (Amendment) Act 2011 (Act 823)

CEPS (Management) Law, 1993

(PNDCL 330)

Background

The Export Development and Invest- ment Fund was established by the Export Development and Investment Fund Act, 2000 (Act 582). The Fund became opera- tional in 2001 as an agency of the Minis- try of Trade and Industry. The Fund was initially established to provide financial resources for the development and pro- motion of the export trade by creating an innovative way to strengthen the financial independence of the country and reduce the dependency on the assistance from development partners.

Act 582 was amended in 2011 by the Export Development and Investment Fund (Amendment) Act, 2011(Act 823) to ex- pand the scope of application of the Fund to include the development and promotion of agro-processing industry. Accordingly, the name of the Fund was changed to the Export Development and Agricultural Investment Fund (EDAIF).

The development of the Fund was laudable, but not without limitations. These limitations necessitated a review of the set-up, structure and operation of the Fund to remove the challenges, constraints and limitations to the availability and deployment of the funds for the purposes for which it was established.

It has also become imperative to pro- vide and expand a resource envelope, readily available for the public and pri- vate sectors, to build an internationally competitive export sector for sustainable export-led economic growth. A major economic challenge of the Ghanaian pri- vate sector is access to and cost of credit, therefore, a boost for the private sector will be the provision of ready access to credit and the reduction of the cost of credit.

Content of the Bill

The Bill contains a total number of forty-two (42) clauses.

Clause 1 to 5 provide for the estab- lishment of the Export Trade, Agricultural and Industrial Development Fund, finan- cial resources for the development and promotion of export trade, agricultural and industrial development, sources of money for the Fund, bank accounts and specifies different categories of accounts of the Fund

Clause 6 to10 provide for the Board

and Management of the Fund.

Clause 11 establishes committees of the Board. The Fund has standing committees and technical implementation committees of the Board.

Clause 12 to 20 deals with allowances, policy directives and accounts of the Fund. The specifics of each account that relates to its function, management, eligibility criteria and other matters are spelt out.

Clause 21 to 28 -- This involves the

project account, the management of the projects account, the eligibility for the pro- jects account, the equity finance account and the operational account.

Clause 29 to 30 -- The imposition of the levy which is the major source of fund- ing for the Fund is provided for. The rate is 0.75 per cent of the cost, insurance and freight value of any product imported for a commercial purpose and is to be collected by the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority. Clause 30 applies the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service Act, 1993 (P.N.D.C.L. 330) to the Bill for purposes of the collection of the levy.

Clause 31 to 33 deal with adminis-tra-

tive, financial and miscellaneous matters. The functions of the Chief Executive and his Deputy and the appointment of other staff are spelt out.

Clause 35 to 38 contain accounts and audit, annual reports and regulations.

Clause 39 to 42 give clear guidelines on dissolution of the Board, interpretation, transitional matters, repeal and savings.

Purpose of the Bill

The purpose of the Bill is to establish a Fund for export trade, agricultural and in- dustrial development. It will also provide
Chairman of the Committee (Alhaji Amadu Sorogho) 11:40 a.m.
xii. Clause 17 subclause (1), paragraph (f), delete “research” and insert “credit guarantee”.
“Research” was wrongly placed.
xiii. Clause 19 insert a new subclause as follows:
“A person or enterprise shall not qualify to apply for a credit facility from a designated financial institu- tion if that person or enterprise (a director or partner of that person or enterprise) has been adjudged or otherwise declared bankrupt under any law enforced in Ghana or a for- eign jurisdiction and has not been discharged.”
This is because a bankrupt person or enterprise has the tendency to misuse funds granted to him or her.
xiv. Clause 22 (a) subclause (1),line 3 delete the word “or” after the word “manufacturing”.
(b) Subclause (1), line 3, after the word “agro-processing” insert the words: “and re-processing”
This is to make room for a typograph- ical omission.
xv. Clause 24(1), In line 2, after “financing” delete “scheme” and insert “schemes”.
This is to correct a typographical error.
xvi. Clause 25 subclause 2, line 4, delete “agriculture” and “and” “before “agro-processing”.
This is to avoid repetition.
xvii. Clause 25 subclause (2), line 4, insert after the word “processing” the following words “and re-processing”.
xviii. Clause 26 insert a new subclause as follows:
“(2) A person or enterprise shall not qualify to apply for a credit facility from a designated finan- cial institution if that person or enterprise has been adjudged or otherwise declared a bankrupt under any enactment in force in Ghana or a foreign jurisdiction and has not been discharged.”
A bankrupt person or enterprise has the tendency to misuse funds granted to him or her.
xix. Clause 31 delete and insert the following:
“Appointment of Chief Executive and Deputy Chief Executive --
(1) The President shall in ac- cor-dance with article 195 of the Constitution, appoint for purposes of the Fund--
(a) a Chief Executive; and
(b) a Deputy Chief Executive. (2) The Chief Executive and Deputy
Chief Executive shall hold office on the terms and conditions specified in their letters of ap- pointment.”
This is to make room for a Deputy Chief Executive position.
Insert a new clause after clause 32 as follows:
xx. New clause
“Functions of Deputy Chief Executive
A Deputy Chief Executive shall
(a) assist the Chief Executive in the performance of the func- tions of the Chief Executive and other functions related to finance, administration and the operations of the Fund;
(b) act in the absence of the Chief Executive; and
(c) perform any other function determined by the Board.”
This is to outline the functions of the Deputy Chief Executive and enable him or her take charge of affairs in the absence of the Chief Executive.
xxi. Clause 34 delete the entire clause
This is because EDAIF does not need borrowing powers
xxii. Clause 37 delete the entire clause
Public forum is an administrative activ- ity which should not be in the Bill.
xxiii New clause insert after clause 38 a new clause as follows:
* “Offences and penalties
(1) A person who
a. misappropriates any of the moneys assigned to an ac- count of the Fund; or
b. misapplies any of the moneys disbursed from an account of the Fund commits an offence and is liable on summary
conviction to a fine of not less than two thousand five hundred penalty units and not more than ten thousand penalty units or to a term of imprisonment of not less than five years and not more than ten years.
(2) Where the offence is committed by a body corporate that body corporate is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than ten thousand penalty units and not more than twenty thou- sand penalty units.”
This is to make room for sanctions to be carried out when the law is breached.
xxiii. Clause 38 delete and insert the following:
“Regulations
(1) The Minister may, on the advice of the Board by legislative in- strument, make Regulations for the effective implementation of this Act.
(2) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1) the regulations may provide for
(a) the forms required under this Act;
(b) the format for the reports of the accounts;
(c) the review of the percentage of money distributed to the ac- counts of the Fund;
(d) regulation of accounts estab- lished under the Fund;
(e) forms for application to the Fund;

(f) conditions for the grant of an application;

(g) matters to be contained in policy guidelines and manuals issued by the Board;

(h) designated financial institutions for the development and promo- tion of exports;

(i) the terms, conditions, duties and obligations of designated finan- cial institutions, equity financing schemes and fund managers; and

(j) risk sharing.”

This will enable the Ministry come out with regulations for EDAIF as and when necessary.

xxiv. Clause 40 in line 13, delete defi- nition for “co-investment” and insert the following definition:

“co-invest” means an investment entered into by two or more parties to an equity fund arrangement”.

This will make the interpretation on “co-invest” clearer.

xxv. Clause 40 line 19, after “institution”, delete “recognised” and insert “licensed”

Bank of Ghana issues licences to finan- cial institutions and not recognise them.

xxvi. Clause 42 In line 4, after “have” insert “same”.

This is to make the sentence clearer.

Conclusion

The Committee, after a thorough con-

sideration of the Bill, concluded that the passage of the Bill has the potential of providing and expanding the resource en- velope. It will give the Fund, the capacity to meet the funding requirements of the small and medium enterprises sector that has been incorporated into the Bill. In addition, it would be a major economic growth of the Ghanaian private sector as access to credit increases and cost of credit decreases.

The Committee, therefore, recom- mends to the House for consideration and passage of the Bill, subject to the amend- ments proposed.

Respectfully submitted.

Question proposed.
Prof. George Y. Gyan-Baffour (NPP -- Wenchi) 11:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I rise to support the Motion.
But before I do that, my Hon Chairman
said the clauses were 40; they are actually 42 -- that will include the Transitional Provision and the Repeals and Savings.
Mr Speaker, this Bill is very important for us, at this time of our development. In my view, any attempt to support the pri- vate sector is a welcome move. I am really happy about the expansion of the remit of this law to include the agricultural sector, especially agro-processing. Of course, what we need at this moment, is to add value to products; and therefore, I support it because it includes this agro- processing. And more importantly, because it supports the industrial sector.
Mr Speaker, the transformation of this country can only come about if we industrialise the economy. And this Bill, even though I would have gone further
than what we have done here, it is a first step in actually trying to move towards the industrilisation of the country.
Mr Speaker, I would have wished that this thing should have even gone to the extent of becoming a bank, where the resources are subsidised in a way to help the private sector to be able to have access to affordable credit. Of course what we have been trying to do, is to make credit available; but probably, not very acces- sible. That is why I think that probably, we should have gone further to expand the remit to actually convert it into an Exim Bank.
Mr Speaker, I am really excited about the sub-accounts of this Fund, especially the Equity Finance Account that would actually allow people to have a combined equity with debt. I say so because, most of the times, if you ask business people to borrow and use their businesses based on debt, it becomes a problem for them. But the equity component would be helpful. The only thing is, how we would really operationalise that account.
I am also excited about the research and development. Maybe, we have to go fur- ther to really define that properly, because in my view, research and development is something that help innovation. But I think that the Bill, probably, when we get into the details, we would be looking at that as well.
Mr Speaker, the other part that I am excited about is the project that would allow Government to handle new projects. But my main concern is that, there are a lot of institutions in this country that do similar or related activities. So, maybe, what we would try to do, is to find a way to ensure they are coordinated effectively, so that there would be no overlaps here
Dr A. A. Osei (NPP --Old Tafo) 11:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister, in moving the Motion -- and he can correct me while he is here -- gave the impression that, one, they have chalked some successes; two, that the major thing that is lacking is equity finance. That is what he appears to have said. The Long Title says, “An Act to establish a Fund to provide financial resources for export trade, et cetera -- and for related matters.”
What I am trying to find out is that, for example, if clause 17 is the principle or re- financing. Is it refinancing for export and is that a related matter? I am asking this question because, if the focus is on export and you generalise too much about other related matters, you may end up defeating the main objects for export. So, we have to be careful the way we are looking at it.
It used to be that, part of the difficulty in people accessing this Fund was because the banks involved, as it were, were not interested in disbursing those funds. This is because their own funds were there at a higher cost. Has this problem gone away or is it still? If that problem still exists, then it does not matter what you do, the banks would keep preferring to loan their
Mr Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Hon Members, that brings us to the end of the debate.
Hon Minister, do you want to do any winding up, briefly?
Mr H. Iddrisu 11:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, it is to
thank Hon Colleagues for the support and to indicate that an important aspect of it, as one of the Hon Members mentioned, has not been too reliable to depend on divestiture proceeds to fund this. So, I have requested in a discussion with my Hon Colleague, the Minister for Finance, to add from 0.50 of CIF to .75 when his sunset clause is over, then he dedicates. 25 per cent to add to it as a feed of the Fund. So, that would mean that some additional resources would go into it.
I agree that divestiture has not made any significant contribution to this Fund. Mr Speaker, depending upon Gov- ern-ment's policy direction, I intend that the percentage of the designation inspec- tion proceeds would be dedicated to this in particular, so that if the formulae of sharing was 60:20:10 a certain portion of it can be dedicated and I believe that, from the numbers that I have seen, if it is well worked out, some US$250 to US$500,000 every month can be dedicated to this Fund to support SMA.
Mr Speaker, finally, it is to emphasise the point that, there is a strong recom- mendation in this Bill for a due diligence committee, so that when people just apply for support, we would be able to vet them through a committee that is dedicated to ensure that it is bankable, it would facilitate exports, it would contribute to employment generation and other issues. Finally, to support the import substitution sector of our economy, we think it is jus- tifiable to change the remit of the Fund.
I thank Hon Members for the support.
Question put and Motion agreed to.
The Export Trade, Agricultural and Industrial Development Fund Bill, 2013 accordingly read a Second time.
Mr Speaker 11:50 a.m.
Item number 6 -- Mo- tion-- Hon Majority Leader, which side are we taking from? Are we starting from
Majority or Minority? It depends on which side concluded yesterday.
Dr Kunbuor 11:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, this side.
MOTIONS noon
  • [Resump t ion o f Deba te f rom 26/11/2013.]
    • Minister for Trade and Industry (Mr Haruna Iddrisu) (MP) noon
    Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportuni- ty to contribute to the Motion, that this Honourable House approves the Financial Policy of the Government of Ghana for the year ending 31st December, 2014, which was ably moved by the Hon Minister for Finance in a digital regime.
    Mr Speaker, in contributing to the Motion, the significant thing about this Budget was the candidness of our Hon Minister for Finance, in sharing with Ghanaians what the fiscal challenges have been and what he is seeking to do to manage, in order that he can facilitate the creation of jobs and spur the economic growth of our country.
    Mr Speaker, may I refer you to page 182 of the Budget Statement, where the Hon Minister for Finance made reference to the Supreme Court ruling and how that affected major decisions.
    I know our Colleagues opposite have always debated whether a petition pending in the Supreme Court of Ghana did not affect foreign direct investment flow in
    Ghana.

    Mr Speaker, I dare ask them, how many of them did not ask their constituents to wait for the outcome of the Supreme Court? So were the cases of many inves- tors into our economy, who needed to be assured of the certainty of its political leadership.

    Mr Speaker, evidence abounds whether it is National Health Insurance or Ghana Education Trust Fund, you cannot count and you cannot quantify how much these funds have contributed to improving the quality of lives of Ghanaians.

    Our Colleagues opposite have often argued, Mr Speaker, that it was about procedure. Mr Speaker, our Standing Orders are very clear. Standing Order 122 states that:

    “122, The House shall not, unless the Bill is introduced by a Minis- ter or a Member on behalf of the President, proceed upon any Bill including any amendment to a Bill that in the opinion of the person presiding makes provision for any of the following ”.

    That is precisely what our Hon Min- ister for Finance did. Mr Speaker, as a seasoned lawyer, I am only minded of the
    Dr Matthew O. Prempeh noon
    On a point of order.
    Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister for Finance, in presenting the 2014 Budget, there is no where he has indicated any Infrastructure Fund. Mr Speaker, it is a lie to say that the Hon Minister for Finance -- the Budget is clear.
    Mr Speaker, I would want to read it to your hearing. Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister, all that he has said --
    Mr Speaker noon
    Hon Member, what is your point of order?
    Dr Prempeh noon
    Mr Speaker, my point of order is that, the Hon Member is mislead- ing the good people of Ghana. The Hon Minister, in talking about the Infrastruc- ture Fund -- and of the Budget document,
    Mr Speaker, I beg to quote paragraph 951 noon
    “Mr Speaker, under the able lead- ership of His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama, Govern- ment proposes …”
    Mr Speaker, in the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, we only recognise the Consolidated Fund, Contingency Fund and other statutory Funds. Where is the law backing this Infrastructure Fund? We have none. So, to say the 2.5 per cent of VAT would be dedicated to the Infrastruc- ture Fund, is an anomaly. It does not exist. There is nowhere in the Budget where the Hon Minister has proposed that.
    Mr Speaker noon
    Hon Members, I do not see that as a point of order.
    Mr H. Iddrisu noon
    Mr Speaker, I thank you for your guidance. However I would urge my Hon Colleague to do a reading of page 178 of the Budget, in particular, page 951 and with your indulgence, I beg to quote:
    “Mr Speaker, under the able lead- ership of His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama, Govern- ment proposes to set up the Ghana Infrastructure Fund (GIF) to deal
    with the huge infrastructure deficit and to focus on strategic infrastruc- ture...”
    Mr Speaker noon
    Hon Members, let us listen to one another.
    Mr H. Iddrisu noon
    Mr Speaker, I am particularly encouraged and excited about some incentives that the Hon Minister for Finance has offered for the private sector in this Budget. At least, for the first time in many years, there are some incentives giv- en to raw materials which would support the productive sectors of our economy, particularly those into printing. That if they brought raw materials in, they would get some incentives from him.
    This is a gradual initiative, and I am sure it would expand with time. What that means, Mr Speaker, is that, the Hon Minister is promoting local content, local capacity of Ghanaian entrepreneur to be able to compete.
    Mr Speaker, I should be concluding by referencing the stimulus package that the Hon Minister, on behalf of the President, mentioned in this Budget. Mr Speaker, the bane of the Ghanaian private sector as I indicated,is access to credit and cost of credit. We need to improve the compet- itiveness of the Ghanaian private sector. In this Budget, the Hon Minister offered to provide some stimulus package to iden- tifiable Ghanaian private sector, namely,
    those in manufacturing.
    Dr A. A. Osei noon
    On a point of order.
    Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister said that for the first time, Government had recog- nised a special role for the private sector by providing this facility. Mr Speaker, we all know that the same Government has provided facility for rlg Communications Limited, a loan -- He is misleading the House. So, it cannot be the first time.
    So, I would want to remind him that he should not say the first time. That loan was significantly more than US$50 million. So, he should withdraw that part.
    Mr H. Iddrisu 12:10 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I was concluding on the fact that, the Hon Minister assures the Ghanaian private sector that there would be some stimulus intervention. I am sure many of us who have followed global economics would appreciate that -- even in the United States (US), with their depression, they had to give some support to their private sector.
    Mr Speaker, the fact remains that the vehicle for job-creation must be the private sector; and it is the intention of this Government as well, articulated by the Minister for Finance, that the public sector would only improve and provide an enabling environment, with capacity given to the private sector.
    We intend to support the manufac-tu- ring sector, particularly the pharmaceu-ti- cal sector in order that they can produce and export within the West African sub-re- gion. We would support small holder
    Prof. George Yaw Gyan-Baffour 12:10 p.m.
    (NPP -- Wenchi): The theme for this year's Budget, “Rising to the challenge; realigning the Budget to meet key national priorities” is very appropriate, but is com- ing too late. Mr Speaker, let us thank God, that at long last, the Minister has realised that all that we are saying on this side of the isle are true.
    That the resources of this country for the last five years through the successive budgets that we have presented here, have been misdirected, misapplied, mis- appropriated and indeed, misaligned to the national priorities of this country. Mr Speaker, he has now found it necessary --
    Mr Speaker 12:10 p.m.
    Hon Member, withdraw “misappropriated”.
    Prof. Gyan-Baffour 12:10 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,
    I withdraw “misappropriation”. But we appropriate the bills here, so if it comes in, it should be allowed. So, the “misap- propriation” comes here--
    Mr Speaker 12:10 p.m.
    Hon Members, I do not want to say this on the floor. But I would want to remind all Hon Members
    that I had the privilege of calling the two Deputy Leaders of both sides because the Leaders were not available at the time, to tell them that we are debating the Budget and the Financial Policy and the rules of the House are clear and I refer Hon Mem- bers to Standing Order 93 (4), which says,
    “The speech of a Member must have reference to the subject matter under discussion.”
    Hon Member for Wenchi, continue.
    Prof. Gyan-Baffour 12:10 p.m.
    Thank you, Mr Speaker. I withdraw the word “mis-ap- propriation” if it is not acceptable to the Speaker.
    Mr Speaker, part of this misalignment is obvious in various allocations in the past budgets. But what comes very clearly is the allocation on the oil revenue and the ABFA in 2013.
    Mr Speaker, in 2013, 40 per cent of the ABFA was spent on amortisation of roads, 47 per cent on infrastructure, 10.9 per cent was spent on capacity building, that is about GH¢32 million.
    Mr Speaker, sadly, only GH¢4.5 mil- lion, that is, 1.5 per cent was spent on modernisation of agriculture. Mr Speaker, it is very sad to note that this is the major priority of this country, and out of the money that we are getting from these sources, only 1.5 per cent was used for that, when about 10 per cent was used for capacity building; what it was, only some of us can actually tell.
    Mr Speaker, it is, therefore, not surpris- ing, that the agricultural sector is down. Mr Speaker, the agriculture figure is so unimpressive that 3.4 per cent and all the other sectors are also abysmal. This is because of the lack of alignment between our budgets and priorities as a country and I am glad that the Hon Minister has now realised that and is trying to change.
    Mr Speaker, our growth indicators are shameful. The real GDP growth is sliding back to the levels of 1990 when we were caught in the 0.5 per cent trap. Mr Speak- er, it was only in 2003 that we were able to break that ceiling, but we are sliding towards that.
    Mr Speaker, the managers of the econ- omy should not sit down and watch as we gradually slip back into those bleak periods of the economic history of this country. Mr Speaker, growth has slack- ened from 8.4 per cent, that is the non-oil growth in 2008 to 5.8 per cent now.
    Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister, as if by some dint of -- You know, this figure of 5.8 per cent was actually not in the open for us to discuss it. It was hidden under paragraph (43) where we were talking about sub sectorial growth rate. That is where that figure was shown.
    Mr Speaker, I think we should bring these things forward and let us debate them more effectively. Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister keeps on saying that despite all these challenges, the economic funda- mentals are good. I do not know which economic fundamentals he is referring to.
    This country, Mr Speaker, has a bizarre and a sub optimal economic structure that does not follow the normal growth path of any developed country or any emerging economy. The managers are sitting un- concerned while the economy continues the chart on this unusual structural path without direction.
    Mr Speaker, this is a rudderless eco- nomic trajectory. Mr Speaker, when you go to agriculture, we are growing at 21.3 per cent in growth rate. When we go to industry, 27 per cent; when we go to the services, it is almost about 51 per cent. Mr Speaker, the share of the GDP -- 51

    The answer is, no.The structural funda- mentals of this economy is just faulty. Mr Speaker, if he is referring to the macroeco- nomic indicators as the fundamentals--let me give you the figures.

    Mr Speaker, the GDP growth rate in 2012, was 7.9 per cent. This time round, how much is it? Putting all together is 7.4 per cent; it is on a decline. Mr Speaker, the cedi continues to depreciate--four per cent against the dollar and almost about 14 per cent against the euro. Mr Speaker, interest rates are so high; beginning at 23 per cent, one goes in there and they give it to one at 30 per cent.

    Mr Speaker, fiscal deficit is so high at 10 per cent; the balance of payment has been in deficit for two years running. Mr Speaker, the reserves have fallen to 2.9. Is that what we call “real good fundamentals of the economy”? There is nothing good about this economy.

    Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister goes ahead and talks about transformation; what is transformation about? Which of these bad indicators mentioned so far or these spurious economic structures can this Budget transform?None. Mr Speaker, actions that can enable us to be in con- trol of our own destiny, actions that can increase and maintain economic growth, actions that can enable us to influence the exchange rate and increase revenues to government, these are the things, which, when we do, we can actually be talking about transformation of the economy, not when we actually tax people, the cut throat
    Mr Seth E. Terkpeh 12:20 p.m.
    On a point of order.
    Mr Speaker, just as yesterday, I re- strained myself from intervening. But again, the point is being repeated that the Government is blaming workers for the overruns and the deficit. We have never blamed workers; we have pointed to the wage bill being excessive among six other items. I think that this impression that is being created by the other side of the House is unfortunate and I wish to draw attention to it for the second time.
    Mr Speaker 12:20 p.m.
    Hon Member for Wenchi, I hope you get the point the Hon Minister is making? He is saying that
    they are not blaming workers but they are drawing attention to the wage bill. They are two different things; that is the point that he is making.
    Prof. Gyan-Baffour 12:20 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, if the Hon Minister is uncomfortable with the phrase“single spine”, I withdraw that. But what I was saying was that, the wage bill, according to him, was only 66 per cent of the tax revenue and not 96 per cent as is being said. If even the entire wage bill is 66 per cent, how can the “single spine” alone account for 97 per cent, as it is being said elsewhere? So Mr Speaker, that is all that I am trying to say.
    Mr Speaker, at times they refer to it as the percentage of non-tax revenue less dedicated earmarked funds. Mr Speaker, earmarked Funds are GACF, GETFund, National Health Insurance, Road Fund, all these Funds are part of the dedicated funds. So, after paying for them, what else do we need to pay? We only need to pay for salaries and a few other things. So Mr Speaker, if anybody argues that way, I think it is spurious.
    Dr Kunbuor 12:20 p.m.
    On a point or order.
    Mr Speaker, I just wanted to get something clear as a matter of record. The Hon Member has indicated that the actual figure that goes into the wage bill is around 63 per cent but I have not seen any alternative figure in this economic policy that suggests otherwise.
    So, when we import what other people might have said and assume that, that is the official economic policy, then the
    temptation to mislead the House is high. It has not been the story of this economic policy, that that is the case, regardless of whether somebody would have said that at any other fora.
    Mr Speaker 12:20 p.m.
    Hon Member for Wenchi, the 99 point something per cent you are talking about, where did you hear it from?
    Prof. Gyan-Baffour 12:20 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, this House is not outside this country; we are -- I heard it from the radio. [Interruption.]
    Mr Speaker 12:20 p.m.
    Hon Member for Wenchi, are you telling the House that everything we hear on the radio is true? Should things heard on radio form the basis of your submission?
    Hon Members, let us have Order!
    Prof. Gyan-Baffour 12:20 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, what I just said was that, what I heard on radio is spurious; it is not right and that is why I am trying to say it here. Well, I am told the power point presentation even --
    Mr Speaker 12:20 p.m.
    Anyway, conclude; your time is up.
    Prof. Gyan-Baffour 12:20 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, in conclusion, we need initiatives and we do not need to think round issues. So, let me suggest two; --
    Mr Speaker 12:20 p.m.
    Your time is up. Hon George Aboagye.
    Mr George K. Aboagye (NDC -- Ahanta West) 12:30 p.m.
    Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to support the approval of the Financial Policy of the Government of Ghana for the year ending 31st December, 2014, which was moved on Tuesday, 19th November, 2013 by the Hon Minister for Finance, Mr Seth Emmanuel Terkpeh, and seconded on Tuesday, 26th November by the Hon
    Mr George K. Aboagye (NDC -- Ahanta West) 12:30 p.m.


    Chairman of the Finance Committee, Mr James Klutse Avedzi .

    Mr Speaker, I would want to correct an impression. Ghana is not an island; we live in a global village where our economic activities and performance are impacted upon by forces outside the country and according to the Budget. This is clearly stated on page 10 of the Budget Statement. After five years of weak, sluggish and un- even recovering from the global financial crisis, performance of global economy remained low for the first half of 2013.

    This, indeed, has rendered the crisis the lengthiest in the century in terms of recovery. Projections, however, continued to foresee modest acceleration of activity driven largely by the advanced economies. According to the October, 2013, World Economic Outlook (WEO) of IMF, world outlook growth is forecasted to reach about 3.3 per cent in 2013 and four (4) per cent in 2014.

    Mr Speaker, the economic activity in sub-Saharan Africa was robust in the first half of 2013, amidst the recent global fi- nancial market volatility which has affect- ed mainly frontier economist in the region.

    Mr Speaker, the Ghana growth situa- tion is real; we might have slipped from 7.9 per cent to 7.4 per cent but it is within the same region. It could have been the same reasons.

    However, when it comes to industry, we were able to grow from 7 per cent in 2012 to 9.1 per cent in 2013. In agricul- ture, the provisional growth was from 1.3 per cent in 2012 to 3.4 per cent in 2013. The growth of 5.8 per cent is remarkable, considering the whole of the West African sub-region, which chalked about five (5) per cent for 2013 and six (6) per cent for

    2014.

    Mr Speaker, we have challenges, I admit. The challenges are in the area of inflation; inflation has risen; we must ad-

    mit that. From 10.1 per cent in 2012, we are moving towards 13.1 per cent in 2013.

    We have another challenge which I think the business community is more interested in getting us to address; and that is the credit crunch that we are experienc- ing --[Interruption] -- Yes, there is, Mr Speaker. In September 2012, we had 43.8 per cent and then in September, 2013, the pace of expansion of credit to the private sector fell to 26.6 per cent. These are some of the factors that the private sector wants to hear us address and that is exactly what the Hon Minister for Finance is working on. He has brought a package that I think the private sector would be happy with.

    Mr Speaker, the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) Fund is some- thing that has been tried before. In the ear- ly 1990s, there was a Business Assistance Fund which was to address the problems being faced by businesses of that time. Now, what I am cautioning is that, we should not go on in a way that would end up registering failure. The mandate of the Business Assistance Fund was to aid ailing businesses; and my view is that, if a business is ailing or completely dead, there is no reason we should want to bring it back to life.

    We should rather look for innovative and new businesses as well as support businesses that have the propensity and capacity to do well. So, this SMEs Fund should rather address how best the GH¢50 million can be utilised for the benefit of the private sector. Those who took the Business Assistance Fund's (BAF) money, went away with it and there was no repay- ment to enable a revolving arrangement to be pursued.

    Mr Speaker, the exchange rate is a key factor in business, and of course, there again, we are facing challenges.That is why together with interest rates, the Hon

    Minister for Finance is exploring the possibility of borrowing from outside and leaving the domestic market for the Ghanaian business community. I think this is good and should be supported.

    Mr Speaker, I commend the Hon Min- ister for Finance for coming out with a package for the Infrastructure Fund. The Infrastructure Fund is key in terms of creating jobs, giving contracts to Ghana- ian businesses; and the local content law would be tested there. This is a situa- tion where contracts would be given to Ghanaians as well and we should explore all possible opportunities to ensure that Ghanaian businesses are also included in this package of providing infrastructure for the ports, the roads and the railways.
    rose
    Mr Speaker 12:30 p.m.
    Hon Prempeh, do you have a point of order?
    Dr Prempeh 12:30 p.m.
    Yes, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Speaker 12:30 p.m.
    What is your point of order?
    Dr Prempeh 12:30 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, my point of order is that the Hon Member on the floor is eulogising the fact that the Hon Minister for Finance is promoting private business with the Business Assistance Fund. Mr Speaker, when he was the Executive Secretary --
    Mr Speaker 12:30 p.m.
    Hon Member, please, you are out of order; you do not personal-
    ise debate on the floor of the House.
    Dr Prempeh 12:30 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, what he said is what I am saying --
    Mr Speaker 12:30 p.m.
    Please, we do not per- sonalise debate on the floor of the House.
    Dr Prempeh 12:30 p.m.
    Mr Speaker --
    Mr Speaker 12:30 p.m.
    I am not going to take it, please; take your seat.
    Hon Member, please, continue.
    Mr Aboagye 12:30 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I thank you very much.
    I have comported myself in all this debate in terms of achievement. But of course, the Free Zones Programme was set up for the purposes of promoting business and investment, which also went further to achieve high laurels for the Ghanaian economy.
    Mr Speaker, I would want to continue by saying, that happily, we have an import cover of three months and we expect that within the next two months or so, or by next year, we would reach four months. I think that would make the country be in a comfort zone; that means, our reserves would have gone up.
    Taxes? Yes. But then, there have been incentives that have been packaged for businesses and these incentives are also going to be enhanced by the Hon Minister for Finance.
    Mr Speaker 12:30 p.m.
    Hon Member, your time is up.
    Mr Aboagye 12:30 p.m.
    Thank you very much,Mr Speaker, for the opportunity.
    Mrs Gifty E. Kusi (NPP -- Tark- wa-Nsuaem) 12:30 p.m.
    Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute to the Motion on the floor.
    Mr Speaker, I was very sad on Sunday,
    Mr Speaker 12:40 p.m.
    Hon Member, we are not debating the workshop; we are debat- ing the Budget Statement.
    Mrs Kusi 12:40 p.m.
    Thank you, Mr Speaker.
    But I needed to be retooled to be able to make meaningful contributions. Mr Speaker, these days when every country is gearing toward gender responsive budgets, Ghana leaves us out of such seminars.
    Mr Speaker, I was sad.
    Mr Speaker, on page 163 of this cur- rent Budget, and with your permission, I beg to refer. There is a graph, figure 9, “Proportion of women in Parliament”. Mr Speaker, that figure is incorrect. In 1993, women in Parliament formed eight (8) per cent. In 2007, we were not nine (9) per cent, we were 10.9 per cent.
    Mr Speaker, in 2001, we were nine (9) per cent and not 9.5 per cent. In 2003, we were 18 when we came and there was a by-election and our number rose to 19 and that is when we became 9.5 per cent. In 2005, we were not 10 per cent, we were 10.9 per cent; that was 25 out of 230. And Mr Speaker, in 2013, we are 30 out of 275. So, we are 10.9 per cent. So, that figure, from whatever source it came to Parliament, should be corrected.
    Mr Speaker, it was the same in the March Budget. I had travelled for a programme that time and so, could not bring it out. Mr Speaker, that needs to be corrected; it does not have to be repeated in the next Budget.
    Mr Speaker, I would want to bring to

    Mrs Julian Azumah-Mensah -- rose
    -- 12:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker 12:40 p.m.
    Do you have a point of order? What is your point of order?
    Mrs Azumah-Mensah 12:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am rising on a point of order.
    My Hon Colleague -- We were here on Sunday, as she stated, and we were all given the Budget Statement to look at what was right or wrong. And she should not come to the floor to say so, when we are trying to debate it. [Interruption.] She should have brought it to our attention at that time.
    Mrs Kusi 12:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I prefer to ignore that because we are women and we should care for one another.
    Mr Speaker -- [Interruption] -- Mr Speaker, on page 144 of the Budget, paragraph 161, the first line, the Minister said they would facilitate the disbursement of the Human Traffic Fund. And also in paragraph 763, the Minister said the Min- istry would facilitate the enactment of the Legislative Instruments (L.I.s) on Human Trafficking and Domestic Violence.
    Mr Speaker, in the March Budget, we read on pages 162 and 163 that the L.I.s have been finalised and presented to the Attorney-General's Department. Mr Speaker, why is the Ministry now saying that they would facilitate it? Mr Speaker, I think that the Ministry is taking Ghanaians for a ride and they should back up and let us know the status of the L.I.s now.
    Mr Speaker, in the 2012 Budget, at pages 173 and 175, the Ministry said they were going to select 300 girls and train them. In the same Budget, that is the March Budget, it was repeated that they would facilitate that training. In
    paragraph 670, page 164 of the March Budget, we were told that the Ministry would complete the selection and award scholarships to 446 girls to be trained in vocational and technical skills. Mr Speak- er, the Budget is silent. What happened? The two preceding Budgets mentioned it; not hearing anything again. Mr Speaker, I think that when we promise, we should try and deliver on them.
    Mr Speaker, in 2012, we were told that they had made provision to continue with the Ministry's Office complex and we know that the Ministry has not got offices. Mr Speaker, nothing was said in this Budget and I would want answers. If the Hon Minister comes, he should have answers for us, so that we know where we have reached.
    Mr Speaker, the Ghana National Plan of Action on the United Nations (UN) Resolution 1325 -- In the March Budget, we were told that it was launched success- fully. But there were steps that were to be followed and we expected this Budget to at least, mention that they are doing something about it.
    Mr Speaker, nothing was mentioned even though in the March Budget, we expected to know as women, vulnerable women, women suffering in the nation, we would have something to dwell on.
    Mr Speaker, I think that we need to hear about this; it is a very important resolution and once it has been launched, the President should take it on board and ensure that all the necessary steps are followed. He is supposed to do the presi- dential launching and then all other things can follow.
    Mr Speaker, on page 142, paragraph 753, line three of this Budget, we read that in nine regions, people were trained on strategies to mainstream gender. Why nine regions? I beg to ask. Why not ten regions? Why the discrimination?Why was the region left out? Mr Speaker, I
    beg for answers to these. I do not know which regions; it just said nine regions; it did not provide us with the region that was disadvantaged.
    Mr Speaker, there were a lot of prom- ises in the March Budget, which we expect -- The Afua Sutherland Park was to be upgraded; 25 vocational and technical schools were to be rehabilitated; scholar- ships were to be awarded to 300 girls and so on and so forth.
    Mr Speaker, gender-responsive budg- eting is in vogue. Every country is doing its best to ensure that they look at the gender disaggregation data when they are drawing budgets. But in Ghana, we are not doing so.
    I would want to urge the Hon Minister and the Ministry of Finance to release these funds to the Ministry timely to ena- ble it to do all that it has to do.
    Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa 12:40 p.m.
    On a point of order.
    Mr Speaker, the Hon Member for Tark- wa-Nsuaem said that there was no mention training of girls in the Budget and I just wanted to draw her attention to page 126, paragraph 641 and Mr Speaker, with your permission I beg to quote:
    “Mr Speaker, to bridge the gender gap in access to education, a total of 15,700 girls from JHS benefited from scholarships through the Par- ticipatory Approach to Students in Access.”
    Mr Speaker 12:40 p.m.
    Hon Member, you have
    drawn our attention to the paragraph.
    Mrs Kusi 12:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I think the Hon Member did not hear what I said. Three hundred girls were selected to be trained. The Budget is silent; in the March Budget, the figure rose to 446. This Budget is silent on that. Please, I am not talking about education; I am talking about the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection; what they proposed to do in 2012; what they promised to do in the March Budget and what they promised to do here.
    Mr Speaker 12:40 p.m.
    Hon Members, let us have order.

    Yes, Hon Deputy Minister, what do you have to --
    Mr Ablakwa 12:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, she pro- ceeded to say that we should take gender mainstreaming serious and that there is no mention of training of girls in the Budget. She made a categorical statement and I wanted to place on record that there are all kinds of girl-training programmes in the Budget.
    Mr Speaker 12:40 p.m.
    Hon Member, did you say that?
    Mrs Kusi 12:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I have been re- ferring to the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection as I spoke. If the Ministry of Education has a programme, I know, I have read it, and I know what
    I am looking for. I am comparing what was said --
    Mr Speaker 12:40 p.m.
    You are talking about a particular Ministry, what was said in the March Budget and the fact that they are silent on it in this Budget?
    Some Hon Members 12:40 p.m.
    Yes.
    Mr Speaker 12:40 p.m.
    Hon Member, take note and when you are responding, you can respond to the issues she has raised.
    Mrs Kusi 12:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, what I am saying is that whenever we promise, we should specifically let Ghanaians know what we promised and what we would want to do.
    Mr Speaker, with these few words, I thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Motion.
    Mr Nitiwul 12:50 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the Hon Member for Tarkwa-Nsuaem drew our attention to some statistics that was sourced from Parliament. Obviously, those statistics on page 163 are wrong. Once it has been captured in the Budget --
    Mr Speaker 12:50 p.m.
    Hon Deputy Minority Leader, are you on a point of order?
    Mr Nitiwul 12:50 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am seek- ing your guidance because there is more of such to come tomorrow. I am seeking your guidance on it even before we con- tinue. Statistically, what has been put here is wrong.
    Mr Speaker 12:50 p.m.
    Hon Deputy Minority Leader, she has made a point. She said the Hon Minister said the source was from Parliament. What we need to do is to go and check that source and then we pick it up from there.
    So, please, she has drawn our attention
    to it. We cannot say whether she is right or not. We cannot tell right now. We will go and crosscheck and then we pick it up from there. That is how we go about it. It is good she has drawn our attention to it. She might be right or wrong because nobody has gone to Parliament to cross check and told us. She is using her own source, which she has not indicated on the floor for us to compare the two sources. That is the source from the Hon Member for Tarkwa-Nsuem. We will find out.
    Hon Members, let us proceed.
    Deputy Minister for Food and Ag- riculture (Dr Hanna L. Bisiw(MP): Mr Speaker, I rise to support the Motion, that this Honourable House approves the Financial Policy of the Government of Ghana for the year ending 31st December, 2014, which was ably moved by the Hon Minister for Finance, Mr Seth Emmanuel Terkpeh and seconded on Tuesday, 26th November, 2013 by the Hon Chairman of the Finance Committee, Mr James Klutse Avedzi.
    Mr Speaker, when we go to page 178, section eight of this year's Budget, it says the number of policy initiatives that have been addressed by this Budget and one of the five areas is the social intervention policy. Mr Speaker, under the social intervention policies, we can look at the intervention that has been done or what has been budgeted for, taken care of in this Budget under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection.
    M r S p e a k e r , a n a m o u n t o f GH¢91,038,708 has been allocated to the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection for the implementation of programmes that have to do with human trafficking and domestic violence. Mr Speaker, we all know that when it comes to domestic violence, the most affected are
    women and children. Mr Speaker, in this Budget also, we
    can look at the Livelihood Empower- ment Against Poverty (LEAP). LEAP has received an amount of GH¢38 million to increase the beneficiaries from 100,000 households to 150,000 households. This tells us that it is a budget that is focused on the people, a budget with policy initiatives that tend to address pro-poor programmes and also reduce poverty.
    Mr Speaker, there is also an amount of GH¢5 million that has been budgeted for the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, to take care of the three orphanages that are at Osu, Tamale and Kumasi and two subvented ones at Mam- pong and Jirapa. We know that children are the future of our nation and when they are taken care of, we are taking care of our future.
    Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, in col- laboration with the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), will address the issue of the migration of the elderly women to the urban market loca- tions. This is a laudable idea. Mr Speaker, we can go on and on.
    Mr Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus-Glover 12:50 p.m.
    On a point of order.
    Mr Speaker, I am coming under Order 89 and with your permission, I beg to quote 12:50 p.m.
    “A Member shall not read his speech, but may read extracts from written or printed documents in sup- port of his argument and may refresh his memory by reference to notes.”
    She is reading copiously.
    Mr Speaker 1 p.m.
    Hon Deputy Minister, are you reading?
    Dr Bisiw 1 p.m.
    No, Mr Speaker. I am not reading. These are my notes. [Shows a few sheets of papers.] -- And I can refer just as all of us do.
    Mr Speaker 1 p.m.
    Hon Members, the Standing Orders allow for reference.
    Dr Bisiw 1 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, as I said, for the education sector, over GH¢100million has been allocated for the completion of on- going educational infrastructure. We can talk about the schools under trees. We can talk about the SHS quick-fix and then we can also talk about the community-based day schools.
    Mr Speaker, we all know that our chil- dren become very vulnerable when they sit under trees to study. They study under the harsh sun. The dangers of snakes, probably, on trees, that may come down to attack them -- that also affects their performance. So, this goes to address the education of our children.
    Mr Speaker, the programme for free school uniforms has also received at- tention in this Budget. The free exercise books has also received attention in this Budget. Mr Speaker, we can also talk about the 12.9 million pieces of text- books in the three core subjects, namely, English, Mathematics and Science. This is to address the policy initiative of the Government, to ensure that each child has these three textbooks.
    Mr Speaker, we can also talk about the Community Health (Based) Planning Services (CHPS) compound project that we are going to continue building to take care of neo-natal and maternal health by
    the special Fund set up by the President and the cut in the salaries of the Executive is going along to support this project.
    Mr Speaker, over GH¢20 million has also been allocated to the Ministry of Wa- ter Resources, Works and Housing to take care of rural water. When you talk about rural water, you are talking about women and children because we are those who go to the streams to fetch water. We are those who have to provide water for our husbands to bath. We are those who cook and so, when this is addressed, they are addressing issues of women and children.
    Mr Speaker, we can talk about the ag- ricultural sector where an amount has also been allocated for the fertilizer subsidy, agricultural mechanisation and also we can talk about the roads, the feeder roads that lead to our farms, that an amount has also been budgeted to take care of. We know that a lot of us women are farmers as well and when these issues are addressed, then it means that our plight as women would be taken care of also in this Budget.
    Mr Speaker, there is another important aspect when it comes to education where about GH¢14.1 million is going into subsidy for the Basic Education Certif- icate Examination (BECE) and over 60 million is also going to support the SHS programmes. This is laudable because then it also allows the rural poor to also take part in this examination.
    We can also talk about a project that will go a long way to support the rural poor, that is in energy-- when we talk about the 200,000 lanterns that are going to be deployed. So far, about 20,000 has been deployed to over 50 communities. But when this project is completed, we are sure a lot of us in the rural areas, the problems that we go through in terms of electrification is also going to lessen.
    Mr Speaker, I could go on and on
    about every sector in this Budget, where issues have been addressed, so that issues concerning women and children would be taken care of.
    I can only plead and conclude with the story of the mouse, the mouse that went with the children to look for food because they were hungry. They got to a point where the mother saw the opponents drying their pepper. The mouse told the children to start biting the pepper into pieces. When they finished, they asked their mother why did they have to do that. Then in Twi, it said, even though pepper is not our food, we did it because of aboro.
    So, all that I will plead with our friends who are refusing to see the good in this Budget-- this Budget is fully loaded, heavily loaded with policies --
    Mr Speaker 1 p.m.
    Your time is up.
    Dr Bisiw 1 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, on this note, I would wish to plead that we should not act as the mouse and the children. We should support this Budget.
    Mr Kofi Frimpong 1 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I would want to refer to what the Hon Member said, the last sentence, that we should not be aboro. Aboro, in our lan- guage, is derogatory. [An Hon Member: Yes.] The fact that we say we do not see anything good in the Budget, does not mean that we are being aboro. He should withdraw the statement because it is un- parliamentary. We are playing our role of putting the Government on its toes; she, as being aboro people.
    It is so derogatory in our language, that she should withdraw it and apologise to the good Hon Members of this side. We are doing our work very well and it is the right thing that we are doing and she cannot compare us to the mouse and its children. At best, she must tell us that we are doing the right thing in the House.
    Mr Speaker 1 p.m.
    Hon Member, you have
    made your point.
    Hon Hanna Bisiw, what do you say? You have heard the Hon Kofi Frimpong.
    Dr Bisiw 1 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I did not refer to them as being aboro. I gave a proverbial story in our language.
    Mr Speaker 1 p.m.
    Hon Deputy Minister, whom were you referring to?
    Dr Bisiw 1 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I was referring to the mouse story, that the mouse said they did that because of aboro. I did not refer to anybody because as far as I am concerned, there is no mouse in this House.
    Mr Nitiwul 1 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, thank you very much.
    Dr Kunbuor 1 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I certainly do not belong to the category of people who are adamant about people withdraw- ing statements that others might perceive as offensive, because whether a particular reference is offensive or not, also depends on our individual idiosyncrasies and how we relate to it.
    But for a factual situation, my Twi might not be that good but I think I heard
    Mr Speaker 1 p.m.
    Hon Members, let us have order in the Chamber.
    Dr Kunbuor 1 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, this is precisely the issues one is discussing. And when you pick and choose just only aspects of a statement -- I say I am not in a position to say the Hon Member should not withdraw the statement. [Interrup- tion.] Anyway, it looks like the mosquito wants to go to the in-law's house and the wind is blowing in that direction. So, I resume my seat.
    Mr Speaker 1 p.m.
    Hon Members, the Hon Kofi Frimpong, who raised the point of order said the Hon Member referred to them and the language she used is de- rogatory of their side. I asked the Hon Lady whether she was referring to the Minority and she said, no. I was going to rule that she should withdraw it if she was referring to them. She said she was not referring to them and that was why I called the Majority Leader and the Deputy Minority Leader to assist me get a clearer picture of the comments made by the Hon Deputy Minister.
    Hon Members, my position is that you can argue and debate, carry the House along with you without using derogatory words and Hon Members from both sides of the House would listen. My attitude in this Chair is that as much as possible, let us use the language that is decent. People come here and listen to us, they form their own opinion and they go.
    Mr Nitiwul 1:10 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, on my side, there is general consensus that if this is the way to go and it is accepted, we do not
    Mr Speaker 1:10 p.m.
    Hon Deputy Minority Leader, I rule on point of orders when I am presiding over this House. Therefore, you cannot say on the floor of the House, as a Leader of this Honourable House, that if the officer presiding tells you to withdraw, you would not withdraw a statement. It is unparliamentary to make that statement; it is a threat to the Chair. [Interruption.] You cannot say that if the Chair rules that you should withdraw a statement, you would not withdraw it.
    Hon Member, you are a Leader in this House; the only person who rules on points of order is the person presiding. So, if the person presiding rules that you should withdraw something and you say you would not withdraw it, it is a threat to the Chair. [Interruption.] You know that I do not take threats.
    Dr Kunbuor 1:10 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, you have taken the wind out of my. Actually, one of the issues that I would want us to draw attention to, is, do not let us dare people, because if you dare a fellow human being, he would ask you to bring it on. That was why I warned that at the least opportunity that we get, let us try -- [Interruption.]
    Please, I do not want anybody to shout at me. Please, I do not want that. Let us be a bit decorous.
    Mr Speaker 1:10 p.m.
    Hon Members, let us have order. We are overworking ourselves. Hon Members, when the Speaker is speak- ing, everybody should take his or her seat.
    Hon Members, you know my attitude on this Chair? I try to promote harmony as much as I could. I told you yesterday that I called the Deputy Leaders of both sides to my Lobby and had discussions with them with regard to debate in this House. If a person makes a statement and an Hon Member thinks that that statement is not palatable to him and you withdraw it, what would you lose? Why should we fight over this matter?
    I was calling the Leaders to assist me. I called the Leaders because you cannot take a point of order on a point of order. The only reason I called the Leaders was to assist the Chair.
    Hon Kofi Frimpong, let me hear you. You raised the initial point.
    Mr Frimpong 1:10 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the second aspect of that issue is that, the language used is a Twi language, and when you use a Twi language, a language that is not English, the Standing Orders state that it behoves the one speaking to translate or interpret it in English., so that somebody like the Hon Leader of the House would understand it and would not take it to be aboa bi. If she is able to interpret it very well, I think you, as you are sitting here, would rule that she should withdraw it.

    Mr Speaker nobody is threatening you. But our time is going to come where somebody would say something and when

    you tell the person to withdraw it, Mr Speaker, what is going to happen in the House? So, please, put your foot down and get the right thing done. [Hear! Hear!] The Hon Member is a very good Friend of mine --
    Mr Speaker 1:10 p.m.
    Hon Kofi Frimpong, what are you suggesting?
    Mr Frimpong 1:10 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am sug- gesting that my good Friend Hon Hannah Bisiw should be able to interpret and tell us what she means by aboro. It is a serious thing. She is a typical Ashanti girl; she knows it. So, she should tell us.
    Mr Speaker 1:10 p.m.
    Please, the one raising
    the point of order must establish why it is derogatory. You have to explain what it means and then I will call on her. Do you understand?
    Mr Frimpong 1:10 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, first and foremost, I am saying that the language is unparliamentary. We did not see the weight of it because she has not explained what she means by aboro. If the Hon Member is able to mention it and explain it, you yourself would see how derogatory it is. Mr Speaker, we are not here to undermine the integrity of anybody --
    Mr Speaker 1:10 p.m.
    Hon Deputy Minister, what do you mean by aboro? The Standing Orders state that when you use a language which is not English, you are supposed to explain it for everybody to understand. On that score, Hon Kofi Frimpong is right. What do you mean by aboro?
    Dr Bisiw 1:10 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the meaning of aboro in Twi as a I understand as a Twi woman, means that you are deliberately doing something. In other words, when you know this is blue and then you look at it and say it is red, you are doing it de- liberately. That is the meaning of aboro and there it is not a derogatory word. [Interruption.] I am also a Twi person
    Mr Speaker 1:10 p.m.
    Hon Deputy Minister, who is doing something deliberately?
    Dr Bisiw 1:20 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I did not refer to anybody to be doing things deliberately, but I think an advice for all of us is good. So, when we say we should not deliber- ately do things that would send us back as a country, send us back as a Member of Parliament, then that in Twi, is aboro. So, when I advise all of us, it is an advice. [Interruption.]
    Mr Daniel Botwe 1:20 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am happy that we are doing what we should do, that when an Hon Member uses vernacular, he should interprete it. I am going by the interpretation given by the Hon Member, Standing Order 93 (2), and beg to quote:
    “It shall be out of order to use offensive, abusive, insulting, blas- phemous or unbecoming words or to impute improper motives. . .”
    Mr Speaker, if you do things that you do not mean, deliberately do something that you do not need to do to bring the country back, and if that can be ascribed to Hon Members of this House, it means that you are imputing improper motives, that in taking part in this Budget, we are deliberately doing things that will bring this country back. Mr Speaker, that is not why we are in this House. Certainly, if that is the interpretation, she was imputing improper motives to us and that is the more reason I will call on you, Mr Speaker --
    Mr Speaker, we are just talking and we do not expect people to listen? Even if not Hon Members of this House, are Ghanaians not listening? Do you not have school children here? Do you not have the Media here? Are they not listening? Who
    do you expect to read the Hansard?
    So, what does it mean that you can just use any word and it is not meant for anybody and it should be allowed to stay in the Hansard of this Parliament? No! Mr Speaker, I am respectfully calling on you to call our Colleague to withdraw this word because it goes against the Standing Orders.
    Thank you, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Eric Opoku 1:20 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the word in contention now is indeed a Twi word and as the Minister in charge of Ashanti Region, I think that -- [Laughter] -- Mr Speaker, aboro in Twi is used to describe a person who does not want progress -- that is the meaning of aboro -- [In- terruptions].
    Mr Speaker, in the context, looking at how the Hon Deputy Minister used the word aboro, she was not referring to any section of this House but she was advis- ing this House not to position ourselves to qualify for the description aboro and therefore, it should be an advice to all of us. I do not see why our Colleagues are thinking that she is referring to them.
    Dr Kunbuor 1:20 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I guess that
    we have had enough excitement over this matter and to curtail how people have con- tinued to enjoy this difficulty, I will ask the Hon Member to withdraw the statement.
    Dr Bisiw 1:20 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I quoted a Twi word, that to my understanding, meant “deliberately” -- It is a matter of inter- pretation. But since my Leadership have it that I withdraw it, I will do that and prob- ably pick out the word aboro and replace it with wohyeda, when you intentionally do something. [Interruption.] So, I withdraw the word aboro.
    Thank you.
    Mr Speaker 1:20 p.m.
    Hon Deputy Minister, you should withdraw wohyeda -- Hon Deputy Minister, you should withdraw the second word that you have used.
    Dr Bisiw 1:20 p.m.
    Hon Speaker, thank you.
    I borrowed the wo hyeda from Hon Dr Akoto Osei. He said it on the floor of Parliament and I am learning from him as my Leader. But if today wohyeda is not intentionally doing something, then with much respect to the Chair, I withdraw it.
    Dr A. A. Osei 1:20 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, it is unfor-
    tunate that we have spent almost 30 to 40 minutes on a matter that does not help the image of this House. Mr Speaker, some of these new people who have just come here new, are talking -- [Interruptions.] I am referring to him because he is pointing at me. This is not the first time --
    Mr Speaker 1:20 p.m.
    Once I am trying a matter, I will not allow another matter to add up. Please, withdraw it.
    Dr A. A. Osei 1:20 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I with- draw it.
    Mr Speaker 1:20 p.m.
    Have you withdrawn it?
    Dr A. A. Osei 1:20 p.m.
    Yes. Mr Speaker. If he is quiet, you can hear me.
    Mr Speaker 1:20 p.m.
    I say withdraw it.
    Dr A. A. Osei 1:20 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I can only do that if you can hear me.
    Mr Speaker 1:20 p.m.
    I can hear you. With- draw it.
    Dr A. A. Osei 1:20 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I withdraw it. Can you hear me now?
    Mr Speaker, my name was mentioned. I have never --
    Mr Speaker 1:20 p.m.
    That is the reason I called you.
    Dr A. A. Osei 1:20 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, let us check the Hansard. I have never made that statement on the floor of the House. This is a deliberate lie. I find it very offensive; she is my Friend. Mr Speaker, you have allowed this small matter to grow into an
    area -- and if you are not careful, the im- age of this House is not going to be alright.
    You are going from aboro to wohyeda and to “he does not want progress”. Mr Speaker, these are dangerous words. I have been listening for 40 minutes --
    Mr Speaker 1:20 p.m.
    It is not 40 minutes.
    Dr A. A. Osei 1:20 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am invit- ing you to find a way to curtail it, so that it does not go any further. It does not help the House.
    Mr Speaker 1:20 p.m.
    Hon Members, the Dep- uty Minister has withdrawn the statement and I do not see why we should belabour the point.
    Hon Members, let me make the point again. You can make your point without using that, which will offend any other Hon Member of this House. And let me repeat, yesterday, on my own initiative, I called the Hon Deputy Majority Leader and the Hon Deputy Minority Leader to my Office on these matters.
    I have been in this House for a long time. When a certain trend of debate starts, I know how it will proceed. So, I saw the signs early yesterday and that is why I invited them to my Office on this matter.
    Hon Titus-Glover? -- [Interruption] -- Hon Members, I take exception to that comment. If you do it again, I will walk you out of the Chamber -- I have the list of your own Leaders; you are number 4 on the list. Please, let us become responsible here. You are number 4 and Titus-Glover is number 3. This is the list from your own Leaders. So, you cannot make those personal allusions to the Chair -- to the Speaker. You cannot do that as a Member of this House -- that I do not want you to speak -- [Interruptions]-- Please, people are in the gallery watching us. Let us be very careful about the words we use against one another.
    Mr Nitiwul 1:30 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, thank you very much.

    The Hon Member did not want to use any words that will hurt you in person or the Chair; that is one of the reasons he did not even speak to the microphone.

    But Mr Speaker, if you heard it, he apologised even before you started speaking and I hope that we will put this matter to rest. It will not happen again Mr Speaker.
    Mr Speaker 1:30 p.m.
    Hon Members, I thank you very much
    Hon Deputy Minority Leader, I thank you.
    MR FIRST DEPUTY SPEAKER
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:31 p.m.
    Hon Mem- bers, can we have some order?
    The next Hon Member to speak is Hon Titus-Glover.
    Mr Titus-Glover (NPP -- Tema East) 1:31 p.m.
    Thank you very much, Mr Speak- er, for the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the 2014 Budget.
    Mr Speaker, a lot of words have been used to describe this Budget -- they used “transformational”, “a good Budget”, what have you.
    Mr Speaker, I believe sincerely that the right people to access, to make sure wheth- er this Budget is that transformational, are the good people of this country. This is because from 2009 through to 2013, on the streets of Tema Manhean and the streets of Community 1 in my constituency, they know what this Budget had done to the good people there.
    Mr Speaker, I have gone through trade industry and tourism parts of this Budget and tried hard to skip a little to the trans- port side, but I have never seen any policy initiative to promote, develop or sustain trading in the local maritime industry.
    Mr Speaker, I am saying this because it is so sad that the big maritime players are taking the businesses that are meant for our people. Mr Speaker, I hold in my hand, the Ghana Shipping Act, 2003 and with your permission, I beg to quote, part one;
    “. . . Restriction on trading in Ghana- ian waters, registration, building, importation and licensing of ships and proprietary interest ships”.
    It goes further on “restriction”
    “No ship shall trade in or from Ghanaian waters unless the ship:
    (a) A Ghanaian owned ship;
    (b) To possess a certificate of foreign registry or similar document.
    I am saying this because Mr Speaker, there is a Ghanaian-owned company, yet when these overseas vessels transport these goods into our country, they are paid three times the freight. Why? This is because, Mr Speaker, we have a weak ex- port base and it compels these vessels that have transported these goods into Tema Port or Tarkoradi Port back to overseas and for that matter, we are made to pay freight three times. Therefore, businesses that are supposed to have transported these goods from either Tarkoradi or Tema Port or vice versa, are being taken away by these big giants.
    Mr Speaker, it is so sad; they form themselves into a cartel. This is what the Acts of Parliament in 2013 is telling us. You go to South Africa, Nigeria, we call it the Cabotage Law and what is our Parlia- ment doing? We are good in passing Bills, making laws but the enforceability of these laws is found wanting, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Speaker, I will proceed and look at page 97 of the 2014 Budget under para- graph 483: “Support to Industry”. And I
    beg to quote, Mr Speaker:
    “To meet one of the objectives of the better Ghana Agenda of job creation for Ghanaians, Government will strictly monitor for compliance the application of concessionary duty rates for raw materials, inputs, for production, why consideration will be given for a comprehensive review of the tariff regime with the view to reducing cost of production for industries”.
    Mr Speaker, this is long overdue. The Finance Minister and the Government are already aware of the numerous challenges that manufacturing sector and the indus- trial sector are going through. I believe that in the preparation of this Budget, the input of the Association of Ghana Industry (AGI) was sought.
    Mr Samuel Ablakwa 1:31 p.m.
    On a point of order.
    Mr Speaker, Hon Titus-Glover is misleading this House. He says before the Budget is prepared, the Ministry of Finance must engage AGI. I would want to place on record that I am aware that the Minister met the AGI days before the Budget was prepared -- not once, not twice, together with the Hon Trade and Industry Minister and that meeting was even reported in the press.
    Mr Titus-Glover 1:31 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the
    Hon Member has even worsened his case. This is because, if indeed, he has consid-
    ered the input of AGI -- they are now con- sidering, Mr Speaker, that consi- deration would be given for comprehensive review of staff regime. Already, our people are going through a lot of challenges and they are now considering it, Mr Speaker. It is --
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:31 p.m.
    Hon
    Member, please, earlier, you said this had been long overdue. So, if some consul- tations were being held and they are now proposing to address the issue, I think we can make some progress by going on to some other issue.
    Mr Titus-Glover 1:31 p.m.
    Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
    In making the progress, what I am try- ing to emphasise is that, it is ontologically true that from 2009, 2010, ‘2011, 2012 and 2013, the taxes that our people are going through in the industrial sector, the man- ufacturing sector -- If indeed, they did meet AGI and they are now considering tax regimes to support them, I am sorry, Mr Speaker, we have a problem.
    Mr Murtala Ibrahim 1:31 p.m.
    On a point of order.
    Mr Speaker, he made a categorical statement that certain things were not done; the Hon Member (Mr Ablakwa) stood up and pointed out to him that there were series of meetings that the Ministry of Finance including the Ministry of Trade and Industry held with the very bodies he is talking about. I think that he should humbly admit that it was an error and proceed.
    But for him to repeatedly talk about it I simply cannot get it and I believe that Hon Members simply cannot fathom the kind of logic and analysis that he is giving on this issue. He should just admit because it is for the purposes of the Hansard. If you make a statement that something was not done and they have created the awareness that it was indeed, held, series of such meetings, he should just admit
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:31 p.m.
    All right. Thank you.
    Mr Daniel Botwe 1:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, with all respect, Hon Members can interject, can raise points of order but not to use that occasion to make a contribution. In any case, it is a matter of opinion. Mr Speak- er did not give any ruling that he should withdraw that statement he made, he asked him to proceed and he was proceeding.
    So, this business of being interjected again and using that to make a contribu- tion, should not be accepted, please.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:40 p.m.
    All right. Hon Members, I think we have had enough of that issue.
    Hon Member, please proceed; you have about a minute to go.
    Mr Titus-Glover 1:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, let me also add, under paragraph (484) of the same page 97, and with your permission I beg to quote:
    “In addressing the apparent perma- nent congestion especially at the port of Tema and thereby reduce clearance time, the Ministry will implement a public-private partner- ship arrangement for non-intrusive cargo scanning services which will lead to the expansion of the number of existing scanners to cover some strategic inland container depots. In the longer term, mobile scanners will be introduced at strategic areas and the programme expanded to include other entry/exit points of the country.”
    Mr Speaker, I am all for it for the scan- ners, but the congestion at the Tema Port is not a result of dealing with scanners. I can say on authority that you can bring
    the scanners, but where we do not have space to site them, you are going to make the work more difficult. The problem of the congestion is the availability of space of Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) to make sure that containers that are picked are sited at particular places --
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:40 p.m.
    Hon Member, please, wind up.
    Mr Titus-Glover 1:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, in this Budget, I can tell you, the targets that have been set, taking a cue from 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013, can never be achieved.
    Deputy Minister for Information and Media Relations (Mr Muhammed M. Ibrahim: Thank you, Mr Speaker for giving me the opportunity to contribute to- wards the approval of the Financial Policy of the Government of Ghana for 2014.

    Mr Speaker, I make this statement be- cause, as a person who has a background of development planning, I know that there can never be a good budget if you cannot see the linkages that are supposed to exist between agencies and Ministries.

    If one is coming out with any plan that is geared towards improving the living conditions of people, one must take it holistically. I say this because, in many instances, we come out with certain plans for implementation either in our various Ministries or agencies without being con- scious of the effect of such plans -- and what happens in other agencies and Minis- tries and how they can impact on achieving the main objectives of the Government at any point in time.

    It is also significant, Mr Speaker, to note that for the first time as far as I am

    concerned, at least, in the Fourth Republi- can Constitution, we have a President who stood in this House and told everybody the truth about the state of the economy of this country. Many people thought it was just a propagandist statement and indeed, made statements to that effect. But I think that it has achieved one very important point, which we are all yearning for as a country, that indeed, in practising a de- mocracy that we expect other countries to emulate, transparent governance.

    Mr Speaker, it was not only in this House. I remember when His Excellency the President visited France and had an interaction with the Media, he reiterated the point and on that day, I monitored the international Media, particularly the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Cable News Network (CNN); the messages that people sent commending His Excellency the President for that truth.

    At least, we have a President who did not just tell us the problem that we face, but he also outlined the prescriptions or means through which they can be achieved and this is captured in this Budget, Mr Speaker -- [Interruption] -- It is captured in this Budget because if you look at all the things that have been stated by the Minister --[Interruption.]
    Prof. Gyan-Baffour 1:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, it is a point of order.
    The Hon Member on the other side of the House is talking about something ir- relevant to what is before us. Mr Speaker, he has to stick to the Budget and not talk about what happened in France.
    Mr M. M. Ibrahim 1:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, in fact, I would want to resist the temptation to respond to Prof. Gyan-Baffour. This is because I expected the Professor to know that, when we are having such discussions, and we are talking about the linkages which are indicated and the transparent nature of governance, I do not think the Professor, as a lecturer, would tell me that I am limited without making references to supporting evidences. I think that the Pro-
    fessor would be the last person to do that. But I can understand the circumstance.
    Mr Speaker, it is important that at least, if we look at the initiatives that this Gov- ernment, indeed, has started ever since we came to power, I think that they are initiatives that are geared towards solving the problems that are confronting us. I think that it is important and significant that when we have challenges and we tell the people, as part of the governance processes that these are the problems we are facing, these are the mechanisms we are putting in place to ensure that we overcome them, I think that we ought to commend the Government.

    Mr Speaker, irrigation is one thing that is very significant. All those who are engaged in farming and agriculture like myself, I think that we have one season; or I would say our agricultural practices are seasonal.

    Particularly, in many parts of the coun- try, when we engage in agricultural activi- ties in the rainy season, in the off-farming season, many people do not have jobs to do, many people are compelled by the circumstances to move to urban centres looking for jobs that are non-existent. Now, if we have a government that says that we need to focus on irrigation, it means that we have a Government that is looking at agricultural productivity all year round.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:40 p.m.
    Hon Member, you have two minutes.
    Mr M. M. Ibrahim 1:40 p.m.
    In conclusion, Mr Speaker, it is significant again for us to un- derstand where we are coming from. We have a Government that won an election, and after winning an election, we have a group of persons who said “No”. And exercising their democratic and constitu- tional rights, went to court. Even as an ordinary Member of Parliament, if one has a litigated case in court for eight months, whether one likes it or not, it would affect
    one's economy.
    Even in the eyes of all these challeng- es, the growth of this economy averagely, is doing better than the average economic growth of the West African sub-region than the average economic growth of Af- rica-- than the average economic growth globally even with the fact that people were in court.
    The Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) itself stated that, they incurred a debt of GH¢3.5 million. We do not need anybody to tell us that dragging people to court needlessly sometimes did affect the growth of this nation and to that extent, people must appreciate where we are coming from, and if there is anything that anybody should oppose, I do not think it is this Budget.
    I urge Hon Members of Parlaiment, if I am not barred from also giving a proverb, that “if a person is not sleeping and you want to wake him up, it is very difficult. Even if you pick him and dump him in the sea, he would still be snoring because he was not sleeping anyway.” I believe that that is what is happening and we should not allow ourselves as Members of Par- liament, to be people who are pretending to sleep when in actual fact we are not sleeping.
    With these few words, Mr Speaker, I think that we should all support this Budget.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:50 p.m.
    Hon Mem- bers, the next contributor is Hon Kwaku Agyemang-Manu.
    Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu (NPP -- Dormaa Central) 1:50 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I would like to christen this Budget and give it a new name, and I would want to call it a Budget of a hidden agenda. [In-
    ter- ruptions] Mr Speaker, I would crave your indulgence to read some portions of the introductory section of the Minister's Budget Statement. Paragraph (5):
    “We wish to reiterate that the fun- damentals of the economy are still strong and the nation's medium term prospects are bright.”
    Paragraph (6):
    “Ghana's GDP in nominal terms has more than doubled between 2009 and 2013. Our real GDP growth has averaged 7 per cent in recent years. In spite of all the known challenges is much higher than the sub-Saharan African average of 4.9.
    For a nation which according to the IMF is globally among the few African countries to have attracted the highest foreign direct investment accumulated volume of more than 10 billion for the past decade and so on.”
    Here is a Minister talking so positive- ly about our economy. Then he gives a theme to his Budget as ‘Rising Up to the Challenges'. What challenges have we? So clearly, something is hiding somewhere in the Budget.
    Mr Speaker, in the face of massive sal- ary overruns -- and we are talking about 62.3 per cent of our tax revenues into wages and salaries alone, then they have classified a new statistics: 94.5 per cent of non-oil tax revenues going into salaries. Despite these, our Hon Minister is telling us so many positive things about our econ- omy and we continue to say we are rising up to challenges. What challenges are we rising up to? Where are the challenges? That is why I say they are hiding certain things in the Budget.
    Interest payments have become an- other phenomenon issue and despite all these, the Hon Minister is describing our economy the way he is describing it. I believe that we do not seem to have any challenges -- but the Minister's assertion to actually rise up to.
    Mr Speaker, we are now realigning the Budget to national key priorities. So, what have we been doing in the past? If we are now realigning the Budget to na- tional key priorities, what have we been doing in the last five years? Mr Speaker, one of the headline items in the Budget is 10 per cent salary cut for the President, the Vice, Deputy Ministers and Ministers -- [Interruption.] I do not know if Gov- ernment-appointee. But the irony, how much this would bring to the kitty, is not in the Budget; it is hidden.
    Mr Speaker, let me make an attempt to try to cost the benefits we would get from this 10 per cent. Let me assume av- erage salary from the President to Deputy Minister is GH¢8,000.00; 10 per cent cut is GH¢800 -- Number of appointees, let me assume 100. From President, Vice President, Ministers and Deputy Minis- ters -- [Some Hon Members -- rose --] Please let me do my assumptions and we can relax them; just listen to me -- [Interruption]
    Mr Mahama Ayariga 1:50 p.m.
    On a point of order.
    Mr Speaker, it is all Government appointees and we have Ministers, Dep- uty Ministers, District Chief Executives (DCEs), Ambassadors, Chief Executives of State-owned corporations, heads of various Agencies that have their appoint- ments made directly by the President. Mr Speaker, it is a very large number.
    Mr Speaker 1:50 p.m.
    Hon Member, please, proceed with your presentation.
    Mr Agyeman-Manu 1:50 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I would take the Information Minister's in- formation and push up the 100 appointees by three to 300 even. Now, the 300 by

    the computation that I have, would bring into the kitty GH¢3 million per annum. Mr Speaker, again, what is hidden in the Budget, they would not tell us. Is the cost of wastage, fraud and abuse of State resources that has never been costed -- and I would give examples.

    Mr Speaker, Waterville alone is GH¢44 million; Construction Pioneers (CP), over €100 million; Isofoton, the Embraer, GY- EEDA, SUBAH, the SADA, the Akomfem Part I and then SADA, the afforestation, AAL -- [Uproar!] -- the ghost names in the payroll -- Mr Speaker, all these have not been costed. Now, I would just concentrate on one of the items, the Wa- terville one.

    These, I say, are alleged malpractices. But the ones that have been proved in court for us to get a refund -- GH¢44 million -- If you multiply 3 by what factor to get to GH¢44 million. So, if you are interested in the President's pay cut, that would yield just GH¢3 million. What about the GH¢44 million? So, we are only playing to the public gallery, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, let us be more serious and move ahead.

    Mr Speaker, let me read paragraph (48) of the Budget and look at page 13 where I can find this one. Mr Speaker, let me move on to a situation where we are getting, gradually shifting from tradi- tional activities towards reliance on oil. And that, I would describe as the onset of our journey towards the Dutch Disease Syndrome (DDS).

    Mr Speaker, I am talking about growth in the agricultural sector and I would look at the Cocoa sector. Mr Speaker, 2011, the cocoa sector grew by 14 per cent; 2012 the cocoa sector grew by negative -6.9 per cent- [Interruption.] This is a lie? It is in the Budget --
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:50 p.m.
    Hon Mem- ber, address the Chair.
    Mr Agyeman-Manu 1:50 p.m.
    Thank you, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Cassiel A. B. Forson 1:50 p.m.
    Mr Speak- er, I come on a point of order.
    Mr Speaker, the Hon Member said indeed Government is shrinking the agri- cultural sector. Mr Speaker, I strongly disagree. I strongly disagree, on the basis that the agricultural sector is rather showing a recovery, based on the same analysis he is saying. Starting from 2012 and making analysis to 2013, indeed, we are showing a good recovery and I would want him to withdraw that statement.
    Mr Speaker 1:50 p.m.
    Hon Member, please, proceed with your argument. You have two minutes to go.
    Mr Agyeman-Manu 2 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee. I understand Chairmen have 15 minutes.
    Mr Speaker, these issues that I men- tioned, you can see deliberate efforts on the part of Government to actually stop these benefits of inputs we were giving to our cocoa farmers.
    Mr Speaker, a very significant portion of this Budget has been allocated to debts and its issues. Debt management and --
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 2 p.m.
    Hon Member, please, hold on, I want to give you directives.
    First of all, we are running against time. There is a tall list of people who are yet to make their contributions. But in the mean- time, after your contribution, which should have been the last, we would be prepared to take one from each side of the House.
    In that case, if you agree with me,
    then I would direct that with regard to proceedings, as they stand, we go beyond the stipulated time for our Sitting. After you have contributed, we would take one each from each side of the House and bring proceedings to a close.
    Mr Agyeman-Manu 2 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, like I said, a very significant portion of the Budget has been allocated to debt issues, specifically its management. What is the rationale behind this? Very easy reason. Interest burden -- about 30 per cent of our tax is going into it. Yet, we are establishing three Funds; the Infras- tructure Fund, the Contingency Fund and the SME Fund. I would tell you, Mr Speaker, with all cer- tainty, that the nominal intentions are what have been put in the Budget.
    But the real intention again, is to hide the total or full disclosure of our debt stock in the face of our fiscal tables to put it in another thing else. If that is not the real intention, why would they want to tell us they are pushing State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) to borrow on their own balance sheet. This is not going to be achieved. How many SOEs can go and
    Mr F. F. Kwetey 2 p.m.
    On a point of order.
    Mr Speaker, I think the Hon Member is impugning motives which actually are not the case at all. If he has taken time to know exactly what has gone on in this country, he would know, for instance, that the Bui Authority, which actually is a facility, was raised during their time is one Authority today that clearly shows that they are capable of raising a facility and paying back that facility.
    The same applies to the Gas Infras- tructure Project. Very many SOEs are building to that stage where they can, on their own, raise a facility based on their balance sheets.
    So, these initiatives that we are talking about, are initiatives which are not just being done in other countries but clearly, we are capable of going into. So, for him to create the impression that this Budget is aimed at hiding things, I think, really, he is impugning negative motives to the Hon Minister for Finance and for that matter, the President.
    Mr Agyeman-Manu 2 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, again, there is no disclosure that has been on the impact of various debt manage- ment strategies that have been put into the Budget.
    But my note of caution is that, we should be very cautious. When they move cedi denominated facilities into forex denominated facilities, they are pushing us into another area of exposure. For- eign exchange exposure risk can be very dangerous for this country and my Hon Colleagues should be very careful where they want to take managing our debts to.
    Mr Speaker, let me look at paragraph
    Mr Agyeman-Manu 2 p.m.


    (196) on page 52 of this Budget very briefly. And that is under --
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 2 p.m.
    Hon Mem- ber, having topped your time with five minutes, you have two more minutes to go.
    Mr Agyeman-Manu 2 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, thank you.
    Mr Speaker, under the Guinea Fowl Project, a joint venture company was formed to promote the commercial and hi-tech production of guinea fowls and all that. That is on page 52, paragraph 196 - That is under SADA. Meanwhile, if one goes to the sector of Ministry of Food and Agriculture, we still have some activities that deal with rearing of guinea fowls. The question we want to ask is that, is that activity under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture on guinea fowls different from the SADA guinea fowls?
    So, where are we? Or they are offload- ing the SADA guinea fowls to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture? So, what would be the investment we may have made into a private company? What is the link? Mr Speaker, the link is also hidden and they should come and tell us.
    Mr Speaker, let me speak on MAS- LOC. Of late, we are not hearing about people benefiting from MASLOC. What is missing in this Budget again? Or they are hiding it? They are distributing fishing nets, outboard motors, taxis -- everything with MASLOC money. But they are re- fusing to tell us how much investments we are making into those areas and what the recovery is like. It is not again in this Budget.

    -- And in English I would want to tell you that problems would come one day --
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 2 p.m.
    Hon Mem- ber, we have just gone through a process of translation. So, could you please trans- late the two Ghanaian languages that you spoke?
    Mr Agyeman-Manu 2 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the Hon Member for Asawase understands this one and he can translate it -- Magana yaa zo watarana -- [Interruption]
    Alhaji Muntaka 2 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I thought my Hon Colleague would have learnt some lessons from what happened when an Hon Colleague wanted to use Twi to describe a situation. “Magana yaa zo watarana” is equally derogatory. -- [Laughter] -- and Mr Speaker, it is only fair that he withdraws that or he explains what he means by “Magana yaa zo watarana”.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 2 p.m.
    All right, Hon Member, can you explain what you mean by “Magana yaa zo we mee”
    Mr Agyeman-Manu 2 p.m.
    “Magana yaa zo watarana”.
    Mr Speaker, I would want to tell my Hon Colleague from Asawase that, it is not only him who understands Hausa. I have lived in Sokoto for four years and I speak Hausa just as he does--
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 2 p.m.
    Hon Member, we would want you to translate it. That is all.
    Mr Agyeman-Manu 2 p.m.
    All I would want to say is that, challenges would come one day. Problems would come one day. -- [Uproar] -- And how derogatory is this, Mr Speaker?
    Mr Speaker, let me move on and say that we are taking a very bold initiative by establishing what we call the Ghana Infrastructure Fund (GIF) --
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 2 p.m.
    Hon Mem- ber, begin to wind up.
    Mr Agyeman-Manu 2 p.m.
    In the advent of the GIF, what happens to the infrastructure portions of resources allocated in the Cap- ital Expenditure (CAPEX) allocation for MDAs? Are we going to move all infra- structure allocations of MDAs into the GIF or what is it that we are going to do? So, MDAs like Roads, Health and Education will be doing their infrastructure and then the Ghana GIF would also be borrowing and doing infrastructure at the same time? The answer is hidden and they should tell us again in this Budget --
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 2 p.m.
    Thank you very much. Hon Member, your time is up- .We are going to take one from each Side.
    Minister of State (Alhaji Ab- dul-Rashid H. Pelpuo) (MP) 2 p.m.
    Mr Speak- er, I rise to support the Motion ably moved by the Hon Minister for Finance, to present the Budget Statement of the Government and to say that, this is one of the most forward- looking budgets we have seen.
    The Budget is a budget of hope. It is a budget that has shown direction. It is a budget that is re-defining our economic terrain in the midst of challenges and also telling us what to do to enhance our middle level income status.
    Mr Owusu-Bio 2:10 p.m.
    On a point of order.
    Mr Speaker, the Hon Member speaking is misleading this House and he has been doing it year-on year-on. Mr Speaker, last year and two years ago, the Hon Member was on the floor saying that the budget was a budget of hope. Mr Speaker, every year budget of hope.When will the hope come.
    When are we going to see the hope?
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:10 p.m.
    Hon Mem- ber, you are out of order.
    Hon Pelupo, please, continue.
    Alhaji Pelpuo 2:10 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, it is a trueism that this Budget is showing the way to go. It is a budget that is defining the growth of the country, as one that is defining our hope and expectation of the economy.
    As I said, the fact that inflation is going to be brought down to 9.5 per cent -- Inflation, we know, is a killer instru- ment, measurement indicator that hurts any economy. At the moment, we have inflation of about 13 per cent. At the end of the budget year, we are hoping to reduce inflation to 9.5 per cent. It is something we can think about as hopeful.
    Mr Speaker, budget deficit as we are aware, is again telling us that wherever there is a lopsided approach of expenditure and income, the deficit is hurting. This Budget is telling us that that huge deficit we suffered, would be reduced and it is reduced drastically from 13 per cent once again to 8.5 per cent.
    It is of hope because, in such an eco- nomic terrain, you would have a fertile ground for businesses which are outside the country to come in and have confi- dence, that the economy is growing and that the economy is good for them to invest in. The reason there is so much interest in the Ghanaian economy and it is important for us to recognise the interest people have in our economy and build on it.
    I am so happy to find that the Minister has proposed to us a new infrastructural development policy. This is because we have an infrastructural gap in this coun- try which is about US$1.5 billion a year,
    Alhaji Pelpuo 2:10 p.m.


    which if investment would reach that level, can still have that to exist until the next decade.

    Indeed, it shows that if we invest

    US$1.45 billion every year for ten years, the infrastructural gap alone in this country would barely be closed. It is the reason we should trust this Budget and support it for it to give a new definition to our needs.

    Mr Speaker, I heard people talk about the fact that there are raises in taxes and VAT. It is important for us to understand what the economy is all about. We have an economy which is defined in two ways. Either because it is from the supply side or from the demand side and each of them is important. In order for you to run an economy efficiently, you need to balance the two of them.

    More and more people are coming

    every day to ask for salary increases; they are asking for roads; they are asking for houses; they are asking for all kinds of amenities including water, health facilities and educational facilities. Mr Speaker, the Government itself, being aware of its social contract with the people, knows that it is important to ensure that these facilities are provided. A lot of us are also at the fringes of hailing labour and asking them to demand more wage increases.
    Mr Dan Botwe 2:10 p.m.
    On a point of order.
    Mr Speaker, our Hon Colleague is mak- ing reference to people inciting workers to demand wage increases. This is not some- thing that my Hon Colleague can support and I think he should be asked to withdraw
    that statement. In any case, he is imputing improper motives to which people? Who are the people asking workers to demand wage increase?
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:10 p.m.
    Yes, Hon Member, do you have evidence to sub- stantiate it?
    Alhaji Pelpuo 2:10 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, if nobody at all, workers themselves are asking for wage increases.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:10 p.m.
    Yes, but the incitement is the aspect of it.
    Alhaji Pelpuo 2:10 p.m.
    I have never used the word ‘incitement'. I am saying applaud- ing, backing workers who are demanding wage increases and as citizens of Ghana, we should understand what is happening. So, Mr Speaker, it is not meant to give a cap to anybody to wear unless --[An Hon Member: The cap fits.]
    Mr Speaker, I was talking about a situation where an economy has to be balanced. In a situation where all these demands are made on the economy, ex- penditures are rising, the alternative open to Government is to either increase taxes, go borrowing money or go begging and asking for grants.
    Mr Speaker, I think that we should stop
    Mr Frimpong 2:10 p.m.
    On a point of order.
    Mr Speaker, I agree with my very good Friend that we have to look into ourselves for money to develop our infrastructure. But Mr Speaker, the worry is that when the money comes in, it goes out through unapproved channels, leakages. In 2011, when the Auditor-General --
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:10 p.m.
    Hon Member, you are out of order. This is not a point of order.
    Hon Pelpuo, continue.
    Alhaji Pelpuo 2:10 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I believe in Ghana. I believe in our capacity. I believe that in order for us to anchor the growth of this country and to be able to move this country from a lower middle income country to a higher level middle income country, and indeed to a developed economy, we need to first of all, sacrifice. We need to understand --
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:10 p.m.
    Hon Member, you have one more minute to go.
    Alhaji Pelpuo 2:10 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, we need to understand that taxing ourselves is a logical thing to do and I know that in doing so, we need to get some partnership with the private sector.
    I have also heard people talking about
    the fact that the private sector is not being taken care of. The Infrastructure Fund that is going to be established will generate income and the purpose of it is to partner with the private sector to provide public goods. It is important and it is the way to go. More and more, we are supporting a situation where we would ask the private sector to join us in the lead to develop this economy, and to be part and parcel of it. And it is important that Ghanaian private people are aware that this Budget, if they understand it well, is a way to go in sup- porting them to partner with Government using the available funding in order to
    achieve the development of this country with their contribution in the provision of public goods.
    To conclude, I would want to say that, there is hope in the Budget and I would want to also congratulate the Economic Management Team and indeed, the Fi- nance Minister and his colleagues. They have within the constraints of the economy we found, from 2008, with the deficit of close to 14 per cent to now-- We need a management of the economy that will allow us to take control and be at the front seat and run the economy. Not an economy that is going to be HIPC but one that can be self-reliant with capabilities of generating funds within.
    Mr Kwabena O. Darko-Mensah (NPP -- Takoradi) 2:20 p.m.
    Thank you Mr Speaker for the opportunity to add my voice to the Motion to the House, to approve the Financial Policy of the Government of Ghana for the year 31st December, 2014.
    Mr Speaker, if we take page 2 of the Budget, paragraph 6 (7), the Minister states, and with your permission, I beg to quote:
    “Therefore Mr Speaker, I stand before this Honourable House to present a budget that is truly trans- formational.”
    At the same time, the theme for the
    Budget is “Rising to the challenge”. So are we rising to the challenge which is transformational or we want to transform Ghana?
    Clearly, from what has been presented to this House, we know that this Budget is not transformational. [Hear! Hear!] At best, it is standstill. It can be described as a standstill Budget.
    Mr Speaker, according to the 2010 cen- sus of this country by the Ghana Statistical
    Mr Kwabena O. Darko-Mensah (NPP -- Takoradi) 2:20 p.m.
    Service, the population densities of this country are so weird. Greater Accra Re- gion is 1,236 persons per square kilometre, Ashanti Region, only 196 persons per square kilometre and the Western Region is only 99 persons per square kilometre. So, clearly, it shows that between Ashanti Region and Greater Accra Region, the difference is about 700 per cent in popu- lation density.
    Mr Speaker, between Western Region and Greater Accra Region, is over 1,000 per cent. So, clearly, it shows that this country has developed where only this side of the country is growing. Therefore, if we are talking about challenges in this country and the transformation that we need to do, that is one area we would need to do, that is one area we would be looking at.
    Mr Speaker, if you take infrastructure that would open up and transform this country, we would be looking at railways and roads. That is where my focus would be on this Budget.
    Mr Speaker, if you take the promise
    made by the Government in 2012 on main- tenance of roads, they promised to main- tain 66,684 kilometres of roads, they were only able to do 22,000, making it 35 per cent. In 2013, they promised to maintain 50,723 kilometres; they could only man- age 10,400 --[Interruption] -- and that is only 15 per cent. Mr Speaker, in 2014, they are promising 35,392 kilometres. With this statistics, Mr Speaker, can they really do anything? [Interruption.] Mr Speaker, if 15 per cent has not been able to transform this country, 35 per cent has not been able to transform this country, how can 35 per cent be able to transform this country?
    Mr Speaker, going further, according to the Road Fund, in 2008, the percentage of good roads in this country were 41.4 per cent, fair roads were 26.4 per cent and then poor roads were 32.2 per cent. Moving

    Maj. Dr (Alhaji) Mustapha Ahmed (retd): On a point of order.

    Mr Speaker, the presentation by my Hon Colleague is misleading. It is mis- leading in the sense that if you have 100 roads today and then you do a percentage and you get 41 per cent, that is a different matter. But if the following year you have a total of 200 roads, obviously, if you have an increment of 1 per cent, it is a huge number.

    I would want the Hon Member to un- derstand that, between the years when he read the first percentage, there has been an improvement. There are a lot of new roads, more roads have been tarred, therefore, the percentage increase is talking about large number of roads that have been improved upon.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:20 p.m.
    Hon Member, please, continue with your presentation.
    Mr Darko-Mensah 2:20 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, all that I am driving at is that, this Budget cannot be transformational because it is not solving the problem of modernising these roads, so that it can open up this country. Mr Speaker, one of the major difficulties that we tend to have in this country has to do with the amount of money -- [Interruption.]
    Mr Samuel O. Ablakwa 2:20 p.m.
    On a point of order.
    Mr Speaker, the Hon Member is not placing the transformation in the road sector in context.The context is important. We are coming from a period -- and we have done this analysis and they are aware, between 2001 and 2008 -- where during their time, the roads shrunk. They came to this House and claimed they had done
    41 per cent. A year after, it shrunk to 31 per cent, 22 per cent; their roads were shrinking.
    So, if now, we have a situation where we are seeing incrementals as we move on, it is important to appreciate this context and agree that, indeed, this is transfor- mational.
    Mr Botwe 2:20 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, this is certain- ly hijacking the debate to make a contribu- tion. Certainly, this is not a point of order.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:20 p.m.
    Hon Member, continue with your presentation. [Interruption.]
    Hon Members, please, let us have some order. Address the Chair. Hon Members, please, address the Chair.
    Mr Darko-Mensah 2:20 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, one of the key issues confronting this Govern- ment, which they need to resolve before the Ghana Infrastructure Fund would be useful, is to look at the policy framework that governs the development of infra- structure in this country. This is because, we keep raising a lot of money and all these moneys turn to waste.
    For instance, Mr Speaker, in this coun- try, we do not have a policy that aligns the design period --
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:20 p.m.
    Hon Member, you have two minutes to go.
    Mr Darko-Mensah 2:20 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, we do not have a policy that aligns the de- sign period of roads to the defect liability period. So, a road meant for seven years would get spoilt just after one year and we have to re-do these roads. I do believe that it is time we tied the hands of contractors in this country to the roads that they de- velop and also ensure that the consultants that work on these projects are also tied to these roads, so that they can maintain them over the same period of time that
    these particular roads have been designed.
    Mr Speaker, moving on to the railway, in 2012 Budget, Government promised to develop the western rail line with an amount of US$700 million from the China Development Bank (CDB) loans. Mr Speaker, in 2013, the issue was just a line item in the budget, but allocation for the development of the railway was never made in the Budget. In 2014, the western rail line is missing in the Budget. Clearly, such a Budget can never be a transforma- tional Budget. Where is the money to do the western rail line?
    Mr Speaker, I do believe that, these are the things that Government needs to do and they need to prove to the people of the Western Region that they are keen in developing the rail line that is very commercial in nature.
    Moving forward, Mr Speaker, Govern- ment has been touting the issue that they are giving 10 per cent of their salaries to the people of Ghana. Mr Speaker, all over the world, Governments that have delivered to their people are Governments that have paid themselves and people have assumed and ensured that what they have been promised, have delivered.
    Mr Speaker, if you take former Pres- ident Kwame Nkrumah, he gave up his salary but he never transformed the econ- omy from a third world to a first world. Dr Busia gave up his salary, he never trans- formed from third world to first world. Former President Kufuor who never gave, transformed --
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:20 p.m.
    Hon Member, your time is up.
    Mr Darko-Mensah 2:20 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, former President Kufuor who never gave his salary transformed Ghana from third world to a middle income country and that is very, very important. [Interruption.]
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:20 p.m.
    Hon Mem-
    ADJOURNMENT 2:20 p.m.
    SPACE FOR TABLE - PAGE 10 a.m.
    SPACE FOR TABLE - PAGE 10 a.m.
    SPACE FOR APPENDIX - 10 a.m.