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Mr Speaker

Hon Members , Correction of the Votes and Proceedings of Wednesday, 17th December, 2014.

Mr KyeiMensahBonsu

Mr Speaker, I am sorry to take us back to page 7.
Yesterday, the Hon Irene Naa Torshie Addo (Mrs), came to the Chamber. She was a bit late in coming. She came to the Chamber.

Mr O. B. Amoah

Mr Speaker, I am sorry, but I would have to take you back to page 8.
Indeed, yesterday, I was present in the House and I chaired the Subsidiary Legislation Committee till about 7. 00 p.m.

Mr O. B. Amoah

Mr Speaker, it is on page 8, number 12. I was marked absent, but I was here.

Very well.
Hon Members , the Votes and Proceedings of Wednesday, 17th December, 2014, as corrected, are hereby adopted as the true record of proceedings.
We have the Official Report of Wednesday, 10th December, 2014, for correction.

Very well.
Hon Deputy Minister for Finance, on behalf of the Finance Minister?

Deputy Minister for Finance (Mr Cassiel Ato B. Forson) (on behalf of the

Minister for Finance)

I rise to ask the leave of the House to accordingly withdraw the Internal Revenue (Amendment) Regulations, 2014 which was laid in this House on the 8th of December, 2014.
Mr Speaker, this is due to a technical defect that has been detected by the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice.

Mr Speaker

Hon Members, this is a very straightforward issue. It has been laid and not gazetted. There is a problem in terms of the Constitution. So, they want to withdraw it, so that they can lay it and gazette it today.
Hon Member for Sekondi?

Yes, the Hon Member for Wenchi?

Prof. George Y. Gyan-Baffour

Mr
Speaker, I do not know whether it was a ruling or maybe, what transpired here. Does it mean that the onus of getting it gazetted is now removed from the Executive to the Legislature? Is that what

we are saying here?

Mr Speaker

No, Hon Member for
Wenchi. It is an issue with - I will refer to Leadership, because now, the Assembly Press is no longer under our control as it used to be. So, we do not have that control over it now as it used to be in the First and Second Republics.
So, if I sit here and I make a certain order, which cannot be implemented, the order would be an order in futility.
That is why I will like Leadership to take up this matter and see how we can synchronise this issue.
Hon Majority Leader, which item are we taking? Are we taking (a) (ii)?

Mr Bagbin

Yes, that is so. We will take 4 (a) (ii).

Mr Speaker, with your kind permission, we may take item number 2 on the Order Paper Addendum. It is at page 2 of the Addendum -- the Motion on the Fourteenth Report of the Appointments Committee on the President's nominee for the position of Minister for Power.

Mr Speaker

Chairman of the Committee, item number 2 on the Order Paper Addendum.

Hon Member for Manhyia South?
Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh (NPP
- Manhyia South): Mr Speaker, I find that Hon Dr Kwabena Donkor who has been nominated by His Excellency the President for the Ministry of Power to be probably one of the Ministers we have considered who has such in-depth knowledge into the position in which he is going to serve this country.
Mr Speaker, that Ministry he is going to superintend has a lot of challenges in this country. Ghanaians sleep and wake up and talk about issues relating to this Ministry and I hope that knowledge would translate into action for the betterment of Ghana.
Mr Speaker, it is interesting that even while deliberating in this House, we could experience that phenomenon an Hon Colleague described as “adundum adundum”. If we do not solve our power situation in this country, no matter the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailouts, no matter national fiscal stabilisation levies, no matter the 17.5 per cent you put on fuel, no matter what we do as a country, we cannot make headway.
I hope and pray that Hon Dr Kwabena Donkor, who says politics is out of
governance, would not go and play politics to develop and better the power situation, would not introduce unnecessary partisanship into the power situation in this country; would be very realistic in giving dates in which this “adundum adundum” would stop.

Mr Speaker

Hon Member for Ningo- Prampram, are you on a point of order?

Mr Speaker, ordinarily, the President, under the Constitution, is a Minister of State, but once he has decided to designate it to a Ministry, that raises that issue. But I am grateful for the information from the Chair.
But I was thinking that in this case, as part of its findings, the Committee would state that indeed, the President has created a Ministry of Power; and that is why he is designating a Minister of State to be a Minister at the Ministry of Power.
I do not want Mr Speaker to be drawn into this debate because Mr Speaker knows that we cannot draw him into a debate. We can never debate Mr Speaker; when he speaks, it is final. If we want to challenge him, we would have to come by way of Motion and we never want to do that.
Mr Speaker, my Hon Leader has commented on something but I am not going to put it on record; it is between the two of you. I am not drawing him into your debate but I know that you and the Hon Leader go very far back. But now that

Mr Speaker

Hon Deputy Majority Leader?

Mr Alfred K. Agbesi (NDC - Ashaiman)

Mr Speaker, I also beg to contribute to the Motion to approve the nominee as the Minister for Manpower. [Uproar.]

Mr Speaker

Hon Minister for Youth and Sports?

Mr Ayariga

Mr Speaker, I do not understand why the noise. This is because the nominee is a man, and the Ministry he is going to is for power. So, it becomes “manpower.” [Laughter]

Mr Speaker

Hon Minister, you are completely out of order. [Laughter.]

Mr Agbesi

Mr Speaker, I thank you for the correction.
I beg to contribute to the Motion and urge my Hon Colleagues to approve the nominee as Minister for the Ministry of Power, without “ man”.
Mr Speaker, we know the nominee in this House; we know what he is capable of doing, particularly when he was the Chairman of the Committee on Mines and Energy. We hope that having caught the eyes of the President as regards his nomination, he would contribute more to
the several efforts and numerous plans that the President has to make this Ministry effective and give Ghanaians enough energy and power.
Mr Speaker, the nominee, a doctor, of course, has performed creditably in this House, and there is no doubt in my mind that when we approve him, all that is happening in the country that everybody everywhere is asking for supply of energy and supply of power, would be a thing that during his term as Minister, these problems and challenges are reduced to the barest minimum.
Mr Speaker, I would urge that -- as he said in his vetting, the issue of energy or power has been a thing that has been happening in the country for many years. In 2007, we were in this House, when the current Minister for Employment and Labour Relations brought a half-hour Motion on the issue of energy crisis in the country. Our Brothers on the other side assured us that we should only exercise patience, and that within a short time, the energy crisis would be over.
Mr Speaker, in 2007, after the debate, we went and 2008 came, and that was why the nominee said the issue of challenges and problems of supply is not a two- day matter. It has been happening in the country over the years. All that is necessary is that, all of us should support the President in finding solutions to the power problem in the country, and we should leave criticism -- for the sake of criticism and give chance to the Minister- designate and to the President to do all that is necessary for the matter on power to be a thing of the past.
Mr Speaker, I would urge all of us that the nominee is someone that when we give him the chance, he would go and do what is necessary, and more power would flow
and flow and flow.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity.

Mr Speaker

Hon Members, I have taken note of the sense of the House from the comments so far, so I would call the Hon Member for Sunyani West and Deputy Minority Chief Whip.

Mr Ignatius B. Awuah (NPP - Sunyani West)

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the floor.
Mr Speaker, the Hon nominee is somebody that I personally know. He happens to be from my region, and I have known him for quite a number of years. He is somebody who is capable of handling the work being assigned him by His Excellency the President.
Mr Speaker, I have no doubt in my mind that he would be able to deliver. But in doing so, I would want to bring his attention to the fact that, unlike many of our Colleagues who were born and bred in cities, in his case, he was brought up in a typical rural area like myself. So, the issue of rural electrification is something that we would want him to take serious. As he goes to the Ministry, yes, the pressures from the cities are high, but even in an attempt to settle that, he should not forget the millions of Ghanaians who are also living in the rural areas.
We need to boost up rural industries; we need to get more people to stay in the rural areas as against drifting to the urban centres, and perhaps, one way of achieving that is to make sure that, we extend power to most of these communities. I would want to urge him to let that be his focus and make sure that within the term that he stays in that particular Ministry, if

there is anything at all that Ghanaians are going to remember him for, it would be his dedication to extend electricity to the rural areas.

I wish him well and I would want to say that people like his friends from the region, and of course, people who also believe that he is capable of handling that particular Ministry, are people he can fall on for advice any time he wants.

Mr Speaker, I am done.

Mr Speaker

Hon Yieleh Chireh, Hon Member for Nhyiaeso and then Hon Member for Tema East, please, be very brief because we want to move to the estimates.

Mr Joseph Y. Chireh (NDC - Wa West)

Mr Speaker, I am a member of the Committee, so, I will be very brief.
The statement I would want to make has to do with the earlier issue which was raised by the Hon Member for Sekondi. One of the things that happen is that, we are given copies of almost all the legislations that are passed, as Members of Parliament. Unfortunately, we do not get Executive Instruments and Executive Instruments are powers that we, as a House, have conferred on, particularly Ministers to issue.
What I would urge is that, the Clerk, together with the Attorney-General's Department should make sure that any Executive Instrument that is issued, is also given to Members of Parliament, to be fully aware of what is going on in terms of that.
The nominee has vast experience and all I would call for, is teamwork when he gets to the Ministry. This is because no matter how much one knows, one cannot
do everything alone. He assured us that, he was going to even get people from across the political divide to help him to resolve some of the teething problems in the proposed Ministry.
The most important thing for all of us, is to be realistic about demands. But one of the things that he said, which was very significant, is about the support for industry, and the need for households to depend more on solar energy, more than the powered one from either hydro or thermal production. If he pursues that line, we would have a better arrangement, so that we can assure the industries that use a lot of energy that they will continue to function and people would be employed.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.

Dr Richard W. Anane (NPP - Nhyiaeso)

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to associate with the comments with respect to the nomination of our Colleague, the Hon Member of Parliament.
I join my Hon Colleagues to congratulate him for attracting the attention of the Presidency to be nominated in the first place. I also wish to draw his attention to the fact that, the position that he is going to occupy is onerous; he will have a lot of problems and he must be prepared to meet them. I am sure even from what Hon Members are saying here and from what he was confronted with during his interview with the Appointments Committee, he would have realised that he is going to get a lot of requests from Hon Members of Parliament.
But the problem per se as he himself accepts, is a problem that must be resolved across the political divide. I would wish to draw his attention and wish that he gets emboldened to take these measures. The problem of inadequacy of power supply,
the problem of recurrent interruptions in power supply, maybe, from two angles, one from supply, and the other one from transmission, where the transmission also has its problem. But the major problem as we are facing right now, is the problem of supply. Because of that, I would want to draw his attention to - and I do believe government is also taking it up - the need for this country and for his leadership to be bold enough to go forward to ensure that we implement our attention and our move towards getting a nuclear energy plant. Not just one or two but to position this country to be able to supply the entire sub-region with energy.
Mr Speaker, you do hear from certain quarters, based on maybe, misconceptions and others, about the fear for nuclear energy. But Ghana can position herself like France and Korea to be able to supply this energy. It is not for nothing that way back in 2006 and 2007, the College for Nuclear Energy was established so that we can start putting across or at least, training our manpower. Mr Speaker, I do know that from the year 2001, the President Kufuor‘s Administration was grappling with the question of nuclear energy.
I am told in 2005, President Kufuor appointed a committee, which came up with a report and this report was advising Government to focus, so that at the end of the day, by 2018, we could have reached the point of producing nuclear energy. It does not matter -- new governments must have to look at them. But I do believe that, the Hon Minister must be given the support and the assurance that nuclear energy, just like any other, even hydro, kills. Even the cars that we ride in daily kill but we keep on riding in them.
The problem is not the killing but that if we are able to prepare ourselves appropriately, we would be able to supply this country with uninterrupted power. This is because as a middle income country, we are looking towards improving our transportation system, extending the railway lines to the North, ensuring that our airlines and airports function 24 hours a day, that industries can produce and work 24 hours a day.
Mr Speaker, all these things can be assured if we have constant supply of energy. And one of the major assurances of getting constant supply of energy is through that.
That is why I would want to associate with this and then urge our Colleague to be emboldened to go forward and do that.

Mr Mutawakilu Adam (NDC - Damongo)

Hon Members, item number 7 on the original Order Paper at page 4.
Hon Majority Leader?

Majority Leader (Mr Alban S. K. Bagbin)

Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that this Honourable House approves the sum of GH¢199,576,867 for the services of the Judicial Service for the year ending 31st December, 2015.
Mr Speaker, I would want to reserve
my right under Standing Order 86 (4) (c), in case there is the need for me to reply. I would want to exercise that right. Apart from that, I beg to move and the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee would present the Report, in seconding the Motion.

Mr Speaker

Very well.

Chairman of the Committee (Mr Charles Obeng- Inkoom)

Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion moved by the Hon Majority Leader, that this Honourable House approves the sum of
GH¢199,576,867 for the services of the Judicial Service for the year ending, 31st December, 2015.
Mr Speaker, in so doing, I present your Committee's Report.
Introduction
The Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government for the 2015 Financial Year was presented to Parliament by the Hon Minister for Finance, Mr Seth E. Terkper on Wednesday, 19th November, 2014 in accordance with article 179 (1) and (2) of the 1992 Constitution.
Pursuant to article 179(2) and (4) of the Constitution, the 2015 Budget Estimates of the Judicial Service was laid in Parliament and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary for consideration and report in accordance with the Standing Orders of the House.
Deliberations
The Committee during the consideration of the Budget Estimates was assisted by the Judicial Secretary, Justice A. B. Poku- Acheampong and other officials from the Judicial Service. Also in attendance was the schedule officer from the Ministry of Finance.
Reference documents
The Committee referred to the following documents during its discussions:
i. The 1992 Constitution
ii. T h e S t a n d i n g O r d e r s o f Parliament
iii. The Annual Budget Estimates of the Judicial Service for the 2014 financial year
iv. The Budget Statement and E c o n o m i c P o l i c y o f t h e Government for the 2014 financial year

Mission through the following objectives

i. Promoting the rule of law, transparency, efficiency and speedy administration of justice.
ii. Promoting and upholding the fundamental Human rights and freedoms of all persons in the country.
iii. Improving access to justice especially to the vulnerable and the excluded.
iv. Improving human and institu- t ional capacity especial ly towards the protection of the vulnerable and the excluded.
v. Ensuring efficient and speedy delivery of justice.
vi. Improving the public image and confidence in the Service.
vii. R e m o v i n g t h e
perception of corruption in the Service.
Analyses of the approved budget of the Judicial Service for 2014
A total amount of one hundred and ninety-two million, one hundred and ninety-seven thousand, nine hundred and eighty-three Ghana cedis, sixty-six pesewas (GH¢192,197,983.66) was approved for the Judicial Service for the 2014 fiscal year. The breakdown is indicated in Table 1:

Very well.
Hon Members, that brings us to the end of the debate.
Question put and Motion agreed to. Resolved:
That this Honourable House approves the sum of GH¢36,186,217 for the services of the Ministry of Youth and Sports for the year ending 31st December, 2015.
Hon Majority Leader?

Mr Bagbin

Mr Speaker, with your
kind permission, we would consider item number (9).

Mr Speaker

Hon Members, item number (9) on the Order Paper, Motion - Hon Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts.

Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts (Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu- Agyare)

Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that this Honourable House approves the
sum of GH¢33,296,543 for the services of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts for the year ending 31st December, 2015.
Mr Speaker, the Ministry's mandate is to provide a firm, stable policy environment for effective mainstreaming of Ghanaian culture into all aspects of national life and to ensure the strong emergence of a vibrant creative economy to improve and advance the tourism industry.
Mr Speaker, the Minis t ry, in collaboration with its 14 implementing agencies, carry out key programmes including management and administra- tion, tourism product development, tourism research and marketing, tourism quality assurance, culture, creative arts, heritage development and management.
Mr Speaker, the sector's budget allocation for the 2015 fiscal year is thirty- three million, two hundred and ninety-six thousand, five hundred and forty-three Ghana cedis (GH¢33,296,543), out of which GH¢24,727,359 is GoG, GH¢8,569,184 is internally generated funds (IGFs). This represents an increase of GH¢463,543 over the revised budgetary allocation for 2014 (GH¢32,832,578.10).
The outlook for 2015 is good. Mr Speaker, the sector's budget allocation in 2015 will be used to continue to pursue its goal of developing Ghana as the preferred tourist destination in Africa and for tourism, culture and creative arts sectors to be a good revenue generator and employment creator by showcasing Ghana's tourism to travel trade practitioners, the media and investors at international fairs and exhibitions.
Mr Speaker, I would want to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry
Christmas and a happy New Year.
Thank you.
Question proposed.

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

Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that this Honourable House approves the sum of GH¢ 271,324,509 for the services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration for the year ending 31st December, 2015.
Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has, as its mandate, to advise the Government on the formulation of the foreign policy of Ghana, and implements that policy in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.
The budget of the Ministry will go to support its headquarters; 57 Ghana Diplomatic Missions and Consular Posts abroad, and 3 subvented organisations; mainly, the Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy, (LECIAD), The National African Peer Review Mechanism - Governing Council (NAPRIM-GC), and the All Africa Students' Union.
Mr Speaker, the budget allocated this year, is a significant improvement on the budget that was allocated last year, GH¢153,953,029.00, but Mr Speaker, the increase essentially takes into considera- tion the depreciation of the cedi, and the fact that most salaries and wages for the Ministry are Forex- based, and as a result of which we needed to take cognisance of that, in respect of item number 1.
Mr Speaker, but I must also indicate that we have also had an increase in our allocation for goods and services, and also for Capex, which has been significantly increased from last year.
In the course of this year, Mr Speaker, we undertook a number of activities that meant to promote regional integration within our sub region, especially during the time when President Mahama had taken over the chairmanship of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Authority of Heads of State and Government. We organised

a 45th Session of ECOWAS this year, we had an extraordinary Session on the security situation in the subregion on the 30th of May, 2014, and we also had an extraordinary summit on EBOLA.

We have also created the Diaspora Affairs Bureau, which essentially is to implement our intention to reach out more strategically to Ghanaians and Africans in the diaspora, and help to address the concerns of Ghanaians living abroad, and effectively integrate them into the national development effort.

Mr Speaker, we were not able to implement our intention of extending passport application centres to other parts of the country, and also to have biometric passports processed in our missions abroad because of our budgetary constraints. But we have provided for this in the budget for 2015.

I am pleased to say, Mr Speaker, that Cabinet has approved that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration retains a 100 per cent of its IGFs in order to take care of item two expenditures in respect of goods and services. We hope that the fact that we are able retain the IGFs generated in-forex and use it to cater for our goods and services expenditures, will significantly reduce the stress experienced by our Missions abroad.

We also, in the course of this year - because we anticipate that we will be able to have the finance to do it, in turn for our ten largest missions to begin to process biometric passports in those missions where we have the largest Ghanaian diasporas, in order that we are able to meet the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) deadline for changing of passports.

Mr Speaker, we also hope that in the

course of the year, we would be able to complete renovation and construction of on-going projects of the Ministry. It is our intention to finish what was started before we think about any new expenditures.

Mr Speaker, on that note, I will very much appreciate if the House would approve the sum of GH¢271,324,509.00 for the services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration for the year ending 31st December, 2015.

Question proposed.

Chairman of the Committee (Mr Emmanuel K. Bandua)

Mr Speaker, I rise to support the Motion, and in so doing, present the Committee's Report.
Introduction
The Minister for Finance, Hon Seth Emmanuel Terkper presented to Parliament the 2015 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana on Wednesday, 19th November 2014 in accordance with article 179 of the Constitution and Order 140 (1) of the Standing Orders of the House.
Subsequent to the presentation and pursuant to Order 140(4) of the Standing Orders of the House, the estimates of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration were referred to the Committee for consideration and report.
The Committee met on Friday, 12th December, 2014 to consider the estimates and hereby reports as follows:
Reference documents
The Committee made reference to the following documents:
(i) The 2014 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Govern-
ment of Ghana
(ii) The 2014 estimates of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration
(iii) The Constitution of the Republic of Ghana
(iv) The Standing Orders of the House
Mission of the Ministry
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration exists to advise the government on the formulation of the Foreign Policy of Ghana and implements its objectives in the most efficient and cost-effective manner --

Mr Bandua

In pursuance of this Mission, the Ministry has set for itself a vision to establish “a well-resourced foreign Ministry capable of establishing, developing and sustaining international goodwill, solidarity and support for national development”.
Agencies under the Ministry
The Ministry relies on the under-listed Agencies in the pursuit of its mission
The headquarters
Fifty-seven (57) Ghana Diplomatic Missions and Consular Posts abroad.
Three subvented organisations, namely:
Legon Centre for International A f f a i r s a n d D i p l o m a c y
(LECIAD)
National African Peer Review
Mechanism-Governing Council
(NAPRM-GC)
All Africa Students' Union
(AASU)
Pursuant to the mandate of the Ministry, these agencies have the responsibility of handling specific operational functions including formulating and executing Ghana's foreign policy in order to achieve the objectives therein; organising intensive monitoring of activities; undertaking sensitisation and dissemination exercises on the African Peer Review Mechanism; training Foreign Service Officers and other public servants in international affairs and diplomacy; and fostering co-operation among African Students and educational institutions.
Overview of the performance of the Ministry in 2014
The Ministry was allocated a total sum of one hundred and forty-one million, two hundred and seventeen thousand and five hundred and forty-nine Ghana cedis (GH¢ 141,217,549.00) for the effective performance of its mandate for the 2014 financial year.
With this allocation, the Ministry was able to achieve the following, not- withstanding the challenges that it faced.
2014 Achievements
Permanent Joint Commissions
The Ministry successfully organised three Permanent Joint Commissions for Co-operation (PJCC) meetings within the year.
Establishment of ICT Unit
T h e M i n i s t r y c o m p l e t e d t h e establishment of its ICT Unit with the introduction of a Draft ICT Policy

Mr Bandua

document, including a training manual, to govern its operations.

Renovation

The Ministry's third phase of renovation at the Chancery of the New York Mission was completed.

Establishment of New Diplomatic Mission

The Committee was informed that the Ministry finalised the establishment of a new Diplomatic Mission at the Vatican with a Resident Head of Mission and other personnel currently at post there.

Good Neighbourliness

Cognisant of the need for the concerted efforts of all countries in the West African sub-region to address common challenges to development in the sub- region, including the growing menace of terrorism, trafficking in small arms and weapons, drugs and children across national frontiers, the Ministry continued to make the pursuit of peace and security in West Africa a high priority in the conduct of Ghana's foreign policy.

The Ministry's attachment of great importance to the policy of good neighbourliness was aimed at promoting mutual trust and confidence among West African States, to facilitate the search for solutions to the common challenges of the sub-region.

Regional Integration

In much the same vein, the Ministry facilitated the successful organisation of three major ECOWAS Summits and Council of Ministers Meetings.

These are the:

i. 45th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Governments held in July 2014.

ii. Extraordinary Session on the security situation in the sub- region, Accra on 30th May 2014

iii. Extraordinary Summit on EBOLA, and Burkina Faso in Accra on 6th November 2014

Developing and Sustaining International Goodwill and Solidarity

In keeping with its objective of developing and sustaining international goodwill, solidarity and support for national development, the Ministry maintained a reasonably high diplomatic presence which yielded significant gains for the country in respect of foreign direct investment, international solidarity and a sustained positive image.

The high points of this initiative included the exchange of high profile visits which exchanges culminated in the conclusion of bilateral arrangements. Also, in line with this objective, the Ministry signed ten important Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) that brought great gains to Ghana.

Diasporian Affairs Bureau

The Committee was informed that the Ministry was successful in creating the Diasporian Affairs Bureau (DAB) to help address concerns of Ghanaians residing abroad and to effectively integrate them in the National Development efforts.

Economic Diplomacy

The Ministry intensified its collabo- ration with the other MDAs to promote the realisation of the national objective of diversifying and expanding the export base of the country, by further seeking foreign markets for Ghanaian products and also working to ensure that Ghana

benefitted from preferential access to markets and other arrangements which were the direct benefits of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements.

The Ministry again supported the diversification and expansion of the tourism industry for job creation and revenue generation by marketing Ghana abroad as a competitive tourist destination. This was done to also attract foreign direct investment into the hospitality industry.

Multilateral diplomacy

In much the same way, the Ministry coordinated Ghana's participation in the deliberations of a number of international organisations including the United Nations, the Commonwealth, the Non- Aligned Movement, the ATLOS, La Francophonie and the CEN-SAD on which Ghana is represented and thus coordinated the country's contribution in the global quest for solutions to the challenges that confront international peace, stability and development at the sub-regional, continental and global levels.

In this light, the Ministry coordinated the participation of H.E. the President in the 69th Session of the UN Conference in September 2014.

Welfare of Ghanaian citizens abroad

The Committee was informed that the Ministry endeavoured to intensify its efforts in providing consular assistance to Ghanaians abroad and ensured that they lived in safety, freedom and in dignity.

This, the Ministry did in giving practical meaning to Government's recognition of the significant contribution which Ghanaians living abroad make to the development process of the country.

Challenges

The afore-mentioned successes though resounding, the Ministry had its fair share of challenges which prevented it from making greater impact. Some of these are discussed below.

Foreign Exchange Depreciation

One major difficulty that the Ministry encountered in the 2014 financial year had to do with the depreciation of the cedi, relative to the major international currencies such as the United States dollar and the British pounds sterling for a significant part of the year. This was particularly disturbing, given the peculiar situation of the Ministry which has a bigger segments of its agencies outside the country.

The Committee was informed that payment of wages and salaries was a problem as the approved ceiling significantly fell short of the amount required due to foreign exchange problems which affected the prevailing rates in the respective foreign currencies.

The most affected expenditure items were the capital expenditure and Goods and Services. While no release had been made for Capital Expenditure throughout the year which affected performance in that area, only five months of Goods and Services had been released with further arrangements to release the allocation for a few additional months within the remaining part of the year.

Insufficient budgetary allocation

The exchange rate problems effectively affected all the other expenditure items and worsened the already low level funding that had been allocated to the Ministry for the year under consideration.

Delays in release of funds

Again, with the exchange rate problems, the rate of release of funds far outpaced the programmed releases per tranche. The implication was that, what had been

Mr Bandua

programmed to be spreaded over the year had to be obtained in a few months, since more cedis were then needed to exchange for the specific amounts in foreign currencies to meet programmed expenditures.

The Committee noted that such delays in releases often affected the very image of the country negatively as such, delays invariably resulted in delayed settlement of rents and related charges to local property owners and utility charges to local councils. In some cases, such delays in releases had led to court cases, threats of non-renewal of lease agreements and the payment of fines by Missions of the Ministry in the past.

Passport processing

The Ministry was unable to undertake its scheduled expansion programme to implement the processing of Biometric Passports within the country due to the non-availability of funding. This, the Committee noted, would amount to significant pressure on the future activities and other programmes of the Ministry as more resources would be needed to complete the process, given that the 2015 deadline for the eventual switch off to the machine readable Biometric Passport regime was fast approaching.

Outlook for 2015

In 2015, cognisant of its mission to assist in the formulation and implemen- tation of Ghana's Foreign Policy in the most efficient and cost-effective way, the Ministry intends to continue to assist government to deepen relations with our immediate neighbours, expand the frontiers of existing markets for Ghana's exports, attract investments into the various sectors of the economy and enhance consular protection and assistance to Ghanaians who are domiciled abroad.

Specifically, the Ministry intends to:

(a) promote and sustain political and economic interests abroad while promoting favourable perceptions about Ghana among principal political and economic actors;

(b) promote the diversification and increase in the volume of exports through the promotion of Ghanaian products on foreign markets;

(c) assist in making ECOWAS more effective by coordinating participation in meetings of the sub-regional body and providing reports on those meetings while promoting the implementation of the ECOWAS Protocols;

(d) ensuring the articulation of Ghana's position at all levels of international politico-socio- economic discourse for the promotion of international peace, security and sustainable development;

(e) pursue the safety and welfare of all Ghanaian citizens abroad at all times while mobilising them to assist in national develop- ment.

(f) set up biometric passport processing centres in selected Ghana Missions abroad and fu r the r e s tab l i sh on- l ine application systems for biometric passports and visas.

(g) develop the Ministry's human resource capacity through recruitment and training for efficient delivery

(h) prioritise and complete ongoing projects of refurbishing and equipping Ghana Missions abroad; and

(i) implement Annual Audit and Procurement plans as well as reports of the Auditor-General.

2015 Budgetary allocation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration

In the light of the foregoing, a total amount of two hundred and seventy-one million, three hundred and twenty-four thousand and five hundred and nine Ghana cedis (GH¢271,324,509.00) made up of two hundred and ten million, six hundred and ninety-six thousand and nine hundred and sixty-nine Ghana cedis (¢210,696,969.00) from GoG Sources and sixty million, six hundred and twenty- seven thousand five hundred and forty Ghana cedis (GH¢60,627,540.00) from IGF Sources have been allocated for the realisation of the set objectives of the Ministry.

Below is the breakdown of the allocation.

Chairman of the Committtee (Mr Joseph Zaphenat Amenowode)

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to second the Motion, asking this Hon- ourable House to approve the sum of GH¢2,700,476 for the National Labour Commission.
Mr Speaker, in so doing, I present the Committe's Report.
Introduction
The Hon Minister for Finance, Mr Seth Emmanuel Terkper in accordance with article 179 of the 1992 Constitution and Standing Order 138, on Wednesday, 19th November, 2014, presented the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana for the 2015 fiscal year to the House.
Pursuant to Standing Orders 140 (4) and 184 of the House, Mr Speaker referred the draft Annual Budget Estimates of the National Labour Commission to the Committee on Employment, Social Welfare and State Enterprises for consideration and report to the House.
Acknowledgement
The Committee met with the Chairman of the Board of the National Labour Commission, Mr Edward Briku-Boadu, the Acting Executive Secretary, Mrs Bernice Welbeck and officials of the National Labour Commission and deliberated on the 2015 Programme Based Budget Estimates of the National Labour Commission.
The Committee is grateful to them for the information and support they provided during deliberations on the estimates.
Reference Documents
In considering the draft annual estimates for the Commission, the under- listed documents were used as reference materials:
1. The 1992 Constitution of Ghana.
2. T h e S t a n d i n g O r d e r s o f Parliament of Ghana.
3. The 2014 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana.
4. The 2014 Programme Based Budget Estimates of the National Labour Commission.
5. The 2015 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Govern- ment of Ghana.
6. The 2015 Programme Based Budget Estimates of the National Labour Commission.
Mission Statement of the National Labour Commission
The Mission Statement of the National Labour Commission for the 2015 fiscal year is to develop and promote a peaceful and harmonious industrial relations environ-ment through the use of effective dispute resolution practices within the context of the law, promotion of co- operation among the labour market players and mutual respect for their rights and responsibilities.
Vision Statement of the National Labour Commission
The vision of the Commission is to promote a peaceful and harmonious industrial relations environment, borne out of the firm understanding of and committed compliance with the labour laws by all stakeholders, to make the Ghanaian economy competitive to attract investments.
Development Goals
The development goal of the Commission is to become an efficient

Chairman of the Committtee (Mr Joseph Zaphenat Amenowode)

and effective industrial dispute settlement institution, to create a peaceful and attractive environment for investment leading to accelerated growth, poverty reduction and attainment of middle income status by Ghana.

Strategic Policy Objectives

The strategic objectives of the National Labour Commission are to:

1. facilitate and settle industrial disputes in accordance with the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651),

2. strengthen the capacity of the National Labour Commission to ensure speedy resolution of disputes;

3. enforce rules and regulations governing labour administra- tions, international labour standards and ILO Conventions;

4. promote social dialogue among the Tripartite Partners;

5. strengthen the capacity of the Tripartite Partners;

6. build staff capacity through training and development;

7. deepen on going institution and internalisation and policy f o r m u l a - t i o n , p l a n n i n g , monitoring and evaluation systems at all levels;

8. promote and protect the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees;

9. increase the capacity of the Judiciary on Act 651 and its Labour Regulations, L.I. 1822 and L.I. 1833;

10. improve the capacity of labour mediators and arbitrators; and

11. promote an enabling environment and e ff ec t ive r egu la to ry f ramework fo r corpora te management.

Funds allocated for the 2014 fiscal year

For the implementation of activities for 2014, an amount of GH¢2,378,174 was allocated.

The breakdown of the allocation is as follows:

2014 Performance

Activities for the 2014 fiscal year

In the 2014 fiscal year, the Commission received 428 complaints from individual workers, groups of workers, workers associations, trade unions and employers. This involved about 1,850 workers. Out of the complaints received, 216 were settled and compensations of GH¢416,125.25 were received and paid to beneficiaries. The amount excludes payments made directly to beneficiaries.

One hundred and sixty complaints rolled over from the previous year were also handled.

The members of the Commission held 54 sittings and heard on the average 6 cases in a week. There were also 10 compulsory arbitration meetings to deal with disputes involving essential services.

The Commission, upon hearing complaints on infringements or violations of the law, issued 23 directives and 27 orders or rulings.

Nine officers and staff were trained at the Management Development and Productivity Institute in Accra on management procedures for two weeks.

Strikes and lockouts

Ten strikes were recorded in the year 2014. Eight of the strikes were by public sector workers and two were by private sector workers. The strikes from the public sector were mainly by education and health sector workers and lasted between one week and two months.

The man hours lost to the strikes range between 40 hours per week and 160 hours per month. The longest period of strike was recorded by the education sector.

One lockout was recorded within the period and it was done to protect life and property.

Outstanding programmes for 2014

The following programmes have been earmarked for 2014 but would be executed subject to the release of funds:

1. One day interaction with the media on the work of the Commission.

2. A stakeholders workshop for the health and education sectors.

3. Development of a documentary/ drama on the key provisions of Act 651.

4. Two-day sensitisation workshop for social partners in Tema on dispute settlement procedures.

5. Two-day workshop for identified social partners on freedom of association and collective bargaining.

Challenges

The following were noted as challenges faced by the Commission in the 2014 fiscal year:

The Commission has the mandate to inform and educate its social

partners and stakeholders in labour on the labour laws in order to minimise or prevent disputes. The Commission was however, not able to carry out any of its training programmes due to the non-release of funds.

Frequent increases in the prices of fuel and other utilities negatively impacted on the budget allocations of the Commission.

Inadequate office space.

Old and aged vehicles with associated huge service costs.

Lack of effective maintenance of office equipment due to the lack of funds.

Low number of staff.

Low appreciation of the provisions of the labour law and management of employment relations.

Lack of internal systems for addressing grievances in most enterprises, resulting in disputes.

Entrenched positions by some parties during negotiations.

Poor communication between labour and management.

Non recognition of the requirement of the labour law during industrial disagreements.

Outlook for 2015

Funds allocated for the 2015 fiscal year

For the implementation of activities for 2015, an amount of GH¢2,700,476 has been allocated.

The breakdown of the allocation is as follows:

Debates of 18 Dec 2014

PRAYERS 11:15 a.m.

VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 11:15 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.

Mr KyeiMensahBonsu 11:15 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.

Mr O. B. Amoah 11:15 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.

Mr O. B. Amoah 11:15 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.

Mr O. B. Amoah 11:15 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.

Mr Alban S. K. Bagbin 11:15 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.

Mr Bagbin 11:15 a.m.

Mr Speaker, with your permission, I beg to read 11:15 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.

Mr KyeiMensahBonsu 11:15 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.

Mr KyeiMensahBonsu 11:15 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.

Minister for Finance) 11:25 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.

Papa Owusu-Ankomah 11:25 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.

Papa Owusu-Ankomah 11:25 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.

- 11:25 a.m.

Mr Bagbin 11:25 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.

Papa Owusu-Ankomah 11:25 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.

Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh 11:25 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.

Dr Prempeh 11:25 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.

Dr Prempeh 11:25 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:25 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.

Mr Bagbin 11:25 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:25 a.m.

An Hon Member 11:25 a.m.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:25 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.

PAPERS 11:25 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.

Prof. George Y. Gyan-Baffour 11:35 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.

Mr Bagbin 11:35 a.m.

Dr Anthony A.Osei 11:35 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.

Mr Bagbin 11:35 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.

Mrs Mariet ta Brew Appiah- Opong 11:35 a.m.

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Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.

PAPERS 11:35 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.

Mr Bagbin 11:35 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:45 a.m.

Dr A. A. Osei 11:45 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:45 a.m.

Mr Bagbin 11:45 a.m.

Mr Bagbin 11:45 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:45 a.m.

MOTIONS 11:45 a.m.

Chairman of the Appointments Committee (Mr Ebo Barton-Odro) 11:45 a.m.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:45 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:45 a.m.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:45 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:45 a.m.

Chairman of the Committee (Mr Ebo Barton-Odro) 11:45 a.m.

PRAYERS

VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT

Mr Speaker

Mr Speaker

Mr KyeiMensahBonsu

Mr Speaker

Mr Speaker

Mr O. B. Amoah

Mr Speaker

Mr O. B. Amoah

Mr Speaker

Mr O. B. Amoah

Mr Speaker

Mr Alban S. K. Bagbin

Mr Speaker

Mr Bagbin

Mr Speaker, with your permission, I beg to read

Mr Speaker

Mr KyeiMensahBonsu

Mr Speaker

Mr KyeiMensahBonsu

Mr Speaker

Minister for Finance)

Mr Speaker

Papa Owusu-Ankomah

Mr Speaker

Papa Owusu-Ankomah

Mr Speaker

-

Mr Bagbin

Mr Speaker

Papa Owusu-Ankomah

Mr Speaker

Mr Speaker

Mr Speaker

Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh

Mr Speaker

Dr Prempeh

Mr Speaker

Dr Prempeh

Mr Speaker

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr Speaker

Mr Bagbin

Mr Speaker

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

An Hon Member

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr Speaker

PAPERS

Mr Speaker

Prof. George Y. Gyan-Baffour

Mr Speaker

Mr Bagbin

Dr Anthony A.Osei

Mr Speaker

Mr Bagbin

Mr Speaker

Mrs Mariet ta Brew Appiah- Opong

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Mr Speaker

Mr Speaker

PAPERS

Mr Speaker

Mr Bagbin

Mr Speaker

Mr Speaker

Dr A. A. Osei

Mr Speaker

Mr Bagbin

Mr Bagbin

Mr Speaker

MOTIONS

Chairman of the Appointments Committee (Mr Ebo Barton-Odro)

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr Speaker

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr Speaker

Chairman of the Committee (Mr Ebo Barton-Odro)

Chairman of the Committee (Mr Ebo Barton-Odro)