Debates of 17 Jul 2015

MR SPEAKER
PRAYERS 10:30 a.m.
ANNOUNCEMENTS 10:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Hon Majority Leader,
any application? Or we should do it after Correction of the Votes and Proceedings?
Mr Alban S. K. Bagbin 10:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, in accordance with Standing Order 53 (2), I would want to pray that, we vary the order of Business as stated on the Order Paper of Friday, 17th July, 2015, by taking item number 3 now.
Mr Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Hon Members, item number 3?
I have to meet the Hon Majority and Minority Leaders after the Business State ment is presented, that is why we decid- ed to vary the order of Business.
Hon Members, Business Statement for the 11th Week?
Chairman of the Business Committee?
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE 10:30 a.m.
Mr Bright Edward Kodzo Demordzi (Bortianor-Ngleshie Amanfro) 10:30 a.m.
To ask the Minister for the Interior what plans the Ministry has to curb the rampant armed robbery in Ngleshie Amanfro and
its environs.
Statements
Presentation of Papers --
Report of the Finance Commit- tee on the Financing Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and the Interna- tional Develop-ment Association (IDA) for an amount equivalent to thirty-two million, seven hundred thousand Special Drawing Rights (SDR32,700,000 [equivalent to US$45 million]) to support the Public Financial Management Re- form Project.
Motions --
(a) Adoption of the Mid-Year Re- view of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana for the 2015 Financial Year.
(b) Second Reading of Bills Min- erals Development Fund Bill,
2014.
Immigration Service Bill, 2015.
(c) Adoption of the Report of the Finance Committee on the Fi- nancing Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and the International Development Association (IDA) for an amount of one hundred and six million, seven hundred thousand Special Drawing Rights (SDR106,700,000) (equivalent to US$150 million) to support the Macroeconomic Stability for Competitiveness and Growth Development Policy Financing.
Consequential Resolution
(d) Adoption of the Report of the Finance Committee on the In- demnity Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and the International Development Association (IDA) for a Policy-Based Guarantee
of four hundred million United States Dollars (US$400 million) in respect of the First Macroeconomic Stability for Competitiveness and Growth Development Policy Financing.
Consequential Resolution
(e) Adoption of the Report of the Finance Committee on the Loan Agreement between the Govern- ment of the Republic of Ghana and the African Develop-ment Fund for an amount equivalent to forty million Units of Accounts (UA40,000,000 [equivalent to US$56.80 million] to support the Public Financial Management and Private Sector Competitiveness Support Programme -- Phase I
(PFMPSCSP).
Consequential Resolution
(f) Adoption of the Report of the Finance Committee on the Loan Agreement between the Govern- ment of the Republic of Ghana and Kreditanstalt fur Wiede- raufbau (KfW), Frankfurt am Main for an amount of seventeen million, three hundred and ten thousand euros (€17,310,000) to co-finance the Multi-Donor Budget Support (MDBS) Pro- gramme.
Consequential Resolution
Consideration Stage of Bills --
Millennium Development Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2014
Income Tax Bill, 2015. (Continua- tion of debate)
Committee sittings.

Urgent Question --
Mr Solomon Namliit Boar (Bunk- pu-rugu) 10:30 a.m.
To ask the Minis ter f o r Education whether feeding grants have been released to any of the public Senior High Schools in the Upper West, Upper East and Northern Regions of the country from September 2014 to date.
Statements
Presentation of Papers --
(a) Report of the Joint Committee on Defence and Interior and Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).
(b) Report of the Committee on Mines and Energy on the Emer- gency Power Purchase Agree- ment between the Govern-ment of the Republic of Ghana and GPGC Limited for the Provision on a Fast-Track Basis, up to 107MW (ISO) Installed Capacity of Power Delivery Services.
(c) Report of the Joint Committee on Mines and Energy and Finance on the Commercial Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and Weldy/ Lamont Associates Inc. of Il- linois, USA for the Extension of Credit Facility Availability and Letter of Credit (LC) under the Credit Facility Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and US EXIM Bank for the Financing of the Self Help Electrification Programme (SHEP IV) Turnkey Rural Electrification.
(d) Report of the Finance Commit- tee on the Request for Ratifica- tion of Tax Exemption Provisions in the Framework Agreement and Framework Arrangement be- tween the Government of the Republic of Ghana and the Government of the Republic of
Mr Solomon Namliit Boar (Bunk- pu-rugu) 10:30 a.m.


Korea concerning loans from the Economic Development Co-op- eration Fund for the years 2014 through 2016.

Motions --

(a) Third Reading of Bills

Millennium Development Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2014.

(b) That this Honourable House adopts the Mid-Year Review of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Gov- ern- ment of Ghana for the 2015 Financial Year.

(Moved on Tuesday, 21st July 2015 by the Hon Minister for Finance, Mr Seth Emmanuel Terkper).

(c) Adoption of the Report of the Finance Committee on the Fi- nancing Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and the Internation- al Development Association (IDA) for an amount equivalent to sixteen million, two hundred thousand Special Drawing Rights (SDR16,200,000 [equivalent to US$25 million]) as additional fi- nancing for the Transport Sector Project.

Consequential Resolution (d) Adoption of the Report of the

Finance Committee on the Con- vention between the Republic of Ghana and Barbados for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and on capital gains.

Consequential Resolution

(e) Adoption of the Report of the Fi- nance Committee on the Recon- ciliation Report on the Petroleum Holding Fund for the year 2013.

Consideration Stage of Bills --

Income Tax Bill, 2015. (Continuation of debate)

Committee sittings -- Committee of the Whole to be briefed by the National Development Planning Commission

Urgent Question
Mr Kennedy Nyarko Osei (Akim Swedru) 10:30 a.m.
To ask the Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing whether Akim Swedru Constituency will benefit from the ongoing water expansion project at Akim Oda.
Statements
Presentation of Papers --
(a) Report of the Committee of Privileges on the alleged con- temptuous remarks made by Mr Abubakar Ahmed, a.k.a. Blakk Rasta.
(b) Report of the Committee of Privileges on the alleged con- temptuous remarks made by Prof. Alex Dodoo.
(c) Report of the Finance Committee on the Supplementary Estimate of Government for the 2015 Financial Year.
Motions --
(a) Adoption of the Report of the Finance Committee on the Fi- nancing Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and the Internation- al Development Association (IDA) for an amount equivalent to thirty-two million, seven hundred thousand Special Draw- ing Rights (SDR32,700,000 [equivalent to US$45 million]) to support the Public Financial Management Reform Project.
Consequential Resolution
(c) Adoption of the Report of the Committee of Privileges on the alleged contemptuous remarks made by Mr Abubakar Ahmed, a.k.a. Blakk Rasta.
(d) Adoption of the Report of the Committee of Privileges on the alleged contemptuous remarks made by Prof. Alex Dodoo.
Consideration Stage of Bills --
Intestate Succession Bill, 2013. (Continuation of debate)
Minerals Development Fund Bill,
2014.
Immigration Service Bill, 2015.
Committee sittings Friday, 24th July, 2015
Urgent Question
M r F r a n k A n n o h - D o m p re h (Nsawam-Adoagyiri): To ask the Minis- ter for Roads and Highways what concrete steps the Ministry is taking to erect a foot bridge as soon as practicable between Lantei and Teshie (in the Nsawam-Adoag- yiri Constituency) to avoid the recurrence
of vehicles knocking and killing school pupils.
Statements
Motions --
(a) Third Reading of Bills
Income Tax Bill, 2015.
(b) That this Honourable House approves the sum of GH¢0,000, 000,000.00 as Supplementary Estimate of Government for the 2015 Financial Year.
(Moved on Tuesday, 21st July 2014 by the Hon Minister for Finance, Mr Seth Emmanuel Terkper).
(c) Adoption of the Report of the Joint Committee on Defence and Interior and Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).
Consequential Resolution
(d) Adoption of the Report of the Committee on Mines and En- ergy on the Emergency Power Pur- hase Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and GPGC Limited for the Provision on a Fast Track ba- sis, up to 107MW (ISO) installed capacity of power delivery ser- vices.
Consequential Resolution
(e) Adoption of the Report of the Joint Committee on Mines and Energy and Finance on the Com- mercial Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and Weldy/Lamont Asso-
Mr Kennedy Nyarko Osei (Akim Swedru) 10:30 a.m.


ciates Inc. of Illinois, USA for the extension of credit facility avail- ability and Letter of Credit (LC) under the Credit Facility Agree- ment between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and US EXIM Bank for the financing of the Self Help Electrification Programme (SHEP IV) Turnkey Rural Electrification.

Consequential Resolution

(f) Adoption of the Report of the Fi- nance Committee on the Request for ratification of tax exemption provisions in the Framework Agreement and Framework Arrangement be- tween the Government of the Republic of Ghana and the Government of the Republic of Korea concern- ing loans from the Economic Development Co-operation Fund for the years 2014 through 2016.

Consequential Resolution

Committee sittings.

The House expected to adjourn sine Die
Mr Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Any comment?
Yes, Hon Member for Old Tafo?
Dr A. A. Osei 10:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, may I draw the Hon Chairman of the Business Committee's attention to page 4 of the Business Statement, whether what I am reading is correct. [Interruption.] -- On page 4, item number 4 (iii) (b), that this Honourable House approves the sum of “00000” as supplementary estimate.
Is that true? 00000 supplementary estimate? What are we approving? There is no supplementary estimate. Why do we
put the Motion to approve 000000?
Mr Speaker, I think it is abnormal.
Mr Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Yes, I think the normal practice is, we should let the mid-year review come. If implicit in the mid-year review is supplementary estimate, then it would be laid, and then we would put it on the Order Paper.
Dr A. A. Osei 10:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, supple- mentary is defined. It cannot be “00000”.
Mr Speaker, secondly, I think two weeks ago -- It is not showing here, and that is why I am asking. You indicated that, on the matter of Sinopec International Petroleum Services Limited, you have received some documentation that you would discuss with Leadership.
Mr Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Yes.
Dr A. A. Osei 10:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, we are rising, and it is not being dealt with. The project is completed and we have not seen the contract. What is causing the trouble is that, they have laid the Paper here for a tax waiver of a contract, which we have not approved, and so there is a problem.
Mr Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Yes, Hon Member, that is a different matter. I agree with you that when they have laid the Paper for a tax waiver, all necessary information must be given to the Committee, for them to be in a good position to make recommendations to the House.
That is separate from the issue whether the Sinopec Agreement is to be laid for the purpose of giving information or for approval. This is because, when I saw the documents, I had some challenges. It is on that basis that I said I would discuss it with Leadership to arrive at certain consensus. We have not been able to do that, but if you would need it for purposes of the tax exemption, why not. They have to make
it available to you, and so that should not be a problem at all.
Dr A. A. Osei 10:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the dif- ficulty is that, I cannot be approving the tax waiver for a contract that I have never seen. It is a big difficulty.
Mr Speaker 10:30 a.m.
I am saying that, if you need any document, the document is with me. I made a point, and I have announced to the House about a week or two ago that it is with me. And I said I would want to have discussion with the Leaders on it, and I made the point that, the jurisdiction is conferred by law.
On the face of the document, does that call for Parliament to do anything? If you look at the Sinopec Agreement, there is nowhere that they mentioned the Gov- ernment of Ghana (GoG) as a party to the Agreement. So, I would want to have discussion with the Hon Leaders. If after due consultation, I take their opinion and I am clear in my mind, then I would know what to do with it.
Dr A. A. Osei 10:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, there is no problem.
Mr Speaker 10:30 a.m.
But if you say you would need a copy for the purposes of your tax exemptions, I would make it available to you. That is totally different from purposes of the House approving it.
They are two separate things, and that distinction must be clearly drawn.
Dr A. A. Osei 10:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am making the distinction. All I said was that, in my view, on the Committee, I am asked to give a tax waiver of a contract I have never seen. That is the difficulty.
Mr Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Hon Member for Old Tafo, what is the difference between what
you are saying and what I said?
Dr A. A. Osei 10:40 a.m.
I would wait until you have done the consultation, because it is not on the Business Statement, that is why I enquired. Since you are going to consult them, we would wait until after your consultation.
Mr Frederick Opare-Ansah 10:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, if you have followed public discourse since yesterday, there seems to be a lot of confusion over who and what is in charge of fuel pricing in the country at the moment. I thought next week being our last week, it would be useful if we could have the National Petroleum Au- thority (NPA) meet the Committee of the Whole, to brief the House on how prices are being determined. There is a lot of confusion all over the market today so, if we could consider including a Committee of the Whole next week, to have the NPA come and brief us.
Mr Speaker 10:40 a.m.
That is a matter for the Business Committee. Hon Chairman of the Business Committee?
Dr A. A. Osei 10:40 a.m.
If I may add the ur- gency, we know before the Subsidiary Legislation --
Mr Speaker 10:40 a.m.
Why? Have you caught my eye?
Dr A. A. Osei 10:40 a.m.
Sorry, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker 10:40 a.m.
Hon Member for Old Tafo?
Dr A. A. Osei 10:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, it is ur- gent because, before your Committee on Subsidiary Legislation, there is a proposal to amend the law. As it is, if what we are hearing in the public domain is true, it is a violation of the law. That is where the confusion is, that they have changed it it but the law has not been amended. So, I
Dr A. A. Osei 10:40 a.m.


think it is important that the NPA -- I have the Legislative Instrument (L. I.) but Hon O. B. Amoah's Committee has a proposal that we have not considered. It is being talked about as if they have changed the law and the Bulk Oil Distribution Compa- nies (BODC) are saying that --
Mr Speaker 10:40 a.m.
Hon Member for Old Tafo, you are asking whether they could find space next week to bring the NPA? That is why I called the Hon Chairman of the Business Committee to find out wheth- er he could find space. When he comes, all these matters would be discussed at the Committee of the Whole, if they are able to find space to bring them.
Hon Member for Nsawam-Adoagyiri, the last comment on the Business State- ment.
Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh 10:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I crave your indulgence to bring this matter --
Mr Speaker 10:40 a.m.
Hon Member, we are talking about the Business Statement.
Mr Annoh-Dompreh 10:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, it is related to it.
Mr Speaker 10:40 a.m.
So, what page?
Mr Annoh-Dompreh 10:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, there is a national matter --
Mr Speaker 10:40 a.m.
What page of the Busi- ness Statement? Hon Member, if on sever- al occasions we are discussing something and you try to hijack the Business to do something else -- We are discussing the Business Statement so, take a cue from your seniors.
Mr Annoh-Dompreh 10:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I take a cue, I am grateful.
Mr Speaker 10:40 a.m.
Hon Member for Tema East, last comment.
Mr Daniel N. K. Titus-Glover 10:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, respectfully I --
Mr Speaker 10:40 a.m.
Business Statement?
Mr Titus-Glover 10:40 a.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker. The way you handled my Hon Colleague made me scared.
Mr Speaker 10:40 a.m.
Hon Member for Tema East, you have the floor.
Mr Titus-Glover 10:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would want to raise an issue on this Business Statement, with regard to a national con- cern on the maintenance of Adomi Bridge. If possible, could the Business Commit- tee schedule the Minister for Roads and Highways?
This is because when you travel along that stretch to the Volta Region, and the inconveniences that travellers are going through --
Even though we know that there is a scheduled programme, I would want to respectfully suggest that, the Minister for Roads and Highways should be able to brief us before we adjourn sine die. That is why I want to bring your attention to it. If it could be programmed into the Business Statement for the Minister for Roads and Highways to come --
Mr Speaker 10:40 a.m.
Hon Members, let me tell you the normal practice of this House. The Business Committee is composed of the very senior members of this House, to determine the Business of this House. If you feel strongly that certain issues should be discussed by the House, the first point of call is to -- the Hon Chairman of the Business Committee is the Hon Majority Leader.
Then we have the Majority Chief Whip, the Deputy Majority Leader and all from the Majority side on the Committee. When you come to the Minority side, the Minority Leader is the Ranking Member. We have the Minority Chief Whip and other leaders on that Committee.
The first point of call, if you feel strong-
ly that a certain matter should be brought up, is to process your grievances through them. If you look at the Standing Orders and the practice, we put those leaders of the House on the Business Committee to plan. So, it is a committee of very senior Hon Members of this House. I would suggest that in future, you would try as much as possible to do so.
The issue raised by the Hon Member for Suhum is something that cropped up suddenly. The Adomi Bridge is not some- thing that cropped up suddenly. The issue of who fixes and determines fuel prices is something that cropped up suddenly and so, it is legitimate for the Hon Member for Suhum to raise it on the floor of the House. The Adomi Bridge is not one and cannot be one.
Mr Bagbin 10:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I agree with the Hon Member for Old Tafo. We did not put in any amount because we do not know how much. But we are making room for that Motion to be moved and therefore, the Ministry would finally come out with that. So, on the Order Paper, the exact amount would be put there. We are hearing some figures, but it is not confirmed to us and that is why we just put that figure there.
On the issue of the NPA, the Committee would look at it and see. Next week is quite tight, but it is also an urgent matter of national importance and so we would try and see whether we could squeeze in space for them to come and brief Hon Members.
Dr A. A. Osei 10:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, yesterday, a decision was taken by which time the Business Committee had already met. This relates to the matter of the Avian Influenza. So, I am asking, because it is a matter of urgency; could we find room for the Fi- nance Committee to bring a recom- men- dation on the budget for dealing with the Avian Influenza? This is because when we rise -- The decision was taken yesterday. If we do not do anything and we --
Mr Speaker 10:40 a.m.
Has the referral not been done by the person presiding?
Dr A. A. Osei 10:40 a.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker, but because it has not been programmed, I am bringing your attention to it. You could not have programmed it, because the decision was taken yesterday evening. So, I am just drawing your attention that it is a matter of urgency, that the Committee be advised to bring the recommendation before we rise, so that the decision could be taken.
Mr Bagbin 10:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am aware that the discussions and position of Par- lia- ment is that, we have a contingency fund which could be used for these kinds of emergencies. We are looking at the Min- istry, bringing forward a provision for us to look at in this House and so when that happens, we would make room for them.
Dr A. A. Osei 10:40 a.m.
It happened yesterday. We debated the Report brought by the Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs and the House agreed that it should be referred to the Finance Com- mittee. Because it is not programmed for the Finance Committee to bring it back, and we are going to rise on Friday, I am just bringing your attention to that.
Mr Bagbin 10:40 a.m.
It would come as the normal Paper or Report and we have made provisions for that one.
Mr Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Hon Members, that brings us to the end of the consideration of the Business Statement for the eleventh week ending Friday, 24th July, 2015.
Business Statement for the eleventh week accordingly adopted.
Mr First Deputy Speaker to take the Chair.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 10:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Hon Members, let us go back to Votes and Proceedings. Correction of Votes and Proceedings for Thursday, 16th July, 2015.
Page 1 — 29......
Mr Alexander K. Afenyo-Markin 10:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, on page 24, I was in attend- ance for the Joint Committee on Defence and Interior and Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs meeting. I was part of the meeting, but my name is conspicu- ously missing.
Mr Speaker 10:50 a.m.
As a Member or in at- tendance?
Mr Afenyo-Markin 10:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I
withdraw my application.
Mr Speaker, with respect, may I under- stand exactly the import of your question? I did not get you.
Mr Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Are you an Hon Member of the Committee or you attended as an Hon Member of Parliament?
Mr Afenyo-Markin 10:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am a Member of the Committee on Defence and Interior.
Mr Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Very well. And your name is not there?
Mr Afenyo-Markin 10:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, rightly so. It is not.
Mr Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Very well, Table Office to take note.
Hon Members, the Votes and Pro- ceedings of Thursday, 16th July, 2015 as corrected, be adopted as the true record of proceedings.
We have one Official Report for Tues- day, 14th July, 2015.
10:54 a.m.—
MR FIRST DEPUTY SPEAKER
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Hon Mem- bers, any corrections? [Pause.]
In the absence of any corrections, the
Official Report for Tuesday, 14th July, 2015 is hereby adopted as the true record of proceedings for that day.
Mr Bagbin 10:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I think we can move to item number 4; Questions.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Is the Hon Minister available.
Mr Bagbin 10:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister for Roads and Highways is still on official duty outside the country, but the Hon Deputy Minister is available to answer the Questions for and on behalf of the Minister for Roads and Highways.
Mr Speaker, with your kind permission and the indulgence of my Hon Colleagues, the Hon Deputy Minister could do that on behalf of the Minister.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Yes, any objection from the front Bench of the Minority?
Dr A. A. Osei 10:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, no ob- jection.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Very well.
In that case, the Hon Deputy Minister would answer the Questions. We will start with Question 306 which stands in the name of the Hon Member for Effiduase/ Asokore.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUES- 10:50 a.m.
TIONS 10:50 a.m.
MINISTRY OF ROADS AND 10:50 a.m.
HIGHWAYS 10:50 a.m.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Hon Mem- ber, any follow-up question?
Mr Agyen 10:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, rightly so.
Mr Speaker, I am comfortable with the Answer, except to say that , notwith- standing the fact that this Question has apparently been brought to the notice of the Ministry for quite some time now, it has taken too long to do something about the culvert.
The concern is that, that culvert, if not repaired shuts 75 per cent of the District
from the capital. I would want to ask the Hon Deputy Minister why it has taken so long to take action on the culvert, since the Question was asked long before the rains begun?
Mr I. A. Mensah 10:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, this culvert is a prioritised one and that is why we have accordingly instructed the regional engineer to take appropriate ac- tion. My understanding and information is that, by the end of the month, the culvert would have been desilted so that we would appreciate and know the strength of that bridge, and that would determine going forward, what action should be taken, whether to give it a double culvert or a single box culvert.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Any more follow-ups, Hon Member?
Mr Agyen 10:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, that is all right for that Question.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11 a.m.
Very well.
Hon Members, the second Question also stands in the name of the Hon Mem- ber for Effiduase/Asokore.
Hon Member you have the Floor.
Improvement of Roads in the Effid- uase Asokore Constituency
Q.307. Mr Frank Boakye Agyen
asked the Minister for Roads and High- ways when the Ministry would ensure that roads in the Effiduase Asokore Constitu- ency are improved, particularly
i) Effiduase - Buoya,
ii) Effiduase - Asaman,
iii)Asokore - Ahensan,
iv) Senchi - Okaikrom,
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11 a.m.


v) Senchi - Nkwankwaanuea,

vi) Bimma - Akokoaso,

vii) Senchi - Putuom and

viii) Okaikrom - Atakrom.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11 a.m.
Yes, Hon Deputy Minister?
Mr I. A. Mensah 11 a.m.
Mr Speaker,
Background
The roads are located in the Sekyere East District of the Ashanti Region.
Current Programme
All the roads, with the exception of the Senchi-Nkwankwaanea road, have been earmarked for routine maintenance as part of the 2015 programme. This forms part of works advertised on June 17, 2015. Evaluation of tenders is in progress and works will commence immediately after the rains.
The Senchi-Nkwankwaanea road was awarded for upgrading as part of the Ef- fiduase-Senchi-Juansa road project. The work was awarded in two lots. Works on the two lots are on-going and scheduled for completion in 2016.
Thank you.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11 a.m.
Yes, Hon Member, any follow up question?
Mr Agyen 11 a.m.
Mr Speaker, indeed, I have seen that work was in progress on the Sen- chi - Nkwankwaanea road but for some time now, there has been no activity. May I ask whether that road would be given bituminised surface, since a linkage to Effiduase would help ease the pressure on the Konongo - Kumasi road, to save that road from further deterioration?
So would the Nkwankwaanease- Sen- chi-Effiduase road be bituminised?
Mr I. A. Mensah 11 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the roads are on contract and when they are completed, we would determine if a further bitumening should ensue.
Mr Agyen 11 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am not satisfied with the answer though. I think I would make a follow up to his office later. But let me caution that armed robbers have taken undue advantage of the bad nature of the roads in the District and are therefore attacking people who use the road.
I would pray your Ministry to expedite action on these roads before something more serious happens to commuters. Would the Hon Minister give an assurance to that effect?
Mr I. A. Mensah 11 a.m.
Mr Speaker, these roads are very critical and they are indeed prioritised. So, as advertised in the news- papers of June 17, 2015 and immediately after the rains, we hope that the upgrading would commence and that means they are taken seriously. So, I am not in the position to give any further commitment other than to commit that these roads have been scheduled for maintenance by the end of the raining season.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11 a.m.
Hon Members, we move on to the next Ques- tion which stands in the name of the Hon Member for Tema East, Mr Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus-Glover.
Construction of some roads in the Tema Industrial Area
(TOR -- DVLA -- Tema Steel Works -- T.T. Brothers traffic light
and TOR traffic light -- STC -- Tim- ber Market)
Q. 308. Mr Daniel Nii Kwartei Ti- tus-Glover asked the Minister for Roads
and Highways what effort the Ministry is making to construct the following roads in Tema Industrial Area: (i) From Tema Oil Refinery through D.V.L.A, Tema Steel Works to T.T. Brothers traffic light on the Tema - Ada road, (ii) Tema Oil Refinery traffic light through STC to Timber Market.
Mr I. A. Mensah 11 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would take the first one.
(i) Tema Oil Refinery through DVLA, Tema Steel Works to T.T. Brothers traf- fic light on the Tema-Ada Road
Background
The Tema Steel Works Road is a 4.4km distributor/collector road that connects the Aflao dual carriage way to the Valco road in Tema. The road serves a cluster of industries, including the Steel Works, Flour Mills and other industries within the vicinity. The road is currently in poor condition.
Current Programme
A pilot project was awarded to use con- solid system to rehabilitate 4km stretch of the road. The contract was awarded in June 2011, and was scheduled for completion in eight calendar months.
The first 1.75 kilometres of the road base was completed using the consolid system chemicals which transforms ordi- nary material into strong pavement using stabilising agents.
This part of the road was chosen, due to the traffic composition and volume to compare its effect on pavement. The pavement is now under investigation as to its suitability for use on roads in Ghana.
The Department of Urban Roads has been carrying out routine maintenance work on the stretch, to ensure that the road is in motorable condition as the study progresses. The Ghana Highway Authority
laboratory has been detailed to conduct series of studies on the project.
Future Programme
The Tema Steel Works road will be rehabilitated to an asphaltic surface, as part of the upgrading of the industrial area enclave. The works are programmed to start before the close of the year.
(ii) Tema Oil Refinery traffic light through STC to Timber Market
Background
The Tema Oil Refinery traffic light through STC to timber market forms part of the main Tema Steel Works road de- scribed earlier. It is 1.1km surface dressed road, which is currently in poor condition.
Current Programme
The Department of Urban Roads carries out regular maintenance on this section of the Tema Steel Works road from its annual routine maintenance budget.
Future Programme
The Tema Steel Works road will be rehabilitated to an asphaltic surface as part of the upgrading of the industrial area en- clave to be started by the close of the year.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11 a.m.
Hon Mem- ber, any follow up questions?
Mr Titus-Glover 11 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am happy the Hon Deputy Minister for Roads and Highways, has admitted that the road is currently in a very poor condition. But when you read line 4 under Current Pro- gramme, he is talking about consolid sys- tem chemicals which transforms ordinary materials into strong pavements and this is under investigation for four years. At the time when this contract was awarded, was in June 2011, and we are in July.
Today is July 17, it is about four years and a little over one week. Can you brief the House on these four years of investi-
Mr Titus-Glover 11 a.m.


gation, to really know the volume of traffic on the road? Should it really take that long? Because it is about 4.4 kilometres and they have done about 1.75 kilometres. Can you brief the House the extent of this investigation for four years?

Thank you.
Mr I. A. Mensah 11:10 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the road in question was scheduled for a pilot project which was to allow the results to be used in other areas, that is because of the volume of traffic and others. And because this system has not performed to expec- tation, that is the reason we continue to carry on with the maintenance programme, to ensure that the road is motorable. And hopefully, we have scheduled this road or packaged it under the asphalt programme that would commence by the end of the year.
Mr Speaker, yes; it is unfortunate that this road has not been done for four years, but the commitment is there. It was for good intention, and I assure my Hon Colleague that, the asphaltic overlay programme would take care of the roads as appropriate.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Yes, Hon Member, your second follow up.
Mr Titus-Glover 11:10 a.m.
Mr Speaker, in- asmuch as we are waiting for the roads to be asphalted, the issue about regular maintenance that has been captured here, is not so when you go to the ground.
I use that road regularly, especially when I want to avoid the traffic on the Motorway through Kpone. With all due respect, could he assure this House that there would be regular maintenance of the road so that, people driving through that stretch can be comfortable, because I
have never seen any maintenance works going on on that road?
Mr I. A. Mensah 11:10 a.m.
Mr Speaker, indeed, there is a commitment that, before the asphaltic overlay programme starts, that road would be maintained to the level of motorability. The comfort of it is that, the commitment is there and so, my Hon Col- league is accordingly being made aware that, that road would surely be covered under the scheme to put it at the level of reasonable motorability, in this wise, asphalt overlay.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Yes, Hon Member, your last follow up, if any. Very well.
Hon Members, we move on to the next Question, which stands in the name of the Hon Member for Hemang Lower Denkyira.
Completion of Ampemkro-Asen- suho
Shed Road
Q. 310. Mr Foster Joseph Andoh asked the Minister for Roads and High- ways when the Ampenkro-Asensuho Shed road would be completed.
Background
Mr I. A. Mensah 11:10 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Ampenkro-Asensuho Shed feeder road is an un-engineered road which is 6.50km long and is located in the Hemang Lower Denkyira District of the Central Region.
Current Programme
The road was awarded for Spot Im- provement in 2012. The contractor has been asked to resume work following an initial break at the site.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Yes, Hon Member, any follow up question?
Mr Andoh 11:10 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I do not actu- ally have a follow up question because I saw the contractor last three days and he confirmed what the Hon Deputy Minister for Roads and Highways has said. I would just want to add that, since the contractor has been asked to move to site, they should speed up the supervision work so that the work would be done on time. That is all I would want to say.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Very well, point well taken. I do not think it is a question.
So, Hon Members, we move on to the next Question which stands in the name of the Hon Member for South Tongu.
Construction of Bridges to link Towns in South Tongu Constituency
Q. 311. Mr Kobena Mensah Woyome asked the Minister for Roads and High- ways when bridges would be constructed on the roads linking the following towns
(i) Dzetorkor to Adawtorkor
(ii) Agbeve to Ada
(iii) Agave Afedome to Godzekpota.
Mr Speaker, I would want to be fair to say that, there has been some survey and assessment works already going on.
Background
Mr I. A. Mensah 11:10 a.m.
Hon Speaker, the above-mentioned bridges are located in the South Tongu District of the Volta Region.
The construction of the bridges has been programmed under the DFR Centunion Bridges Programme, to be funded by the Spanish Government. Works will com- mence as soon as the funds are approved.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Yes, any
follow up questions, Hon Member?
Mr Woyome 11:10 a.m.
No further questions.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Very well. Hon Members, we move on to the next Question which stands in the name of the Hon Member for Manso-Adubia.
Plans to Mark Highways in the Country
Q. 312. Mr Yaw Frimpong Addo asked the Minister for Roads and High- ways what plans the Ministry had to mark all Highways in the country, to ensure safety on our roads especially at night.
Mr I. A. Mensah 11:10 a.m.
Mr Speaker,
Background
Road line markings provide drivers with road way information and enables a safer drive on our roads at night. There are nearly 7,000km of paved trunk roads, but most of them have their markings de- graded below minimum brightness level, making it difficult for drivers to navigate the roads safely at night.
Current Programme
The Ghana Highway Authority has programmed to systematically mark all roads in the country. Currently, tender documents for the procuring of road line marking works on the following roads are in progress:
i) Accra-Cape Coast-Takoradi
ii) Tema-Sogakope
iii) Bunso-Kumasi-Sunyani
iv) Ho-Denu
v) Mamfe-Koforidua
vi) Kintampo-Buipe
vii) Tamale-Paga

Future Programme

The Ministry, through GHA is devel- oping a pavement marking replacement programme system that will ensure that the replacement of markings will be done timely, in a cost-effective manner.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Hon Mem- ber, any follow up question?
Mr Addo 11:10 a.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker.
I would also want to find out from the Hon Deputy Minister, if he could tell us the percentage of roads which are marked in the country as of now. [Interruption.] No, Mr Speaker, he has mentioned that some of the roads are marked, but I would want to know the percentage of roads which are marked in the country -- if they have that records.
Mr I. A. Mensah 11:10 a.m.
Mr Speaker, cur- rently, the Ghana Highway Authority has 14,536 kilometre road network. Out of this, we have 8,139 kilometre paved road network. From this, 7,000 have been iden- tified to have challenges and that is why a systematic plan has been put in place, to ensure that they are provided with the pavements accordingly.
Some of the roads that are earmarked for current work was what I did mention. There are about seven of them. So, indeed, our road networks are in a situation where, some have to be provided with pavement to ensure safety, particularly in the night. That is exactly what the Ministry of Roads and Highways, through the Ghana High- way Authority is doing.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Yes Hon Member, any further follow up?
Mr Addo 11:10 a.m.
Mr Speaker, although I needed a simple answer, I would take it like that.
I would also want to find out from the Hon Deputy Minister, if there has ever
been any study establishing the relation- ship between absence of road markings and accidents on our roads, because this is done in other jurisdiction.
Mr I. A. Mensah 11:10 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I do not have the information here. I would cer- tainly have to go back to find out because, it never formed part of his initial Question.
Thank you.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11 a.m.
Hon Mem- ber, any further follow-up question would be your last; if any.
Are you through? All right.
Mr Annoh-Dompreh 11 a.m.
Thank you Mr Speaker for your indulgence.
Mr Speaker, I beg to quote part of the Hon Deputy Minister's Answer 11 a.m.
“There are nearly 7,000 kms of paved trunk roads, but most of them have their markings degraded below minimum brightness level, making it difficult for drivers to navigate the roads safely at night.”
Mr Speaker, he mentioned some road markings that are in progress. What are the criteria for the choice of these roads? I ask this because it is a nationwide problem?
Mr I. A. Mensah 11 a.m.
Mr Speaker, indeed, there is a systematic plan to ensure that all these paved roads have the markings. We take into consideration other factors in terms of when and how these roads were constructed.
So, if a road, for instance, was con- structed in four years, with appro- priate safety markings and so on, and others took place several years back, one would want to take into consideration all these.
That is why the systematic plan would come up with all these and we would
resort to areas that demand immediate attention. The hope is that, at the end of it all, we would have all our roads given the appropriate markings.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11 a.m.
Hon Members, this brings us to the end of Question time.
Hon Deputy Minster, thank you for attending upon this House. You are dis- charged.
Hon Deputy Majority Leader?
Mr Agbesi 11 a.m.
Mr Speaker, at the com- mencement of Public Business - there are some Papers to be laid as captured in item number 6 on the Order Paper. Mr Speaker, if we could lay those Papers.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11 a.m.
Very well, item 6 (i) by the Hon Chairman of the Committee.
PAPERS 11 a.m.
Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah 11 a.m.
Mr Speak- er, I saw the Hon Ranking Member bow when you called for the Hon Chairman of the Committee.
I can see the Hon Vice Chairman of the Committee in the House. So, why did the Hon Ranking Member usurp the powers of
the Hon Vice Chairman of the Committee?
Mr Agbesi 11 a.m.
Mr Speaker, at the time you called the item to be moved, I had a discussion with the Hon Ranking Member that in the absence of the Hon Chairman, he should lay the Paper.
At the time that the Paper was laid, I did not see the Hon Vice Chairman behind me; I did not see him. That is why I agreed with the Hon Ranking Member that he should lay it.
But now that the Hon Vice Chairman is in the House, he would lay the next Papers.
Dr A. A. Osei 11 a.m.
Mr Speaker, with your kind permission, I would want to refer the House to Standing Order 74:
“A Paper may be presented to the House only by Mr Speaker, the Chairman of a Committee, a Mem- ber or a Minister.”
I am an Hon Member of the Finance Committee.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11 a.m.
Hon Mem- ber, that settles it.
Item numbers 6 (ii) to 6 (vi) on the Order Paper.
B y the Vice Chairman of the Commit- tee (on behalf of the Chairman of the Committee) --
(ii) Report of the Finance Com- mittee on the Indemnity Agree- ment between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and the International Development Association (IDA) for a Poli- cy-Based Guarantee of four hun- dred million United States dollars (US$400 million) in respect of the First Macroeconomic Stability for Competitiveness and Growth Development Policy Financing.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11 a.m.


(iii) Report of the Finance Committee on the Loan Agree- ment between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and the African Development Fund for an amount equivalent to forty million Units of Accounts (UA40,000,000 [equivalent to US$56.80 million] to support the Public Financial Management and Private Sector Competitiveness Support Programme -- Phase I

(PFMPSCSP).

(iv) Report of the Finance Com- mittee on the Loan Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and Kreditan- stalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW), Frankfurt am Main for an amount of seventeen million, three hun- dred and ten thousand Euros (€17,310,000) to co-finance Multi-Donor Budget Support (MDBS) Programme.

(v) Report of the Finance Committee on the Financing Agreement between the Gov- ernment of the Republic of Ghana and the International Development Association (IDA) for an amount equivalent to six- teen million, two hundred thou- sand Special Drawing Rights (SDR16,200,000 [equivalent to US$25 million]) as Additional Financing for the Transport Sec- tor Project.

(vi) Report of the Finance Commit- tee on the Reconciliation Report on the Petroleum Holding Fund for the year 2013.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11 a.m.
Item 6 (vii) on the Order Paper.
Mr Avedzi 11 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the next Paper, which is item number 6 (vii), is not ready.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11 a.m.
Hon Dep- uty Majority Leader?
Mr Agbesi 11 a.m.
Mr Speaker, yesterday, the debate was concluded on item 7 on the Order Paper. We were left with Mr Speaker to put the Question. So, if we could take item number 7.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11 a.m.
Very well, if that is the case, then what is on the Or- der Paper is not a true reflection of what took place yesterday. But I am reliably informed the debate was concluded, and it was left for the Question to be put. Hon Members, I would put the Question --
rose
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11 a.m.
Yes Hon Member?
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 11 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I come under Standing Order 109, and with your permission, I read:
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11 a.m.
Could we have some Order, please?
Hon Member, let us hear you.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 11 a.m.
Mr Speaker, Order 109 provides that:
“No Question for decision in the House shall be proposed for deter- mination unless there are present in the House not less than one-half of all the Members of the House, and, except otherwise provided by the Constitution, the Question proposed shall be determined in the majority of the votes of the Members present and voting.”
Mr Speaker, I do not think that we have more than one-half of the Hon Members of the House here, and this is a decision being taken by the House.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11 a.m.
Hon Mem- ber, first of all, it is being stated that you are not properly dressed. I think that, you would have to respect the rules of this House. So, if you are not properly dressed -- [Uproar] --
Hon Members, upon advice, although he is naked, he has raised a point which we cannot gloss over. But my only advice is that, the Whips should try to whip Hon Members to fall in line. So, we would proceed.
MOTIONS 11 a.m.
  • [Resumption of debate from 16th July 2015.]
    • Mr Agbesi 11 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, we should take the Resolution as captured in item number 8 --
    Mr Nitiwul 11 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I have just been briefed by the Hon Ranking Member of the Finance Committee and I thought that -- [Interruption.]
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11 a.m.
    Can we have some quiet? Order! Order!
    Mr Nitiwul 11 a.m.
    I thought in the interest of the nation, we should have done a lot of work on this, but we are committing the nation to a lot on this particular matter, and the information that we are discussing, I thought that we should not have put the Question but you have already put the Question.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11 a.m.
    Order! Order!
    Hon Members, we move on.
    Yes, Hon Deputy Majority Leader?
    Mr Agbesi 11 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, the Reso- lu-tion captured in item number 8.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11 a.m.
    Very well.
    Item number 8.
    RESOLUTIONS 11 a.m.
    Minister for Power (Dr Kwabena Donkor) 11 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move that,
    WHEREAS by the provisions of article 181 (5) of the Constitution, the terms and conditions of any international business or economic transaction, to which the Gov- ern-ment of Ghana is a party shall not come into operation, unless the said terms and conditions have been laid before Parliament and approved by Parliament by a Resolution sup- ported by the votes of a majority of all Members of Parliament;
    PURSUANT to the provisions of the said article 181 (5) of the Constitution, and at the request of the Government of Ghana, acting through the Minister responsible for Power, there has been laid before Parliament the terms and conditions of an Emergency Power Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and Aksa Enerji Üretim Aº (AKSA) for the provision on a Fast-Track Basis, up to 370 MW (ISO) Installed Capacity of Power Delivery Services.
    THIS HONOURABLE HOUSE 11 a.m.
    HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOL- 11 a.m.
    Mr Amadu B. Sorogho 11 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.
    Question put and Motion agreed to.
    Resolved accordingly.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11 a.m.
    Hon Mem- ber for Old Tafo?
    Dr A. A. Osei 11 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am aware that you have put the Question. This mat- ter we are discussing is a constitutional one, article 104 is what we are dealing with, so, I thought when you asked the Whips to whip people in, because we are not -- Please [Interruption.]
    Mr Speaker, we need a majority, they can whip them in. Article 104 is a con- stitutional issue and for us to be seen to be breaching the constitutional issue, I do not think it is the best. So, they can whip people in but let us not violate the Constitution. Article 104 (1) is very clear and it reads:
    “Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, matters in Par- liament shall be determined by the votes of the majority of members present and voting, with at least half of all the members of Parliament present.”
    We do not have half of the number of Hon Members here and article 104 (1) is
    Dr Benjamin B. Kunbuor 11 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, there is a decision point in these processes and we do not have on record that this House took a decision without the requisite numbers and that stage of the procedure has been passed. If he wants to raise the matter and go back to it in time, then there is a different procedure for dealing with it. We have gone through this before, one does not just sit down on a bird view without the Speaker ruling specifically that, that is the situation and decide that there is no quorum. Let us be very careful about that.
    So, we have actually crossed that de- cision point; [Interruption.] He has not asked for a review. When he challenged the numbers, the matter is put before the House, people made contributions, at that time nothing has happened yet and there is no established fact that there is no quorum. It is when the processes have been followed and the bell has been rung and the determination was made, then he can now come back and raise article 104.
    Otherwise, article 104 does not kick in now and there is no evidence to back it.
    Mr Nitiwul 11 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, there are even two matters pending here. The first matter is that, you agreed that the Hon Member for New Juaben South had raised a very pertinent matter and I thought that you would move forward with that par- ticular matter. But all you just said was that, we should look at the dressing. But the pertinent matter, which you agreed that the Hon Member has raised, you did not look at it and I thought that we would have looked at it from there.
    But even if the Speaker did not look at it and we went to the other side of the House, an Hon Member got up and challenged that we did not have the numbers.
    According to our Standing Orders, once someone challenges us, there is a
    procedure of going about it. So, I do not know which point he says we have crossed. That is what he said. All right.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11 a.m.
    Please, can we have some order!
    Dr Kunbuor 11 a.m.
    All that I indicated was that, you have not taken a decision here that, there is no quorum, you have not done that. So, the article 104 that he quoted [Interruption]-- So, all that I indicated was that, article 104 cannot arise after a decision has been taken, unless you actual- ly go to get the Speaker's ruling quashed.
    I said that, that point has been reached and we have gone beyond it, so if he has a challenge, the Standing Orders tells us how to challenge the Speaker's ruling.
    Dr A. A. Osei 11 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, there have been two decisions. The first one related to the adoption of the Report when he raised the issue. We have crossed that and that is why I got up to raise it. Mr Speaker, has not called the Question on the Resolution, I know that but the first fact is applicable -- No, he has not ruled, he asked for the count, that is why I called for the head count. [Interruptions.]
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11 a.m.
    Order! Order!
    Hon Members, I think the positon is very clear. A decision has been taken, therefore, if anybody is dissatisfied, he/she has the right to file a Motion for rescission. I think it settles it.
    Mr Agbesi 11 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, thank you for your wise ruling. Shall we, with your permission, go to item number 9?
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11 a.m.
    Hon Mem- bers, item numbered 9 on the Order Paper.
    Chairman of the Committee?
    Mr Avedzi 11 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that --
    Mr Nitiwul 11 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, they do
    not want us to work in this House, but we should be able to work together. Somebody asked for a head count and the Speaker made a ruling, but we did not hear what the Speaker said. So, we just want to find out about the ruling, so that we could all move on as a body but they are not telling us -- And then he says we should go to the next item. So, I just wanted the Speaker --
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11 a.m.
    What I said was this; that a decision has been taken, if anybody is dissatisfied with that decision, the procedure is that, one should file a Motion for rescission so, we move on.
    Mr Nitiwul 11 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, he is not going on that route, the route he is going on is that, once a decision has been taken and he has challenges with the numbers, he could ask for a head count immediate- ly. That is what he did. He is not looking to challenge your decision so he should file a Motion. He is not challenging your decision.
    He said that, he believes the numbers are not enough, but for that, he could ask for a head count. If he were challenging your ruling, then he would move a Motion but he is not.
    Dr Kunbuor 11 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I guess that, perhaps, it is the rest of the items that he talked about and not the decision that has been taken. This is because, there is no rule in the Standing Order that says where a decision has been taken, one can challenge and ask for a head count by way of a review by the Speaker of his own decision. We do not have that type of rule.
    As Mr Speaker rightly indicated, there is a procedure for dealing with those types
    of situations. But my advice has always been that
    that procedure, there is a reason people sparingly take advantage of it.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:40 a.m.
    Yes, Hon Chairman of the Committee? Item number 9.
    MOTIONS 11:40 a.m.
    Chairman of the Committee (Mr James K. Avedzi) 11:40 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that this Honourable House adopts the Report of the Finance Committee on the Convention between the Republic of Ghana and the Kingdom of Denmark, for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital Gains.
    Mr Speaker, in so doing, I present your Committee's Report.
    Introduction
    The Convention between the Republic of Ghana and the Kingdom of Denmark for the avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and Capital Gains, was presented to Parliament on behalf of the Minister for Finance, by the Hon Deputy Minister for Finance Mrs Mona K. Quartey on Wednesday, 3rd June, 2015.
    Mr Speaker referred the Convention to the Finance Committee for consideration and report, in accordance with article 75 (2) of the 1992 Constitution and Order 169 of the Standing Orders of the Parliament of Ghana.

    The Committee was assisted in its deliberations by the Hon Deputy Minister for Finance, Mr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson and officials from the Ministry of Finance and Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA). The Committee is grateful to the Hon Minister, Deputy Ministers and officials from the Ministry of Finance, Attorney- General's Department and the GRA for assistance.

    Reference

    The Committee referred to the following additional documents during its deliberations:

    The 1992 Constitution of Ghana; and

    The Standing Orders of the Parliament of Ghana.

    Background

    Ghana, as part of its diplomatic and international economic relations, has signed eight Double Taxation Conven- tions/Agreements (DTAs), which are in force. There are also a number of negotiations for DTAs which are at various stages.

    Double Taxation arises when the same taxpayer is taxed twice on the same income (called Juridical Double Taxation) or where more than one taxpayer is taxed on the same income (called Economic Double Taxation). DTAs are entered into in order to eliminate such situations where income from one of the treaty countries will be taxed twice.

    The threat of being taxed twice discourages investment, since an investor stands to be taxed both in the source country and in the resident country. This is because double taxation leads to an increase in the cost of investment. The negotiations with the Kingdom of

    Denmark have been concluded and signed and accordingly, the DTA need to be ratified by Parliament before it can come into effect.

    Purpose of the Bill

    The objectives of bilateral tax treaties therefore, include the protection of taxpayers against double taxation, with a view to improve the flow of international trade and investment and the transfer of technology. It also aims at preventing certain types of discrimination between foreign investors and local taxpayers and to provide a reasonable element of legal and fiscal certainty as a framework, within which international operations can confidently be carried on.

    Summary of the Convention

    The taxes which are the subject of the Convention are:

    a) In the case of Ghana:

    i) Income tax;

    ii) The capital gains tax;

    b) In case of the Denmark;

    i) Income tax to the State; and

    i i ) I n c o m e t a x t o t h e municipalities.

    Some of the major features of the Convention include the following:

    a) A building site, construction, installation or assembly project will constitute a permanent establishment for purposes of taxation after nine (9) months.

    b) Taxes are to be withheld in the country of source at rate below, on the following income types payable to non-residents:

    i) Dividends -- 5 per cent on the gross amount of dividends

    (if the non-resident is a company which holds

    directly at least 10 per cent of the capital

    of the company paying the dividends).

    15

    per cent on the gross amount dividends in

    all other cases.

    ii) Interest -- N o t exceeding 8 per cent of the gross amount (if the interest is derived by a bank which is a resident of the other Contracting State).

    Interest arising in a Contracting State and paid

    to the Government of the other Contracting

    State shall be exempted.

    iii) Royalty and management fees -- not more than 8 per cent of the gross amount

    Observations

    Application of the Convention

    The Committee noted that the Convention will apply to persons who are residents of one or both of the contracting States. Further, the Conven-tion shall also apply to an identical or substantially similar taxes, which are imposed by either contracting State after the date of signature of the Convention.

    It was further noted that, the rates regarding dividends, interest and royalties and management fees will apply only where the beneficiary of these payments is a resident of the other contracting State and in all other cases, the taxes will be
    Chairman of the Committee (Mr James K. Avedzi) 11:40 a.m.
    levied in accordance with the laws of the contracting State in which the income arises.
    Exchange of Information
    Exchange of Information provisions are now the recent tools States employ to mitigate tax risk and tax evasion across borders. The Committee therefore noted with delight that, article 29 of the Convention makes provision for contracting States to exchange information, as is necessary for carrying out taxation under the Convention or domestic laws. The provisions will facilitate international co-operation among the tax authorities, to improve their ability to tackle tax evasion and avoidance and ensure full implementation of their national tax laws, while respecting the fundamental rights of taxpayers. It provides for all possible forms of administrative co-operation between States in the assessment and collection of taxes.
    Justification for Government action
    The Hon Deputy Minister for Finance informed the Committee that, the Convention, like any other double taxation Agreements, are desirable and helpful and was certain that Ghana stands to benefit, if it ratifies the Agreement. The under-listed were mentioned by

    the Hon Deputy Minister as some of the reasons for which Ghana needs to ratify the Agreement:

    a) It will give investors a stable and predictable tax environment, thus encouraging investment in Ghana.

    b) It will prevent a situation where revenue is transferred from one treaty partner to another, for example, by the issuance of tax incentives.

    c) It will eliminate situations where income from one of the treaty countries will be taxed twice.

    d) It will facilitate cross-border trade and investment between Ghana and Denmark by eliminating tax impediments to these cross- border flows.

    e) It will increase Ghana's exchange of information network, which allows Ghana to exchange information with Denmark in order to mitigate tax evasion across borders and also for tax purposes.

    f) It will increase Ghana's tax treaty network thereby meeting one of the recommendations made by the Assessors during Ghana's Phase One Peer Review.

    Trade/Investment Relations with Denmark

    The Committee was informed that information from the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, indicates that as at March, 2014, Denmark direct investments in the country amounted to over US$57,620, 000.00 million. Further, there has been a number of trading activities in the form of exports and imports between the two countries.

    It was indicated further that, Ghana

    exports raw materials such as cocoa beans and other agricultural products, and also imports from Denmark farm machinery and chocolates. The following were given as the trade values between the two countries for 2012 to 2014 financial years:

    2012

    2013 2014

    GH¢

    GH¢ GH¢

    Imports from Denmark

    133,068,947.10 1 9 5 , 6 9 7 , 6 0 9 . 8 8

    144,955,959.39

    E x p o r t s t o D e n m a r k

    29,227,509.88 21,804,231.64

    24,615,991.89

    The Hon Deputy Minister was optimistic that the ratification of the DTA will further provide an incentive for additional investments and increased trading activities between the two countries.

    Development Assistance from Denmark

    The Committee was informed that the key areas of the Danish Development assistance to Ghana centred on sustainable human development, sustain-able

    economic growth, macroeconomics, institutional reforms and sustainable livelihood, as well as conflict prevention and the support to these key areas are carried through five sector programmes.

    The areas were given as water and sanitation, transport, private sector development, good governance and human rights. The following were cited as some of the specific Danish Govern-ment support to Ghana:

    Implementation of the Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda (2010-2014) -- an amount of US$53 million was provided as a general budget support;

    Health Sector Support Programme IV (2008-2012) -- An amount of $63 million was provided as health sector budget support for HIV/

    AIDS;

    Loca l se rv ice de l ivery and governance programmes (2009- 2013) - An amount of $89 million

    was provided to support water supply, sanitation rural feeder roads and the Audit Service;

    Good governance and Human Rights Programme II (2009-2013) - an amount of US$10 million was provided to support independent governance institutions, civil society and the media; and

    Private Sector Development II (2010-2014) - An amount of US$60 million was provided to improve the private sector, establish a Skilled Development Fund, support agriculture and provide funds for the rural areas.

    Conclusion and Recommendation

    The Committee thoroughly examined the Agreement and accordingly, recommends to the House to adopt its Report and ratify by Resolution, the Convention for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and on capital gains between

    the Government of the Republic of Ghana and the Kingdom of Denmark in accordance with article 75 (2) (a) of the 1992 Constitution of Republic of Ghana.
    Mr Alex Adomako-Mensah (NDC - Sekyere Afram Plains) 11:40 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion and by so doing, I would want to talk about the human capital - How the Kingdom of Denmark has helped this country with the human capital.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:40 a.m.
    Hon Member, are you up on a point of order?
    Mr Nitiwul 11:40 a.m.
    On a point of order. Mr Speaker, I would want to draw your attention to Standing Order 113.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:40 a.m.
    Standing Order?
    Mr Nitiwul 11:40 a.m.
    Standing Order 113, particularly, 113 (2).
    That is the reason the Hon Member has not seconded it. Order 113 (1) and Mr Speaker, with your permission, I beg to quote:
    “When the Question has been put by Mr Speaker at the conclusion of the debate, the votes shall be taken by voices “Aye” and “No”, provided that Mr Speaker may in his discretion instead of declaring the result on the voice votes call for a headcount.”
    (2) “A Member may call for headcount or division if the opinion of Mr Speaker on the voice vote is challenged.”
    That is the reason he is not - because he still thinks that we do not have the numbers to take the Resolution. And I thought that, we should have just done that, according to Standing Order 113 (2).
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:40 a.m.
    Yes, Hon Deputy Majority Leader?
    Mr Agbesi 11:40 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I think we have passed that stage. We are on another Business and so why would he cut in at this stage. I thought that we would have finished this matter and at the appropriate

    time he would raise his objection.

    Mr Speaker, I think we have passed that stage.
    Mr Nitiwul 11:40 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I made the appeal that we are in this House and we have two sides. He is supposed to second the Motion but he still has that feeling that, we do not have the numbers. And I thought that the best thing they would have done is to whip their Hon Members to be here, because that is Government Business. It is not Mr Speaker who should do that; it is their job to do that.
    If we have the numbers, then somebody has called for a headcount and that is why I have drawn your attention, that we do not re-visit it in this particular instance.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:40 a.m.
    But Hon Deputy Minority Leader, I do not think that we have reached that stage yet. The Motion has been moved and I have asked for somebody to second it.
    Is it not in order that the Hon Vice Chairman seconds it? After it has been seconded -- When it is subjected to debate and we get to that stage, then you can raise this point that you are raising.
    Mr Nitiwul 11:40 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, you want us to get to that stage before we raise it again?
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:40 a.m.
    Precisely.
    Mr Nitiwul 11:40 a.m.
    All right.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:40 a.m.
    Yes, Hon Vice Chairman of the Committee?
    Mr Adomako-Mensah 11:50 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.
    Question put and Motion agreed to.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:50 a.m.
    Hon Deputy Majority Leader?
    Mr Agbesi 11:50 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, we would move to the Resolution captured in item 10 of the Order Paper.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:50 a.m.
    Yes, it is by the Hon Minister for Finance.
    RESOLUTIONS 11:50 a.m.
    Minister for Finance (Mr Seth E. Terkper) 11:50 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move that
    WHEREAS by the provisions of article 75 of the Constitution any treaty, agreement, or convention ex- ecuted by or under the Authority of the President in the name of Ghana is made subject to ratification either by an Act of Parliament or by a Res- olution of Parliament sup- ported by the votes of more than one-half of all the Members of Parliament;
    IN ACCORDANCE with the said article 75 of the Constitution the President has caused to be laid be- fore Parliament through the Minister responsible for Finance the Conven- tion between the Republic of Ghana and the Kingdom of Denmark for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital Gains on 3rd June,
    2015.
    NOW THEREFORE, this Honour- able House hereby resolves to ratify the said Convention between the Republic of Ghana and the Kingdom of Denmark for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital Gains.
    Chairman of the Committee (Mr James K. Avedzi) 11:50 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:50 a.m.
    Hon Mem- bers, it is consequential, I would put the Question.
    Question put and Motion agreed to.
    Resolved accordingly.
    Dr A. A. Osei 11:50 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move for a headcount on the Question that you have just put. I am coming under Order 113 (2).
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:50 a.m.
    You are asking for a headcount in respect of what?
    Dr A. A. Osei 11:50 a.m.
    In respect of the Ques- tion that you just put.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:50 a.m.
    Hon Mem- ber, if you read the Order 113 carefully, what it says is as follows;
    “When the Question has been put by Mr Speaker at the conclusion of the debate, the votes shall be taken by voices “Aye” and “No”, provided that Mr Speaker may in his discretion instead of declaring the result on the voice votes call for a headcount.”
    It is in the Hon Speaker's discretion.
    Dr A. A. Osei 11:50 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am com- ing under Order 113(2).
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:50 a.m.
    Yes, Hon Deputy Majority Leader?
    Mr Agbesi 11:50 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, my Hon Colleague has raised the matter on Order
    113 (2).
    Dr A. A. Osei 11:50 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am
    Mr Agbesi 11:50 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, which Order? Which Order is he coming under?
    Dr A. A. Osei 11:50 a.m.
    It is order 113(2). Please, he should read. [Pause.]
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:50 a.m.
    All right, Hon Members, in the light of the issue raised, I would direct that the Leadership of the House confer. We would give our- selves ten minutes for the Leadership of the House to confer while we deal with other matters.
    Yes, Hon Deputy Majority Leader, guide us.
    Mr Agbesi 11:50 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, while we wait, we could go on with item number 11.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:50 a.m.
    Yes, Hon Member for Old Tafo?
    Dr A. A. Osei 11:50 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, if the Leadership gets up to confer, there would be lack of leaders, so if we could suspend Sitting for five minutes, for them to confer -- [Interruption] -- No, we would move on to the same problem when we go to item number 12. So, in my opinion, a better option is for them to confer so that we would see our way forward. [Pause.]
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:50 a.m.
    Very well.
    Hon Members, Sitting would be sus- pended for ten minutes for the Leadership to confer.
    11.56 a.m. -- Sitting suspended.
    12.35 p.m. - Sitting resumed
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:50 a.m.
    Yes, Hon Majority Leader?
    Mr Bagbin 11:50 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am told that the debate on item 9 was concluded but the Resolution was not taken. That is item number 10. Could we now take the Resolution on item number 10 and then move to the next item.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:50 a.m.
    Very well.
    Hon Members, item numbered 10, by the Hon Minister for Finance.
    RESOLUTIONS 11:50 a.m.
    Chairman of the Committee (Mr James K. Avedzi) 11:50 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I rise to second the Motion.
    Question put and Motion agreed to.
    Resolved accordingly.
    Mr Bagbin 11:50 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, may we take item number 11, on page 6 of the Order Paper.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:50 a.m.
    Very well. Item number 11, Motion by the Chairman of the Committee.
    MOTIONS 11:50 a.m.
    Mr James K. Avedzi 11:50 a.m.
    Mr Speaker,
    I beg to move, that notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order 80 (1) which require that, no Motion shall be debated until at least forty-eight hours have elapsed, between the date on which notice of the Motion is given, and the date on which the Motion is moved, the Motion for the adoption of the Report of the Finance Committee on the Loan Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW), Frankfurt am Main for an amount of twenty-three million euros (€23.0 million) and a grant amount of one million euros (€1.0 million) to finance the Out-Grower and Value Chain Fund II may be moved today.
    Dr A. A. Osei 11:50 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I rise to
    second the Motion.
    Question put and Motion agreed to.
    Resolved accordingly
    Mr Bagbin 11:50 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, we may now take the Motion, which is item 12.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:50 a.m.
    Very well; by the Chairman of the Committee.
    Loan Agreement between Government of Ghana and KfW,
    Frankfurt am Main
    Chairman of the Committee (Mr James K. Avedzi) 11:50 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that this Honourable House adopts the Report of the Finance Committee on the Loan Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW), Frankfurt am Main, for an amount of twenty-three million euros (€23.0 million) and a grant amount of one million euros (€1.0 million) to finance the Out-Grower and Value Chain Fund II.
    Mr Speaker, I present your Committee's Report.
    Introduction
    The request for approval of the loan Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KFW), Frankfurt am Main for an amount of twenty-three million euros (of €23.0 million) and a grant amount of one million euros (of €1.0 million) to finance the Out-Grower and Value Chain Fund II, was presented to the House on behalf of the Minister for Finance by the Hon Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson on Tuesday, 23rd June 2015, in accordance with article 181 of the 1992 Constitution.
    Mr Speaker referred the request to the Finance Committee for consideration and report, in accordance with Order 169 of the Standing Orders of the House.
    Dr A. A. Osei 11:50 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I rise to second the Motion.
    Mr Speaker, this Out-Grower and Value Chain Fund II, is a second phase of a programme that has been ongoing. The Hon Deputy Minister reminded us that because of the success of the first programme, there are already discussions for the third phase, even though we are now approving the second phase.
    So, it is obvious that it is a very important programme and quite success- ful. So, I urge all Hon Members to support the Motion.
    Thank you, Mr Speaker.
    Question put and Motion agreed to.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:50 a.m.
    Yes, Hon Majority Leader?
    Mr Bagbin 12:45 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, we may now
    RESOLUTIONS 12:45 p.m.
    Minister for Finance (Mr Seth Terkper) 12:45 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that
    WHEREAS by the provisions of article 181 of the Constitution and sections 3 and 7 of the Loans Act, 1970 (Act 335), the terms and conditions of any loan raised by the Government of the Republic of Ghana, on behalf of itself or any public institution or authority, shall not come into operation unless the said terms and conditions have been laid before Parliament and approved by a Resolution of Parliament;
    PURSUANT to the provisions of the said article 181 of the Constitu-tion and sections 3 and 7 of the Loans Act, 1970 (Act 335), at the request of the Government of the Republic Ghana, acting through the Minister responsible for Finance, there has been laid before Parliament the terms and conditions of a Loan Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW), Frankfurt am Main for an amount of twenty- three million euros (€23.0 million) and a grant amount of One million Euros (€1.0 million) to finance the Out-Grower and Value Chain Fund II.
    THIS HONOURABLE HOUSE 12:45 p.m.
    H E R E B Y R E S O LV E S A S 12:45 p.m.
    Mr Avedzi 12:45 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.
    Question put and Motion agreed to.
    Resolved accordingly.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:45 p.m.
    Hon Majority Leader?
    Mr Bagbin 12:45 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, we would go for the procedural Motion, which is item 14 on page 7.
    MOTIONS 12:45 p.m.
    Chairman of the Finance Committee (Mr Avedzi) 12:45 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order 80 (1) which require that no Motion shall be debated until at least forty-eight hours have elapsed, between the date on which notice of the Motion is given, and the date on which the Motion is moved, the Motion for the adoption of the Report of the Finance Committee on the Buyer Credit Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana
    and ABN AMRO N.V. of Netherlands for an amount of fourteen million, thirty- four thousand, two hundred and one Euros (€14,034,201.00) to finance the “Accelerating Tuberculosis (TB) Case Detection” Project and the request for waiver of Import Duty, Import VAT, Import NHIL, ECOWAS Levy, EDAIF, and other applicable fees and charges amounting to two million, four hundred and ninety-six thousand, six hundred and seventy euros (€2,496,670.00) on materials and equip- ment to be used under the Buyer Credit Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and ABN AMRO N.V. of Netherlands in respect of the “Accelerating Tuberculosis (TB) Case Detection” Project may be moved today.
    Dr A. A. Osei 12:45 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.
    Question put and Motion agreed to.
    Resolved accordingly. Buyer Credit Agreement Between GoG and ABN AMRO N.V. of
    Netherlands and the Request for Waiver of Import Duty, Import VAT,
    Import NHIL, ECOWAS Levy, EDAIF, et cetera
    Mr James K. Avedzi 12:45 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that this Honourable House adopts the Report of the Finance Committee on the Buyer Credit Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and ABN AMRO N.V. of Netherlands for an amount of fourteen million, thirty-four thousand, two hundred and one euros (€14,034,201.00) to finance the “Accelerating Tuberculosis (TB) Case Detection” Project and the request for waiver of Import Duty, Import VAT, Import NHIL, ECOWAS Levy, EDAIF, and other applicable fees and charges amounting to two million, four hundred
    and ninety-six thousand, six hundred and seventy euros (€2,496,670.00) on materials and equipment to be used under the Buyer Credit Agreement between the Govern-ment of the Republic of Ghana and ABN AMRO N.V. of Netherlands in respect of the “Accelerating Tuberculosis (TB) Case Detection” Project.
    Mr Speaker, I present your Committee's Report.
    Introduction
    The two requests were respectively presented to the House on behalf of the Minister for Finance, by the Hon Deputy Minister for Finance, Mr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson on Tuesday, 23rd June 2015 in accordance with article 181 of the 1992 Constitution. Mr Speaker referred the request to the Finance Committee for consideration and report in accordance with Order 169 of the Standing Orders of the House.
    Further to the referral, the Committee met and was assisted in its deliberations by the Hon Deputy Ministers for Finance and Health, Mr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson and Dr Victor Bampoe respectively and officials from the Ministries of Finance and Health.
    The Committee is grateful to the Hon Deputy Minister and officials from the two Ministries for their assistance.
    Reference
    The Committee referred to the following documents during its delibera- tions:
    The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana;
    The Standing Orders of the Parliament of Ghana; and
    Mr James K. Avedzi 12:45 p.m.
    The Loans Act 1970 (Act 335)
    Background
    Tuberculosis (TB) is currently considered to be a national security threat if unattended to. TB is a contagious, highly infectious and an airborne disease which affects mostly young adults in their most economic and productive years. Tuberculosis (TB) has an enormous negative socio-economic impact in endemic countries, including Ghana. The damaging socio-economic impact is not limited to only the patients involved, but also their families and the country as well.
    Recently, HIV has been identified as a driving force behind the escalating TB epidemic. TB is also one of the main causes of death among HIV infected patients. Not only does HIV increase the risk of reactivating latent mycobacterium tuberculosis, but it also increases the risk of rapid TB progression soon after infection or re-infection and the spread of the disease in such community. Early detection of TB infection is therefore important in the fight against TB mortality and morbidity.
    In the WHO Global TB Control 2009 annual report, the new TB case detection rate in Ghana, according to the 2007 data was estimated at 26 per cent, and the estimate for sputum smear positive cases was 38 per cent. This means 74 per cent of all TB cases in Ghana were not detected, hence not treated. The detection of new cases is therefore far below the global target of 70 per cent required to significantly reduce the burden of the disease. To achieve WHO defined MDG target zone of 70 per cent TB case detection by 2015, Ghana needs to adopt robust systems that will increase the case detection rate.
    The most widespread forms of tuberculosis are simply contracted by

    breathing in the air of the person with active TB, who can then infect on average 10 15 people.

    Despite the tuberculosis finding and treatment programme referred to as the “functional DOTS programmes”, there is a gradual increase in the tuberculosis case notification rates.

    Similarly, Multi Drug Resistant (MDR) TB is also on the increase. There are a number of TB cases that are still undiagnosed, which represents a major threat not only to Ghana, but global health that needs urgent attention.

    It is estimated that, 95 per cent of TB deaths occur in the developing world. In 2007, it was estimated that death resulting from tuberculosis (TB mortality) in Ghana was over 12,000 people though TB treatment success rate has increased to 84.7 per cent for the 2007 cohort. If people infected with TB are detected early, the trend of TB in Ghana can be reversed.

    Indeed, Ghana has been cited as one of the few African countries that might attain the TB related target for the Millennium Development Goals (MDG 6, Target 3) with accelerated efforts. It is in line with this that the facility is being secured for the implementation of the “accelerated Tuberculosis (TB) Case Detection Project in the country.

    Project description

    The major components of the project include:

    a. Supply, installation, operation technical support and main- tenance of Diagnostic Digital X-Ray Systems,

    b. Supply, installation, operation, technical support and main- tenance of laboratory equipment for microscopy and molecular

    testing of tuberculosis,

    c. Supply, installation, operation, technical support and main- tenance of IT hardware and software of support the project,

    d. Supply, operation and main- tenance of vehicles and trans- port equipment for the project,

    e. Training on the use and main- tenance of diagnostic digital X-Ray systems, IT systems and laboratory equipment,

    f. Overall project management activities,

    g. Clinical training,

    h. Technology application training including chest X-Ray reading,

    i. Advocacy programmes,

    j. Media campaign and awareness creation,

    k. Prevalence studies and opera- tional research,

    l. Quality assurance and control programmes,

    m. Project monitoring and evalua- tion,

    n. Pre-installation works and X-ray facility improvement where necessary,

    o. Supply of radiation protection devices and equipment.

    Project objective

    The key objectives of this project are

    the following:

    To enhance TB control by reaching the WHO/STOP TB 70 per cent case detection target in the Republic of Ghana, by 2015 and lower the burden of TB from then onwards.

    To boost the diagnostic capacity of the public health system by distributing digital radiographic systems, including teleradiology infrastructure.

    To replace labour intensive tech- nologies for detecting my- cobacterium tuberculosis, with less labour intensive technologies such as the LED Fluorescent microscopy and molecular test units.

    To boost diagnostic capacity to enhance the diagnosis of non-TB related cases like other lung diseases common among people living with HIV/AIDS, cancer, trauma and other diseases.

    Terms and conditions of credit facility

    The total project cost of €21,591,078.00 (twenty-one million, five hundred and ninety-one thousand, seventy-eight euros) is financed by €14,034,201.00 loan from ABN AMRO Bank N. V. and €7,556,877.00 grant from the Netherlands Government through ORIO which has already been signed.

    The funding terms of the ABN AMRO Bank N. V. loan facility are summarised below:

    Project amount -- €21,591,078

    Loan amount -- €14,034,201

    ORIO grant amount €7,556,877
    Mr James K. Avedzi 12:45 p.m.
    Grace Period -- 2 years
    Tenor -- 12 years
    Interest rate -- EURIBOR (0.20) + liquidity Premium (1.0%) + margin (0.75%)
    = 1.95 per cent p.a.
    Grant element -- 58.15 per cent
    Observations
    Terms and conditions of the facility
    The Committee noted that, the facility is a mixed credit, with relatively concessionary terms. It has a grace period of two years and a tenure of 12 years. The interest rate is 1.95 per cent and a grant element of 58.15 per cent. Debt Management Strategy compliance
    The Committee was informed that, the facility which seeks to implement the Accelerating Tuberculosis Case Detection Project is in compliance with the country's new Debt Management Strategy, since it seeks to deliver public goods, by among other things, helping Ghana to meet its commitment of achieving the MDG 6.
    Justification for the facility and the project
    Justifying the need for the facility and the project, the Hon Deputy Minister for Health, intimated that, the country currently faces a number of obstacles that hinders early detection of TB cases. The obstacles were mentioned as:
    a. Low sensitivity of the standard detection methodology of smear microscopy or sputum analysis;
    b. Limited or no access to quality chest radiographic systems for diagnosis;
    c. High cost of sputum culture; and
    d. Limited laboratory capacity.
    The Deputy Minister added that there is also a challenge in determining the actual prevalence of TB in the country. It was explained that, to be able to estimate the actual prevalence of TB in the country, a nationwide survey is required to scientifically determine the proportion of people living with the disease, which unfortunately, has not been done for some time.
    The Minister revealed that the last prevalence study in Ghana was conducted in 1957 and it is important to repeat this study, to determine the actual prevalence and develop the appropriate strategies to combat it.
    The Minister added that, despite the above challenges, TB can be controlled and diminished with proper and timely diagnosis and treatment, to interrupt the cycle of transmission. This, the Minister was certain, can be achieved by introducing technologies that will detect patients infected with TB early enough, to institute a curative therapy.
    Revenue generation capacity of the programme
    Both the Deputy Ministers for Finance and Health stated that, the project has a high potential of generating revenue towards the repayment of the loan component of the facility. They indicated that, the project will help boost the diagnostic capacity of the public health system by the provision of forty-six (46) digital radiographic systems, including teleradiology infrastructure, to selected hospitals. These x-ray machines, it was indicated further, have the capacity to detect non-TB cases, such as other lung

    diseases common among people living with HIV/AIDS, cancer, trauma and other diseases, and does provide a platform for the hospitals to generate revenue from fees.

    According to the Deputy Ministers, the detailed feasibility study conducted revealed the high potential of the project to generate significant revenue to repay the loan component of the facility. The project is specifically estimated to generate an income of €18 million over the project financing period of 12 years. The detailed project cash flow is attached for the information of the House.

    Required waiver

    The Committee noted that, the Customs Division and the Domestic Tax Revenue Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, have respectively assessed and granted an interim tax waiver on equipment required for the imple- mentation of the project, pending parliamentary approval. A copy of the detailed assessment is attached for the information of the House.

    Conclusions and recommendations

    The Committee, having carefully examined the referral, and also having regard to the benefits to be derived from the implementation of the Accelerating Tuberculosis Case Detection Project, and the high potential of generating revenue towards the repayment of the loan, recommends to the House to adopt its Report and approve the Buyers Credit Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and ABN AMRO N. V. Bank of the Netherlands for an amount of fourteen million and thirty- four thousand, two hundred and one euros (€14,034,201.00), to finance the “Acce-lerating Tuberculosis (TB) Case Detection” Project, in accordance with article 181 of the 1992 Constitution and Order 169 of the Standing Orders of the

    Parliament of Ghana.

    The Committee further recommends to the House for approval, in accordance with article 181 of the 1992 Constitution and Order 169 of the Standing Orders of the Parliament of Ghana, the request for waiver of an amount of €2,496,670.00 as taxes, custom duties, levies and applicable fees and charges on equipment to be used under the project, and the on-lending Agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Health to finance the “Accelerating Tuberculosis (TB) Case Detection” Project.

    Respectfully submitted.
    Dr A. A.Osei 12:45 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.
    Mr Chairman is ahead of his time. He is anticipating the next Motion already. Slow down, it is the loan first before the tax waiver.
    Mr Speaker, this is a very important project, according to the medical doctor that came to talk to us.
    Apparently, we have a deficit in terms of detection of tuberculosis, and this equipment could not only help us improve on that, but it could be used for other matters.
    So, all the hospitals that are going to benefit from this would use this equipment to make money. What the Hon Chairman failed to mention, I believe is that, there is an on-lending Agreement which would pay for this loan.
    It is a very important piece of loan which is going to help us buy this equipment, and the terms are quite good. So, I would urge all Hon Members to support the Motion.
    Question put and Motion agreed to.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:45 p.m.
    Item
    RESOLUTIONS 12:45 p.m.
    Minister for Finance ( Mr Seth Terpker) 12:45 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move that,
    WHEREAS by the provisions of article 181 of the Constitution, and sections 3 and 7 of the Loans Act, 1970 (Act 335), the terms and conditions of any loan raised by the Government of the Republic of Ghana, on behalf of itself or any public institution or authority, shall not come into operation unless the
    said terms and conditions have been laid before Parliament and approved by a Resolution of Parliament;
    PURSUANT to the provisions of the said article 181 of the Constitution and sections 3 and 7 of the Loans Act, 1970 (Act 335), at the request of the Government of the Republic Ghana, acting through the Minister responsible for Finance, there has been laid before Parliament the terms and conditions of a Buyer Credit Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and ABN AMRO N.V. of Netherlands for an amount of fourteen million, thirty-four thousand, two hundred and one Euros (€14,034,201.00), to finance the “Accelerating Tuberculosis (TB) Case Detection” Project.
    SPACE FOR TAX ASSESS- 12:45 p.m.
    THIS HONOURABLE HOUSE 12:45 p.m.
    H E R E B Y R E S O LV E S A S 12:45 p.m.
    Chairman of the Committee (Mr Avedzi) 12:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.
    Question put and Motion agreed to.
    Resolved accordingly.
    Request for Waiver of Import Duty, Import VAT, Import NHIL, ECOWAS
    Levy, EDAIF, et cetera.
    Mr Terkper 12:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move that,
    WHEREAS by the provisions of article 174 (2) of the Constitution, Parliament is empowered to confer power on any person or authority to waive or vary a tax imposed by an Act of Parliament;
    THE EXERCISE of any power conferred on any person or authority to waive or vary a tax in favour of any person or authority is by the
    said provisions made subject to the prior approval of Parliament by resolution;
    BY THE COMBINED operation of the provisions of section 26 (2) of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (Management) Law, 1993 (PNDCL 330), the Export and Import Act, 1995 (Act 503), the Export Development and Investment Fund Act, 2000 (Act 582), the Value Added Tax Act, 1998 (Act 546), the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Act, 2000 (Act 579) and other existing Laws and Regulations applicable to the collection of Customs duties and other taxes on the importation of goods into Ghana, the Minister for Finance may exempt any statutory corporation, institution or individual from the payment of duties and taxes otherwise payable under the said Laws and Regulations, or waive or vary the requirement of such statutory corporation, institution or individual to pay such duties and taxes;
    In accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and at the request of the Government of Ghana, acting through the Minister responsible for Finance, there has been laid before Parliament a request by the Minister for Finance for the prior approval of Parliament the exercise by the Minister of the power conferred on the Minister under the Laws and Regulations relating to the waiver of Import Duty, Import VAT, Import NHIL, ECOWAS Levy, EDAIF, and other applicable fees and charges, amounting to two million, four hundred and ninety-six thousand, six hundred and seventy euros (€2,496,670.00), on materials and equipment to be used under the Buyer Credit Agreement between
    the Government of the Republic of Ghana and ABN AMRO N.V. of Netherlands, in respect of the “Accelerating Tuberculosis (TB) Case Detection” Project.
    N O W T H E R E F O R E , t h i s Honourable House hereby approves the exercise by the Minister responsible for Finance of the power granted by Parliament by statute to waive such Import Duty, Import VAT, Import NHIL, ECOWAS Levy, EDAIF, and other applicable fees and charges amounting to two million, four hundred and ninety-six thousand, six hundred and seventy euros (€2,496,670.00) on materials and equipment to be used under the Buyer Credit Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and ABN AMRO N.V. of Netherlands in respect of the “Accelerating Tuberculosis (TB) Case Detection” Project.
    Mr Avedzi 12:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.
    Question put and Motion agreed to.
    Resolved accordingly.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:55 p.m.
    Yes, Hon Majority Leader?
    Mr Bagbin 12:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, we will be taking two Motions from the Public Accounts Committee. We have a number of them, but we propose to take items number 20 and 21 today. After that, we can handle the Income Tax Bill, 2015.
    We look forward to extended Sitting so that we can make some progress with that.
    So, we will take these two Motions.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:55 p.m.
    Very well -- Motion item numbered 20 on the

    Order Paper by the Hon Chairman of the Committee.

    Auditor-General's Report on the Statement of Foreign Exchange

    Receipts and Payments of the Bank of Ghana.

    (Half-Year ended 31st December,

    2012)
    Chairman of the Committee (Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu) 12:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move that, this Honourable House adopts the Report of the Public Accounts Committee on the Report of the Auditor- General on the Statement of Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments of the Bank of Ghana for the half-year ended 31st December, 2012.
    Mr Speaker --
    Introduction
    The Report of the Auditor-General on the Statement of Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments of the Bank of Ghana for the half-year ended 31st December, 2012, was presented to Parliament on Friday, 20th December 2013, in accordance with article 184 (3) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.
    Pursuant to Order 165 (2) of the Standing Orders of Parliament, the Rt Hon Speaker referred the Report to the Public Accounts Committee for consi- deration and report.
    Procedure
    The Committee, in considering the Report, met with a Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Mr Millison Narh, a Deputy C o n t r o l l e r and Accountant-General, Mr Andrews Kingsley Kufe and representatives of the
    Ministry of Finance, Bank of Ghana and the Controller and Accountant-General's Department.
    On appearing before the Committee,
    the witnesses subscribed to the oath of a witness and answered questions relating to issues raised in the Auditor-General's Report and on issues of general public interest.
    The Deputy Auditor-General, Mr Yaw Agyei Sifah and a technical team from the Audit Service were also present at the Committee's sittings to assist in the consideration of the Report. Acknowledgement
    The Committee expresses its gratitude to the Deputy Governor, the Deputy Controller and Accountant-General and all witnesses who a p p e a r e d before the Committee and assisted in its delibera-tions.
    The Committee is also grateful to the Deputy Auditor-General and his team for their immense assistance to the Committee throughout the deliberations on the Report.
    The Committee further extends its gratitude to STAR-Ghana, for their immense support to its activities. Finally, the Committee extends its appreciation to the media (print and electronic) for covering its proceedings.
    Reference Documents
    The Committee availed itself of the following documents during its deliberations:
    a. The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.
    b. The Standing Orders of the Parliament of Ghana.
    c. The Bank of Ghana Act, 2002 (Act 612).
    d. The Foreign Exchange Act, 2006 (Act 723).
    e. The Minerals and Mining Law, 1986 (PNDC Law 153).
    f. The Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703).
    Purpose and Scope of the Audit
    The purpose of the audit was for the Auditor-General to ascertain and obtain reasonable assurance that the Statement of Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments of the Bank of Ghana was free from material misstatements. It was also to ascertain whether the Bank of Ghana had maintained a proper system of internal control, as well as accurate and reliable records, to safeguard the foreign exchange resources of the Central Bank.
    The audit covered a review of foreign exchange transactions relating to Bank of Ghana's Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments and the Memorandum Account of Dealer Banks for the half-year ended 31st December 2012.
    Overview of Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments
    Foreign Exchange Receipts
    Foreign Exchange Receipts or inflows for the second-half of year 2012, were derived from cocoa, minerals, oil, capital receipts and foreign currency purchases.
    The total Foreign Exchange Receipts or inflows for the period totalled US$4 ,302 ,889 ,264 compared to US$3,924,103,657 for the corresponding period of 2011.
    This represents an increase of US$378,785,607 or 9.7 per cent. According to the Auditor-General, the
    increase was mainly due to a rise in revenue from capital receipts, invisible receipts and revenue from oil.
    The Committee noted that, only the portion of BoG's forex receipts exchanged for cedis were included in the compilation of foreign receipts. Foreign currencies which were deposited with BoG but were not surrendered for cedis were excluded from the statement.
    Table 1 shows the composition of
    foreign exchange receipts for the second- half of year 2012, as compared to the figures for the corresponding period of year 2011.
    SPACE FOR TABLE 1 - PAGE 20
    - 12.55P.M.
    Foreign Exchange Payments
    Foreign exchange payments on the other hand, consist of payments in foreign currency by BoG in exchange for its cedi equivalent. These payments are mainly to finance oil and non-oil imports, payments by order of the Controller and Accountant-General, payments to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
    Other forex payments include the sale of foreign exchange to dealer banks and forex bureaus.
    Foreign exchange payments for the
    second-half of year 2012, amounted to US$3,134.05 million, compared to US$3,262.07 million for the second- half of year 2011. Thus representing a decrease of US$128.02 million or 3.9 per cent. Table 2 shows a summary of BoG's foreign exchange payments for the second-half of year 2012, as compared to the second-half of year 2011.
    SPACE FOR TABLE 2 - PAGE 21
    - 12.55P.M.
    Net Position of Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments
    As a result of increases in revenue from oil, as capital and invisible receipts, and the reduction in invisible payments, BoG recorded a net surplus of US$1,168,839,113 during the second half of year 2012. This represents an increase of US$506,802,392 or 76.6 per cent compared to a net surplus position of US$662,036,721, for the corresponding period of 2011.
    Foreign Reserve Assets
    BoG's Foreign Reserve Assets, as at 31st December 2012, was US$5,287,804,002. The total for the corresponding period of year 2011, was US$5,833,697,751. This shows a decrease of US$545,893,749 or 9.4 per cent. According to the Auditor- General, the drop in foreign reserves resulted mainly from the decreases in BoG's fixed deposits with foreign financial institutions and holdings on Special Drawing Rights (SDR). Details of the components of the Foreign Reserve Assets are shown in Table 3.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:05 a.m.
    Thank you very much.
    Any seconder?
    Ms Rachel Florence Appoh (NDC -- Gomoa Central) 1:05 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion. By doing so, I would want to state that, when you look at the Observations of the Report on page 7, number 3, under “Statement of visible payment” and on the same page 7, number 4, under “Statement of invisible receipts”, you would realise that, there was under- statement of payment of US$ 2 million.
    Mr Speaker, what I would want to find out is why always the people in charge or
    the workers would be there, siting down till the Auditors raise a query before they decide to correct these errors? I believe that this is not helping Ghana as a whole. When you look at this receipt and that of the understatement of the invisible receipt as well, you would realise that there was also a difference of US$ 70,000.
    So, my advice to those in charge is that, they should sit up and make sure they do reconciliation day in and day out. They should not wait till the Auditors raise

    queries and they should not wait till they appear before Public Accounts Committee for the Public Account Committee to do their work for them.

    Mr Speaker, with these few corrections, I want to advice, I second the Motion.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:05 a.m.
    Hon Mem- bers, I would put the Question.
    Question put and Motion agreed to.
    Yes, Hon Deputy Majority Leader?
    I believe that we are taking Motion 21. Is that right?
    Mr Agbesi 1:05 a.m.
    Yes, Mr Speaker, we are taking Motion 21.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:05 a.m.
    Very well.
    Yes, Chairman of the Committee?
    MOTIONS 1:05 a.m.
    Chairman of the Committee (Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu) 1:05 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move,
    Introduction
    The Report of the Auditor-General on the Statement of Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments of the Bank of Ghana for the Half-Year ended 30th June, 2013, was presented to
    Parliament on Tuesday, 24th June 2014 in accordance with article 184(3) and 187(5) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.
    In accordance with Order 165 of the Standing Orders of the House, the Rt Hon Speaker referred the Report to the Public Accounts Committee for consi-deration and report.
    Procedure
    To consider the Report, the Commit- tee met with a Deputy Governor of the
    Bank of Ghana, Mr Millison K. Narh, a Deputy Controller and Account- ant-General, Mr Andrews Kingsley Kufe and representa-tives of the Ministry of Finance, Bank of Ghana and the Controller and Accountant-General's Department.
    On appearing before the Committee,
    the witnesses subscribed to the oath of a witness and answered questions relating to issues raised in the Auditor-General's Report and on issues of general public interest.
    The Deputy Auditor-General, Mr Yaw
    Chairman of the Committee (Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu) 1:05 p.m.
    Agyei Sifah and a technical team from the Audit Service were also present at the Committee's sittings to assist in the consideration of the Report.
    Acknowledgement
    The Committee expresses its appre-
    cia-tion to the Deputy Governor, the Dep- uty Controller and Accountant-General and all witnesses who appeared before the Committee for their cooperation.
    The Committee is also grateful to the Deputy Auditor-General and his team, for availing themselves to assist in its deliberations.
    The Committee further extends its ap-
    preciation to STAR-Ghana for its immense support to the activities of the Committee. Finally, the Committee extends its appre- ciation to the media (print and electronic) for covering its proceedings.
    Reference Documents
    The Committee availed itself of the following documents during its d e - liberations:
    a. The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.
    b. The Standing Orders of the Par- liament of Ghana.
    c. The Bank of Ghana Act, 2002 (Act 612).
    d. The Foreign Exchange Act, 2006 (Act 723).
    e. The Minerals and Mining Law, 1986 (PNDC Law 153).
    f. The Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703).

    Purpose of the Audit

    The purpose of the audit was for the Auditor-General to ascertain and obtain reasonable assurance that the Statement of Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) was free from material misstatements.

    It was also to ascertain whether BoG had maintained a proper system of internal controls as well as accurate and reliable records to safeguard the foreign exchange resources of the Central Bank.

    Overview of Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments

    BoG's foreign exchange receipts for the half-year ended 30th June 2013 were de- rived from cocoa, gold, manga- nese, oil revenue, capi ta l and invisible business transactions. Foreign exchange receipts for the first half of year 2013 totaled US$2,489,029,208 compared to US$2,168, 434,943 for the first half of year 2012. This represents an increase of US$320,594,265 (14.8 per cent).

    Table 1 shows the composition of for- eign exchange receipts for the first-half of year 2013, compared to the figures for the corresponding period in year 2012.

    SPACE FOR TABLE 1 - PAGE 6 -

    Total Foreign Exchange Payments for the half-year ended 30th June 2013 con- sisted of payments in foreign currency by BoG, in exchange for their cedi equivalent. These payments are mainly to finance oil and non-oil imports, payments by order of the Controller and Accountant-General, International Mone- tary Fund (IMF) pay- ments. Other foreign exchange payments include the sale of foreign exchange to dealer banks and Forex Bureaus.

    Total Foreign Exchange payments for the period amounted to US$3,209,368,473 compared to US$3,512,124,741 for the corresponding period of year 2012. This represents a decrease of US$302,756,268 (8.6 per cent). Table 2 shows a summary of the Bank of Ghana's foreign exchange payments for the first-half of year 2013 compared to the first-half of year 2012.
    SPACE FOR TABLE 1:05 p.m.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:05 p.m.
    Thank you very much.
    Hon Members, any seconder?
    Ms Rachel F. Appoh (NDC -- Gomoa Central) 1:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion and in doing so, I refer the House to page 11, paragraph 11.0 of the Report.
    Mr Speaker, “Interest on Delayed
    Payment”; when you look at the Report, Government paid through the Bank of Ghana (BoG) an amount of US$424,727 as interest.
    Mr Speaker, if there was no funds for the project, why do we have to award the contract? Eventually there would not be funds to pay the contractors and then the nation ends up paying all that amount of interests.
    When you read further, you would realise that, Government paid another US$3,531,717 to the same company. Mr Speaker, I believe we should consider our priorities first, and when we are awarding contracts, we should consider the funds available before we do that. This is because at the end of the day, all these would turn around and affect the people in this country.
    Mr Speaker, with these few words, I second the Motion.
    Question proposed.
    Papa Owusu-Ankomah (NPP -- Sekondi) 1:15 p.m.
    Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute to this debate.
    Mr Speaker, I just had to look at the “Observations and Recommendations” of the Report. They have spoken about “Interest on Delayed Payments”. Mr Speaker, I am sure the Hon Minister for Finance would have something to say about this and even that of “retention of proceeds”.
    I am saying this because, I have had personal discussions with him on these matters and he has relayed certain information to me, which I find re-assuring. In fact, Mr Speaker, the retention for Newmont was a very special clause in their Agreement at the
    Mr David T. Assumeng (NDC -- Shai-Osudoku) 1:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am also rising on the same direction, in the sense that, our natural resources are being de- pleted and so we need to take a holistic look at the retention, that is given to these multinational companies. I believe that, we as a nation, must review these per- centages of amounts that are surrendered because these are non-renewable resources and when they are depleted and gone, we have no choice to develop the future of this nation.
    So, I want us as a nation, to look at the percentage of resources that are rendered for us to review to the benefit of the nation.
    Thank you, Mr Speaker for the op- portunity.
    Question put and Motion agreed to.
    Mr Agbesi 1:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the Income Tax Bill, 2015 at the Consideration Stage. We will take some few provisions of the Bill. So item 26.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:15 p.m.
    Very well, Hon Members, the Income Tax Bill, 2015 at the Consideration Stage.

    Hon Chairman of the Committee, can you brief me as to how far we have gone with this particular Bill? I realise that, what appears on the original Order Paper, some of them have been dealt with already. if my briefing is right. So, can you guide us, where do we start from?
    Mr Avedzi 1:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, on the original Order Paper, clauses 19, 20 and 22 had already been dealt with yesterday but they have been repeated, so we will not
    consider them. We will do clauses 11 and 17 on the Order Paper. But before that if we can go to the Addendum Order Paper and deal with clauses 7 and 9.
    Mr Speaker, yesterday, there was a new subclause proposed by the Committee but which was not captured on the Order Pa- per. So, Mr Speaker directed that it should be captured. So, that has been captured.
    BILLS -- CONSIDERATION 1:25 p.m.
    STAGE 1:25 p.m.
  • [ R e s u m p t i o n o f d e b a t e f ro m 16/07/2015]
    • Mr Avedzi 1:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 7, add the following new subclause:
    “(3) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, no exemption shall be provided from tax imposed by this Act and no agreement shall be entered into that affects or purports to affect the application of this Act except as provided for by this Act or by an amendment to this Act.”
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Clause 7 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
    Clause 9.
    Clause 9 -- Residual deduction rule
    Mr Avedzi 1:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move,
    Clause 9 subclause (3), line 1, after “expense” insert “that is”.
    So, the new rendition would read:

    “For purposes of this section, ‘ex- pense that is of a capital nature' …”

    Mr Speaker, this proposed amendment is to fall in line with subclause 2, which made reference to “an expense that is of a capital nature” so that we do not have a different interpretation of what is being referred to under subclause 2.

    Question put and amendment agreed to.

    Clause 9 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Mr Avedzi 1:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, we can now go to the main Order Paper.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
    Clause 11.
    Clause 11 -- Trading stock
    Mr Avedzi 1:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, we had a winnowing this morning on the issue at stake, which is the reference being made to “that person”, was explained that ‘that person' is referring to the one who is as- certaining the income of him or herself. “A person who is ascertaining the income of that person” is referring to the one who is ascertaining the income of him or herself. So, it was agreed that what we have in the Bill should be carried.
    Therefore, you are to put the Question on clause 11. The same applies to clause
    17.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
    Very well.
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Clause 11 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
    We would look at the next amendment.
    Clause 17 -- Losses for business and investment
    Mr Avedzi 1:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, clause 17 is
    the same principle as clause 11. That the reference is also made to “that person” -- “the person who is ascertaining the income of that person”. So, it is the same reason that the Question was not put on clause 17. You can put the Question now.
    Mr Avedzi 1:25 p.m.


    Question put and amendment agreed to.

    Clause 17 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Mr Avedzi 1:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, we ended at clause 22, so we can continue from clause 23. But there is no amendment proposed by the Committee on clause 23.
    Clauses 23 and 24 ordered to stand part
    of the Bill.
    Clause 25 -- Foreign currency and financial instruments.
    Mr Avedzi 1:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move,
    clause 25 subclause (2), paragraph (b), before “to” insert “the person”
    So, the new rendition will read:
    “the determination of the person to whom the amount shall be allo- cated”.
    This is to fall in line with the clause to make it be clear in the Bill. That if you look at subclause (a), you would see that “the determination of the time at which an amount is to be included or deducted”. If you look at subclause (c), “the determina- tion of the quantum of the amount”; if you look at subclause (d), “the determination of the character of the amount”, but if you look at subclause (b), “the person” is not shown there.
    What the clause needs to portray is that “the determination of the person to whom the amount shall be allocated” is
    now being corrected to make it clearer.
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Clause 25 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Clause 26 ordered to stand part of the
    Bill.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:25 p.m.
    Clause 27.
    Clause 27 -- Indirect payment
    Mr Avedzi 1:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 27, subclause (2), line 1, delete “(b)”
    Mr Speaker, the reference being made is subsection (1), not subsection 1 (b). So, subsection 1 (b) is being deleted.
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Clause 27 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Clauses 28, 29 and 30 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
    Clause 31?
    Clause 31 -- Arm's length standard and arrangements between associates.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
    Chairman of the Committee?
    Mr Avedzi 1:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, in line 2, after “delete”, you insert “to prescribe”. So, what is being deleted now, is “to prescribe rules, including rules that
    aim at checking”.
    Mr Speaker, instead of deleting “rules including rules”, we are now deleting “to prescribe rules including rules”. And then, we are now inserting “on matters relating to” instead of “matters relating to”. So, the new rendition would be:
    “The Minister may, by legislative instrument make regulations on matters relating to transfer pricing”.
    And after pricing, we delete “in” and insert ‘and'. Transfer pricing and the application of the arm's length standard. Mr Speaker, let me take the new rendition again.
    “The Minister may, by legislative instrument, make regulations on matters relating to transfer pricing and the application of the arm's length standard”.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
    Very well. Hon Members, I will put the Question.
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Clause 31 as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Clause 32 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Clause 33 -- Thin capitalisation
    Mr Avedzi 1:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 33, subclause (1), line 4, delete “three-is-to-one” and insert “three-to-one” and in line 7, delete “three-is-to-one” and insert “three-to-one”.
    Mr Speaker, this is just a correction of the ratio that is being referred to.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
    Very well,
    Hon Members, I will put the Question.
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Clause 33 as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Clause 34 -- General anti-avoidance rule.
    Mr Avedzi 1:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 34, subclause (2), definition of “tax avoidance”, line 1, delete “arrangement” and insert “arrangement,”.
    Mr Speaker, the purpose is to put a comma after arrangement.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
    Hon Mem- bers, I will put the Question.
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Clause 34 as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Clause 35 -- Calculation of gains and losses.
    Mr Avedzi 1:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 35, subclause (2), paragraph (b), line 1, delete “less” and insert “more.
    Mr Speaker, the new rendition would read, “the sum of the consideration offered for the liability is more than the amount outstanding at time of realisation. ‘
    Mr Speaker, in calculating the gains and losses of capital under assets and lia- bilities, the position that is to be captured under (b) is that, the sum of money that is being offered for the liability should be more than the amount outstanding at the time of the realisation.
    Mr Speaker, if you put “less” there, it changes the whole position. Therefore, we are just correcting it, replacing the “less” with “more”.
    Mr Avedzi 1:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 37, subclause (1), paragraph (a), subparagraph (i), line 1, delete “or de- creasing”.
    Mr Speaker, the new rendition would read, “an amount derived by that person for owning that asset, which includes an amount derived from altering the value of that asset”.
    Mr Speaker, if we say altering or de- creasing, it is repetitive. This is because if we say altering, you either alter it by decreasing or increasing it.
    So, we cannot say, derived from alter- ing or decreasing. It does not sound well. Therefore, we are correcting it.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
    Very well, Hon Members, I will put the Question.
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:45 a.m.
    I would put the question with regard to clause 37 as amended.
    Clause 37 as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Clause 38 -- Realisation
    Mr Avedzi 1:45 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 38, subclause (2). line 4, delete twenty-five” and insert “fifty”.
    The new rendition is:
    “Subsection (1) does not apply to the realisation of an asset accruing to or derived by a company arising out of a merger, amalgamation or re-organisation of the company where there is a continuity under- lying ownership of the asset of at least fifty per cent.”
    Mr Speaker, the purpose of the amend- ment is to increase the ownership holding of a company that is changing hands either through a merger, amal- gamation or re-or- ganisation so that they do not try to avoid the tax by changing the ownership of the company by trying to maintain that if it is 25 per cent, then they would be avoiding payment of the tax on the gains that would be made by that merger or re-organisation.
    So, we are raising the percentage to 50 so that, at least, it would be difficult for them if they want to play any game by changing the ownership of the company through re-organisation, merger or amal- gamation. It would be difficult to maintain 50 per cent of the ownership and for that matter they would be caught up by the tax law for them to pay the tax on the gains that they are making on that change.
    Question put and amendment carried.
    Clause 38 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Clause 39 to 44 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:45 a.m.
    Hon Chair- man of the Committee, could you assist us. We have clause 45 in the original Order
    Paper and then in the Order Paper Adden- dum, how do we handle them?
    Mr Avedzi 1:45 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, we would take the two proposed amendments on the original Order Paper and after that, we would take the one on the Addendum.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:45 a.m.
    Very well. Clause 45.
    Clause 45 -- Transfer of asset to an associate or for no consideration.
    Avedzi: Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 45, head note, delete “to an asso- ciate or for no” and insert “not for”.
    Mr Speaker, I would like to further amend the proposed amendment that we delete “to an associate or”. We are no more inserting anything. So, the proposed amendment now is that clause 45,
    Head note, delete “to an associate or”.
    The new rendition would read:
    “Transfer of assets for no consid- eration”.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:45 a.m.
    Hon Mem- bers, I would put the question.
    Question put amendment agreed to.
    Mr Avedzi 1:45 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 45, subclause (4), paragraph (b), line 3, delete “the” and insert “that”.
    The new rendition would read:
    “that the asset is a trading stock, depreciable asset or capital asset of a business of the associate immedi- ately after transfer by that person”.
    Mr Speaker, this is one of the areas where we are talking about transfer of
    an asset for no consideration. The person being referred to here is “that person” to whom the asset is being transferred to for no consideration. But if you say “the person”, it does not clearly show what you mean by the person. But “that person” would tell you clearly that the one who is the recipient of that asset for no consider- ation is being referred to here.
    Mr Alexander Afenyo-Markin 1:45 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, just to have a better understand- ing of the proposed amendment. Within the context that he word “the” is used, is it the case of the Hon Chairman that it changes the meaning in context or that he is proposing the “that” as an amendment for the superfluous of same.
    I am finding it difficult to appreciate the explanation that the just gave and I felt that I should raise it so that he comes back. This is because, you are reading it in a context and you have used “the” to describe something. What is the effect if you change it to “that”?
    Mr Avedzi 1:45 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, there are two persons involved here; the transferor and the transferee. The one we are referring to here is the one who receives the asset. So, if I am the one transferring the assets to you, the one who is receiving the assets is the “that” we are talking about here. If I use “the” for you, it is not clear whether it is you or me.
    But to lay the emphasis that the one receiving the asset is the one we are re- ferring to, we are replacing the “the” here with “that person”. So, you have to read from subclause 3:
    “Where a person realises by way of transfer of ownership of an asset to an associate of the person...”
    An associate of the person here, me who is transferring, my associate. The associate of “the person” and not “that” because the one receiving is the “that”. So:
    “an asset which is a trading stock, a

    depreciable asset or a capital asset of a business, and the requirements of subsection (4) are met…”

    And what are the requirements of subsec- tion (4) here? Subsection (4) (b) here is saying that:

    “that the asset in a trading stock, depreciable asset or capital asset of a business of the associate immedi- ately after transfer of that person;”

    So, if you do not read subsection (3) and link it with subsection (4), you would think that the use of the word “that” is not fit in this particular context, but if you read both, you would see that you need to change the word “the” to “that” so that you could follow it clearly.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
    Hon Mem- ber, are you clear with it?
    Mr Afenyo-Markin 1:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, it is not clear enough because the existing ren- dition which has “the” does not make the whole clause ambiguous in anyway. But, if it is the pleasure of the Hon Chairman, that for the sake of emphasis, I would submit accordingly so that we would make progress.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
    Very well. Hon Members, I will put the Question.
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
    Hon Mem- bers, we will move to clause 45 on the Addendum Order Paper.
    Mr Avedzi 1:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 45, subclause (4). paragraph (d), line 1, delete “twenty-five” and insert

    “fifty”.

    Mr Speaker, there is at least, fifty per cent continuity of the underlying owner- ship of the asset. This is in line with what we did earlier, by increasing the ownership when there is a change through a merger, amalgamation or re-organisation of the company, so that we do not have “fifty” and here, “twenty-five”, so we would have a consequential effect.

    Question put and amendment agreed to.

    Clause 45 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.

    Clauses 46 to 51 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

    Clause 52—Principles of Taxation.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
    Hon Mem- bers, with regard to the state of Business, I direct that we carry out Business beyond the stipulated time.
    Clause 52, Hon Chairman of the Com- mittee.
    Mr Agbesi 1:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, today is Fri- day, and the advertised Business of the House have almost been exhausted and the rest would be continued on Tuesday. The time is past 2.00 p.m. and we therefore, leave the House in your hands.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
    Hon Depu- ty Majority Leader, are you sure about the time? I think what I have here is 1.54 p.m.
    Mr Agbesi 1:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am saying that today is Friday and a special day —
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
    Yes, but the adjournment is not in my hands be-
    cause we are not yet—
    All right, move a Motion for adjourn- ment.
    Hon Members, this brings us to the end of Consideration Stage for today.
    Mr Agbesi 1:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I was saying that the time is past 2.00 o'clock and the Business for the day has been exhausted and we therefore, leave the House in your hands.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
    Very well.
    I am being misled by what is before me. In any case, I will take your word for it.
    ADJOURNMENT 1:55 p.m.
  • The House was adjourned at 2.02 p.m. till Tuesday, 21st July, 2015 at 10.00 a.m.
    • Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:40 p.m.
    Thank you. I would put the Question -Hon Minority Leader?
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:50 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the issue of the amounts that are required for the purchases of cocoa each year got resurrected in the House last week. The projection for last year was supposed to be 950,000 metric tonnes. It was later on revised downwards to 850,000. Sub- sequently, we are informed that actual purchases amounted to 654,000 metric tonnes.
    But the issue that was raised was, first, what happens between the estimated purchases for which the loan was secured and the actuals that were produced and purchased. Mr Speaker, that is something that we must contend with.
    The second issue is, if indeed last year we suffered this flump from 950,000 to 654,000, meaning that there was a deficit of over 33 per cent decrease in the projection, what then informs us that it would climb from that level to be able to purchase 900,000 metric tonnes this year? That is the first thing.
    Mr Speaker, the second thing is, earlier on, even though amounts had been spent on the construction or reshaping of cocoa roads, the amounts that had been applied

    That being the case, it would mean that if they are even producing 900,000 metric tonnes, they do not even need monies to purchase 450,000 metric tonnes, because the produce do not come at one and the same time. They do the purchasing incrementally. So, over the season and in the season, theyrecycle it. They do so for at least two and a half times.

    Mr Speaker, in that case, why do they, in syndicating the loan look at the value of the projection and secure the loan based on that? What is the certification?

    So Mr Speaker, I believe that as a House we may have to also delve further into whether it is indeed necessary.
    Mr Avedzi 1:50 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I think that what COCOBOD is projecting to buy during the crop season is 900,000 metric tonnes butthe quantity that would be collateralised would be 660,000 metric tonnes. So, even though what they are projecting to buy is 900,000 metric tonnes, they are not going for a loan that would buy same.
    So, I would just want to buttress the point the Hon Minority Leader is making, that they are not actually going for a loan that would buy the 900,000 metric tonnes, but only 660,000 metric tonnes.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:50 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, it does not respond adequately to the recycling of the money for at least two and a half times. If it is 900,000 metric tonnes and it is two and a half times, it does not even respond to that. So, that is the first thing.
    Mr Speaker, the other point is what to do about the application of the amount of
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