Debates of 8 Mar 2016

MR SPEAKER
PRAYERS

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Mr Speaker
Hon Members, I have thepleasure to introduce to you a delegationof the Committee on Scrutiny ofSubordinate Legislation from the GautengProvincial Legislature of the Republic ofSouth Africa who are on a five-day studyvisit to Ghana. They are here, among others, to meetand interact with members of the sisterCommittee, to share in our practicesrelative to the procedures and practicesin scrutinising Bills and Instruments. The visit is also intended to create theplatform to deepen the already cordialrelations between the two Legislatures.For those of you who are not familiar withSouth Africa, Gauteng Province coversPretoria and Johannesburg areas. The delegation comprises the following:
1. Hon Jacqueline Mofokeng --Chairperson and Leader 2. Hon Maggie Tlou -- Member 3. Hon Mike Madlala -- Member 4. Hon Daisy Hana Mashego --Member

Hon Members, on your behalf, I wishthem a pleasant stay in the country andfruitful deliberations. Votes and Proceedings and theOfficial Report
Mr Speaker
Correction of Votes andProceedings of Friday, 4th March, 2016. Pages 1, 2, 3 . . . 9 -- Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu--rose --
Mr Speaker
Yes, Hon MinorityLeader?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu
Mr Speaker,I noticed that on page 8, my name has beenlisted among Hon Members who wereabsent without permission. Mr Speaker,you are aware that I went to transactbusiness on behalf of our Parliament, andI did also submit the leave of absence form.I believe it is scandalising to see my namelisted among Hon Members who wereabsent without permission. Mr Speaker, Iam outraged by this.
Mr Speaker
Hon Member, I am awarethat you were outside the jurisdiction onofficial assignment. Whether you filledthe leave of absence form is anothermatter -- [Laughter.] That is where theproblem might have come from.
I have not seen the form. I am awarethat you were outside the country onofficial assignment. I am aware butnormally, they look at the form. Maybe,that is where the problem might have comefrom.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:45 a.m.
Mr Speaker,with respect to the Chair, I said I havegone beyond and done that. That is whyI said that I am scandalised and outragedby what I have seen. I have not even looked at the previousVotes and Proceedings. It may evenappear that I have been listed as absentwithout permission.
Mr Speaker 10:45 a.m.
Hon Minority Leader,maybe, your office has not submitted theform to my office. I have not seen the leaveof absence form. That is the point I ammaking. I am aware that you were outside thejurisdiction, but whether you filled theform -- I have not seen the form and Ibelieve that the Clerks-at-the-Table mightnot have seen any form and were notaware that you were on an officialassignment. That is where the problemmight have come from. But no form hasbeen brought to my office. So, you mayhave to check from your secretariatwhether they submitted the forms to myoffice.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:45 a.m.
Mr Speaker,I will do that, but these Votes andProceedings are supposed to betransmitted to Members of Parliamentunder your seal. You have just admittedthat you know that I went on an officialdelegation and officially, I represented theParliament of this Republic.You are the
Mr Speaker 10:45 a.m.
Are you correcting theVotes and Proceedings?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:45 a.m.
Mr Speaker,it is a serious business -- Hon Alban S. K. Bagbin -- rose --
Mr Speaker 10:45 a.m.
Hon Majority Leader?
Mr Alban S. K. Bagbin 10:45 a.m.
Mr Speaker,what is just happening is that the processseems to have failed us. This is becausethe Hon Minority Leader said he did fillthe form and that is in accordance withour Standing Orders. Until it gets to theHon Speaker and he gives the nod, itcannot be captured on the Order Paper asabsence with -- [Interruption] --because it is not an individual enterprise.There must be records and in our StandingOrder, it is Order 15. It is very clear on the matter; Leave ofAbsence. Mr Speaker, I beg to quoteStanding Order 15 (1) --
“Every Member shall attend theservice of the House unless leaveof absence has been given him byMr Speaker.” That is why the form is designed. Now,Mr Speaker, we take it that he has actuallycompleted the form. It is just that it gotheld up somewhere, either at his secretariator yours but the truth is that, it did not getto you. The leave of absence has not beengranted by the Hon Speaker and we dealwith records. He is right to draw the attention of theHouse to it and the Hon Speaker is rightto state that, yes, he has not seen thatform. Therefore, the records as it standsnow is right.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:45 a.m.
Mr Speaker,I believe the Hon Majority Leader shouldhold his sympathies. Is it the case that ifyou should delegate anybody to attend afunction, and let us say that given theexigencies of time, the person is not ableto fill a form, should the person be markedabsent because, maybe, given somecircumstances, the person could not fill aform? In any event Mr Speaker, what theHon Majority Leader read to us which isknown to everybody here states, andwith your kind permission, I beg to quote:
“Every Member shall attend theservice of the House unless leaveof absence has been given him byMr Speaker.” What is leave of absence in this case?If the Hon Speaker sends somebody, isthat not leave of absence? Is the leave ofabsence the writing of the paper that issubmitted to you? The leave of absenceis the authority that comes from the HonSpeaker. [Interruption.] Yes, Mr Speaker,he may disagree with me but that is so.
rose
Mr Speaker 10:45 a.m.
Yes, I would only takecomments from the Leaders on this matter.
Mr Bagbin 10:45 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I did mentionthat this is a House of records. Therefore,one would need to produce evidence toshow that leave has been granted by theHon Speaker. The way this House wantsthe leave to be done is for a form to becompleted and the leave officially grantedby the Hon Speaker. That is how we havecaptured it in our Standing Orders and weare bound by it. If the Hon Speaker calls you and saysyou should go and represent himtomorrow at a function, you would wantto produce that evidence that the HonSpeaker called you. What if the HonSpeaker is not there? So, the records, which is the form onecompletes it there.
Mr Speaker 10:45 a.m.
Hon Members, let metake advantage of the point raised by theHon Minority Leader to say thathenceforth, Hon Members must get theleave of absence before they leave thejurisdiction or this Chamber. If you look at the form, it is indicatedthat it must be submitted, at least, a daybefore the day the person is asking forthe leave. Where people dump their leaveof absence forms and before it gets to myoffice, they are already gone, I havedecided that, henceforth, I would notwork on those types of leave of absenceforms.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:45 a.m.
Mr Speaker,I hope that by necessary implication, youare not referring to what I --
Mr Speaker 10:45 a.m.
I am not referring to yours-- [Laughter.]
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:45 a.m.
Thank youvery much.
Mr Speaker 10:45 a.m.
I said I am takingadvantage of yours -- [Laughter.] Page 9 -- Dr Anthony A. Osei --rose --
Mr Speaker 10:45 a.m.
Yes, Hon Member for OldTafo?
Dr A. A. Osei 10:45 a.m.
Mr Speaker, we arecorrecting the Votes and Proceedings andI thought the essence of the discussionwas on the item numbered 4, the name ofthe Hon Minority Leader should bechanged to absent with permission, sincewe are told that you sent him. So, weshould presume that you gave himpermission.
Mr Speaker 10:45 a.m.
Hon Members, I madethe point that I am aware that the HonMinority Leader was travelling. But therule and practice is that, whether one istravelling on behalf of Parliament or not,one fills the leave of absence form. Let me say this today: the filling ofthe form is in your own interest as HonMembers of this House. It is in your owninterest so that in the event of anything,the House would know where you are atany particular time. Then we can defendyou as a House.
Dr A. A. Osei 10:45 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I fully agreewith you. I was just saying that in the lightof what you said, I thought that we wouldcorrect the Votes and Proceedings ofpage 8, since you were fully aware that hehad travelled so that -- because this is aHouse of record --
Mr Speaker 10:45 a.m.
I am aware that he wastravelling and I knew where he went --
Dr A. A. Osei 10:45 a.m.
Mr Speaker, becauseyou have testified today, I am presumingthat --
Mr Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Yes, but the truth of thematter is that no form has come to me. It iswhen I have approved that the Clerks-at-the-Table will get the form and then, it isrecorded in the Votes and Proceedings.That is the practice and procedure. I know that several times, Leadershipcome to my office to fill forms on behalf ofHon Members, who for one reason or theother, could not be in the position to fillthe forms themselves. They have donethat on several occasions so that therecord becomes complete. Hon Members, this is a very seriousmatter. You know that somebody is in theSupreme Court on this matter.
Prof. George Y. Gyan-Baffour 10:55 a.m.
MrSpeaker, as of now, that is the rule of ourpractices and procedures. But at times,some of these things are not practicable.You have given approval for an HonMember to travel. Now, it is said thatbecause a form was not filled, yourapproval does not hold. Is that what weare saying? I think that whenever there isan approval by you --
Mr Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Hon Member, the wayyou are putting it, is not the fact of thecase. Hon Members, for example, we knowthat we have representation from thisHouse to the Economic Community ofWest African States (ECOWAS)Parliament, the Pan-African Parliament,the Commonwealth ParliamentaryAssociation (CPA) and InternationalParliamentary Union (IPU). If you are going to undertake thoseassignments, the Rt Hon Speaker knowsthat during this period, you are supposedto be in the ECOWAS Parliament. I have
Dr A. A. Osei 10:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, that wasthe application I was making on his behalf.
Mr Speaker 10:55 a.m.
I have not received anyforms from his office.
Dr A. A. Osei 10:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I agree. Iwas making the application on his behalf.
Mr Speaker 10:55 a.m.
I have crosschecked frommy secretariat, while Sitting here. Theyhave confirmed that no such form hasbeen received.
Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh 10:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker,I think you are absolutely right on theruling that you have given on the HonMinority Leader's issue. If the Hon Minority Leader was one ofthose who breached the 15-day absence,for today, the absence that he is talkingabout, it is sufficient for him --reasonable cause would be shown bywhat he said here, and the fact that youknow. So, when he is charged, first, he isabsent; that is true. Did he have a goodreason? If he has been marked absentwithout permission and he has a good
reason; either he collapsed somewhere orsomething happened, that is for him. So, your approval and your knowledgeof his travel is sufficient reason for him tobe absolved if he is charged withabsenting himself from Parliament. Mr Speaker, but your ruling that he wasabsent without permission is correct. Thisis because we go by records. The recordis that, he did not fill the form, or if hefilled the form, it was not received. It isonly when it is received that note is takenof it. Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh 10:55 a.m.
MrSpeaker, you are very right. But forworking relations in this House,Leadership may travel on an urgent basisto transact matters on your behalf withyour permission, which might notnecessarily translate into a paperapproval. This is because it may be aweekend. Mr Speaker, imagine that you summonthe Hon Majority and Minority Leaderson an urgent travel on a Saturday morningto Abuja, when the form has not beenfilled because Parliament is technically notSitting. Mr Speaker, they went but becauseof the weather, they could not arrive onMonday evening, they arrived onTuesday evening. Technically, they areabsent, but spiritually and with yourblessings, they were present. Mr Speaker, so, allow space in yourown ruling for verbal approval so thatwhen they come back, they could fill --[Interruptions.] Mr Speaker, if you do notallow that verbal space in your approvals,working would be very difficult.
Mr Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Hon Member, that isprecisely the point I made. Our attention has been drawn to theStanding Orders by the Hon Majority
Leader. We are saying that if we drawthe attention that even though the formhas been filled, but it did not reach myoffice for me to work on -- it is true that Iknew where he was, but the form was notfilled for the Clerks-at-the-Table who workon the Votes and Proceedings to captureit properly. Now, he has drawn our attention to it.He could then make an application hereand now for me to convert it. I can use mydiscretion to do that. The point was thathe was absent and the form has not beenfilled. The point has been canvassed by theHon Majority Leader and I agree entirelywith him on this point.
Mr Bagbin 10:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the crux of thematter is that, the leave of absence has tobe granted by the Rt Hon Speaker. So, theform and the rest are the processes. Whenit is granted by the Rt Hon Speakerverbally, we must get records. It is rightfor the Hon Minority Leader to drawattention. Now, we would get recordswhich would be granted by the Speaker. That is why the Rt Hon Speaker saidthat if the Hon Majority Leader made theapplication for him for Mr Speaker togrant it, why not? This is because the RtHon Speaker was aware he was officiallyabsent, but granting the leave of absenceis a different matter altogether. Approving travel is not the same asgranting leave of absence. The Rt HonSpeaker could approve a travel for an HonMember who may fail to travel for goodreasons. It has happened a number oftimes. So, the Hon Member cannot comeback and say that the Rt Hon Speakergranted approval for him to travel and thatis why he absented himself, even whenhe is in Ghana and had not travelled.
So, there is good reason; these thingsare captured through experience. We have a constitutional provision,which talks about how Hon Members canbe sanctioned if they are absent withoutreasonable cause for more than 15 Sittingdays. As the Rt Hon Speaker rightly stated,the matter is in the Supreme Court. Wewould all be guided by the decision of theSupreme Court, but we are clear what theimport of that provision is, through theexperience of very mature previousParliaments and this Parliament. We havebeen here for 24 years, so, this is not --[Interruptions] -- Yes, when you were inschool; that is why you are my son.[Laughter.]
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker,I thought this was going to be a veryinnocuous subject, but then it isdeveloping into something else. Mr Speaker, the pivotal considerationis the grant of leave of absence by the RtHon Speaker; how is it exercised? Is it thecase that we are compelled to fill formsand then you grant - [Interruptions] -Where is it is in the Standing Orders? Theysaid yes; they should show me where itis. Mr Speaker, so, your authority that theHon Member should exit or not attend isthe authority; it the grant of permission;it is not a form. Mr Speaker, rather, Standing Order 16says that your permission should becommunicated in writing to the HonMember. That is what is in the StandingOrders. There is nothing in the StandingOrders which says that a form is that whichan Hon Member derives the authorityfrom.
Mr Speaker 10:55 a.m.
As long as I remain inthis Chair, I would want it to be written.[Laughter.] If another Rt Hon Speakersucceeds me and wants it to be verbal,that is the person's problem.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker,I know where there are provisions ordoubts, the Rt Hon Speaker may interpretthe Standing Orders as he deems fit. Mr Speaker, but I thought, with respectto the Chair, that in this case there is nodoubt. But I would bow to the Chair atany time and I would bow to the Chairnow. Thank you very much. Mr Speaker, and in that case --
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Are you making theapplication?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:05 a.m.
Applicationsubmitted. [Laughter.]
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Yes, Hon Majority Leader,last point on this matter.
Mr Bagbin 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, we havepractised this for some time and we haveinterpreted these rules. Parliaments,including the Parliament of Ghana and thepower given to the Speaker is to use hisdiscretion. The Speaker could decide togive or not to give the leave. That is statedthere.
The way the whole Standing Order 15is crafted, particularly Standing Order15(2): talks about sufficient cause beinggiven. There must be evidence of thatsufficient cause being given before MrSpeaker exercises his authority to give ornot to give. So, it cannot be that it is a privatediscussion with the Speaker, where onegoes and says that he has lost his motherand then Mr Speaker says he sympathiseswith him and he is hereby granted leaveof absence and he goes away. If the nextday, the Member or Mr Speaker is nothere, how do we get evidence that thisthing had happened? That is why we saythat this is a House of record. Mr Speaker, so, I do not know why myHon Colleague, the Hon Minority Leaderis trying to hide under some provisionwhich is non-existent any way. He himselfhas stated that the provision is very clearand not subject to interpretation. So, I donot know why he is saying that.
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Hon Members, sufficientgrounds have been canvassed on the floorof the House. The Hon Member for Suameand Hon Minority Leader was in Tanzaniato attend the CPA African Region BudgetCommittee Meeting. Given the fact that he made the pointon the floor, that he submitted the formbut it never got to my office; taking allthese into account, it should be capturedin the Votes and Proceedings during theperiod that he was away as “absent withpermission” and the records concerningwhat happened on the floor has justifiedme in arriving at that conclusion. Hon Members, each case has to belooked at on its own merit. This is not ablank cheque. It should not be read andinterpreted as a blank cheque. Each case
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Hon Members, in linewith the decision of the BusinessCommittee and adopted by this House,we move to the Presentation of Papers. At the Commencement of PublicBusiness -- Presentation of Papers. Item number 5(a) by the MajorityLeader and Leader of the House.
PAPERS 11:05 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Item number 5(b) by theMinister for Foreign Affairs and RegionalIntegration. Hon Majority Leader?
Mr Bagbin 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, with yourleave and the indulgence of my HonColleagues, could the Hon Minister forEnvironment, Science, Technology andInnovation lay this Paper for and onbehalf of the Minister for Foreign Affairsand Regional Integration? [Pause.]
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker,the Hon Majority Leader has not told uswhy the Hon Minister for Foreign Affairsand Regional Integration is not here. If hecould explain why she is not here, maybe,we could grant the excuse to the HonMinister responsible for Environment,Science, Technology and Innovation.
Mr Bagbin 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I only see thatshe is not available in the House. I do nothave any reason why she is not availableand no such reason has been commu-nicated to me. That is why I was just askingfor the leave and the indulgence of myHon Colleagues. If they object to it, thenwe could go on to another item. But I donot have any reason from them why sheis not available. [Interruption.]
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Hon Members, it is thelaying of Papers and the Hon Minister hasno Deputy.

Hon Members, we know the HonMinister for Foreign Affairs and RegionalIntegration is responsible for foreignaffairs. On that basis, I would want us tolay the Paper on her behalf.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker,it is strange that the Hon Majority Leaderand Leader of the House and Leader ofGovernment Business does not know thewhereabouts and why the Hon Ministercannot be here. That is the first thing. Secondly, the Leader of GovernmentBusiness is telling this House that thereis no Deputy Minister for the Ministry ofForeign Affairs and Regional Integration.There is.
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Who is the DeputyMinister?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:05 a.m.
So, the HonLeader of Government Business does notknow?
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Who is the DeputyMinister for Foreign Affairs and RegionalIntegration?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker,officially before us, the person is nowdoubling as the Secretary to the Cabinet-- [Interruption] -- Yes, officially, he islisted as the Hon Deputy Minister forForeign Affairs and Regional Integration.Check our record. And the Hon Leader ofGovernment Business does not know this?Mr Speaker, these are different times inGhana. [Laughter.]
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
I believe they haveagreed; the Hon Minister for Environment,Science, Technology and Innovation isgoing to lay the Paper.
Mr Bagbin 11:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I never statedthat I did not know where she was; never.I stated that she is not present in the Houseand that was why I asked for the leave ofMr Speaker and the indulgence of my HonColleagues. I know where she is; she is onher way to the House -- [Interruption.] Mr Speaker, the fact is that, I have tobe told and that is how I get theinformation. I did not generate it myself.This is because I have to be truthful andcandid. That is what I stated. I amsurprised my Hon Colleague said it isunnatural. I do not know what is unnaturalhere -- [Interruption] --The young manwould not even allow me to complete. Mr Speaker, I am aware that as of now,we do not have a Deputy Minister forForeign Affairs and Regional Integration.The Hon Thomas Kwesi Quartey was theHon Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairsand Regional Integration until he wasappointed a substantive Secretary to thePresident. There is nothing which indicates herethat he is doubling as the Hon DeputyMinister for Foreign Affairs and RegionalIntegration; I do not have that information.If he has, he should give me theinformation.
Dr A. A. Osei 11:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am sureyou are nodding your head and you knowwhy -- [Laughter.] This House was given officialdocumentation listing Mr Quartey as theHon Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairsand Regional Integration and Mr Speakercan confirm --
Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Hon Member for OldTafo, that document can be wrong. Thatis why every morning we come here andcall for corrections -- Yes. That is why
we come here every morning and docorrections. It is not as if everything inthat document is correct. So, at the time I called for correction ofOfficial Report, I expected you --[Laughter] -- to draw our attention to it.
Dr A. A. Osei 11:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I expectedthe Hon Leader of Government Businessto correct it. Mr Speaker, I have told the Hon DeputyMinister that he is doubling. Officially, ithas not been corrected. Our records showhim as the Hon Deputy Minister. MrSpeaker, you can confirm. So, somebody should take up --[Interruption] -- There is no communicationas far as we are aware, Mr Speaker, he hasbeen removed -- [Laughter] -- And thatinformation was presented to us by theClerk to Parliament. I hope that you willtake steps to -- [An Hon Member: Whereis he?] -- He is doubling; he is my Friend.[Pause.]
Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Hon Majority Leader?
Mr Bagbin 11:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I just spokenothing but the truth. The Hon Ministerfor Foreign Affairs and RegionalIntegration is now with us. So, first, whenI stated that she was on the way coming,I was right. [Hear! Hear!] Second, I stated that she has noDeputy Minister. She is here to confirm --[Interruption.] Mr Speaker, my attention has beendrawn to the Official Report of 25 thFebruary, 2016; the day of the State of theNation Address. If the record captures theHon Quartey as the Deputy Minister forForeign Affairs and Regional Integration,that was done in error.
Mr Speaker, I must say that I shouldhave drawn the attention of the House tothe fact that there is no longer a DeputyMinister for Foreign Affairs and RegionalIntegration. I did not see it to do so. Iapologise for that. The Hon Minister forForeign Affairs and Regional Integrationis available.
Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Hon Members, there aretwo documents prepared by this House:one has his name, that is the OfficialReport but the other one that wasprepared specifically by the PlanningCommittee, which included Hon Membersof Parliament from both sides did not havehim as the Deputy Minister for ForeignAffairs and Regional Integration -- Yes, I am only saying that there are twodocuments; which one is more authenticis another matter. I am only telling HonMembers that the document I have in myhand, which was prepared specifically forthe State of the Nation Address, is nothaving his name as Deputy Minister forForeign Affairs and Regional Integration. Hon Members, presentation of Papers-- the Hon Minister for Foreign Affairsand Regional Integration is in the Houseto have the Papers laid. As for thedocuments, we would get back to themlater. Let us lay Papers -- Yes, Hon Minority Leader?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker,since we have been told that this is aHouse of record, we have two records andyou are showing them to us. You thenadded that the second one had Membersfrom both sides which would suggestthat, perhaps, that one carries moreweight, I am not too sure about that. Mr Speaker, but the one that camebefore is an official document and in anyevent, if the one that you just exhibited isto be deemed as the weightier one, I would
Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
We are not talking aboutUpper West Region. [Laughter.]
Mr Bagbin 11:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker, these arerecords of Parliament and so if there is amistake in those records, it should beascribed to Parliament.
Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Absolutely!
Mr Bagbin 11:15 a.m.
That is why I did state that,the Official Report is of the House --that is the Hansard and the other recordis of Parliament. I am saying that both areofficial records of Parliament. But if thereis a mistake in them, that mistake is doneby Parliament and not any person outsideParliament. [Interruption] -- No! I wasreferring to the Hansard that you werewaving at me. That is the official programme for theoccasion which was done and authoredby Parliament. So, both are of Parliament.We made the mistake and I apologised forthat. As the Hon Leader, I accepted thatwe made a mistake and I stated the correctposition. It could be crosschecked fromthe Hon Minister for Foreign Affairs andRegional Integration -- [Interruption]-- I have not lied before.
Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Hon Members, laying ofPapers -- item number 5 (b) (i) -- by theHon Minister for Foreign Affairs andRegional Integration.
PAPERS 11:25 a.m.

Dr A. A. Osei 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the HonMajority Leader said that as of now, thereis no Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairsand Regional Integration. He saidfurthermore that it can be confirmed bythe Hon Minister. Since the Hon Ministeris here, can she confirm that for us so thatthe records would reflect that? That iswhat he said. It may help the House if thatconfirmation is made.
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Hon Minister for ForeignAffairs and Regional Integration, the HonMember would want to know whether youhave a Deputy Minister.
Ms Hannah S. Tetteh 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, no!I do not have a Deputy Minister.
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Very well. Hon Members, item number 6 --presentation and First Reading of Bills.Hon Majority Leader?
Mr Bagbin 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the HonMinister for Justice and Attorney-Generalis not present in the House but the ableHon Deputy Minister is here to representher. I am seeking your permission and the
indulgence of my Hon Colleagues to allowthe Hon Minister for Justice andAttorney-General do the presentation andFirst Reading for and on behalf of theHon Minister for Justice and Attorney-General.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker,I know there is an Attorney-General andMinister for Justice. I do not know of aMinister for Justice and Attorney-General.So, the Hon Majority Leader should letus know the Ministry that he is talkingabout.
Mr Bagbin 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I refer him tothe Instrument establishing theMinistries. That is how it is titled --Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General.He should listen properly. He shouldcrosscheck from that Instrument and hewould see it clearly. I have drawn the attention of thedraftspersons many times to the correcttitle as captured in the Instrument. That isthe correct position and that is why Ireferred to that.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker,whoever crafted that Instrument is veryungrammatical. There is no Ministry forthe Attorney-General's Department. TheAttorney-General and Minister responsiblefor Justice. That is the position of grammarof the Queen's English. Mr Speaker, if in their estimation, itshould be the other way round and hebelieves same to be true, who am I topontificate, except to say that it is mostungrammatical.
Mr Bagbin 11:25 a.m.
Actually, Mr Speaker, heis pontificating. This is because, when weestablished the Instruments, weestablished Ministries and then addedresponsibility to the person who is tohold that position as the Minister. That
is what is added as Attorney-General. So,we are not establishing by the Instrument,the position of Attorney-General --[Interruption] No! Could the Hon Minority Leaderplease listen? That Instrument is to createMinistries. It created the Ministry ofJustice and added that the person whooccupies the Ministry of Justice as theHon Minister, would also act as Attorney-General. That is why it is Ministry ofJustice and Attorney-General -- For thefirst time, learn this from me -- [Laughter.]
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker,the commutation of what he has said isnot exactly true. It is rather the Attorney-General who becomes the Minister forJustice. It is not the Minister for Justicewho becomes the Attorney-General. MrSpeaker, that is what he does notunderstand. He should learn when I speakon grammar -- [Laughter.] Mr Speaker, I would not want us toprolong this debate. After all, whateverhe says, I will not join --
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Hon Members, is itpossible to have an Attorney-Generalsimpliciter,who is a Minister, and thenhave a Minister for Justice? Under ourConstitution, it is possible to have anAttorney-General who is also not theMinister for Justice. It is possible. Hon Deputy Attorney-General?
BILLS -- FIRST READING 11:25 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Hon Majority Leader?
Mr Bagbin 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, could we takethe item numbered 8, the SecondReading of the National PetroleumAuthority (Amendment) Bill, 2015?
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Hon Members, the itemnumbered 8, the National PetroleumAuthority (Amendment) Bill, 2015 --Second Reading.
Mr Bagbin 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, my attentionhas been drawn to the fact that the Reportis not before Hon Members. Also, the HonChairman of the Committee is not presentin the House. So, I would rather proposethat we handle the item numbered 7.
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Very well. Hon Members, item number 7 on theOrder Paper. Hon Akandoh, you have 10 minutes
MOTIONS 11:25 a.m.

Mr Kwabena M. Akandoh (NDC --Juaboso) 11:35 a.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for theopportunity to contribute to the debate,that this House thanks His Excellency thePresident for the State of the NationAddress, 2016. Mr Speaker, one of the statements thatHis Excellency the President made whichtouched my heart most was that there wasthe need for value addition to most of ourcommodities, especially those exported intheir raw state. Mr Speaker, it is in the light of this thatthe Hon Minister for Lands and NaturalResources inaugurated a US$7 milliongold refinery at Adjiringanor which hasthe capacity to refine between 200 and 300kilogrammes of gold daily. Mr Speaker, as part of the effort todiversify the sources of the nationalrevenue, His Excellency the Presidentinstituted some interventions throughCOCOBOD to rehabilitate the coffeeindustry. Mr Speaker, this programme wasinstituted in 2010, which saw the volumeof production of cocoa rise from 1,140metric tonnes to 6,000 metric tonnes.Between the short and medium terms, weare looking at 100,000 metric tonnes. MrSpeaker, this is a mark of a visionaryleader.

Mr Speaker, we are all aware thatcocoa has remained the backbone of theeconomy and that the President, throughCOCOBOD, has also put in place someinterventions -- Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu -- rose --
Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Hon Minority Leader, doyou have a point of Order?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker,it is not really a point of Order. I think myHon Colleague on his feet really meant tosay coffee production but then he alludedto cocoa production from 1,600 metrictonnes to whatever he said. He meant to say coffee and not cocoa;but he said cocoa. He may want to correcthimself and then move on.
Mr Akandoh 11:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the firstsubmission was about coffee; I am nowgoing on to cocoa. Mr Speaker, the volume of coffeeproduction rose from 1,140 metric tonnesto 6,000. Between the short and mediumterms, we are looking at 6,000 metric tonnesto 100,000 metric tonnes. Mr Speaker, you would agree with methat cocoa has been the backbone of thiseconomy for some time now. As part ofmeasures to see to the sustainability anddevelopment of the industry, H. E. thePresident, through COCOBOD, hasinstituted some measures. These includethe raising and distribution of improvedhybrid cocoa seedlings. Mr Speaker, the cocoa trees which areold, decrease in yield and therefore, there
is the need to replace those cocoa treeswith the hybrid seedlings which will giveus a higher yield. Last year alone, theCOCOBOD distributed about 50,000,000free seedlings to cocoa farmers. And perthe address, the COCOBOD is looking atdistributing 60,000,000 free seedlings tococoa farmers. Mr Speaker, as if that is not enough,there is a programme which is called Youthin Cocoa Farming, which is aimed atencouraging more youth to go into cocoafarming. Mr Speaker, again, fertilizers were freelydistributed. Last year, COCOBODdistributed about 2.4 million bags ofgranular fertilizer free of charge to cocoafarmers. They also distributed about 1.6litres of liquid fertilizer to cocoa farmers. Mr Speaker, one of the contributingfactors that encouraged the youth oranybody to go into cocoa production isabout the producer price. Mr Speaker, thisyear, a tonne of cocoa sells at GH¢6,800.Mr Speaker, it is enough to encourage anyyouth or citizen to go into cocoaproduction. Mr Speaker, again -- Dr Appiah-Kubi -- rose --
Dr Appiah-Kubi 11:35 a.m.
On a point of order,Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, my Hon Colleague hasbeen quoting figures, but can he, probablygive us the source of those figures?
Mr Akandoh 11:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, all thefigures that I am quoting are in the Stateof the Nation Address, copies of whichhave been given to Hon Members --[Interruptions] -- Mr Speaker, from page51 to --
Mr Akandoh 11:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, from page51 to page 52, all the figures that I havequoted can be found there. Dr Prempeh -- rose --
Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Yes, what is your pointof order?
Dr Prempeh 11:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, when thePresident gave the State of the NationAddress, he did not give what the HonMember is reading to the HansardDepartment to capture. Mr Speaker, there are seriousdifferences between what has beencaptured by the Hansard -- Unless, yourruling is that we should capture that oneas well. What the President delivered andwhat is in the State of the Nation Addressthat the --
Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Please, you are out ofOrder. The Hon Dr Appiah-Kubi said that theHon Member mentioned some figures, so,he should give us the source. The HonMember referred us to page 51. And if youopen to page 51, there are figures oncocoa. Unless, you want to say that thefigures he quoted from the document aredifferent from what we have in here. If thefigures are different, that is a differentmatter; but he referred us to the pagewhere the President spoke about cocoaand the figures there. Hon Member, please proceed.
Mr Akandoh 11:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, as I speakto you now, one tonne of cocoa sells atGH¢6,800. This is about 73.52 per cent ofthe Freight On Board (FOB) price.
Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Hon Owusu AfriyieAkoto?
Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto (NPP --Kwadaso) 11:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I rise to supportthe Motion on the floor which is that, wethank H. E. the President for the State ofthe Nation Address. In doing so, I would like to point outthat, the most strategic sector of theeconomy, that is agriculture, is in a veryserious crisis. Farms are not working,fishing canoes are not working; and I willcite a few cases to support this.
First of all, when it comes to canoesalong the coast, fishing in the seas of thiscountry in the last ten years --
Mr Akandoh 11:35 a.m.
On a point of order. MrSpeaker, he said, the farms are not working.There are farms all over and there areproduction of crops and other things. So,if he says, farms are not working, whatexactly does he mean?
Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.
That is his opinion.
Dr Akoto 11:35 a.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Ten years ago, fishermen from Keta toAxim landed something like a quarter of amillion metric tonnes of fish on our coast.The last two or three years, Mr Speaker,these same canoe operators have landedless than thirty thousand metric tonnesof fish every year. That is only 10 per centof what pertained ten years ago. If that isnot a crisis situation, then I do not knowwhat else it is. Mr Speaker, coming to the areas thatthe Hon Member of Parliament just alludedto. If there is no crisis in the cocoaindustry, I do not know what is happeningto cocoa now. This is because, Mr Speaker, we aretalking about a peak production of onemillion metric tonnes collapsing to sevenhundred and forty thousand only in thespace of five years. As I have kept sayingon this floor, if Government does notchange its policies, we are going to see afurther decline in cocoa production to theextent that the Cocoa Processing Factoryat Tema has closed down.
A 60-year old factory whichsymbolises, for this country, thetransformation of the economy in termsof value addition to our cocoa is now onits knees. In addition to that, as you heardtwo weeks ago, the Hon Minister forFinance came to admit that we have toimport raw cocoa beans from La Coted'Ivoire to supplement the little that wehave for our processing factories. So,these are all indicative of the crisis thatwe have. Mr Speaker, overall as a sector, for thelast seven years, we have seen growth inagriculture going down from 7.4 per centper annum to 7.2 per cent per annum untilthis year, when the Government itselfadmitted in this latest Budget Statementthat the sector grew by only 0.04 per cent.Even worse, the crop sector, where mostof the 4.5 million farmers are, actuallyshrunk by 1.7 per cent. Mr Speaker, it is like getting your caron to the Accra - Tema Motorway, puttingyour foot on the pedal to accelerate it,getting your foot off the accelerator andthen the car slowly grinds to a halt. This year, by the admission that we had,the minus 1.7 per cent growth in the cropsector means that the car is no longergoing to reach Tema but it is in reverse,coming back to Accra. That is how seriousthe crisis in agriculture in this economyis.
Mr Akandoh 11:35 a.m.
On a point of order. MrSpeaker, the Hon Member creates theimpression that this is the first time we areimporting cocoa from -- [Interruptions.]He said that we are now importing cocoafrom La Cote d'Ivoire. In the statement ofthe Minister for Finance, he quoted --
Dr Akoto 11:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, this is not apoint of order.
Mr Akandoh 11:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, this is notthe first time cocoa beans are importedinto the county. Records available showthat this started in 2005 --
Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.
You have made yourpoint. Please, did you create thatimpression?
Dr Akoto 11:35 a.m.
I did not create anyimpression. It is an impression created inhis own mind, that he wants to transferto the floor of this House. The fact of the matter -- and we cannotescape from it --is that agriculture is incrisis to the extent that the rate of growthof agriculture per annum has beendropping steadily for the last seven years.We cannot run away from it. Every yearthe Budget Statement admits to thosestatistics and that is what it is. We are talking about 4.5 millionworkers; farmers and fishermen in thiscountry are being impoverished every dayby the very negative policies that thisGovernment has instituted in theagricultural sector. This is a fact that theHon Deputy Minister would admit to. Inhis own constituency, we have problemswith cocoa farmers and they have beencomplaining. This is to the extent that the NationalDemocratic Congress (NDC) Chairman atBodi came on national radio to admit thatthey are not getting fertilizers, pesticides,et cetera, in that area of the WesternRegion. Mr Speaker, we have a very big problemand I expected H. E. the President, toactually dwell on agricultural policieswhich would turn around this poor stateof the sector.
Mr Akandoh 11:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, he made astatement that I would admit that the BodiNDC Chairman came on air to make thisstatement. I have no knowledge of the
statement he has referred to and theChairman is not here to defend himself.So, he should withdraw.
Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Which network did --
Dr Akoto 11:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, on Peace FMand I have a recording of that tape and ifyou want me to tender it --
Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.
On what date?
Dr Akoto 11:35 a.m.
On September 15, 2015 whenthe Chairman came on radio --
Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Proceed.
Dr Akoto 11:35 a.m.
We expected the Presidentwould come and give us a new perspectiveon what Government is going to do to turnaround the crisis that we have inagriculture but we did not see that. He started with coffee and I am veryfamiliar with the pilot scheme that H. E.the President alluded to, because thatpilot scheme was actually engineeredfrom our committee here in Parliament incollaboration with COCOBOD. The Hon Minister for Finance gaveGH¢4.2 million in the Budget of 2011 forthe pilot scheme for four years. Mr Speaker, we must say that the pilotscheme was successful because the targetof 2,000 hectares was achieved as thePresident alluded to. We recommendedthat the Government should find a seedfund of GH¢50 million to start the mainproject. What did we find? In this Budget, the Governmentallocated only two 2 million Ghana cedis.Then suddenly, H. E. the President, comeshere and says that they are going to do100,000 hectares. These are figures whichare bandied about, because to plant100,000 hectares means that you need atleast GH¢60 million or GH¢70 million.
There is no mention of this in hisBudget which he sent the Hon Ministerfor Finance to announce to the people ofthis country last November. Yet, he saysthat they are going to cultivate 100,000hectares with 100,000 metric tonnes.These are fantastic figures for which thePresident gave no indication of where thefinancing of such a huge project wasgoing to come from. It is the same for cocoa. The fact isthat, we produced 60 million seedlings anddistributed 60 million seedlings to farmersdoes not mean that they are going to beplanted for the production to be realisedin three or four years. We need resourcesto plant these and maintain them on thefarm. Anybody who has little knowledgeon farming would tell you that theseedlings by themselves do not grow; wehave to cultivate them and it costs money,labour, fertilizer and other things. H. E. the President did not mention anyfigure at all to support what he said. Outof the three hours and twenty minutes,H.E. the President spent less than 15minutes on how to revive the crumblingfortunes of agriculture in Ghana; and forthat, I express great disappointment. Mr Speaker, on this note, I would saythank you for giving me the opportunity.
Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Hon Deputy MajorityLeader, are you ready?
Mr Agbesi 11:35 a.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker, I am readyexcept that --
Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Are you ready now? Yourname is on the list submitted by yourLeadership. You are part of the Leadership,are you ready? [Interruptions.]
Mr Agbesi 11:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would leaveit to other people to contribute and comein later.
Mr Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Hon Laadi Ayamba?
Ms Laadi A. Ayamba (NDC -- Pusiga) 11:55 a.m.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, forgiving me this opportunity. I wish to contribute to the Motion onthe floor that we thank H. E. the Presidentof the Republic of Ghana on the State ofthe Nation Address which was ably madeby him. Mr Speaker, in the opening statementof H.E. the President, on page 6, paragraph2, he spoke about change that is alreadygoing on in this country, and for thatmatter, with individuals. To make sure thatall that he said were facts, his statementswere based on evidence. So, we had thegallery packed with some people who hadcome from across the length and breadthof Ghana, to testify or show that all thatH. E. the President said, based on change,are supported with facts. Mr Speaker, in paragraph 2 of page 27of the State of the Nations Address,it wasreported that 14,000 electronic cards havebeen issued by the Ministry of Gender,Children and Social Protection to the aged,to support them to board buses, go tohospitals or health centers and also to anypublic offices. The aged have long been awaiting thissupport. This is because with age, thereis a lot of support that is needed. Onecannot imagine them going to queue tobuy tickets when they could actually beeasily supported. This is a very bigintervention that has supported theelderly in our society. Mr Speaker, 9,000 more of the electroniccards would be issued by the Ministry.
Mr Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Hon Member, your timeis up. Please conclude. Your last sentence.
Ms Ayamba 11:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, in winding up,I just say a very big thank you to H.E. thePresident and wish to say that, we needmore of those. Thank you, Mr Speaker, for theopportunity.
Mr Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Hon Member forWenchi?
Prof. George Yaw Gyan-Baffour (NPP-- Wenchi) 12:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, evidence-basedlearning is a powerful teaching technique.It is used to explain complex concepts. Mr Speaker, the way H.E. the Presidentused it however, goes against the grain ofthat very concept that he tried to bragabout. Mr Speaker, in the evidence-basedtechnique, the evidence must be basedon significant and reliable evidence frommultiple data sources and not from asample with single or few data points. Mr Speaker, in theory and in practice,H.E. the President got it all wrong. Mr Speaker, H.E. the President was,however, effective in using it to elucidatehis Party's alleged propagandaphilosophy -- “when you see a goat, say
it is a cow”, “when you see a black cow,say it is a white sheep”. Mr Speaker, H.E. the President was ableto assemble isolated instances ofsuccesses in the midst of overwhelmingfailures, decays and desperation on thepart of Ghanaians to paint the state ofthe nation as very rosy. Mr Speaker, on Education, beginningwith secondary education, the Presidentused one individual's success in one ofthe four senior high schools that he hascommissioned out of the 200 that he haspromised, to paint, in other words tobleach the state of our secondaryeducation white. Mr Speaker, senior high schoolstudents in my constituency and all overthe country, those in both day andboarding schools find it hard to pay theirtuition fees. Just last week when I wenthome, I had to spend about GH¢30,000 ofmy Common Fund to pay for the schoolfees of these students, otherwise theywere all going to be sacked from school. Iam sure several Hon Members here dosame. Mr Speaker, that is what it is insecondary education. However, thePresident went on to use one example fromthe Savelugu District and the other fromKassena Nankana Municipal Assembly,who have received free sandals, exercisebooks et cetera to show that all is well inthe state of basic education in thiscountry. Mr Speaker, there are several thousandbasic education students who do not evenhave one text book, not to mentionexercise books. I inspected several schools in myconstituency last week and the studentsdid not have the basic text books thatwere required as reading books for theBasic Education Certificate Examination(BECE).Yet they would do the sameexamination with those in Accra who havethose text books.
Prof. George Yaw Gyan-Baffour (NPP-- Wenchi) 12:05 p.m.


Mr Speaker, I used GH¢10,000 of myGETFund to purchase 1,000 of suchrequired reading books for distribution tothe junior high school students across myconstituency. Mr Speaker, this book, “TheCockcrow” is what I had to buy anddistribute to JHS students who were goingto take an examination sooner than laterbut had never even seen the book as wellas their teachers. Yet, the President saysall is well. Mr Speaker, children still study undertrees. Some who have classrooms do nothave chairs and tables. For those whohave chairs and tables, their teachers donot have chalks to write. For one school,when I went there, they had changed allthe blackboards into white boards so thatthey could use charcoal to write on thewhiteboards; yet, the President says thatall is well in the basic education. That isthe extent of the state of the nation. Mr Kwame Govers Agbodza — On apoint of order. Mr Speaker, my Hon Colleague just saidthat the President said all is well. Can hetell us which part of the State of the NationAddress the President said that —[Interruption.] He should just makereference to that particular statement in theState of the Nation Address.
Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
Hon Member for Wenchi,did you say that the President said thatall is well?
Prof. Gyan-Baffour 12:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I said,“all is well” but probably what I intendedwas that, it was rosy — I have withdrawnif I said that, but the President —
Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
He has withdrawn.
Prof. Gyan-Baffour 12:05 p.m.
The Presidentgave an impression that it was rosy ineducation, because he has built schoolshere and there.
Mr Speaker, this is the real state of thenation in education; it is bleak and black;it is as dull as the night and black as theErebus. There is nothing out there thatwe can say is good. Mr Speaker, the State of the NationAddress on health, as per the President,is in terms of infrastructure. The Presidentfailed to realise that, the state of the nationin terms of health is not about ongoinginfrastructure, but about access tohealthcare here and now. The President tried to do that and whathe said was that the registration has goneup for those who have registered andtherefore, he concluded by saying that,people are actually accessing healthcare.The truth of the matter is that, having theHealth Insurance does not implyutilisation of the card and access tohealthcare. Mr Speaker, the healthcare providersdo not honour the cards and we all knowthat. Government does not pay for theirservices. The National Health Insurancepayments are all in arrears. When patientsget to see the doctor, they are asked to goand buy their own medication. In caseswhen one is lucky and gets somemedication, they give paracetamol if it is aheadache, a stomach ache, a bleedingnose et cetera. How can we say that thestate of the nation in terms of health isgood? Mr Speaker, on the economy, thePresident could only lament about theeconomic structure of the nation.According to him, the commodity-basedeconomy and lack of structuraltransformation of the economy is what isplaying havoc with our economy; I agreewith the President on that. However, the solution to this problem,as proposed by the President, cannot fixthe problem. He started recounting the
gold refinery; refining gold into finishedgold; he talked about the Export andImport (EXIM) Bank and infrastructuralfund. Mr Speaker, why the President wasafraid to talk about the microeconomicvariable that are all in reversed gear andhis solution to the economictransformation problem was laughableand a bit infantile. Mr Speaker, I dare say that the hiddenagenda of the Government behind theestablishment of the EXIM Bank does notpoint to what the President actually thinks. Mr Speaker, I dare say that, it wouldindeed be another glorified ExportDevelopment and Investment Fund(EDIF), where cronies would take loansand never pay. Mr Speaker, while other HonColleagues would focus on the macroeconomy of the country, let me say thisabout the micro. As I speak, ourbusinesses are being killed by high costof doing business, high and unbearablelevel of taxes, high and unbearable costof energy, high and unbearable cost ofborrowing, high and unbearable cost offuel. The result is that a lot of the Smalland Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs)that hire youths are all collapsing day byday. Mr Speaker, no wonder people try tohave a safe haven for their money and fallprey to charlatans like the DKM Company.When the President had a pulpit here toaddress that issue, he just joked with itand even suggested that some HonMembers of this House are victims. I thinkthe President has to apologise to thisaugust House for such an outrageousstatement.
Mr Speaker, this shows that thePresident endorses the propaganda usedby his social media attack brigade, whoclaimed that Hon Members of the Housefrom the Brong Ahafo region, especially,including myself were victims. They saidthat I had GH¢2 million there.
Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
Hon Member for Wenchi,your time is up. Your last sentence.
Prof. Gyan-Baffour 12:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker,inconclusion, everybody, including mostpeople in Ghana claimed that the otherfriend is corrupt but he himself, when heseeks a rent, it is only, maybe a dash.Corruption is at the root of all evil, and asChaucer says —
Mr David Tetteh Assumeng (NDC —Shai-Osudoku) 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it is withheavy heart that I make my contributionon the Motion on the State of the NationAddress. This is because, just a few daysago, the elected Parliamentary candidatefor the Shai-Osudoku constituency wasinvolved in a fatal accident, andunfortunately, he passed on. I am verysad, that is why I said it is with a heavyheart that I contribute to the Motion onthe State of the Nation Address. Mr Speaker, this is also my lastcontribution on the State of the NationAddress because, I would not becontesting the primaries when it is re-opened. So, I would want to use thisopportunity to thank H. E. the Presidentof the Republic of Ghana, for initiating theDistrict Hospital in Dodowa. As we speaknow, the District Hospital in Dodowa isawaiting inauguration. [Hear! Hear!] I would want, on behalf of the peopleof Shai-Osudoku, to thank the Presidentand unlike myself who is doing my lastcontribution on the floor today, I believethat God willing, he would be here again
Mr David Tetteh Assumeng (NDC —Shai-Osudoku) 12:15 p.m.


next year to present another address.[Hear! Hear!] Mr Speaker, the President's investmentin the water sector is unprecedentedand I would want to also thank him verymuch for that. Mr Speaker, I am saddened and just tosay thank you for the opportunity. I wouldalso want to thank Mr Speaker for yourguidance to my person -- [Interruption.] Dr A. A. Osei — rose --
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Yes, Hon Member for OldTafo?
Dr A. A. Osei 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I think it is inorder if my good friend at the appropriatetime decides to talk about his departure.But we are debating the State of the NationAddress and he is thanking you as if yougave the State of the Nation Address. Mr Speaker, he is completely misleadingthis House because we have visitors hereand they ought to know that it is not MrSpeaker who delivered the State of theNation Address. I think at the appropriatetime, we would find space for him to givehis speech. So far, it is not completelyrelevant, so if he can ask the --
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Member, the pointbeing made is that even though this isyour last contribution to the State of theNation Address, this is not the last timethat you would be speaking on the floorof the House. You would have more timeto do that. That is the point being madeby the Hon Member for Old Tafo.
Mr Assumeng 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it isnoted. Thank you. Mr Speaker, I am done. Thank you very much for the spacegiven me. [Laughter.]
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Member for SunyaniWest and Second Deputy Minority Whip?
Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah (NPP --Sunyani West) 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank youfor giving me the opportunity tocontribute to the debate in thanking H. E.the President, for delivering a Messageon the State of the Nation to this House. Mr Speaker, in doing so, I would wantto limit myself to issues relating to BrongAhafo Region specifically. In doing that,I would want to start with roads.
Mr Speaker, on page 69, the Presidentin his statement mentioned a number ofroad works which are ongoing in theBrong Ahafo Region. Mr Speaker, if I mayquote, with your kind permission:
“In the Brong Ahafo Region, thefollowing roads are underconstruction:” Then he mentions a number of roadswhich include --
“Atebubu-Kwame Danso-Kwadwokrom,Dormaa Ahenkro -- Nkrankwanta road” And then he came further to say that:
“Work is also ongoing on thefollowing roads ...” He mentions Dormaa Ahenkro-Nkrankwanta again and mentionedAtebubu-Kwame Danso-Kwadwokromagain. I do not know the differencebetween the two. Because if you havementioned earlier that work is ongoing onthese two roads, why do you mentionthem again in the same document? Was itjust to let people know that the Presidentis doing quite a number of roads in theregion or what?
Mr Speaker, if I should go further, thePresident mentioned Nkoranza-Goasotown roads which are ongoing. Mr Speaker, I have been a regionalMinister of Brong Ahafo for some timeand there is no such road in Brong Ahafonamed Nkoranza Goaso -- there is nosuch town and there is no such road calledNkoranza Goaso. Yet, the Presidentmentioned that as a work-in-progress roadin the region. Mr Speaker, there is also a Kade townroads ongoing in the Brong AhafoRegion. I do not know of any Kade townin Brong Ahafo which has its roadsongoing. Mr Speaker, indeed, there is noKade in the Brong Ahafo Region, yet thePresident says that there is Kade townroad in Brong Ahafo which is being done. Mr Speaker, if you would recall, whenwe were debating the State of the NationAddress last year, I did mention that thereis nothing like Goaso-Kukuom Junctionroad. The Minister made us bring a mapof Brong Ahafo which we looked at andthere is nothing like Goaso-KukuomJunction. This has been brought hereagain. Mr Speaker, I do not know for whatreason the President keeps repeating thatin his successive State of the NationAddresses. Mr Speaker, let me veer off toeducation; the President showed us on aslide --
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Minister for Roadsand Highways?
Alhaji I. A. B. Fuseini 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thePresident spoke about specific townroads. He spoke about Kade town roads-- yes, Kade was listed under BrongAhafo Region but it is Kade town roadsand what is ongoing on Kade town roads.
Some Hon Members 12:15 p.m.
Kade town roadsin the Brong Ahafo Region?
Alhaji Fuseini 12:15 p.m.
Kade is in the EasternRegion. So, the fact is that there is a Kade andconstruction of roads is ongoing --
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Minister, the pointthat is being made by the Hon Member isthat Kade town roads have been capturedunder Brong Ahafo. And the Hon Memberis making the point that, there is no townin Brong Ahafo called Kade and that hewas a former Regional Minister for BrongAhafo.
Alhaji Fuseini 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, if he hadsaid it so, I would not have risen.[Uproar.] God has blessed me with twoears to listen.
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Minister, if it is atypographical mistake, admit it and let usgo ahead and make progress. And if it is afact, and you are the Minister for Roadsand Highways and you are informing theHouse that Kade town roads are ongoing,say so for the records.
Alhaji Fuseini 12:15 p.m.
Exactly what I amsaying. It is a typographical mistake. Kadetown roads are undergoing reconstructionin the Eastern Region.
Mr Awuah 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, if the HonMinister is admitting that it was a mistake,I agree, because even on this year'sIndependence Day, the brochure had a lotof mistakes in it. [Hear! Hear!.] Mr Speaker, the President mademention of Berekum-Drobo-Sampa road. The history of this road --
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
I thought you justannounced to the House that you weremoving to education. [Laughter.]
Mr Awuah 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I havechanged my mind. Mr Speaker, the Berekum-Drobo-Sampa road was started way back in 1998.The then NDC Government worked up toDrobo and then stopped work. It wasunder H.E. President Kuffuor that workresumed in 2007. And before he left power,the 40-kilometre stretch from Drobo toSampa was left with only sevenkilometres of work to be done. Mr Speaker,for almost eight years now, this work hasnot been completed and yet the Presidentis saying that --
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Is there any work goingon there? Hon Members, let us --
Mr Awuah 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, just yesterday,the people of Sampa had a pressconference and complained about theirtown roads which is a portion of this roadthat I am talking of. Mr Speaker, as wespeak now, on the Atebubu-Kwame Dansoroad, which the President mentioned aswork ongoing, there is no such contractoron it. The contractor, J. N. Ghanem, hasabandoned site and yet this is a road thatwe are boasting of.
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Yes, Hon Member, do youhave a point of order?
Mr Dominic Napare 12:15 p.m.
Exactly so, MrSpeaker. I am the Member of Parliamentfor Sene East in the Brong Ahafo Region.The road the President mentioned isAtebubu-Kwame Danso-Kojokrom road.That is the stretch. As we speak now, a contractor is onthe road working -- [Hear! Hear!] -- Heis working on the stretch between KwameDanso to Kojokrom and the contractoreven works day and night.
Mr Awuah 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am veryfamiliar with the terrain. What I said --[Uproar] -- Mr Speaker, I said the firststretch of the Atebubu-Kwame Danso-Kojokrom road, which is Atebubu-KwameDanso, was given to a contractor by nameG. N. Ghanem. He has packed his materialsoff the road and currently, as we speak,there is no work ongoing on that stretch.That was what I said and I still stand bythat. Mr Speaker, I would just want to moveon to the microfinance situation in theBrong Ahafo Region. The Presidentrightly said -- Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu -- rose --
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Minority Leader?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker,just to inform my Hon Colleague who ison his feet and fortunately we have theHon Minister responsible for Roads andHighways here. The first one that thePresident spoke about was Atebubu-Kwame Danso-Kwadwokrom. That one isspelled as K-W-A-D-W-O-K-R-O-M;Kwadwokrom. Then, the President comesto talk about another road and Kojokromis spelt K-O-J-O-K-R-O-M. Is it the same
Mr Awuah 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker says I shouldgo on. So, please, allow me to go on. Mr Speaker, in talking about themicrofinance scam in the region,thePresident limited himself to DKMDiamond Microfinance Ltd. I would wantto say that it is not just DKM DiamondMicrofinance Ltd. There are about 15 ofsuch companies that have defraudedpeople of the region and the sum involvedis within the range of one billion Ghanacedis. Mr Speaker, the President said that theBank of Ghana is in the process ofliquidating DKM Diamond MicrofinanceLtd to pay off depositors. What happensto the other depositors who also lodgedtheir moneys with other microfinanceinstitutions? If the customers of DKMDiamond Microfinance Ltd need justice, Iwould also want to believe that thecustomers of the other microfinanceinstitutions --
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Member, have allthose microfinance firms been licensed bythe Bank of Ghana? We would want to getthe records straight.
Mr Awuah 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, officially, I doknow that DKM Diamond MicrofinanceLtd is licensed.
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Yes, not the DKMDiamond Microfinance Ltd but the rest.
Mr Awuah 12:15 p.m.
And then Jaster Motors andInvestment Company Ltd also had aprovisional licence. For the other, I do not --
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
What is the differencebetween the licence and the provisionallicence?
Mr Awuah 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, Bank of Ghanawould be the best to answer this. Dr A. A. Osei --rose --
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Member for OldTafo, for the records, can you help us?
Dr A. A. Osei 12:15 p.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker, theprovisional approval is not a provisionallicence. It is to enable one get itselftogether to get the licence which is final.Unfortunately, people have not made thatdistinction. That is what has caused thetrouble.
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Members, weshould be careful in this House not tosend the wrong signal. If the law says thatyou would need to get licence before youtransact a certain business, and you havenot had the licence, yet undertake thatbusiness, you do so at your own risk.Bank of Ghana has an obligation tosupervise those who get the licence.Therefore, we should draw the line clearly.Hon Member, your time is up. I would giveyou one minute.
Mr Awuah 12:15 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.That is where my point is. For those whodid not have the license, whose duty is itto safeguard their interest? I believe it isthe State's duty to make sure that citizensoperate within the framework of the law. But finally, Mr Speaker, the Presidentshowed --
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
If you are not licensed todrive and you take a car and you aredriving and something happens, who doyou hold responsible?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker,in this country, we know people putthemselves together and indicate that theywould want to form a political party. They
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Members, if you arenot licenced to transact a business andyou decide to go on with the businesswithout a licence, if there is a breach ofthe law, the law would just deal with you.All the people have a duty to check up tosee that the people that they are dealingwith have the relevant laws backing thembefore they go and do it. Hon Member, conclude. Some Hon Members --rose --
Mr Awuah 12:15 p.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker inconcluding, I would just want to say thatthe President --[Interruption] --
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Member for SunyaniWest, conclude.
Mr Awuah 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in concluding,the President showed a slide on thedevelopment of the campus of theUniversity of Health and Allied Sciences(UHeAS). The laws establishing thisUniversity was passed in the same meetingthat the University for Environment andEnergy (UENR) was also passed. Howcome the President did not show thedevelopment on that site too? It clearlyshows that the President is not developingthat particular university as it is beingdone in this other case. Mr Speaker, I rest my case.
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Kwame Agbodza?[Interruption.] Please, if Hon Members would behavethis way, I would not go by your list. I amonly co-operating with the Leadership onthis matter. I have a list before me and you
are number two on the list and youdeferred to somebody. Then I have calledHon Kwame Agbodza, the number fiveon the list. What is happening? If you repeat this, I would not look atthis list again. I would go strictly by therules where I call people who would catchmy eye because the list is not helping me. Mr Agbesi --rose --
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Yes? You could changeyour mind but you should let me knowahead of time.
Mr Agbesi 12:15 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.Just to apologise for the situation. I aminformed that it was an arrangementbecause the Hon Minister for Roads andHighways would have to attend aprogramme outside Accra tomorrow. Sincehe was billed to talk tomorrow, he hasarranged with Hon Agbodza to allow him --
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Yes, you can change yourmind and your list but you should informme ahead of time. You should not wait tillI call an Hon Member. There is a problem. [Pause.] Who is speaking from your side? Letme know.
Mr Agbesi 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, Hon InusahFuseini, the Minister for Roads andHighways.
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Minister for Roadsand Highways?
Minister for Roads and Highways(Alhaji Inusah A. B. Fuseini) (MP) 12:15 p.m.
Thankyou, Mr Speaker, for allowing me tocontribute to the State of the NationAddress delivered in this august Houseon 25th February, 2016 by His Excellencythe President.
Mr Speaker, on page 62 of the State ofthe Nation Address, the President said inhis address, which he subtitled roads assuch and I beg to quote: “Mr Speaker, since 2009, we haveadded 3,772 Kilometres to Ghana'smotorable network.”
Mr Speaker, to add 3,772 kilometres tothe road network is to expand the networkby 3,772 kilometres. Mr Speaker, that beingso, that is accountability. Mr Speaker, why do I say so? In theState of the Nation Address, H.E. thePresident delivered to this House, heraised the notch of accountability higherby demonstrating true evidence of whatwe have been able to achieve since heassumed office in this country. Mr Speaker, that being so, theaccountability displayed by H.E. thePresident is demonstrated in this House.It appears to me that we can no longerassert without proving same. That wasevident in your ruling. You said that if onedoes not have anything to say, one shouldnot say it. Mr Speaker, there have been attemptsto show that 3,772 kilometres of theexpansion of the road network is woefullyinadequate as compared to what othersbelieve, that they added 30,000 kilometresto the road network of the country withineight years. Mr Speaker, I rise to demonstrate thepalpable falsehood of adding 30,000kilometres to the road network within eightyears. Mr Speaker, in the year 2000, when theGovernment of the National DemocraticCongress (NDC) was exiting office,Ghana's road network stood a little bitabove 37,000 kilometres.
Mr Speaker, that road networkrepresented the roads that wereconstructed before Independence, theroads that Dr Kwame Nkrumah, formerPresidents A. A. Afrifa, Dr K. A. Busia,General I. K. Acheampong, LieutenantGeneral F. W. K. Akuffo, Dr Hilla Limannand Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlingsconstructed; a history of 50 years of 37,000kilometres of road network. Mr Speaker, it is simply illogical to useeight years to build an equivalent numberof roads, which is said to have been builtby the Government of the New PatrioticParty (NPP). That is not correct. [Hear!Hear!] Mr Speaker, let me demonstrate whythere was an increase in the road networkin this country. Mr Speaker, the countrygrows at about 10 per cent every year. Thismeans that there were roads that existedin this country, which were not part of theroad network database at the Ministry ofRoads and Highways. So, in 2008, what happened was that,all the roads that existed, which were notpart of the national road network werecaptured to reflect in the national roadnetwork. That gave us the realisticposition of our road network database at67,000 kilometres. That is not equivalentto constructing 30,000 kilometres of roads.
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Member for OldTafo, do you have a point of order?
Dr A. A. Osei 12:15 p.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker, andthis is to help my good Friend. I do not know what he meant, but hesaid that the country grows at 10 per cent.I do not think that was what he wanted tosay. So, if he could just correct himself,then we would follow him. This is becauseif the country is growing by 10 per cent,then we are in trouble.
Alhaji Fuseini 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it is thecountry's road network and not theeconomy. Mr Speaker, again, it has been saidsomewhere else that --
Mr Awuah 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the HonMinister has just accepted the fact thatthe country's road network grows at 10per cent per annum. Mr Speaker, the NPP was in power foreight years. If they came to inherit a roadnetwork of 37,000 kilometres, in eightyears, they would have added 30,000kilometres to it. [Interruption.] It is bythe calculation he talked of; it is a simplecalculation. Mr Speaker, so I do not see why theHon Minister said that it was not possiblesomebody could have constructed thatnumber of roads.
Alhaji Fuseini 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, indeed,H. E. fromer President J. A. Kufuor knewexactly how much he had added onto theroad network. So, in his last State of theNation Address, as part of accounting tothe people of this country, he stated onpage 7 and Mr Speaker, with yourpermission, I beg to quote:
“Mr Speaker, since 2001, over 1,000kilometres of feeder roads have beensurfaced nationwide.” Mr Speaker, the word is “surfaced”.The feeder roads existed and they weresurfaced.
“About 4,800 kilometres haveundergone rehabilitation.” Mr Speaker, he meant that the roadsexisted and they were rehabilitated.
“10,000 kilometres have undergonespot improvement…”
Mr Speaker, it means that roads existed,but they had deteriorated so much thatthey had to undertake spot improvementon those roads. “2,300 had been re-gravelled.”
Mr Speaker, the gravel that was on the2,300 kilometres had worn off, so theywere re-gravelled. “84 bridges had been built.”
Mr Speaker, that was the first time H.E.former President Kufuor used the word“built”. It means that the bridges were notin existence, so they were built. “500 kilometres of roadside drainshave been constructed...”
Mr Speaker, the correct choice of word-- There were no such roadside drains,so they were constructed. That is different from saying that theyhad constructed 30,000 kilometres ofroads. To say that they have“constructed” means that they hadbrought it into being, but that is not thecase. Mr Speaker, it has been saidsomewhere else that during the timeperiod between 2001 and 2008 -- I amhappy that my predecessors are here.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:15 p.m.
On a pointof order! Mr Speaker, I am really havingmyself tickled listening to the HonMinister. He was the person who exhibited thedocument from the Ministry of Roads andHighways the other day right here. Hemade a categorical statement that between2009 and now, they had increased the roadnetwork from 37,000 kilometres to 73,000kilometres.
I challenged him; I said to him that, thatwas incorrect. I said to him that rather, itwas between 2001 and 2009 when the roadnetwork expanded from 37,000 kilometresto 67,000 kilometres. He read to us in thisHouse, and after he had been confrontedwith reality, I clearly remember that he puthis two hands on his head and sat down. Today, from his own mouth, he issaying to us that the road network growsby 10 per cent per year. Now, he thenmoves to another comfort zone and hesaid that H. E. former President Kufuornever spoke about constructing new roadsanywhere. Is he then telling us that within the eightyears, he realises that nothing; no road,not an inch of road was added to the37,000? Is that the argument? We want tofollow him.
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Minister?
Alhaji Fuseini 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in fact,road networks were added but not 30,000kilometres of road network -- [Laughter.] Mr Speaker, the gravamen of the debateis whether 30,000 kilometres of roads wereconstructed. Mr Speaker, when I appearedbefore this House, I said that the roadnetwork had expanded from 37,000 to71,000. Expanded. Mr Speaker, there is a lot of meaningbehind “expanded”. We are being toldthat between 2001 and 2008 --
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Minister forDefence, do you have a point of order?
Dr Kunbuor 12:15 p.m.
That is so, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker, there seems to be someconfusion which I think both the HonMinister and the intervention shouldclarify. Mr Speaker, I am aware that between2005 and 2008, there was a re-classificationof roads in which cattle paths were gradedand re-classified as roads. So let us getthe clear idea of what exactly we mean byroads. Mr Speaker, the Hon Minority Leadermight be right that if those cattle pathswere re-classified as roads, then we knowwhat we are talking about -- [Laughter]But if we are talking about roads that havebeen constructed --
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Members, thereshould not be any problem. It was truethat earlier, there was an exchangebetween the Hon Minority Leader and theHon Minister for Roads and Highways. Ithink that was some time last year, Budgetdebate, where the Hon Minister madesome concessions. Now, he has come to use the State ofthe Nation Address of former PresidentKufuor to clarify the position. That is whythe Minority Leader is saying that againstthe backdrop of his earlier admission, heshould explain what he is saying now. Ithink that is where all the confusion iscoming from. Based on an earlier admission by theHon Minister for Roads and Highwayswhen he read a certain information from acertain document from the Ministry ofRoads and Highways to us on the floor.
Alhaji Fuseini 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, nobodyhas said that during the Budget debate -[Interruption.]
Dr Kunbuor 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my point oforder --
Mr Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Wait; the two of youcannot be on the floor. Hon Minister for Defence, are youtaking a point of order again?
Dr Kunbuor 12:45 p.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Against who?
Dr Kunbuor 12:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, theclarification is that the Hon Minister isout of Order because he is not aware ofthose cattle foot paths that I am talkingabout -- [Laughter]. So if he comes toadmit and raised his hand and sat down,he misled the House. This is becausethose were not roads. They were cattlepaths and I have three of them in myconstituency. In fact, if one goes back, hewould find that the trees have grown againafter the grader left -- [Laughter]. Yetthey are part of the statistics as roads thathave been added to the stock. This is my point of order, Mr Speaker.[Hear! Hear!]
Mr Speaker 12:45 p.m.
I was going to call him towind up.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker,with respect, in this country, roadclassification is done by threedepartments: The Ghana HighwayAuthority and not by the cutting mouthof the former Attorney-General --[Laughter.] Mr Speaker, then we have theDepartment of Feeder Roads. The thirdone is the Department of Urban Roads.These are the statutorily authorisedbodies to do that. Mr Speaker, he keeps mentioning cattlepaths and whatever, it perhaps exists inhis own chamber; certainly not known inGhana and not known in this House.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Ministerresponsible for Roads and Highways isaware of this. Let him not conjure anythingfrom his own armpit and inflict it on thisnation. With respect to the formerAttorney-General, there is nothing likecattle path association.
Alhaji Fuseini 12:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, theclassification is done by Ghana HighwaysAuthority, Department of Feeder Roadsand Department of Urban Roads. Mr Speaker, in the State of the NationAddress, I said --
Mr Speaker 12:45 p.m.
You have one minute tofinish.
Alhaji Fuseini 12:45 p.m.
Very well, Mr Speaker.The record is there for anybody whowants to look at it to do so. Mr Speaker, most importantly, it hasbeen said that between 2001 and 2008 --
Mr Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Hon Member,why areyou repeating this point? You havequoted the State of the Nation Addressof 2008 and you are still going back to2001.
Alhaji Fuseini 12:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it has beensaid between 2001 and 2008, roads wereconstructed at an average of US$480,000per kilometre. That is palpably anddemonstrably false. Between 2001 and2003, the Agona Junction-Takoradi roadwas done. It is a 24-kilometre roadconstructed at the cost of GH¢24.6 million. Mr Speaker, a casual arithmetic of thatputs it in a region of one 1 million dollarsper kilometre.
Mr Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Hon Members, I do notexpect you to fall victim to thesearguments. Construction of a roaddepends on a number of factors and youknow that. Anyway, please, has it beensaid on the floor of the House? You said ithas been said somewhere.
Alhaji Fuseini 12:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it was notsaid on the floor of the House. This is aHouse of debate and it is important thatthe facts be put in this House.
Mr Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Conclude.
Alhaji Fuseini 12:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, theresponse to the State of the NationAddress was what generated the 4,800.
Dr A. A. Osei 12:45 p.m.
On a point of order. MrSpeaker, it is important to be very carefulwhen we use words. This is because anaverage of 484 does mean that each oneof them is 484. So quoting one million, wecan have two thousand and it can averageto 484. So, what is his problem? Average,median, mode and all of those. So heshould be careful. That statement by itselfis not false.
Alhaji Fuseini 12:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, averagesshould be reasonable and demonstrable-- [Laughter.] Mr Speaker, the Fomesua --Duaponpon road is a road that wasawarded in 2008, when the New PatrioticParty (NPP) was just about exiting office.It is also a 24-kilometre road. Mr Speaker, I agree entirely with youthat any person speaking on roads mustdemonstrate an understanding of whatgoes into costing roads. Mr Speaker, it ispalpably false to say that a road anywherein this country, on average, would beUS$480,000.00. Mr Speaker, the Fomesua-Duaponpon road was constructed farabove two million dollars per kilometre.
Mr Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Your last sentence.
Alhaji Fuseini 12:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my lastsentence is to say that the Presidentmentioned the Berekum -- Drobo road--
Mr Speaker 12:55 p.m.
Your last sentence,please. Mr Speaker, the Berekum -Droboroad is a 15-kilometre road and it isawarded to J. Adum at the cost of --
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:55 p.m.
Mr Speaker,with respect to the Hon Minister, hementioned a figure. He said 27,000 and hedid not finish. If he adds the currency andhe stops, that would be better for us.
Mr Speaker 12:55 p.m.
The Minority Leader issaying that for the record to be complete,he wants the currency.
Alhaji Fuseini 12:55 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank theHon Minority Leader for the intervention.Mr Speaker, that road is awarded to J.Adum Limited at the cost ofGH¢27,089,958.83 a 15-kilometre stretch. Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mrs Gifty E. Kusi (NPP -- Tarkwa-Nsuaem) 12:55 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for theopportunity to contribute to the Motionto thank H.E. the President --
Mr Speaker 12:55 p.m.
First Deputy Speaker totake the Chair.
MR FIRST DEPUTY SPEAKER
Mrs Kusi 12:57 p.m.
For the State of the NationAddress that he delivered to this House. Mr Speaker, I was very sad that daybecause, I realised that the women ofGhana are being short-changed under thisGovernment. Mr Speaker, why do I say so?
Mrs Kusi 12:57 p.m.


First and foremost, on page 29 of theState of the Nation Address, paragraph 2,line 6, the President said, Mr Speaker, withyour permission, I beg to quote: “We have also registered a 1,000 ofthe kayayei free onto the NHIS inorder to enable them access qualityhealthcare”

Mr Speaker, on February 27 2014, theHon Minister for Gender, Children andSocial Protection was in this House; I havethe Hansard of that day in my hands. Mr Speaker, the kayayei numbered upto about 15,000 as at last year, so,registration of only one thousand, whatare they doing in Government after eightyears? It was the hope that SavannahAccelerated Development Authority(SADA) would do something, but all ofus know what happened to it. Mr Speaker, another is the fact that theNPP Administration passed the DomesticViolence Act. For eight years, I thoughtthat at least, this Government would havebrought the Legislative Instrument (L.I.)to Parliament by this year. Every document -- The Hon Ministerfor Finance gets here and reads theBudget and the President is also here withthe State of the Nation Address and hesaid that the L.I. has been finalised andwould be brought. Mr Speaker, whenwould the Domestic Violence Act beoperational? When would the L.I. be ready for thewomen of Ghana to, at least, havesomething to hold on to? I was verydisappointed that day. Mr Speaker, youcan find that on page 26 of the State ofthe Nation Address which was delivered.

Mr Speaker, I also believe that whenwe say we are doing some interventionfor a group, we should go away fromtokenism. The fact that the Hon Ministerfor Chieftaincy and Traditional Affairs isa person with disability (PWDs) -- It is avery good thing; I would not say it is notgood -- But that is the person thatsomething has been done for -- thePersons with Disability. The Act stated that after 10 years inthis country, something should be done.Institutions should make PWDs accessstorey buildings and so on. What do wesee? Mr Speaker, the new schools whichwere built, there is nothing for thedisabled. Staircases were constructed andthe PWDs cannot go to the top floors. MrSpeaker, for 10 years, this Government hasbeen in power for eight years. The President said on page 28 of theState of the Nation Address that they havenow brought the designs forimplementation. When? After eight years?I was really sad on that day.
Mr Speaker, on page 46 of the Address,with your permission, I beg to quote 12:57 p.m.
“As I speak, 80.5% of our peoplenow enjoy access to electricity.This compares significantly with58% of the coverage in 2009.”
Mr Speaker, I have in my hand theHansard of 12th August, 2008 and oncolumns 83 and 84, the New Patriotic Party(NPP) Administration brought a loan fromUnited States of American EXIM Bank tothis House. The project was: “Self HelpElectrification Project (SHEP-4)” to benefit2500 communities. Mr Speaker, if todaywe have more rural communities that havebeen connected to the national grid, weshould thank the NPP Administration for
that wonderful job that they did -- [Hear!Hear!] For that single loan.
Mr Speaker, I also think that for thewomen of Ghana, we are giving birth - Onpage 18 of the State of the Nation Address,the President spoke about the reductionof infantS under five mortality rate. MrSpeaker, there was something missing:The maternal mortality rate. What the President said was that thewomen are having their children and theyare well. At what rate? Why did he fail tomention maternal mortality rate? This isbecause it is dwindling. The free maternalcare that the NPP Adminstration brought,Mr Speaker, what do we see now? TheNHIS what do we see and what do wehear. I am on the Health and Gender andChildren Committee so I know what I amtalking about. [Hear! Hear!] Mr Speaker, the visitors of H.E. thePresident to this House in the Gallery wereabout 16 and majority were women. I thinkthat the women of this country are in astate that something drastic should bedone -- [Interruption] -- To helpimprove their welfare. Mr Speaker, given a LivelihoodEmpowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) ofGH¢42.00, some are quoting GH¢60.00 isnot the best -- [Interruption.] How muchdo I want? I want all; I want GH¢1,000.00that is what I want. Mr Speaker, I can see that if not all --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:57 p.m.
HonMember, you have three more minutes togo.
Mrs Kusi 12:57 p.m.
Most of the socialintervention programmes were initiated bythe NPP Administration. What social
intervention programme has thisGovernment brought to the table? TheSchool Feeding Programme is going down,the LEAP Programme itself was initiatedby the NPP Administration. The DomesticViolence Act and the Persons withDisability Act, L.Is, no! Implementationprogramme, no! Rural electrification; NPP,free maternal care is collapsing. MrSpeaker, so what social intervention isthis Government bringing for the womenof Ghana to -- Mr Speaker, I think we have to ensurethat more than half of the population ofthis country is made up of women.
Mr Samuel O. Ablakwa 12:57 p.m.
On a point oforder. Mr Speaker, the Hon Gifty Kusi ismisleading the House. She said that ruralelectrification is a social interventionwhich was introduced by the NPP. MrSpeaker, it has been ongoing since thePNDC era. I am hearing this for the firsttime and I am really surprised. She also said that she is not aware ofany new social intervention. I am shocked.I am surprised she has not heard aboutthe free school uniforms and free sandalsprogramme -- [Interruption] -- Theprogressive free senior high schoolprogramme. There are so many socialintervention programmes all over theplace. I am surprised that she said shecannot remember one.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:57 p.m.
HonMember, can you continue?
Mrs Kusi 12:57 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I was referringto the SHEP Programme under the USEXIM Bank, which was supposed toconnect 2,500 communities. The first andthe last of its kind. No programme hasbrought that number to this House.
Dr Kunbour 1:05 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr Speaker, I think we should get the

So, it meant that rural electrification had been taking place. One cannot go to primary four from home. I just want the Hon Member to get the record straight that indeed, some activities had been taking place on rural electrification and they met it with SHEP -4, at the fourth stage. That is the correct position.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:05 p.m.
Hon Member, can you continue?
Mrs Kusi 1:05 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for ruling them out because that is not what I said.
Mr Speaker, I said that 2,500 communities for SHEP 4 -- It was the first of its kind. This is because other programmes had 900, 200, 140 communities and others. But that particular single loan was going to connect 2,500 communities. That is what I said. I did not say you were not doing rural electrification. No, that is not what I said.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:05 p.m.
Hon Member, your time is up but I would give you one more minute because of the interventions.
Mrs Kusi 1:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, majority of the visitors to this gallery were women. We can see that women are at a disadvantage in this country. I would want to call on all governments that are yet to come to know that when you educate more than half of the population of women of this country or you ensure that they are developed, the country would get somewhere.
Mr Speaker, during the District Assembly Elections, we heard that women were oppressed. A woman stands for election and the husband says he has divorced her. Mr Speaker, we should get up and ensure that we educate women -- Today, is International Women's Day -- We should bring women to the fore in this country. As soon as men are recruited they rent houses and look for wives to come --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:05 p.m.
Hon Member, your time is up.
Mrs Kusi 1:05 p.m.
So, why are they dis- criminating against them.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:05 p.m.
Hon
Members, it is now the turn of Hon Kwasi Ashiaman.
Mr Daniel K. Ashiaman (NDC -- Buem) 1:05 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to comment on His Excellency John Dramani Mahama's State of the Nation Address read to this House. In doing so, I would like to focus on page 49 which speaks about diversifying the economy.
Mr Speaker, on that very day, I was really happy in this House, having listened with rapt attention to all that His Excellency said. Taking into consideration the diversification of the economy using the route of getting revenue for this nation by focussing on the production of coffee, poultry, sheanut and palm plantation in this country.
Mr Speaker, the reason I am very happy is that I have realised that these are the basics that can support a nation to go forward. We as Ghanaians, especially the
youth who are growing, this has a very monumental meaning for all of us in which case you would realise that if we produce more and export, or the majority that we have left, we would use it to process in these local communities.
Take a look at Unilever Ghana Limited. Their main raw material for the production of lotions and edible oil and soap is palm oil. So also we are taking a critical look at Dark and Lovely Company in Accra which is using cocoa butter and sheanut butter to produce pomades and lotions for our women and men.
Mr Speaker, in doing so, I was particularly very happy and I asked myself what His Excellency was doing then to actually make sure that these things are dissipated in all parts of this country. I came to a realisation that His Excellency John Dramani Mahama has really improved upon road networks.
In fact, those who used the Adomi Bridge in the year 2013 and 2014 would realise what I am saying and talk about the cost of travelling time. Today, the Adomi Bridge has been rehabilitated and I am very sure that the people travelling to the mid and northern sectors of Ghana through the Volta Region are very happy.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:05 p.m.
Hon Member, you have two more minutes.

the power sector that Government has actually given us right now. The educational sector that is building up.Then we look at the communicationnetwork in this nation.

Right now, what we as Ghanaians,especially the youth need is not a changeof leadership but a change of attitude,looking at the global unemployment thatis coming up, that what can we use thisinfrastructure that the Government of thiscountry is giving us to support and makethe nation go forward. Mr Speaker, I plead with all of us thatwe need to look at this infrastructuraldevelopment and the policy ofGovernment in pushing this nationforward, especially, the youth so that wecan use our God given talent to developthis nation. Mr Speaker, with these few words, Ithank you for the opportunity.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:05 p.m.
Thank youvery much. Hon Members, the next to takethe floor is Hon Maj. Derek Oduro(retd).[Pause] Is he not in the Chamber? Then it isthe turn of Hon Mustapha Ussif.
Mr Mustapha Ussif (NPP -- Yagaba/Kubori) 1:05 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, forgiving me this opportunity to contributeto the Motion which was ably moved by mysenior Colleague, Hon Mahama Ayariga,MP for Bawku Central.
Mr Speaker, in doing so, I would like torefer you to page 46 of the President'sState of the Nation Address. Mr Speaker,with your permission, I would like to quoteparagraph 3. It reads: “Mr Speaker, as I speak, 80.5% ofour people now enjoy access toelectricity.”
Mr Speaker, I doubt this figure becausein paragraph 463 of the 2015 Budget, theHon Minister for Finance stated clearlythat 1,500 communities were to beconnected in order to increase theelectricity accessibility rate from 76 percent to 80 per cent. Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister forFinance again brought the 2016 Budget.On paragraph 517, the Hon Minister forFinance stated clearly that out of the 1,500communities that were supposed to beconnected in order to achieve the 80 percent accessibility rate, only 550communities were connected. Mysteriously, they were able toachieve 80 per cent accessibility rate. Thatis why, Mr Speaker, I said this figure of 80per cent accessibility rate can never betrue. Mr Speaker, I would want to use myselfas an example. In my constituency,Yagaba/Kubori, we have over 60communities in the constituency which isalso known as Mamprugu MoaduridDistrict. Out of the 60 communities, only 15 areconnected. Mr Speaker, where from this

Mr Speaker, I would like to drawattention to transparency andaccountable governance. The Presidentsaid -- with your permission, Mr Speaker,I would like to quote:

“The first instalment of GH¢300,000has been paid to the Attorney-General's Department which wasmoney the Attorney-Generalrecommended that those moneysbe refunded by Smarttys.” Mr Speaker, I would like to ask thePresident and the Government, we allknow that there are directives that otherindividuals and companies are also beingdirected to pay some moneys to the Statecoffers. What about Woyome's money forwhich judgement was given in theSupreme Court, that those moneys wereto be refunded to the State? What is thestatus of those moneys? What is also thestatus of the AGAMS Group? We are allaware that they are also to refund somemoneys to the State coffers? Mr Speaker, we would want to urge thePresident, His Excellency John DramaniMahama, that he should be bold oncorruption. He should leave a legacy. Thisis because in my village, when somebodysteals a goat and is caught, the goat wouldbe collected, yet the person would be sentto the police station for prosecution. Why is it that individuals in thiscountry would take monies wrongly, yetthe President, through the Attorney-General would just give directives thatthose monies should be refunded and

leave those individuals to go scot free?Where is the deterrent for others not todo a similar thing in future? Mr Speaker, I also want to speak onthe energy situation in this country. Mostof the power companies are in seriouscrisis. Volta River Authority (VRA), as wespeak today, cannot raise their own letterof credit (LC) to purchase a strategicequipment and fuel to power plants. The Electricity Company of Ghana(ECG) today, cannot raise their own LCon their account --
rose
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:15 p.m.
Is it apoint of order?
Mr Ussif 1:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, as I said, ECGtoday, cannot pay VRA becauseGovernment and its Agencies andDepartments owe ECG over GH¢700,000,000. And because of that, ECG cannotpay VRA, ECG cannot pay GRIDCO andcannot raise money to pay all theseagencies. That is why most of theseenergy companies are on their knees. Mr Speaker, on the issue of SavannahAccelerated Development Authority(SADA), when H. E. the late Prof. EvansJohn Atta Mills launched the SADA andbrought the Bill to this House, both sidesof this House supported SADA whole-heartedly. We supported SADA becausewe knew SADA was to bridge the gapbetween the South and the North. Today, what have we seen? The gap israther widening instead of bridging.Where is the over GH¢200 million thathas been voted into SADA and up to date,the people of the North have notbenefited..
rose
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:15 p.m.
Yes, HonMinister, is it a point of Order?
Mr Ayariga 1:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I believe thisalso is a question of evidence when yousaid that the gap is widening. Mr Speaker, Tamale Airport isbecoming one of the best airports in thecountry, the universities are expanded andwe are creating additional universities. Mr Speaker, hospitals are beingconstructed et cetera, and they are allfrom the central Government. So, the factthat an activity has not been undertakenby SADA does not mean that nothing ishappening in the north and therefore thegap is widening. That is a matter of fact. So, if you say the gap between thenorth and south is widening, you mustadduce evidence to that effect. Theinability of SADA cannot be evidence thatthe gap between the North and South iswidening.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:15 p.m.
Very well. I think it is a question of opinion, weproceed.
Mr Ussif 1:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, that is myopinion. This is because I am also aMember of Parliament from the SADAregion and my constituents, day in dayout, I see the plight in them and thepoverty level on their faces. In fact, SADAwas to address those concerns. Mr Speaker, with these few words, Ithank you for giving me this opportunity.[Hear! Hear!]
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:15 p.m.
Thank youvery much.
Hon Members, it is now the turn of HonKofi Humado.
Mr Clement Kofi Humado (NDC --Anlo) 1:15 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for theopportunity to contribute to the Motionthat this Honourable House thanks H. E.the President, for the Message on theState of the Nation Address. Mr Speaker, the underlying theme forthe State of the Nation Address is,‘Putting the People First'. And thisemphasises the people-centred approachand governance of the NDC and its socialdemocratic policies. It also emphasises that the people arethe greatest assets and that the peoplehave the power to change and influencethe course of events and the power toshape the future of this great nation ofours. I was also very enthused by theevidence based approach adopted indelivering the State of the Nation Address.This is because the President has backedhis talk with living beneficiaries who wereshown to us. I know that some of us wereworried about the statistics. But if we goby the statistics -- Mr O. B. Amoah --rose --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:15 p.m.
Is it a pointof order?
Mr O. B. Amoah 1:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the HonMember started his contribution bysaying that the theme for the Address is‘Putting People first'. But I do not see itanywhere. For instance, if you start with 2009State of the Nation Address, it is ‘RescuePlan for a Better Ghana'. If we go to the2015 State of the Nation Address, it isStructural Transformation: Rising to the
Challenge'. In the 2016 State of theNation Address, I do not see anything. So, where is he bringing --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:15 p.m.
Have youlooked at page 9?
Mr O. B. Amoah 1:15 p.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker. Ifyou go further, there are other sub-themesand topics. So, which one are we taking? Mr Speaker, I can give example, onEducation; ‘Building a strong andResilient Economy'. Can we say that, thatis the theme? Or is it because it is thefirst part of it, we can just say that is thetheme, “Putting People first'? Every themeis at the back of the State of the NationAddress. I do not see it here as comparedwith others. I have all the copies, the themeis at the back.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:15 p.m.
Very well. Hon Member, can you respond to that?
Mr Humado 1:15 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. In the copy of the State of the NationAddress that I have, I have ‘PuttingPeople First' on the cover at page 2 andthat is what I am referring to. Mr Speaker, the State of the NationAddress has touched on a number ofprojects within the educational sector andwithin the social protection sector.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:15 p.m.
HonMembers, I would like to make thiscomment; he has indicated what heconsidered to be the theme being at thefirst presentation. You are talking of whatshould appear on the cover. That hasbeen the practice but we can veer fromthe normal practice. This is his point, so,let us make some progress. Yes, Hon Minority Leader?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker,when his attention was drawn to theabsence of any theme, he quoted frompage 2 of the State of the Nation Address.But clearly, there is nothing on page 2,unless he is holding another version ofthe State of the Nation Address.
Mr Bedzrah 1:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the themefor this year's State of the Nation Addresscan be seen as a footnote runningthrough the whole booklet. It is
“#Changing Lives #Transforming Ghana”
[Interruptions.] -- “Putting People First” is thesubheading for the first part of the Stateof the Nation Address.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:25 a.m.
HonMembers, I do not see why we shouldoverstretch this. He has referred to thisportion as representing the theme.
Mr O. B. Amoah 1:25 a.m.
With all due respect,he is also telling us a different theme sowhich one should we accept?
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:25 a.m.
Very well.So, we have differences of opinions.
Mr O. B. Amoah 1:25 a.m.
Which one is thetheme? We want to know.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:25 a.m.
Please, letus make progress. Hon Member, please,continue.
Mr Humado 1:25 a.m.
Thank you Mr Speaker. The State of the Nation Address haspointed out so many positive develop-ments under health, education and socialprotection programmes. I would like tofocus on the fisheries or aquacultureaspect, particularly, the production ofshrimps.

Mr Speaker, production of shrimps issomething that brings a lot of foreignexchange to countries like Ecuador, CostaRica, Vietnam, India and Thailand. In Ghana, we have an ecosystem,particularly in the coastal and ripariancommunities that can be home to shrimpproduction. The problem has always beenhow to hatch the post larvae orfingerlings from the parents in the wildunder intensive systems. Mr Speaker, that technology is nowwith us through the private sector. I amaware of a few private sector companiesthat have developed hatcheries at Ada andAnlo and we have overcome thatbottleneck of producing fingerlings orpost larvae. We are all aware that the Ghana LivingStandard Survey shows that the coastalcommunities still lag behind theircounterparts in the forest areas. Also, thatthe communities on the coast arerelatively poorer than their counterpartselsewhere, except for the savannah areasin the north of this country. This projecttherefore, has the potential of reducingpoverty in the coastal areas of this countryif it is well implemented. Mr Speaker, the State of the NationAddress states that an estimate of 76,000direct jobs would be created, 30,000 metrictonnes of shrimps would be produced forexport and about US$60 million to US$200million would be realised from this project.This definitely would make a difference inthe diversification of the economy,improve the rural economies in these areasand also create a lot of jobs. However, I wish to state that in termsof creating jobs, we do not need to focusonly on the commercial aspects of the

private sector. We also need to adopttechnologies that are semi-intensive, lesscostly and more affordable to the youthin these areas to also adopt. This is why Ithink that the Youth Employment Agency(YEA) programme should also adopt aYouth in Aquaculture module that wouldfit into the shrimp production programmeof H. E. the President. Mr Speaker, I believe that the State ofthe Nation Address offers hope for thefuture of Ghanaians. What is importantabove all, is that, we all need to put ourshoulders to the wheel. Irrespective ofour political persuasions, we need tosupport the policies and programmes ofH.E. the President, so that Ghana canbecome a prosperous middle-incomecountry, where prosperity would cutacross all political divides and everybodyin Ghana, either at the left or right of thepolitical divide, would be touched by theprosperity. Mr Speaker, with these few commentsand observations, I wish to thank you forthe opportunity.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:25 a.m.
HonMembers, the last to take the floor is HonHenry Quartey.
Mr Henry Quartey (NPP -- AyawasoCentral) 1:25 a.m.
Thank you very much, MrSpeaker, for the opportunity to contributeto the Motion on the State of the NationAddress delivered by H. E. President JohnDramani Mahama on the 25th of February,2016. Mr Speaker, as a Member of Parliamentwho represents the good people ofAyawaso Central, I speak on their behalfand echo their voices, challenges andproblems. Taking a cue from page 9 of theState of the Nation Address, “PuttingPeople First”, I have engaged quite anumber of my constituents, who reposedconfidence in me to represent them here
and I believe most of the Hon Membershere, 275 in all, do same for their respectiveconstituencies. Most of the questions they put weresimple. Indeed, if H. E. the President isputting them first -- I could not bringthem here to put them in the gallerybecause they were too many. Indeed, ifhe is putting them first, then I would liketo contribute based on the evidences onthe ground in the constituency. The first question is on education. WasH. E. the President, aware of the fact thatmost teachers were in the state of goingon strike before he delivered the State ofthe Nation Address? Was H. E. thePresident, aware of all the challenges thatteachers are going through in this countrybefore the State of the Nation Address?Was H. E. the President also aware thatbetween 2011 and 2015 to estimate, closeto about 271,000 people have graduatedfrom the universities? Mr Speaker, I would like to lead themat this stage to employment. To date, wehave the Unemployed GraduatesAssociation. In their recent statement,approximately 5,000 of about 289,538graduates in this country have beenformally employed. This goes to suggestthat close to 280,000 graduates in thiscountry at the moment are unemployed. It is interesting to note that this isputting the people first. With yourpermission, let me read from page 9,paragraph 2, what H. E. the President said.I would now liken it to the situation onthe ground.
“We politicians are known fortalking a lot, yet the irony of such astereotype is that in actual fact,words often fail us. They fail toconvey the numerous ways . . .”
Mr Buah 1:35 p.m.
On a point of order. MrSpeaker, I heard my Hon Colleaguemention some unemployment figures. Ihad wanted him to quote the source. --[Interruption.]
Mr Quartey 1:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, respectfully,I would like the Hon Minister to listencarefully. I believe my minutes would beadded on.
Mr Speaker, I beg to quote again 1:35 p.m.
“We politicians are known fortalking a lot, yet the irony of such astereotype is that in actual fact,words often fail us. They fail toconvey the numerous ways in whichwhat we are doing is directlyimpacting the lives of those we areserving. And that is because wespeak in ways that sometimes takethe very subjects of our concernsand turn them into objects, or placethem in demographics, or speak ofthem as statistics”. Mr Speaker, these were H.E. thePresident's own words. Mr Speaker, H.E. the President talkedabout energy and said he has fixed it.Has he fixed the lives of the lost ones inthis country during the energy crises? Hashe fixed the loss of investments thatbusinesses had to put up in this country?Has he fixed the unemployment situationin this country as a result of the energycrises? Mr Speaker, it is evidently clear that,most businesses have either shut downor are currently owing huge sums ofmonies to their creditors. Has he been ableto fix that? Obviously, the answer is, no!
Mr Speaker, when one goes to thesocial intervention sector, in economics,they say 1:35 p.m.
the law of deminishing returns,that in applying a successive unit of avariable factor to a fix factor, outputeventually diminishes. Mr Speaker, indeed, a lot of peoplehave been registered under the NationalHealth Insurance Scheme (NHIS). Thequestion I ask is, are they getting accessto medical treatment? Are they gettingvalue for holding the card? Are they beingtreated of their medical conditions? For instance, if the priority of aGovernment is to brand buses at GH¢3.6million, it is sad to note --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
HonMember, you have three more minutes.
Mr Quartey 1:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it could beyour family member or my family member-- that people have to die because of lackof oxygen. Mr Speaker, still on Health, H.E. thePresident cut sod at the Children's Wardof the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, buttill date, nothing has been done there.Perhaps, the GH¢3.6 million could havebeen channeled there. Mr Speaker, it is interesting to note thattoday, we have been made to believe,through H.E. the President's State of theNation Address that, GH¢50.00 canestablish somebody by rearing pigs. Itis good. Therefore, by H.E. thePresident's own submission, I would liketo make these calculations. Mr Speaker, GH¢15 million wasprovided for the akomfem project --Guinea Fowl Project. If one breaks it down-- if GH¢15 million is divided by 50, what
it turns to suggest is that, by now, 250,000people up in the Northern Region shouldhave been well established running theakomfem business. Is that the case? No! Mr Speaker, unless they cannot bringthe --
Mr Ayariga 1:35 p.m.
On a point of order. MrSpeaker, the structure of the argument isvery misleading. It is not as if the GH¢50.00 is a one-off event. So, for the HonMember to argue that if someone isgiven just GH¢ 50.00, the person wouldnot be able to establish him or herself. It is a misleading argument and it hasbeen adequately established by the HonLaadi Ayamba that, in her constituencyin Pusiga, by her analysis, a woman cantake GH¢50.00, and based on even if abasket of tomatoes is GH¢8.00, the personcan buy a basket of tomatoes, go to themarket, trade with it and earn revenue fromthe profit. So, somebody can beestablished with GH¢50.00. Mr Speaker, with the argument aboutthe Guinea Fowl project, that is a project.It is a project to develop an industry inthe country. So, I do not see theconnection between the Guinea FowlProject and the LEAP project that we arepursuing.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
HonMembers, this is a point of opinion andso let us just allow the debate to flow. Yes, Hon Member, your time is up.Please, conclude.
Mr Quartey 1:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, on energyagain, I believe Ghana would be betteroff in dumsor than what we areexperiencing today. This is because as wespeak, if one does the calculation todayper the increase in tariffs, one is better offbuying petrol rather than using electricity.
Mr Speaker, was H.E. the Presidentaware that in the year 2015, a 79,000people --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
HonMember, your time is up.
Mr Quartey 1:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, theyintervened. Please, let me wind up. Mr First Deputy Speaker HonMembers, this brings us to the end of thedebate for today. Yes, Hon Deputy Majority Leader? Mr Awuah -- rose --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
Yes, HonDeputy Minority Whip?
Mr Awuah 1:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, you called HonMaj. Derek Oduro. He is here and so, ifyou could --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
Unfor-tunately, we got somebody to replace him;we moved on to the next person. WhenHon Maj. Derek Oduro was not available,Hon Mustapha Ussif who was the next inline made his presentation and then wemoved to Hon Kwesi Ashiaman and wecame to this Side of the aisle. We had HonKofi Homado and we came to the lastperson; Hon Henry Quartey.
Mr Awuah 1:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, theunderstanding we had in the morning wasthat we were taking seven each and so,we presented seven names. I do not knowthe number my Hon Colleagues on theother side presented. [Interruptions] Mr Speaker, the Hon Deputy MajorityLeader was called but he said he was notready.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
Yes, HonDeputy Majority Leader?
Mr Agbesi 1:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the debatewould continue tomorrow. We can moveto item number 15 -- Chartered Instituteof Taxation Bill, at the Consideration Stage.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:35 p.m.
Very well.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:45 p.m.
Very well. Hon Members, item number 15 on theOrder Paper; Chartered Institute ofTaxation Bill, 2014, at the ConsiderationStage.
BILLS — CONSIDERATION STAGE
Chartered Institute of TaxationBill, 2014
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:45 p.m.
HonChairman, could you update me as to howfar we have gone with this Bill?
Chairman of the Committee (MrMathias Asoma Puozaa) 1:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, Ibelieve we have got the trick this time.We have met with the movers of theamendments of the Bill and both sides ofthe House have come to a conclusion that,clause 4 should read as follows —
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:45 p.m.
Very well. So, you are saying that we should startfrom clause 4. Can we then hear from you? Clause 4 — Governing body of theInstitute.
Mr Puozaa 1:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to movethat, Clause 4, subclause (1), delete andinsert the following:
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:45 p.m.
HonChairman, can you give us the rationalebehind this proposed amendment?
Mr Puozaa 1:45 p.m.
Yes Mr Speaker. We are taking cognisance of the factthat this is an academic institution thoughit has a lot of practical business in taxation.They do train students and therefore, theCommittee has made room to cater for thisinterest, just like the normal UniversityCouncil. So, we have created room to takecare of the lecturers and even thestudents, et cetera. We have also seen that unlike what wasdebated the other time, the Vice Presidentis representing the elected members of theInstitute itself.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:45 p.m.
Very well. I hope you have gone through somewinnowing, as far as —
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 1:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, Irise to support the amendment moved bythe Chairman of the Committee. Therationale being that, this is both a trainingand a professional institution. We need abody that will regulate the training and atthe same time regulate the practice of theprofession. The composition of the GoverningCouncil meets the two needs in the sensethat, we have a representative of theMinistry of Education, the Ministry ofFinance and the Attorney-General'sDepartment. So, we provide for the interestof the public, which may not necessarilybe practitioners of tax. And we also havetwo members nominated by the State, thusthe Minister. Mr Speaker, and so we now cater forthe training and also for the regulation ofthe profession, with interest from outsidethe profession. In this case, we realisethat, we have five. The membership is 11,but we have five coming from outside theInstitute. So, it serves the interest of theregulation of the profession from theperspective of persons who may not
necessarily be members of the institute orbe practitioners of the profession. So, Ibelieve that this will serve the objectiveof this Institute. And as seen from thelong title, it is to regulate the practice oftaxation, both training and regulatory, andalso meets the functions of the instituteas stated in clause 3. Mr Speaker, I therefore pray that theHouse supports this amendment movedby the Chairman of the Committee.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:45 p.m.
HonMembers, in that case, I will put theQuestion. I believe it is quite clear —
Mr Agbesi 1:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, as much as Iwill support the amendment, the issue hadbeen the inclusion of the Vice Presidenton the Governing body. Mr Speaker, the Governing body asproposed by the amendment, is made upof a Chairperson — now the President,the Vice President, and when we go downto clause 4 (g), we have the Registrar ofthe Institute — Four persons from theInstitute serving on the Governing body. So, I would have wished the Chairmanto dilate on why these four persons areon the Governing body, particularly whenthe President of the Institute is there andhis Vice must also be there. I want to beconvinced on why particularly, the VicePresident is included on the body. I willsupport the amendment if that is done.
Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh 1:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker,this decision was arrived at after a veryextensive consultation with those who arepromoting the Bill and all of us who raisedissues about the composition of theCouncil. And in the case that my HonColleague is talking about, it is becausesome people would be elected to be part
of the Council. So, it would be ridiculousto have ordinary members of the Institutewho may be elected and the Vice Presidentwould not be part of the Council. And sowe think that the Vice President would beamong the number that should even beelected to be part of this. But because it is a regulatory body, andas my senior Hon Colleague alreadyindicated, this is also a professional bodyand therefore, we need somebody withinside knowledge of what goes on in theCouncil. The Vice President cannot beoutside. That is why we think that thiscomposition caters for the concerns thatHon Members raised here and I urge allHon Members to support the amendment.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:45 p.m.
Very well. Hon Members, I will put the Question.
Mr O. B. Amoah 1:55 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I totallyagree with the amendment except thatthere are one or two things that I wouldwant to clarify. Clause 4 (e) (ii) says “one other personwith expertise in taxation representingacademia;” I do not know if it should be ‘theacademia' or ‘academia'. I think we shouldnot have ‘the academia'. The substantive issue I have is withclause 4 (f) (ii): (ii) The Ministry of Finance (from theGhana Revenue Authority) not below therank of a Commissioner. Mr Speaker, I do not understand whyit is put this way. If it is from GRA, weshould state that it should not be below
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
Very well. I would give the Chairman theopportunity to explain. In the meantime,Idirect that having regard to the state ofproceedings, we sit beyond the stipulatedtime under Standing Order 40 (3). Chairman of the Committee, the HonMember has raised two issues; one hasto do with clause 4 (e) (ii) which talks aboutone other person with expertise intaxation representing the academia andthe other one with the GRA issue which
states that the person should not be belowthe rank of a Commissioner. Can yourespond to that?
Mr Puozaa 1:55 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we believe thatgiving a place to the Ministry of Financemakes it institutional. We wanted to bespecific and so instead of leaving it as“one person from the Ministry ofFinance”, we suggest that the personshould be from the GRA. Hon Members know very well thatGRA is composed of CEPS and IRS -- allthe tax collectors. [Interruption] -- Isaid all the tax collectors. So, we feel thatwe should really pin-point the area thatthe person should come from and not justthe Ministry. Anybody in the Ministry could beappointed, but we want to be sure thatthe fellow is relevant. [Interruption.] No!GRA is under the Ministry of Finance justlike we have the Ministry of Education.So, it is institutional representation.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
Very well. Can the Chairman comment on theacademia issue?
Mr Puozaa 1:55 p.m.
Mr Speaker, do you meanthe article “the”?
Mr Puozaa 1:55 p.m.
We can comfortably deletethat. So please -- it should read:
“One other person with expertise intaxation representing academia”and not “the academia”. Thank you.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
MrChairman, do I understand you to beproposing that we delete “representingthe academia”?
Mr Puozaa 1:55 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we shoulddelete the article “the”.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
Very well.
Mr Agbesi 1:55 p.m.
Mr Speaker, let us look atclause 4 (1) (d)(iii) which talks about“Students of the Institute” Mr Speaker, which students? [Pause]“Students” must be qualified.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
I believe itis students of the Institute of Taxation.
Mr Agbesi 1:55 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it says:
(d) 3 other Members representing (i) Education and TrainingCommittee of the Institute; (ii) Examinations Committee of theInstitute and (iii) Students of the Institute;
Mr Speaker, it is amorphous.
Papa Owusu-Ankomah 1:55 p.m.
Mr Speaker, inevery professional training institution, wehave student members. It is probably inthe case of the Ghana Bar Association thatwe do not have student members. If wego to Chartered Accountants -- they havestudent members. With the Institute ofBanking, we have student members. So, itrefers to the students of the Institute. If the Hon Deputy Minority Leaderthinks that it should be “studentmembers”, I do not have any objectionbut to say that it is amorphous -- It is notcorrect and it can never be correct becauseit is a training institute.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
HonMembers, I will put the Question. Question put and amendment agreedto.
Clause 4 as amended ordered to standpart of the Bill.
Mr Puozaa 1:55 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg tomove --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
MrChairman, can you just excuse me. Let memention the clause number and then theClerks-at-the-Table will read the headnotebefore we come to you. Hon Members, clause 5. Clause 5 -- Tenure of office ofMembers.
Mr Puozaa 1:55 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move,
clause 5, subcaluse (2), line 2, delete“and the Minister, through thePresident of the Institute” andinsert “through the Minister”. This is to have a direct constructioninstead of the other way, where theywould have to go through the Ministerand then to the President.We shoulddelete that so that it remains -- rather thanaddressing the resignation to both thePresident and the Minister.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
Very well. Question put and amendment agreedto. Mr Boafo-- rose --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
Hon W. O.Boafo?
Mr Boafo 1:55 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I entered latewhen we were on clause 4 but I have someobservations --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:55 p.m.
Does ithave something to do with clause 4?
Mr Boafo 2:05 a.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker. I do notknow whether you would indulge me tomake the --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:05 a.m.
HonMember, we have dealt with it already.
Mr Boafo 2:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, just to make theobservation?
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:05 a.m.
Yes, unless,you would want to look at it at a secondConsideration stage.
Mr Boafo 2:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I quite agreebut I just want to crave your indulgenceto listen to my observation.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:05 a.m.
I do notknow what it is about. Is it clause 4that you would want to let us know?
Mr Boafo 2:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, it is aboutclause 4 (2), which is in the Bill. I neversaw any proposal to delete it from the Billin view of the new composition which wehave just considered.It is also aboutclause 4 (4) which is misplaced. Clause 4(4) deals more with the functions of theCouncil rather than the composition of theCouncil.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:05 a.m.
Well, HonMember, unfortunately, we have dealt withit; I have put the Question and there hasbeen a response. I do not know how elseyou would want us to go back to it unlessyou would want to look at it at a secondConsideration stage if you wouldremember to discuss it with the HonChairman of the Committee.
Mr Boafo 2:05 a.m.
Very well, Mr Speaker.[Pause.]
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:05 a.m.
Very well. Hon Member, if I am on the same pagewith you, you are looking at clause 4 (4)being relocated. Is that right?
Mr Boafo 2:05 a.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker, clause 4(4).
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:05 a.m.
Yes; so, wecan get it relocated if I give a directivethat the draftsperson looks at it andrelocate it appropriately, especially, if youlook at clause 3, Functions of the Institute.Probably, it could be relocated there, ifthat would satisfy you.
Mr Boafo 2:05 a.m.
That is all right. Mr Speaker,may I now touch on clause 5 before youput the Question on it?
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:05 a.m.
Before I putthe Question on clause 5?
Mr Boafo 2:05 a.m.
Yes; clause 5.
Mr Boafo 2:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, in view of thefact that we have included the Registrarof the Institute as a member of the Board,can we amend the clause 5 (1) to read thata member of the Council other than theRegistrar shall hold office”.This isbecause the Registrar's tenure of office inthe Institute may exceed three years.[Pause.]
Mr Chireh 2:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Registraris really not a member. He is only asecretary to the Council.
Mr Puozaa 2:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Registraris not a member of the Council. He is onlythe secretary.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:05 a.m.
HonMember, are you satisfied with hisexplanation?
Mr Boafo 2:05 a.m.
Well, if that is what theywant -- but I thought that because theRegistrar is in charge of the day to dayaffairs of the Institute and as has beenour normal practice, we normally make
them members of the Governing Board.But if he is not, then I would not pursueit. I do not know why it should be statedhere, because it is already taken care of ineither clause 26 or clause 27 of the Bill.[Interruption.] It is already in clause 27of the Bill, that the Registrar shall act assecretary to the Council. So, I do not knowwhy it should be stated here. Mr Speaker, under clause 27, it isspecifically provided that the Registrarshall be in charge of the day to dayadministration of the Institute. That is thespecific function of the Registrar and Ithought it is more fitting for him to be avoting member and not only a member inattendance. This has been the practice. If we goback to the other legislations that we havepassed, persons who are placed in theposition of handling the day to day affairsof the corporate body are always mademembers of the Council. I think we needsome consistency in our legislationsunless there is a special arrangement formaking this one an exceptional legislation.
Mr Chireh 2:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I understandthe Hon Member's argument.It was a 13member Council,and they have reduced itto 11 members; that is what is creatingthis problem. They do not want the numberto be increased. I was not there throughout in the lastwinnowing meeting, but I tend to agreewith him. If the Registrar is actually theone who should be in charge of the dayto day administration of the Institute orthe Council, then he ought to be a member.If we make him a member now, we wouldhave an even number, unless we add twomore persons, but the people who are
promoting the Bill agree with thissuggestion. Again, there is a difficulty somewhere,because they have the President of theInstitute who virtually also runs theaffairs with policy direction and all that.So, the Registrar becomes somebody whoregisters and not the one who is part ofdecision making. That is how it wasunderstood and that is why his positionis no longer a member but a secretary tothe Council. In a few of the organisations, we alsohave secretaries who are not members butthis seems to be a peculiar case.
Mr Puozaa 2:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, as the HonMember has just said, we had to satisfytwo issues. We wanted to cut the numberdown, but then we still wanted to havethe Registrar as part of the Council. Thatis why we included the Registrar to playthat official role as secretary to theCouncil, but he cannot vote. We have notleft him out from being a member.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:05 a.m.
So, is theRegistrar a member?
Mr Puozaa 2:05 a.m.
He is an ex-officio member.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:05 a.m.
Ex-officiomember?
Mr Puozaa 2:05 a.m.
Yes, and he is also asecretary to the Council.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:05 a.m.
Well. So,does that satisfy you?
Mr Chireh 2:05 a.m.
What they are saying nowis a little confusing because they said thatthe Registrar of the Institute shall serveas a secretary to the Council but withoutvoting rights.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:05 a.m.
All right.Hon Chairman of the Committee, you area member of the Committee, let me ask youone question. If you remove the names of those ex-officio members, do you have what is leftrepresenting an even or odd number?What would you have?
Mr Puozaa 2:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, it would bean even number.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:05 a.m.
It leaves aneven number?Are you sure? Crosscheckit. If you delete the names of the ex-officiomembers, what do you have left? Is it aneven or odd number?
Mr Puozaa 2:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, it is only oneex-officio member, that is the Registrar.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:05 a.m.
So, what doyou have left?
Mr Puozaa 2:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, an oddnumber.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:05 a.m.
So, thatsolves the problem, does it not? Oncewe have an odd number, we can deal withthe matter. Hon W. O. Boafo, does that answeryour question?
Mr Boafo 2:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my questionis, is he an ex-officio member or he is justa secretary to the Council? This is becausewith regard to what is provided under theproposed amendment to clause 4 (g), heis just a secretary to the Council withoutvoting rights.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:15 p.m.
HonMembers, the Hon Second DeputySpeaker takes the Chair.
  • [MR SECOND DEPUTY SPEAKER IN THE CHAIR.]
  • Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:17 p.m.
    Yes, HonBoafo.
    Mr Boafo 2:17 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I tried to drawthe Chair's attention to the fact that in theBill, already, we have under clause 26 (3)that the Registrar is the secretary to theCouncil. So, I do not appreciate thisinclusion of another provision underclause 4 (g), which is the proposedamendment, that the Registrar is thesecretary to the Council without a votingright. My argument is that, to be consistentwith our legislative process here, we needto review the fact that the Registrar is anon-member of the Council. Consistentwith the previous legislation concerninghow body corporates operate, weinvariably made persons who are in chargeof the day to day administration of thebody corporates members of thegoverning Board. The Registrar, by virtue of clause 27(1), is entrusted with the day-to-dayadministration of the Institute, and he isresponsible, for that matter, to the Council.
    I felt that this would be consistent withour legislative process and also for goodcorporate governance.
    Mr Chireh 2:17 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, at thewinnowing stage and in consultation withthe people who were present, they wouldprefer a secretary who would just be incharge of administration and registration,not a decision maker. So, they wouldprefer the Registrar to be a secretary tothe Council. Mr Speaker, if we look at the idea ofbringing a Registrar, the first compositiondid not include the Registrar of theCouncil. This provision was to make sure thathe is the one who keeps the minutes andeverything else, but he should not be partof the decision making. They prefer asecretary to the Council and not a member.That is why the construction includes thefact that he has no voting rights. [Pause] Mr Speaker, in any case, we havealready taken a vote on it, except that theHon First Deputy Speaker wanted to hearhim out on the issue.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:17 p.m.
    I was toldby the Hon First Deputy Speaker. Since we have already taken a vote onit, I do not think we can do anythingotherwise; unless we raise the matter againat a Second Consideration Stage. Hon Members, we are going to clause5; or what is the next clause? I learnt wehave finished clause 5 and all of that, so,what clause are we on? Clause 5 as amended ordered to standpart of the Bill.
    Clause 6 -- Meetings of the Council.
    Mr Puozaa 2:17 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move,clause 6, subcaluse (3), line 1, delete “six”and insert “seven”. Mr Speaker, this is to give it an oddnumber.
    Mr Puozaa 2:17 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, at the moment,the Board has a membership of 11;therefore, the number should be “seven”instead of “six”.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:17 p.m.
    What Ido not understand is that when you had a13-member Board or a Board which washigher in number, the quorum was sixmembers. Now that you have lowered thenumber of Board members, you haverather increased the quorum. Hon Agbesi, do you see the point I ammaking? They had a higher number ofBoard members -- I believe 13 membersand they had a quorum of six. Now, theyhave reduced the number of Boardmembers, but they have increased thequorum to seven members. Is there areason for it?
    Mr Agbesi 2:17 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, it does not addup. When the number comes to elevenBoard members, I believe that the quorumshould come to six members. This isbecause when it was a 13-member Board,the quorum was seven members.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:17 p.m.
    No, whenit was thirteen Board members, the quorumwas six members. So, I do not see the needfor this amendment.
    Mr Peter Nortsu-Kotoe 2:17 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,at the Committee meeting, we looked atother Acts and saw that the quorum wasan odd number.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:17 p.m.
    HonRanking Member, the first point you madewas that you looked at other Acts andcame to the conclusion that it wasadvisable to make the quorum an oddnumber. If the quorum is seven, and eightpeople attend, even though the quorumis seven, you have an even numberattending. If the quorum is seven and 10people attend, though you have an oddnumber as a quorum, an even numberwould be attending. So, as far as the quorum is odd andeven numbers are concerned, I do notbelieve there is a very strong relationship.I do not know if you are making a verystrong case. This is because if sevenpeople constitute the quorum, eightpeople could attend and you would havean even number. So what happens whenan even number attends the meeting andthey vote?
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:17 p.m.
    Look atclause 6 (5). Read it, please.
    Mr Nortsu-Kotoe 2:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, clause6 (5) reads;
    “Matters before the Council shallbe decided by a majority of themembers present and voting and inthe event of an equality of votes,the person presiding shall have acasting vote.”
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:25 p.m.
    So,whether an odd number attends or an evennumber attends, you have catered for that.I would not argue with you, however.
    Mr Nortsu-Kotoe 2:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, beforewe take the vote, as I said earlier, we hadseven in mind because of the membershipof 13. As of now, we have reduced it to 11.Could we reduce the number that shouldform the quorum to five?
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:25 p.m.
    Why doyou not make it six, which is more thanhalf? Why do you not leave it at six? Youramendment says”six” now, and it seeksto take it to seven. What Hon Agbesi andI are saying is that you might just leave itat the six. This is because six is more thanhalf of 11. Instead of five, just make it six. We want a majority of the members toform the quorum. If you do not do that,you would have the minority takingdecision for the Board. If you make thequorum five or four or three, then youwould have the minority of the Counciltaking decision for the Council. Usually, the quorum is more than half.So, more than half of 11 is six. Let us dealwith six. That is what Hon Agbesi said. Hon Agbesi, that is the understandingI got from you. Am I correct?
    Mr Agbesi 2:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the Chairmanof the Committee is considering thenumber six for a quorum. When thenumber is 11 and we take seven as the
    quorum, I believe it is on the higher side.So, six is reasonable to form a quorum. I propose that the amendment shouldread “six” instead of “seven”.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:25 p.m.
    Thankyou. If six is being proposed, thenChairman, six is stated there already sojust withdraw your amendment.
    Mr Puozaa 2:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, theamendment is hereby withdrawn to makeit six.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:25 p.m.
    Thankyou very much. Amendment advertised as iii. on page6 of the Order Paper is hereby withdrawn. [Amendment withdrawn by leave ofthe House.]
    Mr Puozaa 2:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move,clause 6 subclause (4), line 2, delete “VicePresident” and insert “President” Question put and amendment agreedto. Clause 6 as amended ordered to standpart of the Bill. Clause 7 ordered to stand part of theBill. Clause 8 -- Establishment ofCommittees.
    Mr Puozaa 2:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move,clause 8 subclause (5), line 1, delete “may”and insert “consisting of members andnon-members shall”.
    Mr Speaker, it would read as follows 2:25 p.m.
    “A Committee of the Councilconsisting of members and non-members shall be chaired by amember of the Council.” Mr Speaker, the Council has the rightto absorb and engage new members tobecome members of the Council.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:25 p.m.
    I believewhat they are saying is that they want tomake sure that a non-member of theCouncil does not chair the Committee. Question put and amendment agreedto. Mr Boafo -- rose --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:25 p.m.
    Yes, HonBoafo, I am sorry if I did not recogniseyou.
    Mr Boafo 2:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, clause 8 (3),line 1, after the word “investigate”, thereappears the word “allegations”. MrSpeaker, I believe the DisciplinaryCommittee would not deal with“allegations” but rather “complaints”. So,I propose that we delete the word“allegations” and insert “complaints”.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:25 p.m.
    Do youhave any objection to that?
    Mr Puozaa 2:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, “complaints”is a better word.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:25 p.m.
    If I mayjust ask, on the same clause 3 -- Hon O.B. Amoah, you have experience in thesematters.Is it compulsory that theDisciplinary Committee must investigateevery complaint? If it says: “the Disciplinary Committeeshall investigate complaints of pro-fessional misconducts made against amember of the Institute”, is it all right tobe investigated? Can it decide that this isnot worthwhile?
    Mr O. B. Amoah 2:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,whatever the situation is, the Committeeshould respond to complaints. Theirresponse would tell whether --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:25 p.m.
    Theirresponse is part of the investigation. Thank you. So, the Question is that, clause 8 (3)be amended by the deletion of the word“allegations”, and its replacement withthe word “complaints”. Question put and amendment agreedto. Clause 8 as amended ordered to standpart of the Bill.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:25 p.m.
    Hon W.O. Boafo, do you have --
    Mr Boafo 2:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker has already putthe Question on clause 8.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:25 p.m.
    I amsorry. Now, I would raise my head towardsyour direction every time before I put theQuestion. But you can come up at theSecond Consideration Stage. Clauses 9 and 10 ordered to stand partof the Bill. Clause 11 -- Ministerial directives.
    Mr Boafo 2:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move,clause 11, line 2, after the word “policy”,there is “and the Council would comply”. Mr Speaker, all along we are dealingwith a professional body, and in myopinion, we need to give them a littleleeway to determine the professional wayforward.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:35 p.m.
    Couldyou raise your voice a bit?
    Mr Boafo 2:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, clause 11, line2, after the word “policy”, the words “andthe Council shall comply” is where I havemade an observation. Mr Speaker, all along, it has been ourcontention that we are dealing with aprofessional body and we need to respecttheir professionalism. The expression“and shall comply” appears to reduce theCouncil to, for want of a better word, arobot body which should acceptministerial policy directives and complyirrespective of the impact that such apolicy would have on the operation of thatprofessional body. Mr Speaker, this is for the HonChairman's consideration; I propose thatwe consider and delete that.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:35 p.m.
    HonMembers, I do not know your views,but abody such as this, which is supposed tobe a professional one -- Can you excuseme for one second? [Pause.]
    Mr Puozaa 2:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am sorry;the Hon Papa OwusuAnkomah is notaround. We have come across this phraseseveral times. We have maintained the“shall” and it is on policy too. [Pause.]
    Mr Chireh 2:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, last weekwhen we passed one of the -- I haveforgotten what it was, but this is a bodyabout to be created by an Act of law andit is being promoted by the Ministry ofEducation. The phrase that we normally use is thatwhen there is a general government policy,the Minister is the one who can direct,that is when it comes to matters of policy,
    but not on the day-to-day administrationor other issues which concern pro-fessional bodies, no. If there is a government policy affectingall professional bodies, the Minister cancommunicate that directive to them. So, Ido not think there is anything unusual tothis policy. When we dealt with the EXIM BankBill, last week, the Hon Minister forEmployment and Labour Relations triedto modify the same phraseology, but wesaid, no, we would stick to that format. Iremember that very well. It may well be a professional body, butnow the Council and the registration aredone under the authority of government,so of course, they must operate under aMinistry and that is why the Ministershould give policy directives.
    Mr Boafo 2:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I tried toremember what is contained in the LegalProfession Act as well as the CharteredInstitute of Ghana Act and the Medicaland Dental Council Acts. Mr Speaker, after I have looked at thoseconditions, I would come back on aSecond Consideration Stage. Question put and amendment agreedto. Clause 11 as amended ordered tostand part of the Bill.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:35 p.m.
    I do notknow whether I can express my view nowor I should wait for a SecondConsideration Stage. I also have views onthis matter. Hon Yieleh Chireh, can I express myviews or I should hold my horses? Yes, Hon O. B. Amoah?
    Mr O. B. Amoah 2:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, youcan; more so when there is the opportunityfor a Second Consideration Stage.
    Mr Boafo 2:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I would preferthat you express it in view of yourexperience in corporate law practice.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:35 p.m.
    Thankyou. [Pause.]
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:35 p.m.
    HonMember, article 109 (1) of the Constitutionsays that:
    “Parliament may by law regulateprofessional, trade and businessorganisations.” Article 109 (2) says that:
    “The affairs of an organisationreferred to in clause (1) of this articleshall be conducted on democraticlines.” It seems to me that the only caveat thatthe Constitution gives us is that all suchorganisations are formed on democraticlines. The question is that a professionalinstitution or one that is set up to regulatea profession, is it of the nature that shouldbe receiving directives from a Minister onpolicy matters? What are policy mattersin this regard? The Hon Yieleh Chireh referred to theEXIM Bank Bill, but I believe it is of adifferent nature than what we areconsidering. The question is, where wehave a Council which has members orrepresentatives from the Ministry ofEducation and other Ministries, what isthe purpose of that representation? I thought the purpose of therepresentation is that they represent theinterest of government on such anInstitute and if government wants to
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:35 p.m.
    express its views or influence the way theinstitute is acting, government can use orargue through its members.
    There is one representative each fromthe Ministry of Education, Ministry ofFinance, Attorney-General and Ministryof Justice and there are two membersnominated by the Hon Minister. So, thisis an Institute which has seriousgovernment representation. Why shouldwe also have this clause which talks aboutpolicy directives and say that they mustcomply with them? It reminds me of one Head of State whotalked about “positive defiance”. Whathappened to it? If one decides not tocomply will the person get into trouble? Ibelieve this is a matter which we mustlook at. What is the extent of government'spower in terms of these organisations? What is the definition of policydirectives by the Minister? Is it like theChancellor of the Exchequer and the odewhere it was said that equity was at longlast the Chancellor's foot. So, one Minister would say this ispolicy directive. Another Minister wouldsay that this is administrative. The matterdemands or cries for further investigationand we seemed to have just accepted thispolicy directive by the Minister. I agree that these are not independentconstitutional bodies. Therefore, theycannot also be entirely on their own. ButI thought that the putting of governmentofficials on the Boards of theseInstitutions is what keeps the link betweenthese Institutions and Government. Hon O. B. Amoah and Hon YielehChireh disagreeed with me and of course,this is not a ruling. This is just a few

    I must put on record that Hon O. B.Amoah is authoring a book on state-owned enterprises. I hope it would be outvery soon.
    Mr O. B. Amoah 2:45 p.m.
    That is anothermatter, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, the issue is whether theInstitute is private or public. Public inthe sense that it comes under ministerialauthority. If it does not, then it becomesreally difficult for us to agree that theyshould be subject to ministerial guidelinesand directives. That is a big challenge. Iwanted to even find out whether in theInstitute of Chartered Accountants Actthere is such a provision.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:45 p.m.
    Whatabout the General Legal Council? Whatabout lawyers and doctors? Can theMinister give directives to the Medicaland Dental Council?
    Mr O. B. Amoah 2:45 p.m.
    Probably, we maysay the General Legal Council is a bitdifferent even though, of course, theGhana School of Law is under the GeneralLegal Council. We need to probably interrogate thismatter further and look at other practicesthan just to accept that blanket provision,that such an Institution could be subjectto the guidelines or directives of aparticular Minister, especially under theMinister for Education. Mr Speaker, the points you have raisedare useful and pertinent and we may haveto do a bit of research and probably comeback under Second Consideration Stageto put in the right provisions so that weare not bogged down by such a situation.
    It is a bit odd for such an Institute tobe subject to directives from a Minister,given that the implications could be farreaching, especially, now that the issueof quasi-legislative provisions havebecome very thorny across the worldespecially in Commonwealth jurisdictions. That the Executive sometimes hidesunder quasi-legislative provisions to exerttheir powers,in the sense that it is not aRegulation which would come back toParliament. He sits in his office and givesdirectives and guidelines because the Actallows him to do that, the particularInstitution is bound by those directivesand guidelines. It has its own seriousimplications, so we would have to be verysure of what we are doing before we insertin such provisions.
    Mr Chireh 2:45 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the views youhave expressed and particularly if you lookat article 109, it has three types --professional, trade and businessorganisations. If you look at purely professionalbodies like the Pharmaceutical Society ofGhana, the Ghana Bar Association andsimilar associations which are private, ina sense, they conduct their business onthe basis of public involvement. Then you have the regulatory bodieswhich are what we recently did for theNursing and Midwifery Council, thePharmacy Council, Medical and DentalCouncil. These are regulatory bodiesregulating the professions and these aregovernment agencies. The confusion, as you rightly said,isabout the position of this CharteredInstitute of Taxation, because taxation isthe basis of government and everything.
    We did not accord them the kind ofrecognition that we accorded theChartered Institute of Accountants or theGhana Bar Association, where for everylegislation we say members should befrom, and you specify which one it is. Therefore, when you want to do that,the problem becomes more difficult whenat the same time, you are asking them toregulate and certify people. That has beenthe difficulty of this particular Bill. This isbecause these other Bills were passed ata time when the format for theselegislations, particularly after the StatusReview Commissioner has brought outthings that should fall in line with thisConstitution. For some of these phrases, I agree thatwe need to subject some of them to criticalanalysis. If you look at the EngineeringCouncil or other Councils where they doregistration and at the same time certifypeople to practice, there is a mix of whatshould be done. The moment you come and create aCouncil where the President is appointingthe Board or Council members, then theycome under a Ministry as my HonColleague said, the issue becomes a littlemore difficult. That is why in terms of corporategovernance, if we are to pass a law to givebacking to the Ghana Bar Association,nobody can direct them but the GeneralLegal Council-- The chair of the General Legal Councilis the Chief Justice. Almost all thosebodies that are related to the Judiciarycannot have ministerial directives. Theseother ones which come directly under aMinister or if a Minister is promotingthis Bill, that is where the issue becomesmore vexed. But I agree that we need tolook at it and sometimes distinguish.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:45 p.m.
    Before Irecognise anybody else, let me just giveyou this information. Hon Members of the AppointmentsCommittee are entreated to attend ameeting at the First Deputy Speaker'sConference Room on the 10th floor, EastWing of Job 600 block now. All Membersare entreated to attend. Thank you.
    Mr Awuah 2:45 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am justsurprised at the announcement that youjust made. This is because we have aCommittee of the Whole Meeting with theBank of Ghana (BoG) at 3.00 o'clock.Already, the Public Accounts Committeeis meeting. So, if Members of theAppointments Committee should also gofor this meeting, then virtually we wouldhave an empty House. Mr Speaker, I do not know if you canspeak to your Hon Colleague so that hismeeting can take place after our meetingwith BoG. I believe it would be better.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:55 a.m.
    HonAgbesi?
    Mr Agbesi 2:55 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, the Chairmanof the Appointments Committee is theHon First Deputy Speaker. So if thatCommittee is meeting, then the Committeeof the Whole which is supposed to meetthe Governor at 3.00 o'clock would haveto be delayed a bit. Mr Speaker, in the circumstance --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:55 a.m.
    I canchair that meeting of the Committee of theWhole. I have chaired quite a number ofmeetings of the Committee of the Whole.
    Mr Agbesi 2:55 a.m.
    But Mr Speaker, we canbe going on with this Bill and when it is 3.00 p.m.,we will make the arrangement --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:55 a.m.
    Beforewe go on with the Bill, the point the HonMinority Deputy Whip has made is that,he is of the considered view that thematters that we are going to discuss withthe Governor of the Bank of Ghana are soweighty that, since you are the Leadershipof the House and you control theBusiness of the House, he is appealing toyou, through me, to ensure that theCommittees maybe suspend their sittingsor delay their sittings so that we can dealwith this very all important matter, whichinvolves hundreds or thousands ofGhanaians before we go to other matters,which is the Appointments Committee aswell as the Public Accounts Committee. That is what he is saying. What is yourview on the matter? Hon Agbesi?
    Mr Agbesi 2:55 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I was notpaying attention --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:55 a.m.
    Yes, I sawthat you were managing the House, so Iunderstand, I will say it again. What the Hon Minority Deputy Whipis saying is that, we have a meeting, themeeting you were referring to, with theofficials of the Bank of Ghana which issuch a serious matter. But he is of theconsidered view that if it was possiblefor the Appointments Committee meetingto be deferred for a while. And perhaps,the meetings of the Public AccountsCommittee, it will be in the interest of thethousands of Ghanaians, who will thensee that we are taking their issues veryseriously. What is your view on the matter?
    Mr Agbesi 2:55 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, my proposalis that, we are already on the discussionof the Bill and it is not yet 3.00 p.m. By mytime, if it is 3.00 p.m., we would have nooption than to curtail the debate now andbring the Governor.
    Mr Awuah 2:55 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I believe it isagreed --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:55 a.m.
    Please, Iwill take Hon Yieleh Chireh. I was saying that we are also trying to,in some way -- that is why the bell isbeing rung and so -- I will take the Hon Deputy MinorityWhip then I will take Hon Yieleh Chireh.
    Mr Awuah 2:55 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I have seenthe officials of the Bank of Ghana hereand since they are our visitors and theyhave come here on our invitation, it willbe better we attend to them, finish withthem so that we can also proceed withour in-House business, if any.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:55 a.m.
    So, what Iwill do is that, I would urge the Hon Whips,you are a Whip and we have sentmessages to high places. We will not putit on record, but I will urge the Hon Whipsto whip their people. So, you should notremain in the Chamber, start your work,you have my blessings.
    Mr Opare-Ansah 2:55 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I waswondering if in this House, there is a placehigher than the Speakership. You said youhave sent messages to a higher place, butMr Speaker in is the Chair.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:55 a.m.
    No! Theplaces are higher than you are, not higherthan I am. They are higher places and Ican assure you, it is not to the Speaker.So, do not take it that way. We are talking to the Chairpersons ofthe various Committees. Yes, Hon Yieleh Chireh?
    Mr Chireh 2:55 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I wanted tosuggest along the line, as you have saidthat the Leaders should ask theCommittees that are sitting to suspendtheir sittings and come so that we listento the officials of the Bank of Ghana. This is because this is a very importantissue. They should just urge those who --and those who still want to start theirmeeting, the meeting should be after wehave met with the officials of the Bank ofGhana. That is what I wanted to suggest.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:55 a.m.
    Thankyou. So, what we will do is that, we willnot suspend Sitting, we will continue withthe Institute of Taxation Bill, 2014, whilethe Hon Whips whip their Members fromthe various Committees. So, we have just finished clause 11.
    Mr Agbesi 2:55 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, we are of theopinion that, at this stage, the Houseshould proceed to the Committee of theWhole to listen to the officials of the Bankof Ghana so that the continuation of thedebate on the Bill can be --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:55 a.m.
    HonDeputy Majority Leader, your Hon Whipsare working, the bell is ringing. HonMembers are at various Committees, I justmade an announcement and they are goingback to see them. So, let us give them someten, fifteen minutes for Hon Members toattend.
    Mr Agbesi 2:55 a.m.
    Very well, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:55 a.m.
    Thankyou very much. Yes, clause 12. Clause 12 -- Registration of taxpractitioners.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:55 a.m.
    Yes, HonW. O. Boafo?
    Mr Boafo 2:55 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I was on myfeet to comment on clause 11, the issue atstake. Mr Speaker, I believe that particularphrase which finds its way, normallyinto our legislation, needs to beinterrogated further. It appears that weneed to go into the history of that pieceof expression which tries to establishexecutive authority over corporate bodies. My thinking is that, it is likely that itemanated from the quasi-totalitarianperiod, where Ministers try to assertthemselves which is no more to betolerated under the present dispensationin view of even the provisions of article109 as you read them out, that the
    regulation of professional bodies andbusiness entities must be alongsidedemocratic lines. So, Mr Speaker, I would throw it toourselves and also to the Attorney-General's legal drafting section toinvestigate why this piece of legislation,which tries to reduce the work of bodycorporates into, for want of a betterexpression, robot institutions, shouldcontinue to find its way in the legislativeprocess. This is my suggestion, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:55 a.m.
    HonDeputy Ranking Member?
    Mr Nortsu-Kotoe 2:55 a.m.
    Thank you, MrSpeaker. Mr Speaker, I am the Hon Vice Chairmanand not the Deputy Ranking Member,please. After we had taken the vote, welistened to other Hon Members and then,your intervention -- the counsel that yougave -- I am convinced that this is notthe end of the matter. We are thinking thatwe would have a second ConsiderationStage and we have noted down the pointsthat you have made. We will go back and look at it so thatwhen we get to the Second Consi-deration Stage, we can give the Counciltheir democratic rights in order that wedo not stifle them. They should be able todo what is good for the Institute. So, we have taken note of yourobservations, kindly leave it to theCommittee. When we get to the nextConsideration Stage, we will see what wecan do about it.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:05 a.m.
    Is that anassurance?
    Mr Puozaa 3:05 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, this is aboutthe third occasion that I have confrontedthis and that is why I am sad that HonPapa Owusu-Ankomah is not present.This is because I remember that the othertime, he was very furious about the samephrase, but we had to comply and go byhow it stood then. So, we may need theAttorney-General's people to explain whythey want it that way.
    Mr Puozaa 3:05 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move,clause 12 -- headnote, after “Registra-tion” insert “and licensing”. This is simply because it is not onlyregistration but they would be licensingthe -- Question put and amendment agreedto.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:05 a.m.
    Clause12, Hon Chairman of the Committee?
    Mr Puozaa 3:05 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move,clause 12 add the following newsubclause:
    “(2) A firm shall not practice as achartered tax practicing firm ortax practicing firm unless it islicensed by the Institute.” The rationale is to separate individualsfrom firms and to ensure that charteredtax practicing firms have the requisitelicence to practice.
    Mr Boafo 3:05 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I would justwant to understand from the Chairmanwhether individual practitioners are notrequired to be licensed. Is it only firms
    which are required to be licensed but notindividuals?
    Mr Puozaa 3:05 a.m.
    Clause 12, as it stands,reads as follows;
    “A person shall not practise as achartered tax practitioner or taxpractitioner unless that person isregistered as a member of theInstitute.” The Committee and the body that camesaw the need to add this new subclauseso that it is not only limited to the personbut includes firms. That is why we haveadded subclause (2) which is to take careof firms.
    Mr Boafo 3:05 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, myunderstanding is that if you are a firm,you are not required to register but onlyrequired to apply for licence. Is that theunderstanding? Firms are only requiredto apply for licence but they do not haveto register with the Institute?
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:05 a.m.
    I see theHon Chairman of the Public AccountsCommittee (PAC) --
    Mr Samuel A. Akyea 3:05 a.m.
    I am the HonVice Chairman.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:05 a.m.
    The HonVice Chairman? The Hon Chairman too ishere, I see both of you. Have yoususpended Sitting?
    Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu 3:05 a.m.
    MrSpeaker, by your directive, we have.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:05 a.m.
    Thankyou very much. You did not whip your Members tocome here? I know that you are not a Whipbut you could have ordered them. You didnot order your Members to come here,Hon Chairman of PAC?
    Mr Agyeman-Manu 3:05 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, theyare coming but the Committee also had asimilar predicament as yours. We did nothave a full house of Committee Members.So, the few of us who were there formed aquorum though.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:05 a.m.
    Are theyon their way? Thank you. I can see PAC members coming in. Hon W. O. Boafo, your question is whythere is a difference between members andfirms. Hon Chairman, please, explain andI will put the Question. That is thequestion. He is saying that for one, youare just licensing and for another you arelicensing and registering. That is the wayI understand it. Why is it that in clause 12(1), you have added “registered andlicensed” So, I quote;
    “A person shall not practise as achartered tax practitioner or taxpractitioner unless that person isregistered as a member of theInstitute.” Then clause 12 (2), you said that and Iquote;
    “A person shall not practice as achartered tax practicing firm or taxpracticing firm unless it is licensedby the Institute.” So, he is asking why not registered andlicensed, or why not registered instead oflicensed?
    Mr Puozaa 3:05 a.m.
    The original position is thatit is just --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:05 a.m.
    Let mehelp you Hon Chairman of Committee. Isaw he is thinking about law practice.When you take a law practice, theindividual lawyers get a licence to practise.
    The chambers is registered but does notget a license because you need apracticing certificate. You get authority topractise and that is called a license topractise. As a solicitor or barrister, you are givena licence but when a group of you cometogether to form a firm or chambers, it isthe chambers that is registered as an entity.It does not get a professional qualification.The license is a professional qualification. Hon W. O. Boafo, am I expressing yourviews correctly?
    Mr Boafo 3:05 a.m.
    Very well, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:05 a.m.
    So whathe is suggesting is that for the firm, whydo you not just say “. . . firm unless it isregistered by the Institute”, not licensed? Yes, Hon Vice Chairman?
    Mr Nortsu-Kotoe 3:05 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, if Iheard him and you very well, thesuggestion is that the firm should not belicensed but only registered. So, I thinkthat it is in order so that we only registerthe firm and then the members should belicensed. I think that we can propose theamendment now.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:05 a.m.
    HonChairman and Hon Vice Chairman,because proceedings in Parliament couldaid interpretation, could you tell us thedifference between licensing andregistration in your view?
    Mr Nortsu-Kotoe 3:05 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, if yousay “license”, you have the Institute orbody which would give you the licenseto operate -- After you receive thatlicense and before you can operate, youmight need to register with a bodyagain --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:15 p.m.
    Thelicense to operate or the license to practisethe profession?
    Mr Nortsu-Kotoe 3:15 p.m.
    The license tooperate as a professional, then alsoregistration. Maybe, you need registrationwith an assembly to operate a business.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:15 p.m.
    Is thelicense given to the individual or the firm?
    Mr Nortsu-Kotoe 3:15 p.m.
    The licence is givento the individual.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:15 p.m.
    So, it isthe license that tells everybody that sucha person is a professional, recognised bythis Institute. So, it is not an operatinglicence but a professional licence.
    Mr Nortsu-Kotoe 3:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, that isit.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:15 p.m.
    It is aprofessional license.
    Mr Nortsu-Kotoe 3:15 p.m.
    Yes, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:15 p.m.
    So, whena collection of them come together to forma professional firm, then they just register.
    Dr Prempeh 3:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, they shouldbe careful. The certificate that is awardedto those who have turned out correctlyas tax experts, is different from the licenceto operate. One, is something that has to be doneevery year by fulfilling certain obligationsand another is after one has passed. Mr Speaker, I passed my examinationas a member of the Royal College ofSurgeons. But every year, if I should bedeclared to practice, I have to fulfill certain
    obligations. They two different things. IfI am going to set up a private practice,that is also a different set of regulations.They should explain the term “licence”very well.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:15 p.m.
    That iswhy we are all trying to arrive at aconclusion that we all understand. Hon Chairman of the Committee, we aretalking about two things here. There isthe professionals and there is thecorporate body. What is your advice?Should we keep it as it is?
    Mr Puozaa 3:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, upon seriousrecollection, the owners of the Bill wantto make sure that all those who havealready practiced taxation have to comeunder this umbrella. That is why they haveinsisted on this issue. They suggestedthis and we thought that there was theneed --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:15 p.m.
    I wouldwant to hear from the venerable MajorityLeader on this matter. Hon Chairman, if you would not mind,why do we not step down clause 12 andgo to clause 13? This is because I see that,that whole section is on qualification andmembership of the Institute. So, perhaps, by the time we take theother clauses like clause 13 et cetera, itwould become clear what Hon Membersare seeking to do. Should we go to clause 13 if you donot mind?
    Mr Puozaa 3:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, let us defer it. [Amendment deferred by leave of theHouse] Clause 13 -- Qualification.
    Mr Puozaa 3:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move,clause 13, subclause (2), paragraph (a),line 1, delete “and” and insert “or” Question put and amendment agreedto. Clause 13 as amended ordered to standpart of the Bill.
    Mr Bagbin 3:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I would wantto plead with you to suspend the Houseand reconstitute it into a Committee ofthe Whole for us to receive our guests tobrief us on the outstanding matterinvolving the microfinance companies. I can see the Governor of the Bank ofGhana with his Deputy Governors andother technical directors waiting at thedistinguished persons' gallery. We gavethem 3.00 o'clock, and it is now about 3.20p.m. I urge that, we suspend proceedingsnow to be able to do that.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:15 p.m.
    HonMajority Leader, I was waiting for you.Now that you are in and have urged me tosuspend Sitting, I would suspend. This brings us to the end of theConsideration Stage of the CharteredInstitute of Taxation Bill, 2014 for today. The House would be reconvened intoa meeting of the Committee of the Whole.
    Mr Bagbin 3:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I was tryingto make an appeal to my Hon Colleaguefor us to receive our brothers and sistersof the media; those who are part of thePress Gallery to participate in theproceedings. I would want consultation on that. Iwould want to know whether we canaccept it.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:15 p.m.
    Yes, HonDeputy Minority Chief Whip?
    Mr Awuah 3:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I do not haveany objection to that.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:15 p.m.
    I am ofthe view that, when there is a meeting ofthe Committee of the Whole, it includesthe public unless we specifically excludethem. There is nothing in the StandingOrders that say -- because it is aCommittee meeting and it is only whenwe decide to exclude the public. So, rather than we pleading that theymust stay, I was going to let them stayunless it is urged upon me that theyshould not. But I am sure the Hon MajorityLeader said that for emphasis and wethank him for that. The press and the public would remainbehind and we shall convene into ameeting of the Committee of the Whole. 3.22 p.m. -- Sitting suspended . 6:45 p.m. -- Sitting resumed.
    Mr Bagbin 3:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, if we couldtake item 3 on the Order Paper.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:15 p.m.
    Item 3 —Questions.
    Alhaji Muntaka 3:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I want tocrave your indulgence and that of theHouse for the Hon Deputy Minister forPower to answer the Questions on behalfof the designated Hon Minister.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:15 p.m.
    For who?
    Alhaji Muntaka 3:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, for theHon Deputy Minister for Power.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:15 p.m.
    I thoughtyou said the new Hon Minister for Power.
    Alhaji Muntaka 3:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I said theHon Deputy Minister for Power to answerthe Questions on behalf of the designatedMinister for Power.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:15 p.m.
    HonMinority Leader, do you have anyobjection?
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,I would urge you to request that the HonDeputy Minister assumes his seat beforehe has the indulgence of this House tomove forward.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:15 p.m.
    Iremember his Hon Colleague, the HonDeputy Minister for Roads and Highwaysalso came to sit on the chair and we hadto return him before he came back. Hon Deputy Minister for Power, I thinkyou have to return to your seat.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,we do not have any objection and so hemay come.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:15 p.m.
    Now thathe has returned and shown humility, Ithink we would allow him to come back.Please come back.
    ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS.
    MINISTRY OF POWER 3:15 p.m.

    Mr Didieye 3:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, with yourpermission, I have evidence here; acommercial agreement for electricalmaterials and equipment for electrificationof 556 communities in Eastern, Volta andNorthern Regions.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:15 p.m.
    HonDidieye, I want to know the relevance ofthe Agreement.
    Mr Didieye 3:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, based on myevidence, since 2009, I have been writingto the Ministry every year and they havenot been responding to my application.Just recently, they responded to thisapplication and I have all the documentshere, and the dates are on it. And so if Iam able to know when they drafted thisAgreement, then I would know —
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:15 p.m.
    HonMember, I do not know where you areleading to. I want to know the relevanceof the Agreement.
    Mr Didieye 3:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, there aresome communities that are in thisparticular document.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:15 p.m.
    Ask yourquestion.
    Mr Didieye 3:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, in the Answerby the Hon Deputy Minister, he said thatmost of these communities do not formpart of the on-going projects. But in thisparticular document, that is the commercialAgreement, when we get to the pagewhere list of communities and towns are;under Kwahu North, which is AframPlains, out of about 21 communities, onlytwo communities, Sodzikope and Abo-tanso are captured in this particulardocument but the rest of the communitiesdo not fall under Kwahu North —
    Mr Ahmed Ibrahim 3:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, myHon Colleague, Hon Aboagye Didieye
    said he wanted to tender an Agreement.The Hon Deputy Minister and all of ussitting here are not aware of the documentthe Hon Member is holding. He keepsmaking reference to an Agreement. Canhe tell us the title of the document so thatwe would be clear and follow him in thatdirection?
    Mr Didieye 3:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am sayingthat it is a document with a title;“Commercial Agreement for erection ofelectrical materials and equipment…”
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:15 p.m.
    HonDidieye, really, I am not supposed to teachyou how to ask your questions, but if Icould just advise you. Ask the questionbefore you even try and tender adocument. You asked a Question aboutyour communities — If you watch someof the proceedings of this Parliament orotherwise; “Can the Minister confirm, willthe Minister agree with me that,” and thenyou make your point. When the HonMinister confirms or otherwise then youcan bring your evidence.
    Mr Didieye 3:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I would liketo ask the Hon Deputy Minister whetherhe can confirm that, since 2009, manyapplications were brought to his Ministryfor an extension of the National grid tothe communities mentioned in myQuestion.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:15 p.m.
    Application from who?
    Mr Didieye 3:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, applicationfrom me, as an Hon Member of Parliament.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:15 p.m.
    Thankyou. Hon Deputy Minister, are you awarethat the Hon Member has served you withseveral correspondence personally?
    Mr Jinapor 6:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I have beenDeputy Minister from 2013 and so if theHon Member is talking about sending mecorrespondence from 2009 —[Interruption]— No, but if it is about theMinistry, since 2013, we have had severalcorrespondences from Hon Members,requesting for extension of electrificationincluding himself.
    Mr Didieye 6:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am notsaying the Hon Deputy Ministerpersonally, I am talking about his Ministry.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:55 p.m.
    Iunderstand and he has also understoodnow.
    Mr Didieye 6:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I would liketo tender -- [Interruptions.]
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:55 p.m.
    HonDidieye, you would want to tender adocument?
    Mr Didieye 6:55 p.m.
    Yes.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:55 p.m.
    Is thisdocument in Parliament?
    Mr Didieye 6:55 p.m.
    The various applicationssince 2009. [Hear! Hear!] I have copiesof the applications they received andstamped by the Ministry of Power --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:55 p.m.
    HonDidieye, they have not denied receivingapplications and so you do not need anyfurther evidence.
    Mr Didieye 6:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the reason Iam asking is because the Hon DeputyMinister was answering as if he justreceived an application from me. Butlooking at the time, that is why I wantedto find out the day he entered into thatAgreement -- if he had received these
    applications and yet my communities werenot considered. This is the main reason Iwould want to tender that evidence as towhether something can be done about itnow.
    Mr Jinapor 6:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, as and whenresources become available, we wouldtake on communities. So, I can assure himthat just as indicated, in our subsequentprojects that we intend undertaking, weshall engage Members of this House,including the Hon Member and we wouldtake as many communities as we can. Thank you.
    Mr Didieye 6:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I would wantto find out from the Deputy Minister forPower whether he can be so precise orgive a time, that within this period, mycommunities would be considered. Mr Kofi Frimpong -- rose --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:55 p.m.
    Hon KofiFrimpong, do you have some information?
    Mr Kofi Frimpong 6:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, theHon Member is not coming back to theHouse and he would want to leave alegacy for his people. So he is asking thisQuestion. [Laughter.] Hon Deputy Minister, when are yougoing to complete the project for him? Ishe going to see the project executedbefore he leaves or after that? [Laughter]
    Mr Jinapor 6:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, as we speak,we have a commercial Agreement beforethis august House and so once this augustHouse gives approval, we shall imme-diately sign the Agreement and commencework on that. But the fact is that, that iscontingent on this House passing theAgreement.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:55 p.m.
    Questionnumber 464 standing in the name of HonFrank Annoh-Dompreh, Member ofParliament for Nsawam-Adoagyiri. Mr O. B. Amoah-- rose --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:55 p.m.
    Yes, HonO. B. Amoah?
    Mr O. B. Amoah 6:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the HonMember has asked me to ask the Questionon his behalf.
    Some Hon Members 6:55 p.m.
    Where is he?
    Mr O. B. Amoah 6:55 p.m.
    He was here in themorning. Mr Speaker, I kindly ask yourpermission to ask the Question on hisbehalf.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:55 p.m.
    All right.
    Connection to NationalElectrification Grid(Panpanso, Akraman, Asante Kwaku,Afumkrom and Bowkrom) Q. 464. Mr O. B. Amoah (on behalf ofMr Frank Annoh-Dompreh) asked theMinister for Power what plans theMinistry had to connect the followingcommunities and towns to the NationalElectricity Grid:
    (i) Panpanso (ii) Akraman (iii) Asante Kwaku (iv) Afumkrom (v) Bowkrom.
    Mr Jinapor 6:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, Akramancommunity has been earmarked to benefitunder an upcoming electrification projectin the Eastern, Volta, Ashanti, Brong Ahafoand Western Regions, to be executed byChina International Water & ElectricCorporation (CWE). Value for Money(VfM) assessment has been completed.Other statutory processes are on-goingand are expected to be concluded to allowfor the commencement of the project. Panpanso, Asante Kwaku, Afumkromand Bowkrom communities do not formpart of any of the ongoing projectscurrently being executed by the Ministry.The communities would be consideredwhen the next phase of electrificationprojects is being designed.
    Mr O. B. Amoah 6:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, in theDeputy Minister's Answer, he says onlyAkraman has been earmarked to benefitfrom the upcoming electrification project.I would want to find out from the DeputyMinister how soon the other communitieswould be considered and when is the nextphase of the project as he has stated here?
    Mr Jinapor 6:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, as I indicated,when funds are available, we shallconsider those other communities.
    Mr O. B. Amoah 6:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, theDeputy Minister is saying, as he hasindicated that when funds are availablebut it is not stated anywhere in hisAnswer that when funds are available. He
    is saying that they would be consideredfor the next phase and I asked him whenthe next phase would begin. And he issaying that as he indicated, when fundsare available. It is not the Answer, so canhe tell us when the next phase of the projectwould begin?
    Mr Jinapor 6:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the nextphase of the project would begin whenfunds are available. Thank you.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:55 p.m.
    Hon O.B. Amoah, your last supplementaryquestion.
    Mr O. B. Amoah 6:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, thisHouse recently approved a contract ofUS$180 million under Hunan ChinaConstruction, the first phase of which isUS$92 million for some communities invarious regions including Eastern Region.Can the Deputy Minister tell this Housewhy these communities were not includedin that particular project?
    Mr Jinapor 6:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, we have quitea number of communities that are yet tobe hooked unto the National Electrifi-cation Project and so as and when we havefunds, we would take on morecommunities. Moreover, we are still going throughthe commercial agreement with theCommittee on Mines and Energy. So,based on what we are able to do, if thescope allows us to take some additionalcommunities from that area, we shallinclude them.
    Mr O. B. Amoah 6:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I reallywanted to know the criteria for selectingsome communities and leaving some out
    even for the US$180 million Hunan Chinaproject. So that is not the response that Ihave.
    Mr Jinapor 6:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, we wouldnormally consider the communities basedon the request we receive from Membersof Parliament and District Chief Executives(DCEs) and also our own work that we doon the ground. So, these are some criteriathat we take into consideration in selectingcommunities. Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu -- rose --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:55 p.m.
    HonMinority Leader?
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 6:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,the Constitution of the country providesthat all regions and districts, and that ofcourse, would mean all communities in thecountry should be developed equitably. Mr Speaker, any Government worth itssalt would have its own plan ofdeveloping communities, districts andregions in the country. It is for that reasonthat the President would come here andtell us that we anticipate to supply potablewater to all parts of the country within astipulated timeframe. The President has given an indicationthat in the fullness of time -- he has givena date where it is anticipated that allcommunities in the country would be onthe national grid. He has said so. So, MrSpeaker, this ‘when funds are available'Answer is no answer. Mr Speaker, it is noanswer at all. [Interruption] Mr Speaker, when I talk and we havean Hon Member like Sorogho say ‘look atthose things'. If he has anythingreasonable, let him listen and respondaccordingly. He does not make wildgesticulations. If he has anythingreasonable, he should say so.
    rose
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 7:05 a.m.
    Mr Speaker,can I sit and listen to him? [Interruption]-- What manner of thing is this in thisHouse?
    Alhaji Sorogho 7:05 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I give himthe respect as the Hon Minority Leader,and for that matter, all the respect that isdue to that position. But in speaking, heshould know that we are here as HonMembers of Parliament. I represent the people of Madina as herepresents the people of Suame. So,anytime at all he gets up, he would notexpect -- Is he addressing the HonSpeaker or he is addressing me? So, if Imake gestures with my hand why shouldthat worry him if he knows that he is onthe correct path? Mr Speaker, what he has said is notcorrect [Uproar.] It is totallyunacceptable but I would forgive himbecause he is the Hon Minority Leader. Iwould want him to concentrate on hispoint, build it and then convince theHouse and stop mentioning Sorogho. Mr Speaker, I know he likes Sorogho'sname. If he is still giving birth, he canname one of his children after Sorogho -- [Laughter] -- but for now, he shouldleave me in peace. I thank you very much, Mr Speaker.[Uproar.]
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 7:05 a.m.
    Mr Speaker,from the chorus of tweaas, I need notprogress on the path that he wants to leadme.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:05 a.m.
    But thereis one matter that I would want you toaddress.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 7:05 a.m.
    Mr Speaker,his name was not even mentioned butbecause the cup fitted him, he rose up tosay that -- [Laughter.]
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:05 a.m.
    HonSorogho is suggesting that when youhave a child, you should name the childafter him. Hon Minority Leader, do youintend to have more children? [Laughter.]
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 7:05 a.m.
    Mr Speaker,certainly, because of that name, even if Iwas tempted, I would resist the temptation[Laughter.] And as the good Book says,if you resist the devil he would flee awayfrom you. Mr Speaker, I would resist him and Iknow he would flee away from me. In themeantime, the tweaas that greeted whathe said is sufficient. [Laughter.]
    Mr Speaker, but the point that I wasmaking to the Hon Deputy Minister is this-- I said that any Government would havean agenda for development and the HonDeputy Minister says to us in his Answerand I beg to quote:
    “The Communities would beconsidered when the next phase ofelectrification projects…” Mr Speaker, “the next” is a definitivearticle; “when the next phase ofelectrification project….” So, it means thatthere is something in the pipeline. Whenis the next programme? That is thequestion.
    Mr Jinapor 7:05 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, we didindicate that when we have the next phaseof the project, we shall consider thosetowns and certainly, when funds becomeavailable, it means that we shall commencethe next phase of the programme. Bycommencing the next phase of theprogramme, these communities would beconsidered and added as part of theproject.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 7:05 a.m.
    Mr Speaker,this is a serious House. With respect tothe Hon Deputy Minister, I thought thatwe granted him space because we thoughthe would be able to fill in sufficiently forthe Hon Minister. If we would have to go on this path,perhaps, we shall withdraw hisrecognition, certainly, not our part of thisHouse. If this would be his resort,certainly, we shall withdraw therecognition that we afford him from nowon. Alhaji Muntaka -- rose --
    Alhaji Muntaka 7:05 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, my HonColleague, the Minority Leader knowsvery well that the path he is charting isdirectly against the Standing Orders ofthis House. When an Hon Minister provides anAnswer, one does not debate it. MrSpeaker, precisely, if we go to StandingOrder 67 (1) (e) and with your permission,I beg to read:
    “a Question shall not solicit theexpression of an opinion or thesolution of an abstract legal case ora hypothetical proposition;” The Hon Minority Leader wasexpressing his opinion about the Answer,that if the Hon Deputy Minister has to gothis way -- He is expressing his opinion. Mr Speaker, with the greatest ofrespect to the Hon Minority Leader, earlierwhen he was speaking to Hon Sorogho -- The Hon Minority Leader is one of thesenior Members of this House that manyof us look up to but sometimes the wayhe acts on the floor gets some of usworried. Mr Speaker, I did not want to interjectbecause I knew that he was addressingyou. But with the subsequent commentabout the Hon Deputy Minister, I believeyou need to draw the Hon Minority
    Leader's attention to the fact that we arein a House of record where rules andregulations play. The rules of asking andanswering Questions are clearly stipu-lated in our Standing Orders. Mr Speaker, with the greatest ofrespect to the Hon Minority Leader, theway he addressed the Hon DeputyMinister was unfair to him. This is because we sought permissionand, with the leave of the House, we allagreed. The Hon Deputy Minister is verycompetent to answer these Questions.The impression is being created as if theHon Deputy Minister, with the greatestof respect, is some kind of substandardperson who is not up to -- It is not fair. Mr Speaker, with the greatest ofrespect, I would want the Hon MinorityLeader to advert his mind to this. If heneeded some other explanation, he knewwhat to do by further asking questions.Mr Speaker, but it is not for him to impugnand give his opinion about the Answersthat the Hon Deputy Minister has given.That is not fair. Mr Speaker, I needed to draw yourattention for some guidance here. Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 7:05 a.m.
    Mr Speaker,if the Hon Majority Chief Whip would re-read the Standing Order that he read, theonus is not on me. It is to elicit a personalopinion from the Hon Deputy Ministerand that is not it. Could he re-read it? Mr Speaker, so, I believe it is a muchado about nothing exercise. Sometimes,such rereading -- This is because theprovision is very clear. The burden is noton me. I am not debating him. I am just
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:05 a.m.
    HonMembers, this is a House of debate. Weare representing our people and I mustconfess that my own inclination is toalways interpret the rules in favour ofdebate and not in favour of any particularperson. At the same time, of course, we shouldensure that the dignity of each HonMember is maintained. Indeed, I did not think about what theHon Minority said in the way HonMuntaka did. I did not think of it that way.I thought the other opinion that heexpressed was a threat of some sort, andif that was the way the Hon DeputyMinister was going, then the next time, hemay withdraw his -- Anyway, thesethings; are they matters of life and death? In fact, to tell you the truth, as I sathere when the Hon Deputy Minister kepton saying that,”when money isavailable”, I was wondering when an HonMember would ask him, so when wouldmoney be available. Hon Members, but he is not even inthe position to answer such a question. So, let us make progress. Everybody iscorrect and nobody is wrong.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 7:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,just to provide further information, I clearlyremember that when the late Hon MrEdward Salia, may his soul rest in peace,was an Hon Minister, he came to thisHouse and answered Questions. For theday's Questions, he kept repeatinghimself. With regard to any Questions thatwere asked, he said, “When funds areavailable”. J. H. Mensah, the then Hon MinorityLeader said; I am just about paraphrasingwhat he said -- if this is how he was goingto answer Questions, he might as well notcome to this House to answer Questions. Mr Speaker, was that offensive toanybody? Hon Members should learnparliamentary practice. Thank you, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:15 p.m.
    HonMembers, I do not think that - I can seeHon Jinapor with a broad smile on his face.I know that Hon Jinapor has not takenoffence. He is a very confident HonDeputy Minister who would not beshaken by this. Hon Jinapor, you are standing firmlyon your feet.
    Mr Jinapor 7:15 p.m.
    -- Nodded. Prof. Gyan-Baffour -- rose --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:15 p.m.
    HonMember, are you asking a question or is ita follow-up? It is a constituency specificquestion.
    Prof. Gyan-Baffour 7:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, theHon Deputy Speaker keeps on saying that,“the next phase”. In the rural electrification,the scheme starts from Self HelpElectrification Programme (SHEP)-1,
    SHEP-2, SHEP-3 and SHEP-4. Which SHEPdo these communities fall under? What isthe criteria for actually identifying thosewho fall under that SHEP? That is the firstquestion I would ask.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:15 p.m.
    HonMember, the question has been answered.
    Prof. Gyan-Baffour 7:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, so,what is the criterion? It is not aboutsomeone applying? There is a criteria, andwhat is it? That was the question.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:15 p.m.
    HonProf. Gyan-Baffour, are you answering thequestion? So, I would go to the next Question,which is Question number 470 in the nameof Hon Augustine Collins Ntim. If I may just ask the Hon MinorityLeader -- In the Standing Orders, we areasked to address Hon Members as HonColleague, Hon Friend or the Hon Memberfrom -- But when we come to Questions,we write in the Order Paper, Mr -- Is therea reason for that?
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 7:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,I did not hear that part.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:15 p.m.
    I amsaying that when we address one another,we are advised or instructed by theStanding Orders to say either Hon -- orsay the Hon Member from -- But when itcomes to the Order Paper and they areaddressing all of us, they say, Mr --. Isthere a reason for that? Why do they notsay Hon?
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 7:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,I guess it is over familiarity, given the factthat we operate on the same turf.
    Mr Speaker, but in good parliamentarypractice, we should be referring to the HonMember for -- Then you name theconstituency. Having named theconstituency once, you can then proceedfurther if you have to refer to that sameperson.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:15 p.m.
    No,maybe you did not -- When you takeyour Order Paper, on page 1, Questionnumber 457, it is in the name of MrEmmanuel Aboagye Didieye (Afram PlainsNorth). I am saying that because the StandingOrders say that we should refer to eachother as Hon -- Why is that? Mr Frederick Opare-Ansah -- rose --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:15 p.m.
    HonMember for Suhum?
    Mr Opare-Ansah 7:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, if youadvert your mind to where that particularissue appears in the Standing Orders, youwould realise that it comes under the rulesof debate. So, it is actually in the courseof debate. Mr Speaker, if you look at the Votesand Proceedings, you would also noticethat in attendance, we are not referred toas Hon -- It is just our names.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:15 p.m.
    So, it isonly when we are debating that webecome Hon -- [laughter.]
    Mr Opare-Ansah 7:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, it iswhen we are addressing one another.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:15 p.m.
    Noproblem; thank you very much for thatclarification. Hon Minority Leader, do you agreewith him?
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 7:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,yes. I was just going to show it to you.This is because as he said, I thought thatit is in that -- But the Votes andProceedings do show. We would want toreflect exactly where the Hon Memberrepresents. So, Mr Ablakwa SamuelOkudzeto, which is the first name, is theHon Member for North Tongu. That is howit is captured. Mr Speaker, because this is going toan Hon Minister or to a Ministry, wewould want to know who is asking aQuestion of an Hon Minister. That is whyit is done that way.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:15 p.m.
    HonMembers, when you come to the Votesand Proceedings, it says, and I quote:
    “The following Hon. Members werepresent:” This means that “Hon Members” refersto each Hon Member that is there. That iswhat it means because there is a colon.So, Hon Member Ablakwa SamuelOkudzeto, Hon Member Aboah GeorginaNkrumah, et cetera. So, the Votes and Proceedings doesnot support the Standing Orders. This isbecause in the Standing Orders, there isno reference to Hon Member. Hon Members, but let us continue.This is just something that we cancontinue discussing on the side. Question number 470.
    Dr Prempeh 7:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, even in ourStanding Orders, if an Hon Member isaddressed by a name, it means that theHon Member is being referred to anotherplace or the Privileges Committee forsomething.
    So, we have to look at the StandingOrders again in all these relations. Mr Speaker, I rise to ask the Questionon behalf of the Hon Member for OffinsoNorth, Hon Augustine Collins Ntim.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:15 p.m.
    Do youhave his authority or permission?
    Dr Prempeh 7:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I have hisconsent and permission.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:15 p.m.
    Is itthrough a power of attorney, a writtenletter or --
    Dr Prempeh 7:15 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, since this isa House of record, I confirmed with myHon Whips. So, I am asking the Questionon his behalf.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:15 p.m.
    Allright, ask the Question. Offinso North Constituency SHEP-4Project(Completion and Commission) Q. 470. Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh(on behalf of Mr Augustine Collins Ntim)asked the Minister for Power when theSHEP-4 Project initiated in 2007 in thefollowing communities in Offinso NorthConstituency would be completed andinuagurated:
    (i) Nsenoa; (ii) Old and New Mireku, nearAkomadan; (iii) Esoro-Dome, near Nkenkaasu; (iv) Taekwaem; (v) Mankramso; (vi) Sewua Nfanti;
    Mr Jinapor 7:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, Nsenoa andTaekwaem communities form part of theongoing SHEP Project being implementedby the Ministry. High Voltage (HV) worksare 100 per cent complete at Taekwaemwhereas no HV work has been carried outat Nsenoa. For the Low Voltage (LV) componentof the works, it is to be noted that none ofthe communities has provided any of theLV poles as required under SHEP. Nsenoarequires 48No. LV poles while Taekwaemrequires 50No. LV poles. In order not to further delay thecompletion of works, the Ministry is inthe process of supplying the LV polesand the outstanding HV poles. It isexpected that the works in thecommunities would be completed in thethird quarter of 2016. Old and New Mireku (near Akomadan),Esoro-Dome (near Nkenkaasu), Mankransoand Sewua Nfanti communities do not formpart of any of the ongoing projectscurrently being executed by the Ministry.The communities would be consideredwhen the next phase of electrificationprojects is being designed.
    Dr Prempeh 7:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, would theHon Minister explain to the House howthe HV poles since 2007 have not yet evenstarted under the SHEP-4 and what hasbeen done to the contractor?
    Mr Jinapor 7:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, one mainreason had to do with budgetaryconstraints and secondly, under SHEP-4which is the Self Help ElectrificationProject, sometimes we expect thecommunities to also support. So, SHEP is a typical project where thecommunities sometimes have to -- Butwhen we realise that the communities areunable to do that, the Ministry steps in.So, this year, as part of our budgetary
    provision, we are procuring some of thesepoles and that is why I indicated that, inthe third quarter, we intend supplyingthose poles.
    Dr Prempeh 7:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I hope thatthe Hon Minister would listen to theQuestion carefully. In his Answer, he saidunder the SHEP Project, the communitiesare supposed to provide the LV poles, thatthe two communities have not done butthe HV poles that the contractor has noteven supplied nor done any work, whichis the responsibility of the Ministry, whyis that, since 2007, it has not been doneand why is nothing happening to thecontractor and he still expects thecontractor to complete. That was the question which he didnot answer. I have asked again for him toanswer it.
    Mr Jinapor 7:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, we do makebudgetary provisions for that butsometimes, constraints with releases fromthe Ministry affects us. So, one of the keyissues that is affected with the raising ofsome of these poles has to do with therelease of funds. Fortunately, this year, we have beengiven the green light to proceed and weare in the process of procuring these polesso, when they are available, we shallsupply them. It is not the duty of thecontractor to procure, it is the duty of theMinistry. So, once we do the procurement,we shall supply them through thecontractor.
    Dr Prempeh 7:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, this SHEP-4is part of the 350 million Export- ImportBank (EXIM) Project that is beingexecuted, extending electricity to about3,000 communities. What does the HonMinister actually mean by financialconstraints?
    Mr Jinapor 7:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, unfortunately,I did not hear the Hon Member very welland so if he may be kind enough to repeathis question I would be more than willingto answer it.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:25 p.m.
    Your lastquestion or you have already --
    Dr Prempeh 7:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, my last butone question.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:25 p.m.
    Heasked for a repetition.
    Dr Prempeh 7:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I wouldplead with the Hon Majority Chief Whipnot to distract my brother so that he couldanswer the question. Mr Speaker, the SHEP-4 is fully fundedby the EXIM Bank American Facility,Weldy-lamont Monte US$350 millionwhich was procured in 2008 and was re-negotiated in 2009 by the NationalDemocratic Congress (NDC) Governmentfully funded project. How come that, since2007, HP poles, even though Chrysler'sand other cars were bought undercontingency, this particular one; the HVpoles, the essence of the project is stillnot funded?
    Mr Jinapor 7:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, thosecommunities do not form part of the EXIMfacility and so it could not have been thecase.We did not do that.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:25 p.m.
    Question471 by Ms Freda Akosua Prempeh. Ipermit you to ask --
    Mr Awuah 7:25 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the HonMember is unfortunately not present andhas asked me to ask the Question on herbehalf.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:35 p.m.
    Please,proceed.
    Connection of Kwasoagya to theNational Grid Q. 471. Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah (onbehalf of Ms Freda Akosua O. Prempeh)asked the Minister for Power whenKwasoagya would be connected to theNational Grid.
    Mr Jinapor 7:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, Kwasoagyacommunity forms part of the ongoingSHEP projects being implemented by theMinistry. 48 No. High Voltage (HV) poleshave been planted and dressed awaitingthe supply of 120 mm sq Al conductor andsubstation materials to the contractor tocomplete both HV and substation works.The project in the community is expectedto be completed by the end of the secondquarter of 2016.
    Mr Awuah 7:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, may I knowfrom the Hon Minister, when this projectwas started?
    Mr Jinapor 7:35 p.m.
    The contract started onthe 11th of April, 2014.
    Mr Awuah 7:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, it is quiteamazing to hear from the Hon Minister thatthe contract was awarded in 2014. Mr Speaker, the high tension poleswere planted before 2008. I would want toknow from the Hon Deputy Minister, hesays that 48 high voltage poles have beensupplied. I would want to know from theHon Deputy Minister when are theygetting low tension poles?
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:35 p.m.
    HonDeputy Minister?
    Mr Jinapor 7:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, as I indicatedin the previous Question, we are in theprocess of procuring some low voltagepoles and once we go through them, weexpect that within the second quarter, weshould be done and through with thisprogramme. So, within the second quarterwe expect that we shall supply them.
    Mr Awuah 7:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I would wantto know from the Hon Deputy Minister --his Ministry has run several SHEPprojects. I would want to know from himunder which of the SHEP projects is thisproject being sponsored.
    Mr Jinapor 7:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I would beable to supply that Answer when I amgiven prior notice because this is aspecific question and I am unable to givethe specific answer immediately.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:35 p.m.
    Questionnumber 472 standing in the name of MrAlex K. Agyekum, Hon Member ofParliament for Mpohor.
    Mr Moses Anim 7:35 p.m.
    Thank you, MrSpeaker. Mr Speaker, with the Hon Member'spermission, I would want to ask theQuestion on his behalf.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:35 p.m.
    Permission granted.
    Towns to theNational Grid (Connection) Q.472. Mr Moses Anim(on behalf ofMr Alex K. Agyekum) asked the DeputyMinister for Power when the followingtowns would be connected to the NationalGrid:
    (i) Wassa Mampong; (ii) Edaa;
    (iii) Wiredukrom; (iv) Bomba; (v) Apraposo; (vi) Domeabra; (vii) Akotrom; (viii) K9.
    Mr Jinapor 7:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, WassaMampong, Edaa, Wiredukrom, Bomba,Apraposo, Akotrom and K9 form part ofthe ongoing electrification project beingfunded by the US EXIM Bank andexecuted by Weldy Lamont andAssociates. High Voltage (HV) and Low Voltage (LV)pole planting has been completed atWassa Mampong and Edaa. HV and LVpoles for Wiredukrom, Bomba, Apraposo,Akotrom and K9 communities have beensupplied to site and planting hascommenced. All outstanding works, namely highvoltage, low voltage, transformer sub-station, and customer service connec-tions in the above-mentionedcommunities have been scheduled forcompletion by end of June, 2016. Domeabra community however, doesnot form part of any of the Ministry's on-going electrification projects. Thecommunity would be considered when thenext phase of electrification projects isbeing designed.
    Mr Anim 7:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, any reason whyDomeabra was left in this currentelectrification project?
    Mr Jinapor 7:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, we are unablebased on the contract value and theamount of money available, to take all thetowns. This is because it is not justrestricted to that district. It covers some
    Mr Anim 7:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, in 2012, hightension and low tension poles were sentto Domeabra and as I speak, they arecurrently lying down there. The reasonwas because of the amount, meanwhileyou have already sent high and lowtension poles there. Could the Hon Deputy Minister explainthis?
    Mr Jinapor 7:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, with yourpermission, I would want to take thisQuestion on notice. This is because evenif you see high voltage poles there, it doesnot necessarily mean that it might be forthat town, so we would have to do thechecks so that I could give Parliament anaccurate Answer.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:35 p.m.
    HonDeputy Minister, so there could be polesfor town “A” which are deposited intown B?
    Mr Jinapor 7:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, that ispossible. I have a clear example, where wewere taking poles to one town but becauseit was in the rainy season, we had to leavethem in the next town, wait for the dryseason and then transport them. So, thatis possible. Thank you, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:35 p.m.
    HonMember, your last question.
    Mr Anim 7:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, since 2012, thepoles and the cables have been there. Weare in 2016. Mr Speaker, just to remind theHon Deputy Minister that 2012 was an
    election year. Was it just to let people ofDomeabra know that they were bringingthem electricity just for their votes? Thatis my question for the Hon DeputyMinister. This is because the people ofDomeabra are so hopeful and expectingthat light would be there. Is it for electionvotes?
    Mr Jinapor 7:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, we take theelectrification projects very serious andso we would not just go and dump polesjust because of election. So, I can informthis House that if you find that we havesent materials to a particular location, thenit is because we intend going throughwith the project and not just because ofelections. Mr Alexander K. Afenyo-Markin--rose --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:35 p.m.
    HonMember for Effutu?
    Mr Afenyo-Markin 7:35 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I notethat the Hon Deputy Minister for Poweris answering the Questions being posed.I would want to seek your guidance on aconstitutional provision with respect tothe very job he is doing now. Mr Speaker,if you would permit me, article 79 (1) ofthe Constitution provides that:
    “The President may, in consultationwith a Minister of State, and withthe prior approval of Parliament,appoint one or more DeputyMinisters to assist the Minister inthe performance of his functions.” Mr Speaker, the Communication thatcame to this House, informing this Houseof the nomination of the Hon DeputyMinister made reference to article 79. Mycontention is that the Hon DeputyMinister was then at the Ministry ofPetroleum and later when the HonMinister of Power was appointed, he wassubsequently reassigned as the HonDeputy Minister for Power.
    Mr Speaker, this is where I seek yourguidance and also as a senior member atthe Bar -- my understanding is that, inthe absence of the substantive Minister,who is consulted in accordance witharticle 79? There cannot be a DeputyMinister holding office. This is becausethe appointment made express referenceto article 79, that a Minister was consultedand the Deputy Minister was to assist aHon Minister. If there is no Minister, how could therebe a Deputy Minister acting in that office? Secondly, Mr Speaker, we are awarethat the Hon Minister for Finance is actingas the Minister for Power. My concern isthat the Hon Minister for Finance is onlyacting as the Minister for Power. Thisprovision is very clear on how a DeputyMinister acts in that public office. So, MrSpeaker, your guidance on this matter iskey -- so that we do not entertain anyunconstitutionality since he is here toanswer Questions.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:45 p.m.
    Yes, HonMuntaka?
    Alhaji Muntaka 7:45 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, with thegreatest respect, I am sorry I could notcatch your eye before the Hon Membersat down. Mr Speaker, what my Hon Colleaguedid was unnecessary and a waste of ourtime, with the greatest of respect. My HonColleague was not here when we battledwith this for several hours. We havepassed the stage when we had to seekthe indulgence of the House for ourColleague the Hon Deputy Minister toanswer this Question.
    He walks in when we have Questiontime, and out of irrelevance with what weare doing, he just obstructed us. MrSpeaker, with the greatest respect, I wouldbe very grateful if you would rule him outof Order so that we could finish answeringthe Questions. It is about 8.00 p.m. andwe need to be here tomorrow at 10.00 a.m.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:45 p.m.
    Questionnumber -- Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu -- rose --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:45 p.m.
    Yes, HonMinority Leader?
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 7:45 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,I think the Hon Member sought yourdirection in the issue that he raised. TheHon Majority Chief Whip came in withanother intervention. Mr Speaker, since you have not madeany determination, I do not know wherewe are.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:45 p.m.
    Since wehave what?
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 7:45 p.m.
    Since youhave not made any determination, I do notknow where we are. Except that I heardyou say “Question number”. I do notknow whether you would want to moveto another Question. If that is the intent, Imight have something to say before theQuestion number is announced.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:45 p.m.
    All right,I am listening to you. I am all ears.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 7:45 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,if that is the case, my question to the HonDeputy Minister is, in answer to asubstantive issue that you raised, he saidto you and of course, inferentially to usthat, yes, some poles could be meant forsome destination, but they could bedropped at a particular location.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:45 p.m.
    HonMinister?
    Mr Jinapor 7:45 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, it certainlycould not have been raining for fouryears. As I indicated, however, there is Ia specific example of a scenario thattranspired in a particular location. Mr Speaker, I also indicated that Iwould want to investigate this matter andreport to the House as a show of myrespect for the House. If you would permitme, I would investigate this matter, andwith your permission, report to youaccordingly.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:45 p.m.
    Yes,Question numbered 503 in the name ofHon Frederick Opare-Ansah. With regard to the matter Hon Afenyo-Markin raised, if I am to respond to it, itwould be acute to give a judgement. Iwould take time and go into details. Iwould need constitutional references andso on. I do not think I am equipped to gointo it presently in detail. It would suffice to say that the HonDeputy Minister is answering Questionsunder a proper authority and inaccordance with conventions of theHouse. The questions you asked raisesconstitutional issues that might take timeto answer. As far as our proceedings are
    concerned, I wish to assure you that theHon Deputy Minister is answeringQuestions in accordance with theconventions in the House. We have been informed that theMinistry of Finance has been givenadditional responsibility for the Ministryof Power, so, we take it that he is theMinister for Finance and the Minister forPower. The Hon Deputy Minister forPower assists him. Once the applicationwas made and the Hon Minority Leaderobliged, it is properly seated. I have given my ruling. If you wouldwant to challenge it, you know the way togo. Hon Member for Suhum?Questionnumber 503.
    Adidiso, Obomofodensua,Nkatekwan, Kromameng, Gamameng,Traio, Trotor, Koransang and TeyeMensah in the Suhum Municipality tothe National Electricity Grid(Connection) Q. 503. Mr Frederick Opare-Ansahasked the Minister for Power when thefollowing towns in the SuhumMunicipality would be connected to theNational Electricity Grid:
    (i) Adidiso; (ii) Obomofodensua; (iii) Nkatekwan; (iv) Kromameng; (v) Gamameng; (vi) Traio; (vii) Trotor ;

    (viii) Koransang; (ix) Teye Mensah.
    Mr Jinapor 7:45 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, Adidiso,Obomofodensua, Traio, Torto, TeyeMensah, Gamameng, Nkatekwan andKoransang communities have beenearmarked to benefit under an upcomingelectrification project in the Eastern, Volta,Ashanti, Brong Ahafo and WesternRegions to be executed by ChinaInternational Water Electric Corporation(CWE). Value for Money (VfM) assessmenthas been completed. Other statutoryprocesses are on-going and are expectedto be concluded to allow for thecommencement of the project. Kromameng community does not formpart of any of the ongoing projectscurrently being executed by the Ministry.It would be considered when the nextphase of electrification projects is beingdesigned.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:45 p.m.
    Yes, HonMember?
    Mr Opare-Ansah 7:45 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, as Ilistened to the Hon Deputy Minister'sAnswer, I did not know whether he wasanswering a different Question from whatI asked. Mr Speaker, my Question was “when”and not “how”. The Hon Deputy Ministerhas described how they are going toconnect it through the implementation ofa certain project. He said everything apartfrom the”when”. Could the Hon DeputyMinister tell this House when thesecommunities would be connected to thenational electricity grid?
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:55 p.m.
    Yes, HonDeputy Minister?
    Mr Jinapor 7:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, out of respectfor this House and knowing that approvalwould have to be sought from this House,it would be very difficult for me to give aspecific date as to when the project wouldstart. We do not determine how Parliamentdoes its Business and so if we bring theAgreement to Parliament and Parliamenttakes time to work on it, it would be verydifficult to determine precisely the exactdate the project would commence. That iswhy I said some processes were ongoing.Once those processes are through, wewould commence the project in earnest.
    Mr Opare-Ansah 7:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, if youknow the geography of SuhumMunicipality, you would realise that to getto the community of Gamameng, youwould have to drive through Kromameng. Indeed, as of the last voter registrationexercise, Kromameng recorded a voterregistration population of 451 andGamameng recorded 121. Could the HonMinister tell us what would advise hisMinistry to bypass the town ofKromameng, leave it out of all itsinterventions and go to Gamameng, thelast town on that route and add it to itsinterventions, knowing very well that I hadcommunicated to the Ministry in 2011. I procured a number of low voltagepoles and also paid for the mapping ofthe town for planting of these same poles.As I said, this has been communicated tothe Ministry. How is it possible that Kromameng,with more than twice the population ofGamameng and being closer to the
    Mr Jinapor 7:55 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, from ourexperience, turnkey projects normallyproceed quite faster than shared projects.So, when we have the opportunity toundertake a turnkey project, we try to takethe grid to as far a place as we could.Normally, we would be looking at thefarthest town. When we do that, we then have a spinesuch that we can have the lines throughvillages or towns that we probably mightnot have considered in the initial stages.It makes it easier for the Ministry, throughour own efforts, to draw the lines to theadjourning villages on the artery. Mr Speaker, so if one finds out that wehave left one or two villages and ratherconcentrating on the farthest, it is out ofstrategic reason.It is to enable us extendelectricity to the other regions even if wedo not have the turnkey. So, this wouldnormally fit into that equation. Mr Speaker, with your permission, Iwant to assure Hon Members that whenthey procure poles, it then means that itis much, much easier for the Ministryworking with them to consider that townas an isolated case, do the variation andadd it. Thank you, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:55 p.m.
    I believethat Hon Members would be pleased withthat.
    On that note, I want to thank the HonDeputy Minister for coming to the House.You are discharged. It is all in the serviceof mother Ghana. I also want to thank Hon Members forstaying this late. We shall be rewarded inheaven for all our hard work. If nobodysees it, God sees that we are serving ournation. I am sure our constituents also seeit and Ghanaians appreciate it. Infact, I also appreciate you.In thecourt, the last lawyer cannot leave theJudge. This is because if he leaves andthe Judge is sitting alone and somebodyenters the court and the judge is makingorders, it is as if he is talking to himself.People may think that he has lost his mind.In the same vein, if somebody enters thisaugust House and only I and the HonMinister and maybe two people are hereasking questions, they may think there issomething wrong. So, we thank you for staying behindand participating in the affairs of the day;especially, Hon Kofi Frimpong. Thank youfor your contribution as a senior Memberof the House. I have forgotten -- When there isrequest of songs on radio, the last thingthey say is “not forgetting”, then theymention the name. So not forgetting HonSorogho as another senior Member ofthe House. We want to thank all of you for beingpresent.
    ADJOURNMENT 7:55 p.m.