Debates of 16 Jul 2018

MR SPEAKER
PRAYERS 11:42 a.m.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 11:42 a.m.
Mr Speaker 11:42 a.m.
Hon Members, correction of Votes and Proceedings of Friday, 13th July, 2018.
Pages 1 … 6 --
rose
Mr Speaker 11:42 a.m.
Yes, Hon Member.
Alhaji I. A. B. Fuseini 11:42 a.m.
Mr Speaker, your humble servant, Inusah Fuseini, was here on Friday, but I see my name to be conspicuously lost in the name of Hon Members who were present.
Mr Speaker 11:42 a.m.
Thank you very much; it would be duly corrected.
Page 7 … 14 --
Hon Members, the Votes and Proceedings of Friday, 13th July, 2018 as corrected is duly admitted as true record of Proceedings.
Statements -- Hon Members, we have a Statement in the name of Hon Member for Nsawam-Adoagyiri and Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs on matters arising in the just ended African Union summit.
Hon Member, your Statement.
Mr Speaker 11:42 a.m.
Yes, Hon Majority Leader.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:42 a.m.
Mr Speaker, there are Questions slated for the Minister responsible for Aviation. The Minister intends to have some other engagements after she answers the Questions. If you do not mind, we could deal with the Questions first before we come to the Statement.
Mr Speaker 11:42 a.m.
If we may deal with the addendum Order Paper?
Hon Majority Leader, where do we start from?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:42 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am requesting that space be given to the Hon Minister responsible for Aviation to answer the Questions that were intended to be answered last Friday but which we pushed to today.
Mr Speaker 11:42 a.m.
Question starred 448?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:42 a.m.
Questions starred 448 and 449.
Very well. I hope there is no objection.
Questions -- Hon Minister for Aviation, if you may take the appropriate seat.
Question starred 448 in the name of the Hon Member for Dormaa West.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS 11:42 a.m.
MINISTRY OF AVIATION 11:42 a.m.
Minister for Aviation (Ms Cecilia Abena Dapaah) 11:42 a.m.
Mr Speaker, commercial operations to the Sunyani Airport seized in March, 2016 as a result of the poor nature of the airfield pavement among other inherent challenges.
The Ministry through the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) initiated steps for the rehabilitation of the runway and plans for its extension in addition to tackling encroachment of the airport land.
Expression of Interest (EOI) for the rehabilitation of the Terminal Building and Airside (Runway, Apron & Taxi-Link) Pavements was published in the Daily Graphic on 15th March, 2018, giving interested parties up to the 18th April, 2018 as the final submission date.
The EOIs have been received, evaluated and six firms have been shortlisted waiting for approval from the Entity Tender Committee (ETC). Thereafter, a Request for Proposal (RFP) will be issued to the six shortlisted firms for the next stage of the procurement process.
The scope of works includes the remodeling and design of existing Terminal Building; design of the runway, link taxiway, passenger apron and all associated ancillary facilities (pavement markings, aeronautical ground lighting, drainage system, provision for future fuel mains et cetera rehabilitation of existing runway length, existing passenger apron (to accommodate two (2) aircraft-type designated for use at Aerodrome reference code 3C) and existing link taxiway.
The GACL has strategised to use Internally Generated Funds (IGF) for the rehabilitation of the Sunyani Airport as a result of its current weak financial position.
The rehabilitation works is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2019 to pave way for the re-commencement of commercial operations.
As a long term plan, the Chief of Nsoatre has also given us 3000 acres of land for future development of a new Airport in Sunyani in line with Government's commitment to open up and connect the country for socio-economic development through the construction of airports, airstrips and helipads across the country.
We will continue to provide leadership and guidance for the development of Ghana's aviation industry and will continue to rely on the support of this House to enable us achieve our stated objectives and goals.
Mr Halidu 11:52 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am done. Thank you very much.
Mr Speaker 11:52 a.m.
Question starred 449, Hon Member for Adaklu?
Integrated Bus and Train Terminal at Kotoka International Airport
449. Mr Kwame Governs Agbodza asked the Minister for Aviation whether the Ministry and its relevant agencies were taking steps to provide adequate space for the development of an integrated bus and train terminal at the Kotoka International Airport to enhance access to the airport.
Mr Speaker 11:52 a.m.
Thank you very much; it is duly tabled.
Mr Agbodza 11:52 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am satisfied with the Answer. However, I would like to ask if it would be possible for the Hon Minister to brief your Committee on Roads and Transport periodically when they hit the significant milestones in the delivery of what she is proposing.
Ms Dapaah 11:52 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would take the suggestion on and gladly brief the Committee.
Mr Speaker 11:52 a.m.
Hon Member for Adaklu, are you satisfied?
Mr Agbodza 11:52 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am all right.
Mr Speaker 11:52 a.m.
Thank you very much, that ends Question time.
Hon Minister, thank you very much for attending to the House to answer our Questions.
Item listed 3 — Statements.
Hon Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
STATEMENTS 11:52 a.m.
Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh 11:52 a.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to make this Statement.
Mr Speaker, at the just ended African Union (AU) Summit in Nouakchott, Republic of Mauritania, the theme for discussion, ‘‘Winning the Fight against Corruption; A Sustainable Path to Africa's Transformation,” was presented by the Federal Republic of Nigeria's President H. E. Mr Muhammadu Buhari.
Mr Speaker, AU was founded with the principal aim to fight for unity, economic and social development. Africa, in all its glories of natural resources is best described as a continent known for wars, conflicts, famine, drought and diseases because her leaders over the years have failed the people to properly manage the gifted resources.
Africa continues to conference the road to a united Africa after 55 years when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) now African Union (AU), was formed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
However, Mr Speaker, the AU was officially launched after four summits were organised by the Assembly to decide on
an extraordinary session to expedite the economic and political integration in the continent.
It is a shame that no African country was found worthy to be ranked among the first thirty clean countries; rather, South Sudan and Somalia from Africa were ranked lowest with scores of 12 and 9 respectively by Transparency Inter- national's, Corruption Perception Index,
2017.
It is no doubt that corruption has remained the most destructive, unscru- pulous, dangerous and irregular element to human development and existence in Africa. Corruption takes US$148 billion out of the continent through various corrupt activities, and the acts which represent about 25 per cent of Africa's average Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Mr Speaker, the corrupt practices are evident as part of Ghana's history since independence. Governments from that age till date have been severely criticised for diverting and embezzling State funds to the disadvantage of the citizenry. Government and public office holders are often the worse culprits of this nation derailing act.
Broadly speaking, corruption percep- tion has characterised virtually every Government that either came through using the “bullet” or the “ballot” but a few, and time will not permit me to mention all the alleged corrupt practices under all the previous administrations.
Mr Speaker, following a referendum in 1958, the Gold Coast broke from the Commonwealth and declared itself the Republic of Ghana. In 1964, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah officially declared Ghana a “Socialist Single Party State”.
The writings of the late Prof. Kofi Awonoor in his book “The Ghana Revolution” showed how under the CPP regime 50 per cent of the citizens believed the CPP regime was corrupt and another 50 per cent disagreed with that assertion.
The 50 per cent who argued that the CPP was corrupt cited the late Krobo Edusei, a Minister of State who had over 20 houses during the reign of the regime, and Mary Jackson his wife, was also alleged to had been sleeping on a “golden bed” which was worth 3000 pounds. All of these happened under the watch of Dr Nkrumah.
It was also alleged that the late Komla Agbeli Gbedemah also escaped with a huge amount of money under this same regime, which he used to run his campaign in contesting the 1969 general elections. They also argued that Nkrumah misused over 200 million pounds of the country's resources that was handed over to him.
Mr Speaker, the list is endless.
In an attempt to find out if the Progress Party (PP) Government led by Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia was, indeed, corrupt with economic mismanagement, a survey of 54 leaders was conducted and it was revealed that the regime acquired loans from world bodies but no infrastructural activities had taken place in the country.
They alleged that former Prime Minister Busia was paid two years' salary in advance which is a clear sign of corruption in the regime. Out of 54 respondents who answered this question, 53.7 per cent argued strongly that the PP regime was corrupt and saddled with economic mismanagement.
The rest, that is 46.3 per cent believed that the PP Government was not corrupt and cannot be proven of any mis- management of the economy.
Mr Speaker 12:02 p.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Member, for this Statement which gives us a broad background to this problem and from which we can fairly draw lessons cutting across every aspect of our country's history.
Any contributions?
rose
Mr Speaker 12:02 p.m.
Yes, Hon Member?
Mr Kwame Governs Agbodza (NDC - - Adaklu) 12:02 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Statement.
Mr Speaker, it is the most shocking Statement I have ever heard from an Hon Member with my short period of time in this House. My Hon Colleague was trying to cure something -- one is hearsay. But the foundation of this Statement was worse than that.
When he says that the former Head of State, Col I. K. Acheampong was alleged to have chased women and given them State assets - Is that on record? Is that in any public document that we can trace? There are people watching us.
I do not think I would want to contribute; it is more like a complaint. I do not think we should tolerate it; it is completely out of order.
Mr Speaker, I believe what my Hon Colleague has said is basically perpetuating exactly what he wanted to cure. His Statement cannot be something that I would comment on, because it would not cure anything. I do not think there is any record that the former Head of State, Col I. K. Acheampong chased any lady and gave her a State asset. I believe it is completely out of order.
I am appalled and I believe next time, when we use the Standing Order 72, and when you give us the opportunity, we should use it to say or do things that would make this country move forward.
It is wrong for us to say that a former Head of State chased women and gave them State assets. It is not on any record.
If I had my way, I would tell my Hon Colleague to withdraw that part of the
Mr Speaker 12:02 p.m.
Hon Member, what would be your recommendations; your own observations as to the canker after chastising your Hon Colleague? Or in your mind, you do not see that there is corruption anywhere?
What would be your own good opinion on how to deal with it further? At the Africa meeting, everybody said there is corruption, so as a people, what are we going to do not to major in the minors, but in the majors?
Mr Agbodza 12:02 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am grateful for the opportunity. I believe this country has recognised that, and with you presiding over this House, we have passed a few laws and we are in the process of passing other laws that would give us a better chance of dealing with the issue of corruption which undermines the development of this country.
Mr Speaker, I am 100 per cent with the idea behind my Hon Colleague's Statement. Some of the comments --
Mr Speaker 12:02 p.m.
Please, we have heard that, and we know those perceptions are part of socio-political analysis. They are also part of indicators and indices. We have not come to that.
Now, bring some of the constructive things and let us make progress.
Mr Agbodza 12:02 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would encourage all of us to play critical roles in
the Bills that have been brought to this House to cure those things.
As Hon Members of Parliament, we should play our roles in our Consti- tuencies and at Committees to be able to oversee the agencies to ensure that we can cure some of these things.
Furthermore, if Hon Members of Parliament join in the fray of hearsay, the laws we pass might not achieve the aims we want them to.
Briefly, much of what the Hon Member said are in line with the thinking of the country. We should do everything that we can to reduce the menace of corruption.
I also agree with him when he said that we should encourage one another to do the right things. But when he goes on, that the Minority should not make comments about corruption in the country -- Mr Speaker, the call about the corruption that he talked about does not come from the Minority Members of Parliament; it comes from the society in general. We can deal with it without localising the issue of corruption.
I believe the reason we are struggling to tackle corruption is because we have localised it in the National Democratic Congress (NDC), New Patriotic Party (NPP), and Convention People's Party
(CPP).
It is a crime and it does not have political colours. If we are going to deal with it, let us leave the political colours out and do that head on. I believe we can achieve something.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity.
Mr Speaker 12:02 p.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Member.
rose
Nana Akua Owusu Afriyie (NPP -- Ablekuma North) 12:12 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I rise to contribute to the Statement ably made by my Hon Colleague from Nsawam Adoagyiri.
Mr Speaker, there is one part in the Statement I would want to quote 12:12 p.m.
“Africa in all its glories of natural resources is best described as a continent known for wars, conflicts, famine, droughts and diseases, because her leaders over the years have failed the people to properly manage gifted resources.”
Mr Speaker, I would emphasise on the gifted resources. We have been talking about corruption all the time, but I believe many of us have not gone on to find out what it is.
Mr Speaker, with your permission, I beg to read from the dictionary 12:12 p.m.
“Corruption” is a dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, critically involving in bribery, unscrupulous dealings, deceit, deception, duplicity, double dealings, fraud and criminality, embezzlement”.
Mr Speaker, we have many forms of corruption; it is not in this country alone but in Africa as a whole. Mr Speaker, Africa has a lot of resources but up till today we do not even have to cry in order to get our roads done; we do not need to cry in order to get a lot of things done. Children are suffering; women are suffering.
Mr Speaker, when you go to the rural areas—we are talking about corruption
and to say that there are a lot of things that we could accumulate to solve problems in Ghana. Mr Speaker, what pains me is the effect of corruption on people, society and the economy.
This is because if I defraud somebody or I deceive a company— If I am an accountant and I deceive a company by embezzling a lot of money somewhere for my own benefit, somebody or a child somewhere is suffering --
That is why we are saying that it does not matter how and in which form corruption comes about, it is a total deceit; it is wrong and all of us must move away from it.
Mr Speaker, what pains me most is that, the people involved in corruption seemed to be hiding by blaming others, and they are proud of themselves as they make a lot of money. You would see them swimming and bragging because they have a lot of money and they brag about that -- they have this, they have that, and they are like that.
But Mr Speaker, to talk of this -- Corruption! Corruption! Corruption! I repeat the word “corruption” three times. It is very bad. It is killing society; it is killing people and we must refrain from it. We should not—the Office of Special Prosecutor that was created with the Board which was inaugurated recently is not for “Party A” or “Party B”.
Mr Speaker, it is for all of us. It would deter a lot of people from doing things that would be contrary to what they need to do. We should all refrain from it. We should all speak good things about it to ensure that this country becomes a better place for our children's children.
Mr Speaker 12:12 p.m.
Thank you very much.
Hon Members, if you could stick to the principle of the matter in your brief contributions. Furthermore, one from each Side as we proceed.
Yes, Hon Member?
Ms Laadi Ayii Ayamba (NDC -- Pusiga) 12:12 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute to the Statement that has been ably made by my Hon Colleague from the other Side.
Mr Speaker, the Statement was made based on the theme of a Summit of the African Union, that is “Winning the Fight against Corruption”. Mr Speaker, as mentioned earlier by some of my Hon Colleagues, corruption is a canker that has long overstayed, not only in Africa but I can assure you it is in the whole world.
Mr Speaker, if we go into statistics, we would realise that most countries have come up and come out of corruption simply because they have adhered to their laws. Mr Speaker, the issue of corruption in Africa is for all and sundry to make sure that we handle it seriously.
Mr Speaker, may I emphasise that it is not an issue of any regime per se. In Ghana for instance, we have all the laws, the rules and regulations right even from the grass root. I can assure you that even in our Assemblies, when you go to the immediate offices, you would realise that the laws are there. There are even by-laws against corruption.
But as mentioned by one of our former Presidents, corruption did not start yesterday or today; it started from Adam. And we all need to put our hands on deck
and ensure that the corruption that started from Adam, which we all know, we get out of it.
Mr Speaker, it is unfortunate that after all the bodies that we have put in place, including the Office of Special Prosecutor, we still have to come to intervene or intercept when there are issues of allegations. We need to allow the offices that are supposed to investigate and prosecute these issues to work.
Mr Speaker, there are a whole lot of issues that have come up, and I would not want to go that way because allegations are issues that you might have heard of but you do not have the evidence at hand to say, such and such an office has done something that needs that such and such a person to be prosecuted. But at least, you have an idea or you might have heard of it.
We should stop the issue of coming out to clear people who have been alleged to have done something wrong. For instance, there is an allegation against a person, and then there is a clearance that comes from a higher authority to say that, this person has been cleared because there is no evidence found.
Meanwhile we in this House, the lawmakers and for that matter those of us who make sure that the records in this House are being kept -- because this is a House of records -- are not able to actually tell that, yes, if there was an allegation against Mr “A” or Mr “B” or Ms “A” or Ms “B”, this is the evidence that has come out that that person has been cleared.
We do not have it; we only sit here, bring out the law and ensure that the laws are out there. But the laws are not being used; the laws are not being realised.
We do not recognise or respect the laws because we know that if Mr “A” faces anything at all, there is somebody who is a god-father or god-mother or someone who thinks that because of Party “A” or “B”, let us forgive this person. So at the end of the day, there is an interception; “stop this, do not do it because that person has been cleared of that allegation.”
Mr Speaker, it would not help us and we would not go anywhere. All of us, whether you are in Party Q or Party S, let us ensure and endeavour that the laws work. Let us also ensure that whatever we are talking about in this House - we should remember that this is a House of records.

If it is an allegation, this is a House of records and we must keep the records straight. If we are to go by allegations, I believe that all our records would not find any standing; it would not be in any good standing.

Mr Speaker, so we should not base our arguments on that. We should not continue in that manner, because as we continue in that manner, we are not able to talk what the reality is; what our children and grandchildren in the future would come up and take in order to know that we of today had made good laws and we were standing for truth and that, at least, there is something for them to learn from.

Mr Speaker, I urge all of us to support the object of the African Union to ensure

that we win the fight against corruption by making sure that we go by our laws, support to unearth criminality so that at the end of the day, Africa and for that matter Ghana would be a good place for not only those of us in this House but for generations to come.

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity.
Mr Speaker 12:22 p.m.
We would want to hear more comments on the policy measures that have also been recommended, so that they would be useful for records and posterity. This is because this is a broad sweep of certain historical dimensions.
Shall we only comment on the historicity of the document? What about the realities, perceptions and the mild effects among others which were also referred to in the Paper? Let us be a bit intellectual about it, and for that matter, come out with serious commentary.
Mrs Cynthia Mamle Morrison (NPP -- Agona West) 12:22 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I rise to thank the Hon Member who made this Statement.
Corruption is a serious issue. We talk about corruption as if it is distant from us. We know that we are holding this nation, not only for ourselves but in trust for generations yet unborn.
So, when we talk about corruption, we should talk about it with all seriousness, devoid of political colours. I know that the Special Prosecutor is here, not because of one political party but for everybody.
Mr Speaker, what I find amazing is that we put technocrats in place to work in the Ministries and other offices, yet
Mr Speaker 12:22 p.m.
Hon Member, what is your objection?
Mrs Morrison 12:22 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we are talking about corruption and not the National Democratic Congress (NDC), so my Hon Brother should sit and let me finish. We are talking about all of us. It does not fit anybody, it fits all of us as Ghanaians. We are talking about reducing the level of corruption, so that this country could move on -- [Interruption.]
Mr Speaker, we are talking about scaling down corruption. I am not talking about double salary only; I am talking
Mr Speaker 12:22 p.m.
Order, order!
Mrs Morrison 12:22 p.m.
So that this country
would be a better place for all of us to live in.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for this opportunity.
Mr Speaker 12:22 p.m.
If there are any two Hon Members who would want to make us reflect upon some legislative and policy measures, so that there would be fresh thinking that would come out of some Members of Parliament, they may make the last two contributions on this aspect.
One from each Side of the House. Let us be able to conceptualise and show thinking and policy initiatives that would freshen our control over that which we all believe is a canker and then we would be refreshing the atmosphere.
Hon Pelpuo?
Dr Abdul-Rashid Hassan Pelpuo (NDC -- Wa Central) 12:22 p.m.
Mr Speaker, let me start by thanking the Hon Member for Nsawam Adoagyiri and Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs for this Statement.
Mr Speaker, given the controversial nature of corruption and the difficulty we all face in understanding its intricacies, once it has come to the fore and specific instances have been mentioned, people would definitely be on edge and unhappy. So, it is important that this Statement is put in context.
Corruption could be attributed to an individual, organisation, country or state, private citizen or public citizen, all of whom
have given the feeling that some wrongdoing is being done.
So for the African Union to come out with the theme of fighting corruption and winning the battle of corruption, it is a very important initiative.
The reason is that Africa, for a very long time, has been plagued with the perception of corruption. It has sometimes moved from perception to reality and it is found everywhere. Corruption is not just about geography, Africa, Europe or America. It is universal and affects every region in the world.
Mr Speaker, in trying to bring out the facts about corruption, the Hon Member who made the Statement cited some instances where perceptions of some people informed a certain conduct or behaviour. Starting from a book written by Prof. Kofi Awoonor which questions people about the Convention People's Party (CPP), they gave reasons.
Mr Speaker 12:22 p.m.
Hon Members, the background noise is a bit high.
Dr Pelpuo 12:32 p.m.
Mr Speaker, taking it from that landscape, from CPP to date, it indicates that there is a perpetuity in the way people perceive Government. There is a feeling that at every stage in our lives, there is something people can point out as government practising corruption. It tells us that we just have to wake up and do the right thing.
Everything points at the politician, even though five other fingers would be pointed at some politician who would take the initiative. That initiative cannot be done without a proper analysis of the situation and a proper understanding of what we exactly are doing to curb corruption and not make it look like we could engage in it with impunity.
Mr Speaker, the vulgar display of wealth by most African leaders and politicians, is not doing us any good. It is seen across the continent. In the midst of real poverty experienced and real backward development seen in Africa, we see the vulgar display of wealth with impunity and without regard to the laws existing in any country.
That shows that Africa must redefine itself and begin to redefine its policy direction and how we can harness this wealth for the interest of the general population.
The complaint made on this Floor about the fact that specific instances were pointed out by the Hon Member who made the Statement indicates that the public out there has a perception that we cannot take away.
Sometimes those perceptions are so weird and unacceptable that if we relied on them, we would not be able to make any logical conclusion
However, it is important that we generate enough, proper, concrete and empirical evidence that could help fight corruption. This would help us trace and establish that there are corrupt practices happening somewhere in the country or within a certain Ministry or organisation.

[REV. FORDJOUR][DR PELPUO]

It therefore calls on us to define the

parameters of what we can do to capture a situation where corruption is taking place. It calls for new and more definitive laws that can tackle the real issues about corruption. It does appear the existing anti-corruption legislations all over do not seem to work at all except, for example, the Special Prosecutor Act which was just passed.

It has not been practised yet; it has not been materialised enough for us to know whether it would be effective or not. But it appears that the existing laws do not seem to be operationalised in such a way that the danger and evil of corruption can be curbed. Resources are sipped away, 10 per cent of moneys are added unto contracts that are signed.

Whether we like it or not, that is the perception out there and once one asks for 10 per cent, the contractor would add 30 per cent. The nation loses 30 per cent of contract sum that is supposed to be done at a certain figure far less than the figure that is known.

Mr Speaker, this should not be taken for granted. We need to make corruption a very high risk activity so that in the end, we can only make sure that the public purse is kept away from predators.

Mr Speaker, the situation in which we find ourselves today even fuels it the more. People have very worrying perceptions about what is happening and it is important that this Government works hard to make sure that what is perceived as corruption is addressed effectively and efficiently so that we can be sure that the public purse is truly protected.

The present situation does not seem to suggest that the public purse is protected enough.

Mr Speaker, this Statement is important to the extent that we should not look beyond why it has been made. We should be serious because when the dizzy rise of this people hit the heights, it is not the other public servants who would be affected; it is the people they see every day who ride in V8 and those who say they are politicians -- they are the people they would tackle.

It is therefore important that we, who represent the people do much more than we are doing now to allay the fears of our people who we are not corrupt.

We must stand above ordinary standards and ensure that we reflect our leadership of Africa by instituting real laws in this country that can protect the public purse and can ensure that we gain the needed confidence from the people who give us the power.

Mr Speaker, with these few words, I thank you for the opportunity.
Mr Speaker 12:32 p.m.
Thank you, Hon Member.
I would take the last contribution from the Majority Side.
Rev John Ntim Fordjour (NPP -- Assin South): Mr Speaker, I rise to contribute to the Statement which was made by the Hon Member for Nsawam Adoagyire which brings to fore a very important issue that affects not only Ghana but most countries in the south of Sahara having to do with corruption and how we can effect measures to combat it.
It is rather sad that the World Bank and Transparency International all corroborate around the fact that US$146 billion is lost in Africa through corruption. Particularly, in Africa, it is estimated that every year,
scarce resources from this continent to the tune of US$3 billion is always lost.
To think of the annual budgetary deficits that are financed mostly through foreign donors, grants and loans and the volumes that we receive and to be told that we could have sealed the leakages and slippages and ensure a retention of US$3 billion annually is a matter that must be taken seriously.
Mr Speaker, the narrative, as has been alleged of corruption not only in Ghana, but Africa in general over the years, is an issue that cannot be proudly defended. As a state we must concede and fully recognise that the alternative use of US$3 billion -- the number of hospitals and beds that this amount can construct --
The number of asphalted feeder roads and the rehabilitation of roads that this amount can construct in a year -- I was doing some estimation and by industry standards, US$3 billion can construct 50,000 chip compounds across the nation and these are the tunes of amount that are alleged to be lost through corruption year on year.
Mr Speaker, with your permission, I beg to quote Proverbs chapter 13 verse 11 which says that:
‘‘Dishonest money dwindles, but money that is earned through labour increases''.
Mr Speaker, if we must concede, we must concede also that corruption permeates in various facets of our society and it is about time that some very important and urgent steps were taken to ensure that when a child is born into society, certain observations that they make -- For instance, as they observe elders paying certain amounts as little as it might be in exchange of certain services that are legitimately offered by people who have been employed and whose
responsibility it is to offer such services
-- 12:32 p.m.
Mr Speaker 12:42 p.m.
The Leaders would conclude. We would expect that they help us to look at it in a very intellectual way. [Interruption.]
Order! Hon Members, shall we concentrate on the business before the House?
How does this Honourable House effectively make policy recommendations and analysis further by way of measures that can help us check this canker even if we are not able to totally eliminate it? What kind of checks and balances mechanisms, intellectually speaking as legislators, can we conceptualise on an occasion like this?
Perhaps, policy measures that this Honourable House may have to think of to deepen control mechanisms over the process -- We would need some of these from Leadership.
Hon Minority Leadership?
Alhaji Muntaka 12:42 p.m.
Mr Speaker, because of the huge interest, I would want to give our place to Hon Inusah Fuseini.
Mr Speaker 12:42 p.m.
Hon Fuseini, please help us with this conceptualisation, which we actually need.
Alhaji Inusah A. B. Fuseini (NDC -- Tamale Central) 12:42 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for this opportunity to contribute to this important Statement.
Mr Speaker, there is no doubt that corruption is a drain on the economy of any country at all. In fact, corruption manifests itself in loss of resources to a country. These resources could have been used in ways that could improve the wellbeing of the people.
So everybody should be interested in fighting corruption. Even if corruption is as old as Adam, we should all be interested in fighting it.
Mr Speaker, the exercise of power by the State ought to be checked by mechanisms of accountability that we have put in place to ensure that power which the State holds is not corrupted. This is because as we have been told, absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member who made the Statement has said that the Minority should desist from blackmailing government with wild allegations. The answer is simply this, the price of democracy is perpetual vigilance. The price for which we have to pay for going democratic is for the Minority and for the citizens of this country to be perpetually vigilant.
This is because we are told that no Government is constituted by angels. It is precisely because no Government is constituted by angels that is why we have
laws and that is why we establish institutions. It is because man has a propensity to engage in wrongdoing.
Mr Speaker, this Parliament has not been docile in the promulgation of laws that would fight corruption. I would give you a rundown of laws that have been put in place to fight corruption in this country. We have passed the Anti-Money Laundering Act; it is a tool to fight corruption.
Mr Speaker, we have passed the Whistle Blowers Act in this House; it is a mechanism, an instrument and a power given to the citizens of this country to blow the whistle where there are acts of impropriety.
Mr Speaker, just recently, we have passed the Witness Protection Act -- it has not yet been signed into law but that would give State prosecution authorities and witnesses who would appear to give evidence the power to do so and the protection that they would require in doing so.
Mr Speaker, we have passed the Bank of Ghana Act that clearly makes the Bank of Ghana regulate all banking institutions and particularly insist on the know-your- client (KYC) of the banks. This is would enable the banks to keep detailed records of not only a client's place of engagement but also the salary that a client receives.
So in the event that money is lodged in your account exceeding the expected revenue a client gets every month, then the bank would be put on notice for them to report to the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Bank of Ghana for investigation.
Mr Speaker, we have passed the Special Prosecutor's Act. There is no gainsaying
Alhaji Inusah A. B. Fuseini (NDC -- Tamale Central) 12:52 p.m.
that this Act was passed precisely because Ghanaians had raised hue and cry about the level of corruption in this country and we needed a special mechanism to deal with that. That is the reason we all supported the passage of the Special Prosecutor's Act.
Mr Speaker, we are presently considering the Right to Information Bill. Again, that is another instrument that would give citizens of this country the power to demand information that would go a long way in fighting corruption.
Mr Speaker, we have passed the Amendment to the Companies Code in this House that makes the disclosure of beneficial ownership in companies mandatory.
So citizens who purchase shares under names we call full trust, where shares are held in full trust would be compelled to disclose -- That is another mechanism that this House has put in place to fight corruption.
Mr Speaker, it is indeed true, the bird Eneke in Chinua Achebe's book, Things Fall Apart said that, “Since men have learned to shoot without missing, he has learned to fly without perching.”
It is precisely because it appears that these laws are not giving us the desired results, that is the reason the issue of corruption continues to bedevil this country as well as other countries.
Mr Speaker, one way of fighting corruption is to strive hard as a country to turn this country into a cashless economy. Our European counterparts found that turning a country into a cashless economy is a sure way of mitigating the rising levels of corruption.
Mr Speaker, if you are driving on the street and you are stopped by a law enforcement officer who demands some payments from you, if it is a cashless economy, the next demand the law enforcement officer would make of a person would be for him to produce his Point of Sale (POS) device because the person would have the card to give him whatever money he asks for or else --

Mr Speaker, assuming that somebody comes into the country and executes a contract and everything he would do in this country will be through a card, that could stop corruption in this country. I see the Hon Minister for Public Procurement listening carefully.

Mr Speaker, the monetisation of every activity and the cash receipt of money is what fuels corruption.

Mr Speaker, the second most important thing that we all have to look at is how we will eliminate or reduce poverty in this country.

Corruption is demand-driven. I was told last week by my Leader, the Hon Minority Leader that a new research has revealed that corruption is demand-driven. This means that where people are poor, they would ask for money for anything that they do. So for us to mitigate corruption, we must fight it.

That is why any government policy towards creating prosperity must be supported, because it is only when the people are capable of providing for themselves that they would not be greedy to the extent that they would receive more.

Mr Speaker, if there is no poverty, we would not have any obligation

whatsoever to provide insurance for our children and their children. There would not be that incentive because the opportunities would also be available for our children and grandchildren to look after themselves.

Where the opportunities are bleak, persons in authority would think that they have a responsibility to provide for not only their children but their children's children and that is the drive for corruption.

Mr Speaker, thirdly, we must have bold and committed leadership. The Hon Member who made the Statement told us that the Mnisters of Nkrumah had houses. But no one in this country can point to a house that was built by Nkrumah when he was President of this country. Nobody can do that.

Mr Speaker, if this is not a good inspiration and motivation for political leadership, then tell me what it is. We had a leader who despite all the resources --

People have even said that he was so dictatorial but we had the same leader, who despite all the resources at his disposal, did not see the need to build a house for himself or his children. Indeed, things that were wrong with Nkrumah, were actually things that were very positive.

Today, we hear stories about leaders rushing to put up houses, not only for themselves but for their children as well. We need to learn that indeed, if Nkrumah or all other Presidents had succeeded in making this country worthy of living, no one --

Mr Speaker, you suggested that the Hon Chairman of my Committee and myself go to Nigeria on an anti-money laundering studies. Indeed, if one sits in

an anti-money laundering class for a day, one would not be interested in any money at all. In fact, you would now come to re- evaluate why we should be in politics.

Mr Speaker, there are many things in this country that we take for granted. People think of corruption only as inflating contract prices or deepening money in kitties. It goes beyond that. Unjust enrichments and entitlements --

Mr Speaker, again, you approved of a trip for the Hon Majority Leader and myself and the leadership of my Committee to go to Singapore. If corruption is made a high risk activity starting from the Leadership --

It is interesting to know that when Lee Kuan Yew promised his people that he would fight corruption in Singapore and won the elections, as a symbol of his commitment to fighting corruption, on the day of his swearing in as a Prime Minister, they were all in white. It meant that, any of his ministers who soiled the white attire would have himself to blame.

Mr Speaker, we saw records of a minister who was one of the close cabinet members of Lee Kuan Yew engaged in corruption. He wrote a personal letter to Lee Kuan Yew confessing and asking for exoneration. He was told to bear the cross himself. For standing to face public ridicule, he committed suicide. He was a bosom friend of Lee Kuan Yew.

Mr Speaker, the last example I would give is that, again, in Singapore, there was a minister who was engaged in corruption and was to be arrested. He absconded and lived outside Singapore for close to 30 years.

He finally realised that there was no use running away from the long reach of the law. He returned to be sentenced to imprisonment. That is why in Singapore
Mr Speaker, it is us and nobody 12:52 p.m.
None

That kind of thought is a corruptible one and that is what fuels corruption in this country.

With these few words, Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity.
Mr Speaker 12:52 p.m.
I thank you very much.
Majority Leadership, your comments and recommendations.
Majority Leader (Mr Osei Kyei- Mensah-Bonsu)(MP) 1:02 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to add my voice to the Statement that has been made in respect of girding our loins to fight corruption.
Mr Speaker, article 35 (8) of the 1992 Republican Constitution provides and with your permission I quote:
“The State shall take steps to eradicate corrupt practices and the abuse of power”.
Mr Speaker, the very preamble of our Constitution also provides, and I beg to quote:
“We the people of Ghana,
rose
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:02 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Chairman of the Finance Committee indicates to me that I want to make a coup against his authority.
Mr Speaker 1:02 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader, in fact, you are leading the House well by these arguments and the analysis of what we can do; not just some general comments, but what could be done actually, effectually, administratively and in policy terms.
Please, continue.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:02 p.m.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
It is not for nothing that in Parliament today, we have three Committees that could be described as high profile; the Public Accounts, Finance and the Appointments Committee.
The Public Accounts and Subsidiary Legislation Committees are strong because they are led by Hon MPs in the opposition. It is not for nothing that this then turns out to be the case because no Parliament is uniform in its composition.
Even though Parliament is charged with the responsibility of oversight, we all know that the performance of that responsibility rests more on the shoulders of Hon Members in opposition than on Hon Members of the ruling party.
That is why in the established democracies and Parliaments, we may have some Committees that are certainly controlled by the ruling party, usually, the
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:12 p.m.
Committee on Defence and Interior -- In our part of the world -- The Committee on Finance, the Committee on Local Government and Rural Development, and because of labour agitations, the Committee on Employment, Social Welfare and State Enterprises.
The Committee on Judiciary is also usually chaired by an Hon Member of the ruling party.
The other Committees are then shared among the parties in Parliament depending on their numerical strength. We have to look at this if we want to strengthen our Parliament.
Mr Speaker, we should also liberate our Committees to be very proactive. A rule here in Ghana's Parliament is that, if there are no referrals to any Committee, it cannot work on any matter. We would adjourn this House sine die on 26th or 27th July, 2018. We are still in the rainy season. We should fancy a situation where maybe, in the course of the recess, there is an outbreak of cholera.
The Committee on Health cannot, on their own, investigate it and report back to Parliament. They cannot do that while we are on recess. They would have to wait until Parliament resumes and a Statement may be made on which account the Rt Hon Speaker would refer the matter to them.
That is certainly not how Committees work in serious jurisdictions. So we must liberate our Committees to be proactive. That is why we should look at our Standing Orders.
If we do not grant Parliament financial autonomy, all that we are saying would be a fruitless exercise. We must resource
Parliament and the Committees adequately because, as we know, no Committee is composed of experts.

A road project may be underway at Sawla and the Committee on Roads and Highways goes to visit and they report to us that, “the 30 kilometre (km) project is to be done within two years. We went there one year after and they have done 15 or 16km and so it is on course.”

Mr Speaker, as to whether as a country we have value for money, the Committee is not able to tell us.

Elsewhere, the Committees would be given money to engage consultants who would go ahead of them to inspect the roads and come to report to the Committee so that when they go to the field, relevant questions would be asked for answers to be given and then a Report will be made to this House.

The House then takes a decision based on this statement of fact. It is not so in our Parliament and that is why we should be interrogating these matters.

While we are at it, we should also talk to the various political parties. The increasing monetisation within the parties also does not help grow Parliament. Today, my side of the House has 169 Hon Members of Parliament.

More than one half is made up of fresh men. Go to the constituences of those who are here for the first time and you would see people striving to remove them come the next elections. How are we going to grow Parliament that way and build the capacity of such Hon Members if that is the order of the day?

Increasingly, entering Parliament has become a business of people with fat wallets and indeed money bags. Is that how to grow Parliament?

Mr Speaker, we are supposed to provide oversight over the Executive. If Parliament is relationally weak, it cannot perform that function.

That is why we need serious introspection and I will dare to suggest that if we are minded to fight corruption, we should also seriously look at amending some of the constitutional provisions which relate to strengthening Parliament.

Mr Speaker, the Auditor-General is a tool for Parliament to perform its oversight functions in Ghana's republican Constitution. In fact, it is not for nothing that the Auditor-General, when he performs his functions, he should submit his report to Parliament. He is a tool for Parliament.

However, in Ghana's republican Constitution, we are provided with information that in the performance of the duties and functions of the Auditor- General, he is not subject to any control or authority, and Parliament's name has been mentioned that it cannot direct the Auditor-General.

Yet elsewhere, Parliament would direct the attention of the Auditor-General to some suspected malfeasance for him to investigate and report to them.

Our Parliament cannot do that and yet the Constitution creates a window for the President. In spite of the fact that they are not subject to any direction by anybody, the President, acting in consultation with the Council of State, can direct the Auditor-General to do that. To report to whom?

The Executive that the Auditor-General is supposed to oversee and audit, the President can rather direct him to do something but Parliament cannot do that. That is why we should look at this.

Mr Speaker, the Electoral Commission (EC) is one area that we should look at because if we have a Commission that is corrupt, they would lead this country astray and perhaps cause serious civil strife.

That is why when the President came to appoint the immediate past Electoral Commissioner, some of us said that we should amend the Constitution to have the chairperson and the deputies approved by Parliament by a two-thirds majority.

Going forward, we should be looking at this so that a President would be forced to be very consultative in the appointment. People said that the President should be widely consulted in doing that. I am talking about President Mahama's time.

Of course, the Constitution allowed him to do what he did. Going forward, these are areas that we should look at. The appointment of the Chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), the Auditor-General, the Justices of the Supreme Court — We have no ceiling by the constitutional provision. How do we make progress?

Even in the appointment of Hon Ministers, how can we have a consensus as a House on these matters, so that going forward, we would be able to deal with these matters that may possibly contribute to growing corruption in one form or the other?

Mr Speaker, the Hon Inusah Fuseini has spoken about laws that we have
Mr Speaker, in respect of the Auditor- General's report, article 187 (6) provides 1:12 p.m.
“Parliament shall debate the report of the Auditor-General and appoint where necessary, in the public interest, a committee to deal with any matters arising from it.”
Mr Speaker, the Fourth Republican Parliament as of now has lasted for 26 years. We have not come round to establishing this committee, yet we want to fight corruption. Mr Speaker, Parliament must establish this committee.
It has been over 25 years and this Parliament has not come round to establishing this committee. Are we
purposed to fight corruption? Some of these things are also self-inflicted.
Mr Speaker, one could go on and on. We expect the President to demonstrate leadership to fight corruption and the leadership of Parliament to also be honest, transparent and accountable and demonstrate leadership.
That is where and how we would be able to fight corruption. Mr Speaker, otherwise it would be mere talk.
I believe that I could go on and on but we have some other Business to do. We have been on just one Statement for almost two hours. Mr Speaker, I would thank you for the opportunity granted me and I believe that we should be together in this fight against corruption. Otherwise, we would not make progress and our people would be left in the quagmire of poverty and we would not be able to lift them up.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much.
Mr Speaker 1:22 p.m.
I must thank Hon Fuseini and the Hon Majority Leader for raising the bar of these contributions. This is exactly what I expected earlier and I directed in that manner. I am glad the Hon Leader took a cue accordingly.
In view of the way it has all gone and out of the usual balance, I would ask the Hon Minority Leader to make a few remarks. Also, we cannot ignore the Hon Second Deputy Speaker's richness in that area. At least, he would also make a few comments. He has not made an indication to me but we are imposing it on him and I believe it would benefit the Hansard and the House.
Mr Haruna Iddrisu (NDC -- Tamale South) 1:22 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much. This is out of the ordinary and I appreciate the opportunity to make a few comments on the Statement on “Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa's Transformation” which was made by the Hon Member for Nsawam- Adoagyiri, Hon Frank Annoh-Dompreh. Mr Speaker, I wish to commend him and make a few observations.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member began this Statement by referencing the African Union (AU), and we should note with some satisfaction that the AU's first challenge was decolonisation. Therefore, at that material moment, the struggle was how to get the rest of Africa to be decolonised.
Mr Speaker, the next threat to Africa beyond colonialism was governance, and today we could say that democracy has taken root. At least, if not in every part of Africa, we could proudly say that in Ghana, democracy has taken firm roots.
Mr Speaker, democracy comes with deeper transparency and accountability and stronger institutions including Parliament. It is only in a liberalised democratic society that we would have the kind of free media and press which demand and exact accountability from public office holders.
Regrettably in Ghana, the thinking of the Ghanaian public is that most politicians owe their status and career to corruption. Mr Speaker, that is an erroneous impression because there are sincere people in public office as there are miscreants who would take advantage to abuse processes for their personal gain.
Mr Speaker, as a country, our strategy must be to reward honesty and punish with heavier sanctions, by making
Mr Speaker 1:22 p.m.
Hon Bagbin, you may spend a few minutes to give us your take on what you think is the most important point.
Mr Alban S. K. Bagbin (NDC -- Nadowli/Kaleo) 1:32 p.m.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I am extremely grateful for this opportunity.
I am doing this as one of the objectives of the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP). We should all congratulate the Hon Member who made the Statement because the Action Plan has called on all Ghanaians to put the issue of corruption in the front burner to make sure we create awareness and educate ourselves on how to combat this cancerous problem which is global in nature.
Mr Speaker, Prof. Lumumba has said a few things about corruption. ‘We all know that it is bad; we all hate it, yet we tolerate it. The few people who are engaged in corruption enjoy it and they are very treacherous'.
However, it is true that Roberto Casillas, a Mexican writer, wrote long ago that ‘corruption is as old as man'. It is not just as recently that our former President stated about corruption being from Adam; no. Maybe, he researched and saw it, that corruption is as old as man.
Mr Speaker, we have also read the Statement of Lord Macaulay on 2nd February, 1835 about Africa. I just would want to read it to Hon Members. He said:
“I have travelled across the length and breadth of Africa, and I have not seen one person --”
Mr Speaker 1:32 p.m.
Hon Members, there should be order from the back at a time like this when we are carrying out a very useful analysis.
Mr Bagbin 1:32 p.m.
Mr Speaker, Lord Macaulay's address was to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the House of
Commons and that was on 2nd February, 1935. This is what he said:
“I have travelled across the length and breadth of Africa and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such wealth I have seen in the country, such high moral values, people of such calibre, that I do not think we would ever conquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage and therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the Africans think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose their self-esteem, their native culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation.”
Mr Speaker, if this is how Africa used to be or was, where did we go wrong? How come we are seen globally as the most corrupt people? They say it is not in our stars, but in what of ours?
Coming to Ghana, the Global Integrity Report on Ghana states:
“Ghana's corruption problem has deep roots in society and our political culture where societal expectations of largesse and patronage from holders of public office combine with a culture of official impunity, low remuneration and opacity and unregulated discretion in the use of public authority to produce a system that is hospitable to corruption.”
This is the problem.
I have had the opportunity of being part of the global movement to fight
Mr Bagbin 1:42 p.m.
corruption since the year 1994 when I started chairing the Committee on Subsidiary Legislation in this House and I have toured and gone round attending so many conferences. Corruption is really difficult to fight unless we are all committed to fighting it.
Mr Speaker, coming back home, we cannot fight corruption with bad politics and bad governance. We cannot fight corruption with this architectural design that we have as our legal framework where all power is concentrated in the hands of one person.
We keep on saying that, ‘‘Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely''. We have a system where somebody is elected. One only has power when power is given to him; except God, He is the all-powerful.
When we elect a person and he is the head of State, he is the President, he appoints everybody. He is also the leader of his party, he is the master of all that he surveys and we have concentrated so much power in the hands of this person called the Executive President.
In the Constitution, he is above the rule of law; there is immunity. Then he is the one to lead the fight against corruption. That in itself is a corrupt product. We must exorcise it. Democracy is about diffusion of power; it is not about the concentration of power. That is the result of what we have now.
On the recent appointment of Hon Martin Amidu as the Special Prosecutor, permit me to say, this country does not lack in the prosecution of cases. That is not where we have a problem. One cannot prosecute without investigation. Have we tooled those bodies to investigate to make
the evidence available for the prosecution to take place? We have not.
Even the court system where somebody speaks vernacular and another struggles to translate into English and the judge or magistrate listens to the one translating, because that is where he gets his source of information, and we know a word in vernacular could mean so many things in English. At the end of the day, they base on this to pronounce judgement.
Mr Speaker, we have a lot to do; that we set up a body called the Ghana Anti- corruption Coalition, and they have submitted a report which we debated in this House. The NACAP Report is there. It is for Governments to implement and not to pick and choose. [Interruption.] Yes, the Hon Majority Leader has stated it; he confirmed it.
The process to be elected to this place is all prone with corruption; the pressure people put on us. This issue about wild allegations we have been making without evidence is based on that. So the people believe that with politicians, the money is just there and one can go and fetch for them.
This is because they say “chop chop” that somebody has taken so and so billions of money. He has ‘‘reads and hears this'' and he moves on with it that if A could take, why not B?
We are all in the same profession working together, so they walk to our offices every day looking for money to go and do business and when you explain to them that you do not have, they do not believe you, because you drive a land cruiser, a BMW, et cetera. There is everything around you that shows that you are wealthy, and that fuels corruption.

Mr Speaker, I am going to make a few recommendations. I believe what the Bible said is the truth, and that is what we should follow; teach a child the way he should go, and when he grows up he would not depart from it.

We have to return all the schools back to the religious bodies. We have missed the road. That is where we start, by instilling integrity and honesty into people; the young ones. Now we do not talk about virtues; we talk about values, which is wrong.

Today, the value in our country is money; the root of all evil. It is not your wealth that would make people follow you; it is your worth -- w-o-r-t-h -- but we do not value worth these days. With your pocket, you could get the best seat in the church. With your integrity, nobody would respect you.

So please, let us go back to our roots.

The next thing is for us to carry through the constitutional reforms. We have done a lot of work on it, but let us see it to the end and stop the political differences.

The Hon Majority Leader talked about the Auditor-General. The Auditor-General, in a good system, is an officer of Parliament. He is not an officer of the people he is auditing, the Executive Arm. How could you audit yourself? We in Parliament are the arm of government to lead the anti-corruption crusade. With such weak institutions, how could we do it?

Mr Speaker, we have to change the system. We have to diffuse the power. We have to make everybody equal. Democracy is about the rule of law, not

the rule of man. What we have in Ghana is the rule of man. If the President coughs, nobody can say no. We cannot accept that.

We would always have a majority, and what the President says is the position of the majority, and so they would come and support that, whether they like it or not. Some could keep quiet, but vote against it, and they would report you. It has happened a number of times in this House.

In some voting, they say, “show your vote to the one closest to you.” The one who refused to show, he or she was reported and summoned. How could you fight corruption with this kind of thing?

So Mr Speaker, let us get back to the basics. Let us pick the National Anti- Corruption Action Plan, sequence it, follow it through and make sure we strengthen the institutions that are to anchor Parliament to fight corruption.

How much do we give to the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice? We have not even been able to resource the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) to lead us in the education of Ghanaians to really understand what multi-party democracy is.

They do not know what we are doing. They only think about voting. That is all. We cannot continue this way.

Mr Speaker, again, when they say a country is rich, it is not the natural resources that make the country rich. It is the human resource, the state of mind. If it had been so, by now Israel would have been one of the poorest countries in the world. It scarcely rains there; there are no natural resources there, yet they are
Mr Bagbin 1:42 p.m.
among the rich nations, not the third world.
It is true that the mind is important, and that is why Lee Kyung-Kyu -- Anyone who has read the book “The Men in White” would understand why the author said they should wear the white. There is extensive literature on this.
So while we keep on blaming each other and tossing corruption as a political football, we cannot fight corruption in this country. That is what is happening now. And so even in making Statements we are taking jabs at each other. Meanwhile, there is no Government in this country that has not been alleged to have been corrupt.
When we talk about corruption, as we are doing, the public laughs at us. They do not believe in us anymore. We need leadership of integrity.

It is all of us; I am not talking about him alone. I am talking about all of us as politicians. And so while we are --
Mr Speaker 1:42 p.m.
Political campaigns are not conducted with personal moneys -- [Uproar!]-- It is not necessary. This is why we do not go far and major in the majors. [Uproar.]
Hon Bagbin, please conclude.
Mr Bagbin 1:42 p.m.
Mr Speaker, if the mention of His Excellency is what is raising the
uproar, I withdraw that. But I talked about all politicians, it is just that I said I was asked a question on him.
Mr Speaker 1:42 p.m.
Hon Bagbin, let us leave the particularities. Let us talk on the principles and the issues. Please conclude on that as you were going, and let us raise bars in this Honourable House. [Interruption.]
Mr Bagbin 1:42 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you, once again, but I was actually concluding. And the conclusion I was making is for us to look at how we fund parties and our campaigns. That was the issue I was raising.
Mr Speaker, the work we do is not private business; it is public service. So, the public must take a keen interest in whatever we do, including the financing of political campaigns.
Mr Speaker, I presented a paper on this to the University of Ghana Business School. All stakeholders must participate in what we do. It is not only coming to Parliament to assist us to pass laws, but they should also participate in how we get to Parliament.
If I have to fund all that and get to Parliament, then you have to look at the source. Our political parties' law talks about only the political parties submitting accounts. Individual candidates must also submit accounts, state the source of the money and how the money was applied. That is done in the developed democracies.
Mr Speaker, it is done; it is something that we could do, because these billboards that we raise, they are all waste of resources. The Lacoste T-shirts that we print are all waste of resources.
Mr Speaker 1:52 p.m.
Hon Member, shall we conclude?
Mr Bagbin 1:52 p.m.
So, Mr Speaker, we need to reduce the cost of politics in this country. That is how we can get resources back into development.
Mr Speaker 1:52 p.m.
Hon Members, thank you very much for this rich discussion on a problem that we all know is prevailing in Africa, and which Africa is trying to resolve. It is also a matter of great interest legally, constitutionally, religiously, morally and in all its various dimensions and trajectories.
Hon Members, item listed 4 -- At the Commencement of Public Business, Presentation of Papers. Item numbered 4(a) by the Hon Minister for the Interior.
PAPERS 1:52 p.m.
Mr Speaker 1:52 p.m.
Hon Members, item numbered 4(b) by the Hon Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs.
Ms Sarah Adwoa Safo 1:52 p.m.
Mr Speaker, respectfully with your permission, I would lay the following Papers from item numbered 4(b)(i) to 4(b)(iv) on behalf of the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs.
Mr Speaker 1:52 p.m.
Please, proceed.
By the Deputy Majority Leader (Ms Sarah Adwoa Safo) (on behalf of the Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs) --
(i) Report of the Auditor-General on the Consolidated Annual Accounts of Government for the Financial Year Ended 31 st December, 2017.
Referred to the Public Accounts Committee.
(ii) Report of the Auditor-General on the Management and Utilisation of District Assemblies' Common Fund and Other Statutory Funds for the Year Ended 31st December, 2017.
Referred to the Public Accounts Committee.
Mr Speaker 1:52 p.m.
Hon Members, consi- dering the time of the day and the Business before the House, I direct that Business be stretched beyond the regular hours.
Hon Members, item numbered 4(b) (iii):
By the Deputy Majority Leader (Ms Sarah Adwoa Safo) (on behalf of the Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs --
(iii) Report of the Auditor-General on the Public Accounts of Ghana, Ministries, Departments and other Agencies (MDAs) for the Financial Year Ended 31st December, 2017.
Referred to the Public Accounts Committee.
(iv) Report of the Auditor-General on the Accounts of District Assemblies' for the Financial Year Ended 31st December, 2017.
Referred to the Public Accounts Committee.
Mr Speaker 1:52 p.m.
Hon Members, item numbered 4(c), Hon Chairman of the Committee?
Ms Safo 1:52 p.m.
Mr Speaker, respectfully, the Hon Chairman was in the House earlier. I believe that the Hon Deputy Majority Whip, who is an Hon Member of the Committee would lay the Paper on his behalf.
By the Deputy Majority Whip (Mr Moses Anim) (on behalf of the Chairman of the Committee) --
Report of the Committee on Communications on the African Union Convention on Cyber- Security and Personal Data Protection (Malabo Convention).
Mr Speaker 1:52 p.m.
Hon Members, item numbered 4(d).
Ms Safo 1:52 p.m.
Mr Speaker, item numbered 4(d) is not ready for laying.
Mr Speaker 1:52 p.m.
Thank you very much. Item listed 5 -- Hon Majority Leader, I am told this one is to be stood down.
Hon Members, item listed 7 -- Motions.
Mr Ahmed Ibrahim 1:52 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Item numbered 4(c), Report of the Committee on Communication on the African Union Convention on Cyber- Security and Personal Data Protection (Malabo Convention).
Mr Speaker, the Committee has not even met on it, so there is no report. So, if it happens that it has been laid and there is no report, it is clearly in breach of our Standing Orders.
If even the Committee had met and there is a draft report, we would have considered that, but once the Committee has not met and there is no draft report, and the Chairman of the Committee, his Vice-Chairman and their Ranking and Deputy Ranking Members are also not here -- I am a member of the Committee and I am saying that the Committee has not even met to consider it.
Mr Speaker 1:52 p.m.
We would wait for further advice from the Chairman as the Hon Member has talked about.
Hon Members, item listed 7. I am told that items listed 7 and 10 are to be moved together. Then substantive items listed 8 and 11 are also to be moved together. Is that so?
Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah 1:52 p.m.
Rightly so, Mr Speaker.
Ms Safo 1:52 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the concern raised by the Hon Deputy Minority Whip -- It is the communication from my part that did not come clear.
The intended Paper that was to be laid was the item listed 4(d), which is the Report of the Committee on Mines and Energy. It was intended to be laid by the Hon Member of the Committee who is the Deputy Whip for the Majority Side.
Mr Speaker, it is not for item listed 4(c). It is not ready as the Hon Member said, but item listed 4(d) was what we intended to lay.
Mr Speaker 1:52 p.m.
So, item listed 4(d) is laid, but item listed 4(c) is awaiting.
Ms Safo 1:52 p.m.
Mr Speaker, item listed 4(c) is not ready. Initially we laid item listed 4(c). The intended purpose was to lay 4(d), which is the Report of the Committee on Mines and Energy. So, item listed 4(c)
would accordingly be withdrawn and we would lay item listed 4(d) properly.
Mr Speaker 1:52 p.m.
I am advised that Motions 7 and 10 would move together, and the substantive Motions 8 and 11 would move together.
Ms Safo 1:52 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we still have to lay item listed 4(d). With your indulgence, could we lay item listed 4(d)?
Mr Speaker 1:52 p.m.
Therefore, are we not ready in any of these at the moment?
Ms Safo 1:52 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we are ready for item listed 4(d). It is item listed 4(c) that we are not ready for. We earlier laid item listed 4(c) which we have accordingly withdrawn because it was not ready and that was the concern raised by the Hon Deputy Minority Whip.
Mr Speaker 1:52 p.m.
Yes, that correction has been made accordingly.
Ms Safo 1:52 p.m.
So, Mr Speaker, we have to lay item listed 4(d) before we make progress.
Mr Speaker 1:52 p.m.
Very well. Would you do it on behalf of the Hon Majority Leader as you have done?
By the Deputy Majority Whip (Mr Moses Anim) (on behalf of the Chairman of the Committee) --
Report of the Committee on Mines and Energy on the Ghana Integrated Bauxite and Aluminium Authority Bill, 2018.
Mr Speaker 1:52 p.m.
Yes, what next? Please, are we in the position now to proceed with Motion numbered 7?
Yes, Hon Majority Leader?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:52 p.m.
That is so, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker 1:52 p.m.
Hon Members, item numbered 7 and 10
MOTIONS 1:52 p.m.
Chairman of the Committee (Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah) 1:52 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order 80(1) which require that no Motion shall be debated until at least forty-eight hours have elapsed between the date on which notice of the Motion is given and the date on which the Motion is moved, the Motion for the adoption of the Report of the Finance Committee on the Ashra Export Credit Facility Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and Bank Hapoalim B.M. of Israel for a principal amount of forty million, six hundred and forty-three thousand euros (€40,643,000) to finance a turnkey project involving Expansion Works at the University Hospital in Legon, Ghana. AND
That notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order 80(1) which require that no Motion shall be debated until at least forty-eight hours have elapsed between the date on which notice of the Motion is given and the date on which the Motion is moved, the Motion for the adoption of the Report of the Finance Committee on the Commercial Facility Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and Bank Hapoalim B.M. of Israel for an amount of six million, five hundred and twenty thousand euros (€6,520,000) to finance a turnkey project involving Expansion Works at the University Hospital in Legon, Ghana be moved today.
Mr Speaker 1:52 p.m.
Who seconds the Motions?
Mr Speaker 1:52 p.m.
Thank you. This is a procedural Motion.
Question put and Motion agreed to.
Resolved accordingly.
Mr Speaker 2:02 p.m.
Hon Chairman, you may please move on with the Substantive Motion, items 8 and 11.
GoG/Bank Hapoalim Ashra Export Credit Facility Agreement
Chairman of the Committee (Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah) 2:02 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that this Honourable House adopts the Report of the Finance Committee on the Ashra Export Credit Facility Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and Bank Hapoalim B.M. of Israel for a principal amount of forty million, six hundred and forty-three thousand euros (€40,643,000) to finance a turnkey project involving Expansion Works at the University Hospital in Legon, Ghana. AND
Tha this Honourable House adopts the Report of the Finance Committee on the Commercial Facility Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and Bank Hapoalim B.M. of Israel for an amount of six million, five hundred and twenty thousand euros (£6,520,000) to finance a turnkey project involving Expansion Works at the University Hospital in Legon, Ghana.
Mr Speaker, in so doing, I present the Committee's Report.
Mr Speaker, before I get into the Report itself, I would want to effect some corrections in the Report. On page 8, line,
2, under “Conclusion”, we see “Legon Hospital”. As a matter of fact, it should be, University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC). And still on page 8, the Loan Agreement, (i), we again see Legon Hospital in Accra.

Hon Members, it is the University of Ghana Medical Centre but the Motion before us captured it as the University Hospital in Legon, Accra.

Mr Speaker, I am not minded to amend the Motion itself; I am only effecting the correction in the Report to read same as the Motion before us. So, I would go ahead and present the Report.

Introduction

The

i. Ashra Export Credit Facility Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana (represented by the Ministry of Finance) and Bank Hapoalim B.M. for an amount of up to €40,643,000.00 to finance the expansion works at the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) in Accra; AND

ii. Tied Commercial Facility Agreement in the amount of €6,520,000.00 between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and Bank Hapoalim B.M.to finance the expansion works at the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) in Accra

were presented to the House on 29th June, 2018 and 4th July, 2018, respectively.

Pursuant to article 103 of the 1992 Constitution and Orders 169 and 171 of the Standing Orders of the House, the Agreements were referred to the Committee on Finance for consideration and report.

The Committee subsequently met and discussed the Agreements with the Leadership of the Committee on Health, the Minister for Health, Hon Kwaku Agyeman-Manu; Deputy Minister for Finance, Hon Abena Osei-Asare as well as officials from the Ministries of Finance and Health. The Committee hereby submits this report to the House pursuant to the Standing Orders of the House.

The Committee is grateful to the Hon Minister for Health, the Deputy Minister for Finance and the officials of the two Ministries for attending upon the Committee.

The Committee referred to and was guided by the following documents inter alia during its deliberations of the Agreements:

The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana;

The Standing Orders of the Parliament of Ghana;

The Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921).

Background

In 2012, Cabinet approved the establishment of the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC). The project involved the construction and equipping of a 617-bed capacity teaching and quaternary level hospital located within the University of Ghana, Legon.

A Commercial Contract was signed between the Ministry of Health on behalf

of the Government of Ghana and Messrs Engineering Development Consultants (EDC) Limited of Israel at a contract cost of one hundred and eighty-four million, seven hundred and forty thousand and one United States dollars (US$184,740,001).

The hospital was to be completed in three years with a certificate of completion to be issued by the end of November,.

2015.

The Phase I of the Medical Centre was practically completed in 2016 at a cost of US$217 million (comprising construction cost of US$184,740,001 and financing cost of US$32.26 million.)

The Phase II of the Project which is to be funded under these Agreements, is focused on the provision of strategic income generating services for short, medium and long-term sustainability of the Hospital including a technical assistance package.

It is a necessary complement to Phase I and it targets new clinical services and medical interventions that will give the UGMC a competitive edge over others in Ghana as well as the sub-region.

The credit facilities for Phase 2 are both critical and complementary in mobilising additional resources to address the critical gaps in the operations and sustainability of the UGMC and for the completion of the UGMC Project.

Presently, additional medical facilities and specialised medical departments and services are needed for the attainment of international accreditation standards of a quaternary level hospital as well as to enhance the sustainability and operational effectiveness of the Hospital.

When Phase II is completed, the hospital will be fully operational with all
Chairman of the Committee (Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah) 2:02 p.m.
the departments being functional and all services being provided.
Project objectives
The primary objective of the Project is to establish a state-of-the-art training facility for medical education that will facilitate the relocation and accommo- dation of all institutions of the College of Health Sciences to the University of
Ghana, Legon campus, to serve as a nerve centre of the proposed Medical Village.
The Centre is to function locally as a referral hospital and operate at a specialised level to attract clientele beyond the borders of Ghana and to take advantage of the specialties offered in the country which is expected to be first class in the sub-region.
Repayment Period -- 4 years;
Tenor -- 5 years;
Legal Fees -- €15,000.00 (for both Credit Agreements).
Project Components and Description
Phase 2 is an urgent intermediate phase with a focus on critical requirements of the UGMC Project to complete and operationalise the Hospital. The cost of providing these additional items constitute a funding gap identified in relation to the Phase 1 of the Project.
Phase 2 essentially focuses on the provision of strategic income generating services for short, medium and long term sustainability of the Hospital, including a technical assistance package.
The Phase 2 is a necessary comple- ment to Phase 1 and it targets new clinical services and medical interventions that will give the UGMC an enormous competitive edge over others both within and outside the country.
The services include a Nephrology Unit, facilities for cardiothoracic and neurosurgery, facilities for Assisted Reproductive Technology, additional VIP wards for Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Internal Medicine and Surgery with additional specialised medical equipment and the provision of drug and non-drug consumables.
Phase 2 further includes income generation items such as a commercial pharmacy, additional housing accommo-
dation units and a commercial morgue with facilities for funerals.
The additional services are aimed at boosting the training of health professionals and the establishment of cutting-edge clinical research platforms at the UGMC with estimated additional capacity of about 150 beds.
ATTACHMENT: Please find attached as Appendix 1, a detailed breakdown of the components of the Phase 2 Project.
Observation
Critical Interventions required
The Committee was informed that the Hospital currently requires some critical operational and sustainability interven- tions and considerations as follows:
Budget guarantees for the first five years of critical start-up operations (seed capital, cost recovery tariffs, private and public tariffs for international clinical care);
Credible and reliable quality consumables, pharmaceuticals and medical supplies;
Medical services for neurosurgery and cardiovascular surgery, Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) services, and other services to support the income generation capacity of the UGMC;
Logistics and Facility Management;
Staff development and training;
Technical assistance in specialised medical services areas;
Additional staff housing for critical core staff; and
A further objective is for the Medical Centre, when fully completed, to serve as a Centre for medical tourism for those in need of medical services within the sub-region and beyond for super tertiary care and specialties.
Terms and Conditions of the Loan
The financing details of the Facilities are as follows:
A. Ashra Export Credit Facility
Facility Amount -- Up to €40,643,000 (o/w €34,425,000 represents 85 per cent of the commercial contract and €6,218,000 for the Ashra Premium);
Interest rate -- 6M EUR LIBOR +1.45 per cent per annum;
Commitment Fee -- 0.60 per cent per annum;
Arrangement Fee -- 0.80 per cent flat of facility amount;
Grace Period -- 2 years;
Repayment Period -- 10 years;
Tenor -- 12 years.
B. Tied Commercial Facility
Facility Amount -- Up to €6,520,000 (o/w €6,075,000 represents 15 per cent of the commercial contract and €445,000 for Risk Mitigation fee);
Interest rate -- 6M EUR LIBOR +1.75 per cent per annum
Commitment Fee -- 0.60 per cent per annum;
Arrangement Fee -- 0.80 per cent flat of facility amount;
Grace Period -- 1 year;

Pharmaceutical and Drugs Mana- gement System to guarantee first class authentic drugs.

Phase 2 of the Project is thus designed to provide these interventions to the Hospital to ensure its sustainability and operational efficiency.

Human Resources

The Committee noted that the Legon Hospital is designed to be a quaternary level hospital, As such, the critical staff required to support and provide management, clinical care, training and research must have professional competencies commensurate with the level of care provided by a quaternary care institution.

To achieve the level of competencies required, therefore, the Hospital will embark on a comprehensive human resource development programme and also attract the needed personnel from both Ghana and the Diaspora. The Hospital will further enter into collaborative partnerships with both Ghanaian and international health institutions.

Expected Benefits of the Project

The Committee noted that Phase 2 of the Project will facilitate the completion and operationalisation of the Hospital, boost the long-term sustainability of the Medical Center, enhance the potential for medical tourism in Ghana and contribute to the provision of quality healthcare to the general public.

Phase 2 would additionally enhance training of qualified personnel, boost tertiary level service and provide avenues

for collaboration with regard to training and research.

The Credit Facilities would also take the immediate financial burden off the Consolidated Fund.

Repayment of the Loans

As to whether the Government intended to on-lend the loan proceeds to the UGMC, the Deputy Minister for Finance, Hon Abena Osei-Asare informed the Committee that the Loans will be repaid from the Central Government Debt Service Account and that there will be no on-lending agreement with the University of Ghana.

She further explained that revenues that will accrue from the operations of the Hospital will go into the Consolidated Fund unless Parliament provides a retention regime for the Hospital.

Drawdown

The Committee enquired to know when the facilities will be drawn down by Government? To this, the Committee was informed that the drawdown of the credit facilities will commence in 2018 and would be completed within two (2) years. It was further explained that the facility forms part of the programmed loans and grants for the 2018 financial year.

Opening of the Hospital

As to when the Hospital will commence operations, the Minister for Health, Hon Kwaku Agyeman-Manu informed the Committee that the Ministry has put in place firm plans to have the Hospital opened for commencement of operations as soon as practicable.

He however explained that the Hospital will only achieve full operation

by the end of November, 2018 as there was still some more work needed to be done under the second phase in order to achieve full operationalisation.

Conclusion

The Committee finds that the two Agreements are necessary to secure the required funding to implement Phase 2 of the Legon Hospital Project to provide a comprehensive business and investment framework project by providing the additional medical facilities and specialised medical departments and services which are required for the full operationalisation of the Hospital to the required international standard.
Mr Speaker 2:02 p.m.
Hon Chairman, before you sit, if the Report is right, then you would have to amend your Motion to correspond with the Report.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:02 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I seek your leave and the indulgence of my Hon Colleagues to amend items 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. Mr Speaker, in all of these, we seek to delete “University Hospital in Legon, Ghana” and replace that with “The University of Ghana Medical Centre”.
Mr Speaker 2:02 p.m.
Thank you very much. The amendment is duly corrected.
Hon Member, you may please second the Motion.
Mr Richard Acheampong (NDC -- Bia East) 2:02 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity. I beg to second the Motion captured on pages 6 and 7 of today's Order Paper, that a total of €47.1million should be approved for the second phase of the UGMC.
Mr Speaker, the Report talks about the second phase of the project, which indicates that the first phase is completed. So, the question one would ask is, why the delay for putting the first phase to use? This is because we live in an era where there is “no bed” syndrome; people are being treated in plastic chairs at Korle- Bu.
If we have this facility lying idle, on which €47.1million is being raised today to finance the second phase, what happens to the first phase?
So this is a wake-up call to all of us, especially the Executive which takes the decision to expedite action so that this ineptitude of the Government would cease, so that the good people of this country would benefit from the Phase 1 of the project.
We are not against the second phase of the project, but the question is, if we are raising another facility to support the second phase, what happens to the first phase?
So if you are confirming our argument that Phase 1 is completed, then though there is a communication out there that by 18th July, 2018, the first phase would be put to use, we are holding Government accountable and responsible that by the end of this week, we should see the UGMC being operationalised so that the good people of this country would benefit from our own resources channelled into this project.
Mr Speaker, if we look at the terms of the two facilities, in all, we are paying about ten per cent charges, which in my view, is quite all right.
Looking at the tenure, although it is short; a four-year period -- but, Mr Speaker, the on-lending facility of which the Hon Deputy Minister for Finance told the Committee that they would not pursue that programme is a bit worrying.
This is because if we have an on- lending arrangement in place, an escrow account would be opened, so that those proceeds which would be put into other accounts would be used to finance the facility.
Dr Samiu Kwadwo Nuamah (NPP -- Kwadaso) 2:12 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to comment on the Motion on the Floor.
I would want to state that this project, as indicated by the Hon Member who moved the Motion, is a quaternary health
institution which would be the highest level health institution in this country.
One does not just put up such a facility. There are laid down structures that should go with it to make sure that it is fully implemented. If we look at the scope of the work that would be done in phase two, there are certain critical parts in there, without which phase one which has already been done, would not be able to function.
Mr Speaker, typical among them is the fact that in phase two there is the provision for both drug and non-drug consumables for the whole facility, without which a hospital would not be able to function.
Secondly, such a facility with all these complex equipment would need a dedicated substation, so that they would not suffer power surges that would destroy the equipment which would force them to always rely on generators. This provision was not made in phase one but it has been made in phase two.
Furthermore, such a facility must meet international standards, and there are certain things that need to be done to enable this facility to meet them. Phase two would enable this facility to get these extra provisions to enable it meet these standards.
Mr Speaker, for example, phase two would enable the facility to have a cardiothoracic and vascular surgery centre, which is needed for surgical emergencies. It would also have a neurosurgery centre which was not part of phase one. For trauma cases, such components are needed to treat such cases comprehensively.
One does not need a quaternary centre to treat cases halfway. It should be more or less, the last resort as far as burns treatment is concerned. All these
components were not provided for in phase one.
That is what made phase two a complement and a necessity to enable the whole facility to function. That is the reason, as we speak, this facility has not been able to operate. We need these things to be able to make it functional.
Mr Speaker, once again, there is this challenge for most health institutions in this country. Whenever they are put up, from day one, they begin to run down due to the fact that they do not make enough Internally Generated Funds (IGF) to be able to replace and maintain their facilities. So the country would spend money to put up a good structure and after four or five years, it would run down.
This state-of-the-art structure should not be allowed to suffer the same fate. So as part of phase two, one of the major strategies in there is to equip this facility with income generating components so that it would be able to make enough revenue to maintain and sustain these state-of-the-art equipment to make them functional all the time.
Typical among them is the provision of VIP Wards and assisted reproductive centres, where enough revenue could be generated to assist in the taking care of other expenditure that would be incurred, so that they would not have to depend on Central Government for budgetary support to maintain the structure.
I believe when we all support this project, it would be one of the best things to have happenned to our health infrastructure in Ghana. I know this would not be the last time and we would be able to create more of such state-of-the-art facilities, so that the people of Ghana can benefit from this.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity.
Mr Benjamin Komla Kpodo (NDC -- Ho Central) 2:22 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity.
I just want to clarify some of the points which my Hon Colleague just made. When we met the Hon Minister -- First of all, let me relay the background information, that your Committee unanimously agreed to recommend this for approval by the House.
In the discussions, the Hon Minister for Health told us that the first phase of the project would be operational as soon as possible. That is on page 7, paragraph 6.6 of the Report. This means that the first phase, in its current situation, is usable. It is a facility we could access.
So I do not get what my Hon Colleague tried to explain that without the second phase we cannot use the first phase which has been completed. If we talk about electricity, we all acknowledge that there are generators there, which could be put to use when we do not have light from the national grid.
Mr Speaker, I am worried about the figures. During the discussions, it became clear that we were borrowing €47.1 million. This amount converts to US$55 million. When we look at the implementation programme, we have accounted for US$50 million. This means that there is US$5 million extra.
We tried to ask that this be explained. Well, we did not get any explanation at the Committee meeting, but if the US$5 million is to be applied to the cost of the loan, as my Hon Colleague said, so be it. It means that we can meet 10 per cent servicing cost of the loan.
Mr Speaker 2:22 p.m.
Minority Leadership?
Alhaji Muntaka 2:22 p.m.
Mr Speaker, this is not a very controversial Motion, so if you
do not mind, I would yield to the Hon Ranking Member of the Committee on Health since the Hon Chairman of the Committee has had the opportunity to speak.
Mr Speaker 2:22 p.m.
Hon Ranking Member of the Committee on Health?
Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh (NDC -- Wa West) 2:22 p.m.
Mr Speaker, this Agreement that has been brought for us to consider is 18 months late. This is because the previous Government had put in place a Management and a Board with the University of Ghana as the operator of that Medical Centre.
The new Government that took over did not buy into the arrangement that was first made. Instead of saying they did not like it, they gave names to people which were not appropriate.
Mr Speaker, in the arrangement, there was an agreement between the Ministry of Health and the university authorities. The management was a single thing that we wanted to do to make sure that there was a purposeful management of the hospital, not just a hospital in the public sector or being run any how.
Mr Speaker, as the Hon Chairman of the Committee on Health indicated, this is a quaternary facility. It means that even doctors who are trained in Korle-bu, Okomfo Anokye, Tamale and Cape Coast Teaching Hospitals, after their specialisa- tion, could have another topup speciality training there.
It was all laid out. The hospital could have been operational if the National Patriotic Party (NPP) Government wanted to do so; but they did not. So they started to find faults with everything else that was in place.
Mr Speaker, today, they are talking about how this money could be recouped. Indeed, the intention for the previous Government was to on-lend this money to the Management and Board of that facility.
The Board and Management was to ensure that this component that is necessary to raise resources to finance the activities would also make sure that they could pay the loan back not necessarily based on what the Hon Deputy Minister told the Committee.
Mr Speaker, they having disagreed with the management structure and the University of Ghana running this programme, what has happened? An Interim Management Committee is supposed to be set in place and that itself has not yet been in place.
The Hon Minister tried to link this Loan Agreement to the operationalisation of the Medical Centre and that was wrong.
Mr Speaker, as we discuss this loan and approve of it, if possible, one cannot immediately draw down and use it for any thing to facilitate the operationalisation of the Centre. It has to be clearly stated that there is no link at all with this particular facility.
It is important that we note that with the operationalisation we are talking about -- Nobody expected a facility of that size to just start on that same day with all departments functioning.
The Hon Ministers for Information and Health said that it would be operational on the 18th of July, 2018, as if what we are discussing now, it would be so, it is no! All these things were already there.
Mr Speaker, as one of the Hon Members said earlier, my worry is that because we are 18 months late, whether the amount we would get now would be sufficient if there are any changes in the exchange rate and all that -- It is important that the Government should take responsibility and act quickly.

Mr Speaker, no matter what they say, we do not oppose this Loan Agreement. It would complete what was started and this single purpose vehicle that was created was to ensure that we do not just charge anyhow because it would serve as a medical tourism centre.

Mr Speaker, the issue that should be looked at is that we should make sure that as soon as this Loan Agreement is approved, we should move quickly to provide these things which should have been done earlier than today. But all the same, when one is late by closing his or her eye it is not good; but when one is late to a function, he or she would have still arrived.

Mr Speaker, I thank you very much.
Mr Speaker 2:22 p.m.
Majority Leadership?
Mr Kingsley Aboagye-Gyedu (NPP -- Bibiani- Anhwiaso-Bekwai) 2:32 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my Hon Colleague from the other Side has spoken a lot, but I would want to take this opportunity to correct a few factual inaccuracies that he fed to this House and to the Ghanaian public.
Mr Speaker, in the first place, the Hon Ranking Member of the Committee on Health said something to the effect that the Interim Management Committee of the University of Ghana Medical Centre has not been set up.
I can assure this House that it was publicly announced that the Interim Management Committee is chaired by a renowned medical doctor who is the immediate past Deputy Director General of World Health Organisation, one Dr Asamoah Baah. He is the Chairman of the Interim Management Committee of the University of Ghana Medical Centre.
So what the Hon Member said is factually inaccurate.
Mr Speaker, we also heard from an earlier speaker from the other Side that if the revenue from the operations of the Hospital is allowed to go straight into the Consolidated Fund, what would happen is that -- I am sure the Hon Member for Ho, Mr Kpodo, said something to the effect that accountability is likely to suffer if the revenue from the operations of the Hospital is made to be paid directly into the Consolidated Fund.
This is very strange to some of us because I do not know where this theory is coming from. The revenue belonging to the State is required by the Constitution to be paid directly into the Consolidated Fund.
Mr Speaker, unless and until this House gives the opportunity to any organisation
to actually retain part of the revenue -- To the best of my knowledge, hospitals retain 100 per cent and that arrangement has been approved by this House -- they are not capped.
So I do not know where the Hon Member is coming from when he speaks about accountability being likely to suffer.
Mr Speaker, another point that I would want to clarify is the issue Hon Kpodo raised about converting the loan from euros to United States dollars and then making claim to the effect that there is an extra US$5 million which he does not know where it is going to.
I believe that the Report that came to this House was in euros. The breakdown of every single item that is to be purchased was detailed in the Report that came to this House which you ably referred to the Committee on Health.
Mr Speaker, so I am so surprised that the Committee on Health that is supposed to have a full breakdown of every cost is now trying to do financial engineering with the Report by converting from euro to US dollars and then claiming that there is some extra five million which he does not know what to do with it.
Mr Speaker, if they needed more information, the Ministry and the Ministers were available for clarification. I find it very strange that they passed it at the Committee level and they have come to the Floor of the House to come and tell us about a challenge they have with some US$5 million. However, we are ready to provide him with the information if indeed he needs that.
Mr Speaker, the final thing I would touch on is the allusion to the effect that if we are calling for extra loan to do the
phase two, it means that the phase one has been completed; that the current Government was unwilling to operationalise this facility and that is what is causing the delay.
We have said it time and again, and when the Hon Chairman of the Health Committee was speaking, he made allusion to certain essential items that are required at the Centre to be able to operationalise the Centre. I am happy to tell this House that as we speak, the Ministry is taking adequate steps to ensure that the deadline which we set for ourselves that by the end of July, which is this month, the hospital would be operationalised.
Mr Speaker, my understanding of operationalisation is that the Hospital will open its doors to the public. Of course, it is not all the services which the Hospital is going to provide that would be available from the day of operationalisation. But I believe strongly that latest by the end of this week, the Hospital will start the process of operationalisation.
Mr Speaker, so “anytime soon” is being said severally; by the end of this month the Hospital will be in operation.
Mr Speaker, with these few words, I would want to urge this House to support this Motion so that we approve the loan to enable the University of Ghana Medical Centre start the operationalisation.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity.
Mr Speaker 2:32 p.m.
Hon Members, at the end of the debate, I would put the Question.
Question put and Motion agreed to.
RESOLUTION 2:32 p.m.
THIS HONOURABLE HOUSE 2:32 p.m.
HEREBY RESOLVES AS 2:32 p.m.
THIS HONOURABLE HOUSE 2:32 p.m.
HEREBY RESOLVES AS 2:32 p.m.
Mr Speaker 2:32 p.m.
Hon Members, who seconds the Motion for the adoption of the Resolution?
Ms Safo 2:32 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion. [Interruption.]
Several Hon Members — rose --
Mr Speaker 2:32 p.m.
Hon Minority Chief Whip?
Alhaji Muntaka 2:32 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thought we have gotten the understanding that for the Ministry of Finance, they must be here to do their work.
Mr Speaker, with the greatest respect to the Hon Majority Leader, if this is important to this country and for the
Ministry of Finance, the Hon Minister must then be here. Since we started this Meeting, the Hon Minister for Finance has not been here even once. For how long are we going to be givingn excuses?
Mr Speaker, I would plead that you stand this Resolution down for the Hon Minister of Finance to come here and move it. We are tired of this. Why? He should come and conduct this business; this is not right. Since May, 2018 -- We are now in July, 2018 and the Hon Minister for Finance has not come here to do any of his businesses.
This is not tenable; he has three Deputies. He can leave some of the work for the Deputies and come and conduct Government business here. This cannot be more important to us than it is to him.
Mr Speaker, so I would plead with you to stand this Resolution down to send the right signal to the Hon Minister for Finance that we would not tolerate his prolonged absence.
When it is Budget Statement and Mid- Year Budget Review, he would come and dump it on us and he would leave. For him to know that we take what we are doing seriously, he must equally take what we do seriously.
I thank you.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 2:32 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I know when you make these submissions, nobody gets up to raise it - the Hon Minority Chief Whip --
Mr Speaker, where we are, indeed, if the Hon Minister is not here, the Hon Deputy Ministers have always come in his stead. Today, they are congregating around the Mid-Year Budget Review. I thought I communicated same at the pre- Sitting meeting this morning; maybe, he
did not hear because that was exactly what I said.
That is the reason the Hon Minister and all his Deputies are not here and they cannot be here now for this reason. So we need not overreach ourselves.
Mr Speaker, I believe that we should take this --
Mr Speaker 2:32 p.m.
The Mid-Year Budget Review is actually in the process as we all expect and we would have to make the relevant accommodation. [Interruption.]
Alhaji Muntaka 2:32 p.m.
— rose --
Mr Speaker 2:32 p.m.
Yes, Hon Member?
Alhaji Muntaka 2:32 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am sorry to come back once more.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Majority Leader would agree that two weeks ago, he talked about the fact that they were putting together the Mid-Year Budget Review and we all agreed. If at this stage they are not typing and finalising and he is still the one to do that -- We have all served as Hon Ministers before.

Let us be frank with ourselves. If he is determined to be here, he would. Anyway, we are all here.
Mr Speaker 2:42 p.m.
Indeed, we are all here -- [Laughter.]
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 2:42 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I know that once upon a time, the Hon Minority Chief Whip served as the Minister for Youth and Sports. I do not know whether he has ever served as the Minister for Finance? [Interruption.]
Mr Speaker, when one has done his own budget, he submits same to the Minister for Finance. We know of Ministers of Finance who, even before the submission of the Budget Statement, still do clean up. This is commonplace.
Mr Speaker, I just would want to reiterate the point and appeal to the House through the Chair that we adopt the Resolution.
I thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker 2:42 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader, indeed, we all know that this is a difficulty that has faced all succeeding Ministers for Finance. Anybody who has been in this House for a number of years definitely knows that as a fact.
Shall we make progress?
Question put and Motion agreed to.
Resolved accordingly.
Mr Speaker 2:42 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader?
The Hon Second Deputy Speaker would be getting ready to take the Chair at this stage.
Yes, Hon Majority Leader?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 2:42 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we would want to continue with the Consideration Stage of the Right to Information Bill, 2018. But given where we are, I would want to plead that we take a suspension now and when we resume
at exactly 4:00 p.m. under the Chair of the Second Deputy Speaker, we would continue with the Right to Information Bill,
2018.
Mr Speaker 2:42 p.m.
Hon Members, the House is accordingly suspended till 4:00 p.m.
I thank you very much.
2.46 p.m. -- Sitting suspended.
5.10 p.m. -- Sitting resumed.
MR SECOND DEPUTY SPEAKER
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:42 p.m.
Hon Members, Order!
Hon First Deputy Majority Whip, any direction?
Mr Matthew Nyindam 2:42 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we would continue from where we suspended.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:42 p.m.
Where is that?
Mr Nyidam 2:42 p.m.
Item numbered 13 on the Order Paper. Clause 2 was deferred, so if we could continue from that.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:42 p.m.
I thought we also went as far as clause 4. We could not put the Question on clause 3, but I recall we put the Question on clause 4, where we changed it from “the Hon Minister” to “the Commission”.
Hon Members, the Right to Information Bill, 2018 at the Consideration Stage.
BILLS -- CONSIDERATION STAGE 2:42 p.m.
  • [Resumption of Debate from 12/07/ 18.]
    • Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:42 p.m.
    Hon Chairman, could you remind us? Was it the case that we put the Question on clause 4? This is because I recall we amended it to read “…the Commission…”
    Chairman of the Committee (Mr Ben Abdallah Banda) 2:42 p.m.
    Rightly so, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:42 p.m.
    “…in consultation with the Public Services Commission issue guidelines…”

    We finished with clause 4; we are now at clause 5.
    Mr Banda 2:42 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I thought that on the last adjourned date, we flagged some of the clauses?
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:42 p.m.
    We flagged clause 3.
    Mr Banda 2:42 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, they were clauses 2 and 3.
    I thought we would go back to deal with same before we move to the clauses we have not touched at all.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:42 p.m.
    Clause
    2 --
    Mr Banda 2:42 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 2 — headnote, delete “on governance”.

    It is captured on today's Order Paper; we have not done it.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:42 p.m.
    Yes, we raised the issue, but it was not done.
    Mr Banda 2:42 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, rightly so.
    We seek to delete “governance” in the headnote because it finds expression in the clause itself. So, it would read, “Responsibility of Government to provide information”. This is because the sense of the provision itself is captured in the clause. So, we felt “on governance” does not add anything, hence its deletion.
    Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh 2:42 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the reason he gave is not correct. The fact that it is stated in the clause itself is not a reason for its deletion.
    Indeed, the whole idea is the responsibility of the Government to provide information; what is that information about? The information is to be provided on governance and the various decisions made by the Government. The fact that it is reflected in the clause itself does not mean that we should delete it.
    No, the whole idea is about governance, which is done opaquely and things are not transparent. One wants information on governance and not on any other thing, so I do not think that we should delete it.
    I oppose this amendment; it is not good at all. It is an incomplete sentence. What kind of information should the Government provide? Is it an Information Services Department?
    Mr Haruna Iddrisu 2:42 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I persuade the Hon Chairman to abandon the amendment.
    The headnote of clause 2 is a guide to its interpretation and summarises what
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:20 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the headnote of any clause or group of clauses does not necessarily have to capture the entirety of the content of the clause; it does not. The headnote of any clause or a group of clauses does not necessarily have to capture the content of the clauses.
    Mr Speaker, however, I have had some concerns, if we left it there, it would not spoil the broth. The reason is that the
    preamble of the Constitution -- and if I should read -- provides:
    “ W e the People of Ghana,
    IN EXERCISE of our natural and inalienable right to establish a framework of government which shall secure for ourselves and posterity the blessings of liberty, equality of opportunity and prosperity; …”.
    Mr Speaker, it combines social, economic and political development. So it is that framework of governance which will yield these things and that is why I say that I do not have anything against our leaving the phrase; “on governance” there.
    Just to state, though, that the headnote does not necessarily have to fully capture the contents of the clause or a group of clauses.
    Mr Quashigah 5:20 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, as much as the explanation given by the Hon Majority Leader holds sway, one still believes that when we have a document like this, which has a general theme, the various paragraphs which come along with headnotes, obviously, are in reference to topic sentences and the specificity of the topic sentences obviously gives strength to that which is captured in the fine details.
    So to say: “Responsibility of government to provide information” -- Leaving it that way obviously does not give a complete sense. Therefore to maintain it the way it is for me captures the very essence of that particular paragraph.
    As much as taking it out may not lose the general sense, it gives it a certain direct import that anybody who reads just the headnote knows the specific kind of
    information that is being demanded from government and it is on governance.
    Mr Speaker, in my view, we should maintain the headnote the way it is 5:20 p.m.
    “Responsibility of Government to provide information on governance”.
    Mr Asamoa 5:20 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, government is about governance. It provides information on governance and everything government does is about governance. Therefore I find it a little difficult to appreciate why we have to be so specific on a headnote.
    A headnote is supposed to summarise tidily what follows thereafter. Therefore we could cut down on the prolixity in the headnote, because the essence is seen in the substance of the provision.
    Government's duty is to provide information and what kind of information than governance information; whether it covers economy, politics of the nation, the social circumstances, it is information about governance.
    Mr Speaker, so we believe that this amendment must carry.
    Alhaji I. A .B. Fuseini 5:20 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, in further support of what the Hon Buaben Asamoa said, as to why we are deleting “on governance” is that it inappropriately puts the focus on governance but there is provision putting the focus on persons to access the information without application -- Anything about Government, we do not need to apply because clause 1 talks about the right and how to access it.
    Mr Speaker, clause 2 says that we do not need an application to access information on governance. Governance has to provide that information without -- But when we leave the “governance”, apart from
    governance being the sole responsibility of government, it also shifts focus [Interruption] -- We are not deleting it in the clause because we are saying that it is the responsibility of government to provide information. What kind of information? Information of governance in the clause but the focus is without application from a specific person.
    Then I have heard it being said that to provide information is incomplete. There is a verb in that headnote but the next headnote, there is no verb. Meanwhile, we are not arguing about that. That is: “Responsibility of public institution in respect of access”.
    So that is how we want the headnote of clause 2 to read: “Responsibility of Government to provide information”.
    Mr Shaibu Mahama 5:20 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am grateful. The words “Government” and “governance” are confusing to the headnote and I would want to suggest that we make it “Government institutions” instead of just “Government”.
    Again, if you look at the “without application”, early on, the Hon Minority Leader raised an issue whether it should not be ‘without any application' or ‘without an application'. So it should read:
    “The Government shall make available to the public, general information on governance without any application or without an application from a specific person.”
    So, that is the insertion and I support the Hon Minority Leader's further proposed amendment, it should be either “any or an application”.
    Mr Iddrisu 5:20 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, may I refer you to the Constitution where the inter-
    Mr Iddrisu 5:20 p.m.


    “Government means any authority by which the Executive authority of Ghana is duly exercised.”

    So, in this provision, it means that we are saying that any person exercising the executive authority of Ghana will necessarily and naturally provide information on what he or she is doing as an institution.

    Now, the Hon Chairman and our Colleagues are saying that we should delete “governance” in the headnote but we are not interested in deleting “governance” in line 2 which reads:

    “The Government shall make available to the public, general information on governance…”

    Mr Speaker, yet they say we should delete “governance” from the headnote but leave it there in the body. What purpose is it to serve? So there is nothing wrong with clause 2 as it is; we should leave it as it is.

    This is because information on governance -- What are they doing with the Executive authority? They are exercising the Executive authority in the name of governance. There is absolutely nothing --

    So Hon Chairman, this back and forth about headnote “governance” is not necessary, let Mr Speaker put the Question on the clause 2 as it is.

    Mr Speaker, we are saying the importance here is that where a member of the public wants information he will seek it. But information on governance, like what we are doing, do we need to seek

    this? No. This is information on governance and we are deliberating on the Right to Information Bill, 2018 as a Parliament.

    So the Hon Majority Leader or any person could tell the public that Parliament is considering the Right to Information Bill, 2018. That is information on governance. Mr Speaker, he is saying that on that one we do not need an application from a specific person to give out that information. So the information on how the President, Parliament and the Judiciary are working should be shared. We are just distinguishing between general information and specific information that could be requested for.

    Mr Speaker, so I see no need for any amendment to clause 2 as it stands, except to add “without an application from a specific person”. Mr Speaker, I would want to add the word “an”. Thank you.
    Mr Banda 5:30 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I do not think that there is any need to belabour the point because whether “on governance” or without “on governance”, the meaning would still be captured and it would not be distorted. Mr Speaker, but it is for the sake of privity that we seek to delete “on governance”.
    Mr Speaker, we cannot read headnotes in isolation from the provisions because reading some of the headnotes would not make sense so one must read the provision before one would understand what the headnote seeks to capture.
    For this, I do not get the argument that it would not make sense when we say the “responsibility of government to provide information”. Mr Speaker, we need to read the provision in order to understand what clause 2 is saying.
    Hence, we are saying this, to the extent that the deletion of “on governance” would not distort the provision so we are of the humble opinion that we should delete “on governance” and maintain -- [Interruption.] I agree that we should insert “without any application” or “without an application”.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:30 p.m.
    Hon Members, you know that governance is wider than government so if we are talking about government providing information on governance without application --
    I believe the Hon Member for Nandom is itching to contribute so let me give him the opportunity before I guide the House.
    Mr Ambrose Dery 5:30 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I believe you have just gotten the point. Mr Speaker, governance is a wider ambit. As the Hon Minority Leader rightly referred to the Constitution, government refers to the Executive alone. However, governance deals with what we call “the orthodox three organs.”
    So governance is very important and if we remove the “governance” and leave the “government” then we are leaving the other organs out. Mr Speaker, it would be dangerous and so by all means, we should let “governance” stay.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:30 p.m.
    Apart from that, governance includes civil society players and so on. So keep that in mind in your submissions.
    Dr Kojo Appiah-Kubi 5:30 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, thank you.
    I would suggest that we make it a bit simpler by removing “the responsibility”
    in the headnote as well as the “on governance”.
    Mr Speaker, because it is in the provisions that we would define the responsibility. This has been captured by the word “shall” and then the sort of information that the government should provide is also in the details of the provision and that is “governance”.
    Mr Speaker, so I would suggest that we just make the heading as simple as “Government to provide information” and then we define in the provision the responsibility as captured by the word “shall” and the type of governance --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:30 p.m.
    So you support the position of the Hon Chairman and the Committee?
    Dr Appiah-Kubi 5:30 p.m.
    Yes, Mr Speaker, if that is your position then I support it.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:30 p.m.
    Let me listen to the Hon Member for Tamale North.
    Mr Suhuyini Alhassan Sayibu 5:30 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity.
    Mr Speaker, I believe that first of all, it is important for all of us to understand and agree that the headnote is part of the interpretation of whatever provision it introduces.
    Mr Speaker, it is also important for us to refer to the memorandum that accompanied this Bill to find out what the clause really seeks to achieve. Mr Speaker, I beg to read the memorandum where it states that:
    “Maximum disclosure in relation to governance is provided in clause 2 which requires the Government to
    Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah 5:30 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, thank you very much.
    I believe that I would go with the Hon Minority Leader because if the Hon Chairman is talking about privity then naturally elegance would be better, because it is not only lawyers who would read the document.
    Mr Speaker, importantly, what we need to appreciate is that the responsibility of government to provide information on governance is very broad and that is rightly captured.
    Therefore if that is the same thing in the details then I do not think there is any wrong with it. I believe that we need to keep clause 2 as it is so that Mr Speaker could put the Question.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:30 p.m.
    What is the intention? Is it the intention that government should provide information
    on governance of the country, including civil society? Are we talking about government like what we are doing here?
    This is because government has been defined in the Constitution and the definition of government in the Constitution does not cover Parliament, the Judiciary and civil society. Is it the intention that we are burdening government to provide information from all this without application?
    If so, then I would put the Question.
    Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh 5:30 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,
    the issue we are raising is very simple. Mr Speaker, you have extended “governance” to include civil society. Mr Speaker, generally, civil society is rather a group of institutions who hold government to have good governance. We cannot provide information --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:30 p.m.
    The word you are using now is “government”, to have good governance, but we are talking about “governance”.
    Mr Chireh 5:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am coming to that point.
    Once we use the word “governance” then it derives from the word “government” in this case the processes involved in running the State and so on.
    Mr Speaker, so you are right when you said that Parliament is involved in governance; the Judiciary is also involved in governance and the Civil Society ensures that those of us in government -- and the definition of government being the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary -- we are the ones. If we add Civil Society then it means that government in itself would have a difficulty in getting and providing information about civil society.
    Mr Speaker, but where government is even responsible for regulating the professional groups and civil society, by law it means that basically everybody is to provide some information as a part of this governance system, if we would want to understand it that way.
    But in this governance issue, we are limiting it to State's power being exercised either by the Executive, Legislature or the Judiciary.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:40 p.m.
    Hon Member for Wa West, that would have been the case in terms of concept but now we have our Constitution clearly defining the word “Government”. So the general concept is not what is to guide us. It is a constitutional provision.
    The general concept is the three Arms of Government which includes Parliament, the Judiciary and the Executive, but our Constitution has defined the word “Government” to only mean the Execu- tive. That is the ‘‘grundnorm''.
    Once there is a specific Statute, you cannot now apply common law; you have to apply the Statute. So I would put the Question.
    The Question is that, clause 2, headnote, delete “on governance”. The headnote would now read:
    “Responsibility of Government to provide information”.
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:40 p.m.
    We are still at clause 2, and there is a proposed amendment from the Hon Member for Adentan. Hon Member, could you move your amendment?
    Mr Asamoa 5:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, by your leave and that of the House, I beg to withdraw the proposed amendment.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:40 p.m.
    We are most grateful.
    Amendment withdrawn by leave of the House.
    Mr Iddrisu 5:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, before you put the Question on the whole of clause 2, I beg to move, second line, between “without” and “application”, insert the word “an”.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:40 p.m.
    Yes, that is right. It would read: “… without an application.”
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:40 p.m.
    The clause would now read:
    “The Government shall make available to the public, general information on governance without an application from a specific person.”
    Clause 2 as variously amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Clause 3 -- Responsibility of public institution in respect of access
    Mr Banda 5:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 3, subclause (1), line 3, after “publish” delete “an” and insert “a summary of''.
    The new rendition reads:
    “3. (1) A public institution shall, within twelve months from the date of the coming into force of this Act, and every twelve months after that date, compile and publish a summary of up-to -date information in the form of a manual.”

    We seek your leave to delete “official” in the third line that precedes information as we have done in the preceding provisions so that it would be “a summary of up-to-date information in the form of a manual.”
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:40 p.m.
    Hon Member, so you are simply deleting the word “an” and inserting “a summary of”?
    Mr Banda 5:40 p.m.
    It is because the manual cannot contain all the information. It can only contain a summary of a current or up-to-date information for the benefit of the generality of the public.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:40 p.m.
    And so you are deleting “an” and “up to date”.
    Mr Banda 5:40 p.m.
    No. Mr Speaker, we are deleting “an” and inserting “a summary of”.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:40 p.m.
    Yes, that is the initial amendment I mentioned. You are only deleting the word “an” and inserting “a summary of --
    Mr Banda 5:40 p.m.
    “Up-to-date” --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:40 p.m.
    No. The “up to date” is there already.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:40 p.m.
    But you are inserting “a summary of”.
    Mr Banda 5:40 p.m.
    It is rightly so, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:40 p.m.
    That is alright.
    Mr Banda 5:40 p.m.
    We also seek to delete the “official” immediately after the word “up- to-date”.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:40 p.m.
    Leave granted.
    Hon Minority Leader?
    Mr Iddrisu 5:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I have a difficulty with the Hon Chairman's amendment. Why is he using “summary”? How could up-to-date information be summarised?
    Secondly, we are moving to a regime where when citizens want information, you give them. If he says he wants summary of Proceedings of Parliament which is one of the institutions for which the public might ask for information from, then we would summarise what Parliament has done today.
    What are we going to summarise? We must give them up-to-date information.
    Therefore, I do not see why he would want us to qualify it with the word “summary”. It should be an up-to-date information.
    The second leg of his amendment seeks to delete “official”; I am sure this is the second time it is appearing. This is because, if we go to the long title, it says:
    “An ACT to provide for the implementation of the constitutional right to information held by a public institution --”
    It was not qualified with “official information” and so that is fine. But with the summary, the Hon Chairman should relook at it. I do not see --
    Once he uses “up-to-date”, I have a difficulty reconciling that with summarising up-to-date information.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:40 p.m.
    Yes, Hon Member for Adentan?
    Mr Asamoa 5:40 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I would admit a major difficulty in determining how to define what the manual is supposed to contain.
    This is because, Mr Speaker would notice that as one goes to clause 3, subclause 2, it sets out under paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d) what a manual is supposed to contain. Essentially, it is just a list of headings of the kind of information available. But the impression given by the current rendition in clause 3, subclause 1, line 3 -- “compile and publish an up-to- date” -- creates the impression that that manual is supposed to contain all available government's information.
    That obviously is not the intention. The manual is a sign post. It is like an index. It is more or less an index of what information is available so that one can access the information because the index would guide the person seeking the information to the right place where that type of information is held.
    Mr Speaker, perhaps, “a summary of” does not put it well as it ought to be, but the intention of the Committee is that we really clarify what goes into the manual as provided for under paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of subclause 2. Literally, it is a list of headings of what is available.
    We do not expect every department to publish everything it has every year. It would not be a manual; it would be a compendium. It would be an encyclopaedia of information, which is not practicable.
    So Mr Speaker, we would be guided by the intent of the House, if we could use
    Mr Chireh 5:50 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the Hon Member who just spoke has actually answered his own question. If you look at paragraphs (a), (b) and (c), they list what information should be given. So to talk about summary -- it is not there. Indeed, there are already manuals by many institutions that would give you a digest of what to expect.
    Mr Speaker, if you would remember, there used to be a law digest. It is still there. These two particular subclauses he gave summarises what information we should give. It should just be up-to-date. It is not for him to talk about summary. What are they going to summarise? The address of the institution?
    We should not bring in any summary at all. If they agree, they should remove “a summary of” and delete “official”. That is acceptable. He and the Hon Chairman are bringing something completely different.
    rose
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:50 p.m.
    Do you want to have a second bite?
    Mr Asamoa 5:50 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, with the leave of the House, we seek to withdraw “a summary of” and insert “index of up to date information”.
    Mr S. Mahama 5:50 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I believe that Hon Yaw Buaben Asamoa is trying to complicate the whole clause again.
    We viewed the initial intent of publication as a newspaper publication, when they say “published”, and so at the Committee level, we actually debated it and realised that that publication could just be on the internet. There are modern

    forms of publications now. You could put it on your web page where people can access it. That is publication.

    The initial intent was to look at it as if one has to put it in a newspaper or some big document for people to access. So that was where the summary was contemplated, but when we realised that the publication could just be a small pen drive that can carry a whole lot of data, we said one could just do an up-to-date, no summary.

    So Mr Speaker, the rendition as it stands is right. We just take off “official” and leave the rendition as “up-to-date”. Let the applicant choose what he wants from the up-to-date information and let us not decide for him that this is the summarised version so he should take it.
    Mr Suhuyini Alhassan Sayibu 5:50 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I also agree with my Hon Colleague who just spoke, that perhaps if our understanding of up-to-date means all information, then we would be attempting to say let us summarise, but I am of the view that --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:50 p.m.
    Is up-to- date talking about all information or current information?
    Mr Sayibu 5:50 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, that is the point I am making. If our understanding is such that up-to-date information means all information, then it may seem reasonable for us to say it should be a summary. My understanding of “up-to-date” is not that all information must be provided, but current information is what is required.
    If current information is what is required, then there is no need to summarise it if it is deemed useful at the time of publication. This is because if the assumption is such that up-to-date means all information, and it would be too much for the institution to publish, then one would be tempted to say
    do not provide all information, do a summary; but even at the point of publication, an institution may still be generating information.
    There is no way we can at one point or the other publish all information relating to an institution, but what we can do is to publish an up-to-date information which is current information, and that is why I do not believe there is a need to summarise “up-to-date”.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:50 p.m.
    So he is talking about adding new information to the existing one.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:50 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, what do we seek to achieve in clause 3? Clause 3(1) provides that:
    “A public institution shall, within twelve months from the date of the coming into force of this Act, and every twelve months after that date, compile and publish an up-to-date official information in the form of a manual”.
    Now, what should the manual contain? The content of the manual is provided for in subclause (2). In reality, I agree with Hon Yaw Buaben Asamoa, that it is only an index; it is a sign post.
    The manual is not the document to provide one with information, that is not it. The manual only shows where to go to access the information.
    That is the manual. Subclause 2 (a), reads “a list of departments or agencies under the public institution” -- How are you going to summarise the number of institutions? You cannot summarise it. Subclause 2(b) says, “a list of various classes of information”.
    It is not the information itself, so the manual is not the one to provide a person
    with the information that he requires, but where to go to access the relevant information.
    This explains why going further down, the telephone number, fax, email and postal address of the information unit and the information officer must be provided.
    If one touches base with these people and goes for the manual, he would know how to access the information.
    That is why Hon Yaw Buaben Asamoa is trying to say that this, after all, is an index. it is certainly not a summary, because one cannot summarise the structures address. So it is an index that they are talking about.
    Mr Speaker, to the extent that we have come down to provide the content of the manual, if we leave it as it is, deleting only the word “official”, it comes back to the same thing, whether you describe it as index or not. The content is provided for in subclause (2).
    So let us not worry ourselves with the insertion of the word “index” or whatever. We could leave it as it is and delete “official”. The content of the manual after all has been provided for -- and it is not the full gamut of information that you require. That is not the place to look for it.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:50 p.m.
    Hon Majority Leader, you started very well, but at the end, you did not land well. It is only your landing that has created more problems than solutions. This is because you ended by saying that we should not belabour ourselves by trying to delete “an up-to-date” and then insert “an index”.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:50 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, that is not what I said.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:50 p.m.
    Very well, then ‘land'.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:50 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I said that the provision under clause 3 is indeed an index, and we can delete the word “official”. The “up-to-date” is needed because it provides that this information shall be provided in every twelve months.
    What it means is that, on a yearly basis we should update it. Perhaps the information officer has ceased to be the information officer.
    If there is a new information officer, he would need to provide the name, the address and so on. So it must be up to date; whether it qualifies as index or whatever, it must be up to-date.
    So, I am saying that we should maintain the ‘up to-date' and delete “official”. This is because it relates to the twelve months.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6 a.m.
    Is your proposal to delete ‘‘official'' and insert “index”?
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 6 a.m.
    No, Mr Speaker. I am saying that even though—
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6 a.m.
    Your microphone is not audible at all; I am struggling to listen to you.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 6 a.m.
    I said even though, in principle, I agree that we do not have to delete and insert ‘summary' because it is not the appropriate word — the appropriate word in my view is ‘index' — However, I do not have any fixation on that because if we left it out, the content of the manual in any event is provided for.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 6 a.m.


    That should inform everybody that, really, it is an index. That is whether we describe it as such. That is why I said that if we should employ a new word, I would agree with the Hon Yaw Buaben's rendition.

    Alternatively, if we think that we should not further qualify it, we could leave it. After all, as I said, the content is merely defined.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6 a.m.
    Yes, Hon Member for Keta?
    Mr Quashigah 6 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I, to a large extent, agree with the Hon Majority Leader that we should leave it as it is by not including anything to it, be it “summary” or “index”.
    After all, if we say “index”, I am sure that the manual, when compiled, would necessarily have an index. So, there would not be the need to introduce “index” before “up to-date”.
    Even that, if we do that, there is a tendency to confuse those who seek some detailed information as spelt out in clause 3(2). So, to a large extent, we just have to leave it as it is without the ‘index' so that it would read:
    “…compile and publish up-to-date information in the form of a manual”
    This is because index necessarily, would be captured in a manual.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6 a.m.
    Hon Chairman, I wanted to put the Question.
    Mr Banda 6 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, we proposed the amendment in view of the submissions so far made and in view of the fact that if this amendment is withdrawn, the meaning could still be captured.
    Mr Speaker, we therefore seek your leave to withdraw the amendment, but we
    still seek your leave to delete “official” as we are withdrawing “summary of”.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6 a.m.
    Hon Members, the Committee, through their Hon Chairman, has withdrawn the proposed amendment, so there is no need to put the Question.
    Hon Chairman, you have proposed an amendment that we delete the word, “official”.
    Mr Banda 6 a.m.
    Rightly so, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6 a.m.
    All right.
    So, I would put the Question on that one.
    The new rendition would read:
    “A public institution shall, within twelve months from the date of the coming into force of this Act, and every twelve months after that date, compile and publish an up-to-date information in the form of a manual”.
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6 a.m.
    Do we still have any other issue flagged in clause 3? If not, I would put the Question on the whole clause.
    Mr Banda 6 a.m.
    Rightly so, Mr Speaker, we still have item numbered 13 (iv) under clause 3.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6 a.m.
    Hon Members, my attention has been drawn to some urgent matter and we may have to adjourn the House till tomorrow where we would continue from there.
    It being three minutes after six o'clock, I believe I could do so without seeking your intervention.
    This is the end of the consideration of the Right to Information Bill, 2018 for today.