Debates of 6 Feb 2019

MR FIRST DEPUTY SPEAKER
PRAYERS 10:33 a.m.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 10:33 a.m.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:33 a.m.
Hon Members, correction of Votes and Proceedings of Tuesday, 5th February,
2019.
Page 1…7 --
rose
- 10:33 a.m.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:33 a.m.
Yes, Hon Member for Adaklu?
Mr Agbodza 10:33 a.m.
Mr Speaker, my Hon Colleagues, Mr Mohammed Abdul-Aziz and Mr Kwadwo N. Aboagye from Biakoye were here yesterday, but they have been marked absent.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:33 a.m.
Very well. The Table Office would do the appropriate correction.
Page 8…14.
Hon Members, the Votes and Proceedings as corrected be hereby adopted as the true record of proceedings.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:33 a.m.
Item numbered 3, Questions.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:33 a.m.
Yes, Hon Leader?
Mr Nyindam 10:33 a.m.
Mr Speaker, before we take item numbered 3, I rise on Order
93(2).
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:33 a.m.
Hon Leader, may I suggest that we finish the Questions?
The Hon Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has to travel.
Mr Nyindam 10:33 a.m.
Very well, Mr Speaker.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:33 a.m.
Hon Minister for Foreign Affairs, you may take your seat.
Question numbered 484 standing in the name of Mr James Agalga, Hon Member for Builsa North.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS 10:33 a.m.
MINISTRY OF FOREIGNAFFAIRS 10:33 a.m.
AND REGIONAL INTEGRATION 10:33 a.m.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration (Ms Shirley A. Botchwey) 10:33 a.m.
Mr Speaker, at the outset, I wish to state that pursuant to article 75(2) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic
of Ghana, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration would execute an Instrument of Ratification or Accession for any treaty, agreement or convention signed or intended to be signed by the Government of Ghana for the signature of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana and subsequently for deposit at the appropriate depository.
The process described above would have been initiated by the sector Ministry within whose purview the subject matter or the treaty, convention or agreement falls by seeking Cabinet and parliamentary approvals for Ghana to ratify or accede to the said agreement, convention or protocol.
Following this process, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration would be notified and the appropriate Instrument would be issued for deposit.
Mr Speaker, in respect of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, the Ministry has not received any such notification.
In addition, I wish to draw attention to the fact that the above named conventions do not fall under the purview of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and the Hon Member may be advised to re-direct his question to the Hon Minister for the Interior, whose Ministry's Official is also designated as the focal person on matters relating to the issue of statelessness in Ghana and also has the mandate to engage with international partners on the matter.
Mr Agalga 10:33 a.m.
Mr Speaker, if I may ask the Hon Minister, is it the mandate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration to execute treaties for and on behalf of the Republic of Ghana?
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:33 a.m.
Hon Member, she has answered the Question. It is implicit. She would follow the constitutional procedure and do it.
So, ask another question.
Mr Agalga 10:33 a.m.
Mr Speaker, may I ask the Hon Minister what has happened to the Joint Committee set up between the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration in pursuit of having this particular conventions ratified?
Ms Botchwey 10:33 a.m.
Mr Speaker, we were informed that this lies solely within the purview of the Ministry of the Interior and therefore they are dealing with it.
Mr Agalga 10:43 a.m.
Mr Speaker, with the greatest respect, my Question has to do with a joint Committee set up — the composition made up of members from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and the Ministry of the Interior — to deal with this matter and to report for appropriate action to be taken. Therefore what is the status of their work?
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:43 a.m.
Yes, Hon Minister?
Ms Botchwey 10:43 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Ministry of the Interior has taken full charge of this convention and therefore it is within their purview. There is no such Committee any longer that is to deal with this matter.
Mr Agalga 10:43 a.m.
Very well, Mr Speaker, I am most grateful. I would redirect my Question to the Ministry of the Interior.
Thank you very much for the opportunity.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:43 a.m.
Hon Minister, thank you for attending upon the House. You are discharged.
Hon Members, the next Question is in the name of the Hon Simon Atampi, and it is for the Minister for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs.
rose
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:43 a.m.
Yes, Hon Leader?
Mr Nyindam 10:43 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs is currently out of the country with the President. So we seek your leave for the Hon Deputy Minister, who is our Colleague, to answer the Question on his behalf.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:43 a.m.
Yes, Hon Deputy Minister, you may take the seat.
Hon Member for Tatale/Sanguli, you may ask your Question.
MINISTRY OF CHIEFTAINCY AND 10:43 a.m.
RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS 10:43 a.m.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:43 a.m.
Yes, Hon Member?
Mr Tampi 10:43 a.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, I am grateful for the Hon Minister's Answer.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:43 a.m.
Very well.
Hon Members, the third Question is filed by the Hon Member for Ningo Prampram, Mr Samuel Nartey George, and it is for --
Sorry, Hon Deputy Minister for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs. Thank you very much for attending upon the House to answer the Question. You are discharged.
Hon Members, Question numbered 488 is to be answered by the Hon Minister for Works and Housing, the Hon Samuel Atta Akyea, and the Question is to be asked by Mr Samuel Nartey George, the Hon Member for Ningo Prampram.
Mr Kwame G. Agbodza 10:43 a.m.
Mr Speaker, my Hon Colleague is not yet here, and with your indulgence, he has asked me to ask the Question on his behalf.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:43 a.m.
He is not yet what?
Mr Agbodza 10:43 a.m.
Mr Speaker, he is not yet in the Chamber, and with your indulgence, he has asked me to ask this Question on his behalf.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:43 a.m.
Very well, you may ask the Question.
Mr Agbodza 10:43 a.m.
Mr Speaker, my Hon Colleagues on the other Side are asking for his whereabout but I am told that he went to the hospital.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:43 a.m.
Do you want that to go into the record?
Mr Agbodza 10:43 a.m.
No, Mr Speaker . [Laughter.]
MINISTRY OF WORKS AND 10:43 a.m.
HOUSING 10:43 a.m.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:43 a.m.
Yes, Hon Minister?
Minister for Works and Housing (Mr Samuel Atta Akyea) 10:43 a.m.
Mr Speaker, for some time now, a number of communities and towns along the coast of Ghana have been inundated with serious tidal waves leading to a number of towns and communities being wiped out, while livelihoods and properties have been affected or destroyed.
To contain the continuous effects of tidal waves and rising sea levels on our coastline, Government has resolved to protect the coastline to safeguard lives, livelihoods, properties and communities as well as promote socio-economic activities, particularly for the fishermen and women.
Mr Speaker, it is Government's vision to develop a Master Plan for the five hundred and fifty (550) kilometre coastline
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:43 a.m.
Yes, Hon Member for Adaklu?
Mr Agbodza 10:43 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am not sure on how to make the application, but my Hon Colleague has turned up in the House. If you could allow him to continue with the supplementary questions with your indulgence.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:43 a.m.
It was just as well you did not say you did not want the hospital part to go into the record. You would have had to prove this.
Yes, Hon Member for Ningo-Prampram, now you may do your follow-up questions?
Mr Samuel Nartey George 10:43 a.m.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I am grateful for the indulgence and I am grateful to the Hon Minister for Works and Housing for the elaborate response that he has given to our Question.
I just want to ask a follow up question that, in the 2018 Budget Statement, we saw the Ningo-Prampram Sea Defence Project as one of the key projects the Ministry was to engage in, in the 2018 fiscal year.
We have gone through that whole year and we have seen it appear again in the 2019 Budget; that shows the level of commitment. However, in the whole of 2018, all we saw from the Hon Minister's response is the signing of an MoU.
What guarantee do we have, given spate of erosion, that in 2019 we would see actual works commence? This is because the longer it stays, the more the damage that happens to the communities. Any specific timeline, sir?
Mr Akyea 10:43 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I was trying to calculate what accounted for the inability of the National Democratic Congress Government for not doing this job for the past eight years. I have always been calculating that.
But I can assure my Hon Colleague that what could not be done in eight years, would be done very soon. And I am telling my Hon Colleague that as at now, the intended contractors are trying to conclude the feasibility reports upon which the contracts would be properly awarded.
We are very much aware of the challenges of Ningo-Prampram and I would not like to tell my Hon Colleague that it would be tomorrow, but certainly, this year, we would see a commencement of works to arrest what might be a very
serious challenge for the good people of Ningo-Prampram.
And I have had private engagements with my Hon Colleague that he could knock at my door and we would do this job under four years as against their eight years.
Mr George 10:43 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am grateful to the Hon Minister for reminding me of the “eight years”. I would like to believe that, maybe, the fact that the First Lady's family house is affected by this sea erosion may be one of the reasons this Government is being pushed to do this.
In the Hon Minister's response, he makes a very key allusion to the fact that fishing is the key source of livelihood for my constituents in Ningo-Prampram.
For the expansion works at the Tema Harbour, a lot of sea-sand is being weaned off the coast of Ningo and Prampram, which is actually accelerating the spate of erosion.
Would the Ministry want to consider engaging the contractors working on another Government's project, which is Port Expansion, on what they could do to remedy the sand that is being weaned off the coast of Ningo-Prampram to build the breakers at Tema? This is because that is accelerating the erosion and affecting boats that could normally berth off the coast of Prampram which can no longer berth there again.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:43 a.m.
Hon Member for Ningo-Prampram, who is responsible for enforcing the rules regarding sand-weaning? Is it not the Local Authorities?
Mr George 10:43 a.m.
Mr Speaker, this is not regular sand-weaning, this is deep sea- sand-weaning. They are weaning the sand in the sea so the Local Authorities do not necessarily have authority over that.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:43 a.m.
So who is responsible for regulating that?
Mr George 10:43 a.m.
The employer, Government of Ghana who has employed the contractor at the Tema Harbour.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:43 a.m.
You are repeating what Hon Acheampong said in mischief.
Mr George 10:43 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I did not hear Hon Acheampong speak.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:43 a.m.
Well, the truth of the matter is that that comes under the Ministry of Transport.
Anyway, Hon Minister, do you have any information in that regard?
Mr Akyea 10:43 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would have a collaboration with the Hon Minister for Transport and solve this problem because if one Government's contract is having a negative impact in a town, a collaboration should be there so that we solve it.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:43 a.m.
Yes, you have one last opportunity.
Mr George 10:43 a.m.
Mr Speaker, this is just an appeal. I would like to appeal to the Hon Minister that I share a family home with the First Lady, Her Excellency, Rebecca Akufo Addo.
And the family home is under threat so as Hon Minister responsible for Works and Housing, he could help us save our family home, which is the family home of the First Lady.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 10:43 a.m.
Put your resources together and protect it.
Hon Minister, thank you for attending upon the House to answer the Question.
Now, Hon Majority Leadership?
Mr Nyindam 10:43 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would like
to draw your attention to what happened yesterday. And I come under Standing Order 93 -- Content of Speeches; with your permission I quote:
“(2) It shall be out of order to use offensive, abusive, insulting blasphemous or unbecoming words or to impute improper motives to any other Member or to make personal allusions.”
Mr Speaker, Standing Order 30 (g) --
Misconduct or corruption -- [Interruption.] Mr Speaker, let me even rely on Standing Order 93 (2) as like I said.

It is an attack on the widows we have in this country. As we speak, we have a Sitting Member of Parliament amongst them who succeeded the husband and she is as a widow.

And for them to use those words in this House -- [Interruption]-- an example is Hon Linda Ocloo. For Hon Members to come to this House to put up such placards to denigrate this House, I think that for precedence sake — just as

I would like to call on him to do the honourable thing by eating back their words and apologising to the House. They must apologise to the women in this country and apologise to our Hon Colleague Member of Parliament, Hon Lydia Seyram Alhassan.

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity.
Mr James K. Avedzi 11:03 a.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
The Standing Order read by my Hon Colleague is Standing Order 93 (2) and that falls under the heading, “Content of Speeches”. I agree with him that the content of our speech here in the Chamber shall not be made up of abusive, offensive, insulting, blasphemous or unbecoming words or to impute improper motives to any Hon Member or make personal allusions.

It was only after she was sworn in that she became an Hon Member of this House. At the time, she was not; she was an MP- elect and not a Member of this House. So, no speech was made here yesterday that

was offensive, abusive or insulting. That was not captured in our records.

Mr Speaker, I think that you should rather rule the Hon Member out of order. [Hear! Hear!] He wants to disturb our peace this morning.
Mr Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi 11:03 a.m.
Mr Speaker, this is a House of Parliament, a House of representatives. The public and for that matter Ghana expects much from us as representatives of the people.

It is unfortunate that the Leadership of the Minority should raise the defence that at the time, the Hon Member had not been sworn in. I do not think that this is a good defence to give Ghanaians and I would expect that the Minority Leadership would come -- That conduct affects this noble House and such statements should not be conspicuously displayed here.

Therefore, I would urge the Minority to think through this in order for us to have peace in this House for the betterment of the nation.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Alhaji Inusah A. B. Fuseini 11:03 a.m.
Mr Speaker, it is, indeed true that this is an Honourable House of Parliament and so the conduct of MPs is regulated by our Standing Orders.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:03 a.m.
Hon Member, are you saying that nobody showed a placard -- You referenced the Votes and Proceedings and I agree with you. Are you denying that the placard with “bloody widow” written on it was shown?
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 11:03 a.m.
Mr Speaker, respectfully, I deny or confirm nothing. [Laughter.]
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:03 a.m.
You said that somebody had an optical illusion.
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 11:03 a.m.
I am just saying that per our records -- and because this House is a House of records, that is why the First Deputy Majority Chief Whip did not allude to any of the things he complained about.
He has not said anything. There is no evidence of that and that is why he complained about the attitude. It is not in the Votes and Proceedings.
Mr Speaker, this is a matter that, per our Standing Orders, if you took it from the point of view that there was no debate, it cannot be the subject matter of Order 93 (2). There are two legs, that the person -- assuming but not admitting that it occurred -- to whom it was directed was not an MP.
The second leg of the Standing Order is to protect Hon MPs and she was not an
MP.
Ms Freda Prempeh 11:13 a.m.
On a point of order. Mr Speaker, thank you for giving me this opportunity.

Mr Speaker, what they did yesterday was so wrong, unnecessary and uncalled for.

Mr Speaker, even the 1992 Constitution frowns on what they did yesterday and with your permission, I would want to quote article 17 of the Constitution which is on “Equality and Freedom from Discrimination”. Women should be respected no matter the race. Why are they trying to discriminate against her? Is it because she is a widow or a woman? What are we talking about here?
Mr Speaker, with your permission, I beg to quote article 17 which says 11:13 a.m.
“(1) All persons shall be equal before the law.
(2) A person shall not be dis- criminated against on grounds of gender, race, colour, ethnic origin, religion, creed or social or economic status.
(3) For the purpose of this article, ‘‘discriminate'' means to give different treatment to different persons attributable only or mainly to their respective descriptions by race, place of origin, political opinions, colour, gender, occupation, religion or creed, whereby persons of one description are subjected to disabilities or restrictions to which persons of another description are not made subject or are granted privileges or advantages which are not granted….”
[Interruption].
This is from article 17 of the 1992 Constitution so they should go and read it.
Mr Speaker, we are all advocating for women representation at all levels. This is a woman; a woman of substance who has five children and still mourning her husband. She put everything behind her and stood her ground to support women empowerment and women involvement.
Mr Speaker, we all have to condemn what the Minority did yesterday.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:13 a.m.
Hon Members, Order! Let us listen to one another.
Ms Prempeh 11:13 a.m.
Mr Speaker, what the Minority did yesterday was totally unnecessary, uncalled for and I believe all other women groups and gender advocates should support us to kick against this particular issue.
Why should they refer to a woman who is still mourning as a ‘'bloody widow''? Within which context were they talking about ‘'bloody''? What did they mean by ‘'bloody widow''?
I heard some of my Hon Colleagues saying on the radio that anytime Hon Lydia Alhassan would rise in the Chamber to speak, they would walk out; then of course, they would walk out a number of times.
This is because, definitely, she would serve on a Committee. Does it mean that they would also walk out during Committee meetings and anytime she appears in a Committee meeting? Parliament works with Committees.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:13 a.m.
Hon Member, speak to the Motion before us, please.
Ms Prempeh 11:13 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would want to join the Hon Leader, all women on the Majority Side and the Majority Caucus and all widows to condemn this statement.
Mr Speaker, before I resume my seat, I would want to leave the Minority with a Bible quotation. [Hear! Hear!]. With your permission, I beg to quote Exodus 22:22- 24 as I even want to weep now. It says:
‘'You shall not mistreat any woman or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, and My wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless''.
This is the word of the Lord. They should think through it and come back and apologise to women and widows. Widowhood is neither a crime nor is it

by choice. Our own Hon Colleague, Hon Ocloo had to step in for her husband when he passed. They even had the husband's picture on the poster. We welcomed her when she was sworn in the Chamber.

Mr Speaker, we all kick against what happened yesterday, and I know that if they think through this Bible quotation -- Hon Fuseini also lost his wife and he also mourned.

The Hon Deputy Minority Whip, Hon Cudjoe-Ghansah is also a widow. [Interruption]. Thank you for giving me white handkerchief to wipe my tears. We are all mourning together with Hon Lydia Alhassan.

They should go back and read Exodus chapter 22 verse 22 to 24 and think through it and come back to apologise to this House.
Ms Helen A. Ntoso (NDC -- Krachi West) 11:13 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:13 a.m.
Hon Members, Order! Order!
Ms Ntoso 11:13 a.m.
Mr Speaker, it was a protest, an attack and condemnation of what happened in the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency. [Hear! Hear!].
Mr Speaker, I am a woman and therefore, the women on the Minority Side would not in any terms condemn a fellow
woman. The Hon Deputy Majority Leader did say that there is a female Hon Member on the Minority Side who “inherited the husband.” There is no female Hon Member on the Minority Side who “inherited the husband” and came to Parliament.
Mr Speaker, with your permission, I would want to quote Colossians 4 11:13 a.m.
1 which says:

They do not understand. I would explain to them the theological meaning. It means that ‘'what is good for the goose is good for the gander''. It is simple.

Mr Speaker, permit me also to say that with what happened in Ayawaso West Wuogon, the Majority and Minority should come together as God fearing people and condemn it.

This is because the people who were attacked are people who contribute -- They pay taxes and it is their money which was used to buy arms and ammunitions for the security agencies who used the taxpayers money to attack them. [Hear! Hear!].

Mr Speaker, there were women who were injured in the attack, so if we are talking as mothers --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:13 a.m.
Hon Member, who shot them? Those who were beaten, who beat them? Who visited violence on the people you are complaining about?
Ms Ntoso 11:13 a.m.
Mr Speaker, with all due respect, there were victims who were women.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:23 a.m.
Yes, there were victims who were women and there were victims who were men. Who were the perpetrators? [Interruption].
Please, for the record, I would want to listen to the Hon Member. You said that we should stand together --
Ms Ntoso 11:23 a.m.
Mr Speaker, Ms Alhassan was sworn in yesterday. It is in her constituency that this attack took place, and as a mother, if she also cares, she should have gone to visit the people who were hospitalised as a result of the attack that took place in her constituency. [Hear! Hear!]
She should have also condemned the act for us to know that she is also a mother and a caring woman.

Mr Speaker, I would urge the women from the Majority and those from the Minority Sides and all of us would come together to condemn what happened. This is because, people who are in hospital are also —
Ms Ntoso 11:23 a.m.
Mr Speaker, both the Majority and the Minority should come together to condemn the violence that happened in Ayawaso because the people who were hospitalised are also children of women. [Hear! Hear!]
Minister for Local Government and Rural Development (Hajia Alima Mahama (MP)) 11:23 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am not standing to talk about violence in elections.
When it comes to violence in elections, we were told by no other person than a former President that the other Side, NDC, has its history rooted in revolution and therefore, I cannot compete with them in talking about violence associated with elections.
Mr Speaker, I rise to talk about what my eyes saw in Parliament, on TV and on social media yesterday. My Hon Colleagues would agree that when it comes to court proceedings, it is not only the words, but one's actions, mannerism and behaviour are also considered.
Mr Speaker, relating to our Standing Orders, does what happened yesterday impute improper motive? It does. Was it imputing poor behaviour? It did.
Mr Speaker, yesterday, I saw a placard with the inscription “Bloody Widow” and that is my concern. First of all, we are demonstrating that we do not care about vulnerable persons. We are telling Ghanaians and the outside world that somebody in a vulnerable situation — to describe a widow as a “Bloody widow”.

Pick the “widow” first. Her status now

is a widow, whether they agree she is a widow or not, she is. She had five children with the late Hon Member of Parliament. In our tradition and statutes, customary marriage is legal marriage, so whether they like it or not, she is a widow.

Mr Speaker, this negative signal tells us that this House needs to go back to school to learn more about violence against women. This House passed a law on sexual and domestic violence against women. Abusing a woman is violence against her. They are intimidating her; they are not allowing the woman to express herself in Parliament.

This is a woman who has come out boldly to say, yes, I have lost my husband, but has come out to say that she wants to run and go in to continue with the work that her husband was doing. She should be praised and encouraged and not be labelled as bloody.

Mr Speaker, yesterday, we stigmatised the children of not only our late Hon Member of Parliament, Hon Agyarko, but we stigmatised Hon Lydia Alhassan and her late husband. We stigmatised their children. Their children would be laughed at in school.

People would insult the children that Parliament had placards indicating that their mother is a bloody widow, and we know that children laugh at these things.
Some Hon Members 11:33 a.m.
Shame! Shame!
Hajia Mahama: Mr Speaker, the laws of this country; our Constitution, the international Instruments we have signed on to frown on violence against women. We demonstrated it in this Parliament yesterday.
We demonstrated that we do not respect women, we do not consider their vulnerabilities and we are prepared at any time to intimidate them and put them down.
And I call on women of Ghana; all those women Bodies, women civil society organisations that try to talk about women coming into Parliament, talking about women in decision making, this is the time for us to hear their voice.
A woman who has stood for elections and won and she is MP-elect is labelled as “Bloody Woman”. You could have even said anything about the elections and that would have been different, but to call her a bloody woman is unacceptable under any circumstances.
Mr Speaker, I expected my Hon Colleagues to apologise and put an end to this matter, if not, they would hear from the women of Ghana. The Widows Association of Ghana, this is the time for them to get up and let our Hon Colleagues on the other Side know that they are women but have human rights and should not be abused.
Mr Speaker, yesterday was a day of shame for this Honourable House. What we can do to retain the name “honourable” is to get up.
The leadership of the Minority should get up in this House and apologise for using that inscription on the placard, “Bloody Widow”. They have insulted their mothers, sisters, wives and the women of Ghana. Anybody can die at any time.

We have had elections and we on this Side have not called the women on their Side ‘Bloody Widows'. We have had men

dying from their Side and we have had by-elections and there was violence at those elections.

Do they remember what happened in Akwatia and Atiwa; we did not come here to say ‘Bloody elections'! Do we remember what happened in Chereponi and we did not come to insult them.

Mr Speaker, why would they call the Hon Member ‘Bloody Widow'? They are intending to intimidate her; we would support her and give her the empowerment and she would rise against them and the women of Ghana would rise against them. It was a shame in this House; we would rise against them. Shame! Shame! Shame!

Shame on them!
Mrs Della Sowah (NDC -- Kpando) 11:33 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for this opportunity.
Mr Speaker, I am a bit confused. I looked at the poster of the late Hon Member and as widow, I saw a name Josephine Agyarko. I did not see Lydia Alhassan on the poster; I am a little confused about this.

Mr Speaker, I was in this House when a President of this Republic came to this House and I saw Hon Members holding placards reading “Stealers” and that was covered by the international community. A President of this Republic and Hon Members on the other Side were holding placards reading “Stealers”.

Mr Speaker, today, a lot of Bible quotations have been given and I would

add ‘do unto others as you expect them to do to you'.

When a President comes to this House and Hon Members are holding placards reading “Stealers” with their leader refusing to stand up for the President and today, they turn around and say people are holding placards and the content is bad -- I believe the double standard is wrong.

Mr Speaker, I saw during the campaign of the by-elections children of the late Hon Member being paraded. As a former Deputy Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, this is wrong. We do not use children for political advantage. We do not do that! There are laws in this country to protect the children.

Mr Speaker, I listened to a radio interview of the widow and she was asked what would have happened if she had not won. She said there would have been a tsunami. Is this the woman we are protecting? Woman who is calling for tsunami?

Mr Speaker, I believe we have gotten the whole focus wrong. It is not about a widow, it was about the violence. If a widow can also say that if she had not won --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:33 a.m.
Hon Member, the Motion was that Hon Members of this House have brought a placard into the House reading “Bloody Widow” and that is what she is complaining about. If you would want to bring a Motion or an issue on the violence, it is open to you. But in the meantime, I intend that you discuss the matter before us.
Mrs D. Sowah 11:33 a.m.
Mr Speaker, that is the reason I raised the issue that I was in this House when the President came to this House and placards were held by my Hon

Colleagues on the other Side which read “Stealers”! And this was covered by the international media but they did not see anything wrong with it. They did not come to apologise to Mr President.

I was in this House when the President of the Republic came in here and the Hon Minority Leader at the time, refused to stand up for him. They did not see anything wrong with it and they did not apologise to the President.

Let us keep standards; whatever we say, let us do it. If we are condemning something today, we should look back if we did that same thing before. We should not have double standards -- that is wrong!

Mr Speaker, somebody raised the issue that the children would be traumatised. When she paraded the children on a campaign ground to win sympathy -- it was wrong. When the father was lying at the mortuary and she paraded his children -- people's husbands are on admission and mothers are on admission. It is wrong! Let us always keep the standard the same.

Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity.
Mr Kwame Seth Acheampong (NPP - - Mpraeso) 11:33 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I stand here as a Member representing the people of Mpraeso.
When I was sworn into this House, we all know the Standing Orders as our Bible. This Standing Orders has clothed me with a lot of privileges and immunities. If we go through the Standing Orders, Order 20 to 27 offers me a lot of privileges as a representative of this House.
Besides, it goes on, and in Order 28 and beyond, it gives me how I should behave as a Member of this House.
Mr Speaker, if you may indulge me, I would read Order 30(h) which tells us that 11:33 a.m.
“publication of false, perverted, misleading, distorted, fabricated or scandalous reports, books or libels reflecting on the proceedings in Parliament.”
Yesterday, the First Deputy Speaker was seated and conducted proceeding of this House. Certain publications were publicised by my Hon Colleagues in the Minority. I found that behaviour very unfortunate.
Unfortunate in the sense that the Standing Orders, which allows us the opportunity to Sit in this House, and you offer us the opportunity like I am doing now, do not permit us to behave in such manner.
Mr Speaker, I would go on to Order 30(2) and it reads 11:33 a.m.
“Any act or omission which affronts the dignity of Parliament or which tends either directly, or indirectly to bring the name of Parliament into disrepute.”
Mr Speaker, this morning, I was invited by a media house of this country and the major subject which we were discussing on the platform was our conduct in Parliament yesterday --
Some Hon Members 11:33 a.m.
Only yesterday? What happened, was it only yesterday? [Interruption]
Mr K. S. Acheampong 11:33 a.m.
Mr Speaker, it is very interesting.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:33 a.m.
Hon Members, your voices are so loud that I can make you out; that is most unparliamentary.
Hon Member, you would continue.
Mr K. S. Acheampong 11:43 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I support the application made by the First Deputy Majority Whip and in that, I ground myself from where I commenced in the Standing Orders.
I thought that publication was an affront to the dignity of this House because Parliament was Sitting and it is not right. Parliament as an arm of Government is in the news every day and it is not a good report.
Mr Speaker, it was said here in one of the contributions made by my Hon Colleagues that this is a House of records; the cameras of this House capture records of this House. It captured such publication which I do not want to dignify by mentioning or maintaining the same phrase.
Mr Speaker, I would want to entreat all of us; whatever started and brought us to this end, none of us in this House have spoken that it was a good matter.

Mr Speaker, we may pick and choose what we hear but as Hon Colleagues, the same Orders entreats us during our debates in Order 86(3), if you may indulge me, I would want to read:

“Ministers shall be referred to by their Ministerial titles. The Deputy Speakers and the Deputy Ministers
Mr K. S. Acheampong 11:43 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the words in this Order were not just lifted from anywhere. It was meant to reflect our behaviour and conduct in this House. I would plead with all of us that we should be mindful that we are representing our constituents. This is the people's forum and the whole Ghanaian public listens to us.

Mr Speaker, I stand here to speak to this microphone and condemn any act or behaviour which was meted out to my Hon Colleague, Samuel Nartey George. I condemn it.

We, as Parliament, initiated workings to that effect within 24 hours on that subject. We met with the operatives who are supposed to offer us answers to the queries and questions we hold in our minds.

Mr Speaker, I would not be given the whole day to speak in this House but as a Christian, I have heard a lot of quotations in this House. I would not go too far and if you may indulge me, I would want to only read Philippians 4:8 (KJV). It says:

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think of these things.”

Mr Speaker, as a Christian, I apply myself to these instructions by the good book, my Bible, and I entreat all of us to reflect on same.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:43 a.m.
I would now come to the Leaders.
Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka 11:43 a.m.
Mr Speaker, could you be minded to take the Hon Ranking Member for the Committee on Gender and Children? [Interruption]
Ms Laadi A. Ayamba (NDC -- Pusiga) 11:43 a.m.
I thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute to the issue being discussed on the floor of Parliament. It is unfortunate that when one listens to the issue that have come up concerning the Ayawaso West Wuogon elections and what happened yesterday, we seemed to be hammering on one particular issue and tilting it to look as if we, on this Side, are against Hon Lydia Alhassan. [Uproar] No!
I would want to state that emphatically because the meaning of “Bloody Widow” when we search on google, under English, tells us that, “a woman whose husband has died and has not married again. Fishing/Football/Golf widow, informal, humorous a woman whose partner is often

Mr Speaker, if I may continue, what we are running away from is the issue of breakdown in our security.

There is a serious breakdown in our security, and we as Members of Parliament and for that matter, representatives of the people of Ghana from our individual constituencies elected although on partisan basis, are supposed to satisfy our people, take care of them, give them the peace that is needed and lead them rightfully. We need to look at our security carefully.

Mr Speaker, I was heading to Frafraha through Ayawaso West Wuogon when the incident occurred. I had to get back because I did not know what I would get myself into. I followed issues until the close of the day.

Mr Speaker, I could not believe myself. Right here in Parliament, yesterday in the morning, when I went to pick my car, just adjacent the Speaker's Lobby to head towards the Ministries --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:43 a.m.
Hon Member, I think I would want to repeat this. There is every opportunity for you or Hon Sam George or any Member to bring that matter here for discussion.

Please, if you would want to speak, I would give you the floor but do not speak back to me when I am --

Please, speak to the Motion before us. [Uproar.] The application before me is that Hon Members of the Minority have acted in a manner which is unbecoming of Members of Parliament and therefore, we should call them to -- That is the matter I am considering. I would want all of us to discuss that.

Anytime you choose to bring the conduct of security here, we would deal with it as a Parliament. I think that is the way we should be looking at it.

If we continue this partisan way, well, the Military and other institutions would continue misconducting themselves against us.

Please, continue.
Ms Ayamba 11:53 a.m.
Mr Speaker, as I mentioned, I made that statement for the fact that if security was good as expected in every by-election, I suppose what happened yesterday in Parliament would not have taken place.
We have done to several by-elections; I can name a whole lot of them. We never experienced such bloodshed. [Interruption.] We may talk of arguments, quarrels or disagreements, but we never saw any bloodshed.
Mr Speaker, I would want to emphasise that as of yesterday when the Hon Members on this Side walked out of Parliament, Hon Lydia Alhassan was not yet an Hon Member of Parliament.
Our problem, which led to our walk- out, was what happened to our Hon Colleague, Mr Samuel George, and other people, some of whom are still at the
rose
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:53 a.m.
Hon Members, I am sorry; nothing new has been added to the argument, so I would listen to the Hon Leaders.
Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka (NDC-- Asawase) 11:53 a.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker, I am really saddened and worried about what we are doing this morning. Just like I discussed with you at the Speaker's Lobby, there are times that we, as politicians, need to come together and, regardless of our differences, do things in the best interest of our country.
Mr Speaker, the order in which my Hon Colleague, the Hon First Deputy Majority Whip, started and the subsequent contributions, in my personal view, have no place in our Standing Orders. Mr Speaker, but I know that for a good reason, you decided to allow those comments to be made.
Mr Speaker, I would correct an impression -- Parliamentary proceedings and practices all over the world recognise a walk-out when something happens and we want to register our displeasure. The process of walking out is legitimate all over the world.
I have condemned the use of placards in this Chamber over and again. Many of us in Leadership have condemned it many times -- it happened many times and it was wrong; it was wrong when it happened yesterday, or a year ago.
Whenever it happened, it could not have been right for Hon Members of Parliament to fly whether good or bad will messages in the Chamber of Parliament. It is not right. What is right is right and what is wrong is wrong.
Mr Speaker, but our practice in this House has been that because we did not make these provisions in our Standing Orders, it has made it easier for many Hon Members to carry on this because we have used moral grounds or pleas to talk to our Hon Colleagues over the years.
This gives us an opportunity to put it in our Standing Orders and settle it once and for all.
rose
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:53 a.m.
Hon Member, hold on.
Hon Member for Suhum?
Mr Opare-Ansah 11:53 a.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minority Chief Whip told us that what they did yesterday was wrong.
Some Hon Members 11:53 a.m.
No!
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:53 a.m.
He did not say that. If that is all of your objection, I will --
Mr Opare-Ansah 11:53 a.m.
Mr Speaker, he said that the bearing of placards, whether it happened yesterday or two years ago or last year, is wrong. I said that he said that --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:53 a.m.
Hon Member, what is your objection?
Mr Opare-Ansah 11:53 a.m.
Mr Speaker, my petition is that yesterday, before the placards were raised, I heard the Hon Minority Chief Whip make an application to you -- it was, in fact, out of order because you had just directed that the Hon Member of Parliament-elect be conducted into the Chamber to be sworn in, and he spoke out of turn.
Mr Speaker, he made an application to the House that he and his Caucus would not be party to the swearing-in ceremony, whereupon his Hon Members then raised the placards. He is the Hon Chief Whip of his Side --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:53 a.m.
What are you complaining about today or now?
Mr Opare-Ansah 11:53 a.m.
Mr Speaker, he should tell this House that he was not aware that his Hon Members were --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 11:53 a.m.
Hon Member, you are out of order.
Hon Leader, please, continue.
Alhaji Muntaka 12:03 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker, just as I said, as a House, we should take this golden opportunity to work on our Standing Orders to further streamline the dos and do nots in the Chamber, having practiced this Standing Orders over a long period.
We would make it very clear and, probably, place sanctions that go with some of these things that happened.
Mr Speaker, a moment ago, there were shouts of “shame” from both Sides -- that is equally wrong.

We are not supposed to shout unbecoming words across the aisle as Hon Members of Parliament but it just happened; we need to do the right thing.

Mr Speaker, I know and have mentioned to you that we will come with a substantive Motion for us to debate the unfortunate incidence of the just ended by-elections.

I believe at that time, we would get the opportunity to thoroughly debate the issues, but what happened was a very bloody process that ended the by- elections, which is why we registered our protest by walking out.

Let me say that let us all not pretend to be hypocrites; when it happens from one Side, we think it is good, but if it happens on the other Side, then we cry foul. Let us standardise what we do, and as Hon Minority Chief Whip, what we did yesterday was within the parliamentary process.

If others raised placards, I say that it is wrong, and just as it has always happened in this Chamber, when people raise placards and we all condemn it, when people want to narrow it to our dear Hon Colleague, Lydia Alhassan, I must say that it is very unfortunate.

Mr Speaker, this is because she does not control nor has much influence over the security agencies. I would urge our Hon Colleagues to have cool heads and
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:03 p.m.
Hon Deputy Majority Leader, hold on. Yes, Hon Minority Chief Whip?
Alhaji Muntaka 12:03 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr Speaker, I want to refer my Hon Colleague to Standing Order 88 and with your permission, I read:
“Members shall not read news- papers or periodicals and books in the Chamber of the House”.
Mr Speaker, she is referring to something somebody has done and our Standing Orders 88 are very clear; we do not read those things here. So, I want to draw -- these are the rules in this House.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:03 p.m.
Hon Leader, I overruled the objection. Please, continue.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:03 p.m.
Hon Member, please resume your seat.
Ms Safo 12:03 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you.
“Ah well. So not even a single one amongst them had the conscience to say what they wrote “Bloody Sh …” was complete --”
Mr Speaker, Deuteronomy 24 12:03 p.m.
17 (KJV) states that:
“Thou shall not pervert the judgement of the stranger, nor of the fatherless, nor take widow's raiment to pledge”.
Yesterday, what happened in the history of our country ought to be condemned in no uncertain terms. [Hear! Hear!] It is so disrespectful, inhumane, unParliamentary and unconstitutional. Standing Order 28 states, and with your permission, I read:
“An act or omission which obstructs or impedes Parliament in the performance of its functions or which obstructs of impedes a Member or officer of Parliament in the discharge of his duties or affronts the dignity of Parliament…”
Mr Speaker, Standing Order 30(2) also states and with your permission, I read 12:13 p.m.
“Any act or omission which affronts the dignity of Parliament or which tends either directly, or indirectly to bring the name of Parliament into disrepute”.
This shall be considered as contempt of Parliament. Standing Order 30 (h) states that:
“The following acts or conduct shall constitute a breach of privilege or contempt of Parliament
(h) publication of false, perverted, misleading, distorted, fabricated or scandalous reports, books or libels reflecting on the proceedings of Parliament.”
Mr Speaker, proceedings were underway yesterday when the Hon Majority Deputy Chief Whip intimated to your good self and the entire House and his exact words were; ‘they are walking out of Parliament because of the security challenges that occurred during the election in Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency on the 31st January, 2019.”
These concerns were raised and directed at the security agencies. We would not in any way, condone or sit idle and pretend that the concerns raised by the Minority should be thrown out and treated as not important.

Mr Speaker that is why before the Hon Minority Leader and the Hon Majority Leader himself exited this jurisdiction on parliamentary duty intimated to your good self and the Rt Hon Speaker that they would come properly.

These were the words of the Hon Minority Leader that they would come properly by a Motion and introduce that matter for us to discuss on the Floor, and we all agreed that we would discuss it out of the concerns we all have regarding violence in by-elections.

There was consensus on that, only for us to wake up yesterday morning; all constitutional requirements had been fulfilled; we had had a written communication from the Electoral Commission; and per article 112 (6) of the Constitution being a vacancy on the seat of our late Hon Kyeremanteng Agyarko and a by-election had been conducted and the Member duly elected had to come to this Chamber to take the oaths.

Mr Speaker, we on the Majority Side of the House do not have issues with the Minority's decision to walk-out. They have
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:13 p.m.
Hon Member for Tamale North, it is not proper for you to be mentioned by the Speaker, but you are so loud in your heckling. I can hear you from here, please.
Ms Safo 12:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, they presented their petition to the IGP just as I said, and investigations would follow. If there is found to be culpability, I believe when the cases are arraigned properly before the courts, this country thrives on the rule of law.
So we do not have an issue or challenge with the marching to the security agencies and their heads. That is what ought to be done. But to extend that anger, dismay or displeasure of the procedure during the election to a poor widow and a colleague Hon Member, for that matter, is very much uncalled for.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minority Chief Whip in his statement actually said the holding of placards, if it happened before, today or future ought to be condemned. I believe this is an Honourable House and you are the Chair of this House. We should not allow these precedents to reoccur.

The reason the Hon Deputy Majority Whip raised this matter is not because we thought they do not have the right to walk out of Parliament when they do not agree with whatever proceedings is underway.

It is not because we thought Hon Samuel George does not have a guaranteed human right under the Constitution, or when an Hon Member has been assaulted, the Minority group that he belongs to should not speak up. That is not our concern and argument.

Our argument is that an Hon Colleague who was being sworn in and has indeed been sworn in deserves no such description. It is an affront to the integrity of your own Parliament, Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker, each one of us is a representative of the people. We all have widows in our constituencies. As a way of showing that we care as Members of Parliament, we go into our constituencies, assemble widows and orphans and give alms to them to show that indeed we care about the vulnerable.

So why is it that now, we have an Hon Colleague who finds herself in that same situation, not by her own doing but that of the Almighty -- we believed and actually thought that our Hon Member Emmanuel Kyeremanteng Agyarko has brought his work on earth to an end, and this woman had the courage in her sorrow and trauma to come here into this House, having been declared the Member of Parliament-Elect to be sworn in, and my Hon Colleague, the Deputy Minority Leader, led his own group with big placards --

Mr Speaker, Hon Laadi when she was speaking, made a statement. She said some of us did not hold placards --
Mr Avedzi 12:23 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr
Speaker, my Hon Colleague just made reference to me that I led my group with a big placard. I was not on the Floor yesterday.
That shows how far she can go in terms of throwing issues that are not factual -- I was not on the Floor of the House yesterday, so how did she see me leading my group?
Mr Speaker, she should withdraw that portion and apologise to me, because I was not here yesterday.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:23 p.m.
Hon Deputy Majority Leader, your counterpart was not in the House. I can attest to that, so that reference to him is false, and I direct that you withdraw and apologise to him. [Hear! Hear!]
Ms Safo 12:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much. Since he is deciding to have selective memory of violence in by- elections, I also decided to have selective memory of who were present.
Mr Speaker, I know very well that the Hon Deputy Minority Leader is an uncle --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:23 p.m.
Hon Leader, kindly withdraw, apologise and continue.
Ms Safo 12:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I acknowledge that the Hon Member was not in the Chamber. I duly acknowledge, so I urge that it be expunged from the records. I actually meant to say the Hon Minority Chief Whip.
Mr Speaker, I would also like to place on record that Hon Avedzi is an uncle to Hon Lydia Seyram Alhassan, and so he found it very difficult to be in the Chamber. If what his Members were doing was proper, he would have been here --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:23 p.m.
Hon Member, please, take the person out of it and address the chair.
Mr Avedzi 12:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I have a strong objection to the position taken by the Hon Deputy Majority Leader. She should take the personal issue out of this.
The Hon Deputy Majority Leader is trying to impute wrong motive into the discussion. If I am the uncle to the Hon Member, that would not make me take a position that would go in her favour or in somebody's favour. I would not take a position to support something that I consider to be wrong.
I would agree that the Hon Member is related to me --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:23 p.m.
Hon Member, you are making an objection -- [Interruption.]
Mr Avedzi 12:23 p.m.
So I have taken objection. She should take the personal issues out of the debate. When we go home, we would solve our issues as family members. [Laughter.]
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:23 p.m.
Hon Deputy Majority Leader, the objection of the Hon Deputy Minority Leader is well placed. It is in accord with Order 93 (2), and you are out of order.
Please continue.
Ms Safo 12:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I cannot, in any way, challenge your ruling, except to come by a Motion, and I do not intend to --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:23 p.m.
In fact you cannot. Proceed.
Ms Safo 12:23 p.m.
Rightly so, but Mr Speaker, if he has sought further and better particulars, whether indeed he is an uncle --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:23 p.m.
That has nothing to do with the debate. Proceed with the debate.
Ms Safo 12:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in concluding -- [Interruption]---
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:23 p.m.
Hon Members, Order! Hon Deputy Minister for Transport, Order! Hon Member for Assin Central, Order!
Mr Avedzi 12:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, your directive is that the Hon Deputy Majority Leader should withdraw the statement and apologise to me. She did not do that, so could you direct her to do the right thing?
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:23 p.m.
Hon Deputy Majority Leader, please withdraw, apologise and proceed.
Ms Safo 12:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, he says when we go home we would sort out our differences. It is a statement of fact.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:23 p.m.
The issue is not whether he is an uncle or not. You are not entitled to make personal allusions, per Order 93(2).
Hon Member, you said that the Hon Deputy Minority Leader was conveniently absent because he is her uncle, and that is what I said that you are making personal allusions. I ruled that he was not in the Chamber, which is a fact, but you said you saw him holding a placard, which is false. That is what I asked you to withdraw and apologise.
Ms Safo 12:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, “conveniently out of the Chamber” has been withdrawn, as you said. “An uncle to the Hon
Member” is accordingly withdrawn, and “holding a placard” is withdrawn.
Mr Speaker, in concluding, women in this country represent approximately 51 per cent of our total population. Therefore, our efforts cannot be downplayed in the development of our nation.
These acts would discourage more women in our body politic. We cannot continue to molest, discriminate and attack women who decide to serve their own nation. It ought to be frowned upon.
Mr Speaker, not too long ago, the Hon Minority Leader and the Rt Hon Speaker himself addressed the media and stated that we needed to come together to encourage more women to be represented in Parliament and to partake in politicking.
I strongly believe that wherever the Hon Minority Leader is, he would be very disappointed in the Minority Caucus.
Mr Speaker, on this note, I say they ought to apologise to Hon Lydia Seyram Alhassan, all women and widows in Ghana. They should not go back ever and ask for the women and widows' vote.
They shall always be in the records and it would always be in their memories that at one time, when a colleague of theirs wanted to be part of this fraternity, they looked down on such a person.
Mr Speaker, on this note, I call on the Minority to do the honourable thing. The Hon Seth Acheampong has quoted Standing Order 86. We are called Honourable not for the sake of just being called that. Our actions and utterances must depict that we are Hon Members.
I thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
Some Hon Members 12:33 p.m.
No.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:33 p.m.
I direct that the Leadership of the Minority apologise to the Hon Lady, Hon Lydia Seyram Alhassan, on behalf of the Minority.
Mr Avedzi 12:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it would be difficult for the Leadership of the Minority to apologise on behalf of the Minority. Mr Speaker, we have used placards in this Chamber on countless times to the extent that the former President was in the Chamber and we used them.
Mr Speaker, most of the time, the use of placards in the House are not sanctioned by the Leadership of the various Caucuses.
If we can identify Mr A or Hon Member B, which would be difficult to even do, it would be difficult on our Side as the
Leadership of the Minority to say that we would render an apology on behalf of the Minority.
Mr Speaker, we do not have such rules in this House that the conduct of an Hon Member from one Side --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:33 p.m.
Hon Deputy Minority Leader, I did not hear that.
Mr Avedzi 12:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we are pleading that you reconsider that --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:33 p.m.
Hon Member, I did not hear your word. You said that you did not do something as rule or something.
Mr Avedzi 12:33 p.m.
I said that there is no rule in the House that when individual Hon Members undertake some actions, the Leadership of the House must apologise on their behalf. [Interruption.]

Mr Speaker, the Leadership of the Minority is pleading that you reconsider your ruling because it would be difficult for us to render an apology on behalf of the Minority Side.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Ms Safo 12:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, you made a ruling -- [Interruption.]
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:43 p.m.
Hon Adongo, I want to hear you. I am giving you the Floor.
Mr Isaac Adongo 12:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I do not intend to disrupt your programme.
Ms Safo 12:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, you made a ruling and your ruling was that the Hon Deputy Minority Leader -- [Interruption] -- on behalf of the Minority renders an apology.
Mr Speaker, with due respect, I would refer my Hon Colleague, the Hon Deputy Minority Leader to Order 98, which reads in the side note:
“Ruling of the Chair not subject to appeal except by a substantive motion”.
“Mr Speaker shall be responsible for the observance of order in the House and of the rules of debate, and his decision upon any point of order shall not be open to appeal and shall not be reviewed by the House, except upon a substantive motion made after notice.”
So Mr Speaker, if the Hon Deputy Minority Leader wants to oppose or appeal your decision, he has to come properly before the House.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:43 p.m.
Hon Member for Suhum?
Mr Opare-Ansah 12:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in reacting to your ruling, I heard the Hon Deputy Minority Leader say that there is nothing in the Standing Orders that require that they apologise -- [Interruption] Mr Speaker, what he said is true but I only want to draw his attention to Order 6, and with your permission I read:
“In all cases not provided for in these Orders Mr Speaker shall make provisions as he deems fit.”
Mr Speaker just told us that he has listened to the debate and virtually summarised the discussions we had in this Chamber and made the consequential pronouncement that in his view, and I
Mr Opare-Ansah 12:43 p.m.


believe he was speaking with the authority granted him by Order 6, that from everything he has seen and heard, it is his view that it is only appropriate that the Leadership of the Minority renders an apology to the Hon Member who was sworn in yesterday on behalf of their Membership.

Indeed, the Hon Deputy Minority Leader is right. Nowhere in our Order does it say that when such a thing happens, the Leadership of either Side is responsible for rendering an apology and that is why in his wisdom and taking the authority granted him by Order 6, the Speaker has made this pronouncement.

But the Hon Deputy Majority Leader has already said that when the Speaker makes a ruling, there is really no leeway. They have to comply and if they are not happy with it, they could always come by a substantive Motion to challenge the ruling of the Speaker.

But as of now, they will comply. [Interruption.] We would not hear another word from them until they have complied. So we are waiting for them to comply.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:43 p.m.
Hon Member for Tamale Central?
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 12:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I appreciate your effort in bringing sanity to this House. I also appreciate your effort in trying to see how this matter that has been brought to your attention by the Hon Deputy Majority Chief Whip could be resolved.
Mr Speaker, first of all, you have not told us the authority --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:43 p.m.
Hon Mem- bers, I am allowing him in particular be- cause he appears to be directing the Lead- ership from behind and that is why I want to hear him -- [Interruption]
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 12:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I was not directing the Leadership.
Mr Speaker, as a Member of this House, a House of records, a House of law, I be- lieve that every decision or action we take in this House must be founded on law and the point simply is that the process that culminated to your ruling is not founded by any procedure in this House. It is not.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:43 p.m.
Allow.
rose
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:43 p.m.
Hon Leader, he is on his feet. I want to listen to him.
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 12:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, re- spectfully, I am yielding the Floor to the Hon Minority Chief Whip.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:43 p.m.
I thought you were accusing me of not following the rules. Upon which rule are you yielding?
Alhaji Muntaka 12:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, with the greatest respect, we do not want to have this banter in the Chamber. You have made a ruling and unfortunately, we cannot com- ply with it. We would challenge it with a substantive Motion.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:53 p.m.
Hon Members -- [Interruption] -- I have tried
-- 12:53 p.m.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:53 p.m.
Hon Members, Order! Order!
Hon Members, I thought that in order to bring this matter to a close, we could just apologise and let go, but it does not appear to me that such is the path that the Minority Leadership agrees to. They want the individual Hon Members who were holding the placards with the inscription “bloody widow” --
Hon Members, in that circumstance, I would revise my ruling but I would first hear the Hon Deputy Minority Leader.
Mr Avedzi 12:53 p.m.
Mr Speaker, respectfully, I overheard you early on say that you would invite the individual Hon Members, who were holding the placards to apologise, that is why I stood up to find
out from the Chair if you are indeed revising your ruling. This is because, on your earlier ruling, we said that we would challenge it.
Mr Speaker, when I said that we would challenge that ruling, you have now revised that ruling into a different one. So, I would want to find out if you have actually revised your ruling because that is very important.
It is very important for us to know if you have revised your ruling because we intend to challenge the first one. If you have revised that ruling, then it would make us take a different position. So, I would want to know.
rose
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:53 p.m.
Yes, Hon Member for Suhum?
Mr Opare-Ansah 12:53 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker, I wish to apply to you that you call for a review of the proceedings of yesterday, and cause all Hon Members who would be found to carry the said placards to appear before the Privileges Committee, and if the Committee so finds them guilty of contempt of Parliament, prescribe the necessary sanctions that this House should mete out to them.
Mr Speaker, that is my application this afternoon. Thank you.
Mr Avedzi 12:53 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am not sure we are being guided by the Standing Orders of the House.
Mr Speaker, there is an issue on the Floor on which you ruled. We then came out to say that we would challenge that ruling, but you are now revising your ruling, and now, there is a new application.
Mr Avedzi 12:53 p.m.


There is an issue on the Floor and we have not concluded but there is a new application coming forth, so where are we going?
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:53 p.m.
Hon Members, please I have heard enough. I have already ruled that the caption on the placards were unparliamentary. [Interruption] -- I was trying to solve the matter quietly by asking the Minority Leadership to apologise.

Hon Members, the Hon Second Deputy Speaker --

Hon Members, we would move on to the Commencement of Public Business.
Ms Safo 12:53 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker, we would move to the item numbered 6 -- Payment Systems and Services Bill, 2018 at the Consideration Stage.
Thank you.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:53 p.m.
Hon
Members, the Payments Systems and Services Bill, 2018 at the Consideration Stage.
BILLS -- CONSIDERATION STAGE 12:53 p.m.
Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah 12:53 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 2 -- delete.
Mr Speaker, the thinking is that there might be more enactments that should be read together with this. So, listing a few is not really necessary, and so clause 2 should be entirely deleted.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:53 p.m.
However, there is an amendment filed by the Hon Minority Leader, so I think we would have to take that first.
Yes, Hon Member for Suhum?
Mr Frederick Opare-Ansah 1:03 a.m.
Mr Speaker, if we agree to delete the entire clause, this amendment becomes moot. And that is why usually we would put the deletions ahead of a consideration of any other proposed amendment.
Indeed, as you see, he is already trying to add onto the list. That was the thinking at the Committee; the list cannot be exhaustive. So it is actually not —
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:03 a.m.
Did the Hon Minority Leader ask anybody to move the amendment on his behalf?
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 1:03 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I think in respect of the amendment proposed by the Hon Chairman of the Committee for the deletion of clause 2, the amendment proposed by the Hon Minority Leader would not be relevant. And I support the amendment to delete clause 2.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:03 a.m.
Very well.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:03 a.m.
Clause 3?
Clause 3 -- Functions of Bank of Ghana
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 1:03 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 3, subclause (2), paragraph (b), line 2, delete “providers” and insert “providers, electronic financial services”.
So, that subclause (2), paragraph (b) would now read:
“Regulating the issuance of electronic money, payment instruments, payment service providers, electronic financial services and electronic commerce platforms”.
Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh 1:03 a.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. If we look at the Order Paper, we are told that we want to delete “providers”. But indeed, if we look at it, the way it has been read, it was not deleted. He said “coma” before he added the others so it is a little confusing. He also, in the final analysis, added “and” to the “electronic service providers”.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:03 a.m.
The ‘and' is already there.
Mr Chireh 1:03 a.m.
Mr Speaker, yes, but what he is saying and what is on the Order Paper seem to be conflicting. If he is saying that
we should have “providers,” “electronic services” and “financial services”, that may be the better way to move it. I am not opposed to the amendment but the way it is captured; we would be confusing issues.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 1:03 a.m.
Mr Speaker, it is because the amendment in the Order Paper cannot be captured as delete “coma”. That is why we say delete “providers” and now come back to insert “providers,” “electronic financial services”.
Mr Speaker—
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:03 a.m.
Hon Member, hold on, the Second Deputy Speaker would now take the Chair.
MR SECOND DEPUTY SPEAKER
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:08 p.m.
Hon Chairman of the Committee, you may continue.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 1:08 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I already moved the amendment in (iv) so it is for the Question to be put on the amendment in (iv) on page 3 of the Order Paper.
Mr Chireh 1:08 p.m.
Mr Speaker, if you see the original paragraph, it says:
“Regulating the issuance of the electronic money, payment instruments, payment service providers and electronic commerce platforms.”
Now, the Hon Chairman of the Committee is amending that paragraph. What is listed in the Order Paper is my problem, because if you look at it, even “commerce platforms” has been changed to “financial services”.

So it should be properly re-cast, unless he is retaining “commerce platforms”. But then, the re-casting, once he is going to introduce something, the “coma” automatically comes in. Therefore, the way it is being captured -- delete and then insert the same thing, is where I am saying—

I am not opposed to the amendment but it has to be properly captured. The way it is, it is confusing.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:08 p.m.
Hon Members, I think the argument so far is on the use of the “coma” after “providers”.
Yes, Hon Member for Tamale Central?
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 1:08 p.m.
Mr Speaker, there is really no problem. They wanted to deal with the “coma”. And to deal with the “coma” they thought they should delete “providers” and re-introduce it and provide for the “coma”. That is the way they have done it so there is actually no problem.
In fact, the real intent was to insert “electronic financial services” but they thought that if they inserted it without dealing with the “coma”, it would not be properly captured so they deleted “providers” and inserted “providers,” and “electronic financial services”.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:08 p.m.
What then happens to the “commerce platforms”?
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 1:08 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it stays. We are only inserting “electronic financial services”.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:08 p.m.
But you need to re-phrase the proposed amendment.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 1:13 a.m.
Mr Speaker, we would still have it.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:13 a.m.
So, what you would need to do is just to say after “providers”, insert “electronic financial services”.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 1:13 a.m.
Rightly so, Mr Speaker. The Table Office captures it this way because of the comma in there.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 1:13 a.m.
Well, that is a drafting duty and not for the Hon Member of Parliament.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:13 a.m.
Hon Members, I want your full attention and participation. I see that there are a number of sub-meetings going on and the response is weak. It is too early in the day for you to be tired, except the waste of your energy this morning. [Laughter.]
Hon Chairman, we would move to the next proposed amendment.
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 1:13 a.m.
Mr Speaker, what I have realised is that the amendment proposed by the Hon Minority Leader and the amendment proposed by the Hon Minister for Communications, Mrs Ursula G. Owusu-Ekuful are the same.
The Hon Minority Leader is targeting the institution and the Hon Minister is targeting the law. So, they are almost the same and I thought that we could stand it down and they could winnow it.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:13 a.m.
Hon Member for Tamale Central, I do not get the import of what you said. They cannot be the same.
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 1:13 a.m.
What I said was that the Hon Minority Leader proposed that the institution to be established by this Bill -- The Bank of Ghana must in implementing this Bill, collaborate with the National Communications Authority and the National Information Technology Agency.
That is what the Hon Minority Leader has proposed, but it is because it is for electronic payment systems.
The Hon Minister for Communications is saying that the Bank of Ghana must do this in accordance with the laws that establish payment systems. That is why I saw them as the same, but if they are not the same then, very well.
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:13 a.m.
Yes, Hon Member?
Mr Shaibu Mahama 1:13 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the first one is a collaboration -- [Interruption.]
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:13 a.m.
Hon Member, I have to listen to him first to know whether he has the authority of the Hon Minority Leader to move the Motion. The Hon Member for Tamale Central tried to do so in vain; another Hon Member has stood up and I have to listen to him first. I am in control.
Mr Shaibu Mahama 1:13 a.m.
Mr Speaker, because you have now brought in the legal term “the authority to speak for and on behalf of the Hon Minority Leader”, I beg to withdraw.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:13 a.m.
Hon Member, no, you would just resume your seat. There is nothing you have put before me which you have to withdraw. [Laughter.]
Mr Chireh 1:13 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I believe the amendments that we are about to consider come from both a former Minister for Communications and a current Minister for Communications. We need to step these down, so that they could appear before a winnowing Committee to justify them.
In their absence -- [Interruption.] [Pause.]
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:13 a.m.
Sorry, Hon Members, the Clerk-at-the-Table was giving me some information. Let me listen to the Hon Member again.
Mr Chireh 1:13 a.m.
I am saying that if you look at these amendments that have been proposed, one is by a former Minister for Communications and the other one is by the current Minister for Communications.
During the Second Reading of this Bill, they had strong views about these amendments. I am just pleading that because of the experience they both have, we should not delete their amendments or go ahead and ignore them. Rather, we should step them down, so that they appear before a winnowing Committee.
Mr Speaker, these might be weighty amendments and that is all I was requesting you to do.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:13 a.m.
Hon Member for Wa West, with what authority have you put this across?
Mr Chireh 1:13 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the authority I have is based on the harassment I am suffering at the hands of my Hon
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:13 a.m.
Hon Member, it has not been ignored. We could have a Second Considerations Stage of the Bill. So, we would take it that it has lapsed and not been moved and we would move to the next proposed amendment.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 1:13 a.m.
Mr Speaker, may you live long. [Laughter.]
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:13 a.m.
I have a standing agreement with God to live for 100 years. Are you adding more years, because 100 years is sufficient and I would not want to go beyond that.
I see one proposed amendment in the name of Hon Ursula G. Owusu-Ekuful, the current Minister for Communications but I do not see her on the Floor. Does anyone have the authority to move it on her behalf? Otherwise, it would suffer the same fate.
We would move on to page 4 of the Order Paper, item numbered 6 (vii) which is in the name of the same Minister for Communications. So, we would move to item numbered 6 (viii) by the Chairman of the Committee.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 1:13 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 3 subclause (2), paragraph (d), line 1, delete “infrastructures” and insert “infrastructure”.
Mr Speaker, this is a grammatical error.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:23 p.m.
Hon Chairman of the Committee, in view of my earlier ruling, we would move to the last proposed amendment on page 4 of the Order Paper which is numbered roman numeral (xiii).
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 1:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 3 subclause (2), paragraph (i), line 1, delete “individual” and insert “specific”.
Mr Speaker, we thought the word ‘'individual'' could be subjected to a different interpretation, so the word ‘'specific'' is better.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:23 p.m.
There are more proposed amendments on page 5 of the Order Paper. We would take item numbered (xv) which stands in the name of the Hon Chairman of the Committee.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 1:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 3 subclause (5), line 1, delete “an authorised” and insert “a”.
Mr Speaker, the new rendition would be 1:23 p.m.
‘'The Bank of Ghana may appoint a person…''
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:23 p.m.
‘A person perform''? Hon Chairman of the Committee, you need to relook at it. The Hon Member for Wa West wants to assist you.
Mr Chireh 1:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, what the Hon Chairman of the Committee said was that, the words ‘‘an authorised'' should be deleted and the article ‘'a'' be inserted so that the new rendition would be:
‘'The Bank of Ghana may appoint a person to perform specified activities in relation to the payment and settlement systems in accordance with the Bank of Ghana Act, 2002 (Act 612)''.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:23 p.m.
Well, but he did not say we should insert the words ‘‘a person to'', you are adding it. I do not have those words in the Bill I have.
Mr Opare-Ansah 1:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, then you have a wrong version of the Bill.
Mr Speaker, the current rendition is 1:23 p.m.
‘'The Bank of Ghana may appoint an authorised person to perform specified activities in relation to the payment and settlement systems in accordance with…''
Mr Speaker, so what we want to do is to delete the words ‘‘an authorised'' and insert the article “a''. This is because the authority is deried from the appointment.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:23 p.m.
Hon Members, I am just drawing your attention to the fact that the Bill I have does not state ‘‘person''.
Mr Opare-Ansah 1:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I will willingly give you my copy.
[Pause].
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:23 p.m.
It means my Bill was an earlier version, it is not a photocopy.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Clause 3 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clause 4 -- Payment Systems Advisory Committee
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 1:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 4 subclause (1), line 2, delete “may” and insert “shall”.
Mr Speaker, this is to make it compulsory for the Bank of Ghana to establish the Payment Systems Advisory Committee.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:23 p.m.
Hon Members, do not just let the voice of only the Hon Chairman of the Committee be the voice of the whole House. If there is anything that you want to guide Mr Speaker with, please, kindly do that. I am not sure Hon Members are paying attention because I can see a number of you on your phones.
The new rules would soon come into force to prevent the use of mobile phones on the Floor of the House. They would be at your seats so you can access it using your electronic device. Even the Hon Deputy Majority Leader herself is part of it.
Hon Members, we are still on clause 4.
Yes, Hon K.T. Hammond?
Mr K. T. Hammond 1:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am just trying to comprehend the point that you made. I am pleading with you to understand what it means and the effect.
Mr Speaker, these days of ICT and all of that, we sit here and try to access information for the benefit of the House and if new rules, which I am not aware of

and I am not sure how many of my Hon Colleagues are aware of, are about to be implemented --
An Hon Member 1:23 p.m.
Hon K. T. Hammond, speak from your seat.
Mr Hammond 1:23 p.m.
It does not matter. The two of us are linked in some respect -- not the umbilical cord, we are not linked from there. [Laughter.]
Mr Speaker, that was just by the way.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:23 p.m.
Hon K.
T. Hammond, I have always been your senior. So it is not only here.
Mr Hammond 1:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, you have always been. Indeed, and almost -- I am not so sure, but in the very short, whatever possible future, you are going to be by my something else [Laughter]. Mr Speaker, you always were and you would always be and there is no doubt about that.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:23 p.m.
I do not want to be your ‘'something else''. [Laughter.]
Mr Hammond 1:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it is not what you are thinking but something admirable that the whole country would be proud about.
Mr Speaker, and so if there are new rules which actually ban any Member of the House from using this device here, what are we going to do in attempt to — Because this is not really an internet system — [Interruption] — and so if you can help the House with the sort of rules that we are talking about, we should all be happy.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:33 p.m.
Hon Member, I am just giving you notice that, it is a proposal that would be coming before you. This is because there are negative aspects of the use of the phone, and when the proposal comes and you want to refine it, you are at liberty to do so.
Hon Members, clause 4.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 1:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, clause 4, item numbered (xxii).
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:33 p.m.
Sorry? Item numbered (xix)
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 1:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the amendments by the current Minister for Communication is crowding mine.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:33 p.m.
But the item numbered (xix) stands in your name.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 1:33 p.m.
Rightly so, Mr Speaker, but their amendments are crowding mine and so it is difficult to —
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 4 subclause (5), before “Governor” insert “the” and after “Ghana” add “or the alternate of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana”.
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini — rose --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:33 p.m.
Hon
Member for — ?
Yeboah — rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:33 p.m.
Hon Chairman, why are you on your feet again?
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 1:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I want to give the justification so it could guide him.
This is to make clauses 4 and 5 consistent with language used in clause 4 (3)(a) and there, and I beg to read:
“(3) The Payment Systems Advisory Committee shall consist of
(a) the Governor of the Bank of Ghana or the alternate of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana as the chairperson, and…”
Mr Speaker, when we come to subclause (5) it says, and I beg to read 1:33 p.m.
“(5) Subsection (4) does not apply to Governor of the Bank of Ghana.”
Mr Speaker, we are saying it should also not apply to the alternate of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana.
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 1:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, indeed, I have seen clause 4 (3) and I have seen his amendment. But when I went to the definition column, I did not see a definition of “alternate Governor of the Bank of Ghana”.
Mr Speaker, I know of alternate Director; a Director who acts in the stead of the substantive Director and he has some powers. — [Interruption] — And so what is in his contemplation? Who is an alternate of the Governor?
Mr Chireh 1:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in the contemplation of the Committee, when we have a provision like this, we must have either Governor or his representatives.
But we want this one to be possibly, one of his deputies. And so that is why we are saying his alternate. And it is not that there is an appointment called “alternate Governor”, no.
It is the alternate of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana. That is the amendment, and anywhere we have representation, we would say, “or the alternate”. This is a common term that means somebody instead of the other.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 1:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, rightly so. In the present circumstance, the Hon Member for Tamale Central would be the alternate of the leadership. Presently, he is the alternate of the leadership of the Minority.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:33 p.m.
Hon Chairman, you have confused the definition of the word alternate. The Hon Member for Wa West was very clear that it cannot go below the Deputy Governors.
Now you are explaining it to mean that it is not going to be the Deputy Minority Leader, but any Member who comes to sit at that Chair could be called “alternate”, That is extending the definition too far and wide because he is not the Deputy Minority Leader.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 1:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, but at the beginning of the Seventh Parliament, he was considered for Minority Leader. At the time, he was in the running —
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:33 p.m.
He was considered by whom?
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 1:33 p.m.
Hon Asiedu Nketia and the leadership — [Laughter.]
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:33 p.m.
I think that you did not sieve the intelligent information that you got very well.
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 1:33 p.m.
I was being considered. I thank him for the information.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Clause 4 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clause 5 — Meetings of the Payment Systems Advisory Committee
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 1:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 5 add the following new sub- clause:
“(9) Members of the Payment Systems Advisory Committee shall be paid allowances approved by the Bank of Ghana”.

Question put and Amendment agreed to.

Clause 5 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 6 -- Disclosure of interest
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 1:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 6 add the following new subclause:
“(3) Where there is vacancy under subsection (2), the Bank of Ghana shall notify the head of the relevant agency to appoint a person to fill the vacancy”.
Clause 6 -- Disclosure of interest
Mr Banda 1:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I do not have any problem with the substance of the proposed amendment, except to further
propose that we should insert an indefinite article between the words “is” and “vacancy”. So, it would read “Where there is a vacancy under subsection (2)…” instead of “Where there is vacancy …”
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:43 p.m.
Yes, Hon Chairman of the Committee, what do you say to that?
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 1:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, this is the Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs talking and I cannot in any way attempt to oppose this amendment coming from him. So I wilfully oblige.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:43 p.m.
Hon Member, so just because he is the Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, even if the vacancies are more than one, you can still use “a”? When you use “a”, it means there is only one vacancy. But if there are a number of vacancies, can you still use the phrase “a vacancy”?
Mr Banda 1:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it is because “vacancy”, grammatically is a countable noun. So if we were to use “vacancies”, then the auxiliary verb which is “is” must change to “are”. But in this particular case, we are using the singular which is “vacancy” and we all do know that the singular includes the plural.
To that extent, I have proposed that we should use “Where there is a vacancy …” because vacancy is singular and it must go with the indefinite article.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:43 p.m.
Well, I actually do not agree with you but it is not for me to take the decision.
Let me listen to the Hon Minister.
Dr Kwaku Afriyie 1:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I believe I agree with the Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs for --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:43 p.m.
Even though he said that the singular includes the plural?
Dr Afriyie 1:43 p.m.
No.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:43 p.m.
Hon Member, you still agree with him even though he said that?
Dr Afriyie 1:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I agree with him because conceptually even if you have multiple vacancies, you would treat them in their consideration as single entities wherever they arise and you are filling them. So, conceptually, it should be whenever there is a vacancy.
Even though in operation, you might be confronted with several vacancies and this would be consistent with the situation.
Mr Speaker, if you have five vacancies and you are considering them, you would be filling them one by one and so it is a procedural matter. We should treat vacancy as vacancy; it is correct.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:43 p.m.
Hon Member, you do not need to fill them one by one; you can fill all at the same time.
Yes, Hon Member for Tamale Central?
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 1:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, even though I see where the Hon Chairman is coming from, I believe your intervention has made it clearer. Vacancy is a state. The state of the Advisory Committee. So, how many are not -- that is vacancy.
It is not one person being absent that constitutes a vacancy. So you would inform the relevant head of institution for
the vacancy to be filled. Therefore, it could be many vacancies but that is the state.
Mr Opare-Ansah 1:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I support the argument made by the Hon Member for Tamale Central.
Mr Speaker, “vacancy” being used in this sense is to describe a state of emptiness. It is not in the countable sense that the Chairman for the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:43 p.m.
Hon Member, did you say the state of emptiness?
Mr Opare-Ansah 1:43 p.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker. In that sense you cannot count it.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:43 p.m.
No; it is not emptiness.
Mr Opare-Ansah 1:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, if you enter this Chamber and there is nobody here, would you say this room is vacant -- it is empty? There is no one here and you cannot count the vacancy in that sense, that a hundred people were not here. The room is empty and it is vacant. That is the sense in which the vacancy is being used in the clause.
Mr Speaker, it is not the sense of there being one person not in office and so you are going to put someone there. Anytime there is some emptiness in there and anytime there is space unoccupied there -
So anytime there is vacancy, somebody has vacated and whether it is one person, two or three persons, it is vacancy. So we are not counting three to mean three vacancies, no. So, it is not a --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:43 p.m.
I thought it meant absence of and not emptiness.
Mr Opare-Ansah 1:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, that is emptiness.

the same.
Mr Opare-Ansah 1:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, going into the Bible, at the beginning of creation, there was an emptiness and there was vacancy. It was void. [Laughter.]
Mr Ras Mubarak — rose --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:43 p.m.
Let me listen to Hon Ras Mubarak.
Mr Ras Mubarak 1:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would say that the Hon Member is leading us into the realm of spirituality. We are dealing with law and for that matter, the example he seeks to invoke does not count. As you rightly pointed out, the example cannot be the same.
You cannot equate emptiness, or in this sense, talk about vacancy and call it emptiness. The two words are not the same, and I think his application on that score is very wrong.
Mr Chireh 1:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, what the Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs is suggesting is simply in principle in drafting and in our law-making; that singular includes the plural.
So, if he says “a vacancy”, he is just adding “a” and if you would recall, we removed unauthorised person and put “a person”. That is the reason the Chairman of the Finance Committee agrees with him. We are just inserting “a” which means that even though you were saying “a vacancy” there could be more.
Mr Speaker, but as for the issue of emptiness, he is beginning to be empty himself because there is no issue about --
It is a vacancy that is created. Somebody has to occupy it; someone was there and so once there are possibilities of vacancies, then there is a possibility of a vacancy.
That is the reason I believe that he should not be confusing those who follow our argument that one can say “a person” and it would also include “persons”. He is adding “a” to say that it could be one vacancy but at the same time there could be more than one vacancy, so there is nothing that is wrong with that since the singular includes the plural.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:43 p.m.
Let me listen to the Hon Deputy Majority Leader?
Ms Safo 1:53 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I seemed to agree with the Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. He is proposing that we insert ‘a' before ‘vacancy'.
Mr Speaker, if we look at the amendment that is being proposed, cross- referencing is being made to subsection (2), so we should not determine whether the indefinite article, “a” in front of, “vacancy” is wrong or not.
We can only determine that when we refer ourselves to clause 6(2). Clause 6(2) talks about membership of the Committee. With your permission, I read:
“A member ceases to be a member of the Payment System Advisory Committee…”
Mr Speaker, there is a possibility of a vacancy with the membership and so, clause 6(3) proposes what we should do where such vacancy exists. It is not out of place for a proposed amendment to be made by the Hon Chairman of the
An Hon Member 1:53 p.m.
What we are saying is that what is here is also not wrong.
Ms Safo 1:53 p.m.
It is not wrong but for purposes of the cross-referencing, we cannot interpret a clause out of context. We have to look at the preceding section which is being cross-referenced. It talks about where a member ceases to be a member of the Payment Systems Advisory Committee.
There is a possibility of a vacancy or vacancies and he said, the singular includes the plural, so, it does not fall out of place at all.
Mr Speaker, I propose that we should take the amendment made by the Hon Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs which is supported by the Hon Chairman of the Finance Committee.
Mr Quashigah 1:53 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am not convinced by the position of the Hon Deputy Majority Leader. Even if we relate it to subsection (2) (a), “a member ceases…” it does not necessarily mean that it is making reference to availability of one space.
It could be more than one, and the reason for which I would believe that leaving it the way it is, “vacancy” cures the problem of whether the spaces are two or one. It fits in very well. So, the introduction of an indefinite article necessarily does not add any meaning at all to it.
Mr Speaker, in this context, “vacancy” can relate to singular or plural as it is
situated in this particular proposed amendment and I would appeal to the Hon Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs to drop his further amendment so that we may take it the way it is.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:53 p.m.
Well, the amendment was moved by the Hon Chairman of the Finance Committee. The Hon Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs was simply improving on that amendment.
I think that you can justify the use of the word, “a” there because the last line talks about, “to appoint a person”, so, it should be, “a vacancy”. He is talking about one. That is the only way we could justify it.
So the Hon Member for Offinso South is correct.
So I would put the Question.
Mr Quashigah 1:53 p.m.
Mr Speaker, as much as I agree with what you have said in relation to the last line, where it talks about a person, what about a situation where we have two vacancies at the same time?
Are we saying that, in that context, “a” here negates the two spaces available? Oftentimes, we make reference to, “a person” which in effect relates to more than one.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:53 p.m.
That is why he added that in the Interpretation Act, the use of the singular includes the plural.
So Hon Members, the amendment should read as follows:
“(3) where there is a vacancy under subsection (2), the Bank of Ghana
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 1:53 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am moving item numbered (xxvi). [Interruption.]
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 8, subclause (3), line 3, after “18”, insert “19”.
Mr Speaker, Clause 19 talks about fees and we would want to include fees as a requirement for the grant of a licence.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:53 p.m.
Hon Members, it is a straightforward amendment. I would put the Question.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 1:53 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 8, subclause (8), paragraph (a), sub-paragraphs (i) and (ii), delete and insert the following:
“the applicant or any of its significant shareholders has been convicted of a crime involving a financial transaction in any jurisdiction within the past ten years;”
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:53 p.m.
Hon Members, in view of the Business before the House, I order that Sitting continues beyond the prescribed period.
Hon Chairman of the Committee, your proposed amendment is to delete subclause (8), paragraph (a). That is what it is about.
It is not just sub-paragraphs (i) and (ii) but to delete the whole of subclause (8), paragraph (a).
Mr Opare-Ansah 2:03 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Chairman said that the intention was to delete “felony” out of that construction. When we do so, there would no longer be subclause (8)(a)(ii), and there would be no need to have that and that was why he is deleting the entire thing and reconstructing it.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:03 p.m.
Yes, I agree.
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 2:03 p.m.
Mr Speaker, subclause (8)(a) would go, but the Hon Chairman of the Committee has not provided for a new subclause (8)(a) in his amendment. So, I would just draw the attention of the draftperson that the advertised amendment is the new paragraph (a).
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:03 p.m.
Yes, so I order the draftsperson to put in the new paragraph (a).
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:03 p.m.
We would go to further amendments that stand in the name of the Hon Chairman of the Committee.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:03 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 8, subclause (8), paragraph (c), line 1, delete “ten and insert “thirty”.
Mr Speaker, this is to give more time for the applicant to submit the required information.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:03 p.m.
I am just trying to understand why you are moving from 10 to 30?
Mr Opare-Ansah 2:03 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the amendment the Hon Chairman seeks to make is on line 2 and not line 1; there is no “ten” in line 1.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:03 p.m.
The amendment is on line 2.
Hon Chairman, but why from “ten” straight to “thirty”?
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:03 p.m.
Mr Speaker, if additional information is requested from the applicant and they want it submitted within 10 days, the Committee says that Bank of Ghana should give more time to the applicant to submit the required information; 10 days might not be sufficient.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:03 p.m.
You are applying for a licence and you want more delay. You have applied for a licence, and the Bank of Ghana has requested for further information and you are given 10 days to supply or submit it; you are asking for 30 more days.
Mr Opare-Ansah 2:03 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it is so because if we read the entire subclause (8), we would recognise that this is the reason for rejecting the application.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:03 p.m.
Yes.
Mr Opare-Ansah 2:03 p.m.
It says that “The Bank of Ghana may reject the application for a licence”. That is why we are saying that --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:03 p.m.
The 10 days is too short.
Mr Opare-Ansah 2:03 p.m.
The 10 days is too short, so they would have enough time, at least 30 days. Otherwise, if anything happens and within 10 days the applicant is unable to get back to the Bank of Ghana, they would reject the application.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:03 p.m.
Well, Hon Members, the applicant needs more time, so they are giving him 30 more days instead of 10 days.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:03 p.m.
We would move on to a further proposed amendment to clause 8.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:03 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 8, subclause (8), paragraph (e), line 1, delete “has reason to believe” and insert “on reasonable grounds is convinced”.
Mr Speaker, this is clearer than “has reason to believe”. If they are convinced on reasonable grounds, then it brings some clarity. So, we want this re-couched.
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 2:03 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I support the amendment. I think that the Finance Committee ought to be commended because they have moved the standard from a subjective to an objective test. I think that is good, so I support the amendment.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:03 p.m.
That is right.
Question put and amendment agreed to.

Clause 8 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 9 -- Carry out payment service business without a licence
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:03 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 9, subclause (1), opening phrase, line 1, delete “contravenes subsection (1) of section 8” and insert “carries out payment service business without a licence”.
Mr Speaker, this makes it clearer to everyone. As it is in the Bill, it says that a person who contravenes subsection (1) of section 8 -- what is subsection (1) of section 8?
It actually refers to someone who carries out payment service business without a licence. So instead of the cross-referencing, we would want to make this clear.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:03 p.m.
Hon Members, it simply explains further what that subclause refers to.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:03 p.m.
Hon Chairman, we still have some more proposed amendments in your name.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 9, add the following new sub-clause:
“(3) The Bank of Ghana may close down the payment service business of a person who carries out payment service business without a license”.

Mr Speaker, this is to make it clear in the law that the Bank of Ghana (BoG) is empowered to close down one's business if it is unlicensed.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:13 p.m.
Hon Member, is there any reason it should be “may” and not ‘shall'? This is because it is without license and so, why the discretion for them to do it instead of a compulsion?
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we have already --
Mr Opare-Ansah 2:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the BoG explained to us that for some of the entities, when their attention is drawn to the fact that they require license to do business, they quickly come in and regularise their operations. That is why they want it to be “may”.
In fact, the Committee thought it should be “shall” but they explained that not all persons who start such businesses do so with ill intentions, especially when --
They gave the example of how the payment systems evolved from communication entities to become an offshoot of communications services where they started doing mobile money.
The framework was not very clear as to whether they should require a license or not and so they went ahead and drew their attention to the fact that they needed to be registered and licensed by them, whereupon they came and so they did not need to have gone in to shut down their businesses, and they used “may” because if they draw your attention that they need a license to operate and they fail to do so, then they will exercise that power.
Some Hon Member -- rose --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:13 p.m.
Hon Deputy Majority Leader, let me listen to the Hon Ranking Member and then come back to you.
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 2:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it should be ‘‘shall''. If we use “may”, it will be inconsistent with clause 9(2) which requires and directs that:
‘A person convicted of an offence under subsection (1) shall immediately cease the operations of the payment services'.
So where a person is convicted and is still engaged in operating the payment services, the BoG shall close down the business. This is because if we say “may”, [Interruption] -- It should be “shall” because it is an offence. The BoG should not have a discretion in waving an offence.
Ms Safo 2:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I tend to agree with the submission made by the Hon Ranking Member. If we look at the whole of clause 9 (1), it is creating an offence; it is an act of a payment service business which would be considered an offence.
Mr Speaker, in creating an offence, there should not be an opportunity for you to regularise a criminality; nowhere in our statutes does it exist.
So it is mandatory that where licenses are not obtained by the payment service business - an offence is created in clause 9 (1) and so, the wording in the additional subclause (3) as being proposed by the Hon Chairman, should not be a permissive “may” but rather a mandatory “shall”.
So that clause 9 (2), as ably referred to by the Hon Ranking Member, where the prescription of the offence and conviction is being stated would be in line with clause
9 (1), (2) and (3) and should be mandatory and not permissive.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:13 p.m.
Yes, Hon Chairman, what do you say?
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it is possible that a person might carry out payment service business without a license and that would not have come to the notice of the BoG. If we put in a “shall” and then some customers lose money as a result, then they are going to hold the BoG liable that in the law, they should have closed this business down which they did not.
I believe that what has happened lately -- let us take the Menzgold case; the customers would say that the BoG should have closed down Menzgold for which reason they would take action against the BoG.
Mr Speaker, so, in some instances, it is possible that it would not come to the action of the BoG and we should not tie the hands of the bank.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:13 p.m.
Hon Chairman, we have gone beyond that and we are now at the situation where it has come to the knowledge of the BoG. What should the BoG do? Should they close it down or they have an option?
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we have not said that it has come to the notice -- we are only saying that the BoG --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:13 p.m.
The clause that you are dealing with --
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:13 p.m.
In paragraph 5 (a) and (b) --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:13 p.m.
You are adding a new clause and that new clause says that when it gets to the knowledge of the BoG, what should they do? Should
Mr Opare-Ansah 2:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it might be that we consider taking this particular provision from where we are trying to situate it now because here, it seems we want to sit with the clear offences and then afterwards give discretion to the BoG as to what to do.
We may want to create a new section for the regularisation of operations after this incident because the truth is that, by the time this thing comes to the attention of the BoG, a business could have been set up with customers and so, the decision is, do they just shut down that operation, especially where the entity is willing and is able to continue with operations?
They can penalise them and then still go ahead to regularise their operations, but where it is sitting, I believe that is what is a challenge for us and so, we may want the Hon Chairman - to perhaps step that down into a new section entirely.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:13 p.m.
Well, then the whole of clause 9 would have to be looked at again and not just the addition because it is clause 9 that says that:
‘… a person who carries out payment services of business without a license commits an offence'.
So the crime has been created there and the BoG will have no option.
Mr R Acheampong 2:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, respectfully, I am inclined to go with Hon Opare-Ansah. This is because, we all know that many micro-finance institutions have been set up in this country but if we ask the BoG, they would tell you that they did not register them.
Meanwhile, they are operating and taking deposits. When there are issues, the BoG would want to exonerate itself from their operations but with the financial institution, they have that flexibility and some can go ahead and open branches without notifying the BoG; if the BoG comes in, they would surcharge them and allow them to operate.
Mr Speaker, looking at these circumstances, if we allow them to operate, -- Looking at clause 9; the headnote is “Carrying on payment service business without a licence”.
So when they come under the radar of BoG, they have committed a crime and there is no way we should give them that flexibility again.
The word “shall” should be inserted and like Hon Opare-Ansah said, we can create another opportunity to regularise their activities because some of the institutions are using these payment services as a window to get some customers to mobilise excess liquidity in the system.
So we can create that avenue for them so that they could, at least, deal with the aspect and that should not come under clause 9.
Mr Speaker, so we should delete “may” and insert ‘shall' so that it becomes mandatory.
Mr Banda 2:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I was going to side with the Hon Member for Suhum in the sense that, where this proposed amendment is being situated, the impression is created as though the Bank of Ghana (BoG) can close down their business after the person has been convicted.
If that is the case, clause 9(2) has absolutely taken care of that. But if that is not the case, which therefore means that, if it is the intendment that the BoG can close down the business of a person who operates without a licence before the person is taken to court for prosecution, I would propose that clause 9(2) is not the appropriate place for this proposed amendment to be situated.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would want to withdraw clause 9(3) for the simple reason that if we go further in the Order Paper —
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:23 p.m.
Do you want to withdraw your proposed amendment?
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, yes. In clause 22, this would come again.
Mr Speaker, this Bill is in three parts. We have the payment service business, electronic money issuance and the clearing system parts. This subclause is repeated in there for payment service business, electronic money issuance and clearing system.
So we can later create an omnibus clause which deals with all of these as a separate clause.
So I seek your leave to withdraw this new subclause (3) so that we can put the Question.

Clause 9 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 10 -- Application for payment systems authorisation.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 10, subclause (3), line 3, after “18”, insert “19”.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 10, subclause (5), paragraph (b), line 2, delete “ten” and insert “thirty”.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 10, subclause (5), paragraph (d), line 1, delete “has reason to believe” and insert “on reasonable grounds is convinced”.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Clause 10 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clause 11 - Carrying on the business of payment service without authorisation.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 11, subclause (2), delete “convicted of an offence” and insert “liable”.
Clause 11(2) would read:
“A body corporate which is liable under subsection (1), shall immediately cease the operations of payment services.”
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:23 p.m.
In view of the earlier withdrawal, the Hon Chairman is equally withdrawing his proposed amendment to clause 11, which calls for the addition of a new clause.

Clause 11 as amendment ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 12 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 13 - Revocation of a payment service licence or authorisation.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 13, subclause (5), line 4, delete “authorisation or”.
Mr Speaker, clause 13(5) would now read 2:23 p.m.
“Where the Bank of Ghana revokes the authorisation or licence of a payment service provider or an electronic money issuer, that payment service provider or electronic money issuer shall cease to carry on the payment service business and surrender the licence to the Bank of Ghana.”
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:23 p.m.
What about line 1, where the authorisation still stands?
Yes, Hon Member for Tamale Central?
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 2:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in clause 13(5), it is because it runs through, even in the headnote; “Revocation of a payment service licence or authorisation”.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:23 p.m.
The two go together, “authorisation or licence”. Why do you want to delete only “authorisation” this time?
Yes, Hon Member for Wa West?
Mr Chireh 2:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the authorisation here is not something that one can surrender. The idea is the licence. Even though we have used the word “authorisation”, it is the licence one would have to surrender. We do not need it; it is part of the licence.
But what I am saying is that, in this particular case, we need to delete the word “authorisation” and leave the word “licence” because it is the licence that would be surrendered.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:23 p.m.
How is the authorisation done?
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, even if the authorisation is in writing, once it is revoked, that is the end of the matter. We are not going to surrender that authorisation.
It is the license that is surrendered.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:33 p.m.
For practical purposes, when you are authorised to carry on and they process the license and now they give you the license, and then they now call for revocation of the license, can you still rely on your authorisation and go on with your business?
Mr R. Acheampong 2:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, Bank of Ghana would authorise you to undertake that business, but they have a platform. For instance, the mobile money they do, when you effect the transfer from your wallet or whichever system you are
using, somebody must give an authorisation, either debit or credit.
So when your license is revoked, you can begin effecting the transfer, but it would not be effected because nobody would give you that authorisation on that platform. You cannot see that platform; you would be denied the services on that platform. So Bank of Ghana has control over it.
The license is a physical document given to you, so you need to surrender that physical license to them. However, with the authorisation, they would block you so you cannot operate on that platform.
They would handle that one, but you would have to surrender the physical document to them. You do not need to hold the license as if you have been given license to operate.
Mr Opare-Ansah 2:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I do not think the authorisation being referred to here is the kind of authorisation Hon Acheampong was referring to. That is an appropriational kind of authorisation on the systems on which they work.
If you read clause 10, “Application for payment systems authorisation”, it leaves no doubt in your mind that this is similar to a license, and indeed, you would be issued with a document.
If we would all recollect, all these mobile phone companies in this country started operating with authorisations. It was only in 2001 under former President Kuffuor's Administration that licenses were actually drawn up and issued to them. They all held documents labelled by the NCA as authorisation. It is not as elaborate as a license, but it is a document.
So I would disagree with the Hon Chairman in this regard that upon the revocation of the authorisation and the license, if you need to surrender, you must surrender the authorisation and the license as well.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am guided. I would like to withdraw the amendment.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:33 p.m.
Do we agree on that? All right.
These days we have been using terms loosely. When you talk about revoke, whatever you are revoking must have an effect like an instrument, otherwise you are merely withdrawing.
The word revoke has legal implications, so when you authorise somebody, you actually -- [Interruption.] I did not hear that -- and so I think the withdrawal is in order.
Thank you Hon Chairman.

Clause 13 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 14 -- Publication of notice of revocation
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 14, paragraph (a), line 2, after “revocation”, insert “in the Gazette”.
I believe it should be; “insert in the gazette,”
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:33 p.m.
Hon Chairman, I think it should come after paragraph (a); “publish a notice of revocation in a” -- paragraph (a)” should
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we are not deleting anything here. We are only inserting after revocation, “in the Gazette,” so that it would read:
“…the Bank of Ghana shall
(a) within five working days following the date of revocation publish a notice of revocation publish a notice of revocation in the Gazette,”
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:33 p.m.
Yes, I do not want us to repeat “in the Gazette, in a newspaper…” I do not want us to repeat the “in”.
Mr Chireh 2:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the way he is rendering it is the problem. It is; “…within five working days, following the date of revocation, publish a notice of revocation in the gazette, a newspaper of national circulation and on the website of the Bank of Ghana”. That is the further amendment.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:33 p.m.
So the amendment should be after “in the gazette, a newspaper of national circulation” not immediately after “revocation”. It should be after “in the Gazette”.
Hon Chairman, are we together?
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, yes.
Mr Opare-Ansah 2:33 p.m.
So Mr Speaker, the amendment would be “the gazette”, not “in the gazette”. His amendment was “in the gazette”, but now you are bringing it after “in”, so I am saying the insertion would be “the Gazette”.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:33 p.m.
Yes, after “in”, so we have “the gazette”. So it would read; “…within five working days following the date of revocation publish a notice of revocation in the gazette, a newspaper of national circulation and on the website of the Bank of Ghana”.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Clause 14 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clause 15 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clause 16 - Cessation to hold office.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:43 p.m.
I beg to move, clause 16, subsection (1), paragraph (d), at end add “determined by a court of competent jurisdiction”.
Mr Speaker, this is to ensure that the declaration is made by a court of competent jurisdiction. I believe the Constitution talks of a person being of sound mind.
Mr Speaker, we do not want staff of the Bank of Ghana to sit at their High Street office and say somebody is of unsound mind. This should be determined by a court of competent jurisdiction.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
Usually, that is what is implied. If you are said to be of unsound mind, it must be a pronouncement of a court of competent jurisdiction. For clarity to the general public, we could put it there, but usually, that is what it is about.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
I will put the Question on the whole of clause 16.
Hon Deputy Majority Leader?
Ms Safo 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I withdraw.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
I would want to remind you that you just resumed your seat. [Laughter] You have not put anything before me to withdraw.
Ms Safo 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I have, except that you do not take the withdrawal in another context. [Laughter]
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
Hon Deputy Majority Leader, you have been my daughter from birth. At least, without me sitting on this Chair, you would not use those words before me even in the house.
Ms Safo 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I withdraw and apologise.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
It is just on a lighter note.
Hon Members, I will put the Question.
Clause 16 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clause 17 -- Capital requirements.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 17 subclause (4), delete.
Mr Speaker, this is to ensure that the service providers are not punished administratively and at the same time also prosecuted.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
Why? That is not double jeopardy. When you take administrative action against somebody and yet proceed to prosecute him, that cannot be double jeopardy. Why do you want us to take that out?
You know the effect of a conviction and that of an administrative action. They are not the same.
Mr Oppong-Nkrumah 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, yes, we are clear on the difference between an administrative and a criminal sanction, but the reason we have proposed that we delete the criminal option is because we do not want to criminalise the mere inability to meet a capital requirement.
Yes, there is a capital requirement that we are asking these organisations to meet, but we do not necessarily want to say that failure to meet that, for whatever reason, maybe, they just could not raise the money et cetera, amounts to a criminal offence. That is why we propose that that be deleted and the administrative sanction alone remains.
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the rationale is good, but what this intends to do is to criminalise the people or persons who have failed to meet the capital requirement has been subject to administrative sanctions already but they still continue.
That is what I see because we are trying to prevent fraud by false pretences that they do not have the capacity to meet demands of depositors. There have been sanctions administratively, but they still continue.
What do we do? I think that that is the intendment. [Interruption] This is not what he said but that is the intendment.
Mr Chireh 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, as the Hon
Minister for Information said, this is a business arrangement so the failure to meet the minimum capital either you have stopped -- We are introducing this to encourage more people to do it and so, the moment we start to criminalise the behaviour of directors and chief executives, we would not encourage promotion of business.
Mr Opare-Ansah 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the bank actually indicated to us that it would be better for them to use administrative penalties to deal with this rather than the criminal option. That is why we decided to take it out entirely.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
Hon Members, I think it is reasonable to do so. So, I have granted the Hon Chairman of the Committee leave to withdraw the proposed amendment.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we are not withdrawing the amendment; the amendment is to delete the sub-clause.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
I am sorry. You are deleting subclause (4).
Hon Members, I will put the question on clause 17.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I drew your attention to the fact that you have not put the Question on the amendment to clause 17.
2. 53 p. m.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
Let me go over it again.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Clause 17 as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
Clause
18?
Clause 18 -- Governmence arrangements
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 18, sub-clause (1), line 2, delete “five” and insert “three” and also delete “three” and insert “two”.
Mr Speaker, clause 18 (1) would now read 2:43 p.m.
“A payment service provider shall have a board of directors with a minimum of three members at least, two of whom, including the chief executive Officer shall be resident in the country.”
Mr Speaker, we are making this amendment to conform with provisions in the Companies Act.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
Hon Chairman of Committee, we still have another proposed amendment in your name.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, before I move the amendment, you would realise that the Consideration Stage of this Bill is proceeding smoothly without a lot of the usual hitches that— it is because the Hon Chairman of the Finance Committee, in his wisdom invited persons like the Hon Yieleh Chireh, Hon Dominic Ayine and the Hon Mahama Shaibu to attend upon the Committee to assist us in our deliberations.
This is because they are the usual culprits who would -- [Laughter]-- Mr Speaker, it is just to draw your attention to why things are proceeding smoothly.
Mr Chireh 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Chairman does not want the flow to go on because the way we are going, there was no issue arising from the debate.
Now, he has decided to introduce— I can change my mind even if I attended the meeting and I had voted at the Committee meeting, I should rescind in it here. So, the issue does not arise; allow the flow to go on.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
Hon Member, I think you would not do that because what he has done is a commendation of the Hon Members that he has mentioned so, we have taken note of that.
Yes, Hon Chairman of Committee, let the business flow.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 18, subclause (2), delete.
Mr Speaker, the subclause says 2:43 p.m.
“The membership of the board of directors of a payment service provider shall adequately reflect the balance of interests represented by the payment service provider”.
Mr Speaker, we thought this was superfluous so it should be deleted from the Bill.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
We still have one more amendment in the name of the Hon Chairman of the Committee.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 18, subclause (6), paragraph (e), after “board” insert “of directors”.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
Well, this is just to make assurance double sure. If not, you refer to ‘board' in this and it should be board of directors.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Mr Mahama Shaibu 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, you put the Question on the whole of clause 18, may I advert Hon Members' attention to clause 18 (4)?
“A member of a board of directors shall be a fit and proper person and have the necessary experience and qualifications to perform the functions of that member.”
I think we argued that it should be ‘of the board' and not ‘that member. Mr Speaker, the phrase, ‘fit and proper' already describes the person and the functions he is going to perform relates to the Board.
Otherwise, it is either for the person or and the board. I still think that the ‘fit and proper should qualify the functions of the Board.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
Hon Members, I would grant leave for us to look at that subclause. So let us listen to the Hon Member for Suhum. I am just granting leave that it should be considered.
Mr Opare-Ansah 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I believe the functions of that member is in order. The entire Board is constituted of members; the Chairman, the Secretary.
So the constituent members of the Board have functions to perform either as members or as Chairman or even as sub- committee members of the Board.
So that person must be fit and proper to perform the functions of that member. I think that is in order.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
Members
have functions.
Yes, Hon Member for Wa West?
Mr Chireh 2:43 p.m.
The amendment is not to be supported because ‘fit and proper' is talking about an individual. The one must be a fit and proper person to perform the functions on the board.
So it is that person and that member and not the Board. This is because we are not saying that the Board is a fit and proper person. The Board cannot be a fit and proper person.
It is only members of that Board who must be fit and proper. So it should be that member because the member has functions on the Board. It is not a collective thing for the Board in terms of ‘fit and proper'. These are corporate—
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
My worry is whether members perform duties or they perform functions because it is the board that performs functions but the members perform duties.
Mr Chireh 2:43 p.m.
Unless we are introducing— if one were to serve on the Board, one has functions to perform on the board.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
There are differences between functions and duties.
Mr Chireh 2:43 p.m.
Yes, but that is a completely different thing, but it must still refer to that member whether it is duties or whatever because it cannot be the functions of the Board.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
Yes, the Hon Member who moved the Motion?
Mr Mahama Shaibu 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I still stand by that. I still think that there is a
clear distinction between the performance of an institution and the person.
The person has duties to perform but the Board has functions, therefore, we would relate the duties to the fit and proper person and then the functions to the Board.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:03 a.m.
It is a matter of language.
Mr Chireh 3:03 a.m.
As the Hon Member said, when we appoint -- in all our laws that we have passed here, we said Chief Executive. What do we say here is his functions? In this particular case, we are talking about a fit and proper person and not the Board.
It is about the people who constitute the Board. If somebody who is not fit and proper is on the Board, he would be removed as a result of that.
The person on that Board has functions or duties because when you appoint a Chief Executive or anybody, you would have to outline their functions and in the case of Board members, they have functions.
We would detail out what they should do as members and then collectively, when they have taken that decision and their contributions would then make the decision of the Board.
So in this case, the opening paragraph is “fit and proper” person. So we can now not include others. What about if there are people on the Board who are not fit and proper? How could we qualify their functions?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:03 a.m.
Well, the functions of Parliament and the functions of a Member of Parliament (MP) -- is that what we say? The function of an MP is to make laws. Do Hon Members individually make laws? It is Parliament as a whole.
The individual cannot make the laws but this is not a court but Parliament. So anybody who would want to raise an issue would have to take it to the proper forum which is the court.
Since we are still on the Consideration Stage, it could be raised. So I would put the Question and if it is rejected by the House, so be it. Unless the Hon Member decided to withdraw, I would have to put the Question.
Hon Chairman, do you oppose his proposal?
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 3:03 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I vehemently oppose the amendment. To start with, you opened a small window for him because this amendment is not advertised and we were moving on to sub- clause 6.
I would have thought that it would be a matter which is not controversial, but looking at the trend, I would want you to shut this window that you opened for him to come in, so I could go on the subclause (6) and move my amendment.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:03 a.m.
I have put the Question on your proposed amendment already.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 3:03 a.m.
I had a third one on clause 18.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:03 a.m.
Yes, you have a third one but it is the one on which we just inserted “of directors”.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 3:03 a.m.
You are yet to put the Question on the whole of clause 18.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:03 a.m.
Yes, then he arrested me. If he is minded to withdraw, we would do so, but if he insists, I would have to put the Question.
Mr Shaibu Mahama 3:03 a.m.
I withdraw.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:03 a.m.
Thank you very much. So I would put the Question on clause 18.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Clause 18 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:03 a.m.
I would now proceed to adjourn the House.
We have come to the end of the Consideration Stage for today.
Ms Safo 3:03 a.m.
Mr Speaker, respectfully, I do not intend to overstretch the endurance level of Hon Members and your good self. However, could we take up to clause 20, items numbered 6 (xlv), 6 (xlvi), 6 (xlvii) and 6 (xlviii)? The Hon Members who proposed the amendments are not in the House, so they are already abandoned.
It is only left with the last amendment on clause 20, item numbered 6 (xlix) on the Order Paper. Respectfully, could we take clauses 19 and 20 with your indulgence to complete the two proposed amendments?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:03 a.m.
I thought that you would have mercy on the Speaker. [Laughter] Now, you are calling on me to have mercy on the Hon Deputy Majority Leader.
I get the sense of the House that you want us to take clauses 19 and 20. All right.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 3:03 a.m.
Mr Speakers, I beg to move, clause 19, lines 2 and 3, delete and “ any other fee that the Bank of Ghana may by notice specify”.
Mr Speaker, we want to take away this discretionary power of the Bank because it says in clause 19 that a body corporate, licenced or authorised under this Act shall pay a processing fee, licence fee, annual fee and any other fee that the Bank may by notice specify.
We want to take this discretionary fee out but also tell the draftspersons to put “and” and period at the end. It would now read:
“the body corporate, licenced or authorised under this Act shall pay a processing fee, licence fee, annual fee and annual renewal fee”.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:03 a.m.
Hon Members, there is a further amendment to clause 19, lines 2 and 3. He has read it rightly, so I would put the Question.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Clause 19 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clause 20 -- Technology, security and controls
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:03 a.m.
There is one amendment in the name of the Hon Chairman on page 11.
Hon Chairman?
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 3:03 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 20, subclause (3), delete and insert the following:
“ A payment service provider shall use appropriate authentication medium approved by the Bank of Ghana.”
Mr Speaker, this is to allow for the use of other mediums of authentication which might be developed in the future.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Clause 20 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:13 p.m.
Yes, Hon Deputy Majority Leader?
Ms Safo 3:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we are in your hands.
It has been advertised in the Order Paper that there are few Committee meetings after adjournment.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:13 p.m.
I just wanted to be sure you were in my hands because the other time, you resisted.
Ms Safo 3:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we are absolutely in your hands.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:13 p.m.
Hon Members, we have come to the end of the Consideration Stage of the Payment Systems and Services Bill, 2018 for today.
ADJOURNMENT 3:13 p.m.
  • The House was adjourned at 3.16 p.m. till Thursday, 7th February, 2019, at 10.00 a.m.