Odekro | What has your MP done for you?

Mr Speaker

Hon Members, item listed number 2 -- Correction of Votes and Proceedings of 14th February, 2019.
Page 1 -- 10

Mr Speaker, I am sorry to take you back to page 9. Yesterday, our Colleague, the Hon Deputy Minister for Aviation, laid the Aircraft Accident and Serious Incident Regulation, 2019. You rightly referred it to the Subsidiary Legislation Committee.
However, with the subject matter of the Regulation, I was wondering if you could give additional directive for the Leadership of the Committee on Roads and Transport to join in looking at the Regulation.

Mr Speaker

Very well. Any view on that? Is it acceptable to Leadership?

Mr Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh

Mr Speaker, in my view, the request by the Hon Member is in order.

Mr Speaker

The Leadership of the Roads and Transport Committee is added accordingly.
Page 11 -- 15?
Hon Members, the Votes and Proceedings of 14th February, 2019, as corrected, is hereby adopted as the true record of proceedings.
Hon Members, the Official Report of 30th January, 2019 -- any corrections?
Yes, Hon Okudzeto Ablakwa?

Mr Samuel O. Ablakwa

Mr Speaker, I am most grateful.
There are a few corrections that we need to make at column 123 under Statements. I am glad the Hon Minister for the Interior is here. In the third paragraph, I am not sure what he intended to say by: “So we are the first to miss the anti-services of the journalist”. I am sure it should be “the services of the journalist” or “the contributions of the journalists”. “Anti- services” is negative, and it should be corrected accordingly.
Mr Speaker, the next one is in the first paragraph of column 124. The Hon Minister might have been referring to “the Criminal Investigations Department” and not the “Criminal and Investigation Department”. There is no such entity. It is Criminal Investigations Department.
Mr Speaker, I so submit.

Mr Speaker

Thank you very much, Hon Okudzeto Ablakwa. This is a clear indication of the thoroughness we face. We would proceed to examine these documents.
Hon Members, any other correction?
In the absence of any further correction, the Official Report of 30th January, 2019, as corrected, is hereby adopted as the true record of Proceedings.
Business Statement for the Fourth Week -- Hon Chairman of the Business Committee?

Majority Leader)

Mr Speaker, Introduction
Mr Speaker, the Committee met yesterday, Thursday, 14th February, 2019

Mr Speaker, the Committee accordingly submits its report as follows

Arrangement of Business
Formal Communications by the Speaker
Mr Speaker, you may read any available communication to the House.
Question(s)
Mr Speaker, the Business Committee has scheduled the following Ministers to respond to Questions asked of them during the Week:
No. of Question(s)
i. Minister for Communications -- 1
ii. Minister for Trade and Industry -- 5
iii. Minister for Agriculture -- 4
iv. Minister for Roads and Highways -- 3
Total number of Questions -- 13
Mr Speaker, four (4) Ministers are expected to attend upon the House to respond to thirteen (13) Questions during the Week. The Questions are of the following types:
i. Urgent - 4;
ii. Oral - 9
Statements
Mr Speaker, pursuant to Order 70(2), Ministers of State may be permitted to
make Statements of Government policy. Statements duly admitted by Mr Speaker may be made in the House by Hon Members, in accordance with Order 72.
Bills, Papers and Reports
Mr Speaker, Bills may be presented to the House for First Reading in accordance with Order 120. However, those of urgent nature may be taken through the various stages in one day in accordance with Order 119.

Pursuant to Order 75, Papers for presentation to the House may be placed on the Order Paper for laying. Committee reports may also be presented to the House for consideration.

Motions and Resolutions

Mr Speaker, Motions may be debated and their consequential Resolutions, if any, taken during the Week.

Address by H. E. the President

Mr Speaker, H.E. the President of the Republic is scheduled to deliver a Message on the State of the Nation on Thursday, 21st February 2019, in accordance with article 67 of the Constitution.

Pursuant to the convention of this House, Hon Members are urged to be punctual and accordingly be in the Chamber latest by 9.15 a.m. as it may not be courteous for Members to enter or exit the Chamber after H. E. the President has entered the House to deliver his address. Indeed, it is a breach of protocol.

Mr Speaker, the Business Committee takes this opportunity to advise Hon Members not to enter the Chamber with their guests.

Conclusion

Mr Speaker, in accordance with Standing Order 160(2) and subject to Standing Order 53, the Committee submits to this Honourable House the order in which the Business of the House shall be taken during the Week under conside- ration.

Questions --

*486. Mr Peter Yaw Kvvakye Ackah (Amenfi Central): To ask the

Mr Speaker, the Committee accordingly submits its report as follows

*513. Mr Yusif Sulemana (Bole/ Bamboi): To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry when the Ministry will operationalise the Ghana International Trade Com- mission to help neutralise chcap imports with countervailing measures.
*514.Mr Muhammad Bawah Braimah (Ejura-Sekyedumase): To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry what is stalling the completion of three high quality cassava flour factories started by the Ministry (EDAIF) at Ejura, Kintampo, and Damongo.
*515. Mr George Nenyi Kojo Andah (Awutu-Senya West): To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry what steps are being taken to revamp the operations of the Ayensu Starch Factory.
*532. Mr Ras Mubarak (Kumbungu): To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry what the Ministry is doing to ensure that manufacturers of plastic products produce recyclable materials.
*533.Mr Ekow Hayford (Mfantseman): To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry what plans the Govern- ment has to revive the Saltpond Ceramic Company at Saltpond.
Statements --
Presentation of Papers --
Report of the Finance Committee on the Loan Agreement between the
Government of the Republic of Ghana and the African Development Bank for an amount of ten million Units of Account (UA 10.00 million) [equivalent to US$14.00 million] to finance the Ghana Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending Project (GIRSALP).
Consideration Stage of Bills --
Payment Systems and Services Bill, 2018. (Continuation)
Chartered Institute of Bankers (Ghana) Bill, 2018.
Committee sittings.

Urgent Question --

Mr Eric Afful (Amenfi West)

To ask the Minister for Agriculture what plans and measures have been put in place to evacuate the dried cocoa beans purchased by Licensed Cocoa Buying Companies (LBCs) from societies to the district depots at Samreboi, since the road between Prestea Junction and Samrcboi has been blocked since March 2017 to date due to the stoppage of construction works on cocoa roads in Ghana.
Questions --
*510. Mr Yusif Sulemana (Bole/ Bamboi): To ask the Minister for Agriculture the specified locations of the 311 facilities earmarked for intervention under the ‘one village, one dam' programme.

Mr Eric Afful (Amenfi West)

*512. Mr Yusif Sulemana (Bole/ Bamboi): To ask the Minister for Agriculture what measures the Ministry is putting in place to support the poultry industry.
Statements --
Presentation of Papers --
Report of the Committee on Defence and Interior on the Public Holidays (Amendment) Bill, 2018.
Consideration Stage of Bills --
Payment Systems and Services Bill, 2018. (Continuation)
Chartered Institute of Bankers (Ghana) Bill, 2018. (Continuation)
Committee sittings.

ADDRESS BY H. E. THE PRESIDENT

— Message on the State of the Nation

Presentation of Papers --

Committee sittings.

Urgent Question --

(a) Mr Yaw Frimpong Addo (Manso Adubia): To ask the Minister for Roads and Highways when the

collapsed bridge on River Akotokori, on the Datano-Tontokrom road corridor, will be rebuilt.

(b) Mr Rudolf Nsorwinne Amenga- Etego (Chiana/Paga): To ask the Minister for Roads and Highways what the Ministry is doing about the road from Chuchuliga through Chiana to Nakong, in the Kassena- Nankana West District, which has become unmotorable by reason of broken bridges and deep potholes causing frequent accidents and endangering lives and property.

(c) Mr Peter Nortsu-Kotoe (Akatsi North): To ask the Minister for Roads and Highways what steps the Ministry is taking to seal off the unauthorised u-turns that have been developed on the Achimota - Nsawam section of the Accra - Kumasi Highway.

Statements --

Motions --

(a) Second Reading of Bills

Public Holidays (Amendment) Bill.

2018.

(b)Third Reading of Bills

Payment Systems and Services Bill,

2018.

(c) Adoption of the Report of the Finance Committee on the Loan Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and the African Development Bank for an amount of ten million Units of Account (UA10.00 million) [equivalent to US$14.00 million] to finance

the Ghana Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (GIRSALP) Project.

Consequential Resolution

Consideration Stage of Bills

Chartered Institute of Bankers (Ghana) Bill, 2018. (Continuation)

Committee sittings.

Mr Speaker

Yes, Hon Ras Mubarak?

Mr Ras Mubarak

Mr Speaker, in commenting on the Business Statement, there are 19 directives from you on some work that needs to be done. Some of these directives have been outstanding since the year 2017. These have to do with your directives to various Committees.
Mr Speaker, we are entering the fourth week since we came back from recess, but only one of these directives had been looked at. At this very slow pace in considering your directives, we may end up finishing the Session without considering the many directives as well.
So I would urge my Hon Colleagues who are working on the various directives that you have given, to expedite work on these directives, so that we can look at them at plenary.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker

Thank you very much.
Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa -- rose

Mr Speaker

Yes, Hon Okudzeto Ablakwa?

Mr Ablakwa

Mr Speaker, I am most grateful.
Mr Speaker, I would talk about two substantive issues, which I would want to bring to the attention of the Hon Majority Chief Whip. This has to do with a number of outstanding reports.
On item numbered 2 (d) -- Bills, Papers and Reports. There are a number of outstanding reports that I would want to draw the attention of Majority Chief Whip to, for him to kindly help us facilitate. We have raised this matter a number of times.
The report of the public universities are outstanding, and so the Hon Minister for Education would have to be prompted to bring these reports to the House.
Mr Speaker, again, there is the report of the Security and Intelligence Agencies that has also been in arrears for some time now, since the year 2017.
I have raised this matter a number of times on the Floor, so the Hon Majority Chief Whip may kindly take note.
Mr Speaker, with the third one, which is the Annual Report on the Presidential Staffers at the Office of the President, we still have some time, because it expires at the end of March.
So we hope that that Report would also come in good time for this House to work on.
Mr Speaker, finally, there is an outstanding matter, on which the Hon Majority Chief Whip gave an assurance last week. He had given us the indication that it may be possible to get the Hon Ministers of National Security and the Interior to brief us on the unfortunate developments at the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency by-election.
That did not happen this week and I do not know if there is an explanation for that, but we all know that an Hon Colleague of ours was also caught in the metre.
So it should not be seen as though we do not care about what happens to Hon Members of this House, or our Hon Colleagues and so if the Hon Majority Chief Whip could apprise us on where that application is, so far as that matter is concerned.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker

Thank you very much, Hon Member.

Mr Speaker

Yes, Hon Member for Adaklu?

Mr Agbodza

Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Business Statement as read by the Hon Majority Chief Whip.
Mr Speaker, on the specific issue of the State of the Nation Address; the Leader mentioned the need for Hon Colleagues to be here on time to ensure that the security arrangement can be implemented appropriately.
I am also told that there is always a problem when the guard of honour is formed outside and Hon Members who are late attempt to come into the Chamber using the main entrance, it creates an uncomfortable situation for the security personnel.
It would be good for Leadership to give a clear direction as to where Hon Members should come through when it is 9 o'clock, so that there would be no conflict between

Dr Clement Apaak

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
I would also like to draw the attention of Leadership to the fact that our website as Hon Members of Parliament seems to always lag behind, whereas the main website seems updated.
The specific pages assigned to Hon Members of Parliament still have old information going back to 2017.
Mr Speaker, you would agree with me that part of the effort to ensure that we reach out to our constituents, for them to know what we do on their behalf would
also entail having a regularly updated website with web pages belonging to Hon Members, so that those constituents who do not have the opportunity to come all the way here to see what we do can also be apprised of and understand the work we are doing on their behalf.
So once again, I would appeal to your good self and to Leadership to take it up with the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Department to ensure that the personal web pages of Hon Members of Parliament, as designated under the Parliament website, are regularly updated.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Ameyaw-Cheremeh

Mr Speaker, I thank Hon Colleagues for their inter- ventions.
First, Hon Ras Mubarak spoke about directives that are outstanding which have not been reported back to plenary.
The Business Committee would liaise with the relevant Committees and ensure that they complete any consideration they have on those matters, so that we can schedule them for consideration by the House.
He did say that only one such directive has been taken by the House. We have looked at the Rosewood issue, and we have also looked at the Kintampo Waterfalls.
The corrections that my good Friend Hon Okudzeto Ablakwa made are well noted. The issue relating to outstanding reports would be conveyed to the relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) so that they furnish the House with the relevant reports in good time.
Mr Speaker, you raised an issue with the security or the issues that emanated from the Ayawaso West Wuogon by- elections.
It is true that the Hon First Deputy Speaker who was in the Chair made a directive that the Hon Ministers of the Interior and National Security may be invited to brief the House, but consequent upon that, a Commission of Enquiry has been set and the Minister for the Interior, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and other security operatives also met the Defence and Interior Committee of this House and briefed them.
We do not know if it is still relevant for the two Hon Ministers to appear before the House and do a briefing while the Commission of Enquiry has begun the enquiry into what happened at Ayawaso West Wuogon.
Already, the Hon Ministers of National Security and the Interior have appeared before the Commission and made statements to them.
Security is of concern to all of us in this House, and we welcome the suggestions made by Hon Agbodza, but as Hon Members, we should also be cautious, because some of the people who come into Job 600 do so sometimes upon our own invitation, so if we decline their invitations, some of them may not be there.
The people at the reception and security gate probably need some orientation, so that they do not just allow anybody in.
Sometimes, you would be in your office and somebody would walk in. You do not know where the person comes from. They just parade the corridors, they see the
names and they enter. I think we should be mindful of such people.
On the issue about the website, we would urge the ICT Department or the Clerk-to-Parliament to ensure that it is updated, so that we can communicate through that medium.
Mr Speaker, I am most grateful.

Mr Speaker

Thank you very much, Hon Majority Chief Whip. The Business Statement as presented is hereby adopted accordingly.
Hon Members, item listed 4, Questions. There is an Addendum Order Paper which has been duly distributed, with a Question addressed to the Hon Minister for the Interior, which should have been taken yesterday. I would vary the Order Paper and take that now.
Question starred 530, which stands in the name of the Hon Member for Amenfi Central.
Hon Minister, if you would please take the appropriate seat?

Mr Agbodza

Mr Speaker, my Hon Colleague is not available, and I have his permission to ask the Question on his behalf.

Minister for the Interior (Mr Ambrose Dery)

Mr Speaker, the District Fire Service station in Asankragua is liaising with the West Amenfi Central District Assembly to provide suitable office facilities for the establishment of a fire station and residential accommodation for personnel.
The Assembly has so far provided a facility which has been deemed not conducive for the purpose of establishing a standard fire station.
The Service is in discussion with the District Assembly to find an alternative and suitable structure to be used as a Fire station.

Mr Agbodza

Mr Speaker, I thank the Hon Minister for the Answer provided but I have a supplementary question. Generally, this is not peculiar to Amenfi Central. Most Hon Members of Parliament (MPs) are faced with it, especially the newly created District Assemblies. Most of the time, we are asked to identify a property or facility to be used.
Would it be better if the Ministry considers a prototype or a standard requirement within a facility that befits their operations so that Assemblies and Hon MPs do not go and identify a property only to be told it is not good enough? Would the Hon Minister consider giving us a standard requirement so that we know what to work with?

Mr A. Dery

Mr Speaker, I would want to acknowledge the very important proposal that has been made. Yes, I would get the Chief Fire Officer to put together what he considers to be the standard facility which can be turned into fire service stations and I would willingly make that available to Hon MPs.
Indeed, it is the policy that we would want to establish as many fire stations as possible. As a result, in the last recruitment, we took over 1,000 personnel and with the creation of new regions, we are committed to making sure that this essential service gets to the regions and the various districts.
I agree with the Hon Member. I do not have the specifications now, but Mr Speaker, I do undertake to make sure that I get the Chief Fire Officer to provide that and I would appeal to Hon MPs to collaborate with the Chief Fire Officer so that we get this essential facility established in as many districts as possible.

Mr Agbodza

Mr Speaker, would the Hon Minister also consider this - I can see my Hon Colleague, the Hon Deputy Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources in the House. With a few of the Assemblies, the location of the Fire Service stations, especially the new District Assemblies which do not have available water resources --
Is it possible for the Ministry to work together with the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources to make it part of the requirements that if a District Assembly is looking for a location and they do not have available potable water sources, they should think of providing some borehole? This is because having a fire tender very far away from the nearest source of water may not be complementary to what we expect the fire officers to do.
As part of that, the Assemblies that are affected should also make provision, whether it is borehole or anything else, to have water available to the fire tenders.

Mr A. Dery

Mr Speaker, I again appreciate the useful proposal that has been made by the Hon Member. I would
give an undertaking on my part to play my part, and I do believe that my Hon Colleague, the Hon Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, would do the same. As you know, just like you invited me here, it might be necessary for you to invite her here to also give an undertaking.
Certainly, I believe that the two Ministries and their relevant institutions must collaborate to make these fire stations useful. Mr Speaker, the Hon Member's suggestions are useful and we thank him for that.

Mr Speaker

Hon Minister, thank you very much for attending to the House and answering our Questions. You are discharged.
Question 495 -- Hon Minister for Health, you may please take the appropriate seat.
Hon Member for Tatale/Sanguli?

Minister for Health (Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu)

Mr Speaker, with your indulgence, I would like to make some little correction to the Answer that has been provided on the Order Paper.
Mr Speaker, the third and fourth paragraphs are the same and with your
indulgence, I would want those two to be deleted. That should not be part of the Answer.
Mr Speaker, the registration was done in June and August due to shortages of consumables. The National Health Insurance Authority had hoped to ride on the back of the National Identification Authority (NIA) card and reduce its expenditure on consumables. However, it was realised that the shortages were affecting NHIA operations and quickly made a procurement to fill in the gap.
Currently, the National Identification Authority (NHIS) registrations are comprised of 80 per cent renewals and 20 per cent new registrations on the average across the country. We have an active membership of 10.45 million. With the launch of the new mobile money renewal innovation, we expect to considerably boost our numbers as the offices will soon be decongested.

Mr Tampi

Mr Speaker, I would want to get the Hon Minister clearly, whether he said we should delete paragraphs 3 and 4, or is it just paragraph 3? If that is the case, my question is this, the data provided in paragraph 2 of his Answer, is it specific to my district or nationwide?

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker, I asked for the deletion of the two paragraphs -- paragraphs 3 and 4.
Early on, when we tried to answer this Question some time last year, I got figures to indicate the progress we were making specifically to the area that my Hon Colleague mentioned.
This year, when this Question came up again, I wanted to update it to make the figures current to stress my point of having seen improvement in registration.

Mr Speaker

Hon Member, any further questions?

Mr Tampi

Mr Speaker, I would want to find out whether the Hon Minister would come back to feed the House with the data?

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker, if you would permit me, since this is a constituency specific Question, I would try and supply him data by Tuesday when we come back from the weekend.
I would put the data in the Hon Member's pigeon-hole or I would find him either in the Chamber or somewhere in the corridors, or probably, in his office and supply him with that data.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker

Thank you very much, Hon Minister.
Question 496 which stands in the name of the Hon Member for Central Tongu?
Upgrading Mafi-Kumase Health Centre to a Polyclinic
Q.496. Mr Alexander Roosevelt Hottordze asked the Minister for Health when the Mafi-Kumase Health Centre, which has a very large catchment area will be upgraded to a polyclinic.

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Health is aware that the population of Mafi-Kumasi and its
catchment area has grown to appro- ximately 6,000 persons and as part of our policy, it will require a much wider service package than it has currently.
This means that the health centre needs to be upgraded to a polyclinic so as to attract the required facilities and staff.
The Ministry has received proposals from a number of interested groups to develop health facilities. Mafi-Kumasi would be considered as soon as these proposals are concretised for imple- mentation.

Mr Speaker

I am afraid; this is a constituency-specific Question; you may share whatever you have with your Hon Colleague.
Hon Member, you may continue with your question. Let us go by our approaches for consistency.

Mr Hottordze

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Before I proceed, I would like to make some corrections to the Answer given by the Hon Minister. The population he has quoted is specifically for Mafi-Kumase town but not the entire catchment area. The population for the entire area is over 10,000 persons.
Now I would like to find out from the Hon Minister if by paragraph 3 of his Answer he is trying to suggest that the Government of Ghana does not have the resources to do the upgrading of this facility so as to ensure that the area benefits from health service delivery.

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker, all I am saying about paragraph 3 of the Answer is the fact that we are working towards sourcing funds, and immediately
funds become available, we would look at Mafi-Kumase to upgrade it to a health centre; a centre that befits the area to be able to provide quality health service in the area.

Mr Speaker

Hon Member, you may proceed.

Mr Hottordze

Mr Speaker, could the Hon Minister mention specifically, the partners that they would be engaging in this particular development?

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker, unfortunately, no.

Mr Speaker

Noticed; you may --
Shall we proceed? Question 497?
Public Health System's Readiness to Prevent Ebola Epidemic in the Country
Q.497. Dr Sebastian Ngmenenso Sandaare asked the Minister for Health how ready the public health system is to prevent Ebola epidemic in the country.

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Health/Ghana Health Service have been following very closely the Ebola virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which started in May last year and has resulted in 412 cases, including 236 deaths as of 26th November, 2018.
Consequently, the health sector has been taking steps to strengthen systems and enhance capacity to prevent and protect the country against early detection and adequately respond to any possible emergence of the condition or importation of it into the country.
We continue to build on the legacy of the capacity and systems developed
during the massive and most widespread outbreak of Ebola virus disease in history, causing major loss of life and severe socio-economic disruption in the West African sub-region.
Since the re-emergence of the Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo, we have specifically undertaken the following actions among others, as a health sector.
1. We have updated our prepared- ness and response plans with the following pillars:
Enhanced surveillance (Epi- demiologic and Laboratory Surveillance including contact management, quarantine pro- cedures and points of Entry Surveillance).
Case management, including case isolation, supportive therapy and infection preven- tion and control practices.
Social mobilisation and risk communication.
Logistics and Finance mobili sation.
Coordination (At all levels - National, Regional and Districts).
2. We have sent alert messages to all the regions and districts with the aim to:
strengthen surveillance within the country and across the borders and all points of entry.

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Sensitise the health staff and create awareness in the general public with the caution not to create fear and panic.

3. All districts have the capacity to use the case definition to detect suspected Ebola virus disease and take the sample to the reference laboratory at Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research for confirmation.

4. There are trained teams in all the regions to handle Ebola virus disease.

5. The treatment centre at Tema is available for the management of confirmed case(s).

6. All regional hospitals and Teaching Hospitals had earlier been provided with support to have holding isolation units for suspected and probable cases.

7. District hospitals have been given directive to reserve holding rooms for cases of suspected Ebola virus disease and other highly infectious diseases.

8. Surveillance at the points of entry has been enhanced. Screening is routinely performed at these points of entry using walk- through and non-touch thermo- meters. Holding areas have been earmarked at the nearest health facility for case isolation and quarantine purposes.

9. Rapid Response Team (RRT) for Ebola, and other dangerous

infections and hazards are available at the national level and to a large extent at the regions. We have a plan to roll- out the training of the RRT to zonal and all regions next year. We are doing these with the collaboration of CDC, WHO and other partners.

Trained teams for safe and dignified burial are available at the national level and all the regions have the capacity to conduct safe and dignified burial.

We have subjected our Public Health Emergency System to independent review using the World Health Organisation (WHO) Joint External Evaluation (JEE) Assessment Tool. The results have been published at the WHO website.

We have identified areas of strength and gaps and have initiated processes to use the recommendations to develop a National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS) as part of core capacity development for the implementation of the International Health Regulation.

The plan has the following cha- racteristics:

one health plan (human, animal, environment);

all hazard (biologic, chemical, radio- nuclear);

whole of government (all sectors and agencies whose activities impact on public health) and development partners;

completed narrative report of NAPHS process, costed Matrix and the Monitoring and Evaluation Plan.

We have planned for higher level inter-ministerial advocacy meetings, sensitisation of Parliamentary Select Committee on Health and other higher-level-stakeholders.

Mr Speaker, as I conclude, I wish to indicate that we continue to monitor the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo very closely, including the clinical trials on Ebola vaccines and other medicines being used in the management of outbreaks. We will take advantage of these when need be.

Mr Speaker, I wish to indicate that we are prepared as a country to a large extent, to respond to Ebola virus disease, and other public Health Emergencies.

Dr Sandaare

Mr Speaker, I am grateful for the elaborate Answer by the Hon Minister.
How much funding has the Ministry budgeted or secured to ensure the implementation of these robust plans and strategies?

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker, I might have to make some references before I can answer this question. I cannot give the Hon Member a figure offhand. There are several activities we are undertaking on emergency preparedness at the moment.
These include refurbishing some facilities and some installations; we have to look at how best we can get a centre for disease control established in this country. All were captured in the Budget and I would have to make references to give the budgetary allocation for this exercise.

Mr Speaker

Hon Member, any further question?

Dr Sandaare

Mr Speaker, what measures has the Ministry of Health taken to ensure a revamped and sustained public education and sensitisation on Ebola and other epidemic-prone diseases?

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker, as part of our health sector medium-term plan, emergency preparedness and national health security have been given some level of priority, and we are targeting doing several things in terms of combatting infectious diseases.
Public education is one area that we have planned to tackle, not only for Ebola and other infectious diseases, but non- communicable diseases and health lifestyles. We are rolling out a few things in the course of the year and my Hon Colleague would see how serious we are with this area so far as healthcare is concerned in our country.

Dr Sandaare

Mr Speaker, how often does the National Monitoring Team visit the regional and district offices and points of entry to Ghana to ensure that the directives that have been listed in the Answer are implemented?

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker, we do these monitoring exercises quite frequently. Apart from the Ghana Health Service which is in charge of this area and the visiting of ports, we actually have established health-port systems that sit permanently in any port.
The Regional Directors, as well as the Directors of the Ghana Health Services, including myself the Minister, move out to see some of these installations and visit our staff who work in these areas from time to time. I cannot count the number of times we do these.

Mr Speaker, I earlier sought permission from Parliament to visit the Upper East Region to see what is there in terms of health. However, some other issue cropped up and I could not make it this week. I planned to go there before the end of February.

Last year, the Ghana Health Service Directorate and the entire Council, were in the three northern regions for a visit. As a follow-up, I would also do some visits in the course of the year. These are all the things that we look at when we talk about health and surveillance of emergency preparedness systems.

Last two weeks, I was at the Tema Port to look at the installations that we have there and how work is going on there.

Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah

Mr Speaker, in the Hon Minister's response on how we are prepared, he listed a lot of points and one of them was that we have been able to update our preparedness when it comes to logistics and finance mobilisation.
If we have been able to do that, the Hon Minister must be able to tell this House how much we have been able to mobilise.
If he has challenges, we would be interested to know, so that we would all know what can be done. This is because at the core of everything that the Hon Minister has talked about has to do with logistics and finance mobilisation.
So since he has already said that this has already been tackled, he should be able to tell us how much he has been able to mobilise so far.

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker, I told my Hon Colleagues that I would have to refer before I could come back to give such figures. My Hon Colleague does not expect me to give figures of all activities we have within the health system just out of the blue.
If that had been the Question put in the Order Paper, I would have prepared to give figures. I do not want to give figures, then come back and revise them. So if they would give me a bit of time, I would come back and answer that specific question.

Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh

Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister in his Answer on page 27, at point number 5 of the Order Paper said that the treatment centre at Tema is available for the management of confirmed cases.
However, I also know that there was a plan to have reception centres and treatment centres in Kumasi in the middle belt and Tamale in the northern belt. He has not mentioned any of them. Is the Ministry still pursuing the construction of these reception centres similar to what is available in Tema?

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker, I would answer in the positive. The Ministry is still pursuing construction of such centres in some other parts of the country, just like we have in Tema.

Mr Chireh

Mr Speaker, these were ongoing projects. I would want to find out from the Hon Minister if they are continuing and at what stage they are?

Mr Speaker

Hon Minister, satisfy the Hon Member.

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker, I wonder why my Hon Colleague who is a former friend would always want to ask me very difficult questions. [Interruption.]

Mr Avedzi

Mr Speaker, this is just a follow-up. The Hon Minister keeps making promises about making references. So far, he has promised to make about three references.
Could he tell this House when he would finish making the references and come and brief the House?

Mr Speaker

Hon Minister?

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker, I would come back to the House when I return from the tour of the Upper East Region, which would be about very early parts of March. By the first week of March, I would have come back from the Upper East Region and would have done some work in Tamale. So I would get data and come back to the House.

Mr Kuganab-Lem

Mr Speaker, with your permission, I beg to quote the last paragraph on page 27 which says:
‘'We have subjected our Public Health Emergency System to independent review using the World Health Organisation (WHO) Joint External Evaluation (JEE) Assess- ment Tool. The results have been published at the WHO Website''.
Mr Speaker, the last time the WHO published on Ghana's preparedness was in 2014. I would want to know from the Hon Minister the minimum preparedness requirements that each country is supposed to submit. When was the last time Ghana prepared those requirements and submitted to the WHO?

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker, since that publication, the Ministry started working on an action plan for health security. I joined the Ministry in 2017 and that work has gone nowhere.
We are now about completing that action plan and it would soon be published and we would roll out the implementation of it.
In the time being, a lot has been done to strengthen our systems to the extent that when we were hit with some influenza in Kumasi in 2017, we were able to forestall it without getting the disease spread across the country.
When we were encountered with lassa fever in Tema, it did not spread anyway. We were able to contain it as quickly as we could. When we were encountered with some challenges at Akuse sometime last year, we were able to contain it.
Mr Speaker, I can assure my Hon Colleagues that the preparedness and the systems that are in place now are doing a lot of wonderful work for us. I believe that while we continue to strengthen and build the system resiliently, what we have is somewhat adequate to support us to fight infections as and when they come.

Mr Speaker

Question starred 351 -- Hon Member for Mion Constituency?

Mr Thomas Nyarko Ampem

Mr Speaker, the Hon Member for Mion is on an official trip to the United States of America (USA) and has asked me to seek your leave to ask the Question on his behalf.

Mr Thomas Nyarko Ampem

Medical Centre to the public

Mr Thomas Nyarko Ampem (on behalf of) Mr Mohammed Abdul-Aziz asked the Minister for Health when the Ministry will open the University of Ghana Medical Centre to the public.

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker, the UGMC was opened to the public on 18th July 2018 for specialised out patient services. Per the operationalisation programme, the Centre was planned to be opened in various stages as follows;
Setting up operational platforms for administrative/supporting logistical services and setting up of protocols including training - 5 months (July to December).
Running of Outpatient Clinics -- 4 months (January to April 2019). Commencement of In-patient services -- April 2019 onwards.
Further to the programme outlined above, the Ministry has been engaging in various activities towards fully opening the hospital without any major challenges.
The Ministry is engaging medical specialists for the various categories of services. Specialists already engaged as far back as 2015 were also employed with Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and other medical facilities, which meant that their absorption directly to the UGMC could collapse these institutions.
The Ministry therefore had to go through a process of seeking financial clearance from the Ministry of Finance to secure the services of medical persons not affiliated to any Government Institution.
Financial clearance for engaging medical and non-medical staff for the hospital has now been obtained from the Ministry of Finance to roll out the first batch of recruitments.
The financial clearance received so far authorises the UGMC to engage 130 medical and non-medical staff for the Centre. An additional 270 health professionals would be engaged in 2019.
Mr Speaker, the initial financial clearance obtained in 2015 was domiciled with the University of Ghana under the Ministry of Education. This required that special arrangements needed to be made to transfer the financial clearance from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Health.
This process also took a considerable amount of time, but thankfully, it has been resolved and the centre has started recruiting their own staff.
The procurement processes for outsourcing the laundry, kitchen and cleaning services are ongoing. The Ministry of Health wrote to the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) to engage in a single-sourced contract for six months due to the exigencies of the time and the need to operationalise the entire facility.
However, PPA by a letter dated 13th September, 2018, declined the request and recommended that the Ministry goes through bidding since the programme for operationalisation was flexible to allow for competitive bidding.
The Ministry's procurement directorate is in the process of completing the bidding documents to engage qualified firms to take up these services.
The Ministry is also finalising the contractual arrangements for the completion of the phase II of the Centre. The hospital will become fully operational
with the completion of this second phase. All documentation on the phase II have been submitted to the Ministry of Finance for the value for money audit further to which the commercial contract can be signed for works to commence.
Mr Speaker, I am happy to announce to my Hon Colleague that the value for money audit report has been submitted and I got a copy just last week and we are trying to send response to the Ministry for Finance to engage with the contractors again.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Ampem

Mr Speaker, with your permission, I beg to quote the fourth paragraph on page 29 where the Hon

Minister said that

‘'The Financial Clearance received so far authorises the UGMC to engage 130 medical and non-medical staff for the Centre. An additional 270 health professionals would be engaged in 2019.
Mr Speaker, I would want to know from the Hon Minister whether it is the case where the 130 medical and non-medical staff have already been engaged and the 270 would be engaged later this year since we are already in 2019 and when in 2019 would that happen?

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker, we have still not exhausted the 130 numbers on the clearance as I speak now. We are finding challenges with getting specialists and consultants who would work full time on the type of salaries we are offering for that.
We are still engaging to see how best we could catch out what could attract
some of these highly skilled professionals to come to work in the Centre.
Mr Speaker, the 270 that we are anticipating, unfortunately have still not been done for us from the Ministry of Finance and we are still awaiting them to give us the clearance so that we could continue with the exercise.
Mr Speaker, as I speak, a number of non-medical staff and some medical staff have been recruited out of the 130 and they are all working in the facility.
I am even waiting for a report by the end of February to see to the operationalising of the mother and child clinic that would do obstetrics and gynaecology and mother and child care in the facility.

Mr Speaker

Hon Member, you may ask your last supplementary question.

Mr Ampem

Mr Speaker, with your permission, I beg to quote the first sentence on the same page 29 which says that:
“Commencement of In-patient services -- April 2019 on wards''.
Mr Speaker, I would want to find out from the Hon Minister if we are on course to start the in-patient services in just a couple of months from now.

Mr Speaker

Hon Minister?

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker, this was the planned programme for operationalisation and I will stress the plan. Some aspects of this particular activity happening depends on how quickly we can access the GH¢ 50 million facility for the phase 2 that was approved

Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah

Mr Speaker, there have been a lot of talk about the delays in the implementation of the University of Ghana Medical Centre. But clearly, from the Minister's Answer today, a lot of steps are being taken to make it operational; financial clearance that has taken longer, PPA approvals et cetera.
In the Minister's own view, is he satisfied with all these bureaucratic delays and in his own opinion, can he tell this House — I know the steps that are being taken. But does he think that there were things that could have been done better to get this hospital opened faster than it is now?
This is because, clearly as we know, there has been a lot of public anxiety about the delay — [Interruption.] — Can the Minister tell us so that we know that the mistakes that have resulted in these delays would not be repeated?

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker, this question of self-assessment from my Hon Colleague is a little bit difficult for me to answer. I cannot ask questions to myself and answer them myself. And so this self- introspection and my opinion that my Hon Colleague is asking is a bit challenging for me to answer.
But all I want to tell my Hon Colleague is the fact that we have gone a very long way with the University of Ghana Medical Centre issue. Where we are now, some actions have been taken and certain services though limited, are being provided in the facility.
By the close of the year, we would see close to per cent operationalisation of the entire facility. And I believe that when that happens, all of us would benefit like he is anticipating, that it is good for all of us. We would not let it sit there idle. We will work hard to make sure that the nation gets the best out of that facility.

Mr Samuel O. Ablakwa

Mr Speaker, I am most grateful. My question is taken from the last paragraph on page 29; the procurement of the services for laundry, kitchen and cleaning for the University of Ghana Medical Centre.
Per the Hon Minister's Answer to this Honourable House, he indicates that PPA by a letter dated 13th September, 2018 rejected his initial proposal for sole sourcing. But since then, if we look at the next paragraph on page 30, it has taken five months and he has still not completed the process since the 13th September, 2018.
Why has it taken the Ministry so long? Why should it take more than five months just to recruit somebody to provide cleaning, kitchen and laundry services? It is very strange.

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker, we have very much advanced in that direction, and I believe that the procurement process would come to an end by close of the month.

Mr Kwame G. Agbodza

Mr Speaker, I want to commend the Hon Minister for the steps he took on page 29 to get the private sector involved in the provision of certain essential services.
Indeed, that is the best practice in the world now. There is no need for a Medical Director of a facility to be thinking about what happens in the laundry. The Medical Director must concentrate on delivering health services.
Now that the Hon Minister is taking this bold step with the University of Ghana Medical Centre, would he consider having this as a standard operation in all large medical facilities, where we have kitchens, laundries and other things so that we can get the private sector to complement Government efforts in delivering these essential services?
We can even go as far as diagnostics, because as the Hon Minister may be aware, MRI and X-rays are quite expensive. But once we can give the private sector a good employer's requirement, would the Hon Minister consider extending this to other facilities all the way up, to maybe, the district hospitals so that the private sector can also play a meaningful role in the health delivery in our country.

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker, yes, I will consider that. But to inform my Hon Colleagues that this type of outsourcing and PPP engagement in different models are currently being practiced in the teaching hospitals.
These are things that are subject to approval by their Boards and their Management. And in some instances,
unlimited to our cases, some of these private sectors participate in the management and provision of services in our facilities. I can mention specifically that Kumasi and Okomfo Anokye have different models of this.

Mr Speaker

Thank you very much Hon Minister and particularly, for attending to the House this morning to answer our various questions. You are respectfully discharged.
Hon Members, item numbered 5 — Statements.
I have a Statement in the name of Hon Ras Mubarak, the Hon Member of Parliament for Kumbungu on the rampant abuse of children and how to curb it.

Mr Ras Mubarak (NDC — Kumbungu)

Mr Speaker, many Ghanaians read with shock recent reports about a five year old boy from Abura Dunkwa who lost his left hand from a machete wound he sustained from his step mother.
Five year old Isaac Mensah's crime was that he had defecated on the farmland, and out of anger, the step mother hit him with a machete. The injured hand festered resulting in an amputation at the Cape Coast Regional hospital in the Central Region.
Our Constitution is quite clear in article 28(l), (2), (3) and (4). For emphasis Mr Speaker, article 28 (2) states that;
“every child has the right to be protected from engaging in work that constitutes a threat to his health, education or development.”
So to begin with, five year old Mensah should have been in school and not on the farm.

Mr Speaker

Hon Ras Mubarak, I thank you very much for this well-made Statement.
Hon Members, we would take two contributions from each Side.
Yes, Hon Apaak?

Dr Clement A. Apaak (NDC -- Builsa South)

Mr Speaker, I rise to comment on the very touching but wonderful State- ment made by the Hon Member for Kumbungu.
Mr Speaker, it is indeed disheartening that as a society, we witness such inhumane behaviour, particularly, towards those we all consider to be the generations that will take over from us.
Mr Speaker, the situation regarding the abuse of our own offsprings indeed goes beyond what has been narrated although it is very awful. My contribution to this Statement is also to call attention to the
fact that even religion, which is supposed to be a sanctuary where we are taught to live lives that are worthy of emulation had also become an avenue for the abuse of the rights of children.
Mr Speaker, these days it is not uncommon to find children as young as nine or ten years being accused of being witches and wizards, whereupon they are then taken by their guardians and parents to so-called camps for deliverance.
There are many harrowing stories where some of these youngsters are put in chains because they are believed to possess some evil spirits.
Mr Speaker, I believe one of the ways that we can address this issue in totality is to call and advocate for the full decentralisation of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection. Barring that, I believe the efforts that we are making beginning today, although will yield some benefits, there would still be pockets around this country where these abuses would be taking place.
Mr Speaker, on this note, I would want to commend the Hon Member who made the Statement and I must say that it is long overdue.
Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Alexander K. Afenyo-Markin (NPP -- Effutu)

Mr Speaker, I take this opportunity to commend my Hon Colleague for making this Statement.
Of course, the children of this country are the future of the country. Therefore any form of abuse must not be countenanced. It is unfortunate we could not get the Statement ahead of time to make much more detailed comments. But for the effort our Hon Colleague has made in bringing this matter on the Floor of

Mr Alexander K. Afenyo-Markin (NPP -- Effutu)

this House, I would like to say that on the issue of the gentleman who led some thugs to attack Maxwell Ayinbisa, he ought to be brought to book.
Mr Speaker, it is not just enough to mention him by name -- I am referring to John Nsonbila. Our police must be made aware of this and if it is the case that he has been reported to the police and nothing is being done, then I would urge my Hon Colleague to make a case out of this, so that this man would not walk free and think that he is above the law.
Mr Speaker, in one of the paragraphs on page 2 of the Statement, my Hon Colleague has quoted the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and with your leave, I reiterate what he said.
“According to a BBC Focus on Africa Report on 27th October, 2017, a local chief had told the parents of the molested child that ‘nothing could be done because the community gods deemed the suspect innocent'.”

Subsequently, he was arrested, tried and set free for lack of evidence.”

Mr Speaker, my issue is with the last statement which is, “subsequently, he was arrested, tried and set free for lack of evidence”.

If in the words of the Hon Member who made the Statement the person committed the crime, then one would want to ask, how come there was lack of evidence if the victim had identified him as the one who committed the crime? So it is not too clear.

A certain impression is created as though the justice system did not do a good job.

Mr Speaker, I believe that a much more detailed information must be given in future Statements like this so that the records would capture it as such.

Apart from that I have nothing more meaningful to add except to encourage those Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs who are in that sector advocating for the rights of our children to up their game in safeguarding the future of our children.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker

Leadership may decide --
Minority Leadership?

Mr James K. Avedzi

Mr Speaker, Hon Buah would speak on our behalf.

Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah (NDC--Ellembelle)

Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity. Let me thank the Hon Member who made the Statement for this very important one on the protection of the child.
Mr Speaker, I think the two incidents that were described by the Hon Member who made the Statement; the treatment of the five year old in Abura and the eleven year old Maxwell in Bolgatanga are indeed horrendous enough.
Mr Speaker, we should not treat these issues with emotions. We must continue to strive for a loving and more gentle society that protects the child not by our emotions but by our actions and deeds.
It is very important that we seriously embark on public education, but more than that, as my Hon Colleague has stated,
we must move the institutions of State that are watch dogs to protect the child in every district in our country. So the call for us to basically decentralise the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection is indeed a very good one.
Mr Speaker, also importantly, we need to strengthen the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service and make sure that we can equip them with the tools they need, because at the core of these very heart-breaking incidents is when children have been seriously abused and the community around them are aware but they know they are helpless.
Mr Speaker, it came from us that it takes a village to raise a child, so if one is in a community or a household and a child is being abused, it is one's responsibility as a citizen to intervene or report to the appropriate quarters for action because as it has been stated, the law is very clear.
Until we as Ghanaians, are able to openly challenge any child abuse anywhere we find it, it would continue. I think it is very critical.
Mr Speaker, this morning when I was getting ready to come to work, I turned on the television and I saw an art on Cable News Network (CNN) of a documentary which is about child slavery in Ghana. It broke my heart.
Mr Speaker, we have a lot of work to do to address these issues of child abuse, especially the girl-child. It is really an issue that we must confront at all levels and education is important but we must apply the law. I think the Hon Member has raised a very important issue.
Mr Speaker, I think that it also goes beyond simply educating the community. In a lot of our villages, it is the traditional and communal authorities that have the power to deal with these issues.
It is important that we reach out to educate them to deal with these issues in such a way that people are punished when it calls for. Because if one commits a horrendous crime like rape, and quite frankly, it is settled in a room, the child would live with the scars of that very horrendous act forever.
Mr Speaker, I think that this call for action is a very important one. We must go beyond simply being emotional as a country and continue to voice out this issue of child abuse and make sure that the law applies and the perpetrators of these horrendous abuses are brought to book. If we do that we would make headway.
I thank you for the opportunity.

Mr Speaker

Hon Majority Leader- ship?

Mr Matthew Nyindam

Mr Speaker, I yield to Hon Titus-Glover to make a contribution on the Statement.

Mr Speaker

Yes, Hon Member?

Mr Daniel Nii K. Titus-Glover (NPP -- Tema East)

I thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I would commend my Hon Colleague for the Statement and urge him that in future he gives us copies so we could go through and make some more contributions.
Mr Speaker, children are gift from God. They are assets of parents, and sometimes we ask ourselves why some parents shirk their responsibilities in the upbringing of their children.

Mr Daniel Nii K. Titus-Glover (NPP -- Tema East)

When we go through some commu-
nities within the fishing areas and other places, sometimes the abuse of these children -- where they are denied education which is the future of their success are being destroyed, it means that it is high time we looked at some of these things that parents do to their children.
Mr Speaker, just yester night, I visited my old woman in the house. In front of my mother's house, there is a street called Attoh Drive. While I was engaging my mother in a conversation, I saw two little boys aged between two and three years walking alone in the dark on the streets.
So I asked my mother, whose children were those and there was a car that was coming. I had to run and pick those children from the streets. I brought the children closer to me and questioned my mother who the parents of those children were?
Quickly, other people within the neighbourhood started tracing. I asked them to go and fetch their mothers for me and they came out.
Mr Speaker, if I had not been observant, a reckless driver would just have driven and knocked these children down and sped off and these innocent children would have lost their lives. This tells us that some parents are not responsible.

Mr Speaker, from the Statement by the Hon Colleague, that tradition had been used at the expense of a crime that had been committed by somebody -- I am disappointed that because of deities and so on, the police could not pursue a criminal action against the perpetrators for

setting that little boy ablaze. Mr Speaker, it is so painful and I think that as a House, we equally have a role to play in terms of our advocacy to make sure that children are well-protected.

We are doing our best under the circumstances as Hon Members of Parliament, but we would continue to do more and urge the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection to spread their wings.

Mr Speaker, when you drive early in the morning around the new Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) building and head towards the old Passport Office, you would see children loitering there.

I sit in my car and weep sometimes, but with the greatest of respect to our women, if those mothers are not ready to give birth, they should not waste the time of these innocent children.

Mr Speaker, because if these children are taken care of well, in future some of them could be in this Chamber, and some in the development of our country.

Mr Speaker, once again, I am so grateful for the opportunity and I thank my Hon Colleague, Mr Ras Mubarak, for the wonderful Statement he has made, that we need to protect and develop our children for our tomorrow.

Mr Speaker

Hon Members, thank you very much.
Hon Members, one thing is certain, that this is a very well-researched Statement with specific issues of abuse. I would order that a copy of this Statement

Ms Safo

Mr Speaker, with your permission and indulgence, item num- bered 6 would be moved by the Hon Majority Chief Whip on behalf of the Hon Chairman of the Committee.

Chairman of the Committee)

Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that this Honourable House adopts the Report of the Committee of the Whole on the Proposed Formula for Distributing the District Assemblies' Common Fund (DACF) for the Year 2019.
I beg to present your Committee's Report.
Introduction
The proposed Formula for the Distribution of the District Assemblies' Common Fund for the Year 2019 was laid in Parliament by the Hon Majority Chief Whip on behalf of the Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Hon Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, on Tuesday, 12 th February, 2019, in accordance with article 252 of the 1992 Constitution and sections 125 and 129(a) of the Local Governance Act of 2016 (Act 936), and referred to the Committee of the Whole for consideration and report.
TheCommittee met on Tuesday, 12th February, 2019 and considered the referral. The Committee was grateful to the Hon Deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Hon O. B. Amoah, the Administrator of the District Assemblies' Common Fund, Hon Irene Naa Torshie Addo as well as officials from the Office of the Administrator of the District Assemblies' Common Fund for their invaluable contribution during the deliberations on the proposed Formula.

Chairman of the Committee)

SPACE FOR TABLE-PAGE 5-11.58 A.M.
The Committee was informed that the three scenarios were obtained by varying the weights for the need factor, service pressure and equality.
The Committee was further informed that under all the scenarios presented, most MMDAs had an increase. A critical examination of the three scenarios indicate that Scenario A is evenly distributed followed by Scenario B.
It was also stated that a greater number of MMDAs received their highest allocations under scenario A as compared to the other two scenarios. The Administrator, accordingly recommcnds scenario A to the House for approval.
Allocation for 2019
The Committee observed that the annual allocation to the DACF in 2019 as contained in the Appropriation Act, 2019 (Act 984) was GH¢2,079,426,613. The total allocation was based on five per cent of projected national tax revenue for 2019.
A comparison of the distribution of the Fund based on the recommended Formula for 2019 and the approved Formula for 2018 is attached as Appendix 1.
Observations
District Assemblies' Common Fund Responsiveness Factor Grant (DACF
RFG)
During the period under review, the DACF disbursed the District Assemblies Common Fund Responsiveness Factor Grant (DACF RFG), the Donor Partner Support to MMDAs. The objective of the Responsiveness Factor Grant is to use the District Performance Assessment ‘Tool (DPAT) which is a common assessment tool to evaluate all MMDAs and the result used to allocate and distribute the DACF RFG to qualified assemblies.
The DPAT is a diagnostic instrument for assessing the performance of MMDAs and for determining the allocation of the DACF RFG to MMDAs.
The Committee noted that some MMDAs failed the assessment criteria and as a result could not benefit from the Grant.
The Administrator implored Members to collaborate with their respective MMDCEs to ensure that their Assemblies

fulfil the minimum requirement of the assessment to enable them access the entire amount for the development of their Assemblies.

Newly Established MMDAs

The Committee was informed that a total of six (6) new District Assemblies have been established, bringing the total number of MMDAs that would benefit from the 2019 Formula to 260. The Administrator indicated that the new Assemblies would have to depend on the data of their parent Assemblies, for their share of the Fund, which she noted, was not the best.

She therefore indicated that her office would conduct an exercise to collect data on all infrastructure and properties including schools, hospitals, market p l a c e s , p o l i c e s t a t i o n s et cetera, situated within all Assemblies to inform the preparation of the Formula.

The Committee noted that whereas in 2004, newly established Assemblies were provided a seed capital of Gh¢ 2 million, assemblies created subsequently continue to receive the same amount notwithstanding the effects of inflation and a dip in the value of the cedi.

The Committee accordingly requested the Administrator to provide adequate seed capital and funding to enable the newly established Assemblies to take off successfully.

Provision for School Feeding Programme and Construction of MMDAs Buildings.

The Committee noted that the approved Budget for 2019 made provision of Gh¢200 million to finance the School Feeding Programme, to be financed under the DACF. It was however, noted that

under the proposed formula no provision was made for the Programme.

In addition, the 2019 Budget also made a provision of Gh¢88 million as seed capital for the newly established Assemblies, whereas the proposed formula had a provision of Gh¢200 million for the construction of MMDAs buildings.

The Committee accordingly re- commends that an amount of Gh¢100 million of the Gh¢200 million earmarked for the construction of MMDAs buildings should be used to finance the School Feeding Programme, while the Ministry of Finance look for funds from other sources to finance the deficit.

National Education Policies

The Committee noted that an amount of Gh¢41,588,533 has been earmarked in the Formula for National Education Policies. The Committee was informed that the amount is to be used to finance activities at the basic education level such as provision of school uniforms, writing desks, minor repair works, et cetera.

The Committee noted that education at the local level was the responsibility of the respective MMDAs, particularly the local authority schools.

The Committee accordingly re- commends that the said amount should be disbursed to the respective MMDAs under the supervision and direction of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.

Constituency Labour Monitoring and Evaluation (MPs)

The Committee took note of some challenges with respect to accountability on the above item and accordingly recommended that the Administrator should develop a system whereby all beneficiaries will account for the moneys

by signing against their names ac- knowledging receipt of the amounts.

Recommendations and Conclusion

Having carefully considered the proposals for the sharing of the DACF for

Chairman of the Committee)

SPACE FOR APPENDIX 2-PAGE 10-11.58 A.M.

Mr Speaker

Thank you very much, Hon Majority Chief Whip.
Hon (Dr) Akoto Osei?

Minister for Monitoring and Evaluation (Dr Anthony A. Osei) (MP)

Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion. In so doing, I would want to seek the indulgence of the Hon Chairman of the Committee to substitute this new appendix for the one that is attached.
Mr Speaker, the reason is on page 4 of the Committee's Report, paragraph 7.3, a decision was taken by the Committee to allocate some money to the School Feeding Programme.
However, if you look at the current appendix, it does not reflect that decision. So on record, if you are not careful, there would be the impression that the appendix is the recommendation of the Committee. So consequentially, if we substitute what is given to Hon Members, it would reflect the decision of the Committee appropriately.
Mr Speaker, with these few words, I urge Hon Members to support the Motion and approve the amendment I am making.

Mr Speaker

Thank you very much. The substitution is effected accordingly.
Question proposed.

Mr Benjamin K. Kpodo (NDC - Ho Central)

Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker, I rise to contribute to the Motion asking the House to approve the Formula for distributing the DACF for 2019. I would want to make a preliminary comment regarding paragraph 6.0 on page
3 of the Report before I get to the real issue. The second sentence in paragraph 6.0 - Allocation for 2019 reads:
“The total allocation was based on five per cent of projected national tax revenue for 2019.”
Mr Speaker, I would want to refer you to article 252 of the 1992 Constitution. This reference to tax revenue runs counter to the provision of article 252, which states clearly that it should be not less than five per cent of total tax revenue. That is what the 1992 Constitution provides for.

Dr A. A. Osei

On a point of information. Mr Speaker, just for the information of the House. The Hon Member might have a very valid issue, but he has taken it to the Supreme court. I do not know why he is bringing it before House. It is not for us to determine the case he has taken to the court. Because he has the right, he took it to the Supreme court.
Now he wants to bring the House into a matter which is before the Supreme Court. I think it is not fair for us. He should not invite us to an area where we are least qualified to make judgements. Our job is to legislate. He has done the right thing. He should let it stay there. When they decide, then we can move on.

Mr Kpodo

Mr Speaker, it is in that same vein that as the custodian of all the laws in the country we do not have to be referring to this. We can keep quiet until the Supreme court decides. But we should not put it in our official document because that is not what the Constitution says. Mr Speaker, I thank you. I would continue.
When I look at the Report of the Committee in relation to how the distribution of the Fund has been made, I am tempted to ask whether we are not

Mr Kpodo

departing from the spirit of the Constitution and whether we should summon the drafters of the 1992 Constitution to come and brief us on the spirit behind the Constitution.
Mr Speaker, when you look at the distribution, you would find out that the Fund is heavily encumbered on the last page of the Report where the distribution of the Fund is. There is a huge encumber on the Fund.
We have the Youth Employment Agency under section 23 of Act 887 taking 10 per cent of the DACF; the National Disaster Management Organisation under section 39 of Act 927 taking about three per cent; the National Youth Authority under section 17 of Act 939 taking five per cent; then we make allocations to educational policies, construction of buildings et cetera.
The effect of all these encumbrances is that, just about 50 per cent of the money goes to Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
Mr Speaker, there are even further threats to the control of the Fund from the centre as we had to deal with last year, that we should apply part of this money for a particular purpose like Planting for Food and Jobs, Nation Builders Corps and so on. These are additional threats from the centre on the Fund.
When we talk to people about that they said the Assemblies are not able to implement the funds properly, but I do not agree with that. The reason for centralising the Fund is that people cannot use the funds properly in their Assemblies. Why do we not send the full funds to them so that we can monitor the application of these funds?

In my view, when we think in the short term and say that there are some errors in the implementation of the Fund and so we take it away from them, then we are not building capacity at the local level for future use of the Fund.

So I think that we should allow the moneys to go to the Assemblies so that we monitor their use. Indeed, this suggestion comes in line with article 252(3), which says that the moneys accruing to the District Assemblies in the Common Fund shall be distributed among all the District Assemblies on the basis of a formula approved by Parliament. Yet, we encumber the Fund.

The problem is that if moneys are sent to the Assemblies, they know best which schools require school feeding and where disaster occurs. This is because when there is a disaster, the first line of response is the Assembly. So we cannot keep the money in Accra and expect that they would be responding to issues in the districts.

Mr Speaker, again, the Assemblies can best identify the most appropriate youth programmes relevant to them. So I think that unless the Assemblies expressly authorise the Administrator of the common Fund to pay an expenditure on their behalf, it is not correct for us to centralise the money in Accra and then spend it on their behalf. I believe this is not right.

Mr Speaker, the effect of all these is that on an annual basis, less than 50 per cent go to the MMDAs, which is not the intention or the spirit of article 252.

Mr Speaker, there is another problem which has to do with the computation and release of the Fund to the MMDAs.

I have a document here which shows that there are different basis of computation of the funds to the Common Fund.

In one aspect, we have revenues declared for year 2017. I would just quote three months. In January, 2017, GH¢2.95 billion was quoted, but in the same month, in another report posted on the website reads: GH¢3.12 billion. Then for February, one report shows a revenue of GH¢2.386 billion while for the same month, it is GH¢2.66 billion.

Mr Speaker, I would end with the third month before I continue with my analysis. For March, it is GH¢2.79 billion and GH¢2.9 billion respectively.

Mr Speaker, these are the basis for allocating five per cent to the Common Fund, and we see that there is no authenticity of what figures that are even being used to compute the figures. I have them here and can tender them.

Mr Speaker, regarding the release, when we were at the Committee level discussing this issue, the then Majority Leader raised a very important point.

He suggested that if we could have some kind of automatic means by which the appropriate revenue is realised, five per cent should go directly into the Fund's account so that there would be no room for manipulation. Indeed, if that could be considered, it would be very good for the Assemblies as it is done with respect to GNPC share of oil revenue.

They take the 10 per cent just as the oil revenue is realised. However, it is not the same in the case of the DACF; that is why we have another report here which shows that from the year 2013 through to 2016,

not all the amounts due to the DACF have actually been sent to it and the Ministry has admitted to arrears ranging from GH¢480 million in 2013 to GH¢579.6 million in 2016 as arrears due to the DACF. This is problematic; it stifles development in the Assemblies.

Mr Speaker, I think a lot of wrong is being done against the District Assemblies Common Fund, which we should pay attention to as a House.

Mr Speaker, I am of the passionate view that when we meet as Parliament, our duty under article 252(3) is to examine the basis for distribution of the Funds and not the allocation of cash to the various users. However, we tend to think of how much goes to educational policies and so on, instead of looking at the Formula which would form the basis of distribution of the full amount to the MMDAs.

Mr Speaker, I believe we should reorient ourselves towards addressing that problem, like the issue raised about need, service requirement and equality. Those are the things that we should be addressing.

Mr Speaker, so I am of the view that we should let the full amount of the District Assemblies' Common Fund go to the MMDAs, save that they authorise the Administrator to pay some expenditure on their behalf.

In fact, I would go on to suggest that we repeal Acts 887,927 and 939 to remove those burdens on the Common Fund because those three Acts take away about 16 and half per cent of the Common Fund's money for -- [Interruption] -- Act 887 is the Youth Employment Agency Act, NADMO Act 927 and Act 939, which is the National Youth Authority Act.

Mr Benjamin Y. Sekyere (NPP -- Tano South)

Thank you, Mr Speaker for the opportunity given me.
Mr Speaker, at the Committee level, we went through the Formula before it came to the Committee of the Whole. A lot of recommendations were made at that level.
Mr Speaker, I also want to talk about the Persons with Disability (PWD) Fund. Last year, your Committee went round the country and made a few observations, some of which I want to bring to the notice of this House so that we see how best we could solve those issues.
Mr Speaker, last year, 2018, GH¢54 million was given to the Assemblies to be given to persons with disability.
This year, it has been increased to about GH¢ 62,000,000.00, and I believe that we would have to commend the Government for such a good work done.
Mr Speaker, however, the problem we had was that when we went round, we realised that in most of the places, people with disabilities do come to the Assemblies, therefore how to access the funds was a problem.
In most places, by the end of the year, as at November, the funds were still lying in the accounts and there was no proper data there for them to give the money to them, for which we are entreating all Hon Members, including the Committee on Local Government and Rural Develop- ment to take a proper look at those ones, when we go round.
Mr Speaker, when we look at this year's Formula, on development issues, we have national projects, for which we would have to commend the Government and the Administrator for a good work done.
A whopping sum of GH¢ 100,000,000 has been earmarked for the construction of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies' (MMDA) buildings, for which we would have to commend the Government.
This is because when we went round, in most places, the contractors were given the contract to build those buildings, but we checked and realised that even with the washrooms, as I laid before Parliament the other time, they cannot be entered; they are too small.
I hope that this year, with the GH¢ 100,000, 000.00 that is being given to them, there would be proper sketches of building drawings, so that it would be accessible to all.
Mr Speaker, there were most places that were not disability friendly. For example in Pusiga, we saw a very tall building, but realised that it was very difficult for the people with disability to access them.
Mr Speaker, more so, on School Feeding this year, we have given them GH¢100,000,000.00, which I believe is being managed at the Assembly level, and by the MMDAs.
Even though they are under the School Feeding Secretariat, they still manage to utilise the money to take care of the children, and because of that it is good that they have allocated a large sum of money to their Common Fund for that project.
Mr Speaker, if we look at DACF operations and office building, they have been given GH¢ 2, 000,000.00. We are also re-constructing the Local Government Service Office buildings. Those who have been visiting the place would realise that the building is very old and because of that, this year, a lot of projects are going to be undertaken.
We are going to build a new office complex with the sum of GH¢ 20,000,000.00. The office of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development would also be renovated this year, and we would have to commend the Government for such a good work.
Mr Speaker, on sanitation, most people are crying. Last year, we gave them about GH¢ 120,000,000.00, but this year, it is GH¢ 91,000,000.00. I would therefore plead with Government to look at this very well to ensure that they have enough funds for sanitation, to help prevent any problems when the rains set in.
Mr Speaker, on the Youth Employment Agency, most of our youth are just walking on the streets and so we have to ensure that we get employment for them.
This is one of the sectors that is helping us most, and I wish that Government would also have a critical look at that place by giving very good sums of money to the Agency, to ensure that most of our youth who have been moving round on the streets, would also get enough for themselves.
Mr Speaker, in conclusion, I would also want to commend the Government, because if we look at net MMDAs funds this year, it has moved to about GH¢ 985,000,000.00, which is very laudable. We would also ensure that the releases also go in at the right time, so that they would get enough funds for their developmental projects.
Mr Speaker, I believe the problem we have as a country is monitoring. This year, we also informed the DACF secretariat to ensure that they do proper monitoring in the coming weeks. They have therefore assured the Committee that they would be going round to ensure that the funds are utilised properly.
Mr Speaker, your Committee on Local Government and Rural Development has also embarked on a series of activities. This year too, we are going to do same to ensure that we monitor the proper use of the Funds. According to the Auditor- General's Report, infractions have reduced by 40 per cent, and I believe it is due to our oversight responsibility that we have been doing all the time.
Mr Speaker, with these few words, I support the Motion that this House

Mr Ahmed Ibrahim (NDC -- Banda)

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to make few comments on the Motion.
Mr Speaker, much has been said, but there are few questions or issues that I would want to raise. Per the Report, the original recommendation for the Formula was that GH¢200,000,000.00 should be allocated for the construction of office accommodation for the newly established offices of the new districts that have been created.
Mr Speaker, we used to have 216 districts and even then, there were on-going projects concerning office accommodation for some of these offices, especially these Assemblies established in 2007, 2011 and 2012. It was in that regard that an amount of GH¢ 200,000,000.00 was allocated for the construction of the remaining offices.
Mr Speaker, the amount of GH¢ 200,000,000.00 was not only for the construction of the offices. Per the Formula that was laid in this House, 75 per cent of the amount of GH¢ 200,000,000.00 was to be used for the construction of the newly established offices, 20 per cent for the completion of the on-going ones and five per cent for the furnishing of those that had already been completed.
Mr Speaker, however, per the new recommendations that were made by the Committee, it stands that the amount of GH¢ 200,000,000.00, even though it was properly allocated, because no allocation
was made in the formula for the School Feeding Programme, we must divide the amount of GH¢ 200,000,000.00 into two, so that we would use GH¢ 100,000,000.00 for School feeding, and GH¢100,000,000.00 for the construction of the offices.
Mr Speaker, when that happens, it means that some of the offices are not going to get the needed money that they would have been given for the construction of their office. Besides that, the furnishing of the already completed offices would also be a problem, and not only that, the continuation of the on-going ones would again be a problem.
The Committee also recommends that an amount of about GH¢ 41.5 million that is being allocated for the National Education Policies should be directed to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.
Mr Speaker, the importance of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development cannot be overemphasised. It is the Ministry that has representation in almost every district, and when it comes to monitoring and the identification of local needs, they are properly placed to be able to identify those local needs.
The essence of decentralisation is to allow the local people to be able to identify their needs and apply their resources in that direction.
So it was based on that, that the Committee of the Whole recommended that the amount of about GH¢ 41.5 million should be given to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, so that anybody who wants to make application on how to use parts of these moneys for educational problems in their Districts, applies through the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.
Mr Speaker, by so doing, we are also equipping the Hon Minister and her Deputies, together with the Administrator, to be able to also fix some of the educational problems that we have in the country.
The Common Fund, goes directly to the districts, and there are guidelines concerning that. However, there are some applications that the districts made to the Ministry, so if there is no allocation in that regard, then the Ministry would collect applications, but would not have any resources to respond to them, and in that case, they would lose their good image.
That was the reason for which we directed that the amount of about GH¢41.5 million should be channelled in that direction.
Mr Speaker, last year, the office of the Administrator of the DACF was given an amount of GH¢9 million for their operations and GH¢4 million for the completion of their office.

The office has been completed, furnished and they have moved in.

Mr Speaker, your Committee on Local Government and Rural Development went round. Monitoring and supervision is key as far as the application of the DACF is concerned. We met some of their officers when we were monitoring the MMDAs.

Mr Speaker, the vehicles and logistics they were using were not enough so this year, the Committee recommends that that office should be allocated an additional GH¢ 4 million, besides the GH¢ 9 million that was given. Based on that their

operational budget is now GH¢ 13 million. They are going to use part of that money to procure some logistics and vehicles, including some Nissan Patrols, to enable them embark on nationwide monitoring and supervision. When that happens, the MMDAs would put the moneys which go to them to judicious use.

So when we considered their operational budget and all those things, we realised that that money was very essential.

Mr Speaker, these are some of the issues that we discussed, and the Committee has given the proper and needed recommendations.

Finally, it is clear that per Order 93 (1) it states: reference shall not be made to any matter on which a judicial decision is pending…” That is why Hon Akoto Osei gave that signal to Hon Kpodo.

Mr Speaker, the Committee of the Whole recommended that as it stands now, the Constitution says five per cent of total tax revenue. That is not what we are challenging, but the question is, who reconciles the five per cent?

So I think it is a matter of reconciliation. Mr Speaker, five per cent of what are we allocating? The Committee of the Whole directed the Committee on Local Government and Rural Development, together with the Minister for Finance -- the Committee must be given the revenue of which at every quarter -- this is the total revenue, and this is the five per cent of which we are giving to the Administrator of DACF, so that we would be able to monitor and reconcile the figures to know that this was the total revenue, and this was the money that was given to the administrator, because we have oversight on the Administrator for

Debates of 15 Feb 2019

PRAYERS 10:18 a.m.

VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 10:18 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:18 a.m.

- 10:18 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:18 a.m.

Mr Agbodza 10:18 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:18 a.m.

Mr Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh 10:18 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:28 a.m.

Mr Samuel O. Ablakwa 10:28 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:28 a.m.

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE 10:28 a.m.

Majority Leader) 10:28 a.m.

Mr Speaker, the Committee accordingly submits its report as follows 10:28 a.m.

Mr Speaker, the Committee accordingly submits its report as follows 10:28 a.m.

Mr Eric Afful (Amenfi West) 10:28 a.m.

Mr Eric Afful (Amenfi West) 10:28 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:28 a.m.

Mr Ras Mubarak 10:28 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:28 a.m.

-- 10:28 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:28 a.m.

Mr Ablakwa 10:28 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:28 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:28 a.m.

Mr Agbodza 10:38 a.m.

Dr Clement Apaak 10:38 a.m.

Mr Ameyaw-Cheremeh 10:38 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:38 a.m.

Mr Agbodza 10:38 a.m.

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS 10:38 a.m.

MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR 10:38 a.m.

Minister for the Interior (Mr Ambrose Dery) 10:38 a.m.

Mr Agbodza 10:38 a.m.

Mr A. Dery 10:38 a.m.

Mr Agbodza 10:38 a.m.

Mr A. Dery 10:38 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:38 a.m.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH 10:38 a.m.

Minister for Health (Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu) 10:38 a.m.

Mr Tampi 10:38 a.m.

Mr Agyeman-Manu 10:38 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:38 a.m.

Mr Tampi 10:38 a.m.

Mr Agyeman-Manu 10:58 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:58 a.m.

Mr Agyeman-Manu 10:58 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:58 a.m.

Mr Hottordze 10:58 a.m.

Mr Agyeman-Manu 10:58 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:58 a.m.

Mr Hottordze 10:58 a.m.

Mr Agyeman-Manu 10:58 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:58 a.m.

Mr Agyeman-Manu 10:58 a.m.

Mr Agyeman-Manu 10:58 a.m.

Dr Sandaare 10:58 a.m.

Mr Agyeman-Manu 10:58 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:58 a.m.

Dr Sandaare 10:58 a.m.

Mr Agyeman-Manu 10:58 a.m.

Dr Sandaare 10:58 a.m.

Mr Agyeman-Manu 10:58 a.m.

Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah 10:58 a.m.

Mr Agyeman-Manu 10:58 a.m.

Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh 10:58 a.m.

Mr Agyeman-Manu 10:58 a.m.

Mr Chireh 10:58 a.m.

Mr Speaker 10:58 a.m.

Mr Agyeman-Manu 10:58 a.m.

Mr Avedzi 10:58 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:18 a.m.

Mr Agyeman-Manu 11:18 a.m.

Mr Kuganab-Lem 11:18 a.m.

Mr Agyeman-Manu 11:18 a.m.

Mr Speaker 11:18 a.m.

Mr Thomas Nyarko Ampem 11:18 a.m.

Mr Thomas Nyarko Ampem 11:18 a.m.

Mr Agyeman-Manu 11:18 a.m.

PRAYERS

VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT

Mr Speaker

-

Mr Speaker

Mr Agbodza

Mr Speaker

Mr Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh

Mr Speaker

Mr Samuel O. Ablakwa

Mr Speaker

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE

Majority Leader)

Mr Speaker, the Committee accordingly submits its report as follows

Mr Speaker, the Committee accordingly submits its report as follows

Mr Eric Afful (Amenfi West)

Mr Eric Afful (Amenfi West)

Mr Speaker

Mr Ras Mubarak

Mr Speaker

--

Mr Speaker

Mr Ablakwa

Mr Speaker

Mr Speaker

Mr Agbodza

Dr Clement Apaak

Mr Ameyaw-Cheremeh

Mr Speaker

Mr Agbodza

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS

MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR

Minister for the Interior (Mr Ambrose Dery)

Mr Agbodza

Mr A. Dery

Mr Agbodza

Mr A. Dery

Mr Speaker

MINISTRY OF HEALTH

Minister for Health (Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu)

Mr Tampi

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker

Mr Tampi

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker

Mr Hottordze

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker

Mr Hottordze

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Dr Sandaare

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker

Dr Sandaare

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Dr Sandaare

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Chireh

Mr Speaker

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Avedzi

Mr Speaker

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Kuganab-Lem

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Speaker

Mr Thomas Nyarko Ampem

Mr Thomas Nyarko Ampem

Mr Agyeman-Manu

Mr Ampem