Debates of 14 Mar 2019

MR SPEAKER
PRAYERS 10:15 a.m.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 10:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker 10:15 a.m.
Hon Members, we would move on to the Correction of Votes and Proceedings and the Official Report.
Hon Members, we have the Votes and Proceedings of Wednesday, 13th March, 2019 for correction.
Page 1…12 --
Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu -- rose
-- 10:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker 10:15 a.m.
Yes, Hon Majority Leader?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker, yesterday, I tried to effect a correction on the referral in respect of the Ghana Iron and Steel Development Corporation Bill. I said that just as we did in the case of the Integrated Aluminium Development Authority Bill, the referral ought to have gone to the Committee on Mines and Energy.
Mr Speaker, because, we are going to form a development corporation, I would plead that we add the leadership of the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs to the Committee on Mines and Energy to deal with it.
Mr Speaker 10:15 a.m.
Very well.
The Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs should be added to the Committee on Mines and Energy accordingly.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker, first of all, the referral ought to have gone to the Committee on Mines and Energy, then the leadership of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs would be added to it.
Mr Speaker 10:15 a.m.
So, should it involve just the leadership?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:15 a.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker 10:15 a.m.
All right, therefore the leadership of the Committee on Constitu- tional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs should be added accordingly.
rose
Mr Speaker 10:15 a.m.
Yes, Hon Chairman of the Committee on Finance?
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 10:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker, on page 11, the item listed as (iii), I laid the Report of the Committee on Finance on the Indian Exim Loan. and it is captured in the Votes and Proceedings.
Mr Speaker, I see it in today's Order Paper that it is a Paper to be presented, so when we get there, the necessary corrections should be made. The Paper was laid yesterday, so it should not have appeared on today's Order Paper.
Mr Speaker 10:15 a.m.
Is it also on the Order Paper today for discussion?
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 10:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker, yes, the Motion is listed, but the Paper to be presented was done yesterday.
Mr Speaker 10:25 a.m.
Very well, that should be ignored accordingly.
Hon Member, however, the reportage on the Votes and Proceedings is correct.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 10:25 a.m.
Rightly so, Mr Speaker.
Page 12…34 --
rose
Mr Speaker 10:25 a.m.
Yes, Hon Member?
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 10:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, on page 33 through to page 34, the Committee on Mines and Energy met and considered the Petroleum Agreement between Exxon Mobil Company and a number of agencies.
Mr Speaker, I was in attendance at the meeting, and the Hon Minority Chief Whip would been testimony.
Mr Speaker 10:25 a.m.
Correction duly effected.
Page 34 - 38
rose
Mr Speaker 10:25 a.m.
Hon Majority Leader?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, with respect to what we just did on page 11, that is adding to the referral, the leadership of the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs; my attention is being drawn to some rules and procedures by the Clerks at the Table who are supposed to be our chief advisors.
Mr Speaker 10:25 a.m.
Who are ‘expected to be'
-- 10:25 a.m.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, they are expected to be our chief advisors on rules and procedure.
Mr Speaker, he drew my attention to a particular amendment, I looked at the Standing Orders and I think that he is right. It has to do with Order 184(1). It reads:
“The Committee on Employment, Social Welfare and State Enterprises, composed of twenty Members, shall review and study on a continuing basis the operation of State Enterprises with a view to determining their economy and efficiency and also deal with matters relating to Employment and Social Welfare generally.”
Mr Speaker, this has to do with a State enterprise that we would want to shape. So I think it would not be out of place if we added the leadership of the Committee on Employment, Social Welfare and State Enterprises to this referral.
Mr Speaker 10:25 a.m.
I thank you very much, Hon Majority Leader.
Hon Minority Chief Whip?
Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka 10:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I equally believe the Hon Majority Leader is right. If that could be considered it would be very useful to the House.
Mr Speaker, I thank you.
Mr Speaker 10:25 a.m.
The leadership of the Committee on Employment, Social Welfare and State Enterprises to be added accordingly.
On that note, the Votes and Proceedings of Wednesday, 13 th March, 2019 are hereby admitted as true record of the proceedings.

Hon Members, item listed 3 -- Urgent Question - Hon Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture?

Hon Member for Shai-Osudoku, you would ask your Question --
rose
Mr Speaker 10:25 a.m.
Hon Member, if you would focus asking the Questions.
Mr Bawa 10:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, Hon Linda Ocloo is currently engaged in another activity outside Parliament and has asked me to ask the Question on her behalf.
Mr Speaker 10:25 a.m.
Hon Member, you would proceed, please.
Mr Bawa 10:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am sorry.
Mr Speaker 10:25 a.m.
Hon Member, you would proceed. I want us to be expeditious.
URGENT QUESTIONS 10:25 a.m.
Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture (Mrs Elizabeth Naa Afoley Quaye) 10:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, before I respond to the Urgent Question, I would like to make a correction to the Question itself. The Urgent Question states that --
Mr Speaker 10:25 a.m.
Hon Minister, is that part of the Answer you have produced?
Mrs Quaye 10:25 a.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker 10:25 a.m.
It is part?
Mrs Quaye 10:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you.
Mr Speaker, on the 25th October, 2018 the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD) and the Fisheries Commission (FC) became aware of fish kills in the Shai-Osudoku Constituency and beyond. This was as a report to the Commission by the farm concerned. A team of Fisheries Commission staff was immediately sent to the affected farm to assess the situation and institute the nccessary control measures.
The Team among other directives;
1. ordered and supervised the disposal of dead fishes and instituted appropriate sanitary measures on the farm;
2. there was a ban on any movement of fish from or to the farm, including sale of fish;
3. samples of fish were taken from the farm for laboratory exami- nation to determine the cause of death.
That initially and subsequently fish samples were taken from the farm and sent to laboratories of the Ghana Standards Authority, Environmental Protection Authority and also abroad (France, Norway and England).
Initial results showed no presence of toxins or poisonous materials or any virus, especially the Tilapia Lake Virus (TiLV). Later samples that were sent revealed the presence of streptococcus agalactiae 1a. We were already aware of the presence of streptococcus agalactiae 1b strain. This we were containing by the use of an autogenous vaccine.

Measures Adopted to Curtail Further Occurrences:

1. All farms are having their stock sampled for foreign strains and where they are found to exist, their permits to operate the farms shall be revoked. The farmers have been directed to adhere to approved farm practices and they are complying with the measures.

2. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Fisheries Commission are working together to ensure the use of certified fish seed and brood stock on all farms.

3. There is a movement restriction of fish seed and brood stock from farm-to-farm and from community-to-community.

4. The Fisheries Commission is now updating its diagnostic and surveillance systems in line with the Aquatic Animal Health Policy.

5. The Ministry and the Commission are now introducing a fallow period for farms located on the river system.

6. Vaccinations have becomc an important part of fish rearing, thus the Ministry and the Commission are considering the institution of a vaccination system for all farms.

7.In order to curtail further occurrences the Ministry and the Commission are updating the Zonation plan developed to include disease prevention and control.

i) use lower stocking densities;

ii) monitor their water quality;

iii) monitor for diseases and report to the Commission or the Veterinary Services Department.

Mr Speaker, before answering the Question, I said that I needed to make a correction of the Question. “Extinction”, as used, may not be appropriate to describe the instance; rather, it could be described as Fish Kills, which has happened over the years on the Volta River system.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker 10:35 a.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Minister.
Hon Member, there is no extinction; there may be some defects, but extinction is a serious and different matter.
Mr Bawa 10:35 a.m.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
I am not too sure, and the Hon Minister could correct me if I am wrong. Did I hear that one of the measures was to revoke their licences? If that is so, why would they opt for the revocation of licences as against containing the microbes within that particular area, and helping the people to really come out of that difficulty, particularly when it is a business source for the people?
Why would they want to revoke their licences instead of helping them contain the microbes within the particular vicinity in which they find themselves?
Mrs Quaye 10:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I mentioned that some licences would have to be revoked if the farms do not seem to comply with the environmental and disease control measures.
Our interest is not really to revoke licences. We sent samples of the fish to many laboratories, including Messrs Aquavet Solutions and we did a toxicology test at no cost to the State. It was all in our quest to assist the farms to stand on their feet. We did all that through the Ministry at no cost to the farms that were affected. So our interest is not to revoke licences, but to ensure that the right things are done.
Mr Bawa 10:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would just want to know from the Hon Minister, in terms of the primary fingerlings that the fish farmers get into their ponds, is it with the supervision of the Ministry or the Fisheries Commission? This is because obviously, these develop into whatever we have. Do they have a way to monitor that, or is it from the Ministry of the Fisheries Commission?
Mrs Quaye 10:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the zonal officers of the Fisheries Commission are within the various communities. Their duty is to do fisheries extension work, so they visit the farms.
I admit that the Fisheries Commission does not have enough staff to contain the work at hand. So we work with the Nation Builders Corps (NABCo) and the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) to recruit more staff to do the extension work. At the moment, our zonal officers from the Fisheries Commission are within the various fishing areas, especially on the Volta Lake.
Mr Bawa 10:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, my last question.
I would want to know from the Hon Minister whether there has been any way to assure consumers that the fishes that were infected did not end up in meals at homes? How did they deal with that?
Mrs Quaye 10:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, when we visited the farms, we immediately took certain measures to ensure that the dead fishes were not taken out of the farms. We collaborated with the police within that area, and with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). We cordoned off the area, and our staff were present to ensure that the fish were not taken out. We also got them to dig a very huge pit and buried the dead fish. So we contained the situation.
Mr Speaker 10:35 a.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Minister, for attending to the House and answering questions this morning.
You are respectfully discharged.
Question 544 - Hon Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, if you could please take the appropriate chair.
Hon Member for Sene East?
Mr Chireh 10:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I have the permission of the Hon Member to ask the Question on his behalf.
Mr Speaker 10:35 a.m.
Please proceed.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS 10:35 a.m.
MINISTRY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT 10:35 a.m.
AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT 10:35 a.m.
Minister for Local Government and Rural Development (Hajia Alima Mahama) 10:45 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, section 232(1) of the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936) provides that the Minister may by legislative instrument make Regulations for the procedure of securing a permit, providing notices, activities which may be carried out without a permit and in respect of consultations between the District Planning Authority and Public Agencies and local communities.
The Ministry has Guidelines and other Administrative Procedures regarding permits, notices and consultations between agencies and local communities.
The Guidelines are being expanded and converted into Regulations as required under Act 936.
The Ministry is currently engaging stakeholders on the proposed Regula- tions prior to approval by the Attorney General's Department and the consultation with the Committee on Subsidiary Legislation.

The Legislative Instrument on Section 232(1) of the Local Governance Act, 2016, Act 936 should be laid before Parliament in the last quarter of this year.

In the specific case of section 232(2) of Act 936, this Section requires the Minister to, on the advice of the Local Government Service Council (LGSC), make Regulations for Institutional co-operation between the Local Government Service and other branches of the Public Service, and on a matter that falls within the scope of the functions of the Local Government Service.

The Office of the Local Government Service (OHLGS) has developed a framework document to regulate Inter- Service and Inter-Sectorial Collaboration and Co-operation between the OHLGS and other branches of the public sector. This document is being used to regulate institutional co-operation between the Local Government Service and other branches of the Public Service in Ghana.

Mr. Speaker, the Inter-Service and Sectorial Collaboration and Cooperation System (ISCCS) which was developed for adoption by all partners in the Local Government Service is being reviewed and expanded to meet the requirements of the Act 936.

The Legislative Instrument on section 232(2) of the Local Governance Act, 2016, Act 936 should be laid before Parliament in the last quarter of this year.
Mr Speaker 10:45 a.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Minister.
Yes, Hon Chireh?
Mr Chireh 10:45 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister in her Answer clearly indicated that there are guidelines already. Why has it taken the Ministry so long for the initiation of the Regulations to be brought to Parliament?
Hajia A. Mahama: Mr Speaker, on the issue of the permit, you would recollect that this House passed the Land Use and Spatial Planning Act in the last quarter of the year 2016.
This Act provides for a new structure; the establishment of the Authority and regional spatial planning committees as well as district spatial planning commit- tees. We have been engaged in the establishment of these structures because they play a key role in the issuance of permits and other activities which relates to spatial planning. So for the past year, we have been doing that and we are on the verge of completing the inauguration of the various district committees.
Mr Speaker, on section 323(2) of Act 936, the office of the Head of Local Government Service has started the interaction with Public Service and the office of the Head of Civil Service and we would have to ensure that the implementation of this administrative guidelines are in tandem with their own Regulations and activities. We need to work with them on this before we finally come out with Regulations to be passed as Legislative Instrument (L. I) by this House.
Mr Speaker, thank you.
Mr Speaker 10:45 a.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Minister.
Mr Chireh 10:45 a.m.
Mr Speaker, looking at the Hon Minister's Answer, she is quoting the law but in the law, it is the Public Services Commission (PSC) that she has to do the consultation with. She is now talking about ‘public service', can she clarify that?
Hajia A. Mahama: Mr Speaker, when I say ‘public service', definitely, it is understood to be Public Services Commission (PSC) and then the office of the Head of Civil Service; those are the areas I meant.
Mr Speaker, let me emphasise that this law says; ‘may' and the ‘may' requires that there should be consultations. So I would have to engage in serious consultations with all the various stakeholders and all the public service sectors; especially, the destabilised public service sectors before I can come here to talk about Regulations. If that is not the case, he may even take me on.
Mr Speaker 10:45 a.m.
Hon Minister, thank you. Hon Member, I am sure that you appreciate the flexibility provided by law. Please, your last question.
Mr Chireh 10:45 a.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity. The former Hon Minister seated by me was actively assisting the Hon Minster to answer the questions -- [Laughter] -- but I want the assurance to be given to this House that in the last quarter of this year, we will see the Regulations. Can the Hon Minister give us this assurance?
rose
Mr Speaker 10:45 a.m.
Yes, Hon Member?
Alhaji Dauda 10:45 a.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you. In this House, it is the Hon Minister who answers Questions when questions are asked of them. Nobody assists an Hon Minister in answering questions except perhaps, consultations are made between Hon Ministers and the Hon Majority Leader. I have never assisted the Hon Minister for Local Government and Rural Development in responding to the Question asked by the Hon Chireh as being alleged.
Mr Speaker 10:45 a.m.
Except that you were telling your Hon Friend some home truths.
-- 10:45 a.m.
Mr Speaker 10:45 a.m.
Hon Member, you have exhausted your questions.
Mr Chireh 10:45 a.m.
Mr Speaker, she did not answer the question I asked. She was again engaged in a side issue of admiring each other and that was not my question. [Laughter] -- I want an assurance given to this House that the last quarter of this year, we will see the Regulations.
Mr Speaker 10:45 a.m.
Hon Member, the answer has been given.
Hajia A. Mahama -- rose --
Mr Speaker 10:45 a.m.
Hon Minister, would you want to answer?
Hajia A. Mahama: Mr Speaker, as I indicated early on, this law which was passed by this House, recognises that it
requires essential consultation and that is why the law says; ‘the Minister may' and not ‘the Minister shall'.
Mr Speaker, we have had laws passed in this House where they have even identified the time frame within which to bring a Regulation to this House. This particular law says; ‘may' and I am engaged in consultation.
Mr Speaker 10:45 a.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much for attending to the House and answering our questions. You are discharged.
Question --
rose
Mr Speaker 10:45 a.m.
Yes, Hon Majority Leader?
Hon Minister for Foreign Affairs, in the meantime, you may proceed. Yes, Hon Majority Leader?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:45 a.m.
Mr Speaker, a categorical statement has been made by the Hon Member for Asutifi South and he says that I have been assisting Hon Ministers to answer questions.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Ministers we have are competent and capable enough to answer Questions as we have just seen. Sometimes Questions that are asked get drowned in the noise that may be accompanying the questions. In the process, I may give clarity to questions that have been asked and I do not assist Hon Ministers in answering Questions as they are capable themselves.
Mr Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Question numbered 546.
Hon Members, let us proceed with the Business of the day. If I do not take care, the sidelines might overcome the centre.
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS 10:55 a.m.
AND REGIONAL INTEGRATION 10:55 a.m.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration (Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey) 10:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, may I crave your indulgence to rearrange my Answer? Indeed, I sent the amended Answer to Parliament. Unfortunately, the first one that was sent is what was printed. It is basically the same Answer, except that it is rearranged. If you would permit me, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Hon Member, do you have a copy of the “revised standard version”?
Ms Botchwey 10:55 a.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker 10:55 a.m.
If you can lay it formally, then you may read it and I would pronounce that it supersedes that which has been published and it would go into the record accordingly. Now you may read, while it is laid.
Ms Botchwey 10:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, it is duly laid.
Mr Speaker as of February 2019, the breakdown of Ambassadors/High Commissioners as against politically appointed ambassadors/high commis- sioners appointed by the current Government is as follows:
Mr Speaker, it may be necessary to note that the current ratio of career and a political appointment is not substantially different from what pertained in the
Ms Botchwey 10:55 a.m.


immediate past Government. By December 2013, under the previous administration, the breakdown of career ambassadors/ high commissioners as against the politically appointed ambassadors/high commissioners was as follows:

Mr Speaker, the breakdown highlighted above, indicates that the ratio since 2013 has largely remained unchanged.
Mr Ablakwa 10:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the statistics provided reveal a slight deterioration of the situation -- 66 per cent in 2013 to 68.5 per cent --
Mr Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Hon Members, if there is a slight change, we would not call the change deterioration because that may even be in improvement in qualitative measures.
Mr Ablakwa 10:55 a.m.
All right, Mr Speaker, I would use a synonym.
Mr Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Yes, use your words well.
Mr Ablakwa 10:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, no. It is rather a decline.
Mr Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Whatever it is, use your words well.
Mr Ablakwa 10:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would be guided. For want of a better word, we are witnessing a decline in the ratio in favour of political appointees.
Mr Speaker, my follow-up question has to do with the Hon Minister's pledge to this House when she appeared at vetting on 23rd of January, 2017. She assured the Committee that she would work towards achieving 60:40.
Mr Speaker, if I can quote her, she said 10:55 a.m.
“Ms Botchwey: Mr Chairman, I am trying to be diplomatic that is why. [Laughter]. Mr Chairman, in my opinion it should be about 60:40 in favour of the career diplomats and also so that we do not appoint political deputy ambassadors. That is my opinion.
Mr Speaker, I would want to find out if the Hon Minister is still committed to this pledge of 60:40 because clearly, we are not achieving that. I thank you.
Ms Botchwey 10:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, on the day of my vetting, I expressed an opinion. I am not the appointing authority. It is the Presi- dent who appoints. I did expressed an opinion, and I believe that I am entitled to do so. [Hear! Hear!]
Mr Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Thank you very much.
Yes, Hon Member?
Mr Ablakwa 10:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I acknow- ledge the opinion of the Hon Minister but she is the chief advisor on foreign rela- tions to the President.
Mr Speaker 10:55 a.m.
Hon Member, ask a dif- ferent question.
Mr Ablakwa 10:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, my final fol- low-up question on this particular Ques- tion is that; is this trend likely to continue or the Hon Minister would be recommend- ing some changes?
Mr Speaker 10:55 a.m.
That is beyond the pur- view of the Hon Minister as it is clear. She said that the matter is on the plate of His Excellency the President.
Question 547.
Allegations of Corruption in the Processing of Ghanaian Visas at
Ghana's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York
Q. 547. Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration what the Ministry has done about allegations of corruption in the media with regards to the process- ing of Ghanaian visas at Ghana's perma- nent mission to the United Nations in New York.
Mr Speaker, I wish to inform the House that through investigations conducted by
the New York Consulate between June and August 2016, it was revealed that some illegal financial malpractices relating to visa applications were being committed by some locally- recruited staff of the Consu- late.
A four (4)-member disciplinary com- mittee was established to investigate the allegations contained in the Consul Gen- eral's report, and the Terms of Reference of the Committee was as follows:
a. To review the allegations contained in the report with the view to recommending disci- plinary action commensurate with the misconduct and apparent fraudulent acts and breach of security committed by the staff cited in the report; and,
b. To obtain all relevant documen- tation including estimated loss of revenue to the Consulate.
During the committee's investigations, it was discovered that the estimated loss of revenue to the Consulate was two thousand eight hundred and eighty dollars (US$2,880) and three (3) staff members were cited for the fraudulent behaviour.
Though the offences were grave, the Committee recommended that the punishment should be suspension for a minimum period of two (2) months to a maximum period of six (6) months.
It was further recommended that those who cooperated with the committee by being honest and providing useful infor- mation to enable the committee ascertain the facts on the allegations be given the minimum punishment.
The officers found liable were also made to sign a bond of good behaviour and retrained upon return to work and also reassigned from the consular section to other departments of the consulate.
The three officers were also made to refund the misappropriated funds and they did not receive salaries for the period of their suspensions.
This decision was also based on the fact that the evidence was circumstantial in nature; however, it was clear that there had been so many breaches; unauthorised handling of official documents by a third party, unauthorised sale of money order on the consulate's premises and use of personal computer in the security offic- er's premises to alter visa applications without authorisation.
It was also established that there was a pattern of altering visa applications and even observed that a particular application was revised about three times, with the amended application finally being submitted for processing. It was also established that all these applications were transmitted to the consulate by post.
The committee prescribed the offences in line with the stipulations of the Ghana Civil Service Law, 1993(PNDCL 327), Ethics of the Ghana Civil Service Codes of Con- duct of the Ghana Civil Service, the Hand- book for Locally-Recruited Staff of the New York Mission as well as relevant Labour laws of the New York State.
In order to prevent future occurrence of such incidents, the Committee also recommended the following for implemen- tation by the Consulate:
office mails to be opened solely by home-based staff;
security to be enhanced at the con- sulate by the provision of Access control and CCTV Cameras;
all locally recruited staff to wear name badges;
all postal mails to be recorded and dispatched by home-based staff;
office mails no longer to be ad- dressed by locally recruited staff;
locally recruited staff not to use Con- sulate's address for private mails/ transactions;
enhance system of performance ap- praisal of locally-recruited staff;
locally recruited staff to be reas- signed to other schedules bi-annu- ally; restrict access to the consular hall to only staff members on consular duties and loitering at the front desk abolished;
self-service computers and printers for the use of clients at the Consu- lar hall in the long term;
circular to be issued to re-enforce the existing rule of non-engagement of unauthorised persons in the chancery; and
revision of handbook for locally- recruited Staff of the mission.
Since the institution of the above meas- ures, there has been significant improve- ment in the visa application process. There have also been two (2) separate audits carried out on the consulate, and the Min- istry would continue to monitor progress through revenue reports, returns, among others.
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Hon Okudzeto Ablakwa, any further question?
Mr Ablakwa 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank the Hon Minister for her response. The sec- ond paragraph of the Hon Minister's re- sponse says:
Ms Botchwey 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, from the notes that I have, it states that the Head of Mission set up the Committee on 23rd Feb- ruary, 2017 and the Committee finished its work - it was signed on the 10th March, 2017. So I believe it took about three weeks.
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Any further question?
Mr Ablakwa 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, in the fourth paragraph of the Hon Minister's response, she indicated that the committee recom- mended a minimum suspension of two months and a maximum of six months. Are we able to know what was finally upheld or implemented by her Ministry?
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Hon Minister, if you can tell us what actually went beyond the rec- ommendation. Your Answer tells us there was a recommendation. The question wants the actual implementation thereaf- ter.
Ms Botchwey 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, one person was discharged because no evidence of wrong doing was found against her. The second person was suspended for two months with loss of salary because she was a first offender and she did not handle any sensitive documents at the time.
The third person was suspended for four months with loss of salary. At the time, he lived in one of the vacant floors of the chancery. He was made to move out per- manently.
The fourth person was also sus- pended with loss of salary for four months and she was made to understand that a repeat of the act of insubordination and breaches of the discipline would result in her dismissal.
Mr Speaker, all of them received sus- pension and they were not paid their sala- ries during the suspension. They refunded the money and signed a bond of good behaviour and they were reassigned.
Mr Ablakwa 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, my final sup- plementary question is the last but three bulleted item from the tall list of recom- mendations from the committee on im- provement within the consulate which reads:
“self-service computers and print- ers for use of clients at the Consu- lar hall in the long term...”
Respectfully, I would want to find out from the Hon Minister if there are any plans at this point to implement this particular recommendation and when it would be implemented? The use of self-service computers is a very important recommen- dation which would help address the chal- lenges.
Ms Botchwey 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I believe it is the last but two and not the last but three bulletin. This has to do with the self- service computers.
May I state that this is an essential service that we should give our custom- ers and I will find out - I am not too sure whether that has been done. If it has not been done, I believe it is a service that we should offer visa applicants free of charge. So it would be done as soon as possible.
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Minister for attending to the House and answering our Questions. You are re- spectfully discharged.
Hon Members, item listed 5 -- State- ments.
Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
I have a Statement here from the Hon Felicia Adjei on the campaign, “Consume Made in Ghana Products”.
STATEMENTS 11:15 a.m.
Ms Felecia Adjei (NDC -- Kintampo South) 11:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to make a Statement on the campaign, Consume Made in Ghana Products.
Mr Speaker, the development of every nation depends on how much they are able to produce more than they can use and be able to export the remaining products to earn foreign exchange. Ghana was once able to produce more than she could consume and those were our glorious days of economic development. If we ever wish to turn around our economy, then we must create a national character of consuming what we produce and producing what we consume to promote growth.
Mr Speaker, the “consume made in Ghana products” campaign encourages the use of locally made products and an increase in industrial output of local products leading to the development and growth of industries. We are a nation blessed with natural resources, but we have failed to add value to what we produce as raw materials in order to promote export, and so we do not draw enough value out of our resources.
Mr Speaker, if we develop the culture of consuming made in Ghana products, then our local industries will expand large enough to go into external markets.

However, we would position Ghana to take advantage of Economic Community of West African states (ECOWAS) trade policies to produce goods that are in demand in other African countries. In our attempt to understand what to do, we need to understand the challenges of local producers and solve those challenges.

Many factors contribute to why our local products are not used by Ghanaians.

Two of such are pricing and Government policy. Made in Ghana products have higher prices compared to foreign products. This is because raw materials and labour are more expensive as compared to those of other countries. Prices of foreign products are low because importers under invoice for low duties and tax purposes.

When this happens, total cost of the imported goods would be lower, making it possible for importers to reduce the prices of the products in the market. This encourages people to buy more foreign goods.

Mr Speaker, in order to solve this problem, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) needs to put in place better methods of inspecting goods that come into the country. This will lead to increased government revenue and thus protect locally manufactured products as well as boost the production of made in Ghana goods.

The low usage of local product's is as a result of goods imported into the country which normally are cheaper as compared to those of the locally made goods. Most Ghanaians buy goods based on pricing, so they would rather buy the foreign inferior goods that are priced lower.
Ms Felecia Adjei (NDC -- Kintampo South) 11:15 a.m.


Goods produced in Ghana are more expensive due to high cost of raw materials, electricity, labour and many more.

Government should establish a policy that will reduce the cost of electricity for manufacturers.

High loan interest rates is also one of the major problems producers faced in Ghana.

Ghanaians have a high demand for imported goods and are influenced by advertisements on radio, television and bill boards according to the ISSER 2014 report of Ghana Social Development Outlook. With the use of social media, more people are targeted and it may take a longer time to manage mind-sets and attitudes towards the use of locally manufactured goods.

Mr Speaker, while we mount a serious campaign of consuming made in Ghana products, I wish to call on government to put policies in place that will limit importation of some goods and services especially those we can produce here in Ghana. This will compel consumers to buy what is made in Ghana.

Mr Speaker, Nigeria for instance stopped the importation of about 40 items according, to WTO 2016 reports. This has helped improve their trade policy. Ghana must implement a similar policy because we have the relevant human capital and the technology to produce some of the items we import into the country.

Mr Speaker, products such as ironing starch, mosquito coils, textiles and several others can be banned without posing a danger to the development of the country. If we prevent some importations, our

industries will grow and we may even export to earn foreign exchange.

Mr Speaker, the choice of not consuming made in Ghana products only means we will continue to borrow and leave debts for generations yet unborn to inherit. We need to work to turn around our economy and that can only be possible if we use made in Ghana goods and local manufacturers are supported to compete well in our local markets.

Mr Speaker, In conclusion, in our attempt to boost locally manufactured goods and services, we must address the exact challenges facing the local industries as discussed.

Thank You Mr Speaker for the opportunity.
Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Thank you very much Hon Member for this well-researched Statement. One contribution from each Side, then Leadership.
Yes, Hon Member?
Mr Emmanuel Bedzrah (NDC -- Ho West) 11:15 a.m.
Thank you very much Mr Speaker. Let me also thank the Hon Member who made the Statement, Hon Felecia Adjei for bringing to the fore that we need to consume made in Ghana goods, especially products that are made in our villages.
Mr Speaker, as you can see, I am wearing an attire made in Ghana. That alone shows that we need to encourage our producers, those who farm and those who produce attires in Ghana to encourage them to produce more attires and food for us to consume.
The Hon Member who made the Statement asked how the economy would grow and how we would develop our economy if we do not consume that which
we produce here and have enough for export to be able to get foreign exchange. We can only do that when we encourage ourselves.
Mr Speaker, recently, you sent me to Kenya for a programme and I noticed that at the conference, we were served with a Kenyan tea. They added local maize, cocoyam and other local produce to the tea. If it had been in Ghana, we would have been served with sandwiches and other foreign foods.
The Kenyans were projecting their culture and the food that they eat. If we could also introduce that in our menus and everyday lives, I believe that whatever we have, we would consume it and also export some.
Hon Adjei also suggested that we should have a policy to limit the importation of some items into the country. I agree because when you go to our markets now, they are flooded with imported rice, yet we encourage our people to produce local rice. I believe that the cost of locally produced rice might be more expensive than the imported one.
If we have policies in place, our people would be encouraged to produce more rice, attires and items that would be cheaper and this would lead to the employment of more people resulting in the growth of our economy.
Mr Speaker, with these few words, I thank you for the opportunity.
Mr Daniel Okyem Aboagye (NPP -- Bantama) 11:25 a.m.
Thank you very much Mr Speaker. I rise to associate myself with the Statement that was ably made by Hon Felicia Adjei and to say that this Statement
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Any indication from leadership?
Yes, Hon Member?
Mr Abdul Aziz Muniru (NDC -- Akan) 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity to contribute to the Statement which was made by Hon Felicia Adjei.
Mr Speaker, I would want to add that this House should promote and project made in Ghana goods. As we can all see, I am an example of a promoter of made in Ghana goods. I hardly come out from my house without a cap or a smock that is made in Ghana. This is because patronising made in Ghana goods would increase employment and reduce the hardships that Ghanaians go through today.
Before one could promote and project made in Ghana goods, one needs to check on the quality of the product. If it is clothing, it should be well sewn without chemicals that would be obnoxious to the human skin. Also, if it is food, it is important to check that it is organic and not sprayed with chemicals which are harmful to human consumption.
Buying made in Ghana goods means supporting local businesses. By buying locally manufactured goods, the money stays in the pocket of Ghanaians in the same Republic of Ghana. Employment would also be generated when we encourage consumption of made in Ghana goods.
Mr Speaker, in conclusion, I would call on the House to initiate policies and Bills that would encourage Ghanaians to project and promote and consume locally made goods.
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Majority Leadership?
rose
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Hon Member, you may contribute.
Mr Kingsley Carlos Ahenkorah (NPP -- Tema West) 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, often times, people think that when goods are made in Ghana, they are inferior to what is imported from outside. I am very happy that today, one of our Hon Colleagues has come up with this observation and asked the House to support Ghanaians to indulge in goods that are made in Ghana.
Mr Speaker, when I take myself as an example, let us assume that my suite was made in Spain, my shirt was imported from Britain, my tie was imported from China - we have created a lot of jobs for people from outside the country.
If we consider what my Hon Colleague from the other Side just said, that he is an epitome of made in Ghana goods, it stands to reason that if those of us in Ghana patronise goods that are made in Ghana, we do not only create wealth in Ghana, but we also create jobs for Ghanaians. I would therefore support this move and support it every day, as far as goods made in Ghana are concerned.
Mr Speaker, we did not know that as a country, people took so much delight in infrastructure for the sale of goods in Ghana. In fact, it is very heart-warming that people would just go to the Malls of today, take pictures buy ice cream and go back home. It stands to reason that the infrastructure within which we do our retail is very important to promote Made-In- Ghana goods.
As we sit here, I wonder how many of my Hon Colleagues in this room would go to Tema station to buy a pair of shoe. The same pair of shoe that we find in Tema station, if we should enter an air
conditioned store at the Accra Mall, it would cost ten times the price. But we seated here or the elite in the society would prefer to pick that ten times highly priced shoe than going to Kumasi or Accra market to pick this shoe.
It means that if we pursue the Government's policy of improving retail infrastructure, we would automatically improve interest in goods made in Ghana.
Mr Speaker, this is the reason why the Ministry of Trade and Industry is coming up with a legislation with the support of this House to ensure that goods that are made in Ghana are looked at first and foremost before we even think of going outside to import.
There are cases where even govern- ment agencies that sought to use certain raw materials in their production would go outside the country to collect or import them while they can find them here.
Mr Speaker, as part of the strategic agenda of the Ministry, we are coming out with a portal which we have indicated as an industrial sub-contracting exchange, where all large scale enterprises would be profiled with regards to their raw material requirements and everything that they would need to produce, so that small scale enterprises would go on this portal and identify which large scale businesses they can supply their produce to. That would promote made-in- Ghana goods.
Mr Speaker, at a point, the Ministry would come and ask for legislation to ensure that the various retail chains in the country would at least stock three to five shelves of made-in-Ghana goods in all their shops. It is interesting to note that some of these retail shops would not allow made-in-Ghana goods at all in their shops but yet, these retail chains are promoting businesses of countries where the
Mr Kingsley Carlos Ahenkorah (NPP -- Tema West) 11:25 a.m.


investment is coming from. We think that it is very inimical to the growth of the Ghanaian products.

Mr Speaker, so, with these few words, I would like to identify with our Hon Colleagues on this particular Statement and we should support it hundred per cent.
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Members. That brings Statement time to an end.
At the Commencement of Public Business —
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, we may deal with item numbered 6. But item numbered 6(a) is not yet ready; that is the report of the Committee of the Whole on the proposed Formula for the Distribution of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) for the year 2019. So we would stand that down.
Mr Speaker, in respect of item numbered 6(b), it was done yesterday and so it ought not to have been repeated on today's Order Paper. We would deal with item numbered 6(c), and the Hon Chairman of the Committee would present those Reports.
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Hon Members, item numbered 6(c)(i) — Hon Chairman of the Committee?
Mr Samuel Ayeh-Paye 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the reports are all in one — They are all protocols in one report, and so we would want to take them as one report.
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
We would call it one after the other, you would bow and we shall proceed.
Mr Ayeh-Paye 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I agree.
PAPERS 11:25 a.m.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, we have an outstanding Question to be put on item numbered 13 and, so I believe we can take that now.
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Hon Members, item numbered 13 — Motions, moved, seconded, debated yesterday. I will put the Question.
Question put and Motion agreed to.
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Hon Members, item numbered 14 — Resolution.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, if I may seek permission for the Hon Deputy Minister for Finance, Hon Abena Osei-Asare to move the Motion for the adoption of the Resolution.
RESOLUTIONS 11:25 a.m.
Minister for Finance) 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that
WHEREAS by the provisions of Article 181(5) of the Constitution the terms and conditions of any international business or economic transaction to which the Govern- ment of Ghana is a party shall not come into operation unless the said terms and conditions have been laid before Parliament and approved by Parliament by a Resolution suppor-
ted by the votes of a majority of all Members of Parliament;
PURSUANT to the provisions of the said Article 181(5) of the Constitution, and at the request of the Government of Ghana acting through the Minister responsible for Finance, there has been laid before Parliament the terms and conditions of a Request for the Issuance of a Sovereign Guarantee of up to GH¢2.0 Billion in favour of Ghana Amalgamated Trust (GAT) Limited to support indigenous Ghanaian Banks.
THIS HONOURABLE HOUSE 11:25 a.m.
Chairman of the Committee (Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah) 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.
Question put and Motion agreed to.
Resolved accordingly.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, item numbered 15.
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Hon Members, item numbered 15; Procedural Motion.
MOTIONS 11:25 a.m.
Chairman of the Committee (Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah) 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that notwithstanding the provi-
Alhaji Collins Dauda 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.
Question put and Motion agreed to.
Resolved accordingly.
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Yes, Hon Chairman of the Committee, the substantive Motion, listed
16.
Finance Committee's Report on Financing the Rehabilitation and
Upgrading of Potable Water System in Yendi
Chairman of the Committee (Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah) 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that this Honourable House adopts the Report of the Finance Committee on the Credit Facility Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and the Export-Import Bank of India for an amount of thirty million United States dollars (US$30,000,000.00) for financing the Rehabilitation and Upgrading of Potable Water System in Yendi.
Mr Speaker, by so doing, I beg to present your Committee's Report.
Introduction
The Credit Facility Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and the Export-Import Bank of India for an amount of thirty million United States dollars (US$30,000,000.00) for financing the Rehabilitation and Upgrading of Potable Water Systems in Yendi was presented to the House on Tuesday, 12th March, 2019 in accordance with Article 181 of the 1992 Constitution.
Mr Speaker referred the Agreement to the Finance Committee for consideration and report in accordance with Article 174 of the 1992 Constitution and the Standing Orders of the House.
The Committee met with a Deputy Finance Minister, Hon Abena Osei -Asare, the Deputy Ministers for Sanitation and Water Resources, Hon. Patrick Yaw Boamah and Hon. Michael Gyato and officials from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources to consider the referral.
Documents referred to
The Committee referred to the following documents:
1. The 1992 Constitution of Ghana;
2. The Public Financial Manage- ment Act, 2016 (Act 921);
3. The Standing Orders of Parlia- ment of Ghana.
Background
The Yendi Municipality contributes significantly to the agricultural fortunes of our country thus producing large quantities of arable crops like maize, yam, cassava and rice. The catchment area also has an iron ore deposit which can generate economic activities like mining.
The Yendi Water Supply System supplies water to Yendi Municipality and other surrounding towns and villages. The water supply system was built in 1961 and it takes its raw water from the River Daka.
As a result of an increase in the population and economic growth in the Yendi Municipality, it has become necessary to expand the existing water supply system to meet the water demand of the beneficiary towns and communities.
In order to address the challenge, a proposal was made to either rehabilitate the existing treatment plant or expand the entire water supply system in order to meet the current demand and also meet the planning horizon up to the year 2030.
An assessment was carried out on the system by Messrs Tahal Company Limited. They recommended that major rehabilitation and expansion works should be carried out to ensure continuity of water
supply to meet growing demand up to the year 2025 and beyond.
In pursuit of this recommendation, the Government of Ghana requested and the EXIM Bank of India agreed to provide a concessional line of Credit amounting to thirty million United States Dollars (US$30 million) to finance the rehabilitation and Upgrade of the Water System in Yendi. It is this Credit Facility Agreement that is currently before the House for approval. The project is expected to be completed within thirty (30) months.
Object of the Project
The object of the project is to rehabilitate and upgrade the Yendi Water Supply System in order to provide potable water for the people of Yendi and its environs. Terms and Conditions of the Credit Facility
The terms and conditions of the Credit Facility are as follows:

Loan Amount -- US$30,000,000.00

Grace Period -- 5 years

Repayment Period -- 20 years

Maturity Period -- 25 years

Interest Rate -- 1.5 per annum (fixed)

Commitment Fee -- 0.50% per annum

Project Duration -- 30 months

Grant Element -- 35.46%

Scope of the Project

The scope of works comprises the following:

Abstraction of raw water from River Oti Construction of a 15,000m3/day (3.3MGD) conventional water treatment plant
Chairman of the Committee (Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah) 11:25 a.m.


Construction of transmission pipeline of length 25 km.

Construction of Booster Station.

Construction of reservoirs, and

Rehabilitation and extension of distribution network, approximately 50 km.

Project Cost Details

Indicative Cost details of the Scope of work to be done under the Project are shown in Table 1 below:

Observations

Rationale for the Project

The Committee was informed that the existing water system at Yendi was built in 1961 and it takes its raw water from the River Daka. Since 1961, the population and economic activities in the catchment area have increased considerably. As a result, the existing systems are unable to supply adequate water to the beneficiary towns and communities.

The current project is to construct an entirely new water system which takes its raw water from the River Oti for the people of Yendi and its environs.

Expected Benefits

The Committee was informed that benefits expected to accrue from the project include:

improved access to potable water supply to the supply areas;

improved level of service by increased coverage in project area;

growth in productivity of the inhabitants leading to economic development and growth;

boosting of business opportunities mainly industrial and commercial enterprise; and

maximisation of the social and health benefits of clean, safe and reliable drinking water.

Appendix 1 is the list of some of the beneficiary towns/communities.

Selection Process

The Committee was informed that as part of the conditions for accessing the credit from the Indian Government, an independent consultant would be procured to prepare a detailed Project Report and Tender document. It is after this that the project would be tendered for prospective Indian Contractors to bid.

Choice of River Oti

In a response to why River Oti was selected, it was explained that the option was a better alternative as other options would require installing longer transmission pipelines leading to higher cost. The Oti alternative has the advantage of allowing for water supply for the communities between Oti and Yendi and expansion possibilities beyond 2025. The river also flows throughout the year.

Staff Training

The Committee observed that under the project an amount of GH¢171,557.00 was budgeted for staff training. It was explained that the budgeted amount is to be used to train staff on the use and maintenance of the equipment to be procured and installed. This is to ensure that the staff who would be using the equipment have the requisite knowledge about the use and maintenance of the equipment installed.

Tax Waiver

The Committee noted that as part of the conditions for the disbursement of the loan, all goods to be procured under the agreement are to be exempted from the payment of duties and taxes.

The Ministry informed the Committee that a request for the waiver of taxes and duties would be presented to the House for consideration at a later date.
Mr Isaac Adongo (NDC -- Bolgatanga Central) 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion for the approval of this House, to enable the Government borrow an amount of US$30 million from the EXIM Bank of India to undertake the expansion and rehabilitation of the Yendi Water Project.
Mr Speaker, it was very easy for your Committee to reach a consensus on this matter because we believe that water is life, and any effort by Government to make sure that water reaches the entire country is a laudable idea.
Mr Speaker, in this view, the Committee was satisfied that if Government is able to roll out this Project in 30 months, then, the people of Yendi and the surrounding communities would have potable water.
Mr Speaker, we were told that the existing system has lasted over 61 years, and given technology and the fast improvement in methods of providing water supply, it was quite clear that we needed to rehabilitate those old lines and provide expansion because the commu- nities had been growing since the period that the old one was established.
Mr Speaker, therefore we were only worried that the country would have to pay a commitment fee of 0.50 per cent per annum for the unutilised portions of the amount. What that means is that in order to save cost, this Project must be executed efficiently within the 30 months, and for that matter, any delay in implementing this Project within that time frame would impose additional cost to the nation.
Mr Speaker, we therefore wish to call on the managers of this Project to be mindful of this additional cost, and work assiduously to deliver the project in 30 months, so that we would be spared this additional cost.
Mr Speaker, 25 kilometres of transmis- sion lines is quite a lot of work. Also, it is a lot of work for the fact that we would need to provide another 50 kilometres of distribution lines within the entire community, so that the water that is pumped to Yendi can then go to the homes of the various communities. It is in this respect that we see the execution of this Project to be an enormous one, and therefore, the need for this be accelerated, in order to achieve the objectives.
Mr Speaker, the Committee's Report is quite clear. This is a straightforward transaction, and I would wish to call on all Hon Members of this House to approve this transaction, to enable them proceed to deliver water to the people.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much.
Question proposed.
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Hon Members, we would take one from each Side and conclude the matter.
Hon Leaders, one from each Side.
rose
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Hon Member, be brief.
Mr Anthony Effah (NPP -- Asikuma/ Odoben/Brakwa) 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would be brief.
Mr Speaker, this was a very easy transaction that we looked at, particularly because of the concessional nature. This Facility is providing the country with 35.46 per cent component as a concession. The interest rate of 1.5 per cent per annum is very reasonable for such a Project, and there are a lot of indications that the benefits to be derived are numerous, especially for the people in the Yendi area.
Mr Speaker, one important thing is that the source of raw water has now moved away from the initial one to the Oti River. This is going to ensure regular and reliable supply of water to the pumping stations, so that the households would always have enough water.
Mr Speaker, there is not much to say, but to support the Motion as moved.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much.
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Member.
rose
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Yes, Hon Member?
Alhaji Collins Dauda (NDC -- Asutifi South) 11:55 a.m.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Hon Chairman of the Committee, for the avoidance of doubt, we would want to know if communities along the transmission line will benefit?
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 11:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, that is why I wanted to go through the Report
-- 11:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Hon Member, will they benefit?
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 11:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, in Appendix 1, which is at the back of the
Report, we have a list of the beneficiary communities. They are listed below:
SPACE FOR TABLE PAGE 3 -- 11.55 AM
Mr Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Hon Chairman, it is the wish of the House that communities along the line should benefit, so the Ghana Water Company Limited should take note.
Very well. I would put the Question.
Question put and Motion agreed to.
Mr Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Resolution - Hon Deputy Minister?
RESOLUTION 11:55 a.m.
Minister for Finance) 11:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move that,
WHEREAS by the provisions of Article 181 of the Constitution and sections 55 and 56 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921), the terms and conditions of all government borrowings shall be laid before Parliament and shall not come into operation unless the terms and conditions are approved by a resolution of Parliament in accordance with article 181 of the Constitution;
PURSUANT to the provisions of the said Article 181 of the Constitution and sections 55 and 56 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921), at the request of the Government of the Republic Ghana acting through the Minister responsible for Finance, there has been laid before Parliament a Credit Facility Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and the Export-Import Bank of India for an amount of thirty million United States dollars (US$30,000,000.00) for financing the Rehabilitation and Upgrading of Potable Water System in Yendi.
THIS HONOURABLE HOUSE 11:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Who seconds the Motion?
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 11:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.
Question put and Motion agreed to.
Resolved accordingly.
Mr Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Hon Majority Leader, where do we go from here?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, we go to item numbered 18.
Mr Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Hon Members, item numbered 18 -- Payment Systems and Services Bill, 2018 at the Consideration Stage.
BILLS -- CONSIDERATION STAGE 11:55 a.m.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, respectfully, there were three Motions that we stood down yesterday. They were intended to be deliberated upon today. They are all Annual Reports relating to the Forestry Commission. If we could go back and deal with them in the order of the Motions numbered 8, 9 and 10. All of them relate to the Forestry Commission.
Mr Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Consideration Stage will be suspended for now. The Mace should be dealt with. [Pause]
Item listed 8 -- Motion.
Hon Chairman of the Committee?
MOTIONS 11:55 a.m.
Chairman of the Committee (Mr Francis Manu-Adabor) 11:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that this Honourable House adopts the Report of the Committee on Lands and Forestry on the Annual Report of the Forestry Commission for the year
2012.
Mr Speaker, in so doing, I present your Committee's Report.
Introduction
The Annual Report of the Forestry Commission (FC) for the year 2012 was presented to Parliament on Tuesday, 10th October, 2017 in accordance with the Forestry Commission Act 1999 (Act 571) and Order 177 of the House, and was referred to the Lands and Forestry Committee of the House for consideration and report.
The Committee met with officials from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the technical team from the Forestry Commission to deliberate on the report. The Committee is grateful to them for their input.
Reference
The Committee referred to the following documents during its delibera- tions:
i.The 1992 Constitution,
ii. The Standing Orders of Parlia- ment,
iii. The Forestry Commission Act, 1999 (Act 571),
iv. The 2012 Annual Report of the Forestry Commission.
Establishment and Mandate of the Forestry Commission
The establishment of the FC is provided for by section 1 of article 269 of the 1992 Constitution and the Forestry Com- mission Act, 1999 (Act 571).
According to section 1 of article 269 of the Constitution and section 2 of the FC Act., the FC shall be responsible for the regulation and utilisation of forest and wildlife resources, the conservation and management of those resources and the co-ordination of policies related to them.
Functions
The functions of the FC are as follows:
(a) regulate the utilisation of forest and timber resources by:
(i) vetting and registering con- tracts to market timber and such other forest and wildlife products as the Commission may determine;
(ii) establishing of procedures to track the movement of timber, wood and wildlife products;
(iii) monitoring the harvesting, marketing of forest and wildlife products and related contracts;
(iv) promoting the development and dissemination of appropriate industrial standards and trade guidelines for timber, wood and wildlife products;
(v) conducting pre-shipment in- inspection and examination of timber, wood and wildlife products; and
(vi) advising on approvals to establish new timber industries and the registration of approved timber processors and traders in forest and wildlife products.
(b) manage the nation's forest reserves and protected areas by:
(i) proper planning for the protection, harvesting and development of forest and wildlife resources in a sustainable manner;
(ii) monitoring the condition and extent of the nation's forest and wildlife resources;
(iii) controlling the harvesting of forest and wildlife products;
(iv) making recommendations to the Minister on the grant of timber rights and wildlife licenses; and
(v) advising the Minister on forest and wildlife policy with particular regard to management practices that sustain resources and improve productivity;
(c) Assist the private sector and other bodies with the implementation of forest and wildlife policies by:
(i) advising and providing technical services with regard to matters of resource protection, manage- ment and development, and of market intelligence pertaining to the timber and wildlife indus- tries;
Chairman of the Committee (Mr Francis Manu-Adabor) 11:55 a.m.


(ii) co-operating and liaising with national and international bodies and organisations on forestry and wildlife conservation and utilisation;

(iii) supporting the development of forest plantations for the restoration of degraded forest reserves, the increased produc- tion of industrial timber and the expansion of the country's protected forest cover;

(iv) providing training, management and technical skills for related industries;

(v) advising the appointing autho- rity on matters concerning employment, discipline and training of staff;

(d) undertaking the development of forest plantations for the restoration of degraded forests areas, the expansion of the country's forest cover and the increase in the production of industrial timber; and

(e) undertaking such other functions as are incidental to the foregoing, or as the Minister may direct.

Performance

During the year under review, the Divisions of the FC undertook the following activities:

Forest Services Division (FSD)

Fire Protection

A key fire protection strategy was undertaken to mitigate fire incidents; there were sensitization and awareness creation

by RMSD and FSD field officers, fire ride construction and maintenance, and regular fire patrolling during the dry season by field assistants of the Service Companies. At the end of December, 2012, no fire incident had been recorded.

Job Creation

Job opportunities were created within the participating one hundred and twenty eight (128) political districts nationwide. These opportunities comprised the retention of Field Assistants to maintain the 2010 and 201 l corps; the additional recruitment of 8,884 Field Assistants for the2012 corps; Seeding Sub-contractors and nursery workers.

Modified Tuangya System - Benefit Sharing Agreements

In 2012, one hundred and thirty (130) farmer groups signed Benefit Sharing Agreements (BSAs) for the Modified Taungya System (MTS). This brought the total number of farmer groups to have signed the BSAs to 296 out of the approximate 2,300 farmer groups. During the period, maps covering MTS sites were produced, which was a prerequisite for signed BSAs.

Wildlife Division (Wd)

Eco-Tourism Development

Two (2) luxury tented camps were constructed in Shai Hills Resource Reserve by Ashanti Gold under the Leadership for Conservation in Africa (LCA) Programme.

Feasibility studies were carried out by Eco-lodges Ghana Ltd and a discussion was held with the management of Wildlife Division for the implementation of concession.

One hundred and twenty-one thousand four hundred and eight (121,408) visitors were recorded for Protected Zoo Areas.

Fees and charges were revised and circulated to PAs/Zoos for implementation.

Conservation Education and Creation of Public Awareness

Twenty-five (25) first and second cycle schools and One hundred and eighty-six (186) communities around Protected Areas and Ramsar Sites were educated on the importance of wildlife conservation.

Senior Police Officers at the Police College in Accra were educated on wildlife laws and wildlife conser- vation.

Collaborative Resource Management

Boundaries of the Pusupu CREMA near Kyabobo National Park were established and a Constitution and Management Plan was completed.

Mole National Park assisted eleven (11) fringe communities in bee keeping and honey production as alternative livelihoods to ease pressure on the Park's resources.

Timber Industry Development Division

(TIDD)

Commercial Charcoal Production as Alternative Livelihood

A training programme for chainsaw operators on commercial charcoal production at Yamfo, Daboase and Winneba was organised during the year

as part of the alternative livelihood initiatives undertaken for displaced chainsaw operators.

Batteries for five (5) metal charcoal carbonisation kilns were procured for the commencement of training by charcoal production expert at Yamfo, using looped material from the green firebreaks of the Bosomkese Forest Reserve under the Bechem Forest District.

Timber Logistics Planning and Manage- ment

The Division, in collaboration with Seagull Trade and Development Consultancy, UK, organised a 3-day seminar on Timber Logistics Planning, Operations and Management at WITC. The programme was designed to equip companies with the requisite skills to plan, execute and monitor purchasing, production and distribution strategies across modes, borders and enterprises with the aim of synchronising transpor- tation, warehousing and inventory of operational decisions using information, financial and business processes.

Observations

Ramsar Site

The Committee expressed grave concern about the Commission's inability to deal with the encroachment of developers at the Sakumono Ramsar Site, which covers several acres of land. The Commission informed the Committee that efforts are being made to get rid of the encroachers and to adopt a Public Private Partnership (PPP) approach to help develop the ecotourism in the area.

The Committee recommends to the Commission to collaborate with institu- tions such as the Tema Metropolitan Assembly to fence the undeveloped area to prevent further encroachment.
Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
It is a unanimous Report; who seconds it?
Alhaji Collins Dauda (NDC -- Asutifi South) 12:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.
In doing so, I would make one or two comments. My first comment is in respect of section 28 of the Forestry Commission Act, 1999 (Act 571), which the Report refers to as the basis for the discussion of the Report of the Forestry Commission in this House. With your permission, I would want to read section 28 of the Forestry Commission Act, 1999 (Act 571):
“(1) The Commission shall submit to the Minister as soon as practicable and in any event not more than 6 months after the end of each financial year a report dealing generally with the activities and operations of the Commission
during the year to which the report relates and it shall include -- (a) the audited accounts of the
Commission and the Auditor- General's report on the accounts;
(b) a statement on the Commission's budget and operational plans for the next financial year; and
(c) such other information as the Commission may consider necessary.
(2) The Minister shall within three months after receipt of the annual report submit the report to Parliament with such statements as he considers necessary.”
Mr Speaker, the House is seized with a report of 2012, which was laid sometime last year and it is being taken now. My concern is, how the 2012 Report is relevant to us today. I, therefore, want the House, your good Hon Self and, perhaps, the Leadership to take a look at this and other ones, where the law requires government bodies to submit annual reports to the House.
This Report should have been submitted in 2013, but it was submitted last year and it is being discussed today. The operational plans that should reflect the ensuing year are lost.
Mr Speaker, I would want this House to take a position on this. If it is said in this Report, that the Commission must, at least, within six months after the end of a year submit a report to the Hon Minister and if that Commission fails to do so, what should the House do to it?
The Hon Minister is also required to submit the annual report to the House in three months. If it does not come, maybe, for a reason that the Commission did not submit the report to the Hon Minister for submission to the House, what should be done? What should the Hon Minister do? Should the Hon Minister write to inform Parliament that he has not gotten the report from the Commission, for which reason he is unable to submit it to the House?
The House must take a position on all these, so as to enable us exercise oversight responsibility over these Commissions.
Mr Speaker, besides, the Forestry Commission exists because there are forest reserves in this country. If the forests in Ghana get finished, the existence of the Forestry Commission would not be relevant. It is, therefore, important for the Forestry Commission to focus on protecting the forest reserves that we have.
Clearly, we are losing our forest cover. In 1957, forest reserves were deliberately created, particularly along the transitional zone of Ghana, to protect the creeping in of the savannah downwards. The Tain I and II as well as the Pamu-Berekum and Amama Forest Reserves and the Pru Shelter Belt these forest reserves were created in the transitional zone to prevent the creeping in of the savannah. Unfortunately, the reserves that I have mentioned are all gone.
We have therefore lost so much of our forest cover. Statistics show that at the time of the creation of the reserves in this country, we had an estimated 8.2 million hectares of forest cover. Today, we are told that we are left with only 1.6 million hectares of forests. It means that we have lost over Six (6) million hectares of forest cover from 1957 up to today. Going forward another 60 years, we are likely to lose all our forests and we would, probably, import wood from Congo.
Alhaji Collins Dauda (NDC -- Asutifi South) 12:05 p.m.


Mr Speaker, since two other Reports would come and I would probably get the opportunity to make further comments, I would urge my Hon Colleagues to support the 2012 Report, and wait for the 2013 and 2014 Reports.

I thank you very much.

Question proposed.
Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
Thank you very much.
Hon Majority Leader, are there any concluding remarks?
Majority Leader (Mr Osei Kyei- Mensah-Bonsu) 12:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I agree with the submission of the Hon Chairman of the Committee as supported by the Hon Member for Asutifi-South, who in the immediate past Regime started as the Hon Minister responsible for Lands and Forestry.
Mr Speaker, we certainly need to be much more protective of our forest resources; it should not only be the forest cover, but the entire resources of the forest. The preamble of our Constitution provides that we, the people, have established a framework of Government that should secure for ourselves and posterity, the blessings of liberty, equality, opportunity and prosperity.
In that regard, we should know that the resources in the forest on the land, beneath the land and the sea belong to the generation of today and tomorrow and indeed, the days after tomorrow.
Unfortunately, we are over exploiting our forest resources. The Hon Member for Asutifi-South would bear me out that at the turn of the 20th Century, the forest cover of this nation was in the region of about 6.5 million hectares. At the turn of the 21st Century, the forest cover is lower than one million hectares. If we would be forthright with ourselves, as we speak today, the cover is less than 700,000 hectares.
We were informed when we dealt with the Yendi Water Supply system that the Daka River was no longer able to supply potable water to Yendi. So now, we have to go to the Oti River, Some 25 kilometres away, and fetch raw water.
It is all because we have depleted the forest.
Mr Speaker, in years gone by, we had regulations which did forbid even farmers from farming directly into streams and rivers. The regulation was that into any stream, we could not go less than 50feet; for rivers, it was 100 feet. Today, we are farming directly into the rivers and galamsey operations are not also helping the system.
That is why I have my grave doubts when we tell ourselves that in the year 2012, there were no fire incidents. Who says there were no fire incidents that destroyed our forest cover? That is a palpable untruth.
Mr Speaker, I wonder where the evidence of this is coming from; it cannot be true.
Alhaji Dauda 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much. This is a Report of the Forestry Commission which has the responsibility over forest reserves. Forests outside the
reserve could be affected by bush fires but I guess that the Report is talking about fires in forest reserves and for that particular year, there was none anywhere.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, today, I believe that if we asked the Forestry Commission (FC) about the forest cover we have in this country, they will still maintain that it is about 1.2 million hectares and yet the Hon Member knows that is less than 700,000.
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
The Hon Members contribution was not aggressive so -- [Laughter] -- Yes, please.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I know that he has been the Minister in the sector.
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
I know but please, you may simply respond --
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am only saying --
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
I want to tone similar approaches down in this House --
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am speaking to facts as I do know.
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Please, respond in the same vein; cool, calm and factually, if you think otherwise.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, fortunately for us --
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader, please proceed.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:15 p.m.
I agree but I am saying that fortunately for us, the tone --
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader, proceed as I say.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, fortunately for us, the tone of the debate is not recorded by the Hansard.
Mr Speaker, the point being made, which I agree with the Hon Colleague, is also that the Report that we are dealing with is for the year 2012 and it is supposed to be the foundation on the Auditor- General's Report. Where is it? We do not even have it as it is not attached to the Report.
The Hon Minister then if he has any other comments, is supposed to feed this House with it. Again, we do not have such a report. I have always insisted that when matters appear before Committees, they are not merely for the elucidation of the Hon Members of the Committee but supposed to be for the entire House.
So if I pick a report from a committee, I should be able to have the full spectrum of the referral. Yet these things come to us and they end up as the official documents of the House and they are bereft of these other documents that should be supportive of the Report.
Mr Speaker, to me, I have always spoken about this, that the Committees should be much more up and doing than they have been doing. They do not serve the House any useful purpose when a referral is made to them and they know that they are supposed to foundation their own Report on the Auditor-General's Report for the year 2012 and they do not do that.
The comment from the Hon Minister in the year 2012 and the operational report from the Ministry do not all accompany this.
So how do we interrogate the issues properly? Once we even have reports from the FC, the Committee should go to the
Mr Speaker 12:25 p.m.
The matter raised by Hon Collins Dauda is very relevant. It is not a matter of what date and who was the Hon Minister under which regime. It is important for us to simply address it.
Some time ago, as we all know, we used to have our committee on public expenditure working several years after the event. What was done on it that we are quite current today?
Leadership and the Committee on Government Assurances should really sit and look at this belatedness in the submission of the Report, no matter when, where and how it occurred so as to have a systemic improvement. That is very important. They are to bring a report to this Honourable House, the moment we resume from the forthcoming recess.
What is more, we would need to consider all related matters even with the possibility of introducing a Private Member's Bill in this Honourable House. Then of course, related to farming beside our waters, there is galamsey. We all talk about it, but is there a way of tightening the screws as a parliamentary initiative?
I know a number of Hon Members in this Honourable House, including the Hon Majority Leader, and the Hon Minority Leader are very conversant with galamsey matters. For that matter, we could come out in a way that would help to resolve the issues relating to this deforestation and abuse of our forests as well as, in fact, a consideration of our protection
generally and the laws regarding them and what could be done.
Definitely, it must be transmitted to all concerned, that this Honourable House is very concerned about the matter and we are tackling it headlong in this connection.
Thank you very much, Hon Members. I trust that a week after our resumption, we should have a report.
Hon Members, at this juncture, we shall suspend Sitting for the Hon Second Deputy Speaker to take over after one hour. The Hon First Deputy Speaker is also at the vetting. We would suspend Sitting for the Hon Second Deputy Speaker to take up at 1:30 p.m.
I thank you very much.
MR SECOND DEPUTY SPEAKER
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:31 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader, any indication?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:31 p.m.
Mr Speaker, before we suspended Sitting, we were dealing with the Reports from the Committee on Lands and Forestry -- the Annual Reports of the Forestry Commission. Mr Speaker, we dealt with the one for the year 2012 and we now have to deal with 2013 and 2014 listed as items numbered 9 and 10.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:31 p.m.
Do you mean items numbered 9 and 10, Reports on 2013 and 2014?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:31 p.m.
That is so, Mr Speaker.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:31 p.m.
We will start with the item numbered 9 -- Hon Chairman of the Committee?
MOTIONS 3:31 p.m.
Chairman of the Committee (Mr Francis Manu-Adabor) 3:31 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that this Honourable House adopts the Committee on Lands and Forestry on the Annual Report of the Forestry Commission for the year 2013.
Mr Speaker, in doing so, I present your Committee's Report.
Introduction
Pursuant to sections 28 of the Forestry Commission Act, 1999 (Act 571) the Annual Report covering the operations and activities of the Commission for the period, January to December, 2013 was laid in Parliament on 17th October, 2017 by the Hon Minister for Lands and Natural Resources.
The Annual Report was subsequently referred by the Hon Speaker to the Committee on Lands and Forestry for consideration and report.
Deliberation
The Committee met on 14th January, 2019 and considered the Annual Report of the Commission. Present at the meeting were the Hon Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon Kwaku Asoman- Cheremeh and his Deputy, Hon Benito Owusu Bio. Officials from the Ministry and the Forestry Commission were also present.
The Committee is grateful for their inputs and clarifications.
Reference Documents
In considering the Annual Report and Financial Statement, the Committee made reference to the under-listed documents:
i.The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana;
ii. The Standing Orders of Parlia- ment;
iii. Forestry Commission Act, 1999 (Act 571);
iv. Forest & Plantation Develop- ment Act, 2000 (Act 583);
v. The Forest Protection (Amend- ment) Act, 2002 (Act 624); and
vi. The Timber Resources Manage- ment Act 617 (Amendment) Act,
2002.
Background Information
The Forestry Commission is respon- sible for the regulation of the utilisation of forest and wildlife resources, the conservation and management of those resources and the coordination of policies related to them. Section 28 of the legal framework that established the Commission placed an obligation on the Minister with oversight responsibility over the Commission to submit to Parliament, an Annual Report of the Commission indicating the operations and activities undertaken towards achieving the mandate of the Commission.
These include audited financial statements, the Auditor-General's report on the accounts, and statement of the Commission's budget, the operational plan for the next financial year, and any other statement the Minister considers necessary.
In fulfilment of the said provision, the sector Minister, has placed before Parliament the 2013 Annual Report of the Forestry Commission.
Vision and Mission of the Commission
The vision of the Commission is to leave future generations and its commu- nities with richer, better and more valuable forestry and wildlife endowments than was inherited.
Its Mission is to sustainably develop and manage Ghana's forestry and wildlife resources.
Functions of the Commission
The Commission exist to perform the following broad functions:
i.regulate the utilisation of forest and timber resources;
ii. manage the nation's forest reserves and protected areas;
iii. assist the private sector and other bodies with the implemen- tation of forest wildlife policies; and
iv. undertake the development of forest plantation for the restora- tion of degraded forest areas, the expansion of the country's forest cover and the increase in the production of industrial timber.
Operations and Activities of the Commission for the Period under Review
Human Resource Information
Chairman of the Committee (Mr Francis Manu-Adabor) 3:31 p.m.


In addition, the table above shows staff demography, other staff information recorded during the year which consisted of the recruitment of 58 Staff, upgrading of 33 staff into various positions, and staff

turnover of 118. Moreover, 28 officers and 100 Forest Guards received training on public prosecuting and law enforcement skills respectively.

Climate Change Activities towards Ghana's REDD+ Readiness

Ghana's REDD+ Readiness process was supported with a grant of US$ 3.4 million from the Forest Carbon Partnership Agreement (FCPF) of the World Bank. In that regard, the following activities were undertaken during the year under reporting:

A REDD+ sub-website was created and linked to the website of the Forestry Commission. This sub- website aids in the dissemination of information on Ghana's REDD+ process to local stakeholders and international partners;

The REDD+ Communication Strategy has been finalised. The final document was uploaded onto the REDD+ sub-website (www.fcghana. org / nrs);

A REDD+ sensitisation workshop was organised for about 150 staff of the Forestry Commission in the Western and Central Regions;

An integrated M&E framework was developed for monitoring and evaluating the components of the REDD+ readiness process and for the assessment of REDD+ related initiatives; and

A framework was developed for monitoring the work of the 7 consultants who had been engaged on key thematic areas of the readiness process.

Timber Rights Administration

During the period under reporting, the Commission pursued the administration and implementation of competitive bidding and other timber rights allocation processes to create value and promote good governance for the Forestry' Commission and other stakeholders. In this regard, the following achievements were made:

i) permits for plantation materials six (6) Regions with a volume of 35,995 m3; and

ii. issuance of salvage permit consisted of 86 off-reserve and

on-Reserve covering six regions.

Timber Validation

The Timber Validation Department (TVD) of the Commission also pursued a number of activities geared towards improving the regulatory environment of the timber industry. Among these activities included:

i. Submission to the Chief Execu- tive, technical inputs on the establishment of a fully- functioning TVD to verify and validate processes and outputs confirming legal compliance or non-compliance of timber and timber products traded interna- tionally and domestically.

ii. Completed the establishment of the Legality Assurance System.

iii. Laws relating to forestry in Ghana compiled & harmonised.

iv. Legislative Instrument backing the issuance of Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Licensing (L.I. 2184) was operationalised to facilitate the issuance of FLEGT License.

Rapid Response Operations

The Rapid Response Unit of the Commission achieved the following in

2013:

i.destroyed 1,743 illegal farm huts;

ii. seized 122 Chainsaw of which 41 of them were destroyed;

iii. destroyed 312 ha Farms; and

iv. seized 24 Logs.

Legal Activities

The following legal activities were undertaken during the year under reporting:

i.The Commission was legally represented in Court on sixteen

(16) different legal suits of which three (3) were decided in favour of the Commission, and two (2) against the Commission;

ii. The Department, in collaboration with the Human Resources Department and the Law and Development Associates, trained twenty eight (28) FC staff as Forest and Wildlife Prosecutors; and

iii. The Legal Department, in conjunction with TVD and Glyn Marais of South Africa, com- pleted the drafting of the service providers' contract for the implementation of a US$5 million Wood Tracking System in Ghana between Ata Marie Consortium and the Government of Ghana represented by FC.

Forest protection

Table 2 below gives detailed activities and corresponding achievements made in an effort to protect the forest.
Chairman of the Committee (Mr Francis Manu-Adabor) 3:31 p.m.
SPACE FOR TABLE 2 PAGE 5 -- 3.31 PM

SPACE FOR TABLE 2 CONT. PAGE 6 -- 3.31 PM

Forest production

Table 3 below provides an overview of key activities and achievements made in respect of forest production.

SPACE FOR TABLE 3 PAGE 6 -- 3.31 PM

Forest Development

Table 4 below indicates activities and key achievements made during the 2013 financial year.

Table 4: Forest development activities undertaken and key achievements made

SPACE FOR TABLE 4 PAGE 7 -- 3.31 PM

Field Operations and Law Enforcement in Protected Areas

The following operations were undertaken towards the effort at ensuring compliance in the protected areas:

i.1,142 effective patrol days were carried out in seventeen (17) Protected Areas;

ii. 110 poachers were arrested and fifty-eight (58) of them were prosecuted;

iii. 13 fire arms were confiscated at Bia and Mole National Parks;

iv. 10 motorbikes were confiscated at Bui National Park mainly from illegal galamsey operators in a portion of the Park;

v. 2 motorbikes confiscated at Gbele Resource Reserve for other wildlife offences;
Chairman of the Committee (Mr Francis Manu-Adabor) 3:31 p.m.
Financial Performance
Revenue Performance
SPACE FOR TABLES PAGES 9 & 10 -- 3.31 PM

Observations

Delay in the submission of Annual Reports of the Commission

The Committee expressed concern about the continuous violation of section 28 of the Forestry Commission Act, 1999 (Act 571), which anticipates that Annual Reports on the operations and activities of the Commission be submitted to Parliament not beyond nine (9) months after the end of each financial year. The delay in submitting the report to Parliament defeats its intended purpose and rationale because it does not allow for effective scrutiny and oversight.

The Committee recommends to the House to send a strong reservation to all sector Ministers and Government Agencies who are required by law to submit their Annual Report to Parliament to strictly adhere to the timelines.

Forest development and protection

The Committee observed that various initiatives have been instituted by the Commission and other collaborating agencies and organisations over the years to restore degraded lands, protect and increase the country's forest cover. This notwithstanding, the Committee observed that progress has not been encouraging. The rate of forest degradation still poses great threat to Ghana's sustainable development effort. The key challenge noted by the Committee was sustainable funding for those initiatives.

The Committee accordingly recom- mends for a non-partisan stakeholders consultation on sustainable funding for forest protection and plantation develop- ment.

Provision of Alternative Livelihood Programmes

The Committee also observed that initiatives at protecting and increasing the forest cover have largely missed out the provision of alternative livelihood programmes for the rural folks who depend heavily on forest resources. The inadequate, and, sometimes, the complete absence of alternate livelihood programmes, coupled with the growth in population and the need to survive, leaves no other option for the inhabitants than to attack the protected forest areas.

The Committee urges the Commission to consider providing alternative livelihood programmes as an integral part of the broad initiative of protecting the forest cover.

Budget Overruns in the Compensation

The Committee observed a huge budget overrun of GH¢27,029,064.82 on compensation, representing over 300 per cent of the amount budgeted during the year 2013. The Commission however, explained that the huge variance was occasioned by the increase in salaries of staff resulting from the Single Spine Salary Structure, which was not anticipated during the beginning of that year.

Infections and omissions in the Report

The Committee observed certain infractions and omissions in the content of the report. Among those infractions and omissions were the conduct of the Financial Audit of the Commission by the State Enterprise Audit Corporation, contrary to Section 11 (1) of the Audit Service Act of 2000 (Act 584); absence of the Auditor General's Report on the accounts of the Commission and

Statement of the Commission's budget, and the lack of an operational plan for the next financial year as provided in Section 28 (1) (a) and (b) of the Forestry Commission Act of 1999 (Act 571). The Committee urges the Commission to take note of the requirements under the law and fulfil same in subsequent reports.

Royalties paid to Administrator of Stool Lands

It was also observed that royalties from forest resources paid to the Administrator of Stool Lands, in accordance with article 267 (6), did not find expression in the report. The lack of such useful information affects the oversight functions of the Committee and Parliament, by extension. The Committee urges the Commission to provide such information in its subsequent Annual Reports to assist the monitoring functions of Parliament.

Conclusion

The Committee has thoroughly examined the Annual Report of the operations and activities of the Forestry Commission for the year, 2013 and is largely satisfied with the achievement of the Commission during the year under reporting.

The Committee accordingly recom- mends to the House to adopt its Report, taking note of the issues raised in the observations.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:31 p.m.
Hon Members, the Motion has been moved with the belief that you have copies of the Report and you have all read it.
Any seconder?
Mr Andrew Amoako Asiamah (NPP -- Fomena) 3:31 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I rise to second the Motion and in doing so, I would like to make a few comments.
Mr Speaker, in the 2012 Report that was adopted this morning, the Hon Ranking Member of the Committee made an observation which is so germane that this Report is for 2013 and we are now taking it. Mr Speaker, it appears that the Commission and others, which are statutorily bounded to submit Reports, at times take it optional but the Reports are supposed to be statutory.
Mr Speaker, I believe much has been said about it but emphasis needs to be made that it is statutorily mandated and therefore, all Commissions must take it seriously; so that this House can get the Reports to enable us perform our oversight responsibility.
Mr Speaker, reading the Report, one thing is clear and that is the encroachment of the most of protected area. I read the Report in conjunction with a report that was placed in my pigeon hole which is Ghana Wildlife Society Report, it is a review of Ghana Legal Framework for Protected Areas.
One thing is also established in that Report, which is the fact that most protected areas which came about as a result of Government expropriating lands from stools and families which are not compensated for and as a result, those owners find reason to encroach the land that has been acquired and protected for whatever purpose.
Mr Speaker, let me use this opportunity to urge the Commission and most especially the Lands Commission to take this matter as urgent. It is not only about protected areas for forest reserves, but most other development lands that are taken by the Commission or the Ministry
Minority Leader (Mr Haruna Iddrisu) 3:41 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I hope I can have your indulgence to make a few comments and retire to the Appointments Committee.
I would like to speak in support of the Motion and to commend the Committee and to agree with the last Hon Member who spoke -- if I can refer you to paragraph 10.1 on page 10, of the Committee's Report with your permission it says:
“Delay in the submission of Annual Reports of the Commission
The Committee expressed concern about the continuous violation of section 28 of the Forestry Commission Act of 1999 (Act 571)”
Mr Speaker, with your indulgence, I would quote from section 28 of Act 571.
“The Commission shall submit to the Minister as soon as practicable
and in any event not more than 6 months after the end of each financial year a report dealing generally with the activities and operations of the Commission during the year to which the report relates and shall include --
(a) the audited accounts of the Commission and the Auditor- General's report on the accounts;
(b) a statement of the Commission's budget and operational plans for the next financial year; and
(C)such other information as the Commission may consider necessary.”
Mr Speaker, apart from agreeing with the Hon Chairman and the Hon Colleague who just spoke -- this House must take this matter seriously, and where necessary, we should sanction those institutions that fail to respect the letter and spirit of the law.
Mr Speaker, I am particularly interested in subsection (b) which says, with your permission,
“a statement of the Commission's budget and operational plans for the next financial year.”
Probably because many of these may even be organisations that are not funded directly -- This House would not know what goes into their budget, what they budget for, what they would do in the coming year and what they did in the previous year.
Our only opportunity to thoroughly scrutinise the budget of the Forestry Commission is when this report is made available to this House. Therefore, I do
share the position of the Hon Chairman and the Committee to send a strong reservation to all sector Ministers and Government Agencies.
Mr Speaker, you have been one of the longest serving Members of Parliament. It is a truism that in almost every Bill which has passed through this House, this becomes a traditional aspect of reporting on, audited reports and accounts which also churned out even from portions of the Constitution. That respect is important.
Mr Speaker, my only difficulty with the Committee is paragraphs 8.1 and 8.2. I will not fault them because it took a long period for this to come to us. If any person read this Report -- actual, budget, variance, revenue performance -- no year is stated. Are they talking about 2012 or 2013? The Report, even though it is for 2013, would report on activities and operations for 2012. I can assume that because that is my understanding, but if any person were to pick our Committee's Report, he would have a difficulty appreciating what they reported on.
Mr Speaker, the other one is the Mole National Park. Mr Speaker, I just got back from Livingstone, Zambia, with the Hon Majority Leader …

Mr Speaker, I just got back from Livingston, Zambia with the Hon Majority Leader where they have made tourism an important aspect of their resource mobilisation as a country. The Mole National Park, can as well be our - Even though we do not have a Victoria Waterfalls that we could call one of the seven wonders of the world, we have wildlife which a lot of tourists are interested in seeing.

I think that the State should take particular interest in the proper preservation of those species. I tried during the wee hours to see if I could catch a glimpse of the existing rhinoceros in that area. It does not appear that in Ghana, we have been able to situate tourism very well.

I was at the Mole National Park at the beginning of the year where sometimes, tourists struggle to get accommodation. There is only Zaina Lodge which is the superior hotel facility there and when it is full, they cannot accommodate more. We should look at expanding the facilities in that particular area. A lot of marketing needs to be done on that particular facility.

Mr Speaker, in concluding, may I refer you to page 7, table 4 of the Report, on Forest Development, the Activities Under-taken and Key Achievements Made.

Mr Speaker, I come to the item “For jobs created” for Forestry in Ghana; we are reporting 1,905 jobs and we are happy about it. We certainly should not be. This is an industry which could employ 20,000 to 50,000 persons if the resources are properly harnessed and that is what we must do.

Even now, the numbers might probably be lower. I am not aware of any improvements, apart from youth employment activists that have been recruited there, although their salaries have been downsized. [Interruption] Do they want to hear that now?

As the former Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, if any of the young people there take Government to court, they are likely to win an action against the State. This is because at the point of appointing a person, when you oblige him with a contract that this is the amount he or she will earn, it is wrong for the State to renege and reduce the person's earnings. That is not right. If you say you will pay
Minority Leader (Mr Haruna Iddrisu) 3:41 a.m.


GH¢700 and it is in the official appointment letter of the person -- [Interruption] Yes, in the appointment letter, those terms and conditions were made. I have seen a copy and it has been reduced.

Mr Speaker, the Hon Member is asking me to bring it in. Very soon, I will bring something I promised to bring. If the Hon Majority Leader listened to himself yesterday when we met with the National House of Chiefs --

Still on forestry, the timber industry used to be one of the most lucrative industries in the Ashanti Region. We should watch it because now that there is no timber, what would they do as a commercial activity in order to earn a living? We are just interested in cutting, yet it says that the State must preserve this resource for and on behalf of the Ghanaian people.

So, when timber rights are granted, this House has a role to play in ratifying many of those Agreements. The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources must keep this House properly updated on many of these issues.

Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity and I totally agree with the Hon Chairman of the Committee that we should call the Commission and many other institutions which do not respect the law to order.
Mr Ras Mubarak (NDC -- Kumbungu) 3:41 a.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Report.
In commenting on the Report, there are a few things that I would like to draw the attention of the Committee and the House to. One of the interesting things --
Mr Iddrisu 3:41 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am retiring to the Appointments Committee. Yesterday, I promised to lay this document, a Daily Graphic article titled “Local Banks seek President's Intervention in Minimal Capital Demand”. I am sorry for interrupting the Motion.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:41 a.m.
Mr Speaker, this is a violent assault on the rules of procedure in this House. We are debating a Motion, the Hon Minority Leader finished his intervention and then he just says -- If he sought his leave properly so speaking, he should have waited for you to grant it.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:41 a.m.
Actually, he never caught my eye. [Laughter] So we take it that nothing has happened. [Laughter]
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:41 a.m.
Nothing has happened indeed. [Laughter] Hon Mubarak could continue.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:41 a.m.
Hon Mubarak was on his feet and may continue.
Mr Ras Mubarak 3:51 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in commenting on the Report, there are a couple of things that I would like to highlight. If we look at page 5 of the Report, on Forest Protection, there is a table there that rolls over to page 6. We all have a national duty to control illegal harvesting of plantations and I think that the Hon Minority Leader made mention of that a while ago.
At the heart of this is the destruction of our forest reserves. We live in a global village where we keep hearing about climate change. It seems we in this country are a bit oblivious to the effects of illegal harvesting of plantation timber. These have devastating effects not just on us, but on tomorrow's generation. It is
important that we put in place the necessary measures to curtail these effects on our plantations and on the environment. That is why I am particularly happy that the Report encapsulated that.
Ecotourism development has a huge potential for job creation in our country. We currently have a situation with unemployment and are faced with a situation where muscled men feel that they do not have jobs and for that matter, need to take the law unto themselves and wreak havoc on us. I think that we can harness the energy of these heavily built men and ensure that they play some role in ecotourism and ensuring that we promote it as best as possible
You can call them Azorka Boys or De Eye Group. For all of these young men, they do what they do because they do not have decent jobs. I think that if we are really serious about curtailing their activities, there are low hanging fruits that we could pluck to get them busy in areas like this, so that they do not continue to threaten our livelihoods in this country.
Mr Speaker, there is another interesting thing that I would like to touch on briefly before I resume my seat and that is on page 7 of the Report, under Lack of Forest Guards and Logistics.

There are many young people in the country who do not have jobs and could be engaged. If we look at the two lead Youth and Employment Agencies; Agencies with the mandate to facilitate youth development - the National Youth Authority (NYA) and the Youth Employment Agency have been given guarantee source of funding from the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF)

and moneys allocated to these two Agencies are enormous.

We could fashion out a programme where we get the NYA and Youth Employment Agency to bring together all these young men and women who are idling to play some role or another in the area or forest guards and also in the area of providing logistics as long as the State would give them the necessary support with respect to resources.

Mr Speaker, finally, we may see climate change as very abstract; as an issue that is far from us, but we are already experiencing its devastating effects on our agriculture, fishing and land in our various communities and Constituencies.

I believe that at the heart of increased threat to our own livelihood is the cutting down of trees in our various communities. Recently, the Government had to renew the ban on the harvesting of rosewood in the country, but it is still going on [Interruption].

In my Constituency, there is a community called Singa -- in many parts of the country, the cultivation of rosewood is still going on. If it were not going on, the Ministry of Lands and Forestry would not have issued a statement to renew the ban on the harvesting of rosewood in the country. We need to take it seriously and get young men and women to play a role as life guards in these areas.

Mr Speaker, I'm afraid I have not had so much time to go through the Report, but glancing through, these are my comments and contributions as far as the Report of the Committee is concerned and I so second the Motion.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:51 p.m.
Hon Member, you are the second person to second the Motion. The Motion was seconded earlier, so, you are not seconding it.
Mr Moses Anim (NPP -- Trobu) 3:51 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Motion.
Mr Speaker, I am so much concerned about the way we have allowed our forest cover to deplete and to the extent that these days, we even tamper with our landscapes -- the mountains and the hills that we have in the country. In my constituency for instance, there is a hill called ‘'Capital Hill'' that has been tempered with and the erosion effect that it has brought to the community of Omanjor and its enclave is terrible. Hitherto, that erosion was not there.
In fact in 1992 when we visited that community, the hill was there for winning of stones which created jobs for the jobless. Tampering with it has increased the erosion of the country. As a result, the community has to be redesigned and redeveloped in terms of drains and all that. Recently, when we constructed some culverts to reduce the pressure of the running surface water, the running surface water does not channel through the culverts all because of the way it is tempered with.
Mr Speaker, we are trying to also create a substation for the enclave at African Concrete Product (ACP) and we have started tampering with the hills which would also affect the sub-station. There should be an integration of all the Agencies where they would have to link up strongly with the Town and Country Planning, the Local Government and the District Assemblies. The way permits are given to people to just build around anywhere and over hills is a very challenging issue for the country.
Mr Speaker, we also know that even during Sir Gordon Guggisberg's time the sort of green belt that he planned, the sort of green belt that Dr Kwame Nkrumah and
the successive Governments planned -- areas that were earmarked for green belt have all been converted into residential purposes.
If one goes towards Accra and its suburb, it would be realised that we have lost entirely the forest cover. Our attitude even towards cultivating trees and plants is very haphazard and we have to take key interest in it. We should be able to inculcate an education system that would let our people have attraction for keeping the forest.
These days implementing and enforcing the law is also an issue. This House would have to support the Forestry Commission and support whatever Agency is available to work well for our country.
Mr Speaker, I also realised that there is compensational challenges. If we look at the variance in compensation in the Report - because they are not able to meet their compensational target. I do not know how they would -- [Interruption] -- I have been looking at the 2014 Report then. If they over run their budget in compensation then that is another issue we have to look at.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:51 p.m.
Which aspect of compensation are you looking at, are you talking about remuneration of staff?
Mr Anim 3:51 p.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:51 p.m.
Not compensation for lands compulsorily acquired?
Mr Anim 3:51 p.m.
Mr Speaker, not at all.
Mr Speaker, by and large, although the Report has delayed and we have to facilitate the other one so that we could be cogent on timeous reporting, we could advise the Forestry Commission to work
hard. I do not know whether I could veer into all these lost that we have made -- if we had really integrated very well, certain challenges in terms of galamsey and all that would not have been part of our issue at all. We have to do something about the way we allow our forest covers to be depleted.
Recently, there have been a lot of planting of trees around in the river belts in Nsaki in my Constituency for instance. The affection for planting trees and taking care of them should be inculcated in our system so that we can continue to do the good work that we can. If we cannot maintain what our forefathers have left us, we should not deplete them -- We should rather add to the forest cover in the nature that God made for us.
Mr Speaker, I thank you so much for the opportunity.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:01 p.m.
Hon Members, since we have a similar Report, it is advisable I put the Question on this one, so that we could move to the Report on 2014.
Question put and Motion agreed to.
Hon Members, item numbered 10, which is also a Motion which stands in the name of the Hon Chairman of the Committee.
MOTIONS 4:01 p.m.
Chairman of the Committee (Mr Francis Manu-Adabor) 4:01 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that this Honourable House adopts Report of the Committee on Lands and Forestry on the Annual Report of the Forestry Commission for the year 2014.
`
Chairman of the Committee (Mr Francis Manu-Adabor) 4:01 p.m.


Mr Speaker, pursuant to sections 28 of the Forestry Commission Act, 1999(Act 571) sdthe Annual Report covering the operations and activities of the Commission for the period, January to December, 2014 was laid by the Hon Minister for Lands and Natural Resources and referred to the Committee on Lands and Forestry by the Mr Speaker for consideration and Report.

Deliberations

The Committee met in January and considered the Annual Report of the Commission. Present at the meeting were the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon Kwaku Asomah- Cheremeh, his Deputy, Hon Benito Owusu Bio and a technical team from the Commission.

The Committee is grateful for their inputs and calrifications.

In considering the Annual Report and Financial Statement, the Committee made reference to the underlisted documents:

i. The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana;

ii.The Standing Orders of Parlia- Parliament;

iii. Forestry Commission Act of 1999 (Act 571);

iv. Forest and Plantation Develop- ment Act of 2002 (Act 583;

v. The Forest Protection (Amend- ment) Act of 2002 (Act 624); and

vi. The Timber Resources Manage- ment (Act 617)(Amendment) Act of 2002.
Chairman of the Committee (Mr Francis Manu-Adabor) 4:01 p.m.


Background Information

The Forestry Commission is respon- sible for the regulation of the utilisation of forest and wildlife resources, the conservation and management of those resources and the coordination of policies related to them. Section 28 of the legal framework that established the Commission placed an obligation on the Minister to submit to Parliament an Annual Report of the Commission indicating the operations and activities undertaken towards achieving the mandate of the Commission.

These include audited financial statements, the Auditor-Generals report on the accounts, statement of the Commission's budget and operational plan for the next financial year and any other statement the Minister considers necessary.

In fulfilment of the said provision, the sector Minister has placed before Parliament the 2014 Annual Report of the Forestry Commission.

Vision and Mission of the Commission

The vision of the Commission is to leave future generations and communities

with richer, better and more valuable forestry and wildlife endowments than was inherited.

Its Mission is to sustainably develop and manage Ghana's forestry and wildlife resources.

Functions of the Commission

The Commission exist to perform the following broad functions:

i. regulate the utilisation of forest and timber resources;

ii. manage the nations forest reserves and protected areas;

iii. assist the private sector and other bodies with the implementation of forest wildlife policies; and undertake the development of forest plantation for the restoration of degraded forest areas, the expansion of the country's forest cover and the increase in the production of industrial timber.

Operations and Activities of the Commis- sion for the Period under Reporting

Human Resource Information

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In addition, the table above shows staff demography, 65 staff were recruited'; 67 received upgrading to various positions and staff turnover was 149.

In respect of training, 28 officers of the Commission received eight weeks training as Public Prosecutors and 100 Forest Guards also received training on law enforcement skills.

Climate Change Activities towards Ghana's REDD+ Readiness

Activities of the Climate Change Unit were grouped into four components namely; readiness organisation and consultation, REDD+ strategy prepa- ration, setting up of Reference Emissions Level (REL) and Development of Monitoring Systems for Forests and Safeguards:

A REDD+ sensitisation workshop was organised for 150 staff of the Commission in the Western and Central Regions.

An integrated M&E framework was developed for monitoring and evaluation of the components of the REDD+ readiness process and for the assessment of REDD+ related initiatives.

A Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop for REDD+ was orga- nised at the Forestry Commission Training Centre with an objective of enhancing capacity on REDD+ amongst staff of the Forestry Commission. Fifty staff of the FC participated in the workshop.

The first national REDD+ Roadshow was completed. The theme for the Roadshow was: “Reducing Forest Loss and Climate Change Impacts through REDD+;

Our Collective Responsibility”. There were four stops during the Roadshow: Damango, Dormaa Ahenkro, Tarkwa and Hohoe.

Timber Rights Administration

During the period under reporting, the Commission pursued the administration and implementation of competitive bidding and other timber rights allocation processes to create value and promote good governance for the Forestry Commission and other stakeholders. In this regard, the following achievements were made:

i. 82 permits were issued for plantation materials in 7 regions with a volume of 167,214.475 m3; and

ii. Issuance of salvage permit consisted of 163 Off-Reserve and 2 On-Reserve covering 7 regions.

Timber Validation

The Timber Validation Department (TVD) is mandated to coordinate key activities that will enable Ghana issue out a Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT)/ Legality license under the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the European Union (EU). Central to the issuance of FLEGT/Legality license is the establishment of a Legality Assurance System (LAS).

Rapid Response Operations

The Rapid Response Unit of the Commission achieved the following during the year under reporting:

i. Seized assorted lumber totalling

38,868;

ii. Destroyed 678 illegal farm huts;
Chairman of the Committee (Mr Francis Manu-Adabor) 4:01 p.m.


iii. Seized 187 Chainsaw of which 84 of them were destroyed;

iv. Destroyed 372 ha farms;

v. Seized 53 logs;

vi. 133 Vehicles involved in illegalities;

vii.116 Persons involved in illegalities;

viii. 2 Weapons seized.

Forest protection

Table 2 below gives detailed activities and corresponding achievements made in effort to protect the forest.

Forest production

Table 3 below provides an overview of key activities and achievements made in respect of forest production.
Chairman of the Committee (Mr Francis Manu-Adabor) 4:01 p.m.


Field Operations and Law Enforcement in Protected Areas

The following operations were undertaken towards the effort at ensuring compliance in the protected areas:

i.195 effective patrol days were carried out in seventeen (17) Protected Areas;

ii. 118 poachers were arrested, and forty-eight (48) of them were prosecuted;

iii. eighty (80) firearms and 24 gin traps confiscated in various Protected Areas;

iv. thirty-eight (38) galamsey offenders arrested and prosecuted. Eighteen (18) of them were sentenced to 3 months' imprisonment with hard labour;

v. twenty-nine (29) motor bikes, five (5) tricycles and three (3) K1A trucks impounded in Bui National Park. The trucks were handed over to the Brong-Ahafo Regional Police Command awaiting court order to dispose them off;

vi. eight Hundred and sixteen kilometres (816km) of Protected Area boundaries cleaned in all Protected Areas; and

vii.galamsey operators and fishermen at Dokokyina evicted, and remnants of Dokokyina pulled down;

Maintenance and Rehabilitation of Protected Area Infrastructure

As part of its effort at improving the infrastructure in Protected Areas, the Ministry undertook the following projects:

i. two (2) boreholes constructed in Gbele, and Shai Hills Resource Reserves, and one maintained in Kakum National Park;

ii. one (1) solar system maintained at Dome Camp in Kogyae Strict Nature Reserve;

iii. one (1) metal gate was fixed at the main entrance of Shai Hills Resource Reserve;

iv. three (3) new cages constructed and ten (10) existing ones repaired in Accra and Kumasi Zoos respectively;

v. eighteen (18) units of Junior Staff Quarters, two (2) Senior staff bungalows and an office block in Bui National Park completed and handed over to the Wildlife Division by the Bui Power Authority;

vi. twenty (20) culverts constructed along Cross Road in Mole National Park;

vii. four (4) km of Shai Hills Resource Reserve boundary fence constructed;

viii. eighteen (18) housing units at roofing stage for the resettlement project at Gbele Resource Reserve constructed.

ix.two (2) camps connected to the national electricity grid in Kakum National Park;

x. two (2) staff bungalows main- tained at BIMU Goaso and Kogyae Strict Nature Reserve; and

xi. one hundred and ninety (190) km access roads maintained in Mole, Ankasa and Bia National Parks.

Eco-Tourism Development

The following were undertaken as part of efforts at promoting eco- tourism:

i. construction of a 25-room tented lodge by Eco-lodges Ghana Ltd at Mole National Park is about 90 per cent complete.

ii. Two waterholes constructed in Mole National Park by the Eco- lodges Ghana Ltd. to improve wildlife viewing at the new tented lodge;

iii. 25Km of visitor trails maintained in Mole, Kakum, Shai Hills and Owabi Wildlife Protected Areas;

iv. 170km viewing roads maintained at Mole National Park and Shai Hills Resource Reserve;

v. main access road from Larabanga to the Mole National Park tarred;

vi. car Parks at the Mole Motel and Park Headquarters paved.

vii.A new museum constructed to the roofing stage in Mole National Park;

viii. a tree house and a camp site in Kakum National Park rehabilitated; and

ix. three (3) dug-outs (waterholes) constructed in Mole National Park and Shai Hills Resource Reserve.

Conservation Education and Creation of Public Awareness

Achievements made under the Commission's education and awareness creation efforts included:

i.one hundred and seven (107) first and second cycle schools and one hundred and sixty-six (166) communities around Wildlife Protected Areas and Ramsar Sites were educated on the importance of wildlife conservation;

ii. thirty-six (36) radio programmes were carried out by Wildlife Protected Areas and Ramsar Sites;

iii. participated in five (5) public awareness events including trade and policy fairs; and

iv. twenty (20) VRA staff were educated on the importance of Wetland Conservation.

Collaborative Resource Management

Section 2(2)(c)(ii) of the Forestry Commission Act, 1999 (Act 571) places an obligation on the Commission to cooperate with relevant bodies and organisations on the management and utilization of forest and wildlife resources. In fulfilment of the said provision, the following key achievements were made:

i. thirty (30) volunteers from fifteen (15) communities trained in turtle surveillance and protection in Songor Ramsar Site.

ii. forty (45) volunteers trained in Muni-Pomadze Ramsar Site to improve their knowledge.

iii. thirty-six (36) Community Resource Management Areas (CREMA)/Community Resour- ces Management Committee (CRMC)/Protected Area Mana- gement Advisory Unit (PAMAU's) meetings organised in Mole, Kyabobo and Ankasa Wildlife Protected Areas.
Chairman of the Committee (Mr Francis Manu-Adabor) 4:01 p.m.


iv. one Hundred and Thirty (130) CREMA members sensitised on REDD+ and the importance of the CREMA in Mole National and Kyabobo National Parks;

v. two meetings held to revise Mognori CREMA management plan at the Mole National Park;

vi. six (6) training programmes organised for six (6) communities in the use of chilli/grease demonstration farms in Kakum National Park to control marauding elephants;
Chairman of the Committee (Mr Francis Manu-Adabor) 4:01 p.m.
viii. seven hundred (700) seedlings of other species were supplied to schools/communities within the Muni-Pomadze and Songhor Ramsar sites and Mole National Park for planting.
Timber Industry Development
Table 5 to 13 provides information on Timber Industry development efforts.

Protected Area Management Advisory Unit

Table 6: Export Market for Ghana's Timber Products

Table 7: Kiln and Air Dried Lumber Export

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Chairman of the Committee (Mr Francis Manu-Adabor) 4:01 p.m.


Financial Performance

Revenue Performance

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Expenditure Performance

Key Challenges

The following were key challenges that militated against the Ministry's effort at achieving all the targets set for the year under reporting:

i. disbursement of funds for plantation and natural forest operations was untimely and inadequate;

ii. inadequate competencies and capacity of Contractors to undertake effective plantation establishment and management;

iii. delay in the release of funds for the implementation of work plans;

iv. irregular and inadequate supply of protective clothing (uniform and field boots) to field staff for field work;

v. inadequate or total lack of required field equipment for more effective law enforcement in Protected Areas;

vi.population of people within admitted farms and villages within Forest Reserves have increased resulting in encroachment of internal boundaries within the reserves;

vii. though some staff have been recruited, staff inadequacy, especially in the core areas of operations, is still affecting the performance of the Divisions adversely;

viii. payroll challenges as a result of CAGD's new Regimes and Reforms; and

ix. internet and Network related challenges affecting Human software and Payroll admini- stration.

Observations

Rampant Bushfires

The Committee noted that one of the major threats to Ghana's afforestation efforts is the annual ritual bushfires deliberately set out by people in search of wild meat or as part of farm land preparation. The Committee was of the view that without adequate measures to curb the rampant bushfires and its menace, the vision of the Commission to leave future generations and its communities with richer, better and more valuable forestry and wildlife endowments would be a mirage.

The Committee accordingly recom- mends stiffer penalties for people who intentionally set fire into the forest for whatever reason. The Commission should also collaborate with the Ministry of Agriculture to educate farmers on a more sustainable land preparation and soil management practices.

Challenges in private sector participation in Forest development and protection

One of the major functions of the Commission is to partner with the private sector and other bodies in all aspects, including the provision of technical support, training and policy guidance to develop and protect the forest cover. In pursuance of this mandate, the Committee noted that the Commission had initiated a benefit sharing agreement programme with private investors.

The Committee was of the view that because greater responsibility is placed on the private investor, it makes it a disincentive for many people to go into plantation development.

The Committee therefore urges the Commission to take a second look at the arrangement and make it more attractive to private investors.

Poor collaboration with other Agencies

The activities of the Commission dives into the jurisdiction of other Agencies, institutions and organisations at both local and international levels. In this regard, the legal framework that established the Commission mandated it to collaborate and liaise with relevant bodies and organisations to effectively and efficiently discharge its functions. For instance, the Commission is expected to collaborate with the Ghana Fire Service to curb the menace of bushfires; the Ministry of Agriculture to educate farmers on
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:01 p.m.
Any seconder?
Mr Andrew Amoako Asiamah (NPP — Fomena) 4:01 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I rise to second the Motion, and in doing so, please permit me to make one point. All of us here, and I believe every person in Ghana believes that the rate at which our forest cover is
Mr Andrew Amoako Asiamah (NPP — Fomena) 4:01 p.m.


being depleted needs to be addressed. And over the years, the Commission decided to address this in collaboration with the private sector. Therefore the Commission invited the private sector to also take part in plantation development.

Mr Speaker, when one reads paragraph 10.2 of the Committee's Report, the private sector also appears to be having some challenges and therefore do not find this venture lucrative or attractive enough.

Let me therefore urge the Commission to sit down with the private sector, especially, those who are desirous to undertake private plantations to see the kind of challenges they are facing so that they can indeed collaborate effectively with the Commission in order that we would be able to address this canker that is looming before the nation.

With this, I will urge Hon Members to also support the Motion.

Question proposed.
Ms Laadi Ayii Ayamba (NDC — Pusiga) 4:11 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Motion on the adoption of the Report On Forestry.
The issue of global warming has a lot to do with how much or how good our forest reserves are. If we consider issues especially in Ghana, the depletion of our forest has gone from bad to worse.
Mr Speaker, I wish to first make a comparison of what happened in 2012. I refer to page 3, on job creation, and on page 7, where they talk of the lack of forestry guards. If we were able to employ more than 8,000 people, I believe that in employment, there are some of these technical people who are supposed to be employed and that should be given priority.
Mr Speaker, we all know very well who those forest guards are. They are those we will always find around in most of our forest areas. So what happened that we could not give priority to employ more forest guards to support us in taking care of the few trees that we have in certain areas, rather than just employing maybe — because it is not clearly stated how many forest guards were part of the 8,800.
I will now come to the substantive one, on the issue of rapid response and cooperation on page 5. It is clearly stated under paragraph 7.5 that the farms that were destroyed were up to 1,743. But what was the prosecution level? How many of those who went into this illegal activity were actually prosecuted and imprisoned?
One funny thing is that, if one thinks he would prosecute somebody who might have committed such a crime and it is that the person is only sent to court and he or she eventually pays something and goes away, that person surely goes back to continue with the illegal activity, maybe, not in that very place the person committed the offence, but in another place, and it goes on and on.
So it is very important for us to set examples to ensure that people who continuously have the education and yet, continue to breach the law should be sent to prison to serve as warning to those who might be thinking of doing or repeating the same issues.
Mr Speaker, if we go to page 9, under conservation, education and creation of public awareness, in 2012, it was stated that 25 first and second cycle schools and 186 communities were given education. And on this page, we have 99 first and second cycle schools, and that is an increment of 74 schools. But if we go to
the communities, instead of 186, we have 144, which is a reduction of 42 communities and the question then is why was it that the 42 communities were left out, instead of an increase in the education that should have been given to more communities?
Mr Speaker, we might go back to say it is an issue of funding, but we should not also forget that this is an issue that we need to tackle hands-down and make sure that these offences are completely put off through education.
Mr Speaker, when I talk of education, I wish to state that it is very important that we reintroduce the issue of giving the young ones, right from the basic schools up to the tertiary institutions, education on the importance of planting trees, and encouraging the planting of trees.
Mr Speaker, if one goes to most of our Basic schools today, one would find out that they are just on their own and there are no trees, not even a single tree sometimes to protect those schools. When there is wind or let me say, a storm or any serious rain, then the roofs are blown off because there are no trees to support them. Even the children, when they come out from break, they are not able to get places where there are shades for them to sit under. This is because this kind of education is not being given these days.

We just dwell on Mathematics, English and Science. Although all these subjects have also relations when it comes to trees because I recall that we used to cut the branches of some of these trees and made them into counters which we used to teach.

Mr Speaker, but here we are today; we do not even have those trees. We do not give that education. We only have a few
Ms Laadi Ayii Ayamba (NDC — Pusiga) 4:11 p.m.


number of schools and communities that are being given that education maybe once in a year and that ends it. Yet we would want our people to understand and obey the laws that trees should not be cut down and that we should not be interested in using charcoal and what have you. It is very important that we take it up.

Mr Speaker, I would also urge that as Hon Members, as we go back into our communities with our campaign messages, we should incorporate the issue of planting and preservation of trees. We should also ensure that the few forests left should not also be depleted. We should not encourage the issue of people going in to cut down these trees. One of the methods that some people use these days is going into the middle of the forest and cutting the trees.

So when you stand at the periphery of the forest, you might think that it is all trees that are standing but when you go deep into it, you would find out that they have cut a lot of the trees down which is very worrying.

Mr Speaker I wish that we urge the education to go wider to more communities and it should be taken up by every individual; it should be an all hands on deck issue.

Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Motion.
Mr Samuel Ayeh-Paye (NPP -- Ayensuano) 4:11 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Motion on the Floor.
Mr Speaker, I would want to thank the Committee on Lands and Forestry for presenting a very good Report to this House.
Mr Speaker, as we all know, it is said that when the last tree dies, the last man dies. So it is important we take good care of our trees and increase the forest cover of this country. Because of the climate change and the heat that other countries including Ghana are experiencing, it is important we look at how we can increase the forest cover.
Mr Speaker, the current Government has embarked on a project where young men and women have been recruited by the Forestry Commission to help in the planting of trees in various districts in this country. That is a very good Project and the report that we are having from the Forestry Commission from the various districts shows that a lot of trees are being planted.
Those of us who are used to the forest areas -- my constituency shares boundary with the Atiwa Forest. If you would visit the Atiwa Forest, some areas that the trees were cut by illegal means felling of trees, are being recovered by planting new ones.
Mr Speaker, but there is one issue I have noticed in this Report and I would want to draw the attention of this House for us to look at it carefully and that is on page 2. I will be talking about item 6.0 -- Functions of the Commission. It says to “manage the nation's forest reserves and protected areas.”
There is another portion that talks about wildlife in our various forests. We ought to not only keep the forest and see the number of trees in the forest but to also help keep wildlife in the various forests.
Mr Speaker, if you visit the Achimota Forest -- I wish you would take a tour to the Achimota Forest one day and see
Dr Francis Bawaana Dakura (NDC -- Jirapa) 4:11 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to make a contribution on the Report submitted by the Committee on Lands and Forestry.
Mr Speaker, I would want to make some very interesting observations and concerns that I feel from the Report, more or less it overweighs one side of what I think is the complete forestry diversity.
Mr Speaker, looking at the Report, the Committee has done a fantastic job which I believe is, quite detailed. I also recognised that the overall vision of the Forestry Commission which is stated in paragraph 5 of page 2 is “… to leave future generations and communities with richer, better and more valuable forestry and wildlife endowments than was inherited.” Then the mission “is to sustainably develop and manage Ghana forestry and wildlife resources.”
Mr Speaker, I believe that looking at the Report and the various areas that they placed emphasis on, I think they should perhaps have done a bit more looking at the issue of bushfires. This is because for me, they and the challenges bushfires pose can go a long way to actually determine whether we can achieve this our laudable objective of leaving something sustainable for the future generations.
Mr Speaker, bushfires, I believe are a challenge for killing both the very young species of timber or trees and also very scarce and unique trees. For example, if you go to the northern part of Ghana, you would realise that trees like dawadawa are almost dying off.
I do not know how many of us know the fruit called ackee apple which is very popular in the Caribbean. It was actually exported from here to the Caribbean during the slave trade era. They are now re-exporting that to Africa and to Europe. It is one of the most expensive and foreign exchange earning tree that is being affected by the rampant bushfires that make it impossible for even the young ackee trees to grow. What is left are over aged and virtually dying off.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:21 p.m.
Hon Chairman, your attention is drawn to the fact that what you captured on page 13 on rampant bushfires, under “Obser- vations”, is not detailed enough. You should have gone further to capture some of the ingredients he mentioned.
Even though I also believe that it is not only just bushfires, but the water table is now so deep down that the roots of these trees find it difficult to get water to sustain them. So we need to look at that.
This is however the first time I have read “wild meat”, so I noted it down. It is a terminology that I have never come across. I knew “bush meat”, but I have now learnt “wild meat”.
I saw that the Hon Second Deputy Majority Whip wanted to say something.
Mr Anim 4:21 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:21 p.m.
I am sure that because we have “game”, we also have “game meat”.
Mr Anim 4:21 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I know that you are very much interested in bush meat.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:21 p.m.
It would interest you to know that I am almost a vegetarian. I only take chicken and fish.
Mr Anim 4:21 p.m.
Is that so? What of domesticated meat? [Laughter]
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:21 p.m.
No, whether it is wild or domesticated. Chicken, fish and egg, yes; but not red meat.
Mr Moses Anim (NPP-Trobu) 4:21 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I just want us to remind ourselves that we are not talking about trees alone, but also about wildlife because its growth is best placed in the forest. For that matter, as much as we try to protect and increase our forest cover, we also protect our wildlife.
For now, the extinction of our wildlife is a huge challenge. As the other Hon Member said, if we are not careful, our children would not be able to identify some of the wildlife that we know. In the biological sense and in the practical work at the Ordinary Level biology that we all did, we needed to identify some of these species as part of our learning syllabus. We therefore need to work at it.
Mr Speaker, I admit that the Forestry Commission has done something that we need to commend, but they still have a lot to do. This is because the rate at which we work and try to recover our depleted forests and wildlife is slower than the rate at which it is depleted. There is, therefore, the need to do more.
Mr Speaker, when we look at the Report, it has especially covered some maintenance and rehabilitation of protected area infrastructure, and we must commend them for that.
When we look at the key challenges, to the extent that we have inadequate competence and capacity of contractors to undertake effective plantation establishment and management, it is a huge challenge. I thought that the Committee should probe further in the subsequent report to see what the Forestry Commission has done to improve on its competencies.
Mr Speaker, if we read paragraph 10.3 on page 14, the Committee did not see record of a collaboration between the Forestry Commission and the relevant
Agencies in the Rport, so that at least the framework and the good work that we expect would come off.
They mentioned the Ghana Fire Service, the Ministry of Agriculture and other Agencies that the Forestry Commission could have collaborated with to enhance their work and promote most of the desirable outcomes that we all expect them to work on.
By and large, we should continue to do our best for the Forestry Commission, so that we could sustain the greenbelt and life. We know that what is injurious to the human being is rather taken away by the plants that we have. The carbon dioxide, which is poisonous to the human being, is an important ingredient for the plant to churn out the oxygen and food that is so good for man. We therefore need to do our best to protect our forests, and also make sure that our wildlife is really covered.
Mr Speaker, I support the Motion.
Thank you.
Majority Leader (Mr Osei Kyei- Mensah-Bonsu) 4:21 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity to also add my voice to the Motion before us.
Mr Speaker, this is just by way of offering an answer to the issue raised by my Hon Colleague, Hon Ayamba, who spoke about what was under job creation on page 3 of the Report. It said that they recruited 8,884 field assistants for the 2012 corps. Those people were to assist in tendering the seedlings; they were not forest guards.
That was why on page 7 of the Report, it was said that the Committee was informed that one of the critical challenges of the Forestry Commission in monitoring
Majority Leader (Mr Osei Kyei- Mensah-Bonsu) 4:21 p.m.


activities was the lack of logistics and personnel. The two activities are completely different.

Mr Speaker, but I agree with her that we need to have many more forest guards than we do. Earlier in the morning, I spoke to what is required to be done by the Committee. These Reports are supposed to help us in the performance of our oversight responsibilities. Today, in 2019, we are considering Reports relating to 2012, 2013 and 2014.

What really can we achieve with these matters? For instance, an Hon Colleague raised an issue with respect to the 2013 Annual Report -- the compensation which you spoke about. The budgeted amount for the compensation in the year 2013 was GH¢12,715,000.00 and yet, in the actual amount that was spent on compensation was GH¢39,744,064.82; an increase of over 200 per cent.

Mr Speaker, unfortunately, we are not told what caused that and since this Report is supposed to strengthen our hands in the performance of our oversight responsibilities, how do we proceed when we do not know what caused this? This is six years after this commission. So what we are doing is laughable.

The Hon Ministers are supposed to submit to us --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:31 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader, I thought that at page 11 under item 10.4;
“The Committee observed that a huge budget overrun of GH¢27, 029,064.82 on compensation, representing over 300 per cent of
the amount budgeted during the year 2013. The Commission, however, explained that the huge variance was occasioned by the increase in salaries of staff resulting from the Single Spine Salary Structure…'.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 4:31 p.m.
Mr Speaker, this is a 2013 Report and the Single Spine Salary Structure did not start in that year. It was continued in the year 2013 and that is why I am saying that --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:31 p.m.
It is implementation -- You know that it took some time to get to some Agencies and they were over paid arrears. It is important that maybe, you would have gone further to know whether what I am saying is actually what happened.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 4:31 p.m.
Mr Speaker, that is exactly what I am saying. It came into effect in the year 2009 and the actual implementation was in the year 2010 and some arrears were accumulated which had to be paid.
However, if you tell me that in crafting the 2011 and 2012 Budgets, the Single Spine Salary Structure was factored into the Budget, but if you tell me that now the Budget for the year 2013 was GH¢12,715,000.00 and then it scaled up to GH¢39,744,064.82, we need to shed more light on it than we have been provided. That is the issue I am raising.
So it will not help us to determine what actually happened, and if indeed, we have to further interrogate that, how do we make progress six years after the event?
Mr Speaker, I am saying that we need to be much more timeous than we are doing to ourselves. It is like, we need to fulfil a ritual, so let us submit this Report to Parliament in order for us to be seen to have worked on the Report. It does not serve much useful purpose.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:41 p.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Majority Leader, for drawing our attention to these inadequacies in the Report. I do not know whether the Hon Chairman has something
to say with regard to what the Hon Majority Leader has just pointed out, or before I put the Question, I would have to direct that you make some follow-ups on it.
Yes, Hon Chairman of the Committee?
Mr Manu-Adabor 4:41 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I have noted all the concerns of the Hon Majority Leader. The Committee will sit and add some ingredients to the Reports. I plead we could adopt the Report, and we would do the corrections later.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:41 p.m.
Are you telling the House that you actually have answers to the issues that he has raised and that you only did not capture them in the Report or the Commission did not make them available to you because you did not ask those questions?
Mr Manu-Adabor 4:41 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we might have to invite the Commission and the Ministry to respond to some of the issues and report back.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:41 p.m.
Yes, Hon Ras Mubarak, I guess you are a member of the Committee?
Mr Ras Mubarak 4:41 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am afraid, no. I am not a member of the Committee.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:41 p.m.
So, what do you have to say?
Mr Ras Mubarak 4:41 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in light of the things that have come up in the debate, and looking at the enormity of work that still needs to be done, is it my understanding that the application is for the Committee to go back and do a thorough work? We actually have
precedents where the work of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has been sent back to the Committee for them to tidy up and come back.
Mr Speaker, looking at the inade- quacies, I would make an application -- [Interruption.] There are inade-quacies. Looking at the inadequacies in the Report, my application would be for the Committee to withdraw and do some further work on the Report.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:41 p.m.
You have now moved from your understanding of his application to yourself submitting an application.
Yes, let me listen to the Hon Member for Pusiga.
Ms Laadi Ayii Ayamba 4:41 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would want to go along with the Hon Majority Leader because after we have all made our inputs and stated our observations, from my understanding of what the Hon Majority Leader said, he only advised the Committee to ensure that they do a better job next time. He is not insinuating that they should withdraw the Report to go and work on it.
I would urge that the Committee rather do a better job next time than withdraw because I think that would amount to going back and inviting them like it has been stated. It may take another long time. In my view, there are just a few things they can even clarify through questions which would not give any of us headache for having to wait for the Report, which might take a long time. Some of the things could be clarified.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:41 p.m.
You do not have to worry. We would not withdraw the Report. We would adopt the Report, but I would direct that the Committee should follow up on some of the issues that the Hon Majority Leader raised.
Yes, Hon Majority Leader?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 4:51 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I was going to make that suggestion, that issues have been raised which requires further interrogation. Because we have considered these three Reports and already adopted the 2012 and 2013 ones, and this is the 2014 Report, all of which are about the same issue afflicting all of them, if we have to tell them to go back, they would have to go back and interrogate the 2012, 2013 and 2014 reports.
I think what they need to do is to strand out these nodal issues in order to reinforce their interrogations of future Reports that come before them. They should strengthen themselves and the Committee itself so that the Reports that come later would be further enriched by these issues that have been raised.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:51 p.m.
Hon Members, I will put the Question and then direct the Committee to do some further interrogation in some of the issues particularly with regard to future Reports.
Question put and Motion agreed to.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:51 p.m.
Hon Members, I now proceed to direct that the Committee on Lands and Forestry takes on board the issues that have been raised by the House, particularly by the Hon Majority Leader in the future considera- tion of other reports which are still pending. We still have the 2015, 2016, 2017 Reports and very soon, the 2018 Report would be due by the end of June this year because it is not later than the end of June every year.
Take those issues on board and try to get better clarifications, particularly, some of the terminologies. They look so technical, so that ordinary Hon Members would understand what is happening in
that sector, and maybe, at their various constituencies, they could also assist by applying the resources that are always put at the direction of Hon Members of Parliament into that area. We all know, as has been stated, when the last tree dies, the last man dies. I do not think that we want the world to end.
With this, I believe we have completed the Reports from the Committee on Lands and Forestry and I would now await the guidance of the Hon Majority Leader if there is anything for us to go on.
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:51 p.m.
Hon Ras Mubarak, is there any point of order?
Mr Ras Mubarak 4:51 p.m.
Mr Speaker, there is no point of order. I tried to draw the attention of the Hon Majority Leader that there is one final thing that needed to be taken care of in light of the earlier application made by the Hon Minority Leader. With your leave and that of the Hon Majority Leader, I would like to carry out that exercise on behalf of the Hon Minority Leader. [Pause] --
Mr Speaker, there was an application by the Hon Minority Leader that a Paper be laid on his behalf and there was an understanding between Leadership.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:51 p.m.
Hon Member, there is a procedure of doing this. I am told by the Clerks-at- the Table, that yesterday, during the consideration of one item, the Hon Minority Leader made some statements and he was called upon by the Rt Hon Speaker to provide evidence to substantiate the statement. I believe that is what he wanted to draw my attention to. Unfortunately, he did not catch my eye and, so we would have to iron out the process to get it done properly.
Let me draw your attention to the fact that we usually are guided by the Leadership and that is why I asked the Hon Majority Leader for guidance as to which item to take. I saw that he himself, in trying to react to what the Hon Minority Leader said, made statements.
I am aware that he is aware of that issue and so at the appropriate time, we may bring it on board because it is important that statements made on the Floor of this House are supported by evidence. There must be authority. This is not a market place; this is a House of reason. Even though it is the highest political platform in every country, it is still the House of reason and very different from the everyday debates that we listen to on air and at the market place.
It is important that Hon Members are very responsible about their statements and they back it with evidence. If the Hon Minority Leader did so and he wants to place that before the House, definitely, we would give him the opportunity at the right time.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 4:51 p.m.
Mr Speaker, let me indicate that before the Hon Minority Leader exited, he whispered to me that he wanted to give the authority to Hon Ras Mubarak to submit on his behalf the document which he referred to yesterday.
I have looked at The Daily Graphic -- the issue that he related to. Mr Speaker, if you may create space to allow that, I would not worry about it. I have looked at it, but I am not too sure that it cures the mischief that was attributed to him yesterday but if --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:51 p.m.
Once it is not yet before us do not raise --
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 4:51 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I do not know whether you can allow it to be laid now or --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:51 p.m.
Actually, behind the scene, I wanted to have a view of it myself and I was told that it has been given back to the Minority bench, that is why I said we were trying to iron out the procedure. Definitely, I would have to have a view of it and then look at the issue that was raised and then see whether it is relevant.
If not, we would allow it to be laid for what it is worth. We would not deny him that opportunity of trying to adduce evidence to support a statement that he has made on the Floor of the House.
Do you want us to do it now?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 4:51 p.m.
Mr Speaker, given what you have said, that you must look at it and also refresh your own memory about the context in which the statement was uttered, we can stand it down and take it tomorrow.
In that regard, we would go to item listed as 18 on today's Order Paper to continue with the Payment Systems and Services Bill, 2018.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:51 p.m.
Hon Members, before we go to the item, let me make it clear that I was not the one who presided when the issue cropped up and that is why I wanted to have some basis for taking a decision whether to allow it or not. If given the opportunity, I would go through the proceedings of yesterday and then refresh my mind about it before we allow that to be done.
Let it be understood by all that that is the process we go through. It is not just a matter of hide and seek; it is a matter of openness and transparency. That is why
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:51 p.m.


we transact our business in the open unlike the Cabinet where they transact their business in secrecy. That is why you go and swear that oath.

We would move on to item number 18 which is at page 8 of the Order Paper -- Payment System and Services Bill, 2018 at the Consideration Stage.
BILLS -- CONSIDERATION STAGE 5:01 a.m.
  • [Continuation of debate from 12/03/2019]
    • Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:01 a.m.
    We would continue from where we left off and I recollect that we got to clause 64, so we would now move to clause 65.
    Clause 65 -- Netting agreements and netting rules
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:01 a.m.
    We have about four amendments and all of them are in the name of the Chairman of the Committee. Hon Chairman, move your amendments.
    Chairman of the Committee (Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah) 5:01 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, Clause 65 -- subclause (1), paragraph (a), at end, add “by a court”.
    Mr Speaker, this is to put the power for determination of a winding up in the court. So, at the end of paragraph (a) where we have “up” before the comma, insert “by a court”.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:01 a.m.
    Hon Chairman, I do not know where that advice came from. Why do we have to
    add “by a court”? Could the winding up of a company be done without the finality of a court order?
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:01 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, as we go along, it would become clear. We have “placed in administration” where we would also add “by a court”. In paragraph (c), we have “declared insolvent”. The insolvency can be declared either by a court or a regulator. So, we are adding “by a court” which was after paragraph (c), in line 1 and refers to the winding up, placing in administration and the declaration of insolvency.
    We are saying that the insolvency could also be declared by a regulatory body, so in the first two, we are adding “by a court” and in the third, a declaration of insolvency, “by a court or a regulator”.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:01 a.m.
    Hon Chairman, when you read clause 65 (1) in total, you would see that after subclause (c), you have “by a court” there. Clause 65 (1) says:
    “Where an institution that participates in a system established or designated under subsection (1) of section 46 is:
    (a) wound up,
    (b) placed in administration, or
    (c) declared insolvent, by a court…”
    So, why are you saying “wound up by a court”?
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:01 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, you would see that in item numbered 18 (iv) on page 8 of the Order Paper, we would now delete “by a court”. We would delete “by a court” in line (1), after paragraph (c). That would reference paragraphs (a) and (b), the winding up and placing in administration.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:01 a.m.
    I still do not see that it will be well crafted that way. You might need to relook at it. It means that “by a court” would appear after subclauses (a) and (c).
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:01 a.m.
    After “placed in administration” also, we would have “by a court”.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:01 a.m.
    So, you would have “by a court” in all three instances?
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:01 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, in paragraph (c), it would be “either by a court or a regulator”. If you would avert your mind to the amendment advertised as item numbered 18 (iii), you would see there are --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:01 a.m.
    Which law gives power to a regulator to declare a company insolvent?
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:01 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, Banks and Specialised Deposit Taking Institutions, Act, 2016 (Act 930).
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:01 a.m.
    I have not come across that. They can declare insolvency?
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:01 a.m.
    Yes, Mr Speaker, banks are declared insolvent by the Bank of Ghana following which their licences are revoked.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:01 a.m.
    There is a process they go through called the insolvency process.
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:01 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, the Bank of Ghana can declare a bank insolvent and revoke its licence. The courts do not come in at that stage. There are limits, capital adequacy ratios and liquidity ratios that a bank is supposed to meet and if they do not meet them, they are declared insolvent and their licences are revoked.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:01 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I was trying to see how to better capture it as has been formed here. Clearly, clause
    65 (1):
    “Where an institution that participates in a system established or designated under subsection (1) of section 46 is
    (a) wound up,
    (b) placed in administration, or
    (c) declared insolvent”.
    Placing in administration would be generated by a process and that would certainly be a court process. The declaration of insolvency could as he said, be done by either the courts or regulator and he has cited the Bank of Ghana's own Act. So, I think it is how to capture it in a much more succinct manner, otherwise, the sense is very clear. —— [Pause] --
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:01 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, the essence of the whole amendment is to emphasise that insolvency can be declared by a regulatory body.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:01 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, the arrangement of paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) that the Hon Chairman seeks, is so that at the end of paragraph (a), we insert “by a court”. That means that the comma would have to be deleted.
    For paragraph (b) which reads “placed in administration”, the comma and “or” would have to be deleted. It would now read:
    “placed in administration by a court or”
    Then for paragraph (c), “declared insolvent by a court or a regulatory body.”
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:11 p.m.
    That is what the Hon Chairman proposed.
    Hon Members, what the Hon Chairman of the Committee did was to put (i) and (ii) together and that was what the Hon Majority Leader just supported, so I would put the Question.
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:11 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, before you put the Question, in line 1after paragraph (c), we would further delete ‘'by a court''.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:11 p.m.
    So, the proposal captures (i), (ii) and (iii) which deals with clause 65 (1).
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:11 p.m.
    Yes, Mr Speaker.
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:11 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I just pointed to the Hon Chairman of the Committee that we need to look again at the construction of subclause (f). It is a bit bungled up.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:11 p.m.
    Hon Majority Leader, do you want to propose another amendment to subclause 1 (f)?
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:11 p.m.
    Yes, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:11 p.m.
    Let us finish with this one clearly so you could do that.
    Dr Dakura 5:11 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I just want by way of clarification the rendition that talks about ‘'by a court or regulatory body''. In law, is it not only the court that has the power to declare some companies insolvent? Could any other regulatory body declare insolvency on a company? I do not think so.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:11 p.m.
    We are told that the Bank of Ghana, which is the regulator can declare a bank insolvent. I raised the issue and the Hon Chairman of the Committee clarified that, it is in the Act. That is why I proceeded.
    Hon Members, any further amendment to clause 65(1)?
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:11 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I was relating to subclause (f) and said that it is a bit clumsy. If we take it from the last line which precedes subclauses (d) (e) and (f), it says:
    ‘'… the liquidator or administrator of the institution in respect of any payment or settlement obligation which --
    (d) has been determined…
    (e) is to be discharged…
    (f) the discharge of which…''
    Mr Speaker, I would want to propose that we delete “which'' from the last line and begin subclause (d) with “which'' and also begin subclause (e) with “which'' so that subclause (f) standing alone would make sense.
    The new rendition would be:
    “…settlement obligation.
    (d) which has been determined through netting before the issue of the order for winding -up or administration.
    (e) which is to be discharged on or after the date of the order for winding-up or administration; or
    (f) the discharge of which was overdue …''.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:11 p.m.
    Hon Chairman of the Committee, did you get the proposed amendment?
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:11 p.m.
    Yes, Mr Speaker. It is a neater way. The “which'' applied to subclauses (d), (e) and (f), so, we would delete “which'' at the end of the last line, and insert it before subclauses (d) and (e).
    Mr Ras Mubarak 5:11 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I would want to propose that, it should read:
    “. . . payments or settlement obliga- tion, the discharge of which was overdue on the dates of the winding-up or administration order''.
    Mr Speaker, instead of “settlement obligation which'', we should delete “which'' after “obligation'' and insert a comma and continue from ‘'the discharge of which was overdue''.
    This is because if we bring “settlement of obligation which the discharge of which was overdue'' -- [Interruption.] Mr Speaker, I probably, was not paying attention.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:21 p.m.
    It meant that you were not quite attentive to the proposal that was made.
    Question put and amendment agreed to
    Clause 65 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Clauses 66 to 68 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Clause 69 — Functions of clearing house.
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:21 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 69 -- Opening phrase, delete “are to” and insert “include”.
    clause 69, paragraph (a), at beginning, delete “facilitate” and insert “facilitating”.
    Clause 69, paragraph (b), at beginning, delete “provide” and insert “providing”.
    Clause 69, paragraph (c), at beginning, delete “retain” and insert “retaining”.
    Clause 69, paragraph (d), at beginning, delete “perform” and insert “performing”.
    Mr Speaker, the opening phrase of clause 69 would now read;
    “The functions of the clearing house include”
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:21 p.m.
    Is it really good drafting to be using the continuous tense, “facilitating, retaining” et cetera? Why not, for instance, “to facilitate, to retain”?
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:21 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I agree with you that it should not have been the present continuous. But I guess we can leave that to the draftsperson because I think that it should have,- for instance, “to facilitate” or “the facilitation of”, “the provision of”. But the present continuous verb, in its usage, is due to the way the Hon Chairman of the Committee is propelling us to agree with him.
    I think with the principle understood, we can leave it to the draftsperson. But the “are to” phraseology certainly has no place. And so if we use, for instance,
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:21 p.m.
    Hon Members, I may direct the draftsperson to handle this to use the appropriate terminology there for the whole of clause 69. I agree that we should delete the “are to” and the appropriate terminology should be used, and the paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d) should be rephrased. I so direct.
    And so I will put the Question on the clause 69.
    Hon Members, let me make this clear; this is usually done when the Table Office is capturing the decision of the House, and in doing so, they take into consideration, the directives of the Chair and get in touch with the draftsperson to put it in the right language before the draft is given to the Rt Hon Speaker who would go through it to ensure that it is elegant enough and captures the decision of the House before it is sent to H.E the President for assent. And so that is why usually, the directives are very important.
    So I direct accordingly that the draftsperson be contacted to put it in the right drafting language.
    Mr Naabu 5:21 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I think we do not have quorum to Sit in the House. This is because we are just 17 Members of Parliament in the Chamber; this particular Bill is in relation to the courts or law, and how many lawyers are here to assist us? — [Interruption]
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:21 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am surprised the Hon Member is asking how many lawyers are in this House. He
    Mr Naabu 5:21 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am speaking to the issue of a quorum, irrespective of what he has said it does not hold water. [Laughter]
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:21 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, if the Hon Colleague persists, I will raise a point of relevance against him — His own relevance in this House.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:21 p.m.
    His relevance?
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:21 p.m.
    Yes.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:21 p.m.
    Is he not relevant in the House?
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:21 p.m.
    I have not said so. — [Laughter] — I said if he persists.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:21 p.m.
    Let me put the Question on the clause so that we can take the decision. I have noted the issues raised by the Hon Member for Yunyoo and we will go according to the rules. So we still have some time to consider the issue of quorum.
    Question put and amendments agreed to.
    Clause 69 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:21 p.m.
    Hon Members, as I directed early on, the draftsperson would capture the proposed rendition in a more appropriate drafting language.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:31 p.m.
    Clerks- at-Table, the issue of quorum has been raised and so let the bell be rang.
    Clauses 70 to 73 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:31 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, in recent times, our draftperson have been urging that we avoid the use of the apostrophe in constructions.
    In that regard, I think we should have a second look at clause 73.
    “A participant may withdraw from the clearing house on giving at least twenty-one days notice in writing to the Bank of Ghana and clearing house.”
    We can have a reconstruction that a participant may withdraw from the clearing house upon giving notice of at least twenty-one days in writing to the Bank of Ghana and clearing house.”
    Again let us leave it to the draft- persons.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:31 p.m.
    Hon Chairman of the Committee, is there any reason they are using the terminology here? Does that mean I can give ten-days notice, twenty-two days, thirty-days or two months' notice? [Interruptions.]
    Not less than 21 days - what kind of notice is that? It is not certain and it is not definite.
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:31 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the clearing house has all these banks as participants and if you would want to withdraw from the clearing house, it cannot be sudden because cheques are going through the system. So, you cannot

    just suddenly withdraw from the clearing house, having cheques in your custody. There has to be sufficient time for all the cheques to clear for the Bank of Ghana to ensure that you do not have other people's cheques in your possession.

    So, you would need some minimum time before you withdraw from the clearing house and twenty-one days would be the minimum time that the Bank of Ghana requires for one to withdraw from the clearing house.
    Mr Ras Mubarak 5:31 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, could the Hon Majority Leader repeat his rendition? We would just want to be clear. Or is he referring it to the draftpersons?
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:31 p.m.
    I got his rendition but if you would want him to repeat, he is available and he would do so. But he wants the “at least twenty-one days” removed and put after “notice” with the insertion of “of”.
    So, it would read like “a participant may withdraw from the clearing house on giving notice of at least twenty-one days in writing to the Bank of Ghana and clearing house.” It should be and the clearing house. Hon Chairman of the Committee, am I right?
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:31 p.m.
    The Rt Hon Speaker is always right. [Laughter]
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:31 p.m.
    That is when the Rt Hon Speaker takes a decision or gives a directive but this one is just a suggestion; I could be wrong.
    Hon Members, I will put the Question that we reconsider clause 73.
    Question put and Amendment agreed to.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:31 p.m.
    We would now look at the proposed amendment from the Hon Majority Leader which is to delete the apostrophe after the ‘s' in “days” and move it to after “notice”. You would have to add “notice of”. So, it would read:
    “A participant may withdraw from the clearing house on giving notice of at least twenty-one days in writing to the Bank of Ghana and the clearing house”.
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Clause 73 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Clause 74 -- Suspension of participation
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:31 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 74, subclause (1), line 2, delete “at least twenty-one days”.
    The new rendition would read: “The bank of Ghana may suspend a participant on the recommendation of the clearing house by giving notice in writing where the Bank of Ghana is satisfied that the suspension is in the interest of the clearing country system.”
    Mr Speaker, what we are saying here is that there might be exceptional circumstances under which the Bank of Ghana would want to suspend the participation in the clearing house. If the Bank of Ghana has to give at least twenty- one days to suspend a participant from the clearing house, it could be problematic. So, the clause says that the Bank of Ghana may suspend a participant on the recommendation of the clearing houses.
    We have seen challenges in the financial sector; banks and SDIs and the need has arisen to suspend the participant
    from the clearing house so we are saying that the Bank of Ghana may suspend the participant by giving at least, twenty-one days' notice. A financial house or SDI could run away with people's moneys, so in exceptional circumstances, the bank might want to suspend participants instantaneously. So, this provision may be taken out.
    Mr Ras Mubarak 5:31 p.m.
    Mr Speaker that could open the Bank of Ghana to a lawsuit as well if notice is not given. If the twenty- one days is too much, I may suggest that three days should suffice instead of arbitrarily suspending the issue. That is my thinking.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:31 p.m.
    Hon Member, so your proposal is that when the Bank of Ghana wants to suspend a bank, it should give that bank a notice that they would want to suspend it within three days; do you know what would happen?
    Hon Member, you have an employee working with you. You have seen that the employee has done something unusually, and you would want to take a process and think that the employee may interfere in the process and so you suspend him. Would you want to give notice before you suspend him?
    Hon Member, have you seen my analogy? It may not be appropriate, but I am looking at the employer and the employee.
    Mr Ras Mubarak 5:41 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, having heard your wise analogy, I think it is very apt.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:41 p.m.
    He has not pressed forth his rendition, so we only have what the Hon Chairman of the committee has proposed in clause 74(1), line 2 that we should delete “twenty-one days notice in writing”. Am I right?
    Hon Chairman of the committee, your proposed amendment was for the deletion of “twenty-one days” and you left “notice in writing”. It means that they have to give notice that they want to suspend the Bank.

    Hon Chairman, I am still looking at your rendition. Your only worry is the number of days; it is just to give notice to the bank that they are to be suspended. But your explanation was talking about immediate.
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:41 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, this is a suspension and not a revocation, so they still have to write. This is a suspension of participation in the clearing house.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:41 p.m.
    Then it has to be couched differently. It should not be a notice, but if you want to say that the suspension shall be in writing the notice should not be there.
    “The Bank of Ghana may suspend a participant on the recommenda- tion of the clearing house in writing where the Bank of Ghana is satisfied that the suspension is in the interest of the clearing house”.
    When you say “notice”, it is to the effect that they would suspend them. Your only worry is that there should not be a number of days, but there must be a notice. I do not think that is the import of what you proposed.
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:41 p.m.
    Yes, Mr Speaker, you suggest that we delete “by giving at least twenty-one days notice”.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:41 p.m.
    Exactly.
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:41 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I think that we should bring “in writing” forward so that it would read:
    “The Bank of Ghana may, in writing, suspend a participant on the recommendation of the clearing house where the Bank of Ghana is satisfied that the suspension is in the interest of the clearing house”.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:41 p.m.
    Yes, that is a better rendition.
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:41 p.m.
    Hon Chairman of the committee, we still have a number of amendments to clause 74 .
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:41 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 74, subclause (3), line 2, delete “fourteen days before the effective date of the suspension”.
    Mr Speaker, clause 74(3) would now read 5:41 p.m.
    “The Bank of Ghana shall notify other participants of the suspension”.
    This flows from the earlier amendment, where the twenty-one day's notice was deleted. So now, we are notifying other participants in the clearing house; but in exceptional circumstances, it could be immediate -- “fourteen days” should be taken off.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:41 p.m.
    How would the notice be done? It would also be in writing. The notification of the Bank of Ghana would be in writing, would it not? Could it be oral? Since we would want to be sure that there is some permanent record, it should be in writing.
    Mr Ras Mubarak 5:41 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, absolutely so; the notice shall be in writing.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:41 p.m.
    Is it not important? Else, somebody can just call - -- it should be “shall, in writing, notify”.
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Mr Second Deputy Sepaker 5:41 p.m.
    Further amendments to clause 74.
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:41 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 74, add the following new Subclause:
    “(6) Despite subsection (1) and (3) the Bank of Ghana may suspend a participant from participating in the clearing house where it is in the public interest.”
    Mr Speaker, earlier, we said that a suspension could take place in the interest of the clearing system. Now, we are saying that where it is in the public interest, a participant may be suspended.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:41 p.m.
    The participant is already participating and so, if you are to suspend the participant who is already participating, how do you capture that?
    Well, this one does not give the impression that you are dealing with someone who is participating, unless I do not capture the sense.
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:41 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, what is new here is the suspension being in the public interest. This is similar to the earlier
    one, as we said, that if it is in the interest of the clearing house, we will suspend the participant but we are introducing a new subclause (6) which says; and with your permission, I read:
    “where it is in the public interest, a participant be suspended from participating in the clearing house”.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:41 p.m.
    The issue I am raising is the use of the word; “participant” from “participating”. You do not have that phrase in what you just referred to. [Pause] --
    My recommendation will be to insert the word; ‘further' to make it “further participate”.

    Hon Members, the proposed amendment has been further amended to read as follows;

    “Despite subsection (1) and (3), the Bank of Ghana may suspend a participant from further participating in the clearing house where it is in the public interest”.

    The lawyers would want to say; “so to do” but --
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:41 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, just a minor further amendment. I believe that we are talking about two subsections. So it should read;
    “Despite subsections (1) and (3) …”
    [Pause] --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:41 p.m.
    So Hon Members, the further rendition is just adding an ‘s' to the ‘subsection' since they are two. So they will read;
    “Despite subsections (1) and (3), the Bank of Ghana may suspend a participant from further participating in the clearing house where it is in the public interest”.
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Clause 74 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Clause 75 - Cessation of participation
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:41 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 75, head note, at end add “in clearing house”.
    Mr Speaker, that is, cessation of participation in clearing house.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:41 p.m.
    There being no consideration, I will put the Question.
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Clause 75 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Clause 76 --
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:41 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, in view of the clarity that you sought to bring in respect of clause 74 when we qualified participation by the insertion of the word; “further”, by way of ensuring non-ambiguity in clause 75(2), would it be harmful, if we inserted ‘earlier' before ‘participation' in line 3 of clause 75(2)? This would read;
    “The revocation of a licence of a participant shall not absolve that participant from any outstanding obligations arising from earlier participation in the clearing house”.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:41 p.m.
    Hon Majority Leader, are you talking about clause 75(2)?
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:41 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, yes.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:41 p.m.
    Yes -- I did not get the rendition.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:41 p.m.
    On the face of it, it is implied, but it is just for the avoidance of doubt --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:41 p.m.
    So, where are you?
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:41 p.m.
    I am pleading for the insertion of the word ‘earlier' before ‘participation' in line 3 of clause 75(2). So that it will read;
    ‘The revocation of a licence of a participant shall not absolve that participant from any outstanding obligations arising from earlier participation in the clearing house.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:41 p.m.
    Yes, Hon Ras Mubarak?
    Mr Ras Mubarak 5:41 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, once there is “outstanding obligation”, I believe that suffices and for that matter, we may not need to include ‘earlier'.
    [Pause] --
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:41 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I believe that if the Hon Majority Leader would let us leave it as it is, that is the “outstanding” and then -- It should suffice. [Interruption] -- He says, “not necessarily” but he will withdraw his --
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:41 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I began by saying --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:01 p.m.
    It is necessary if you are using the word “participation” but if you are using the word “participating”, you do not need the word “earlier”. That is; “from participating in the clearing house” but if you are to use the word, “participation”, in spite of the use of the word “outstanding” you would still need “earlier participation”.
    However, if you want to say “arising from participating in the clearing house”, then we do not need ‘earlier'.
    Hon Chairman?
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 6:01 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, we have no objection.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:01 p.m.
    So should we use the word ‘participating'?
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 6:01 p.m.
    No. We should use ‘earlier participation'.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:01 p.m.
    Hon Members, there is another amendment to clause 75(2) with the insertion of the word ‘earlier' before ‘participation' in line 3.
    Question put and amendment agreed to.
    Clause 75 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    rose
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:01 p.m.
    Hon Majority Leader?
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 6:01 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I have just been struck by what we have done in clause 75. Clause 75 is on cessation of participation in clearing house activities, and it deals with revocation. When we come to clause 76,
    it deals with re-admission to participate in clearing house. In that regard, it deals with two developments; suspension and revocation.
    So, I just thought a person because if one is suspended, for the time being, that person ceases to participate in the activities of the clearing house. However, clause 75 does not mention that; it deals only with revocation, except when we come to clause 76 which is on admission to participate in clearing house, then it mentions the two.
    Mr Speaker, I know that clause 74 is on suspension of participation, and clause 75 is on cessation of participation. In that regard, I believe we should re-couch clause 75 because it deals with revocation, which occasions cessation.

    That is why I am saying that clause 75 deals with revocation because clause 74 is also on cessation. But when one is suspended, he ceases to participate. So it is not only clause 75 which has to do with cessation of participation. Suspension also relates to cessation, at least, momentary cessation of participa- tion.

    I am just looking at how we could cover that. Maybe, that clause rather should read revocation and cessation of participation.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:01 p.m.
    Yes, Hon Members, the Hon Majority Leader has raised a very important point. I would want to add to that.
    When a participant is suspended, does the membership of that participant cease in the activities of the clearing house? One
    can only cease to participate, in other words, until there is a positive consideration of your activities, you would no longer participate.
    But it is different from when your licence is revoked. That is the time that we would be using the word “re-admitted”. But a suspended person cannot be re- admitted.
    Yes, Hon Chairman, what do you say to that?
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 6:01 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I would want to draw the House's attention to clause 74(2).
    ‘A participant on suspension shall submit its instrument for clearing through the clearing house gateway of another participating …'
    So when one is suspended, it is not a cessation per se because now, a person would route his clearing activities through a participating bank which is totally different from a limitation. In clause 74, the suspension does not necessarily mean a cessation.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:01 p.m.
    But those things would not be cleared in the person's name; they shall be cleared in the name of the bank. The gateway one is using would not be done in the person's name because he is on suspension. That is why there is the need to distinguish between the two; the issue of suspension and the issue of revocation.
    The way they are put together in clause 76(1) is really not clear. So, we need to separate the two.
    Yes, Hon Ras Mubarak?
    Mr Ras Mubarak 6:01 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, per the concerns raised by the Hon Majority Leader, is it the problem of the headnote of clauses 74 and 75 or their content?
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:01 p.m.
    No. We have dealt with clause 74. It is alright. But when we come to clause 76, where it talks about re-admission to participate in clearing house, the words used there are:
    ‘A participant shall be re-admitted when the Bank of Ghana lifts the suspension or revocation or reviews its earlier decision under subsection (1) of section 74 and subsection (1) of section 75.'
    There is the need to separate the two.
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 6:01 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, in both instances, the participants are being re-admitted. If you look at clause 75, the cessation is upon a revocation. So that is why clause 76 references clause 75 by saying ‘revocation' and says “suspension” in clause 74. So a participant may be re-admitted when the Bank of Ghana lifts the suspension imposed in clause 74, or the revocation which led to the cessation in clause 75.
    Mr Speaker, for me, it is clear.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:11 p.m.
    For the Speaker, it is not clear because to admit a member into the clearing house -- When one is to be re-admitted, it means he was no longer a member and that is why he is re-admitted. However, if he is a member but on suspension, he can only be allowed to proceed with his operations, not re- admitted because his membership does not cease with suspension unless you want us to accept that it is a term of art or that is what is used in the industry.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:11 p.m.
    I thought when you drew attention to clause 74(2), you wanted us to understand that even though a bank is suspended, there is a gateway for it to carry on its business through another member or participant that has not been suspended.
    Hon Members, I believe there is diminishing returns. Hon Majority Leader, unless there is a strong objection, I would want to adjourn proceedings so that we can go back and look at those provisions carefully for tomorrow. It being after 6 p.m., which option is preferable?
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 6:11 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, if we can deal with clause 79, it would then end that section of the Bill. That section is up to clause 80 and there are no amendments there. Clause 81 is another section.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:11 p.m.
    I thought we could, but the way we are stack at this issue and -- Do you want to let it go?
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 6:11 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, respectfully, let us allow it to go. If there is any --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:11 p.m.
    In my understanding, a member is admitted to participate and unless the license is seized or revoked, one is still a member and is no longer being re-admitted, but the Hon Chairman still insists that it should be so. The Hon Chairman would not be held responsible; it would be the whole House.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 6:11 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, respectfully, you have raised the issue and you supported my position. I guess we
    can allow it, but note it and do further consultations. If we have to have a Second Consideration Stage on that, we can do that. We can flag it because the Hon Chairman insists that they went through the motion and that was not part of the consideration at the Committee level.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:11 p.m.
    Well, if that is the position, we have already put the Question and it has been taken by the House. It means that you want to withdraw your proposal for us to reconsider that clause because we have already gone through that.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 6:11 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, it is not entirely so. I am not withdrawing it, but I would stand it down for the time being and come back in the Second Consideration Stage.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:11 p.m.
    Do not forget that you just used the leave. There is nothing before us now. At the appropriate time, you can come back at the Second Consideration Stage. So, we would move on to clause 79.
    Clause 79 -- Admissibility of electronic image of payment instrument as evidence.
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 6:11 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 79, closing phrase, delete and insert “which is the subject of proceeding shall be admissible in evidence”
    Mr Speaker, if you go the opening phrase, it reads 6:11 p.m.
    “In the event of proceedings in a court of law, tribunal or any other judicial proceedings”.
    Then we have the subclauses and then the closing phrase repeats what is in the opening phrase. Now we are deleting the
    closing phrase and inserting “which is the subject of proceedings shall be admissible in evidence.”
    So, it would read,
    “In the event of proceedings in a court of law, tribunal or any other judicial proceedings.
    (a) a payment instrument,
    (b) a certified copy of the payment instrument, or
    (c) the essential details of the payment instrument retrieved from an electronic medium.
    which is the subject of proceedings shall be admissible in evidence.”
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:11 p.m.
    What you said is already there. What you are only calling on us to do is to delete “in a court of law, tribunal or any other judicial proceedings”. That is what we are to delete and then allow the rest to flow.
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 6:11 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the last but one word in line 2 “as” also changes to “in” to read “in evidence”. [Pause]
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:21 a.m.
    Hon Chairman, you may have to look at it again. Is it only when they are the subject of the proceedings that they are admissible in evidence? Apart from that, can they not be admissible in evidence? Your rendition would mean that it is only when
    (a) a payment instrument,
    (b) a certified copy of the payment instrument, or
    (c) the essential details of the payment instrument retrieved from an electronic medium.”

    are subject of the proceedings that they are admissible. But if they are not subject of the proceedings, are they not admissible in evidence?
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 6:21 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, what we want to get at here is the electronic image as payment instrument so that in the event of proceeding -- [Pause]
    Mr Mubarak 6:21 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, the crux of what the Hon Chairman said is that admissibility could be in administrative proceedings or court proceedings. That is my understanding of the case he is trying to make. If it were admissibility in court or administration -- because administrative proceedings can also take place with the view to sanctioning, then that should be all right.
    Mr Assibey-Yeboah 6:21 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, we could delete “which is the subject of proceedings”, so that the closing phrase would be, “shall be admissible as evidence”.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:21 a.m.
    Exactly.
    “In the event of proceedings in a court of law, tribunal or any other judicial proceedings,
    (a) a payment instrument,
    (b) a certified copy of the payment instrument, or
    (c) the essential details of the payment instrument retrieved from an electronic medium,
    shall be admissible in evidence.”
    That is all right, so I would put the Question.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 6:21 a.m.
    Mr Speaker,
    except that we are dealing with two legs. One relates to processes and proceedings before a court. We have informed ourselves that with respect to the Bank of Ghana, we could also apply sanctions. What happens? Is it the case that before the Bank of Ghana, these things could not come in as evidence? I am not too sure of the place of the Bank of Ghana in these matters.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:21 a.m.
    Before the Bank of Ghana takes a decision to do what they do, do they not go through any kind of judicial proceedings? Is there no process? Because I realised that they talk about a court of law, tribunal or any other judicial proceedings. I do not know the procedure they use at the Bank of Ghana, whether they do not go through judicial proceedings before. [Pause]
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 6:21 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, my little worry as I said, has to do with what we did in -- [Pause]
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:21 a.m.
    Hon Majority Leader, I cannot hear you.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 6:21 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, what we did in clause 65, the processes may have to be before a court or a regulatory body. The regulatory body is cited as the Bank of Ghana, and here, we are limiting it to a court of law, tribunal or any other judicial proceedings.
    I was struggling to see whether we could have a similar construct for the Bank of Ghana. However, the Clerk-at-the-Table has indicated to me that what the Bank of Ghana may be doing would be exercising quasi-judicial functions. I am not too sure of the -- He is trying to persuade you, I do not know whether you are convinced.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:21 a.m.
    He is simply drawing my attention to what you
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 6:21 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, I know that in the recently passed Interpretations Act, we have given indication that in offering interpretation in these matters, in case of conflict, what we say here and what goes into the crafting of the Bill should be considered as part of what went into or the spirit behind the construction. To that extent, I would want to drop my guard if indeed Mr Speaker --
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:21 a.m.
    You do not need to drop it. If it is clearer that we are focusing on just the Bank of Ghana -- What about “any other”? My knowledge of banking practice is limited, I am not learned in the banking practices. Is it possible that apart from the Bank of Ghana, there is another body that could handle such proceedings?
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 6:21 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, that is the issue that I raised. In clause 65, the Hon Chairman drew our attention to what the Bill means by “regulatory body” and he cited the Bank of Ghana. If we are to go with that, then perhaps, it is restrictive. The regulatory body is then restricted to only the Bank of Ghana but are there any other regulatory bodies that could come into the arena within the context of this Act?
    If there are, then we should be careful. I do not know of it and I am no expert in this field. The Hon Chairman of the
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:21 a.m.
    Hon Chairman, do you insist that we let it go as it is?
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 6:31 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, taking a cue from what the Clerks-at-Table drew our attention to, I am sure this would not stop at just the BoG. If there is even an adjudicative body, this would also apply to it.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:31 p.m.
    I would put the Question on the earlier rendition, or have I done that already? [Pause] -- Clerks- at- Table, have I put the Question on clause 79? [Interruption.]
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:31 p.m.
    I would put the Question on clause 79 as amended.
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 6:31 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, you said “clause 79 as amended'', but it should be “clause 79 as variously amended''.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:31 p.m.
    Well, I did not see the “variously''. The amendment was to a clause where you deleted the phrases ‘'from which is the subject or proceedings in the court of law, tribunal or any other judicial proceedings''. And then you also deleted the word “as'' and inserted the word ‘'in''. It is within the same subclause that is why I did not say “as” variously “amended''.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:31 p.m.
    Hon Chairman of the Committee, I think your powers do not extend to that level. [Laughter]
    Dr Assibey-Yeboah 6:31 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I will get there.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:31 p.m.
    I pray ceasingly that you get there. You know ceasingly means you would not get there.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 6:31 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the Hon Chairman of the Committee of Finance said that he would get to your seat. I would want to ask him which of the Hon Deputy Speakers he aspires to remove as of now. Is it the First or Second Deputy Speaker? This is a very serious statement.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:31 p.m.
    I even pray that he does not get there and you are even asking which of us? I did not say “unceasingly''; I said “I pray ceasingly''.
    It was just a proposed amendment to the clause that was why I said “as amended''.
    Question put and amendment agreed to
    Clause 79 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Clause 80 -- 81 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:31 p.m.
    Hon Members, we would end here for today. We have come to the end of the Consideration Stage of the Payment Systems and Services Bill, 2018 for today.
    Hon Members, I would proceed to adjourn the House, unless Hon Leaders have a word for Hon Members.
    Mr Ras Mubarak 6:31 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, at your pleasure. [Interruption]
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 6:31 p.m.
    You do not want him to enjoy his new found position? [Laughter]
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 6:31 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I would want to express my appreciation to Hon Members who have stayed to contribute to the crafting of the Payment Systems and Services Bill, 2018. I would want to believe that given the pace we are going, we would be able to finish this Bill latest by next week Tuesday and bring the curtain down on that.
    Mr Speaker, it is important that we work hard on these Bills because it does appear to all intents and purposes that the House may adjourn sine die earlier than advertised. It was said earlier that we would adjourn sine die on the 12th of April, but it does appear that we would have to bring it forward to the 3rd of April. That would mean that we would have to work extra hard.
    Mr Speaker, in that regard, beginning next week, we would have extended Sittings in all the days until we adjourn sine die on the 3rd of April which is a
    Wednesday and not a Friday. We may, further to that, have to Sit on Monday -- not this coming Monday, but the ensuing one and conscript the ensuing Saturday to meet and then meet on the succeeding Monday as well.
    We will have non-Sitting days of two Mondays and one Saturday and we shall encumber and be able to adjourn sine die on the 3rd of April.
    Mr Speaker, it is just to give indication to Hon Members so that they know how to plan their holidays, but I would speak to it tomorrow in the presentation of the Business Statement for next week.
    Mr Speaker, I thank you.
    ADJOURNMENT 6:31 p.m.
  • The House was adjourned at 6.40 p.m. till Friday, 15th March, 2019 at 10.00 a.m.