Debates of 18 Jun 2019

MR SPEAKER
PRAYERS 10:30 a.m.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 10:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Hon Members, correction of Votes and Proceedings of Friday, 14th June, 2019.
Pages 1….9 --
Several Hon Members -- rose --
Mr Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Yes, Hon Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa?
Mr Samuel O. Ablakwa 10:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, on page 9, the item numbered 8(i), please insert “constituency” after Tatale/Sanguli. Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Thank you, Hon Member.
Page 10, 11, 12 --
Mr Mubarak 10:30 a.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
I tried to catch your eye on page 9. On paragraph 8(i), there is no institution in Ghana called National Youth Employment Agency (NYEA); it is Youth Employment Agency
(YEA).
Mr Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Thank you.
rose
Mr Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Yes, Hon Member?
Mr Umar 10:30 a.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
On page 8, the item numbered 64, I was present in the Chamber and I even asked a Question, but I have been marked absent.
Mr Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Thank you, Hon Member.
Pages 12…17 --
Hon Members, the Votes and Proceedings of Friday, 14th June, 2019, as corrected, is hereby adopted as true record of proceedings.
Hon Members, correction of Official Report of Tuesday, 28th May, 2019.
Mr Speaker 10:30 a.m.
Hon Members, we have a Statement on renewal energy by Hon Frank Annoh-Dompreh.
STATEMENTS 10:40 a.m.
Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh (NPP -- Nsawam-Adoagyiri) 10:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, Ghana, like several African countries, has made commendable actions in the direction of renewable energy. With sustainable energy developments envisaged through policies and conventions such as the United Nations' Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) Initiative, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), there is no doubt that Ghana can transition to a
laudable status for clean energy generation in the near future.
Mr Speaker, worthy of mention is the fact that Ghana's hydro energy, which is in i tself renewable — as defined in section 2 of the Renewable Energy Act 2011, Act (832) — generated a significant 51.5 per cent of total electricity supplied according to the Energy Commission's WEM bulletin for January 2019. Though this percentage was attributed to shortfalls in the fuel supply to thermal plants, it gives an indication that we cannot continue to rely on the increasing cost of fuel to supply thermal plants and it also shows that renewable energy is capable of complementing existing sources of energy, to meet the demands of the people when explored to its fullest extent.
Mr Speaker, the wide range of renewable energy sources available in the Sub-Saharan region provide an assurance of the sustainability of renewable energy. In perspective, according to the 2017 World Bank Solar resource data, Ghana falls within a Photovoltaic (PV) power region with areas especially in the north, labelled with yearly sum totals of 1,607 kilowatts per hour. Kenya which is notable for solar power generation has PV areas recording yearly sum totals of 1,826 kilowatts per hour. If they are utilising this optimally, I believe we can do same or better.
Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh (NPP -- Nsawam-Adoagyiri) 10:40 a.m.


cannot be lost on us as a nation. It is time to be practicable in our renewable energy plans and set the tone for sustainable energy generation while contributing to the global agenda for climate change to sustain the earth.

Thank you for the opportunity given, Mr Speaker.
Dr Speaker 10:40 a.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Member, for this very well-researched Statement.
Dr Robert B. Kuganab-Lem (NDC -- Binduri) 10:50 a.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute to the Statement made by Hon Annoh-Dompreh.
Mr Speaker, this is a very important topic that has eluded us for a very long time. The use of renewable energy is very critical for the develop- ment of developing countries, particularly Ghana, where the Statement tells us that we produce up to 1,600 and more kilowatts per hour.
Mr Speaker, where we have comparative advantage is where we should be putting our efforts in the production of our energy needs.
Mr Speaker, fossil fuel is a huge public health problem. The use of
fossil fuel is related to problems with breathing, neurological damage, heart attacks, cancers and in some instances, premature deaths. We also have in abundance, biomass, which we generate from our waste with wood, vegetables and other greens.

Mr Speaker, these are huge sources of energy which we should be looking at if we want to make great efforts in our developmental endeavours.

What is lacking in our country is legislation to push the issue of the use of renewable natural energy. The Statement clearly tells us what the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) indicated in the year 2018 that they were paying bills of GH¢1.2 million monthly on operational power. We know where KBTH is sited and if we were to put panels on most of the high rise buildings, this could produce enough power to make them reduce the energy bills that they have to pay.

Mr Speaker, we also know the abundance of wind where KBTH is cited. I say this, using the KBTH as an example, that we should have a law that all Government buildings, particularly all the new schools that are being built -- the “Mahama Schools” as they call them.

What we have to do is to ensure that we put solar panels on these buildings so that they generate their own power to reduce the need for extracting power from the national grid.

I believe that this Statement should be taken seriously and that we should make efforts in drafting legislation to ensure that all public buildings use renewable energy and that they are built in a manner that will also allow the free flow of air so that people can enjoy good oxygen in their environment.

Mr Speaker, with these few words --
rose
Mr Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Hon Member, are you on a point of order?
Mr Ayeh-Paye 10:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, rightly so. In the contribution of the Hon Member, who just resumed his seat, on the Statement made by the Hon Member for Nsawam-Adoagyiri, he referred to some schools in this country as “Mahama Schools”.
Mr Speaker, this is a House of records. I want the Hon Member to clearly come out and define which
schools in this country have been named as “Mahama Schools”.
Mr Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Order!
Hon Member, you know very well that a Statement or a contribution thereto should not generate debate or controversy. Kindly withdraw that expression and conclude.
Dr Kuganab-Lem 10:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I replace that with the “E-Blocks”.
Mr Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Hon Member, I did not hear you. Say that you are withdrawing.
Dr Kuganab-Lem 10:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I withdraw the use of the words “Mahama Schools” and replace it with the “E-Blocks”.
Mr Speaker 10:50 a.m.
What are you replacing it with?
Dr Kuganab-Lem 10:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I replace the words “Mahama Schools” with “E-blocks that were constructed during the Mahama regime”. [Hear! Hear!]
Mr Speaker, the point --
Mr Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Hon Member, that is also controversial. [Laughter] --
Mr Speaker 10:50 a.m.


thank you for your guidance. I completely withdraw the words.
Mr Speaker 10:50 a.m.
School blocks had been built or are being built and will continue to be built. [Uproar] --
Please, withdraw that and conclude. Otherwise, we will go to Kwame Nkrumah or Guggisberg schools.
Dr Kuganab-Lem 10:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I withdraw that entirely and completely. The general point that I want to make is that --
Mr Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Hon Member, avoid the controversy and go on.
Dr Kuganab-Lem 10:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, all right. That chuge public buildings
-- 10:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Very well. Public buildings including schools. Go on.
Dr Kuganab-Lem 10:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, all right. I take guidance from your statement and I completely withdraw the use of “the E-Blocks” to say that all public buildings that are huge and that can capture a lot of solar should be enhanced in these environments so that we do not contemplate connecting them into the national grid.
Mr Speaker, where they have double usage, the tendency is to look a bit down on solar and rely more on the national grid.
So I believe that at this point, we should look at how the nation could legislate to ensure that all public buildings, at least, the new ones that are coming up are connected to solar so that we can maximise the use of solar.
Mr Speaker, with these few words, I thank you.
Mr Speaker 10:50 a.m.
Hon Member, thank you very much.
Mrs Catherine A. Afeku (NPP -- Evalue Ajomoro Gwira) 10:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you. I rise to commend on the Statement made by Hon Member for Nsawam/Adoagyiri, Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh on “the Future of Renewable Energy in Our Beloved Country”.
Mr Speaker, as reiterated by the Hon Member, the future of renewable energy in Ghana is very bright but it behoves us as citizens to buy into the sources of renewable energy and how we can maximise its usage to reduce the burden on the national budget and national grid.
The Hon Member who made the Statement mentioned certain areas
within our country, especially in the northern sector where sunshine abounds. Not only is it in the northern sector, but across the entire nation. We do have sources of renewable energy, especially wind which is in abundance in certain parts of the country as well as waste to energy potential which is replete in the entire nation.
Mr Speaker, apart from public institutions, the good news is, families, individuals and private entities have caught on in the benefits of renewable energy and are migrating from the national grid to the use of solar panels to reduce the burden on the national grid.
There are two lessons that we can learn from our neighbours in Kenya. They have gone far, and currently they practise the carbon credit with industries where if you work on sustainable energy and reduce your carbon emission, Government pays you back certain credits so that you can plough back into your investment. Ghana can -- and we know that under the leadership of our able President, we can do that.
Mr Speaker, Parliament as an institution can have the solar panels to send a strong signal to our nation, that renewable energy is real. We
already have the master plan and we can sensitise the public to go solar and renewable energy to save our planet.
Another menace that we, by means of renewable energy, could take advantage of is waste in our country. Private entities with the local content law can take advantage to build industries around turning waste into energy. There are some good examples in the Ashanti Region but it is very ancient, and with these kinds of statements of creating public awareness and encouraging industries, institutions and Government to move from the national grid to renewable sources of energy, it will go a long way to help us stay within the sustainable era of conserving energy and the earth, especially biomass.
Mr Speaker, if you read the Energy Council Report, Ghana is blessed with a lot of biomass but we are not utilising it. So this Statement brings to the fore the acute awareness that needs to be created; public sensitisa-tions, town hall meetings -- especially, school administrators should go into solar and avoid the scourge of having burdens of bills that they cannot sustain.
Mr Speaker, I would use this opportunity to commend the Hon Member who made the Statement and to urge those of us in this Chamber

who are blessed to be elected and to lead our people, to especially encourage churches and institutions that have majority of people who congregate, to save energy and go renewable.

Mr Speaker, with these few words, I thank you for the opportunity.
Mr Speaker 11 a.m.
Hon Member, thank you very much.
Mr Emmanuel A.K. Buah (NDC -- Ellembelle) 11 a.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you and I would also thank the Hon Member who made the Statement, Hon Frank Annoh- Dompreh who is the Hon Member for Nsawam -Adoagyiri.
Mr Speaker, this is a very important Statement. Renewable energy is key to our energy security. Mr Speaker, as a country, we were very excited in 2011 when the Renewable Energy Act, 2011 (Act 832) was passed. But if we look at our current renewable energy policy, especially as it was reflected in the last Budget Statement, we have moved the goal post and this is the correction
Dr Kwaku Afriyie (NPP -- Sefwi-Wiawso) 11 a.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity.
Mr Speaker, this is a very important subject and I thank the Hon Member who made the Statement for stating some aspects of sustainable renewable energy. Mr Speaker, as an
Hon Member who represents a typical rural community, I am looking at this programme from a rural perspective.
Mr Speaker, just a week ago, I was in a village called Sewayo in Amenfi West where I have a farm and I chanced on a farmer who had electricity in his house, although the whole area was dark. I visited him and I saw that he was using a small refrigerator, a small flat screen television and three light bulbs all for the cost of GH¢3,400.
I was very excited and I believe that we could walk the talk and make sure that rural communities that are not connected to the national grid like Sewayo and Afriyie Nkwanta in Amenfi West District would serve as an example and have the benefit of solar energy which is also renewable. Admittedly, the cost is front-loaded because one would have to pay initially, but when it is analysed, in the long run, it would pay for itself and one would not be paying for the real source of energy and so one would be better off than those connected to the national grid who would have to pay for it.
Mr Speaker, I would urge all agencies, particularly COCOBOD, to come to the rescue of these cocoa farmers who have built their farm
sheds right in the middle of cocoa farms and who for the foreseeable future would never be connected to the energy grid. I believe that if we bring out all these policies and make sure that the economic benefits are well aligned, the farmers could afford it within their budgets as exemplified by that farmer who is not too well to do, but nonetheless saw the benefit in procuring such a facility. I believe that we could help a lot of the rural communities.
Mr Speaker, before I take my seat, I believe that to the extent that Ghana is in the tropics, we have a unique opportunity, but sometimes when the opportunity even stares us in the face, we turn the other way. We should end all these debates and encourage all governments and appropriate agencies to put their heads and arms together, so to speak, to the wheel and make sure that we work on this renewable energy issue, particularly in the solar sub sector.
Finally, Hon Buah who contributed earlier made reference to small hydro energy facilities. As somebody who lives close to River Tano, and perhaps, as a disappointed engineer, I have seen the potential benefits that can accrue from some of these areas.
For example, in one of the villages where I can say that I hail from but rather remotely, Bopa, there is a mini waterfall. The hydro potential in those small areas could be harvested to the benefit of those communities. Even though the big hydro potentials have been exhausted, I believe that there are several areas where the small communities could benefit from hydro power.
Mr Speaker, with these few remarks, I would commend the Hon Member who made the Statement and thank him for bringing the House to this realisation.
Mr Speaker 11:10 a.m.
Hon Member for Adaklu, and then after him, the Leadership.
Mr Kwame G. Agbodza (NDC -- Adaklu) 11:10 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Statement made by my Colleague, Hon Annoh-Dompreh.
Mr Speaker, whenever I hear people talk about renewable energy and climate change, and it is said that the solution is to put a solar panel on top of a building, I feel we are missing the point to an extent.
Mr Emmanuel A. Gyamfi (NPP -- Odotobri) 11:20 a.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much.
Let me first commend the Hon Member who made the Statement for such an important and well- researched Statement.
Mr Speaker, the benefits of renewable energy to our dear nation cannot be overemphasised.
We could benefit a lot when we take a very bold decision to have our renewable energy sources well developed.
Mr Speaker, after the passage of the Renewable Energy Act, 2011 Act (832), a lot of efforts have been put in place to ensure that, as a nation, we derive all that we would want from it.
Mr Emmanuel A. Gyamfi (NPP -- Odotobri) 11:20 a.m.


incentives for people who might want to have the solar renewable energy installed in their homes. As a nation, we could decide that there would be no taxes on the importation of solar equipment into the country. This would boost the attempt that we all want to give to the renewable energy provision.

Mr Speaker, again, there is also the need for us to develop the indigenous capacity in terms of technology, for us to own most of the things that we would want to do as a nation. This is critical because we cannot continue to depend on our sister-countries for the technology that we would need to develop our own renewable energy. Therefore, the Government and the Ministry should make an attempt, which is also captured in the Renewable Energy Act 2011 (Act 832). It says that there is a critical need for us to develop indigenous technology which would help us as a nation to deliver on this particular important work.

Mr Speaker, as I have already said, we are very lucky to have the legal framework, which is the Act. We also have the institutions -- the Energy Commission and other allied institu-tions that would support us in the delivery of this particular important energy source. What we, therefore,

have to do as a nation is to be focused and concentrate on what we are doing, and I believe that we could get it right if we all give it the necessary support.

Mr Speaker, with these few words, I once again commend the Hon Member who made the Statement for such a wonderful work done.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker 11:20 a.m.
Thank you very much.
Yes, Hon Minority Leadership?
Mr Haruna Iddrisu 11:20 a.m.
Mr Speaker, respectfully, I would yield to the Hon Jinapor if that pleases you.
Mr Speaker 11:20 a.m.
Yes, Hon Member?
Mr John A. Jinapor (NDC -- Yapei/Kusawgu) 11:20 a.m.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker, I would first and foremost commend the Hon Member who made the Statement and associate with the fact that, at least, basic physics tells us that energy is the ability to do work.
Mr Speaker, in Africa, only 25 per cent of the population has access to electricity. Indeed, if we take the whole of Africa, what we consume is
about 28 gigawatts, comparable to that of Argentina. If we take South Africa out, the State of New York consumes energy more than the entire sub-Saharan Africa. So, it tells us that we have a major hurdle and a major challenge to deal with.
Mr Speaker, however, in Ghana, we have about 83 per cent access to electricity, so renewable energy plays a major component as far as our electricity demand is concerned.
Mr Speaker, indeed, currently, we have 4,399 megawatts of electricity. Hydro constitutes 1,580, thermal plants constitutes 2,796 and renewables, 22.5 megawatts. It depends on how one would look at renewables. If we take hydro energy, it puts Ghana above the 51 megawatts but because most of our hydro plants are above 50 megawatts, it is difficult to classify them as renewables. So, there is a major room for improvement.
Mr Speaker, as has been stated, our objective is to have ten per cent of our generation mix coming from renewable energy. We conducted a research that confirmed that because renewable energy is variable, which means that it could fluctuate, the country could accommodate a total of 150 megawatts of renewable
energy at a time, and that should guide us in terms of our policy making.
Mr Speaker, we have 2.5 mega- watts of solar energy in Navrongo, and a 20 megawatts of solar energy in the Central Region by BSC. So, it tells us that we are balancing it. Also, the renewable energy cannot be located in one location; other than that, we would have a system disturbance. We need to therefore balance it out. So, in advocating for renewable energy, we ought to ensure that it is fairly distributed.
Mr Speaker, if we have 50 mega- watts of solar energy today, within ten minutes, those 50 megawatts could drop to two megawatts depending on sunshine. So, we must balance it out, so that we do not have system disturbance. Renewable energy is not just about solar. We have wind and biomass, but more importantly, a new technology shows that geothermal takes the lead, and that is what Kenya does. Geothermal is simply trapping the heat in the crust of the earth and taking advantage of that. I believe these are some of the areas that we ought to look at, and ought to focus on.
Mr Speaker, as a country, we have made some progress. We have passed the Energy Commission Act, 1997 (Act 541). Subsequently, we
Mr John A. Jinapor (NDC -- Yapei/Kusawgu) 11:30 a.m.
passed the Renewable Energy Act, 2011 (Act 832), and then launched the Solar Rooftop Programme. For me, that is the most important thing for us now as a nation. The Solar Rooftop Programme was supposed to hook on 200,000 households with simple solar units. That alone would have reduced our demand capacity by 200 megawatts.
Mr Speaker, I was doing some arithmetic to let the nation know how much we would save annually compared to the current tariff if we were able to complete this project where 200 megawatts would be taken off the grid. We would then install what we call net metering, so that if one has an excess capacity in terms of one's solar, one could even feed that into the system. These are low hanging fruits that as a nation and as policymakers and decision makers, we ought to focus on.

Mr Speaker, this was captured in the Budget Statement and unfortunately, maybe, due to budgetary constraints, the funds were not released. I would appeal to the Hon Minister for Finance to ensure that in the ensuing years, at least, we pass the Energy Fund that would ensure that the Energy Commission has regular flow of funds, just that

because of capping and re-alignment, a lot of the money is used for other priorities. But I think that we should focus on this; let us ensure that this programme is rolled out on a large scale.

Mr Speaker, it even brings in buy- in because if I am a neighbour to you and you realise that my bills are coming down because I have solar panels on my rooftop, you may also be encouraged to do that.

Mr Speaker, the other thing I would like to point out is that the cost of solar has come down by 75 per cent in the past 10 years. So, yes, we might think that there is an initial outlay and initial capital expenditure, but then, I am saying that because of technology, we could now even use the smaller solar panels. We are producing lithium batteries that could store energy over a long period of time and as technology advances, so would it be in terms of the cost.

I would encourage all of us to embrace this project and to thank the Hon Member who made the Statement. He has given us enough information; we would continue to debate these matters, continue to advocate and push so that this country would achieve the objective

of having a 10 per cent renewable mix in terms of our energy infrastructure.

Mr Speaker, with these words, I wish to thank the Hon Minority Leader for yielding to me and to thank you for the opportunity.
Mr Speaker 11:30 a.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Jinapor.
Yes, Majority Leadership?
Majority Leader amd Minister for Parliamentary Affairs (Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu) 11:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to also make brief remarks about the Statement ably made by the Hon Member for Nsawam-Adoagyiri.
Mr Speaker, the access to clean and affordable energy is one of the pillars of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and nations are obligated, after signing to the Convention, to ensure that their citizens enjoy clean and affordable energy.
Mr Speaker, in Ghana today, as the last Hon Member who spoke alluded to, the installed power in this country is close to four thousand nine hundred (4,900) megawatts. But on a daily
basis, the optimum requirement is in the region of about 2,600 or 2,700 megawatts.
Mr Speaker, indeed, the real need for this country is in the region of 2,000 megawatts. The reason is that a lot of what we produce ends up as unaccountable power due to network dysfunctionality. So, it means that on a daily basis, something in the region of 600 megawatts of what we produce just vanishes without the nation benefiting after producing it at a high cost. And that should be a source of worry for all of us.
So, it is not just about increasing the generating or installed capacity of energy. And I agree with the Hon Agbodza that we should look inwards; at our own building codes and issues related to lighting up the structures that we have, especially with households.
Majority Leader amd Minister for Parliamentary Affairs (Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu) 11:40 a.m.


What is the sense in what we do? And yet, if we see people installing louvres, people think those people belong to the stone age and that they have not arrived yet. So, we trap ourselves and then, we have to install so many air conditioners. If one has a five-bedroom facility, he would install an air conditioner in each of them; there is a living area. People are now installing air conditioners even in kitchens which are at so high a cost to us as individuals.

Mr Speaker, so we should be looking at the building codes, the ventilation, and again the cooling system. I travelled to Casablanca, Morocco and stayed in a five-star hotel. There was no air conditioner in the rooms in that hotel in Casablanca, even with such a hot environment. The system of construction is such that they are able to cool down the place naturally without using air conditioners.

Mr Speaker, I was amazed. For a five-star hotel, we were paying just US$95, because, of course, the cooling system is central to the pricing of hotels. That is what they are doing there. How do we encourage tourism? The tourists come to the hotels and another time they are moving in droves. People stay overnight, they leave and steam is occupying the facility.

Mr Speaker, so we need to look at how we are advancing. We think that we want to improve living standards of the people and we think they come with how we design our houses. We are building mansions at high cost and installing air conditioners at high cost. How sustainable is that? Today, we may be able to afford it but when get to 70 or 80 years when we have retired, how are we going to be able to maintain it? So, the structure that we bought 10 or 20 years down the line after we have retired, our children cannot even maintain and service the facilities.

Mr Speaker, so we really need to do serious introspection. The issue about 25 per cent of Africans accessing electricity and Ghana's own case rising to about 83 per cent -- we should commend ourselves. But I believe that we should even look at the yardstick. What are we talking about? Is it a case that we are sending electricity to the communities and that is the yardstick we are using? That about 83 per cent of communities have electricity? What about the individual households?

There should be a better measure of how many people are able to access electricity. It is not us sending it to the village and installing street lights. That is good, Mr Speaker, but I am not too sure that we could say

of ourselves that, indeed, we have 83 per cent close to 85 per cent of Ghanaians who now are able to access electricity.

Mr Speaker, I believe that we should look at the yardstick again. I am saying that the yardstick is not just the communities that we are serving; it is the people. How are we able to determine the number of people who are able to access electricity? That is difficult.

Mr Speaker, I agree again with my Hon Colleague, the former Deputy Minister for Power, who said that we should be looking at accessing geothermal power. I agree; but what is the sub-terrain activity in this country? As he related to, in Kenya and Tanzania, there is active volcanic activity, so they are able to tap into that. Our own mountains are all made up of sedimentary rocks which is not due to volcanic activity. So, crustal activity is not as strong in West Africa as it is in East Africa. We cannot compare the two but if there is a possibility, why not?

Indeed, crustal activity here in West Africa is not as strong as in East Africa. They might be able to go deeper and tap into the source from

geothermal activity but not in Ghana, Nigeria or anywhere in the sub- region. Of course, it is worth pursuing.

Mr Speaker, the Constitution provides for us to put emphasis on private enterprise and private enterprise in terms of productivity, we all know, depends on electricity generation. If power is not cheap, it is difficult to increase productivity and production in the country, to improve the standard of living of the people of this country.

The Constitution again obligates the State to undertake even and balanced development of all Regions and in every part of each Region in Ghana. How are we pursuing this enterprise? We need to extend electricity to every nook and cranny of every Region, of every District and Community, in order to ensure that private enterprise would be attracted to those areas. The State cannot do everything. And to be able to do that, we need to extend a cheap source of electricity to these places to attract production and productivity.

Mr Speaker, I agree that we should look at other means of generating electricity, and so solar farming is important. I believe in solar energy generation because since the 1960s, after the construction of the Akosombo Dam to date, people are
Majority Leader amd Minister for Parliamentary Affairs (Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu) 11:40 a.m.


still claiming compensation from the dam that was constructed in Nkrumah's era and the State is never able to satisfy the people whose farm lands were lost.

If you probably have a five- kilometre by five-kilometre solar farm, after the initial payment of compensation to the owners, nobody would still follow 20 years or 50 years down the line, that compensation was not paid and they require it. People are claiming judgment debts for all these, which is so many years after the Akosombo Dam was constructed.

So, Mr Speaker, biogas, wind power and so on -- In Rwanda, when you go to the countryside where they have their cattle, the faeces of the cattle in every household is used to produce power. They use gas stoves directly from the faeces of the animals. Why can we not do that up north and yet bemoan our fate?

So, I agree that as a nation, we need to sit up, do serious introspection where we have gone wrong and reposition ourselves in power generation and indeed in granting access to clean and affordable energy, in order to propel development in this country.

Thank you, Mr Speaker for the opportunity.
Mr Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Majority Leader. The Statement is further referred to the Committee on Mines and Energy as well as the Committee on Works and Housing for further consideration and report.
This brings us to the end of Statements.
Hon Members, at the commencement of Public Business, item numbered 4(a), presentation of Papers, by the Hon Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs.
PAPERS 11:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Item numbered 4(b)?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister is at a Cabinet meeting. For the item numbered 4 (b), may I lay the document on behalf of the Hon Minister for Communication?
By the Minister for Parliamen- tary Affairs (Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah- Bonsu) (on behalf of the Minister for Communications) --
Annual Report by the Audit Committee of the National Communications Authority (NCA) for the year 2018.
Referred to the Committee on Communications.
Mr Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Item numbered 5, Motion.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee has given
an indication that we stand down items numbered 5 and 6.
Mr Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Are the Reports not ready?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Reports have already been distributed but we are not moving the Motion.
Mr Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Very well.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Chairman of the Finance Committee has also given an indication that we stand down the item numbered 7. So, we can now move to the item numbered 8.
Mr Speaker 11:40 a.m.
Hon Members, the item numbered 8, Motion, by the Minister for Transport.
BILLS -- THIRD READING 11:40 a.m.
Mr Speaker 11:50 a.m.
The Hon First Deputy Speaker would please take the Chair.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, we, including the Hon Minority Leader, have an agenda with you at 12.00 noon.
Mr Speaker, the next item is the Consideration of the Vigilantism and Related Offences Bill, 2019; but we could stand it down until further notice because apart from the 64 amend- ments, some Hon Members have signalled that they have more amendments. So, I would entreat them to submit their amendments, so that we put everything in a basket and prepare ourselves for winnowing.
Mr Speaker, in that regard, we could take an adjournment. If it pleases you, I beg to move that the House do now adjourn until 10 o'clock in the forenoon.
Mr Haruna Iddrisu 11:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion for adjournment.
As you have scheduled to meet with the Beninoise delegation and tasked the Hon First Deputy Speaker together with Leadership to engage with MPs' Research Assistants, it is only appropriate that we adjourn the House to deal with those matters.
I have filed some additional amendments this morning with regard to the Vigilantism and Related Offences Bill, 2019. Hon Alhassan Umar drew my attention to one, which he is working on, and I believe that where necessary, we may have to do winnowing to get it done.
I, however, still maintain my position that given the number of amendments to the clauses of the Bill, it would be appropriate for the Hon Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and to re-own it, clean it up and then bring it back so we would pass it with speed.
There is no objection to its principle; but it would make the law elegant and serve our purposes and ensure the safety and security of Ghanaians. It would be appropriate if the Hon Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, who is sponsoring it, takes it back, looks at it, incorporates the amendment that she finds acceptable and then we could cruise at the highest speed.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:50 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would want to assure the Hon Minority Leader that whatever may follow would be dependent on the winnowing exercising. If we think that we could incorporate everything,
why not? If, on the other hand, the Committee arrives at a determination that where we are, perhaps, it may have to go back to the Hon Attorney- General and Minister for Justice, why not?
Yesterday, when I arrived from Kumasi, I invited the core members of the Committee, including the Hon Chairman of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee and the Hon Ranking Member, and we had serious discussions as to where we would want to go. We are dealing with it, and we would get there.
Mr Speaker, having said so, it is important to remind us that we
decided to have a Joint Caucus meeting, and because we need to advertise it, let us do it on Thursday. On Thursday, we would have to find a firm time to hold the Joint Caucus meeting which has delayed for a while.
Mr Speaker, the motion for adjournment is still pending, and we would take a vote on it.
Question put and Motion agreed to.
ADJOURNMENT 11:50 a.m.