Debates of 30 Jul 2019

MR SPEAKER
PRAYERS 10:38 a.m.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 10:38 a.m.
Mr Speaker 10:38 a.m.
Hon Members, correction of Votes and Proceedings of Monday, 29th July, 2019.
Mr Speaker 10:38 a.m.
Hon Members, item listed 3, Urgent Question. If the Hon Minister for the Interior could please take the appropriate seat? The Question stands in the name of the Hon Member for Builsa North.
rose
Mr Speaker 10:38 a.m.
Yes, Hon Member?
Mr Jabanyite 10:38 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I have been asked by the Hon Member to ask the Question on his behalf.
Mr Speaker 10:38 a.m.
You may.
rose
Mr Speaker 10:38 a.m.
Yes, Hon Majority Leader?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:38 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member is in the precincts of Parliament and he must choose this day which business is more important. Is it the Business in this House? He has elected to be at a press conference which is outside the Business in the Chamber when we need to debate the isuue.
rose
Mr Speaker 10:38 a.m.
Yes, Hon Alhaji Muntaka?
Alhaji Muntaka 10:38 a.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
It is unfortunate that the Hon Majority Leader said that. He knows
very well that to hold press conferences in the precincts of Parliament, is part of the democratic and parliamentary processes. [Interruption].
Mr Speaker, he is aware; we informed him about it and we thought that we would be given some time. My Hon Colleague is running here; but he said that because he could not hold the House in abeyance he said the Hon Colleague should ask the Question on his behalf while he runs in to continue with supplementary questions.
As for the debate, they should wait. Why are they in a hurry? It will ensue and we will debate them adequately. What the Hon Member is doing now is equally part of the parliamentary process. He cannot deny that to have a press conference in the House is not part of the parliamentary process.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:38 a.m.
Mr Speaker, respectfully, the issue is not about the press conference, which we believe should be part of the business of any Hon Member of Parliament. The issue is about which one is more important? As for the debate, this is the House of debate. We are prepared for them and not the propaganda that they do outside. They should come here and debate./ -- [Hear! Hear!]
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister is here and he is prepared -- [Interruption] -- [Laughter] -- He has been asked to sprint to the Chamber. They should come here and put their issues down and we will debate them adequately; they should stop their propaganda outside. Here is the House of debate; they should come and debate us. We will have the debate today.
rose
Mr Speaker 10:38 a.m.
Hon Member, you have not been called.
Yes, Hon Agalga? You may ask your Question; you made your choice.
Mr Agalga 10:38 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I wish to apologise.
URGENT QUESTIONS 10:38 a.m.
MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR 10:38 a.m.
Minister for the Interior (Mr Ambrose Dery) 10:48 a.m.
Mr Speaker, kidnapping is not a recent pheno- menon and has over the years been reported across the country and not just the Western Region. The crime statistics on kidnapping compiled for the period 2011 to 2019 reveal the trend on reported cases.
Mr Speaker, there were 48 cases reported countrywide in 2011, with the Greater Accra Region alone accounting for 21 cases. This was followed by the Central Region which recorded seven cases, Eastern Region and Brong Ahafo Region recorded 5 cases each. Western Region recorded three cases while no case was reported in the Ashanti, Northern, Upper East, Upper West and Volta Regions in that year.
In 2012, the total reported cases countrywide were 52, an increase of four cases from the 2011 figure. The Greater Accra Region again recorded the highest number of reported cases, which was 21, constituting 40 per cent of the total reported cases. Central
Region recorded the second highest number of 16 cases, an increase of nine cases from that of 2011. The Western Region recorded four cases, an increase of one case from that of 2011. The Ashanti region recorded three cases.
In 2013 there were 77 reported cases, an increase of 25 cases from the 2012 figure of 52. The Greater Accra Region alone recorded 35 cases, as against 21 in 2012, an increase of 14 cases. The Western Region recorded six cases, an increase of two cases. Cases reported from the Central Region dropped from 16 cases in 2012 to five cases in 2013, a reduction of 11 cases.
The country recorded 76 kidnapping cases in 2014, as against 77 cases reported in 2013, a reduction of one case. In 2015, 43 cases were reported, a reduction of 33 cases from 2014. However, 2016 recorded 52 cases, an increase of nine cases over the 2015 figure of 43. There was a marginal decrease of one case in 2017 with total reported cases of 51.
In 2018, 58 cases were reported throughout the country, an increase of seven cases.
For the 8-year period, a total of 504 cases of kidnapping were
reported throughout the country. The Greater Accra Region recorded a total of 215 constituting 43 per cent. Central Region recorded 70 cases, constituting 14 per cent, while the Western Region had 47 cases, which represents nine per cent. On the other hand, both the Ashanti and Upper West Regions recorded the least number of cases of six each, representing one per cent each.
From January 2019 to date, a total of 47 cases have been recorded. Of this number, the Greater Accra Region has 22 cases, seven in the Central Region, and two in the Western Region. One case has been reported in the Ashanti Region. The rest of the cases occurred in the remaining Regions, except the Volta and the Upper East Regions which have not recorded any case.
Mr Speaker, permit me at this juncture, to illustrate the impact of measures we have put in place to deal with the kidnaping cases, including expedited investigation and consequential action on kidnapping cases reported in 2019.
Out of the 47 cases reported this year, 21 of them were found to be false when investigations were conducted. That brings down the real cases reported thus far to 26 that is
47 reported cases less the 21 found to be false. A total of 17 kidnapped victims have been rescued; six in Accra Region, two in Western Region, four in Brong Ahafo Region and five in Ashanti Region. Investigations have led to the arrest of 10 suspects and eight different dockets have been built and are at various stages of prosecution in the courts. At the courts, four kidnappers have been found guilty, convicted, and sentenced to various terms of imprisonment in Greater Accra, Ashanti and Eastern Regions whilst six other kidnappers are on remand awaiting trial.
Clearly, the incidents of kidnapping in the country peaked in 2013 and 2014, with 77 and 76 cases respectively. This gives a total of 153 cases for the 2-year period.
It must be noted that some of these cases have been resolved by the Police, while a significant number has also been found to be false. The Police have found out that some of these reported cases of kidnappings involved teenagers who went to their friends and to avoid being punished by their parents, feigned having been kidnapped.
Although, as the statistics portray, there has been a decrease in the incidence of kidnappings from the
Mr Speaker 10:58 a.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Minister.
Yes, Hon Member?
Mr Agalga 10:58 a.m.
Thank you Hon Minister for the detailed response to my Question. My supplementary question is in specific reference to the kidnapped Takoradi girls. Sometime in May, this year, the Hon Minister's Ministry, acting through the Ghana Police Service, assured the Ghanaian public that you knew the whereabouts of the girls and that in no time, they
would be rescued and they would re- join their families.
Does, the Hon Minister know the whereabouts of the kidnapped Takoradi girls?
Mr A. Dery 10:58 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member of Parliament is a very respected Member of Parliament. He says that the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) issued a statement on behalf of the Ministry. -- [Interruption] -- Mr Speaker, the CID does not represent the Ministry; it is an agency of the Ministry.
Mr Speaker 10:58 a.m.
Order!
Mr A. Dery 10:58 a.m.
Mr Speaker, besides, I have told this august House that some aspects of that case cannot be revealed before this House; that is telecasting live. However, let me tell the House the progress that we have made: when it all started, it was in the region, it then developed and came up to the national level. We have at that stage got one suspect and we gave the assurance that we were going to
Mr Speaker 10:58 a.m.
Order!
Mr A. Dery 10:58 a.m.
Mr Speaker, we are handling the matter professionally and that is why this year, we have attended to 47 cases. They had 77 and 76 and could not handle that.
Thank you Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker 10:58 a.m.
Hon Member, any further questions?
Mr Agalga 10:58 a.m.
Mr Speaker, my question has not been answered but I
would ask my last supplementary question.
Mr Speaker 10:58 a.m.
Hon Member, you would ask a question.
Mr Agalga 10:58 a.m.
Mr Speaker, could the Hon Minister assure the good people of the Western Region and Takoradi in particular about the safety of the girls even while they are in captivity?
Mr Speaker 10:58 a.m.
Hon Member, that question is not a question. The Hon Minister has assured that relevant authorities are doing their best.
Any further question?
Mr Agalga 10:58 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am done. Thank you.
Mr Speaker 10:58 a.m.
Are you done? Thank you very much.
Yes, Hon Member?
Mr Ras Mubarak 10:58 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am very grateful.
Following from the Hon Minister's response, is there an explanation for the increase in trend of kidnapping in coastal areas of the country and how far away is he from having the girls back to their families?
Mr A. Dery 10:58 a.m.
Thank you Mr Speaker.
May I reiterate the position? The statistics I have given, have consis- tently shown that the majority of kidnappings were in Greater Accra Region. Consistently, I have taken pains to go through the years seriatim and put them together. So, to say there is an increasing trend along the coastal areas is neither here nor there; it does not exist so I cannot explain what does not exist.
Mr Speaker, I would like to make it clear that a Question on kidnapping must be national in character and that is why these statistics show that the majority of the kidnapping cases have been in the Greater Accra Region and the Hon Member of Parliament who was at the Ministry, should have known that.
Notwithstanding, the question is, when am I returning them? I do not have an explanation for what does not exist; we would send them imme- diately we find them.
Mr Kwame Governs Agbodza 10:58 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank the Hon Minister for a very elaborate answer given to a very important Question.
Mr Speaker, in the Hon Minister's response, he did make a comment
about the fact that the CID boss denied a comment attributed to her regarding her comments about ‘we know where the girls are'.
Mr Speaker, the fact is that she made the comment at a news conference; there are videos and everything. As the Minister, how does he rationalise a comment which Ghanaians saw with the CID boss' denial? Is it the case that the CID boss has convinced the Hon Minister that she had a slip of tongue or what she said, upon reflection, should not have been said. So that we are clear about it because a lot of people have it on video as it was said at a press conference.
Mr A. Dery 10:58 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I speak for the Government of Ghana. The lady made a statement and came back to disown the statement. Beyond that I do not have responsibility for her statements.
Mr Sampson Ahi 10:58 a.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much. I am sure the Hon Minister would agree with me that after those three girls were kidnapped, their parents have gone through a lot. I would like to find out from the Hon Minister whether they are considering some psychological comfort to support the parents while efforts are being made to rescue them?
Mr A. Dery 11:08 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the three kidnapped Takoradi girls must be a matter of concern for their parents - and I would want to assure the Hon Member, that it is a matter of grave concern for the Government too. We want the matter resolved and so we are working to make sure that it is resolved. As far as I know, I have told you elaborately about our activity this year and we would pursue it -- let me assure you that the matter has not been abandoned and we would work to get it done.
I would want to assure the parents that we are with them in this time of their trauma, so that they should be rest assured and know that we would not abandon them but we would do all we can to make sure we unravel the case.
Mr Speaker 11:08 a.m.
Hon Minister, the Hon Member would want to know what arm of comfort in the interim has been extended to the family. If you would please inform us accordingly.
Mr A. Dery 11:08 a.m.
Mr Speaker, this matter is a multi-ministerial matter. The Hon Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection has been in touch with the family because that emotional aspect; the contact and comfort, is within her domain.
I am working to make sure that the case is unravel, so they should rest assure that we are not resting on our oars. This has been a multi-ministerial matter and we are going all out -- in certain cases we even went international. The comfort aspect is being handled directly by my Hon Colleague Minister and I would want to assure them that we would leave no stone unturned.
Mr Richard Quashigah 11:08 a.m.
Mr Speaker, in the Hon Minister's response to a question asked about a statement made by the CID boss, he indicated that the CID boss made the statement and disowned it. I would want to find out from the Hon Minister, as the Hon Minister in charge of that agency, does he find it very appropriate and comforting -- ?
Mr Speaker 11:08 a.m.
Hon Member, you are soliciting opinion -- and it is out of order.
The last question.
Mr Kwame Anyimadu Antwi 11:08 a.m.
Mr Speaker, there are three words that look alike in the eyes of the public and these are abduction, kidnapping and trafficking. I would want to find out from the Hon Minister where the Ministry has placed its investigation, so far as the issue of the Takoradi girls is concerned.
Mr A. Dery 11:08 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member has asked a very important technical question. The case was reported as kidnapping. As I have illustrated, as far as 2019 is concerned, we have found 21 cases to be false. We are investigating the matter and when we are done with it, we would rightly and technically classify it.
Yes, human trafficking comes in when people are taken out to work whether within the country or beyond, so those terms are related and as far as we are concerned, we want to properly classify it when we get to the end of it. What we do not want is to get people think that we have back down because of technicalities. The important thing in this matter, is to get the children back and we are pursuing that but yes, there is that technical challenge that some of the issues that are called kidnapping are not kidnapping but human trafficking and the rest. For now, we want to unravel the matter and get the children back.
Maj Derek Oduro [Rtd]: Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister mentioned that one out of the two suspects who were arrested in connection with the Takoradi kidnapping is a foreign national. I would want to know if the Hon Minister could tell the nationality of the other suspects who have been
arrested in connection with other kidnapping if he knows.
Mr A. Dery 11:08 a.m.
Mr Speaker, both suspects are foreigners but I do not know the identity of the other suspects in other cases. What I said was that we started with one suspect and we arrested the second suspect in Togo -- but both suspects are foreigners.
Mr Richard Acheampong 11:08 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would want to find out from the Hon Minister whether any liaison officer has been appointed for the families of the kidnapped girls to furnish them with information as to the steps of what all the agencies are doing in respect of the rescuing mission of the girls.
Mr A. Dery 11:08 a.m.
Mr Speaker, as I said earlier, the issue of dealing with the families is handled by the Hon Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection. As much as possible, where we think we have information that they should know, we will let them know -- and we have also told the police in the Western Region to keep in touch with them. It is not everything that we can tell them -- what we tell them is the progress we are making and we hope to unravel the matter.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:08 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister has given us some rather chilling statistics that
Mr A.Dery 11:18 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I do not understand the discomfiture on my Hon Friends' Side.
Yes, the figures on the reported kidnapped cases show 77 cases in 2013, and 76 cases in 2014. Those people had parents as well. They were our girls and boys. I have no record of those cases being resolved. What I do have is the way we are handling the cases under us.
Mr Speaker, I have told you that with the 77 and 76 cases, in fact, there was not even an indication to let the public know that they existed but let me tell you what we have done. In this year, we have recorded 47 cases. We have investigated and found 21
to be false. We have been able to rescue 17.
Mr Speaker 11:18 a.m.
I thank you very much.
Yes, Hon Minority Chief Whip?
Alhaji Muntaka 11:18 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you. Our Standing Orders are very clear in 67. What the Hon Majority Leader did was a deviation from the Question that was asked.
Mr Speaker, the Question for today is simply when the Hon Minister
-- 11:18 a.m.
Mr Speaker 11:18 a.m.
Hon Minority Chief Whip, refer to the Standing Order in full and then, you may support with whatever facts.
Alhaji Muntaka 11:18 a.m.
Mr Speaker, Standing Order 67(b) states and with your permission, I quote:
“a Question shall not contain any arguments, expression of opinion, inferences, imputations, epithets or controversial, ironical
or offensive expressions or hypothetical cases.”
Mr Speaker, what the Hon Majority Leader sought to do was to create an environment of argument when he asked that the Hon Minister told us what happened in their government during their time. That was not the question.
Mr Speaker, the substantive Question is 11:18 a.m.
“when does the Minister for Interior hope to get these missing girls for their parents to be happy with themselves?”
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:18 a.m.
Mr Speaker, people should not enter this House with their own prepared questions. The Question that was asked is this: “To ask the Minister for the Interior what measures the Government intends to put in place to deal with incidents of kidnapping of young women in the Western Region and other parts of the country.” That is the Question. The question formulated just recently by the Hon Minority Chief Whip is not the Question.
Secondly, Mr Speaker, I asked a question, and with your permission, Standing Order 66 provides that:
“Mr Speaker shall be the sole judge of the admissibility of a Question.”
I asked the question and the Speaker admitted the Question. If the Hon Minority Chief Whip has anything about the admissibility of the question, he may direct it to Mr Speaker and he will know what to do.
rose
Mr Speaker 11:18 a.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Minority Chief Whip, you may go further.
Alhaji Muntaka 11:18 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Majority Leader seems to be contradicting himself. [Uproar] -- When I asked the question, it was not for him to get up and refer to the Standing Orders that this is not the question. It is for Mr Speaker to decide whether to admit it or not, like he himself did.
My question was to the Hon Minister for the Interior and it is only Mr Speaker who can admit or reject that. He got up to tell Mr Speaker that this is not part of the --
Mr Speaker, my question --
Mr Speaker 11:18 a.m.
Hon Minority Chief Whip, do not forget. It is just like you
ORAL ANSWERS TO 11:18 a.m.
QUESTIONS 11:18 a.m.
MINISTRY OF HEALTH 11:18 a.m.
Minister for Health (Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu) 11:18 a.m.
Mr Speaker construction of a District Hospital in the Kumawu District is part of the seven District Hospitals programme being undertaken by Messrs NMSI of the United Kingdom under a turnkey arrange- ment. The project has stalled due to expiration of the letters of credit backing the loan.
Further to the expiration of the Letters of Credit, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) instituted a Value for Money (VFM) audit to ascertain the sustainability of the project in view of the amount expended on the project at the time of expiration of the letters of credit. The VFM Audit has been concluded and the Ministry of Finance has also sought legal opinion from the Attorney General s (AG)
Department on Government's options on the way forward.
The AG's position is for the MOF to extend the Letters of Credit for Messrs NMSI to immediately complete works at Kumawu, Fomena and the Takoradi European Housing Project.
To this end, the Ministry of Health has scheduled a meeting on the 6th of August. 2019 to meet with NMSI for a discussion on the AG's recommendations and chart a way towards getting them to resume works fully. Mr Speaker, I am very hopeful that works shall soon begin on the Kumawu Project.
Mr Basoah 11:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, as part of the Hon Minister's tour of the Ashanti Region, he was able to visit the project site and he saw how the incessant torrential rains had had serious effects on the project and the situation keeps deteriorating day in and day out. I would want to find out from the Hon Minister if there was a component in the contract sum which could take care of the loses during the long period that the project has been deserted.
Mr Speaker, or would the government or the contractor bring out money to continue taking care of the losses as part of the contract?
Mr Agyeman-Manu 11:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, obviously, the deterioration compo- nents were not activities that were planned and so it could not have been part of the contract's scope of works. That is one of the reasons for us to meet with the contractor to discuss how that could actually be taken care of. Mr Speaker, we want to make sure that this is fully discussed and agreed before the contractor starts work.
Mr Basoah 11:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would want to find out from the Hon Minister if the detailed work to be done on the project includes the road construction as well as the electrification project.
Mr Agyeman-Manu 11:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the scope of works does not include the construction of access road to the facility. The roads in the facility are part of the scope of works, but outside the facility would be the obligation of the employers.
Mr Basoah 11:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, as the Hon Minister is perfectly aware, the loan was contracted in 2012, it had a three year moratorium and it is to be paid within a period of 13 years. So I would want to know if the interest and principal amounts are being paid on the Kumawu Project.
Mr Basoah 11:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity offered me.
Mr Speaker 11:28 a.m.
Hon Members, this is a consistency -- specific Question and so we would move to Question numbered 622, standing in the name of Hon Chireh.
Appointment of a Registrar for the Health Facilities
Regulatory Agency
Q 622. Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh asked the Minister for Health why the Government appointed a Registrar for the Health Facilities Regulatory Agency who is not a practitioner with considerable experience and training as per the Health Institutions and Facilities Act of 2010 (Act 829).
Mr Agyeman-Manu 11:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the “Health Institutions and Facilities Act, 2010 (Act 829)” was not enacted in 2010 as indicated in the question but rather in 2011 (Act
829)”
2. In the first instance, on 8th March 2017 the President appointed Mr. Matthew Kyeremeh “… to act as the Registrar of the Health Institutions and Facilities Agency, pending the consti- tutionally required consulta- tion with the Council of State.”
Mr Speaker, from documentation that we got from Mr Kyeremeh, he is a registered member of the Ghana Allied Health Council. Therefore, by interpretation of the law, we could ask him to act pending confirmation of his appointment.
3. On 9 th May, 2019, the President, wrote to consult the Chairman of the Council of State to appoint Dr. Philip A. Bannor, as the substantive Registrar of the Health Institutions and Facilities Agency after Mr Kyeremeh had resigned.
Mr Speaker, the new Registrar was appointed on the 18th of June, 2019 by H. E the President. All appointments to our Agencies are done by H. E. the President in consultation with the Council of State, in accordance with Article 70 of the Constitution.
Dr Phillip A. Bannor, MD is appointed by the President as the
Registrar of the Health Facilities Regulatory Agency (HeFRA). Dr Bannor is an Internal Medicine Specialist.
Dr Bannor has been practicing internal medicine since 2001. He is a graduate of the Medical College of Wisconsin and received specialist training in adult care (Internal Medicine) from the Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital, Milwaukee, WI.
Dr Bannor became board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, ABIM. He holds an active Medical licence in the United States.
Additionally, he holds an active Medical licence in Ghana from the Ghana Medical and Dental Council. He is a member in good standing with the Ghana Medical Association, Tennessee Medical Association and the American Medical Association.
Dr. Bannor until his appointment to HeFRA was the Eastern Regional Director of the National Health Insurance Authority, NHIA, overseeing the entire operation of the Authority with two million insured lives in the Region.
Dr. Bannor's experience will serve him well in the new role as Acting
Registrar of the Health Facilities Regulatory Agency (HeFRA).
Mr Chireh 11:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister is a veteran legislator and he says that the first person who was appointed was a member of the Allied Health Council. Mr Speaker, what is the profession of that Registrar?
Mr Agyeman-Manu 11:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would like my Hon Colleague to repeat his question.
Mr Chireh 11:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, he was being coached by the Hon Majority Leader. [Laughter]
Mr Speaker, my question was to know the profession of Mr Kyeremeh.
Mr Agyeman-Manu 11:38 a.m.
Mr Speaker, from documentation that we had from Mr Kyeremeh, he is a practitioner and a registered member with the Allied Health Professions Council of Ghana who is a member in good standing, and his membership expires in December, 2019 which he can renew. He also holds a Master's Degree in Management from Kings College of the University of London, and he spent most of his working life in the United Kingdom (UK) as a health professional, educationist and a
Mr Chireh 11:38 a.m.
Mr Speaker, if you look at the Answer the Hon Minister provided, on page 4 of the addendum Order Paper, he says a new person has been appointed as registrar through consultation with the Council of State. Then in the last paragraph of the Answer, he says Dr Bannor's experience would serve him well in the new role as Acting Registrar of the Health Facilities Regulatory Agency. Has he been appointed a Registrar through the procedure or he is acting?
Mr Agyeman-Manu 11:38 a.m.
Mr Speaker, let me apologise to you and my colleague the Hon Member for putting that Acting Registrar position there. Dr Bannor is substantively appointed as Registrar of the Health Facilities Regulatory Agency.
Mr Chireh 11:38 a.m.
Mr Speaker, if you look at the Question and the Answer the Hon Minister has provided, article 195 of the 1992 Constitution provides as to how Chief Executives and other
officers of institutions are appointed. Article 70 of the Constitution also provides for how chairmen and board members are appointed. I would want to find out from the Hon Minister, as a veteran legislator, whether he is stating the facts as the procedure or he is just guessing something?
Mr Agyeman-Manu 11:38 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I stated it as a matter of fact.
Mr Chireh 11:38 a.m.
Mr Speaker, as part of records, I am saying the man we are talking about should be appointed under article 195 and not under article 70 of the 1992 Constitution. So if we keep it as a record, then the Hon Minister has to advise himself whether he provided the Answer or not.
Mr Agyeman-Manu 11:38 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I have taken note of My Hon Colleague's admonishing.
Mr Speaker 11:38 a.m.
Hon Muntaka?
Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka 11:38 a.m.
Mr Speaker, in the Hon Minister's Answer, he said all the necessary consultations were done. However, this is a chief executive officer for that institution. If I may refer you to article 195 of the 1992 Constitution, it means he should work under the Public Services Commission. For the avoidance of
doubt, I just want to ask the Hon Minister whether he was interviewed and approved by the Public Services Commission as stipulated by the Constitution?
Mr Agyeman-Manu 11:38 a.m.
Mr Speaker, Dr Bannor's appointment was done by the President in consultation with the Council of State. The Board has actually written for confirmation by the Public Services Commission, and an interview has been scheduled for him to attend for the confirmation to be done.
Alhaji Muntaka 11:38 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would want the Hon Minister to take his time. This is because, in the last paragraph of his Answer where he said he was the Acting Registrar, he came back to say it was an error, and that he is the substantive Registrar. Now he is telling us that he is now awaiting interview by the Public Services Commission. For the avoidance of doubt, I would want to ask the Hon Minister whether Dr Bannor is acting or awaiting the interview or he is the substantive Registrar.
Mr Agyeman-Manu 11:38 a.m.
Mr Speaker, he is awaiting confirmation.
Mr Speaker 11:38 a.m.
Yes, Hon Member?
Dr Sebastian N. Sandaare 11:38 a.m.
Mr Speaker, in the Hon Minister's Answer, in paragraph (3), I quote:
“On 9 th May 2019, the President wrote to consult the Chairman of the Council of State to appoint Dr Philip A. Bannor as the substantive Registrar of the Health Institutions and Facilities Agency.”
Mr Agyeman-Manu 11:38 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am afraid I cannot answer this Question at the moment.
Mr Speaker 11:38 a.m.
Hon (Dr) Okoe Boye, the final question?
Dr Bernard O. Boye 11:38 a.m.
Mr Speaker. As a member of the Committee on Health, I know that under the former Registrar, Mr Matthew Kyeremeh of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, for the first time got certified --
Mr Speaker 11:38 a.m.
Hon Member, are you asking a question?
Dr Boye 11:38 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the question is that, I would want to know what mechanisms have been put in place to ensure that the new Registrar builds on some of the successes that were chalked by the outgone Registrar?
Mr Speaker 11:38 a.m.
Hon Minister, thank you very much for attending upon the House and answering our Questions. You are respectfully discharged.
Hon Members -- Statements. The Leader of the House would make a Statement on the Clerk to Parliament on matters relating to his retirement from the Parliamentary Service of Ghana.
Yes, Hon Majority Leader?
STATEMENTS 11:48 a.m.
Majority Leader (Mr Osei Kyei- Mensah-Bonsu) 11:48 a.m.
Mr Speaker, permit me to give a brief farewell
message in honour of Mr Emmanuel Kwasi Anyimadu, the Clerk to Parliament, who is going on retirement by the end of July, 2019.
Mr Speaker, Mr Anyimadu who was born in Techiman in the now Bono East Region obtained his Middle School Leaving Certificate from Techiman SDA School in 1973 and his GCE ‘‘O'' and ‘‘A'' Levels from Techiman Secondary School in 1978 and 1980 respectively. He proceeded to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, where he obtained the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social Sciences (Law and History) in 1987 and then a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration in 2002.
Mr Speaker, between September 1991 and April 1992, Mr Anyimadu, served as the Assistant Clerk to the Consultative Assembly that drafted the 1992 Fourth Republican Constitution. For his 26 and a-half years of dedicated service to the Parliamentary Service, Mr Anyimadu rose through the ranks, serving on various Committees including the Parliamentary Select Committees on Foreign Affairs, Roads and Transport, Communications, Works and Housing, among others. He also held a number of positions in the
Service notable among which include the following:
Head, Speaker's Secretariat;
Head, Majority Secretariat;
Head, Public Relations Unit;
Acting Director, Finance, Human Resource and Administration and;
Secretary to the Parliamentary Service Board.
Mr Speaker, before assuming the position of the Clerk to Parliament in July 2007, he was the Deputy Clerk of Parliament in charge of Parliamentary Relations, Protocol and Public Affairs. Indeed, he is the longest serving Clerk to Parliament.
As the Clerk to Parliament, he was the Chief Administrator and served as the principal advisor to the Speaker of Parliament on matters of procedure, policy and administration. In this regard, he assisted the Speaker in ensuring that Parliament works according to its own rules. He exhibited maturity in leadership and demonstrated good judgement for the day-to-day administration of the
Parliamentary Service in accordance with the provisions of the Parlia- mentary Service Act, 1993 (Act 460) as amended and the Parliamentary Service (Staff) Regulations, 1995,
(C.I. 11.).
His whispers to the Presiding Officer, as many of us would attest to, have often brought an otherwise charged atmosphere in the Chamber to normalcy and that ensured that parliamentary business progressed smoothly.
Mr Speaker, during his tenure, the Parliamentary Service witnessed several policy initiatives to strengthen its administrative structures and processes; build capacity of Staff; enhance the visibility and image of Parliament; and develop physical infrastructure. Notable among them include:
Streamlining and decentralisation of Parliament's budget to provide for more flexibility, predictability and accountability;
Employee Wellbeing Programmes to ensure Staff and Members live sound and healthy;
New Parliamentary Service Pay Policy as part of measures to improve the terms and condi- tions of service of the staff;
Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka (NDC -- Asawase) 11:58 a.m.
Mr Speaker, let me sincerely thank the Hon Majority Leader for this Statement.
Mr Speaker, I was in this House when the last Clerk exited and I do not remember if such a Statement was made to commend him. So for the Hon Majority Leader to draw our attention in this Statement, is a very commendable practice which we need to continue, probably not only for the Clerk but some of the very senior members and staff of this Parliament when they exit. I think it is only fair that we take the opportunity to commend them for their service to our country.
Mr Speaker, Mr Anyimadu is one gentleman that has gone through the mill. Looking at the Statement and where he started, from the Consultative Assembly in 1991 and 1992 and then when Parliament was properly constituted, being a member of staff and working in almost all the departments, ending with the very ultimate position of the House, the Clerk to Parliament, and serving as one of the longest serving Clerks to Parliament that we have had in the history of this country, he truly --
Mr Speaker 11:58 a.m.
The longest?
Alhaji Muntaka 11:58 a.m.
Yes Mr Speaker, I am saying the longest serving Clerk to Parliament in this country. He truly needs to be commended.
Mr Speaker, I did not notice Mr Anyimadu much until I joined the Leadership. I had cause to walk to him a number of times and ask him how he was brought up, because of his calmness. Sometimes there were arguments, heat and debates between Leadership about issues, and he would just be calm. You would have expected that naturally he would fight back, but his nature is such that he would be quiet, and sometimes he would walk close to the one accusing him and say, let me show you the evidence on this issue you are raising.
Mr Speaker 11:58 a.m.
We would have Hon Agyeman-Manu, Hon Yieleh Chireh and then the Hon First Deputy Speaker, five minutes each.
Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu (NPP -- Dormaa Central) 12:08 p.m.
Thank you Mr Speaker. I might not even use the entire five minutes.
Mr Speaker, I stand to add my voice to the Statement that has been made, and like the Hon Minority Chief Whip said, not many of us in Parliament actually interact with the Clerk to Parliament.
I came to Parliament for the first time on the other Side, where my Hon Colleague Quashigah is sitting now. Everybody knows that the opposition is not a very palatable Side to belong to.

That was when I encountered and engaged the Clerk to Parliament who now sits here as humble as he has always been.

Apart from that, I was the Vice Chairman and later Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of this House when we were in the

opposition and that was where I noticed his humility, forcefulness, hardwork and understanding. Now he sits here as our Clerk to Parliament, preparing to take his leave to go home to relax a little.

Again, at one stage when Hon Members of Parliament were fighting for the proper implementation of the Chinery-Hesse Report, I was an accountant who was not hired on consultancy, but to work to benefit myself. All the data we needed to do that work and all the support we needed, Hon Colleagues, I must tell you today that the Clerk played a yeoman's role to enable us succeed in that quest. I believe quite a number of us here smiled when we succeeded in achieving the objective that was set.

He did not advise only the Rt Hon Speaker, but some of us as chairpersons of some of the committees. Anytime we have challenges, when we go to him, he gives us advice as to what we should do. Anytime we wanted to find out how we could progress with our work, he would talk to us. Anytime he realised that certain things were not done in the way that the committees should work, he would call us as chairmen and advise us. I believe his going is a good thing for him, but

Parliament would lose a man. If it would be possible, we should continue to keep him.

The Hon Majority Leader made some recommendations to him and I would add my voice to that. I am one of those people who have started advocating -- It is not because of my age -- that the whole country should begin to look at our compulsory retirement age of 60 years. There may be merits in that. But for somebody like Mr Anyimadu, he has built capacity for himself, he knows what he does and he advises very well. The State has invested in him so much and he has achieved so much. For him to go away with all the knowledge he has acquired through training, workshops and conferences and other things is something that we should look at. It is not only him but other professions.

Mr Speaker, with where I am now, I have been thinking of what we should do with doctors who are supposed to go on compulsory retirement and who still have strength to work. In a situation where we bring in doctors from elsewhere to work for us, and in a situation where we have one-hospital, one-doctor syndrome in some parts of our country. There are situations where we do not have doctors in some districts and constituencies. Is it the right thing for us to do as a nation to send
Mr Speaker 12:08 p.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Member.
Yes, Hon Yieleh Chireh? You also have five minutes.
Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh (NDC -- Wa West) 12:08 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you very much. We can sense that I have lost my voice already, because my nephew will leave me and as an uncle, if my nephew leaves me, who would bury me? [Interruption] -- I expect my nephew to be with me, but today, he is saying farewell to us.
The Clerk to Parliament calls me uncle because his uncle is called Kyere and I am also, by their change of my
name, ‘Kyere', even though it is “Chireh”. So, he calls me uncle. I consulted him extensively as everybody has indicated.
Beyond that, for the last few years, he has initiated a lot of administrative changes now culminating into a Constitutional Instrument. He would be the first person to recommend changes in parliamentary procedure. I have been to a few parliaments, but in those parliaments, the Office of the Clerk is similar to what we have in the ministries; it is the institutional memory.
They are always there; they are neutral, and this nephew of mine has been very neutral. He did his job professionally. That means that the authority and the way he worked with everybody, whether a person was the Rt Hon Speaker, Member of Parliament or staff, his spirit was one of gentleness.
We wish him well in his retirement. In retiring, he should not be alone. He should engage in activities that would make him a very useful citizen to Ghana. He has served Ghana very well; he has served Parliament extremely well and I wish him a lasting and peaceful small rest before he gets up again. A rest for about a month and he should get up and be in activities again.
Mr Speaker, once again, I thank him for being a good friend and I am also happy associating with this retiring Clerk to Parliament.
Mr Speaker 12:08 p.m.
Thank you very much.
Yes, Mr First Deputy Speaker?
Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu (NPP -- Bekwai) 12:18 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
First, I thank the Hon Majority Leader for this eloquent testimony and the contributions by my Hon Colleagues.
Mr Speaker, there is a saying that, in this world, one comes and does what he can; when he no longer can, he goes. In our case, it is not that a person no longer can by choice but by law, whether he has the strength, the capacity or the intellect, the law says he no longer can, so he goes.
Mr Speaker, from all the evidence given by my Hon Colleagues who have spoken from both Sides of the divide, what is evident is that the Clerk to Parliament, Mr Anyimadu has humility par excellence. He guides Hon Members.
Mr Speaker, for those who observe, sometimes, when there are debates and there are issues, he would get up and come and whisper into Mr Speaker's ear. That is his role and he does it so well. But what is clear is the efficiency with which he does his work.

Mr Speaker I am aware that indeed, it was through his insistence that Hon Members of Parliament are part of the group that would select furniture for the House. He insisted that Hon Members should participate actively in the purchase of furniture and other facilities for this House. In my view there could be nothing more efficient than ensuring that the users of a facility do take part in its selection for their own use. Therefore, not surprisingly, there was very little complaint or agitation when we entered our offices.

Mr Speaker, I saw Mr Anyimadu for the first time, when I mistakenly entered his office while looking for Hon Kwame Anyimadu. The two of us had come to register, but I could not find him afterwards. Somebody then directed me to an office, where I met the Clerk-to-Parliament. He affirmed that he was Anyimadu, the Clerk-to-Parliament, and not an Hon Member. I apologised and told him
Mr Speaker, I would leave him with a quotation in Philippians 2 verse 3. It says 12:18 p.m.
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, rather in humility, value others above yourselves.”
(NIV) I wish that he retires in peace.
Mr Speaker 12:18 p.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Leaders.
Indeed, the retiring Clerk-to- Parliament, whom we have all known for many years. The Hon Bagbin just entered the House. I would therefore recognise his seniority and his presence.
I love to remember those days, when in 1993, during training sessions for Parliament, I encountered both Mr Anyimadu and the Hon Bagbin. I happened to give them lectures on some occasions.
Hon Bagbin, we had wanted to end, but once you have come, senior senator, you may say a few words.
Mr Alban S. K. Bagbin (NDC - - Nadowli/Kaleo) 12:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am most humbled by this gracious discretion of yours for me to add my voice in eulogising our Clerk-to- Parliament. I usually refer to him as “Executive Clerk”; my younger brother. I eulogise him for a well- served, and a well deserving retirement. He does not look that old because he has taken good care of himself.
Mr Speaker, we actually came to Parliament together; 7th January, 1993. Some of my Hon Colleagues were then in Junior High School. This includes the Hon Minister for Health. [Laughter] --
Mr Speaker, as you rightly pointed out, we were all new to the institution of Parliament. They had a brush at the Consultative Assembly, and so we had to rely on some of them. Fortunately for me, the Clerk-to- Parliament, the Honourable Emmanuel Anyimadu, was my clerk in the first Committee that I served on; the Subsidiary Legislation Committee. I had been an Hon Member of Parliament for three months, when I was made the Chairman for that Committee, and he was the Clerk to that Committee. From there, we worked closely together, and have been doing so up to date.
Mr Speaker, as I progressed, he did same. When I became the Hon Majority Leader, he also became the Clerk-to-Parliament. So, our life histories have been linked together. I am not surprised that at the time that I want to bow out of Parliament, he is also bowing out of Parliament. We were told many times that we resemble. In fact, they thought that he was my younger brother. We accepted it, and worked together.
Mr Speaker, I was a member of the panel that interviewed the applicants to the position of the Clerk- to-Parliament. Among his colleagues, he was the only one that had the courage, the foresight and the ambition to apply to be a Clerk to Parliament. At that time, he was the Principal Assistant Clerk, and he performed well.
We had some professors from outside, who applied. We interviewed them, and he scored the highest. In fact, I had advised him that he was very young. At that time, he was forty- eight years. I said he was rather too young, and so he might have challenges in encumbering that position, from the age of forty-eight to the age of sixty. He listened to me, but he braced up for the work. He came for the interview, and he was considered the best by us,. Therefore, from time to time, I still ask him about
Mr Alban S. K. Bagbin (NDC - - Nadowli/Kaleo) 12:28 p.m.
the challenges he faces, and he discusses them with me.
Mr Speaker, a lot has been said of him, but for me, I would not talk about his capacity, his focus and his hard work, but his humility. His humility stood out. He is so humble that one might not even know that he is the Clerk-to-Parliament; the Chief Executive of the Parliamentary Service of Ghana. No wonder he is a product of the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church. I must say that the SDA produces good materials. [Interruptions] --

Mr Speaker, I have followed him and I know he is very pious and he does not tolerate anything that, in his humble view, is dishonourable. I know how he has worked; and I told him just a few days ago that if Parliament could, we would have added some more days for him to work. Unfortunately, our hands are also tied and we could not.

But I know that would not be his end. I would not be surprised to see him here again; this time around, not as a member of the Parliamentary Service but as a Member of Parliament. I said I would not be surprised because I know that is his

decision and not mine. I know he is no threat to Prof Gyan Baffour, but who knows? The people could decide that he should be a Parliamentarian after having served the good people of Ghana for all these years.

So Mr Speaker, I am grateful. At that time that we used to rely on Mr Speaker to take us through the rudiments of politics; of democracy; of parliamentary practice, they were the few available to educate, to teach and to mentor us to where we have reached today.

Mr Speaker, I would also take this opportunity to thank you for your loyal service to Mother Ghana, particularly, to Parliament because we benefited a lot from Mr Speaker and it is not only the MPs, but the staff were also taken through. And I am sure it is with your intervention and others that has made this Parliament the pride of Africa.

Ghanaians sometimes doubt our quality but, at least, in the continent, we stand tall. And anywhere we go, not only in Africa, but in the world, we are counted among the leaders. And Mr Speaker, it is through the efforts of people like you that has made us what we are. In thanking the Clerk to Parliament and in wishing him well, I would also add my voice in

thanking you, the Rt Hon Speaker for what you have done.

But to assure my younger brother that we are still together and wherever he is, we would still continue to tap into his rich experience; his rich knowledge and his wisdom to continue to grow the Parliament of Ghana. We are still young; only twenty-seven years old. In fact, two days ago when we had the dinner with the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, I had the opportunity of sitting by the Deputy Mission Leader that is next to the Ambassador in Ghana. I got to know that Nancy Pelosi is the first female Speaker of the House of Representatives. So, he was so humble to say that we are ahead of them; we had our first female Speaker much earlier.

Also, in representation, we have thirteen per cent of the Members as women; they had nineteen per cent. So, he compared our twenty-seven years' progress as against their over two hundred years' progress and he thought that, in spite of all what people say about our democracy, we are progressing better than the US. I think these were encouraging words and it is because we started on a very sound foundation with people like you and

with people like the Clerk of Parliament.

I know the late K. B. Ayensu, I know the veteran S. N. Darkwa, who was also at the dinner and Nana Owusu Ansah, who was also present at the dinner. They all also did a lot to build the Parliamentary staff and we need to thank all of them for the service they have rendered to Mother Ghana.

It is with this, Mr Speaker, that I thank you so much and I wish my younger brother the best of luck; God's blessings on him and his family. In fact, it is his wife that kept him here, so when he goes back, he should not forget his wife. Without his wife, he would never have stayed here for long.

I thank you so much. -- [Hear! Hear!] --
Mr Speaker 12:28 p.m.
Thank you very much, Mr Second Deputy Speaker. Indeed, the retiring Clerk to Parliament has sterling quality: a man who epitomises the ideals of the unique or ideal public servant, the situation that Max Weber describes as ‘Formalistic Impersonality'. And this is one thing that is worthy of being said of any civil or public servant of distinction.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:28 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we shall begin the comments on the Mid-Year Review as presented to us by the Hon Minister
for Finance yesterday. And we have been in discussions so we know how to structure it. Mr Speaker, we have told ourselves that we are going to begin with the economy and then, later, energy, education and agriculture. That is the structure that we agreed on.
MR FIRST DEPUTY SPEAKER
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:36 p.m.
Very well, did the Leadership agree on time allotment and so on?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:36 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the lead speakers, that is those of them who are going to talk on the economy, the first from the Minority and the Majority would have -- [Pause] -- Mr Speaker, I was saying that we have agreed that each person would have ten minutes to make the contribution. But as much as possible, if submissions do not relate to factual inaccuracies, we should allow Hon Members to have a smooth discourse and presentation. Unless they relate to factual inaccuracies because certainly, one would have one's own turn.
So Mr Speaker, we could begin in earnest.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:38 p.m.
Which Side would start?
[Pause]—
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am sorry -- I almost forget. We have Order Paper Addendum 2 which is intended for a Paper to be laid; the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Bill, 2019 by the Hon Minister for Lands and Natural Resources. So, we could deal with that before we migrate to the debate.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:38 p.m.
Very well.
Order Paper Addendum 2 -- Presentation of Papers, by the Hon Minister for Lands and Natural Resources.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister is unavailable because he is attending to another equally important assignment, so I would want to seek permission to allow the Hon Deputy Minister, Hon Benito Owusu-Bio, to do the Presentation and First Reading of the Bill, on behalf of the substantive Minister.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:38 p.m.
Hon Deputy Minister, you may lay the Paper.
BILLS -- FIRST READING 12:38 p.m.
Alhaji Muntaka 12:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, what we agreed on the debate was that, the lead speakers for each Side would have 15 minutes and the other speakers would have 10 minutes.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:38 p.m.
Very well.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we agreed to the order and
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:38 p.m.
Yes, Hon Chairman of the Finance Committee?
MOTIONS 12:38 p.m.
Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah (NPP -- New Juaben South) 12:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I rise to contribute to the Motion.
Mr Speaker, whenever the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is in power, we
try to restore macro stability and it has been our hallmark but somehow, when power changes hands, this ‘‘take-or-pay'' people [Laughter] would let the economy destabilise.
Mr Speaker, I would want to refer to paragraph 8 on page 2 of the Mid- Year Budget Statement. --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:38 p.m.
Hon Member, please hold on.
Hon Members, on the Majority Side -- Hon Member for Subin, you are disturbing the House. If you want to talk, please go outside, otherwise, sit and listen.
Hon Member, you may continue.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 12:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it is stated in paragraph 8 of the Mid- Year Budget Statement that our macro fundamentals --
rose
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:38 p.m.
Yes, Hon Bawa?
Mr Bawa 12:38 p.m.
On a point of Order. Mr Speaker, my Hon Colleague on the other Side has described us as “this take-or-pay people''. I do not know any Hon Colleague as “take-or-pay people'', so I want him to withdraw that statement.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:38 p.m.
Hon Member, did you say some people were “take-or-pay'' people?
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 12:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, under the former President Mahama, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) signed a number of power purchase agreements and all of these Agreements were “take-or-pay'' agreements.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:38 p.m.
So, did you use the words “take-or- pay''? If we want the debate to flow, we must abide by the rules.
Hon Member, did you say that the Minority are “take-or-pay'' people?
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 12:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I did -- and for the purposes of this debate, I would want to refer to them as the “take-or-pay'' government.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:38 p.m.
Hon Member, that is not acceptable and they have complained. Please, you could refer to them as ‘'the Minority who supported ‘take-or-pay' policy or implemented ‘take-or-pay' policy''.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 12:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I withdraw and apologise.
Mr Speaker, with the political party that implemented the ‘'take-or-pay'' policies and are seated opposite,
anytime they are in Government, the macroeconomy is thrown overboard.
Mr Speaker, with your permission, I beg to quote paragraph 8 of the Mid- Year Budget Statement which says:
“Mr Speaker, our macro- economic fundamentals are strong as seen in the following:
Inflation has dropped to single digit;''
Mr Speaker, what this means is that as at the end of 2016, inflation was 15.4 per cent. For example, if they were prudent and kept GH¢100 under their pillow and did not spend under their watch, at the end of the year that GH¢100 would translate to GH¢84.6. Under the watch of the NPP, that same GH¢100 at the end of the year, would be GH¢90. So, our purchasing power has improved as compared to what pertained under the
NDC.
Mr Speaker, interest rates are on a downward trend. Before the NDC left power, 91-day Treasury Bill was around 19 per cent, but now, it is down to 13 per cent. As a matter of fact because 91-day Treasury Bill rates were round 19 per cent, savings and loans companies and Menzgold offered higher inter rates.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 12:48 p.m.


That is why some of our Hon Colleagues put their moneys there; it was because interest rates were high. Under the NPP now, interest rates have come down to 13 per cent. Businesses can now borrow at a cheaper rate. Our current account situation and trade balance are seeing surpluses.

Mr Speaker, the exchange rate has been more stable. Under their watch, the currency depreciated by around 33 per cent in 2015. Now, our currency is relatively stable. At the pace they went, the cedi would have exchanged with the dollar at around

GH¢7.

Mr Speaker, the fiscal deficit which they left at nine per cent is now under five per cent. We have kept it under five per cent year after year. So, every single macro indicator has improved. It has to translate into something. When they were managing the economy, they ran to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Fund.

Mr Speaker, we were supposed to leave the IMF in, April 2018. We could not because all the indicators had been thrown overboard. We had to seek an extension of one year. Within that time frame, we were able to comply as demanded by the

programme targets and Ghana has successfully completed it. They took us there and now we are out.

Mr Speaker, if we go to Table 1 of page 6 of the document, we would see that the 2018 macro indicators are presented there; they are not in doubt. All the macro indicators were within target range -- overall real GDP growth rate, non-oil real GDP growth rate, end period inflation, overall budget balance, primary balance, 1.4 -- They were always in the negative.

Mr Speaker, every single indicator is doing well now. They left it in tatters. This is what the NPP is doing. We are restoring macro stability. If we are not careful and we go back to the regime where people signed take-or- pay contracts, all of these would be thrown overboard again. This is a caution to everyone.

Mr Speaker, if we go to Table 6 on page 16, the 2019 indicators; if we look at how the economy has performed in half a year, we would see again that everything is within the targeted range. Clearly, without a shred of doubt, the NPP, better managers of the economy, are doing as it is required of us. It is in our DNA; we stabilise the macro economy.

Mr Speaker, if we look at the banking sector, there has been a

clean-up. Under their watch, they supervised a poor licensing regime. Every Tom Dick and Harry could get a licence to open a microfinance company or bank. That has stopped. That poor supervision and enforcement which occurred under their watch has stopped.

Now, we have 23 healthy banks instead of the overblown number. All those mushroom banks that used liquidity support to capitalise will not happen again.

Mr Speaker, if we want to see that the clean-up in the banking sector has been helpful, the total assets of that sector has increased. Presently, total asset of the banking sector is GH¢102.3 billion. Total deposits have also increased to GH¢75.5 billion and people believe in what the Governor and his team are doing.

Mr Speaker, the capital adequacy ratio has improved to19.3 per cent; assets quality as measured as the non- performing loan has also declined to 18.1 per cent. Had it not been the intervention of the Government and if these banks had been liquidated, about 2.6 million depositors' funds - - In total, the Government has had to use GH¢12.7 billion to save all of these. Three thousand jobs have been saved and all of these have translated

into a stronger and healthier banking sector.

Mr Speaker, I would not be intimidated by people who supervised take-or-pay agreements. Whether you take it or you do not take it, you pay! Ah! You take it, you pay! You do not take it, you pay!

Mr Speaker, let me continue and not be distracted. We introduced revenue measures and they were for a reason. Under their watch, they introduced the National Fiscal Stabilisation Levy, the Special Import Levy, VAT on Financial Services, VAT on Domestic Airline Tickets, VAT on Real Estate Sales, VAT on Withholding Tax on Rents and the Special Petroleum Tax. Thankfully, we have abolished some of them. Being a listening Government, we introduced the Luxury Vehicle Tax to control emission; we have listened and abolished it. We are in the space of abolition.

Mr Speaker, we have introduced and somewhat expanded the Energy

Sector Levies and Accounts Tax that they brought; the reason being that, these “take-or-pay” agreements have saddled us with debts. So, this is just to take care of those debts that sit in the energy sector. The Akufo-Addo Government would not introduce taxes for the sake of doing so but the mess that they left behind has necessitated it.

Mr Speaker, we have also increased the Communication Service Tax. We should think deeply about what the government is doing; it is to tackle the problem of youth unemployment. A certain percentage goes to the Youth Employment Agency (YEA). With this new introduction, we are guaranteeing that the same proportion that goes to them will still go to them with this increase. This is prudence. We should all support these new tax measures.

One, the Luxury Vehicle Tax is going; the ESLA increase have arisen because of the mess -- the take-or- pay nature of the agreements they signed -- which has caused us to reintroduce an increase in the ESLA.

Mr Speaker, again, a chunk of the increment in the Communication Service Tax would go to the YEA. They should applaud the efforts of the government.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:48 p.m.
Hon Member, you have one minute more.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 12:48 p.m.
Mr Speaker, finally, there is a supplementary estimate of GH¢6,370,355,925.82 occasioned because of the debt in the energy sector. These were unbudgeted -- and article 179(8) of the Constitution is clear. If an expenditure arises that was unforeseen at the time, then one brings this. We did not know that they had signed ‘‘take-or-pay'' agreements -- [Uproar] -- We did not know this They hid it from us.
Mr Speaker, so this is why the supplementary estimate is coming. Additionally, there is insecurity in the subregion, so we have not brought supplementary estimates for the sake of bringing it; it is to address these concerns.
Mr Speaker, this Government knows what we are doing. We will not bring tax measures for the sake of doing so. These are to address concerns in the economy.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:48 p.m.
Thank you very much -- [Laughter] -- Hon Ato Forson.
Mr Cassiel A. B. Forson (NDC -- Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam) 12:58 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Motion that was moved by the Hon Minister for Finance. In doing so, I rise to say that the Hon Minister for Finance has asked us, as a House, to give him the opportunity to increase appropriation by an amount of GH¢6.3 billion as additional expenditure.
Mr Speaker, I was particularly concerned about where the money would come from for the Government to be able to spend the amount of GH¢6.3 billion. On careful analysis, if we look at page 66 of the document that was presented to us, it is clear that this Administration would borrow an additional amount of GH¢3.7 billion.
This means that our public debt which we are all aware that as at June 2019 stood at GH¢204 billion from GH¢120 billion, this Administration has added to the public debt approximately GH¢84 billion within a space of about two and half years. My concern is that I thought that this borrowing spree would stop, unfortunately, this mid-year review did not give us that relief.
Mr Speaker, the Government has projected to borrow additional GH¢3.7 billion and this is on page 66 of the document. Unfortunately, this excludes the draw downs of loans that this Honourable House has approved over the period, including what we continue to approve at the Finance Committee.
Per my projections and the way the debt is increasing as well as the additional debts that this Government wants us to approve, I could comfor- tably project that we would end the year 2019 with a public debt not less than GH¢220 billion. This would mean that within a period of three years this Administration has added to our public debt approximately GH¢100 billion. This is dangerous and that would bring us to a level of unsustainable debt accumulation.
Mr Speaker, apart from that we were told by this Administration --
rose
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:58 p.m.
Yes, Hon Member?
Mr Afenyo-Markin 12:58 p.m.
Mr Speaker, with the greatest respect, Hon Cassiel Forson is grossly misleading this House on the issue of public debt. About two minutes ago, Hon Dr
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:58 p.m.
Hon Member, you are out of order. You could say that in your submission.
Hon Member, please continue.
Mr Forson 12:58 p.m.
Mr Speaker, apart from the fact that the Hon Minister would take about GH¢3.7 billion additional debt to finance the GH¢6.3 billion, there would be a shortfall of approximately GH¢2.7 billion that this Administration would need to get. Out of this, we were told that they would introduce a number of tax policies as well as non-tax policies.
Firstly, on the tax policies, we were told that the Energy Sector Levies Act (ESLA) would be increased by 21 per cent. With basic arithmetic, this Administration has projected that within the year of 2019, the ESLA would bring about GH¢3.5 billion. If we are to express 21 per cent of the GH¢3.5 billion it would translate to approximately GH¢735 million. This means that should this House approve this, then fuel prices would go up. Simply put, we were told that they would use part of this to support the Road Fund, price recovery and for the purposes of energy infrastructure.
Mr Speaker, I would have no problem if this Administration had been candid to us and apologise to the people of this country by saying that they oppose this law, but on hindsight they should not have done that. Unfortunately they have failed to apologise to the people of this country.
Mr Speaker, I have with me, a couple of documents and not long before this very ESLA --
rose
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:58 p.m.
Hon Minister for Monitoring and Evaluation.
Dr A. A. Osei 12:58 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my Hon Friend, Hon Forson, knows that we cannot impute ill motives in this House. He said if “they had been candid to us”. He cannot say that on this Floor because it is unparlia- mentary. Mr Speaker, imputing ill motives is against our Standing Orders and he knows this. So, he should find a better way to say it.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:58 p.m.
Available Hon Leader, the issue is whether or not “being candid”, is imputing ill motives.
Mr Richard M. K. Quashigah 12:58 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I do not see how that could be ill motive in a debate of this
nature. I think that these interruptions should be avoided. I recall that when Hon Dr Assibey-Yeboah was on the Floor, we did not interrupt him but it is obvious that there is a deliberate attempt to interrupt the very --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:58 p.m.
Hon Member, I asked you to address me on the issue of “if they had been candid to us”. That is all.
Mr Quashigah 12:58 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the use of “if” is even conditional and I do not see how that could be interpreted by a very Senior Hon Member of this House as “imputing ill motives”. I think that he should be ruled out of order so that Hon Forson could continue with his debate.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:58 p.m.
“If they had been candid with us” means that they have not been candid to us then that is unacceptable. So, please withdraw and proceed.
Mr Forson 12:58 p.m.
Mr Speaker, upon your direction, I would withdraw.
I have with me a number of documentations -- let me caution that I would never be derailed by what I am going to say. I want to put on record that I have with me a number of documents and one is a press statement from the former Hon
Minister responsible for Energy, Hon Boakye Agyarko. Not long after the imposition of the Energy Sector Levies, Hon Agyarko, had repre- sented his party to describe the tax as an insensitive tax. Apart from that, he promised the people of this country that should his government come into office, they would withdraw the
ESLA.
I have another document and since the Hon Deputy Minister for Energy is here, I would concentrate on what he said. The African Centre for Energy Policy on 7th January, 2016, issued a press statement which was presented by Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, the Executive Director for the Centre.
Mr Speaker, I would refer you to some of the introductory paragraphs of the press statement where he said that:
“It is also important to note that, over-reliance on petroleum taxes and levies could adversely affect the economy in many ways -- inflation, growth deceleration, social develop- ment challenges, et cetera”.
Mr Speaker, in the main document, part of the amount was supposed to go into the power generation
Mr Forson 1:08 p.m.
infrastructural support levy on petroleum products.
Mr Speaker, my good Hon Friend who is the Hon Deputy Minister for Energy said to us that:
“On the use of the levy to support to generation infrastruc- ture, we take a different view. We believe that consumers must not be levied to provide generation infrastructure”.

So, what has changed today?

Mr Speaker, this very tax that we are talking about would go into the support of power infrastructure. So, what has changed? Apart from this, he raised another concern with the caption “Double Taxation.” He said that:

“ACEP also wants to point out that the application of the Special Petroleum Tax (SPT) to the levies as is required by law constitutes double taxation.”

Mr Speaker, in one breath he is speaking against the ESLA -- and I

am of the opinion that this Administration should first of all apologise to the people of the country.

Mr Speaker, failure to apologise to the people of this country -- A party that has promised to remove the Energy Sector Levy Act (ESLA) and call it “nuisance taxes” once upon a time, all of a sudden, has turned round to tell all of us that today, they are going to increase the Energy Sector Levy. By Wednesday or Thursday, if we approve this, it would mean that a gallon of petrol and diesel would go up by 90 pesewas; 14 kg of liquefied petroleum gas would increase by

GH¢1.70.

Mr Speaker, this would impose some hardship on the ordinary Ghanaian. It would derail people's disposable income. Apart from that, this Administration has informed us that they are going to increase the Communications Service Tax. Per the fiscal table, this tax will bring in additional revenue by about GH¢100 million. This amount the current Administration intends to rake in would mean they are going to tax the services from the communications sector. They are not only going to increase it by 50 per cent, but are going to implement a law that would mean that other services of the Communications Services are going to be taxed.

Mr Speaker, per this Administra- tion's logic, now that they have taxed us on fuel, if a person is to complain through social media, this Government would then tax us on WhatsApp. They are taxing us on Facebook, Instagram and on Twitter. That is what it means. So this Communications Service Tax they have increased is a tax on WhatsApp, Twitter and on Facebook. The people of this country are very much concerned. The Hon Minister for Finance should apply the brakes slowly. His appetite for taxation is becoming something else. I am worried against his principle of moving from production to taxation instead of from taxation to production.

Mr Speaker, apart from that they have said that they would rake in non- tax revenue; firstly by monetising the mineral royalties and also selling some electromagnetic spectrum. My concern is on the mineral royalties in the sense that, per the law of this country, the Constitution gives us the formula for the mineral royalties. Our stool lands are entitled to certain amounts.

We would monitor the processes, particularly the allocation of that amount going to the chiefs because these are stool lands. Even the

accounts in the fiscal tables -- I just would want to caution that we would not sit unconcerned, but would be monitoring the process.

Mr Speaker, apart from that I would take you briefly to the first half performance of this economy. Strangely, all the indicators set by this Administration in the main Budget have been breached, yet my good friend, the Hon Assibey-Yeboah, indicated that they are doing so well. On tax revenue, in fact, almost all the tax handles have underperformed.

The underperformance on tax revenue is about GH¢2 billion and this is because of over projections. We have cautioned this Administration every year that they should not over project, unfortunately, our Hon Minister would neither understand nor hear us. He should please hear from me for the first time. He should go back and revise his numbers. Even going into his mid-year review, he has again over projected and I would show him why he has over projected. So, we would end up ending another year, and they would not be able to achieve their target.

Mr Speaker, even majority of the GH¢6.3 billion that he is asking us to pay is going into consumption, something I call “chop chop”. That is where it is going, but the capital expenditure is going down by the day.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:08 p.m.
Hon Member, you have one minute more.
Mr Forson 1:08 p.m.
Mr Speaker, to conclude, let me say that this Administration has lost the way. I say so because the reality has caught up with them. Not long ago, my good Friend, the Hon Chairman of the Finance Committee, Hon (Dr) Mark Assibey-Yeboah stood before us and said these taxes and everything are “yaamutu”. What has changed today? Now “yaamutu” is an imposition today. They are imposing taxes left, right, and centre. They are changing their promise. Now, what we would do is to change the “change”. Ghanaians would change the “change” now that they have changed their promise.
Mr Speaker, I beg to say that this Budget, as I said last year, was dead on arrival, this mid-year budget review is also dead on arrival.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:08 p.m.
Hon Minister for Information?
Minister for Information (Mr Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah) Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Statement as delivered by the Hon Minister responsible for Finance yesterday.
Mr Speaker, right from outset, there are two quick things that I would want to get out of the way. The first is a repetition of a claim the Hon Member of Parliament for Ajumako/ Enyan/Essiam has just made that the Administration has borrowed about GH¢80 billion in addition to the debt stock that we inherited and has very little to show forward. One would have thought that after the debate on the Debt Management Report right here in this Chamber some time back when we took time to explain to them that a change in the nominal debt stock does not mean that the Administration has borrowed GH¢80 billion, they should stop repeating this all over the place.
Mr Speaker, we made the point at the time quite clearly. In case some might have forgotten I would like to take advantage of this to repeat that when one is borrowing, two things to look out for are: what is happening to the productivity of the country which is measurable by the GDP and whether or not what one is borrowing is taking us up or bringing us down in terms of our GDP.
We have made this point over and over again, but it appears for some reason, it seems to have escaped
them. In their days, they borrowed to the tune of 73 per cent of the GDP known to them at the time, and they were still borrowing at the time claiming it was smart borrowing. Today, the debt to GDP ratio is down to 54 per cent if we exclude the financial sector bailout. And if we include it, it would be 57 per cent.
When we make this argument, they say it is because of rebasing. Mr Speaker, they borrowed up to 73 per cent of the GDP known to them. Tomorrow, somebody comes and rebases the economy, and they work the numbers backwards and say if we rebase, theirs was good enough. Then we might as well say that at 54 per cent now, we should borrow some more so that in the future when somebody rebases, ours would be less than 54 per cent. That argument does not wash, and we want to encourage them to stop making that argument.
Mr Speaker, the second point is the fact that --
Mr Fifi F. F. Kwetey 1:08 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr Speaker, my brother, the Hon Member, is misleading the House because he stated that in our time, the growth of the economy was not commensurate to the debt.
Mr Oppong-Nkrumah 1:18 p.m.
I thank you, Mr Speaker. For the avoidance of doubt, they borrowed up to 73 per cent of the GDP that they knew at the time. It is uncontested. They cannot come back today and claim that if it has been rebased, they work backwards and say it is a lower percentage. If that argument holds, then what they are telling us is that we can borrow some more and if in the future, somebody rebases the economy, we can also work backwards and say it is less than the 54 per cent now. They borrowed up to 73 per cent of the GDP known to them.

We are backed down to about 54 per cent of the GDP known to us. It is a matter of record that they should take a lesson from.

Mr Speaker, they again make the argument that, particularly on the fiscal side, we have not performed. I want to take them to Tables 8 and 9 of the Hon Minister's Mid-Year Review. Table 8, total revenue, quarter 1 and

quarter 2. The programme by now was about GH¢26 billion. The actual is GH¢22 billion. This is a growth from this same period last year. The only challenge is that we have not met the very ambitious revenue targets that we had for ourselves. As a result, and also because we are disciplined, we have had to ensure that expenditures, though we had programmed GH¢36 billion, we do not let it go beyond GH¢34 billion. This is the mark of an Administration that is being disciplined in its expenditure even as it seeks to raise some more revenue.

Mr Speaker, one of the arguments that my Hon Colleagues on the other Side like to tout about is that in the last two or three years of the Administration, revenue has increased significantly but they cannot see what has been done with that revenue. I want to encourage them to go back to the 2019 Report and if my Hon Colleagues have a copy they should go to Appendix 3A of the Budget. Revenues have been increasing and are projected to increase. For example, in 2019, total revenues and grants are GH¢58 billion. In 2020, it would go to GH¢67 billion. In 2021, it would go to GH¢74 billion; 2022 - GH¢79 billion.

They should please look down as well -- Expenditure as programmed is also going up accordingly. If we

take total expenditure in 2019 initially and the raw expenditure, GH¢72 billion; in 2020, GH¢80 billion; 2021, GH¢89 billion; 2022, GH¢95 billion and the details are quite clear.

Compensation of employees is going up and programmed to go up. We are paying the Ghanaian worker higher than they were doing. Goods and services budgets are continuously going up. Grants to other government units are moving from about Gh¢3 billion to GH¢18 billion in the medium term and the famous capital expenditure they talked about is also moving up from GH¢8 billion to about GH¢15 billion.

So if they go about saying that revenue is going up but they are not seeing what is happening, please, they should look at the expenditure side as well and they would find out that the increasing revenue is being put to increasing good use in this economy.

Mr Speaker, very quickly, I would want to speak about the fact that we need to raise more revenue to do more for our people. We have all agreed that we cannot borrow our way out of our problems. We cannot also borrow our way to the opportunities that are ahead of us and that it would take painstaking efforts

for all of us to contribute a bit more to reach the targets that we want to get to.

Mr Speaker, one of the problems that comes up when we say people should contribute more to revenue is if they have reason to believe, for example, that while they are contributing, people are coming up with schemes to create, loot and share that money. That is one of the reasons for which people object to paying some more revenue.

Mr Speaker, however, today, the evidence is clear that every single cedi that the Akufo-Addo Administration receives is put to good use. The billions of Ghana cedis we are paying for our children to stay in school for free is money put to good use. The tens of millions of Ghana cedis we are paying for allowances that were cancelled is money we are paying to good use. And the millions of Ghana cedis we are paying to even keep the lights on is money we are putting to good use. We have reason to believe that as we explained the next uses of these funds to the people of Ghana, they would support us.

Mr Speaker, my very last argument is the fact that there is a particular expenditure line which is avoidable and that is money we are paying for “take-or-pay options” under the capacity charges that my Hon
Mr Isaac Adongo (NDC -- Bolgatanga Central) 1:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I rise to contribute to the Motion which was moved yesterday for the Mid-Year Review of Government Policy and Supplementary Estimates.
Mr Speaker, before I do that, I need to correct very obvious misleading figures that are being churned around in this Chamber. The original budget that was submitted to this House provided for GH¢8.5 billion of capital expenditure. By the time we were looking at this Mid-Year Review, the figure had gone down to GH¢7.5 billion. So if anybody says that the GH¢5 billion is going to add to capital expenditure, how does US$8.5 billion plus GH¢5 billion give us GH¢7.5 billion? So quite clearly, that money is not going into capital expenditure and they must be revising their notes.
Mr Speaker, the Mid-Year Review that was presented by the Hon Minister yesterday, quite clearly, is the beginning of the end of deception. It is the beginning of the end of mismanagement of an economy through propaganda.
Dr A. A. Osei 1:18 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr Speaker, Hon Adongo is my good friend and I just want to correct him. If he is reading the same page -- capital expenditure did not
go to GH¢7.5 billion. It went to GH¢7.7 billion and by the way, it is foreign finance capital which has gone down, not domestic capital. So he should not mislead us.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:18 p.m.
Hon Member check the documents and correct yourself.
Mr I. Adongo 1:18 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I accept his figure of GH¢7.7 billion but I am saying that if we add the GH¢5 billion additional money that they claim is going to capital expenditure, how can GH¢8.5 billion of original capital budget plus an additional GH¢5 billion give us GH¢7.7 billion? I did not do this type of mathematics in school anyway so they could do it and tell me how they get it.
Mr Speaker, the deficit that the Hon Minister is reporting is not supported by the facts and it is not supported by the facts because if we look at the appendices that are attached, particularly, Appendix 7, the net foreign financing has been calculated by valuing US$3 billion of Eurobonds at GH¢13.3 billion.
Mr Speaker, I do not know where the Hon Minister for Finance got an exchange rate to translate US$3 billion and got GH¢13.3 billion.
Mr I. Adongo 1:28 p.m.


So clearly, about GH¢2 billion of those moneys have been shaved off our deficits, and if you add that figure, you are getting a deficit currently, as at the middle of the year at GH¢15.5 billion and not GH¢11.4 billion, and so that is already alarming.

Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister is already stating in his own measures that he intends to raise US$500 million from draw down from the World Bank. The Hon Minister indicates that he intends to raise more money from collateralisation of mineral royalties. That would give him about US$750 million. When you add up these numbers, you are heading towards close to another US$1.2 billion. That would add to the deficit. That gives you approximately GH¢6 billion.

If you add that GH¢6 billion to that Gh¢15 billion, we would be ending the year with a deficit close to GH¢ 20 billion.
Mr Charles Adu Boahene 1:28 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr Speaker, the Gh¢750 billion the Hon Member alluded to from the minerals securitisation is equity. It is not debt, so it does not contribute to the total debt.
Mr I. Adongo 1:28 p.m.
Mr Speaker, equity to finance the Budget?
The Budget fiscal flows are equity? Equity to finance what? Is Ghana now a business? It is for an expenditure. It is equivalent to selling your assets in order to finance the Budget in terms of your divestiture proceeds, and so if you do not know, that is deficit financing.
Mr Speaker, our deficit is heading towards GH¢20 billion, and we are here showing only about GH¢14 billion. It is even more worrying when you look at where the moneys are going. The Hon Minister is telling everybody that the reason we are where we are is because of some “take-or-pay IPPS”. I beg to differ.
I have in my hands the presentation of the Hon Minister for Finance for the Mid-Year Budget to Cabinet, and if he disputes it, I would table it before the House. In that document, the Hon Minister gives a summary of unbudgeted expenditure requests accommodated in the revised 2019 fiscal framework. In other words, he is substituting these expenditures for expenditures that were originally approved by this House, and I am quoting the numbers.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:28 p.m.
Hon Member hold on. Yes, Leader?
Mr Moses Anim 1:28 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr Speaker, the Hon Member just alluded that he has some voodoo document there --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:28 p.m.
Hon Member, you do not know what document it is, so you cannot call it voodoo. He says he has the presentation to Cabinet.
Mr Anim 1:28 p.m.
-- [Interruption] -- why, I want to address it as voodoo --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:28 p.m.
Hon Member, address me.
Mr Anim 1:28 p.m.
So Mr Speaker, he should table it. That is a voodoo document. We need to verify it first.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:28 p.m.
Hon Member, kindly table it, and then you can refer to it.
-- [Pause] --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:28 p.m.
Thank you very much. You may continue.
Mr I. Adongo 1:28 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the protection.
In that document, the Hon Minister in his presentation to Cabinet identifies the unbudgeted expenditures that he has already incurred for which
reason he needs a review. With your permission, I would list what the Hon Minister presented.
The Minister says: new expenditure pressures, GH¢15 billion; additional request approved by Cabinet, GH¢5.6 billion; additional request from Defence, GH¢747 million; additional request from the Interior, GH¢765 million; additional request, general government --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:28 p.m.
Hon Member, hold on. I will allow you extra minutes because of the interruptions.
There are five people on their feet. The Leader is on his feet.
Yes, Leader?
Mr Anim 1:28 p.m.
Mr Speaker, he is quoting figures. Is he quoting those figures from the document he has tendered?
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:28 p.m.
Yes he is. What is your problem with that?
Mr Anim 1:28 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my problem is that you need to take a decision on those documents before he begins to cite them.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:28 p.m.
Hon Members, he has presented it and
Prof Gyan-Baffour 1:28 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr Speaker, on a point of relevance, what we are debating here is Mid-Year Review presented to Parliament. We are not debating any issue that was sent to Cabinet.
A document that goes to Cabinet would be verified and authenticated by him as if the thing went to Cabinet, and if even it goes to Cabinet, it does not mean that what went to Cabinet is what is here. So he cannot be using that for this debate. He should use the document in this House for the debate, because everything that goes to Cabinet would have to be looked at by Cabinet, and Cabinet takes the decision on it.
The one presented to Parliaqment is what is here, so that is what we are debating. We are debating this one. So Mr Speaker, for the purposes of relevance, I do not think he can quote any figures from the Cabinet document.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:28 p.m.
Hon Members, I am still waiting for
somebody to point to any reason in our rules that he cannot refer to a document that has been laid before the House. If you are challenging the authenticity, I would deal with that, otherwise, he is entitled to refer to it to form his opinion, and you are entitled to respond to his interpretation.
Please, otherwise, the debate is continuing.
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful 1:28 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am challenging the authenticity of the document produced by the Hon Member. In these days of digital records being produced from dubious custody, the Hon Member has produced a document which he claims emanates from Cabinet.
Until this House has ascertained that the document was actually presented to Cabinet, the Hon Member cannot stand here and produce any document which he claims was presented to Cabinet and use it as the basis to make any arguments.
I am challenging the authenticity of the document and putting him to strict proof of it.
Mr Quashigah 1:28 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am dismayed by the number of
interruptions which are not even in sync with our Standing Orders. We allowed the debate from the other Side to flow smoothly without interruptions.
My Hon Colleague here is making very valid points and we see Hon Members on the other Side rising on their feet to interrupt without even reference to the Standing Orders.
Mr Speaker, I crave your indulgence --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:28 p.m.
Hon Member, if you have any contribution to make to the procedural issue, make it. Otherwise I will deal with the procedural matters before we continue with the debate.
Mr Quashigah 1:28 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I crave your indulgence to ask Hon Ursula Owusu to withdraw the use of the word “dubious”. We find it unpala- table, unpleasant and unnecessary.
We crave your indulgence to compel her to withdraw so that the debate can flow.
Thank you Mr Speaker.
rose
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:38 p.m.
Dr Appiah-Kubi, you cannot switch on your microphone when you have not been given the Floor. That is an attempt to hijack the Floor.
Now, I would listen to you. Yes?
Dr Appiah-Kubi 1:38 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
This is a House of records and that is why every publication that is admitted is seen as an official publication. Official publication is defined in Standing Order 7. With your permission, I beg to read:
“Official publication means any publication produced by or under the authority or with the sanction of any Ministry, department, organisation, agency, association, society or club.”
Mr Speaker, the document that our Hon Colleague has tabled, is neither an official publication or any document that has been approved by your good self. That is why it cannot be accepted as an official publication by the House.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:38 p.m.
Hon Member, you have not seen it. It is good you have drawn our attention to the rule, but please do not draw a conclusion that it is not because you are not in the position to verify it.
Mr Samuel Atta Akyea Mr Speaker, thank you.
Mr Speaker,the laws of this country, even in the law courts, are very clear that authenticity precedes admissibility. Before a document is admitted, its authenticity should be ascertained. Here is an Hon Colleague, a non-member of the Cabinet of President Akufo-Addo, who has said that he has the benefit of a document emanating from that Cabinet. With the greatest respect -- [Interruption] -- without this Honourable House seeking to authenticate the document through the Secretary of Cabinet, it is ill-time for admissibility. Therefore, it cannot be used in this House. What it means is that even correspondence that should not even go out and under confidentiality can be used anyhow.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:38 p.m.
Hon Members, I thought I had ruled on the issue of challenging authenticity. Then the Hon Minister for Communications rose to challenge the authenticity. Who can authenticate it? [Laughter.]
I did not invite you to assist me in the ruling; I raised the question to answer myself. The author can authenticate it and the recipient can authenticate it. The author is in the House. The document will be given to him, if he authenticates that it is a document which emanates from his Ministry, then it is properly before the House and I would allow it to --
rose
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:38 p.m.
Yes, Hon Minister?
Prof. Gyan-Baffour 1:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, once a document leaves a Ministry and it gets to Cabinet, the only one who can authenticate that document is the Secretary to the Cabinet -- [Uproar] -- [Interruption] -- And not the Minister. So, no! He cannot authenticate the document because it is from Cabinet.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:38 p.m.
Order! The Hon Minister is on his feet, everybody else must resume their seats.
Yes Hon Member, I am listening.
Prof. Gyan-Baffour 1:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, if we want any authentication, it has to come from the Secretary to the Cabinet. Therefore, if Parliament wants that or if anybody wants it, maybe, they would have to write to the Secretary to the Cabinet for that authentication and not the Hon Minister who submitted it, because when it gets to Cabinet it is the property of Cabinet and not the property of the Minister.
rose
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:38 p.m.
Hon Members, I ruled that everybody must resume their seats. In this Chamber, you do not attract my attention by shouting. Please, resume your seats. I am trying to understand the basis of the Hon Minister for Planning's contribution. I have already ruled. I do not know what he said; I do not know whether he challenges the ruling or he is drawing my attention to an error I have made. I would want to be guided.
Prof Gyan-Baffour 1:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, if you have ruled, I would not challenge it. But I did not hear you rule that the Hon Minister for Finance had to determine its authenticity. I said that as soon as a document leaves a Minister's office and gets to Cabinet, whatever comes out of there can only be authenticated by the Cabinet Secretary.
Sorry, Mr Speaker. I never heard that you had already ruled that the Hon Minister should authenticate it. In any case, if he has to authenticate it -- [Interruption] -- [Uproar.]
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:38 p.m.
Let me repeat. The Hon Member's argument was that he has in hands a document the Hon Minister for Finance had prepared and presented to Cabinet. He made reference to that and I said he should table it. Now, other Hon Members challenged his right to make reference to that. I ruled that unless anybody challenges the authenticity of the document, he is entitled to refer to it. Then the Hon Minister for Communications challenged that it is not authentic and I ruled that the author is in the House.
If he looks at it -- [Uproar] -- Order! Order! If the author of the document says that it is not his, then that ends that matter. If he looks at it and he says it is his -- it is information
rose
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:38 p.m.
Yes, Hon Leader?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:48 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I have not been in the House for a while. I have just listened to what you have said. As I entered, the House appeared to be in a bit of turmoil relating to a document that our Hon Colleague, the Member for Bolgatanga Central has tendered.

Mr Speaker, if it is a document of whatever description, the Executive authority of this country per article 58 of the 1992 Constitution is vested in the President.

If a step has been taken, emanating from the Executive, which is a faulty step, the Hon Member could allude to that.

Mr Speaker, you have ruled on the authenticity of the document, but I am going on a different leg; the relevance of the document. What should engage our attention is the relevance of whatever document that he intends to brandish in this House. What is the relevance of it?

Mr Speaker, as I said, the document should really relate to the Presidency, on whose behalf the Hon Minister would be acting -- that is the point I am making. We would want to know whether it indeed emanates from the Presidency, or whether the President has caused such a thing to be done. That would be a different thing, and that is why I relate to the relevance of that document.

I do not know, but I just met the Hon Member in that discourse. I would want this to be a point of reference because if it could not be demonstrably indicated to us that it is connected to the Presidency, then one could refer the person engaged in that act to Standing Order 30(d). This is the reason I ask of the relevance of that document.

Mr Speaker, we could settle this to allow for the smooth conduct of Business, and then we can move on.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:48 a.m.
Hon Majority Leader, which Standing Order did you refer to? Is it Standing Order 30(2)?
[Pause] --
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:48 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I referred to Standing Order 30 (d).
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:48 a.m.
Sorry, I heard Standing Order 30 (2), and that is why I wanted to verify from you.
Hon Members, I believe that the debate should continue. The Hon Member on his feet did not present the document to the House as a Cabinet decision. He only said that the Hon Minister prepared some information to Cabinet, and he referred to that to challenge some facts in the document presented.
The only reason I put that on record, is to be sure that he is not using something which is not official. As long as we do not have disagreements on its authenticity, I do not believe it would be accepted as a decision of Cabinet. Certainly, I would
not permit a decision of Cabinet to be discussed here.
As to how the Ministry manages its information and it got to him, I would leave it to the Ministry. The document is available. The Majority Side could also refer to it in the course of the debate.
Hon Member, you have ten minutes. You may now continue.
Mr Isaac Adongo 1:48 a.m.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, for your protection.
Mr Speaker, with respect to relevance, if we look at paragraph 84 of the Hon Minister's document, he is quite clear that there was faster execution of expenditure. He said that the shortfall in revenue is mainly accounted for by shortfalls of custom duties and the rest.
He explains that whiles the faster execution of expenditure is mainly due to un-programmed expenses -- I refer to a document that the Hon Minister has prepared, which lists the un-programmed expenses in my view. That is what I referred to, in order to justify that this argument goes beyond ‘‘Take-or-pay IPP Contracts''.
Mr Speaker, the summary of unbudgeted expenditure request, accommodated in the Revised 2019
Mr Isaac Adongo 1:58 p.m.
Fiscal Framework as listed in this document are as follows. It says: “2019 budget shortfalls; 1.9 billion. New expenditure pressures; GH¢15 billion. Additional request approved by Cabinet; GH¢5.6 billion. Addi- tional request from the Ministry of Defence; GH¢747 million. Additional request from the Ministry of the Interior; GH¢765 million. Additional request (general government services); GH¢779 million. Additional request (others); GH¢238 million. Contingencies; GH¢200 million''.
Mr Speaker, a total of GH¢25.4 billion unbudgeted expenditure was incurred in five months. This amounts to 7.4 per cent of GDP as reported here, and it indicates that this alone is about 34 per cent of the entire Budget that was brought to this House.
Mr Speaker, how could they look us in the face and tell us that this is about ‘‘IPP and take-or-pay''? This level of recklessness cannot continue. The Hon Minister is quite clear that if this does not stop, then the Fiscal Responsibility Act would hang him. This is unprecedented in our history, and the expenditure is already incurred.
Mr Speaker, yesterday, we were informed in this House that the
banking sector is doing very well. The Hon Minister made very interesting allusions. He said that the banking sector is now sound, liquid, and well capitalised.
Mr Speaker, when a bank is well recapitalised, it is measured by its capital adequacy. As at the end of the re-capitalisation, the banking sector's capital adequacy was about 19.3 per cent. By January, it had increased to 21.8 per cent, as reported by the Bank of Ghana.
If the banking sector is strong and it is making profit, then we should also expect capital adequacy to improve. However, it has suddenly declined from 21.8 per cent as at January this year, to about 19.1 per cent in June this year. Could we now tell the percentage of decline by the end of the year? We would not have capital adequacy at the end of the year, and yet, the Hon Minister reports that the banking sector is well capitalised.
Mr Speaker, I was told here by one of our Hon Colleagues that deposits have increased. The deposit numbers that is shown includes the bond of GH¢1.5 billion that was issued in March to cover Heritage Bank and Premium Bank; they are not new deposits. If we take that out, we would get a deposit that is around GH¢6 billion.
Mr Speaker, they are however proud of the fact that 23 banks generate deposits that is almost GH¢1 billion. This is an amount of money that one transaction only would consume, making the banking sector incapable of lending to anybody. We should therefore not celebrate this mediocrity.
Mr Speaker, total advances from January to date has only grown by GH¢2.7 billion per Bank of Ghana's own summary of economic and financial data. This sum is almost about GH¢300 million thereabout. The GH¢2.7 billion is a transaction that only one bank should do, but this amount is credited to the entire business sector. This is why the Bank of Ghana's own confidence index is shocking.
The Bank of Ghana indicates that consumer confidence has declined from about 102 to only 96 for now. Business confidence has shattered, per Bank of Ghana's own records, from 101, it is now around 94.

Mr Speaker, things have fallen apart, and we could not be speaking positivity into what is seriously a negative environment. Banks are re- rationalising their employees; they are

laying workers off, and as we speak today the Securities and Exchange Commission came out to give an announcement that basically pronounces a death sentence for agencies that are regulated by the

SEC.

It comes out to say that, ‘we are doing a forensic audit on 21 SEC regulated agencies. Who are those 21 agencies? So, if I do not know, everybody qualifies for that 21 So, automatically, people would run on these innocent ones that are well- managed because they have caused it.

Mr Speaker, rural banks recently suffered a haemorrhage because of pronouncement by the Bank of Ghana, which led to some of the rural banks losing as much as GH¢100 million in just one week. Mr Speaker, the banking sector and financial sector are in reds and the earlier the Hon Minister for Finance and the Bank of Ghana woke up to this reality and did something about it, the better.

Mr Speaker, only recently at Monitoring Policy Committee meeting, the Governor said he is not in a hurry to collapse savings and loans companies. Really? Reforms are about collapsing? All he knows about reform is about collapsing? I thought he would have said, ‘I am not
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:58 p.m.
Hon Member, you have one minute more.
Mr I. Adongo 1:58 p.m.
Mr Speaker, between December, 2018 and February, 2019; only two months, we have drawn down our net international reserves by GH¢700 million. Mr Speaker, when we now went and borrowed the €3 billion bonds, our reserves went up to GH¢6.8 billion. Today, it is now GH¢5.1 million. Cumulatively, in the last three months we have drawn down GH¢1.7 billion of our reserves. Cumulatively, in only six months, GH¢2.4 billion of our reserves is gone and we are not generating any forex; all we generated
was to borrow to artificially soar up what is now called the Turkish kind of reserve.
The IMF has declared that borrowing to soar up for a short-term as was done by the Turkish Government cannot be counted as proper international reserves, and that is exactly what is happening. We are now introducing Turkish type of reserves management which is being shown now as deficit.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:58 p.m.
Hon Member, your time is up.
Mr I. Adongo 1:58 p.m.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
-- [Hear! Hear!] --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 1:58 p.m.
The next is Hon Dr Akoto Osei.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker would take the Chair.
-- [Pause] --
All right, Hon Amin Mohammed?
Hon Deputy Minister for Energy (Dr Mohammed Amin Adam): Mr Speaker, let me first respond --[Interruption] --
MR SECOND DEPUTY SPEAKER
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:01 p.m.
Hon Members, I have been informed that it is time for Hon Amin Mohammed. Hon Majority Leader, am I right?
Dr Mohammed Amin Adam 2:01 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it is Mohammed Amin Adam.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:01 p.m.
What we have here is Hon Amin Mohammed. That is what I have on my paper.
Yes, Hon Deputy Minister, you could continue.
Deputy Minister for Energy (Dr Mohammed A. Adam): Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity. The Hon Ato Forson tried to hide behind statements I made some time ago to attack a Budget Statement which is giving more hope to the people of Ghana. And I would like to put him in proper context.
Mr Speaker, at the time the Energy Sector Levy Act (ESLA) was introduced, we had also had Special Petroleum Tax and we had Excise Taxes on Petroleum products. At the
time the NDC left office in December 2016, Mr Speaker, taxes and levies constituted 40 per cent of ex-pump prices of petroleum products. Mr Speaker, today, it is 26 per cent. Therefore, if anybody criticised the NDC Government at the time they introduced the ESLA on grounds that they were going to introduce more hardships on the people of Ghana, this was correct because 40 per cent taxes and levies in petroleum prices imposes more hardship than what we have today as 26 per cent of ex-pump prices.
Mr Speaker, this is also because we abolished the Excise Tax on Petroleum Products; we reduced the Special Petroleum Taxes from 17.5 per cent to 13 per cent; we converted the Special Petroleum Tax from ad Valerom tax to a Specific Tax. Therefore, Mr Speaker, the context cannot be the same. The context of his quotation, in my view, is fundamentally flawed and therefore, when analysis is done without taking context into consideration, it amounts to intellectual and analytical dishonesty.
Mr Speaker —
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:01 p.m.
Hon Deputy Minister, because you
Mr Forson 2:01 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Deputy Minister for Energy made a statement and mentioned my name, and tried to create the impression that what I said is different from what is happening today.
Mr Speaker, for the records, my argument is that, even though petroleum taxes at the time was more than today in nominal terms, it is important for us to remember that at the time, fuel prices were coming down. The impact is the impact on the ordinary Ghanaian. Fuel prices today are more expensive than yesterday because fuel prices are going up. So, in terms of the impact on the ordinary Ghanaian, he cannot justify his argument.
Mr Speaker, the burden on the ordinary Ghanaian is more; the hardship is more, so he should concede that they have actually increased the hardships on the ordinary Ghanaian and not to justify a statement that tends to position him as assuming double standards.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:01 p.m.
Hon Members, what the Hon Member just did is under Standing
Order 86(5); he is trying to explain an earlier submission which he thought a reference to was misleading so he is trying to explain that. So be guided by the Standing Orders.
Hon Member, please you should continue.
Dr Adam 2:08 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would like to state that at that time, even though international prices of petroleum products were going down, those were not passed on to the consumer. The over recoveries were not passed on to consumers, so the Hon Member cannot hide under that submission to run away from this very hopeful Budget Statement.
Mr Speaker, if you look at the Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) that have been signed by the NDC government, we have not seen power contracts as expensive as what they signed. The capacity charges for the various Power Purchase Agreements they signed states; With your permission, I beg to read:
“Ameri 5.5 cents per kilowatt hour; Karpower, 6.43 cents per kilowatt hour; Amandi Energy, 5.46 cents per Kilowatt hour; Cen Power 5.9 cents per kilowatt hour, and Eli Power 5.59 cents per kilowatt hour”.
Compared to Cenit Energy of 4.0 cent per kilowatt hour and Asogli of
4.4 cent per kilowatt hour which were signed by the NPP Government.
Mr Speaker, therefore, this is the reason energy is so expensive in Ghana compared with our sub regional colleagues. It is also important to mention that at the time we were signing many contracts, one expected that we would sign lower cost projects because prices are to be higher when there is scarcity.

But when we sign more contracts at such exorbitant cost, it defies the law of demand and supply. The reason the contractors ran to Ghana to sign the PPAs was because they found Ghana competitive and if the environment is competitive, that should give us low cost power projects and not high cost power projects as we inherited from the NDC government.

Mr Speaker, idle capacity, refers to power generation capacity signed by the government which are not included in what is called portfolio PPAs. The Portfolio PPAs are the PPAs which generate power for PDS. The idle capacities do not find space in the portfolio PPAs and all these idle power plants that have been signed give us a combined generation

capacity of 3,451megawatt, which is more than our peak demand of 2,700 megawatt. Out of the 3,451 me- gawatts, take-or-pay contracts take 2,873 megawatts -- “take-or -pay'' means that whether we consume the power or not, we have to pay for it. Once the company declares availability and we do not take it, we would have to pay.

Mr Speaker, of take-or-pay contracts, 489 megawatts are operational and yet they are idle and this is expected to increase to over 1000 megawatts by the middle of next year. They would be available, they are ready to produce, they are operational and yet they would not generate one megawatt of power and we still have to pay as a country.

Mr Speaker, the NPP government has been prudent and we have saved the people of Ghana and accordingly, we have successfully rationalised the deployment of this excessive power contracts signed by the previous NDC government which was handed over to us. Up to 2,348 megawatts of this has been rationalised because we know that we do not need it now. It was over contracting, it has imposed higher cost on Ghanaians and financial burdens that we would live with for a long time. And this was the reason we took the decision to rationalise the deployment of some of these power plants.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:08 p.m.
Hon Deputy Minister, there is an Hon Member on his feet. I would want to know if he is on a point of order?
Mr Buah 2:08 p.m.
Mr Speaker, ordinarily, I would not have risen on a point order but the Hon Deputy Minister for Energy has been repeating plants with idle capacity. He must give better particulars by listing the names of the plants so that we know [Interruption.] -- He has signed and extended contracts, so he should list the names of the plants that are idle. He cannot just throw words out without giving specifics.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:08 p.m.
Hon Member, definitely, this is not a point of order. You would have the opportunity to put across your views, so please, allow the Hon Deputy Minister to continue.
Dr Adam 2:08 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would want to reiterate that over the next three years, we would be saddled with almost US$ 2 billion that we have to pay for plants that do not produce power. This is so sad because this money could be used to construct hospitals and schools for our children and even to construct roads which would improve the living conditions of the people of Ghana.
Unfortunately, we have to use this money to pay for plants that do not generate power, and when we talk of excess capacity, our Hon Colleagues on the other Side of the aisle say, we should be able to export the excess.
It is not easy to export to countries around us when there is no demand. Countries in the subregion, whether Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin or Niger, do not have transmission and distribution infrastructure, so even though they need the power, they cannot demand because they cannot distribute it. How do we export excess capacity to countries where power cannot be distributed?
Mr Speaker, secondly, when we talk of export, we already export. We currently export 100 megawatts of power to Burkina Faso. In spite of that, we still have excess capacity which runs into more than 1000 megawatts. Therefore, their argument that we should export the excess capacity is fundamentally flawed.
Mr Speaker, the price of power in Ghana also makes Ghana's power non-competitive. Throughout the subregion, our price is the most expensive. When there is very expensive power, people may need it but they cannot afford it. So how do we export the excess capacity that they handed over to us?
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister for Finance also talked about debt accumulation in the energy sector. He mentioned US$2.7 billion and our Hon Colleagues on the other Side of
the aisle said we have added more debt. If we look at the debt profile, entities that are in debt --
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:08 p.m.
Hon Deputy Minister, please, hold on.
Yes, available, Hon Leader?
Mr Quashigah 2:08 p.m.
Mr Speaker, on the onset of the debate, we were informed by the Hon Majority Leader that apart from the lead speakers who could speak for 15 minutes, all other speakers would speak for 10 minutes. The Hon Deputy Minister for Energy, started his contribution at 2.03 p.m. and it is now, 2.18 p.m. and this means that he has spoken for 15 minutes. So I humbly crave your indulgence to take notice of it.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 2:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, if my Hon Colleague listened to me at the very onset, I said we should allow as much as possible, for the smooth delivery by Hon Members. I have been in the Chamber and saw the interventions that were made to the Hon Deputy Minister's delivery.
Mr Speaker, in any event, you have the singular authority of managing the time and it does not lie with him.
- 2:18 p.m.
Mr Quashigah 2:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I take strong exception to that because the Hon Minority Leader directed that I stand in here for him -- [Laughter] -- I am currently the available Hon Minority Leader. [Uproar.]
Mr Speaker, when I brought this issue up, I did not direct it to you; I only brought your attention to the issue which his very self, the Hon Majority Leader, who has been trying to intimidate me, indicated at the onset of this debate that apart from the lead speakers, all other speakers would do ten minutes.
I thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 2:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, may I serve this notice to him that there is a properly constituted authority in the person of the Hon First Deputy Minority Whip. She should come and assume her position and cause the exit --
Mr Speaker, that is why I said that he is pretending to be the available Hon Minority Leader. He is not a Leader; he is not part of Leadership,
so, he cannot describe himself as the available Hon Minority Leader. He is only a pro tem Leader. He is not the available Hon Minority leader.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:18 p.m.
Thank you so much for drawing my attention to the time allocation. Actually, I was not told that Hon Members were entitled to ten minutes. As for the term “available Hon Minority leader”, it is adopted by the House loosely and he has the authority of the Hon Minority Leader to sit in his place. The Hon First Deputy Minority Whip just entered and rightly so, she is to take her place in the front seat. But the available leader is still available. [Laughter]
Yes, Hon Deputy Minister for Energy, I will give you two more minutes to wind up.
I am aware of the interventions and that is why I allowed it beyond that.
Dr Adam 2:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I was talking about the debt situation to which our Hon Colleagues on the other Side think we have added more than what we inherited.
Mr Speaker, we inherited US$2.4 billion. The Hon Minister for Finance talked about US$2.7 billion yesterday. But if we look at the debt profile of the entities that are in debt,
the debt of that Government of Ghana has been flat. In some cases, they have actually gone down. The debt increased in respect of ECG which has risen from US$279 million in 2016 to US$868 million by the end of 2018.
The reason for the increment of the debts of ECG is again as a result of excess capacity payments. The excess capacity is not incorporated into the tariffs and this is the reason we have accumulated more debts in that respect. So we cannot be blamed for the debts that have been accumulated. Our Hon Colleagues could better explain this.
Mr Speaker, we promised in our Manifesto that we would address the energy sector challenges. We promised that we would develop and implement the Energy Sector Recovery Programme and we have fulfilled this promise. The Energy Sector Recovery Programme has been developed and approved by Cabinet and we are religiously going to implement the recommendations of the programme. We would re- negotiate the take-or-pay contracts into take-and-pay ones, so, we could reduce the financial burden of excess capacity in take-or-pay contracts on the government.
Mr Speaker, we are negotiating with the international oil companies to ensure that natural gas prices are reduced so that the input costs of power generation is reduced in order to make our prices more competitive so we could spur industries and accelerate the growth of our country and bring development to our people.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity. [Hear! Hear!] --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:18 p.m.
Yes, Hon Member, I am very conscious of that. It is now --
Mr Jinapor 2:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, he did 15 minutes.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:18 p.m.
Hon Members, please, I am in charge.
Mr John Jinapor (NDC-Yapei/ Kusawgu) 2:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you. I am happy that today, my Hon good Friend and Colleague --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:18 p.m.
Hon Members, you keep on using the term “good friend” but people outside do not see you as good friends. [Laughter.]
When you worry me with your good friends, please, in your submissions, be very decent and decorous.
Minister for Finance, on page 31 2:18 p.m.
Mr Jinapor 2:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I heard the Hon Deputy Minister for Energy loud and clear; he said that we have a take-or-pay capacity of 2,800 megawatts. He is sitting there; if that is not it, he would tell us it is not true.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister states and with your permission, I quote 2:18 p.m.
“So, our installed capacity is almost double our peak demand… Notably…”
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:18 p.m.
Hon Member, where are you reading from?
Mr Jinapor 2:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am referring to paragraph 143 on page 31 of the Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review of the 2019 Budget Statement and Economic Policy. He says, and I continue:
“Notably, 2300 MW of the installed capacity has been contracted on a take-or-pay basis.”
Mr Speaker, there is a clear contradiction between what the Hon Minister for Finance has told us and what the Hon Deputy Minister for Energy has told us.
rose
Mr Jinapor 2:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the man is sitting there. He is not debating it. He has not refused that he has not said that and the Hon Majority Leader is deliberately trying to derail me. [Interruption] -- It is deliberate and you should take note of that.
Mr Speaker, I am challenging the NPP Administration, as a matter of urgency and of factual presentation to publish the list of these so called 2,300 MW immediately.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:18 p.m.
Hon Member, the Hon Majority Leader is on his feet.
Yes?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 2:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member on his feet is making a wrong attribution and proceeding from that position to make conclusions.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Deputy Minister for Energy did not say -- [Uproar] -- Can you listen? He did not say that the 2800 MW is a take- or-pay; he alluded to idle capacity and said within that, 2300 MW is a take- or-pay -- [Uproar] -- That is what he said. Mr Speaker, he would not even listen and then he proceeds on a wrong premise and draws his own conclusion.
Mr Speaker, let people listen and let us be decorous to ourselves. That is the reason you sounded that if he is describing him as a good friend, he should do what is appropriate; quote him correctly.
Mr Jinapor 2:28 p.m.
Mr Speaker, what the Hon Majority Leader has even said is worse. [Laughter] It is worse because the Hon Minister for Finance said that our dependable capacity is 4,500 MW and continued to say that our peak demand is 2,700 MW. When we take 2,700 MW from 4,500 MW, how on earth does one come to a redundancy of 2,800 MW? So, between the Hon Deputy Minister for Energy and Hon Minister for Finance, who is telling us the truth?
Based on his own statement that he said that the excess capacity is 2,800 MW; how could we have a dependable capacity of 4,500 MW
and a peak demand of 2700 MW and then do the deductions and come to a conclusion of excess capacity of
2800 MW.
Mr Speaker, between the Hon Deputy Minister for Energy and the Hon Minister for Finance, they cannot have two figures.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Deputy Minister further said that our power is one of the most expensive in the subregion.
I refer you to the Joint Parliamentary Memorandum by Hon Boakye Agyarko and Ken Ofori-Atta on the concession between the Government of Ghana and the Consortium of Investors led by the Manila Electric Company presented to this very House on 3rd July, 2018.

Mr Speaker, with your permission, I beg to quote the Hon Minister on page 2 of the document -- “At the end of 2016, Ghana's average generation cost was at 15 US cents per kilowatt hour which were lower than many countries in the sub- region”.

Mr Speaker, today the Hon Minister comes here in July and tells us that our average is one of the lowest, yet he is telling us that we
Mr Jinapor 2:28 p.m.


cannot export power because ours is one of the most expensive. Mr Speaker, so, between him and the Hon Minister who should we believe? Do we take his word or the Hon Minister's word? On 20th November, 2017, Hon Boakye Agyarko was in this House and he told us that he has terminated 11 Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) which led to savings of GH¢11 billion.

Today, the Hon Minister for Finance, Hon Ken Ofori-Atta is telling us in paragraph 155 on page 34 that he has rather terminated two PPAs. Mr Speaker, so, between the two Hon Ministers who is telling us the truth? This matter goes to the core of the debate.

Mr Speaker, the Hon Chairman of the Finance Committee tells us that the ESLA levies have been jerked up because of power sector debt --
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:28 p.m.
Hon Member, the Hon Deputy Minister is on his feet.
Dr Adam 2:28 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you.
I have taken notice of the attempt to mislead the House by Hon Abdulai Jinapor. When the Hon Minister for
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:28 p.m.
Hon Deputy Minister, I would accept your first portion, but the additions you are making now is to debate the issue again and that is not permitted by our rules.
Hon Jinapor, you may continue.
Mr Jinapor 2:28 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the information that is put out there by the Hon Chairman of the Finance Committee is that because there is a so-called debt from a take-or-pay contract, that is why the Energy Sector Levies is being increased. Mr Speaker, so, let us look at the debts; the Energy Sector Levies are broken down basically into four parts and I would take them one after the other.
Mr Speaker, they are increasing Road Fund Levy; so they should tell us what Road Fund Levy has got to do with electricity supply. In 2018, they collected an amount of GH¢1.3 billion in respect of the Road Fund,
but they released only GH¢687 million to the Road Fund, took the rest into the Budget and spent it on non- road related activities. Today, they are telling us that we should increase that for them.
Mr Speaker, if you take the Price Stabilisation and Recovery Levy, it is meant for fuel subsidies. It has nothing to do with PPAs. In the 2017 Report of ESLA, they borrowed GH¢125 million from the Price Stabilisation and Recovery Levy and this means that they have so much that they do not even need more.
Mr Speaker, even the Energy Debt Recovery Levy is broken into two; the Energy Debt Recovery Service Account is used to pay Tema Oil Refinery's (TOR) debt. Therefore it is my contention that the explanation that it is because of the so-called PPAs that these taxes are being increased can neither be here nor there. It is nothing but a ruse and so we would not accept that explanation.
Mr Speaker, let me now deal with the real take-or-pay issue. The narration is as if this is a new phenomenon and I am happy that Dr Amin Adam explained it. We borrowed US$620 million to build the Bui Dam, and we cannot go to the Chinese that because Bui Dam is
generating only 130 megawatts we would not pay for the facility. Whether we produced power or not, we would pay for that facility. Even more disturbing is the Asogli Power Plant; this plant is an old plant, but they contracted it and they are paying 4.4 US cents per kilowatt hour.
Mr Speaker, let me make a point clear 2:28 p.m.
I hold in my hand the Report of the 2016 Energy Commission 2016 Supply Plan -- [Interruption.]
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:28 p.m.
Hon K. T. Hammond?
Mr K. T. Hammond 2:28 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am not about to explode any devices here and so they should not panic. [Laughter.]
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member said that the Asogli Plant is an old plant. Asogli started originally at 180
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:28 p.m.
Hon K. T. Hammond, this is not question time and I thought --
Mr K. T. Hammond 2:28 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it is not question time, but my point is very simple. Firstly, we must have evidence of which one? Even if it is the two, where is the evidence to that since it may not be true. If the evidence comes and this august House has been misled then some of us would call for the maximum sanction against the person who made that statement.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:28 p.m.
Hon Jinapor, you may continue.
Mr Jinapor 2:28 p.m.
Mr Speaker, according to the 2016 Energy Supply Plan of the Energy Commission, the total peak demand excluding suppressed demand and total transmission system would be between 2,736 megawatts and it was expected to grow at 12 per cent over the next four years. Mr Speaker,
what every reasonable government would do is to take this, based on this expectation and plan towards that. Mr Speaker, that was what the NDC Administration did and that was why we decided to contract those plants. Even more importantly is the fact that because we knew we would increase capacity, we were doing an access rate in terms of electricity expansion of five per cent per annum.
This has been confirmed in the 2017 Budget Statement that was presented by Hon Ken Ofori-Atta. Mr Speaker, if you read the 2019 Budget Statement, over the past two years, what they have succeeded in doing is to increase access rate by a paltry one per cent over two years, yet they have the audacity to tell us that they have too much power and they do not know what to do with it.
Mr Speaker, why would they not have power when they are growing at this snail pace? When they are not expanding energy and access then they would surely have excess capacity and would not know what to do with it. Mr Speaker, I would refer you to the 2018 Budget Statement where the Hon Ken Ofori- Atta told us that VALCO would be revamped. Mr Speaker, VALCO alone could consume 375 megawatts, but as I speak, that has not come through.
I would now move to the issue of exporting power. We started that project and signed the project to expand our capacity from 161 megawatts to 331 megawatts --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:28 p.m.
Hon Member, the Hon Majority Leader is on his feet.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 2:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I do not really want to intervene, but my Hon Colleague is using some words. I do not want to call him to retract. Mr Speaker, he said ‘any sensible government would do this and he has the audacity to come to this House with certain figures'.
Mr Speaker, I do not want to call him to retract these words. I believe we can accommodate such words. They are so allergic to the use of words. Even when you refer to optical illusion, they say you are insulting them. [Laughter.] I would want us to take note. I believe we can certainly live with it. He should proceed.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:38 p.m.
Hon Members, I drew your attention earlier to the fact that the debate has to be decent and decorous. What the Hon Majority Leader has just done
is to draw our attention to the use of parliamentary language. I would not encourage the abuse of our Standing Orders. So please, you would have to withdraw those words.
Mr Jinapor 2:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, based on your advice and on that of the Hon Majority Leader, I withdraw that statement. I would not take an entrenched position because the substance of the matter is more important to me, and so I withdraw that word.
Mr Speaker, continuing, I maintain that we have the capacity if we follow the system through to export about 400 MW of power. In any case, where from this debt?
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:38 p.m.
Hon Member, just a minute. It is because he is an Hon Member of the Committee on Energy, I would just give him the opportunity.
Mr Hammond 2:38 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
I am getting slightly anxious. When I raised the first point, you suggested that it was not Question and Answer period, but my anxiety is that my Hon Colleague is consistently speaking untruth. If we do not speak the truth,
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:38 p.m.
Hon K. T. Hammond, how do I respond to your anxiety sitting here?
Mr Hammond 2:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, get them to bring the proof.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:38 p.m.
You know the right thing to do. Read the Standing Orders, and you would know what to do. It is not for me to participate in the debate.
Mr Hammond 2:38 p.m.
The Speaker does not participate.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:38 p.m.
Initially, you were not sure whether what he was saying was right or wrong. That was the position you took. You said, “Maybe, he could be right or he could be wrong”. You used those terms. You were not sure.
Mr Hammond 2:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, forgive me. I tried to be nice because I was also conscious about the
Standing Orders. However, the point I am making is that Hon Jinapor is giving the House information which is completely untrue. So I am asking you to simply direct him to bring the proof of what he is talking about.
At the Committee stage, during the debate on AMERI, some suggestion came that the AMERI Plant itself was an old plant. I am on record -- I said this in this House and it is in the Hansard. We stated that here. So we should be careful about the statement the Hon Colleague is making. Mr Speaker I am asking that you direct him to provide evidence to this House.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:38 p.m.
Hon Member, you would have the opportunity to put across what you are saying. I thought that you would have asked him for the source of his information, then you could take it on there. However, the blank statement that what he is saying is untrue cannot be taken. I am not going to encourage you.
Mr Hammond 2:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I was wondering whether proof is different from source. That is really what happened.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:38 p.m.
Definitely. You are a lawyer by profession.
Hon John Jinapor, you may continue.
Mr Jinapor 2:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, let me put it on record that I did not even talk about Togo. So this issue of Hon Jinapor misleading us based on Togo, is deliberately an attempt to take away my time. I said that we commenced the system of improving the transmission line from 161MW to 330 MW. So where is this issue of Togo? Then I said that we have the capacity to export power to Togo.

Mr Speaker, in this matter, President Yayi Boni was in this country pleading with us to give him 100 MW of power. If we completed the 161 MW line to 330MW, we have the potential to export another 100 MW to Burkina Faso. That project has stagnated because the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) cannot continue with that project; their financials have been rendered to a

level where they simply cannot continue with that process.

Mr Speaker, I would want to state on authority that this so called debt that has arisen cannot be because of capacity charges. I refer to the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) Act. The PURC is the only body that can approve tariffs. In approving tariffs, capacity charges are factored into it.

How come in 2016, we had AMERI plant, AKSA plant and Karpower plant but never had this debt? It is because they have usurped the authority of the PURC by artificially reducing that 17 per cent, they have incurred a huge debt and because they cannot increase the electricity tariffs, they are going through the backdoor by attempting to penalise the ordinary Ghanaian with increments on petroleum products.

Mr Speaker, today, this Govern- ment is moving from production to double taxation. This Government is insensitive and must drop this tax now because this tax cannot stand and must not stand.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:38 p.m.
Now, we have the Hon Minister for Monitoring and Evaluation.
rose
Dr A. A. Osei 2:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, when he was speaking, I did not challenge him. He does not understand the Budget that is being communicated. The amount of GH¢5.2 billion is for the payment of energy sector liabilities. It is called amortisation. If he does not understand, I am telling him. He does not know why amortisation is an expenditure. So I wish we would focus our attention on what got us there.
Mr Speaker, in my view, the explanation of the whole Budget is on page 31.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:48 p.m.
Just a minute.
Hon Member, why are you on your feet? He is just laying the foundation.
Mr Forson 2:48 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister for Monitoring and Evaluation made a statement which I think cannot be the case.
Mr Speaker, in the Budget Statement that has been presented to us, “Appendix 12; Economic Classification of Central Government Expenditure — 2019” indicates to us where the money is going. Clearly, it is contrary to what the Hon Minister is telling us. So I want the Hon
Minister to point to us -- Amortisation can never be a substitute of subsidy. Amortisation is repayment of debt. They are only repaying their debt and these are Government debts so what is he talking about? Is he telling us that they have changed the way Government calculates or does fiscal accounting? He should not go there.
Dr A. A. Osei 2:48 p.m.
Mr Speaker, this morning, I heard Hon Jinapor on TV3 confusing subsidies with amortisation. He read the line of subsidies. Subsidies cannot be amortisation and Hon Forson is making the same mistake. He should go to Appendix 7, page 62 and read the line on amortisation. The Hon Minister is telling us that by the end of June -- this is under financing and that is why it is in the negative. They programmed GH¢2.65 billion and as of now, they have paid GH¢5.4 billion. What does that mean? It means that they have spent GH¢2.7 billion more than was programmed and the question is why? That is what the Hon Minister is explaining to us on page 31.
Mr Speaker, I do not dispute my Hon Colleagues from the other Side for having the Energy Commission propose that we need to increase capacity. I do not have a problem with that. That is how it should be but the mistakes somebody did was that
when the question about what to produce was asked, they did not ask at what cost. A simple economist should have asked how much it would cost us.
What the Hon Minister is saying is that when they took the decision to expand capacity and they used excess capacity. Mr Speaker, I do not want to use the “excess capacity” because most people do not understand it. They decided to increase capacity to a certain point. What the Hon Minister is telling us is that in the process, somebody negotiated in a way that for example, if 100 megawatts is given and only 40 is needed, the entire 100 is paid for. Put differently, we do not need 60 per cent of what we are paying.
Mr Speaker, which rational person in this Chamber would want to pay for electricity that they do not need?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:48 p.m.
Hon Minister, I hope you would not also fall into the same trap?
Dr A. A. Osei 2:48 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am not using it in a negative way. I am suggesting that in our lives, as you and I live, I would not pay for --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:48 p.m.
Yes, which rational person?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:48 p.m.
You have raised an issue you are debating and I do not want us to fall into the use of words that are unpleasant.
Dr A. A. Osei 2:48 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am suggesting that they would agree with me that nobody wants to pay for something that they do not need.
Mr Speaker, on page 31 that is where the Hon Minister is trying to make a distinction between generation capacity ‘take-or-pay' and gas usage ‘tak-or-pay'. That is what the Hon Minister is simply telling us that annually, given the terms of the contract on generation capacity, we are paying close to US$500 million.
Mr Speaker, if we go to gas usage, he gives an example, with your permission, let me read page 31, last line:
“Currently, for Sankofa Offshore Cape Three Points gas alone, we pay over $51 million a month under a take-or-pay contract for 154 mmscf per day even though we only actually take 60. . .”.
Mr Speaker, I do not know who on the other Side would question the fact that the Hon Minister is raising. We have contracted for 154 and we use only 60. We are paying the rest for -- US$51 million per month. The Minister is saying that it is not in the nation's interest. Forget the motive of whoever signed the contract but going forward, we need to find a way not to waste this money.
That is all the Hon Minister is asking us to do. That for this year -- Let me go back to 2018. It is because of this contract, we ended up paying US$500 million. In 2019, it is going to be US$1.2 billion and the Hon Deputy Minister warned us that if we do not take care of it, it would get to US$2 billion. The Hon Minister is saying that it is not in the interest of Ghana that we keep paying for things that we do not need so let us find a way to take care of it.
However, in the meantime, in the year 2019, I came to Parliament and I did not budget for the GH¢5.2 billion so give me authority to pay. Otherwise, the entire budget for this nation would collapse, including funds coming to Parliament.
Mr Speaker, if we look at that amount, GH¢5.1 billion, it is higher than all the expenditures going to most institutions -- SDI, 1D1F, Planting for
Food and Jobs. A nation like us cannot afford to go on this path. When we have budgeted for it and the remedies are not performing, the only choice is to borrow and an Hon Colleague who is not here said that we borrowed 3 billion.
I do not know how he is reading the table. Let me refer to the table he is talking about. Appendix 10, page 66 -- One of my Hon Colleagues said that we have borrowed GH¢3.7 billion. In that appendix, foreign borrowing is GH¢3.6 billion. Foreign loan is negative and sovereign bond is positive. The total borrowing is GH¢1.1 billion but the domestic one is GH¢7.01 billion and that is GH¢2.6 billion. When that is net out, the total financing is GH¢1.1 billion.
Mr Speaker, for GH¢5.1 billion, how else are we going to finance that? We have not budgeted for it. So Hon Colleagues, my point is very simple. We need to support the Hon Minister and approve the Supplementary Budget. Forget who did what. I would not go into the business of saying that somebody signed the contract which is take-or-pay.
It has been signed and a Government must abide by the contract but going forward, we should be interested in renegotiation and that
is what the Hon Minister is talking about so that we do not have take- or-pay contracts on the generation of electricity.
Mr Speaker, electricity is not like food that when we eat and we do not finish, we can put it in the freezer. We cannot save it. So it is gone and we are spending a lot of taxpayer's money to do that. The same is with gas. In fact, in terms of gas, we can reinject so, at least, it can be kept but not with generation of electricity. We need permission to allow the Hon Minister to pay GH¢5.2 billion out of the GH¢6.37 billion; that is what he is requesting for.
The GH¢1 billion is on interest payment because we have borrowed more and that is on the back of the GH¢6.37 billion that the Hon Minister is asking for. As to the details of the review, I am sure most of us would take our time to read it properly so that we understand where the numbers are. The economy is challenged in this sense, particularly, in the energy sector. He emphasised further that if we are not careful, we would do the same thing that we did for the financial sector. We have already done GH¢13 billion for the financial sector.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:48 p.m.
You have one more minute.
Dr A. A.Osei 2:48 p.m.
Yes Mr Speaker.
He is going to do another GH¢5.2 billion in the energy sector. As the Hon Deputy Minister said, if we do not take the hard decisions, we would be doing something like GH¢12 or GH¢15 billion in the future.
Mr Speaker, with those few words, I thank you.
Mr Kwame Governs Agbodza (NDC -- Adaklu) 2:48 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity. [Interruption.] I do not know what I have done to the Hon Minister, such that he does not want to listen to me, but I will take it like that.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Motion for the approval of the Hon Minister's revised Budget, or a Mid- Year Review of his Budget.
I would focus my presentation solely on infrastructure. You would trace his comments on infrastructure on page 40, from paragraph 193 of his Statement.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister did not say much about infrastructure, except to say that the Government
seeks to ensure rapid expansion of infrastructure in an integrated manner in order to transform the economy and social lives of Ghanaians. Sadly, the Hon Minister hardly said anything about what he has achieved so far since we approved the Budget.
Mr Speaker, you would be aware for instance, that under the road sector, the Hon Minister promised to give the Ministry of Roads and Highways GH¢1.2 billion to carry out their activities. As previous Hon Colleagues have already said, out of that the Road Fund was supposed to generate about GH¢1.3 billion in 2018. The Hon Minister came to this House and cut that Fund, and as a result of that only about GH¢600 million was available to the Ministry to carry out those activities.
Mr Speaker, when we passed the Road Fund Act, we were very sure that we needed the GH¢1.2 billion to be available to the Ministry. Indeed, the previous Government leveraged on that Fund and took loans, but we used that money to carry out activities in the road sector.
Why on earth would the Hon Minister take over GH¢600 million out of the Road Fund and use it on other things other than road related
activities? Mr Speaker, that is what is wrong.
It is not true, let me put it here. It is not true that the loan that we took was not used for road related activities. Indeed, the current Hon Minister took extra loans on the Road Fund and nobody knows what they are doing about it. So, Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Roads and Highways is in distress.
Mr Speaker, the summary of what he has done is that the condition of almost all roads in Ghana has never been worse than it is today. I do not know where you live, but almost every road is in a deplorable state.
Mr Speaker, one thorny issue that has been on the minds of Ghanaians is when the Hon Minister and the Chief Executive Officer of Ghana COCOBOD made a public comment when they assumed the reins of Government. He said that under the cocoa roads projects, the previous Government contracted this project, and on some of them, the contract was wrongly awarded and inflated, and indeed, some of the roads could not even be traced.
Let me tell you the result of this. On the 30th of June, 2017, the Chief Executive Officer of Ghana COCOBOD wrote this letter, and I quote. The heading of the letter is this:
“ C O N S T R U C T I O N /
R E H A B I L I T AT I O N /
UPGRADING OF ROADS 2:48 p.m.
IN COCOA GROWING 2:48 p.m.
UPGRADING OF ROADS 2:48 p.m.
IN COCOA GROWING 2:48 p.m.
AREAS -- SUSPENSION 2:48 p.m.
OF PROJECTS 2:48 p.m.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:08 p.m.
Hon Member, I believe the words you have used offend the rules of the House. You would therefore have to withdraw those words.
Mr Agbodza 3:08 p.m.
Mr Speaker, which one? Is it the insensitive or --? [Interruption] --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:08 p.m.
Hon Member, you used two words: “vindictive” and “insensitive.” These are not words that we should encourage here. You impute motives into the decision by saying so.
Mr Agbodza 3:08 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I withdraw those words.
Mr Speaker, a Ghanaian business- man goes to the bank to borrow money and was never paid a cedi and has been able to build a road up to 39 per cent; he did no wrong, but the
Government made him stop work and kicked him out of site. I find it difficult to use an alternative word to describe a Government which does that. I do not know if anybody could give me a proper word to describe such a Government.
Mr Speaker, going forward, when it comes to transportation, the Hon Minister did not even mention anything because the Government probably did not do anything in that sector.
Mr Speaker, I hoped that the Hon Minister would have reminded this House that fortunately, MPS has now completed a phase of the Tema Port Project, which is a flagship project by President Mahama and has now been commissioned:
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister did not also say anything about aviation. It is as if the Government does not care about anything that has to do with aviation.
Mr Speaker, I would want to conclude on this by saying that the problems we have on our roads have nothing to do with the Minister for Roads and Highways. The Hon Minister for Roads and Highways, given the requisite resources, would make our roads better. I am therefore sad that the Hon Minister for Finance
left the Chamber, just before I started my presentation.
Mr Speaker, it is a deliberate decision by Government not to invest in roads in this country. The Hon Minister now says that the road between Hohoe and Jasikan is now going through the design phase.
I have taken issues with the Ministry, regarding value for money. The Hon Minister for Information; Hon Oppong Nkrumah and the others, told me that they have done value for money on all those projects.
Mr Speaker, I would want to know from this Government, how on earth they were able to do an authentic value for money, when they are now on the design phase of some of the roads? Which documents would they have used to do a valid value for money, when they did not even have their designs in place?
I am now vindicated because they did not do any proper value for money. This is because nobody could tell me that a proper value for money could be done without design. It is just like saying that the cost of a building is known by somebody, when he does not have the drawing of the building or its specifications. This Government has exposed itself, and I feel
vindicated today that they did not do value for money, when they claimed they had done it. If they did it, then it is not appropriate because it is not possible that way.
Mr Speaker, on a joyous note, I am happy that this Government has dropped the obnoxious tax on luxury vehicles. I stood here and opposed it, and all of them, including the Hon Majority Leader, told me that it was the right thing to do in this country. What has changed? Is it because President Mahama said they would be removed in the year 2021? Why did they remove it? If they are really a Government that is brave, then they should have kept them. I stood here and told them that it was not necessary, and so they should not do it. Now, they have dropped it. I would want them to drop more.
Mr Speaker, the increase of ESLA on the Road Fund is not necessary. This is because there is a possible GH¢600 million available to the Ministry of Roads and Highways, which the Hon Minister for Finance would not give him. If we had given them this amount, they would have had enough resources to do more roads in this country.
Mr Speaker, my conclusion is that this Government is not interested in investing in road infrastructure. They
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:08 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:08 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my Hon Colleague, who just sat down, in making his own submission, kept mentioning my name. He said that he spoke against the introduction of the Luxury Vehicle Tax, and I said that it was good.
Mr Speaker, as he spoke, he charged at me with his left hand. By our training, if juniors speak to seniors, they know how to behave. In any event, I never spoke to him. If he has a point to make, he could do so, but he should not lie on the Floor of this House.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:08 p.m.
Hon Agbodza, I heard you say that the Majority Leader agreed to it that
it was the right thing to do. That is what he is referring to.
Hon Members, it is not proper to always use the word “lie”. We should please move away from those things. I agree that he just drew your attention to --
Mr Agbodza 3:08 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would want to apologise to him for using my left hand. However, this is the twenty-first century. The Hon Majority Leader should be aware that there are people who are born to use their left hand as their rightful hand. If in the twenty-first century, he cannot understand that people even use their left hand to write and eat, then that would be an admission that all those who use their left hands are not proper Ghanaians.
Mr Speaker, I did not mean to use my left hand to connote anything. However, the truth is that I never saw him say anything contrary to what his Side decided. I am saying that it is a shameful behaviour on the part of a Government, to admit that something is good today, and all of a sudden, without any principle, change their position on that.
I wish that the Hon Majority Leader would have said that I heard him oppose it, but since he did not oppose it, I am lumping him together
with the Majority members to say that they said the Luxury Vehicle Tax was the best thing to do, but today, they have dropped it. They got it wrong because Ghanaians say that they do not like it. I therefore recommended to Ghanaians to drop this entire Government in the year 2020.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:08 p.m.
Mr Speaker, respectfully, I do not want to go on the path of negativity, which is becoming a symbol of this House.
Mr Speaker, I said that when he spoke, he charged at me with his left hand, and anybody who is well trained would not do that. I stick to that and would not add anything to it.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:18 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader, our attention is always drawn to the fact that ours is old school. The world is in transition, and so many things are coming up.
What we need to do is to see whether they are at variance with acceptable conduct, and particularly, the rules of the House.
I have always told people that the body language is louder than the spoken word. So the way we speak
and gesticulate, must go together. And this is a House of reason, not a House of emotions. Please, let us take this on board.
This Mid-Year Review and Supplementary Budget is exactly what the Hon Minister for Monitoring and Evaluation has stated. Yes, there are a lot of controversial issues raised and we have to debate them, but in debating them, we should be able to convince the good people of Ghana as to what both parties are doing when they are given the chance to govern this country so that they understand what we are doing so that they either disagree or agree with us and guide us on what is proper to do.
Please, do not let us take this as a banter. And that is why I am conscious of words; — the language and I think that the Leadership is doing well in drawing our attention to it.
Hon Majority Leader, do we continue or we take a bow?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, indeed, what we intended to do this morning was to finish the debate today, and then, possibly even suspend Sitting and come back and commence the consideration of the Wa University Bill. I thought maybe, around 4.00 p.m., we would have finished with this —
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:18 p.m.
Well, we have three on your Side left and then, two on the Side of the Minority. That is the list I have. So, if we are minded to continue, then, we have to re-adjust the time allocated to each Member, at least the major issues have been debated now. If we could use five minutes per —
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I do not normally subscribe to giving Members three, four or five minutes. Before the Member makes his submission and speaks, five minutes certainly, cannot suffice. So, once we have agreed to ten minutes — or if we have to even bring it down to eight minutes, possibly yes, but five minutes —
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:18 p.m.
Eight minutes? No points of order and Hon Members should —
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:18 p.m.
Unless they relate to factual inaccuracies, that one, a person cannot be left to go through.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:18 p.m.
It is not a trial court; it is very difficult to ascertain and to lead evidence on this floor to prove whether this is factual. Once the person is referring to the source of the information, we may challenge those sources.
On the list, we have Hon Dr Adutwum, Hon Deputy Minister for Education.
Deputy Minister for Education (Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum) (MP): I thank you Mr Speaker for such a wonderful opportunity to speak on the Motion by the Hon Minister for Finance on the Mid-Year Review.
Mr Speaker, my friend on the other Side, the Hon Member of Parliament for Adaklu has said there was very little on infrastructure. But on page 49 of the Budget Review document, we talked about education infrastructure and the good news I have for him is that the Community Day Senior High School in Adaklu has been completed -- [Hear! Hear!] -- and it is part of the infrastructure we are going there to inaugurate this year, so that is good news about infrastructure. We had a lot of discussions---
Mr Agbodza -- rose .
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:18 p.m.
Hon Deputy Minister, it is difficult for me not to listen to him because you have referred to him personally. I do not think it is important for us to be inviting other Members into your submissions. Now that he is on his feet, I am compelled to listen to what he has to say. So just a minute for us to hear what he has to say.
Mr Agbodza 3:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my very good friend, the Hon Majority Leader is always trying to intimidate me. Mr Speaker, these are —
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:18 p.m.
Well, I can assure you that the Hon Majority Leader actually loves you.
Mr Agbodza 3:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, yes, I notice that.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:18 p.m.
You notice that?
Mr Agbodza 3:18 p.m.
Yes, that is a fact.
Mr Speaker, the truth is that Adaklu benefited from one of the 123 Community Senior High Schools started by President Mahama. It was meant to be completed in September, 2016 but as a matter of fact, there is nothing to write home about.
The project delayed, but as of the time NDC left power, the project was almost 80 per cent complete so -- [Interruption] -- it is a World Bank funded project; NPP did not pay GH¢1.00 from anywhere. That is a fact.
Dr Adutwum 3:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am grateful that you drew my attention to this and I am no longer going to bring
him in; I thought it was a school that we were going to inaugurate.
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:18 p.m.
Hon Member, your Leader is on his feet.
Yes, Hon Majority Leader?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member for Adaklu said that I was trying to intimidate him. No! I was rather drawing his attention to procedure that if the Speaker is speaking, the Member should resume his seat. He was on his feet when you were talking and I was urging him to sit down. I was not intimidating him; I was urging him to conform.
Dr Adutwum 3:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister for Finance gave us this Statement, mentioned Free Senior High School (Free SHS) and other Government interventions in the area of education. So, I would begin with that first.
Mr Speaker, Free SHS has come to stay; we have a Government that is determined at all cost, to ensure that there is a level playing field in education for those who are well to do and those who are not. So, when we look at the numbers for Free SHS, in 2016,
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:18 p.m.
Hon Deputy Minority Whip, I thought we have an understanding that we should not have —
Mr Ahmed Ibrahim 3:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, you know ordinarily, I would not do that but my Hon friend on the other Side is saying that, ‘you cannot implement Free SHS without the double-track system, and I do not know when that became a condition for a Free SHS. So he should explain to the House.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:18 p.m.
Hon Deputy Minister, you may continue.
Dr Adutwum 3:28 p.m.
Mr Speaker, this is why I say some people do not know about the implementation of Free SHS. When we have a growth in enrolment of about a 150,000 and we have limited facilities, we have to look for world-class best practices that would enable us allow the student
go to school. And that is what we did with the double-track system.

I know there were many people who said the sky was going to fall. In fact, when we introduced the semester system and all the form three students were affected many people doubted what would happen to education and said that the sky was falling and performance would drop -- even though we assured parents of this country that under the old system there were 1,107 hours of instruction and that we would change it to 1,120 hours.

We made it clear that the semester system, which the double track brought into being would not in any shape or form reduce the performance of students. Yesterday, the WASSCE data came out and for the first time since, 2006, our maths score was the best -- it grew from 38 per cent to 65 per cent. We had the highest score in science as well. There was also the highest score since 2006 because the Government did not just implement the intervention, I understand.

In education reform, three things have to be considered -- these are access, quality and relevance. So, when we were able to use double

track to address the access question, the Government at the same time, turned its attention to the improvement of quality and one of the interventions we did was to give the students more instructional time and we also budgeted GH¢70 per student so that teachers would have opportunity to support the students.

Not only did we do that but we allowed the students in the final year to stay in school and the Government paid for all their boarding and feeding costs. Text books were also made available and that is why the results are good. Giving the fact that a period was no longer 40 minutes but 60 minutes, teachers had enough time to teach the students and the results show that the Government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is on the right track when it comes to education [Hear! Hear!] Not only have we looked at our senior high schools but we have also implemented interventions that would bring about qualitative improvements in the field of education.

Mr Speaker, in the area of basic education, for example, next year, we would begin national assessment. If you want to improve quality, you need to create a pipe line from kindergarten all the way to senior high school then to the universities. So, the reform that we would embark upon, would not
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:28 p.m.
Hon Deputy Minister, you have a minute. You decided to use your opportunity to give us more information on education -- you have not related this submission to the Mid- Year Review at all.
Mr Adutwum 3:28 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I talked about infrastructure, free senior high school which is on page 48 in the Budget Statement, I talked about the double track elimination with the infrastructure --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:28 p.m.
I have seen those paragraphs -- I am
talking about the information that you have given.
Mr Adutwum 3:28 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I had wanted to give extra information. I wanted to make sure that by the time we leave here, we are fully convinced that we are on the right track.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:28 p.m.
Hon Members, I would hold you to the 10 minutes per speaker, so that we could be through with the list.
It is the turn of Hon Eric Opoku.
Mr Eric Opoku (NDC -- Asunafo South) 3:28 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Motion.
Mr Speaker, in paragraph 125 of the 2017 Budget Statement, we were told that the debt stock of our nation was GH¢122 billion. In the Mid-Year, Budget Review, we are told that our debt has gone up to GH¢204 billion.
Mr Speaker, I have with me a statement made by the World Bank Country Director, Pierre Frank
Laporte and with your permission, I beg to quote what he said.
“Ghana's rising debt levels, puts it at pre-HIPC levels''.
The rising debt levels of our nation puts Ghana at pre-HIPC levels. Mr Speaker, he goes on to explain that the:
“The government's borrowing rate to pay outstanding debt and not to be re-invested is risky for an emerging economy like Ghana which poses dire consequences''.
Mr Speaker, the problem is that they inherited a debt of GH¢122 billion and they have borrowed GH¢80 billion to pay the debt and surprisingly, the debt did not reduce but rather ballooned to GH¢204 billion - what mathematics formula did they apply? Are they magicians? This is where we are now and the Hon Minister in this review, has asked for additional GH¢3 billion loan. We are just at the gate of HIPC and we want to take more and they claim that the economy is solid. Is this the solid economy they promised Ghanaians?
Mr Speaker, when we compare the Mid-Year Budget Review presented by the Hon Minister for Finance, and the copy online -- when
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:28 p.m.
Hon Member, you have invited the Hon Majority Leader.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:28 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I do not know of any description called “excess paper''. I never told him that there would be ‘‘excess paper'' anywhere. What is “excess paper'' in the first place?
Mr Opoku 3:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, paragraph 403 of the 2018 Budget Statement, we were told that cocoa production for the 2016/17 cocoa year was 969,000 metric tonnes. In
2017/18, cocoa production declined to 904,000 metric tonnes, a decline of 12 per cent. In 2018/19, the Hon Minister for Finance spoke about 791,000 metric tonnes, a further decline.
Mr Speaker, but what is worrying is that this is the time they claimed to be investing so much in cocoa production. They said they have recruited 30,000 youth to do pollination for cocoa to more than double production in this country. They claimed they had started -- [Interruption] -- It is in your Mid- Year Budget Review. Go and read. They claim that they have embarked upon irrigation and that would also lead to increased cocoa production.
Mr Quaittoo — rose —
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:38 p.m.
Hon Member, your Colleague Hon Quaittoo is on his feet.
Yes, please?
Mr Quaittoo 3:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, on a point of correction, the Hon Minister for Finance did not say that the production level of cocoa for 2019 is 791,000 metric tonnes. He said, the current figure is 791,000 metric tonnes and the season has not ended. The season is still on and ends on September 30, 2019. Cocoa is still
being produced and exported. He said that the target for this year is --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:38 p.m.
Hon Member, which paragraph is it, so that we follow what you are talking about.
Mr Quaittoo 3:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it is not stated here but we all listened to him -- [Uproar] -- He also listened to him. There is no figure. Could he show us where the 791,000 metric tonnes is? The Hon Minister for Finance said that the target for this year is 900,000 metric tonnes. [Interruption] -- He said it and he heard it. I saw him challenge the Hon Minister for Finance. [Interruption] -- So, where is the 791,000 metric tonnes?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:38 p.m.
You saw him; you did not hear him.
Mr Quaittoo 3:38 p.m.
Yes, and Hon Eric Opoku challenged him and I made a warning gesture at him.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:38 p.m.
You heard or saw him?
Mr Quaittoo 3:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I saw Hon Eric Opoku said that no, it is not 900,000 metric tonnes. The Hon Minister for Finance only said that the
target production for this year is 900,000 metric tonnes.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:38 p.m.
So you heard him?
Mr Quaittoo 3:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I heard the Hon Minister for Finance and Hon Eric Opoku react that it was not true and that it is 791,000 metric tonnes. Of course, Hon Eric Opoku has gone for the figure now which is 791,000 metric tonnes but the season has not ended. So he should not quote the Hon Minister wrongly.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:38 p.m.
Well, Hon Eric Opoku, please, just refer to the paragraph for us.
Mr Opoku 3:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, what he is saying is right but it means that the Hon Minister gave us a Statement different from what he presented before us and that is why he is unable to locate the paragraph. I have it online here and I would like to read for him to understand.
Mr Speaker, paragraph 166 of the online version which is different from what he gave to us. That is the difficulty we have. The Hon Minister for Finance was here and spoke extensively about cocoa but decided not to capture this in his Statement to us.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:38 p.m.
Hon Member, did he in his presentation state that on the Floor?
Mr Opoku 3:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, yes. The Hon Majority Leader is aware because I signalled him.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:38 p.m.
But you are referring to what is online. You are not saying that that was what he presented to the House. It could be different.
Mr Opoku 3:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, all that he said would be captured in the Hansard. [Interruption] -- No, I am not waiting for the Hansard.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I just want to agree with my Hon Colleague that, yes, the Hon Minister for Finance referred to the current production. What he did not say was that the anticipated production is 760,000 metric tonnes. I have heard my Hon Colleague who has been on various radio stations saying that the Hon Minister for Finance said that the anticipated production is 760,000 metric tonnes or so and that it has declined.
For whatever reason that he has elected to be poisoning the atmos- phere outside there with this, I cannot understand. Happily, he is alluding to
what the Hon Minister for Finance said here. He referred to where we are now and not the anticipated figure at the end of the cocoa season. That is not what he said.
Mr Opoku 3:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we are having problems with the figures just because the Government decided not to present everything in the Statement for us. That is the difficulty now.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Majority Leader is the Leader of Government Business now, why did they decide to do that? Normally, we present the full Budget Statement to us; why do they come to tell us a different thing and present a different thing to us? [Interruption] Should I read the online one? Is that what they approved now?
That is the problem now --
Mr Speaker, which one are we approving of now?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:38 p.m.
Well, Hon Members, what the Hon Minister for Finance presented is captured in the Hansard and that is what we are approving of. If what is in the Hansard is not what has been given to us, please, refer to what is in the Hansard.
Mr A. Ibrahim 3:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for giving me the opportunity.
Yesterday, indeed, the Hon Ranking Member for the Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs, Mr Eric Opoku drew the attention of the Minority leadership that the copies that were given to us and the presentation that the Hon Minister for Finance was making were different and that we should draw the attention of the Hon Speaker.

Mr Speaker, today, when it happened that the Hon Majority Leader has also said that he did not say that, I was confused. In this case, what do we do? This is what is before the House; this is what the Hon Minister for Finance presented and so, this is what I think we have to work with.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:38 p.m.
No, what the Hon Minister presented is in the Hansard. This document is
not one that has been laid. This is a document that has been given to us for guidance. I followed the Hon Minister online when he made the presentation because I got it there myself.
Mr Opoku 3:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, if you followed, then obviously you would see the difference between the presentation and what has been given to us.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:38 p.m.
And I said what is before us is what is captured in the Hansard.
Mr Opoku 3:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we are having difficulties with the figures because the Hansard is not ready. This is the first time we are witnessing this in the House. Why did the Hon Minister for Finance do that in the first place? To come to the House to deceive us? No, we must understand.
Is it not his intention to deceive the House? Yes, the Hon Majority Leader have been here for a long time, has he seen this before? It does not happen here. This is the first time.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, first of all, the additional information the Hon Minister for Finance supplied us is additional information and not different information. There is a level of difference between additional information and different information.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:48 p.m.
He said “mislead.”
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:48 p.m.
He said “deceive”. We should be careful with our choice of words.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:48 p.m.
Hon Member, if you said “deceive” then that is definitely unparliamentary and you have to withdraw.
Mr Opoku 3:48 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I said “deceive”. But if you are asking me

to withdraw then I would withdraw and replace it with “mislead”.

Mr Speaker, the Hon Majority Leader has said that it was just an additional information. Mr Speaker, no. When he was making the presentation, he spoke about the cocoa sector and he read about three or five paragraphs, but they are all missing in the document. So, it is different because he spoke about different things and that is why we are having difficulties. I am providing the information and the figures as I heard him, but I am being challenged. Why did the Hon Minister do that?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:48 p.m.
The issue is that is the document before us part of the presentation that the Hon Minister made on the Floor?
Mr Opoku 3:48 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it is part of it, but not all.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:48 p.m.
So, what is not here is additional information that he added.
Mr Opoku 3:48 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister was here to present the abridged form, but not the full document. So, if the abridged one --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:48 p.m.
Hon Member, is that what the Hon
Minister told you? That he was presenting the abridged one? He did not say that so let us go by his word. It is true that we are handicapped because the Hansard is not ready. That has always been the case; I have followed budget presentations throughout and no Hon Minister has stated or read exactly what is in the document that is presented. So, when you want to get what the Hon Minister presented to the House then you must take the Hansard.
Hon Majority Leader?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:48 p.m.
Mr Speaker, if an Hon Minister comes with a document and it cites a figure of 100,000, but in the Hon Minister's delivery he says that it is 120,000 then we would say that they are different figures. But if the figure is 100,000 and the Hon Minister provides information to explain how come it is 100,000, then that is additional information and not different information. Mr Speaker, I am happy that you want to lead my Hon Colleague on the path of righteousness; that it is additional information and not different information.
So, he should take a cue and proceed.
Mr Opoku 3:48 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you very much for ruling on the matter, but the difference is too clear because the whole cocoa sector is missing in the document.
Mr Speaker, the import of the argument is that cocoa production is declining and according to the figures that the Hon Minister provided yesterday, in 2018 and 2019 we are recording about 794,31 metric tonnes. Mr Speaker, but the most important thing is that we would even challenge that figure because we have figures from COCOBOD that contradicts what he is talking about, but because we do not have the Hansard we would leave the figures hanging. We would definitely debate the Budget Statement and these issues would return.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:48 p.m.
Hon Member, you are permitted to use the figures that you have. Do not say that because we do not have the Hansard, you would withhold your figures.
Mr Opoku 3:48 p.m.
Mr Speaker, so, I am using the figure of 794,318 metric tonnes.
During the time that we were syndicating the cocoa facility, we collateralised 658,000 metric tonnes, but now we have a little above 700,000. So, when we pay for the
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:48 p.m.
An Hon Colleague is on his feet.
Mr Kwame Asafu-Adjei 3:48 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I just want the Hon Ranking Member to know that we do not use the main crop beans for the processing rather they use the light beans. So, we cannot lump both the big beans and the light beans for processing. This never happens anywhere. The smaller beans are taken from the main crop. So, they do not use the main crop beans for processing.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:48 p.m.
Hon Member, but he never said that.
Mr Asafu-Adjei 3:48 p.m.
Mr Speaker, he said so.
Mr Opoku 3:48 p.m.
Mr Speaker, people are setting their questions and providing their own answers.
I never spoke about small beans and big beans. I just spoke about cocoa production in total and I am saying that looking at the production level, if we are to pay for the loan we secured for cocoa in 2018 and 2019, and we are paying for the Bui Dam then what would be left would not be enough for processing in this country.
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:48 p.m.
Hon Member, please the Hon Minister for Railway Development has a point of order.
Mr Ghartey 3:48 p.m.
Mr Speaker, you made a point that even though we cannot give evidence because we are not in a court of law, when there is a fact that is palpably wrong perhaps we could rise to correct it.
Mr Speaker, last week, I was with the President on his tour of the Western Region and we went to West African Mills Company (WAMCO). The Chief Executive of COCOBOD, Mr Boahen Aidoo was there and WAMCO said that previously they
could not produce because they did not have beans, but they said that now they are in production and they would continue production into the future.
So, this business about cocoa processing companies not getting beans -- I am from Secondi- Takoradi. WAMCO collapsed but it is operating now and will operate into the future. So, which companies are the Hon Member talking about. Mr Speaker, we were told that all the companies were back in operation and so if the Hon Member is seeing doom in the future then perhaps WAMCO misled us.
Mr Speaker, as the Hon Member is speaking in generality then he could perhaps inform us about the companies that would not have enough cocoa beans to process. Mr Speaker, cocoa is in abundance; WAMCO is in production and people are working throughout the country. It is not imported cocoa but rather cocoa produced in Ghana. Mr Speaker, I would want to assure him that nobody would import cocoa for the purpose of local production. Cocoa is on the rise.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:48 p.m.
Hon Minister, you started by giving him information and actually I should have gone to him to see whether he is
prepared to yield to you for the information. I did not do so because of deference to yourself and your Ministry. I suspect that you may not get the opportunity to contribute and so you used this opportunity to make your contribution and that is accepted.
Hon Member, you may continue.
Mr Opoku 3:58 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my difficulty here is that in paragraph 413 of the 2018 Budget Statement, they talked about artificial pollination. In fact, in that paragraph they created the impression that under the artificial pollination they would be able to increase the acreage production by over 188 per cent. Today, in spite of that huge investments production is dropping.
Mr Speaker, but there is a cherished principle in agriculture that we plant a seed and reap a harvest.

It is surprising that under their watch, they are planting, harvesting and reaping seeds. That is where I have a problem. With the figures the Hon Majority Leader is challenging, when the next Budget Statement comes, he would not be able to get up again on it because even the 794,000 they have put here is wrong. His people know.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:58 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader, are you saying Hon Eric Opoku is not a cocoa farmer?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:58 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I talked to what I know. If he is a cocoa farmer, maybe, some peasant cocoa farmer. I know what I am talking about.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:58 p.m.
Yes, Hon Member, please continue.
Mr Opoku 3:58 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I was not even talking about the loan. I was talking about investment in production. I do not know why the whole Hon Majority Leader would confuse himself this way. [Laughter.] I was not talking about that. Out of respect, I do not want to react to some of the issues he raised. I am a typical cocoa farmer. I have several farms; he does not have cocoa. He
has been coming to the area to buy some few pods. We produce the pods and everything, and I have been on the Committee for a long time. So I know what I am talking about.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:58 p.m.
Hon Member, I do not know why you are inviting the Hon Minister for Railway Development. But Hon Minister for Railway Development, you have the opportunity.
Mr Ghartey 3:58 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my Hon Colleague who just spoke is - I do not want to use that word. I was going to say he spoke out of ignorance, but I do not want to use those words.
However, Mr Speaker, if he is a cocoa farmer and is involved in cocoa affairs, does he not know that our cocoa industry was totally based on the railway sector? Does he not also know for example that when the railway started in 1898, around that time, Tetteh Quarshie had brought cocoa, and in the Western Region, they started the railway lines because of gold, but by 1933, the then Gold Coast had become the world's largest producer of cocoa because of the railway?
Mr Speaker, as you are aware, Gold Coast at the time was not Ghana's third but about a third of recent Ghana. If he tells me who has cocoa farmers in my constituency and who is working in a sector which developed because of cocoa, and which would develop again because of cocoa; that I do not know about cocoa because of this remit that they have given me for railway which I have for two years, then I do not know how to describe him.
Does he think that by virtue of ministerial appointment, one forgets everything he knows and would not learn anything? He does not even know that railway and cocoa are
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:58 p.m.
Hon Minister for Railway Development, you are right because that is why railway system in Ghana is different from the railway system in India because the focus was different. The one in India was focused on passenger trains to carry people, and so if you go there, you would see difference in the rail track and the coaches. So you are right.
Yes, Hon Eric Opoku?
Mr Opoku 3:58 p.m.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
I thank the Hon Minister for Railway Development for the information. In fact, it is good information for the House that we use railway to produce cocoa in Ghana. [Laughter.] It is news.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:58 p.m.
Hon Member, you would be timed out very soon. He did not say we use railway to produce cocoa. I over rule you.
Mr Ghartey 3:58 p.m.
Mr Speaker, with respect, I have in my hand Parliamentary Debates, Official Report, Volume One, 13 th September, 1979 to October, 1979. I was reading it while I was sitting here. Everything said on this Floor is recorded. I am reading what happened in 1979.
How can he get up and tell me what he said. It is an insult. He must withdraw. We must learn how to respect each other in this House. We speak in jest, but he cannot insult me. What he said is an insult? No. We cannot crack these kind of expensive jokes. I got up and did not insult him. I just stated and gave information. He can disagree with that information, but he cannot get up and say what he just said. It is totally wrong, and I take exception to that. He must withdraw and apologise.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:58 p.m.
Hon Eric Opoku, your Hon Colleague takes strong exception to it. I ask that you withdraw and apologise to him.
Mr Opoku 3:58 p.m.
Mr Speaker, if you heard him earlier, he said I was speaking out of ignorance. [Interruption.] And now he was talking about railway and cocoa production. What is the connection? I was talking about cocoa production, and he got up and said I said he does

Mr Speaker, what is the connection?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:08 p.m.
No, no, no.
Hon Eric Opoku, your deduction is incorrect. And so I call on you to withdraw and apologise to him.
He did not say that we use railway to produce cocoa. He never said that and his submission did not in any way give any such expression.
Mr Opoku 4:08 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am guided by your advice. I withdraw. But I am still not clear with the connection between cocoa and railway.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:08 p.m.
Hon Member, I said withdraw and apologise.
Mr Opoku 4:08 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I withdraw and apologised.
Mr Speaker, it is important for us to also understand exactly what he meant by the relationship between railway and cocoa production.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:08 p.m.
Marketing.
Mr Opoku 4:08 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I was specifically talking about cocoa production. I was not talking about cocoa marketing or transportation.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:08 p.m.
I do not want us to debate this but you cannot continue to produce if you do not have a market to sell what you produce. That was the linkage he was trying to establish.
You were making very good submissions but you decided to ingest something into it.
Mr Opoku 4:08 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister for Finance also talked about planting for food and claimed that because of that intervention maize production has increased, rice production has increased. In fact, he mentioned the percentages of the various increases.
Mr Speaker, during the State of the Nation Address, the President
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:08 p.m.
Hon Member, I give you two more minutes.
Mr Opoku 4:08 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the strongest pillar of the Planting for Food and Jobs Programme has collapsed. It is the subsidy on the fertiliser that they said they were going to give to farmers at 25 per cent of the cost and then after harvest, they pay the remaining 25 per cent of the 50 per cent.
Mr Speaker, they have changed it. They have reverted to the old system. Now, farmers pay 50 per cent of the cost affront and then the Government also pay 50 per cent. That was the system in place when they took office. So they just changed it and gave it a name.
Now, having gone back to the same system do they repeat the name?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:08 p.m.
Well, I see the Hon Deputy Minister for Agriculture on his feet so I would give him the opportunity.
Dr Bambangi 4:08 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I just want to correct an impression. He said that we have reverted to the system that was in place as at 2016 but statistics suggests that the highest subsidy that the previous government had on fertiliser was 32 per cent. As of 2016, a bag of NPK fertiliser was selling after the subsidy at GH¢82.00.
As of now, even with the 15 per cent inflation we inherited from them and bringing it down to single digit, when things are put together, a bag of subsidised 50 kg NPK fertiliser is GH¢75. So the two scenarios are not the same. Fertiliser usage over the country has improved and yields have also improved. So the Hon Ranking Member is misleading us.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:08 p.m.
Hon Eric Opoku, take that on board as you make your submissions. I still give you the two minutes.
Mr Opoku 4:08 p.m.
Mr Speaker, during our time, we were paying 50 per cent of the cost of fertiliser and the farmers were paying the other 50 per cent and that is exactly what they are doing
now. [Interruption] -- There is no difference. The free one is the cocoa one. That is different from what we are talking about. [Interruption] -- Paragraph 357 says that 90,000 metric tonnes of subsidised fertiliser were procured and distributed to 650,000 crop farmers nationwide and in 2017, the Ministry would continue with the fertiliser subsidy programme.
Mr Speaker, what they are saying is that in 2016, we subsidised 90,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser for the farmers. It was 50 per cent. [Interruptions] -- So when they came, they said they were going to do planting for food and jobs -- [Interruptions]
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:08 p.m.
Hon Members, we are not at the market place.
Mr Opoku 4:08 p.m.
Under the Planting for Food and Jobs Programme, the arrangement was that instead of the 50 per cent, they would make the farmers pay 25 per cent before they access the input and after harvest, they would pay the additional 25 per cent.
Mr Speaker, after 2017, they said that was not feasible so they came back to the system they inherited. What I am saying is that because of that change, they introduced a new
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:08 p.m.
Hon Eric Opoku, you have referred to the Hon Deputy Minister so he is up on his feet and I have to give him the opportunity.
Dr Bambangi 4:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I have a document here -- Agriculture in Ghana -- Facts and Figures, 2016. From the Ministry of
Agriculture, Statistics Research and Information Directorate.

I would tender in this document so that we would have the facts .The full cost of NPK fertiliser as of 2016 was GH¢120 for 50 kg. Subsidy payable was GH¢40 by the Government, and the farmers paid GH¢85. The subsidy was calculated as 32 per cent.

Mr Speaker, I have the document here. Urea fertilizer was GH¢100 and the subsidy payable was GH¢20. The price at which farmers bought Urea was GH¢80. The subsidy calculated was 20 per cent.

So the NDC offered 20 per cent subsidy for Urea fertiliser; that is for fertiliser that is meant for top dressing. That was in 2016. And we were offering 50 per cent subsidy for both NPK and Urea fertilisers. So the two scenarios can never be same.

When he talks about borrowing of grains, the Hon Ranking Member knows fully well that in stock management, you do not keep stock beyond a certain period. If you do that, you would be jeopardising the quality of the stock, and so it was in the collective interest of ECOWAS and Ghana for us to use this stock,

and then to replenish. That was in good faith.

So he should not worry about that. The Hon Ranking Member knows that there is a lot of food in his village.

Mr Speaker, thank you.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:18 p.m.
Hon Member, you now have one minute.
Mr Opoku 4:18 p.m.
Thank you very much Mr Speaker.
I read paragraph 357 of 2017 --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:18 p.m.
What document is that?
Mr Opoku 4:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the 2017 Budget Statement. They inherited a subsidised fertiliser programme, and they would continue.
Mr Speaker, in 2016 the subsidy in the fertiliser was 50 per cent. Back to the issue he is raising --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:18 p.m.
Hon Member, let us move on. It has been challenged. You disagree with them, so let us go on.
Mr Opoku 4:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, on the issue of the borrowing, the Hon
Minister is saying that they took it for strategic reasons. That strategic stock is there to support member countries in times of need, so when they made the request, the Commissioner asked him when Ghana would repay, and the Hon Minister said in March they were going to fill the stores grain for grain. Are we not in July?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:18 p.m.
Hon Member, we have to move on. Please, Hon Members, time is far spent. Let us listen to the next contributor.
I think it is the turn of Hon William Agyapong Quaittoo.
Mr William Agyapong Quaittoo (NPP-Akim Oda) 4:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to add my voice to the -- [Interruption] --
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:18 p.m.
Hon Sampson Ahi, what is amiss?
Mr Ahi 4:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I just want to draw your attention to the fact that the Hon Ranking Member for Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs has just spoken, and to be fair to the Hon Chairman of the Committee, I would want to plead with the Hon Majority Leader to consider the Hon Chairman
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:18 p.m.
Hon Member, I am guided by Leadership. I have the list of speakers here with me, and I am going by that list.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 4:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, today in Ghana, cocoa production has migrated to the Western Region where Hon Ahi hails from, but when it came to speaking on cocoa, it was not Hon Ahi who spoke; it was Hon Eric Opoku.
Mr Speaker, when it comes to cocoa, the epic centre now is in the Western Region. Indeed, in Hon Ahi's constituency. Why did he not talk?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:18 p.m.
Well, you have now decided to have a conversation.
Hon Member, you are a Friend to the Committee and you are a former Hon Deputy Minister.
Mr Quaittoo 4:18 p.m.
Yes Mr Speaker, and former Hon Deputy Ranking Member of the Committee.
Mr Speaker, I will start from where Hon Eric Opoku left off. He said that we have gone to borrow grains. Let me explain to him what borrowing means.
I am the Chairman for the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO). This activity was taken by NAFCO, so I want to educate him on that.
The NAFCO is the marketing wing of the Ministry of --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:18 p.m.
What did you say? Do you want to share information with him or you want to educate him?
Mr Quaittoo 4:18 p.m.
I want to educate him because he keeps calling it borrowing. He held a Press Conference some time ago and I corrected him. He has come back to this House and he is still calling it borrowing. It is not borrowing. I want to educate him.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:18 p.m.
I do not want any objection to be raised, that is why I am drawing your attention to the word “educate”. It has happened a number of times on this Floor. You want to share information with him.
Mr Quaittoo 4:18 p.m.
All right, I want to share information with him.
He cannot call that arrangement borrowing, because what happened was that the ECOWAS Commission would usually contract the various organisations to buy and hold stocks for them. In case of an emergency in any member country, they would send the produce or grains to the place. So NAFCO was contracted some time ago in 2016 to buy and hold those stocks.
The stocks have been in the warehouses of NAFCO in Yendi, Tamale and other places. After two or three years, if the grains are not used, they would go bad. So they came back and said that the grains there were very bad. This was when Ghana was doing the Free SHS Programme, so the Free SHS Programme contracted independent suppliers for NAFCO to buy foodstuffs and supply to the various senior high schools, and they were paid by the Ministry of Education through NAFCO.
So realising that the grains in the warehouses would go bad, NAFCO went to the ECOWAS Commission to say that the grains in the warehouses would go bad, so they
would use them, so that in their next season when they are buying stocks, they would buy and replace. That is exactly what we have done and nothing else, and I want him to know -- they have no use for it. Mr Speaker, sometimes it could stay in the warehouse and go bad, so this was a suggestion we gave to them and they gladly accepted it. We did not borrow. We made use of it so that they would not go bad. It was in their own interest.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:18 p.m.
Hon Members, Please make your submissions on the Mid-Year Review. Do not dwell too much on this issue. Let us move on.
Mr Quaittoo 4:18 p.m.
So Mr Speaker, I also want them to know that cocoa production in 2014 and 2015 never reached 800,000 metric tonnes. Production was at 704,740and 756,000 metric tonnes for 2014 and 2015 respectively. That is for the record; that was the production.
When they were exiting in 2016, Hon Eric Opoku keeps saying that they bequeathed to us 960,000 metric tonnes. In the 2016/2017 crop season — the crop season starts from October and ends in September the following year, so if their Government
Mr Quaittoo 4:28 a.m.
did October, November and December in 2016 and the NPP Government came to continue from January to September 2017, and we got almost 960,000 metric tonnes, would you say that you did it?

They did not leave us that quantity of cocoa. It was through the effort of the NPP's Government that we got that quantity. Within that three years, the quantity of chemicals that was bought was the highest ever, yet we never crossed the 800,000 metric tonnes line, in the 2013, 2014 and 2015 cocoa seasons. These are facts that are available at the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).

Mr Speaker, in 2016/2017 crop year, we had 960,000 metric tonnes. That is why when we came in, we changed the chemicals that were being used. We identified that the previous ones were diluted, and were not good. This affected productivity.

When we came and changed the chemicals, production shot up to 960,000 metric tonnes within that short period. This was supported by other interventions such as artificial pollination and all that. The type of chemicals that were being used at that time is under contention in court now,

so I would not talk about that. They know it, and we do as well.

Mr Speaker, of course, cocoa production has declined up to some level because during the period of 2013 to 2016, the fertilisers that were being used on the cocoa, as well as all the other interventions, were not the best. We have found that out, and it is being contended in court. This was what caused the reduction in cocoa production.

Mr Speaker, we were to have been doing a rehabilitation of cocoa plantations, but what happened? It was not done within that period. The NPP Government left behind the rehabilitation of cocoa, such that a farmer could be given some compensation. When the cocoa were infested with the swollen shoot disease, farmers were asked to cut them off, but they were given cocoa seedlings to go and plant, in place of the infested ones.

Mr Speaker, when the National Democratic Congress (NDC) came to power, they cancelled it. Therefore, as we speak, in the whole part of the Western-North Region of Ghana, cocoa is being lost. The Hon Sampson Ahi is aware because that is where he comes from. That is also the reason we have the cocoa swollen shoot disease increasing.

They are aware that the cocoa production in the Western-North Region of Ghana, where we used to have the highest cocoa production is seriously coming down because of the swollen shoot disease, and the NDC Government did not do things right at that time when they were in power.

Mr Speaker, we are now trying to go back to rehabilitate all these plants. All the cocoa farms that have been affected by the swollen shoot disease are being cut down, so that we would re-plant them. That is what would make production go up again. If they talk about the production of cocoa dipping to about 794,000 metric tonnes, it is right because that is the current figure we have.

Mr Speaker, I anticipate that we would not get to the target of 900,000 metric tonnes, but it would not stay at 794,000 metric tonnes either. It would surely, at least, hit 800,000 metric tonnes. If it does, then it would be better than all the three or four years that the NDC Government was in charge of cocoa production.

Mr Speaker, there is one innova- tion that we have seen. From 2016 when cocoa prices at the international market was around US$3000 per metric tonne. Immediately after that, it dropped to as low as US$280 per

metric tonne. Yet, this Government has maintained the producer price for farmers up till now. There has been a whopping drop of about a US$1000 on the international price, yet this Government has maintained the producer price for the farmer.

This is because this Government thinks about the cocoa farmer. If you and I were to have our salaries reduced, what would happen to us? Of course, we would make noise, so we do not have to let that fate befall the cocoa farmer.

Mr Speaker, Government, as of yesterday, as mentioned by the Hon Finance Minister, has had to forfeit its share of the FOB for cocoa. Government does not make any profit out of cocoa sales now. At a point, Government lost money on every tonne of cocoa that was being sold. We lost almost about US$500 per tonne. Now that we have had the dollar exchange rate coming in, it is compensating the lost in price. Every cocoa farmer should appreciate the fact that Government does not make any profit from the sales of cocoa.

Mr Speaker, this Government, thinking so much about the farmer, has gone to negotiate with La Cote d'Ivoire and other international buyers. What do we see? It is mentioned in paragraph 118 and 119
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:28 a.m.
Hon Member, the Hon Minority Leader is on his feet.
Yes, Hon Minority Leader?
Mr Iddrisu 4:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Quaitoo knows that I have lots of respect for him. I am enjoying the debate, but he misleads this House when he makes references to Ghana and La Cote d'Ivoire. He also says that the Government of Ghana did not make anything out of FOB.
Mr Speaker, for a fact, the Government of Ghana is subsidising cocoa, and between 2017 and 2018, lost US$350 million.
Secondly, in La Cote d'Ivoire, they have adjusted their prices down- wards, following the global world price reduction. Ghana has not done same, so he should just be guided with this, as he debates.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member should not say that they are making gains, as if Ghana is making gains. Every other year, from 2017 up to yesterday, there have been significant loses to Ghana. In La Cote d'Ivoire, it is the private sector which buys,
stores and sells. In Ghana, it is the Government that does these things. So, we are not the same in terms of its character. The Hon Member should be guided.
When he says there are no FOB gains, he should consider that there are loses. He knows because they have discussed the losses in the cocoa sector, which arises out of the subsidy.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:28 a.m.
Hon Minority Leader, you have actually supported the point the Hon Member made. You have amplified it. That was the point the Hon Member was trying to hit at.
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:28 a.m.
Yes, Hon Majority Leader?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 4:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Haruna Iddrisu, the Hon Member for Tamale South, is the Hon Minority Leader. His own party and the party's leader, the presidential candidate, is out there informing Ghanaians and cocoa farmers that this Government is not increasing the prices of cocoa for them. Now, the Hon Minority Leader, in this House, by implication, says that the prices of cocoa should be reduced.
Mr Speaker, what is the position of the NDC? Should cocoa prices be increased, or should they be decreased? What is their position?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:38 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader, I thought you would have thanked him for what he has said in support of the Hon Member on the Floor. Unfortunately, you have gone on a different tangent. The Hon Minority Leader has rather supported the point that is being made. He is not asking for increment or whatever.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 4:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am thanking him most profusely. By what he said, he is urging Government to reduce cocoa prices. That is the implication, and he cannot run away from it. I should therefore urge him not to make a U-turn now. He is the leader of the party in Parliament, so he should reconcile his position with that of their party's presidential candidate.
Mr Iddrisu 4:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, for- tunately, this is a House of records. My words are ably recorded. I am guiding debate.
I never used the word, ‘reduce' ‘adjust' nor ‘increase'. I have said that the State of Ghana has occasioned
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 4:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the issue is at the current price and indeed at the current world market price, Government is subsidising. That is his argument.
Thank you very much.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:38 p.m.
Hon Member, I have two more minutes for you.
Mr Quaittoo 4:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I think they have taken all my time.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:38 p.m.
It is important I inform the House that; we have a lot of work for today. In fact, there is an Addendum 3 that has been brought. So, let us be mindful of that. We also have another Bill, which I am told is at the Consideration Stage
and we would have to take it today. So, please, let us curtail the interruptions and move through a smooth debate.
So, two more minutes for you.
Mr Quaittoo 4:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would speak within the two minutes.
Mr Speaker, the only alternative to compensate farmers is to make sure that of course, we bring out strategies that would increase their production; we are doing both horizontal and vertical expansion of farms and ensuring that per unit area, cocoa production goes high. Some of the interventions are the rehabilitation that we are about to start; artificial pollination and so many things that we are doing.
So, when we change fertilisers and bring in new fertilisers and someone goes on air and says that they left behind fertilisers boldly written on each ‘‘not for sale'' and this Government went ahead to sell these fertilisers, it is as if cocoa farmers, excuse my language, are illiterates and that they cannot read.
Who on earth would go and sell fertiliser boldly written on them ‘Not for sale' to farmers? Nobody did that. That is no fact because when we took over in 2017, the said fertiliser was not in stock. We imported new
fertilisers and other chemicals and sold to the farmers and that is why production shot up.
Mr Speaker, going to—
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:38 p.m.
Hon Sampson Ahi?
Mr Ahi 4:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, Hon Colleague is saying that we cannot sell fertiliser embossed with ‘Not for sale' but that is exactly what happened when the NPP took over.
Mr Speaker, today, I could go to Bodi with my Hon Colleague and we would still see fertilisers written boldly on them ‘Not for sale' at the warehouses being sold at GH¢80. So he should not mislead this House by portraying it as if that did not happen. That is exactly what they did.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:38 p.m.
This one is word against word; we cannot produce evidence here to prove. So let us go on.
Mr Quaittoo 4:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, on this Sunday in Church, an invited pastor who preached to us said that when he was young —
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:38 p.m.
Hon Member, please, do you want to continue with your submission?
Mr Quaittoo 4:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am continuing with my submission and I am saying that on this Sunday in Church, and an invited pastor—
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:38 p.m.
Please, are you getting the cue?
Mr Quaittoo 4:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, Yes, I am on my submission; what I am saying is part of it.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:38 p.m.
This Sunday in Church?
Mr Quaittoo 4:38 p.m.
Yes. This past Sunday in Church, a pastor said that he had gone for a funeral with his own brother-in-law and the brother-in-law invited him to go out womanising, and he said, even if he were a fool, excuse my language, he would not do that. Who would come — ?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:38 p.m.
This kind of story is completely out of order. Please, move on with your submission.
Mr Quaittoo 4:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am sorry, I withdraw it.
Mr Speaker, I just want to empha- sise the fact that no Government would
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:38 p.m.
Hon Member, I have ruled him out of order.
Mr Quaittoo 4:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we are modernising agriculture as captured on page 38, paragraph 178. Three key things here: we want to have reliable agricultural produce to ensure that there is sustainable industrialisation, job creation and of course, export drive. Also, to reduce foreign exchange spent on imports. We are doing this through three interventions: the Planting for Food and Jobs; the Rearing for Food and Jobs, which was recently launched in Wa; and we are also doing the Planting for Export and Rural Development.
Mr Speaker, all these projects are very laudable interventions that would bring about agricultural growth. Even when we started from the year 2017, it is mentioned in paragraph 179 that since the onset of the Planting for Food and Jobs programme in the year
2017, domestic food production has increased significantly: maize yields have increased by 72 per cent; rice by 24 per cent; soya beans by 39 per cent; and sorghum by 100 per cent.
Mr Speaker, higher figures were mentioned in the 2019 Budget relating it to the year 2017. These are the average increases in yields that we have received. Having an increase in yield does not mean that we should have stopped the importation of rice as my Hon Colleague over there was saying and quoting some figures that the World Bank or somebody says that rice imports in Ghana was so and so. If we have had increase in yields in rice, it does not mean that the importation of rice would cease now; it only means that the importation of rice would reduce.
Mr Speaker, going forward, I am very happy that there are some irrigation points here that I have mentioned. These irrigation facilities were mentioned right from the year 2013 to 2016; it appeared in the Budget every year.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:38 p.m.
Now, your last sentence.
Mr Quaittoo 4:38 p.m.
That the Govern- ment was going to build irrigation facilities these but we never saw the irrigation projects finished. Let us look at paragraph 185, page 39:
“The Ministry completed the Guo and Piiyiri dams making available 36 hectares of irrigable land for cropping…”
Mr Speaker, these two facilities were mentioned from the year 2013 to 2016 and it appeared in every Budget that it would be done, but it never got done. I am glad that today, it is done and we have 36 hectares of land and that there are other additional facilities that have also been given on contract. I hope that by the end of this year, these projects would be completed so that the lands would be made available for farmers to grow vegetables.
Of course, it is very sad that a country like Ghana imports vegetables into this country; if we go to the various hotels, they import tomatoes and other things. We must move away from that and this Government is ensuring that this is done.
Thank you very much for the opportunity.
-- [Hear! Hear!] --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:38 p.m.
Hon Fiifi Kwetey?
Mr Franklin Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey (NDC - Ketu South) 4:38 p.m.
Thank you very much Mr Speaker.
I wish to begin by acknowledging the efforts of the Hon Minister for Finance to clarify to us, the state of the economy as at half of the year. Yesterday as I watched the Hon Minister, I could not help but feel a great deal of sympathy. It was real that the Hon Minister was under a lot of pressure which I think largely because the Hon Minister has finally come to terms with the reality that talking is easy. The reality however, is a different ballgame.
4. 48 p.m.
Some way, somehow, I was expecting the Hon Minister to finally make an admission that the days when it was easy to say that taxation is a lazy man's approach to gover- nance, those days are dead and gone and somehow, the Hon Minister, missed the opportunity. That would have been a nice time to finally make the admission that when yesterday, they were busy in Opposition, trumpeting that taxation was a lazy man's approach to government they were only saying so because they were unaware of the reality on the ground. Now, the reality has come and the singing has become a different business.
Mr Speaker, that was not the only thing that was said. On 10th June, 2016, the President, who was then
Mr Franklin Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey (NDC - Ketu South) 4:58 p.m.
than GH¢210 billion. They have GH¢210 billion. In the eight years of the NDC, the total of all that we had was GH¢248 billion. Within a period of less than three years, they have GH¢210 billion available to them and all they could speak about is Free SHS, NABCO, one-village- one dam but when they are all put together, it does not even amount to GH¢10 billion.
Mr Speaker, it is important for us to put things into perspective so that we do not think that we could continue to bamboozle the people of Ghana to some of these sloganeering projects when the reality on the ground is that vis-a-vis the amount of resources that have been made available to them, what they have achieved is very little.
Mr Speaker, this morning, I monitored one of the discussions on a radio station and a certain discerning Ghanaian sent a message which I believe is important for all of us to learn from. The message said that when our Friends were in Opposition they promised change, unfortunately now that they are in Government they are changing the promise.
They promised change when they were in Opposition and now that they are in Government, they are busily changing the promise. The sender of
the message wanted to assure them that the people of Ghana would also give them one promise and that promise is that the time has come for them to be changed because they cannot keep to the promises they made.

Mr Speaker, it is important that we all learn a lesson once and for all, and that lesson is that in the quest for power, it is important to remember that truth and credibility must always be number one. What they did yesterday, would definitely haunt them today. If our Friends knew that with the major promises that they made yesterday, today the reality would force them to go against them, I am sure they would have been much advised.

Together, we need to learn so that tomorrow, we all would not repeat those same mistakes. However, the way to do it is for them to learn the hard way and the people of Ghana would have to show them by giving them the exit so that they go back into Opposition, learn a better lesson so that the next time when they have an opportunity, they would come back much better prepared and also use less sweet promises that absolutely cannot be substantiated.

Mr Speaker, let me just finish by saying as well that leadership is critical. Leadership simply means that we need to have the moral conviction, strength of character to do what it is we are appointed to do without having to find excuses. Enough of the excuses; they have barely one year to go. Use the one year to do what it is that they have because effectively, by the close of 2020, the Hon Majority Leader would be leading you to come to this Side and we on this Side would be reverting to their Side for the job to continue and for us to bring about the real development that this country is yearning for.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Samuel Ayeh-Paye (NPP -- Ayensuano) 4:58 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to support the Motion on the Floor -- the 2019 Mid-Year Review and revised Budget.
Mr Speaker, first and foremost, I would want to thank H. E. the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the managers of the economy for being a listening government on the removal of the luxury vehicle tax. The luxury vehicle tax had a bit of controversy in its implementation. That had to do with the definition of what a luxury vehicle is. Defining a luxury vehicle by the
capacity of the engine of the vehicle makes its implementation very difficult.
Mr Speaker, the stakeholders in the road transport industry made several appeals to H. E. the President for the review of this tax. The President being a listening person has listened to the cry of the stakeholders in the industry and has withdrawn this tax. We say, thank you, Mr President. It is not a threat by anybody that caused the President and managers of the economy to withdraw the tax. It is a fact that the stakeholders in the industry appealed to the President and the managers of the economy and that has resulted in the withdrawal of this tax.
Mr Speaker, paragraph 210 on page 44 of the Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review of the 2019 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, states and with your permission, I beg to quote:
“Fish Landing Sites:
Mr Speaker, I am happy to announce that His Excellency the President has cut the sod for the construction of the Axim and Moree fish landing sites. Work on the remaining fish landing sites along the coastal stretch
Mr Samuel Ayeh-Paye (NPP -- Ayensuano) 4:58 p.m.
has commenced. These are James Town, Dixcove, Elmina, Mumford, Winneba, Senya Bereku, Keta, Gomoa Feteh and Teshie.”
Mr Speaker, it is therefore very wrong for any Hon Member of Parliament to be on his feet and say that the Ministry of Transport has not been mentioned at all in this Mid-Year Budget Review of 2019.
Mr Speaker, these projects are being sponsored by the CDB loan. The contract agreement was laid in this House. Your good self referred this contract agreement to the Committee on Roads and Transport. The Committee sat on it and reported to this House. So this is clearly under the supervision of the Ministry of Transport. It is wrong for any Hon Member to be on his feet and say that the Ministry of Transport has not been mentioned in the Mid-Year Budget Review.
Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Roads and Highways did not cancel the cocoa road contracts with con- tractors. What happened was that the Ministry of Roads and Highways suspended them. There is a difference between cancellation of a contract and suspension of a contract. The suspension came for a reason.

Mr Speaker, so, when we took office in 2017, it was then proper for us to take a second look at those contracts. The reason is that the loans that were contracted were even below GH¢5.1 billion. So, if this current Government decided not to buy any cocoa beans, inputs for cocoa farmers and used the whole syndicated loan for road construction, we would still need to borrow before we could pay the GH¢5.1 billion.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:58 p.m.
Hon Member, the Ranking Member is on his feet.
Yes?
Mr Agbodza 4:58 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my Hon Chairman kept referring to COCOBOD awarding projects up to GH¢5 billion. You would remember when I was making my submission, I said the issue of cocoa roads has been so polarised that the only way to
address it conclusively is to institute an enquiry so that we know the facts. There is no record anywhere that states that contracts for projects worth about GH¢5 billion were awarded.
Secondly, he said COCOBOD did not cancel any project. I hold in my hand termination letters of some of the contracts written by COCOBOD. So what is my Hon Chairman talking about? He should update himself.
Mr Speaker, I still insist that this House must institute an independent enquiry into the conduct of COCOBOD in the matter of cocoa roads so that the country knows the truth. It is very important.
Mr Ayeh-Paye 4:58 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I still insist and I would refer him to the Committee's Budget Report for 2018 that the Committee of which he is an Hon Ranking Member submitted a Report to this House. The information we have from the Ministry of Roads and Highways from the COCOBOD indicates clearly that a contract to the tune of GH¢5.1 billion was awarded. That is why COCOBOD decided to form an audit committee to audit and find out what went wrong.
Mr Speaker, he talked about termination of contract. I challenge the very document that he is referring to. What was written to contractors was to suspend the work for the auditing to go on.
Mr Speaker, all those road contractors who raised certificates to be paid have been paid, and he is aware that COCOBOD has paid those contractors and some of them have returned to work.
Mr Speaker, when we go to the Sefwi Akontombra road, the contractor was asked to stop work. After auditing, the contractor has been paid and he is on the road working. What is he talking about? I challenged the very termination letter that he has pulled in this House.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:08 a.m.
Hon Chairman, he has copies of what he is referring to as termination, and he is prepared to lay it on the Table and you are challenging it.
Does he go on to lay it? It is now words; you said they were suspended, he said they were terminated.
Mr Ayeh-Paye 5:08 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the fact is that --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:08 a.m.
Hon Chairman, with all that you are saying, you are supporting his call for an enquiry. This is because you are saying that normally, there would be no proper conduct in terminating a contract that has been partly performed and not yet paid for. So, if he has said that it has been terminated and you disagree with him because they were not terminated but suspended. The Hon Member has the letters from COCOBOD terminating those contracts, yet you are saying that it is not true.
So, you are supporting his call for an investigation into that matter.
Mr Agbodza 5:08 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I hold a letter from COCOBOD and I would lay it on the Table. The letter is addressed to the Managing Director of Core Construction Limited and the title is —
“Rehabilitation/Upgrading/ Reconstruction of Roads in Cocoa Growing Areas. Con- tract Title: Partial Reconstruction of Access Roads to New Tafo (5.2 KM). Notice of Termina- tion of Contract.”
Some Hon Members 5:08 a.m.
Date?
Mr Agbodza 5:08 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I thought the Majority side would furnish us with information. I hold in my hand, a whole list of projects that they suspended including a road leading to the President's --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:08 a.m.
Suspension?
Mr Agbodza 5:08 a.m.
Mr Speaker, there were two stages; there were projects that they suspended and asked the contractors to go back to work and there were, projects that they suspended and were re-scoping, and projects that they terminated. What I am saying is that even with the partial reconstruction of Apedwa-Kyebi- Bonsu road -- which leads to the
hometown of the President, 70 per cent of the work was done as of the time he asked for the suspension of the project.
Mr Speaker, I could lay this on the Table --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:08 a.m.
You agree on the suspension, but the area of disagreement is on termination.
Mr Agbodza 5:08 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I just read the letter and it is on termination.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:08 a.m.
Yes, that is all. So, do not go to the suspension because it is correct and you support him. However, you are saying that there were some road contracts that were terminated, but the Hon Chairman disagrees with you and that is the bone of contention.
Mr Agbodza 5:08 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I have more evidence but I just brought seven contracts that have been terminated to prove to him because I knew that he would deny them. I have said that I could lay it on the Table because these projects have been terminated.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:08 a.m.
Well, this is not the time to really go into this matter and to call for an enquiry. This is a Motion to approve or disapprove and so let us focus on
debating this Motion and later on, you could refer it to any other Committee.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:08 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I believe that your directive is more appropriate. I think that the point that is being made by Hon Agbodza is that without any cause, COCOBOD intervened and termi- nated the contracts. He would not even know what might have caused it and that is the problem that he has, but he makes a categorical statement that it was done without any cause. Mr Speaker that is the danger that he is inviting to himself.
Mr Speaker, ultimately, if a project is terminated, it must be attributable to some cause. He does not know yet he makes a categorical statement on the Floor that it had no cause. This is the danger that he invites to himself.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:08 a.m.
Hon Majority Leader, that is the information available to him and that is what he has said but which is not conclusive. There should be a cause. There cannot be termination without a cause but the bone of contention is that one of them is saying that no contract was terminated and the other is saying that he has in his hands, letters that are terminating the contracts.
Mr A. Ibrahim 5:08 a.m.
Mr Speaker, since this is a House of records and the bone of contention is that no contract was terminated, but Hon Agbodza says that some contracts were terminated and he has evidence to that effect.
People would read the Hansard in future, and in order not to keep anybody in suspense, let the Hon Member lay the termination letters that he has so that anybody who reads the Hansard would have a meaningful understanding that the Hon Member who raised the issue of termination of contracts, produced evidence to confirm that some road contracts were truly terminated.
So, if you would give him the opportunity to lay the documents to suggest that it is true that some contracts were terminated, I think that this would put the issue to rest.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:08 a.m.
Well, nothing prevents him from laying those letters on the Table. He
proposed that but he did not push further. So, Hon Member, you could lay the letters to prove your case.
Mr Agbodza 5:08 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would lay them on the Table and the Hon Leader suggested that I said there was no cause for the termination. I also do procurement and from what I have read, it was important for those who carried out the review to publish the details of the review. The fact that COCOBOD --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:08 a.m.
Hon Member, you are dwelling on the issue of enquiry. You are to lay the letters on the Table and then we would move on. When we get to that stage we would enquire into all those issues. You said they were seven contracts.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:08 a.m.
Table Office, the letters are now in the possession of the House. Let me see the copies of what he has laid. Take possession of the documents and let me have sight of them.
Hon Member, conclude.
Mr Ayeh-Paye 5:08 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I therefore want to say that with prudent economic management and
management of the proceeds from cocoa, this Government has set aside substantial amounts of money to undertake routine maintenance of trunk roads of 1,362 kilometres, feeder roads of 1,389 kilometres and urban roads of 183 kilometres. This is what the current Government is doing to improve the roads within the cocoa growing areas.
Mr Speaker, I also want to say that in respect of the improvement on the road projects, the Sinohydro project is ongoing. As we speak, the Hon Minister for Roads and Highways and his team are in Tamale to see to the construction of the Tamale Inter- change and some selected roads within Tamale, Central Region, Brong Ahafo Region and other regions where the Sinohydro project is being implemented.
I also want to add to the facts that the Ministry of Roads and Highways is doing everything within its budget to ensure that before the end of 2019, the roads in this country would be of very good shape.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:18 p.m.
Hon Member, just a minute.
Mr Samuel N. George 5:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, with the greatest respect, I know we have created six new regions. I am unaware of a Tamale Region. In mentioning regions, he said Tamale Region. I would want to know which region is Tamale Region, whether the President has notified the House of a seventh new region.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:18 p.m.
Hon Member?
Mr Ayeh-Paye 5:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I did not say Tamale Region. I said Tamale and other regions. That is what I said. I did not say Tamale is a region. I mentioned the interchange in Tamale and other road projects in other regions. This is what I said. I did not say Tamale Region. I know Tamale is not a region. The interchange would be constructed in Tamale.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:18 p.m.
That is an executive summary, and so we should accept it.
Yes, Hon Chairman of the Finance Committee?
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:18 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr Speaker, I heard him say an interchange is going to be built in Tamale. I wanted to be sure because not long ago we approved the Tamale Water Project of about GH¢270 million. Are they also getting an interchange at the same Tamale?
rose
Mr Ayeh-Paye 5:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, they must thank the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo led Government. I was happy when I listened to the Hon Minority Leader very well when he was praising the current President for that project which would change the face of Tamale, one of the fastest growing cities in West Africa.
Mr Speaker, I do not understand why Hon Inusah Fuseini is still on his feet.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:18 p.m.
Well, I would give him the opportunity to react to it.
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:18 p.m.
Hon Minority Leader, I wanted Hon
Inusah Fuseini to speak because he referred to him copiously.
Mr Iddrisu 5:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it is his mother's funeral, and so I cannot wail more than him.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:18 p.m.
Hon Minority Leader, you can go on.
Mr Iddrisu 5:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, Hon Inusah Fuseini was the Minister for Roads and Highways for the Republic of Ghana and was not self-serving. He could give to himself credit that the “Circle Dubai” as they did not want it to happen of an overpass happened. In fact, the Kasoa overpass happened. He even initiated the Obetsebi Lamptey circle overpass which they are still struggling to see through. My Hon Colleague can debate.
Mr Ayeh-Paye 5:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:18 p.m.
Well, your last sentence.
Mr Ayeh-Paye 5:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the real Dubai that the Hon Minority Leader talked about would very soon be seen in the centre of Tamale.
Mr Speaker, in conclusion, I would want to say that the road sector is saddled with a lot of debts, the reason being that the previous NDC Govern- ment awarded several contracts haphazardly without looking at the budget of the Ministry of Roads and Highways.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:18 p.m.
Hon Member, your time is up.
Mr Ayeh-Paye 5:18 p.m.
Thank you Mr Speaker.
Alhaji: Mr Speaker --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:18 p.m.
Hon Inusah Fuseini, I thought --
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 5:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, there cannot be haphazard award of contracts. There is nothing like that. He is the Hon Chairman of the Committee on Roads and Transport. Contracts are for durations. So when he says a contract has been awarded at an amount of money, it does not go into the budget of one year. It is for work done. In Ghana, work is paid in arrears, so one can award a contract of GH¢50 million, but the contractor might finally be paid GH¢30 million for the work he has done.
So if he says haphazard award of contract - In fact, you can even award a contract, and the contractor would
not go to site. Even if you award a contract, the contractor would have to raise money to go to site. If he is unable to raise money, he cannot go to site. So that is not haphazard award of contract. I have always tried to explain to the Hon Chairman of the Roads and Transport Committee, who is my friend, that this is not how it is. Contract administration is different.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:18 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader, we need some guidance. We might have to take a suspension and come back in about 30 minute's time. We would take a suspension and come back to continue with Business. That is after the laying of Papers.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we would do the laying of the Papers except that if a person making a submission sits, space would not be created for a point of order to be made. If a point of order has been granted after a person has sat, that person must be given the opportunity to come back.
If the Hon Member could be given, maybe, a minute to respond to the point of order, then I would come back to what needs to be done.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:18 p.m.
What he simply did was a point of information. It was actually not a
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would yield to that.
I guess we can attend to the Business on the Order Paper Addendum 3 for just laying of Papers.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:18 p.m.
Hon Members, Order Paper Addendum 3 -- Item numbered 1, presentation of Papers.
PAPERS 5:18 p.m.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:28 a.m.
Item numbered 2 -- Presentation and first Reading of Bills. Hon Majority Leader, are we taking that?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:28 a.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker. The Hon Deputy Minister for Finance is here so could we indulge her to do the business on behalf of the substantive Minister for Finance?
Mr Iddrisu 5:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Deputy Minister has been here following the debate on the Mid-year Budget Review so she has the capacity to do so on behalf of the Hon Minister and she is one of us. Noting that, in September, those who are under threat -- [Laughter]
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:28 a.m.
Hon Members, item numbered 2.
BILLS -- FIRST READING 5:28 a.m.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:28 a.m.
Hon Members, do we add another Committee because it is dealing with communication service tax?
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:28 a.m.
Hon Chairman, what is the problem?
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I saw the newly installed Chairman of the Committee on Communications rise up to try to join in this matter. This is strictly a tax Bill regardless of the name. It resides with the Committee on Finance so he should hold his peace.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:28 a.m.
I know it is a tax Bill but the tax is placed on something.
Mr Opare-Ansah 5:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, if you listened to the Hon Deputy Minister for Finance yesterday, the reason for even introducing this tax was to create a viable technological ecosystem, which is the reason and rationale for the institution of this
particular tax. It would be very useful that during the consideration of the imposition of this additional tax, the Committee on Finance would have the input of the Committee on Communications.
So, Mr Speaker, we apply that you do this as a joint referral.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I know that you have vested interest in this Bill.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:28 a.m.
The Speaker has vested interest?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:28 a.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker. Having rechristened this tax as “talk tax” --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:28 a.m.
Is that my vested interest? [Laughter]
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I believe that the Hon Chairman of the Committee on Communications himself is already on the Committee for Finance so the referral to the Committee on Finance is sufficient. He does not even have enough time so let the Finance Committee do it.
Mr Iddrisu 5:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the referral is appropriate to the Commi- ttee on Finance but I would make an application for the Leadership of the Communications Committee to officially join. This is because technology is changing very fast and they need to know which corners to get this tax. -- [Laughter] --
Mr Speaker, the Hon Majority Leader said gyae w'asem -- Mr Speaker, technology is changing very fast and they need to understand. The Hon Chairman of the Committee understands this internet protocol (IP) issues. In times past, we were all doing voice. The world has moved beyond voice so the Leadership of Committee on Communications may help them to rake in more. It is possible.
It is not just a matter of finance but we have gone beyond just voice. Communication today is not about “hello, hello” so to get those other aspects, I think that you should allow the Leadership to sit in to guide them. [Interruption] -- He would be there in his capacity as -- the knowledge here and the experience here -- are you not there?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:28 a.m.
Hon Members, definitely, the Committee would allow friends. Any
Member of the House could sit in and contribute to the discussions at the Committee level.
So, we would move to item numbered 2 (b)
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:28 a.m.
I encourage the various sectors dealing with this to participate and assist the Committee on Finance.
BILLS -- FIRST READING 5:28 a.m.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:28 a.m.
Again, I would encourage the Committee on Transport to support the Committee in the consideration and report to the House.
Hon Chairman of the Finance Committee, you were on your feet.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, when you said you were encouraging other Committees, I was not clear on it but my Hon Colleague from Suhum has explained that this is an encouragement.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:28 a.m.
Was that the word you heard and you did not understand?
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 5:28 a.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker. But I am fine now.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:28 a.m.
Hon Majority Leader, any guidance or we take the Suspension now?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, we would soon take the Suspension.
Mr Speaker, when you asked the Hon Chairman of the Finance Committee whether he heard you and did not understand, I heard him say yes to you. What is the import of that? If he heard you and did not understand, he should have told you no he did not understand but he said yes. What does it mean?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:28 a.m.
Well, he realised that he made a mistake by saying yes so he said no. [Laughter.]
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, we can take the Suspension
Mr Opare-Ansah 5:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the time and place appointed for Parliament to Sit lies with the Speaker and not the Hon Majority Leader, so why is the Hon Majority Leader telling us when Parliament would Sit tomorrow?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:38 p.m.
Well, the Hon Speaker said it this morning but he said 10 ‘O' clock in the forenoon. He is trying to vary that to say it would not be at 10.00 a.m., it would be 9:30 a.m. prompt. As for the venue, it has already been decided.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, also to remind Hon Members that it is important to be
very regular in this House and to be here timeously.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 7:10 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader, sometimes do not allow Hon Members to pull you into these corners.
The House is suspended for one hour. We will be back to continue with the remaining business for the day.

Sitting suspended.

Sitting Resumed --
MR FIRST DEPUTY SPEAKER
Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:10 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 7:10 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we got to item numbered 12 on the original Order Paper, page 4.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:10 p.m.
Hon Members, we would move on to item numbered 12, which is on page 4 of the Order Paper - University of Business and Integrated Development Studies Bill, 2018 at the Consideration Stage.
BILLS -- CONSIDERATION 7:10 p.m.
STAGE 7:10 p.m.
Mr Quaitoo 7:10 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 1, subclause (1), redraft as follows:
“There is established by this Act the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies as a body corporate with perpetual succession”.
Mr Speaker, in clause 1(1), we seek to replace what is in the Bill with the amendment proposed here.
Mr Iddrisu 7:10 p.m.
Mr Speaker, for consistency purposes, I am examining Act 898, which is on the University of Environment and Sustainable Development Act, 2015, and it reads: “there is established by this Act, a body corporate with perpetual succession, to be known as the University of Environment and Sustainable Development.”
Mr Speaker, I have seen a turn around. In this same House, only few
Bills in 2015 used this language. It says: “there is established by this Act, a body corporate with perpetual succession to be known as the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies.”
The Hon Chairman must convince me why he would not accept that, but would rather want us to accept this new rendition which says: “There is established by this Act the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies as a body corporate with perpetual succession.”
Mr Speaker, it is just a turnaround of the words. It means that we are establishing a University, which would be a body corporate. We intend that it would have perpetual succession and to sue and be sued. However, as I said, in Act 898, I saw the word “University”, come before the words: “corporate” and “perpetual succession.” Therefore, I need to be convinced why I should support this.
Mr Ahiafor 7:10 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it used to be the case that the rendition in the previous laws was: “there is established by this Act, a body corporate with perpetual succession to be known as the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies referred to in this Act as the University.”
Mr Speaker, the phrase 7:10 p.m.
“the University with perpetual succession,” is still in this new rendition. The body corporate nature of the University is also in this particular new rendition. So in short, this is the modern rendition of the House.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:10 p.m.
After many Hon Members did a course in drafting, drafting style also changed. I would listen to the Hon Second Deputy Speaker, and get back to the Hon Chairman of the Committee.
Mr Bagbin 7:10 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in Act 828, we have the University of Health and Allied Sciences Act of 2011. In Act 898, we have the University of Environment and Sustainable Development Act. Again, we have the University of Technology and Applied Sciences Act.
Mr Speaker, in all of these, the new rendition proposed by the Committee now is what has expression in all these Acts. It says: “There is established by this Act a body corporate, with perpetual succession to be known as the University of Environment and Sustainable Development”.
In Act 828, it says: “There is established by this Act, a body corporate with perpetual succession, to be known as the University of Health and Allied Sciences…”
We then have the recent one, which is the University of Technology and Applied Sciences. It says: “there is established by this Act, a body corporate with perpetual, succession to be known…” This is what is captured in the Bills that I have.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:10 p.m.
Theirs was amended.
Mr Bagbin 7:10 p.m.
That one was amended, and it is a recent development. So we have departed from -- [Interruption] -- the editions are becoming too many.
Mr Quaitoo 7:10 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we have moved away from what the Hon Second Deputy Speaker just read to us. In the last Bill, which is the University of Technology and Applied
Sciences Bill, we amended this rendition, as is rightly quoted.
The old rendition, which has the phrase: “to be known as…” makes it a bit futuristic. We are establishing it now. We have now taken that phrase out of it. There are about four or five Bills that we have done recently, which all have this new rendition.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 7:20 a.m.
Mr Speaker, apart from that, the central issue that confronts us, by this Act we are establishing a university. That university should be a body corporate, so the emphasis is on the establishment of the university. This is the reason we have had to change the rendition. As for the other angle, which is taking the phrase: “it shall be known as” from it, it indeed makes it futuristic, but that is a drafting style.
Mr Speaker, therefore, it should rather read 7:20 a.m.
“There is established by this Act, the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies as a body corporate with perpetual succession…”
Mr Speaker, the little problem that I have there is, if we say that there is established by this Act the University of Business and Integrated Develop- ment Studies as a body corporate…, the university in the form that it is established, is a body corporate. So, I thought it should rather read:
“There is established by this Act, the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies which is a body corporate with perpetual succession…”
The emphasis is on the University that we are establishing. The university that we are establishing is a body corporate. I think there is a thin line of distinction.
Mr Iddrisu 7:20 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the proposal by the Hon Chairman was receiving support, except that he has now gone further to emphasise that he does not want the words ‘to be known as' and that it is futuristic.
Mr Speaker, when we are doing baptism or even naming of a child, what do we tell the world? He is to be known and called “Iddrisu” or “Quaittoo”. -- [Interruption]-- so, this language of “take away to be known as” — one, we are establishing the university; two, we are providing a name for the university. So there is nothing wrong with those words; I
Alhaji Inusah A. B. Fuseini 7:20 a.m.
Mr Speaker, it is a drafting style and Hon Majority Leader is right, except that because the drafting style has changed, we cannot use ‘to be known as'. If we had started with, ‘there is established a body corporate with perpetual succession', then, ‘to be known' as would come. But because the style has changed, we are now establishing the university. So, when we establish the university, we are establishing it as ‘a body corporate'. As for ‘perpetual' succession', it is actually a feature of ‘body corporate'.
Mr Quaittoo 7:20 a.m.
Mr Speaker, if they want more recent Bills, there is Chartered Institute of Human Resources; Chartered Institute of Taxation and all of them come after this and they follow this same trend. Maybe, we did not take notice of them.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:20 a.m.
Yes, Mr Second Deputy Speaker?
Mr Bagbin 7:20 a.m.
Mr Speaker, if they are minded to phrase it this way, then it should be ‘a university' not ‘the university'. If we say there is established by this Act, a university of …not ‘the university'. Where is the ‘the' coming from?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 7:20 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the definite article, ‘the' is required because if we had said that, there is established by this Act, a university to be known as the… but we are now establishing the university by this Act and that is why we need to employ the definite article, ‘the'. So, there is established by this Act, the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies as a body corporate with perpetual succession.
Mr Speaker, that is it.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:20 a.m.
Item, numbered (ii), Hon Chairman?
Mr Quaittoo 7:20 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 1 subclause (2), line 1, delete “its functions” and insert “the functions of the University” and in line 2, delete “movable or immovable”.
So the new rendition would read:
“For the performance of the functions of the University, the University may acquire and hold property, dispose of property and enter into any contract or other transaction that relates to the aims of the University”.
Mr Ahiafor 7:20 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I urge the Hon Chairman to do the amendment one after the other because in line 1, the first amendment is to amend “its functions” to “the functions of the University” before we come to the issues relating to property.
Mr Quaittoo 7:20 a.m.
Do you have an Order Paper?
Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:20 a.m.
If you would speak to me, or you want to question him?
Mr Quaittoo 7:20 a.m.
I would like to find out if he has an Order Paper?
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 7:20 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Chairman has read the amendment as advertised on the Order Paper and he is correct. Indeed, we are deleting ‘its' but it would be neater if we delete ‘its functions' and state it fully; ‘the functions of the University'. And in line 2, we delete ‘immovable' and ‘movable'.
Mr Anyimadu-Antwi 7:20 a.m.
Mr Speaker, with respect, I am inviting the Hon Chairman to consider a further amendment. What if we avoid ‘‘for the performance of its functions'' and go straight for the University may acquire and hold movable and immovable property''?
This is because I am trying to avoid an error of redundancy where we have ‘the University', ‘the University'. We would rather have, his proposal, ‘for performance of the functions of the University', then, we continue with ‘the University may acquire and hold movable and immovable property - [Interruption]- so ‘movable and ‘immovable' could be deleted.
Mr Speaker, I propose that we could start with 7:30 p.m.
“…the university may acquire and hold property, dispose of
property and enter into any contract of other transaction''.
Mr Speaker, this is straight forward and does not change anything.
Mr Dafeamekpor 7:30 p.m.
Mr Speaker, indeed, I support the freshest proposition made by Hon Anyimadu- Antwi. His proposition simplifies the clause in question because “property'' could be either movable or immovable -- and we have crafted Bills in this House recently to that effect deleting “movable'' or “immovable'' to qualify it.
In addition, I further agree that we must delete the other aspect of the clause which simplifies it to say that the university could enter into any contract.
Mr Quaitto 7:30 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would want to propose a new amendment to read:
“For the performance of the functions of the University, the University may acquire and hold property, dispose of property and enter into any contract or other transaction that relates to the aims of the University.''
Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:30 p.m.
There are two proposals before me. There is a proposal as advertised on
the Order Paper and another proposal by the Hon Member for Asante Akim Central, supported by the Hon Member for South Dayi.
Alhaji I.A.B.Fuseini 7:30 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I oppose the amendment by the Hon Member for Asante Akim Central and supported by Hon Member for South Dayi. The University can only acquire property for the performance of its functions. If the University acquires a brothel, that is a property and would it therefore be for the performance of its functions? [Interruption]. —It is IGF? [Laughter] —That is why it is important to state that they could only acquire property for the performance of their functions.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:30 p.m.
Hon Member, somebody has said that it is IGF -- for the performance of its functions. [Laughter.]
Mr Dafeamekpor 7:30 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in item numbered (v) on page 5 on the Order Paper it has been proposed that the University would establish schools which would include;
(a) School of Business;
(b) School of Law;
(c) School of Social Studies;
(d) School of Education and Life-Long Learning;
(e) School of Information and Communication Technology; and
(f) any other School, Centre or Institute that the Council may determine.''
So, at a future date, the Council may see the need to establish a School of Hospitality Studies. In furtherance of that if they acquire hotels, it would be in the performance.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:30 p.m.
The proposition was not “hotels'' the Hon Member said a brothel do you suggest that that would be in furtherance of a Hospitality Management Studies? Let the Hansard not reflect that these were your words, please.
Mr Anyimadu-Antwi 7:30 p.m.
Mr Speaker, by my rendition the aim is to make the phrase very clean and I think that the words “for the performance of its functions'' does nothing. Once we state that the “University may acquire and hold property, dispose of property'' the power is given to it to do it.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:30 p.m.
It is intended to be a caveat such that it cannot hold property just for the sake
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 7:30 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thought I heard you say that you would put the Question on the amendment proposed by the Hon Member for --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:30 p.m.
I would ignore his proposal -- and he has accepted that.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 7:30 p.m.
Mr Speaker, there is a minor amendment that I would want to propose and I know that this is how we have been crafting it.
“For the performance of the functions of the University, the University may acquire and hold property, dispose of property and enter into any contract or other transaction that relates to the aims of the University''.
That is what we have been doing, but I am just thinking whether it is not an overkill saying that; “the University may acquire and hold property,
dispose of property''. So, why do we not say, “may acquire and hold or dispose of property'', so that the word “property'', may feature once but because this is the standard, if we want it like that or we could leave it with the draftpersons.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:30 p.m.
Item numbered (iii), by the Hon Chairman of the Committee?
Mr Quaitto 7:30 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the amendment the Hon Majority Leader, just proposed cannot hold.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:30 p.m.
Which amendment -- there is no amendment.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:30 p.m.
Hon Chairman of the Committee, if you would move back to a different seat, it would help you because the Hon Majority Leader is always gesturing and when he does that you know that -- [Laughter] -- so, if you move to a different seat , you would not be interrupted with it.
Mr Quaitto 7:30 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I oppose the amendment he just proposed -- [Interruption] -- then he should withdraw his amendment.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:30 p.m.
I put the Question on only what is in the Order Paper and that is what we took the decision on.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 7:30 p.m.
Mr Speaker, just so that we have the word “property'' feature once in that line, I proposed that it should be:
“…acquire and hold or dispose of property''.
That was what I said but upon reflection, I realised that we cannot say that we can “hold of property”, we rather “hold property” and dispose of property. So, how it is crafted here, is appropriate. I told him and he wants to use it against him.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:30 p.m.
I am surprised. I gave him the opportunity to move item numbered (iii) and he was rather arguing over what I have put the Question on already.
Mr Quaitto 7:30 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 1, subclause (3), delete.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:40 p.m.
Hon Member, tell us the rationale before anybody contributes.

Yes, Ranking Member?
Mr Quaittoo 7:40 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the rationale was that if we look at clause 41(7), Transitional Provisions has taken care of the amendment proposed. So, we decided that the clause 41(7) should remain to take care of the clause 1(3) which should be deleted.
Mr Ahiafor 7:40 p.m.
Mr Speaker, to further support the Hon Chairman of the Committee, the clause being deleted is more or less a transitional provision. It has been adequately taken care of by clause 41(7) of the same law. As a result, it is redundant and it is more suitable under clause 41(7) which is solely on Transitional Provisions. So, I support the amendment.
Mr Iddrisu 7:40 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I get the justification of the Hon Chairman and Members of the Committee but we are aware of two policy principles underpinning this?
The University for Development Studies is being split into three which is consistent with government policy that each region shall have one university. So, there are discussions about Wa, Tamale and Navrongo and the University has property in all of these towns.
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 7:40 p.m.
Mr Speaker, this subclause (3), that provision would be spent. It would no longer have any relevance in this Bill. That is why it does not belong to this place.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 7:40 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member for Tamale Central is very right.
Mr Speaker, to respond to what the Hon Minority Leader and Member for Tamale South said that he does not see anywhere where additional infrastructure may be built or acquired. That is what we just dealt with. It is in clause 1(2). There is adequate provision for that.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Mr Quaittoo 7:40 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 1 subclause (4), lines 1 and 2, delete “immovable property, the immovable property” and insert “land, the land”.
So, the new rendition reads:
“Where there is a hindrance to the acquisition of land, the land may be acquired for the University under the State Lands Act, 1962 (Act 125)…”
Mr Banda 7:40 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we realised that there is a correlation between clause 1(2) and clause 1(4). Clause 1(2) refers to a situation where the University may acquire property. Then clause 1(4) says that:
“Where there is a hindrance…”
Mr Speaker, the correct word in the State Lands Act, 1962 (Act 125) is not property; it is land. The State Lands Act uses “land”. The practice has been that we have been using “property”. If we intend to use “property” then we should use “property” throughout but if we intend to use the correct word in the Act, then I Would want to propose that we should use “land” in clause 1(4) and also in clause 1(2). It is so because there is a correlation between clause 1(2) and (4).
Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:40 p.m.
Hon Member, in clause 1(2), do you mean they cannot acquire vehicles? Vehicles are property but in this one they are specifically limiting it to “land”.
Mr Banda 7:40 p.m.
Very well, Mr Speaker, I take a cue but the Hon Chairman of the Committee is right because we cannot use “land” and then say “landed”. The correct word is land; it ought to be used in the second leg of his proposed amendment.
Mr Shaibu 7:40 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am most grateful. For once, I disagreed with my Hon Chairman. The reason actually is because of the reference to the State Lands Act. That is all.
Property could be vehicle or any other thing but this is specific to land. Because the reference is to the State Lands Act, we must use the word, “land”.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:40 p.m.
There is no further amendment before me -- [Interruption] --
Yes, Hon Majority Leader?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 7:40 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I do not exactly remember what we did in line 3. Are we still going for “costs” or “cost”?
Mr Quaittoo 7:40 p.m.
No, it should be “cost” and not “costs”. The “s” is not there.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:50 p.m.
I think that should be clerical. I direct that the Clerks-at-the-Table make the correction, but I would put the Question on the proposed amendment.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Clause 1 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clause 2 -- Aims of the University.

to move, clause 2, paragraph (i), delete and insert the following:

“(2) To achieve the aims of subsection (1), the University shall emphasise studies in business and integrated development studies and shall have a

(a) School of Business;

(b) School of Law;

(c) School of Social Studies;

(d) School of Education and Life-Long Learning;

(e) School of Information and Communications Tech- nology; and

(f) any other School, Centre or Institute that the Council may determine.”

Mr Speaker, so, we are deleting the whole of (i) and replacing it with the advertised amendment.
Alhaji I.A.B.Fuseini 7:50 p.m.
Mr Speaker, that is the formulation that we have used in all the universities, so it is for consistency. I support the Hon Chairman's amendment and the only reason that (i) is there is to achieve

Mr Speaker, no, we just have to say “To achieve the aims of the University”. So, I beg to propose a further amendment to delete “subsection (1)” and insert “the university”. So, we just wanted to delete “For the purpose of achieving the aims of the university” and by making it simple we would insert “To achieve the aims of the University”.

Mr Speaker, so, I agree to the amendment except to add the further amendment that I have proposed.
Mr Iddrisu 7:50 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I believe that the Hon Chairman should maintain what is in the Bill; “For the purpose of achieving the aims of the University, the University shall emphasise studies in business and integrated development studies …”
Mr Speaker, even adding “For the purpose of achieving the aims of the University” may not be necessary with the subclause (2). Mr Speaker, we are doing what is appropriate as Parliament because many of the universities are deviating from what their core emphasis should be. So the essence of (2) is that even though we have defined generally what would be the aims of the university, we would
want to particularise and that is for them to emphasise studies in business and integrated development studies. We would then proceed with naming the faculties.
So the Hon Chairman should abandon his amendment and maintain what is in the original Bill. So, this would become a clause 2 (2) of the Bill. There has to be a clause 2(1) which would marry paragraphs (a), (b), (c) up to (i) and the one we are discussing would stand on its own as subclause (2) so that this Parliament would have emphasised that it should not just be any other university that would do what it pleases. The university must keep itself to the mandate that Parliament is granting it.
.
Mr Quaittoo 7:50 p.m.
Mr Speaker, when you look at the Aims of the University on page 4, we should have a clause (1) and that is the subsection (1) that we are referring to. Then paragraph (i) on page 5 of the Order Paper would then become subclause (2) in the Bill.
Mr Speaker, so the Aims of the University would be clause 2(1) and under it we would have pargraphs (a), (b), (c) up to (h). Then paragraph (i) would change to subclause (2) which
would read: “To achieve the aims of subsection (1) …”
Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:50 p.m.
Hon Member for Asante Akyem Central?
Mr Anyimadu-Antwi 7:50 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my worry is on setting up of the schools that the university must have. Under paragraph (f), there is the omnibus clause that the Council may determine whatever school that they want to set up. But saying that they shall have (a) School of Business; (b) School of Law; (c) School of Social Studies; (d) School of Education and Life-Long Learning; (e) School of Information and Communications Technology; -- then what would happen if at any point in time the university is not able to set up any of these schools? Would the university then cease to be what we are? Mr Speaker, because the words are very strong. It reads:
“… shall have a (a) School of Business; (b) School of Law; (c) School of Social Studies...”
These are basic schools that the university must have at any material time. This is my understanding.
Are we saying that at any point in time these schools would be established in addition to what the Council would want to add? Mr
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 7:50 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we have determined in this House that we intend to prevent the established universities from drifting from their core business. So we are establishing these schools, centres or institutes as the core areas of study. Mr Speaker, maybe we should introduce an insertion in (2)(f) as we did for the university in Navrongo. We said that “any other relevant school, centre or institute that the Council may determine.”

Mr Speaker, we should not listen to the Hon Member for Asante Akyem Central -- [Laughter] -- He is minded to pollute and dilute what we want to do.
Mr Quaittoo 8 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in the University of Health and Allied Sciences Technology Bill we said
“any other relevant integrated technology and applied sciences …”

That is what we said. So if we are bringing it here, paragraph(f) would become “any other relevant business and integrated development studies” or ‘‘any other relevant business and integrated development school''. So the relevance is being linked to the core functions of the University.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8 p.m.
Yes, Hon Ranking Member of the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs?
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 8 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I support the Hon Majority Leader's amendment to clause 2(2) to insert in paragraph (f), after “other relevant”. That would tie in neatly with what this Bill seeks to achieve; to limit the University to pursuing its core mandate. So they should establish a school, a centre or an institute relevant to its core mandate.
Mr Speaker, further, we do not want them to be steeped in the past. In teaching information and communication technology, the current practice and trend is to teach innovative communication technology. That is what is in practice so that they always push the frontiers of innovation and not to be steeped in the past. So I am thinking and proposing that we
insert “innovation”, before “informa- tion” to read “school of innovation, information and communication technology”. They should be able to innovate. It is what is disturbing us in this country. We are not promoting innovation, which is our problem.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8 p.m.
Do we need to say there should be a school of innovation?
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 8 p.m.
So should we not establish a school of innovation?
Some Hon Members 8 p.m.
No.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8 p.m.
What was the amendment to the proposed amendment? I have one to draw your attention to.
Mr Quaittoo 8 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we are introducing the word “relevant” between “other” and “school” in paragraph (f) to read:
“(f) any other relevant School, Centre or Institute that the Council may determine.”
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8 p.m.
That is fine, but let me ask, could any university establish a law school or a
school of law apart from the one established by the Board for Legal Education?
Yes, Hon Member?
Mr Anyimadu-Antwi 8 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am tempted to believe that currently, all the existing universities choose whatever schools they would want to go into. In one for instance, we make a clause like “shall emphasise studies in business and integrated development”. It is wide. In some other schools, it talks about humanities --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8 p.m.
Here, they call it school of law. There is one school of law, by law established under the Board for Legal Education. Can any other university establish a school of law? If not, do we want to say a faculty of law because that is what applies everywhere?
Yes, Hon Member for Daboya?
Mr S. Mahama 8 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I appreciate where you are coming from because there is only one law school in Ghana. Indeed, the rest are faculties that feeds the Ghana School of Law but Parliament is vested with the power to create. My view is that, if we so choose to create a school of law, that could be an addition to the existing one.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8 p.m.
Yes, Hon Agbodza?
Mr Agbodza 8 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I think this House has got a very unique opportunity to deal with a thorny issue. This is Parliament. Your question is very interesting. Are we saying that this Parliament cannot make a law to create another school of law under the Council which you mentioned? I feel very sad that there is a subject matter that should be beyond discussion in this House; that we are barred from making a law simply because the school of law must be established by somebody else. Let us pass it this way and see whether --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8 p.m.
All I asked is, do we want to create a school of law or we would want to create a law faculty?
Mr Agbodza 8 p.m.
Mr Speaker, as far as I am concerned. I think we would want to create a school of law.
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 8 p.m.
Mr Speaker, within the University, we are not talking about the Ghana School of Law. Within a university there are hierarchies. There is an institute which is lower than a Centre, which is lower than a Department, which is lower than a Faculty, which is also lower than a School within the university.
When you have a school -- like the Faculty of Law is now the School of Law at the University of Ghana because it can hold its own congregation and give out certificates. When you have a Faculty of Law, it is a faculty as part of the Arts Department.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8 p.m.
Hon Member, you are misinforming the House. There is a Faculty of Arts which is different from the Faculty of Law, which is also different from the Faculty of Social Sciences. Under the faculties, there are departments, but the Faculty of Law is not under any other School or Faculty. What I want us to be clear in our minds is what we want to establish?
The School of Law as at now has come to be identified, as the post- graduate professional law programme
that is run by the General Legal Council operating through its Board of Legal Education. If that is not what we want to establish, this nomen- clature we are using here, “School of Law”, would generate confusion. That is what I wanted us to advert our minds to.
Mr Kyei- Mensah- Bonsu 8:10 p.m.
Mr Speaker, indeed, it appears there is some grey area there. Some years back, the Ghana Medical and Dental Council was the group that was responsible for the Medical School. I remember when the Medical School was established at KNUST at the time, the education of the students was truncated at year four, for them to continue at the University of Ghana Medical School. Eventually, a way out was found such that the Medical School at KNUST became a fully- fledged school that is in charge of awarding its own degrees.
Mr Speaker, is it being said that eternally, there would be only one School of Law in the country? That is not so and Parliament has within its powers to make a law, which is what was done years back to liberate the Medical School of KNUST. We cannot forever tie apron strings to one
School of Law. It cannot be done. However, we must find a way to wriggle ourselves out. Is it the case that on the face of this, we can make this law to establish a School of Law at the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies? If we cannot or we are not too sure, perhaps, we can stand that one down and ponder over it; do some other provisions and then come back to it later on.
Mr Mercer 8:10 p.m.
Mr Speaker, on this occasion, I tend to disagree with the Hon Majority Leader. The School of Law that is contemplated by the Ghana School of Law, strictly so called, trains professional lawyers. The Faculty of Law as we know it at the University of Ghana only provides academic training in law subjects. So the two are different as opposed to the Ghana Medical School as we know it and what pertained in KNUST that they had to find a way to resolve the issue.
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 8:10 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I just want to draw your
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 8:10 p.m.


attention to -- I know where we are all coming from. We all went to the Faculty of Law but today, the Faculty of Law is the School of Law.

“The University Of Ghana School Of Law invites applications for admission to its post-first degree LLB programme for the 2019/2020 academic year.”

Mr Speaker, it is a School of Law not a Faculty of Law. This is because now, they hold their own congregation under the University of Ghana.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:10 p.m.
They hold their own congregation?
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 8:10 p.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:10 p.m.
I think you are confusing us. Congregation is by the University; just that it has been broken down into various schools -- School of Engineering, et cetera. It does not mean that the School of Law is on its own. The certificate is issued by the University of Ghana. It is not a School of Law Certificate. That is what we must emphasise.
You may continue.
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 8:10 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am not saying that they issue their own certificates. If I am not coming out well, then probably, it is the way I am putting it. I am not saying that they issue their own certificates. They issue certificates of the University. However, because it is now an autonomous School of Law of the University of Ghana, just like the School of Business of the University of Ghana, they hold their own congregation at a time different from what we were used to, where all the schools and departments of the University organise one congregation and gave out certificates. It is different now.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:10 p.m.
It is different now because of the numbers. They have too many. In fact they do it for, sometimes, three weeks. A week for engineering, the following for arts and the next for social sciences. This is because the numbers are too large.
I did not know that Valley View University was running a whole week graduation -- Some in Accra, some in Techiman. I was invited as guest speaker for that of the Techiman campus but that is Valley View University. It is not because any one of them is independent. So I think we should not confuse the issues.
Mr Ayeh-Paye 8:10 p.m.
Mr Speaker, there is a current debate going on in the country as to whether the Ghana Law School at Makola should be the only law school which trains professional lawyers. So to me, it is important that we leave it as it is by calling that department, “School of Law” so that they have the opportunity to have an additional law school that would train professional lawyers apart from the one in Makola.
So this is an opportunity for us, as Parliament, to leave it as it is and if there is a way out, to put in a new clause that would cause this University to train professional lawyers. The Ghana Law School is claiming --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:10 p.m.
Hon Members, let us not generate any confusion. This Bill is not intended to set up a school to train professional lawyers. The memorandum is very clear on what it sets out to do. I am only drawing your attention as to whether the name used here would not generate confusion. The law that regulates training of professional lawyers is the Legal Profession Act 1960 (Act 32). The hierarchy is given.
Nobody can issue a qualifying certificate of law for anybody trained anywhere other than the person trained under the Legal Education Regulations. So let us not introduce
any confusion to this Bill. What they call “school” here in my mind is like a faculty. The only thing I am worried about is that calling it a School of Law may generate confusion. So let us streamline that other than that the intendment of the establishment of this University is very clear.
Mr Anyimadu-Antwi 8:10 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I was wondering whether we need to legislate that schools or faculties must be created in order to achieve what we intend. I would have suggested that we could have said that, “For the purposes of achieving the aims of the University, the University shall emphasise studies in business, law, social studies, education and lifelong learning, information and communication technology and any other school, centre or institute that the Council may determine.”
Mr Speaker, that may cure the issue that I first raised that at any point in time, if the University does not have any of these schools in place, then it means that the University is in breach of the law?
Mr Speaker, the second concern that you had raised about the School of Law -- nobody can change it. The law of the country, Legal Profession Act, 1960 (Act 32) says that it is only the General Legal Council that can regulate legal education and at the moment -- [Interruption] -- Mr
Mr Banda 8:20 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I think that the issue has to do with the nomenclature “School of Law”. The University of Ghana Law Faculty is called the University of Ghana Law School. That distinguishes it from the Ghana Law School. The Law Faculty that we used to know is now called the University of Ghana School of Law. I think the confusion here is the standalone nomenclature “School of Law”.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:20 p.m.
In that case, it should not be a problem. They would call it UBID School of Law.
Mr S. Mahama 8:20 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it is very clear that the nomenclature “School of Law “is not intended to train professional lawyers, just as we have School of Business. It does not train professional accountants. To become a professional accountant, you must write the Chartered Institute of Accountancy, either ACCA or ICA Ghana. So it is not intended to train professional lawyers.
So I think we can leave it as it is.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:20 p.m.
I think we are clear in our minds and I can put the question.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Clause 2 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clause 3 -- Campuses of the University
Mr Quaittoo 8:20 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 3, subclause (2), delete and insert “the University may establish the main campus in Wa and any other place that the Council may determine”.
Dr Sandaare 8:20 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I support the amendment because I think it would give an opportunity for the University to establish other satellite campuses outside Wa.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:20 p.m.
In that case, can you propose that it is amended to satellite campuses? This is because the proposed amendment says the main campus in Wa and any other place. There cannot be a main campus in Wa and other places.
Mr Iddrisu 8:20 p.m.
Mr Speaker, if I have your indulgence, I am sure Dr Sandaare supports the amendment. The main campus is in Wa, which is captured in the policy principle. If you come to the explanatory memoran- dum, you would see that the Wa campus is also the farthest from Tamale. Wa campus is being turned to a fully-fledged University, so the main campus would be Wa.
We are only providing a second leg that any other part of the Upper West Region can benefit from the campus of the University. I am sure that is what the Hon Chairman is implying, and we are agreeable to that.
We have the main campus in Wa, which is the capital of the Upper West Region, but beyond Wa, if tomorrow you want to put up something in the Sissala area, perhaps for them to specialise in one of these schools, you can say that information and communication technology should be in the Sissala area.
So I support the Hon Chairman's proposed amendment.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:20 p.m.
All I am saying is that the rendition does not capture it the way you want it. The University may establish -- [Interruption]
Mr Iddrisu 8:20 p.m.
Then we should maintain clause 3 as in the Bill, except that his “any other” would now become “the University may establish other campuses in other parts of the Upper West”. That makes it neater to go with the Hon Chairman's proposal.
Mr Banda 8:20 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the proposed amendment would not carry the intent, because if you say the University may establish the main campus in Wa and any other place, what it means is that the main campus can also be established in any other place, but that is not the intendment of the proposed amendment.
So I would want to propose that the current rendition in the Bill is apt and we should maintain it.
Mr Ahiafor 8:20 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I do not think we intend to amend clause 3(1), because clause 3(1) is emphatic and mandatory that the main campus of the University shall be situated in Wa in the Upper West Region. However, the subclause (2) that is saying that: “The University may establish other campuses in the Upper
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 8:20 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we have not yet gotten to clause 25. The Bill as it is, that is clause 3(2), is referring to clause 25, and when you read clause 25, you can only establish other campuses in the Upper West Region. That is clause 25(1) (a):
“Subject to this Act, the Council may make arrangements as the Council considers appropriate for the internal organisation of the University, including
(a) establishment, variation and supervision of academic
Divisions, Faculties, Schools, Centres, Institutes, Depart- ments, hostels and other bodies in the campuses in Wa and elsewhere in the Upper West Region”.
So that is why 3(2) existed tying it to clause 25 and bringing about internal consistency.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 8:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the clause 25 that my Hon Colleague refers to, is being amended. There is a proposal to amend it to delete “Upper West Region”.
Mr Speaker, so, if my Hon Colleague applied himself to the intended amendment proposed by the Committee, I believe this argument he is proffering would be antiquated. So, I think that we should delete the “Upper West Region.”
Mr Speaker, sometimes, when this is done, it is intended to strengthen the institution, but my fear is that if we are not careful, it may end up diluting the position of the original institution.
Mr Speaker, when rural banks came to be established, they were limited to narrow areas of operation. Increasingly, they ventured into other areas. A rural bank that may have been established in Bawku might migrate to Bolgatanga for instance, and realise that that place is much more viable. They might therefore de-emphasise their operations at Bawku and rake in profits at Bolgatanga.
Mr Speaker, my fear therefore is that in this case, the University might also de-emphasise its place of origin. Other than that, I believe that the University -- The Oxford University, for instance, have several campuses throughout the United Kingdom and it is the same for Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States of America. Therefore, we should not restrict it to only the Upper West Region.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:30 a.m.
The challenge has to do with the rendition. The proposed amendment does not capture the rendition:
“The University may establish the main campus in Wa and any other place that the Council may determine.”
This caption suggests that the main campus could also be at any other place, which should be corrected.
Mr Iddrisu 8:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, may I refer you to the opening paragraph of the memorandum, which accom- panied this Bill, and informs the policy principle? It reads:
“The object of this Bill is to establish the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies as a public tertiary institution in Wa in the Upper West Region.”
Mr Speaker, part of the University for Development Studies (UDS) in Tamale, is in my constituency. There is a community called Dungu Yipala. Few years ago, it was not an attractive area, but just the fact that the University has been situated in that area, has changed the economic conditions of that area.
Mr Speaker, we are not wrong. The policy principle indicates a desire to establish a university that would be dedicated to each region. The Upper West Region is vast; Nadowli, Kaleo, Hamile and the others. Tomorrow, they could decide that any of these schools should be in some other parts of the Upper West Region. This is my thinking, and I do not see anything wrong with that.
Mr Speaker, for this same reason, we now have Navrongo campus,
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:30 a.m.
Hon Leader, the principle is settled. We could now focus on how to craft it to achieve the principle? That is where we are now. It says that the University
may establish the main campus in Wa and other places. That amendment is to take the place of: “The University may establish other campuses…” The new one says: “main campus,” and that defeats the purpose. That is why I believe we should focus on --
Alhaji I.A.B. Fuseini 8:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, you are right. The way it has been captured makes it look like they could establish main campuses everywhere they want. However, it cannot be done that way. There could only be one main campus. Therefore, it could be captured as: “the University may establish a main campus in Wa and satellite campuses in any other place that the University may determine.”
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 8:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, we should go back to the original rendition. It provides:
“The University may establish other campuses in the Upper West Region as determined by the Council in accordance with section 25.”
We should rather improve this because the memorandum empha- sises the development of the Upper West Region. Therefore we may capture it as;“The University may establish other campuses in the Upper West Region, and any other place in
the country, as determined by the Council, in accordance with section 25.” This still emphasises the Upper West Region.
Mr Ayariga 8:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would want to support the rendition by the Hon Majority Leader, except that he also limits it to “any other campus in the country.”
Mr Speaker, he used the phrase 8:30 a.m.
“in the country.” He said “and any other place,” but earlier, he mentioned “in the country”. It should not be limited to the country because they may decide to establish campuses in Burkina Faso for instance, which is closer to them. [Laughter] -- The Hon Majority Leader said that the Oxford University has campuses all over the world, so for all we know, in a few years' time --
Mr Speaker, I know of those universities, having campuses also --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:30 a.m.
Hon Member, I believe you agree with the Hon Majority Leader.
Hon Chairman, what is the new rendition now, so that I could put the Question on it?
Hon Members, we have used one and a half hours on three clauses.
Hon Chairman, what is your final rendition?
Mr Anyimadu-Antwi 8:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the suggestion was that in clause 3(1), we go back to the original rendition in the Bill. We may finish with that and move on to subclause
(2).
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:30 a.m.
Clause 3 (2) talks about the Upper West Region. The argument is that they would want the University to have the power to be established anywhere in the world. If that is what we want, then we would have to amend it to achieve that.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 8:30 a.m.
Mr Speaker, if we go to the original rendition in clause 3(2), it says:
“The University may establish other campuses in the Upper West Region and any other place as determined by the Council in accordance with section 25.”
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:30 a.m.
Therefore, we seek to insert the phrase: “and any other place” after the word: “region.”
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:30 a.m.


Clause 3 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:20 p.m.
But please, consider, this, do we think that Upper West Region should not have the opportunity to do agriculture? We should be considering it anyway.
Yes, Hon Minority Leader?
Mr Idddrisu 8:20 p.m.
Mr Speaker, if the Hon Majority Leader would indulge you, I think that we have done pretty well; he promised us that at 7.30 p.m., we would close, we have worked up to 8.30 p.m. We would have a very early beginning tomorrow so we should be ending. -- [Interruption] -- clause 4? That is alright.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 8:20 p.m.
Mr Speaker, for clause 4 which ends group head's note on University of Business and Integrated Development Studies, we have just one amendment for section 4. So if we could deal with that and then, we could adjourn the House.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:20 p.m.
Very well, clause 4?
Clause 4 -- Award of degrees
Mr Quaittoo 8:20 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 4, subclause (1), line 2, delete “its own degree including” and insert “degree”.
rose
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:20 p.m.
Yes, Hon Member for Asante Akim Central, are you going to oppose it? Let me hear you.
Mr Anyimadu-Antwi 8:20 p.m.
Mr Speaker, by the rendition that the Hon Chairman gives, I would like to draw his attention to the word, “honorary”, whether he would like that to be kept in that. And then, “including”?
Mr Quaittoo 8:20 p.m.
We are deleting ‘including'.
Mr Anyimadu-Antwi 8:20 p.m.
Then, we have degrees, honorary degrees, diplomas and certificates. It is alright.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:20 p.m.
Do we need that? We could just define degrees to include honorary degrees at the end; at the Interpretation, and that would be better. So, if we delete ‘honorary' from here, then the degrees
—
Hon Chairman, do you agree that we delete ‘honorary degrees' from here, but in the definition of degrees, we include ‘honorary degrees'?
Mr Quaittoo 8:20 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I think I agree with you once it would come at the interpretation column.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:20 p.m.
Very well, so the new rendition would be:
“The University shall, in accordance with subsection 7 of section 14, award degrees, diplomas and certificates.”
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Clause 4 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:20 p.m.
That brings us to the end of the consideration of the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies Bill, 2018 for today.
Yes, Hon Majority Leader?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 8:20 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I wish once again, to emphasise the point that tomorrow, the House would Sit at 9.30 in the forenoon.
Mr Agbodza 8:20 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr Speaker, you are the only one that could give that directive; I thought the Hon Majority Leader was making an application to you but then, he is telling us that tomorrow, we shall Sit at 9.30 a.m. in the forenoon.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:20 p.m.
And which order are you referring to?
Mr Agbodza 8:20 p.m.
Order? You are in the Chair; the Chair could say anything so I am just giving you the power to say something.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 8:20 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I guess my Hon Colleague was not even listening to what I said. I said, “to remind”, because the directive had already been given by the Chair. So I am reminding us. Would the Hon Member follow what I am saying here?
Hon Governs Agbodza, you are not governing; you are not the one in charge of —
rose
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:20 p.m.
Yes, Hon Member for Atwima Kwan- woma?
Dr Appiah-Kubi 8:20 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I just have a simple question just for the
Dr Appiah-Kubi 8:20 p.m.


sake of curiosity; why do we want to Sit at 9.30 a.m.? Even when the President comes to this House —
Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:20 p.m.
Hon Member, you are out of order. you could ask him; I am going to adjourn the House.
The House is adjourned to Wednesday, 31st July, 2019 at 9.30 a.m.
ADJOURNMENT 8:20 p.m.
  • The House was adjourned at 8.45 p.m. till Wednesday, 31st July, 2019 at 9.30 am.