Debates of 12 Nov 2019

MR SPEAKER
PRAYERS 10:48 a.m.
Mr Speaker 10:48 a.m.
Hon Members, we have a formal communication from the President.
ANNOUNCEMENTS 10:48 a.m.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 10:48 a.m.
Mr Kwame Governs Agbodza 10:48 a.m.
Mr Speaker, on page 10, the correct rendition of my name is “Kwame Governs Agbodza” and not “Kwame Agbodza Governs”.
Mr Speaker 10:48 a.m.
Thank you very much.
Page 12 --
Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa 10:48 a.m.
Mr Speaker, on page 12, item numbered 2, on the third paragraph, the name of the Hon Minister for
Parliamentary Affairs and the Majority Leader has been -- this is not the name we know, and I am glad that he has walked in.
We have here, “Mr Osei Kyei- Mensah”; “Bonsu” is conspicuously missing. He is the only Hon Member of Parliament that I know with double hyphenation -- “Kyei-Mensah- Bonsu”; but the “Bonsu” is missing. So, if the Table Office could pay attention to that.
Mr Speaker, item numbered. 16, the Motion for Adjournment was seconded by the Hon Member for Adaklu and not the ‘Hon Member of Adaklu'. The correct rendition is Hon Member for Adaklu.
Mr Speaker, thank you.
Mr Speaker 10:58 a.m.
Hon Ablakwa, thank you very much; very helpful as usual.
Page 12, 13, 14 --
Mr Haruna Iddrisu 10:58 a.m.
Mr Speaker, probably not in the ordinary, after the Hon Leader of Government Business presented the Business Statement, one of the major highlights of the Business for this Week is the Budget Statement and Financial Policy of Government.
Mr Speaker, one would have thought that it would have been highlighted and not just referenced as the Business Committee's Report. This is because the private sector, financial institutions, donors and the diplomatic corps are all interested in this activity of Parliament. Mr Speaker, we just see a Report of the Business Committee, without emphasis on the Budget Statement and Financial Policy of Government for 2020.
Mr Speaker 10:58 a.m.
Thank you very much.
Mr Ablakwa 10:58 a.m.
Mr Speaker, with item numbered 2 (xv) on page 14, the name Franklin Fifi Fiavi Kwetey -- “Franklin” has been spelt wrongly as “Fraklin,” and “Fiavi” has also been wrongly spelt as “Faiavi”.
Mr Speaker 10:58 a.m.
Thank you very much.
Page 14, 15 and 16.
Hon Members, the Votes and Proceedings of Friday, 8th November, 2019 as corrected is hereby admitted as the true record of proceedings.
We have the Official Report dated Tuesday, 30 th July, 2019. Hon Members, any corrections?
Mr Ablakwa 10:58 a.m.
Mr Speaker, at column 5311, it should read “the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives” and not “the Speaker of the United States Senate”. Mr Speaker, the United States Senate is presided over by the Vice President of the United States.
So Hon Nancy Pelosi is the Speaker of the House of Repre- sentatives and not the Senate, as has been captured in the Official Report. So it should be corrected.
Mr Speaker 10:58 a.m.
Hon Majority Leader?
Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:58 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I noticed that some people want to do some gymnastics when it comes to the correction of Votes and Proceedings.
Mr Joseph Y. Chireh 10:58 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member is correcting an Official Report. If there is notice of an error or a factual misrepresentation, then at any point, just like now, an Hon Member could always correct it.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member has not said that he did not say that -- he is correcting the Official Report, and that is different from the Votes and Proceedings.
Mr Ablakwa 10:58 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would want to draw the attention of the Hon Majority Leader that I am not correcting what I said, but what the Rt Hon Speaker told this House.
The Rt Hon Speaker knows the difference between the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the United States and the President of the Senate in the United States of America.
Column 5310 captures what the Rt Hon Speaker supposedly told the House, and the second paragraph in column 5311 reads:
“Before the First Deputy Speaker takes the Chair, let us remind ourselves; tomorrow, we want to be in our numbers here at 10.00 a.m. sharp to receive our distinguished guest; the Speaker of the United States Senate.”
I am not sure that the Rt Hon Speaker meant to say Senate or said Senate because it is the Speaker of the House of Representatives, as he read the official communication.
Mr Speaker, I read these documents generally to help the House and not what I have said, just like I corrected the name of the Hon
Majority Leader a while back. [Laughter.] It is not my name, but I did that to help the House and the Hon Majority Leader.
So it is not about correcting what I may have said and trying to do gymnastics now. Mr Speaker, I think that if the Hon Majority Leader puts it that way, then he is being quite unfair to me.
Mr Speaker, thank you.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 10:58 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the purpose of the Correction of Votes and Proceedings and the Official Report is set out, so the Hon Member should read what it means. I would not litigate it further, but the Hon Member knows its purpose as has been captured in our rules. He knows that he cannot do anything outside it, that is not being ungentlemanly, but it is being more purposeful.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much.
Mr Speaker 10:58 a.m.
Hon Members, let me make it very clear. If an Hon Member, in his speech, says ‘Hon Osei Kyei' and another Hon Member wants the name to be stated in full for the record, then the record could be corrected so that it would fully reflect that which should have been the full

If an Hon Member says inadvertently, “Kumasi, the capital of Ghana”, we would not reflect this in our records forever as if we do not know what we are about. [Laughter.] So, slips of tongue and so on may occur, but such errors must be corrected at the appropriate time. I think that this must be well understood for posterity.

Thank you.
Mrs Ursula G. Owusu-Ekuful 11:08 a.m.
Mr Speaker, in the Official Report of Tuesday, 30th July, 2019, there is an omission because from column 5466, it jumps to column 5523. So, a significant portion of the Official Report is not in there.
I thought I should draw the attention of the House to it so that the Hansard Department would take note.
Mr Speaker, from column 5466, it jumps to column 5523.
Mr Speaker 11:08 a.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Minister.
Hon Members, any further corrections?
rose
Mr Speaker 11:08 a.m.
Yes, Hon Member?
Mr Mubarak 11:08 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am very grateful.
In the Official Report of 29th October, 2019, column 245 is hardly visible. If we look at column 305, paragraph 3, line 3, “I” has been omitted from “given”.
Mr Speaker, further to this, there are several pages in the Official Report of 29th October, 2019 that are hardly visible. I would like to draw the attention of the Hansard Department to accordingly ensure that in subsequent publications, it should be visible enough for Hon Members to read.
rose
Mr Speaker 11:08 a.m.
Yes, Hon Okudzeto Ablakwa?
Mr Ablakwa 11:08 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am most grateful.
Since we have been ushered into the correction of the second Official Report, which is that of 29th October, 2019, the concerns that Hon Ursula Owusu-Ekuful raised earlier comes up after column 278.
From column 278, instead of moving to column 279, we are brought back to column 275. The whole arrangement has not been done properly.
So it is difficult to follow in a consequential order, what transpired in the House that day. If the Hansard Department could pay attention; from column 278, we go to columns, 275, 276 and then back to column 277 -- it is all over the place. So if could it be corrected?
Mr Speaker 11:08 a.m.
Thank you very much.
Hon Members, any further corrections?
Hon Members, in the absence of any further corrections, the Official Report of 30th July, 2019 is hereby adopted as the true record of proceedings.
ANNOUNCEMENTS 11:08 a.m.
Mr Speaker 11:08 a.m.
Hon Members, I have the pleasure to introduce to you a seven- member delegation of the committee on Rules, Privileges and Discipline from the Ugandan Parliament who are on a five-day study visit to Ghana.
They are here, among other things, to exchange knowledge with their counterparts and learn best practices in the functioning of our committees. The visit is to further create the platform for networking between Hon
Mr Speaker 11:08 a.m.
Hon Members, Questions -- item listed 3.
Could the Hon Minister for Agriculture please take the appropriate chair?
The Hon Member for Mfantseman would ask Question 643.
ORAL ANSWERS TO 11:08 a.m.
QUESTIONS 11:08 a.m.
MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE 11:08 a.m.
Minister for Agriculture (Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto) (MP) 11:08 a.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker, the Mankessim Irrigation Project comprises of two schemes 11:18 a.m.
i. the Baifikrom Micro Irrigation Scheme covers 5ha; and
ii. the main Mankessim Small Scale Irrigation Scheme covers 17ha developed out of a potential of 260ha.
All two schemes are located next to each other near Mankessim.
Status of schemes;
Baifikrom Micro -- Irrigation Scheme
The 5ha micro scheme is located some 4km from the Mankessim Station towards Ajumako. The scheme was constructed from 2006- 2008 under the micro-project component of the Small Scale Irrigation Development Project
(SSIDP).
The scheme was rehabilitated under the Northern Rural Growth Programme (NRGP) in 2010. The NRGP intervention consisted of mechanisation of 2 no. boreholes and the provision of sprinkler kits to cover all the 5ha irrigable area. Fencing was erected around the perimeter of the scheme.
A broken-down submersible pump has been fixed but the scheme cannot be fully utilised now because all the tripods supporting the sprinkler heads are broken down. Also, part of the scheme experiences temporary flooding during heavy down pours.
Mankessim Small Scale Irrigation Scheme
The scheme is located off the Mankessim-Ajumako road at the Baifikrom micro scheme junction, and was constructed in 1974 through Government of Ghana (GoG) funding. It has a potential area of 260ha. The potential area is dotted with small hills surrounded by narrow strips of fairly flat lands.
Irrigation water is applied to the crops through sprinklers fed by pumps, taking water from gravity filled water pumps. Crops grown on the 17ha scheme include watermelon, okra, garden eggs and maize.
The scheme was first rehabilitated under GoG funding between 2005- 2006 to modernise the system. The work covered the provision of additional five pumps to the existing pumps, the replacement of connecting pipes and provision of five pumps.
The Scheme was again rehabilitated by Incaterma Engineering consulting in 2016 as part of the Irrigation and Groundwater Development Project.
The scope of works included:
i. rehabilitation of main canal;
ii. construction of four pumps on the 400m supply pipeline;
iii. supply of 25 no. diesel pumps and irrigation kits for 25 hectares; and the
iv. construction of a 100m2 packhouse and an agro- meteo station.
Mr Speaker, as a result of inadequate number of farmers, only 13 diesel pumps out of the 25 supplied to them are being used.
An investor has been given about an acre (0.4ha) of the land for the 1D1F project to process sugarcane.
It is expected that this would attract more farmers.

Mankessim Water Supply

Akin to several GIDA schemes such as Tono, Vea, Tanoso, Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) draws water from the irrigation dam for treatment and thus supply to Mankessim and the surrounding areas. About 180m3/day of water comes from the Mankessim Irrigation Dam. This is a major hindrance to the full development of the agricultural potential of this scheme. The abstracting of raw water from dams by GWCL without any effort of their own is a threat to many irrigation schemes across the country.

The Ghana Irrigation Development Authority intends to engage with GWCL to discuss the possibility of the latter developing alternative sources to augment water supply to the town and its surrounding areas. This is to ensure that reasonable amount of water would become available for irrigation.

Next Steps

The Authority has dispatched a team of engineers to Mankessim to undertake assessment of the system
Mr Speaker 11:18 a.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Minister.
Yes, Hon Member, your supple- mentary questions?
Mr Hayford 11:18 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank the Hon Minister, for the elaborate Answer.
Mr Speaker, from the Hon Minister's response, there is an indication that engineers have been dispatched to undertake assessments of the problem.
I would want to find out whether there has been provision for the indicative cost estimate in his budget?
Dr O.A. Akoto 11:18 a.m.
Mr Speaker, unfortunately, since the estimates have not arrived and we already know that tomorrow is for the reading of the 2020 Budget Statement, it has not been possible to accommodate the expected cost in the Budget Statement. All the same, we believe
that it could be accommodated under other expenses, which cater for such emergencies.
Mr Hayford 11:18 a.m.
Mr Speaker, in the Hon Minister's last paragraph in his response to my Question, he indicated that private arrangement is fully utilised for the land and for agricultural purposes.
I would want to find out whether he is aware that some land developers have started encroaching on the very land that we seek to re-activate?
Dr O. A. Akoto 11:18 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am not aware of any encroachment so far; but since the Hon Member has drawn my attention to it, I would pursue it. This is the problem we face all over the country. Lands that belong to the Ministry of Agriculture are being encroached upon left and right. We, therefore really struggle to keep at bay these illegal activities.
All the same, since we are talking about Mankessim, we would look at it and see what we could do to retrieve any encroached land to enable it to be used for agricultural purposes.
Mr Speaker 11:18 a.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Minister.
Hon Member, any more questions?
Mr Hayford 11:18 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity.
Mr Speaker 11:18 a.m.
Hon Minister, thank you very much for attending to the House to answer our Questions. You are respectfully discharged.
Hon Members, we would now move on to Question 645.
The Hon Minister for Education should please take the Chair.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:18 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister for Education is outside the jurisdiction to attend an international conference.
He has therefore sent an Hon Deputy Minister from the Ministry, Hon Dr Adutwum, who is also an Hon Member of Parliament, to come and stand in his stead to answer the Question.
Mr Speaker 11:18 a.m.
Very well.
The Hon Deputy Minister for Education may please take the Chair.
Hon Member for Kwabre East, you may ask your Question.
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION 11:18 a.m.
Ms F. O. Mensah 11:18 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank the Hon Minister for his brief and precise response.
Dr Adutwum 11:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, we inherited 124 “E-Block Schools”. As of December, 2016, 29 had been completed. [Interruption.]
Ms F. O. Mensah 11:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would like to know the number of completed “E-Block Schools” that were funded by the World Bank and the Government of Ghana (GoG).
Dr Adutwum 11:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, out of a total of 29 that were completed by December, 2016, 22 of them were GoG funded and seven were funded by the World Bank through the Caspian Environment Programme
(CEP).
As of January 2017 to date, 13 of the projects completed were funded by the GoG , whereas 14 of them were funded through the World Bank SEIP programme.
Mr Speaker 11:28 a.m.
Hon Member, do you have a last question?
Ms F. O. Mensah 11:28 a.m.
That would be all, Mr Speaker. Thank you for the opportunity.
Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa 11:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, in response to how many of the completed E-blocks were inherited by the Akufo-Addo
Government, the Hon Deputy Minister said 29. How does he reconcile the figure 29 with the 46 that President Mahama personally inaugurated before handing over?
Dr Adutwum 11:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the record is clear, and the fact that some E-blocks were inaugurated may not necessarily mean they were completed. The records we have indicate that 29 were completed as of December 2016, and 27 were completed from January 2017 to date.
Mr Richard Acheampong 11:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, Bia East Constituency is a beneficiary of the World Bank sponsored programme. As I speak, the work has stalled till date. Could the Hon Deputy Minister give us any assurance when the World Bank financed project would be completed?
Dr Adutwum 11:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I do not have information on the specific project my Hon Colleague has mentioned, and I would be very happy if he filed a Question to that regard. I would come and give him details of the project that he has indicated.
Mr Speaker 11:28 a.m.
Hon Member, if you would want to go that way, simply file a Question.
Mr Martin Oti Gyarko 11:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, could the Hon Deputy Minister give us a break down of the 27 E-blocks that have been completed? [Interruption.]
Some Hon Members 11:28 a.m.
File a Question!
Dr Adutwum 11:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, unfortunately, I do not have the list with me here. I would be more than happy to come back to this House and answer that question.
Mr Ahmed Ibrahim 11:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister for Education, Hon Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, said in 2017 that only 44 to 46 of the E- blocks had been completed by the Mahama Administration. How do we reconcile that one with the figure 29 that the Hon Deputy Minister has given?
Dr Adutwum 11:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, this is a House of records, and my Hon Friend and Colleague talked about something that my Hon Minister said. I have no record of that, I do not know where he said that, and I would not be able to speak to it.
Mr Haruna Iddrisu 11:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Deputy Minister, in his Answer, said:
“Mr Speaker, the Ministry, through the GETFund, is committed to completing all ongoing and stalled projects…”
Is the Hon Deputy Minister aware that many of the projects are stalled because of non-payment to contractors, and what is the Ministry therefore doing about it?
Dr Adutwum 11:28 a.m.
Mr Speaker, we have made the indication that we would continue those projects as rightly alluded to. It does not only talk about E-blocks; it is about all other projects in schools. We have made the commitment that we would continue with the projects that have stalled for many years, even before we came to Government.
Mr Speaker 11:28 a.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Deputy Minister for attending to the House and answering our Questions. You are respectfully discharged.
Hon Members, item listed 4 -- Statements.
Statement by Hon Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa in celebration of the 100th Nobel Peace Prize Winner -- Ethiopian Prime Minister, Dr Abiy Ahmed.
STATEMENTS 11:38 a.m.
Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa (NDC -- North Tongu) 11:38 a.m.
Mr Speaker, “The Nobel Peace Prize is a powerful message. A durable peace is not a single achievement, but an environment, a process and a commitment.”
Mohamed ElBaradei (Nobel laureate).
Rt Hon Speaker, I am thankful for this opportunity to make a Statement before this honourableHouse.
The Nobel Peace Prize, alongside four other categories of prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Psychology or Medicine and Literature were established by the Will of Alfred Nobel, a Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments manu- facturer.
Since its inception in 1901, about 800 individuals have been awarded and an additional associated prize in Economic Sciences awarded from
1969.
According to the Will, the Nobel Prize was to be awarded “to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between the nations and the abolition or reduction of standing armies and the formation and spreading of peace congresses.”
Mr Speaker, winning a nobel prize is certainly a life changing and priceless honour, no matter the situation of life of the laureate, be it an international figure, like Mother Theresa or President Barack Obama, or a relatively unknown scientist plucked from obscurity.
That is why it is necessary to congratulate Dr Abiy Ahmed, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, who has now joined other distinguished African laureates in the likes of Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, Anwar Sadat of Egypt and our own Busumuru Kofi Annan, among others.
Mr Speaker, Dr Abiy Ahmed Ali was born in the town of Beshasha, Ethiopia on 15th August, 1976. His childhood name was Abiyot (English: “Revolution”). The name was sometimes given to children in the aftermath of the Derg revolution of
1974.
While serving in the Ethiopian National Defence Force, Abiy earned a Bachelor's degree in computer engineering. He also holds a Master of Arts Degree in Transformational Leadership, a Master of Business Administration and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) from the Institute for Peace and Security Studies, Addis Ababa University. His Ph.D. work was on the Agaro constituency with his thesis entitled “Social Capital and its Role in Traditional Conflict Resolution in Ethiopia: The Case of Inter-Religious Conflict in Jimma Zone State”.
He started his political career as a member of the Oromo Democratic Party (ODP). The ODP is the ruling party in Oromia Region since 1991 and also one of four coalition parties of the ruling coalition in Ethiopia.
He became a member of the central committee of the ODP and a congress member of the Executive Committee of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic front (EPRDF) -- in quick succession.
Mr Speaker 11:38 a.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa for this well-presented Statement.
Yes, Hon Frank Annoh-Dompreh?
Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh (NPP -- Nsawam-Adoagyiri) 11:48 a.m.
Thank you Mr Speaker. I would make a brief comment to support my Hon Ranking Member for a well- researched Statement.
Mr Speaker, to begin from where he ended, indeed, Africa would rise like the phoenix from its own ashes. I feel proud as an African when I heard about the award being announced, and the Ethiopian Prime Minister being named as the recipient of the award. It gladdens my heart so much.
Mr Speaker, one of the fundamental reasons that justifies my happiness is that, indeed, there are a
number of Africans on the continent who have not been celebrated enough. And regardless of all the criticisms that had come in the wake of the announcement of the award, that indeed, the Ethiopian Prime Minister has been in office for only a fleeting period was not justifiable because the award was more of looking at the substance and significance of what was achieved by the Ethiopian Prime Minister.
Mr Speaker, we were told and reliably informed that the largest motivation for the award is the resolution of the Ethiopian-Eritrea conflict. We know the African continent is plagued with plethora of conflicts and that has been our bane as a continent. So it is refreshing that the resolution of that conflict was recognised by the Norwegian Committee involved in announcing that award.
Mr Speaker, a bit of statistics. If we look at the Ethiopian-Eritrean conflict, which I am told began sometime in 1998 and arguably ended in the year 2000, experts said the conflict was very expensive and cost the African continent over US$3 billion.
Now, what I find very refreshing is that, Ethiopia and Eritrea themselves, without compulsion from any powers
that be; without compulsion from any regional body, the two countries set the tone which eventually culminated in the Neutral Boundary Commission
(NBC).
Interestingly enough, after the NBC was formed, the United States of America (USA), the European Union (EU), the United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU) all joined in suit, supporting the trail that has been blazed by Eritrea and Ethiopia.
Mr Speaker, there are many of such conflicts that we have resolved peacefully on our continent. Unfortunately, we have not been able to celebrate them well enough. I could recall the International Tribunal for Law of the Sea (ITLOS) case between Ghana and Ivory Coast was very serious and was almost getting out of hand.
However, through leadership displayed by the two Presidents, the matter was resolved amicably. And even aftermath, the two countries engaged at the highest level to avoid any aftermath effect of the issue.
So in Africa, we have something that we should be proud of and I am very excited not for the fact that the Ethiopian leader has won this award
but for the fact that on our own, we initiated the resolution and treaty for other regional bodies to join suit.

Mr Speaker, also inherent is a lesson that conflicts should be resolved at their early stages. We should not allow them to blow out of proportion and cause loss of lives and property before we sit at the negotiation table.

We are told that over 100,000 lives, particularly those of children and women, were lost because of the war and I am very happy that for once, Africa has displayed that one of our own has what it takes to resolve our own conflicts. We need to be proud as a continent and let the rest of the world know as Ghana's first President said, that “the black man is capable of managing his own affairs”. That should in fact not be lost on us.

Mr Speaker, today, when we look at the global stage, the future is indeed African. China is coming after Africa and so are Europe and America. Now we have the very first ever Russian- Africa Summit.

Clearly, Africa is the future of the world and I cannot differ but support the Hon Ranking Member for a well- researched Statement. I am very confident that going into the future, Africa would be able to show the
Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings (NDC -- Klottey-Korley) 11:48 a.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute towards the Statement made by Hon Ablakwa.
Mr Speaker, Dr Ahmed Ali, contrary to most of his con- temporaries, is very young. His achievements point to the fact that the youth has a lot to offer in terms of nation building and leadership, and one does not need to be in one's sixtieth or seventieth year in order to assume the role of head of state or any other leadership position.
As a nation and as a continent, we need to dispel the notion that one can only assume these positions if one is male with grey hair or no hair to be able to fit into the shoes of a leader on the continent. Given the achievements of Dr Ahmed Ali, it is actually quite obvious that at age 43, a lot can be achieved by the youth. The youth and women on the continent
ought to be given the right opportunities to assume leadership roles on the continent in order to bring about innovative ways of conflict resolution and nation building.
Mr Speaker, in conclusion, perhaps, we also as a continent need to look at an award system that is at par with the Nobel Peace Prize, targeting the continent and looking at our age old values. It should be an award that cannot be paid for or bought by persons with money or influence so that it would stand the test of time, so that 100 years from now, people would refer to those awards and the integrity that they represented as of then.
Mr Rockson-Nelson E. K. Dafeamekpor (NDC -- South Dayi) 11:48 a.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to make a few comments on the Statement made by my Brother, Hon Ablakwa.
Mr Speaker, the Ethiopian Prime Minister has a very interesting background. His father, Ahmed Ali was a Muslim, his mother, Tezeta Wolde is a Pentecostal Christian, while Dr Ahmed himself is a Christian. Therefore it is not surprising that he brings these two varying religious backgrounds to bear in the resolution of the conflicts that essentially operates along religious lines in his country.
The records have it that between 1974 and 1991, he joined the people who fought the Derg regime in Ethiopia. So when he subsequently joined the army, he rose through the ranks to become a Lieutenant Colonel before he took up studies in Engineering, became a Computer Engineer, took up other studies and obtained a Master's degree in Transformational Leadership.
So when he was appointed as head of the nation's cybersecurity agency, he pursued cyber security matters and it was his abilities in that agency that brought attention to political leadership.
He was subsequently appointed as the Minister for Science and Technology, which position my Hon Colleague already stated that he had for just about 10 months. He was subsequently appointed as the Vice President of the Oromia Region where he hailed.
Mr Speaker, what is refreshing is that he is in our age group, and it is important that this prize demonstrates that when the youth are given the opportunity, they would be able to deliver. So it is a pointer to the young people of this country and Africa that if you apply yourself to the wheel and work hard, you would be given the
opportunity. What is important is that you should be able to deliver.
If you look at his efforts in uniting the four political parties that formed a coalition of which he is the leader now, it is very important. So in my view, the achievements that he has continued to churn out since he became the Prime Minister of Ethiopia should be instructive to some of us the young ones in politics.
We must take our work seriously and when the opportunity is given to us, we should deliver and always champion the interests of our people. When we do that, the accolades would follow.
Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu (NPP -- Bekwai) 11:48 a.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much.
I have been excited to make a comment because of a few things I observed in the response by the Hon Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. Before that, let me thank the Hon Member who made the Statement, the Hon Member for North Tongu and also congratulate the Prime Minister for winning the award. It is such a huge international award.
Mr Speaker, I am worried about the continuous touting of Africa as the future of the world and the youth as
Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu (NPP -- Bekwai) 11:58 a.m.
the hope. I do not see any conscious efforts anywhere to make Africa the future of the world.
From the histories I have read of the countries that have developed to become part of the first world, they drew a clear roadmap and commu- nicated effectively the roadmap and the role each citizen must play.
If you read or listen to how Singapore made theirs, it is very clear even though they are a small country. They wanted to go from A to B, C and D. If you are a driver, farmer or teacher this is your role, and for the politicians, these are their roles - I am not seeing that happen anywhere. It is not sufficient to believe that just because China is coming here and Europe and Russia are meeting us; they are coming because of what they can get out of here.

What do we want to get out of them? We speak about youth as if we have never had youth leaders. What was the age of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah when he became the President of Ghana? He was still a young man. We have had young leaders.

What is missing at all times is our integrity. We must admit that we are dishonest and that affects our loyalty to our country. It affects the way we manage public resources and it affects our nationalism. I do not see us making any conscious efforts to change our orientation as a people. Every opportunity people make, they personalise public resources, and that is what Africa should focus on changing.

In Ghana, the President has approved the document on Ghana Beyond Aid. We must take that document and identify what role every citizen is expected to play. For example, what is my role as an Hon Member of Parliament (MP), what is a person's role as a school teacher, what is another person's role as a farmer or even as a student? Until we are able to cultivate these and congregate them, I am afraid that we would continue to shout the slogan.

Thirty years ago, when I was a student at the Ghana School of Law, we made this argument that the next generation is Africa, but 30 years on, we are still behind them. It is not sufficient to just talk about it and expect miracles. We have to work to achieve what we expect to happen.

Minory Leader (Mr Haruna Iddrisu): Mr Speaker, I want to thank you for the opportunity to

contribute to the Statement ably made by Hon Okudzeto Ablakwa on the 100th Nobel Peace Prize winner which emphasis was on the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Dr Abiy Ahmed, and I would indulge the Hon Member to add “Ali'' and also to request that the Hansard Department wherever they report this, should report it as “Dr Abiy Ahmed Ali''.

Mr Speaker, with your permission, I would want to quote what the Nobel Peace Prize Committee said.

“For his efforts to achieve peace and international cooporation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea''.

Mr Speaker, the Nobel Prize in Literature, 2019, went to Peter Handke and with your permission, I beg to quote what the Nobel Peace Prize Committee said.

“For an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored the periphery and the specific of human experience''.

Mr Speaker, Gregg L. Semenza, also won an award and with your permission, I beg to quote what the Nobel Peace Prize Committee said.

“For their discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability.''

Mr Speaker, William G. Kaelin Jr, also won an award in respect of physiology or medicine for 2019 and with your permission, I beg to quote what the Nobel Peace Prize Committee said.

“For their discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability.''

Mr Speaker, I would want to conclude with another reference to one of the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize 2019, Abhijit Banerjee, who won the prize in Economic Sciences

2019.

“For their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty''

And Esther Duflo;

“For their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty''.

Mr Speaker, while I commend the Hon Member who made the Statement, the Ethiopian Prime Minister has made Africa proud, himself proud and governance in Africa proud; that at least, in Africa, we are capable of resolving our own
Mr Speaker 12:08 p.m.
The numbers would not be compensated for, by appointing more women outside Parliament. To simply get even 50 per cent, what difficulty would that pose?
It is a matter of political will and it would go round all those provisions. We cannot wait to make a constitutional amendment before we can have 50 per cent of women as MPs. That cannot be.

Leadership of the Majority Side, is there any contribution in this regard?

Hon Minister?
Mr Speaker 12:08 p.m.
Hon Minister, thank you very much.
Hon Members, this brings us to the end of Statements time.
At the commencement of Public Business -- item listed 5 -- Presentation of Papers.
PAPERS 12:08 p.m.
-- 12:08 p.m.
Mr Speaker 12:08 p.m.
Item 5 (d). Hon Chairman of the Committee on Finance?
Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah 12:08 p.m.
Mr Speaker, all the items listed as 5(d) (i), (ii) and (iii) are not ready. As a matter of fact the Committee has not even met.
Mr Speaker, but the referrals made in 5(a) and (b) are to be referred to the sector Committees, and not the Public Accounts Committee. So 5(a) would go to the Committee on Communications and the 5(b) would go to the Committee on Local
Mr Speaker 12:08 p.m.
Very well.
Then (a) should --
Mr James K. Avedzi 12:08 p.m.
Mr Speaker, this is the annual statement by the Audit Committee of the agencies. The work of the Audit Committee is to ensure that the agencies comply with the recom- mendations of the Auditor-General as well as the recommendations from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and for that matter the Parliament of Ghana based on the findings of the Auditor-General.
So, when the PAC makes recommendations approved by Par- liament, the Audit Committee ensures that the agencies comply, and for that matter that statement must come back to the PAC because we have the audit trail and the recommendations that were made.
Mr Speaker, this enables the PAC to know whether they complied with the recommendations of Parliament and the Auditor-General. But if we want it to go to the sector committee
that do not have the information on the recommendations of the Auditor- General as well as the PAC --
I wonder how the audit statement from the Audit Committee would be effectively handled -- because they do not have the background information and audit trail on how those recommendations should be handled.
Mr Speaker, this is the second time I am making this argument but if the House thinks that it should go to the sector Committee, then I do not have any problem.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 12:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, these annual statements by the Audit Committees are not recommendations from the PAC or the Auditor-General. This flows from the Public Financial Management Act of 2016 (PFMA) and this came into force since the passage of the PMFA in 2016.

Previously, there were no annual statements by Audit Committees and the PFMA mandates MDAs to submit annual statements. So these does not pertain to their recom- mendations. As a matter of fact, there would be a lot of agencies submitting annual statements, where the PAC
Mr Avedzi 12:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Chairman of the Finance Committee is getting it wrong. Section 86 of the Public Financial Management Act establishes the Audit Committee. It used to be called the Audit Report Implementation Committee (ARIC), which we have in the new law as Audit Committees.
Their functions are to ensure that the agency to which they belonged implements the recommendations of the Auditor-General as well as that of Parliament. So what he is saying is completely wrong. I think he is referring to the internal audit report, which must go to the sector committee. However, in response to the report of the Auditor-General as well as recommendations of Parliament, it is an audit issue and it must come to the PAC.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Deputy Minority Leader is right to some extent. Indeed, this statement is generated by the Audit Report Implementation
Committee (ARIC) now known as Audit Committee. With their report, which is informed by the report from the Public Accounts Committee, is adopted by plenary and goes to the various MMDAs.
Now, when they get there and they respond appropriately or otherwise, a report should come to Parliament. It must first go to the PAC to enable them know how far the responses have been and how far the various MMDAs have travelled with respect to correcting the mischief that the Auditor-General might have reported on.
However, Mr Speaker, the various sector committees also need to be appropriately informed because in interrogating the sector allocations, they would want to apprise themselves with what allocations were made to the various Ministries, Departments and Agents (MMDAs), what they did with them and if they decided to defy, and in that case not to correct the defects observed by the PAC informed by the report of the Auditor-General. And the sector committees, could also be properly informed to take the necessary action.
Mr Speaker, elsewhere, sector committees then could decide that on account of non-compliance, we are holding down an allocation for a
Mr Iddrisu 12:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I believe the Hon Majority Leader has ended the matter and we would wait for your guidance.
Mr Speaker, nothing prevents you from directing that the report goes to the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and the sector-specific committee. But Mr Speaker, along
the line, this House, guided by you, has to take a major decision on the matter of audit account and the report of the Public Accounts Committee, relative to article 187(6) of the Constitution. I would quote 187(6) and then go back to 187(4), (5) and (3) for purposes.
“Parliament shall debate the report of the Auditor-General and appoint where necessary, in the public interest, a committee to deal with any matter arising from it.”
Mr Speaker, we have hardly taken this position, but that is what the Constitution enjoins us to do. When they review the account -- I have never believed in post-mortem anyway because a flawless diagnosis at autopsy is impossible. We are examining a dead body and one wants to find out what is wrong. If all was well, there would not be a dead body anyway.
But Mr Speaker, the Constitution imposes a burden on us as Parliament, and there are rulings of the Supreme Court which are even seeking to usurp the mandate of Parliament, as required of us in matters relating to what we do with the Public Accounts -- its reports and its recommendations. I think that this House would have to take a particular position as I
indicated, guided by article 187 of the Constitution. However, on this matter, I think that we can resolve it by referring it to the Joint Committee to look at it and bring the appropriate recommendations.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker 12:18 p.m.
Hon Members, I am satisfied that both Committees have an interest in this matter, and in fact, it is in the interest of the House in resolving it to where the sector committee, which of course has an expertise and has involved with the matter a prior, as well as the PAC, which is generally responsible for ensuring accountability in this regard. Therefore these matters are referred as follows:
Item 5 (a) to Joint Committee on Communications and the Public Accounts Committee; and
Item 5 to Public Accounts Committee and the Committee on Local Government.
Thank you, Hon Members.
The Hon First Deputy Speaker would take the Chair.
Item numbered 6, Motion.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:18 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Report captured under item numbered 6 and the other one captured under item numbered 7 are in respect of the years 2014 and 2015 respectively. One is the mirror image of the other, so I think the Hon Chairman can put the two together and move the two Motions and submit the two Reports in order to save time.
Mr Speaker 12:28 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader, are you considering for 2014 and 2015; just for the avoidance of doubt?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:28 p.m.
Rightly so, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker 12:28 p.m.
Yes, Hon Chairman, please go on.
MOTIONS 12:28 p.m.
Chairman of the Committee (Mr Francis Manu-Adabor) 12:28 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that this Honourable House adopts the Report of the Committee on Lands and Forestry on the Annual Report and
Chairman of the Committee (Mr Francis Manu-Adabor) 12:28 p.m.
7.5.5 Nana Kwesi Beyeden and King Kaku Ackah III vs the Administrator of Stool Lands --
W/R.
7.6 Collaboration with other Agencies in the Sector
7.6.1 As part of efforts to curb the spate of illegal mining, illegal chain saw operations and other activities that have negative impact on the environment/eco-system, the sector ministry constituted a taskforce to deal with their activities, and the office was a stakeholder in some regions.
7.6.2 A forum was organised in Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region on the need for traditional authorities to engage qualified practitioners during Corporate Social Res-

ponsibility (CSR) negotiations with investors in land, timber and mineral rights. A joint stumpage report was prepared for the year under review.

7.7 Management of data on stool lands

In view of the important role data plays in revenue mobilisation and land administration, regional and district offices continued to compile data on new leases granted on stool lands, and updated existing ones during the year.

7.7.1 A Database Management Programme was designed by the office which enhanced the management of data. Data in the rent ledgers and computerised database management system was continually updated to reflect the payment status of lessees and other land users within the period.

8.0 Financial Performance

Table 2: Revenue Performance on Regional Basis for 2014
Chairman of the Committee (Mr Francis Manu-Adabor) 12:28 p.m.
Demarcation Project in the Bongo Traditional Area during the period. About 99km of the boundaries were demarcated during the year.
7.6.3 The LAP project sponsored the development of an office complex for all the land sector agencies in the Ashanti Region. The project was to
accommodate the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands, Lands Commission and the Town and Country Planning Departments.
7.7 Financial Performance
Table 1 below shows the performance of the various sources of revenue to the Office.
7.8 Litigations
During the period under review, some disputes arose and the Office attempted to resolve these disputes which usually border on revenue disbursement and land related issues with their stakeholders. Details of some disputes from the Brong-Ahafo and Western Regions were as follows:
i. Republic vs Administrator of Stool Lands & Attorney- General; ex parte Emmanuel Narh Amade, Narh Kwesi, Court of Appeal Koforidua;
ii. Xtra-Gold Limited v Attorney General;
iii. The Case between the Chiefs of Adum Banso vs Wassa Fiase Traditional Area;
iv. Prophet Osagyefo Aboagye vs the Administrator of Stool Land;
v. Nana Kwesi Beyeden and King Kaku Ackah III vs the Administrator of Stool Lands.
7.9 Revenue Returns for the Year
2015
The revenue target of the OASL for the year 2015 was seventy million
Table 1: Revenue Performance for 2015

Table 2: Regional Distribution of Revenue Mobilised in 2015

and twenty-seven thousand three hundred and ninety-one Ghana cedis, forty-eight pesewas (GH¢70,027,391.48; out of which fifty- one million, two hundred and twenty-six thousand, eight hundred and four Ghana cedis and sixty-eight pesewas (GH¢51,226, 804.68) was realised. The details are as follows:

7.9.1 Out of the projected target, the Non Tax Revenue Unit of the Ministry of Finance projected a total amount of eight million, seven hundred thousand Ghana cedis (GH¢8,700,000) to be mobilised by the OASL from mining concession rent (Annual Rent) and forty-three million, one hundred and twenty seven thousand, three hundred and ninety one Ghana cedis, forty-eight pesewas (GH¢43,127, 391.48.00) from mineral royalties.

7.9.2 An amount of eight million, four hundred thousand Ghana cedis, and sixty pesewas (GH¢8,400,000.00) was projected for timber royalties. The revenue from ground rent, farm rent and sand dues constitute the IGF component and a projection of nine million, eight hundred thousand Ghana cedis (GH¢9,800,00.00) was approved to be mobilised in the year

2015.

7.9.3 An amount of eight million, seventy-two thousand, five hundred
Mr Suhuyini Alhassan Sayibu (NDC -- Tamale North) 12:28 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I rise to second the Motion. In doing so, I would wish to make these brief observations.
MR FIRST DEPUTY SPEAKER
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Hon Member, I would like further clarification. How do they do that? A stool land is a stool land. Are they just telling lies?
Mr Sayibu 12:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, once the ownership changes to family land, the OASL cannot go there to take any rent for the people who are supposed to have benefitted from the land, if it were left as a stool land or a clan land.
So people change the ownership. They become chiefs and they change it into family land. So it is something that perhaps, as a House, we may have to look at. It came up during our presentation. The Administrator of the Office of Stool Lands raised this concern.
rose
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:38 p.m.
Hon Chairman, I would give you the opportunity. We are now discussing the fact, because the technical part is difficult to understand. Let him finish, so that we can discuss.
Mr Sayibu 12:38 p.m.
That is why I think that this House may have to discuss this reality on the ground. It may seem impossible, but according to the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands, this is happening.
So we may have to look at how it is happening, given the regulations and the administrative regime that we have, to see how we could address that problem.
Mr Speaker, again, if we look at paragraph 8.4, which is on illegal mining being a threat to the revenue mobilisation drive of the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands, I would on this note commend the Government for the earlier attempt to clamp down on illegal mining, given its devastating effects on the farm lands that we have in some of these communities.
I must also, however, register my disappointment that the drive that started against these illegal mining seemed to have whittled down, and many of these communities report of the devastation that we all know goes with these illegal acts.
Sometimes it is disheartening, when the reports even suggest that there is some official complexity in some of these activities of the illegal operators.
Mr Speaker, it remains a threat, not just to the integrity of our lands, but also to the operations of the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands. I think it is an issue that we would need to look at. This is because if we look at the farm lands that are usually affected by this practice, one realises that sometimes they are just lands owned by peasant farmers, who in some cases, just produce enough to take care of their families.
These peasant farmers also contribute to the food sustainability of their communities somehow. However, due to these illegal practices, we have these farmers being affected, and in the long run, it also affects the operations of the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands. This is because we cannot even find these illegal operators to take any rent from them in the first place.
Mr Speaker, it is something that as a Government, if we are committed to doing, should not just be a flash in the pan or a nine day wonder, but we must have sustainable structures in place, that would ensure that it is not just a campaign that would die after some few days.
Mr Speaker, with these few words, I second the Motion for the adoption of the two Reports.
I thank you for the opportunity.
Question proposed.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:38 p.m.
Hon Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Legal and Parlia- mentary Affairs, how is it practicable for a stool land to be converted to a family land?
Mr Ben Abdallah Banda 12:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it is that aspect of the Hon Sayibu's submission that brought me to my feet. This is because in law, a stool land cannot be converted into a family land, and a family land cannot also get converted into a stool land. In the case of a stool land, there is a person or there are persons with the capacity to alienate, and the same thing also applies to the family lands.
Mr Speaker, in law, that aspect of his submission cannot be correct. If that happens, then it means that probably, somebody is sleeping on his right, and that explains the reason the Hon Member says that people arrogate to themselves powers that they do not have, by purporting to convert stool lands into family lands, which ought not to happen.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:38 p.m.
Yes, Hon Deputy Minister for Lands, how is that happening?
Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources (Mr Benito Owusu-Bio) ( MP): Mr Speaker, what the Hon Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional, Legal
and Parliamentary Affairs said is right, except to say that somebody could only sleep on his right when there is a vacuum in terms of the person that sits on the throne. The various families in that case could then try to take onto themselves that role of being the allodial owners to sell the land.
This is where the challenge is, and they are the same beneficiaries, so sometimes it becomes difficult. The beneficiaries of the same stool land revenue are the ones who dissipate the land by themselves. It therefore becomes a challenge.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:38 p.m.
Hon Deputy Minister, by law, all stool lands are vested in the stool. For any benefit, alienation must be documented. So, if one has a parcel of land with a known boundary, should the Administrator of Stool Lands accept that anybody has alienated any part, when no such person has the power?
Hon Deputy Minister, I think that is where your Ministry should come in. You should refuse to accept any purported alienation and still maintain that it is a stool land. Therefore, whoever is on it should pay the rent. I think that should be the case.
Hon Majority Leader, did you want to speak on the matter?
Majority Leader (Mr Osei Kyei -Mensah-Bonsu) 12:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I know for a fact; and that is what justifies the statement from Hon Suhuyini, that the stool lands are supposed to be the lands for the collective, held in trust for the people, and they are vested in the chief.
Some families within the chief's own family, may decide that we have incorporated what is otherwise a family land into a stool land, and so they may want to take that one out. That is what is happening, and that is number one.
Mr Speaker, there are also some places that a declaration may be made that some particular lands are stool lands for a particular community, yet the community may say that no, the lands are not for the stool, but for the individual families.
Mr Speaker, if we come to one of the communities in my own constituency; Breman, there are no stool lands. All the lands are for the individual families, so even though it was declared that the lands over there are “Breman stool lands”, they took the matter to court and won the case, that the lands should rather be for the individual families.
Therefore the family heads are the ones who sell the lands. The Chief of
Breman (Bremanhene) has no control over who sells any land.
For practical reasons, it also affects development. This is because a particular family may sell a land, but there is no proper demarcation. The lands are also not properly serviced before they are sold. So development in that community has now become a bit haphazard. Such issues therefore exist, and I would say that they are matters that we should concern ourselves with.
Mr Speaker, having said that, I would make my own contribution on the subject before us, if you may permit me.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:38 p.m.
Very well.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:38 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Report before us covers the year 2014. The Hon Chairman said he was going to move the two Motions together, so that the Reports for both the years; 2014 and 2015, could be considered together.
Mr Speaker, I just noticed that for the mineral royalties they targeted for the year 2014 to collect an amount of GH¢20.5 million, but ended up collecting GH¢13.9 million instead.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:48 p.m.
Mr Speaker, yet we do know that since 2014, the annual production level of gold has gone beyond -- In 2014, it was about 3.5 million ounces. In 2015, it went up, such that today, it is more than four million ounces. Now, on what declared value were these royalties collected, such that they only succeeded in collecting GH¢ 13 million, even though they told themselves that they were going to collect GH¢20 million?

Mr Speaker, the question to ask is, how much is paid by which company? I thought the Committee would provide us with sufficient information on this because certainly, this is a gross under-declaration. How do we get at them to retrieve what otherwise should be for the State? The Committee made no comment on that.

Mr Speaker, issues have been made on the havoc that small-scale mining operators, the galamseyers, have inflicted on our lands, especially the farm lands. We would want to know how much each small-scale player in the industry paid.

All mineral resources in their natural state belong to the Republic. Regardless of whether that land is family, clan or stool land, it is
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:48 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader, what next?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:48 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we need to have a joint
Caucus meeting. So if we adjourned, we could then have that meeting immediately -- preparatory to tomorrow's event.
Mr Speaker, if you would permit, I move that this House takes an adjournment until 10 o'clock tomorrow Wednesday, 13 th November, 2019.
Mr James K. Avedzi 12:48 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 12:48 p.m.
Hon Members, let us be clear. Is it a joint Caucus meeting or a Committee of the Whole? Which one did we agree on?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:48 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it is a joint Caucus meeting.
Question put and Motion agreed to.
ADJOURNMENT 12:48 p.m.