Debates of 27 Nov 2019

MR SPEAKER
PRAYERS 10:31 a.m.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 10:31 a.m.
Mr Speaker 10:31 a.m.
Hon Members, Correction of Votes and Proceedings of Tuesday, 26th November, 2019.
Mr Speaker 10:31 a.m.
Hon Members, Correction of Official Report of Thursday, 7th November, 2019.
rose
Mr Speaker 10:31 a.m.
Yes, Hon Ras Mubarak?
Mr Mubarak 10:31 a.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Official Report. First, column 1067, item 6.2, on the second line, the Hansard Department should insert “the”, and it would then read, “the first set of provisions provide for the administration…”

Mr Speaker, the second correction is on column 1072, item 7.6, third paragraph, line 16, UNCITRAL should be written in full. It is the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law. That should be inserted before the abbreviation.

Mr Speaker, last but not least, on column 1073, in the last paragraph, item 8.0, “as” should be inserted. So, it would read, “The proposed amendments are attached as an annexure.”

Mr Speaker, these are the corrections that I have spotted thus far.
Mr Speaker 10:31 a.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Mubarak.
Hon Members, any other corrections?
Hon Members, in the absence of any further corrections, the Official Report of Thursday, 7th November, 2019, as corrected, is hereby
admitted as the true record of proceedings.
Hon Members, item listed 3 -- Statements. Yes, Hon Minority Chief Whip?
Alhaji Muntaka 10:41 a.m.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
I come under Standing Order 539(1)(i). At the time of Statement, I would want to draw your attention to the absence of the Budget Estimates. We have barely three (3) weeks to go, and there is not a single Budget Estimate in the House. We are expected to play our oversight roles effectively and do due diligence before approvals on the Floor.
Mr Speaker, my worry is that, if the principles were approved yesterday, and as of today, not a single one of your Committees is ready to start work, it means that this week would end without us working. For the ensuing week, the Business Committee has programmed Monday onwards for submission of reports. This would create a big problem for all of us, and that is what brings about late evening Sittings. I do not think that is fair, and I believe our Hon Colleagues opposite, especially the Leadership, must do well to get the Hon Minister for Finance and other
relevant agencies to furnish us with the details.
Mr Speaker, this issue was raised at the Business Committee and assurance was given that it would come before we end the debate on the Budget Statement and Financial Policy and its approval. Yet, a day after the approval of the policy, we do not have a single Budget Estimate.

Mr Speaker, I think it is a cause for concern, and I hope that you would give guidance to the Leadership of the Majority to get us the details so that we can get to do our work very well.
Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah 10:41 a.m.
Mr Speaker, in oder that tomorrow another Hon Member does not come under the same Standing Order. purporting to do what the Hon Minority Chief Whip has done - He referred the House to Standing Order 53(1)(i). Mr Speaker, clearly, what he did was out of order -- [Interruption]
An Hon Member 10:41 a.m.
Are the Estimates in?
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 10:41 a.m.
Is this the proper time to raise this issue? Mr Speaker, we should not take advantage of your leniency, so to speak --
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 10:41 a.m.
Mr Speaker, your forbearance.
Alhaji Muntaka 10:41 a.m.
Mr Speaker, with the greatest respect, my Hon Colleague is the Hon Chairman of the Finance Committee and he knows that when it comes to the Chamber, some of us have mastered what we do.
Mr Speaker, I refer him to Standing Order 72, which with your permission reads 10:41 a.m.
“By the indulgence of the House and leave of Mr Speaker a Member may, at the time appointed for statements under Order 53 (Order of Business)
…”
That is why I went to Standing Order 53(1) (i) because that is the time allotted for Statements. Mr Speaker, I came in at the right time, and that is why I referred to Standing Order 53(1)(i) because that is what Standing Order 72 says.
Mr Speaker, he is the Hon Chairman of the Finance Committee, and he is supposed to even put pressure on the Ministry of Finance to get the Budget Estimates here. That is what he should concern himself with, and not to try to teach his teacher how to use the Standing Orders.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 10:41 a.m.
Mr Speaker, he said he is my teacher. He was two years my junior at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). [Laughter]
Mr Speaker 10:41 a.m.
Once a senior --
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 10:41 a.m.
Always a senior.
Mr Speaker 10:41 a.m.
Very good. Like I was to you, as a Presbytarian Boys Senior High School (PRESEC) boy.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 10:41 a.m.
Yes.
Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Finance has assured us that by the close of business this week, the Budget Estimates would be in the House. I am in touch on a constant basis with the Ministry of Finance. We have even programmed at the Finance Committee to meet over the weekend to consider the Estimates. That is what I would urge other Committees to do, to go ahead and programme to meet to consider the Annual Estimates which would be in the House latest by Friday afternoon.
Mr James K. Avedzi 10:41 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the information provided by the Hon Chairman of the Finance Committee has rather worsened the issue that was raised by the Hon Minority Chief Whip.
Mr Speaker, the programme we drew, which was presented in this Chamber was that the first Report should come on Monday, 2nd December, 2019. At the Business Committee meeting, we insisted that by Tuesday, that was yesterday, the Annual Estimates should start coming in, so that those Committees could start work today, and by Monday 2nd December 2019, the Reports would be ready.
Mr Speaker, if the Hon Chairman of the Finance Committee says that the Annual Estimates would be ready on Friday, 29th November, 2019, when would the Committees meet in order to bring Reports on Monday, 2nd December, 2019?
Mr Speaker, it would affect the Business of the House, so please, the Ministry of Finance should do something and bring the Annual Estimates so that Committees can start work and ensure that Reports start coming in on Monday.
Mr Matthew Nyindam 10:41 a.m.
Mr Speaker, for almost two days now, the Hon Minority Chief Whip has not been in the Chamber, and that is why he complained that there is no single Budget Estimates in this House. That is factually inaccurate because as we speak -- I can speak on authority
An Hon Member 10:41 a.m.
Which Committees?
Mr Nyindam 10:41 a.m.
The Budget estimates of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration. Government Machinery, the Ghana Audit Service and the Ministry of Planning are ready. [Interruption]
An Hon Member 10:41 a.m.
Where are they?
Mr Nyindam 10:41 a.m.
Are you asking me where they are? Do you want me to carry them for you? Mr Speaker, for the Hon Minority Chief Whip to stand up and say that there is no single Annual Estimate in this House is factually inaccurate, and he has to withdraw it.
Mr Speaker, I agree that we need to expedite action, such that we can all get these Budget Estimates, work on them as early as possible, and then arrive at the right time. But for him to peddle that issue, that there is no single Annual Estimate in this House -- I
Alhaji Muntaka 10:41 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I really wish my Hon Colleague would look at the Votes and Proceedings. I was absent with permission.
Mr Speaker, I challenged him to go and find out from the Mails Room whether a single Annual Estimates has been brought there. Our Hon Colleagues on the Committee on Foreign Affairs and everybody is here. I repeat that not a single Budget Estimate is in this House.
If what the Hon Deputy Majority Whip said is true, let him produce those Budget Estimates here. There is not a single one in the Mails Room. The place where we pick our documents is the Mails Room. I crosschecked this morning, because I knew I would raise this issue, and I was told that none had come. So if they are in his office, he should send them to the Mails Room, so that Hon Members can have them.
Mr Speaker 10:41 a.m.
I want the Hon Leaders to always look behind them before they rise. [Laughter] It helps me.
Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh 10:41 a.m.
The issue that was raised by the Hon

Secondly, if the Hon Deputy Majority Whip now says that the Budget Estimates are in the custody of the Clerks-at-the-Table, knowing that they cannot answer the issues we have raised, it means that it is the Leadership of the Majority that has deliberately hoarded those Annual Estimates, so that we would not scrutinise the documents properly. It is very bad.

We cannot waste public time like that. Mr Speaker, it is important for him to know that the suggestion that the Hon Chairman of the Finance Committee proposed cannot work for all the Committees. Why wait until Friday before you bring the Annual Estimates and then at the weekend, Committee Members would go and discuss them? If we take our job seriously, Budget Estimates must not be taken lightly. They should bring the documents if they are here and distribute them.
rose
Mr Speaker 10:41 a.m.
I advised that Hon Leaders must look behind them. They would speak, but they must speak last.
Mr Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi 10:41 a.m.
Mr Speaker, Hon Yieleh Chireh is a Senior that I respect so much.
Mr Speaker 10:41 a.m.
Please, make your point without all these -- [Laughter].
Mr Anyimadu-Antwi 10:41 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I do not expect a word like “abysmal” --
Mr Speaker 10:41 a.m.
Hon Member, what is your reason? Make your point. What you expect or do not expect is commentary.
Mr Anyimadu-Antwi 10:41 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I do not expect a word like “abysmal” to come from him when he has not adduced any reason to the fact that the Majority Side has performed abysmally.
Mr Speaker 10:41 a.m.
Hon Member, make a substantive rebuttal of what he said.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 10:41 a.m.
Mr Speaker, we debated the Budget Statement for six days, and the Hon
Mr Speaker 10:41 a.m.
Hon Members, order!
Hon Members, if you say one person's performance is abysmal, he is entitled to rebut, and let you know it is not true. [Laughter] Let us listen to him.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah 10:41 a.m.
Mr Speaker, before the Leadership concluded the debate, the verdict was 4-2 in favour of the Majority, and yesterday, the Hon Majority Leader trounced the Hon Minority Leader.
10. 51 a. m.
That made it 5 - 2 in the debate. How could that be abysmal?
Mr Speaker 10:41 a.m.
Well, at least, that is a substantive statement on rebuttal.
Hon Members, I think we would end this matter here. Let us face it that the cumulative effect of the rules makes the demand of the Minority Chief Whip a definitely genuine one. We are entitled to make this demand at this time; let us not be unmindful of that.
STATEMENTS 10:41 a.m.
Minority Leader (Mr Haruna Iddrisu) 10:41 a.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to make a Statement on the Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs) and the need for the seventh Parliament, under your guidance, to constitute an Ad hoc Committee to oversee and monitor the implementation of the programmes aimed at attaining the SDGs, so that we do not have a repeat of what happened in our country's pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Mr Speaker, in 2015, all the 93 Members of the United Nations [UN) unanimously adopted 17 Goals towards attaining sustainable development in the World. The SDGs is the UN's agenda to tackle global
challenges such as poverty, climate change, environmental degradation, inequality, prosperity, peace and justice. The 17 Goals represent a call to action by all member-countries, poor, rich and middle-income, to promote prosperity and protect the environment by 2030. As noted by the then Secretary-General of the UN, Mr Ban Ki-Moon, “The 17 Sustainable Development Goals are our shared vision of humanity and a social contract between the world's leaders and the people ... They are a to-do list for people and planet, and a blueprint for success.”
Mr Speaker, former President John Dramani Mahama was appointed by the Secretary-General of the UN as co-chair of the Group of Eminent Advocates for the 2030 Agenda and was succeeded in September 2017 by the current President, H. E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Our President co-chairs the Group with the Prime Minister of Norway, H.E. Erna Solberg. The appointment of the President of the Republic to co- chair the Group reflects to the continued trust the UN has in Ghana to play a lead role in the attainment of the SDGs. That imposes a more compelling obligation on us to provide leadership as a country in its pursuit.
Mr Speaker, member countries are enjoined to reduce the SDGs into their respective national plans and make adequate provision in annual budgets for their implementation. This is what we have been requested to do as we have approved Budget Estimates and the Financial Policy of Government through the past year to 2020.
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals are: No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Good Health and Well-being, Quality Education, Gender Equality, Clean Water and Sanitation, Affordable and Clean Energy, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Reducing Inequality, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Responsible Consumption and Production, Climate Action, Life Below Water, Life On Land, Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions and Partnerships for the Goals.
The SDGs are the successor to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which Ghana implemented between 2001 and 2015. According to the Ghana Millennium Development Goals 2015 Report, Ghana's progress on the MDGs had been mixed. While some of the targets such as halving extreme poverty, halving the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water, universal primary education
Mr Speaker 10:41 a.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Minority Leader for the brilliant Statement that you have been very concise about.
Hon Minister for Planning?
Minister for Planning (Prof George Yaw Gyan-Baffour) 11:01 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I want to thank the Hon Minority Leader for making this Statement. It is long overdue that a lot more of what is going on with regard to the SDGs implementation in the country be known to the House.
Mr Speaker, Parliament was even part of the preparations towards the coming out with the goals. We went
to Australia for the preparations, so we had an input in the process and it is only fair that when we start with the implementation, Parliament should be part of it.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minority Leader was right when he said that they were a bit aloof with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) when it started, even though it was introduced into the United Nations by nobody other than our own, the late Kofi Annan. These SDGs are, in fact, the successor of the MDGs but its effects at the lower level were not felt much. We did very well in Ghana at that time.
We were able to halve the incidence of poverty even earlier than 2015, but then we lagged in other areas, which we should focus more attention on now. We are to take a cue from what we could do well and what we could not do well in the MDGs and make sure that we do it better this time.
Mr Speaker, Government has been working on it and in July, 2019, we went to New York to tell the whole world about where we were in terms of the implementation. With the cue from the Hon Minority Leader, maybe, we could come and inform the House on what really went on. Even though some Hon Members of Parliament went with us, I believe the House has not been fully briefed. So,
Mr Speaker 11:11 a.m.
Thank you Hon Minister for Planning, for being in the House to assist in this regard. It is a good example of Hon Ministers being in the House and then, when there is such need, they contribute to the debate accordingly.
However, this Statement has come on today, just because of the debate on the Budget Statement.

It has been lying and waiting for three weeks, but it is good that you are also here at a time like this and we appreciate your very regular presence in this honourable House.
Prof Gyan-Baffour 11:11 a.m.
Mr Speaker, do you mean more information on the SDGs?
Mr Speaker 11:11 a.m.
Yes, with regard to the gender aspect in terms of women and the vulnerables.
Prof Gyan-Baffour 11:11 a.m.
Mr Speaker, you know that the President of the Republic is, in fact, a gender advocate for the SDGs. With that, we focused on Goal number 4 that says we should have gender equality.
Mr Speaker, indeed, when you look at the basic education, we have so far had parity in terms of gender. Indeed, even in certain areas of the country, and I commend the people from the north-eastern part of the country. Here, you see that men are the endangered species because there are more girls in school than boys.
That was actually by an intervention at the time, where girls were being
taken to the farms to take care of their brothers and siblings but then there was a project that was introduced to the children from those areas. Instead of going to the farm, they would get a ration of rice and because the parents were also interested in that ration -- In fact, these children were able to stay in school because of that issue of rationing; so gender parity exists over there.
The problem is that we are still struggling with the parity at the tertiary level which is what we are working on now. However, even there, we are improving it by closing the gap.
Mr Speaker, if you also realise, we are looking for parity in terms of people in government. We have been trying very hard to increase - even when you consider the issue of increasing the number of women in the House, we had about 30 per cent as our target. Even though we are not there, we are working on that and there have been a lot of arguments here and there about whether or not we should come out with an affirmative action that will give a certain proportion of the seats in the House to women. I think this dialogue is ongoing.
In terms of gender, we are closely working on that and the targets -- when we have the goals, we establish
targets and some of the targets include the level of parity that I am referring to, but as you have requested, I will find time and get more details and apprise the House on where we are in terms of gender issues.
Mr Speaker 11:11 a.m.
Hon Minister, we will be most grateful.
Hon Okudzeto Ablakwa?
Mr Samuel O. Ablakwa (NDC-- North Tongu) 11:11 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am most grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the Statement that has been so brilliantly made by the Hon Minority Leader.
It is a very timely, pragmatic and visionary Statement which urges the House under your leadership, Mr Speaker, to set up a seven-member Committee or any other composition as you will so desire to carry out oversight on this important international objective which is the Sustainable Development Goals, Agenda 2030 as it has come to be known.
Mr Speaker, I commend the Hon Minister for Planning, Prof Gyan- Baffour who has not kept Parliament out of the loop entirely. I recalled that when Ghana was preparing to report to the United Nations (UN), under the
Voluntary Report Programme, the Hon Minister and the National Development Planning Council (NDPC) organised a workshop in Parliament which I was privileged to attend and they did provide a detailed briefing of what they were going to present to the UN in July.
The briefing was very comprehensive and it gave Hon Members of Parliament who were in attendance at the D. F. Annan Auditorium, a good insight as to what the Ministry of Planning and the NDPC were doing. I thought that was a very good start and perhaps, what is missing is the Report from the UN presentation that was made and some detailed updates.
Mr Speaker, having said that, I have been looking at paragraph 533, page 106 of the 2020 Budget Statement. The Ministry of Planning has indicated; which with your permission I quote:
“The Ministry commenced the process of identifying bankable SDG projects among the various ministries. The ministry will cost the various SDG projects and appraise them to create an SDG project bank”.
Mr Speaker, this is a very significant provision in the Budget
Mr Samuel O. Ablakwa (NDC-- North Tongu) 11:21 a.m.
Statement on the SDGs. What is not clear is whether these bankable projects have been identified and when the Ministry intends to take off. This is because, as we are about to work on the Budget Estimates, it would be really helpful if the Hon Minister has the information on the various sectors that have been selected. So that in carrying out our oversight on the Budget Estimates, we can help him check to be sure if the Ministries are really complying with this.
Having said that, the SDGs is a particularly ambitious project and the Hon Minister has said there are many who think that it is overly ambitious. I have been looking at a Report titled “The 2018 SDG Index and Dashboard's Report” and authored by the celebrated economist, Jeffery Sachs who we all know was a special consultant to the late Kofi Annan when they drew up the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Mr Speaker, he is leading an organisation known as the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. In their latest assessment, they are reporting that no country appears on track to meet all the 17 development Goals. The report further reveals that so far, only India and Germany have partially done an assessment of Sustainable
Development investment needs. Even with these two countries, it is not a full assessment, but a partial one.
According to the report, the United States of America (USA) and Russia have taken the least action, if you look at the G-20 countries, and those countries that appear to be doing well are Sweden, Denmark and Finland.
Mr Speaker, so there is a lot of work that has to be done, especially if you read Jeffrey Sachs' report which indicates that African countries have to do more. They need to support us because of where we are in terms of our level of industrialisation and being victims of the current global order and so on.
Clearly, we as a Parliament must join hands to carry out the needed supervision, oversight and support. This must be seen as a collective effort so that we can meet these SDGs.

Mr Speaker, the Statement is timely and we will plead with you to graciously consider Parliament having a special Committee to focus and take special attention on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) so that we can help monitor them. Mr Speaker, because 2030 is not far and

as we look at the Agenda 2030, we should also know how we synchronise with our own development plans as a country, and the African Union's Agenda 2063, so that we can synchronise and harmonise all of these international development targets and move forward as a country.

Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity to contribute to the Statement.
Mr Speaker 11:21 a.m.
Hon Member, thank you very much.
Dr Emmanuel Marfo (NPP -- Oforikrom) 11:21 a.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much. Firstly, I would commend the Hon Minority Leader for the very good Statement he has made on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly, his recommendation that we should have a special Committee to perform oversight functions in this area.
Mr Speaker, the fundamental question that we need to ask is whether Parliament should indeed have an oversight over the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). I would argue to the extent that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are global policies that we have subscribed to as a country, it is in place that we devise ways to
provide oversight. More importantly, if we want to consider policy as a structured commitment of resources, then to a large extent, our Budget Statements must reflect to the commitments that we have made as far as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are concerned.
Mr Speaker, to that extent, as a Parliament, having a framework for assessment and monitoring, achieving or pursuing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is very important.
I recalled that a few months ago, a Statement was made in this House in respect of the President's commitment of one per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to science and technology development and a call was made for this House to institute a framework that would assist the relevant Committees in this House to be able to monitor the actual commitment of the Government as far as that provision was concerned.
Mr Speaker, I think that by and large, we can extend that argument to also cover the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as they have become the focal global development policy for our world.
Mr Speaker, even with the reports that are sent to this House by the Ministries, they should also reflect this and each Ministry that has a certain mandate over specific areas or goals
Mr Speaker 11:21 a.m.
Hon Ayariga?
Mr Mahama Ayariga (NDC -- Bawku Central) 11:31 a.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to make a contribution.
Mr Speaker, clearly, the Statement is a very important one and I just want to add that the way to read the SDGs is to look at each Goal itself and then the targets. So there is a Goal and a set of targets to meet the Goal. If we just look at the Goals, then we may
miss the point and so I would urge that in looking at the SDGs, we would pay more attention to the targets.
Mr Speaker, everything that we do in governance, in essence, is about the SDGs. Mr Speaker, if you look at the Goals and the targets, every sector, Ministry, governmental agency and every allocation of public resources in one way or the other, goes to meet a particular target which helps to achieve a particular Goal. So everything that we have done so far is to meet the SDGs, but I was particularly impressed when I read the 2020 Budget Statement. Mr Speaker, I kept noticing that sector ministries have become conscious of the fact that their work is towards meeting certain Goals and certain targets. Indeed, they mentioned them in the various sector discussions and so I think that we should encourage them to keep it up.
Mr Speaker, but the one I want us to focus on, especially, given that our President is one of the global advocates, is Goal 17. Mr Speaker, Goal 17 speaks about the mobilisation of resources and global partnerships that need to be formed and how developing countries should be assisted to be able to achieve the Goals. Mr Speaker, it focuses on critical areas such as balancing trade. We must restructure global trade in
such a way that goods from developing countries would be able to access developed markets so that there can be a significant share of resources from developed countries to developing countries for us to be able to meet the commitments that we have made in the SDGs.
Mr Speaker, because everything boils down to the availability of resources, if developing countries, especially, least developed countries do not have the resources to be able to meet these targets to achieve these goals, then at the end of the day, there would be assessments by Jeffrey Sachs and Co that would show failure.
So we need to fight and ensure that there is transfer of resources, either through trade or through commitments that developed countries have made to ensure that a certain share of their official development assistance is transferred to developing countries.
Also, a certain share of their national income is committed to assist developing and least developed countries. Mr Speaker, if we do not hold them to their commitment of transferring a given portion of their national income to developed countries, then these countries would not be able to meet the commitments made in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Mr Speaker, I would end with technology because technology has become a very critical enabler to meet the SDGs.
Again, international agreements structure things in such a way that patents, copyrights and so on that are held by developed countries who invented these technologies makes it almost impossible to afford these technologies which can help in achieving the SDGs. So our work as one of the leaders in the advocacy to achieve the SDGs as a developing country should focus on getting the developed countries to commit their national incomes as stipulated in the SDGs.
In some cases, they are supposed to commit up to 0.05 per cent of their national income and so we should be seeing them account on how much of their national income have been transferred to developing and least developed countries to meet the commitments under the SDGs.

Mr Speaker, I agree with the Hon Minority Leader when he says that this House should set up a Committee that focuses on that. There are some proposals that the Special Committee on Poverty Reduction Strategies should be in charge of. However, poverty is just one of the issues, and
Mr Speaker 11:31 a.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Member, for your brilliant contribution.
Dr Okoe Boye?
Dr Bernard O. Boye (NPP -- Ledzokuku) 11:31 a.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to make a few comments and to support the proposal from the Hon Minority Leader.
The SDGs of about 17 Goals have about 169 targets which are intended to help guide nations to improve the overall quality of life of citizens of this world. Most of the time, when we talk about the SDGs, people only think of Goal 3, which mentions good health and wellbeing. People think of only that as the one that has to do with health. But a critical scrutiny of the Goals reveals that more than half of the Goals have a way of helping to improve health outcomes.
When you take a look at Goal 4. which speaks about quality eduation, there has been ample research to show that anytime an individual gets higher education, which is beyond Junior High School (JHS) level, their health outcomes improve. In fact, at
the obstetrics and gynaecology clinic, when we have 100 women who lose their lives through childbirth, just about seven per cent would have had tertiary education. Majority are those who are either uneducated at all or schooled only up to Junior High School (JHS).
Mr Speaker, the reasons are very simple. The economic empowerment of those who go to school up to JHS or did not school at all is low. Sometimes they need their husbands to give them transport before they can even come to the labour ward. So there is a clear connection between education and health outcomes. I believe strongly that most of the activities this Government, and of course, erstwhile Governments have done, have all been activities in fulfilment of the SDGs. What we lack is a committee as the Hon Minority Leader suggested, which would track, measure, monitor and advise on ways to review our ways so that we can make significant achievements.
Mr Speaker, I have heard a few people say that the Goals are ambitious. They are not necessary; it is the achievement of the Goals that we have to celebrate. It is the magnitude of the efforts we put in to get closer, if not getting to the goal. We have to put in a lot of effort which we must be able to measure.
When we look at Goal 5, it talks about gender equality. There are about nine targets under Goal 5, and let me just speak to about two or three of them. One of the targets is to end all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere. We also have to eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking, sexual and other types of exploitations.
Mr Speaker, let me be quick to add that, today's dailies said that we now have more men being abused by women. So when it comes to gender, we must not only think of the females. Issues that are going against the men are also captured. We also have one of the targets being; to ensure women's full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision making in political, economic and public life. I believe strongly that this is one of the targets that you are very much interested in to ensure that women participate at all levels.
Mr Speaker, I believe this House has been engaging itself on how to ensure that women participation increases in Parliament. The truth is that, most of the world's female leaders we hear about, including Angela Merkel, came to Parliament through a special arrangement. Most
Mr Speaker 11:31 a.m.
And in conclusion?
Dr Boye 11:31 a.m.
Mr Speaker, when you look at Goal 8, it talks about decent work and economic growth. The reason is very simple; anywhere the economy improves, lives also improve as well, and it has a reflection on health.
Mr Speaker, I urge Hon Members to support this particular proposal. We must be able to track our progress and advise ourselves accordingly.
I thank you for the opportunity.
Mr Speaker 11:31 a.m.
Hon (Dr) Pelpuo, then I would come to Hon Leaders.
Alhaji (Dr) Abdul-Rashid H. Pelpuo (NDC -- Wa Central) 11:41 a.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to comment on this Statement ably presented by the Hon Minority Leader.
The Statement is of critical importance, and I believe that if every month, w e have one of such Statements poi nt i ng to our
development objectives and how we would want to achieve development in the country, it would not be too much for this Parliament. Let me start by saying that, I support the fact that we set up a certain committee that would track the development trajectory to see how the SDGs are met over the years.
Mr Speaker, the SDGs are an important blueprints for us to look at how we perform at every stage in our development objectives. This is something we cannot avoid because the issues that are set in the Agenda or in the Goals are very basic and fundamental. How do we ensure that there is no hunger or poverty, we have quality education, good drinking water, and how do we ensure that overall, we have a good economic growth in this country?
Mr Speaker, to get all these things done, it means we need to look at who we are from the beginning. When we sought independence, the idea was to make sure we have our own policies, we develop our own environment, we own our own assets and we lead our country in freedom and in liberty.
Mr Speaker, in doing all these, we told the world we were going to be a developed country, just like other countries, and we started off until in
the 1980s when we got to the point where it was impossible for us to realise our expectations. Then our economy started crumbling. All over Africa, Ghana was an example of a Country that experienced coup d'tats and every other thing that happened.

Mr Speaker, as these things happened, we started asking ourselves what the way forward was until we got to the point where policies that were not necessarily ours were imposed on us. For instance, structural adjustment Programmes (SAP) here and there to liberalise our economy to ensure that we allow trade and open up to the rest of the world.

Mr Speaker, today, we have come to a point where again, we are now called upon to formulate policies in accordance with some specific goals. We have to ask ourselves whether we should tie ourselves down to these goals. What is the purpose of every developing economy?

Mr Speaker, no economy would want to develop, so that its people go hungry; or that there shall be no quality education or good sanitation. It is the objective of every development effort. I think that we must not be tied down by any other considerations. The fact that we need to own our policies is very important.
Alhaji (Dr) Abdul-Rashid H. Pelpuo (NDC -- Wa Central) 11:41 a.m.


Mr Speaker, it is very important that the SDGs are considered as only blueprints; they are raw materials. The real thing to do is to define policy which would be owned by us and also tackle issues that would produce these as end results. They are not ends by themselves; they are helping us to come to a certain conclusion in the end where we can say that we have supported our people to reach certain quality in life.

Mr Speaker, I would therefore be happy if the Hon Minister would not just come here to tell us how they have attained it. What are the set off strategies? There are about 169 set off strategies. How do we summarise them into policies that we can relate to? Definitely, we would have to carry the people along. Every time we do a policy and the people are outside it we have failed. It is important to have the people go along with us.

We should define what the strategies are and what the policy objectives and goals are, and also define how we would reach there. If

that is done and we are told how we would achieve results, it would be important for this Parliament to follow, monitor and eventually, provide the needed oversight as would be directed by Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker, I thank you very much for the opportunity. I hope and pray that very soon, the Hon Minister would come back to this House to respond to all the issues we have raised.
Mr Speaker 11:41 a.m.
Yes, Deputy Minority Whip?
Mr Ahmed Ibrahim (NDC -- Banda) 11:41 a.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to make a few comments on the Statement.
Before I proceed, I must commend the Hon Member who made the Statement and I would support the call that he has made, that this House, led by your good self, establishes an Ad Hoc Committee to oversee the implementation of the SDGs.
Mr Speaker, we heard of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which was sang as a song. Now, it has been changed to SDGs. When the world is talking about Agenda 2030, as a continent, Africa talks about Agenda 2063.
Mr Speaker, I was not surprised when the Hon Minister for Planning said that some people say the SDGs and the Agenda 2030 are over ambitious. Even though these are together called SDGs by the UN, when you go to chapter 6 of our Constitution, it has the Directive Principles of State Policy, which is well-established. The steps that the country must take in the realisation of some of these Goals: The right to work, right to education, the right to decent life style et cetera are contained in our Constitution.
Mr Speaker, as a country, we have made significant progress. It is just that there is non-existence of a committee to track all these things. Sometimes when some things are said, we forget the achievements we have made as a country.
Mr Speaker, I might not be all that old, but in the early 1990s, when we talk of electricity coverage, it was about 15 per cent. As I speak, collectively, we have been able to progress from 15 per cent to 84 per cent. When Africa is talking about Agenda 2063, Ghana, together with the world, can achieve the Agenda 2030 by realising the gains in achieving the SDGs.
Mr Speaker, the significant call by the Hon Minority Leader is for the establishment of a committee. He asked for the establishment of a seven-member committee. Before I conclude, I beg to call for us to extend it from seven members to either nine members or 13 members.
When we established the Poverty Strategy Reduction Committee which was added to those of the House - Mr Speaker, I believe people looked at that Committee in certain ways. Once it is made an Ad hoc Committee, the Hon Ranking Member of the sectors affected by the goals, for example, the Hon Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Education; the Hon Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Health; the Hon Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration; and the Hon Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Finance. When we make it as an ex officio committee, Mr Speaker, we would get a committee of about 11 or 13 Members. That Ad hoc Committee can effectively monitor and coordinate and we would see the gains that we have made in achieving these goals.
Mr Speaker, with these few words, I thank you for the opportunity once again.
Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu (Majority Leader) 11:51 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you very much for the opportunity to make some brief remarks about the Statement made by my Hon Colleague, the Hon Minority Leader on the SDGs and the call on Parliament to set an oversight committee for the SDGs.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minority Leader and I have had some conversation on this. I believe that it is important that we have a committee to deal effectively with the promotion of the SDGs.
Early on, we had an Ad hoc Committee establishment by Parliament when the Africa Region decided to pursue an agenda by the African Union (AU) and the Peer Review aspect of it. Really, it is the icing on the cake. We had to form a committee on the agenda that the AU decided -- indeed, it was part of the decision that the parliaments in Africa should establish committees to oversee the implementation of the agenda of the AU at the time.
Mr Speaker, we are confronted with the issue of whether to constitute that to be an ad hoc in nature, which would be a stand-alone committee, or is it that we should replicate what the Executive has done, constituting a committee which would reflect on the core values contained in the SDGs?

In that case, perhaps, we would include the Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs; Committees on the Mines and Energy; Water Resources, Works and Housing; Education; Health and these infrastructural delivery Ministries. Of course, we need to also add the Committee on Governance, so we should decide which members should form the Committee.

I do not believe in having a very large member Committee that would make it a bit amorphous. We need to have a Committee that would be appointed and indeed concentrate on the goals raised by the Sustainable Development Agenda.

Mr Speaker, I believe if we have a real long term national development plan, we should also dovetail the SDGs into it. Mr Speaker, as for sustainability of development, I keep emphasising that Ghanaians came to terms with sustainability in

development before, perhaps, the entire world came to admit same.

This is because the preamble of our Constitution puts so much emphasis on sustainable development. It is for that reason that the opening phrase of the preamble provide the following which with your permission I quote:

“We the People of Ghana,

IN EXERCISE of our natural and inalienable right to establish a framework of government which shall secure for ourselves and posterity the blessings of liberty, equality of opportunity and prosperity;”

Mr Speaker, that is the pivotal issue about development. Development should not be construed for those of us living today, but the generation that would follow after us tomorrow and the day after. Which is why if you have natural resources, its exploitation should be promoted in such a manner as to affect, not only the generations of today, but the generations of tomorrow and the one after.

Mr Speaker, my Hon Colleague, the Hon Minority Deputy Whip, has raised issues about the situation of the Directive Principles of State Policy, which is Chapter 6 of the Constitution. Indeed, the SDGs just encapsulates in the Ghanaian context, the contents

of Chapter 5 of the Constitution, the Fundamental Human Rights and Freedom, and Chapter 6, the Directive Principles of State Policy.

Mr Speaker, the various objectives contained in the Directive Principles of State Policy, including the political, economic, social, educational, cultural and international relations objectives, all speak to the SDGs. If you add the Chapter on Human Rights and Freedoms, you are talking to the SDGs. That means that Ghanaians identified the importance of the SDGs before the world even came to terms with it.

Mr Speaker, what we have not done rightly is how to structure the implementation of these noble objectives as contained in our Constitution. I would suggest that we form a Committee. I agree with the Hon Minority Leader. As I said, I have had numerous discussions with him on this subject matter.

I would suggest that we do not establish a Committee that would be seen as neutral, but one that would embrace the core membership of some of these existing Committees - Health, Water Resources, Education and Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs. They would be the core members of this Committee and then, we would see how to move ahead.
Mr Speaker 11:51 a.m.
Hon Members, this has been a very useful Statement. It would be useful to have --
Prof Gyan-Baffour 11:51 a.m.
Mr Speaker, in the first place, let me thank you very much for admitting this Statement, I
thank the Hon Minority Leader for making it, and Hon Members of the House for their various contributions.
Mr Speaker, incorporated in the Coordinated Programme for Economic and Social Development Policy that was brought to this House last year, is the SDGs and then the Agenda 2063 of the AU. Mr Speaker, when you look at the Government's programmes -- I do not want to mention them here - some of the programmes or even the flagship programmes are all aimed at achieving those goals.
So it is actually incorporated in it, and the idea is that when we are doing the Budget Statement -- because it takes root from the coordinated programme, it should reflect that. I believe the House is right in saying that we may have to look at the Budget Statement and see whether we are performing. That is the oversight role of the House, and I urge Hon Members to use it in the process.
Mr Speaker, Jeffery Sachs looked at the investment needs of the country. He is very right. In fact, I had the chance to meet Jeffrey Sachs in New York when both of us were there. We have started trying to cost the SDGs in Ghana. So we are in the process of doing that and when it is done, we would let the House know.
Mr Speaker, I agree very well with the Hon Minority Leader that we should have this oversight Committee and the sooner we do that, the better. Mr Speaker, in Government, we have a 15-member Committee, which consists of all the Hon Ministers who have something to do with the SDGs. So, if in the House, it is done to reflect those who have something to do with the SDGs, that would be the right approach to it. We in Government would try and support that Committee in taking off.
I also thank the Hon Member. When I mentioned Goal 4 as relating to gender, it was actually Goal 5 as he rightly said.
12. 01 p. m.
Mr Speaker, with this one, I think the House should move very quickly on what the Hon Minority and Majority Leaders have confirmed, so that we could set up this Committee in order for us to monitor what goes on — not only to monitor but to ensure that it gets in there. Mr Speaker, monitoring is usually an after-the-fact issue but we have to make sure that it reflects in the Budget Statement and not only monitoring. Lastly, I think we may leave that to the Executive to do.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:51 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I think we could deal with Motion listed as item number 4.
12. 06 P.m. --
MR SECOND DEPUTY SPEAKER
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 11:51 a.m.
Hon Majority Leader, I heard Mr Speaker say at the Commencement of Public Business but I did not hear the item you guided him on.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:51 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I gave the indication that we would want to deal with item numbered 4.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 11:51 a.m.
Item 4 on the Order Paper, Motion, Leader of the Delegation?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:51 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Leader of the Delegation to the 141st Assembly of the Inter-
Parliamentary Union held in Belgrade Serbia, from Sunday, 13 th to Thursday, the 17th of October, 2019, was the Rt Hon Speaker of Ghana's Parliament. Mr Speaker, just as you know, the Rt Hon Speaker cannot move the Motion on his own behalf, it falls on me as the Hon Majority Leader to move the Motion for and on behalf of the Rt Hon Speaker.
MOTION 11:51 a.m.
Majority Leader (Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu) on behalf of the Rt Hon Speaker) 11:51 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that this honourable House adopts the Report of Ghana's Parliamentary Delegation to the 141st Assembly of the Inter- Parliamentary Union (IPU) held in Belgrade, Serbia from Sunday, 13th to Thursday, 17th October, 2019.
In so doing, I present the Report:
1.0 Introduction
The 141st Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly took place in Belgrade, Serbia from Sunday, 13th to Thursday, 17th October, 2019.
All Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) statutory bodies including the Governing Council, Standing Committees, Committees on Human Rights of Parliamentarians and on Middle East Questions, Forum of Women Parliamentarians and Forum of Young MPs participated in the planned activities of the Assembly.
2.0 Ghana's Parliamentary Delegation To The 141st IPU Assembly
Ghana's Parliamentary Delegation to the 141st Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly was led by the Rt Hon Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye.
The rest of the Delegation comprised the following persons:
i. Hon Osei Kyei-Mensah- Bonsu;
ii. Hon Haruna Iddrisu;
iii. Hon Matthew Nyindam;
iv. Hon Ahmed Ibrahim;
v. Hon Abena Durowaah Mensah;
vi. Hon Ama Pomaa Boateng;
vii.Mr Cyril Oteng Nsiah; and
viii. Alhaji Ibrahim Gombilla.
Majority Leader (Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu) on behalf of the Rt Hon Speaker) 11:51 a.m.


translate global commitments into real, national and local actions and pass the necessary legislations to implement all the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

6.4 Speech by Rt Hon Speaker of Parliament of Ghana, Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye

The Rt Hon Speaker addressed the 141st IPU Assembly by basing his presentation on the African perspective and placing it firmly on the agenda of how the world could best conceptualise, interrogate and tackle contemporary problems on the African continent, with special reference to Ghana.

The Rt Speaker firstly reminded the Assembly that initially the world's prime focus in Africa was the fight against Colonization but that changed to the search for good governance due to the emergence of dictatorship, militarism and governance challenges in myriad forms.

The Rt Hon Speaker presented that the current existential problems of the world could be seen in three main dimensions; namely, climate change, nuclear race and threats, poverty, misery, and diseases stemming out of the old economic paradigm of dependency and re- cycling of poverty.

Regarding climate change, the Rt Hon Speaker observed that global warming had changed agricultural patterns and jostled planning efforts in Africa, and that phenomenon has caused resources which could have been made available to help Africa tackle its gaping problems to be expended somewhere else.

According to the Rt Hon Speaker, we have reached the point where we needed a nuclear weapon free zone to make the world a less dangerous place to live in because nuclear weapons in the hands of nations could trigger an avalanche which would consume humanity.

To buttress this point, he recalled an event which took place on the land of the former President Tito of Yugoslavia (now Serbia) who together with Ghana's former President Nkrumah and others appreciated the nexus between the development of poor nations vis-a- vis the global application of resources for the arm's race. He emphasised that the world would be poorer and developing nations would be poorer and poorer still if the nuclear race was allowed to continue.

The Rt Hon Speaker noted that the current World Economic Order where developing nations essentially produced raw materials and developed nations produced and exported finished products to Africa

constituted a continuum of the colonial order of unblessed memory. He referenced Ghana and Cote D'lvoire which collectively produced 60 per cent of the world's cocoa but received less than 10 per cent of the value of the finished product.

The Rt Hon. Speaker observed that the existence of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) framework which facilitated free movement of goods globally has led to the dumping of cheap products unto African markets, which had adversely affected infant industries in Africa.

He emphasised that no meaningful industrialisation could be achieved in any nation without protectionist measures to protect its infant industries, and cited for example the need to process Ghana's fruits and vegetables to avoid glut in peak seasons and import them in lean seasons.

The Rt Hon Speaker again observed that Africa could only translate its produce into finished products if it was permitted to avoid competition under a new global economic paradigm. He recalled the incident where Ghana was compelled by the protestation from the USA to abandon its special tariffs on imported poultry products in the bid to protect the production of chicken in Ghana.
Majority Leader (Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu) on behalf of the Rt Hon Speaker) 11:51 a.m.


The bilateral meeting emphasised mutually beneficial relationship between the two countries, particularly in the areas of parliamentary cooperation, fight against corruption and development of gas and the aviation industry. The parties also agreed to deepen cooperation between the two countries in other socio-economic facets of their national lives.

As a mark of goodwill, H. E. MR Ahmad Bin Abdullah Bin Zaid AI- Mahmoud extended invitation to the Rt Hon Speaker and the Leadership of the Ghanaian Delegation to attend the forthcoming 7th International Conference of Global Organisation of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) to be held in Doha, Qatar from 9th to 10th December, 2019.

8.0 Meeting with Ghanaian Students in Serbia

The Speaker led the Ghanaian Parliamentary Delegation in hosting thirteen (13) Ghanaian students studying in Belgrade, Serbia. These students were studying under the Government of Serbia Scholarship in Medicine, Pharmaceutical Science, and Industrial and Civil engineering. It may be recalled the scholarship was procured by the Rt Hon Speaker during his previous visit to Serbia at the beginning of the year.

The Rt Hon Speaker, the Majority and Minority Leaders encouraged the students to give off their best in their studies and be brilliant ambassadors of Ghana. They also urged the students to focus on their studies in order to open additional doors to other brilliant students.

The Rt Hon Speaker made a donation of five hundred United States dollars (US$500.00) to each of the thirteen (13) students.

9.0 Deliberations

Among the key issues debated by the 141st Assembly included the following:

9.1 Special Segment to mark the 130th Anniversary of the IPU

The IPU was founded 130 years ago on 30th June, 1889, and the 141st

Assembly marked the 30th milestone from June 2019 to June 2020. The umbrella slogan for the celebration is “130 years of empowering parliamentarians”. The IPU and its members are celebrating the Anniversary.

The Speakers at the 141st Assembly and IPU leaders discussed the ongoing relevance of the founding values and principles of the IPU's 130

years on, results and achievements of previous Assemblies and the actions ahead.

The Speakers acknowledged that since the formation of the IPU in 1889, the Union has worked through the 130 years towards a balanced solution to global problems, the establishment of the norms of international law, and inter-governmental diplomacy in international relations.

The Speakers further recounted that the 140 th Doha Assembly represented a new departure for strong partnership between Qatar and

IPU.

9.2 General Debate on Strengthening International Law: Parliamentary Rules and Mechanisms, and contribution of Regional Cooperation/Belgrade Declaration

The Assembly adopted the Belgrade Declaration on Strengthening International Law: Parliamentary Roles and Mechanisms, and the Contribution of Regional Cooperation which underscores the importance of a peaceful world order based on the rule of law.

A copy of the Belgrade Declaration is attached as Appendix I.

9.3 Addressing Climate Change

The request to include a resolution on addressing climate change as an emergency item was made by the Indian Inter-Parliamentary Group. As part of the request, the Group attached a draft resolution on the subject for the consideration of the Assembly. The Assembly debated and adopted the resolution.

Among others, the Resolution calls on national parliaments to urge their governments to take a leading role in effective measures to counter global warming, raise awareness and provide extensive education on the causes and impact of climate change and to actively encourage the adoption of sustainable lifestyles and sustainable patterns of consumption and production.

It also called on national parliaments to urge their governments to support the development of comprehensive national resilience mechanisms, strengthen disaster risk reduction and prevention, and enhance disaster preparedness for effective responses.

A copy of the Resolution is attached as Appendix II.
Majority Leader (Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu) on behalf of the Rt Hon Speaker) 11:51 a.m.


9.4 Achieving Universal Health Coverage by 2030: The Role of Parliaments in Ensuring the Right to Health

On 17 th October, 2019, the Assembly adopted the resolution to achieve universal health coverage for all by 2030.

The Resolution, among others, calls on parliaments to take all legal and policy measures to achieve universal health coverage by 2030, and urges Parliaments to put in place universal health coverage legislations to ensure that the right to public health and medical care is guaranteed for all.

It further calls on Parliaments to use all their power to hold their respective national governments accountable to monitor universal health coverage policies and programmes and to establish Parliamentary mechanisms to measure progress on achieving access to health care for all by 2030.

Attached is a copy of the Resolution and marked as Appendix III.

9.5 30th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

The Assembly marked the 30th Anniversary of the Convention on the

Rights of the Child which was signed on 20th November, 1989 and adopted a Declaration in that regard.

The Assembly acknowledged that the implementation of the Convention over the past 30 years has improved the lives of millions of children across the world. It however, noted that the 21st Century had brought forth new challenges and a corresponding pressing need and urgency to accelerate progress and intensify action to ensure that every child enjoys every right.

The Assembly therefore reaffirmed its commitment to achieving the set objectives in the Declaration to Mark the 30th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Declaration is marked as Appendix IV.

9.6 Activities of Forum of Women Parliamentarians

The Forum of Women Parliamentarians met on Sunday, 13th October, 2019 and discussed a number of issues including a draft resolution of the Agenda of the 141st IPU Assembly from a gender perspective. At the end of the session, the Forum submitted its recommendation to the Committee on Democracy and Human Rights.

The Forum further held discussions on two topics in the area of health coverage to meet the needs of women and girls and the lifting of certain barriers to access for health care services by women and girls.

9.7 Activities of the Forum of Young Parliamentarians

The Forum of Young Parliamentarians deliberated on the theme of the 141st Assembly and a draft resolution on universal health coverage from a youth perspective.

The Forum also discussed recent developments in global and national youth participation and reflected on successes and the challenges ahead. It further briefed members on the results of the 6th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians and prepared for the 142nd IPU Assembly to be held in April 2020.

10.0 Schedule Of The 142nd IPU Assembly

The 142nd IPU Assembly will be held from 16th to 20th April, 2020 in Geneva, Switzerland.

11.0 Conclusion

The 141st IPU Assembly of the IPU held in Belgrade, Serbia achieved

a number of milestones towards the promotion of peace, democracy and sustainable development.

The Assembly adopted the Belgrade Declaration on Strengthen- ing International Law: Parliamentary Roles and Mechanisms, and the Contribution of Regional Cooperation which underscores the importance of a peaceful world order based on the rule of law. It also marked the 130th Anniversary of the IPU and discussed the ongoing relevance of the founding values and principles of the IPU's 130 years on, results and achievements of previous Assemblies and the actions ahead.

It also adopted resolutions to address climate change, and to achieving universal health coverage by

2030.

The Delegation calls for the concerted effort of Parliament and Government to take necessary steps to initiate or continue ongoing policies and programmes to fulfil commitments under the above mentioned Declarations and Resolutions.

In that regard, the Delegation recommends to the House to adopt this Report.

Respectfully submitted.
Majority Leader (Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu) on behalf of the Rt Hon Speaker) 11:51 a.m.
SPACE FOR LETTER -- 12.01 P.M. PAGE 12 SPACE FOR LETTER -- 12.01 P.M. PAGE 13

SPACE FOR LETTER -- 12.01 P.M. PAGE 14
Majority Leader (Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu) on behalf of the Rt Hon Speaker) 11:51 a.m.


SPACE FOR LETTER -- 12.01 P.M. PAGE 16 SPACE FOR LETTER -- 12.01 P.M. PAGE 17
Majority Leader (Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu) on behalf of the Rt Hon Speaker) 11:51 a.m.
SPACE FOR LETTER -- 12.01 P.M. PAGE 22 SPACE FOR LETTER -- 12.01 P.M. PAGE 23

SPACE FOR LETTER -- 12.01 P.M. PAGE 24 SPACE FOR LETTER -- 12.01 P.M. PAGE 25
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 11:51 a.m.
Hon Members, any seconder?
Mr Haruna Iddrisu (NDC -- Tamale South) 11:51 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.
Mr Speaker, with your permission, I beg to quote paragraph 664 on page 125 of the 2020 Budget Statement, which says:
“Parliament honoured statutory obligations to the Inter- Parliamentary Union, Africa Parliamentary Union, ECOWAS Parliament, Pan African Parliament and Commonwealth Parlia- mentary Association in pursuit of parliamentary diplomacy to strengthen international relations''.
Mr Speaker, you have had the opportunity with the Hon Majority Leader, and many others, to participate in the deliberation of the Inter Parliamentary Union, which is more or less, the world assembly of Hon Members of Parliament. It affords the Rt Hon Speaker and the Hon Members of the Delegation the opportunity to engage in some foreign policy dialogue and pursuit.
Mr Speaker, I note with satisfaction, that the Rt Hon Speaker of Parliament has given an appropriate directive that many other Committee visits of this Parliament -- Mr Speaker, pardon my words --should not be reduced to tourist excursions abroad, but rather submit reports of their visits, activities and operations abroad, so that the people of Ghana would appreciate that for which Parliament commits some resources for the purposes of travel for Hon Members to be engaged in.
Mr Speaker, on one of such visits, the Rt Hon Speaker engaged with the Rt Hon Speaker of Qatar and the Rt Hon Speaker called on the Qatari Government to see how they could support Ghana in the energy sector, particularly, on matters in relations to the development of our gas infrastructure and to have a bilateral relationship between the Parliament of Qatar and Ghana. I know that Qatar would host a major conference on corruption.
Mr Speaker, the Rt Hon Speaker also had cause, which has become traditional of him in many of these foreign travels, to engage with Ghanaians who live in that particular country that he visited. He engaged Ghanaian students who were on scholarship studying Medicine. Another request was made to the
Serbian Authorities to support Ghana, particularly, in the area of medical development. We should go beyond the first degree in Medicine and do post graduate studies in Medicine, so that Ghana could benefit from other specialised areas.
Mr Speaker, one major issue was brought to the fore, which I would probably have to raise. With your guidance, we would have to take a decision as a country on -- Ghana's relationship with Belgrade vis a vis Kosovo against the UN Resolution on that matter. Parliament would need to take a decision to support the Executive in the pursuit of our foreign policy.
Mr Speaker, it should be noted that Serbia was very generous to support Ghana in the building of the Accra International Conference Centre and even the National Theatre. However, today, our diplomatic relationship with them is not as it used to be in the era of President Nkrumah and President Tito. We need to cement the relationship, because there are a lot of opportunities we could get from Serbia in terms of trade and investment. There are even Serbian construction companies in Ghana and an example is Energo Construction.
Mr Speaker, there was a heated debate on the emergency item for the purpose of this conference, whether we were to take the developments of the Turkey-Syria issue on weather climate change. We were almost torn apart and divided until it was subjected to a vote and climate change won as an emergency item with India providing leadership in that particular directive.
Mr Speaker, the Rt Hon Speaker, Prof Aaron Mike Oqauye did not miss the opportunity to call for a change in the global economic order because there are still some exploitation of Africa's resources by the developed world. Even when it comes to cocoa, I understand that they gain more than those countries that produce cocoa.
Mr Speaker, I would want to conclude by saying that this particular IPU was dedicated to the ratification of International Agreement and used to call on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and particularly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration or any other Ministry affected. All other agreements and conventions that Ghana has entered into that have since not been ratified by Parliament, should be worked on and brought to Parliament as a matter of urgency. There are many outstanding
Mr Speaker, with your permission, I beg to quote article 75, which says 12:21 p.m.


(1) “The President may execute or cause to be executed treaties, agreements or conventions in the name of Ghana.

(2) A treaty, agreement or convention executed by or under the authority of the President shall be subject to ratification by --

(a)Act of Parliament; or

(b) a resolution of Parliament supported by the votes of more than one-half of all the members of Parliament”.

Mr Speaker, so Ghana engages in best practice. The President can always enter into a treaty or convention by signing it on behalf of the Republic, but Parliament needs to ratify and endorse it.

The argument is whether ratification is a post-facto activity; the President signs and executes, so when does it

come into force? It is only when it is ratified by Parliament in accordance with article 75.

So, I would want to use this opportunity to commend the Leader of the Delegation and the Hon Majority Leader. Ghana always loses out when it comes to the Young Parliamentary Forum. I think that we have the Young Parliamentary Forum and it is important that the Speaker necessarily includes them in the Delegation.

Mr Speaker, the Delegation must particularly have more women representation. As you know better, when you do not have a well- represented gender, you can even be denied the exercise of your voting rights and I believe that when the Speaker is constituting the Delegation, more attention should be paid to women Hon Members of Parliament, so that they can take their pride of place in it.

Mr Speaker, the next meeting is scheduled for Geneva and I believe that it would be on some other subject. However, I believe that generally, as a country, we have demonstrated respect of the provisions of the Constitution, relative to article 75 in ratifying this international agreement.

Therefore, I renew my call to all Hon Ministers who have treaties and conventions on their shelves, that it is not law to be executed effectively without parliamentary ratification. They should ensure that this House is apprised of it, so that we do what is required of us under the Constitution of Ghana.

Mr Speaker, thank you.

Question proposed.
Alhaji (Dr) Abdul-Rashid H. Pelpuo (NDC -- Wa Central) 12:21 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Report.
Mr Speaker, this Union is a very important one. It allows Parliaments from various countries of the world to come together to project their views on how, as a group, we can help promote democracy through the support of parliamentarians and various Parliaments of the 179 members, to advance the course of democracy, the rule of law and to promote peace in the world.
I was impressed when reading this Report as I came across speeches made by key members of the Union, especially, one by Madam Gabriela Cuevas Barron. That speech has
something about it which I know is not going to be lost with time, as long as this Union is concerned.
We are all sovereign nations who want to retain our sovereignty, and it is important that we recognise the multilateral nature of the world. The world is not composed of one unified body of a country or of a people of ideas which predominates everything. We recognise our differences, yet we aim at achieving one single objective of ensuring peace and tranquillity in this world within the atmosphere of democratic principles and practices and the rule of law.
Mr Speaker, this was also supported by the United Nations' (UN) Under-Secretary General who also made a speech to emphasise the multi-polar nature of the world.
A situation where we have a uni- polar world with a uni-polar authority creates imbalances in power usage and practice in the world, hence that creates problems. In a situation where we have several powers coming together in a multipolar world, that also will create a balance of power, rapprochement and thus bring the necessary peace to the world.
Mr Speaker, imagine a situation where one power imposes its ideas on everybody. The ideas about peace,
Dr Kwaku Afriyie (NDC-Sefwi- Wiawso) 12:31 p.m.
On a point of order.
Mr Speaker, this is a House of records. I was the Hon Minister in- charge when the NHIA Bill was introduced in this very Chamber and was passed into an Act of law.
As far as I am concerned, in the preliminary to all this, there was no organised operational research in any site. There were two sites; Dangme West and Nkoranza, and Damongo was coming on stream.
The Dangme West was done by a civil society organisation and Nkoranza and Damongo were done by the Catholic Missions.

Mr Speaker, even then, they were not the normal health insurance third party mechanism. They were what is referred to in American parlance as Preferred Provider Organisations

(PPO).

Mr Speaker, thank you very much.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 12:31 p.m.
Hon Member, I did not get your point of order. What is the point of order?
Dr Afriyie 12:31 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the records must be set straight in this House because the Hon Member was misinforming the House.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 12:31 p.m.
So, what is the record that you have set straight?
Dr Afriyie 12:31 p.m.
Mr Speaker, he referred to a research that had been done under the previous regime before President Kufuor and I explained that I was the sector Minister then and there was no such research.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 12:31 p.m.
Hon Member, yours is rather not correct. There was a secretariat that was established and there was a research by the Ministry of Health on the issue. Your colleagues who were doctors are still alive; they are not dead. I was in this House and I am fully aware of them. We can give you documentary evidence on it. Please let the truth be told.
Mr Daniel K. Botwe 12:31 p.m.
Who decides the truth?
Dr Afriyie 12:31 p.m.
Mr Speaker, with all due respect to the Chair, I am saying that there were two -- [Interruption]
Mr Botwe 12:31 p.m.
The Chair does not -
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 12:31 p.m.
Hon Dan Botwe, I am hearing your --
Dr Afriyie 12:31 p.m.
There were two things that preceded the implementation of the National Health Insurance --
Dr Afriyie 12:31 p.m.
Mr Speaker, unfortunately, I am telling you that -- he is misleading the House.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 12:31 p.m.
Hon Member, please resume your seat.

Hon Pelpuo, you may conclude.
Alhaji Pelpuo 12:31 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am happy that you are a living testimony of the record and it has been set straight. Mr Speaker, this was not supposed to create a debate, but I want to show that government is an organic whole and it is continuous. One good thing should be continued by another, and I am happy that universal healthcare has caught up with us and it has become part of us through the National Health Insurance Scheme. Mr Speaker, after this Report, Hon Members would recognise the need for us to work to support policy and legislation. This would strengthen it and give our
people good health universally and sustainably.
Mr Speaker, thank you.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 12:31 p.m.
I am not seeing any Hon Member on the Majority Side so, I would give the opportunity to Hon Ablakwa.
Mr Samuel O. Ablakwa (NDC -- North Tongu) 12:41 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am most grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the Motion. Mr Speaker, I want to commend the delegation to the 141st Assembly of the Inter- Parliamentary Union led by the Rt Hon Speaker, Prof. Aaron Micheal Oquaye.
Mr Speaker, the Report that has been presented is very detailed and it is exemplary. The Speaker has been admonishing Committees and delegations that travel abroad to present Reports to the House, so I believe that in this instance, the Rt Hon Speaker and the Leadership of the House - the delegation comprised the Hon Majority Leader, the Hon Minority Leader, the Hon Whips as well as other Members, have led by worthy example. It is important to highlight that all delegations that go abroad, especially to important meetings, should present comprehensive Reports to the House.
Mr Speaker, having said this I take note that this was a special Meeting to celebrate 130 years of the Inter- Parliamentary Union, and we must salute the organisation. It has really lived and stood the test of time. Mr Speaker, it is a living monument to inter-parliamentary diplomacy and multilateralism. In this era where multilateralism appears to be under threat where some countries think that they can go solo and pursue unilateralism, organisations such as the IPU must be commended for going strong.
Mr Speaker, I would want to highlight the host of the 141st Assembly, Serbia. Mr Speaker, clearly, Serbia has opened its doors to Africa, particularly, Ghana. I recall that they specially invited the Rt Hon Speaker earlier in the year, and it is not very common for a delegation led by the head of the Legislature, the Rt Hon Speaker, to be granted as many as 13 scholarships. This is what they did when the Rt Hon Speaker visited them and they did not end there they extended an invitation to the leadership of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of Parliament. I was privileged to be there, and we were generous to add a few Hon Members -- I see Hon Patrick Boamah gesticulating. Mr Speaker, we added some Hon Members and at the
meeting in Serbia, it was clear that the Serbians want to renew the historic ties with Ghana which goes back to our first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah. They showed us some very revealing manuscripts on how they supported the independence struggle when times were hard for Ghana. They were really there to support us and ideologically they share in our position. Mr Speaker, they were quick to remind us that they were one of the few European countries that never colonised any part of Africa, and for that matter the world. They share in our vision and ethos as a people.
Mr Speaker, what was most refreshing was their willingness to forgive us of the past; they were not too happy when in 2012, we recognised Kosovo rather. Mr Speaker, they urged us to add our voice to their lobbying efforts behind the scenes to have that recognition withdrawn in the face of new developments at the United Nations Security Council.
I must commend the government because a few days ago, I think on 12th November 2019, Ghana formally withdrew its recognition of Kosovo much to the delight of Serbia. These are matters such that when we have an ally or a friendly nation that is willing to collaborate and work with us strongly, we need to take it seriously. It is a gesture of goodwill and it helps to strengthen and solidify these relations.

Mr Speaker, having said this, I must also put on record that the Serbians have also extended an invitation to our Parliament that if we are available in March, they would love to see us there to monitor their general elections. They want us to join the friendly nations that would be monitoring their elections.

These are all signs that Serbia has really opened its doors to Ghana, and there is a renewed confidence in our relations.

Mr Speaker, I must commend the Rt Hon Speaker for securing the scholarships and for his gesture of donating US$500 each to the students. I am told that some more have been added.

Mr Speaker, as I conclude, I just want to draw attention to the communique from the IPU's 141st Assembly. I think the Belgrade Declaration is the most important matter. The Declaration is a very powerful declaration. I am particularly in awe of the second and third paragraphs, which expressed support for effective multilateral institutions and denounces in the third paragraph the non-compliance with upholding

international human rights law and conventions and treaties on climate change, trade, disarmament agreements and other violations of international law.

Mr Speaker, this is a very powerful communique. I urge all Hon Members of Parliament to pay attention to it so that our Parliament would be part of the forces that support multilateralism. This is because, when we come together, we can achieve more. The challenges the world faces -- climate change, poverty, underdevelopment, diseases and all of that -- cannot be fought by a few powerful countries or with solo efforts. We must come together to combat those challenges.

I am glad that a while ago, we discussed the Sustainable Development Goals and the committee that we are going to set up to carry out oversight. These are the efforts that we must promote.

Finally, I would want to commend the IPU Delegation for this Report. It is very comprehensive and insightful. It would certainly add to our repertoire of reference documents to guide us in future deliberations on these matters of international cooperation.

Mr Speaker, I thank you very much.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 12:41 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader, any guidance? Can we take more contributions or we should put the Question?
Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:41 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I believe you can put the Question.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 12:41 p.m.
I see only Members on my lefthand Side contributing. Those on my right hand Side are not showing interest, but this is a very important report from the highest level of the House, dealing with a very key evolving function of Parliament -- Parliamentary Diplomacy. This is yet unknown to many, particularly, our constituents. And I think this is an important issue that Parliament should take some time to deliberate on. So I would want to see both Sides of the House participating and at least supporting the Hon Leader who moved the Motion for and on behalf of the Speaker of Parliament.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:41 p.m.
Mr Speaker, appropriately, this is a Report of the House. It is not a mere report, because the Rt Hon Speaker represents Ghana at such fora. Indeed, it is a report of the entirety of the House, which the Speaker leads. So on this occasion, it really does not lie on the laps of a particular Side of the House or the other to comment. I
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 12:41 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader, I do not know what you are talking about. The Motion itself says: “That this honourable House adopts the Report of Ghana's Parliamentary Delegation to the 141st Assembly of the Inter- Parliamentary Union (IPU) …”
So we are simply referring to the Motion. It is a Report by the delegation, and it is a Report of the whole House. So we should see the whole House considering the Report. That is the issue we raised. So please encourage --
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:41 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the other reason was; I was called by the Acting Clerk. It was when I sat outside there that I saw that they were distributing the Report to the other Side. So I called that they should distribute to this other Side. I was outside, so I do not know whether this Side was appropriately served.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 12:41 p.m.
So your position is that I should put the Questions.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:41 p.m.
Respectfully, you should put the Question.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 12:41 p.m.
Hon Members, the Hon Leader is wanted somewhere. So I would put the Question so that he can leave us.
Question put and Motion agreed to.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 12:41 p.m.
Do we move to the next item? Hon Majority Leader, what is your pleasure?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:41 p.m.
Mr Speaker, if we can deal with -- [Pause] -- Mr Speaker, respectfully, I was struggling to discover it. It is item numbered 7.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 12:41 p.m.
Hon Members, item numbered 7 is at page 17 of the Order Paper.
BILLS -- CONSIDERATION 12:51 p.m.
STAGE 12:51 p.m.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 12:51 p.m.
Hon Members, we have one proposed amendment not from the Hon Chairman, but from Hon Bernard Ahiafor.
Mr Bernard Ahiafor 12:51 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg move, clause 3, paragraph (k), subparagraph (i), delete “crop” and insert “crops”.
Mr Speaker, the reason is not far- fetched. In clause 26 of the Bill, “tree crops” has been defined and not “tree
crop”. That could also be seen in clause 1 of the Bill. So for the sake of consistency, it should be “crops” not “crop”.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 12:51 p.m.
Hon Chairman of the Committee, what do you say?
Mr Kwame Asafu-Adjei 12:51 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I support the amendment.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 12:51 p.m.
Do you support his proposed amendment? I am sure you would also look at the title of the Bill when we get there. The title talks about “crop” and not “crops”.
Mr Asafu-Adjei 12:51 p.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Clause 3 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clause 4 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clause 5 -- Tenure of office of members of the Board
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 12:51 p.m.
We have three (3) proposed amendments from the same Hon Member, Bernard Ahiafor.
Mr Ahiafor 12:51 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 5, subclause (1), lines 2 and 3, delete “but a member shall not be appointed for more than two terms” and insert “for another term only”.
Mr Speaker, the reason is for consistency and brevity.
Mr Asafu-Adjei 12:51 p.m.
Mr Speaker, respectfully, I support the amendment.
Mr Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi 12:51 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am not very sure of the new rendition. Could the Hon Member who proposed the amendment give us -- ?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 12:51 p.m.
The rendition is to delete, “…but a member shall not be appointed for more than two terms” and insert “…for another term only.”
So, clause 5(1) would therefore read:
“A member of the Board shall hold office for three years and is eligible for re-appointment for another term only.”
Mr Anyimadu-Antwi 12:51 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I see it as semantics, I do not really see anything added or deleted. So, why do we have to - As we have it now, that a member shall
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 12:51 p.m.
Hon Member, for consistency, brevity --
Mr Anyimadu-Antwi 12:51 p.m.
Mr Speaker, consistency with other laws or this one?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 12:51 p.m.
That is what we have been adopting for some time now. This is now too verbose. They come to the same thing, but we are dealing with drafting.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Mr Ahiafor 12:51 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 5, subclause (6), paragraph (a), after “(4)”, insert
“(5)”.
Mr Speaker, the reason is that a vacancy can also be created under subclause 5. It says that:
“Where a member of the Board is for a sufficient reason, unable to act as a member, the Minister shall determine whether the inability would result in the declaration of vacancy.”
Mr Speaker, once we are talking about the provisions that deal with vacancy, then subclause (5) would also deal with the situation where a vacancy would be created for which the President would have to be informed in writing to appoint another to occupy the space. That is the reason for the proposed amendment.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 12:51 p.m.
Hon Chairman, what do you say to that before I allow for debate?
Mr Asafu-Adjei 12:51 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I support the proposed amendment.
Mr Shaibu Mahama 12:51 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I support the proposed amendment. I would add that there should be a comma after “(4)”.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 12:51 p.m.
You would have to look at the rendition again. What you have proposed will now read:
5(6a) “Where there is a vacancy under subsection (3) or (4), (5) or section 7(2)”.
Mr Shaibu Mahama 12:51 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I further propose an amendment by deleting “or” after (3). So, the commas will start from (3), (4), (5) or section 7(2).
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:01 p.m.
Hon Members, the new rendition is to further delete the word “or” between “3” and “4”. So there is a comma, after “3”, there is a comma after “4” and after “5” then “or”.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:01 p.m.
We still have another proposed amendment by the same Hon Member.
Mr Ahiafor 1:01 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 5, subclause (6), closing phrase, line 2, after “term”, add “of that member”.
Mr Speaker, the reason is for us to be specific because the appointment would take care of that member whose position has become vacant.
Mr Speaker, the new rendition would read 1:01 p.m.
“Where there is a vacancy
(a)under subsection (3) or (4), 5 or section 7(2),
(b) as a result of a declaration under subsection (5), or
(c) by reason of the death of a member,
the Minister shall notify the President of the vacancy and the President shall appoint another person to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term of that member.”
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:01 p.m.
Hon Members, the Motion has been moved for the amendment of the same clause 5, and I would want to hear first from the Hon Chairman of the Committee whether they are amenable to this proposed amendment?
Mr Asafu-Adjei 1:01 p.m.
Mr Speaker, respectfully, we are without objection.
Mr Anyimadu-Antwi -- rose
-- 1:01 p.m.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:01 p.m.
Hon Member, are you a member of the Committee?
Mr Anyimadu-Antwi 1:01 p.m.
No, Mr Speaker.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:01 p.m.
All right, please go on.
Mr Anyimadu-Antwi 1:01 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I believe that in accepting this amendment, there would be an
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:01 p.m.
Well, you heard from the Hon Member for Asante Akim Central that that addition is unnecessary.
Mr Kwabena Ohemeng- Tinyase 1:01 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am also of the view that it is the matter of a vacancy and a period of time. So firstly, we consider the vacant position; and secondly, for that period we are talking about. And so I support the amendment.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:01 p.m.
You have heard from the Hon Member for Kade. Do I put the Question? We have not come to a consensus; there is some disagreement. Hon Member, would you reconsider your earlier submission?
Mr Anyimadu-Antwi 1:01 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I urged the Hon Member who proposed the amendment to consider if he would withdraw that. The reasons the Hon Member for Kade gave are captured in the Bill because it is stated. The last words are for the unexpired term. Therefore, I urge my Hon Colleague, Hon Ahiafor, if he considers it necessary, this amendment, in my view, would have to be dropped.
Mr Ahiafor 1:01 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it is a matter of making the law very clear to the ordinary man on the street, to the effect that the appointment that would be made, after the creation of the vacancy, is for the unexpired term of the member whose position is declared vacant. So, if we add “of that member”, we are just being very specific and clear for the ordinary man on the street.
Mr Collins Owusu Amankwah 1:01 p.m.
Mr Speaker, respectfully, when Hon Ahiafor said “ordinary man on the street”, is it “reasonable man”? I do not understand. “Ordinary man on the street” is derogatory. How does he refer to a fellow citizen as “an ordinary man on the street”? Mr Speaker, he is fond of doing that.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:01 p.m.
I will put the Question. This is not a court of law for us to go into the
definition of “ordinary man on the street”, whether reasonable or not.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Clause 5 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clause 6 -- Meetings of the Board
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:01 p.m.
Hon Ahiafor, are you a member of the Committee?
Mr Ahiafor 1:01 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am a Friend to the Committee, not a member.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:01 p.m.
I have not seen proposed amendments from the Committee at all. All the proposed amendments have come from you, and the Hon Chairman has conceded to all that you have said. So I wonder -- [Laughter]
An Hon Member 1:01 p.m.
He is a consultant.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:01 p.m.
Is he a consultant? [Laughter]
Mr Ahiafor 1:01 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am not.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:01 p.m.
Hon Member, go on.
Mr Ahiafor 1:01 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the reason probably is the fact that the Committee took part in the drafting stage of the Bill before it was laid. So, the recommendations, by way of amendments from the Committee, were integrated into the Bill before it was laid. That accounts for the Committee not having amendments to the Bill in order to facilitate the work of the House.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:01 p.m.
They do not have amendments to the Bill, but they have conceded to all proposed amendments to the Bill.
Anyway, go on.
Mr Ahiafor 1:01 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 6, subclause (3), line 2, delete “or the person acting in that capacity”.
So, the new rendition would be:
“A quorum at a meeting of the Board is seven members including the Chief Executive Officer.”
Mr Speaker, this amendment is necessitated by the provision in clause 4(d). Clause 4(d), in making provision for the governing body, states “the Chief Executive Officer”. Whether acting or not, it is the Chief Executive Officer. Therefore, to come here and
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:01 p.m.
Motion moved for amendment for clause 6 (3). Hon Chairman?
Mr Asafu-Adjei 1:01 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I have no objection.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:01 p.m.
Well, I think this clearly is in the spirit of the Constitution itself. However, I can see the Hon Member for Daboya up.
Mr S. Mahama 1:01 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I think that we should not delete that because clause 12 makes provision for the Chief Executive Officer. Mr Speaker, in other Bills, provision is made for a Deputy Chief Executive Officer; however, this particular Bill has not made that provision.
Mr Speaker, I contemplate the situation where the Chief Executive Officer is not available, and asks a senior Director to attend a meeting for and on his behalf. So we do not want a situation where that Director would go in there and be told that because he is not the Chief Executive Officer, he cannot attend the meeting. Indeed,
he is not acting, but he has been instructed to attend the meeting. I still think that we should leave the clause and not delete it just to take care of the fact that there is no Deputy Chief Executive Officer and anybody in the organisation could be appointed or asked to act as such.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:01 p.m.
Hon Member, I hope you have your Constitution with you; read article 297 (j).
Yes, Hon Minority Chief Whip?
Alhaji Muntaka 1:01 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I wanted to get the benefit of the article 297 you mentioned, whether it may enhance what I want to say, contrary to what Hon Shaibu Mahama just said. Mr Speaker, I want to believe that there is a good reason why it should be deleted.
As mentioned in the Constitution, once somebody is not there, the one acting would act fully. I want to also believe that the framers did not intend to allow an officer representing the Chief Executive Officer to be counted as a member. This is because the person might not be familiar with the happenings of the Board and may be there just to record as we would later see the Chief Executive Officer also act as the Secretary to the Board.
However, when it comes to decision making, whether someone who is not the Chief Executive Officer but is sitting in for the Chief Executive Officer could be counted a member to enable the Board have a quorum- -- So, I strongly believe that it should be deleted for, at least, the additional reason why I think that person should not be counted as a member, to enable the Board have a quorum.
Mr Speaker, having dealt with that, I would propose a further amendment to that because the number 7 as a quorum is too high, looking at the composition of the Board. However, let us first deal with this. I think that “the person acting in that capacity” needs to be deleted.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:01 p.m.
Hon Member, have you moved your further amendment or you just made an observation? [Pause]
Just an observation? All right.
Mr Kwabena Ohemeng- Tinyase 1:01 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I support the position that the clause should stand as it is. This is on the grounds that anybody acting in the position of the Chief Executive Officer is not a substantive officer. Therefore, for purposes of clarity, we should be able to come out clearly, that we have a Chief Executive Officer, and that in
the absence of the Chief Executive Officer, the person acting should be recognised as such.
Thank you.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:01 p.m.
I thought we have gone beyond this but we are being called back to reconsider it.
Yes, Hon Member?
Mr Anyimadu-Antwi 1:01 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I agree with what we have said. If the clause had been excluding, then, we could have deleted this but this one includes even the Chief Executive Officer. So the person who is acting in that capacity, the moment we are able to get for— So, I agree that you put the Question for us to respond. The amendment is apt, and I think it is not unnecessary and otiose.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:01 p.m.
Hon Member, a further amendment?
Alhaji Muntaka 1:01 p.m.
Rightly so, Mr Speaker. When I looked at the governing authority, I could tell the Board has nine members. I could see the Chair; one representative from the following Ministries not below the
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:01 p.m.
Hon Member, before you finish, how many tree crops are we dealing with? [Pause] Yes, Hon Chairman of the Committee, help him because he got the number wrong. What is the number of the tree crops that we are dealing with?
Mr Asafu-Adjei 1:01 p.m.
Mr Speaker, four.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:01 p.m.
So, when we go to clause 4(c), it says:
“for each tree crop value chain, four persons representing producers, traders, processers and exporters of…”
So it would be more than the number you are talking about. What is the total membership?
Alhaji Muntaka 1:01 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I agree with you because the four representatives of each of the four tree crops alone gives us sixteen, plus five, so that would be twenty-one, so the seven is reasonable.
Clause 6 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:01 p.m.
Clause 7?
Clause 7 -- Disclosure of interest
Mr Boamah 1:01 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I need your guidance on clause 7(2) and I refer to clause 4(2):
“The members of the Board shall be appointed by the President in accordance with article 70 of the Constitution”.
Mr Speaker, if we look at clause 7(2) on disclosure of interest it says 1:21 p.m.
“A member ceases to be a member of the Board if that member has an interest in a matter before the Board and
(a) fails to disclose that interest; or
(b) participates in the deliberations of the matter.”

Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from you, if that could happen, without recourse to the appointing authority, since the Board, according to clause 4(2), is appointed by the President.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:21 p.m.
Yes, Hon Chairman of the Committee, what do you say to that?
Mr Asafo Adjei 1:21 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I did not hear what he said.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:21 p.m.
Hon Member, I am sure you heard the Hon Chairman of the Committee?
Mr Boamah 1:21 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I also did not hear what he said.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:21 p.m.
The Hon Chairman of the Committee said that he did not hear what you said. You heard him, that was why you also said you did not hear what he said.
Mr Boamah 1:21 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the members of the Board are appointed by the President, but clause 7(2), seeks to give the Board power over the member who fails to adhere to clause 7(2) (a) and (b) who has to automatically leave the Board. So I would want to find out from the Hon Chairman of the Committee, if that would suffice under the current circumstances, since that person's appointment was not by the Board, but by the President.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:21 p.m.
Hon Chairman of the Committee, the issue the Hon Member raised is
relevant because the other clauses we just dealt with did not take note of this situation, where the membership of a member automatically lapses for nondisclosure of interest.
We just finished with clause 5 and it would be realised that it did not take note of such a situation. So what do you say?
Mr Asafu-Adjei 1:21 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I believe this is a standard provision.
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:21 p.m.
A standard provision?
Yes, Hon Member for Effutu?
Mr Afenyo-Markin 1:21 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I wanted to add one more point to the submission of my respected Hon Colleague. Article 297 fortifies his positon more -- [Interruption] -- Mr Speaker, would the Hon Chairman of the Committee, with all respect, pay attention to the submissions that have been made, so he could assist us? Mr Speaker has granted me leave, to draw your attention to the point I would make.
Mr Speaker, Hon Patrick Boamah, raised a point and I would want to add article 297. With your permission, I quote:
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:21 p.m.
Hon Members, my attention has been drawn to section7(2), which is captured under clause 5(6), where the Hon Minister, shall notify the President of the vacancy. So, it does not arise at all.
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:21 p.m.
Hon Member, do you still insist?
Mr Boamah 1:21 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am not insisting -- I cannot challenge the Chair.
Mr Speaker, looking at the headnote and through the eye of the drafts persons, whether that was what was envisaged under clause 5(6), which says that the Minister shall notify the President of the vacancy and the President shall appoint, by which time, the Board would have removed the person.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:21 p.m.
Hon Member, read clause 5(6) (a)
“(6) Where there is a vacancy…
(a) under subsection (3) or (4) or section 7(2)”.
So the reference is in section 7(2).
Mr Boamah 1:21 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I withdraw my application on it.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:21 p.m.
Hon Members, I would put the Question.
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:21 p.m.
Yes, Hon Member for Effutu?
Mr Afenyo-Markin 1:21 p.m.
Mr Speaker -- [Interruption] -- the
front bench of the Minority has intimidated me, so I would not speak. I would yield because I understand the practice.
I would get Hon Muntaka.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity.
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:21 p.m.
Yes, Hon Dafeamekpor?
Mr Dafeamekpor 1:21 p.m.
Mr Speaker, this is very serious. I just heard Hon Afenyo-Markin say, that he would get the Hon Minority Chief Whip.
Mr Speaker, under what circumstances would he get him? [Laughter] -In a typical colloquialism, it means it is a big threat. With all due respect to him, he needs to withdraw that or explain in concise terms, exactly what he meant by he would get the Hon Minority Chief Whip.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:21 p.m.
Well, this is a light moment, just to get Hon Members to be excited and to refocus. Actually, I did not hear any intimidation speeches or see any body movement to intimadate the Hon Member for Effutu, but once he has
read something from the Minority bench and specifically, the Hon Minority Chief Whip, his reaction and his body language showed that he said it in jest. So I thought we would just allow it to pass and then continue with the Business.
Hon Members, I would move on, since the proposed amendment has been dropped.
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:21 p.m.
Yes, Hon Member?
Mr Anyimadu-Antwi 1:31 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I seek your guidance on the same clause 5(6) (a) and (b). I would want to find out if it is enough to leave the disjunctive word ‘'or'', or it should be ‘‘and''. As it stands, the meaning is that, if a person fails to disclose that interest and even if that person does not participate in the deliberations, the person would forfeit his or her seat. Again, if the person participates in the deliberations and does not disclose -

Mr Speaker, so, do we join them together or must they stay on their own? I thought it should be that if he “fails to disclose that interest; and (b) participates in the deliberations of the matter.”
Mr S. Mahama 1:31 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I think it should still be “or” so that we can hold the two. If we use the conjunction “and”, it will mean that we must prove the two, but we can separate the conditions.
Indeed, if you fail to disclose the interest, you do not need to be in the meeting to account for your failure to disclose that. However, if you say “and”, it means that you must hold the two together.
Mr Speaker, I think that we should leave it as “or”. So if one fails to disclose his interest or participates in the deliberations of the meeting --
Mr Ohemeg-Tinyase 1:31 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I speak in support of the conjunction “and” because if the person does not disclose his or her interest, he can participate in the deliberations and be guilty of whatever has happened.
Therefore for the person to be liable of the wrong-doing, he or she has to deliberately not show his interest and then go further to commit the action that he should not commit or do what he should not do.
Mr Speaker, so it should be that he did not disclose his interest and went further to deliberate on it. So it is on knowing that he has an interest that he becomes liable and has to forfeit his seat.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:31 p.m.
Well, I thought he was just supporting your position and buttressing the point you have made. If he is a member of the Board, a matter comes before the Board in which he has an interest and he does not attend the Board meeting when the matter is discussed, he has not disclosed his interest.
Can you then say that he automatically ceases to be a member of the Board? He just did not disclose his interest and was not at the Board meeting when the matter was discussed. Could you rightfully say that such a Board member ceases to be a member of the Board? That is the situation now.
Mr Dafeamekpor 1:31 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity.
I think in the minds of the draftpersons, they anticipated that as a member of the Board, one would have notice of all matters that would come before the Board, for which meetings would be scheduled to be dealt with. The details of these matters would be captured in the notice received on these meetings.
Mr Speaker, therefore one's inability to attend the meetings to participate in the deliberations does not obviate one from coming or receiving information regarding the matters that would be before the Board for deliberation.
So it is when one receives notice of the nature of the matters that the Board would discuss, that one would discover whether these matters would conflict with an interest one has for which one would need to disclose.
Mr Speaker, for me, the fact that you can be liable for just this aspect of non-disclosure, that you have notice of the issues that the Board will cease you from joining in the deliberations and by that notice, you are able to determine the nature of the matters and you are also able to determine that these matters indeed, conflict with an interest that you have in either all or some aspect of the matters for which the framer of the law is saying that you need to make a disclosure notwithstanding the fact that you are unable to attend the meeting and to participate.
So I think that it has to be disjunctive and a stand-alone condition to satisfy this. Once it is triggered, the liability should follow.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:31 p.m.
Hon Members, let us read the whole clause 7 in its totality.
(1) “A member of the Board who has an interest in a matter before the Board shall
(a) disclose the nature of the interest and the disclosure shall form part of the record of the consideration of the matter; and
(b) not be present at or participate in the deliberations of the Board in respect of the matter”.
There is a conjunct.
(2) A member ceases to be a member of the Board if that member has an interest in a matter before the Board and
(a) fails to disclose that interest; or
(b)participates in the deliberations of the matter.”
So subclause (1) is considered enough to take away your membership of the Board. Now, you were drawing attention to “notice”, you know the definition of “notice” in the matter of the court. It is a matter
Mr Dafeamekpor 1:31 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I agree with you in toto but the practice is that every Board member will be given notice of the next meeting by the Board Secretary. Attached to this notice will be the minutes of the previous meeting as well as the agenda for the meeting that is being called.
Normally, this notice will be given adequate time within the rules set by the Board itself. I agree with you that --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:31 p.m.
What about a matter cropping up which is not part of the notice that has been given?
Hon Member, you have been a member of a Board before. When you go to a Board meeting and there is some emergency item or as a result of oversight, something has not been included and it is added there for you to take --
Mr Dafeamekpor 1:41 p.m.
Mr Speaker, this discussion cropped up when we were discussing the Office of the Special Prosecutor Bill and it was determined that once an unanticipated matter crops up at the time of deliberations and you are present and you determine that it conflicts with an interest that you have elsewhere, then you would disclose and be excused or you excuse yourself.
The other argument that is anticipated is that you have received notice of the meeting but are unable to attend, yet the nature of the agenda is such that the matters to be discussed did not conflict with an interest you have. Yet, in the course of deliberations of those matters a matter emerges in your absence. Now, we are asking whether as a member, if you find yourself in this circumstance, you can be held to have breached the rule we are setting for which you can be disqualified?
Mr Speaker, I think that is why there are regulations governing the meeting. What the Board can do in those circumstances is to determine whether you can be contacted or reached. [Interruption] Hon Leader, please let me finish.
These are very farfetched scenarios but I think that in the minds of the draftpersons, they were thinking about what is referred to as constructive notice. These are notices on the matters to be discussed, which you are aware of in adequate time, and know that they conflict with an interest you have. However, where in the course of the deliberations, issues emerge for which you are unaware, yet they conflict with an interest you have, then I think that you cannot be liable for having breached the conditions set down under clause 7(1) (a) and (b). I do not think that you can be held liable unless you are given adequate time to disclose that and you failed to do so.
Mr Speaker, this is my humble position on the matter.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:41 p.m.
Hon Minority Chief Whip?
Alhaji Muntaka 1:41 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we need to be very careful and pass laws that are practical and can be easily implemented but not laws that
would be difficult to implement and could be used in a very abusive nature.
Mr Speaker, I do not know which Boards my Hon Colleague has served on, but with those that some of us have served in the past, there were instances where notice of the meetings would be sent but we never received them until the meetings were over. There are deliberate instances where a particular item would be discussed but some members are not needed in that meeting and so they would wait and send the notice of meeting late. There were instances where you only get to know that the Board is meeting, and you hurry into the meeting before documents are handed to you.
Mr Speaker, to be able to cure our fear we would need to collapse clause 7(1)(a) and (b) into one provision to read, “fail to disclose that matter and participate in the deliberations of the meeting”. With this, it would be beyond reasonable doubt and it would be consistent with most of the Acts that we have passed where a person fails to disclose and participated. Mr Speaker, there would not be any other way a person could explain as not being guilty of a deliberate action.
Mr Speaker, if we leave it at just failure to disclose the interest -- as he said, if a person is not there, then how can the person disclose the interest? If the person did not receive
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:41 p.m.
Actually, that is the proposal we are debating now. It has been proposed from the other Side and that is what we are debating.
I would listen to the unofficial consultant in this matter.
Mr Ahaifor 1:41 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity.
I believe that the provision is all right as it is, at least, for the sake of consistency. I hold in my hand the Chartered Institute of Bankers Act, 2019 (Act 991) and clause 7 reads:
“A member of the Council who has an interest in a matter for consideration (a) shall disclose in writing the nature of that interest and the disclosure shall form part of the record of the consideration of the matter; and (b) shall not participate in the deliberations of the Council in respect of that matter.
(2) A member ceases to be a member of the Council, if that member has an interest in a matter before the Council and
(a)fails to disclose that interest, or (b) participates in the deliberations of the matter”.
Mr Speaker, for several laws that we have passed this year, this has been the rendition that has been accepted by the House and so it has become a standard provision in our laws.
Mr Speaker, if there is no notice of a meeting and there is a matter to be deliberated, of which a person does not have notice and as a result does not even attend the meeting, if the person has an interest in that
particular matter, then nobody can punish the person for not disclosing the interest on the ground that the person does not have notice of it.
Mr Speaker, but the law contemplates a situation where the person has notice of it but fails to disclose that particular interest, hence the person ceases to be a member. Or the person participates in the deliberations when he knows that he has interest in that particular matter and fails to disclose it. Mr Speaker, so the provision is loud and clear and I beg the House that we should maintain it.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:41 p.m.
I may accept your point of consistency but in your submission you did not take into consideration the issue of constructive notice.
Mr Anyimadu-Antwi 1:41 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to withdraw my proposed amendment.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:41 p.m.
Then there is no amendment to be debated. It has been withdrawn.
Amendment withdrawn by leave of the House.
Dr Appiah-Kubi 1:51 p.m.
Mr Speaker, this disclosure of interest finds expression in almost all our laws. I would like to seek your guidance
whether this clause actually cures the mischief that it is intended to?
Mr Speaker, let us assume that there is a member who discloses his interest in a matter before a Board and does not participate in the deliberations, meanwhile that member had participated in previous deliberations, documentations or processes which formed the basis for the deliberations before the Board.

Mr Speaker, we have had similar situations that have become a serious challenge. The question that I asked myself was this; does this clause that has become a standard clause cure the mischief that it is intended to cure? I can give you the example of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) situation we have. In most of these situations, the governing Board consist of the Chief Executive.

The Chief Executive is a member of almost all the governing Boards, and he is the person who prepares everything for deliberations of the governing Boards. It means that he is aware of every decision that is taken, and he has the opportunity to influence those decisions. Meanwhile, on that faithful day of the Board meeting, he decides to absent himself or decides to disclose his interest. Does this

4091Tree Crops Development Authority 27 November, 2019 Bill, 2019 -- Con Stage 4092 4093 Tree Crops Development Authority 27 November, 2019 Bill, 2019 -- Con Stage 4094
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:51 p.m.
Well, we are at the Consideration Stage of a Bill. If you want us to debate the issue that you raised, to talk about the integrity systems in the country, the level of honesty or lack of it in our country, you may come by a Motion, and we would discuss all these issues and try to set the issues right. But as of now, we are at the Consideration Stage of the Bill. Since this is the standard we have set so far, I believe we can continue with it until otherwise proved wrong by any other body.
So the Hon Member has withdrawn the proposed amendment, and I urge the House that we continue with the consideration of the other clauses.
Clauses 7 - 20 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clause 21 -- Accounts and audit
Mr Ahiafor 1:51 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move clause 21 subclause (1), line 1, delete “books or records and” and insert “books, records, returns and any other documents relating to the accounts”.
Mr Speaker, of late, we have been borrowing the constitutional language in article 187 of the 1992 Constitution. That is what informed my proposed amendment. The new rendition would be:
“The Board shall keep books, records, returns, or any other document relating to the accounts in the form approved by the Auditor-General.”
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:51 p.m.
Hon Member, you cannot go wrong when you use the language of the Constitution, and that is how we have been doing it.
Mr S. Mahama 1:51 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am tempted to side with him, save to say that, the advertised amendment cannot find its way in the original Bill. If you look at clause 21, it says:
“The Board shall keep books of records and records. . .”.
So the further amendment should have been to delete from “books of records and records”. There is nothing like “books or records” in the original Bill.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:51 p.m.
Yes, the proposed amendment has cured all that. Once you are only tempted, I think you should not only be tempted, you should have been convinced by now. That is the true reflection of the language of the 1992
Constitution which we have adopted. I would want to urge the draftspersons to take that on board and do not keep on giving us the old out of order rendition.
Hon Members, I would put the Question.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Clause 21 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:51 p.m.
Hon available Leader, it is 2.00 p.m. I think we should take a bow.
Mr Matthew Nyindam 1:51 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we are almost done with the Bill. If Hon Members would agree, we would add a few minutes to complete the Consideration Stage of the Bill. And I urge you to extend Sitting.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:51 p.m.
Well, I do not anticipate the length of the debate, but it would mean that I would have to invoke the powers of Standing Order 43 to extend the period of Sitting.
Hon Members, do we go on?
Some Hon Members 1:51 p.m.
Yes.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 1:51 p.m.
All right.
Sitting is accordingly extended.
Clause 22 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clause 23 -- Collaboration with subvented agencies and other bodies.
Mr Ahiafor 1:51 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move clause 23, line 2, before “functions” insert “the”.
Mr Speaker, the new rendition would read 1:51 p.m.
“The Board shall collaborate with subvented agencies and other bodies in the performance of the functions under this Act.”
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:01 a.m.
Yes, the Hon Member is right. I would put the Question.
Question put and amendment agreed to.

Clause 23 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 24 -- Offences
Mr Ahiafor 2:01 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 24 subclause (1), paragraph (d), delete
Mr Asafu-Adjei 2:01 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I have no objection.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:01 a.m.
Hon Chairman, it looks as if there is no legal person as a Member of your Committee. The Hon Member who has proposed all the amendments is not a Member of your Committee. I am sure a legal eye would have detected all these things.
Mr Asafu-Adjei 2:01 a.m.
Mr Speaker, that is why I have Hon Friends as legal representatives on my Committee; Friends like, Hon Bernard Ahiafor and Hon Shaibu Mahama. [Laughter]
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:01 a.m.
I think Leadership should take note of this. It is important that at least somebody with a legal eye will be a Member of the Committee to support them in doing some of these things. Some of the amendments are so elementary that the Committee could
not see because they do not have legal lenses.
Mr Eric Opoku 2:01 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would object to the proposed amendment. One of the functions under clause 3(g) is to register unlicensed actors engaged in the tree crops value chain. If a person fails to register or license, and he engages in that activity, it is an offence, so it should stay.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:01 a.m.
Clause 24 (1) (d):
“ A person who fails to register or be licensed commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than five hundred penalty units or to a term of imprisonment of not more than two years or both.”
Mr Ahiafor 2:01 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I withdraw the amendment.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:01 a.m.
It is just hanging; there is no linkage at all. Hon Eric Opoku referred us to deal with the Authority registering people engaged in the tree crops value chain. The way it is captured, it says:
“A person who fails to register or be licensed commits an offence” --
It should be linked to the business. If a person fails to register or be licensed to engage in that business, then he commits an offence. But if it is just that Kofi is moving around and he is not engaged in the business, and he has not registered any company, we cannot say he has committed an offence.
Mr Magnus Amoatey 2:01 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I think the amendment proposed earlier by Hon Ahiafor still stands, because the functions under clause 3(g) that the Hon Ranking Member referred us to, imposes a duty on the Authority and not the individual. Therefore, if the Authority fails to perform its duty, the individual may not commit an offence.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:01 a.m.
That is why I have to draw your attention to some anomaly in the proposal. Unless they want to say that those who are engaged in the business which we have identified earlier, have not registered and not licensed but engage in the business, then they commit the offence.
So, what is the intention now? Do we delete it or rephrase it? --
Mr Ahiafor 2:01 a.m.
Mr Speaker, certainly to be able to maintain this particular offence as it is in the
rendition, then there should be a provision in the Bill that would enjoin individuals to register and acquire licenses before they engage in the business.
As it is, a close look at the functions under clause 3(g), imposes the obligation on the Authority to register the people. So far as the Authority fails to register, the individual who engages in the business cannot be punished without the registration or the license. So, we would need to craft a provision that makes it mandatory for the individuals to be registered and licensed before engaging in the trade, so that the offence can stand.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:01 a.m.
We would suspend Consideration of this clause, so that you can do further consultation and come out with a better rendition.
Hon Chairman, you will not only consult Hon Bernard Ahiafor, but the draft persons, so that you can come out with a new rendition to incorporate the observation that has been made by Hon Members.
Mr Asafu-Adjei 2:01 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am most grateful.
Clause 25 -- Regulations
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Mr Ahiafor 2:11 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 26, amendment proposed, Interpretation of “actors”, line 2, delete “crop” and insert “crops” and do same wherever “tree crop” appears in the clause.
Mr Speaker, this is a consequential amendment.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:11 p.m.
I direct that consequentially, wherever in the Bill we come across the word “crop”, it should be “crops” and the phrase “tree crop” should be “tree crops”.
There is a proposed amendment to clause 26 standing in the name of Hon Kwasi Etu-Bonde.
Mr Kwasi Etu-Bonde 2:11 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 26, amendment proposed, Interpretation of “tree crops”, after “cashew” insert “mango”.
So the new rendition would read:
“tree crops” includes oil palm, rubber, cashew, mango and shea”'.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:11 p.m.
You have not told us why you think mango should be part of the group called “tree crops” in this Bill.
Mr Etu-Bonde 2:11 p.m.
Mr Speaker, if you look at paragraph 3 of the Explanatory Bill that came with the Bill, it states that a tree crop should be a crop with the following advantages: geographic location, be an economic crop that can contribute to the economic growth of the country, and it should have large regional and global market.
Mr Speaker, if you look at mango, geographically, it is grown in 14 out of the current 16 regions in the country with the exception of the Western and Western North Regions. So, geographically, it covers the country.
Also, according to United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO)'s current mango report on Ghana, cultivated mango is about 80,000 hectares -- about 200,000 acres -- as of December, 2018. This engages about 11,500 farmers with over 55,000 casual labourers. So, it supports the Explanatory Memorandum that a tree crop should promote economic growth.
Meanwhile, Mr Speaker, what the Authority seeks to do is to support in research and development. Mango,
with a lot of potentials, should also be supported with research and development so as to combat the various pests and diseases, especially Bacteria Black Spot (BBS), fruit fly, which makes the exportation of the fresh fruit being a quarantine pest.
With this, Mr Speaker, I propose and move that “mango” should be added to the tree crops so that they can also benefit, and contribute significantly to the country's economic gain.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:11 p.m.
I have two concerns. One is that, this proposed amendment will affect some earlier provisions we have already considered and adopted like the membership of the Board, the issue of quorum and the rest.
My second concern is that, I have to disclose that I am a mango farmer -- [Laughter] -- and so, I would have to recuse myself from the deliberations on this issue. I will therefore urge the House for us to stand down this provision for another Speaker, who might not be a mango farmer, to preside over the proceedings in connection with this clause.
Mr Asafu-Adjei 2:11 p.m.
Mr Speaker, if you had not disclosed that you were a mango farmer, majority of us would not have known.
Mr Speaker, the most important thing is, mango, as an economic tree crop, is really helping this country in terms of job creation and also, revenue generation. So, I believe it is important we include it, not- withstanding what you said. I am not challenging your authority --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:11 p.m.
Hon Member, I am a mumu in this matter so, that clause is stood down. Let us move on to the next --
An Hon Member 2:11 p.m.
You are not a participant.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:11 p.m.
Who would put the Question? Who guides you? [Laughter] It is the Speaker who guides you and so --
An Hon Member 2:11 p.m.
You would not vote.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:11 p.m.
No, my conscience does not permit me to do that. I would want to have a very peaceful and comfortable life. As for this one, it will prick my
An Hon Member 2:11 p.m.
How about the other two Colleagues who are also farmers? The Rt Hon Speaker and the Hon First Deputy Speaker are also farmers.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:11 p.m.
That is speculative, and so we cannot deliberate on that.
Mr Henry Quartey 2:11 p.m.
Mr Speaker, early on, I saw four Hon Colleagues on the other Side on their feet talking to you, and I wondered whether you were safe. [Laughter]
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:11 p.m.
This is the Hon Deputy Minister for the Interior so, he is very concerned about my safety. I am very safe. [Laughter]
Hon Members, we will, at this juncture, urge Leadership for us to adjourn proceedings. We have only three clauses left now. For one, we were compelled to stand it down because a lot more work would have to be done on it. On the second one,
a conscientious objector, my good self, have recused myself from presiding over the deliberations on that clause, and the last one is left with transitional provisions. These three clauses could be taken within a few minutes in another day.
Available Leader, what do you say?
Mr Nyindam 2:11 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it is past 2 o'clock just as you indicated earlier, so we are in your hands.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:11 p.m.
Hon Members, I will proceed to adjourn when the House is put in order.
That brings us to the end of the Consideration Stage of the Tree Crops Development Authority Bill, 2019 for today, to be continued in the near future.
2. 21 p. m.
Hon Deputy Minister for the Interior, you now realise why I did not put the other Hon Members out of order because it was an informal situation so we would allow more laxity; we would not enforce more of the rules so that Hon Members could
easily flow and we have a more participatory and inclusive deliberation. That is why I did not do that.
Now, I am going to adjourn the House.
ADJOURNMENT 2:11 p.m.
  • The House was adjourned at 2.22 p. m. till Thursday, 28th November, 2019 at 10.00 a.m.