Debates of 3 Feb 2021

MR SPEAKER
PRAYERS 2:49 p.m.
ANNOUNCEMENT 2:49 p.m.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 2:49 p.m.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:49 p.m.
Hon Members, Correction of Votes and Proceedings and the Official Report.
Page 1… 6 --
Ms Helen Adjoa Ntoso 2:49 p.m.
Mr Speaker, on page 6, Hon Laadi Ayamba was present yesterday but has been marked as absent.
Mr Paul A. Twum-Barimah 2:49 p.m.
Mr Speaker, column 020, paragraph 2, “Apart from that, the student is also expected for…”. It should rather read, “Apart from that, the student is also expected to pay for…”.
Mr Speaker, then column 034, paragraph 6, Mr John Abdulai Jinapor has been captured as belonging to the NPP instead of
NDC.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:49 p.m.
Hon Member, your correction is well noted.
Thank you.
Mr Peter Nortu-Kotoe 2:56 p.m.
Mr Speaker, column 019, my middle name is spelt “Kwasi”. Then “Kotoe” not “Kottoe”.

Also, in column 021, the surname at the top should be “Kotoe” and not “Kottoe”.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:56 p.m.
Hon Members, any more corrections?
Hon Members, in the absence of any further corrections, the Official Report of Wednesday, 20th January, 2021 is hereby adopted as the true record of proceedings.
rose
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2:56 p.m.
Yes, Hon Member for Ellembele?
Mr Buah 2 p.m.
Thank you Mr Speaker for the opportunity. I beg to raise a matter of great concern to all of us. It has to do with the new Sitting time at

Mr Speaker, one of the advice for the ravaging COVID-19 is to make sure that our interactions are limited. My worry is that 2.00 p.m. is exposing us because we are spending more hours here in Parliament and exposing ourselves more than it should

probably be the case. I am concerned about it --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2 p.m.
Hon Member, you are out of order. We have places for such matters, and you can raise them when we get there.
Mr Buah 2 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I have a very important second issue.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2 p.m.
Hon Members, item numbered 4 -- Statements. There are two Statements admitted to be read today. The first one is in the name of Hon Kofi Adams on the plight of cocoa farmers in the Buem Constituency despite Government's US$1.3 billion loan facility to the Ghana Cocoa Board.
STATEMENTS 2 p.m.
Mr Kofi Iddie Adams (NDC -- Buem) 2 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on the subject of pressing importance to my constituents and me.
The Buem Constituency falls under the Oti Region, one of the six newly- birthed regions in December 2018. The Buem people are primarily subsistent farmers who have stayed
Mr First Deputy Speaker 2 p.m.
Yes, Hon Deputy Majority Leader?
Mr Alexander Afenyo-Markin (NPP -- Effutu) 3:06 p.m.
Mr Speaker, unfortunately, we did not get the benefit of the Statement before it was read. But my Hon Colleague, Hon Kofi Adams raised a fundamental issue in his Statement, and I would want to say it here and now that the information he had was inaccurate.
Mr Speaker, while he was on his feet, I checked the facts and it is not the case that COCOBOD has not paid LBCs; it is not -- [Interruption] -- No, please, this is a very serious matter for economy. With all due respect, let us get serious -- [Interruption] --

Mr Speaker, his point is that cocoa farmers in his constituency and in the Western North have not been paid, and he is also saying that the License Buying Companies (LBCs) have not been paid, which presupposes that the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has not paid them. I am saying that as we speak today, that is not the case.

Mr Speaker, we have had situations that LBCs had received payments and had not paid the farmers. If that is his intent, then he
Mr First Deputy Speaker 3:06 p.m.
Hon Deputy Leader, please hold on.
Yes, Hon Minority Chief Whip?
Alhaji Muntaka 3:06 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would want to refer my Hon Colleague to what our Standing Orders has to say on Statements. In Standing Order 72, it is clearly stated that with the indulgence of Mr Speaker, an hon Member could make a Statement of public importance, such that contributions with regard to this Statement would be restricted to the Statement.
Mr Speaker, whereas I agree with my Hon Colleague that if there are factual inaccuracies in the Statement, even after the Hon Speaker has admitted it, one could try to take steps to correct it. My worry however is that this is not what the Hon Deputy Majority Leader seeks to do. This is
because he just says that he has checked, but from who? He should tell us because when this Statement was being made, the Hon Member who made it was factual in telling us where his sources were. Therefore, if the Hon Deputy Majority Leader claims that he has checked, then he should tell us who he checked from, so that at the end of the Statement, if Mr Speaker decides that a Committee of this House should investigate it, then we would be able to get the source that told him that the money has been paid to appear before this House to answer to us. But if he just makes a general statement that he has checked without telling us the source that told him that the money has been paid, then it would be difficult. It would be contradictory, not only to our Standing Orders, but even to the rules of debate. He just makes a general statement without any source. So, Mr Speaker, I just want you to draw his attention to that.
Thank you very much.
Mr Afenyo-Markin 3:06 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I think that what my Hon Colleague, the Hon Minority Chief Whip just said is not different from the very point that I was trying to underscore. My Hon Colleague's Statement was very general. He said two things. He said that LBCs in
Buem, his constituency have not been paid, then two, that in the Western North, farmers have not been paid by LBCs. He did not end there, he also added that it was as a result of the refusal of COCOBOD to pay the LBCs. Lastly, he also added that since this House approved that syndicated facility, he was inviting Mr Speaker and this House to ensure that, that thing is done. I am saying that I checked, and for the avoidance of doubt, I would like to read my source aloud. I was not making a comment on it, but just wanted to draw the attention of the House to those factual inaccuracies, which the Hon Minority Chief Whip agreed to.
Mr Speaker, this is what --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 3:06 p.m.
Hon Member, what are you reading from?
Mr Afenyo-Markin 3:06 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am reading from a data from COCOBOD, I am -- [Interruption]
-- 3:06 p.m.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 3:06 p.m.
Hon Members, order! We would want to listen to him.
Mr Afenyo-Markin 3:06 p.m.
Mr Speaker, this is an information that I sought from the database of COCOBOD. After reading, if it is the
desire of the House, I would get it printed and tender it. I do not have a problem. The Hon Member who made the Statement himself even did not give us the name of the LBC that had refused to pay --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 3:06 p.m.
Hon Member, I asked you a question. You said COCOBOD did what?
Mr Afenyo-Markin 3:06 p.m.
Mr Speaker, this is an information from COCOBOD. I am reading an information from their database that they have put out there.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 3:06 p.m.
Is it at their website?
Mr Afenyo-Markin 3:06 p.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 3:06 p.m.
Very well.
Mr Afenyo-Markin 3:06 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it is from their Communication Department, and I would want to read it out. The heading reads: “2020/2021 Cocoa Syndication Funding”, then it reads: “In the 2020/2021 crop season, the Ghana COCOBOD syndicated for an amount of US$1.3 billion for the purchase of cocoa and cocoa related activities. Out of the full amount, a total of 1.110, equivalent of
Mr Frist Deputy Speaker 3:06 p.m.
Hon Deputy Majority Leader, please ignore their comments and speak to me.
Mr Afenyo-Markin 3:16 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would do so. When it is too loud, it is difficult to ignore their comments, but I would -- [Laughter] --
Mr Speaker, all that I am saying is that under our rules, which was quoted by the Hon Minority Chief Whip, Hon Muntaka, the rule provides that it should be by the indulgence of the House and the leave of Mr Speaker.
So, Mr Speaker, perhaps, if the Hon Kofi Adams had fully complied, and after you had granted him leave, had shared his Statement with us aforehand, which would have satisfied the indulgence criteria, we would have assisted him to deal with this inaccuracy. As it is, he himself did not even verify from the Ghana COCOBOD. He himself has not told us which LBC in Buem and the Western North have refused to pay farmers yet he talked about the plight of farmers.

Mr Speaker, if he creates this impression that COCOBOD that came to this House to source funds from the international financial market has drawn down, given returns of having paid farmers, has refused to pay, it has consequences on our financial market and the image of this

country. So, it is not anything to deal with lightly.

The Hon Member should give us specifics. Failure to do that becomes problematic, and that is all the point I am trying to make, not by way of comment, but by way of drawing attention to these factual inaccuracies for the Hon Member who made the Statement to perhaps, come back to the House with further and better particulars of the basis upon which he anchored his Statement.

I thank you so much, Mr Speaker.
Mr Eric Opoku (NDC -- Asunafo South) 3:16 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Deputy Majority Leader misinterpreted the content of the document he referred to in this House. In that document, COCOBOD alluded to the fact that this House approved US$1.3 billion, and as at the time they put out that information, they had not accessed the entire US$1.3 billion, and he indicated that they had still not accessed US$190 million. That explains their inability to pay for the cocoa that they have purchased.
Mr Speaker, the reality is that the syndicated loan is usually accessed before the opening of the cocoa season, so, when COCOBOD accesses the funds, they advance
Mr First Deputy Speaker 3:16 p.m.
Hon Member for Asunafo South, can you leave me out of the debate please?
Mr E. Opoku 3:16 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the reality is that farmers are not being paid, and the Hon Member who made the Statement has urged this House to bring -- [Interruption]
An Hon Member 3:16 p.m.
Mention one of the constituencies.
Mr E. Opoku 3:16 p.m.
Mr Speaker, Asunafo South Constituency, Asunafo North Constituency, Asutifi North - all over. We come from cocoa
growing constituencies. If you do not have any idea about cocoa - This is not about the NPP or NDC; it is about our own farmers.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 3:16 p.m.
Hon Member for Asunafo South, the Hon Deputy Majority Leader did not quarrel about farmers being paid or not. His argument is that COCOBOD has released money to the LBCs. That link is what he complained about. I do not think he raised the issue about farmers being paid or not; his issue was whether COCOBOD had given the money to the LBCs which are not paying the farmers. But let the debate continue.
Mr E. Opoku 3:16 p.m.
Mr Speaker, as we speak today, COCOBOD still owes the LBCs. Sometimes, we ask our Hon Colleagues not to muddy the waters for themselves. Last year, COCOBOD could not even pay the foreign companies for all the cocoa that they delivered COCOBOD still owes them, but we are talking about the local LBCs. COCOBOD has
made some payments to them alright, but it is not enough to pay for the cocoa that they delivered. That is the issue, so, we do not have to stand here and say COCOBOD has paid as if COCOBOD is not owing. They even owe the foreign companies, and the former Hon Deputy Minister forAgriculture is aware.
Mr Kennedy Nyarko Osei (NPP -- Akim Swedru) 3:16 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am happy that my Hon Deputy Leader, Hon Afenyo-Markin, has put out facts. These are credible facts which can be crosschecked. Mr Speaker, this is from COCOBOD. I never mentioned any institution. I am surprised my Hon Colleague, Hon Eric Opoku made some assertions that are inaccurate and misleading.
Mr Speaker, in the 2020/2021 season, COCOBOD went for US$1.3 billion. Out of this amount, COCOBOD, had by January 2021 released GH¢5.6 billion to the LBCs. Mr Speaker, the practice is that when LBCs carry the beans, they have between 15 to 30 days to raise invoices for them to be paid. Today is 3rd February, 2021. If at the end of January 2021, GH¢5.6 billion had been released to LBCs, at what point did the LBCs carry those beans and raised those invoices that covered the 15 to 30 days that they have to be paid?
Mr First Deputy Speaker 3:16 p.m.
Hon Member, kindly contribute.
Mr K. N. Osei 3:26 a.m.
Mr Speaker, COCOBOD has indicated that within
this month, they would draw down the remaining balance of US$190 million which is left, and that is what would be used to pay any LBC that submits an invoice subsequently.

Mr Speaker, the Hon Member who made this Statement has made some wild allegations against COCOBOD, and this is a House of record. We do not need to allow these allegations to stand in any of our proceedings in this House. COCOBOD is a public institution and cannot hide any documents from this House.

I urge that with Mr Speaker's help, we call for details of these facts that we are putting out there, so that this attitude of trying to muddy the waters, throwing dust in the eyes of Ghanaians and creating unnecessary tension among us, would stop at a point in time. This is a point of misinforming the unsuspecting public. They are the ones being misinformed.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 3:26 a.m.
Hon Members, can everybody resume their seats while I give this announcement.
Hon Members, the officers undertaking the COVID-19 test have up to 4 p. m. to leave the precincts of Parliament. Thus far, about 50 Members of Parliament (MP) and staff have not submitted to the test. I am please requesting any MP or staff who has not submitted to the test to please do so immediately.
Secondly, Mr Speaker wishes me to draw the attention of Members of the House that some Members of Parliament who have in fact tested positive to COVID-19, are still coming to the Chamber. [Interruption] Mr Speaker wishes me to inform you that if those Hon Members do not withdraw and isolate, he would be forced to publish the names of Hon Members who have tested positive in order to warn the rest of us.
Please, let us take this protocol seriously and let all Hon Members who have been informed of their negative test results, withdraw from the precincts of Parliament and not just the Chamber. Stay home, self-isolate, go through the protocols and recover before you return to the House. Thank you very much.
Alhaji Muntaka 3:26 a.m.
Mr Speaker, on the issue of the COVID-19 test, it is
important that we do not abandon a procedure that has served us well in the past. After the test, our Medical Director talked to the Whips about those on their Side who had tested positive. So, we kept the confidentiality but assisted the Hon Members to stay out.
As Whips, you would also know them in order to help them stay away without necessarily telling for example, Hon Annoh-Dompreh who is the Majority Chief Whip, the Members of the Minority who are infected or telling me Alhaji Muntaka, the Members on the Majority Side who have tested positive. I need to know the Members on my Side, so that I can help the House to ensure that these Hon Members are not only absent from the Chamber but are also not in their offices. So, I hope that this would be done.
Mr Speaker, secondly, after taking the test, even when it is negative, it is important that the report is given to every hon Member. They should not just keep quiet and tell us that if we are not called, it means that we tested negative and it is only when you are positive that you are called. No, the results of the test must be issued to every hon Member, so that we would know.
However, if they keep calling me and I do not pick, they should give
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:26 a.m.
As Mr Speaker indicated last week, as of last week Friday, 60 Hon Members, and not Hon Members and staff had not submitted themselves and it was what occasioned our recalling the technical people to come back. Yesterday, only three people submitted themselves and today, only five have. It means that out of the 60 that had not submitted, 52 have still not submitted themselves and that is a danger.
I know for a fact that a couple of us have submitted at some private institutions and health facilities. I am not too sure of the number but I know of at least three who have shown their test results to me. That would still not exonerate the remaining 52. It is important that we submit ourselves. They were to leave at 3 p. m. but I have pleaded with them to stay up to 4.30 p. m. but they said they could only stay up to 4 p. m. So, I would
plead with Hon Members who have not yet submitted themselves to please exit to go and submit themselves. Many staff and some journalists have also not submitted themselves.
Mr Speaker, let me plead with everybody here, staff, MPs and journalists who have not, to please submit themselves. As Mr Speaker, said to us, if you do not, in all likelihood, from next week, we would not allow people who have not submitted themselves to be in the Chamber. Perhaps, for the staff, they would not be allowed in their various offices.
So Mr Speaker, it is a very serious matter and we should all take the announcement very seriously. Thank you very much.
rose
Mr First Deputy Speaker 3:26 a.m.
Are we discussing COVID-19? No, I want to return to COCOBOD.
Alhaji Muntaka 3:26 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I wanted to get an indication on how many contributions on the Statement you were taking from both Sides, so that we could --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 3:26 a.m.
Let me be guided by Leadership, so confer and advise me.
Alhaji Muntaka 3:26 a.m.
We have done two each already. The Hon Member who made the Statement and Hon Afenyo-Markin came in, so we have done two each already. Could we do an additional two each and then come to the Leadership?
Mr First Deputy Speaker 3:26 a.m.
Very well. Yes, Hon Majority Leadership, the suggestion is that we take four from every Side. We have done two already, so we should allow two more.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:26 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I do not know the number of Statements that we have. Yesterday, Mr Speaker allowed for just two comments from either Side. So, not knowing the number of Statements, I do not know what to say about it. I would however like to say that if we have more than one, then I guess you could allow for two more from either Side, including Leadership, so that we could move. This is because we need to really also discuss the Standing Orders. We need to move into a Committee of the Whole. We would not discuss the Report --
Mr Speaker, anyway, my thinking is that if two each have spoken on either Side, you could allow for two more from either Side, including the Leaders.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 3:36 p.m.
Hon Member for Tamale North?
Mr Suhuyini Alhassan Sayibu (NDC -- Tamale North) 3:36 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Statement that was ably made by the Hon Member for Buem.
Mr Speaker, I would start with a note in relation to how the Statement seem to have generated debate, when Statements are usually not supposed to be so. On that note, I therefore call on all of us to perhaps, begin to shed from ourselves the campaign fever with which we came to this House and desist from the mentality of “we against them'' all the time.
Mr Speaker, I have gone through the Statement and it raises very germane issues that affect cocoa farmers not only in the Buem Constituency. I listened to the Hon Member for Asunafo South, Mr Eric Opoku, he confirmed that indeed, there are cocoa farmers who have not received payments. I have also listened carefully to the Hon Deputy Majority Leader, when he gave the indication that indeed, COCOBOD has made some payments but not all. I also listened to the former Hon Deputy Minister for Agriculture, who
Mr First Deputy Speaker 3:36 p.m.
Hon Member for Ablekuma West?
Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful 3:36 p.m.
Mr Speaker, this is not a contribution to the Statement but to seek clarification from your good self. Yesterday, the Rt Hon Speaker made an assertion that it is imperative on those who make Statements in the House to share copies with Hon Members on the other Side so that we could all contribute effectively to them.
Mr Speaker, when we all registered for this 8th Parliament, we were all given Parliament's electronic mail addresses and it is easy to share those Statements to all those addresses or to Hon Members who might be interested in it so that when we come to the floor of the House, we would have prior notice of the Statements that have been made and we would have had some incline as to what was coming and make informed contributions to it. If even prior to the making of Statement we have an opportunity to discuss it, the Hon Member who makes the Statement would know that there was information on it.
Mr Speaker, secondly, this is such an important subject that it would have served us better if the Hon Member who made the Statement had asked a substantive question of the President's representative to the Ministry of Agriculture so that he would come to the House and give a full Statement on the disbursement of the syndicated loan and whether or not there were lapses in the work of the LBCs so that we could all have the benefit of it. We may all contribute to it from a positon of using our own minds and not having benefit of the real facts in the matter and that would not serve us and our constituents well.
Mr Speaker, I want to urge all Hon Members to take advantage of the tools that we have at our disposal to enable us do our work as Hon Members of Parliament more effectively.
Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka (NDC -- Asawase) 3:36 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to contribute to the Statement and to commend my Hon Colleague, Mr Kofi Adams for making this Statement.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member for Tamale North, Mr Suhuyini Sayibu, has said it all. If we all could concentrate to try to serve our constituents and move away from the “we and them'' policy, it would do us a lot of good.
Mr Speaker, to add to what the Hon Member for Ablekuma West, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said, if the Office of the Speaker, could also take not only the hard copy but the soft copy of the Statements so that once the Rt Hon Speaker admits it, his usher could send it by electronic mail to all of us. This is because the time that we move from conclave to the Chamber, when an Hon Member is told that the Rt Hon Speaker has admitted his or her Statement, is too short. When I came to the Chamber, I struggled to get the ushers to run
Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka (NDC -- Asawase) 3:46 p.m.
copies of it but unfortunately, they could not run enough copies.
Mr Speaker, I want to urge my Hon Colleagues to call the LBCs and purchasing clients that they know in their constituencies and they would find out that this is really a problem that COCOBOD faces. We need to admit and find out from COCOBOD what their real challenge is.
Mr Speaker, the statement read by the Hon Deputy Majority Leader, is accurate. In cocoa purchasing, seed money, which is like capital is needed to turn around - the efficiency of the company depends on how many turn around has been done. Most people would say that if they take the seed money from COCOBOD and they are not able to do at least, 2.5 turn around with the money, they may run into loses. For example, with the estimated GH¢6.5 billion that COCOBOD anticipates to use, it cannot buy the 850,000 metric tonnes that they have targeted.

If we multiply a bag of cocoa at GH¢600 by 16 bags which gives us one tonne by 850,000 metric tonnes, we would need close to GH¢9 billion to procure that quantity of cocoa. Yet, they are using this seed money with

the hope that they would turn it around minimum 2.0 which is COCOBOD's target so that they would be able to use the same amount of money to purchase this 850,000 metric tonnes of cocoa.

Mr Speaker, it is about speed in turning the money around, it is not just moneys that we just give them to go and buy once and that is the end. No! That is not how the operations are done. And when we find out from a lot of the LBCs, they would tell you that even when COCOBOD gives them the seed money, they go on to banks to take additional funding to be able to turn around and move very fast.

Mr Speaker, the challenge that they are currently having is that, they produce the cocoa and COCOBOD is not able to reimburse them to go back to the field to purchase more of the cocoa. That is why they have that challenge.

Mr Speaker, this is very simple because the LBCs have a secretariat and this House can simply invite them. I know one Mr Ayisi, their Secretary- General; we can invite him and COCOBOD. He would come and tell us the situation from the LBCs perspective while COCOBOD tells us the situation from their perspective so that we would be able to resolve --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 3:46 p.m.
Hon Member, hold on --
Are you on a point of order, Hon Member for Tema West?
Mr Kingsley Carlos Ahenkorah 3:46 p.m.
Mr Speaker, yes, I am on a point of order.
I thank you for the opportunity. I think that my Hon Colleague from the other Side is arguing from a point which I would describe as an uninformed position. As a former member of the Board of COCOBOD who happens to be the Chairman of Cocoa Sector Marketing Committee (COSMAC) which regulates and licences LBCs, I can say on authority that the seed fund that is given to these LBCs is only an initial fund for them to turn around. Before every LBC is qualified, it is supposed to bring a letter of guarantee from the bank that it has that amount of money to be used to trade for the period. In fact, it is a prerequisite. If one does not provide a bank statement which shows --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 3:46 p.m.
Hon Member, so tell me what he has said which is non-factual?
Mr Kingsley C. Ahenkorah 3:46 p.m.
Mr Speaker, so, what he said incorrectly is that it is the seed money that they need to turn around in the trade. No!
They are supposed to have their own money. The seed money is only an initial funding which cocoa provides for the LBCs to be able to start while they wait for their moneys from the banks. Meanwhile, we make sure that they either provide the bank statement showing that they have the amount of cash down or they have a bank guarantee from a bank stating that they would give you that amount of money. So, the seed fund is not what they are supposed to use in trading.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 3:46 p.m.
Very well, your point is well made.
Mr Kingsley C. Ahenkorah 3:46 p.m.
I thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 3:46 p.m.
Yes, Hon Minority Chief Whip, take that on board.
Alhaji Muntaka 3:46 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you. He is talking about how LBCs operate. The LBCs have to have a bank guarantee as he has talked about so that every money that COCOBOD gives them, they would have a bank which states that should they lose that money, they would be there to pay, or that should that money get lost or they run into a loss or there is some accident, the bank would stand in for them.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 3:46 p.m.
Hon Member, is the 100 per cent interest from your personal experience? [Laughter]
Alhaji Muntaka 3:46 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I will not talk about my personal experience regarding the 100 per cent interest but what I know is that they would give these loans to them at an exorbitant interest rate to the extent that by the time the money is paid,
the farmer loses out completely. He or she may not be able to maintain the very farms that had produced the cocoa.
Mr Speaker, if you are a farmer like my senior brother and Colleague from Sefwi Wiawso, Dr Afriyie would tell you, yes, the income comes but portions of it go back into the farms in terms of buying fertiliser, pruning, weedicides, pesticides for pest control. If they do not do that their yield the following year would go down. So, if they are selling their cocoa and they are not able to get money because of whatever challenges COCOBOD is having, it indirectly affects the whole of the industry and I think we need to find out from COCOBOD what genuinely is the challenge. Why are they not able to quickly release moneys to the LBCs to continue the operations and we find ourselves in this situation?
Mr Speaker, let me end by saying that this is a very important statement and I would really be happy that we do not let it remain just as a statement but get COCOBOD and probably, like I said, the LBC secretariat to tell us exactly what the challenges are and what Parliament can do to help. Truly, our citizens within the cocoa growing area are really feeling the pain of non- payment from the LBCs and the LBCs are complaining about having
Mr First Deputy Speaker 3:46 p.m.
Hon Members, the last one is for the leadership, unless the leadership decides to defer to you.
Yes, Dr Cocoa Farmer?
Dr Kwaku Afriyie (NPP -- Sefwi-Wiawso) 3:56 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity. I would like to commend the Hon Member who made the Statement.
I have mixed feelings because I do not quite get the gravamen of this Statement. Yes, there are some difficulties in the cocoa sector as far as payments are concerned but most of them are even administrative in nature and it is limited to one or two cocoa LBCs.
Mr Speaker, I am speaking from personal experience. I deal with four LBCs, three have paid me and I was
surprised that the Western North region was cited, it is not a wide spread phenomenon but what is lost in this House is that there is an international dimension to this phenomenon.
In La Cote D'Ivoire, farmers have a hell of a time selling their cocoa because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ghana and La Cote D'Ivoire got their facts together and decided to help farmers. So an idea was coupled and we had this Living Income Differential (LID). Apparently, certain companies do not want to comply and they are using substitutes not to pay the LID.
Mr Speaker, in the Ghanaian situation, we are in a better situation and so, I would like to tell Hon Kofi Adam that if he is worried about the smuggling of cocoa across our shores that will not happen. Indeed, if care is not taken, we will be inundated with sub-standard cocoa from our neighbours. That is the phenomenon now.
Secondly, I have contacted the COCOBOD not because I antici- pated that a Statement would be filed and it is unfortunate that this Statement was not circulated for us to study. That is why Hon Ursula Owusu-Ekuful's intervention is very apt indeed. Next time, we should all have that kind of
situation where we can contribute meaningfully to Statements because going through this Statement, I do not see what the Hon Member who made the Statement intends to do.
Mr Speaker, my contact with COCOBOD shows that about 90 per cent of the Syndicated Loan has been drawn down and indeed, they also face another policy challenge. When the LBCs were set up, at least it was meant, in spirit for Ghanaian companies. Right now, they are being supplanted by foreign companies and that is another tall story and it is feeding into this.
Again, some of the LBCs whose names I would not want to mention have their own problems with the banking sector. So, even moneys released to them do not go to the cocoa farmers and that is the real situation which has nothing to do with COCOBOD per se. so, we should make sure that we get our facts together.
Mr Speaker, before I resume my seat, I would want to request that in the cocoa industry, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is going to be a glut and so, Ghana and La Cote D'Ivoire will have to look at their land use policies and so on. I have
always made the statement that cocoa used to be a middle-class family business but now, it has to do with the poor class of people. That is why Bahia in Brazil have opted out, Indonesia and Malaysia have opted out and this is exploitation of adult labour. That in essence, is what is playing out and this is only a microcosm and has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In summary, this Statement that has been made is a mixed picture; yes, some farmers have not received their moneys due them but their attributions are grossly wrong and COCOBOD, even though they have their own difficulties, have discharged their duties. However, on the international horizon, we have a great difficulty and we should brace ourselves for a cocoa glut on the international market.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 3:56 p.m.
Hon Members, I wish to invite the leadership of the COCOBOD to brief the House at a Committee of the Whole to be determined by the Leadership of the House.
I direct that the Leadership of the House shall invite the Ghana Cocoa Board to meet and brief Hon Members of the House at the
Mr Williams Okofo-Dateh (NPP - Jaman South) 3:56 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my name is Williams Okofo-Dateh.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 3:56 p.m.
Hon Member, thank you for correcting me but this is your Statement. Is that right? What you gave to Mr Speaker and which was forwarded to me was ‘Okoto'. So, please, make sure the that next time, you spell your name correctly so that I do not pronounce it wrongly.
State of Deplorable Roads in Jaman South
Mr Okofo-Dateh 4:06 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to make my maiden Statement in the House.
I wish to highlight the deplorable state of the road network in my constituency -- Jaman South. I am very sure that we all appreciate the need for good roads in the country and their importance cannot be underestimated. The poor road
network in the country is not a secret and the havoc it has caused is immense and immeasurable.
Mr Speaker, over the years, our attempt to tackle the problem bedevilling the road network has been fraught with challenges. Jaman South is a municipality and in my estimation, has some of the worst roads in the country; the only sign of a bitumen road in the constituency is the one that stretches through the principal streets of the municipal capital is Drobo through to Sampa. That road is over 20 years old and riddled with potholes that can cause accidents to motorists and commuters on a daily basis.
The potholes on that stretch of road are deep enough to change your radio station when you hit one. Every other road in the constituency is in a terrible shape and making one of the most beautiful constituencies in the country, an eyesore.
Mr Speaker, the over 50 towns and villages connected just by four major roads in the municipal capital have not seen a tarred surface in their lifetime even though all of such roads are over 100 years old.
The problem of road network is impeding the development of the people and the communities. The terrible nature of the roads have
adversely affected investment in the constituency, existing businesses are dying and new ones are hardly coming up due to the dust that engulfs the whole community during the harmattan season.
Mr Speaker, the rainy season comes with its own challenges; the potholes get filled and driving and walking even become difficult. Sometimes, it is difficult to live in the constituency especially, when all the other four municipal assemblies in the Bono region have asphaltic surfaces except the Jaman South Municipality.
Jaman South contributes its fair share to the development of the nation; in fact, we are a major farming community dealing mainly in the cultivation of cocoa and cashew on a large scale. Food stuff production is abundant, the problem is that the trucks that carry these goods get stuck many times and sometimes, topple over and block the narrow roads.

Mr Speaker, on three of the four major roads in the municipality, Ghana shares a border with Ivory Coast, making the constituency an entry point for foreigners. Mr Speaker, foreigners' first impression about the country is formed mostly at the entry

point hence the need to carve a very good and beautiful impression for the municipality and the country.

Mr Speaker, one beautiful thing about the municipality is that most of the towns are so close to each other and in most cases have less than a kilometre between them. An example is from Drobo which is the municipal capital to Kpamsekrom where we have Japekrom, Kwasibuokrom, Katakyiekrom, Gunasua, Kromu- num, Sebreni, Dodosuo, Banor No.1, Banor No.2, Banor No.3 and Kpansekrom which is the border town and they are all on a 12 kilometre road. Mr Speaker, again, from Drobo to Miremanu there is Nyamefie, Asougya, Jejemregya, Aboakrom and Miremanu on a nine kilometre road. On the road to Atuna abatia, there is Japekrom, Babianiha, Komfokrom, Bobunu, Koo Nsia, Abirikasu, Atuna, Kwameprakrom and Baatia.

Mr Speaker, the point being made is that any attempt to get any of these stretch of roads constructed would bring a major relief to thousands of people because none of the aforementioned towns have a population of less than a thousand. I am happy to note that the President in his inaugural address to the nation said that this would be a year of roads. It is my hope and prayer that this
rose
Mr First Deputy Speaker 4:06 p.m.
Hon Member, please hold on.
Hon Member for Okaikoi Central?
Mr Boamah 4:06 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much.
I believe that the Hon Member is reading a Statement and the rules of the House does not require a Statement to provoke any debate. Mr Speaker, he said that his prayer is that the promise by the President that this year would be a year of roads would not be the same as last year.
Mr Speaker, he is provoking debate; if I ask him to provide me with data on road works would he be able to support that? The year has not started.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 4:06 p.m.
Hon Member, thank you. The Statement has been admitted by Mr Speaker and so we would allow him to read it then Hon Members can comment on it.
Hon Member, please continue.
Mr Okofo-Darteh 4:06 p.m.
I urge the State to consider us favourably in this year's budget especially in the area of roads so as to get the spirit of the once vibrant communities back to life.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to speak the minds of my constituents in the House. Thank you very much.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 4:06 p.m.
Hon Member for Sunyani West.
Mr Ignatius B. Awuah (NPP - Sunyani West) 4:06 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you and I also commend the Hon Member who made the Statement.
Mr Speaker, even though his Statement is constituency specific, having been a former Hon Minister of the Region, I have a fair idea as to the road conditions in his constituency and the municipality. Just like many other municipalities and constituen- cies, road continues to be a major challenge to many of our communities but that notwithstanding, it is also a fact that some attempts have been made in the Hon Member's constituency to address the issue of roads. I know for a fact that in Drobo, which is the district capital of Jaman
South, quite a number of roads are under construction. Apart from that, there are other major roads that are under construction and have reached a considerable level of completion. I thought to be fair, the Hon Member in his Statement would have acknowledged the effort by government in addressing the road conditions in his constituency.
Mr Speaker, he also mentioned that maybe apart from his constituency there is no other constituency or municipality in the Region that does not have an asphaltic surface in the district. Mr Speaker, this is factually incorrect because my constituency was carved out of Sunyani Municipality and it is the closest constituency to Sunyani, but I do not have even a single kilometre of asphaltic surface in my district capital. So, for the Hon Member to make a general statement that every constituency capital in the Rgion has asphaltic surface is factually incorrect and he must correct that.
Mr Speaker, I agree that road issues continue to be a major challenge in many parts of the country but I must also admit that since the beginning of last year when His Excellency the President declared the year of roads, many bold attempts have been made
to address major road challenges in many of our communities. I can cite so many of them in my Region and constituency as well as the Hon Member's constituency.
Mr Speaker, it is also not correct that the major road that passes through the constituency from Berekum through Drobo to Sampa was constructed about 20 years ago. Mr Speaker, between 2006 and early 2009, I was the Hon Regional Minister and the Road from Bebianeha through Drobo to Sampa was started during my tenure in office and so it could not be over 20 years. I want to plead that when we are making Statements that would be on record, we have to be very careful and factual.
Mr Speaker, on this note, I thank the Hon Member for making the Statement.
Mr Frederick Y. Ahenkwah (NDC -- Jaman North) 4:06 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this Statement and I would like to thank the Hon Member who made the Statement. The Hon Member's constituency shares boundary with my constituency, Jaman North and so he is my neighbour. Mr Speaker, Jaman North was carved out of Jaman in
2004.
Mr Frederick Y. Ahenkwah (NDC -- Jaman North) 4:16 p.m.
The situation in Jaman South is not different from the situation in Jaman North, Tain and Banda in respect of the deplorable nature of roads in these constituencies. Mr Speaker, if the constituents of these constituencies are asked about their urgent needs, the chorus answer that would be given is roads. The constituents of these four constituencies that I have mentioned are in dire need of good roads.

We are fortunate to have some Hon Members here who recently went to these constituencies to campaign. I can boldly make mention of Hon Ursula Owusu-Ekuful who went to Jaman North during the campaign era to campaign for a colleague, Hon Stevens Siaka, who is the former Member of Parliament. She can attest to this situation.

Mr Speaker, Sampa is a district capital. Up till now, this District was carved from Jaman in 2004. It would sadden you to know that the principal streets of Sampa are still untarred, as a district capital. Sampa, Banda and the constituencies I have mentioned so far have a lot of resources, and a lot of revenue is derived from these areas into the national coffers. However, it would sadden you to know that our roads are in bad nature.

We are praying to Mr Speaker to speak to the necessary authorities.

We are aware we do not have a Minister for Roads and Highways now. One is being designated to face the House for approval, and I believe when his nomination is approved and he becomes a substantive Minister, he would work expeditiously for our roads to be tarred so that we can also feel our part of the national cake.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 4:16 p.m.
Very well. I would allow one more contribution. Hon former Director for Highways, is that you?
Mr Emmanuel Kwadwo Agye- kum 4:16 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it is rather the former Deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 4:16 p.m.
I cannot make you out. Oh, Hon Member for Nkoranza North. I have forgotten that you came back to the House. [Laughter.]
Mr Agyekum 4:16 p.m.
On a point of order. Mr Speaker, I am back. I just would want to make some correction. In regard to what the Hon former
Regional Minister said. The Hon Member of Parliament was referring to municipalities, and the last time I checked, his place was not a municipality. It is a district, which is Sunyani West.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 4:16 p.m.
Yes, Hon Member for Sunyani West?
Mr Awuah 4:16 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my colleague on his feet cannot profess to be more catholic than the Pope. If he would want to talk about my municipality, he cannot behave as if he knows my municipality more than my good self.
Mr Speaker, we can check the records. This House actually approved of the municipality of Sunyani West and has Odumasi as the Municipal Capital, and so he cannot say that my area is a district. It is a municipality.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 4:16 p.m.
Hon Member, are you done? I thought you were contributing to the debate. [Laughed]
Very well, I would give the last one to you, Hon Member.
Mr Joseph Kwame Kumah (NDC -- Kintampo North) 4:16 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for this opportunity.

Mr Speaker, I thank my colleague for bringing this issue up. If my records are right, metropolis, many as we have them in Ghana, have all had befitting roads. Municipalities, just like my brother's place, roads are a headache. Kintampo North cannot be left out. Our roads --
Mr First Deputy Speaker 4:16 p.m.
Hon Member, if you want to bring a Statement on Kintampo North, please bring your own Statement. If you want to contribute to the Statement on Jaman South Constituency, you may continue.
Mr J. K. Kumah 4:16 p.m.
All right. Thank you.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 4:16 p.m.
That brings us to the end of Statements time.
Hon Members, at the Commencement Public Business, the only item under public Business is the presentation of the Report of the Committee I chair. The Report is still being prepared.
Yes, Hon Majority Leader?
Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 4:16 p.m.
Mr Speaker, because you are presiding, I believe I could present the Paper to the House on your behalf so that we could spend some time digesting it and perhaps meet tomorrow over it.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 4:16 p.m.
I think so.
Item numbered 5?
PAPERS 4:16 p.m.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 4:16 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader, in that case, item numbered 6 cannot be taken. Is that right?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 4:16 p.m.
Mr Speaker, as you know, we just submitted the Report in Plenary. Hon Members would require some time to peruse it. So I would plead that we take this Report tomorrow at a Sitting
of the Committee of the Whole to deal with it.
I do not know whether it should be at the Committee of the Whole or a Joint Caucus Meeting. This is a Report from a Technical Committee. If it should go to the Committee of the Whole, after the consideration, the Committee of the Whole would have to generate a Report and submit in Plenary, which is not supposed to be the procedure. So it should rather be considered at a Joint Caucus Committee. Thereafter, we can come to some determination on that.
Mr First Deputy Speaker 4:16 p.m.
Very well. In that case, can I have a motion to adjourn the House till tomorrow?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 4:16 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the motion is; that this House takes an adjournment until tomorrow at 2.00 pm. I so move.
Mr Bernard Ahiafor 4:16 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.
Question put and Motion agreed to.
ADJOURNMENT 4:16 p.m.