Debates of 2 Mar 2021

MR SPEAKER
PRAYERS 3:33 a.m.
Mr Speaker 3:33 a.m.
Hon Members, I have received a message from the President when we were on the short break but I think it is proper I bring the content to your notice. The message is dated, 12th February,
2021.
ANNOUNCEMENTS 3:33 a.m.
BY MR SPEAKER 3:33 a.m.
Mr Speaker 3:33 a.m.
Hon Members, we will now move to item numbered 3 on the Order Paper - Correction of Votes and Proceedings.
Mr Speaker 3:53 p.m.
Hon Members, item numbered 4 - Business Statement for the Seventh Week by the Chairman of the Business Committee.
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE 3:53 p.m.
Majority Leader/Chairman of the Business Committee (Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu) 3:53 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Committee met today, Tuesday, 2nd March, 2021, and arranged Business of the House for
the Seventh Week ending Friday, 5th March, 2021.
Mr Speaker, the Committee accordingly submits its Report as follows 3:53 p.m.
Arrangement of Business
Formal Communications by the Speaker
Mr Speaker, you may read any available communication to the House.
Statements
Mr Speaker, your good self may admit Statements to be made in the House by Hon. Members, in accordance with Standing Order 72.
Papers and Reports
Mr Speaker, reports from Committees may be presented to the House.
Motions and Resolutions
Mr Speaker, Motions may be debated and their consequential Resolutions, if any, taken during the week.
Mr Speaker, the Business Committee takes this opportunity to
welcome all Hon Members back from the short break. It is hoped that all Hon Members who endeavoured during the break to observe the COVID-19 protocols are therefore in good health to discharge their mandate as Members of Parliament.
Mr Speaker, during the brief intervening period until the House adjourns sine die on Tuesday, 30th March, 2021, the House would be expected to consider some very critical Businesses including:
(i) Consideration and approval of nominees of H. E. the President for Ministerial appointments;
(ii)Receiving H.E. the President to deliver a Message on the State of the Nation on Tuesday, 9th March, 2021 and consequently debate the Message. The Message would be debated on 10th and 11th March, 2021. In that regard, it may become important for us to have early Sittings to have enough time to debate the Message on the State of the Nation for two days. What it means is that we may have to Sit at 10 o'clock and extend Sittings to at least 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. every day on Wednesday, 10th and Thursday, 11th March, 2021.
Mr Speaker, the Committee accordingly submits its Report as follows 3:53 p.m.
(iii) Mr Speaker, the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana for the year ending 31st December, 2021 would also be presented in the House to the general public on Friday, 12th March, 2021.
Mr Speaker, as we have discussed, identified Hon Members, including in particular, Hon Chairmen, Hon Vice Chairmen, Hon Ranking Members and Hon Deputy Ranking Members would all be required to be taken through a post-budget orientation or workshop beginning the same evening on Friday, 12th March, 2021 and when we return on Monday, 15th March, 2021 we begin with the debate on the principles of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana for the ensuing Tuesday - 16th March, 2021.
Mr Speaker, the sector allocations would be placed before the various Select Committees for consideration and recommendation to the House. It is hoped that by 30th March, 2021, the Appropriation Bill covering the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the government would have been considered and approved by this House in order for us to be able to
take the well-deserved adjournment on Tuesday, 30th March, 2021 so that Hon Members travelling to outlying areas, including the Hon Minority Leader, would be able to travel to their constituencies in order to join their people in the observation of Good Friday which is on Friday, 2nd April, 2021.
Accordingly, all Hon Members are accordingly entreated to arrange their affairs to enable them avail themselves for the discharge of all the constitutional obligations imposed on Parliament during this Meeting.
Briefing of the House
Mr Speaker, the Minister- designate for Health, together with the senior official of the Ministry, is scheduled to brief the House on the COVID-19 situation in the country, including the ongoing vaccination exercise. I hope that after the briefing, and given the fact that the first and second gentlemen of the country have submitted themselves to the vaccination, the Rt Hon Speaker, as the third gentleman of the land, would lead Parliament, the people's representatives, to submit themselves to the programme of the national vaccination.
Mr Speaker, you would lead that effort. I know you have an eternal fear
for the application of syringes, but you may have to submit yourself and lead the rest of us to do same as the representatives of the people.
The briefing from the Minister- designate for Health is programmed to take place tomorrow, Wednesday, 3rd March 2021. Accordingly, the Business Committee proposes that the House commences Sitting at 10.00 a.m. tomorrow for the conduct of scheduled Business and thereafter, recline into a Joint Caucus to grant audience to the Minister designate for Health. Hon Members are therefore to take note of the programme and avail themselves for the said briefings.
Conclusion
Mr Speaker, in accordance with Standing Order 160(2) and subject to Standing Order 53, the Committee submits to this Honourable House the order in which the Business of the House shall be taken during the week.

Statements

Presentation of Papers --

First Report of the Appointments Committee on the President's

nominations for Ministerial appointments.

Motions

Committee Sittings

Statements

Presentation of Papers --

Second Report of the Appointments Committee on the President's nominations for Ministerial appointments.

Motions --

Adoption of the First Report of the Appointments Committee on the President's nominations for Ministerial appointments.

Committee Sittings

Committee of the Whole to be briefed by the Minister- designate for Health.

Statements

Presentation of Papers --

(a)Third Report of the Appointments Committee on
Mr Speaker, the Committee accordingly submits its Report as follows 3:53 p.m.


the President's nominations for Ministerial appointments.

(b) Third Report of the Committee of Selection on the composition of other Standing and Select Committees.

Motions --

Adoption of the Second Report of the Appointments Committee on the President's nominations for Ministerial appointments.

Committee Sittings

Statements

Presentation of Papers

Motions

(a) Adoption of the Third Report of the Appointments Committee on the President's nominations for Ministerial appointments.

(b) Adoption of the Third Report of the Committee of Selection on the composition of other Standing and Select Committees.

Committee Sittings.
Mr Speaker 4:03 a.m.
Hon Members, you have heard the Hon Chairman of the Business Committee present the Report. Any comments?
Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa 4:03 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am most grateful and commend the Hon Chairman of the Business Committee for the presentation of the Business Statement.
I noticed from item numbered 3, as the Hon Majority Leader eloquently espoused, that we expect to receive the Financial Policy of the Government of Ghana for the year ending, 31st December, 2021. However, we have still not constituted Committees and the Financial Policy of Government will require that the various Committees that exercise oversight over the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) are constituted in earnest to consider this important matter.
Mr Speaker, I know that the last time the House discussed this matter before we took the three weeks break, there was some indication that perhaps we may have to wait for the new Standing Orders before the Committees are constituted. It
however appears that we are now out of time and may just have to make do with the current Standing Orders. I do not know if this matter has been discussed at the level of Leadership and if we can expect Committees to be constituted, as it is clear that the Financial Policy of Government is imminent?
As for the Message on the State of the Nation, we can debate it without Committee work but for the Budget and Financial Policy Statement, I do not see any way out. Committees must definitely be constituted, so I want to find out from the Hon Majority Leader what the indication is. Could we expect the Committees to be constituted as quickly as possible, so that Hon Members can anticipate the Financial Policy of the Government?
Thank you very much Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker 4:03 a.m.
Yes, Hon Iddrisu.
Mr Haruna Iddrisu 4:03 a.m.
Mr Speaker, let me use this opportunity to also welcome you and wish you good health and long life. I also wish my Hon Colleagues good health and long life as we prepare to do what is expected of us as elected representatives of the people of Ghana.
Mr Speaker, I have just two observations. I refer to the Votes and Proceedings, where you took some decision and communicated it to the President on our behalf after consulting with Leadership, on the President's earlier correspondence to you which I referred to in paragraph 7 of page 8 of the Votes and Proceedings on the composition of the Council of State.
As you guided Leadership, we sought to get Members to input. We appreciated that the President needed to get the Council of State properly constituted in accordance with article 89 of the 1992 Constitution. Therefore, I am just reminding you, whether you want to convey to the House that you acted on behalf of the House as was guided and advised by Leadership with input from Hon Members and what official communication you conveyed to the President.
Mr Speaker, this is because as we all know, the Council of State has been formally constituted and inaugurated by the President in accordance with article 89 (2)of the 1992 Constitution. I do not think that there was any fundamental objection by any Hon Member of this House.
Mr Speaker, my second observation is what the Hon Majority Leader has observed. We have two
Mr Speaker 4:03 a.m.
Since there are no more comments and the Hon Minority Leader has already spoken, I think that it is proper that the Chairman of the Business Committee and Majority Leader should have his bite. Hon Majority Leader?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 4:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, Hon Ablakwa raised a critical issue and I agree with him that if we do not have the Committees in place, certainly, the debate on the Budget Statement and Economic Policy cannot be well structured. Indeed, even after that, the consideration of the various sectors would become difficult. So certainly, we would need to constitute the Committees and it is intended for the Committees to be constituted.
I had assumed wrongly, that the otherwise very meticulous Hon Ablakwa would have read the draft Business Committee Report. If he had done so, he would have seen that on Thursday, the 4th of March, 2021, the Report is intended to be presented to this House by the Committee on Selection, chaired by Mr Speaker. I know Hon Ablakwa does not suffer from optical illusions and is incapable of suffering from it. On a more serious note, we need to do that and certainly we would get it sorted out.

Mr Speaker, the other issue has to do with the approval of the Standing Orders. As he himself admitted, some of us felt that we needed to do this but unfortunately, there are too many issues associated with the Orders from Hon Members. Perhaps, when we finish with the consideration of the Budget Statement with all the relevant accompaniments, Hon Members would feel subdued and then recline for us to do the consideration. This is because it appears a major consideration is the consideration of the Budget Statement and I believe he understands what I mean.

When we are through with that, we may come back to the new Standing Orders. Or if he wants to cling to the status quo even though we are tight for a considerable time in the crafting of these Orders and some of us think that we should adopt it to reposition Parliament -- if the generality of membership think that we should remain with the status quo, so be it.

Mr Speaker, the Hon Minority Leader was also right in the observation captured in the Votes and Proceedings that you directed that the House accordingly positions itself to be consulted by the President on the appointments of certain

members of the Council of State. Through the route of the two leaders, consultations were made with various Hon Members of Parliament and we came to the determination that there was no opposition and accordingly, we communicated same to you and you communicated the sentiments of the House in respect of the consultation to the President, which then resulted in the swearing in of the ex-officio members of the Council of State, alongside the elected members. So, the deed has been accomplished but going forward, the House should have a properly defined structure such that in such instances, we would be able to ferry whatever the outcome should be to the President.

Mr Speaker, I thank you very much for the opportunity.
Mr Speaker 4:13 p.m.
Hon Members, let me assure you that I am a man of immeasurable courage and valour. I am not a man of little faith, so I would lead the House together with the parliamentary staff to go through the process of the vaccination against COVID-19. So please, do not entertain any doubts in your mind particularly, the notorious “doubting Thomases”. We have programmed to do so next week and that is why we would get the brief tomorrow.
Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka 4:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I just noticed that some of our Hon Colleagues have brought additional chairs into the Chamber. We decided to arrange the Chamber to observe the COVID-19 protocols, so that other Hon Colleagues could observe proceedings from their offices -- [Interruption]. I have told Hon Members from our Side not to bring in chairs but they should rather sit in their offices and observe the proceedings. However, if we have decided that we have all tested negative of the virus and so we would disregard the protocols, then let it be said -- but I know that it is for a good
reason that we chose to observe the protocols. So, I would be grateful if you could give the necessary directives.
Mr Annoh-Dompreh 4:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I appreciate the concern raised by the Hon Minority Chief Whip. Speaking to the fact that we need to keep to social distancing is very critical but I want to make a correction. The chair for the Hon First Deputy Speaker was behind so when he got to the Chamber, he had no place to sit, so his seat was brought from behind. He is in the House, so he could confirm that -- [Interruption] -- I have not seen any extra seat that has been brought into the Chamber. If extra chairs have been brought into the Chamber apart from that of the Hon First Deputy Speaker, there is no problem -- we could correct that but I think he over exaggerated the concern.
Mr Speaker 4:13 p.m.
Hon Members, please, let us continue to observe the physical distancing rule -- it is very important. I may have to make a statement in connection with that as to how many Hon Members could be present at a time on the floor of the House. We need to come out with another figure. I can only do that after consulting the leaders and we would
give direction tomorrow, in respect of that. I do not expect us to crowd ourselves. Many of you are not in privileges positions like me, so you do not have the information I have about your health status in relation to COVID-19. Sometimes, I cling when I see some of you getting close to some of your Hon Colleagues -- [Laughter] -- but I am not in the positon to disclose.
rose
Mr Speaker 4:13 p.m.
Hon Member, do you want to urge me to disclose?
Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah 4:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, you had just indicated that you gave us some numbers of people who had fallen sick and are in isolation but we were so sure we all were safe. Suddenly, you are saying that you know those who have been infected with COVID-
19.
Mr Speaker 4:23 p.m.
Hon Chairman of the Appointments Committee, is your Report ready?
Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu 4:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, yes, the first part is ready.
Mr Speaker 4:23 p.m.
Is it ready for distribution to Hon Members now so we can lay it?
Mr Osei-Owusu 4:23 p.m.
Yes, after the presentation, it will be ready for distribution.
Mr J. Speaker 4:23 p.m.
I just want to be sure because the Hon Majority Leader has sought leave of me to vary the Order of Business and that comes under Standing Order 53(2). So, I will vary the Order of Business and then we take item numbered 6 first and we can now permit Hon Members to make their Statements.
So, at the Commencement of Public Business; item numbered 6 - Presentation of Papers by the Hon Chairman of the Committee.
PAPERS 4:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker 4:23 p.m.
Item numbered 5 -- Statements by Hon Member for Nsawam/Adoagyiri.
Mr Annoh-Dompreh (NPP-- Nsawam/Adoagyiri) 4:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the transition to renewable energy in Africa has accelerated impressively over the last decade with countries like Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa working to increase their renewable energy capacity in recent years. Ghana with its significant renewable resources and robust policy framework cannot afford to be left behind. A well-resourced and properly constituted renewable resource authority is needed to drive Ghana's renewable agenda and support post-pandemic recovery through targeted and deliberate actions. The time is now!
Mr Speaker, a report by International Renewable Agency in 2019 4:33 p.m.
“Scaling up Renewable Energy Deployment in Africa”, noted that the continent is endowed with substantial renewable energy resources, and is positioned to adopt innovatively sustainable technologies and play a leading role in global action to shape the future of sustainable energy. Ghana is in this position as well.
Mr Speaker, several African countries have already taken the steps
needed to scale up renewables. They have adopted support policies and promoted investment and regional collaboration. Countries like Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco and South Africa have shown firm commitment towards accelerated use of modern renewable energy and are leading energy transition efforts, while some of Africa's smaller countries including Cape Verde, Djibouti, Rwanda and Swaziland have also set ambitious renewable energy targets.
Kenya is set to install 1.4 gigawatts, Ethiopia is installing almost 570 megawatts while South Africa installs 3.9 gigawatts of renewable energy. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that two-thirds of the mini-grid and off-grid systems in rural areas would be powered by solar photovoltaics, small hydropower or wind by the year 2040.
Mr Speaker, according to the Tracking SDG7 Energy Progress Report, Nigeria had the largest electricity access deficit in terms of population, globally behind India in 2017 and the highest across all of Africa. It is no surprise that their investments are targeted at mini and off grid renewable installations.
While hydropower is the main source of renewable energy in Nigeria today, given the risk of drought, the country is looking to diversify its
energy resource mix with a strong focus on solar. Indeed, Nigeria boasts of over 2,600 hours of sunlight per year -- higher than the global leader in solar power, Germany.
To this end, over the period of 2017 and 2018, Nigeria invested more than US$20bn in solar power projects to boost the capacity of its national grid and reduce over reliance on it by building mini-grids in rural areas without access to electricity.
In a more recent move in 2020, their government launched a US$75 million grant to encourage off-grid solar projects, while a US$350m World Bank loan is currently being used to build 10,000 solar-powered mini-grids in rural areas. Similar to Kenya, beyond helping it reach its climate goals, boosting solar power in Nigeria will help the country bridge its large deficit gap.

Mr Speaker, Kenya is a continental and global leader in renewable energy exploitation, as these sources already contribute significantly to some 85 per cent overall energy mix in the country, largely as a result of their utilisation of geothermal and hydro power. This East African nation is already on track to meet or exceed its Paris Agreement pledge. Its stated goal is

to achieve 100 per cent of renewable energy power generation by 2030 complemented by a diverse tech- nology mix. Although hydro- power contributes significantly to energy production currently, again with the risk of drought, the government is looking to enhance solar, wind, thermal and geothermal generation in its long-term plans. Geothermal generation specifically is expected to be prioritised over the next decade.

Mr Speaker, one of the ways in which Kenya is looking to achieve these goals is by entering into major public-private partnerships. This was demonstrated in August 2019 when the Kenyan Investment Authority and Meru County Government entered into a memorandum of understanding with global renewable energy developers to build Africa's first large scale hybrid wind, solar PV, and battery storage project -- the Meru County Energy Park. The park, for which construction began in January 2020, will provide up to 80MW of renewable energy and consist of up to 20 wind turbines and more than 40,000 solar panels. Power generated from the park is expected to supply to 200,000 homes.

Mr Speaker, harnessing renewable energy in Kenya will not only enable the country to meet its long-term
MR SPEAKER
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:40 p.m.
Hon Member.
Mr John Abdulai Jinapor (NDC -- Yapei/Kusawgu) 4:40 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity.
Firstly, I would thank my Hon Friend, Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh, who is the Hon Majority Chief Whip for such an in-depth and well- researched Statement before the House.
Mr Speaker, I am privileged of a copy of the Statement; I have gone
Mr John Abdulai Jinapor (NDC -- Yapei/Kusawgu) 4:43 p.m.
the per-capita consumption of energy -- that is if we are to divide the total amount of energy consumed by the population -- about one individual consumes 180 Kilowatt hours of electricity annually as compared to 13,000 in the United States. So, while we consume 180 kilowatts, in the United States the energy consumption per capita is 13,000 kilowatts.
Mr Speaker, the African Development Bank estimates that for us to achieve universal access to energy by 2025, we would have to invest about US$90 billion per annum in energy investments alone.

Mr Speaker, this tells us that there is a whole lot of work for us to do as a country and as a continent. In Ghana, we have projected that by 2020, 10 per cent of our total energy mix ought to come from renewable energies.

Mr Speaker, let me clarify this. When we talk of renewable energy, we might decide to add our hydro dams or exclude our hydro dams, depending on how we would want to define renewable energy. And so I just went to the archives and took a journal. In the field of academia, it is only proper that one acknowledges

the work he quotes. This is Renewable Energy development in Ghana: beyond potential commitment by Isaac Ackah, a new use data error correction model and Joe Hanson model to model energy consumption renewables using some other variables.

Mr Speaker, it is interesting to note from the figures that thermal energy accounts for about 60 per cent of our total energy consumption; hydro, which I said we ought to distinguish, accounts for about 40 per cent. However, solar energy which is renewable energy accounts for 0.2 per cent of the energy mix in Ghana. It tells us that there is a lot of work for us to do because, over the world, people are shifting towards renewable energy. In fact, Norway has divested its US$2 billion or US$6 billion investment fund away from non- renewable sources. China, since 2014, spent so much on renewable energy and the curve has even turned in terms of renewable energy usage.

So what are we doing as a country to be ahead of the curve when all major policies around the world seems to be focusing on renewable energy? This is because, today, we even hand funds for renewable energy which we can tap into in consultation with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the

International Energy Agency (IEA) and so many other agencies.

There are five key areas when it comes to renewable energy; solar energy, wind energy, hydro or thermal energy, geo thermal and biomass energy. The time has come for us to make progress in terms of our renewable energy improvement.

Mr Speaker, let me also acknowledge that some work has been done. In the year 2011, we passed the Renewable Energy Act. Before the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Government left office, I recalled that we had finished with the Volta River Authority (VRA) plant around Navrongo, and we were virtually done with the MAN Energy Plant which we had already started some testing on the about 20 megawatt facility. I am aware that under my good friend, Hon Peter Amewu who is seated right opposite in that beautiful white kaftan also did his part.

Mr Speaker, in order not to take too much time since I know that my Colleagues might also be interested in contributing. I think that we ought to look at a policy and take away the bottlenecks. This is because some of the renewable energy components, even today, when they are imported,

are taxed. In some countries, all those renewable components are identified and given some tax holidays.

Admittedly, the cost of solar energy has gone down tremendously. If we look at when solar was developed till today, it is just about 25 per cent of the original cost. Technology has also improved. With the battery technology, they are now moving into lithium batteries and other battery technologies which enables a lot more of that energy to be stored.

Mr Speaker, on this note, I can only thank my good friend and brother, the Hon Majority Chief Whip, Hon Frank Annoh-Dompreh, for this impressive and well-researched statement before this House.

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
Mr John Peter Amewu (NPP -- Hohoe) 4:43 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
I rise to support the Statement made by my good friend, Hon Frank Anno-Dompreh, for the aggressive call of Government to establish a renewable energy Authority.
Mr Speaker, as said by the earlier speakers, the need for a renewable energy as a proportion of our energy mix can no longer be taken for
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:43 p.m.
Hon Member for Ellembele?
Mr Emmanuel A. Buah (NDC -- Ellembele) 4:53 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity. Let me thank the maker of the Hon Member for this
very important Statement on renewable energy and especially the establishment of the Renewable Energy Authority.
Mr Speaker, Ghana was very aggressive earlier and let me make sure that we correct the record. Sometimes we are too hard on ourselves. A lot of the African countries have been cited in the renewable energy area and focusing a lot on hydro. Let me say that if we count our hydro endowment as part of renewable energy in the current sense, we are over 30 per cent but that is not what we are looking at. We are looking at renewable penetration with solar from the local or the traditional source.
Mr Speaker, in 2011, we passed the Renewable Energy Act. There were three major provisions that we called for in the Act and I am very happy that as a young Deputy Minister, I was given the chance to come to this House to push it.
Mr Speaker, there was a requirement for feed-in tariffs and the responsibility was on the PURC and Energy Commission. The Renewable Energy Purchase obligation was in there, the feed-in tariff rate was proposed with a connection to transmission system and these were going to compel the private sector and
Dr Mohammed Amin (NPP -- Karaga) 4:53 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would also like to commend the Hon Member who made the Statement, Hon Annoh-Dompreh for such a comprehensive Statement calling for the establishment of a Renewable Energy Authority.
Mr Speaker, this is also timely because of the debate going on
around the world to move towards cleaner energy sources - the so called energy transition.
Mr Speaker, global consumption of renewable energy between 2015 and 2018 is expected to grow rapidly at 3.1 per cent against the consumption of petroleum by 0.7 per cent, coal by 0.4 per cent and natural gas by 1.1 per cent. What this means is that the world is moving towards cleaner energy and Ghana cannot be left behind. But Mr Speaker, we have done a lot so far in terms of the deployment of renewable energy. In fact, apart from the project that has been completed, there are two major projects -- the Bui Authority has embarked on. We also have another renewable energy project as part of the Pwalugu project. When these projects are completed, Ghana would be leading in Africa in terms of renewable energy penetration as far as utility skill renewable energy is concerned. This is because these are bold steps the Government of Ghana, with its private sector partners have already taken towards the rapid deployment of renewable energy in Ghana.
There was a statement on hydro and the fact that other countries consider hydro as part of their renewable. We have not considered that in Ghana. It has been the convention that any hydro project below 100 megawatt capacity should be considered renewable and those
Dr Mohammed Amin (NPP -- Karaga) 5:03 p.m.
above 100 megawatts are not renewable and in this case, the convention Ghana has followed and this is the reason Ghana has not added Akosombo, Kpong and Bui to our renewable figures.
Mr Speaker, in fact, our total hydro potential in Ghana is about 2,500 megawatts of which 1,600 megawatts have already been developed. The rest, 900 megawatts are mini-hydro resources that are scattered across the country and developing them as stand-alone projects has been very expensive. In fact, the cost of developing these mini-hydro resources is quite expensive to the extent that both the Government and the private sector have not invested in these mini-hydro resources. This is why we have not aggressively pursued the development of mini-hydro facilities to add to the menu of renewable energy projects that we have in Ghana.
Mr Speaker, the Government has recently taken some major decisions towards the deployment of renewable energy. The first is competitive procurement of renewable energy capacity. This would ensure that we have competitive pricing for renewable energy. As we have heard earlier, the economics of renewable energy is going down. The cost is going down but those that we have
procured, because they were procured under the feed-in tariff policy, ours continue to be very high in prices and therefore if we deploy them now, consumers would not be able to afford that. This is the reason the Government has adopted a competitive procurement policy and I am very happy that this House supported the Government through amendments to the Renewable Energy Act.
We also want to support the scale up of net metering to encourage domestic rooftop system and also expanded the mandate of Bui Authority to include renewable energy. This was considered a least cost option as compared to the establishment of a Renewable Energy Authority.

But given that renewable energy is going to take the centre stage in the future, energy of all countries around the world, and the fact that we need to regulate the renewable energy space, and we need to encourage private sector participation aggressively in the renewable energy space, we may have to consider the establishment of the Authority in future to incubate and harness all the renewable energy potential that we

have in Ghana in joining the transition the world is moving towards.

Mr Speaker, thank you.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:03 p.m.
Yes, Leadership?
Mr Haruna Iddrisu 5:03 p.m.
Mr Speaker, if you may indulge me, I would want to yield the opportunity to Hon Edward Bawa to conclude on behalf of our Leadership.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:03 p.m.
Yes, Hon Member?
Mr Edward Abambire Bawa (NDC -- Bongo) 5:03 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for this opportunity to contribute to the Statement that was ably made by the Hon Member for Nsawam-Adoagyiri, Hon Frank Annoh Dompreh. I would also want to commend him for a well- researched Statement.
Mr Speaker, to start with, I would need to clear this, and I think that the Hon Member who spoke earlier, Hon Buah, indicated that if you look at the figures that were given in the Statement, it was based on those countries and their definition for renewable energy. If we were to look clearly in our country, as we speak
today, if we were to take Akosombo, Bui and Kpong Hydropower Stations, because they are renewable energy sources, our figures will be far higher than the 0.2 per cent that we have today as the percentage in our energy generation mix.
That being said, there has always been a reason why we have deliberately decided to limit the definition of renewable energies in Ghana to mini-hydros, wind, solar and others. It is a way to encourage us to see that on the basis of the mix, we would need to do more. So, it is important that we understand the rationale behind the definition of renewable energy as a people or as a country.
Mr Speaker, the second point has to do with the target that we have set for ourselves. If we want to look at the energy policy that was approved somewhere around 2010, it was then that we set that by the end of 2020, we should have, in terms of our energy mix, renewable energy, which is mini- hydros, solar and wind, we should have at least 10 per cent by the close of 2020. It is clear to everybody that as a country, we have not met this target.
Mr Speaker, there has been that debate between environmental issues that we would have to address and
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:03 p.m.
Thank you, Hon Member.
Yes, Majority Leadership?
Mr Alexander Afenyo-Markin 5:03 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my Hon Colleague will take the opportunity to speak on this matter as we have yielded to him.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:03 p.m.
Yes, Hon Member?
Mr Paul Apreku Twum- Barimah (NPP -- Dormaa East) 5:03 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you. Let me congratulate the Hon Member who made the Statement. I appreciate my Hon Senior Colleagues who have contributed to this Statement as well.
Mr Speaker, indeed, it is about time we had this discussion and it came in at the right time. I would also use this opportunity to commend H. E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for his commitment to the renewal energy projejct in this country.
Mr Speaker, indeed, the former Deputy Minister for Energy stated that the seat of Government has installed over US$1 million solar energy facility, which is off the national grid. It shows the commitment of the President in ensuring that solar energy becomes part of this country.
Mr Paul Apreku Twum- Barimah (NPP -- Dormaa East) 5:13 p.m.


Mr Speaker, also, it is important to commend the Bui Power Authority. They are in a process of constructing over US$40 million solar energy projects. When it comes on stream, it may become the biggest in West Africa, and therefore, we need to commend the President for supporting all these initiatives.

Mr Speaker, I must say that as we commend our Government, it is important to note that the renewable energy sector has its own challenges. Indeed, the Ministry of Energy in its renewable energy master plan, stated some few challenges. With your leave, I would like to go over them.

Indeed, barriers to renewable energy development in Ghana include challenging and vestment climate, uncertainty of available resources, limited technological capacity, insufficient experience in renewable energy development, human and socio-cultural challenges and information and awareness barriers.

Mr Speaker, in view of this, the Hon Member who made the Statement has drawn our attention to the fact that we need to tackle this issue, and we would need the authority to help us tackle it.

Indeed, they went further to state some opportunities that are available. If you go into the renewable masterplan, they said by 2030, if it comes to mainstream, we would have over 200,000 jobs created, and over 11 million tonnes of carbon would be saved. Ghana contributes over 30 million tonnes of carbon. This was in our third UN Framework Convention Climate Report which was signed by my senior colleague who is not here today, Hon Mahama Ayariga, when he was then the Hon Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation.

I therefore believe that the Hon Member who made the Statement has drawn our attention that it is about time that Ghana got this Authority to streamline these activities to enhance our renewable energy resources. All Hon Members who have supported this Statement have come to a consensus that as a House, we need to put ourselves together to ensure that the Renewable Energy Act is enforced and if possible, go further to enhance it.

I would want to use this opportunity to commend the Hon Member who made the Statement again and say, well done. It is a very good Statement. With your leave, Mr Speaker, I believe you would help us

chart a path that would enhance the renewable resources in Ghana.

Thank you.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:13 p.m.
Hon Members, there is a second Statement that stands in the name of the Hon Member for Atebubu/ Amantin Constituency, Hon Sanja Nanja, on perennial water crisis in the Atebubu township and its environs. Hon Member, you may take the Floor.
Mr James Klutse Avedzi 5:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member is not currently in the Chamber. Probably, it has not been communicated to him because we did not know the number of Statements admitted by the Rt Hon Speaker.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, unfortunately, I was not at the pre-Sitting briefing so, I do not know of the sequence of Statements that have been submitted to the Rt Hon Speaker. If you have instructions from the Rt Hon Speaker to admit any other in the order of acceptance, you may allow that. Other than that, we may have to adjourn.
Mr Avedzi 5:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Rt Hon Speaker made the indication that the Statement submitted by Hon Lardi
Ayamba has also been admitted when we were at the pre-Sitting. I am not sure if that is there. If you have it, then we can allow her to take her Statement because the indication was that hers had been admitted. In fact, when we came back to the Floor, I even informed her that her Statement would be taken. But if not, then we would have to go by the proposal of the Hon Majority Leader.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:13 p.m.
Hon Members, we do not have any other Statement about these two. May I take directions from Leadership?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, unfortunately, I could not hear you. Communication through the mask is a difficulty to hear so if you could -- [Pause]. Mr Speaker, that is the reason I said I was not at the pre-Sitting briefing. The Rt Hon Speaker indicated that he would allow for two Statements which is why I asked that if you have instructions from him to accept the other one in the sequence, then you may allow it. Otherwise, if the instructions are strict that it is just the two of them, then you may adjourn.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:13 p.m.
Hon Members, like I said early on, the Rt Hon Speaker only admitted two
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in that case, we can take the adjournment. As we indicated to ourselves, we would meet tomorrow at 10 o'clock in the forenoon.
Mr Avedzi 5:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am not sure whether it is a Motion that the Hon Majority Leader moved? If it is, then I second the Motion for adjournment to 10 o'clock tomorrow.
ADJOURNMENT 5:13 p.m.