Debates of 18 Mar 2021

MR SPEAKER
PRAYERS 3:34 p.m.
Mr Speaker 3:34 p.m.
Hon Members, item numbered 2 on the Order Paper. I had the honour and privilege to represent you at the launch of a very important publication by the Graphic Communications Group Limited on the re-introduction of the Ghana Year Book.
What I have now, is the year 2021 and those of us who belong to yester years, can vividly recall the value that we attach as a country to the Ghana Year Book. We have not had it for some time and I am informed that through the encouragement and insistence of the former Hon Speaker; Rt Hon Professor Aaron Mike Ocquaye, the Graphic Commu- nications Group Ltd took up the issue again and they have published the Ghana Year Book, 2021.
So, I was invited to launch it. Apart from copious information on other
sectors, they generously decided to focus on Parliament and they have done a good job on the Seventh and Eighth Parliaments of the Republic of Ghana.
Hon Members, so, this is a copy of the publication. I am doing this because you are all captured in this Book and this will be a good record for you and for generations yet unborn. I invite all of you to try as much as possible to acquire at least a copy. Please, in your own interest, those who can afford, should buy more than one copy for their libraries and constituents.
I think this is an important message that I want to share with you. Thank you so much. It is not for free.
Hon Members, we move to item numbered 3.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 3:34 p.m.
Mr Speaker 3:34 p.m.
Hon Members, Correction of Votes and Proceedings and the Official Report. We will start with the Votes and Proceedings of Wednesday 17th March, 2021.
Page 1…8
Mr Speaker 3:34 p.m.
Yes, Hon Ablakwa?
Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa 3:34 p.m.
Mr Speaker, at page 8, the category of Hon Members who are absent with permission is missing. So, there are quite a number of Hon Colleagues who we know secured permission from you and have all been lumped under Hon Members who were absent.
For example, Hon(s) Augustine Tawiah, Joycelyn Tetteh, and Benjamin Komla Kpodo are absent with permission, this is because they have shared with us the permission you granted them. However, because that category is not here, it appears they have all been lumped together.
Mr Speaker, there are implications in our Standing Orders for Hon Members absenting themselves beyond a certain number of days and what can happen to them. So, if the Table Office will do the appropriate thing?
Mr Speaker 3:34 p.m.
Table Office, kindly take note.
Yes, Hon Member?
Mrs Hawa Koomson 3:34 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my name has been captured under the absentee Hon Members but I was in the House yesterday.
Mr Speaker 3:34 p.m.
Hon Member, what is your name?
Mrs Koomson 3:34 p.m.
Mr Speaker, come again?
Mr Speaker 3:44 p.m.
Hon Member, you say your name has been captured under the absentees--
What is your name?
Mrs Mavis H. Koomson 3:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my name is Mrs Mavis H. Koomson. Item numbered 8.
Mr Speaker 3:44 p.m.
Hon Members, the nose masks makes it difficult for identification so kindly identify yourself when speaking, particularly, the name and constituency.
Hon Mavis H. Koomson, I know you but I could not identify you that is why I requested you to mention your name.
Page 9 --
Mr Ablakwa 3:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, item numbered 9, the offending publications were from two publishers, but only one; the Badu Nkansah Publications, has been captured. We need to insert the New
Mr Speaker 3:44 p.m.
We would take note of adding the “New Golden Publications” but the end of the statement responds adequately to the second issue you raised because they are materials published in the textbooks for basic schools. That has been captured so we would kindly insert “and New Golden Publications”.
Hon Deputy Majority Leader?
Mr Alexander Afenyo-Markin 3:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in respect of the Statement made yesterday and captured as item numbered 9 on page 9, my understanding from the comments by Hon Ablakwa, was that the said derogatory remarks were not made against one particular ethnic group. So, I would have preferred that instead of limiting it to the Ewe ethnic group, we can say that “some ethnic groups” because in his own words, it was not just limited to one ethnic group. Mr Speaker, that is not what
he said yesterday so I am only drawing your attention to this.
Mr Ablakwa 3:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, yes, in my contribution, I indicated that in the book published by the Badu Nkansah Publications, other ethnic groups were also not cast in good light. However, in the second textbook by the New Golden Publications, they targeted the Ewe ethnic group. So, considering that the Hon Member read the Statement on behalf of the Volta Caucus, I think we can keep it as it is since this is a record of proceedings and of the Statement itself.
Mr Speaker, I think that this should suffice.
Mr Speaker 3:44 p.m.
Hon Minority Leader?
Mr Haruna Iddrisu 3:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am failing to appreciate what the issue is.
Mr Speaker, you have the power to admit Statements and in doing so, Statements that are submitted to you come with headings. The Statement that was made by Hon Nortsu-Kotoe is what has been captured in the Votes and Proceedings so whoever made a contribution only made so to the Statement presented by Hon Nortsu- Kotoe. If there are doubts, then the Hon Member would be the right and
appropriate person -- but I have conferred with him so what has been captured on page 9 is appropriate and reflects to what he read.
Mr Speaker 3:54 p.m.
Hon Members, I would urge the Table Office to just add “New Golden Publication”. The rest have been taken care of because it was a Statement specifically on an ethnic group, even though there are some offending materials concerning other ethnic groups in the country.
We will do well to move away from such publications and stop the revisionism of our history. I want to urge Hon Members to try and dig deep into history; read and know more about where we came from, where we are today and where we want to go tomorrow. It is very important. If we do not know where we are coming from, we will never know where we are or where we are going.
As I sit here, it hurts me that we are not honouring the great and illustrious Chief of Osu; Osu Alata Mantse, popularly known as Nii Bonnie III and privately known as Kwamla Taylor and he was also the Oyokohene of Techiman traditional area. If not because of him, we would not have gained independence in 1957. We do not celebrate him or
recognise him and we do not appreciate his contributions, but as far back as 1925, he had the pleasure of visiting the Queen and started fighting for the independence of this country. Just because he was not a well-known politician, but just a traditional leader, we seemed to have relegated his contributions to the background and we are only parroting the achievements of our senior politicians. Please, let us take it seriously because it is one of the ways of getting us to forge together, bond and move together as one nation and one people with one destiny.

Hon Members, as my good Hon Friend and Hon Counsel has been doing almost every year with respect to our illustrious Dr J. B. Danquah, I would give opportunities to many of you to at least tell the stories and achievements of our elders so that we know that it was a fight that included both men and women and all ethnic groups for us to get to where we are today.

I was expecting to see that it is not the Big Six but more than six because of George Paa Grant, but he is not known. He was the founding father and chair of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC). He was not just the founder, but also the financier of
STATEMENTS 3:54 p.m.
Alhaji (Dr) Abdul-Rashid H. Pelpuo (NDC -- Wa Central) 3:54 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for this unique opportunity.
Mr Speaker, I stand today on behalf of the many Ghanaians who have been affected by the unparalleled devastation we are witnessing across many communities in Ghana, especially in the Western Regions, Ashanti, Central, Bono and the Ahafo regions as well as the Northern regions of Ghana.
Mr Speaker, our dear country Ghana is blessed with enviable natural resources, a beautiful shoreline and ecosystems of serene rivers, marshlands and green vegetation on which our people and myriads of flora and fauna depend. Rivers like Pra, Amanzule, Subin, Ankobra, Tano, Offin, Birim, the Black Volta, and large lagoons and water bodies like the Abbey Lagoon are sources of
sustenance and refreshment for the entire communities in the Southwestern and Central belt of our country. Our people fish and farm along these rivers. Economic activities thrive along them, while our children and adults enjoy their refreshing waters.
Underneath our lands and our shores are even more valuable minerals like gold, diamond, bauxite, manganese and others, as well as millions of barrels of oil and of cubic feet of gas and other resources.
Mr Speaker, unfortunately, the people who live in the areas where these valuable resources are found are of the poorest in the country. While their resources fuel Ghana's economy, they themselves have had to contend with subsistence living, lack of acceptable healthcare facilities and personnel, dilapidated and non- existent educational facilities among others.
One would have thought that an opportunity to mine gold and other minerals in these areas would open up economic activities and lead to tangible improvement in the standard of living of the indigenous populations of these communities. Ironically, in the past ten years, irresponsible mining practices made possible by lacklustre supervision and regulatory regimes,
coupled with illegal mining (Galamsey) have left unspeakable devastation in these communities.
Mr Speaker, the level of destruction has taken on a new life of its own in the past five years. Today, Nkroful, the birthplace of our pride and first President of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, has been left with gullies and unspeakable devastation that poses major risks to the inhabitants. The situation is even worse in some areas where these destructive and highly polluting activities are carried out right in the middle of towns and villages in the full glare of security and administrative personnel. Large tracts of virgin forests in Nsuta Ahomkakrom in the Western North Region, Prestea in the Western Region, Obuasi, Adansi and several others in Ashanti and the Northern and the Upper West Regions have been destroyed.
Mr Speaker, many rivers we have mentioned here have been polluted beyond recognition. The atmosphere is saturated with mercury contamination, cyanide and other chemicals. Instead of refreshing rivers, there are gullies and pools of mercury and silt-contaminated water. Children and adults alike have drowned in gullies left uncovered by these irresponsible activities.
APPENDICES 3:54 p.m.
Mr Afenyo-Markin 4:04 p.m.
Mr Speaker, you admitted my Senior Colleague's Statement under the rules of this House and the terms of the Statement as you admitted it is supposed to be fully made available to the House. So, I would humbly suggest that if he holds the view that for want of time, he would not want to read everything, then he must apply to the Chair for the Hansard to capture the entire Statement. Other than that, I think there would be a difficulty.
Mr Speaker, without boring you, Order 70 of our Standing Orders is clear on this.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker 4:04 p.m.
Hon Members, I would just direct that he submits a copy of the Statement to be fully
captured by the Hansard Department.
Emmanuel A. Buah (NDC -- Ellembele): Thank you, Mr Speaker. Let me also thank the maker of the Statement, Hon Pelpuo for this very important Statement on a very important topic, Galamsey.
Mr Speaker, the devastation that this menace is causing in our country, especially in the communities that he mentioned cannot be over- emphasised. The pollution of our waterbodies and even the air we breathe; and the daily stories of young men dying in pits. The devastation that galamsey is causing is clearly what has been recounted.
Mr Speaker, on this day, because I am speaking in Parliament, I would want to talk about the issuance of mining licence to the so-called very legitimate mining companies and what they are actually doing to encourage galamsey.
Mr Speaker, a lot of these galamsey activities have been occurring in our communities, especially in my community and I started to investigate why the interest. I found out that the big mining companies who have concessions occasionally would not be getting the kind of mines that they had projected
rose
Mr Speaker 4:14 p.m.
Hon Members, I do not intend to call too many people.
Yes, Hon Member?
Mr George Mireku Duker (NPP --Tarkwa/Nsuaem) 4:14 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am grateful. I would add my voice to the Statement ably made by my Senior Colleague on small scale mining.
Mr Speaker, galamsey as we popularly caption is “gather them and sell” -- Locally, when the foreigners came to our area and because we were collecting the gold nuggets with brooms at all times, they normally termed it as “gather them and sell” and my grandmother could not pronounce it well, so she said galamsey.
Mr Speaker, in our jurisdiction, small scale mining is termed as galamsey, whether it is legal or illegal. When we are tackling such a menace, we need to be careful and locally find lasting solution to this menace. But unfortunately, we are not being truthful to ourselves. We come to this Floor and preach to our people to desist from small scale mining, galamsey, then we go to various sites and tell them to go and secure sites and mine without any licenses. Such scenes are very unfortunate.
Mr Speaker, it is important for us to note that small scale mining in general is helping so many countries in Africa. For instance, in Kenya, small scale mining brings in about US$225 million per year. In Rwanda, we cannot in any way compare mining in Ghana to that in Rwanda. In Rwanda, small scale mining contributes to 20 per cent of the country's exports. If we go to
Mr Speaker 4:14 p.m.
Hon Members, we still have a Motion to debate. Today, we have programmed to take 15 from each Side of the House. So, 30 of you have agreed to contribute to the debate today. So, we are likely to go beyond 10.00 p.m. until you want to curtail some of your submissions. I do not want to restrict the free-flow of our deliberations in the House and that is why sometimes, I am very generous.
So please, if you can limit your comments, I will admit a few more. I will call Hon Alhassan Suhuyini Sayibu. I will come to the Hon Minister to say a word and then we can move on.
4. 24 p.m.
Mr Suhuyini Alhassan Sayibu (NDC -- Tamale North) 4:14 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity to contribute to the Statement ably made by the Hon Ranking Member for the Committee on Lands and Forestry. I would wish to commend him for such a thorough and well-researched paper that has been presented.
Mr Speaker, I have lost count of the number of times I have listened to Statements being made on this Floor on the need for all of us to come together to fight galamsey.
Indeed, the President, in many of his State of the Nation Addresses has also, on countless occasions made statements on the need for us to fight this menace. Even Presidents before him made commitments to the effect that there is the need for all of us to come together to fight this menace.
However, what remains is the fact that out there we seemed to have been losing the fight every time we renew our commitment and pledge to fight the menace. The consequences are that our water bodies are polluted, our forest cover is depleted, and our citizens continue to put their lives at risk as they engage in this practice. Our farmlands are also affected by the practice.
Mr Speaker, perhaps it is about time that we came together to look at what we have been doing over the period which have not given us the desired results. It is common to know that if you do that same things expecting different results, then we can be, perhaps, likened to a man who is not very well upstairs. So, it is time for us to come together to look at what we have been doing.
Perhaps the brute force of closing down mines, destroying equipment, burning them, arresting and imprisoning people, have not given us the results that we have all desired for.
Mr Speaker 4:14 p.m.
I will now call on the Hon Minister for Lands and Natural Resources.
Minister for Lands and Natural Resources (Mr Samuel Abdulai Jinapor) (MP) 4:14 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much, for the opportunity to contribute to the Statement made by the Hon Dr Rashid Pelpuo, the Hon
Member of Parliament for Wa Central, who happens to be the Hon Ranking Member for my Ministry.
The Ministry has been changed from “Lands and Forestry” to “Lands and Natural Resources”, and this is just for the records.
Mr Speaker, when I appeared before the Appointments Committee, I made the point that for us to be able to deal with the issue of illegal small scale mining; “galamsey” in our country, I would respectfully submit that we need honesty. We would need to be very honest and sincere. I asked for the support of this House and I would therefore, still ask for the support of this House, and continue to do so, which is that, for us to be able to make any meaningful impact in dealing with illegal small scale mining in our country, we would need honesty and sincerity.
Mr Speaker, the fact is that anywhere that we have an extractive industry in the world, whether it is in Canada, Australia, South Africa, Kenya or the California Gold Rush, which we are all very familiar with, we have problems with illegality, and that is the situation.
Mr Speaker, I would want to also say that when the President called for a national dialogue, he was sincere,
Minister for Lands and Natural Resources (Mr Samuel Abdulai Jinapor) (MP) 4:34 p.m.
so, we require a national dialogue. The reason we would require a national dialogue is that if we take a look at the Manifesto of the New Patriotic Party for both election 2016 and 2020, and we take the Manifesto of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for both election 2016 and 2020, the commitments in respect of illegal small scale mining are almost the same, and I have looked at them.
The two Parties all commit to a lawful, viable, and environmentally prudent small scale mining, and both parties frown upon illegal small scale mining. So, that honesty is required, and I would want to proceed that I do not take the position that everything that happened in the past was bad, was failure, and that it was wrong. Everything that happened in the past was good.
A lot of good interventions took place in the first four years of President Akufo-Addo's Government, in respect of illegal small scale mining. This was arguably the first time in our history that the issue of illegal small scale mining was put very much at the front burner, where a lot of interventions were made. The interventions include training small scale miners, and the introduction of community mining.
Mr Speaker, I have in my hand here, a gamut of legislative interventions, laws which were put in place to deal with equipment, to deal with the issues of how to acquire licence, to deal with how to use revenue which comes from mining and all of those. So, a lot of things happened.
Mr Speaker, these have to do with the infrastructural component of the fight, but we must also admit, and I am the first as the Hon Minister to admit that there are lessons to be learnt out of that, which is why since taking office 14 days today, I have set up a committee, chaired by the able Hon Member of Parliament for Nwabiagya, the Hon Benito, to coordinate this national dialogue, which would have all of us around the table; the NPP, NDC, National House of Chiefs, Civil Society Organisations and the media around the table to discuss this matter.
Mr Speaker, the impression sometimes is created that illegal small scale mining just happen overnight, and that is not correct. It is not correct that illegal small scale mining just happened. I have in my hand here, the proceedings of the Appointments Committee, dated Friday, 25th January, 2013, where very characteristic of my friend, the Hon
Okudzeto Ablakwa tabled quite rightly, the issue of illegal small scale mining, when my senior brother, the Hon Alhaji Inusah Fuseini appeared before the Appointments Committee to be vetted for the position of Minister for Lands and Natural Resources.
Mr Speaker, it is instructive and revealing, so, with your indulgence, I would just want to read portions of it. The Hon Okudzeto Ablakwa in posing a question stated as follows, which I quote:
“Mr Chairman, my second question has to do with small scale mining. In recent times, there have been serious concerns about the way and manner small scale mining is destroying our environment. Indeed, our water bodies are now polluted because of small scale mining, especially, illegal small scale mining, popularly known as “galamsey”. While you are answering that too, I would like to know how you intend to carry out the NDC Manifesto pledge to flush out foreign galamsey operators. Now, you would have to grapple with not only the illegal
small scale miners from Ghana, but illegal small scale miners from many other countries. The NDC Manisfesto…”

Mr Speaker, the point out of this, and again, I have here in my hand a Daily Graphic dated 1st June, 2017 where it reports as follows:

“The national campaign against illegal mining (galamsey) is yielding some positive results, as the quality and levels of water in some water bodies have improved. This has enabled the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) to resume the operation of some of its treatment plants that were shut down due to the impact of ‘galamsey.'

Mr Speaker, this happened six months into the Administration of President Akufo-Addo. The fact was that GWCL plants had been shut down because of the adverse consequences of illegal small scale mining.

Mr Speaker, that said, I would want to conclude by craving the indulgence of Hon Members of this House because we have 275 Hon MPs. Mr Speaker, if I am lucky to
Mr Speaker 4:34 p.m.
Hon Members, we move on. Statement time has ended. At the Commencement of Public Business -- item numbered 5 on the Order Paper.
Hon Members, we shall continue with the debate to approve the Financial Policy of the Government of Ghana for the year ending 31st December, 2021. You would recall it was moved on Friday, 12th March, 2021, and seconded on Tuesday, 16th March, 2021. We will continue with the debate.
Yesterday, we ended with the contribution of an Hon Member from the left Side of the House, and therefore, we will start today with an Hon Member from the right Side. The list I have from that Side has given the first position to the Hon Samuel Atta Akyea to set the ball rolling for today.
Hon Member, you may submit your contributions?
Hon Member, are you a Ranking Member or?
Mr Samuel Atta Akyea 4:34 p.m.
I am an Hon Chairman.
Mr Speaker 4:34 p.m.
You are an Hon Chairman of which Committee?
Mr Akyea 4:34 p.m.
Committee on Mines and Energy.
Mr Speaker 4:34 p.m.
You have 15 minutes.
MOTIONS 4:34 p.m.
  • [Resumption of debate from 17/3/2021.]
    • Mr Samuel Atta Akyea (NPP - - Abuakwa South) 4:34 p.m.
    Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the brief space to make a modest contribution to the Motion numbered 5 on today's Order Paper for the effect that this honourable House approves the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government for the year ending 31st December, 2021.
    Mr Speaker, if I may quote a prominent development thinker, Jeff Sessions. This is what he said:
    “We cannot do everything with the budget, but we can put the country on a much sounder financial footing.”
    Mr Speaker, this is what the Budget Statement, themed “Economic Revitalisation through Completion, Consolidation and to wit, Won ya wo hie Continuity”, we are moving forward, is all about. We are being placed on a much sounder financial footing.
    Mr Speaker, I have heard some jejune arguments that the COVID-19 pandemic did not have any level of debilitating effect on the economy of this country. A lot of my Hon Colleagues on the other Side have made this argument. I beg to differ. Mr Speaker, we do not have to live
    in denial when it comes to the economy. The economy does not wear party colours.
    I would want to quote what the Hon Minister responsible for Finance said concerning the effect of COVID- 19 on the economy. That is in paragraph 7 on page 1 and then, I would end at paragraph 8 on page 2. Mr Speaker, with your kind permission, I would like to quote:
    “Mr. Speaker, the year 2020 was a difficult period for Ghana and the rest of the world. Never before in recent history has a pandemic triggered such dramatic changes to lives and livelihoods simultaneously. The last such pandemic of global impact was the Spanish flu in 1918 -- over one hundred years ago.
    The ensuing crisis has disrupted supply chains and exerted undue pressure on economic and financial systems, killed businesses and jobs. Developing and emerging economies, including Ghana, have had to deal with external headwinds, falling commodity prices and rising expenditures to address the effects of the pandemic.”
    Mr Speaker, let me bring to attention that it is not only the Hon Minister responsible for Finance who
    Mr Samuel Atta Akyea (NPP - - Abuakwa South) 4:44 p.m.
    has seen this situation. The World Bank itself has seen it too. I have assembled a couple of observations from the World Bank. I would like to quote World Bank's Global Economic Prospect Report of January, 2021 Report.
    With your permission, I would like to just quote the beginning point, and I would want the naysayers to listen.
    “COVID-19 caused a global recession whose depth was surpassed only by the two World Wars and the Great Depression over the past century and a half. Although global economic activity is growing again, it is not likely to return to business as usual for the foreseeable future. The pandemic has caused a severe loss of life, is tipping millions into extreme poverty, and is expected to inflict lasting scars that push activity and income well below their pre-pandemic trend for a prolonged period.”
    Mr Speaker, let me quote what is said of sub-Saharan Africa. It also concerns the World Bank's Global Economic Prospect Report of January, 2021. Sub-Saharan Africa has been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
    “Sub-Saharan Africa. Activity in the region is estimated to have shrunk by 3.7 per cent last year, setting living standards in many countries back by a decade. Growth is forecast to resume at a moderate pace of 2.9 per cent in 2021—essentially zero in per capita terms and well below previous projections. COVID- 19 is likely to weigh on growth in SSA for an extended period, as the rollout of vaccines in the region is expected to lag that of major economies and many other EMDEs.
    Millions of people in the region could be pushed into extreme poverty in 2020 and 2021. Risks to the regional outlook are tilted to the downside, and include weaker-than-expected recoveries in key trading partners, logistical hurdles that further impede vaccine distribution, and scarring to productivity that weakens potential growth and income over the longer term”.

    The World Bank says that in the year 2018, Ghana recorded real GDP growth at market prices in 6.3 per cent; in 2019, 6.5 per cent; and the year of our problems, 2020, 1.1 per cent. These are real figures that do not wear party colours, so let us run away from a situation in which we are

    trying to live in denial, so we can tackle the problem together.

    Mr Speaker, I beg to submit that the debt spillage that everybody is talking about is equally the handiwork of the Mahama-led Government. Let me refer to the 2020 Financial Budget read to us by Mr Ken Ofori-Atta. I am referring to page 2, paragraph 12:

    “Mr. Speaker, if you add the cost of cleaning the financial sector challenges to the long list of legacy bills that the Akufo- Addo government had to settle, the cost to the Ghanaian taxpayer is around GH¢33 billion.”

    This assertion remains unchallenged and deemed admitted. The unnecessary cost of dumsor to the economy in 2014 alone was in the gargantuan sum of US$680 million which is two per cent of GDP. These are incontrovertible facts and they add to the debt spillage. The nation is haemorrhaging by reason of excess capacity charge of US$70 million annually. The take or pay at the behest of the Mahama-led Government rather than the more sensible arrangement of take and pay, tantamounts to causing financial loss to the State.

    Mr Speaker, I would want to refer to the Supreme Court case of Tsatsu

    Tsikata vs The Republic and I am reading the ingredients of causing financial loss to the State. It may be found on page 1069.

    “It is also provided by section 179A(3) of the Criminal Code, 1960, Act 29 as amended by the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act, 1993, Act 458 that any person through whose wilful, malicious, fraudulent action or omission, the State incurs a financial loss, commits an offence”.

    We should not run away from these things. They are serious offenses that have been committed because of the take or pay.

    Mr Speaker, perusing the sectorial development outlook, I paid serious attention to the office of Government Machinery. This is because I heard arguments that the budget of the office of Government Machinery is expanding. Of course, it should expand because it is the most serious department of governance we have.

    What is even more serious is that I counted close to 14 programmes being driven by the President, through the Office of Government Machinery, so what do you expect? The enhanced benefits of local awards by the Scholarship Secretariat, the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO),
    Mr Speaker 4:44 p.m.
    You only added 21 seconds to your 15 minutes.
    It is now the turn of the Hon Dr Kwabena Donkor. You are a Ranking Member, so you have 15 minutes.
    Dr Kwabena Donkor (NDC -- Pru East) 4:54 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Motion.
    Mr Speaker, I would want to start by wondering why for the first time in recent years, as a nation, we were unable to agree on a minimum wage for the hardworking people of Ghana, before the beginning of this financial year. It has been the practice that for the Budget Statement to be meaningful, agreements should be reached by the Tripartite Committee on the minimum wage for the wage to become an input in the Budget. I do not want to believe that this time, honoured tradition was breached because people were in a hurry and therefore did not recognise the importance of human capital.
    Mr Speaker, what then informed the personal emolument components of the Budget? Was it guess work with the opportunity to come back in the Mid-Year Review to review the guessed work? As a people, we could be far more serious than this. If we underestitamate the importance of
    human capital, considering that personal emoluments per paragraph 269 of the Budget Statement constitutes 26.6 per cent of total expenditure, then we are doing at best a half-hearted job and at worst a very shoddy job.
    Mr Speaker, in paragraphs 149 and 258 of the Budget Statement, the issue of excess capacity -- the perennial excuse of excess capacity is brought again into full play. Excess capacity has been used as some justification for the debt overhang that we have. Let us separate facts from propaganda and the wheat from the chaff. In 2019, out of the amount allegedly paid to clear capacity charges, LITASCO was paid US$97,359,975 which is nearly US$100 million. What does LITASCO do? It supplies fuel.
    What is the correlation between fuel and excess capacity? If the plant does not produce, would it consume fuel that we have to pay nearly a US$100 million for it?
    Mr Speaker, again, STRATCOM, a company which was formed in 2017, was paid US$122,225,509 which was allegedly classified as excess capacity payment. STRATCOM supplies fuel so it is convenient to box all these payments in excess capacity charges -- we pay
    Dr Kwabena Donkor (NDC -- Pru East) 5:04 p.m.
    over US$200 million excess capacity for fuel. The intention of being disingenuous and misleading has not augured well for transparency and that is exactly what has been done.
    Mr Speaker, 1600 megawatts of our generation capacity is hydro based. Akosombo, has an installed capacity of 1020 for the hydro, Kpone has 160, Bui has 400 -- it takes only one bad rainy season to have half of this capacity ward away. Having experienced the challenges we had in 1983, 2007 and 2014, we would not be prudent to put all our eggs in one basket knowing that it takes just one poor rainy season to wipe away half of our hydrogenating capacity.
    In making provision for this, it is unfortunate that people probably, alien to the industry or wanting to just have propaganda advantage, would say it is excess capacity. These are the facts.
    Mr Speaker, we also have three units of VALCO, with a combined capacity of 225 megawatts which lie idle - three port lines lie idle and they would have consumed 225 megawatts of power. If there is a shrinkage in our industrial capacity, the consequences of it should not be visited on people with foresight to provide power.
    Mr Speaker, I have heard that “take or pay'' tantamounts to causing financial loss. People could be pardoned for being unaware of historical trends. Every single developing country that has gone through this transformation had the “take or pay'' contracts. It is only when a country gets to the stage of self-sufficiency that it could move from “take or pay'' to “take and pay''. In Turkey or any other developing country like Chile that has made progress in recent years, that is their trend -- especially, when a country does not have the indigenous capacity to set up.
    Mr Speaker, an investment of between US$300 to US$400 million is needed for each single thermal plant. Which investor in his or her right frame of mind would establish between a 300 to 400 million thermal plant in a country with no guarantee that the power would be used or with no guarantee of an offtake? Even if the investor has access to illegal funds or funds from the drug trade, that investor would still invest wisely. It is for this reason that “take or pay'' is a commitment by the country that their investment is needed and that if they invest, we would make sure that power is utilised.
    Mr Speaker, “take or pay'', is also dependent on availability.

    If we are not sufficiently conscious to ensure availability, we would be charged with ‘take or pay' when we do not have to be charged for it.

    Mr Speaker, His Excellency the President stated in the State of the Nation Address (SONA) that there is going to be Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in this country. We are here in this House and we will eventually see if the LNG will be ‘take or pay' or ‘take and pay'?

    Talking about LNG, it baffles me that at a time that we still have excess gas supply, when we are unable to take the gas we produce because of pipeline constraints, we prefer to import LNG to removing the pipeline constraints so that we can use our indigenous gas.

    Mr Speaker, is it the mercantilist mentality that is at play that we prefer imported things to the domestically produced ones? As a country, I believe that we can rise above this.

    The TEN and Jubilee fields, we are unable to pay for all of this gas capacity because of pipeline constraints. Instead of addressing that first, we prefer importing gas at a higher cost. Yes, we are better

    managers of the economy and so, we will always prefer importing to producing domestically.

    Mr Speaker, we are also told that we have excess capacity and yet we go into re-negotiations to expand the duration of contracted power plants. Aksa Energy was contracted for five years and this House approved the Emergency Power Agreement for a duration of five years. Today, that is being extended and yet, we complain that we have excess capacity.

    We have also extended Karpower and it is alarming. Except in politics, I find it difficult for people wanting to have their cakes and eating it at the same time. This can happen only in politics. Those complaining of excess capacity are busily extending the duration of plant that should be coming to an end and yet, we still have the moral authority to talk about excess capacity?

    When the Ameri Agreement was laid before this House, the howling that greeted this Agreement was legendary. However, today, we find in paragraph 755 that the Ameri power plant is being relocated to Kumasi because today, Ameri is almost fully amortised and has become our property.
    Mr Speaker 5:04 p.m.
    Hon Member, conclude?
    Dr Donkor 5:04 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, let us have four units of the Ameri plant of 10 units fitted into T3 because of the heat recovery that T3 has, it will be more efficient and beneficial for this country.
    Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity. [Hear!] [Hear!]
    Mr Speaker 5:04 p.m.
    Hon Member, you have taken 40 seconds in addition. It is now the turn of Hon (Dr) Amin Adam.
    Dr Mohammed Amin Adam (NPP -- Karaga) 5:04 p.m.
    Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Motion for the approval of the Budget Statement and economic policy of the Government of Ghana for the 2021 financial year.
    Mr Speaker, before I make my contribution, I would like to correct some impressions that have been
    created in relation to the management of the Energy Sector by the NPP Government --
    Mr Speaker, yesterday, Hon Della Sowah stated emphatically that --
    Mr Speaker 5:04 p.m.
    Sorry Hon, the Hon First Deputy Speaker to take the Chair.
    MR FIRST DEPUTY SPEAKER
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 5:10 p.m.
    Hon Member, please continue.
    Dr M. A. Adam 5:14 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, yesterday, Hon Della Sowah stated emphatically that the NPP Government has been extending electricity to towns in Togo when there are communities in Ghana without electricity.
    The most recent works on the extension of electricity to border towns in Togo was done in two phases; the first phase was in the years 2009 and 2010 and the second phase was in the years 2014 and 2015. The NPP-led Government has not undertaken any such project.
    Mr Speaker, she also said that we are using poles and materials belonging to Ghana to extend electricity to towns in Togo. That is
    not factual. The materials and poles that were used in these projects were funded by the West Africa Power Pool and not money provided by the government of Ghana. So, the NPP Government has not undertaken such projects.
    However, our Hon Colleagues on the other Side have argued variously that if we have excess capacity in Ghana, we should be exporting some of the power that we produce and I wonder why they have a problem with our extension of power to towns in neighbouring Togo? This is because if we do not extend electricity to towns in our neighbouring countries, how do we export to them since they do not have the kind of infrastructure that we have? This usually happens to border towns due to their proximity to Ghana's infrastructure.
    Mr Speaker, I do not think there is anything wrong with that. Even if we have to do that it is because it provides the basis for us to export our excess capacity to our neighbouring countries.
    Hon (Dr) Kwabena Donkor also tried to downplay the effect of excess capacity on our economy and finances in general. However, the issue about excess capacity is real.

    Mr Speaker, the problem we have with excess capacity has to do with the payments. We are paying for what we are not using because of the ‘take- or-pay' arrangement that the NDC Government signed in these power purchase agreements.

    Mr Speaker, this Budget Statement is very good for our country because it seeks to support the recovery of our economy from the growth of 0.9 per cent last year as a result of COVID-
    Dr M. A. Adam 5:14 p.m.
    19 to a growth of 5 per cent this year. Mr Speaker, 0.9 per cent growth was marginal; it was not good but we all understand that this was as a result of the effects of COVID-19, and Ghana was not the only country that recorded marginal growth. Paragraph 56 on page 12 of the Budget Statement shows the performance of ECOWAS countries last year, as far as economic growth is concerned.
    Apart from Ghana and four other countries that recorded marginal positive growth, the rest of the ECOWAS countries recorded negative growth rates. So, COVID- 19 really had an effect on our economy and this Budget Statement is an effort by the Government to recover the economy from 0.9 per cent to 5 per cent.
    Mr Speaker, I am particularly interested in the performance of industry. Industry recorded -3.1 per cent and this is not good if we have to grow our economy. But if industry is to survive and contribute to economic growth, then industry requires cheaper power.
    This is why the proposal to increase the Energy Sector Recovery Levy was not imposed on electricity tariffs as this would constitute direct cost to manufacturing which has a
    higher weight in the inflation index. We did this because we are overly sensitive to the needs of industry and one of the needs of industry is cheaper power. Mr Speaker, we have been very consistent in working to reduce the cost of energy to the manufacturing sector in particular.
    In the Budget Statement, we are re-negotiating some of the PPAs with the independent power producers in order to reduce the capacity charge, thereby reducing the cost of energy and the effect it has on manufacturing.

    Mr Speaker, we cannot forget so soon that during the time of the NDC- led Administration, the price of Ghana's indigenous domestic gas was more expensive than gas imported from Nigeria. It took the NPP-led Administration to reverse this and our gas is now cheaper than imported gas from Nigeria, so that we would be able to inject positive growth into the economy through manufacturing or industry generally.

    Mr Speaker, because of the reduction in the price of domestic gas, Public Utilities Regulatory Commi- ssion (PURC) had to fol low with a

    reduction in the cost of energy by reducing electricity tariff to 30 per cent for industry, 25 per cent for commercial consumers and 17.5 per cent for residential consumers.

    As a result of these interventions, manufacturing grew from 4.1 per cent in 2018 to 6.3 per cent in 2019. So, when the President says that ‘we know how to bring back the economy but what we do not know is how to bring back life', he was right because we have the policies that would incentivise the manufacturing sector and industrial growth, thereby supporting our economy to grow at 5 per cent this year.

    Mr Speaker, my Hon Colleagues on the other Side have argued variously that the petroleum sector levies that we are introducing in the Budget Statement will over burden the people of Ghana.

    Mr Speaker, the people understand that we have to do extra to recover from what we experienced last year and they know our track record in reducing the burden on petroleum price and its effects on them. It was the NPP-led Government that abolished the excise tax on petroleum products and reduced the special petroleum tax from 17.5 per cent to 13 per cent. We converted it from ad valorem tax

    to specific tax and we were the first government that applied the Stabilisation Levy to stabilise prices and because of these interventions, cumulative net decrease in the prices of petroleum products was 9.53 per cent for diesel and 7.41 per cent for petrol.

    Mr Speaker, I am happy to note in the Budget Statement, the progress we have made towards the establishment of the Petroleum Hub Development Corporation. The oil and gas industry is faced with unprecedented challenges. It is faced with environmental activism, competition from renewable energy, declining funding for fossil fuel projects and electric vehicles.

    Mr Speaker, just two days ago, Volkswagen announced that they would spend US$55 billion to manufacture electric vehicles. This would cause structural shifts in the oil market globally as demand for oil for transportation would decline, but progressive countries are positioning themselves because demand for oil for petrochemicals would increase.
    Dr M. A. Adam 5:24 p.m.
    This is the reason the Government has embarked on the Petroleum Hub project so that we can diversify the use of our crude oil from transportation fuel to petrochemicals, so that we can produce fertiliser, paints, and other chemicals that are required, especially by Africa and Asia where the drive for industrialisation is high. Mr Speaker, the Petroleum Hub project is good for Ghana and I would appeal to Hon Members to support this Government to realise this, so that we can create more jobs and diversify the use of our oil and gas resources.
    Mr Speaker, COVID-19 led to the collapse of the oil and gas industry in many countries. In Ghana, we had our own fair share of the effect when projects that had been lined up were suspended. Mr Speaker, demand collapsed because many cities were on lock-down and as a result, crude oil prices crushed and we experienced revenue shortfalls from oil.
    For example, in 2019, Ghana received almost US$1 billion from oil, but because of COVID-19, last year, we received US$666 million. Mr Speaker, we need to open up our oil industry so that we can generate more revenue. So, at the time that many

    Mr Speaker, this is a vote of confidence in the way President Akufo-Addo is managing Ghana's oil and gas resources. We have also made significant progress in the Voltaian Basin, and by next year 2022, as indicated in the Budget, we should be drilling a well in the Voltaian Basin, and this would be historic because that would be the first time Ghana would find oil on onshore basins of our country.

    Mr Speaker, in conclusion, this Budget is progressive, it is visionary, forward-looking, I urge Hon Members to support this Budget so that we can support the recovery of our economy from the difficult circum- stances that we found ourselves last year to a more progressive productive economy in the years ahead.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 5:24 p.m.
    Hon Edwin Nii Lantey Vanderpuye?
    Mr Edwin Nii Lantey Vanderpuye (NDC -- Odododiodioo) 5:24 p.m.
    Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, for allowing me to contribute to the Motion on the Floor on the 2021 Budget of the Government.
    Mr Speaker, I would want to start with the fact that I look at the theme of the Budget and I asked myself whether it was a mistake or they really meant what they wanted to say that ‘Economic revitalisation through completion, consolidation and continuity'. If they complete, how can they continue? I am not surprised, that is why they have written “Won ya wo hie” instead of “abaa ba see”.
    Mr Speaker, I would want to start with a very important department under the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development. The Parks and Gardens Department and also the Birth and Death Registry. Strangely enough, from this Budget, I am hearing for the first time that there
    was no death and there was no birth in the country. [Interruption] Is Hon Member asking me how?
    Mr Speaker, when you go into the Budget, page 109, paragraph 567, and I beg to quote:
    “In 2021, the Registry projects to issue 886,426 birth certificates and 323,545 death certificates to the public representing 70 per cent.”
    How many people were registered in 2020 and how many people died in 2020? In 2020, the Budget asked us to approve money because they were even going to digitalise the registration of births and deaths so that they can cover more people in this country. In the past, hitherto, every Budget told us the number of people who were registered at births and also at death.
    For the first time in this House, having being in this House for quite some time, the registered number of births and deaths was not given, which means that nobody died or was born in this country. Then I ask the question, with the money we gave for digitalisation, expansion of the work of the Birth and Death Registry, what did they achieve?
    Mr Ablakwa 5:24 p.m.
    I do that always.
    You do it always?
    Mr Vanderpuye 5:34 p.m.
    Whether it is red rose or yellow rose or almond, if we could develop the Parks and Gardens very well, they would be able to stand on their feet and possibly be able to generate their own resources because they would do beautiful flowers for Hon Ablakwa to give out.

    Hon Edward A. Bawa cannot do that because where he comes from, he does not believe in those things.

    Mr Speaker, on a serious note, I passed through the Parks and Gardens, and I asked myself -- because we are now developing structures within the Parks and Gardens outfit - we are rather cutting off some of the trees at the Department of Parks and Gardens and we are building there. I know the Hon Minister is responding to what I am saying. I would want him to get himself prepared and respond appropriately.

    Mr Speaker, in the last Budget, we even talked about supporting them to be able to partner private enterprises to develop the Aburi Botanical Gardens. In this Budget, we cannot be told whether that policy was carried out or not. The senior Deputy
    Mr Vanderpuye 5:34 p.m.
    Minister who is the Member of Parliament for that area can tell me whether that policy initiative was embarked upon or not.
    Mr Speaker, one other beautiful thing that was developed in this Budget -- I saw it and laughed but I was taken aback. This is because I saw a video of my Vice President asking Ghanaians to clap for him because his Government has built toilets. I thought the building of toilets was a job for DCEs and Assembly members. But the Vice President acclaiming achievements of Government in the area of toilet -- won ya see see. To wit, we are going backwards. So I decided to explore.
    The President also in the State of the Nation Address mentioned a number of toilets that have been constructed -- 103,149. So I took my time to calculate all the toilets that have been mentioned to be built in the various Budgets from 2019. Even those that were built by the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA), Sustainable Rural Water Supply Project; those that were built for schools and for teachers -- when I calculated all, we came to 92,991. So I was asking who misled the President?
    Who gave the President the figure of 103,149? The toilets have been built in GAMA. I am a Member of Parliament in GAMA and I am yet to really see that number of household toilets that have been built that I am being urged to applaud. A lot of MPs who fall within the GAMA are here and would testify to the number of toilets that have been built.

    Mr Speaker, I am very serious about this because the Budget is supposed to give us our policy direction and how we would expend money to achieve the ultimate objective of our development. This issue of toilets has become very pronounced in the Budget and as such, it is important that all of us ask the question: where are the toilets? I want to see them. Day in and day out, as I drive through my constituency and other parts - My very good sister, Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings would tell you the very wonderful experience in her constituency.

    All of us from the coastal constituencies experience it all the time. So if the toilets are being provided for our households, why are people still going out in the open? As a Member of Parliament, I have not been informed as to how many toilets were built in my constituency, how many households have benefited from that programme either under GAMA or under Sustainable Rural Water Project?

    What was even alarming is the fact that we are going to build 900 toilets in Ashanti, Western, Central and Northern Regions. How many regions do we have in the northern part of the country? So how many toilets are going to be built in order to sustain the fight against open defecation? It is serious. We are not being serious about this and we are saying we want to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs). I wish that this Budget would reconsider its objective in achieving that.

    Mr Speaker, wrapping up, I would say one very sorrowful thing I saw in the Budget --
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 5:34 p.m.
    Hon Member, you have one minute more.
    Mr Vanderpuye 5:34 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the Government said on page 147,
    paragraph 806 that they provided so many litter bins, and I beg to quote:
    “… Government launched a Street Litter Bin programme …”
    Mr Speaker, in paragraph 810 5:34 p.m.
    “… Government will distribute 3,000 litter bins …”
    Mr Speaker, I have driven through Accra and I cannot see the litter bins which were provided previously. Either they have been removed or they are there full to the brim and nothing is being done about them.
    Mmaa naa ekor edidie no mbaa fie. Ye kor ka bi egu mu.
    Mr Speaker, we wasted money in planting litter bins. Today, we cannot find them. Those we can find, they are full of refuse and nothing is being done about them and we say we want to take money to provide another 3,000? Please, I would beg that we look at this issue critically and see what we can do about it.
    Mr Speaker, I would say that Budget nee kewo eyaa wo hie see see ni eke wo baaya dientse. ke wo kwee ni ehi le, eke wo baaya gbele bu mli.. Tswaa ni omanye abla wo.
    Thank you, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Vanderpuye 5:34 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, unfortunately, when my Senior Colleague and the stand-in Minister was speaking the Ga, he did not translate it that day. [Laughter]
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 5:34 p.m.
    Who was speaking Ga?
    Mr Vanderpuye 5:34 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, he tried to speak Ga that day. I do not know how he said it. [Laughter]. It is Won ya wo hie but in this particular instance, the last time I. C. Quaye said it, they went into Opposition. They would use it again. It is prophetic. [Laughter].
    Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful (NPP --Ablekuma West) 5:44 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, just a small point before I begin my intervention, and I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Budget so ably presented by our very own great Leader.
    Mr Speaker, the clearest example of how effective the Parks and Gardens Department is now is the state of the Jubilee House grounds today under Nana Addo Dankwa
    Akufo-Addo. [Hear! Hear!] -- As compared to the state of the Jubilee House grounds under former President John Dramani Mahama. The difference is clear. It is green, well-watered, and well-manicured today as against the brown dried out grass which we saw under the tenure of the previous government.
    Mr Speaker, it is important to situate any discussion of this Budget within the proper context.
    Our Colleagues on the other Side are accusing the Government for blaming everything on COVID-19 and yes, in paragraphs 7 and 8 of the Budget Statement, it is clear that we are not living in normal times. Paragraphs 14 and 15 itemised the deliberations that have been taken by this Government to cushion the entire nation against the ravaging effects of this pandemic which is a scourge in the whole world.
    Mr Speaker, paragraph 14 of the Budget Statement states clearly that there was drastic slowdown in economic activities which led to a huge drop in domestic revenues, combined with a sharp and unplanned hike in COVID-19 related expenditure, which have led to a sadden shortfall in Government revenues amounting to GH¢13.6
    billion, and an unexpected and unavoidable rise in expenditures of GH¢11.7 billion. It was unplanned, unanticipated and so we could not have made provision for it. That was the situation that led to the current situation that we find ourselves in response to this unprecedented calamity which struck the global economy including Ghana.
    Government, through The Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan as well as the Corona Virus Alleviation Programme undertook these far-reaching measures which enabled us to survive year 2020 and to look forward to a year of revitalisation and transformation in 2021.
    There were two parts to the Ghana CARES Programme: The Stabilisa- tion portion led to interventions itemised in paragraph 15 and other parts of the Budget Statement, including the employment of 24,285 health professionals between March, 2020 and June, 2020, provision of 3.6 million reusable face masks locally produced, 50,000 medical scrubs, 90,000 hospital gowns and head covers to help facilities as at June, 2020, and many more.
    Mr Speaker, we fully covered the power consumption of over 1 million lifeline customers and subsidised the consumption of all other customers by 50 per cent. We rolled out GH¢750 million CAP-BuSS Programme in May, 2020 directly to micro, small and medium-sized businesses.
    Mr Speaker, I was somewhere in the North-East Region and they hailed this intervention by calling it Aya luna. They hailed this intervention which supported livelihoods of micro, small and medium-scale enterprises. It provided hot meals for 584,000 final year junior high school students, the 146,000 staff of public and private schools from August, 2020 to September, 2020. The Government supplied 5.2 million re-usable face masks and 64,700 ‘veronica' buckets.
    Mr Speaker, none of this expenditure was anticipated and yet the caring Government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo provided the resources to enable us put in place these interventions which helped us to survive. It is critical to situate any discussion of this Budget Statement within that context, so we do not make the mistake of thinking that COVID- 19 was nothing; it did not have any impact on our lives and that it is business as usual; it is not!
    rose
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 5:44 p.m.
    Hon Minister, hold on.
    Mr George 5:44 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I come under Standing Order 89(1). Except it is a speech, the Hon Minister appears to be reading her contribution to the debate.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 5:44 p.m.
    She is entitled to consult her notes. [Laughter]
    Hon Minister, you may please go ahead?
    Mrs Owusu-Ekuful 5:44 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, you all know that I like talking. If I do not follow my bullet points, I would end up wasting my 15 minutes on inconsequential -
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 5:44 p.m.
    Hon Minister, you have one minute, 20 seconds more.
    Mrs Owusu-Ekuful 5:44 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, therefore, as I was saying before the interruption, we would drive rural telephony for a connected Ghana, and make Ghana the cyber security centre of our sub-region. I am entreating all Hon Colleagues here to trust H. E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to trust in his visionary leadership, and to trust that with his hands on the wheel, he is leading us to a destination which is all ready.
    They say that rains come with the winds and clouds; “ensuo beto a, mframa di kan”. Even the small winds heralding the revolutionary steps being taken by this Government to transform our country, are already receiving plaudits and acclamation from around the world.
    Sometimes, a prophet has no honour in his own home. But let us trust the visionary leadership of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who has steered us out of this pandemic successfully so far, and who would take us to the land that he has promised in this Budget through economic revitalisation through completion, consolidation and continuity. , “Won ya wo hie” indeed!
    Mr Speaker, I thank you.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 5:44 p.m.
    I will now call on the Hon Bernard Ahiafor.
    Mr Bernard Ahiafor (NDC -- Akatsi South) 5:44 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I thank you very much for the opportunity to contribute to the Motion on the Floor, that this honourable House approves the Budget Statement and the Economic Policy of Government for the year ending 31st December, 2021.
    Mr Speaker, let me commence by stating that the Hon Atta Akyea in debating the Budget quoted the case
    of the Republic versus Tsatsu Tsikata, and further quoted the ingredients by the interpretation of the court for the offence of causing financial loss to the State. This is a House of record, so, let me place on record that that particular case and the ingredients quoted has no bearing before the House regarding the Budget that is under consideration.

    Mr Speaker, in fulfilment of the constitutional imperative under articles 179 and 180 of the 1992 Constitution, the current Budget has been presented to Parliament, and it is being debated under the theme: “Economic
    Mr Bernard Ahiafor (NDC -- Akatsi South) 6:04 p.m.
    Revitalisation through Completion, Consolidation and Continuity”. I have read the Budget in its entirety, and I am of the concluded view that the theme of the Budget is not apt, it is not appropriate, and it is not timely.
    The appropriate and timely theme for this Budget should have been: “Consolidation and Continuity of Economic Retrogression, Deteriora- tion and Collapse with Debilitating Effects on Ghanaians,” since the Ghanaian economy is under disrepair under H. E. President Nana Akufo- Addo.
    Mr Speaker, on legal education, I am aware of the backlog of the students yearning to gain admission into the Ghana School of Law. We were told in the Budget that in 2020, 2,701 applicants wrote entrance examination, out of which 1,045 passed the examination and gained admission into the law school. However, under a budget of consolidation, a budget of revitalisation and a budget of continuity, the expected number of applicants is 2,200, out of which only 550 students are expected to be admitted into the Ghana School of Law. Is this consolidation? Is this continuity? Is this revitalisation? Or, is it retrogression?
    Mr Speaker, furthermore, the Budget is also saying that out of the 550 students that would be admitted, whether they all pass and fulfil all the conditions to be called to the bar or not, it is only 450 that would be called to the bar. It means that in this Budget, the number of students who would be failed are already predetermined. [Laughter] This can be nothing but a travesty of justice.
    Mr Speaker, we know that the wheel of justice grinds slowly, and the law travels at a snail's pace. However, justice delayed is justice denied, and justice must not only be done, but it must manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done.

    Mr Speaker, The Attorney- General's Department tells us that in the year 2020, they received 3,862 criminal cases out of which they have initiated prosecution for 2,837. However, in this same Budget Statement, the Judicial Service of Ghana tells us that the number of criminal cases filed in the year 2020 is a whopping 14,244.

    Mr Speaker, who is prosecuting the rest of the cases filed in court? Mr Speaker, article 88(4) of the 1992 Constitution is very clear that all criminal cases prosecuted in the name

    of the Republic should be at the instance of the Attorney-General or on the authority of the Attorney- General. If the Attorney-General tells us the number of criminal cases that they received in the year 2020 is 3,862, how come it is reported that over 14,000 criminal cases were filed at the Judicial Service?

    Mr Speaker, is it the case that the Judicial Service has concluded some of the cases that were not filed before them? [Laughter] How come they have been able to conclude cases more than what were filed? Mr Speaker, honesty is the best policy and it is the truth that could make all of us free.

    It is not possible for the Attorney- General that is responsible for conducting all criminal offences in this country in 2020 to receive only 3,862

    cases, and for the same year, the number of criminal cases filed before the Judicial Service would be over 14,000. Clearly, somebody has been economical with the truth.

    Mr Speaker, this House enacted the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, and consequently, Martin Amidu was appointed as the Special Prosecutor. Mr Speaker, in the year 2020, over GH¢36 million was approved by this House for compensation of employees of the Office of the Special Prosecutor. It was proposed in the 2020 Budget Statement that 251 personnel would be employed for that Office.

    Mr Speaker, we are in the year 2021 and the Budget Statement tells us that the staff strength of the Office of the Special Prosecutor is only two. Mr Speaker, I must submit that we want the Office of the Special Prosecutor to appear as if they are prosecuting and fighting corruption, but in reality, they are not supposed to fight that.

    Mr Speaker, I say so because this House cannot approve money yet, for a period of 12 months, they would report to us that the Office of Special Prosecutor is unable to perform because they do not have personnel to investigate cases for them, and that the staff strength is only two personnel.
    Mr Bernard Ahiafor (NDC -- Akatsi South) 6:04 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I have the estimates of the Office of the Special Prosecutor which tells us that ever since it was established, releases for goods and services and capital expenditure have been limited and inhibited owing to the fact that they do not even have members of the Entity Tender Committee to procure their goods and services and their capital expenditure so as to combat corruption and corruption-related offences.
    Mr Speaker, I am tempted to believe the statement, to believe Yaw Domelevo that when you are fighting corruption, the corrupt officers would in turn fight back. I say so because it is unthinking that this House would pass the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act consequent upon which the Special Prosecutor would be appointed, moneys would be approved, yet, they would not have personnel to investigate cases, clamp on corruption and prosecute corruption and corruption-related offences.

    Mr Speaker, the Budget Statement has made us aware that a lot of Bills would be drafted. Clearly, it is for no reason that section 100 of the Public Financial Management Act tells us that any time at all a Bill is introduced into this House, it must be accompanied by the fiscal impact analysis. The law is like that because the Bill after being passed into law is supposed to be implemented. Therefore, there is the need, at the point of passing the law, to know its fiscal impact analysis on the economy. The financial implication of that particular Bill must be known.

    We live in a House where the Bills would come, they would be passed without any fiscal impact analysis, and after their passage, there would be huge lot of implementation challenges just like what has happened to the office of Special Prosecutor Act. Implementation becomes a challenge. It is not a matter of making so many laws, but it is about their implementation to achieve the intended purpose and results.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 6:04 p.m.
    You have one more minute.
    Mr Ahiafor 6:04 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, with the inconsistencies and misinformation stated in the Budget Statement, and with the debt stock under President Akufo-Addo which is taken to GH¢291 billion, if care is not taken,
    the generation of Ghana would be born into debt. As a result, I am unable to associate myself with this particular Budget Statement if corrections are not made.
    Mr Speaker, I am done.
    Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources (Ms Cecilia Abena Dapaah) 6:14 p.m.
    Thank you Mr Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the Motion on the floor of the House, that this honourable House approves the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government for the year ending, 31st December, 2021.
    I wish to commend the forward- looking Government for producing this Budget Statement and Economic Policy under the theme, “Economic Revitalisation through Completion, Consolidation and Continuity”.
    Mr Speaker, I wish to place on record, that Ghana is the only country whose leader has so much empathy for his people that he introduced the free water policy which cost close to GH¢1 billion, from March through
    April to December. This free water would continue until June because of the prudent vision and management of the COVID-19 situation.
    We all hope that by the grace of God, by the end of June, most Ghanaians --
    rose
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 6:14 p.m.
    Hon Minister, please hold on and put off your microphone.
    Mr Bawa 6:14 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, my understanding was that this Budget is the President's Budget that he presented to Parliament. So, for the Hon Minister to congratulate us for producing this Budget as part of her introduction confuses me. I thought that we were rather considering what the President presented to us. I do not know of Parliament producing a Budget. As Members of Parliament (MP), we do not produce budgets.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 6:14 p.m.
    Hon Member, you are out of Order. [Laughter] Hon Minister, please continue?
    Ms Dapaah 6:14 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I would want to also stress that the provision of water gave the opportunity to most of us to practise personal hygiene on ourselves, our
    Ms Dapaah 6:14 p.m.
    families as well as within the community. This has deepened our hygienic practices to such an extent that we still continue to enjoy the absence of cholera and dysentery outbreak.
    Mr Speaker, I also want to state that in the past year, the Government has put in the pipeline, water projects and I would name them with your kind indulgence. The water project for Wenchi, Tamale, Yendi, Damongo, Upper East, Sekondi-Takoradi, Keta, Sunyani, and many other places. To continue to put our money where our mouth is, by the end of all these projects, we would have close to five million Ghanaians enjoying the provision of clean water.
    Mr Speaker, we all know the importance of water in our lives. Without water, we would all not be alive. I also want to stress that the water bodies that God has given to us need our protection. I must say that in this room, it is always a pleasure to stand before this august House to make contributions because the august Members gathered here represent all of Ghana for us. I would entreat us all to make sure that we are all protectors of our God-given water bodies such as rivers, lakes and especially our wetlands.
    Mr Speaker, I am here to also commend this Government for introducing the Sanitation and Pollution Levy. [Hear! Hear!] I would entreat the House to make sure that this is passed because I was called here, together with the Minister for Local Government to give an account of the sanitation situation in Ghana. I remember Hon Members urging Government to make sure that funds are provided to prosecute the agenda of sanitation.
    Today, to the glory of God, this forward-looking Government has put in the Budget a levy to take care of sanitation issue and to as well combat air pollution in this country. We are also going to support the fumigation of public spaces like schools, health centres and markets. This has duly contributed to making sure that we eliminate COVID-19 from our midst.

    To give some figures, we know that Accra alone produces about 5,000 tonnes of waste a day and Kumasi produces 4,000 tonnes a day. For the whole year, the country produces 7.5 million tonnes of waste. What are we going to do with this waste? That is why it is prudent and gratifying to see that the Government has proposed this levy of GH¢0.10 at the pump.

    Mr Speaker, I would entreat all of us to approve this year's Budget to enable us to continue with the good policies for the development of our nation. Most importantly, this levy would also help us continue with the construction of toilets in our homes. Here we are talking about vulnerable groups. I know of MPs who helped their constituents to have household toilets. Sanitation gives all of us dignity and this is what we are talking about.

    If I had my way and the funds, Ghana would build one million toilets in homes, so that we eliminate open defecation once and for all. I have a problem with people's fixation and worry about the building of toilets. We need toilets in our homes and we need to provide toilets for the vulnerable groups. We need to make sure that at the end of the day, these

    evacuations are done properly and in a hygienic manner to be treated for other uses.

    Mr Speaker, we would continue with the bin projects we introduced last year that we would produce 20,000 bins across the length and breadth of this country. We have done 8,100 in our big towns - they should please, shine their eyes and see where they are. This is because at the end of the day, we know that Ghanaians appreciate dignity, Ghanaians are civilised and they need the best from us. That is why the Government has supported the Ministry to provide the bins and we would continue with its provision because we do not support the littering of our environment.
    rose
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 6:24 p.m.
    Hon Minister, please, hold on.
    Yes, Hon Member for Bia East, Mr Acheampong?
    Mr R. Acheampong 6:24 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I have listened to the Hon Minister very carefully and she has called on us to support the
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 6:24 p.m.
    Hon Member, you are out of order.
    Hon Minister, please, continue.
    Ms Dapaah 6:24 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, yes, I would urge this august House to support the sanitation and pollution levy so that we can do a lot in the area of sanitation. This is taking the bull by the horns and I can assure the House that when it is approved, it would be put to good use because we are a government of accountability. All that we do in this sector is to eliminate opportunistic diseases and infections amongst our communities.
    Mr Speaker, another thing that the levy would support is the removal of the heaps of waste in our towns and villages - it has started so we would continue with funds that we would get from this levy to make sure that we eliminate all those heaps of waste in our villages and towns to make the environment good for habitation. We all want a good environment to live in so, it is our duty to make sure that we
    deliver on these promises to make sure that our public places, lorry parks and markets are good and fit for their purposes.
    Mr Speaker, with these few words I would want to conclude by saying that we would continue to consolidate and continue with the good developments that we have given this nation. We all know that he who gives water, gives life and he who gives sanitation, gives dignity. We thank His Excellency the President for giving us life and dignity.
    Mr Speaker, I thank you.
    Mr Kwabena Mintah Akandoh (NDC -- Juaboso) 6:24 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the Motion.
    Mr Speaker, I would start my submission with a constitutional provision that gives every Ghanaian the right to enjoy good health care which with your permission, I beg to quote under article 34 (2) of the 1992 Constitution, it says:
    “The President shall report to Parliament at least once a year all the steps taken to ensure the realisation of the policy objective contained in this Chapter; and, in particular, the realisation of basic human rights, a healthy economy, the right to work, the
    right to good health care and the right to education''.
    Mr Speaker, the emphasis is on the “right to good health care''. Again, it is not for nothing that the Abuja Declaration requires the Republic of Ghana to invest not less than 15 per cent of our annual budget in the health sector.
    Mr Speaker, with your permission I beg to quote paragraph 26 of the Abuja Declaration which says:
    “We commit ourselves to take all necessary measures to ensure that the needed resources are made available from all sources and that they are efficiently and effectively utilised. In addition, we pledge to set a target of allocating at least 15 per cent of our annual budget to the improvement of the health sector''.
    Mr Speaker, if there is any period in the history of Ghana that we must even go beyond this 15 per cent of our annual budget, the period is now.
    Unfortunately, in the 2021 Budget Statement we are struggling to even do eight per cent of the annual budget into the health sector in the era of this COVID-19 pandemic.
    After this Government has touted Agenda 111, I expected that it would clearly reflect it in this Budget Statement but unfortunately, it has no commitment to that effect. With your permission, I beg to refer to pages 222 and 223 of the 2021 Budget Statement. It would be realised that with the capital expenditure (capex) that has been allocated to the Ministry of Health, if everything is put together, it is around GH¢1 billion which is less than €149 million.
    We are talking about the construction of about 111 district and regional hospitals and the allocation is around GH¢1 billion? The capex from GoG is about GH¢ 13 million, the capex from donor partners is around GH¢ 721 million and capex from ABFA is around GH¢ 32 million. The President has been all over touting “Ghana Beyond Aid'' - the health sector is heavily financed by donor partners and we sing “Ghana Beyond Aid''.
    Mr Speaker, the last time we approved a district hospital under the World Health Organisation (WHO) standard in this House, it was around €34 million -- and a typical example is the Shama District Hospital. So, if we have a capex of around €149 million, would we see the WHO standard of hospital or they would construct weighing in centres? If
    Mr Kwabena Mintah Akandoh (NDC -- Juaboso) 6:34 p.m.
    indeed, they would construct hospitals, it must clearly reflect in this Budget Statement.

    Mr Speaker, again, this Government has the penchant of giving sugar-coated promises and delivering very little, if any at all. On page 34, paragraph (g) of the NPP Manifesto in the year 2016, they promised to construct district hospitals where there is none and then upgrade those that exist. Unfortunately, the Juaboso District Hospital has not been upgraded and there has not been any new construction of a district hospital in my Constituency or district.

    In the year 2020, His Excellency the President promised the good people of this country about 88 hospitals and to quote the Hon Minister for Health, he says, ‘it is a vision' and it still remains so and has not seen the light of day.

    Mr Speaker, now the habit this Government has developed is that anytime the Budget Statement is presented, they just list projects without any steps to actualise those projects. May I refer you to the 2020 Budget Statement of page 185, paragraphs 1032, 1033, 1034 recorded projects that were stated to

    be commenced, completed and others were going to be continued and absolutely nothing has been done about those projects.

    I will cite examples; they said they would complete a regional hospital in Kumasi and 4 district hospitals with staff housing at Konongo. Again, they said they were going to complete the Upper East Regional Hospital but that has not been done as well as the completion of the Phase II of the Greater Accra Regional Hospital. After His Excellency, former President Mahama has raised the Greater Accra Regional Hospital to this standard, the very little that they had to add to it, they were not able to add even a block to that particular structure.

    Mr Speaker, they also said they would commence the Maternity and Children's Block at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital as well as the construction of the Maternity Block at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. They also spoke about the reconstruction of the Tema General Hospital, the Central Medical Stores, La General Polyclinic and even complete it up to 30 per cent.

    Absolutely, nothing has happened to these projects that I have mentioned, and so, they merely listed these projects without taking steps to complete them. There are thousand

    and one projects that the former Government started and as I speak, they have not been completed.

    Mr Speaker, with these evidences adduced, you will trust that this Government can deliver on the Agenda 111 at our own peril. Again, if we look at paragraph 993, it talks about the performance of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). At paragraph 993, we all know that there is direct correlation between the NHIS and the attainment of the universal health coverage.

    As I speak, the NHIS is still struggling under a 50 per cent coverage. If we are going to move at this pace, it will be extremely difficult for us to achieve the universal health coverage on time.

    Again, we all know that the major challenge in the NHIS has always been funding but I would want every Hon Member to listen very well. This Government has put in place a policy to tap into the little revenue we generate as a result of the National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL). Deliberately refusing to invest more than the 15 per cent of the moneys being generated in the health sector is also being capped by the Government.

    Mr Speaker, most of the time, it is unduly delayed and this gives rise to what we call co-payment. Such that subscribers of the NHIS would go to hospitals and pay directly from their own pockets. I think that we have repeatedly admonished the President to completely stop capping the health sector.

    Again paragraph 255 of the 2021 Budget Statement talks about the COVID Health Levy. Leaders of every country that is affected by this COVID-19 pandemic are thinking outside the box by trying to come out with relief and stimulus packages. Unfortunately, we are thinking about imposing obnoxious, vexatious and insensitive taxes.

    Mr Speaker, I wish to state that this COVID-19 Levy will rather deepen the hardships of the good people of this country. Therefore, together, as Hon Members of Parliament, we must reject this levy in its entirety.

    If you read paragraph 350, it talks about the communication strategy that was put in place to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and I completely disagree with this rendition. This is because if there is any aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic that was poorly managed, it was about the communication aspect.
    Mr Kwabena Mintah Akandoh (NDC -- Juaboso) 6:44 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, as I speak, there is an ongoing vaccination exercise and you would agree with me that the education and sensitisation of our people is on a low key and Government is talking about a rigorous attempt to educate people on this.
    Furthermore, whenever I mention the Frontier Healthcare, it saddens my heart. If we read paragraph 747 of the 2021 Budget Statement, it talks about how Government supported other institutions to fight the COVID- 19 pandemic. What prevented Government from supporting institutions like the Noguchi Advanced Research Laboratories (NARL) to do the testing at the Kotoka International Airport but we gave this contract to a private company? This is the only contract that could have helped institutions like NARL to rake in revenue to build more capacities, yet, we gave this to a private company and I would not want to believe that it was a strategy to create, loot and share.
    Mr Speaker, paragraph 989 of the 2021 Budget Statement talks about recruitment into the health sector. Yes, recruitment is a problem but the main problem has more to do with the distribution of the limited number of healthcare workers already in the
    system. There must be equitable distribution of healthcare workers in this country. If we have more than 80 per cent of our healthcare workers all located in the cities, I shudder to think how we will be able to take care of our rural areas.
    We were even lucky that the epicentres of the COVID-19 pandemic were in the cities and we would all agree that we have better health facilities in the cities than in the rural areas.

    I think that if there is any time to concentrate and invest more on the health sector just as His Excellency former President Mahama did, we would be seeing hospitals like the University of Ghana Medical Centre, Maritime Hospital, Bank of Ghana Hospital, and the Dodowa Hospital.

    Mr Speaker, reading through the Budget, with the greatest respect, if I support this Budget Statement then I would contribute to imposing more hardship on the good people of this country.

    Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 6:44 p.m.
    Hon Samuel Abu Jinapor? [Interruption.]
    Very well. Then we would listen to Hon Ambrose Dery.
    Minister for the Interior (Mr Ambrose P. Dery) (MP) 6:44 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to contribute and support the Motion on the Floor.
    Mr Speaker, I would contribute specifically and in respect of the Ministry of the Interior and the security agencies in general. Mr Speaker, the goal of His Excellency President Akufo-Addo is to make sure that each and every person in Ghana feels secured. To debate this matter, I would have to put it in context.
    First of all, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Agenda 2030 Goal 16 is applicable here because it talks about building strong institutions to ensure justice, peace and security. So, this goal of the President is well-situated in these SDGs. Furthermore, the AU's Agenda 2063 has two aspects that I want to refer to; the Aspirations and the Goals. Aspiration 3 reads:
    “An Africa of good governance, democracy, respect for human rights, justice and the rule of law”, and Aspiration 4 reads: “A peaceful and secure Africa”.
    Mr Speaker, Goal 13 also reads 6:44 p.m.
    “Peace security and stability is preserved” and Goal 15 reads: “A fully functional and operational Africa Peace and Security Architecture (APSA)”
    These are the policies within which our policies are situated, but before I move to the situation on the ground, let me allude to the AU's attempt to concretise this Agenda. In July 2019, they brought the theme “Silencing the Guns, Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa's Development”. So, the year 2020 was fixed as the year in which this would be achieved, but as we know, this has not been achieved.
    Mr Speaker, as I speak, 85 per cent of Burkina Faso is under terrorist control and the Gulf of Guinea is the most dangerous maritime area in the world. Therefore, it means that in discussing our security, we need to situate it. Page 191 of the Budget Statement, alludes to the guns and arms that we have lost control of since the fall of the Libyan State and the proliferation of guns across Africa.
    Mr Speaker, paragraph 1095 and 1096 states clearly that the Commission of Small Arms and Light Weapons is working towards a database that would enhance our capacity to control the arms. Mr
    Mr Speaker, Goal 13 also reads 6:54 p.m.
    Speaker, the Commission has already marked guns in several of the regions, in respect of the police and army, and we are now working towards a database that would give us greater control; an Electronic Small Arms Database Management System.
    Mr Speaker, over the years, this Parliament has supported efforts to fortify our security but the fact remains that the budgets that are brought to Parliament cannot adequately cater for the security. We need to call for innovative funding approaches and sources so that the commitment of this House to make Ghana a safe haven in Africa would not just be lip service. Already, our Hon Colleagues on the other Side are complaining about figures and debts, so what will it profit us for our debts to be reduced only for us to be killed because we are not sufficiently protected?
    Mr Speaker, but the fact remains that the budget cannot do it so I am inviting this House to discuss innovative ways of funding. We go for bonds to finance several aspects but is it beyond us to do this? The threat coming from Burkina Faso specially requires the involvement of Parliament in certain areas, especially in the area of intelligence. Although, we have an effective Committee on Defence and Interior, it behoves us to see how we
    can deal with the aspect of intelligence, Mr Speaker, because intelligence helps us to be proactive. But how would we be proactive when we do not have the information? These are the two proposals that I have.
    Mr Speaker, next is that the Budget Statement provides for early warning systems for certain emergencies. In 1939, we had the worst or most catastrophic earthquake or earth tremor, and the further we go away from it, the danger is -- Mr Speaker, the President has given meaning to it by setting up a Presidential Commission which is chaired by one of the distinguished ladies in this country; the President of the Federation of African Engineering Organisation, Ing. Carlien Bou- Chedid. They have come out with a report which is a Framework for Refocusing Ghana's Earthquake Preparedness and Response.
    Mr Speaker, this report has been presented and I am giving notice that Parliament would be involved, especially at the Committee level, at the next stakeholders meeting to make this real.
    The important thing is that we have sufficiently qualified Ghanaians who can support our efforts. So, I want to draw the attention of this House that
    this is not a hollow Budget Statement, but we are working constructively towards getting the National Contingency Plan on Earthquake duly established.

    Mr Speaker, for the want of time, I would move to the Narcotics Control Commission Act of 2020 (Act 1019)that has been passed by this House. The law was passed on 20th March, 2020 and accented to by the President on 11th May, 2020.

    Mr Speaker, this law that has a more positive approach to the drug menace is dealing with it as a health challenge. Therefore, within that law, we have created a Fund which is supposed to be a substance use disorder rehabilitation fund in section 22. It also provides in section 24 that the funding would be provided for firstly by moneys approved by Parliament.

    We need to have money to finance this effort. Otherwise, it would be empty. We would have our citizens, especially our children who suffer from drug disorder, and would not have the funding to rehabilitate them. Sometimes, when we are talking of taxes, we should try to put it in context.
    -- 6:54 p.m.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 6:54 p.m.
    Hon Member, you have one minute more.
    Mr A. P. Dery 6:54 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, in doing this, we also expect the support of Parliament to help us make good out of this so that together Ghana would be a safer place. We cannot do so if this Budget is not approved. I am appealing to you to approve it so that Ghana survives. Approve it so that we would continue to move forward. This is when we need to show that Ghana first before our partisan considerations, and I know we would rise above the occasion.
    Mr Speaker, with these few words, I thank you.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 6:54 p.m.
    Hon Edward Abambire Bawa?
    Edward Abambire Bawa (NDC -- Bongo): Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Motion that was moved by the Acting Minister of State responsible for Finance and seconded by the Hon Member for Ofoase-Ayirebi, Mr Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah.

    Mr Speaker, the next point I would want to talk about has to do with when Hon Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, in reacting to Hon Nii Vanderpuye's call for the State to help the Department of Parks and Gardens, she indicated that the manifestation of the works of the Department was the greenery that we see at the Jubilee House when passing.

    But I was confused. On 25th of February, www.ghanaweb.com had a story where Ghanaians were incensed by just the heap of rubbish in front of the Seat of Government. I am not too sure whether to a very large extent, the Department of Parks and Gardens are really making an effort to make the place look green, but the inhabitants of that particular edifice are deliberately making sure that there is rubbish in that place. It is something that we must begin to question if really a state institution is trying to beautify our Seat of Government and the inhabitants are trying to make sure that the place looks terrible.

    Mr Speaker, now to the substantive issue, if you listen to the immediate past Deputy Minister for Energy and the Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, they seemed to justify why we should increase our ex-pump price by levying 10 pesewas per litre on diesel and petrol for the sanitation pollution levy and 20 pesewas for the Energy Sector Recovery Levy. If you add up, it would be 30 pesewas.

    Mr Speaker, as we speak today, since 2016, when the price of fuel per litre was GH¢2.70, today, just before even these taxes, it is GH¢5.40 per litre, a 100 per cent increase in the ex-pump prices in terms of the taxes. Meanwhile, we have Government
    Mr Annoh-Dompreh 7:04 p.m.
    On a point of order. Mr Speaker, I was enjoying my good friend's debate until he veered into wild allegations. I heard him clearly when he said that state agencies and then he included the Presidency and made allegations that the agencies and the Presidency are conspiring to make the country lose huge revenue. He knows that in this House one cannot just make sweeping comments and go scot free. What is the basis of that allegation? He must back that allegation with evidence.
    Mr Speaker, with your kindness, I am inviting you to compel him to provide evidence to back the allegation he is making. If he has no such allegation --
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:04 p.m.
    What specific allegation has he made?
    Mr Annoh-Dompreh 7:04 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the allegation Hon Edward Bawa made was that the Office of the President, other state agencies and even the GRA have conspired to make the nation lose huge revenue. I heard him loud and clear. So if he has evidence, he should provide it. If he has no such evidence, he should stay clear and let us listen to him while he makes his cogent argument.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:04 p.m.
    Hon Bawa, do you have any evidence on conspiracy for the state to lose money?
    Mr Bawa 7:04 p.m.
    Yes, Mr Speaker and it is important.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:04 p.m.
    Very good. Let us hear you.
    Mr Bawa 7:04 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I would table the document afterwards. [Interruption]
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:04 p.m.
    I am listening to you, please?
    Mr Bawa 7:04 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, on last week Monday, the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors launched a report known as the Ghana Petroleum Report for 2019. In that Report, they
    indicated that Ghana was losing GH¢1.9 billion in terms of tax evasion as a result of the operations of some individuals and they had stated that officials of GRA, the National Security and Officials from the Presidency and indeed, it was on the basis of this that one of our resource persons cited at the training ground that Ghana was actually losing that as a result of the operations of state officials. So this is something that is online.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:04 p.m.
    Hon Member, the evidence of conspiracy is important but kindly table the Report so that it is on record.
    Mr Bawa 7:04 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, so definitely, we would print it and make it available.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:04 p.m.
    We cannot move on until you have brought that. Otherwise withdraw that. Conspiracy is a serious matter.
    Mr Haruna Iddrisu 7:04 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, just that I respect your ruling that Hon Bawa makes available that report. But without that report, he should not proceed further on that particular matter. So it is noted. So whoever in the course of any debate in this House makes reference to any
    such matter, we would expect that your ruling would be guided by this precedent.
    Thank you, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Annoh-Dompreh 7:04 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, my respected Hon Minority Leader. I corroborate what he said and I think that should be the guiding principle. But the point has to be made and all of us need to recognise that in Hon Bawa's statement, he included the Presidency and National Security.
    These are critical institutions of state and we should not be toying with them. But I am particularly excited that the Hon Minority Leader called that he stays clear of those wild allegations until he has better particulars. So he should stay clear and continue with his argument while we follow him.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:04 p.m.
    Hon Members, my ruling was that if the Report is available, table it. If it is not, you withdraw it. I want to see where the Report talked about conspiracy. This is because conspiracy is a crime and if you are making an allegation of conspiracy against anybody, there must be evidence that indeed, that has been so. Otherwise, you withdraw that and proceed.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:04 p.m.
    Hon Members, my position is not about what officials of state have committed - it is just the conspiracy part. It is entirely possible that officers of state may have done this or that but if you say “conspire”, then you are alleging that they sat to plan to do or they acted together to do something. So if the Report states so, I would like to see it so.
    Mr Bawa 7:04 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, basically, I stand by what I said but just because of the fact that I do not have the Report here, if you ask that I withdraw that, I would let it pass but I still stand by what I said because it was made.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:04 p.m.
    I thought you withdrew it. If you withdraw, then you cannot stand by it.
    Mr Bawa 7:14 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I would tender it later and then make the same point another time.
    Thank you, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Speaker, the reason they are introducing particularly, the energy sector recovery levy is because of the fact that they say we, as a country have excess capacity and on annual basis, we are charged for power that we do not use. Indeed, they create the impression that if nothing is done, by 2023, we are going to be paying US$12.5 billion as a result of this excess capacity.
    However, Mr Speaker, it is important to let everybody know that the Government has deliberately used excess capacity charges as a basis for hiding their inefficiency.
    I believe that most of my Colleagues have actually dealt with the issue of excess capacity but in fact, the Ministry of Energy's own report on the Energy Sector Recovery Plan indicated that on annual basis, as a country, ECG looses US$180 million as a result of people who default in paying for their electricity bills. Out of this figure, 150 million, which is 80 per cent of the bills is owed by Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
    Mr Speaker, if at the end of the day, the Ministry itself cannot pay for cost that they have budgeted for, the Agencies cannot pay for cost that they have budgeted for and the
    Departments cannot do that and they create an impression that this debt is as a result of excess capacity, then there is a problem.
    Mr Speaker, indeed, the NDC Government realised this and ensured that all post-paid meters and in some cases, pre-paid were changed to smart meters. The whole idea was to give electricity consumers some level of confidence in the metering system. Even in terms of the districts, they had introduced what we call the smart boundary meters such that even managers of the various districts would ensure that the power that was supplied to those particular districts were accounted for.
    But unfortunately, this Government, in four years, have decided to take this policy away and on an annual basis, we accrue this amount of money.
    Mr Speaker, what is also more interesting is that every year, ECG loses some amount of money as a result of technical and commercial loses. Indeed, the PURC indicates that 23 per cent of power that is given to ECG is not accounted for.
    This 23 per cent in terms of monetary value is US$400 million a year.

    It is on the basis of this that the Government itself realised that the only way we could solve the problem in the power sector was to ensure that distribution was efficient, therefore, the issue of opting for the Compact 2 of the Millennium Challenge Cooperation.

    Mr Speaker, the interesting part is that today, even though about US$300million was introduced in terms of modifying the various structures within the distribution sector, Ghana lost US$190million as a result of simple procurement process of transiting ECG to PDS.

    All of us know the reason this happened. It was because of corruption, cronyism and unbridled quest for self-gain. Today, Ghana has lost US$190 million. So, if they come and indicate that on the basis of this, Ghana is accruing debt and that is because of excess capacity charges, that cannot be true.

    Mr Speaker, the other interesting part is that today, Government has told us that our demand for gas is lower than the supply, and therefore we have enough gas. Indeed, the gas that is currently not utilised, we are paying for it because of Petroleum Agreement that governs the
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:14 p.m.
    Yes, Hon Samuel Abdulai Jinapor?
    Mr Samuel A. Jinapor (NPP -- Damongo) 7:14 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Motion.
    Mr Speaker, before I get to my substantive contribution, I have been listening to my friend, the Member of Parliament for Bongo. It reminds me of the famous statement by former President Jerry John Rawlings when a BBC journalist questioned him on what his economic policy was? He said, his economic policy is good when his stomach is full; and it is bad when his stomach is empty.
    Mr Samuel A. Jinapor (NPP -- Damongo) 7:14 p.m.


    Mr Speaker, in this respect, let me refer the House to the Report by the reputable Institute for Social Statistical and Economic Research (ISSER).

    They reported that in 2014 alone, dumsor cost the tax payer and the Ghanaian people US$680 million and that was 2 per cent of our GDP. If we do the arithmetic for the four years of dumsor, it cost the Ghanaian people US$3billion. What is the Hon Member talking about?

    Mr Speaker, at the time the MP for Bongo was spokesperson at the Ministry of Energy -- I would like to refer the House to page 19 of the Budget Statement -- in 2016, electricity expansion per the Budget grew by negative 5.8 per cent. I would want to submit that their records in the energy sector was abysmal. They plunged this country into dumsor for four years and they accumulated debts which are still

    being paid today. Their management of the energy sector in all respect was abysmal and that record must be stated here. It is not about the quotation of figures and records. What was the state of electricity expansion under their administration? We were under dumsor, so their record was bad.

    Mr Speaker, the Hon Member of Parliament for Juaboso, who is the Ranking Member on the Committee on Health --
    rose
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:14 p.m.
    Yes, Hon Bawa, your name was mentioned?
    Mr Bawa 7:24 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, my Hon Colleague indicated that when I was working at the Ministry of Energy that electricity expansion was in a negative figure.
    Mr Speaker, if you look at electricity expansion, which simply means access to electricity, the figures tells us and the President quoted it during the SONA. We had moved from 54 per cent to 85 per cent --
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:24 p.m.
    Hon Member, the facts that he stated, if they are wrong, then point that out to me, and I would ask him to justify it. Otherwise, you are offering an explanation, which is not the essence of a point of Order.
    Mr Bawa 7:24 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, we cannot verify his source, and the figures that are available to us is that the expansion of electricity moved from 54 per cent - [Interruption] - Basically, we would want to know his source because from what the President said, the figure is different.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:24 p.m.
    Very well.
    Hon Member, you may continue.
    Mr Samuel A. Jinapor 7:24 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the source that I refer to, is page 19, number five of table five of the Budget Statement.
    Mr Speaker, I was responding to the Statement made by the Hon Member of Parliament (MP) for Juaboso about Agenda 111. The MP should be rest assured that Agenda 111 is on course, and it is going to turn out to be the most revolutionary intervention in health infrastructure in our country.
    Mr Speaker, I would like to refer the House to page 252 of the Budget Statement, and indeed, at serial
    number 56, the Budget speaks to Agenda 111, and I read with permission;
    “programme needs to be contracted from concessional and non-concessional external loans for 2021 and medium term.”
    This is under number 56, which has the sub-heading;
    “Construction of regional hospitals and Agenda 111,” under the Ministry of Health. The Budget speaks to it, it captures it, and it would be done.
    Mr Speaker, finally, the Hon Member of Parliament for Akatsi South talked about the Special Prosecutor, and the need for this House and the Government to fund the Office of the Special Prosecutor. I agree with him, the Office of the Special Prosecutor --
    rose
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:24 p.m.
    Hon Member, hold on.
    Yes, Hon Agbodza, you must tell me what he has stated that is an error?
    Mr Agbodza 7:24 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, my very good friend energetically was saying things about how dumsor was
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:24 p.m.
    Hon Member, he made specific statements, so, which one is not a fact?
    Mr Agbodza 7:24 p.m.
    For him to say that the lights do not go off under this Government is not true. I have in my hand a dumsor timetable.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:24 p.m.
    Hon Member, he has not said so. You are out of order.
    Yes, Hon Dr Kwabena Donkor?
    Dr Kwabena Donkor 7:24 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the Hon Samuel Jinapor referred to table five of page 19, and he said that the growth of electricity in 2016 was -5.8 per cent. Electricity here does not mean access to electricity. He is reading the diagram wrongly. Electricity here means availability of power --
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:24 p.m.
    Hon Member, the fact that he stated is in the book, so, when you get the opportunity, you can explain it. You
    are out of order. If he makes a wrong statement, I would admit it, but as for explanation, it should be part of your debate.
    Yes, Hon Member, continue?
    Mr Samuel A. Jinapor 7:24 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the Budget before us is a very bold attempt by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to deal with the contemporary issues that confronts our country.
    Mr Speaker, we all know that indeed and in fact, as a result of COVID-19, revenue mobilisation went down. Indeed, at a point, Ghana was under a lock down, and yet, expenditure had to go up, and the Government had no choice but to intervene in most sectors of our national lives as in free health, free water, free electricity, provision of food, and several other interventions, which scaled up or surged our expenditure, and yet, revenue dipped.
    Mr Speaker, so, the Budget attempts to deal with the post- COVID-19 complications, and a careful examination of this Budget would reveal that all the interventions that the President and his Government proposes in dealing with these issues, are far-reaching, bold, and indeed, if this Budget is approved, it would deal with these issues.
    Mr Speaker, however, I should add that we all have a collective responsibility to support the leadership of the President, and support the Government because at this stage, we need leadership, and we need to take the bold decisions in order to preserve the future of our economy and our country.
    Mr Speaker, there have been a lot of talk about the economy of our country, and in comparative analysis, a lot of figures have been thrown out. I have never sat in an Economics class before, and I do not appreciate the technical nuances of the economy of our country.
    But I know too well that an economy which was managed in a way that it got to a point that we had to knock on the doors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and to admit ourselves, and by our own volition that our economy is being mis-managed, and that our fiscal regime is in disarray, that our debt is unsustainable, that the deficit is out of the door, that GDP growth was in fact 33 point something per cent, that indeed, agriculture was growing at 0.04 per cent, and indeed the crop sub-sector was growing at 1.7 per cent, and therefore, we are submitting ourselves to IMF, and submitting to
    their conditionalities, and invite them to bail us out, to direct us, and to lead us.
    Mr Speaker, I do not need to be an economist to know that such an economy was in doldrums. [Hear! Hear!] I have the figures here, and I believe that a lot of Ghanaians struggle with the debate, when all of a sudden, there is a whole banter about percentages, or that percentage of that. Yes, five years ago may be a bit long enough, but it is not so long.

    Mr Speaker, let me refer the House to the Budget Statement presented by the Hon Seth Terkpeh in 2016. In page 13 of that Budget, the Finance Minister himself in reporting to this House, gave the growth rate for agriculture, which with your indulgence I quote. It says: “Mr Speaker, the Ghana Statistical Service Data purged agricultural growth at
    Mr Samuel A. Jinapor 7:24 p.m.
    0.04 per cent.” He continues to give a breakdown of the growth rate for the crop sub-sector, and gives it as - 1.7 per cent.
    Mr Speaker, I give this example because every economy is anchored on two pillars; agriculture and industry. Let me give you the figure for industry. Industry in 2016 grew at 4.3 per cent, and in 2017, it shot up to 15.7 per cent.

    Mr Speaker, I would want to indicate that in this Budget, the natural resource component of the Budget is quite encouraging, and indeed, in almost every aspect of the utilisation of our natural resources, the Budget

    at page 125, particularly paragraphs 659, all the way to paragraph 682 of the Budget, deals comprehensively with the natural resource of our country, and it talks about the achievements and the interventions we have made in the first four years, what we seek to do, how we would ensure that the digitalisation of the records of the Lands Commission is completed. We started a pilot. It talks about how we have intervened in the forestry sector.
    Mr Speaker, with your indulgence, I would like to quote paragraph 660 which reads 7:34 p.m.
    “Mr. Speaker, under the National Afforestation Pro- gramme, a total area of 11,287ha of forest plantation was established …”
    Mr Speaker, at this page, and the paragraphs I have just enumerated, the Budget Statement deals with how the Government dealt with this critical sector of mining, and how we intend to do so in the year under review,
    2021.
    Mr Speaker, the gravamen of my submission is that, this Budget Statement, just like the previous ones, would help in dealing with the concrete
    issues confronting the good people of this country. Whether in healthcare, education, infrastructure, economy, jobs, the 2021 Budget Statement which would complete, consolidate and continue would help in dealing with this issue.
    Mr Speaker, in conclusion, the measure of every country is the standard of living of its people. A lot of talk has been made about the conditions of the lives of our people. I have the Ghana Living Survey here. If you examine it, in almost all the critical aspects of our national life, the ones which impact on the daily livelihoods of our people - what are the prices of food?
    If you check the basket which is used in determining inflationary figure in our country, food component is the downward driving force number with this historic unprecedented inflationary race that we have in this country. Whether it is in respect of electricity, let us compare the prices of electricity in our country today and the then. It would reveal that the price of electricity has gone down.
    Whether it is in respect of education, today, Ghanaian students across the country enjoy free education from kindergarten to SHS. Mr Speaker, a special mention is
    northern Ghana. I was born and raised in northern Ghana, and I know the conditions of our people there. Quite clearly, the impact of free education in our country is extraordinary. In northern Ghana, it is even more dramatic, and it has impacted on the lives of our people positively.
    Mr Speaker, whether it is on infrastructure, I have the figures here. The Government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has constructed more roads within his first term than any other in its first term -- [Hear! Hear!] . It is a fact. Mr Speaker, the record shows, and I have it. Mr Speaker, if I may repeat that. Let me put it on record. The Government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in its first term, has constructed more roads than any Government in the Fourth Republic in its first term -- [Interruption]. That is a fact, and I have the records.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:34 p.m.
    You have one minute.
    rose
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:34 p.m.
    Yes, what is the issue? The Hon Minister for Roads and Highways said the same thing here in this House. What is new about this? Nobody challenged him.

    was the Hon Minister for Roads and Highways though he also did not provide the document. Just a few minutes ago, you made a ruling. Can our Hon Colleague, since he did not mention any figure, table the evidence here? That is all we want.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:34 p.m.
    Hon Member, conclude.
    Mr Agbodza 7:34 p.m.
    He should table the comparison as well because he said in the history of Ghana.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:34 p.m.
    Hon Agbodza, if you want to raise an objection, you must say that he has said something that is not a fact. If you bring a fact, you contradict this.
    Mr Agbodza 7:34 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, my point is that, he said in the history of this country. Mr Speaker, he should table that comparison. That is what we are talking about. He said in the President's first term, he constructed more roads than any other person.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:34 p.m.
    He said the Fourth Republic. If you have any evidence to the contrary, please, bring it.
    Hon Jinapor, kindly conclude. You had one minute more.
    Mr S. A. Jinapor 7:34 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his able and dynamic Hon Minister for Roads and Highways, who is my uncle and in whom I am most pleased, the first term record on roads is far more than any Government in the Fourth Republic. That is a fact. [Hear! Hear!] The record is there.
    Mr Speaker, I would want to conclude by respectfully inviting the House to support the Budget Statement titled “Economic Revitalisation through Completion, Consolidation and Continuity”, “Won ya wo hie Budget” which was ably tabled by the Hon Minority Leader and the Hon Minister for Parliamentary Affairs.
    Mr Speaker, with this Won ya wo hie Budget, there is a future for this country. The Hon Deputy Minority Leader is taking the figures from the Hon Minister for Roads and Highways. Mr Speaker, this Budget Statement will support the future march of our country.
    Dr Mark Kurt Nawaane (NDC -- Nabdam) 7:44 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I rise to debate the Economic Policy and the
    Budget Statement of the Government of the Republic of Ghana for the year
    2021.
    Mr Speaker, before I go on my own tangent, I would want to comment on some statements that were made by my Hon Members at the other Side. They debated as if we said that the COVID-19 pandemic did not have any economic effect, but that is not true. When the economic fundamentals are weak, the pandemic would definitely have an effect. That is what we are saying. The economic fundamentals are weak. They are paying debt servicing now than compensation. It is weak fundamentals.
    Mr Speaker, the Hon Ursula Owusu-Ekuful argued that the COVID-19 funds were provided by H. E. President Nana Akufo-Addo. That is quite simplistic and palpably untrue. I say this because if you take the Heritage Funds that was used to fight COVID-19, you know where it came from. It came from the NDC Government and President Mahama. Are they saying that the EU, World Bank funds or the ADB funds came from President Nana Akufo-Addo?
    The Hon Samuel Abdulai Jinapor also mentioned that my Hon Ranking Member for the Committee on Health
    and the Hon Member for Juaboso said that he cannot see the aspect of the funding of the hospitals in the Budget Statement. What he read out is not the funding; that is just the fact that they have agreed to use loans. That is generic. We do not know the address of the loans or who would give it? That is what is written there.

    The Hon Ranking Member said that it is the capex that is in the Budget Statement. It comes from donor funds. We know that in this era of COVID-19 it is even difficult to get donor funds. He tried to say that the Government of Ghana has not given us a pesewa as capital expenditure in the Budget and that is very important. The Government of Ghana has not given a pesewa for us to be able to fund capital expenditure. Having said that, I must go on to debate on the COVID-19 pandemic and would also navigate through some few issues.

    Mr Speaker, the COVID-19 pandemic was quite devastating and the Government undertook a lot of projects and programmes. I admit that personal protective equipment (PPE) were bought, more laboratories were established and we can find them in the Budget on paragraphs 998 and 999. However, we expect that we should also know that there were
    Dr Mark Kurt Nawaane (NDC -- Nabdam) 7:54 p.m.
    challenges. In fact, some of the challenges were how the COVID-19 funds were disbursed?
    Indeed, Members of this House and well-meaning Ghanaians have had cause to call for a forensic auditing of these COVID-19 funds. The Ghana National Association of Private Schools complained that they did not get some of these moneys that they expected to get because the teachers were not getting paid. So, if we behave as if there were no problems, it would not be fair.
    Indeed, this antigen test at the airport, managed by Frontier Healthcare Services Limited, remains unanswered to date. The Hon Minister for Transport came and could not answer, the Hon Minister for Information came and he had no information and the Hon Minister for Health came and it was not enough. Indeed, the President, during the State of the Nation Address, did not address the issue of this antigen test at the airport.
    As we Sit now, I do not know where we would get that information. If the President did not also answer that question, where would we get it from?
    Mr Speaker, so we have challenges, and when we act like we are masters in the management of COVID-19, I just keep quiet and ask that we remember Chinua Achebe in the book entitled, Things Fall Apart, that those whose palm kernels are cracked by benevolent spirits should never forget to be humble. We should not forget to be humble. Our God saved us from COVID-19 and we should always acknowledge that and not come and pretend that we are good managers of COVID-19.
    Are we better than the United States of America (USA), the United Kingdom (UK) and Germany? No, we are not better than them. Our God saved us. Our palm kernels were cracked by benevolent spirits and we should never forget to be humble.
    Mr Speaker, it is in the midst of all this that we introduced the COVID- 19 levy; one per cent on the National Health Insurance Levy and another one per cent on Value Added Tax (VAT). Now, I ask myself, if you are a good mother or father and your child falls into a coal pot that has fire, what do you do first? You pull the child out of the fire and later, you can deal with the situation as you want to. You can even advise the child or beat him or her that next time, they should not run into the fire.
    We have this COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing. Indeed, in 2020, when the pandemic started getting better, we had subsidised water and electricity and there was finance for small-scale industries. We also assisted some companies to change their production line and produced PPEs. In other words, we assisted individuals and companies.
    Come 2021, the situation is getting worse and more people are falling sick and dying. A lot of people are getting critically ill and this time, all the freebies have been withdrawn. The subsidised things have been withdrawn and in their place, we are not even going to provide stimulus to companies so that they would recover from the effects of COVID-19, what we are now doing is to impose a tax.
    Mr Speaker, is it because last year was an election year? No! Things are getting worse. [Laughter] We expected that this year, we would get more assistance from the Government and after that we would have recovered. My Masters teacher in Business Administration taught me 15 years ago, that you create the wealth and out of the wealth, you would now withhold the tax. Have we created the wealth?
    So, this COVID-19 tax is inhumane, insensitive, unfriendly and very retrogressive. [Hear! Hear!] I request that this tax should be looked at again because Liberia and Sierra Leone had Ebola and did not impose an Ebola Levy. A lot of countries had COVID-19 but did not impose a COVID-19 levy.
    If we allow this one to go through, very soon, we would have diarrhoea levy, leprosy levy and tuberculosis levy. If we think any sickness disturbs our revenue, we would impose levies because of them. No, and I call on our Side to look at that aspect very well and save Ghanaians from this retrogressive tax.
    Mr Speaker, having said that, we would analyse this year's Budget and subject it to real scrutiny. What it means is that we would subject it to the Abuja Declaration, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regulations and we would ensure that we subject it to further scrutiny.

    Mr Speaker, let us look at the issue of the infrastructure. It is a good message that we would construct 111 facilities. It is good if we could do that and the people of Nabdam would be happy if we are included. If it is divided by four years, it means that 27.75
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:54 p.m.
    Hon Member, you have a minute more.
    Dr Nawaane 7:54 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, in the Budget Statement the Government employed around 822 medical doctors, and the doctor-patient ratio in Ghana is now 1:10,800. This is not enough. The expected ratio is
    1:1,320.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:54 p.m.
    Hon Member, your time is up.
    Dr Nawaane 7:54 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, in conclusion, I would want to inform my Hon Colleagues that the COVID- 19 tax is not good, it is inelastic and it would not increase the income.
    Mr Mustapha Ussif (NPP Yagaba/Kubori) 7:54 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Motion.
    Mr Speaker, before I make my submission, I would like to use this opportunity to thank the national under 20 team; the Black Satellites for being crowned as the newest African champions in the recent tournament that was held in Mauritania. This is a big achievement for the sports sector.
    Mr Speaker, I would focus my submission on sports and youth development. The biggest challenge for the sports development since independence has been the issue of finance. Governments have come and gone but it only took President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to address this challenge. In this 2021 Budget Statement, the Government would take steps to establish the Sports Development Fund which
    would be used to address the financial challenges and bridge the funding gap associated with sports development and its promotion.
    Mr Speaker, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports development cannot be measured and as a result, the National Sports Authority and the Ghana Football Association have been tasked to comply with the 25 per cent capacity rule in our stadia while spectators respect the social distancing rule and wear the nose mask.
    19 pandemic on sports men and women, the Government has offered GH¢500 to over 1000 sports athletes in this country rose
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:54 p.m.
    Hon Member, please hold on.
    Mr Bedzrah 7:54 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I come under Order 93(4) which says:
    “The speech of a Member must have reference to the subject matter under discussion.''
    All that my Hon Colleague said has no reference to the subject under
    discussion. He should give us reference from where he referred to?
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 7:54 p.m.
    Hon Member, proceed.
    Mr Ussif 7:54 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, my respected senior Hon Colleague should take his time and read paragraph 957 on page 172 of the Budget Statement and he would see clearly that the Government has taken steps to address the financial challenge that engulfed the sports sector. [Hear! Hear!]
    Mr Speaker, another initiative of stimulus package for the sports industry is the package to the premier league clubs in the country. The Government has supported the 18 premier league clubs so far with GH¢900,000 as a relief package because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Mr Speaker, since 1965, government upon government have put in bids to organise and host the African games but no government has been successful apart from H. E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. In 2018, the country had the opportunity to win the bid to host the African Games for the first time since 1965 and the Government has since inaugurated a nine-member Local
    rose
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:04 p.m.
    Hon Member, hold on by switching off your microphone. Yes, Hon Ranking Member?
    Mr Woyome 8:04 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I just heard my Hon Colleague indicating that the Nana Akufo-Addo-led Government has constructed the
    highest number of sports infrastructure than any other government. For the records, I would like to say that it is wrong.
    Mr Speaker, under the late former President, Prof Atta-Mills, so many sports infrastructure were done which I can list. This even became an issue and we submitted a report on that. So, I would prefer he veers away from that. The youth resource centres he refers to as stadia --
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:04 p.m.
    Hon Member, you are not raising a point of order. You are raising an alternative view. Yes, please, continue. Hon Woyome, you had the opportunity to make your argument.
    Mr Ussif 8:04 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, these 10 sports stadia that the President of the Republic of Ghana is embarking on to ensure that we complete to boost infrastructure for our sportsmen and women, one is located in Navrongo, the other one in Yendi, another in Ho and another at Koforidua. So, these are tangible projects that I can mention and point to.
    These are not just ordinary stadia; they come with youth resource centres such as Information Communication Technology (ICT) laboratory, FIFA standard football
    pitch, eight lane athletic tracks, a business centre and this only takes an innovative leader like His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo to ensure that. [Hear!] [Hear!] --
    rose
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:04 p.m.
    Hon Member, hold on. Yes, Hon Deputy Minority Leader?
    Mr Avedzi 8:04 p.m.
    On a point of order.
    Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister for Youth and Sports indicated that the NPP Government has built 10 stadia and he made mention of one of these at Ho. I do not know whether he is referring to the astroturf that is being built because the astroturf being built is at Adaklu and not Ho, and this is not even up to 40 per cent complete, and that cannot qualify to be called a stadium. So, he should take that on board that if he is referring to the one at Adaklu, which is an astroturf and not a stadium, then he should correct himself.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:04 p.m.
    Hon Member, continue.
    Mr Ussif 8:04 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am not referring to the astroturf at all -- [Hear!] [Hear!] -- I am talking about the 10 sports stadia that are being built across the country. Apart
    -- 8:04 p.m.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:04 p.m.
    Yes, Hon Member for Adaklu?
    Mr Agbodza 8:04 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the Hon Member on his feet is a very good friend of mine and I know that he just took over the Ministry of Youth and Sports. I would encourage him to take his time --
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:04 p.m.
    Hon Member, I thought you were raising a point of order. Draw my attention to the error.
    Mr Agbodza 8:04 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, he should take time and visit the site. It is on record in this House that the Hon Minister for Finance came here and said they were building youth resource centres in every region and he mentioned Ho. When the President came here to read the State of the Nation Address (SONA), he said they were building a youth resource centre in Adaklu.
    So, where exactly in Ho are they building the stadium? The Hon Minister is grossly misleading this
    House; there is no stadium project ongoing in Ho. I put it to him that he should show us the site.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:04 p.m.
    Hon Minister, where in Ho is the stadium being referred to?
    Mr Ussif 8:04 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am happy that my Hon Colleague is also contradicting --[Interruption] --
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:04 p.m.
    Hon Minister, I am waiting to hear from you?
    Mr Ussif 8:04 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the Hon Deputy Minority Leader confirmed to this House on record that he has visited the site in Ho and it is only 45 per cent complete and the Hon Agbodza is contradicting him. It is in Ho Central --[Interruption] --
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:04 p.m.
    Very well. Hon Minister, continue.
    Mr Ussif 8:04 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, aside the 10 sports stadia, the Ministry for Inner-City and Zongo Development has also constructed 15 astroturf pitches -- [Hear!] [Hear!] -- Before the NPP Government took office, we had only 2 astroturf pitches in the country and it is only under His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo that we have built 15 from the Ministry of the Inner-City and Zongo
    Development, 40 from the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), and 4 from our own Hon Minister for Employment, that is Hon Baffour Awuah. So, in terms of sports infrastructure, there is no government in the history of the Fourth Republic that can compare to His Excellency, Nana Akufo-Addo.
    Mr Speaker, youth employment is a major developmental challenge for this country. The good news is that under His Excellency the President, we consider this to be a very important issue, and due to that, an innovative programme has been initiated, that is the Nation Builder's Corps (NABCO) under which 100,000 of our youth have been recruited.
    About 93,724 teachers have been recruited under Nana Akufo-Addo -- [Hear!] [Hear!] -- 119,000 nurses have been recruited as well --
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:14 p.m.
    Hon Member, hold on. Kindly switch off your microphone.
    Mr Sampson T. Chiragia 8:14 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I rise on Standing Order 91. My Hon Colleague talks about a new stadium in Navrongo, but there is no
    new stadium in Navrongo. We only have the Acheampong stadium and the only work --
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:14 p.m.
    Hon Minister, the Hon Member says there is no new stadium or youth centre in Navrongo.
    Mr Ussif 8:14 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am really surprise at my junior Hon Colleague. I will take him to Navrongo and show him the sports stadium. [Hear! Hear!]
    Mr Speaker, under youth employment, the National Youth Employment Agency has also engaged over 80,000 youth of this country who are currently working and doing so well in the country.
    Mr Speaker, the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Plan has also trained over 92,000 and out of this figure, 10,000 of them have been funded and 92,000 youth have been engaged through this initiative. This is the innovative leadership that President Akufo-Addo has exhibited in terms of job creation. My Hon Colleagues on the other Side know that for eight years, there was a freeze
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:14 p.m.
    Hon Member, you have one minute remaining.
    Mr Ussif 8:14 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, in conclusion, I would want to urge the entire House to adopt and approve the Budget Statement because it is inspirational and gives hope to the youth of this country. It is an appropriate, focused and forward- looking Budget Statement. The youth of this country are grateful to President Akufo-Addo for the bold steps he has taken to bring this innovative Budget Statement.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:14 p.m.
    Hon Angela O. Alorwu-Tay.
    Mrs Angela O. Alorwu-Tay (NDC -- Afadzato South) 8:14 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Motion on the Floor.
    rose
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:14 p.m.
    Hon Member, hold on.
    Hon Majority Chief Whip?
    Mr Annoh-Dompreh 8:14 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, just to bring to your attention that the agreement we had earlier was that Hon Ranking Members and Hon Chairpersons of Committees would speak for 15 minutes and Hon Members would speak for 10 minutes. I have just observed that we are not doing that so I would want to bring it to your attention.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:14 p.m.
    Hon Deputy Minority Leader, would you confirm that because I was not at the pre-Sitting meeting?
    Mr Avedzi 8:14 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the Hon Ministers, Hon Ranking Members and Hon Deputy Ranking Members take 15 minutes and other Hon Members take 10 minutes. Mr Speaker, I have been watching the time and you have observed it because you have not departed from what we agreed on.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:14 p.m.
    Except that I do not know that the 15 minutes is for Hon Chairpersons and Hon Ranking Members so I allowed everybody.
    Mr Avedzi 8:14 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, we have indicated the positions against the names, but if that has not been done, then it must be done.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:14 p.m.
    Frankly, I have not, so I will observe it now.
    Hon Alorwu-Tay, you can continue now. You have 10 minutes.
    Mrs Alorwu-Tay 8:14 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, before I go on with my contribution, I just want to say that when a person rises, as my senior Hon Colleague just did and said that they have constructed 20 stadia and so on, the delivery tracker would expose them. Mr Speaker, when we do a google search of their own platform, it says there is nothing there. Mr Speaker, he can check right now.
    Mr Speaker, I am very interested in what happens to persons living with disability and with this, I would take you to paragraph 1007 of the Budget Statement --
    rose
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:14 p.m.
    Hon Member, please hold on.
    Hon Minister for Defence?
    Mr Dominic Nitiwul 8:14 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, thank you very much.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:14 p.m.
    Order!
    Mr Nitiwul 8:14 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, this is the Hon Minister for Youth and Sports of the Republic of Ghana and whatever the Hon Minister said is correct. [Uproar]
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:14 p.m.
    Hon Member for Ho West --?
    Mr Nitiwul 8:14 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, it is not an all-seater, but there is a 5,000 capacity stadium in Navrongo. There is a 5,000 capacity stadium for the people of Ho but it is situated in a land that the people of Adaklu say is their land. It is a land for the National Youth Employment and they know that the project is a 5,000 seater project; so why are they saying that the Hon Minister is lying?
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:14 p.m.
    Hon Minister, so what is your objection?
    Mr Nitiwul 8:14 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, for her to say that the delivery tracker would expose him and that he was not speaking the truth, is not correct because it is there. Mr Speaker, she
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:14 p.m.
    Hon Minister, my interest was in reference to googling it, as if google generates any data of its own. It only gathers our data. If I understand the controversy relating to the stadium in Ho, it is about where it is situated. Whether it is in Ho or Adaklu, is the Hon Member suggesting that there is nothing happening anywhere?
    Hon Members, there is no point in arguing about this. When I came to Ho, I asked where Adaklu was, and it was pointed to me that behind the mountain was Adaklu. So, Adaklu and Ho are probably intertwined. It is the Hon Member for Ho West who pointed Adaklu to me.
    Mr Bedzrah 8:14 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, actually, it is the Youth Recreational Centre which is situated at Adaklu. It is not a sports stadium.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:14 p.m.
    Hon Alorwu-Tay, please continue?
    Mrs Alorwu-Tay 8:24 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, there is a difference between a stadium and a youth centre and as a citizen
    from the Volta Region, I know for sure and on record that there is no stadium being constructed in the Volta Region.

    Mr Speaker, the conditions under which the persons living with disability live is a worry. In the current Budget that was presented to us by the Minister, he clearly stated that they were living under a deplorable state. However, my surprise is that, in paragraph 1007, the only information provided on this for them to improve the situation was to bring an amendment to this House for the Persons with Disability Act to be amended. There had not been any clear statement on how it would be done.

    My only worry is that the unemployed persons living with disability are suffering and they deserve to be attended to. I remember in 2016, their Fund was allocated as two per cent of what goes to the Assemblies, and from 2017 to 2020, it was increased to three per cent. I expected to see an increment in their release, but again, I did not see anything there like that. My only appeal to the Hon Minister or the Director of the Ministry is that they should do well to remember to take care of our people who are in that state.

    Mr Speaker, I would just do bits and pieces of four items. I now would want to take you to paragraph 762 of the Budget Statement, which is on electricity. On page 18 of the 2020 State of the Nation Address (SONA), it was stated clearly, and I read:

    “Ghana's national electrification scheme has achieved 85.17 per cent as at October, 2020".

    Mr Speaker, what they failed to tell us is at what point they achieved the 85.17 per cent. Did it start from January, 2017 or January, 2018? But we have a record on that. The Centre for Global Development stated in 2016 that Ghana had achieved 82.5 per cent of electricity coverage. This means that the Nana Akufo-Addo led Administration, between 2017 and 2020 was able to increase access to electricity by only 2.6 per cent. And today, they pride themselves by saying that they have done so well. This is the biggest failure as far as electricity is concerned, not even talking about the bills we pay for the electricity we use. We all know it has gone over 200 per cent.

    Mr Speaker, we have to be careful because as of the time in 2016 that the Centre for Global Development came out with the report, they stated

    clearly that the annual electrification rate could be projected at 4.38 per cent per annum. And they also stated clearly that by 2020, Ghana was going to achieve a universal access to electricity. Where are we today? Nothing. We are still where we are.

    And the worse is; now we all know that we have gone back to dumsor. There are two victims or regions now. The first is my own region, the Volta Region. Mr Speaker, I have here the schedule for dumsor in the Volta Region and the Oti Region. I just wonder why it is not Kumasi and Koforidua? This is because we do not consume so much as those Regions do. On Thursday, 18th March, 2021 which is today, Tanyigbe, Keta, Adidome, Anlo, and other communities would not be having power. Where are they taking us to?

    The good managers of the economy and the owners of the land, where have they brought us to? Please, all I can say is that the Volta Region does not deserve this. They should start it from the heavy consumers of electricity and leave us alone. This is the schedule.

    Mr Speaker, the schedule is here. They even started earlier before coming up with a timetable. Please intervene for us since we do not consume much and do not need to go through this.
    rose
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:24 p.m.
    Hon Member, please hold on?
    Yes, Hon Majority Chief Whip?
    Mr Annoh-Dompreh 8:24 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I have been closely and attentively listening to the Hon Member. There is a saying that he who comes to equity must come with clean hands.
    Yesterday, the Hon Member took another Hon Member on, saying that he was reading. The Hon Member is reading from her notes. She is supposed to make cursory reference. What she should be doing is to make reference and not to be reading copiously.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:24 p.m.
    Thank you, Hon Leader. She was referring to her notes.
    Hon Member, please continue?
    Mrs Alorwu-Tay 8:24 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, this is tit for tat because I did it to somebody yesterday, but I was not reading.
    Mr Speaker, may I take you to page 5 of the SONA of the President? He admitted, and I would like to read. He said:
    “The pandemic has exposed the need to expedite the process of moving Ghana to a situation beyond aid.”
    Have we not heard Ghana without aid severally in the first four years of his Government? We heard it. Is he now telling us that he has to move Ghana beyond aid? Has he forgotten the previous sloganeering that he came up with?
    Mr Speaker, the President also says in the same page that the Government has developed and is currently implementing GH¢100 billion dubbed Ghana CARE (Obaatanpa Programme) to transform, revitalise and modernise our economy. I just have a very simple question here. May I know where he got the approval for on this particular expenditure? This is because, it is right here in the SONA that they have started implementing it. Mo nyaa wo hie to wit where did you get the approval from before implementing it?
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:24 p.m.
    You have one minute more.
    Mrs Alorwu-Tay 8:24 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, you must direct them to come for approval.
    Mr Speaker, my final issue is that the President promised us in 2019 that he was going to beautify Nima beyond New York, but he ended up beautifying only the front of his house. The President must remember that his neighbours are still in the same situation he met them were living in and that his situation has changed.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:34 p.m.
    Hon Gifty Twum-Ampofo?
    Ms Gifty Twum-Ampofo (NPP -- Abuakwa North) 8:34 p.m.
    Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute.
    Mr Speaker, The agenda for the world and that for Africa, Agenda 2030 - SDGs for the world, UN and then Agenda 2063 for AU had given us agenda 17. Heads of States are to ensure that they live by these agenda, which is the sustainable development goals.
    Mr Speaker, we usually get the inflation figures and the GDP figures and when we compare with the world and that of ECOWAS, we say that Ghana is doing well. This is because
    we often hear our friends from the other Side saying that we should compare with our closest neighbour, which is Cote d'Ivoire because Cote d'Ivoire's GDP is 1.8 per cent.
    Mr Speaker, from the African SDG Index dashboard, we realised that in the whole of Africa, Ghana is eighth on the performance of the development goals whereas Cote d'Ivoire is 25th. This is a 2020 record. It shows that in Cote d'Ivoire, their GDP is high because they concentrated maybe on something else and did not concentrate on the SDGs, which is for the whole world to achieve.
    Mr Speaker, talking about the Goal 1, 2, 3, and 4, the goal 4, which is quality education which President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's Government has concentrated so much on has gone a long way to solve issues of zero hunger and no poverty. During COVID-19, Ghana spent so much on health and ensured that individuals with lower income levels were supported by supplying food items, free utilities among others to maintain the economy at a level which did not have a negative GDP but by the grace of God, we have 0.9 per cent.
    Ms Gifty Twum-Ampofo (NPP -- Abuakwa North) 8:34 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, from the Budget Statement, in paragraphs 80, 81, 603 and 618, we realised that the agricultural growth level, which is 4.8 did not come by chance but we have made a lot of investments by supplying improved seeds. This went a long way to reduce hunger and poverty to a large extent. We also introduced mechanised agriculture and irrigation system. All these ensured that in the midst of COVID-19, poverty did not escalate but rather we supported the lower level income earners.
    Mr Speaker, talking about education, in the general education and also in technical/vocational education and training, a lot of investment was made.

    Mr Speaker, at least, we have over 254 water closet facilities together with boreholes in our secondary schools to ensure that --
    Mr Agbodza 8:34 p.m.
    On a point of Order. Mr Speaker, my Hon Colleague just said that all the schools that President Akufo-Addo built do not have KVIP toilets but water closets. This is not a fact that can be -- you and I know there is a reason we have KVIPs. This is because the schools do not have running water.
    Mr Speaker, it is not true.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:34 p.m.
    She said that they built water closet toilets with boreholes. So I thought you were saying that it is not true but you are saying that the reason there are KVIP toilets -- that is not to deny her fact.
    Hon Member, please, proceed?
    Ms Twum-Ampofo 8:34 p.m.
    Thank you, Mr Speaker. As I was saying, all the structures that we built -- classroom blocks and dormitory blocks have water closet toilet facilities with boreholes and overhead tanks together with pumps to ensure that sanitation in our schools is improved.
    Mr Speaker, again, under toilet facilities, our rural communities are now enjoying water closet facilities with boreholes and overhead tanks. Where there is no electricity, there are
    solar-powers to ensure there would be potable water for them. This is also one of the SDGs under clean water and sanitation.
    Mr Speaker, with Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), Government has spent and is still spending over GH¢3 billion to improve a number of technical vocational facilities in the country.
    Mr Chiwitey 8:34 p.m.
    On a point of Order. Mr Speaker, the Hon Member just said that our rural communities are enjoying so many facilities. Which rural communities? How many of them are enjoying water closet toilet facilities? I come from a rural community. Let her mention two or three communities that are enjoying the water closet toilet facilities --
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:34 p.m.
    Hon Member, you are out of Order.
    Hon Member, continue, please?
    Ms Twum-Ampofo 8:34 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am grateful. Mr Speaker, in Ghana, we usually have illegal immigrants that are brought back home because they go there raw. With the improved TVET facilities that we have in the country and we continue to improve, which is the Government's priority, we
    now have systems in place to ensure that the TVET becomes very attractive.
    Mr Speaker, for this year, almost all technical and vocational schools in the country are full at the first instance of placement. This is because of the enhancement and the investment we have made in education.
    Mr Speaker, amidst this COVID- 19 pandemic, we still supported students with PPEs, hot meals -- junior high school pupils were given meals; their registration fees were paid and that of SHS were also paid. This shows that amidst COVID-19, we still managed to satisfy the need of our populace. That is why our President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said that he knows how to bring the economy back but when people die, he cannot bring them back.
    Mr Speaker, still under COVID- 19 and education, we had a new curricular for which we trained all teachers from kindergarten to standard six to ensure that their pedagogy is also improved and also improve their numeracy and literacy of our pupils.
    Mr Speaker, we also did not relent on our effort but we had teacher licensure exams organised and huge recruitment of teachers occurred during the COVID-19 era.
    Ms Twum-Ampofo 8:44 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, one may say that the budget for education would be spending so much on wages and emoluments. Education is such that we need to invest in the human resource and school without teachers cannot be a school.

    It is unfortunate to realise that as much as we are trying to close the gap, we post teachers to other places and Hon Members like us here will say that the teacher cannot go to that place, so he or she should be brought to somewhere else.

    Mr Speaker, teachers have been posted all over the country to ensure that we improve in the performance of education.

    Mr Speaker, in conclusion, education is an investment that takes awhile to realise the dividends. But under COVID 19, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo did not relent with the expenditure on education and on the development of our country.

    Thank you, very much, Mr Speaker.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:44 p.m.
    Yes, Hon James Agalga?
    Mr James Agalga (NDC -- Builsa North) 8:44 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity. I would like to make a few submissions relative to Government's Budget Statement and Economic Policy for 2021.
    Mr Speaker, my elder brother, the Hon Minister for the Interior has poured out his heart in relation to the funding gaps that this country has experienced over a period of time in relation to our security agencies. This problem is not new at all, so I can understand why the Hon Minister for the Interior would lament to that extent when he had his turn to debate.
    Mr Speaker, at the heart of the problem relative to funding for our security agencies has been the lack of coherent national security strategy. Fortunately for us, the Minister for National Security brandished a document in the full glare of all of us when he took his turn as a nominee for vetting before the Appointments Committee of this august House.
    Giving the importance of that document, I thought that Government's Financial Policy would have captured at least the fact of implementation of the National Security Strategy. Unfortunately, conspicuously missing in the Budget
    Statement of Government is the outdooring of the National Security Strategy and its implementation.
    Mr Speaker, I would like to remind the Hon Minister for the Interior and even the Minister for Defence that one of the major interventions of the new National Security Strategy was to make provision for a peace and security fund and to ensure that funding for our security agencies is treated as a matter of priority by Government.
    So, if the Hon Minister will lament about the poor nature of funding for the security agencies of State without making allusion to the National Security Strategy which is conspicuously missing in the 2021 Budget Statement. I would say that Government would need to do something with the speed of light to ensure that that document finds expression in, maybe, the Mid-Year Budget Review to give some impetus, when it comes to funding for our security agencies.
    Mr Speaker, I listened with a lot of attention when the Hon Minister referred to page 191 of the Budget Statement which has to do with the role of the National Commission on
    Small and Light Weapons. At paragraph 1096, the Hon Minister alluded to how Government intends to:
    “…establish an Electronic Small Arms Database for the Management (Illicit Arms Flows and Armed Violence Monitoring Platform/Observatory) for evidence-based reporting to measure the impact of illicit small arms on the country…”
    Mr Speaker, this is a laudable intervention that the Small Arms Commission intends to embark on, but I am extremely disappointed about the silence of this policy statement by Government of the need for us to take steps to implement the Arms Trade Treaty. It is a Treaty that Ghana signed onto in 2013 and duly ratified same in 2015. I played a pivotal role with respect to the ratification of that all- important Treaty. No mention is made of that important Treaty and how it can contribute toward curbing the proliferation of small arms in our country.
    Mr Speaker, at the moment, there are a number of gaps in our laws with respect to the proliferation of small arms. For instance, if we take tasers, bullet proof vests -- the Hon Minister for the Interior informed us of how his outfit imported about 4,000 bullet
    rose
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:44 p.m.
    Hon Member, please hold on and put off your microphone.
    Mr A. P. Dery 8:44 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I think that the Hon Member is making a lot of constructive contribution, but we never inherited a bill on Non- Custodial Sentencing Policy. In fact, we are working to go to Cabinet, and you remember during my vetting I agreed that we are developing it, but I would want him to know that we did not inherit a Bill.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:44 p.m.
    Hon Member, he says there was no bill, so, you should take note of that.
    Mr Agalga 8:44 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, what I said was that the policy document was submitted to the Attorney-General's Department for purposes of affording the Attorney-General's Department the opportunity to promulgate a Bill and present same before the House. With the greatest of respect, that is what I said. [Interruption]
    Mr Speaker, in the Budget Statement, I can see that some mention is made of the construction of the Nsawam Remand Prison Project. Once again, this is a project which was inherited by the Nana Addo's administration. The project itself commenced in 2016, and one would have expected -- for the first time in our history, a sitting President visited the Nsawam Medium Security Prisons, and that was former President Mahama. When Seth Boateng came out with that very important documentary, which was locked and forgotten, and when --
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:44 p.m.
    Hon Member, you have one more minute. You have actually exceeded your time, but because I did not alert you, I am allowing you one more minute.
    Mr Agalga 8:44 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, when President Mahama saw the plight of the poor prisoners, he instructed the Minister for Finance to ring fence an amount GH¢50 million as a seed money for the construction of the Nsawam Remand Prison's Project. Four years down the line, we are still giving indication in the Budget that it is being constructed. We should have been commissioning the Nsawam Remand Prisons by now.
    Mr Speaker, in conclusion, I would like to state that the Hon Minister for Defence has had the occasion to state before this honourable House, and it is captured in the Budget, that they are constructing a forward operating base at Xinginlongop, and it is 10 per cent complete. Giving the importance of that --
    Mr Avedzi 8:44 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, you gave a direction that the Hon Edward Bawa should produce a copy of the report that he referred to in his contribution. He has the report now, so, he would want to lay the report officially. [Hear! Hear!]
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:44 p.m.
    He may kindly lay it. [Pause]
    Yes, Hon Leader?
    Mr Annoh-Dompreh 8:44 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, indeed, the Hon Bawa approached me, and showed me some volume of document. I think that 90 per cent of the document he showed me were printed from Ghana Web, and the catchy word there, and I drew his attention to it, is “alleged”. I would want to put it on record that the document, as shown to me, says that there has been an “alleged” involvement. Therefore, it is essentially saying that the allegation has not been proven. It is inherent in the document, and I would want to place it on record. That is also significantly different from what the Hon Member said on his feet.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 8:44 p.m.
    Hon Members, I am not allowing further argument on this matter. I directed that it should be withdrawn, he withdrew the allegation of ‘conspiracy'. Now, the document has been brought to my attention, so, I would take my time to read it, and if my order has to be reversed, it will.
    Mr Bawa 9:04 p.m.
    I just want to indicate clearly that what I said was that the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors indicated that I did not say it was proven. I said they indicated that the people who were involved in this -- and they mentioned them. I was just sourcing --
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 9:04 p.m.
    Is that right? I said I would not allow any more arguments. I thought you were referring to it. Leave it there. When I read it and I find evidence, I will support it.
    Hon Leader, it is 9.06 p.m. On the list of each of the Sides, I still have eight more contributors.
    Mr Annoh-Dompreh 9:04 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I conferred with my Hon Colleague on the other Side and we have agreed to do one apiece. On our Side, the Hon Minister for Roads and Highways, the Hon Amoako-Atta, will speak for us. That is the agreement.
    Mr Avedzi 9:04 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, that is exactly so. From our Side, Hon Ramadan of Adentan will do ours.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 9:04 p.m.
    Hon Amoako-Atta, you have 15 minutes.
    Minister for Roads and Highways (Mr Akwasi Amoako- Atta) (MP) 9:04 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am most grateful for this opportunity to contribute to the Motion as captured as item numbered 5 on today's Order Paper for the House to consider and approve the Budget Statement and the Economic Policy of the
    Government for the year ending 31st December, 2021 as was presented to this honourable House and by extension, to the country.
    Mr Speaker, while congratulating His Excellency the President for the thought through and the forward looking Budget Statement presented to the House for our consideration, I must also put it on record that my Ministry, the Ministry of Roads and Highways, is extremely grateful for the extensive treatment that it was given in the Budget Statement as was captured in the document from pages 151 to 156.
    Mr Speaker, it is not surprising at all that we were given this extensive treatment. Particularly in this House and among Hon Members of this House, on behalf of the country even though every sector is important, you all agree that the road sector opens up the country, and has come to be accepted as forming the basis around which the economic development of this country revolves.
    Hon MPs admit that even on our own political fortunes, when it comes to our respective primaries our constituencies, are linked to the length of roads that we construct in our various and respective constituencies. That is why almost all the time, I get the support of Hon Members of this
    august House when issues concerning the road sector comes for consideration.
    Mr Speaker, the Government of President Akufo-Addo has tackled the road sector with all seriousness from 2017 up to date. My Ministry, working through its Agencies of Ghana Highways Authority (GHA), Department of Feeder Roads and the Department of Urban Roads, is charged with the oversight responsibility for almost 80,000 kilometres total road network in our country covering all the trunk, city and feeder roads in our rural areas.
    The road sector has featured so prominently in the Budget Statement because if you take all forms of transportation, it represents almost 97 per cent, and it is used to support, as I said, the economic development of the country.
    Four main areas were dealt with in detail in the Budget Statement and they are: road rehabilitation and maintenance programme; road and bridge construction programme; road safety and environment programme; and road financing programme.
    Under all these, we have completed projects and dealt with ongoing ones at various percentage levels of completion, and we also dealt
    with pipeline projects. Mr Speaker, a lot has been done under the routine and periodic maintenance of our roads. That is why inspite of the many road projects that have either been completed nor tackled, we still have a large kilometrage of roads in our country.
    Mr Speaker, I am happy to note that because of the aggressive nature of the Government in dealing with the road sector, almost every region in this country, if not all, a greater number of all the 260 districts, in our country are witnessing road projects taking place simultaneously either the main road construction, interchanges where necessary or surface dressing of our roads.
    Mr Speaker, on routine and periodic maintenance, with your permission, I would refer to paragraphs 830 and 831 on page 151 of the Budget Statement.
    Road Rehabilitation and Maintenance Programme
    “Government sustained its routine and periodic maintenance activities, as well as its minor rehabilitation works to protect the vast investment in road infrastructure. In 2020, routine maintenance activities were carried out on 25,048kms of trunk roads; 11,061kms of feeder roads; and 5,535kms of urban roads.
    Mr First Deputy Speaker 9:04 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, to take the Chair.
    Mr Amoako-Atta 9:04 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the President's determination to improve upon the road -- [Pause]
    MR SPEAKER
    Mr Speaker 9:14 a.m.
    Hon Minister, you may continue?
    Mr Amoako-Atta 9:14 a.m.
    Thank you Mr Speaker.
    In the President's determination to improve on the road network of our country, a number of roads have been tackled and if you take the asphaltic overlay which has taken place around
    the country, no region is left out. This is because Government is ensuring equitable distribution of road network in our country.
    Mr Speaker, in 2020, the Government declared the year as a year of roads. [Hear! Hear!] All of us and the people of this country can testify to the extensive work that has been done in 2020 -- [Hear! Hear!] -- in all sectors of the road network. Extensive surface dressing had gone on across the country, massive asphalt concrete overlay had gone on around the country -- [Hear! Hear!] -- bridges had been built across --
    Mr Speaker 9:14 a.m.
    Hon Members, please you are turning the “Hear! Hear!” into a joke?
    Mr Amoako-Atta 9:14 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, because of these and the success story of 2020 when H. E. the President appeared before this House to present his State of the Nation Address, he again declared 2021 as a year of roads. [Hear! Hear!] A lot of work is being done and we have a lot of work to do in the road sector. This all reflected in the Budget Statement and I am very hopeful that Hon Members of this House would give their full support to all the requests that would come before us. [Hear! Hear!]
    Mr Speaker, statistics shows that if you take the Ashanti Region, 260.5 kilometres of asphaltic overlay is being undertaken in Kumasi; Obuasi, Ejisu, Bekwai, Mampong -- [Hear! Hear!] -- Juaben and so on. In the Bono Region, a little over 25 kilometres in Dormaa Ahenkro, Berekum, Sunyani inner city roads are already asphalted. [Hear! Hear!]
    Central Region; 28 kilometres of asphalt concrete overlay has been completed at Elmina, Cape Coast, Saltpond and so on. Eastern Region; Koforidua, Akuapem Akropong, Akwatia, Kibi, Aburi, Oda, Mamfe and so on have all benefitted from asphaltic concrete overlays. Greater Accra; Adenta Estates, Sakumono Estate, Ablekuma, Ayawaso West, Tema West, Okaikoi North, Okaikoi Central among others.
    I am going through all these because Hon Members are here and can testify. With all these, I believe you would support the 2021 Year of Roads. Upper East, Bolgatanga, Navrongo and now Bawku are all benefitting. Upper West Region; Wa and Lawra are benefitting. In the Western Region; Sekondi-Takoradi, Prestea and Tarkwa; North East; in
    Walewale, internal roads have all been asphalted. In the Volta Region, Ho and Hohoe internal roads have all been asphalted. I can go on and on.
    Mr Speaker, as we go forward, Government has major policies which have all been explained in the Budget Statement.
    rose
    Mr Speaker 9:14 a.m.
    Hon Member, what is the problem?
    Mr Agbodza 9:14 a.m.
    Mr Speaker, under normal circumstances, I would not interrupt my Hon Senior Colleague on his feet. As a matter of fact, from 2017 till date, no asphaltic overlay has been placed in any part of Ho, except the dual carriage project that they inherited. [Interruption] He said Ho inner city. There is none. He is the Minister and can just point to us where the asphaltic overlay took place inside Ho and then we could all be happy about that.
    Mr Speaker 9:14 a.m.
    Hon Member, you do not interrupt debate because you disagree with what the Hon Member has stated. There is no disorder in that. When you get the opportunity to talk, then you correct the errors. You can disagree with him but that does not mean the person is out of order. Let us allow the debate to flow and when
    Mr Amoako-Atta 9:14 a.m.
    Thank you Mr Speaker. If you would permit me, the statement I made is that I was mentioning towns and areas that have benefitted from asphaltic overlay. As the Hon Member indicated, the Ho dualisation project is being asphalted and it runs into Ho. That programme even covers the road that leads to the University of Health and Allied Sciences.
    One lane of almost 13 kilometres has been asphalted and the entire dualisation is going to be asphalted. So, I am saying that areas that have benefitted from asphalt overlays in the Volta Region include Ho and Hohoe. In Hohoe, almost the entire township's inner roads have been asphalted. So, I am speaking about
    facts. In some areas, internal roads have been asphalted, others have had asphalt overlays on trunk roads leading to towns and they are all asphalt concrete overlays.
    Mr Speaker, if we talk about routine maintenance, we are talking about --
    Mr Speaker 9:24 p.m.
    Hon Minister, you have to conclude?
    Mr Amoako-Atta 9:24 p.m.
    Thank you Mr Speaker.
    We have done a lot of pothole patching, grading, desilting and vegetation control as part of our routine maintenance programmes. As part of our periodic maintenance programme as has been clearly stated in the Budget Statement, we have done a lot of resealing, regravelling, asphaltic overlays, spot improvement, partial reconstruction, upgrading and minor re-habitation across the country.
    Mr Speaker 9:24 p.m.
    Hon Deputy Minority Leader?
    Mr Avedzi 9:24 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, we have one contribution from our Side which would be done by the Hon Member for Adentan, Mr Ramadan.
    Mr Mohammed Adamu Ramadan (NDC -- Adentan) 9:24 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Motion.
    Mr Speaker, I want to add to what the Hon Minister for Roads and Highways said that the Adenta Constituency has approximately about 650 road network; however, it is only about 140 or150 that have been tarred, so we hope that in this their second term year of roads, Adenta would be considered.
    Mr Speaker, anyone who takes a good look at the figures in the Budget Statement and appreciates numbers would be very disturbed. With your permission, I want to refer to appendix 3(a) on page 208 of the Budget Statement which talks about interest payment. Interest payments are non-discretionary items and “non- discretionary'' items are items that Government has virtually little or nothing to do about. If an item is a non-discretionary one, what Government has to do is, it is obliged to do them.
    Mr Speaker, appendix 3(a) shows an interest payment for 2021 as GH¢34.86 billion. This is the first time in our history that our interest payment exceeds compensation -- it is a worrying signal. This alone amounts
    to almost 50 per cent of our total revenue and grants. If we add compensation of employees which is approximately about GH¢30.4 billion to the interest payments, that alone amounts to 91.3 per cent of total revenue and grants and if we limit it to just domestic revenue, it is about 93.22 per cent of it.
    This realisation is frightening. What this means is that any other thing that the Government intends to do or undertake, it has to resort to borrowing to do them. This trend is clearly not sustainable. Government's budget for capital expenditure is in the region of GH¢11.43 billion and what it means is that if we are paying less for interest payments, Government could spend more on capital expenditure.
    Mr Speaker, the reduction in capital expenditure relative to the outturns in 2020 is worrying giving the infrastructural gap in this country. The 2021 Budget Statement shows a fiscal deficit and a dilemma as to what Government should do with respect to capital expenditure and honouring its interest obligations.
    Mr Speaker, the rate of debt accumulation as a country and its interest payment obligation remains a very big challenge in this country. In 2016, the current Vice President, Dr
    Mr Speaker, Dr Bawumia said that 9:24 p.m.
    “The real effect of the reckless borrowing undertaken the last seven years is seen in the magnitude of interest payments Ghana has been burdened with which has meant that vital resources which should have gone into vital sectors, infrastructural development, social services are now being pumped into settling debt obligations. To put the interest payment on the debt in context, we should note that the entire allocation in the 2016 budget of the Ministry of Roads and Highways, Trade and Industry, Food and Agriculture, Water Resources, Works and Housing,
    Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Transport, amounted to a total of GH¢2.1 billion then. Interest payment in 2016 however, was about five times what was allocated these six key ministries combined. As interest payments go up, the space for development shrinks and this is all due to financial indiscipline. At the end of 2008, Ghana's total interest debt payment was something in the region of 680''.
    Mr Speaker, this is what Dr Bawumia said in 2016. However, the interest payment then was about GH¢11.5 billion in 2016, GH¢13.6 billion in 2017, GH¢15.8 billion in 2018, GH¢19.8 billion in 2019, GH¢24.6 billion in 2020 and a whopping GH¢35.864 billion in 2021. This is unheard off.
    Mr Speaker, with your permission, I beg to refer to appendix 2 (c) on page 207 of the Budget Statement. Interest payment amounted to 5.7 per cent of GDP in 2019 -- however, for the proving outturn in 2020, the interest payment was 6.4 per cent. In 2019, interest payment on non-oil tax revenue was 48.7 per cent. In 2020, proving outturn, interest payment on non-oil tax revenue was 57.8 per cent.
    Mr Speaker, there is something very interesting in appendix 3 (b) on page 211 and I could appreciate why
    they did not indicate it in the Budget Statement. In page 207, they indicated interest payment percentage of non- oil tax revenue. However, on page 211, they did not indicate the percentage for of non-oil. So, interest payment in 2021 amounted to 8.3 per cent of GDP. If we compute the amount of percentage for non tax revenue, in 2021, it would be in the region of 66.9 per cent.
    Mr Speaker, clearly as a country, we need to take a critical look at this issue of debt and interest payments. It is clearly unsustainable - we must come together as a country and find solutions to some of these problems.
    Mr Speaker, I thank you for this opportunity and God bless you. Hear! Hear!
    Mr Annoh-Dompreh 9:34 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I have confirmed with my Hon Colleague and we have agreed that one Hon Member could at least, contribute from each Side but at this juncture, we are clearly in your hands.
    Mr Avedzi 9:34 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the day has long been spent and Hon Members are tired but we are in your hands and we need a directive from you.
    Mr Speaker 9:34 p.m.
    Well, tomorrow, is reserved for the Hon Leaders and I have been guided to give each Leader, 40 minutes to sum the debate and so, tomorrow, we will have only the Leaders who will summarise all the contributions and end the debate.
    So, once you have agreed that we have come to the end of your day, I do not expect anyone to put pressure on me to give you the opportunity to contribute to the debate. It is only for the Hon(s) Minority and the Deputy Majority Leader and then the Hon Member who moved the Motion may come in by our rules and that is the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and also responsible for the Ministry of Finance. That is, if there are a few issues he wants to clarify.
    I am going to adjourn the House --
    Mr Avedzi 9:34 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, thank you very much. I think that the explanation given by you makes it very clear that tomorrow is reserved for the two Leaders. However, if you consider the time allotted to them, it will be up to one hour, 20 minutes. So, assuming we start at 10 a.m., by 11:30 a.m., we should be done.
    Mr Speaker, however, we have some new Hon Members who are eager to introduce themselves -- [Hear!] [Hear!] -- So, I would want
    Mr Annoh-Dompreh 9:34 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, that is a reasonable suggestion and makes a lot of sense. I do not think this is cast in stone.
    However, I respect your direction and I think that on our Side, we have managed this so well that most of our new Members have participated. Maybe, they should take a cue from us.
    On a typical day, one would realise that out of the 12 speakers, we allocated about eight slots to the new Hon Members. I even yielded my space in that regard. I think that your Ruling should stand which will augur well for the House because most of our new Hon Members have had a bite.
    Mr Avedzi 9:34 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, we have more new Members than they do and so, if they have exhausted theirs, we have more and so, there is nothing to learn from them.
    Mr Annoh-Dompreh 9:34 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I should ordinarily not be doing this with my respected Hon Deputy Majority Leader. I followed their membership and on a typical day, the number of people who spoke were reserved for their old Hon Members and they should have taken cognisance of their new Members. On average, I saw about one or two Hon Members and they did not manage it well which is their own problem and so, the Ruling should stand and this should be respected by the Hon Deputy Minority Leader.
    Mr Speaker 9:34 p.m.
    Well, this morning, in conclave we discussed this issue and the guidance I was given was that tomorrow is reserved for the Leaders. I agree that in such situations, it is important to give more room to the first timers because when we go to the consideration of the Budget Estimates, Reports will be coming from the Committees and it is the same Hon Chairmen, Deputy and Ranking Member and so on who will be moving and seconding the Motion and contributing again -- [Hear!] [Hear!] -- and the new Hon Members will not have the opportunity to, at least, start learning on their feet by gaining the confidence to talk since it is not easy to do that.
    Also, learning the skills of voice modulation. I have been listening to a
    lot of you and what you have been doing is shouting and when you do that our constituents listen and they think we are fighting. It does not convey a good image of the House. I just left a young team who came to display an Information Commu- nication Technology (ICT) application to find out if Parliament could adopt that and the words they used about Parliament was so worrying.
    One of them said that Parliament is now a joke and that is the image outside and that is why sometimes, I seemed to be very strict and I can see Hon Members are very uncomfor- table when I do so and others after that walk out. I see them take their books and documents and just leave the Chamber because I have insisted on the right thing being done.
    Hon Members, I am doing this because I want to save the image and reputation of Parliament. I do not enjoy doing it; you know that I am a very friendly person but at least, we are in the eye of the public and the whole world is looking up to Ghana.
    This is because we are seen as the leaders when it comes to democracy in Africa. We cannot afford to let that go and so, please, let us go by the rules. There is maintenance of order
    and there are rules there. When we refer to the Standing Orders, we will see how it expects us to enforce the Standing Orders but we have always resisted the temptation to apply the rules because of the effect of the application of the rules on your fortunes.
    This is because when your constituents see you being openly disciplined on the Floor, it has serious catastrophic effects on your chances in the next elections and we do not want to vote against you whiles you are on the Floor and that is why we do not apply those rules.
    Hon Members, whiles, I am talking, one can see a caucus there discussing a few issues and they are not listening. It is very important because we are Hon Members of Parliament and it is my duty to encourage you and create more space for you, try to mentor you and make sure that in future, you perform better than me. However, if you come in with some kind of belligerence and complete disorderly manner, it will be very difficult to control and we do not want that to be showcased on the Floor of Parliament. That is not good.
    So, we reserve tomorrow for the Leaders and if you think that the 40 minutes per Leader is too much, let me know because that is what they
    Mr Speaker 9:44 p.m.
    put across at the conclave meeting and we agreed that they should be given sufficient time to do so.

    After that we can put the Question and start reporting on the Budget Estimates; the Motions will come. Please give them some room this time around - now, we do not refer to them as backbenchers because we do not sit on benches. It is in the House of Commons that they sit on benches so they call them backbenchers. This became a term of art but we do not sit on benches here.

    So, the first timers should be given the opportunity to contribute. Once the indication is that you are fatigued and you want us to take an adjournment, I will do so now. The Hon Majority Leader is in but the clear indication is that the House will adjourn. We will adjourn to 2.00 p.m. tomorrow.
    Mr Avedzi 9:44 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, since tomorrow is a Friday, we agreed to commence at 10.00 a.m. so that we can close early and Hon Members who want to travel can then do so.
    Mr Speaker 9:44 p.m.
    Is that the understanding of the House?
    Mr Speaker 9:44 p.m.
    Well, I have a commitment at 10.00 a.m. tomorrow so I would request the Hon First Deputy Speaker to commence the proceedings tomorrow.
    Hon Majority Leader?
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 9:44 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I caught the tail of your suggestions as I was entering the Chamber, but I am advised and I believe same to be true, that there are a few proposed contributors to the Motion. I guess it would not be possible to accommodate everybody and we should appreciate this.
    The Estimates will roll out and the Hon Members who did not have the opportunity to contribute would then have the opportunity to do so when the Estimates for the various sectors are brought to the Floor. Accordingly, those Hon Members would be given pride of place.
    Mr Speaker, having said so, if we have to accommodate the Hon Minority Leader who would encapsulate the submissions of the Minority caucus on the principles of the Budget Statement -- I have always insisted that he must be accorded enough space for his contribution. Mr Speaker, worst case
    scenario, he must be given not less than 40 minutes or perhaps 45 minutes.
    Also, barring any interruptions, the Hon Majority Leader, the protean and acting Hon Majority Leader would also accordingly be given equal opportunity to contribute. Mr Speaker, then the person standing in for the Hon Minister at large would also make some contributions to wind up.
    Looking at the circumstance of not less than two hours, as proposed by the Hon Deputy Minority Leader, I would suggest that accordingly we sit at 10.00 a.m. and if there are any slippages, we can even sit at 11.00 a.m. or latest by 11.30 a.m. or 12.00 noon we can begin in earnest the winding of the debate then latest 2.00 p.m. we would have finished. If the vote would have to be taken, we may put the Question and other things may follow.
    Mr Speaker, I would want to plead with Hon Members that given the limited space, Parliament would Sit on Saturday and the intendment is really to accord space for the various Committees to begin in earnest, the consideration of the sector allocations.
    Mr Speaker, because it is intended that beginning on Tuesday they have to submit the Reports for consideration such that by next week Friday, we would conclude the consideration of the sector allocations so that we would be in a position to pass the Appropriation Bill latest Tuesday, 30th March, 2021 in order for us to be able to proceed to our various destinations on 31st March, 2021 to be with our constituents in the celebration of Good Friday and the Easter generally.
    Mr Speaker, we would speak to this issue tomorrow but this is just to give Hon Members a teaser of what may happen next week and the succeeding week that Parliament would take an adjournment.
    Mr Speaker, so I speak to the issues raised by the Hon Deputy Minority Leader just to prepare us for the events and business of the succeeding week. Mr Speaker, we are in your hands now because we have passed the usual closing hour.
    Thank you for the space granted.
    Mr Speaker 9:44 p.m.
    Hon Members, the Hon Majority Leader just confirmed the information we shared, just that you disagreed with the House adjourning till 2.00 p.m. tomorrow. So, the understanding is that we
    ADJOURNMENT 9:44 p.m.
  • The House was adjourned at 9.52 p.m. till Friday, 19th March, 2021 at 10.00 a.m. in the forenoon.