Debates of 8 Jun 2021

MR SPEAKER
PRAYERS 12:24 p.m.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 12:24 p.m.
Mr Speaker 12:24 p.m.
Hon Members, Correction of Votes and Proceedings of Friday, 4th June, 2021.
Page 1, 2… 8 --
Mr Alexander Roosevelt Hottordze 12:24 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I was here and signed the attendance book last Friday but my name appears at the absent column.
Mr Speaker 12:24 p.m.
Hon Member, you have not mentioned the page number.
Mr Hottordze 12:24 p.m.
Mr Speaker, page 7, item numbered 55.
Mr Speaker 12:24 p.m.
Table Office, please take note.
Mr James Klutse Avedzi 12:24 p.m.
Mr Speaker, sorry to take you back. On page 5, item numbered 10, I have been marked “absent with permission” though I was present.
Mr Speaker 12:24 p.m.
Table Office, kindly take note.
Page 8, 9 … 13 --
Mr Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum 12:24 p.m.
Mr Speaker, sorry to take you back. I was here on Friday but I have been marked absent.
Mr Speaker 12:24 p.m.
Hon Members, you always have to mention the page and your number so that we can easily locate you.
Mr Agyekum 12:24 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it is on page 6, item numbered 15.
Mr Speaker 12:24 p.m.
Table Office, please take note.
Page 14, 15 …
Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa 12:24 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am most grateful. On page 15, item numbered 2 (xviii), I believe that if our Hon Colleague was here, she would have corrected her name which is: “Ms Zuwera Ibrahimah Mohammed” and not as it is captured in the Votes and Proceedings.
I think that the “i” has lost its place and should be before “Ibrahim”.
Mr Speaker, if you would permit me, there is a name that keeps appearing as “Mr Cephas Egbefome” as a Research Officer but it is not clear which department he belongs to, whether it is Parliament or the agencies that appear before the Committee. So, moving forward, could it be clarified and presented in a neater way?
Thank you.
Mr Speaker 12:34 p.m.
Is what you are talking about on page 14?
Mr Ablakwa 12:34 p.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker 12:34 p.m.
All right. That is a good suggestion. Table Office, kindly take note.
Item numbered 2 (xviii) should read, “Zuwera Ibrahimah Mohammed I”. The printer's devil took away the letter “i” to make it “brahimah Mohammed I”.
Hon Members, page 16.
Ms Comfort Doyoe 12:34 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I was in the House on Friday, but my
name is not part of the list of those present. I cannot even find the name.
Mr Speaker 12:34 p.m.
Your name is neither present, absent with permission nor absent? Your name is missing?
Ms Doyoe 12:34 p.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker 12:34 p.m.
Table Office, please, she is still a Member of Parliament for Ada and Second Deputy Minority Whip.

Hon Member, your name is numbered 58 on page 2. It has been discovered.
Ms Doyoe 12:34 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Votes and Proceedings I have does not have that page.
Mr Speaker 12:34 p.m.
You do not have it? Sorry. As I stated, it is the printer's devil.
Ms Doyoe 12:34 p.m.
It is missing a lot of information, so maybe, they did the corrections later.
Mr Speaker 12:34 p.m.
It is the printer's devil. Please, we have taken note of that.
Hon Members, the Votes and Proceedings of the Eighth Sitting of the Second Meeting of the First
Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:34 p.m.
Mr Speaker, there are two things. First, I would like to seek your leave to have the order set out on the Order Paper altered in order for me to be able to do the presentation of the Papers listed under the item numbered 6 before Questions.
Mr Speaker 12:34 p.m.
Hon Members, there is an application from the Hon Majority Leader for us to vary the order of Business. I would grant it and we would vary the order of Business and move to the item numbered 6 on page 4 of the Order Paper.
At the Commencement of Public Business, item numbered 6 (a) (i) and (ii), Presentation of Papers by the Majority Leader.
PAPERS 12:34 p.m.
Mr Speaker 12:34 p.m.
Item numbered 6 (b) by the Minster for Health.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:34 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I seek your indulgence to present this Paper on behalf of the Minister for Health.
Mr Speaker 12:34 p.m.
Granted.
By the Majority Leader (Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu) on behalf of (the Minister for Health) --
Addendum Agreement dated 30th July, 2020, between the Government of the Republic of Ghana (represented by the Ministry of Health) and NMS Infrastructure Limited, for a Restated Contract Price of thirty-eight million, eight hundred and forty-one thousand, three hundred and fifty-two United States dollars (US$38,841,352.00) required
to complete the full scope of Works at the Fomena, Takoradi and Kumawu sites under the Suppliers Contract Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and NMS Infrastructure Limited (United Kingdom) for the design, construction and equipping of seven (7) District Hospitals and the provision of an integrated IT System by NMS Infrastructure Limited.
Referred to the Committee on Health.
Mr Speaker 12:44 p.m.
Item numbered 6 (c), by the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources.
By the Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs (Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu) on behalf of (the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources) --
Annual Report of the Forestry Commission for the Year 2019
Referred to the Committee on Lands and Forestry.
Mr Speaker 12:44 p.m.
Item numbered 6(d), by the Minister for Trade and Industry.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, again, I seek your indulgence to present the Paper on behalf of the Minister responsible for Trade and Industry.
Mr Speaker 12:44 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader, definitely, I would grant the permission, but it is important that you inform the Minister for Trade and Industry that his absence from parliamentary Business is too loud and so he should try to show up from time to time in this House. This is the observation from the Chair.
I would permit you to do so.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the loudness of the communication would be ferried to the Hon Minister.
By the Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs (Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu) on behalf of (the Minister for Trade and Industry) --
Budget Performance Report in Respect of the Ministry of Trade and Industry for the Period January to December, 2020.
Referred to the Committee on Trade and Industry.

deal with item numbered 6(e), by the Chairman of the Committee.

By the Chairman of the Committee --

Report of the Joint Committee on Local Government, Decentralisation & Rural Development, Works & Housing, and Environment, Science & Technology on an Inspection Visit to monitor the Construction of Regional Integrated Composting and Recycling Plants in the Country and Related Matters.
Mr Speaker 12:44 p.m.
I believe we can now go back to Question time. So Hon Members, item numbered 4 at page 2 of the Order Paper.
rose
Mr Speaker 12:44 p.m.
Yes, Hon Majority Leader?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, for Question time as captured on pages 2 and 3 of the Order Paper, I noticed that an Hon Member, Mr Eric Afful, has asked five Questions. This is indeed unprecedented.
Our Standing Orders provide in Order 65(2) that:
“(2)Not more than three Questions for oral answers shall be asked by a Member at any one Sitting.”
Mr Speaker, I believe you have given indication that you would want to grant special dispensation to the Hon Member, which is why the Business Committee programmed the five Questions. It is not the normal business of the Business Committee to programme five Questions. This is just so that nobody takes advantage to say that he has 10 outstanding Questions and so all the ten be listed. This is a special dispensation given by the Speaker, which is why they are so allowed and programmed.
Mr Speaker, I just wanted to bring that to the attention of the Hon Members because after a substantive Question has been asked, Hon Members would rise to say that they have not had the opportunity to ask three Questions. They are not entitled to even three Questions, after an Hon Member asks the main Question. It is Mr Speaker who grants the permission. What is provided here in the Standing Orders is in respect of substantive Questions. An Hon Member cannot ask more than three substantive Questions.
As for the supplementary Questions, allowing them rests in the bosom of the Speaker. He might decide to give an Hon Member the opportunity to ask one Question or perhaps ask nothing at all.
Mr Speaker, I thank you.
Mr Speaker 12:44 p.m.
Hon Members, the Hon Majority Leader is totally right. Usually, by our Standing Orders, a Member is not allowed to ask more than three substantive Questions at any one Sitting. I think that the Table Office might have had an oversight in this matter.
But we have the Hon Minister for Roads and Highways in, and so we would grant a special dispensation for him to answer the five Questions today. We would start with the Questions at page 2. The first Question is Question numbered 4 standing in the name of Mr Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, the MP for Ho West.
Hon Member, you may ask your Question now.
Mr Kwame Governs Agbodza 12:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my senior colleague, Hon Bedzrah is on an official duty outside the jurisdiction, and I have the authority to ask the Question on his behalf.
rose
Mr Speaker 12:44 p.m.
Hon Dafeamekpor, what is the problem?
Mr Dafeamekpor 12:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, may I crave your indulgence and seek guidance in this matter? On Friday, the Hon Chairman of the Business Committee who is the Leader of the House by the rules of the House performs a statutory function and submits Business Statements for this week. In the Business Statement presented, it is captured that on Tuesday, these number of Questions would be taken. His deputy, the Hon Deputy Majority Leader presented the Business Statement and we debated and approved it.
So if the Hon Majority Leader is saying that the five Questions as listed on the Order Paper offends Order 65 of the Standing Orders, I am at a loss. So could I be guided in this matter?
Mr Speaker 12:44 p.m.
Hon Member, you do not need any guidance. I said it was an oversight because the approval was done by the House. And so even if it was proposed by the Business Committee led by its Chairperson, the House should have been in the position to correct that oversight, which the House itself did not do. So

the decision of the House is what I refer to as an oversight because the House did not address its mind to Standing Order 65.

And so let us just move on and answer the Question. Hon Kwame Agbodza, you have my permission to ask the Question.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I do not intend to wake the sleeping dog, but he informed us that he is lost, and there is not going to be any effort to discover him. He should be there.
ORAL ANSWERS TO 12:44 p.m.
QUESTIONS 12:44 p.m.
MINISTRY OF ROADS AND 12:44 p.m.
HIGHWAYS 12:44 p.m.
Mr Kwame Governs Agbodza on behalf of (Mr Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah) -- NDC-Ho West) 12:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to ask the Minister for Roads and Highways why the contractor working on the Sokode -- Abutia -- Juapong trunk road has left the site.
Minister for Roads and Highways (Mr Kwasi Amoako- Attah) 12:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker,
Background
The Sokode -- Abutia -- Juapong Road is part of Regional Route R95. The road length is 37kms. The Road is in the Ho West District of the Volta Region.
The road is gravel surfaced and in poor condition.
Current programme
Rehabilitation of Sokode -- Abutia -- Juapong Road was awarded in 2016. The Contractor abandoned the site in 2017 because of delay in payment for work done. However, in 2017, all outstanding payments for works done was made to the Contractor.
The Contractor has refused to continue with the work. The project has therefore been terminated for repackaging and re-awarding.
Future programme
The repackaged work will be procured and awarded in 2021.
Mr Speaker 12:44 p.m.
Hon Member, any supplementary question?
Mr Agbodza 12:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, just for the records, the Hon Minister said that the Road is in Ho West District, but actually, it goes from North Tongu through Ho West to Ho because Sokode is in Ho. So, it goes through three different districts.
Mr Speaker, I would want to know from the Hon Minister, how soon the repackaging would take place, in order for us to see a new contractor back on site?
Mr Amoako-Attah 12:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in the first place, I would like to thank my Hon Colleague sincerely for drawing my attention to the location of the Road. We have taken notice for our records in the future.
Mr Speaker, this is a very important Road in that region because of where it passes. The process is on- going, the repackaging is on course, and it would be a continuous exercise. Normally, the award takes something around four weeks. So, let us give ourselves the next one month, and this exercise would be completed. I would therefore assure my Hon Colleague that the process has commenced, and it would not stop until the Road is re- awarded.
Mr Speaker 12:44 p.m.
Hon Member, any more supplementary questions?
Mr Agbodza 12:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am satisfied, but because the Road goes through the Constituency of the Hon Okudzeto, I would cede the next question to him, if you would permit me?
Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa 12:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am most grateful.
Mr Speaker, as has been indicated, one-third of the Road goes through my constituency -- Juapong, therefore, I would want to find out from the Hon hard working Minister for Roads and Highways, what the reason is, for the contractor abandoning site? Does he know why the contractor refused to continue work?
Mr Amoako-Attah 12:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, once again, I would want to thank my Hon Colleague for his kind words.
Mr Speaker, it is contained in the Answer that the contractor was paid the full amount of the certificate that he raised. The name of the contractor is Rotten Properties Limited. He raised an Interim Payment Certificate (IPC) for an amount of GH¢10.32 million, and I can confirm that the entire amount was paid to him. So,
Mr Speaker 12:44 p.m.
Hon Okudzeto, you are not entitled to another supplementary question. The Hon Member who asked the question is still left with one supplementary question, so, he could pass it on to you. However, I would want the Committee on Government Assurances to take note of what the Hon Minister has stated.
Within one month, we would want to see work along the Road because Sokode is my second home. Within one month, I would ask the Committee on Government Assurances to come and report to the House, whether the Road work has started or not.
Mr Benjamin K. Kpodo 12:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, Sokode is in my constituency, so, I would want to know which one would host the Hon Minister?
Mr Speaker 12:44 p.m.
You would have to do your research well. Maybe, you were born yesterday, so, you do not know. The time I used to be at Sokode, you were at the University of Education Winneba, so, you do not know.
Mr Kpodo 12:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I ask because the road from Sokode- Gbogame to Ho central has also been abandoned, and the Hon Minister is not --
Mr Speaker 12:44 p.m.
If you would want to ask a Question, you may do so, but not today. Please, do not take advantage of this Question. We would now move on to the Question numbered 23, which stands in the name of Mr Abednego Azumah Bandim, who is the Hon Member of Parliament for Bunkpurugu.
Mr Abednego Azumah Bandim (NDC -- Bunkpurugu) 12:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to ask the Minister for Roads and Highways when the Bunkpurugu township roads project would be completed.
Mr Amoako-Attah 12:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I have taken note of your directive for the Government Assurances Committee to ensure my one month promise. With the highest of respect and with leave from you, if you would permit me, I would want to add that my statement was based on ceteris paribus. With all other things being equal, it would be done within four months. [Laughter] I thank you for giving me that opportunity.
Background
Mr Speaker, Bunkpurugu is the capital of the Bunkpurugu/ Nakpanduri District of the North East Region. The total length of the road network within Bunkpurugu township is 15.60kms with gravel/earth surface.
Current programme
A total of 12.6kms of the township roads were programmed for upgrading to bitumen surfacing under the Department of Feeder Roads' periodic maintenance programme in
2019.
The contract for the upgrading of the 12.6kms township roads was awarded in three phases as follows:-
Phase One (1): Bitumen surfacing of Bunkpurugu town roads, Ph.1 (6.1kms).
The contract for the bituminous surfacing of Bunkpurugu town roads Ph.1 (6.10kms) commenced on 7th August, 2019 and was expected to be completed by 6th March, 2021 which has since elapsed.
Works completed to-date include:
3.3kms of blading, subbase & base course;
8,736m3 of excavation & fillings;
7no. 900mms diameter pipe culverts; and
4,841m of 600mms concrete U- drains.
Progress of work is projected at 57 per cent physical completion. Work at site has come to a standstill. Warning letter was issued to the Contractor on 5th April, 2021. The site is being monitored for the contractor to reactivate; failure to which an appropriate contractual action will be taken.
Phase Two (2): Bitumen surfacing of Bunkpurugu town roads Ph.2 (3.50kms)
Mr Speaker 1:04 p.m.
Yes, Hon Member, any supplementary question?
Mr Bandim 1:04 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in 2018, when H. E. the President visited Bunkpurugu; he indicated that the contract was awarded on November 30, 2018, and it was to be completed within 18 months. When did the Hon
Minister realised that work had stopped and the contractor has left the place?
Mr Amoako-Attah 1:04 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am not privy to what my Hon Colleague attributed to H. E. the President, but I would not doubt it. The facts are what have been given that the project was awarded in 2019 and work commenced in the same period.
Mr Speaker, all works through out the country -- any road construction -ongoing in Ghana is being monitored, because there are site engineers and consultants on every single road project. There is no road project anywhere: whether in Accra or in our villages. Once road construction is ongoing, there is a supervisory engineer and a consultant, so monitoring is ongoing and we get the feedback.
That is why when it stops, we are in a position at all times to follow the contractual obligation of the Ministry by informing and writing warning letters to the contractor. But it takes time because it is contractual, we cannot just terminate it. So, it came to our attention at the right time and that is why I have indicated that we have taken steps to warn the contractor.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member can see from the Answer that for some of the jobs, the contractor has done even more than 50 per cent of the work, but in phase II, which is on the bitumen surfacing of the Bunkpurugu Town Roads, the percentage of completion is 55 per cent.
If we consider the scope of works and the works done, it is quite substantial. So, we were monitoring it closely and it came to our attention within the last six months, and that is why we have gone through the contractual processes of writing the letters so that if he does not reactivate his side, we would be left with no alternative than to terminate the contract.
These are important roads, and we would not allow our people to suffer. I can assure the Hon Member that if the contractor does not reactivate, I would not hesitate at all; the contract will be terminated, repackaged and given to a more competent contractor to execute.
Mr Bandim 1:14 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister still insists that the contract was awarded in 2019.
Mr Speaker, the President is quoted by Citi Fm and Lom Fm, a local FM in Bunkpurugu, as indicating that the contract was awarded on 30th
Mr Amoako-Atta 1:14 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in my very humble respectful view, we should look at the bigger picture of this project, and I would urge my Hon Colleague that we concentrate on the subject matter and its importance. On the date of commencement, whether end of 2018 or 2019, let us look at the substance of the matter and deal with the roads.
Mr Speaker, the action to be taken is contained in my Answer. I have indicated clearly and unambiguously that if the contractor fails to pay heed to our warning to go back to site, we would be left with no alternative than to terminate the contract, repackage and re-award it. I have said categorically that I will not hesitate one bit in taking that decision, my Answer is clear.
Mr Bandim 1:14 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it is true that what is important is getting the
work done, and what the President or the Hon Minister said is right. However, we are a serious nation, and we must be serious with timelines. When we give timelines, we should work seriously to meet them.
Mr Speaker, may I know from the Hon Minister the new timelines for the completion of this Project as it was meant to have been completed within 18 months. Even if the contract was awarded in 2019, we are in June, 2021. Hon Minister, what are the new timelines for the various phases?
Mr Speaker 1:14 p.m.
Hon Member, from the question and answer given, I will not admit this supplementary question because the existing one has not been terminated or repackaged to be re- awarded for you to have timelines. Therefore, if you want the Hon Minister to anticipate, definitely, our rules disagree with anticipation, and would not permit such to be done on the Floor. If you have any other supplementary question, please, you may ask. If not, we would move to the next Question.
Mr Bandim 1:14 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the timelines I talked about is when the contractor will respond to the Ministry and it would be repackaged. I would want the Hon Minister to tell us if he has written to --? [Interruption.]
Mr Speaker 1:14 p.m.
That is also anticipation because the Hon Minister is not the contractor so, he cannot anticipate when the contractor will respond to the query.
The next Question please. Question numbered 25 stands in the name of Ms Rita Naa Odoley Sowah, the Hon Member of Parliament for Dadekotopon.
Hon Member, you may ask your Question?
Completion of Kpeshie Lagoon -- Beach Road Bridge
Ms Rita Naa Odoley Sowah (NDC -- Dadekotopon) 1:14 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to ask the Minister for Roads and Highways what plans the Ministry has to complete the reconstruction works on the Kpeshie Lagoon -- Beach Road bridge since its current state poses danger to commuters.
Mr Amoako-Attah 1:14 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Bridge is located at the southernmost part of the Kpeshie Lagoon in the La-Dadekotopon Municipality of the Greater Accra Region.
The maintenance of the Kpeshie Lagoon-Beach Road Bridge was a variation to an ongoing project titled “Repair to damaged Bridge in the Greater Accra Metropolis Area - Kpeshie South Bridge”. The project was awarded on 13th September, 2012 for completion on 30 th September, 2015 which has since elapsed.
The Project commenced on 1st February, 2013. However, the contractor raised the last Certificate for payment on 31st March, 2015 and has since abandoned the site.
Current programme
The previous contract has been determined and the outstanding works have been repackaged for execution as part of an ongoing contract titled “La Beach Road Completion Project, Phase 1. (Tema Road: Independence Arch to Nungua Barrier -- 16kms)”.
The current state of the bridge is not posing any danger to traffic as a by-pass bridge has been constructed and in use. The contractor is on site and will be directed to prioritise the construction of the bridge.
Mr Speaker 1:14 p.m.
Hon Member, any supplementary question?
Mr Amoako-Attah 1:24 p.m.
Mr Speaker, that is a very important follow-up question, and I thank my Hon Colleague for it.
Mr Speaker, she made a point, and if you would allow me to digress a bit to use this opportunity to highlight what my Hon Colleague said.
It is true, and it is not only limited to that bridge. My Ministry is experiencing this throughout the country. Indisciplined people and criminals go round dismembering some parts of bridges particularly the bolts and nuts. I wish to call on the security agencies and indeed all of us to be vigilant to try and see if we could deal with this problem.

Mr Speaker, last year at Garu- Tempane, a long span strong bridge collapsed when an articulated truck drove on it. That Garu-Tempane Bridge in the Northern Region is one of the strongest bridges in our country. And the entire bridge collapsed not because the bridge was weak but because during the previous night, some people had gone to remove some bolts and nuts.

Mr Speaker, again, last year, on the Adomi Bridge, such a major, important bridge, same thing happened but we were lucky that it was detected on time and it caused heavy traffic because we had to stop traffic from going on the bridge. And we had to send our Mobile Bridge Maintenance Team to rush there to re-fix the bolts and nuts. It took us more than five hours and all of us could imagine the inconveniences it brought to our motoring public.

Mr Speaker, with your kind permission, perhaps, at the appropriate time, steps must be taken for Parliament to debate this subject matter of indiscipline on our roads.

I would like to assure my Hon Colleague that the contractor is very active on the road in her Constituency and she is aware that two contractors are working on the entire 16-kilometer road; what we call the Beach Road, from the Independence Square to Tema to join the Tema road at the new Harbour extension. The entire stretch is being dualised with an interchange at Nungua Barrier. So, the contractors are there and work is going on actively to which the Hon Member can bear testimony to.

Mr Speaker, as I stated in my Answer, I would like to assure my Hon Colleague that the contractor is being authorised and advised to prioritise the fixing of that particular road because of the important stretch in which that bridge finds itself. So, I can assure the Hon Member that the fixing of roads and fixing of bridges started in 2017 and are ongoing.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.
Mrs Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe- Ghansah 1:24 p.m.
Mr Speaker, just to add to what my Hon Sister said: that
bridge is very important to the people of La, Teshie, Osu, Lashibi and all the way to Tema. If we look at the size of the bridge for now, it is not helping at all. Does the Minister have any plan to expand it so that it would be more comfortable for the motorists in order to avoid road accidents?
Mr Amoako-Attah 1:24 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would like to assure my Hon Colleague that we are aware of that and as I indicated, the road is being dualised and so naturally, it goes with the extension of that bridge.
So, in the scheme of things, and if she is privy to the scope of work and from the design, it has been expanded almost twice the size to stretch across the entire dualised road. So, by the time they finish and fix that bridge, it would run through the entire breadth of the road. So it is being taken care of.
Mr Speaker 1:24 p.m.
Hon Members, the next Question still stands in the name of the same Hon Member, Ms Rita Naa Odoley Sowah; Hon Member for Dadekotopon. Question numbered 26?
Ms Sowah 1:24 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I asked the Minister for Roads and Highways when the road network in the Flagstaff House Residential barracks (opposite Jubilee House) in the Dadekotopon Constituency, would be asphalted.
Mr Amoako-Attah 1:24 p.m.
Mr Speaker, as regards background, the road network in question is not part of the Department of Urban Roads‘ road network. It is a local/access road network within the Police barracks opposite the Jubilee House.
Current programme
There is no current maintenance intervention, that is, upgrading or rehabilitation programme for the aforementioned network.
Future programme
The Department of Urban Roads will undertake Engineering studies in
the third quarter of 2021 to determine the appropriate intervention and thereafter consider the implementation when funds are available.
Mr Speaker 1:24 p.m.
Hon Member, any supplementary question? It seems the road is not under consideration but you may have a supplementary question.
Ms Sowah 1:24 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would like to ask the Hon Minister to tell me the department that is responsible for the local access road network so that in future, I would direct my Question appropriately?
Mr Speaker 1:34 p.m.
Hon Member, as for directing your Question appropriately, that is the appropriate Ministry. He is still the Minister whether it is the feeder roads, urban or - you can now call them city or whatever roads, it is the same Minister. So, your Question was properly directed. It is just that the anticipation is that it is next year - third quarter, 2021 with a proviso that “when funds are available”.
I think we have to urge the Hon Minister to try and make the funds available because that place is a prime area -- just opposite the Jubilee House, the Seat of Government. And that historically, is a residential area that should be given some priority.
Hon Members, we now move to Question numbered 28 which stands in the name of Hon Daniel Nsala Wakpal, the Hon Member of Parliament for Kpandai.

Reconstruction and Tarring of roads in the Kpandai

Municipality
Mr Daniel Nsala Wakpal (NDC -- Kpandai) 1:34 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to ask the Hon Minister for Roads and Highways when the following roads, within the Kpandai Municipality, will be reconstructed and tarred to open up the area to the rest of the country: (i) Katiejeli -- Kitare (ii) Kabonwule -- Bladjai (iii) Gulpe through Loloto, Dogonjira, Nalongni, Sabonjila to Gulubi (iv) Banda
through Wiae, Nangero, Chekori, Bakamba to Kumdi (v) Kpandai -- Dodung (vi) Gulpe -- Lonto -- Kpajal (vii) Katiejeli through Tikarini, Kpandai to Tengeten.
Mr Speaker 1:34 p.m.
Hon Minister, as many as seven roads have been put in one question.
Mr Amoako-Attah 1:34 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would begin with the Katiejele- Kitare road.
Background
The Katiejeli- Kitare feeder road is 30.0 kms long and is located in the Kpandai District of the Northern Region. It is a gravelled surface road with most sections in poor condition.
Current programme
Currently, there is no ongoing programme on the road. Routine maintenance has been scheduled on the road to keep it motorable.
Future programme
Engineering design studies and estimates have been prepared for the
Mr Amoako-Attah 1:44 p.m.
Future programme
Engineering design studies and estimates have been prepared for the upgrading of the road. However, procurement of the works will be considered under the 2022 budget of the DFR, subject to the availability of funds.
(vi) Gulpe -- Lonto -- Kpajal Background
The above road is captured under the Department of Feeder Roads database as the Kulupi-Lonto-Kpajal which is 25.0 kms long and located in the Kpandai District of the Northern Region. It is a gravel surfaced road in poor condition.
Current programme
The road is currently not under any major programme. Routine main- tenance will be scheduled on the road to keep it motorable for the 2021 year.
Future programme
Engineering design studies will be conducted on the above road within the third quarter of 2021 to determine the appropriate intervention.
Subsequently, the works will be considered in the year 2023 for procurement when funds are available.
(vii) Katiejeli through Tikarini, Kpandai to Tengeten
Background
The above road comprises two feeder road links: (a) Katiejeli -- Tikarini -- Tinglento (13.60 kms) and (b) Tikarini -- Kpandai (9.1 kms).
They are both located in the Kpandai District of the Northern Region. They are earth and gravel surfaced roads in fair conditions.
Current programme
These roads are currently not under any major programme. Routine
maintenance will be scheduled on the roads to keep them motorable.

Future programme

Engineering design studies would be conducted on the above road within the fourth quarter of 2021 to determine the appropriate interventions.

Subsequently, the works will be considered in year 2023 for procurement when funds are available.
Mr Wakpal 1:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Gulpe-Lonto-Kpajal road is in a bad state and we all know that this year is a Year of Roads, but according to the Answer given by the Hon Minister, this road will be considered in 2023. Mr Speaker, so I want to know why this road is not being considered in 2022 but rather in 2023?
Mr Amoako-Attah 1:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, a number of interventions were done
Mr Speaker 1:44 p.m.
Hon Members, we would move to the next Question --
rose
Mr Speaker 1:44 p.m.
Hon Member, do you have a supplementary question on the advertised Question and not on his side comments?
Dr Apaak 1:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I take the side comments rather seriously because it has implications for all of us and since this is a House of record, I felt compelled to seek for further and better particulars.
Mr Speaker 1:44 p.m.
Well, you are asking for further and better particulars then you have to file a substantive Question. For now, you can only ask a supplementary question on the substantive Question that has been advertised. I would readily be waiting to admit your substantive Question to ask the Hon Minister to bring the further and better particulars of the roads that were done in the Year of Roads.
We are now in the second Year of Roads and as an Hon Member of Parliament, you are entitled to ask a Question but not through a supplementary question. So, you can file a substantive Question.
Dr Apaak 1:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, very well. I appreciate your direction.
Mr Speaker 1:44 p.m.
Thank you.
We would move to the next Question --
rose
Mr Speaker 1:44 p.m.
Hon Member, too much discretion was given to you to ask one simple Question on seven major roads. This was a special dispensation that was given to you; it is usually not allowed. However, I will permit you to ask your last supplementary question.
Mr Wakpal 1:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you.
Mr Speaker, the only tarred road in the constituency is the main highway from Kete Krachi through Wulensi to Nakpayili and I give credit to former President John Dramani Mahama for that.
Mr Speaker, permit me to quote a popular chapter from the Holy Book
-- 1:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker 1:44 p.m.
Hon Member, you are to ask a supplementary question.
Mr Wakpal 1:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am building a premise for the question.
Mr Speaker 1:44 p.m.
Hon Member, the foundation to your question is too long.
Mr Wakpal 1:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I just want to lay the foundation to the question. Mr Speaker, Proverbs Chapter 29 vs 2 reads: “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice but when the wicked man rules, the people mourn”.
Some Hon Members 1:44 p.m.
Oh! Oh! Oh!
Mr Wakpal 1:44 p.m.
The chiefs and good people of Kpandai have chosen to rejoice and since Hon Amoako-Attah is the Hon Minister, can he promise us that by the end of 2022 and 2023 at least 50 per cent of the roads in Kpandai would be constructed?
Mr Speaker 1:44 p.m.
Hon Member, your supplementary question is completely disallowed. It is out of order.
We would move to the next Question numbered as item 29 which also stands in the name of the Hon Member for Kpandai. Hon Member, how did you get these Questions through ? Hon Member, you may ask the Question.
Construction of feeder roads in some communities in Kpandai
Constituency
Mr Daniel Nsala Wakpal (NDC -- Kpandai) 1:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to ask the Minister for Roads and Highways whether there are plans to construct feeder roads to link the following communities within the Kpandai Municipality where roads are nonexistent: (i) Sungai through Bekondo, Adekope to Alhassan Kura (ii) Banda -- Binandin (iii) Banda --
Wajukura -- Nassandi (iv) Bladjai through Kachakpe, Eyadema Kura to Agomagyi (v) Balai through Takrodi, Takinado, Kojoboni to Kumdi.
Mr Amoako-Attah 1:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the mentioned list of roads are predominantly un-engineered roads or farm tracks located in the Kpandai District of the Northern Region.
Current programme
There are no current Programmes for these roads.
Future programme
The future programme is that feasibility and detailed engineering studies would be carried out on all the roads during the first quarter of 2022 to determine the appropriate intervention required. Thereafter, procurement of the works will be considered under the 2023 budget of the DFR, subject to the availability of funds.
Mr Speaker 1:54 p.m.
Hon Member, any supplementary question?
Mr Wakpal 1:54 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Budget has been approved for the ‘Year of Roads' and how is this been shared such that my constituency is not getting her share?
Mr Speaker 1:54 p.m.
Hon Member, the Budget was presented in the House and the roads that were to be constructed were detailed out in the Budget and these roads were not covered. I like the spirited efforts being made to draw the attention of the Ministry to the lack of road network in your constituency because these ones are actually not roads but farm tracks or footpaths. From the Question, the Hon Minister said they are now calling on the Department of Feeder Roads to construct those roads and the Answer says; they are engineered roads or farm tracks.
So, you put across the concern of your constituency that there is a need for such feeder roads to be constructed and Ministries should seriously take it up. I support your effort.
Hon Minister, kindly take note of it and make sure that at least, next year, some of them feature in your Budget. Let us move to the next Question which stands in the name of
-- 1:54 p.m.
Mr Wakpal 1:54 p.m.
Mr Speaker, can the routine maintenance scheduled by the Ministry be made available for follow- up and monitoring?
Mr Speaker 1:54 p.m.
Hon Member, where is this question coming from? From the Answer? There is nothing in the Answer talking about routine maintenance of non-existent roads.
Yes, Hon 1st Majority Deputy Whip?
Mr Habib Iddrisu 1:54 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I think the Hon Minister has adequately answered the question. He even indicated that there is no existing road and so, I do not know why we are asking further questions? There is no road and so, where is the Hon Member asking the supplementary questions from?
Mr Speaker 1:54 p.m.
Hon Member, the Minister is available and he is capable of answering any question. It is the way he phrased the question for which I said does not arise from the Answer given by the Minister. It cannot be a supplementary question.
So, we will move to the next Question numbered 31, in the name of Mr Eric Afful, the Hon Member of Parliament for Amenfi West.
Completion of Samreboi- Mumuni-Prestea Road Project
Mr Eric Afful (NPP -- Amenfi West) 1:54 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to ask the Minister for Roads and Highways when the Samreboi Junction -- Samreboi -- Mumuni -- Prestea Road Project, awarded and commenced in 2016, would be completed.
Mr Amoako-Attah 1:54 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Aboi Nkwanta (Samreboi Junction) to Mumuni route, R123 and Prestea to Samreboi roads route, R121 lies within the Northern part of the Western Region. They are located in the Amenfi West and Prestea-Huni Valley Districts of the Western North Region respectively. These roads are gravel-surfaced and in poor conditions.
Currently, there are three ongoing projects. Two of the projects are being funded by COCOBOD namely (a) Construction of Aboi Junction -- Amoaku Junction -- Mumuni road measuring 45kms. (b) The Rehabili- tation of the Prestea -- Samreboi road measuring 40kms and (c) Upgrading of Prestea -- Samreboi road measuring 4kms that is from 40 - 44km funded by the Ghana Road Fund.
Mr Speaker 1:54 p.m.
Hon Minister, just a minute. The Hon Second Deputy
Speaker to take the Chair. Yes, you may continue.
Mr Amoako-Attah 1:54 p.m.
(a) The Aboi Junction -- Amoaku Junction -- Mumuni Road was awarded for construction as part of the COCOBOD Funded projects. This project commenced on 4th August, 2016 and was scheduled for completion on 3 rd August, 2019. The progress of work is projected at 69 per cent physical completion. The project was suspended by the Employer from July, 2017 to July, 2019 for review and rationalisation. The contractor has requested for additional time to complete the project by the end of the year 2021.
(b) Rehabilitation of Prestea -- Samreboi Road (40kms). This road project was awarded for rehabilitation as part of the COCOBOD Funded Projects. It commenced on 11th May, 2016 and was scheduled for completion on 11th May, 2019. The progress of work is projected as 59.9 per cent physical completion. The project was suspended by the Employer from July, 2017
Mr Speaker 1:54 p.m.
Yes, Hon Member, any supplementary questions?
Mr Afful 1:54 p.m.
Mr Speaker, yes, I have supplementary questions. The Hon Minister has given a juicy Answer to the Question. I would like to bring to his notice that the said contractor is not on site and he has earmarked this project to be completed within the next six months.
Mr Speaker, I would like to know the arrangements made by the Ministry for this to be done with the timeline. Thank you.
Mr Amoako-Attah 2:04 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my Hon Colleague is right and I have indicated clearly that the Contractor was not on site because the Employer suspended work. There is no doubt about that. The Contractor is being brought back to work. Arrangements are being made by COCOBOD and you can view from the Answer, that in all these projects, they have been divided into lots, substantial work has been done between almost 70 per cent and 60 per cent.
If you take the Aboi Junction -- Amoaku Junction -- Mumuni Road, almost 70 per cent completion has been achieved; for the Prestea -- Samreboi Road, almost 60 per cent completion has been achieved. So, it depends on the payment that has been made to the Contractor.
Should the Contractor return to site because of the substantial work that was done and since the Contractor has the capacity, I can tell you that substantial work can be done within the next six months. It is our duty to ensure that the Contractor goes back to work to complete the project within that timeframe. We would do proper supervision and I hope that COCOBOD would release the right amount to the Contactor.
As for this Contractor and for that matter, any other Contractor, once there is availability of funds, he would work. A contractor can employ what we call “gangs”. So, even if it is a 30- kilometre or 40-kilometre road and money is available, a contractor can even engage 10 gangs to work on the road. It depends on the availability of funds, so let us see what happens. I also call on you to let us work together and monitor it to ensure that the work is done.
MR SECOND DEPUTY SPEAKER
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:01 p.m.
Hon Members, the time is past 2 p. m., so I respectfully direct that we Sit beyond the regular Sitting hours.
Mr Agbodza 2:01 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I crave your indulgence to ask the Hon Minister, in the Answer provided to my Hon Colleague, there is a particular portion that reads:
“The project was suspended by the Employer from July, 2017 to July, 2019 for review and rationalisation.”
The Minister however, said that the Contractors were working and some were even 60 per cent to 70 per cent, in progress. Is it the standard practice that when contractors are on site and
actually working, they can just stop work for three years and do a review?
Mr Amoako-Attah 2:01 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it cannot be a standard practice that if work is ongoing, a contractor would be told to stop work. However, this is a pragmatic decision. At any point in time that there is something to be either investigated or it becomes necessary to the Employer -- Let us not forget that contractual relationships are between parties and here it is between the Employer and the Contractor.
Every Employer has the right at any stage to request for work to be suspended. I indicated that the Employer wanted work to be suspended by the Contractor to do two things; to review the project and to rationalise the project. That is the prerogative of every Employer and that cannot be taken from them. Of course, if that decision is so taken, whatever happens, the Employer bears the consequences thereof.
So, the Employer, being Government, represented by COCOBOD at that time in its own wisdom, wanted work suspended for a review and rationalisation. I know on authority that so many of the Contractors have since gone back to site to work and the Employer continues to work with them.
rose
Mr Eric Afful (NDC -- Amenfi West) 2:01 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to ask the Minister for Roads and Highways when the Ministry would commence the construction of the Bawdie -- Sureso -- Samreboi road (71kms), which is placed under the Critical Regional Roads Programme in the 2020 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of Government.
Mr Amoako-Attah 2:14 p.m.
Mr Speaker,
Background
The Bawdie -- Sureso -- Samreboi road is made up of routes, R123 and R122 of total length 67kms. The road lies within and connects to the Wassa Amenfi West, Wassa Amenfi East and Wassa Amenfi Central Districts of the Western Region.
The Bawdie -- Sureso -- Asankragwa road has a bituminous surface and in fair to poor condition,
whiles Sureso -- Amoaku Junction -- Samreboi is a gravel road in poor condition.
Current programme
There are two on-going projects, namely (a) Partial Reconstruction of Bawdie - Asankragwa Road (kms 0.0 - 50) and Manso Amenfi Town roads (1.47Kms) and (b) Upgrading of Sureso - Amoaku Junction road (Km 0.0 -15.6s). The projects are financed from the Ghana Consolidated Fund.
a. Partial Reconstruction of Bawdie - Asankragwa Road (kms 0 -50) & Manso Amenfi Town Roads (1.47Kms)
This project commenced on 19th March, 2020 and is scheduled for completion on 19th March 2023. The current progress of work is projected at 7.6 per cent physical completion.
b. Upgrading of Sureso -- Amoaku Junction Road (kms 0 -15.6)
This Project commenced on 16th April, 2020 and is scheduled for completion on 15th April, 2022. The current progress of work is projected at 7.75 per cent physical completion.
Mr Afful 2:14 p.m.
Mr Speaker, this road was marked to be in critical condition in the 2020 Budget Statement, and I
know that when something is in critical condition, it means one cannot do without it.
According to the Hon Minister's Answer, over a year now, the state of completion is 7.6 per cent. As I speak now, there is no contractor on the road. I would want to know from the Minister why the pace of construction is so low? We know that the road is in critical condition which means that we cannot do away with it.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:14 p.m.
Hon Member, this is not a question. Is this intended to be a supplementary question?
Mr Afful 2:14 p.m.
Mr Speaker, let me reframe my question; maybe, I was not heard well. I asked why the rate at which work progress on the road is too slow, knowing that this is a road in critical condition? There is also no contractor on the road.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:14 p.m.
Hon Minister, why is there no contractor on the road?
Mr Amoako-Attah 2:14 p.m.
Mr Speaker, naturally, I can understand the frustration of my colleague, the Hon Member. It happens to all of us as
Hon Members of Parliament (MPs) if work is not going on at the required speed in our respective constituencies.
However, he admitted in commenting on the Answer; in one breath, he says there is no contractor on the road, and in another breath, he says the pace is slow and I find that contradictory. From my records, the contractor is Asabea Engineering Limited, and the information available to me is that the latter is the case. The contractor has not completely abandoned the Project, but I agree with the Hon Member that the work is slow, and naturally, it must be of concern to the Hon Member.
I assure the Hon Member that we are taking steps to ensure that the contractor works at an acceptable pace on the road. It is important that all of us work together, hence I invite him aboard so that we all work together. The contractor has not abandoned the site completely, but we might have to ginger him up, and I assure the Hon Member that my Ministry would do exactly that.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:14 p.m.
Hon Members, let us move to Question numbered 33. Hon Eric Afful?

Completion of the construction of Asankragwa -- Agona Amenfi -- Ahyiam road Construction
Mr Eric Afful (NDC -- Amenfi West) 2:14 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to ask the Minister for Roads and Highways when the Ministry will complete construction of the Asankragwa -- Agona Amenfi -- Ahyiam road, which commenced in 2016.
Mr Amoako-Attah 2:14 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Asankragwa -- Agona Amenfi -- Ahyiam road is a road linking Asankragwa in the Amenfi West District to Bibiani -- Anwhiaso -- Sefwi Bekwai Municipal which are located in the Western and Western North regions respectively.
Current programme
Contract for the upgrading of the Asankragwa -- Agona Amenfi -- Ahyiam feeder road was awarded under the contract title “Bitumen Surfacing of Asankragwa -- Agona Amenfi -- Sefwi Bekwai F/Rd (53.20kms)”. The contract was awarded on 1st August, 2016 and commenced on 1st September, 2016 with an expected completion date of 1st September, 2018. The expected completion date has been extended to 1st September, 2021 due to an
extension of the contract length and additional works.
Works executed to date include:
59.9kms of clearing, formation, and sub base,
371,060m3 cutting,
438,678m3 fill,
81No. pipe culverts of various sizes,
2No 2/2x2ms Reinforce Box Culverts (RBC),
2No 2/3x3ms Reinforce Box Culverts (RBC),
1No. 3/3x3ms Reinforce Box Culverts (RBC); and
10,721ms of 600mm concrete U-drains.
The progress of work is projected at 40 per cent physical completion. Outstanding works to be executed include; base, primer-seal, seal and road furniture. Work is currently on- going.
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:14 p.m.
Hon Leader?
Mr Haruna Iddrisu 2:24 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I have to seek your leave to indulge me. I ordinarily should not do this to my law school mate and Minister for Roads and Highways.
In spite of all these things that the Hon Minister has said, there is no Board on the Road Fund. Road contractors were not paid in January, February, March, April, May and June, and half of the year is gone. So, with all the things that the Hon Minister has said, what has he put in place to ensure that his Ministry is assisted by the other institutions, particularly with the Road Fund, in order for him to realise what he has just read to us?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:24 p.m.
Hon Minister, are you minded to respond?
Mr Amoako-Attah 2:24 p.m.
Mr Speaker, yes, projects are to be funded, and payments for projects do not come from only one targeted funding source. Throughout the years, governments have faced challenges in payments, and that is why for the past 10 years or more, all projects, perhaps not limited to road projects alone, have not been fully paid for, while other projects have even been abandoned.
In the road sector, projects have been abandoned, and payments have been outstanding, from as far back as
2011/2012/2013/2014/2015/2016/
2017 and the remaining years till now.
Mr Speaker, therefore, yes, the Road Fund is being looked at, and I know the efforts being made by all of us as Hon Colleagues to get the Road Fund to stand on its feet and running. We all know what had happened to the Road Fund. Somewhere in 2016, even the Fuel Levy, which is a major contributor to the Fund was increased from seven pesewas to forty pesewas. Road toll was also increased, so, we keep increasing it.
Even before the last Parliament, we increased it again by eight pesewas or so. I gave an indication, which was reinforced in the budget, that pretty soon, we are going to come to Parliament for tolls in the country to be increased because we pay the lowest toll in West Africa, if not the world. It would come, so I am happy that no less a person than the Hon Minority Leader himself has raised this question. I am happy about it.
We are going to work to ensure that we re-position the Road Fund in a very strong manner. So, all of us should take note of the Hon Minority Leader's words, and if it comes to
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:24 p.m.
Hon Afful, any supplementary question?
Mr Afful 2:24 p.m.
Mr Speaker, yes, I have one supplementary question.
Mr Speaker, I thank you so much for this opportunity. I would not want any assurances from the Hon Minister because from 2016 to date, the execution rate of the project has been 40 per cent, and according to the Answer, the project is to be completed come September, which is three months away. So, what arrangements have been made by the Ministry to speed up the work? I would want him to assure me of this.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:24 p.m.
Hon Minister, any assurance?
Mr Amoako-Attah 2:24 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in my Answer, I used the phrase “the expected time of completion…” So, my Hon Colleague is right that looking at the current rate and percentage of completion, if it is 40 per cent done, then it means that even if we do a rough percentage mathematics on pro rata basis, 60 per cent would be outstanding, and I believe that is where he is coming from because he does not find it feasible.
I would want to assure him that the contractor on this Project is Memphis Metropolitan Limited. It has a very strong contractor, and we are working around the clock. We want to arrest this Project, and make sure that it is brought to completion. My Ministry is doing everything possible to empower this strong contractor to deliver the Project.
If that time comes and he has not finished, which is likely, the contractual arrangement has a provision for the extension of time, which we would cost. I can assure the Hon Member that it would be granted. The most important thing is to ensure that this Project runs with the necessary speed, of course, without sacrificing quality.
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:24 p.m.
Yes, Hon Member for Amenfi Central?
Mr Ackah 2:24 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to contribute because the Road that is being talked about traverses my constituency, Amenfi Central. I heard the Hon Minister say that he has gotten a contractor to be on site, but I would want to support my Hon Colleague who said that since November, the contractor abandoned the road, and there has not been any activity on the road. The Hon Minister must therefore take note and go and revise his notes.
Mr Speaker, secondly, the Hon Minister mentioned the district capital of --
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:24 p.m.
Hon Member, please hold on.
Yes, Hon Member for Asante Akim Central?
Mr Anyimadu-Antwi 2:24 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would want to plead with the Hon Member on his feet to speak into the microphone, so that we can hear him.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:24 p.m.
Hon Member, please speak into the microphone.
Mr Ackah 2:34 p.m.
Thank you very much. Maybe, there is something wrong with my microphone, so, I would try to shout in order to be heard.
I said that the Hon Minister asserted that there is a contractor on the Bawdie-Asankragwa Road, which also passes through my constituency. So, I got up to support my Hon Colleague in saying that there has been no contractor on the road since November last year.
Secondly, he mentioned my district capital. I would like to plead with the Minister that since construction was abandoned, if he goes to the town, he would see many people who have broken their legs: many people are using clutches because of the gutters that were left. Many people have fallen into the gutters and their legs and arms are broken.

Speaker, the information I have is that the contractor has not abandoned site. There have been challenges, but I would take a cue from what my Hon Colleague has just said. I have noted his concerns, and as we are representatives of our people, I would not begrudge him at all. I would work closely with him, and we will address the concerns. I can assure him that if there is anything that the Ministry has to do in this direction, particularly, in arresting the accidents that our people have been experiencing, he should let us work together to resolve it after this Session.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:34 p.m.
Hon Members, now we have come to Question numbered 34.
Completion of Asankragwa- Bremang-Fordjorkrom Road
Mr Eric Afful (NDC-Amenfi West) 2:34 p.m.
I beg to ask the Minister for Roads and Highways the current state of construction of the Asankragwa- Brempong-Fordjorkrom Road, and when it would be completed.
Mr Amoako-Attah 2:34 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Asankragwa -- Fordjorkrom feeder road is a gravel road located in the Amenfi West District of the Western Region. The total length of the road is 28.5kms.
Mr Speaker, currently, contract for the upgrading of the first 25kms of the road was awarded under the contract title “Bitumen Surfacing on Asankragwa - Fordjorkrom Phase I on 10th April, 2018”. The contract commenced on 28th June, 2018 with an expected completion date of 27th June, 2020.
Mr Speaker, work executed to date include 25kms clearing, 18kms cut/fill to formation, 52no. Pipe culverts, 1no. 3/4x4ms Box Culvert, 1no. 1/3x3ms Box Culvert, and 15kms subbase.
Mr Speaker, progress of work is projected at 38 per cent physical completion. The Contractor has requested for an extension of time due to additional works which is being considered. The Project is expected to be completed by March, 2022.
Mr Afful 2:34 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would like to know from the Hon Minister the agreement the Ministry has made to compensate the farmers whose farms were affected during the construction of the road.
Mr Amoako-Attah 2:34 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in the normal course of construction, perhaps, this may not be limited to road construction. It is rooted in law that in carrying any construction of any nature for the good of our country,
whoever is affected -- normally, we refer to them as persons affected by projects (PAPs), and it has been there all these years from time immemorial, and government after government, we have been doing due diligence.
We take records of all such affected persons and do evaluation of their projects with the appropriate state institutions and they are compensated. I do not think in our country, any government either in the past or today, is on record to have acted arbitrarily, particularly in our Government. We believe in the rule of law and in dealing fairly with our people, we pay compensation even before demolition takes place where necessary.
So I would check our records. Once construction is going on, I believe that those affected might have been paid, because the way we do it is simple. At times, we even authorise the contractors to pay those affected upfront, and we deal with the issue as we go along. So far as I am concerned, I have not had any complaint from the people. So, I would investigate and see whether there are any outstanding payments to be done in the area of compensation.
Mr Speaker, at the same time, I would call on the Hon Member of Parliament -- if there are any complaints, it would come to him first -- if there is anything like that, please after adjournment, let us put our heads together. I would be pleased to have that information and the two of us will work together.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:34 p.m.
Thank you, Hon Minister.
Finally, Question numbered 35?
Completion of work on Asankragwa and Samreboi Town
Roads
Mr Eric Afful (NDC- Amenfi West) 2:34 p.m.
asked the Minister for Roads and Highways when work on the Asankragwa and Samreboi town roads awarded on contract for construction, which commenced in 2016, would be completed.
Mr Amoako-Attah 2:34 p.m.
Mr Speaker, on Asankragwa Town Roads the town is the capital of Wassa Amenfi West Municipal Assembly in the Western Region. Currently, the project “Construction of Asankragwa Town Roads” measuring 15 kms was awarded in November 2016 for completion on 21st October, 2017. The Contractor abandoned the project in October 2018 at a physical progress of 53 per cent.
Mr Amoako-Attah 2:44 p.m.


After several failed attempts to get the contractor to return to site, the project has been recommended for termination.

Future programme

The Department of Urban Roads will take appropriate measures to terminate the Project. Thereafter, the outstanding works will be repackaged for award.

B: Samreboi Town Roads

Background

Samreboi is a town located in the Wassa Amenfi West Municipal Assembly in the Western Region.

Current programme

A total of “2.5kms of Samreboi town roads was executed as additional works under ‘Upgrading of Prestea Town Roads Phase 1'”. This is part of the cocoa roads projects which was suspended in 2017.

The Samreboi town road was constructed up to primer seal stage which has severely deteriorated due to the suspension.

Future programme

The outstanding works are being repackaged for award.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:44 p.m.
Any supplementary question?
Mr Afful 2:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would like to know from the Hon Minister if the Ministry has ever funded the contractor between 2017 and now?
Mr Amoako-Attah 2:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would be very surprised if there is any single contractor in our country who has not had any payment at all for this period. I know people have outstanding payments to be made. There is no doubt about that. We still have to arrange to pay contractors in a manner that would even speed up road construction in our country.
I say so because various amounts have been paid for the past four years through various funding sources, and if we take the Government of Ghana sources, at least, there are two main sources -- the Road Fund and the Consolidated Fund. I recalled that in October, November, December 2019, His Excellency the President even authorised the Hon Minister for Finance to release a total amount of GH¢2.2 billion to be paid to all categories of contractors across the country with both the Road Fund and
the Government of Ghana. That money was duly released as authorised by His Excellency the President.
I recalled that during the Seventh Parliament, on this very Floor, I was even made to table a list of that payment, and almost everybody, at least, got a fair share of that payment. If my memory serves me right, under Road Fund, all single man contractors who do routine works in our country who were owed up to GH¢500,000 were paid 100 per cent.
Mr Speaker, we worked together with the Hon Ranking Member who is nodding his head because he was part of it and he knows what happened. He was the Hon Ranking Member and when the Committee was briefed, he asked a number of questions. He is aware of what I am talking about.
Apart from that, all other contractors had 40 per cent of their outstanding amounts paid. In the case of those who were paid through the Consolidated Fund through the Ministry of Finance, those who were owed up to GH¢5 million were paid 100 per cent, and those above GH¢5 million were paid 40 per cent of their outstanding amount.
I recalled vividly the Hon Ranking Member even made a comment at one of our meetings that Government at that time had done well, and if it could be repeated, which is being considered. At least for once, Hon Kwame Agbodza spoke very well on this subject matter.
I can assure you that payments have been going on. I agree that we have to do more for our contractors for more work to go on. That is exactly what the Government has been doing under the leadership of H. E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Thank you.
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:44 p.m.
Is it a supplementary question?
Mr Agbodza 2:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I will not be drawn into the argument that I have been working with the Hon Minister at the Ministry; I only work in Parliament.
Mr Speaker, in the Minister's Answer, he said 2:44 p.m.
“The Samreboi town road was constructed up to primer seal stage which has severely deteriorated due to the suspension.”
Mr Amoako-Attah 2:54 p.m.
Mr Speaker, yes, I can concede that in road construction, if we get to the primer seal stage and you leave it for more than three months to six months, you open the road up to deterioration and
a fast one as such. Even if one is not lucky and it coincides with the rainy season, the deterioration is worse and faster.
Mr Speaker, Hon Colleagues who are familiar with road construction, know that if we start constructing a road, take it that it is from the very first step, the formation stage as the technical people refer to, road construction is like building blocks. You may build them from the formation; you may come to the subbase and each stage would go with proper compaction; then we come to the base and prepare the road to receive bitumen.
Mr Speaker, the primer seal is the first bitumen; let us call it “coal tar” as it is commonly known to our people. But this is a very thin layer and at that stage, the road is not done; it is still in its constructional process. The primer seal is perhaps, to do two main things: to firm up the surface of the road as it has been built at the base stage that is making it ready to receive bitumen, and secondly and more importantly, to retard dust on the road which has health implications and all that.
Mr Speaker, maximum within six month's period, the road must receive at least the first seal. And if it is programmed for double seal, then, the second seal would follow. Of course,
if it is programmed for an asphaltic overlay, we may not need to go to the second seal. Even at the primer seal stage, if the road is well done, we can even put the asphaltic overlay.
So, there are a lot of roads that from the ordinary person's point of view -- [Interruption] and we say it all the time, After primer seal, if the contractor does not go ahead to seal the road properly and traffic is employed on the road, within a very short time say six months; three months or four months, the road starts deteriorating but people see the “coal tar” and generally, we hold the opinion that the road was constructed and within few months, it starts developing potholes but it is not so in real practice. It means that the contractor abandoned the road at the primer seal stage and at that stage, maximum, six months onwards, it would start deteriorating.
Mr Speaker, so, this is exactly what happened. What I disagree with my Friend and Hon Colleague, the Ranking Member of the Committee on Roads and Highways and Transport, Hon Kwame Agbodza is -- [Interruption] I know where he was coming from because he has always been coming from that angle -- and he used the word “agency” deliberately. I dissociate myself from
that and I would like to put it on record that that decision was not deliberate by the agency of Government -- the COCOBOD. COCOBOD might have taken that decision in good faith and COCOBOD representing the employer, I would like to say it again, he had every right, and it was their prerogative to take that decision.
Whether it worked well or not is a different matter perhaps, for a debate. But in the view of COCOBOD, it gave them time to review all the projects; it gave them time to rationalise all the projects, and that is why at the end of the exercise, they came back, and as we speak today, over two hundred and thirty-five different road projects including high percentage of those abandoned.
So, I disagree with the Hon Member and I would like to put it on record that that decision was pragmatic and it was taken by COCOBOD with high consideration and good sense and I do not think anything was done to run the country into any debt.
Mr Speaker, I thank you.
Mr Agbodza 2:54 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would like to know from the Hon Minister the name of the contractor on that road and how much has been paid to him so far?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:04 p.m.
Thank you very much.
Hon Minister for Roads and Highways, Hon Amoako-Attah affectionately called ‘Offer' in this particular House, we would like to thank you very much for attending upon the House to answer eleven different Questions. You have done well and we are grateful. You are discharged.
Hon Members, we would go back to item numbered 5 -- Statements, on the Order Paper.
There is a commemorative Statement on the “40th Anniversary of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitute and In-country variation of the Ghana law; Breastfeeding Promotion Regulation 2000 L.I. 1667'', which stands in the name of the Hon Member for Keta, Mr Kwame Dzudzorli Gakpey. Hon Member, you may make your Statement.
Mr Gakpey 3:04 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Statement I have with me now, is the one on “Food Safety'' and not the one on the “Breastmilk Promotion Regulation 2000 L. I. 1667''.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:04 p.m.
Hon Members, we would take the second Statement, which is a joint Statement by the Hon Members for Adaklu and South Dayi, Mr Kwame Governs Agbodza and Mr Dafeamekpor respectively, on the “Relevance of June 4 th to the Contemporary Ghanaian Dispensation''.
Hon Members, either of you could make the Statement
Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh 3:04 p.m.
Mr Speaker, if you may indulge me, at conclave we came to an agreement
that after we had taken Questions, we would take Statements and I recalled there were a couple of Statements and there was one from the Majority side, on the “Processing of Cocoa Husks''. I do not know if that has come to your notice but it was part of the Statements that were admitted.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:04 p.m.
Hon Majority Chief Whip, unfortunately, I do not have that Statement. There are only two Statements in my file.
Hon Members, either of you could make the Statement
STATEMENTS 3:04 p.m.
Mr Kobina T. Hammond (NPP- Adansi Asokwa) 3:14 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much.
Mr Speaker, I almost stepped out because I have been asked to do something but I concentrated on my Hon Colleague who made the Statement for a brief moment and I realised the momentous occasion that was taking place in the context of what he was talking about.
Mr Speaker, - I may not be fair addressing this to the Hon Second Deputy Speaker - because I was just wondering if this Statement was admitted by the Rt Hon Speaker. For all the years we have been in this Parliament, we have been conscious not to discuss emotional and sensitive matters that will get tempers rising but as I speak, my pressure is already rising.
Mr Speaker, emotions rise very high anytime June 4 is mentioned and I am not sure why this would be an occasion for June 4 which has been buried a long time ago in 1979 when some of us were in Form 5, yet we are still discussing it. When they were commemorating it a few days ago, there were some scandalous,
atrocious, criminal and seditious statements and I suspect my Hon Colleague did not quite use the full caboodle of it, but he came pretty close in suggesting that if the conditions that were prevalent at the time --
An Hon Member -- rose --
Mr K. T. Hammond 3:14 p.m.
Mr Speaker, do not allow him on a point of order.
He said the conditions that prevailed at the time seemed to be prevalent today. I do not understand
-- 3:14 p.m.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:14 p.m.
Hon Member, please hold on.
Mr Dafeamekpor 3:14 p.m.
Mr Speaker, our rules governing debates in this House are very clear. Mr Speaker, the Hon Member in his attempt to contribute to the Statement must do so in a manner such that it will not degenerate into a debate. So, the Hon Member should be minded in his contributions so that we can focus on what he is saying.
Mr K. T. Hammond 3:14 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am sure my Hon Colleague is not listening to me. If he listens intently, he will see that it is exactly what I am doing. I am contributing indeed and wondering if that
Statement should have been made today?
Mr Speaker, they talked about the lessons of June 4 but those of us who were alive and so it happened [Interruption] some of the young ones were not born in 1979 and some people are no longer with us now. However, we know precisely what June 4 contributed to the country so they should not let me go into the litany of the event.
Mr Speaker, we are close to a suggestion that it is time for another June 4 in this country -- [Interruption] -- Mr Speaker, he said it and I am prepared to answer directly. Mr Speaker, on the 4th of June when he mounted the sanctimonious platform and espoused all the revolutionary -- Mr Speaker, it was said that conditions are rife in this country for a revisit of June 4.
Mr Speaker, nobody should pray the events of June 4 on their worst enemies because if people knew what happened on that occasion - a period of three months and we can even bring in 31st December. What happened in this country is anything short of criminal. For an august institution like Parliament and at a time when we are trying to stabilise the system, build consensus and be friendly with our neighbours yet we
are bringing in all these to remind ourselves of the pain and bloodshed. I think if this matter is brought to the attention of Mr Speaker -- I suspect that they would try to revisit it next year, however, the Speaker is not usually advised by -- [Interruption] --
An Hon Member -- rose --
Mr K. T. Hammond 3:14 p.m.
You will rise up on a point of order for 25 times but it will not get you anywhere so let me finish.
Mr Speaker must not be admitting -- if it was the Rt Hon Speaker in the Chair we would probably raise this issue by a substantive Motion but it is the Hon Second Deputy Speaker in the Chair and it will not be fair to him. However, I was making the point that was the Statement admitted by the Rt Hon Speaker, and if it was, then in the circumstance, I can criticise a bit and if this issue is brought up again then we would ask that it should not be admitted because it is a sensitive and emotional issue.
The Hon Member knew what happened; the death, pain, thievery and moneys that were taken away from people. This issue about probity, accountability and all the adjectives and synonyms that they have for it -- we were all living witnesses to what happened.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:24 p.m.
Hon Members, it will be your turn to contribute. Please, hold on.
Dr Abdul-Rashid Hassan Pelpuo (NDC -- Wa Central) 3:24 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this very important Statement reflecting a period in our history we cannot forget. It was a historical period which must be accepted or rejected that has caused a lot of change in this country -- it may be unpalatable or good. Whatever the case is, it was a historical event that caused a change of government, thinking and so, it is important that we reflect on it whether we like it or not.
Mr Speaker, like I said, June 4 represents a certain historical epoch and may I remind the Hon Member who made the last contribution that there was a government that was elected by the people, overthrown by the military which was also overthrown by the events of June 4. That government overthrew the PPP government and instituted in its place, a disorganised system of
administration that abused the rights of people and that made it impossible for governments to ran in the way that we all desired. So, former President Rawlings thought that there was the need for us to put a stop to all these coup d'états and the destruction of democratic systems.
So, he came with the movement of the June 4 to overthrow the Acheampong-Akuffo regime and subsequently handed over power back to a military regime. That administration must be commended for such a short period of instituting a democratic system soon after the June 4 Administration.
Mr Speaker, three principles became the definition of June 4 -- probity, transparency, accountability. These drove the elements of June 4 into where we find ourselves today and in that enterprise, many people lost their lives just as we had many people losing their lives in the French, American and the Russian revolutions.
These revolutions and trajectories shaped the thinking and aspirations of the people and in Ghana, we hope and expect to reflect on them for a change of mind. Let not any young person, group of people come up again with another demonstration of June 4 because we have learnt from it but let not any government behave
in such a way as would warrant an institution of another June 4. We should learn from what we have seen.
Mr Speaker, I get shocked that people imagine that this tormentous period of our time should not be reflected upon. It is a necessity and we cannot avoid it. Right after the June 4 revolution, the thinking of Ghanaians changed; there was order and discipline. Regrettably, along the line, we seemed to forget where we come from but it is important that at all times, every year and in situations such as this where the Hon Member made this Statement, we should have a soul-searching enterprise so that people can have personal reflections and questions as to why the military worked the way they did so that we can always advise ourselves and move forward.
If at any point in time, we forget about the events that caused the June 4 revolution and begin to question the way the Hon Hammond questioned the relevance of the revolution, we would be losing the essence of a part of our history which has actually shaped our present circumstance.
I would like to commend the Hon Member who made the Statement and you as well for accepting the
Statement. This is because it is important for us to keep reflecting on our past and especially, that which instituted indiscipline, destruction of our property and the core concept of Ghana and for a young person not fearing for his life, came into the system and overthrew the existing system which we have today, a transition that came up with the 1992 Constitution.
Mr Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi (NPP -- Asante Akim Central) 3:24 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Statement made by my Hon Colleague on the other Side.
Mr Speaker, the June 4 revolution was among the other reasons which gave birth to the Reconciliation commission to actually get some elders of the society to sit and listen to people in order to share their experiences and forget about the pain they had gone through in the past for us to move on.
We are all parliamentarians and the Constitution has given birth to all of us and our offices. We are here celebrating a system which, if it had continued, were a seed that had been grown and none of us would have been parliamentarians. The Constitution says that; a government
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:34 p.m.
Thank you, Hon Member.
Hon Member for Ketu South?
Ms Dzifa Abla Gomashie (NDC - Ketu South) 3:34 p.m.
Thank you very much Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to applaud the Hon Member who made the Statement and add my perspective to it. As a young girl in 1979, I witnessed what the Students Union of Madina in those days did, the energy with which they believed in the June 4 Uprising, the lessons it taught me and the woman it has made me today.
The relevance of that uprising, I daresay, is about junior officers and other ranks demanding that there be
an end to the military rule. I was inspired and motivated as a young girl to believe in my country. I was inspired and conditioned to fight for this country in every space that I am in. As a Christian, I have read the Bible from beginning to end and I have seen the kind of atrocities that happened even in biblical times. It is for that reason I am grateful that the Statement was made.
History has a lot of experiences that we are not happy about but they do offer us opportunities to learn and to position ourselves to not repeat the kinds of things that led to what others may find repulsive or painful, and that is acceptable. However, to not have the records and history commemorated, celebrated and acknowledged would be a disservice to the next generation.
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:34 p.m.
Hon Member, please hold on.
Hon Deputy Majority Leader?
Mr Afenyo-Markin 3:34 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we are in a democratic dispensation and the Hon Member on her feet is a beneficiary of this dispensation. She contends on her feet, which contention sins against the rules of this House on
the subject matter she is contributing on. What did she say? That she was inspired and is inspired by the June 4 Uprising.
Mr Speaker, with the greatest respect, the rules governing the submissions on this matter are clear and for the avoidance of doubt, I shall proceed to quote same. Mr Speaker, with your permission, Standing Order 72 reads as follows:
“72. By the indulgence of the House and leave of Mr. Speaker, a Member may, at the time appointed for statements under Order 53 (Order of Business) explain a matter of personal nature or make a statement on a matter of urgent public importance. Any statement other than a personal statement may be commented upon by other Members for a limited duration of time not exceeding one hour. The terms of any such proposed statement shall first be submitted to Mr. Speaker.”
Mr Speaker, i f you read Standing Order 70 (2) which has been the precedent, the terms of the contribution are in accord with the Statement and you do not ra i se matters of controversy. [Interruption] We know the

precedence here, so please read Standing Order 70 (2). That caveat is applicable to this and there is a ruling on this in this House. The Hon Member should not unnecessarily interrupt me.

There is a ruling of this House which says that the terms of submission are in accord with that caveat in Standing Order 70 (2). I am saying that her contention to the effect that the June 4 Uprising during which people lost their lives, there was so much injustice and bloodshed is what has inspired her -- [Interruption] What is she saying, that she is --?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:34 p.m.
Hon Deputy Majority Leader, please, you would get time to also make your contribution if you are minded.
Hon Member, you may continue.
Ms Gomashie 3:34 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am grateful and would like to continue that Judas betraying Jesus and ensuring that he was killed inspires me. I am convinced that the things that have affected, impacted and made me the woman that I am are personal decisions that I am entitled to.
I am saying that the events dating back from 1966 through 1971, 1972,
1979, have inspired me to be the woman that I am today and nobody is going to take that away from me. As a female leader in this country, an advocate for women and children's empowerment and an advocate for wholistic education, it is important that Statements such as these are admitted.
I am glad that this Statement was admitted by Mr Speaker because they serve as platforms for young people to learn about our country, be informed and take decisions that would inure to the benefit of the collective good.
Mr Speaker, I applaud the Hon Members who made the Statement and add that the next time that they are writing such Statement, they should please add me to the list of people making the Statement. This is because I share in this vision. I thank them on behalf of the young people of this country that this Statement has been read.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:34 p.m.
Now, Leadership. All right, Hon Member for Abuakwa South?
Mr Samuel Atta Akyea (NPP -- Abuakwa South) 3:44 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
I am beside myself and I am trying to contain myself in trying to contribute to the Statement on the Floor. I heard a good lady of this House saying that she was inspired by the June 4 Uprising. It was that era in which the private parts of women were displayed with the slogan “eye kania, eye hai”, to wit, “it is light, it is bright”.
In 1979, a bunch of so-called revolutionists, felt very good that advertising the private parts of a woman was part of trying to reform Ghana. How can a woman be proud of such a thing and be inspired by these kinds of excesses? I would leave it as it is. That was the lowest we could go as a nation. If you took a proper cost benefit analysis of the June 4 Uprising, it was the crudest intervention in our dispensation as a people trying to find our way to proper governance.
Mr Speaker, as a matter of fact, I do not agree at all with the Hon Member who made the Statement that the June 4 Uprising was the watershed in our democratic dispensation. How can it be a watershed? As a matter of fact, the 1992 Constitution is a repudiation of
the June 4 Uprising, that there is a more civilised way of governing the people, rather than extrajudicial killings.

If you pay regard to the fundamental human rights as captured in Chapter 5 of the Constitution, every conceivable aberration and every conceivable abuse of humankind which was a result of the June 4 uprising was repudiated by the 1992 Constitution.

And so how could it be a watershed. I am of the humble view that it can never be a watershed in our democratic dispensation. On the contrary, the 1992 Constitution has repudiated June 4 as a very base way of governing people, and as Hon Members of Parliament, we should not glorify what the 1992 Constitution has repudiated.

Mr Speaker, a lot of people made a lot of noise about some revolutions; the French Revolution and the rest, therefore, the June 4 Revolution is nothing we should talk about. We never learned from history. What could we learn from it? I thought what happened in France during the French Revolution should educate us about a more civilised way of living in which
Mr Samuel Atta Akyea (NPP -- Abuakwa South) 3:44 p.m.
when we have problems we are governed under a constitution and when a man is wrong we do not find a knife to slit his throat. Instead, one goes to a court of competent jurisdiction for redress.
When we push the issues of Revolution too far, we are in the animal realm where life is brutish and very short and where men would use their passions to dominate others; where the barrel of the gun holds sway rather than reasoning and rationality and the Rule of Law.
So I am very much saddened that a Statement of this nature should stir controversy and debate because under the Standing Orders, we are not supposed to use Statements as vehicles to stir emotions and debates at all. It is not permitted.
Mr Speaker, let me comment on some other matters and sit. I heard from another Member of Parliament that the conditions for June 4 might be rife. That Statement is averse of our constitutional order, I should put it madly that the conditions of June 4 are rife in this House where I can stand and articulate my views without any fear of being arrested. We do not have freedom; we are not a people who can articulate our positions, and when a man is wrong, a person could kill
him, which is extra judicial killings. Somebody could look at your face and they would take you to the firing squad to be shot.
Right now, if a man should die, then he has violated the Criminal Code and a charge proffered against him. He has the right to counsel of his choice. They go to a court of competent jurisdiction and the matter adjudicated by a judge; evidence is led, and when the evidence turns against a person, he is sentenced. It is not self-help.
Those crook moments in which another man's blood would not improve anything. Who tells the Hon Member that the shedding of blood is an instrument of social engineering, that the more you kill people the better society becomes? What kind of foul equation is this? When you kill more people, you deepen the animosity, revenge and all kinds of things in a society. One tribe would hate another tribe because a hero from that tribe has been killed extra judiciary by some other people.
What is so subversive of social order when you use violence? There is no evidence that violence is an instrument for social engineering. Violence can never reform society. Rather, when people come under the law, what is called the writing constitution, and when somebody
says he does not like a government, he does not remove the government through the barrel of the gun. We remove a government through a civilised arrangement called voting. People vote you in and vote you out. Nobody has the right to say that I do not like this kind of Government and therefore let me organise a coup d'état.
We can never progress with coup d'état and I am a bit ashamed that some insinuations are being cast at Members of Parliament that the situation for June 4 is rife. How can one say that?

I am not saying that the President is perfect. You go to the court of law and say the State has wronged you and that the court should exact the requisite compensation on the State.

The State has paid damage to individuals because the State went wrong, which is civility. We should ensure that we go that way.

Mr Speaker, finally, I would want to put it on record that this House should champion democracy. It is democracy that has given us the decency of this conversation. Democracy is where one can state his views. It is democracy that allowed the Hon Members to make their Statement. If you look at the rules of this House and the Constitution that a man can put together a decent conversation on paper and articulate it to become part of the Hansard. This is democracy.

Anybody who has an allergy to democracy is not fit to be in this House. I am bold to say so. If the Hon Members of Parliament would not champion democracy, it is an invitation of chaos, and this nation should never retrogress into revolutions. They are aberrations of the past which we should not glorify.

I thank you for your kind indulgence, Mr Speaker.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:44 p.m.
Leadership? Hon Agbodza, since you read the Statement, you may yield your position toDafeamekpor.
Mr Rockson Nelson E. K. Dafeamekpor (NDC -- South Dayi) 3:44 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the chance to add my voice to the Statement that was read in commemoration of the June 4 uprising.
Mr Speaker, let it not be said on this Floor that the June 4 uprising was tribal. It was not. The suggestion that one tribe hates another that the hero of that tribe has been killed by another is blatantly false, and let not that suggestion be made on this Floor at all. What we are saying is that the June 4 revolution was an uprising of soldiers overthrowing another military regime. What is the Hon Member's problem with that, as another group of soldiers organise to overthrow the regime by another group of soldiers?

It is not about one group of soldiers overthrowing a democratically elected government. That is not what we speak of. There are people in this Chamber who eulogise the 1966

coup d'état, which overthrew Nkrumah's Government. What about that? So, my Hon Colleagues on the other Side should not create the impression that we are here eulogising and glorifying bloodshed -no! We said that the circumstances are such that we must always be guided. On histories of civility, in this year 2021 today in the Republic of Ghana, not much civility is introduced in a lot of our public space. Still, there are extra judicial killings.

When one goes to fight galamsey and he sees persons engaged in the galamsey, is he not to arrest them and take them to a law court and proffer the appropriate charges? Is he to gun them down? Yet, this is happening. When the law that the Government itself brought to this House to be passed is found, it provides the formula for handling things that one may encounter in fighting galamsey. Are we following the laid-down procedure of the freshly passed law in this House? Yet, when we complain, we are told to go to court.

Mr Speaker, you are a very good practising lawyer. We are saying that we should be guided by the reasons why there was the uprising. Today, if we destroy one excavator, it would be valued in excess of about an amount €250,000, which is the equivalent of an amount of about

GH¢1.5 million. If we would want to file a process in court, it costs so much, so, when we use extra judicial means to destroy somebody's property and then say that he should go to court when confronted, we must know that the person would not go to court with empty hands. It costs money to go to court. So, these are the things that we are talking about.

Mr Speaker, with that aside, what is the concern of my Hon Colleague? Somebody says that the events that led to June 4 have arrived in our times and he is panicky? No, he should rather be guided to put his house in order by doing things properly. He should ensure that the provision of social amenities, for which we pay very high taxes, are provided.

Mr Speaker, for the past five years, no road in South Dayi has been constructed, and they think that the people should not complain and go on the street and demonstrate their displeasure? So, the Statement seeks to commemorate June 4 and to say that as a nation, we must always be guided by our past. If we are not guided by our past, our path forward would be crooked.

Mr Speaker, on this note, I thank you, and I pray that as a nation, we would always be guided by the principles that June 4 stands for.
Majority Leader (Mr Osei Kyei- Mensah-Bonsu) 4:04 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I was not present when the Statement eulogising June 4 came to be made.
Mr Speaker, I believe in the principles espoused by June 4. I believe that as a country, all of us subscribed to the principles espoused by June 4. These principles are captured in the preamble of the Constitution, and we all voted for the Constitution.
So, in my view, as a country, we all subscribed to the principles of June 4, especially, the emphasis on justice, probity and accountability. I do not think that anybody can run away from that. As I said, as a country, we voted massively for the 1992 Constitution, underpinned by the principles of June 4th. So, to that extent, I would say that all of us as a country subscribed to the principles of June 4.
Mr Speaker, however, there is a world of difference between principle and action. So, if one should indicate that he subscribes to the principles of June 4 and is inspired by it, I would

not worry about that. However, I disassociate myself from the feuds and commissions of June 4. So, if anybody should rise up to say that he associates with the commissions on the missions of June 4, then we would have a problem with that.

Mr Speaker, an Hon Colleague said that some of the issues now in the country, with respect to the burning of excavators, are extra judicial and illegal. That may as well be. However, if a person has his excavator burnt, that person is not prescribed, and indeed, prevented under any law to go to the court to seek remedy, and that is the difference.

Mr Speaker, if you look at our Constitution, in article 35, which talks about the transitional provisions, if we relate to session 34 (3), it says that for the avoidance of doubt, it is declared that no executive, legislative or judicial action taken or “purported” to have been taken by the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) or the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), which was born out of the June 4 order, or a member of the AFRC, or by any person appointed by the PNDC or the AFRC, in the name of either the PNDC the AFRC, shall be questioned

in any proceedings whatsoever, and accordingly, it shall not be lawful for any court or tribunal to make any order or grant any remedy or relieve in respect of any such act.

Mr Speaker, what can be much more barbaric than this provision? Please, we should not glorify insanity. That is why I say that I remain committed to the principles of June 4, but not the commissions. If there is nothing to hide, then why insert such a draconian condition in the Constitution of this country? That should appeal to common sense.

Mr Speaker, with your permission the preservation of confiscation and penalties imposed by the AFRC, captured in session 35 (1) says and I quote:

“Any confiscation of any property and any other penalties imposed by or under the authority of the Armed Forced Revolutionary Council (AFRC) or the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) under any decree or law made by the Council shall not be reversed by any authority under this Constitution in perpetuity”.

Mr Speaker, does this appeal to common sense? That is why I am surprised that this Statement even came to be admitted.

Mr Speaker, I think we are making progress.

What actions and inactions that are being commented on under this regime, not everything can be applauded just as what happened under the Mills-Mahama Regime, or even former President Jerry John Rawlings' or former President John Agyekum Kufuor's regime, we cannot applaud everything, but we have the recourse from the courts that we have to go and seek remedy.

If the doors and windows are closed in such a manner to every citizen of this country, can we in Parliament rise up and sing and applaud? Mr Speaker, we should be careful. That is not to say that whatever was done by the AFRC was right; I cannot say that. But if we seek to put everything in one basket and justify it, I have a problem with that.

Mr Speaker, I believe going forward that we should be circumspect in what we say on the Floor of this House.

Mr Speaker, I thank you very much.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:04 p.m.
Hon Members, Statement time has come to a close. I would thank all of you for contributing to the Statement.
Yes, Hon Majority Leader, any indication?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 4:04 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I think it is long past 14 hours, and we had to extend Sitting to accommodate some of such discussions. I believe we are wiser for what has happened as a Parliament and a nation. As I said, I disagree with the content, however, it makes all of us wiser. I think going forward, we should appreciate the fact that we are still one nation with one people, and we have a common destiny. That should be our aspiration.
Mr Speaker, at this stage, we are in your hands, and you may adjourn the House till tomorrow.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:04 p.m.
Yes, available Minority Leader?
Mr Agbodza 4:04 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I agree with the Hon Majority Leader. The few Hon Members who commented on the Statement did not read it. The Statement actually said that all excesses have been condemned over the period. This is not to repeat what happened in the past or glorify any pain. We just drew
ADJOURNMENT 4:04 p.m.