Debates of 15 Jun 2021

MR SECOND DEPUTY
PRAYERS 2:13 p.m.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 2:13 p.m.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:13 p.m.
Hon Members, item numbered 4 on the Order Paper, Correction of Votes and Proceedings and the Official Report. Firstly, we take the Correction of Votes and Proceedings of Thursday, 10th June, 2021.
Page 1 … 6 --
Mr Paul Twum-Barimah 2:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, on page 6, item numbered 4, Hon Bryan Acheampong was present on Thursday and was even present at the Appointments Committee Sitting. But he is marked absent here.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:13 p.m.
All right. Table Office, please take note.
Page 7 --
rose
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:13 p.m.
Yes, Hon Member for Afadzato South and now available Leader.
Mrs Alorwu-Tay 2:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I was at work on Thursday but marked absent on page 7, under item numbered 12.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:13 p.m.
Table Office, please take note.
Dr Mark Kurt Nawaane 2:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I was here on Thursday. I was with the Committee on Health working on the formula for the Distribution of the National Health Insurance Fund, but I have been marked absent.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:13 p.m.
Table Office, please take note.
Page 8 --
Mr Kofi Iddie Adams 2:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in the second paragraph of page 8, under the item numbered 6 on line 2, the statement there is not clear. It says:
“The communication also indicated that H. E. the President will then head Guinea on Friday, 11th June, 2021 to confer with …”
Mr Speaker, in my view, it is better if we insert “to” after “head” to make it clearer.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:13 p.m.
All right, Table Office, take note.
Page 9… 24
Hon Members, the Votes and Proceedings of the 11th Sitting of the Second Meeting of the First Session held on Thursday, 10th June, 2021 as corrected is hereby adopted as the true record of Proceedings.
Leadership, may I be directed?
Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh 2:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we can proceed to item numbered 5, Questions.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:13 p.m.
Item numbered 5 on page 2 of the Order Paper. There is a Question that stands in the name of the Hon Member for Dadekotopon, Hon Rita Naa Odoley Sowah to the Minister for Works and Housing.
ORAL ANSWERS TO 2:13 p.m.
QUESTIONS 2:13 p.m.
MINISTRY OF WORKS AND 2:13 p.m.
HOUSING 2:13 p.m.
Ms Rita Naa Odoley Sowah (NDC -- Dadekotopon) 2:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to ask the Minister for Works and Housing what plans the Ministry has towards the dredging of the Kpeshie Lagoon in the Dadekotopon Constituency.
Minister for Works and Housing (Mr Francis Asenso- Boakye)(MP) 2:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Works and Housing has taken note of the urgent need to dredge the Kpeshie Lagoon and is currently undertaking steps to implement the La and Teshie Coastal Protection Project, which include the dredging of the Kpeshie Lagoon, in the Dadekotopon Constituency.
Mr Speaker, the Kpeshie Lagoon runs through highly populated areas in the Accra Metropolis, and is key to the storm water management in these communities. The Kpeshie
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:23 p.m.
Hon Member, any supplementary question?
Ms Sowah 2:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, listening to the Hon Minister's Answer, paragraph 5 states and I beg to read:
“The Ministry of Works and Housing has completed the evaluation of relevant proposal and is completing the necessary financial arrangements to start the works under the Project.”
I wish to find out from the Hon Minister, the timelines that have been set to start this project.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Asenso-Boakye 2:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am not in the position to provide timelines but I am very hopeful that in the course of this year, we should be able to start this project.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:23 p.m.
He is hopeful that in the course of this year it would start.
Any other supplementary Question?
Mr Edward A. Bawa 2:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, from the Hon Minister's Answer, he indicates that he cannot give timelines but he is hopeful that the Project would be commenced this year. What are the basis for which he is hopeful so that everybody is aware that he is hopeful for some particular reasons?
Mr Asenso-Boakye 2:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, when it comes to finance, it is being handled by the Ministry of Finance and we are in active engagement with them. That is why I am able to say that I cannot give timelines but I am very hopeful that in
the course of the year, we should be able to start the Project.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:23 p.m.
We shift to Question numbered 11 on page 2, which stands in the name of Ms Abla Dzifa Gomashie, Hon Member for Ketu South.
Mr Samuel O. Ablakwa 2:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I seek your permission to ask the Question on behalf of the Hon Member.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:23 p.m.
Very well.
Steps to Address the Deva- stating Effect of Tidal Waves
Mr Samuel O. Ablakwa (on behalf of Ms Abla Dzifa Gomashie) 2:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to ask the Minister for Works and Housing what urgent steps the Ministry is taking to permanently address the devastating effect of the tidal waves on the Agavedzi, Salakope, and Amutsinu communities in the Ketu South Constituency.
Mr Asenso-Boakye 2:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Works and Housing acknowledges the urgent need to permanently address the devastating effects of tidal waves on the Agavedzi,
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:23 p.m.
I see the Hon Member just walked in; any supplementary Questions?
Ms Gomashie 2:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank the House and yourself for allowing this Question, and I thank the Hon Minister for attending upon the House to answer the Question. I am looking forward to an immediate and urgent response to the situation that affects my people.
Mr Speaker, we have over the years made promises on what we are going to do. I was in Ketu South in
2017 --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:33 p.m.
Hon Member, supplementary question, please.
Ms Gomashie 2:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, between 2017 and now, I would want to know when exactly the second phase would start? The gap has been wide.
Mr Asenso-Boakye 2:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, just as I explained in my earlier answer, I am in active engagement with the Ministry of Finance and I am hopeful that in the course of the year, it would commence. I have personally directed the technical team to visit the site and assure the people.
Mr Speaker, in fact, tomorrow morning, I am scheduled to visit these communities to assure the people of government's intention to implement the Project. So, my Hon Colleague should be rest assured that government is committed to implement the project in the course of the year.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:33 p.m.
Hon Minister, is it possible to engage the Hon Member, if you would be going to the constituency?
Mr Asenso-Boakye 2:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I have had an engagement with her already, and she knows the efforts that Government is putting in place.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:33 p.m.
Hon Members, any supplementary question? -- Last one.
Ms Gomashie 2:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would want to ask the Hon Minister whether funding has already been secured?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:33 p.m.
Hon Member, he has already said that he is in serious engagement with the Ministry of Finance. So, your question will not be permitted. You can ask another question.
Ms Gomashie 2:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I asked again because I want an assurance that it has been captured in the Budget, and that it would be addressed. I do not wish to terrorise the Hon Minister. That will give me more hope. I agree that we have engaged, but this is for the benefit of my people.
Mr Asenso-Boakye 2:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the sea defence project is captured in the Budget.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:33 p.m.
Very well.
Yes, Hon Deputy Minority Leader?
Mr James Klutse Avedzi 2:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity.
The Hon Minister said that in April 2021, he sent a technical team to the area to visit some of the communities. After that visit at the latter part of May, 2021, the tidal waves destroyed the community. Has he sent another team or has he visited the area after that devastation in the community?
Mr Asenso-Boakye 2:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I have not sent another technical team. As I said before, I would visit the area tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:33 p.m.
Yes, Hon Member for North Tongu?
Mr Ablakwa 2:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am most grateful.
This is an urgent situation, and it is a national disaster. It has led to the displacement of constituents. Is the Hon Minister aware if there are any measures being put in place in the interim to contain the situation, and take care of those who have been displaced before the actual construction begins?
Mr Asenso-Boakye 2:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, regarding the issue of what to do for those who have been displaced, I think it lies under the Ministry of the Interior, specifically the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), but I am aware that NADMO has already sent items to the displaced people. I will find out whether more has to be done, and we will work to address it.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:33 p.m.
Hon Minister for Works and Housing, you are discharged.
Hon Members, I would at this juncture invite the Hon Minister for
Communications and Digitalisation to Answer Question numbered 15 which stands in the name of the Hon Member for Bunkpurugu, Mr Abed-Nego Azumah Bandim.
MINISTRY OF 2:33 p.m.
COMMUNICATIONS AND 2:33 p.m.
DIGITALISATION 2:33 p.m.
Mr Abed-Nego Azumah Bandim (NDC - Bunkpurugu) 2:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to ask the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation when Ghana will fully migrate from analogue to Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT).
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:33 p.m.
Yes, Hon Minister?
Minister for Communications and Digitalisation (Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful) 2:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, Ghana, through the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation (MoCD) commenced the migration from analogue terrestrial television to Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting in 2015. In 2019, the Head-end at Kanda and all 42 transmission sites nationwide were integrated fully to provide Digital
Mr Bandim 2:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, can the Hon Minister tell us who manages the DTT platform?
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful 2:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Question was specific about when the migration would be completed. Management of the platform did not feature in the Question. So, I would be grateful if the Hon Member would ask a substantive Question, then I would come and respond adequately.
Mr Speaker, I thank you.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
Hon Member, if you are desirous to ask that particular question, then, file a separate Question. She came here to answer a specific Question so, if you are desirous to ask such a question, then, file a special question so that she would research and come and give you the appropriate answer.
Any supplementary question?
Mr Bandim 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, as the Hon Minister responsible for Communications and Digitalisation, I believe that she has every information relating to the DTT project and therefore, should be able to give an answer to this. Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister should be able to give an answer before I proceed to my second --
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
Hon Member, I have said if you intend to ask that particular question, come out with a different Question so that the Hon Minister would prepare and come back to the House and respond.
Mr Bandim 2:43 p.m.
I am guided, Mr Speaker.
May I know who pays for the management of the DTT platform?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
Hon Minister, are you minded to answer that question?
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful 2:43 p.m.
If he could please repeat the question -- I did not get it?
Mr Bandim 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the question is, who pays for the management of the DTT platform?
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful 2:43 p.m.
The platform is managed by the Government of Ghana which pays for it.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
Your final supplementary question.
Mr Bandim 2:43 p.m.
How much has been spent so far? We would want to know how much Government has spent on this project so far.
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, this is a House of record so, if the Hon Member would be minded to ask a substantive Question, I would come with the full facts on it. I do not want to give any answer from the top of my head because this is a House of record.
Mr Samuel Nartey George 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in the Answer of the Hon
Minister, she said 2:43 p.m.
“We wish to inform the House that Ghana achieved full migration from analogue to Digital Terrestrial Television ahead of the international deadline of December, 2020.”
Is the migration just the movement from analogue to digital or it is complete or it involves the switch off? In her Answer, she said that
“what is outstanding is the analogue switch off phase”.
If we say we have achieved full migration, but in the next line she said there is still an outstanding switch off, I would want to understand what is deemed to be full migration?
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, as I indicated in my Answer, currently, all free-to-air broadcasters broadcast digitally from the national DTT platform, and so, as far as the
technical aspect of the migration is concerned, migration is complete because the broadcasting is digital. However, those who do not have digital television sets still can receive analogue signals because we are in a dual illumination phase.
So far as the ITU requirements are concerned, Ghana is compliant. What is outstanding is the switch off of the analogue signals, and that would be done once we procure sufficient set top boxes to provide to those who do not have digital television sets.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
No, Hon Member, you can only ask one supplementary question.
Alhaji Seidu Issifu 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would want to find out from the Hon Minister why television stations on the DTT platform do not pay for the services?
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, as I indicated, I would be grateful if I am provided an opportunity to give a full statement on this to the House because there are other issues apart from what the Hon Member has asked. The Government took upon itself to build and operate this platform and all television broadcasters currently on it do not pay for it.
They will, at some stage, because we need to recover the cost and pay
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
Last question. Hon Member for Tempane Constituency?
Ms Lydia Lamisi Akanvariba 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in answering the Question, the Hon Minister said:
“What is outstanding is the analogue switch off phase which will be done when sufficient set top boxes have been procured
…”
I would want to know if the procurement of the set top boxes was budgeted for in the 2021 Budget Statement?
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, was the question whether the set top boxes were budgeted for? Yes, it was.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
Hon Member, you can only ask one supplementary question.
We would move to Question 16, and it stands in the name of the same Hon Abed-Nego Azumah Bandim. Hon Member, you may ask your second Question.
Rural Telephony Project
Mr Abed-Nego Azumah Bandim (NDC -- Bunkpurugu) 2:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation how many communities are to benefit from the Rural Telephony Project in 2021.
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful 2:53 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation (MoCD) through the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) launched the Rural Telephony Project (RTP) in partnership with Huawei in November 2020, to construct 2,016 cell sites in various communities across the country.
The novel Rural Star Technology being used, developed in Ghana by Huawei in 2018, is a cost-effective solar powered solution which will save Government up to 70 per cent of the cost of traditional cell sites and provide voice and data services for over 3.4million people in unserved
and underserved communities to accelerate economic development. All sites on the RTP network will also be connected to the national roaming project and provide shared infrastructure for all mobile network operators to provide their services to consumers.
Mr Speaker, a total of 1,000 communities have been earmarked to benefit from the Rural Telephony Project in the year 2021.
Mr Speaker, I thank you.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:53 a.m.
Hon Member, any supplementary question?
Mr Bandim 2:53 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the communities sharing borders with the neighbouring countries such as Burkina Faso, Togo and Ivory Coast have a peculiar challenge with network issues; they are either unserved or underserved. May I know from the Minister if these communities would be given priority?
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful 2:53 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the list of beneficiary communities was approved by Parliament, I believe in July, 2020 and they would all be served once the project is completed. I am not sure
Mr Bandim 2:53 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I ask for priority because there is an acceptable range at which one country can penetrate into another country, and these communities because they are border towns, do not have the benefit of getting the quality services that we render. May I know whether the Minister would consider to give priority once again?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:53 a.m.
Hon Member, I think once priority comes in, then, it means the Minister has already answered the question, is that not so?
If I got the Minister right, it means that the list of the communities has already been given and the House is aware of the communities. So, you may ask your last supplementary question.
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful 2:53 a.m.
Mr Speaker, if the Hon Member would let me know the names of these communities, I would find out whether they are included in this project or not. As at now, I would be unable to answer the question as he has posed.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:53 a.m.
Hon Members, the Question numbered 17 which stands in the name of the Hon Member for Sissala West?
Steps to Improve Mobile Telephony Reception in
Communities in the Sissala West Constituency
Mr Adam Mohammed Sukparu (Sissala West) 2:53 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to ask the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation what steps will be taken to improve mobile telephony reception in the following communities in the Sissala West Constituency: (i) Fatchu (ii) Duwie (iii) Zini (iv) Gbal (v) Kupulma (vi) Bouti (vii) Kusali (viii) Kandia (ix) Kunkorku (x) Puzane (xi) Bukpal.
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful 2:53 a.m.
Mr Speaker, GIFEC has acquired lands for the Rural Telephony Project for 8 communities in the Sissala West District namely; Dasima, Nyimeti, Kusali, Sorbelle, Bawisibelle, Henyen-Gumo, Zini Clinic and Palawie-Wasai. It has already mounted network poles ready for connectivity in Bawisibelle, Nyimeti, Sorbelle, Kusali, and Dasima. The rest of the communities have been scheduled for drive test simulation after technical review.
MTN has conducted analysis on Fatchu, Duwei, Zini, Gbal, Kupulma, Bouti, Kusali, Kandia, Kunkorku, Pusane and Bukpal all towns in the Sissala West district but they currently do not have immediate plans to connect these towns.
Mr Speaker, Vodafone has indicated that the Kusali town has been earmarked for connectivity for 2021. AirtelTigo indicated that three (3) sites have been deployed in Sissala West with the provision of 2G and 3G services in Gwollu, Fielmuo and Buasane. There is ongoing engagement between GIFEC and AirtelTigo for the deployment of 2G and 3G services at Fatchu, Duwei, Gbal, Bouti, Kusali and Kandia communities as part of the Rural telephony project in 2021 and they
are also on the feasibility of deploying sites at Zini, Kupulma, Kunkorku, Pusane and Bukpal.
Mr Sukparu 2:53 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the Hon Minister when the project would be completed so that these communities can also have access to the telephone network that we enjoy in Ghana?
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful 2:53 a.m.
Mr Speaker, we are working on completing the Rural Telephony Project by the end of next year.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:53 a.m.
Hon Member, you may ask your last supplementary question.
Mr Sukparu 2:53 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the Hon Minister whether funds have been made available for this particular project?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:03 a.m.
This question is overruled.
Any other supplementary question?
We now move to the Question numbered 40 on page 3 of the Order Paper which stands in the name of the Hon Member for Bole/Bamboi.

Connection of Sakpa, Seripe et cetera Communities to Mobile

Network in the Bole/Bamboi Constituency.
Mr Yusif Sulemana (NDC -- Bole/Bamboi) 3:03 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation when the following communities would be connected to a mobile network: (i) Sakpa (ii) Seripe (iii) Sonyo (iv) Charche (v) Babato (vi) Chibrinyo (vii) Maluwe (viii) Tesilima.
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful 3:03 a.m.
Mr Speaker, GIFEC has acquired lands for the Rural Telephony Project in 10 communities in Bole/Bamboi namely Chibrenyo, Dendenyiri, Sonyo, Teselima, Kwamen Kwesi, Konjuma- Chanchere, Jenice, Sakpa, Nsunua and Babartor. GIFEC has also scheduled Seripe and Maluwe for drive test simulation after technical review.
MTN has indicated that they currently do not have immediate plans to connect the following towns in Bole/Bamboi: (i) Sakpa (ii) Seripe (iii) Sonyo (iv) Charche (v) Babato (vi) Chibrinyo (vii) Maluwe (viii) Tesilima.
Mr Speaker, the existing sites of AirtelTigo are in Bole and Bamboi.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:03 a.m.
Thank you, Hon Minister. Hon Member, any supplementary question?
Mr Y. Sulemana 3:03 a.m.
Mr Speaker, paragraph 2 of the Hon Minister's Answer says which with your permission, I read:
“MTN has indicated that they currently do not have immediate plans to connect the following towns in Bole/Bamboi: (i) Sakpa…”
Mr Speaker, I make reference to the Official Report of Wednesday, 28th November, 2018, column 2999, paragraph 3, last sentence. It reads:
“There is also an ongoing construction of a base station at Sakpa by MTN.”
Mr Speaker, how does the Hon Minister reconcile this? In one breath, she says that they do not have any plans for creating or extending network to these towns but there is evidence that in 2018, when she was the Hon Minister of the same Ministry, she came here to tell us that there was an ongoing construction of such a base there. This is on record. How do we reconcile this?
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful 3:03 a.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
As I have indicated countless times in answering questions on when
connectivity would be extended to various parts of the country, the network operators are only obliged by virtue of the licenses they have got to extend connectivity to district capitals. Any other community they extend connectivity to is part of their own roll-out plans.
They may decide to change their roll-out plans at any time. All the Answers that we provide are Answers that are given by the network operators. If in 2018, MTN had decided to set up a base station in Sakpa and for whatever reason, they have changed their minds, we cannot compel them to continue with the work that they have started doing. The information that they provided us when we sent them the list of these communities is as I have presented to the House today, in 2021.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:03 a.m.
Hon Member, any other supplementary question?
Mr Y. Sulemana 3:03 a.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
From the Hon Minister's Answer, would she admit that MTN misled her, because her Ministry came here and told us, and I would read it again, that:
“There is also an ongoing construction of a base station at Sakpa by MTN.”
In this House, in 2018, that is what we were told. Today, the same Ministry is saying that there is nothing like that. Was the Hon Minister misled by MTN?
Mr Owusu-Ekuful 3:03 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the facts are as I have presented them. I would not make any value judgement on them in one way or the other. In 2018, they notified the Ministry that they were planning or were in the process of constructing a base station in Sakpa. In 2021, they have informed us that they have no immediate plans to connect these towns. This is the information that we have been provided with and that I made available to this honourable House.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:03 a.m.
Hon Member, your last supplementary question.
Mr Y. Sulemana 3:03 a.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker, still on that same paragraph, item numbered (v),that is Babato, MTN said that they have no plans to connect the community to the
Mr Y. Sulemana 3:03 a.m.


network. The reliable information I have is that there is a company called Babato Farms which has made some payments to MTN to provide connectivity to this area.

The same MTN is however, saying that they do not have plans to extend network connectivity there. As the sector Minister, would she consider finding out from MTN whether indeed, they have received some payment and whether or not they would extend network connectivity to this community?
Mr Owusu-Ekuful 3:03 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I would be grateful if the Hon Member would file a substantive Question on this matter and then I would seek information from MTN on it. It would be impossible for me to stand here, off the cuff, and provide an answer to him on that matter.
So, I would be grateful if he would file a substantive Question and then we would formally put it before the company and allow them to respond. I think that would be the fair course of action to take, so that we do not unduly create any impression about the work output of any of these network operators.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:03 a.m.
Hon Member for Bole/Bamboi, you have exhausted your time. The answer I got from the Hon Minister is that you can file a separate Question.
You see, I am inclined to go with her. This is a House of record and you have to give information which is very accurate, so that reference can be made to it at any time any day. So, if she is here and does not have the appropriate responses, please, we should allow that. If you are still minded to get information with regard to that particular matter, please file a separate Question and she would come and answer it.
Yes, Hon Member for Bongo?
Mr Bawa 3:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I agree with the Hon Minister when she said that she is not ready to place judgement value on the two responses that have been given. However, my question is that when responses are given to them by Ministries, Agencies or Departments to report to Parliament, do they conduct due diligence on those responses before they bring them to the House?
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful 3:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, yes, we do.
Mr George 3:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, on the same issue and rightly so as you ruled, Parliament is a House of record and the Hon Minister said she must give us truthful information. However, it is evident from her response today that the response she put on record in this House in 2018, was not entirely truthful. That was why the Hon Member for Bongo, Mr Bawa, asked if due diligence was done. I would also want to ask the Hon Minister if due diligence was done on the response that was presented to this House in
2018?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:13 p.m.
Hon Member, that is the more reason personally, I am inclined that we should give Hon Ministers who come to the House to answer Questions, the opportunity to make enquiries and get back to the House with regard to information that they are not up to task with.
At least, from what I gathered from the Hon Member from Bole Bamboi, Mr Sulemana, the Answers that were provided about three years ago, are not what have been presented. Let us give the Hon Minister the opportunity to come back to furnish the House with an answer if we are desirous to ask the same question.
Mr Avedzi 3:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, would the Hon Minister give us the time she
could come back to brief the House on the Question that has been asked by the Hon Member?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:13 p.m.
Hon Deputy Minority Leader, the Hon Minister cannot come to the House if a Question has not been filed. If an Hon Member files a Question obviously --
Mr Avedzi 3:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the issue raised by the Hon Member for Ningo- Prampram, Mr Samuel Nartey George, is that the Hon Minister gave an answer to a question in 2018, which according to the answer she provided today, portrays that the previous answer probably has a problem. So, he wanted to know whether due diligence was done at the time that she provided the answer in 2018 and you said that we should give her time to come back to the House to provide us with the answer. I would want to know when she would come back to the House?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:13 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader, that particular question was answered -- Her response to that question was “yes''. When an Hon Minister comes to the House, we are entitled to ask supplementary questions but the supplementary question should be related to the Question. Other than
Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh 3:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we could move to item numbered 7 -- Presentation of Papers.
Mr Speaker, I recognised that you have admitted a couple of Statements but if you would indulge me, we could take items numbered 7 and 8, then subsequently we could come back to take Statements.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:13 p.m.
Very well.
Hon Members, item numbered 7 - Presentation of Papers?
Item numbered 7(a), by the Hon Minister for Environment, Science, Techonology and Innovation.
PAPERS 3:13 p.m.
Mr Annoh-Dompreh 3:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, with your kind leave, if you may allow the Hon Minister for Health to move items numbered 7(b) and (c) instead of the Hon Minister who was advertised?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:13 p.m.
Hon Majority Chief Whip, which items did you talk about?
Mr Annoh-Dompreh 3:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Deputy Minority Leader is on his feet.
Mr Speaker, these Hon Ministers are unavoidably unavailable and hence, I would want to plead that the Hon Minister for Health lays the Papers on their behalf, specifically to items numbered 7(b) and (c).
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:13 p.m.
Hon Majority Chief Whip, is there any reason they are not in the House?
Mr Annoh-Dompreh 3:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, these are Hon Ministers who are very regular in the House. I engaged them this morning and this afternoon but there was some miscommunication, especially in relation to the time of Sitting, because early on it was communicated that the House would Sit at 10.00 a.m. then subsequently, we got a confirmed information from your outfit that it had been changed from 10.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. It is inadvertent so, I would want to plead with my Hon Colleague to accede to this for us to make progress.
Mr Avedzi 3:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my Hon Colleague has given reasons for the absence of the Hon Ministers to be in the House because of the change in the Sitting time. The Hon Minister for
Health is in the House - he is also an Hon Minister who was scheduled to perform a duty in the House. The Hon Minister for Communications and Digitalisation was also in the House, so what prevents the two Hon Ministers from coming to the House, if it has to do only with the change in Sitting time? Is it because he did not communicate to them on time?
If that is the case, then it means he did not do his work as the Hon Majority Chief Whip or the Hon Ministers do not take the work of the House seriously.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:13 p.m.
Hon Deputy Minority Leader, please, let us indulge the Hon Majority Chief Whip.
Hon Majority Chief Whip, who would stand in for --?
Mr Annoh-Dompreh 3:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it is the Hon Minister for Health - Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu would lay the Papers on their behalf.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:23 p.m.
Very well.
Item numbered 7(b) standing in the name of the Hon Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:23 p.m.


By the Minister for Health on behalf of (the Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development) --

Budget Performance Report in Respect of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development for the Period January to December, 2020.

Referred to the Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:23 p.m.
Item numbered 7(c).
By the Minister for Health on behalf of (the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration) --
Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Ghana (represented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration) and the Government of the United Arab Emirates on Mutual Exemption of Entry Visa Requirements in respect of Diplomatic, Service/ Special and Ordinary Passport Holders.
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:23 p.m.
Hon Members, item numbered 7(d)?
Mr Annoh-Dompreh 3:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I seek your indulgence once more to lay the item numbered 7(d) on behalf of the Hon First Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the Appointments Committee.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:23 p.m.
Yes, very well. You can go ahead.
By the Hon Majority Chief Whip (Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh) on behalf of (the Chairman) --
Fifth Report of the Appoint- ments Committee on the President's nominations for Ministerial and Deputy Ministerial Appointments.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:23 p.m.
Item numbered 7(e) by the Chairman of the Committee.
Mr Annoh-Dompreh 3:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, under the circumstances, we would have to defer item numbered 7(e) because Leadership have conferred and the Committee of the Whole has still not yet been able to meet. So, we may have to defer items numbered 7(e) and (f) accordingly.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:23 p.m.
So, are we deferring items numbered 7 (e) in respect of (i), (ii) and (iii)?
Mr Annoh-Dompreh 3:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, exactly.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:23 p.m.
Hon Majority Chief Whip, are we deferring item numbered 7(f) or we can take it?
Mr Annoh-Dompreh 3:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we can take item numbered 7(f).
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:23 p.m.
All right. Item numbered 7(f) by the Hon Chairman of the Committee.
By the Chairman of the Committee --
Report of the Committee on Health on the 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 provision of an integration IT System by NMS Infrastructure Limited.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:23 p.m.
Yes, Hon Majority Chief Whip, any indication?
Mr Annoh-Dompreh 3:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we could move to item numbered 9 - Motion.
Mr James Klutse Avedzi 3:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Majority Chief Whip is referring to the Report that you have just instructed to be distributed to Hon Members. He is asking us to move the Motion for that Report. I do not know whether we can do it because you just instructed that the Report should be distributed.
Mr Annoh-Dompreh 3:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we could take item numbered 8, which is a Motion, while the distribution is ongoing. I am fully aware that the Report is out and Hon Members have it but I will cede to the Hon Deputy Minority Leader so we can take the item numbered 8.
Mr Emmanuel Gyamfi (NPP -- Odotobri) 3:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that this honourable House adopts the Report of the Joint Committee on Local Government and Rural Development, Works and Housing, and Environment, Science and Technology on an inspection visit to monitor the construction of Regional Integrated Composting and Recycling Plants in the country and related matters.
Mr Speaker, I beg to present the Committee's Report
Introduction
It may be recalled that Joint Committees on Local Government and Rural Development, Works & Housing, and Environment Science and Technology of the 7th Parliament undertook an inspection of municipal solid waste treatment facilities/sites in the country from 21st - 26 th September, 2019, pursuant to article 103(3) of the 1992 Constitution and Orders 180, 181, 185, 192 (2) of the Standing Orders of the Parliament of Ghana.
The Report of the Joint Committee arising out of the visit was adopted by the House on 3rd December, 2019. One of the key recommenda- tions of the Joint Committee was the need for the establishment of at least one solid and liquid waste treatment plants in each region. The Committee, having regard to the cost of such a venture and the limited resources of Government, urged Government to partner the private sector in the development of these waste treatment plants in the regions. To facilitate the process and to encourage investment, the Committee recommended the imposition of a levy to support private investment in the sector.
To ascertain the status of implementation of the recommenda- tions of the Joint Committee, the Committee visited eight (8) regions to verify whether there has been any interest from the private sector and the state of development of such facilities in the Regions. The visit was from 18th - 23rd April, 2021, and the selected regions visited were in the northern sector, middle belt and southern sector of the country.
Purpose and Objectives
The purpose of the exercise was for members of the Committee to have
first-hand information on the status of implementation of the Joint Committee's recommendations. Specifically, the exercise was to;
i. Inspect existing landfill sites;
ii. Ascertain the status of work on the construction of regional waste treatment plants; and
iii. Make recommendations for practical actions to provide sustainable solutions to waste management in the country.
Scope and Methodology
The Joint Committee visited existing landfill sites, completed and ongoing waste treatment plants and other sites identified for the construction of similar plants. The Committee visited the following Regions:
i. Western
ii. Western North
iii. Ashanti
iv. Ahafo
v. Bono
vi. Northern
vii. Savannah
viii. North East
The eight (8) regions were located in the southern, middle and northern sectors of the country. The selection of the regions was intended to provide the Committee a fair representation on the state of affairs in the entire country.
The methodology adopted by the Committee for the exercise included field visits to selected landfill sites for physical verification and thus received presentations by managers of the facilities. The Committee also took briefings from officials of the Assemblies.
References
The Committee referred to and was guided by the following documents:
The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana;
Energy Sector Levies (Amend- ment) Act of 2021 (Act 1064);
The Standing Orders of the Parliament of Ghana;
Mr Emmanuel Gyamfi (NPP -- Odotobri) 3:23 p.m.


structure to receive and recover various fractions of the waste. The estimated time of completion is August

2021.

The current combined waste generation volumes for Bibiani, Sefwi Wiawso and its surrounding areas is estimated at 120 tonnes per day, implying that the Plant will have enough capacity to deal with additional waste overtime. It is expected that with growth in population, there will be a corresponding increase in waste generation and therefore the plant was designed to handle waste in the medium to long term.

According to the managers of the project, with the excess capacity, the facility would have enough buffer to prevent any conflicts with other land use activities in the area. The Committee was informed that all the necessary permits for the development and operation of the facility had been secured. The Project is about 45 per cent complete and the contractor, Messrs Josano Construction Limited, promised to deliver the project by the end of August, 2021.

Oti Landfill Site

The Committee inspected the ongoing works on the decommi- ssioning and re-engineering of the Oti

Landfill site. The decommissioning is in two parts. The first part is to partially close sections of the landfill which had been exhausted by undertaking the following activities:

Waste mass height reduction;

Slope stabilisation;

Waste capping;

Installation of geosynthetic liners including artificial turf;

Installation of landfill gas management system; and

Rehabilitation of leachate treatment ponds.

The second part is to re-engineer certain portions of the landfill to receive waste by undertaking the following:

Relocation of weighbridge;

Internal access road improvement;

Development of embankments; and

Intermediate covering of non- active areas.

The Committee commended the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly

(KMA) and the contractor Messrs. Zoomlion Company Limited for the work done so far to stabilise the landfill. The Committee was told that the Assembly no longer receive complaints from surrounding communities on odour, dust, and smoke from the activities of the landfill.

As to whether the Assembly possessed enough treatment and disposal capacity considering the imminent closure of the Oti Landfill, the Committee was assured that private partners of the Assembly, including Zoomlion Company Limited, have developed enough capacity to accommodate all waste generated within the Greater Kumasi Area for the next decade.

Kumasi Compost and Recycling Plant (KCARP)

The Joint Committee visited the KCARP, a state-of-the-art municipal solid waste treatment facility located at Essereso-Adagya in the Bosomtwe District of the Ashanti Region. The facility is set up to receive and treat municipal solid waste from the Kumasi Metropolis and adjoining District Assemblies. The Committee was informed that the facility was initially set up to process 600 tonnes of municipal solid waste daily.

However, in view of the fast pace of growth in population in the greater Kumasi area and upon consultations with key stakeholders, the capacity was increased to 1,200 tonnes per day. In addition, the facility hosts a 1,000 cubic litres per day wastewater treatment plant.

The Committee inspected the facility's various components starting from the sorting and materials recovery area, composting tunnels, recycling shed, and residual landfill.

At the sorting area, mixed waste is separated into constituent materials - organics, plastics, metals, textiles, paper, glass, and others. The sorted waste is then channelled to the various recycling points for the different materials. Compost tunnels ensure that sorted organic matter is converted into compost under controlled moisture content, temperature, and air quality for agriculture and horticultural use. The Committee was informed that KCARP had the capacity to produce 3,000 bags of finished 50kg compost daily.

At the plastics recycling centre, the plastics undergo washing, shredding, extrusion and pelletising. The pellets are bagged and sold to plastic products manufacturers as raw material. Metals and paper are also sorted by type and baled for
Mr Emmanuel Gyamfi (NPP -- Odotobri) 3:23 p.m.


customers in the metals and paper industries.

The residual waste not currently needed is sent to the engineered residual landfill on site. The Committee was informed that the Plant has a recovery efficiency of about 90 per cent , and therefore the waste that would end up at the residual landfill is minimal.

Wastewater Treatment Plant

The Committee visited the wastewater treatment plant, a partnership between Sewerage Systems Ghana, a subsidiary of Jospong Group, and Pureco, a Hungarian company and funded through a Hungarian EXIM facility. The project was completed at the time of the visit and was due to be commissioned in May 2021. The project managers explained that the facility would convert dewatered sludge into biochar which was a heating fuel.

Goaso Integrated Waste Management Site

The Committee inspected the Goaso Integrated Waste Manage- ment Site on the Atrodie Road in the Ahafo Region. The facility sits on an 80-acre land with planned

Wastewater, Residual Landfill, Medical Waste Treatment Plants, and the IRECOP Plant. The project was about 50 per cent complete at the time of the visit.

According to the contractor and consultant, works done so far included the construction of the substructure and installing anchor bolts. The contractor, Messrs Francis Owusu Afriyie Construction, indicated he was ready to flow the deck which will receive the Plant and was expecting the steel contractor to erect the already delivered stanchions to support the roof and superstructure. It is expected that works would be completed by July

2021.

The Committee was impressed with the work done so far and urged the contractor to complete it within the stipulated time. The consultant for the project explained that the superstructure would accommodate a 250 tonne per day static materials recovery plant. The Plant will sort and process organic waste into compost. In addition, other recovered recyclables, including plastics, will be crushed and pelletised for other value-added activities.

The managers and contractors of the project explained that Goaso and the surrounding districts had a

combined population of over 150,000 with a projected daily waste generation of 120 tonnes. It was noted that Goaso was a regional capital with several institutions which generate high volumes of both solid and liquid waste. The Committee was informed that the site would provide a one-stop-shop solution for waste management for Goaso and the adjoining MMDAs including Asunafo South, Asutifi North and Asutifi South as planned wastewater, medical waste treatment and recycling plants will provide a comprehensive, integrated response for the municipality.

Sunyani IRECOP Project

The Sunyani IRECOP project is located at Wawasua in the Sunyani Municipality. According to the project manager, the facility will serve adjoining Districts, including Sunyani West, Berekum East and Berekum West Municipalities. The IRECOP Plant, upon completion, will process up to 400 tonnes of municipal solid waste per day, which is more than the combined total daily waste generation volumes for the catchment area.

The Committee was informed that the superstructure would be completed by July 2021, after which the 400 tonnes capacity sorting line

will be installed to process the waste immediately since power had already been extended to the site.

In addition, the site will host a Medical Waste Treatment Plant, a 1,000 cubic litre Wastewater Treatment Plant and a Residual Landfill. The contractor assured the Committee of its commitment to deliver the project on schedule and indicated it was preparing to cast concrete for the facility's floor. The chief of the area who was present to welcome the delegation also assured the Committee of their support since the project would bring jobs to the teeming youth of the community. The Project will be completed by August

2021.

Tamale Landfill Site

The Tamale Landfill Site is located in the Sagnarigu Municipality and receives waste from the Tamale and Sagnarigu Metropolis and other adjoining Districts. The Committee was informed that the Tamale Metropolis and the adjoining Districts generates about 500 tonnes of solid waste daily but only collects an average of 400 tonnes which is dumped at the Landfill. The site also has a liquid waste treatment facility with stabilisation ponds to treat faecal sludge discharged at the site. The
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:33 p.m.
Hon Ranking Member?
Ranking Member (Edwin N. L. Vanderpuye): Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion ably moved by the Hon Chairman of the Committee.
Mr Speaker, it is on record that your Joint Committee during the Seventh Parliament made a similar tour of the country and made very important contributions, one of which found itself into the State of the Nation Address and the ESLA Levy on sanitation that was subsequently adopted in the Budget Statement. The purpose of this is to fast-track the provision of waste recycling plants so that we can move from the outdated mode of waste management in this country to a modern and technologically advanced system of waste management.
Mr Speaker, the tour of the country exposed your Joint Committee to the fact that if we are able to accelerate
the provision of these facilities, it would highly help in the maintenance and management of waste sanitation in the respective districts. The projects are at various levels of completion and what the investors would need is the support and motivation to be able to move the project faster.
Mr Speaker, the good thing is that the assemblies and regional capitals where these projects are located, are seriously synchronising their efforts to make sure that whatever the contractors need to enable them fast- track the projects is done. They include the provision of land, labour support and so on, are provided to them. However, it still comes back to the fact that it is a huge investment and we think that it would help if the Government would support and provide the necessary environment for the investors to be attracted to even contract loans from institutions to do these ventures.
Mr Speaker, we are tempted to think that the levy is enough to take care of all our sanitation problems in the country. I am sure it can address just about 30 per cent of what we are seeing so the Report indicates that the Government should make sure that the intended purpose of the levy is used to address the problem that we
envisaged and want to solve as a country. Mr Speaker, I believe that when this House takes the recommendations of your Committee seriously and place same at the door step of the Ministry and the Government, we would be able to help solve the most critical issue of waste management and sanitation in this country.
Mr Speaker, with these few words, I beg to second the Motion and wished that all Hon Members of this House would do same.
Thank you.
Question proposed.
Mr Kwame G. Agbodza (NDC - Adaklu) 3:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Motion moved by the Hon Chairman of the Joint Committee. I also want to commend the Joint Committee for taking time to visit these sites and thus present this Report.
Mr Speaker, sanitation is a major concern in our country and it would be in our own interest to do whatever we can to improve it. However, I can see that the Committee talked a lot about the new levy and it is as if Ghanaians, especially those in the cities do not pay anything for sanitation. Mr Speaker, we do pay and a person who lives in parts of
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:33 p.m.
Hon Member, hold on.
Hon Chairman?
Mr Gyamfi 3:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I appreciate the concerns of my colleague, the Hon Member for Adaklu.
Mr Speaker, it is true that we pay for waste collection, but the levy is for the management of the waste collected from our households. So the Hon Member should take on board these two issues.
Mr Agbodza 3:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am happy about what the Hon Chairman said.
What I said is that the best practice elsewhere is that we should be chasing tenants to pay their council tax, because that money is used to collect one's waste from his house. I pay GH¢420 to a company to collect waste from my house. I only pay council tax to the Assembly, and I am told that the levy we are paying is what would be used to manage the refuse collection.
Mr Speaker, it would have been good if the Committee tells us that they put the GH¢420 and the council tax into this because at the end of the day, all that moneys come from the individual property owners.
I am not saying what the Hon Member said is not right but that we should be fair to Ghanaians and not pretend they do not pay anything for waste collection and treatment in the country. It is up to the Assemblies to determine what they use our property rates for. I think this House must be
probing that otherwise it becomes just an internally-generated fund for the Assemblies so that they collect money on our properties, do nothing in our community but just add it to their property rates and buy fuels, give ex- gratia and the rest. Mr Speaker, this is what I would want us to consider.
So I am happy that the Committee did this work, but it is not enough to only insist on the judicious use of the new levy, that they also collect. In fact, it would be interesting to know what the GH¢420 collected from me, by a company I do not want to mention, is used for.
Mr Speaker, they collect the waste from your house and mine in Accra. Now they are saying they do not know how to treat it and so Government should collect more money from me through a direct tax to treat the waste. Mr Speaker, it is not fair. In my view, we should join this together and find out how we can say that, in total, an average house pays this amount of money in terms of waste management to this country, then we can work out the difference in terms of the funding gap and go forward.
Mr Speaker, in all, the Committee did a good job and this is the way forward. On principle, I am against giving 10 pesewas. I would want
colleague Hon Members to pay attention to this, but as we speak to this, we should know that the people in our communities who already pay for waste collection and pay council tax are listening. They should not feel that they do not pay anything. They already pay this additional tax.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker 3:43 p.m.
Thank you very much.
Let me give the last opportunity to Hon Member for Ahafo Ano North?
Mr Suleman Adamu Sanid (NPP -- Ahafo Ano North) 3:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, while commending the three committees that undertook this assignment, I associate myself with Hon Agbodza's concern which brings in the Assemblies whom we are calling on to do more in our fight against waste management and sanitation challenges in the country.
Mr Speaker, the assemblies are very integral when it comes to fighting sanitation and its related challenges. So with whatever they get from the Central Government, we urge them to go further and justify the various moneys they receive so that these issues would not be discussed further.
Mr Speaker, successive govern- ments have been trying very hard to handle waste management and
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:43 p.m.
Hon Member for?
Mrs Angela Oforiwa Alorwu- Tay (NDC -- Afadzato South) 3:43 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity.
Mr Speaker, paragraph 3.1 of the Report with the sub-heading “Project's Scope” tells us that due to the delay in executing this programme - With your permission, may I read:
“The Committee observed that the Addendum Agreement is neither going to change the scope of the project nor the design”.
It goes ahead to tell us that:
“Due to the delay, three out of the seven hospitals would be constructed”.

Mr Speaker, I withdraw. Thank you.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:53 p.m.
Lastly, I would give the opportunity to the Hon Member for Tano North.
Hon Members, bear with me, we have so many things to do today. So after this, we would move to other items.
Ms Freda Prempeh (NPP -- Tano North) 3:53 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Motion on the Floor and also to commend Members of the Committee for taking time to visit the project site to inspect existing landfill sites and to ascertain the status of work done so far.
Mr Speaker, you would agree with me that managing sanitation is a very huge task and until such time that we find innovative ways of curbing sanitation in our environment, we would not be doing ourselves any good. Waste management is a herculean task and if we are able to manage sanitation well, we would be able to curb some of these perennial flooding in our various communities.
Mr Speaker, most of the time, a lot of people litter around; we do not even segregate our waste and for these projects and waste management plants, they are going to add value to our waste. When we made the trip to some of the communities, we got to know that we were also going to manage medical waste, which of course, some of us had not really at that time taken a look at how we can
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:53 p.m.
Hon Members, we move to item numbered 9. I guess Hon Members have been given copies of the Report?
Chairman of the Committee?
MOTIONS 3:53 p.m.
Nana Ayew Afriye) 3:53 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order 80(1) which requires that no Motion shall be debated until at least forty-eight hours have elapsed between the date
on which notice of the Motion is given and the date on which the Motion is moved, the Motion for the adoption of the Report of the Committee on Health on the 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 may be moved today.
Dr Mark K. Nawaane 3:53 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I rise to second the Motion.
Question put and Motion agreed to.
Resolved Accordingly.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:53 p.m.
Hon Members, item numbered 10.
Chairman of the Committee?
Nana Ayew Afriye) 4:03 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that this honourable House adopts the Report of the Committee on Health on the 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.

Mr Speaker, in so doing, I present the Report of the Committee.

1.0 Introduction

1.1 On Tuesday, 8th June, 2021, Mr Osei Kei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Hon Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, presented the following Paper in Parliament on behalf of Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, the Hon. 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).”

1.2 In accordance with the Constitution and Order 178 of the

Standing Orders of the House, the Commercial Agreement was referred to the Committee on Health for consideration and report.

1.3 In attendance at the Committee's deliberations were two Officials from the Ministry of Health, Mr. Ben Ampomah Nkansah, Director of Infrastructure and Mrs. Sally Esi Pobee Tetteh, Head of Project Planning, Cost Estimation, Innovation and Research.

2.0 Background Information

The Government of the Republic of Ghana represented by the Ministry of Finance signed a loan agreement with Barclays PLC of the United Kingdom amounting to one hundred and seventy-five million United States dollars (US$175,000,000.00) to be utilised for the construction of six (6) new District Hospitals at selected locations and provide the Takoradi European Hospital with Housing Units. It may be recalled that, the Facility Agreements were approved by Parliament in 2012 and in the same year, the Ministry of Health signed a commercial contract with Messrs NMS Infrastructure Limited of United Kingdom to design, construct and equip the six (6) new District

Hospitals and one other and provide them with integrated Information Technology (IT) systems.

2.2 It may also be recalled that the Ministry of Health in consultation with its agencies, proposed and decided on the following:

i. Abetifi in the Kwahu East District;

ii. Fomena in the Adansi South District;

iii. Dodowa in the Shai- Osudoku District;

iv. Garu in the Garu-Timpane District;

v. Kumawu in the Sekyere District;

vi. Sekondi in the Western Region; and

vii.European Hospital in the S e k o n d i - T a k o r a d i Metropolitan Assembly - supplemented with accommodation units.

2.3 The Project also included the provision of Pharmaceutical Management Systems as well as medical equipment for all the
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:03 p.m.
Thank you very much.
Yes, Hon Member for Nabdam? But before then, Chairman of the
Dr Nawaane 4:03 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you.
I rise to support the Motion before us. In doing so, I would like us to go to page 3, the last sentence. Even though the project could have been continued in 2017, Government's technical enquiry which demanded value for money and audit among others, also stalled it.
Mr Speaker, that is the distractive part of our politics. What this means is that we had about US$38 million sitting in our accounts since 2016 and whenever we spoke about it - I remember myself and the Hon Ranking Member of the Committee went out to visit all these projects - It was said that they were doing forensic auditing. So, they were doing forensic auditing in the first year, second year, et cetera. So now, the project is five years late.
Mr Speaker, the value of money is not static; it changes. In fact, money depreciates as the years go by. So, what this US$38,841,352.00 could have done at that time, it cannot do the same thing this time. That is why it is obvious that we had to cut down the number of projects that it could
do to three projects: Fomena, Kumawu and the Takoradi European Flats.
Mr Speaker, it was laid before Parliament some years back, and the financial aspect was approved for getting the supply which was part of the document. So if it has been brought back today for us to do our own correction, it was a mistake by the House and we need to correct it and submit it for the work to start. We went to Fomena, Kumawu, and we know that the citizens were interested in these projects. So, I highly support that the US$38,841,352.00 that is left should be used to complete these three projects.
Question proposed.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:03 p.m.
Yes, Hon Member for Manhyia North?
Mr Akwasi Konadu (NPP -- Manhyia North) 4:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Motion.
Mr Speaker, as much as we agree and understand with the Hon Deputy Ranking Member on the issues raised, we must also understand that if we look at the amount that was dedicated to this project, which was about US$175 million, out of which about US$136 million was used, which represent over 70 per cent of the funds that was allocated to this
project, and the completion rate of about 50.51 per cent.

Mr Speaker, any Government that had inherited this would have a cause to worry, and call for enquiry into this because if you look at the rate of 70 per cent as against 50 per cent of completion, it is worth noting that any Government would have gone there.

We must not also take it for granted. Mr Speaker, this is the taxpayer's money so, if we spend, it must correspond with the rate of completion that needed to have been done. However, that was not the only reason the project stalled because there were others - lack of land for the project as well as the processing of tax exemptions as contained in the Agreement.

Be that as it may, currently, we are here to adopt a Report that we, as a House, inadvertently did not include what was supposed to have been done in our last Report on this same project. Mr Speaker, we must, as a House, adopt this so that in these areas, where the people need these hospitals -- we all need it in those areas because we do not know when we would find ourselves in any of these

districts that these hospitals are located so that we would then be able to complete these projects that we have ascertained that their rate of completion are high so that we would use this US$38 million left.

We must also understand that as at the time the letters of credit for these companies executing the projects had expired so they needed to be renewed. So, a collective assessment of the whole process was better for us to have done.

Mr Speaker, I call on this House to adopt this Addendum so that the project can commence and be completed for the benefit of the people in this country.

Thank you.
Mr Kofi Iddie Adams (NDC -- Buem) 4:13 p.m.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to add my voice to the Report submitted by the Committee on Health of this House for us to approve the Addendum to finance the completion of these critical projects.
Mr Speaker, health provision anywhere in the country is critical irrespective of where you come from because you do not know when and where you would find yourself and you would need such a facility. Mr
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:13 p.m.
Let me invite the Hon Member for Kumawu. I believe today you are a bit relieved. I am also relieved. At least, we can say something.
Hon Member, take the Floor.
Mr Philip Basoah (NPP -- Kumawu) 4:13 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it is indeed true that today, I am highly relieved. This project has been there for so long a time, and as we are all aware, because there was a delay in the execution of the project, by all means, the cost of the project would automatically go up. This means that initial funds allocated for the project would not be able to be used to
execute the project. Therefore, there was the need to have additional money to help in the completion of the project.
In fact, this project is of high concern to the chiefs and people of Kumawu, even to Otumfuor Osei Tutu II who is so much concerned about the development of the Ashanti Region. I remember in recent times we paid a visit to him and he made me know that he had discussed it with the President. I am very grateful to Otumfuor Osei Tutu II and the President who has a good listening ear and upon our incessant complaints, at the right time, through the Hon Minister, we have secured this money for this project.
Mr Speaker, I believe that it would be the final loan for this project. I am very grateful. Not that as was captured in the Report of the Committee that the people within the area expressed their resentment about the delay of the project. Indeed, that should be the case because the project is very dear to the heart of the Kumawu people.
Aside everything, this project has job creation inherent. It would create jobs, traders would get money from it and taxi drivers would benefit from it. It is an important project, and it is dear to the people of Kumawu. I remember some time past, a video
Mr Philip Basoah (NPP -- Kumawu) 4:23 a.m.
went viral about the resentment of the paramount chief of Kumawu. All portends to the fact that this project is very important to the people of Kumawu and everybody would benefit from it.

So, I am grateful to the President of the Republic of Ghana, the Minister and to the Committee for the good work done.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:23 a.m.
Thank you, Hon Member.
Let me give the opportunity to the Hon Member for Keta.
Mr Dzidzorli Kwame Gakpey (NDC -- Keta) 4:23 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you very much for the opportunity given me.
Mr Speaker, when we look at the Report, my Hon Colleague, from the other Side mentioned that it is a very important project. Indeed, any health facility construction project is a very important project for this country because looking at our facilities, they are overburdened. Some patients sleep on the floor; the consulting rooms are full; some do not even have access to health facilities.
Mr Speaker, this is a project embarked on by the NDC Government and it was a laudable programme. For four years, this project was sitting down and forensic audit was being conducted. Here we are, the excuse is due to tax exemption, due to unavailability of land and some of those things, that is why the project was not completed. Now, looking at the document, value for money audit has been completed.
Mr Speaker, may I refer you to the last paragraph of page 3, of the Report that mentions that:
“Even though the project could have been continued in 2017, Government's technical enquiry which demanded value for money audit among other things…”
It is value for money that they are talking about! We are putting the lives of the people of this country at risk because of value for money, and this value for money I would say has not been stipulated in this Report.
Mr Speaker, I just would like to conclude that these projects were deliberately delayed to the detriment of this country. Henceforth, we need to know that Government is about continuity, it is not about which party is in power. Projects other
Governments started need to be continued.
Mr Speaker, I think, on this note, as a House, we should stop a situation where if a Government comes and starts a project, a new Government comes and stops the project and starts another one. Meanwhile, when the project is completed, it is the citizens who would benefit from these projects.
Mr Speaker, on that note, thank you very much for giving me the opportunity.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:23 a.m.
Hon Minister, do you --? [Pause] -- Hon Deputy Minority Leader?
Mr James Klutse Avedzi (NDC -- Ketu North) 4:23 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I rise to support the Motion and urge the House to approve the Committee's Report. Mr Speaker, but before we do that I would be happy if the Chairman of the Committee -- Is the Chairman of the Committee in the Chamber? I would like him to listen. On page 3 of the Report; from the second line of the first paragraph:
“The project was suspended in December, 2016. The rest had reached various stages of completion”.
I do not understand that clearly. It means some of the projects were completed and the rest have reached various stages of completion. If that is the case, let us go to the last paragraph under the title, Project Scope on the same page 3. It says the US$38.8 million would not be sufficient to complete the project, and that by estimation, only three out of the seven on the list of works to be done can be completed. Can the Chairman marry the two? If in the first portion, some of the projects were completed, the rest have reached various stages of completion, and the last paragraph says this amount can complete only three out of the seven? Can the Chairman explain that so that we know clearly what is being referred to?
Dr Afriye 4:23 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Leader has - I think what this Report seeks to do is to say that with regard to the remaining money, of the six and one, some of them are at various stages of completion, and some of them probably, had not even taken off at all. So, the alien is to let us know that the remaining amount would suffice to be applied on three projects which are in advanced stages. And that is why Kumawu, European Hospital and Fomena Hospital, which are about, in their estimation, some are 75 per cent; some are 85 per cent and some are 90 per cent. Those ones
Mr Avedzi 4:23 a.m.
Mr Speaker, if that is the case, then, the sentence should have read,- that begins with “the rest” should be looked at again if it can be made clearer so that we know that some of the projects have been completed because I can talk of Dodowa Hospital which has been completed. So, even if the Report says only three out of the seven that can be completed, probably, it would be misleading. If the Dodowa Hospital is not completed, the Minister can tell us when he is winding up.
We also know that no work has started in Garu, so the Report should have also given us an indication on how if this amount is used could complete three and those that are left, how they would be funded. At least the Report should tell us something because the Minister who brought the Agreement probably was at the meeting to tell us that when the three projects are completed with this money, this is what the Ministry would do to get resources to complete the rest of the projects. That one, the
Minister would have to take care of that when he is winding up.
Mr Speaker, I thank you.
Dr Afriye 4:23 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am happy the Leader has directed —
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:23 a.m.
Hon Chairman, have I invited you?
Dr Afriye 4:23 a.m.
Mr Speaker, respectfully, I have taken your position. In any case, and in the Standing Orders, if you draw somebody into a debate, I have to recuse myself so I was I trying to—
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:23 a.m.
Hon Chairman, have you finished with your response?
Dr Afriye 4:23 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am done.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:23 a.m.
Very well, Hon Minister, if you have anything to tell us?
Mr Agyeman-Manu 4:33 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I was not anticipating this elaborate debate with this particular Motion since I was thinking that it was an omission on the part of documentation challenges which brought us this far and to actually correct what we should have done earlier when we were doing the
financial one. But it looks like several issues have been raised that are genuine concerns and I think I must address them to bring clarity to the whole matter.
My Hon Colleague from Garu is listening attentively to what would happen to the Garu Project in the circumstance of let us do three with what is left. Not only there; there are others like Abetifi and the rest that we are not addressing yet.
Mr Speaker, the major concern that comes from Hon Colleagues is a concern that we should all share. That the projects are stalled because of politics. Never! Four years, yes but these projects were stalled in the middle of 2016 when the then Minister for Finance, Hon, Seth Terkpeh realised that money that had been disbursed for the projects far exceeds works done so there should be some investigation to find out why.

So, when the LC that they were using to draw moneys to do the project lapsed in June 2016, he refused to renew the LC for them to access the remaining US$38 million left. In the spirit of continuity, when they are planning to do a value for money

audit, then a new Minister comes and there are files there, he would continue. That is what actually happened.

Unfortunately, we had one big agent in Ghana that does value for money and that is Crown Agents and this was awarded to Crown Agents. Earlier, the Minister thought that the Contractor, having spent so much of the money, should pay for the value for money audit as well, but he refused and there was some sort of tally. It continued until we went in and agreed that we would do it and pay, but then we would add on to the cost of the project if we actually come to some level of agreement.

We went through and there was pressure on us from my Hon Colleagues on this Side of the House and the communities, including the Hon Second Deputy Speaker who would now be relieved, my Hon Colleague from Kumawu and even myself -- Fancy a Minister, who goes to the people of Kumawu, in the middle of a durbar where the chiefs are sitting, then they announced that we would recommence the project in the next few weeks, yet up till today, we have not started.

I would be more relieved than any other person but the problems are still hanging. What we are doing is to
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:33 a.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Minister.
Hon Members, at the conclusion of the debate, kindly permit me to put the Question.
Question put and Motion agreed to.
Resolved Accordingly.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:33 a.m.
Hon Members, item numbered 11. Hon Minister, could you move the Resolution?
RESOLUTIONS 4:33 a.m.
Dr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu 4:33 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, that
WHEREAS 4:33 a.m.
THIS HONOURABLE 4:33 a.m.
HOUSE HEREBY RE- 4:33 a.m.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:33 a.m.
Any seconder?
Dr Nana Ayew Afriye 4:33 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.
Question put and Motion agreed to.
Resolved accordingly.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:33 a.m.
Hon First Deputy Whip, any indication?
Mr Iddrisu Habib 4:33 a.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you.
I think that item numbered 12 is just on notice of Committee Sittings,
so we are in your hands for adjournment to tomorrow. I think the decision on whether we are Sitting at 10 a. m. or 2 p. m. lies in your hands.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:33 a.m.
Hon First Deputy Majority Whip, we have not touched the item numbered 6. Rt Hon Speaker admitted as many as six Statements, so, are you still insisting that we adjourn while we have not touched Statements?
Mr Habib 4:33 a.m.
Mr Speaker, since the Rt Hon Speaker has admitted these Statements, I think that we can reduce them to about two or so. Looking at the time, it is too far gone to take six Statements.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:33 a.m.
Well, I do not know, but I am inclined to take one or two Statements. I would take the one on Blood Donors Day and I have two Statements which touched on the same subject.
Hon Deputy Minority Leader?
Mr Avedzi 4:33 a.m.
Mr Speaker, since the Rt Hon Speaker has admitted six Statements, Hon Members whose Statements have been admitted have prepared themselves. Could we not give limits and allow as many as we can, so that once we are tired, we end there?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:33 a.m.
Very well.
The first Statement stands in the name of Hon Abdul-Salam Adams, Member of Parliament for New Edubiase. It is a commemorative Statement on the World Blood Donor Day. Hon Member, the Floor is yours and you can make your Statement.
STATEMENTS 4:33 a.m.
Mr Adams Abdul-Salam (NDC -- New Edubiase) 4:43 p.m.
Thank you Mr Speaker for the opportunity to make a commemorative Statement on World Blood Donor Day.
Mr Speaker, on 14th June every year, we celebrate World Blood Donor Day to raise global awareness on the need for safe blood and blood products for transfusion.

On this day, special attention is given to the critical contributions voluntary blood donors make to national health systems in the world. The day also provides an opportunity to remind governments and national health authorities about the need to enhance health infrastructure to

increase the collection of safe blood from voluntary donors.

Mr Speaker, blood products and their transfusion are critical aspects of health care, as they save millions of lives every day. The need for blood is universal, but there is limited access to it for those who need it. This is more pronounced in low- and middle- income countries.

Last year, the Ghana National Blood Service (NBS) achieved only 24 per cent of its target of 75 per cent voluntary blood donation. In 2017 a total of 162,226 units of blood was collected by the National Blood Service. In 2018, they collected 169,000 out of the 280,000 units required. In 2020, the number of blood donations dropped significantly. This drop was mainly due to restrictions on social distancing occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected mass blood donation across the country.

Mr Speaker, regular blood donations by voluntary donors from low-risk populations are a prerequisite for achieving self-sufficiency in safe blood and blood products for every country. However, in Ghana, the national blood supply system continues to rely heavily on

replacement donations by family relations and friends of patients who require blood transfusion. This development is impacting negatively on bloodstock at the blood bank. As a result, the blood bank is unable to meet the high demand and thus, putting the lives of patients who may require blood transfusion at risk.

Mr Speaker, in line with the objectives of this year's Blood Donor Day celebration, we must continue to:

Appreciate blood donors in the country and create broader public awareness about the need for regular, unpaid blood donation.

Promote the community values of blood donation in enhancing community solidarity and social cohesion.

Members of the house must use their mobilisation skills to organise constituents to go all out and donate blood.

Encourage the youth to embrace the humanitarian call to donate blood and inspire others to do the same.

Mr Speaker, in many countries, young people have been at the

forefront of activities and initiatives aimed at achieving safe blood supplies through voluntary blood donations.

In view of this, Mr Speaker, I will be donating blood to the National Blood Bank and hence call on all young parliamentarians to do same.

I also encourage all young men and women in the country, as this year's celebration slogan says, “Give blood and keep the world-beating”.

Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:43 p.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Member.
I would invite the Hon Member for Nabdam, Dr Kurt Nawaane, to make his Statement on “Blood Donors Day''.
World Blood Donors Day
Dr Mark Kurt Nawaane (NDC -- Nabdam) 4:43 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for permitting me to make this important statement to celebrate the World Blood Donors day which falls on the 14th June, 2021. June 14 is the birthday of Carl Landsteiner, an Austrian Biologist and physician who discovered the ABO blood group in
1901 and considered the founder of modern blood transfusion.
Mr Speaker, the event serves to thank voluntary unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gift of blood and also to raise awareness of the need for regular blood donation to ensure that all individuals and communities have access to affordable and timely supplies of safe and quality assured blood and blood products as an integral part of the Universal Health Coverage and a key component of effective health system.
Mr Speaker, World Blood donor day 2021 is hosted by Rome in Italy and it is on the theme “Give blood and keep the world beating. ‘‘The objectives of the 2021 campaign is to thank donors and to create a broader public awareness about the need for regular unpaid blood donation. The campaign also focuses on the role of the youth in ensuring a safe blood supply.
Mr Speaker, there is no substitute for human blood. People between the ages of 17 to 75 are qualified to donate. There are medical advantages in being a regular blood donor. Donating blood is good for your Health. It decreases the amount of iron in the body and reduces the risk of heart disease and
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:53 p.m.
Yes, Hon Dr Sebastian Sandaare.
Dr Sebastian N. Sandaare (NDC -- Daffiama/Bussie/Issa) 5:03 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the Statement on World Blood Donor Day presented by Hon Members for New Edubiase and Nabdam constituencies.
Mr Speaker, blood is life because what keeps us as humans is the blood in us. If we lose or do not have blood in our bodies, we are at risk of death. So, blood is very critical to our survival as humans and therefore, this day, was established to create awareness about the importance of blood and ensuring that we have safe blood and blood related products for transfusion.
One thing that should be is that blood is not for sale. When I was practising as a medical doctor, this was a concern and I think we still have complaints about people visiting hospitals with the knowledge that they are to pay for blood. Blood cannot be bought and should not be sold to anybody and safe blood is one of the very critical issues needed for universal health coverage. This is because nobody anywhere should be denied blood when they are critically in need of it.
Mr Speaker, all of us are at risk; we could be involved in an accident or sick in need of blood or a relative could be in very critical condition needing blood and that is the very reason all of us should support and create the awareness that there is the need for us to have safe blood. The Hon Member who made the Statement made it clear that we are relying on blood replacement; this means that a relative goes to the hospital and where there is no blood or if a pint of blood is managed to be secured, you are asked to bring relations to donate in replacement. Therefore, in looking around for relatives to donate blood, so many lives are lost just in search for safe blood.
That is why, as Hon Members of Parliament, we should be involved in
creating that awareness educating the public on the need for all of us to donate. The fear of being told that one's blood is unsafe is what prevents many people from donating since they would be checked for HIV, hepatitis and other infections. However, most importantly, the fear of being told that one has HIV/AIDS is what prevents many people from availing themselves for blood donation and that should not be the case.

Mr Speaker, so, all of us should be encouraged to avail ourselves to donate blood voluntarily because it is safer when the blood is donated voluntarily rather than when it is donated under emergency conditions. Once it is voluntary and not paid for, they have all the time to do all the various tests to ensure that the blood is safe, but when it is donated under emergency conditions, it is not as safe as when it is voluntary and no demand for payments.

However, I must stress that those who donate voluntarily without demand for payment should be motivated in a way. It can be by the provision of snack because the person must be healthy before the donation so we have to take good care of such people to ensure that our hospitals have safe blood. Nobody should be scared because it is better to donate

blood and know ones status than to be afraid. So, together we can have safe blood that would save lives. The Government must also invest because per the National Blood Service Act, there must be regional and district offices. We should not just allow the Act to lie there but we have to invest as a country to ensure that the district and regional hospitals have safe blood to save lives.

Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity.
Mr James G. Quayson (NDC -- Assin North) 5:03 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Statement on the Floor.
Mr Speaker, I believe that the problem in most developing countries about voluntary blood donation is typically the lack of awareness. I say so because I did a special case study on my personal driver. One day, I asked him whether he has donated blood before and his answer was no. I asked him why and he answered that it is because he has never had any relative who needed blood. Then I asked how about another person who has been involved in an accident and needed help, then he answered that the person could contact his relatives. Mr Speaker, this is the notion of the people that blood is only donated
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:03 p.m.
Hon Member, thank you.
I would now give the opportunity to the Hon Member for Krowor.
Ms Agnes N. M. Lartey (NDC - Krowor) 5:03 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity to contribute to the Statement on the Floor.
Mr Speaker, I just want to say that the focus is on the blood donor today but I want to encourage Government to actually invest and ensure that the donor is motivated to go and donate. Mr Speaker, all of us are donors and our constituents too are donors. We
had occasions when blood is being donated, people are motivated with the provision of beverages so we see a lot of people line up to donate.
I believe that under emergency situations, blood donation is very critical for us to do, so anybody who sacrifices to donate must be motivated to do so voluntarily. Mr Speaker, for blood to be safe, there is the need for us to also donate ahead of time so that the necessary processes and due diligence would be done to ensure the safety of the blood for the user to also be safe.
Therefore, I would want to call on this august House to have a day for Hon Members of Parliament to donate to encourage the public to do same. We can also do same in our constituencies so that more people will come on board and encourage others to also donate. Mr Speaker, so I call on the House to set a day for us to donate and I am sure that at the end of the day we would contribute to the national good.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:13 p.m.
Hon Member, thank you very much.
Hon Members, there is a joint Statement on Child Labour by the Hon Member for Yilo Krobo and the
Hon Member for Techiman West. Both Hon Members are not in the House so we would stand their Statements down.
I now invite the Hon Member for Okaikwei North, Ms Theresa Lardi Awuni to make a Statement on the occasion of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, 2021
Ms Theresa Lardi Awuni (NDC -- Okaikwei North) 5:13 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to make a Statement on the Floor of this august House on the occasion of the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.
Mr Speaker, the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is commemorated each year on 15th June to highlight one of the worst manifestation of ageism an inequality in our society, elder abuse. Elder Abuse is any act which causes harm to the older person, and is carried out by someone they know and trust such as a family member or friend. The abuse may be physical, social, financial, psychological or sexual and can include mistreatment and neglect.
Mr Speaker, the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day was officially
Ms Theresa Lardi Awuni (NDC -- Okaikwei North) 5:13 p.m.


Every year, there is a considerable increase in the number of elders in society. This number is expected to keep growing in the next 10 years. With the growth in the number of elderly, the abuse rate towards them is also likely. It has led to a situation where we have seen elderly destitutes on our streets. They are victims of abuse from our families and communities.

Mr Speaker, in conclusion, I therefore, call on my colleagues and Ghanaians at large to let us be more protective and respective to our elders. We should help elders find respect and love in society. Our homes are happy and cheerful when there is a combination of the blessing and learning from elders and mindfulness, respect and love for their elders.

Let us check on each elderly person living around us. Let us be their source of strength and make them more secure, and be all aware of their human rights. In case of need, let every Hon Member host an awareness programme to uplift the elderly in their communities and constituencies because these come in very handy and helpful.

Mr Speaker, let us focus on bringing more respect and love than the current abusive treatments. We are

here today because they were there for us yesterday. Let us all lift our voices for the elderly. I end my Statement by stating the famous saying “they helped us grow our teeth, and we in turn should help them lose their teeth”.

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity.
Mr Alhassan K. Ghansah (NDC -- Asikuma/Odoben/ Brakwa) 5:23 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for permitting me to contribute to the Statement by Hon Lardi Awuni.
Mr Speaker, I want to contribute on two fronts -- the cultural aspect of it and the religious aspect of it.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:23 p.m.
Hon Member, be brief, please.
Mr Ghansah 5:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in our cultural setting and in the past, we know that a person who is older should be well-respected and treated as such. But what do we find today? All in the name of civilisation, modernism and human rights. When a child attains the age of 18 years, he feels he cannot be controlled any longer and they go off way to do whatever they want to do.
Mr Speaker, it is very common that we find our children nowadays in situations where they gather and engage in activities such as drug abuse and so on. All these things contribute to the disrespect that is going to the elderly in our society at the moment.
Mr Speaker, the Bible teaches us in Exodus 20 5:23 p.m.
12 that:
“Honour your father and mother so that your days may be long on this earth”.
This tells us that when we disrespect our parents, our days on earth would be shorter. No wonder we are dying young.
Mr Speaker, the Holy Qu'ran also enjoins us to be very respectful to our elders. Qu'ran 17:23-24 enjoins us to be respectful to our parents and that we should ensure that we give unfailing courtesies to our parents and that when one of them or both of them attain the old age, we should address them with excellent speech and that we should not scold them so that our days may be longer on this earth. The holy Prophet Mohammed, may peace and blessings be upon him, is quoted to have said that anybody who disrespects an elderly person is not a member of his community. So even
the Bible, the Qu'ran - Mr Speaker, if you would allow me to quote the saying of the Buddhist - Buddhism teaches that old age is a time of great suffering and that once a person attains old age, we should ensure that we respect the elderly and that when we disrespect them, we are doomed forever.
So, Mr Speaker, we can see that we have to respect our elderly not to scold them and address them with excellent speech so that our days may be longer on this earth.
Mr Speaker, with these few words, I thank you very much for allowing me to contribute to the Statement.
Mr Sylvester Tetteh (NPP -- Bortianor-Ngleshie Amanfro) 5:23 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Statement made by Hon Theresa Awuni.
Mr Speaker, I think and I believe that this is not the first time such a statement has been made on the Floor in respect to the abuse of the elderly in our society. What it means is that Parliament or Government has not taken giant steps in addressing this situation in our country.
Mr Speaker, the maker of the Statement made it clear that it is an
Mr Sylvester Tetteh (NPP -- Bortianor-Ngleshie Amanfro) 5:23 p.m.


abuse of old age in our society. We must not trivialise this issue.

Mr Speaker, while Government works to increase the life expectancy of our citizenry, others are also abusing the same feat we are trying to achieve.

Mr Speaker, I think that we have made enough of this Statement in this House. Let us take concrete steps. Up till today, I believe we can count quite a number of homes around this country that these abusive acts are being perpetrated on innocent Ghanaians.

Mr Speaker, there is a correlation between poverty and abuse of old age in our society. I have not seen a rich or well-to-do old man or woman ever being abused in any of our communities in this country. Why? We must therefore take giant steps to ensure that we reduce poverty in our country. Ignorance and the psyche of some of our cultural practices is also leading to these kind of situations in our country.

Mr Speaker, this should not be viewed with political lenses in this country. The Ministry for Gender and Social Protection must take steps to decommission -- there are some

religious sects or prayer camps in this country that these abuses are going on.

Mr Speaker, the Hon member who made the Statement has also said that Hon Members must also take steps to sensitise and conscientise the members of our society. I believe that if not in my community, obviously, somebody is here who knows of a camp or spiritualist somewhere where they are chaining people and abusing their rights. Apart from insulting the elderly, which we all frown upon and I believe society is fighting-physical abuse is what the Statement is talking about.

Mr Speaker, with these few words, I would want to urge the House to ensure we take steps and urge Government and Ministries and Departments, especially, the Department of Social Welfare, to go to the aid of innocent Ghanaian elderly people who are abused.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Dr Hamza Adam (NDC -- Kumbungu) 5:33 p.m.
Thank you very much for the opportunity to associate myself with the Statement.
We all know that old age awaits everybody.

Whether we like it or not, we will become old; nobody can escape from it. So it is important that we pay attention to the elderly. I must commend the Hon Member who made the Statement for touching on such an important subject matter.

Mr Speaker, I must mention that elders need time. They need socialisation at old age. They need people around them to spend quality time with them, but unfortunately what we see today is the reverse. I would use myself as an example. I ensure that anytime that I am in my constituency, the first point of call is to see my parents. I have been fortunate to have both parents still alive. I go to them and spend time with them. I must confess that the time I spend with them gives them some level of satisfaction that nothing else can do, and they are so happy about that. I would urge other Hon Colleaguess and the society to try as much as possible to spend quality time with the elderly.

Mr Speaker, the other thing is that elderly people need quality food, but unfortunately, we do not find that in many communities, especially in the rural communities. They are supposed to eat special meals because at that

time, the quality of life and the type of food that they prefer at the homes cannot support that. So we need as a society, to try as much as possible to encourage people to give quality food to the elderly.

Mr Speaker, Government should relook at the LEAP because it targeted the elderly. It tried to support them, so that at least they can be taken care of. But today, if we go to the communities -- I can talk of Kumbungu - you would rather find young and energetic men who are benefitting from the LEAP leaving the elderly and the weak who cannot work. Government should do proper auditing and ensure that we scrutinise and identify the right people to benefit from the LEAP.

Mr Speaker, the other critical thing is that, when we go to the hospital, we still see elderly people struggling for health care. That is not acceptable. We will see them in queues and they struggle to run laboratory tests. Sometimes, some of them do not have the resources to undertake such tests. Government should take steps to try as much as possible to relook at the health compensation for the elderly and ensure that the elderly does not struggle to get health care.

Mr Speaker, with these few words, I thank you for the opportunity.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:33 p.m.
Hon Members, let me come to Leadership. Yes, Hon Member for Asante Akim North? Then when we come to the Minority Side, I believe the Hon Deputy Minority Leader will yield it and I will give it to a lady.
Mr Andy K. Appiah-Kubi (NPP -- Asante Akim North) 5:33 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this beautiful discussion. I have listened with rapt attention to the submissions by my Hon Colleagues in the House. They are all calling for Ghana to pay particular attention to the aged.
Indeed, I would want to bring the legal dimension to the discussion. I would start with the expectations and the quest -- our focus on children's health, education, et cetera as a nation. We have done enough by way of social interventions, and also by legislation. Putting responsibilities on the aged to look after the children. Unfortunately, when the laws and the regime compels us to do justice to the upbringing of children in the country, we do not have any legal institutions or arrangements or mechanisms that would compel the beneficiaries of our - to also pay same in reciprocity to the aged. Suffice it to say that we go to some hospitals and we have dedicated wards for children. We as a country have enacted the Children's
Act that put compulsion on us as advanced aged people to look after children. But the same children who are beneficiaries of our sweat, when they grow up, there is no such legislation to direct the attention to the aged. It becomes an imbalanced system.
So in the same way as legislation compels us to look after the interest of children, I expect that there must be legislation which will also compel the beneficiaries of our toil to also look after us when we are in old age. So I envisaged that this House will consider crafting a reciprocal Act called the Aged Act to also bring the State's attention to the aged. We have talked and made suggestions, but what is missing is a compulsion supported by law for us to look after the aged.
In recent times, we have also enacted legislations that compels the State to compulsorily offer education to the youth. I am not doubting the need. I would want to add that when we have done our due, natural justice requires that beneficiaries also pay their due. So, I am calling for a legal regime that will ensure a sustainable reference to the aged as a State, institutions and as persons.
Mr Speaker, as we speak, under the Children's Act, they say the best interest of the child under all
circumstances, including decisions taken by parents. A parent could go to prison if he or she neglects to do his or her parental duties. But when the children grow up, and they become big men, they do not have any responsibility to look after their parents, let alone, civil society.
Mr Speaker, so my contribution now is to call our attention that what we have done for the youth, let us also do something, so that they will also pay something in return. We have all kinds of social interventions. For example, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). For the youth to come under a certain regime that requires the sponsorship of the State under certain circumstances, but for the aged, they would have to fend for themselves. In most cases, the State is even not there to support them.
So please, all interventions that are social in orientation, must be proviso in the appropriate legislation that would also facilitate the State's attention to the aged, and also give the aged a quota in the enjoyment of certain benefits under State institutions.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity and I would urge you with all humility, to seek your indulgence
to make reference of this Statement to the appropriate Committees for us to look at a possibility of generating either a Private Member's Bill, that will resolve in the creation of legislation that will direct the State and the institution, and above all, direct beneficiaries of the State and persons to benefit from the good will to help ease the plight of the aged.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:43 p.m.
Hon Member for Dadekotopon, Hon Rita Sowah?
Ms Rita Naa Odoley Sowah (NDC -- Dadekotopon) 5:43 p.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute to the Statement made by my Hon Colleague, Hon Theresa Lardi Awuni, on the occasion of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day under the theme “Lifting Up Voices.”
Mr Speaker, it is time we lifted up our voices against the abuse of the elderly in our society. We were all once babies, and today, we are growing. Tomorrow, we would be in the aged bracket. How do we expect our children and grandchildren to treat us?
Mr Speaker, one thing that saddens me is that, in Ghana we have the witch camps; we do not have
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:43 p.m.
Hon Members, I can conclude from the response that almost everybody here is tired. Let me take indication from the available Leader on what he wants us to do.
Mr Samuel Atta Akyea 5:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the day has been well spent, and the industry has been very good so, proceedings should come to a
close. I therefore move for an adjournment.
Mr James K. Avedzi 5:43 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.
ADJOURNMENT 5:43 p.m.