Debates of 14 Jun 2022

Hon Members, I have
received a message from His Excellency
the President addressed to the Rt Hon
Speaker and the House. I would proceed to
read the message dated 12th June, 2022. It
reads:

Votes and Proceedings and the

Official Report

Hon Members, I do not
have a formal communication today;
therefore, I would move to the item
numbered 4 on the Order Paper — Correction of Votes and Proceedings and
the Official Report.
Hon Members, we would start with the
correction of Votes and Proceedings dated
Thursday, 9th June, 2022.
Page 1…8 —
Mr Kofi Iddie Adams — rose —

Mr Speaker, on page 8, the
item numbered 4(2), I was marked as
absent but I was present in the House on
Thursday.

Table Office, kindly take
note.
Page 9…21 —
Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa — rose —

Yes, Hon Member?

Mr Speaker, the item
numbered 2(iv) on page 21— it is a minor correction calling for consistency. Hon
Members would notice that “Mr Habib
Iddrisu” has “Mr” with a full stop but the others do not have that. I have noticed that
the practice has been to just present the
abbreviations without the full stops across
all the pages. Consistently, that is what we
do. So, if we want to amend the practice,
then probably it should run across for all of
them. Therefore, I wanted to draw our
attention to it.

Table Office, he is just
drawing our attention to the full stop after
the “Mr”
Page 22.
Hon Members, in the absence of any
further corrections, the Votes and
Proceedings of Thursday, 9th June, 2022,
as corrected are hereby adopted as the true
record of proceedings.

We would now move to the Official

Report, and I have in my hand two Official

Reports dated 29th March, 2022, and 31st

March, 2022. So, we would start with the

one dated 29th March, 2022. Any

corrections?

Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka

— rose —

Yes, Hon Minority Chief
Whip?

Mr Speaker, on
Thursday, the Second Deputy Speaker was
in the Chair and at Conclave we drew his
attention to some anomalies on the 29th
March, 2022. It was agreed, and he even
made the comment while Sitting as Mr
Speaker, that these things needed to be
corrected before we looked at the Official
Report.
As I pick the Official Report here, it
looks like nothing has been done, and it is
still the same thing here. I do not know
whether it has been changed and I am
holding the old one, but what I have in my
document is still the old one.
Mr Speaker, precisely, I want to draw
your attention to column 100, the very first
paragraph: “Hon Members of the Minority Group began to walk out of the Chamber.” This is not how we capture walkouts. I
drew the attention of the Hon Second
Deputy Speaker and showed him several
examples of our walkouts. I said that we
were concerned about how this was
captured and he said that it was going to be
corrected.
We would be grateful if we could stand
down the Official Report for 29th March,
2022, until those corrections are made,
unless we want to take it as it is. Then, we
may have to raise all our arguments with
regard to how this has been done.
Mr Speaker, I wanted to draw your
attention, and I am sure that the Hon
Second Deputy Speaker is here and he
would attest to the fact that this was what
we agreed to.
Thank you.
Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh — rose
—

Yes?

Mr Speaker, I
listened to my Hon Colleague and the
concern that he spoke to. Indeed, the matter
came up at Conclave and we had a
gentleman's agreement, and the Hon Second Deputy Speaker was present then.
So, I would want to humbly suggest to my
Hon Colleague that if he would accede, it
is not a matter that we should drag. There
was a gentleman's agreement that the Table Office, together with he and I, would
deal with this matter. So, I deferred this
matter to the Table Office, and they gave
us their word that they would ensure that it
is corrected as our Hon Colleague
suggested.

Clerks-at-the-Table,
why? I am surprised that you are having
difficulties in capturing what happened on
that day. This is not the first time that we
have had walkouts from the House, and we
have a way of capturing walkouts. Why is
it that you are having difficulties on this
day? I even realised that some statements
that I made on that day are not captured.

Mr
Speaker, respectfully, because I was not in
the Chamber, I do not know the nature of
the correction that the Hon Minority Chief
Whip is talking is about. I have listened to
the Hon Majority Chief Whip and he said
that they would have some engagement
and agree on the appropriate capturing of
what went on that day. I am not too sure of
what is intended by these words that are
here, and because I do not know the nature,
I do not want to venture into it now, except
to say that I think what has been captured
here is what really occurred on that day.
However, if there is any correction that
is being suggested, perhaps, we have to
know what it is so that it is properly
positioned in such a way that, contextually,
it would make sense.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Definitely, we are not
going to do anything that would differ from
what happened on the Floor on that day.
We are not going to allow any person to go
and sit with any officer of the Table Office
to decide on what happened. It is the
House. So, with the counsel of the Clerks-
at-the-Table, I would call them to listen to
the recording and use that recording to
make sure that the proper thing is captured.
I even made a statement, but I did not
see that statement captured here, because
when the Hon Majority Leader called on
me a number of times to put the Question,
I recollect very well saying that the level of
noise was such that I would not hear the
votes. So, I did not put the Question and it
took sometime before I put the Question.
All of those things are not captured.
We would have to listen to the audio and
make sure that it is done so that anybody
raising any issue would listen to the audio
recording. If we see that there has been any
editing, we would see it from the time that
it has been edited. So, I would want to
assure the Hon Members that the right
thing would be done.
What we would do now is to suspend
the consideration of this Official Report, so
the corrections would have to wait until we
capture them. My attention was not drawn
to what happened in my absence.
We would take the Official Report of
31st March, 2022. Was that one too taken
and has it been corrected? Any
corrections?

Hon Members, we have
to move to the item numbered 5.
Alhaji Muntaka — rose —

Yes, Hon Minority Chief
Whip?

Mr Speaker, as
discussed at the Leadership meeting, I
would want to come under Standing Order
72, and with your permission, I beg to
quote:
“By the indulgence of the House and the leave of Mr Speaker a
Member may, at the time appointed
for statements under Order 53
(Order of Business) explain a
matter of personal nature or make a
statement on a matter of urgent
public importance…”
Mr Speaker, even though I know that we
were to do Questions, as we agreed, I am to
do it now. It has to be — [Interruption].

Hon Member, please,
since we have not reached that time yet, if
you want me to vary the order of Business,
that application would have to be made
first, and if I grant the permission, then it
would be varied accordingly and you
would be given the opportunity to make the
Statement. We are now at the item
numbered 5, but the one you are talking
about is the item numbered 7. We will take
it when we get to the time for taking
Statements.
However, we are at the item numbered
5 which is Urgent Questions.
Yes, Majority Chief Whip?

Mr Speaker,

Well, Hon Members—

Mr Speaker, I
am grateful that you have recognised me once again. I would like to seek your leave for us to vary the order of Business and allow my Hon Colleague to come under Standing Order 72 because of the prior notification he gave us at Conclave.

Hon Members, the order
of Business for the day would be varied accordingly. At the pre-Sitting meeting, we agreed that the Hon Minority Chief Whip would make an urgent Statement and then we would allow one person from the Majority Side, that is the Hon Majority Chief Whip, to comment on that Statement before I make a referral to the appropriate Committee. This was the understanding at the pre-Sitting meeting.
Hon Minority Chief Whip, you may
make your Statement.

Mr Speaker, I am grateful for the space granted.

Statements

I would like to begin by emphasising the

fact that our Hon Colleague came under

Standing Order 72. With your leave, if we

read the Standing Order carefully, there is

the fact that: “the terms of any such proposed statement shall first be submitted

to Mr Speaker”.

Mr Speaker, fact be told, and I would

not want to belabour the point, it was at

Conclave that our Hon Colleague

mentioned this concern in passing. So

going forward, I think we should be

guided. Learning from the roots and going

forward, our Hon Colleague should

probably submit the terms of his Statement

ahead of time.

Mr Speaker, having said that, I think

that we have all read several reports from

the media on how the incident occurred. I

also have a different version from what my

Hon Colleague has narrated. It may appear

as a one-sided story, so, a call for an

investigation is well placed and I commend

my Hon Colleague on that score.

However, I think it is also important for

us to commend the IGP. The IGP and his

men must be commended, following

events and commentaries in the media

about how swiftly they moved to the scene.

We live in this country, and these things do

not normally happen the way it happened.

So, it is commendable.

Again, the IGP has gone ahead to

interdict, some of his officials which is also

a very commendable effort. If that is the

right expression. However, I am not too

sure if Parliament's conduction of an investigation aside what the IGP has issued

to be carried out, would not mean two

concurrent investigations being conducted

at the same time.

Mr Speaker, so, we may need your

guidance on this matter. If indeed, as my

Hon Colleague is calling that we refer this

matter to - and I can see that there is already a referral that is similar to this but

the two matters are significantly different.

So, I do not know if this should also, in the

same spirit, be referred to the Committee

that is already working. This is because the

IGP, who is the Inspector-General of

Police; the Head of the Institution, has

already called for some investigations to be

conducted.

However, I sympathise with my Hon

Colleague and the students. I think this is a

matter that we need to look at. Except to

emphasise that we may have to wait and

allow the Police to conduct its

investigation and finish it because we have

no reason to doubt the Police in these

matters. After which we can come as an

aftermath, on our strength as Parliament, if

we think there should be a further

investigation. That is what I am reverting

my mind to and I think we should take

these matters in proper strides and be able

to —

Statements

Mr Speaker, we are also reliably

informed that the students are writing their

examinations. We would want to call on

the authorities to put the right measures in

place. When things like this happen,

psychologically, it affects the mental

buildup of the students. So they would

have to put in the right measures for the

students to be prepared and ready to go

through their examination successfully.

Having said this, my sympathies are

with the families and students. However, I

think that for two institutions to conduct

two concurrent investigations on the same

matter is something that is worrying.

Hence, we would certainly need your

guidance on this matter.

Hon Members, this is an
incident that is a test on the powers of this
House and I expect that this House would
take the matter seriously.
Just a few days ago, I made referrals to
the Committee on Defence and Interior
about the brutalities that are being meted
out to ordinary citizens by our security
agencies. I did not mince words in stating
that we would take those matters seriously
and I even directed the Committee to
investigate all the Reports that had been
generated from Commissions and
Committees set up to investigate such
matters which have yielded no results.
Now, another incident has happened
immediately after that and apart from what
you told me, I do not have any other
evidence that the Police is investigating the
matter but I take Leaders to be very
credible witnesses. So, I believe what you
said is the case.
I think that our security authorities
should not, in such cases, be releasing the
Police with live bullets in such situations.
If the Police is actually investigating the
matter now, what we can do as a House is
to immediately show concern, visit the
Police and let them know that we are
awaiting their Report.
After receiving the Report, we are
entitled to take further action. We would
also have to visit the scene, particularly, to
sympathise with the injured students, the
Headmistress or a tutor of the school, see
their conditions and report back to the
House while we await the outcome of the
investigations by the Police.

Statements

The Committee has a period of one week, not two weeks. Yes, so we can move back to item numbered 5 - Urgent Questions.

Hon Minority Leader?

Mr Speaker, as
much as I respect the directives you have given on this matter regarding the unprofessional conduct of the Police in the shooting at the Islamic Senior High School, I plead further, if you could add, subsequent to your own words, that the Leadership of the Committees on Health and Defence and Interior are immediately directed to move to the scene in Kumasi as you said, to assess the grounds as you rightly pointed out in your preliminary remarks, further to the Committee looking at the matter.

Hon Majority Leader?

Mr
Speaker, I think the directive is coming on the heels of the Statement that has just been made that we need to be apprised of the situation. I believe in that regard, because we are not going to conduct any investigation they just need to touch base, ask a few questions and submit the Report to us.

So, I would even think that we should

allow the Committee on Defence and Interior, perhaps, beginning tomorrow, to go there so they can report to us, other than

that, if we would have to wait until the weekend, it would be difficult for them to report to us on Tuesday, 21st June, 2022. In that regard, I believe the Committee has the remit, and they are capable of just going there, touching base and coming back to us.

Well, I think the main
consideration here is the security situation,
and that is why I restricted it to the
Committee on Defence and Interior. We
are not looking at the issue of health,
education, gender and children, or welfare.
We are not looking at those now so the
Report from the Committee on Defence
and Interior would better apprise us of the
situation, and if there are other issues for us
to look at, the House would do so.
However, I would like to state clearly
that many times, I have read statements
coming from the public and some heads of
institutions that do not come under the
oversight function of Parliament. I do not
know where they got that from. State
institutions or even constitutional
commissions — when it comes to the
oversight function of Parliament, that is
what the people have decided that their
representatives should do. They cannot, on
their own, get up together to do that, so
they have elected people and empowered
them to do it. Parliament would definitely
not interfere with the functions of indepen-
dent Commissions and other bodies, but

Statements

the oversight responsibility rests in this

House, and nobody can take that away

from us. Please, we will not allow State

institutions to only operate as government

bodies or party institutions. It will not

happen in this country. Then, that is not

democracy. No government should be

allowed to go on with that. State

institutions remain state institutions, and

they are to serve all the arms of

Government and not only the Executive

arm. State institutions are for the State, and

that is why there is the emphasis on us

strengthening them. I will leave it at that,

and when the appropriate time comes, I

will give a full Statement on this matter.

We will move on to item numbered 5 —

Urgent Questions. We have two Urgent

Questions in the names of the Hon Member

for North Tongu, Mr Samuel Okudzeto

Ablakwa, and the Hon Member for

Madina, Mr Francis-Xavier Kojo Sosu,

and both are directed to the Hon Minister

for Foreign Affairs and Regional

Integration. The Hon Minister is

appropriately seated; therefore, I call on

Hon Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa to have

the first shot.

Hon Member, you may do so now.

Hon Member, do you
have any supplementary question?

Mr Speaker, I thank the
Hon Minister for her Answer. My first
supplementary question relates to the
report of the sole enquirer. Is the Hon
Minister able to make available to this
House the report, considering that it has not
been published since the sole enquirer
concluded his work? We need to know
exactly what transpired so that as a House,
if the need be, we would be able to make
some inputs and recommendations going
forward.

Mr Speaker, the enquiry
was commissioned by Government under
the auspices of the Hon Minister for Lands
and Natural Resources. The report was
submitted to the Hon Minister, and I
believe he would be the right person to
release it. I have a copy and I can work with
the Hon Minister to see to its release.

Mr Speaker, I would take
the Hon Minister by her word and follow
up to receive the report. My second
supplementary question —

Hon Member, the Hon
Minister did not say you should follow up
to receive the report; she said that she is not
the appropriate authority to release it to
you, and that you should enquire from the
Hon Minister for Lands and Natural
Resources. It is not that she has already
given the directive that you should receive
the report. The Hon Minister is still
available, and you may ask her if you want
to.

Well, I thought I heard
her say that she would play some
facilitation role. However, let me place on
record that since we issued a press
statement calling for the report to be
published, which Government has failed to
do, I have formally written to the Hon
Minister through my lawyers who have
Urgent Questions

activated a request pursuant to the Right to

Information Act. This is just for the record;

that is what we have done —

Hon Member, this
disclosure seems to have —

Mr Speaker, because you
made reference to the Hon Minister for
Lands and Natural Resources, I thought I
should place on record —

No, if you have already
written through your lawyers requesting
for it, why are you now before us asking
the same question?

Mr Speaker, that was to
the Hon Minister for Lands and Natural
Resources; this Question is to the Hon
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional
Integration —

Hon Member, please, we
are talking about the same subject matter.
Therefore, if you have written to the
appropriate Ministry, you have to await the
response. At the end of the day, if you are
not satisfied with what they have done,
then you bring them to the House.
However, you cannot do the two
simultaneously: you come to the House
and at the same your lawyer has written to
them—

Mr Speaker, the
substantive Question is about what the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional
Integration is doing to forestall demolitions
of embassies. This is the second time this
has happened, so I would proceed with my
supplementary questions.
Mr Speaker, my second question relates
to sanctions. So far, the Government has
only identified Mr Jojo Hagan as the
person responsible for the demolition. To
the best of my knowledge, no sanctions
have applied so far. I would like to find out
from the Hon Minister, why is it that all of
those who conspired with Jojo Hagan,
particularly at the Lands Commission,
have not been identified and brought to
book?

Mr Speaker, I said
toward the end of my Answer that the Hon
Minister for Lands and Natural Resources
has set up a committee chaired by his Hon
Deputy, with representation on that
committee of an official from the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs and Regional
Integration. The committee has been set up
to see to the implementation of the
recommendations, and as I said earlier in
the second point, the sole enquirer
recommended that the said Jojo Hagan
should be liable to pay compensation to the
Bulgarian Embassy for his unlawful
actions. Therefore, this is part of what the
committee would look at.

Mr Speaker, I would like
to find out, finally, from the Hon Minister
if she has any indication when this
committee would conclude its work. Does
Urgent Questions

the committee have any timelines to

conclude its work?

Mr Speaker, I, as the
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional
Integration, am an interested party.
However, this committee is working under
the instruction of the Hon Minister for
Lands and Natural Resources, so I believe
that answer lies within his purview in terms
of the time set for the implementation of
the recommendations. He would be better
placed to answer this question.

Hon Minister for Lands
and Natural Resources, since you are in the
Chamber, is there anything you would like
to say in connection with this matter? This
is coming from the Rt Hon Speaker — [Laughter]— because I got information from the Hon Minister through my usher,
and that is why I ask him to —

Mr Speaker,
I was a bit worried that since this is a
Question that has been advertised, to be
fair to the Hon Minister, even though he is
in the Chamber, if there is a development
ensuing from that Question, perhaps, he
must be given sufficient notice to prepare
and come to answer. However, if he is put
on the spot immediately, that could pose a
challenge. Notwithstanding, I take a cue
from what you said, that you have had
some discussions with the Hon Minister.
Hence, if he feels enabled to respond, so be
it, but I thought that would be a rather
dangerous precedence in this House.

Hon Majority Leader, I
have not had any discussions with the Hon
Minister. He has requested, through my
usher, to have a bite at the question, and so,
I do not want to deny him his request. I
have not had any discussions with him.
Since he is around and he has requested to
have a word, I grant him. This is his Floor;
it is not mine. I do not think that it is
abnormal.
Yes, Hon Minister, what would you like
to say?
Minister for Lands and Natural
Resources (Mr Samuel Abdulai Jinapor)
(MP): Mr Speaker, I actually have a
supplementary question for the Hon
Minister —

You have a
supplementary question?

Mr Speaker, yes. Is
the Hon Minister aware that pursuant to a
requisition from her office, I met the
Bulgarian Ambassador to Nigeria, with
concurrent accreditation to Ghana, who is
on record to have indicated that he and his
government are very satisfied with how the
Government of Ghana has handled this
Bulgarian Embassy issue, and has actually
commended the President, me and the
Government for how this matter has been
handled?
Urgent Questions

Further, the Bulgarian High Commi-

ssioner, again, through the office of the

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional

Integration, is scheduled to meet me to

proceed with the effort we are making at

resolving this matter once and for all. Is the

Hon Minister aware of this?

Mr Speaker, I am aware
of that because the request to meet with the
Hon Minister for Lands and Natural
Resources was made through my office. I
am aware that he did meet with him, and I
am also aware that after the meeting, the
Bulgarian Ambassador expressed his
satisfaction at the way this matter was
handled. I am also aware that he is coming
again to meet with the Hon Minister very
soon. Indeed, I am aware.
Mr Rockson-Nelson Etse Kwame
Dafeamekpor: — rose —

Yes, Mr Dafeamekpor?

Mr Speaker, thank
you for the opportunity. I heard the Hon
Minister say as part of her earlier answer
that what happened was an unlawful
activity, so I would like to find out if this
matter has been referred to the office of the
Attorney-General for criminal prosecution
against the said person.

Yes, Hon Minister?

Mr Speaker, I am not
aware that it has been referred to the
Attorney-General. It was the Ministry of
Lands and Natural Resources that took the
steps to stop it because the land belongs to
the State and therefore that would be from
them to the Attorney-General's Depart-
ment if that is the case.

Yes, Mr Sayibu?

Mr
Speaker, before I ask my question, I would
like to seek your guidance on whether or
not the contribution made by the Hon
Minister for Lands and Natural Resources
could be considered as part of the answers
given and could be questioned.

All right. As we know, it
is a supplementary question from the Hon
Minister for Lands and Natural Resources
which has been appropriately answered by
the Hon Minister for Foreign Affairs and
Regional Integration, so it is part of the
records of this House and it is part of the
answer. In fact, from experience, the Hon
Minister for Lands and Natural Resources
was not satisfied with the answer that was
given by the Hon Minister for Foreign
Affairs and Regional Integration because it
was incomplete. He wanted that aspect to
be added to the answer and he has
succeeded in doing that so you could ask
supplementary questions on that.

Mr Speaker, thank you for
your guidance. On that note, I would like
to find out from the Hon Minister for
Urgent Questions

Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration if

she is aware that the Bulgarian Embassy

has written to the Ministry of Lands and

Natural Resources requesting a copy of the

report that was compiled by the Ministry

after the investigation into the demolition

and has since not received a copy?

Hon Minister, he would
like to know if you are aware of that?

Mr Speaker, I am not
aware that the Bulgarian Embassy has
requested for the report. I do not believe
that the request was made through my
office.

The Hon Minister could
respond.
Yes, Hon Minority Leader?

Mr Speaker,
when you gave the Hon Minister for Lands
and Natural Resources the opportunity to
support the Hon Minister for Foreign
Affairs and Regional Integration —

Actually, I did not give
him the opportunity to support her.
[Laughter] I gave him the opportunity to
ask a supplementary question.

Mr Speaker, in his
supplementary question, which was more
or less a leading question, he was very
emphatic that the Bulgarian Embassy
commended him and the Government and
deliberately left out the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Regional Integration as if they

Mr Speaker, more importantly, this

matter be put right that as the demolition

exercise happened in the year 2017, your

Committee on Foreign Affairs was

adequately briefed by Ambassador Yanko

Yordanov before the Committee of this

august House took particular interest in the

matter in demanding and ensuring justice

for the Bulgarian Mission in order to

cement the diplomatic relationship that

exists between the two countries. I would

like to ask the Hon Minister for Lands and

Natural Resources why the Hon Minister

for Foreign Affairs and the Committee on

Foreign Affairs were not commended?

Hon Minority Leader, this
is a question I would definitely not admit.

Yes, Hon Majority Leader?

Mr Speaker,
I am happy with this indication to the Hon
Minority Leader. He started rather
tangentially trying to question your
admission of the supplementary question
by the Hon Minister for Lands and Natural
Resources. He was questioning, by his
conduct, the authority that you have under
Standing Order 66.
Urgent Questions

Mr Speaker, is he questioning your

authority? He was even confused that the

Hon Minister made the submission. Later,

he said the Hon Minister made a statement.

Then when he reclined, he said the Hon

Minister submitted a leading question.

Where is he? What is his real under-

standing of the supplementary question

that was posed?

You are aware of the
often quoted statements of one of our
former Hon Majority Leaders, Hon Felix
Owusu-Adjapong, on the residual powers
of Leadership, so I had to grant him that
permission and he also had a political value
to nib at, so he succeeded in doing that.
You know this House is also the highest
political platform and so Hon Members try
to take advantage of it.
We would now move to the second
Urgent Question which stands in the name
of the Hon Member for Madina, Mr
Francis-Xavier Kojo Sosu. Hon Member,
you may ask your Question now.
The Hon Member is among the
delegation that had my permission to visit
our colleagues in the House of Commons
in the United Kingdom (UK) to listen to
their views on the Private Member Bill
before the House.

It is definitely part of our international

relations, so, we could not have denied

them that opportunity. However, it is there

for them to listen to them, collate their

views, and then come to — Or, do you have authority to ask the Question? Then you

should have said so.

Yes?

Measures to Evacuate Ghanaian

Citizens in Ukraine

Mr Mohammed Adamu Ramadan

(on behalf of Mr Francis-Xavier Kojo

Sosu) (NDC — Madina): Mr Speaker, I beg to ask the Hon Minister for Foreign

Affairs and Regional Integration the

measures being put in place to evacuate

Ghanaian citizens still trapped in Ukraine

following the invasion of that country by

Russia.

Yes, Hon Minister?

Mr
Speaker, the outbreak of war in Ukraine on
the 24th of February this year has brought
considerable strain on the cohesion of our
global order, which has caused loss of
several lives and mass displacement of
people. In response to the unfolding
development, the Government of Ghana
took an urgent decision to evacuate our
Urgent Questions

nationals from harm's way from Ukraine. The decision was carried out as follows:

Pre-Crisis Stage:

Mr Speaker, prior to the evacuation, the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional

Integration put in place an Emergency

Evacuation Plan. In this regard, the

Ministry, through its frontline Missions in

Berne, Switzerland; and Prague, Czech

Republic; Honorary Consulate in Kiev,

Ukraine; and the leadership of the National

Union of Ghanaian Students (NUGS - Ukraine) collated information (data) on the

names of Ghanaians, numbering 1,200,

majority of whom are students in Ukraine.

The data helped in the preparation for the

evacuation exercise.

Evacuation Stage:

Mr Speaker, in view of the sudden

outbreak of the conflict, following weeks

of intensive but unsuccessful preventive

diplomatic measures by world leaders and

the closure of the Ukrainian airports, the

Ministry, through its stakeholders, notably

Ghana's Honorary Consul in Kiev, and religious bodies such as the Church of

Pentecost and NUGS-Ukraine, arranged

buses for the evacuation of Ghanaian

nationals to the immediate neighbouring

states. As a result of such collaborative

efforts, our nationals were able to cross the

Ukrainian frontiers and took temporary

shelter in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia,

Romania and Czech Republic.

They were received and provided with

temporary accommodation and food in the

mentioned neighbouring states by religious

bodies such as the Church of Pentecost and

partly by the Government of Ghana, prior

to their evacuation to Ghana. Considering

the magnitude of the situation, the Ministry

deployed additional staff from our Vatican,

Berne, Berlin and Vienna Missions to

Poland and Hungary to complement the

efforts of the Honorary Consuls in those

countries with the process of evacuation of

our nationals to Ghana at our

Government's expense.

Mr Speaker, during the evacuation

process, I dispatched one of my Hon

Deputies, Mr Thomas Mbomba, to

Hungary, Romania, and Poland on 4th

March, 2022, to ascertain at first-hand, the

situation on the ground as regards the

evacuation exercise. He met some of our

compatriots, representatives of religious

bodies and host officials assisting the

Government of Ghana in the evacuation

process. He also used the occasion to

assure our compatriots of Government's preparedness to assist in airlifting those

willing to be evacuated to Ghana.

Mr Speaker, of considerable distress to the Ministry during the evacuation exercise was the siege by Russian forces of the Northern Ukrainian city of Sumy, where 100 Ghanaian students and several thousands of foreign nationals, notably

Urgent Questions

students, took refuge under bomb shelters owing to the Russian shelling of the city.

However, following the agreement

between the Russian and Ukrainian forces in the middle of March for the creation of humanitarian corridors for the safe passage of displaced persons and relief agencies, all our compatriots in Sumy successfully made their way to safety, largely via Hungary. A few others escaped through the Russian Federation. Thanks be to God, there was no report of death of any Ghanaian in the crisis.

Mr Speaker, by 1st March this year,

through our collaborative efforts, we had ensured the safe crossing of over 700 of our compatriots into neighbouring countries of Ukraine. On the same day, the first 17 of our compatriots reached our shores aboard Qatar Airways at 7.20 a.m. and they were received upon arrival by a Government delegation led by my Hon Deputy Minister, Mr Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong.

On that same day, I personally met with

the parents and relatives of our sons and daughters who arrived from the turmoil in Ukraine at the Accra International Conference Centre to inform them of the steps that were being taken by Government to ensure the safe evacuation of Ghanaians caught up in the Ukrainian crisis.

Mr Speaker, mindful of the

circumstances of their departure from Ukraine, the Ministry collaborated with officials from the Ghana Mental Health

Authority, who were at the airport to offer psycho-social support against stress and post-trauma disorders to our compatriots upon arrival.

Mr Speaker, notwithstanding the

preparedness of the Government of Ghana

to airlift home our compatriots who had

fled Ukraine, the majority of them were

unwilling to return to Ghana. As of

Wednesday, 30th March, 249 of our

compatriots had been brought home, of

which the International Organisation for

Migration (IOM) sponsored 27.

Government also bore the cost of all

COVID-19 tests prior to departure and

upon arrival in Ghana.

Mr Speaker, as conveyed in my

interactions with the media and via press

releases on the subject of evacuation, may

I, at this juncture, once again, express the

profound gratitude of the Government of

Ghana to the Governments of Hungary,

Poland, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovak

Republic, the IOM, groups and individuals,

notably NUGS-Ukraine, the Church of

Pentecost and other religious groups for

their support, which in diverse ways

culminated in the success of the evacuation

exercise.

The Government also appreciates the

efforts of the hardworking officers of our

Diplomatic Missions in Prague, Berne, the

Vatican, Moscow, Ankara, Vienna and

Berlin, as well as our Honorary Consuls in

Hungary, Romania, Poland, and Slovakia,

Urgent Questions

in the roles they played to evacuate our

nationals.

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for your

attention.

Hon Members, does anyone have a
supplementary question?

Mr Speaker, thank you
very much. From the Hon Minister's
response, they took data of about 1,200
citizens. Could she confirm if all 1,200 of
them have been evacuated out of Ukraine?

Yes, Hon Minister?

Yes, Mr Speaker, I
believe that apart from about two students
who were in a city called Kharkiv, who
could not leave because of what was
happening there, all the Ghanaians,
especially all the students, were evacuated
out of Ukraine. Like I said, about 249 or so
of them came home. The rest decided that
they did not want to take advantage of the
free ticket to come back home.
Mr Williams Okofo-Dateh — rose —

Yes, the Hon Member for
Jaman South?

Mr
Speaker, I would like to find out from the
Hon Minister whether as it stands now we
still have some Ghanaians in Ukraine and
how they are faring, especially as the
shellings continue in Ukraine.

Mr Speaker, I must state
that at some point, we had to close the
window, and this is because there were no
Ghanaians who wanted assistance to cross
— As I said, there were two Ghanaians
who could not even leave that city because
of shellings all around them. Otherwise,
every Ghanaian who desired to be
evacuated was evacuated.

Mr Speaker, I
would like to find out from the Hon
Minister if it is true that Mr Kennedy
Agyapong was commissioned by the state
to raise funds for the evacuation, the
capacity in which he did so, and the
institutions involved.

“Mr President”, I am
not aware — [Laughter].

Hon Member, I am still
the Rt Hon Speaker; I am not yet H.E. the

Mr Speaker, pardon me,
I am not aware.
Urgent Questions

Hon Members, the Hon
Minister and I knew each other long before
you were born, so do not be surprised.
Hon Member, she is not aware of what
you are asking her — [Laughter].

Mr Speaker,
now that the Hon Minister for Foreign
Affairs and Regional Integration has
confirmed that she would like to lobby to
be your running mate when you become
our flagbearer, I think it is a —

Hon Member, no, it
would only happen when we are able to

Mr Speaker, but she can
also defect from her party.
Well, on a more serious note, I would
like to ask about the welfare of the
evacuees because most of them were
students as we all know, and they were
concerned about continuing their
education, particularly their medical
education since most of them are medical
students. I would like to find out whether
the Ministry has put in place any measure
to assist them. I know some other countries
such as Hungary, Grenada and others were
offering scholarship opportunities. I would
like to find out whether the Hon Minister
could give us an update on the welfare of
these students who were evacuated back to
Ghana.

Mr Speaker, I can state
that there is a committee made up of the
Ministry of Education, the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration,
and, I believe, other Ministries which is
looking at ways in which those students
who came back home — [Interruption] — Many of them are in their final year and
some were just about to take their final
examinations before the crisis, so we are
looking at ways in which we can absorb
them as soon as possible into the Ghanaian
medical schools, and I believe a lot of work
has gone into that.
For those outside who decided to stay
outside, through our missions outside, we
did offer them the choice for us to come in
to negotiate with the schools on their behalf
because most of them are private students;
we were quite willing to do that.

Mr
Speaker, I would like to respectfully
enquire whether the Hon Minister is aware
of the status of the two students who could
not be evacuated, and whether they are safe
in Ukraine or not.

Mr Speaker, I cannot
say for certain, but we have not heard
anything negative through the National
Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) in
Ukraine, who are in constant touch with
them. So, I believe that by now, they have
moved out of Kharkiv since even those in
Urgent Questions

Sumy, which is in a very dire situation,

have been able to move. However, I would

make an effort to find out exactly what

happened to those two.

Hon Members, with this —

— rose —

Yes, Hon Minority
Leader?

Mr Speaker, with
your indulgence, further to what Mr
Okudzeto Ablakwa asked the Hon Minister,
beyond evacuation, is resettlement and
integration. A number of them were
medical students, could the Hon Minister
tell us whether she is liaising with the Hon
Minister responsible for Tertiary Educa-
tion? I cannot understand why so far, it is
only the University for Development
Studies (UDS) which is amenable to
accepting medical trainees from Ukraine. I
would like to find out whether she is
working with the Hon Minister for
Education to ensure their proper settlement
and continuation of their education in
medicine.

Mr Speaker, that is
exactly what is happening at the moment.
Initially, it was only UDS that was willing
to accept them but other medical schools
have now come into the scheme and
discussions are ongoing. The Ministry of
Education is actually the lead Ministry
working on this.

Hon Members, we have
come to the end of the Urgent Questions.
However, from the understanding at our
pre-Sitting meeting, I would suspend
Sitting for a few minutes. My Deputies
would take over from me because I have to
go and deliver a lecture at the University of
Professional Studies (UPS), Accra. So,
they would take over after the short break.
Everybody is invited, even though the
House would have to continue Sitting. It is
a very important topic: “The Future of Parliament in Ghana's Democratic Gover- nance”. It is an eminent person's lecture, which is an annual series.
So, Hon Members, you are all invited
but the House would have to continue and
so I would suspend Sitting until my
Deputies take over. I do not know when;
even though we discussed the possibility of
taking over at 2.00 p.m., depending on the
nature of Business on the Floor, they could
do so earlier than 2.00 p.m.

— rose —

Yes, Mr John Jinapor?

Mr Speaker, this is just a suggestion. One would have thought that with the Rt Hon Speaker delivering such a lecture, most of us would have been there to learn from his experience and
Urgent Questions

knowledge. I do not know if Leadership is amenable, but if it is possible and we do not have much to do today, you may rather consider adjourning so that we can participate in that programme to learn from you.

However, it would also be fair if they

still insist that we stay. It is just a suggestion.

Hon Members, I am
actually surprised that you were not informed because I was not around when the invitation was extended, but I thought that I would be doing so on behalf of the House but this morning, I was told that Hon Members were not aware even though I had directed that an announcement be made when I was preparing the speech. So, I would just have to go and write the concluding remarks.

I have not finished preparing the speech

and that is why I am suspending Sitting. The programme is slated for today at 3.00 p.m. Hon Members, Sitting is accordingly suspended.

12:22 p.m. — Sitting suspended.

12:40 p.m. — Sitting resumed.

Hon
Members, can we be on our seats?
Leader, respectfully, are we continuing
with the Questions?
Majority Leader (Mr Osei Kyei-
Mensah-Bonsu): Mr Speaker, if you
would indulge me, I would like to vary the
Order of Business in order for us to go to
the item numbered eight on page five of the
Order Paper that has been slated for laying.

Very
well. Hon Members, let us turn to the page
numbered five.

Mr Speaker,
we could start with the item numbered 8(a).

Hon
Members, the page numbered 5, the item
numbered 8 which has to do with
presentation of papers, we would begin
with 8(a) by the Majority Leader.

The item
numbered 8(b)?

Mr Speaker,
if I may crave your indulgence, the other
Ministers - Minister for the Interior, Minister for Justice and Attorney General
and Minister for Health, if I may be

permitted to present the Papers in their

names and on their behalf.

Very
well.
By the Majority Leader and Minister for
Parliamentary Affairs (Mr Osei Kyei-
Mensah-Bonsu on behalf of the Minister
for the Interior)—
Budget Performance Report in respect
of the Ministry of the Interior for the
period January to December, 2021.
Referred to the Committee on Defence
and Interior
By the Majority Leader and Minister for
Parliamentary Affairs (Mr Osei Kyei-
Mensah-Bonsu)(on behalf of the Attorney-
General and Minister for Justice) —
Budget Performance Report in respect
of the Office of the Special Prosecutor
for the period January to December,
2021.
Referred to the Committee on the
Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary
Affairs.
By the Majority Leader and Minister for
Parliamentary Affairs (Mr Osei Kyei-
Mensah-Bonsu)(on behalf of the Minister
for Health) —
(i) Annual Statement by the Audit Committee of the Ghana College
of Nurses and Midwives for the
Year 2021.
(ii) Annual Statement by the Audit
Committee of the Pharmacy
Council for the Year 2021.
Referred to the Committee on Health

Hon Members, the item
numbered 8(e)?

Mr Speaker,
the item numbered 8(e) is a policy
document from the Ministry of Transport
and it is not meant to be referred to a
Committee but, rather, it is an information
for the entire House. So, I would do the
presentation on behalf of the Minister, but
it is not to be referred to a Committee for
interrogation. It is for all of us, so
accordingly, I would do the presentation on
behalf of the Minister for Transport.

Yes, Hon
Minority Leader?

Mr Speaker, I
ordinarily do not have a problem with the
procedure the Leader is using but I would
use the British House of Commons and the
British Cabinet as an example. — This is a policy; arguably into the future, he should
allow the Minister himself to present the
policy and speak to it.
When Ministers come to this House, one of the main objectives they should seek to achieve on behalf of the Ghanaian people and the President is to eliminate all policies, objectives, and goals and how they intend to do it. So I agree it should be
Papers

referred to all Members of the House, but on our way of dealing with matters of policy, let us expand the limit.

When a Minister comes to present a policy, he should not just lay the policy, bow to the mace and that ends it. The Minister must speak to the policy as a way of dealing with these matters in the future.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Yes, Leader.

Mr Speaker, the Minority Leader is preaching to the converted. Where does this find expression in our Standing Orders? The current Standing Orders provide for this in Order 75(1&2). I quote:
75(1) “As soon as sufficient copies of a Paper for distribution to Members have been received in the Office of the Clerk, notice of the presentation of that Paper may be placed on the Order Paper, and as soon as Mr Speaker announces “Papers for Presentation” the Paper shall be deemed to have been laid on the Table.
75(2) If so desired by the person presen- ting a Paper, a short explanatory statement may be made by him upon its presentation.”
Mr Speaker, the Leader would recollect
that in the new Standing Orders, I have
called for an amendment of this provision
so that the Ministers making the
presentation would be obliged to speak to
it or maybe, if not so desired by the
Minister, but if so desired by a Member, so
that it becomes obligatory on the part of the
person presenting the Paper to speak to it.
Especially, when we come to Bills that
may be considered under conditions of
urgency.
So, he is right, but he is only preaching
to the converted. If he has come to join the
club, he should let us know.
By the Majority Leader and Minister for
Parliamentary Affairs (Mr Osei Kyei-
Mensah-Bonsu)(on behalf of the Minister
for Transport) —
National Transport Policy.

Very
well. Hon Members, the policy has been
presented for Hon Members to get acquainted
with it. I think, in the course of time, the
Minister would speak about the policy.
We would move to the item numbered
8(f).
By the Chairman of the Committee (Mr
Kingsley Carlos Ahenkorah) —
Report of the Committee on Trade,
Industry and Tourism on the
Papers

Determination of the Urgency of the

Ghana Standards Authority Bill, 2022.

Hon
Members, the item numbered 8 (g) (i)?

By the Chairman of the Committee (Mr

Kwaku Agyeman Kwarteng) —

(i) Report of the Finance Committee on the Credendo Covered Buyer's Credit Facility Agreement among

the Government of the Republic

of Ghana (acting through the

Ministry of Finance), KBC Bank

NV and COMMERZBANK AG

(as Arrangers and original

lenders), and KBC Bank NV (as

Agent) for a total sum of seventy-

four million, one hundred and

forty-five thousand, and five

hundred euros (€74,145,500.00) [made up of sixty-five million

euros (€65,000,000.00) and the associated Credendo premium of

nine million, one hundred and

forty-five thousand and five

hundred euros (€9,145,500.00)] for the Tarkwa Water Supply

Project.

(ii) Report of the Finance Committee

on the Request for waiver of

Import Duties, Import VAT,

GETFund Levy, NHIL, and

EXIM Levy, Special Import

Levy, COVID-19 Levy,

ECOWAS and AU Levies

amounting to the Ghana cedi

equivalent of one million, eight

hundred and seventy thousand,

seven hundred and four United

States dollars (US$1,870,704.00),

comprising three hundred and

fifty-two thousand, four hundred

and ninety-nine United States

dollars (US$352,499.00) and one

million, five hundred and eighteen

thousand, two hundred and five

United States dollars

(US$1,518,205) on materials and

equipment to be imported for the

3No. Island Mini-Grid

Electrification construction in the

Ada East District of the Greater

Accra Region and Upgrade of

Distribution Networks (Grid

intensification) in the Upper East

and Upper West Regions,

respectively, under the Swiss

Confederation-State Secretariat

for Economic Affairs (SECO)

Funded Ghana Electricity Sector

Support Project (GESSP) under

the Ghana Energy Development

and Access Project (GEDAP).

Papers

Hon
Leader, are you moving to the item
numbered 9?

Mr Speaker,
we are not dealing with item numbered 9.
We are standing those Motions down. We
would deal with the Motion listed as item
numbered 22, but before we get there, the
Hon Minister responsible for Foreign
Affairs and Regional Integration was
stopped midstream while proffering
Answers to Questions that have been filed.
So, Mr Speaker, if you could go back to the
item numbered 6, Questions, I think she
has four more Questions to answer. We
would plead with you to manage the time
so that we can get to item 22 once we finish
with Questions.

Very
well. Respectfully, let me invite the Hon
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional
Integration.
Hon Members, let us turn to the page
numbered 3, item numbered 6. We would
begin with Question 972 which stands in
the name of the Hon Member for Salaga
South, Ms Zuwera Ibrahimah Mohammed.

Mr Speaker, I beg to ask the Hon Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration whether the Ghana Card represents an e-passport, and what exactly the meaning of ‘e- passport' is.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and
Regional Integration (Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey): Mr Speaker, an e- passport is an international travel document which contains the biodata of its holder on a microchip. It has robust security features against identity and other forms of document fraud, thereby, rendering it the travel document of choice for most countries. By contrast, the Ghana Card, as defined in section 19 of the National Identification Authority Act, 2006 (Act 707) is “an identity card with a personal identification number issued by the Authority for the purposes of identification of a person to whom the card is issued.” Therefore, while the card is principally an identification document, an e-passport is essentially a travel document.
Mr Speaker, you would recall that
recently, at a ceremony held in the Headquarters of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in

Montréal, Canada; Ghana was welcomed into the ICAO Public Key Directory (PKD), which is a central repository needed to verify and authenticate biographic and biometric information on international travel documents. As such, the congratulatory message sent to Ghana by ICAO following the latter's decision to join the PKD was not to suggest in any way that the Ghana Card had become an e- passport.

Mr Speaker, to conclude, I wish to

reiterate the fact that even though the

Ghana Card bears the technical features of

an e-passport, and has the potential to be

used as an e-passport, there is still a long

way to go for it to be recognised as such.

Hon
Member, are you alright?

Thank
you, Mr Speaker, and I thank the Hon
Minister for the explanation. I think it
throws more light on the issue at stake.
However, I would like to find out from the
Hon Minister whether the Ministry for
Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration is
aware of the tweet from the Presidency on
2nd February, indicating that the Ghana
Card had become valid for travel to 44,000
airports and 197 countries, and what the
Ministry's reaction would be in order to assuage the confusion that is currently
going on in the minds of Ghanaians. Thank
you.

Yes, Hon
Minister?

I am not aware of the
tweet. I did not see the tweet at all.

Very
well. Hon Member, I am giving you your
last slot.

Thank
you, Mr Speaker. It is instructive that the
Hon Minister was and is still unaware of
that tweet. She might not be aware of it
today because that tweet has since been
pulled down.
However, on 10th February, her Deputy
Minister and Hon Member, Mr Kwaku
Ampratwum Sarpong, was on Starr FM
and Asaase Radio and indicated that the
Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Regional
Integration was not aware that the Ghana
Card was a travel document. The next day,
the same Deputy Minister granted an
interview to GhanaWeb and said the
Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Regional
Integration was aware and that his first
interview was misconstrued. Mr Speaker,
we need the Ministry to clarify this matter.
It is the only Ministry mandated to clarify
this matter to remove any confusion from
the minds of Ghanaians, so the Minister
must say to this House where Ghana stands
on the issue whether the Ghana Card —

Hon
Member, what is your question now?
Oral Answers to Questions

The
question is that, she must clarify and make
the statement to this House whether the
Ghana Card represents as e-passport, and if
ordinary Ghanaians can travel with it to
44,000 airports across the world. Thank
you, Mr Speaker.

Hon
Minister, could you clarify this?

Mr Speaker, in my
presentation, I stated that the Ghana Card
has the potential to be used as an e-
passport.

I said this because we belong to the

Economic Community of West African

States (ECOWAS), which is a bloc, an

economic community. All the 15 countries

within ECOWAS are mandated to issue

National Identity Cards which would

double as ECOWAS cards. Once all the

countries do what Ghana has done, which

is to put in place a National Identification

Scheme where citizens have their identity

cards, we would now be able to cross into

each other's country with our ECOWAS cards which would happen to be our

National Identification (ID) Card . It is the

same thing that the European Union (EU)

countries have; where holding a national

ID which states your citizenship, will give

you the opportunity to use it as a travel

document to cross into other EU countries.

That is the potential that the Ghana Card

has.

Mr Mohammed Adamu Ramadan

(NDC — Adentan): Mr Speaker, thank you. On the 2nd November, 2021, at a

Public Lecture at Ashesi University held

by the Vice-President of the Republic, H.E.

Alhaji Dr Mahamud Bawumia, he was

emphatic that by April of 2022, the Ghana

Card was going to become an e-passport. I

would want to find out from the Hon

Minister what has become of that since we

are in June now. Mr Speaker, thank you.

Yes, Hon
Minister?

Mr Speaker, I do not
recall His Excellency the Vice-President
saying that. However, let me say that — Mr Speaker, maybe, when I have answered
all the Questions, what is happening would
become very clear, but I can assure the Hon
Members that for a country to accept our
national ID, there must be some bilateral
agreements. We have already started some
requests for bilateral engagements and
negotiations for some key countries to
accept our national identification cards. As
we speak, with what we have done at the
International Civil Aviation Organisation
(ICAO), where we are now part of the
Public Key Directory (PKD), our details
are in that database.
What it means is that if, for example,
you travel somewhere and you lose your
Oral Answers to Questions

passport and would have to check-in at an

airport, you can use your national ID card

to check-in because what the airline would

do is to input your details in the database

and every detail of yours would come up to

authenticate you as the bearer of that

particular card, and they would allow you

to come through the airport onto the

aircraft to return home. I am told that, so

far, a few people have successfully come

back to Ghana with the national ID card.

Yes, Hon
Minority Leader?
Minority Leader (Mr Haruna
Iddrisu) (NDC - Tamale South): Mr Speaker, my question is just to seek clarity
from the Hon Minister for Foreign Affairs
and Regional Integration. Is the Ghana card
an e-passport or its equivalent within
ICAO? Mr Speaker, thank you.

Mr Speaker, by its
definition, it is not.

Very
well. We would move to the next Question
which is almost a similar one. It stands in
the name of the same Hon Member for
Salaga South, Ms Zuwera Ibrahimah
Mohammed. Hon Member, you may ask
your next Question, 973.
Ghana Card as Passport
Ms Zuwera Ibrahimah Mohammed
(NDC — Salaga South): Mr Speaker, I
beg to ask the Hon Minister for Foreign
Affairs and Regional Integration whether
Ghanaians no longer need passports and
whether the Ghana Card now represents a
passport.

Mr
Speaker, the Ghana Card is not a
replacement of our current biometric
passport. The Ghana Card may serve as an
optional travel document to be used in
tandem with our biometric passport. It
must be underscored that the passport and
the travel certificate are the only approved
travel documents for Ghanaians that are
internationally recognised. At the moment,
the Ghana Card cannot be used for travel to
other countries either within or outside
ECOWAS, as that would require bilateral
agreements with countries for their
authorities to accept the Card as a travel
document. The Ministry is in active
discussions with ECOWAS Member-
States and our bilateral partners to achieve
this. However, in light of the announce-
ment by Ghana Immigration Service titled;
“Notice to the Public; Use of Ghana Card
as a Travel Document” which was dated
24th February, Ghanaians and dual national
holders of the Ghana Card would be able to
travel to Ghana using the Ghana Card.

Very
well. Hon Member, you may take Question
Oral Answers to Questions

numbered 1094, which also stands in your

name.

Ghana Card as e-Passport in

Relation to the Positions of ICAO,

IATA, and GCAA

Ms Zuwera Ibrahimah Mohammed

(NDC — Salaga South): Mr Speaker, I beg to ask the Hon Minister for Foreign

Affairs and Regional Integration the

involvement of the Ministry in the usage of

the Ghana Card as an e-passport in relation

to the positions of the International Civil

Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Inter-

national Air Transport Association (IATA),

and Ghana Civil Aviation Authority

(GCAA) on its usage.

Yes, Hon
Minister?

Mr
Speaker, the Question has already been
answered. However, the ICAO and the
GCAA are not under the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.

Very
well. We are supposed to move to the
Question numbered 1108, but the
information I have is that the Hon Member
for Nsawam-Adoagyiri has agreed to step
down his Question because the Answer is
not available now. On that note, Hon
Minister —

Mr Speaker,
you may, in that regard, want to discharge
the Hon Minister, and once you have done
that, we can go to the item numbered 22.
Mr Haruna Iddrisu — rose —

Yes, Hon
Minority Leader?

Mr Speaker, I do
not see any excitement and enthusiasm in
the eyes of the Hon Majority Chief Whip,
Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh, who would
like to ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs
and Regional Integration the progress of
work done on the US$50 million Societe
Generale Loan Facility. Why is he not
interested? Is it because it was secured by
the National Democratic Congress (NDC)?
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu — rose —

Yes, Hon
Leader?

Mr Speaker,
when we have situations where
sympathisers want to weep more than the
bereaved, we must be suspicious of their
motive.
Oral Answers to Questions

Mr Speaker, the Hon Majority Chief

Whip requested for an oral response from

the Hon Minister, however, the Answer has

not been provided in the Order Paper, as

the Hon Minority Leader has observed or

maybe has elected not to observe, and with

that, the discussion has been for the Hon

Minister to submit the response and have it

advertised on Order Paper and then the

appropriate thing could be done. So, Mr

Speaker, we are not there yet; when we get

there, certainly, the needful would be done.

Very
well, on that note —

So, we could
go on to the item numbered 22 on the Order
Paper.

On that
note, Hon Minister for Foreign Affairs and
Regional Integration, on behalf of the
House, I would like to thank you very
much for attending upon the House to
answer Questions. You are hereby
discharged.
Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh — rose

Yes, Hon
Majority Chief Whip?

Mr Speaker,
with respect, the Hon Majority Leader has
given guidance for us to take the item
numbered 22 on page 13.

Yes. Hon
Members, shall we turn to page 13, the
item numbered 22 — Motions, which would be taken by the Hon Minister for
Works and Housing.

Very
well.
The Hon Chairman of the Works and
Housing Committee may second and
present the Committee's Report.
Chairman of the Works and Housing
Committee (Mr Isaac Kwame Asiamah):
Mr Speaker, I beg to support the Motion
ably moved by the Hon Minister for Works
and Housing, and in so doing, I present the
Report of the Works and Housing
Committee.
Introduction
Mr Speaker, the Ghana Hydrological
Authority Bill, 2021, was laid in
Parliament on Wednesday, 27th October,
Ghana Hydrological Authority Bill, 2021

2021, and referred to the Committee on

Works and Housing for scrutiny and report

in accordance with article 103 (3) of the

1992 Constitution and Standing Orders

125 and 180 of Parliament.

Pursuant to the referral, the Committee

met with the Hon Minister for Works and

Housing, Mr Asenso Boakye; his Deputy,

Mr Abanga Abdulai; officials from the

Ministry of Works and Housing;

Hydrological Services Department; Water

Resources Commission, as well as officers

from the Attorney General's Department. The Committee was also assisted in its

deliberations by other key stakeholders

who submitted memoranda to the Bill and

appeared before the Committee to speak to

same.

The Committee is grateful to the Hon

Minister and his team and other

stakeholders for assisting the Committee in

its deliberations.

References

The Committee availed itself of the

following documents during its

deliberations:

a. The 1992 Constitution of Ghana;

b. The Standing Orders of the Parliament of Ghana;

c. The Ghana Hydrological Authority Bill, 2022; and

d. Memoranda submitted by stakeholders

Background

In 1995, the Hydrological Services

Department, an agency under the then

Ministry of Water Resources, Works and

Housing was hived off the Architectural

Engineering Service Corporation to

become a department under the Ministry of

Works and Housing. The Department

provides hydrological data and

information, and undertakes works related

to coastal engineering, sewerage, drainage

improvement, and river development

among others.

The absence of a legal framework for

the Department over the years has affected

its ability to effectively perform its

mandate. A review of the operations of the

existing Hydrological Service indicated an

urgent need for institutional renewal to

address critical, technical, organisation and

service delivery challenges. The

Department currently lacks a defined

salary structure and has no conditions of

service and mechanisms for career

progression, a situation that has resulted in

low morale and the loss of qualified

personnel to other organisations. Again,

institutions that depend on the Department

for Hydrology related information are

unable to take advantage of their services

due to the challenges associated with the

delivery of hydrological services.

Ghana Hydrological Authority Bill, 2021

It is for this reason that the Bill is

proposing the establishment of the Ghana

Hydrological Authority. It is expected that

the restructure of the Department would

position the new Authority as a highly

professional institution; responsible for

providing services such as hydrological

networks for data collection, monitoring

and evaluation of the national hydrological

network, and the collection of hydrological

data on all rivers, streams, and surface

water bodies. It is also responsible for

disseminating relevant data relating to

hydrological issues and most importantly,

providing forecasting and control for

government and private sector institutions.

Purpose of the Bill

The purpose of the Bill is to establish

the Ghana Hydrological Authority as a

state institution responsible for planning,

design, execution, operation and mainte-

nance of flood control mechanisms, coastal

engineering works, sewerage works,

drainage improvement works and river

development, operational and applied

hydrology.

Provisions of the Bill

The Bill contains a total of 41 Clauses

which are:

Clause 1 establishes the Ghana

Hydrological Authority as a body

corporate for the performance of the

functions of the Authority.

Clause 2 provides for the object of the

Authority; that is to promote and

execute the operations of hydrological

services in the country.

Clause 3 outlines the functions of the

Authority.

Clauses 4 - 11 spell out the functions of the Governing Body of the

Authority.

Clause 12 provides for the Minister's directives on matters of policy.

Clauses 13 - 19 deal with the

administrative issues of the Authority

Clause 20 provides for the

establishment of regional offices of the

Authority.

Clauses 21 - 24 make provision for financial matters of the Authority

including moneys provided by Parlia-

ment, and Fees and Charges accruing

to the Authority.

Clause 25 outlines the Standard

provision on accounts and audit,

annual report and other reports.

Clauses 26 - 31 provide for the establish-

ment of the National Hydrological

Fund including publicising and

promoting the activities of the

Authority.

Ghana Hydrological Authority Bill, 2021

Clause 32 empowers an employee

authorised by the Authority to enter

any land or premises to do any act

reasonably necessary for carrying out

the functions of the Authority.

Clause 33 makes provision for the

borrowing powers of the Authority.

Clause 34 deals with issues of

confidentiality in exercise of powers

or performance of duties.

Clauses 35 - 36 provide for the

execution of contract relating to Seal

of Authority.

Clause 37 specifies offences

committed by a body of persons.

Clause 38 makes provision for the

Minister to make regulations for the

efficient and effective implementation

of the Bill.

Clause 39 provides the interpretation

to salient words and expressions used

in the Bill.

Clause 40 provides for the dissolution

of the Hydrological Services

Department.

Clause 41 outlines the transitional

provisions of the Bill.

Observation

Legal and Administrative Framework

The Committee noted that the absence

of a legal framework over the years, the

non-existence of a defined salary structure,

and mechanisms for career progression, as

well as poor conditions of service have

resulted in the inability of the Department

to attract and retain qualified personnel,

thereby, hampering the effective operations of

the Department. Consequently, the passage of

the Ghana Hydrological Authority Bill will

provide a legal and administrative

framework that would transform the

Hydrological Services Department into an

Authority with greater autonomy over

resources, staff and activities to facilitate

effective service delivery.

Sources of Moneys of the Authority

The Committee noted that while Clause

21 of the Bill specifies the sources of

moneys of the Authority, Clause 26

provides for the establishment of the

National Hydrological Fund. The Commi-

ttee observed that no provision was made

for “seed money” to be readily accessed in

the short term, to operationalise the

activities of the Authority, under Clause 28

of the Bill.

The Committee was of the view that

some initial seed money should be provided

to facilitate the smooth implementation of

Ghana Hydrological Authority Bill, 2021

the activities of the Ghana Hydrological

Authority. Consequently, the Ministry of

Works and Housing is urged to engage the

Ministry of Finance on this matter.

The Committee also urges the Authority

when established, to explore other sources

of moneys to the National Hydrological

Fund. For instance, fines imposed for

violations relating to Hydrological offences

could serve as a source of the moneys for

the Fund.

Duplication of Work

The Committee identified an over-

lapping function of the Water Resources

Commission and the Hydrological Services

Authority. The Committee noted that

clause 3, paragraph (h) of the Bill provides

that, the Authority shall ‘establish,

organise and manage hydrological stations

for the collection of data and information

on surface and groundwater”.

It is important, however, to observe that

the Water Resources Commission Act,

1996, Act 522, and the Drilling Licence

and Groundwater Development

Regulations (2007) L.I 1827 place issues of

groundwater within the exclusive purview

of the Water Resources Commission.

Consequently, the collection of data and

management of information on

groundwater as stated in the Bill as a

function of the Authority, will lead to the

duplication of functions and thereby

impede greater financial efficiency.

In this regard, the Committee

recommends that the Authority focuses on

the collection of data and the management

of surface water (storm water and run offs

to reduce and mitigate the effect of

flooding) while the Water Resources

Commission deals with the collection of

data and the management of groundwater.

Use of the right terminology

The Committee noted that the word

“sewage” instead of “sewerage” has inadvertently been used throughout the

Bill. It is important to clarify that while

“sewage” is a waste matter that flows through sewers, “sewerage” encompasses the infrastructure that conveys sewage or

surface runoff. It is also worth noting, that

issues of sewage fall under the purview of

the Ministry of Sanitation and Water

Resources.

Governance Structure

The Committee identified that a core

function of the Authority relates to training

and the publication of research. The

Committee observed that over the years,

research and academic institutions have

collaborated extensively with the

Hydrological Services Department, by

offering training programmes and

providing equipment for monitoring and

Ghana Hydrological Authority Bill, 2021

collection of hydrological data in the

country.

The Committee noted that clause 3 of

the Bill provides that “The President shall in making appointments under paragraphs

(a) and (b) of subsection (1), have regard to

the expertise and experience of the persons

in matters related to the functions of the

Authority”. Although such provision has been made, the Committee underscored the

need for research and academic

institutions, as key stakeholders, to have

representation on the governing board to

ensure greater collaboration for the benefit

of the Authority.

Conclusion

The Committee having thoroughly

examined the Ghana Hydrological Bill,

2021, proposes the attached amendments

and recommends that the House adopts its

Report on the Ghana Hydrological

Authority Bill, 2021.

Respectfully submitted.

Appendix 1

Proposed amendments to the Ghana

Hydrological Authority Bill, 2021.

i. Clause 2 - Amendment proposed- delete and insert the

following:

“The Object of the Authority is to promote hydrological service delivery

for the planning, designing, execution,

operation and maintenance of

(a) flood control mechanisms;

(b) works related to coastal engineer- ing, sewerage, drainage improve-

ment and river development; and

(c) operational and applied hydrology, for the quantification, conserva-

tion and development of the water

resources of the country

.

ii. Clause 3 - Amendment proposed- paragraph (a) line 2 delete

“sewage engineering” and insert “sewerage”.

iii. Clause 3 -Amendment proposed- paragraph (b), line 1, delete

“hydrology” and insert “hydrolo- gical”.

iv. Clause 3 -Amendment proposed- paragraph (d) line 3 delete “sewage” and insert “sewerage”.

Consequential Amendment

Wherever, “sewage” appears in the Bill, delete and insert “sewerage”

Ghana Hydrological Authority Bill, 2021

v. Clause 3 -Amendment proposed - paragraph (g), line 2, after “surface” insert “water”.

vi. Clause 3 - Amendment proposed - paragraph (h), lines 2 and 3 after

“water” delete “and groundwater”.

vii. Clause 3 - Amendment proposed - paragraph i, Lines 2 and 3 after “outside the country” delete “and internationally”.

viii. Clause 3 - Amendment proposed - paragraph (l), Lines 1 and 2 delete “participate in local and international programmes and”

ix. Clause 3 - Amendment proposed - paragraph (m) delete

x. Clause 3 - Amendment proposed - paragraph (p) Line 1,

delete and insert “carry out”

xi. Clause 3 - Amendment proposed - paragraph (q), delete and insert the

following “ensure compliance with conventions, protocols and any other

relevant standards and recommended

practices on collection of

Hydrological data; and”

xii. Clause 4 - Amendment proposed - Sub-clause 1 paragraph (c) sub-

paragraph (ii), lines 1 and 2 delete

“Engineers” and insert “Engineering”

xiii. Clause 4 - Amendment proposed - Sub-Clause 1 Paragraph (d), delete

and insert the following: “three other persons nominated by the Minister,

one of whom is a woman”

xiv. Clause 5 - Amendment proposed - paragraph (b) delete and insert the

following:

“ensure the implementation of rules, regulations and procedures on the

collection of hydrological data and

information on surface water”.

xv. Clause 14 -Amendment proposed - Sub-Clause 3 paragraph (a), delete

and insert the following “advise the Director-General of the Ghana

Meteorological Agency as the

permanent representative of Ghana

with the World Meteorological

Organisation in the capacity of a

hydrological adviser.”

xvi. Clause 21 - Amendment proposed - paragraph (d), delete “international”

xvii. Clause 27 - Amendment proposed - add the following new paragraph after paragraph (d) “undertake

Ghana Hydrological Authority Bill, 2021

projects in pursuance of the objects of the Authority.”

xviii. Clause 28 - Amendment proposed - line 1, delete “money” and insert “moneys”

xix. Clause 28 - Amendment

proposed - add the following new paragraph after paragraph (c) “a levy that may be imposed by Parliament on hydrological services; and” delete

xx. Clause 28 - Amendment proposed

- paragraph (e) delete

xxi. Clause 28 - Amendment proposed

- paragraph (f) delete

xxii. New Clause - Amendment proposed - Add the following new clause after clause 31

“Hydrological Works”

Unauthorised drainage and sewerage

works

(1) A person shall not construct, alter, discontinue or close up any:

(a) drain;

(b) storm water drainage system; or

(c) sewerage system without the

approval in writing of the

Authority.

(2) Where a person contravenes

subsection (1), the Authority shall

serve on the person a notice requiring

the person to demolish or restore the

(a) drain;

(b) storm water drainage system; or

(c) sewerage system to the original

state within the time specified in

the notice.

(3) The Authority shall serve a notice

under subsection

(2) on the owner or occupier of the

premises through which the

(a) drain;

(b) storm water drainage system;

or

(c) sewerage system runs in

contravention of subsection (1).

Unauthorised coastal protection works

A person shall not

(a) undertake coastal protection works, projects or activities that have an

effect on the coastline without the

approval in writing of the

Authority;

(b) remove or damage any part of a sea defence structure; or

Ghana Hydrological Authority Bill, 2021

(c) win sand accreted around a sea defence structure.

Interference with hydrological equipment

A person shall not interfere with a

hydrological equipment installed for

the purposes of

(a) observing or collecting hydro- logical data or

(b) facilitating the execution of

hydrological works.”

New clause - Amendment

proposed - add the following new

clause after clause 36

“Offences and penalties”

(1) A person who

(a) undertakes unauthorised

drainage and sewerage

works in contravention of

section (…);

(b) undertakes unauthorised

coastal protection works in

contravention of section

(…); or

(c) interferes with hydrological

equipment in contravention

of section (…), commits an

offence.

(2) A person who commits an offence

under paragraph (a) of subsection

(1) is liable on summary conviction

to a fine of not less than five

hundred penalty units and not more

than one thousand penalty units or

to a term of imprisonment of not

less than one year and not more

than two years or to both.

(3) Where the offence under paragraph (a) of subsection (1) continues, the

person is liable on summary

conviction to a fine not exceeding

one hundred penalty units, for each

day during which the offence

continues.

(4) A person who commits an offence under paragraph (b) of subsection

(1) is liable on summary conviction

to a fine of not less than one

thousand penalty units and not

more than two thousand penalty

units or to a term of imprisonment

of not less than two years and not

more than four years or both.

(5) A person who commits an offence under paragraph (c) of subsection

(1) is liable on summary conviction

to a fine of not less than five

hundred penalty units and not more

than one thousand penalty units or

Ghana Hydrological Authority Bill, 2021

to a term of imprisonment of not

less than one year and not more

than two years.

Clause 38 - Amendment proposed - sub-clause 2 delete and insert the

following

“Without limiting subsection (1), the Regulation shall

(a) prescribe requirements for applied hydrological, drainage, sewerage

and coastal engineering in respect

of sectoral activities;

(b) provide for the establishment of

hydrological stations; and

(c) prescribe the enforcement of standards in the observation of

hydrological phenomena related to

the collection of data and informa-

tion on water resources”

Clause 39 - Amendment proposed - insert the following new definitions

(a) “Hydrological equipment” means “an equipment used to facilitate the execution of hydrological works”

(b) Insert a new definition after definition for “hydrological station” as follows

“Hydrological works” means “drainage, coastal protection, sewerage, opera-

tional and applied hydrology and

related works of the Authority”

(c) Delete the definition for “sewage engineering” and insert the following

“Sewerage means the infrastructure that conveys sewage or surface run-

off.”

Long Title - Amendment proposed-

line 3, delete “Mechanism” and insert “Mechanisms”

Hon
Members, the Motion has been moved and
seconded. It is for the consideration of the
House.
Mr Wisdom Woyome — rose —

Yes, Mr
Woyome, let us hear you.

Mr Wisdom Kobina Woyome (NDC

— South Tongu): Mr Speaker, I rise to contribute to the Motion ably moved by the

Hon Minister for Water Resources, Works

and Housing and supported by the

Chairman of the Committee.

Mr Speaker, looking at this Bill and

listening to the main reason and rational

behind it, it is important that we understand

this perennial flooding that has bedevilled

Ghana Hydrological Authority Bill, 2021

this country for years. The need to build the

capacity of an institution to be able to

appreciate the enormity of this problem

and be able to tackle it head on is

important. The legal implication of this

solution ought to be taken into considera-

tion; hence, I believe the commissioning or

the re-establishment of this entity into an

Authority with all the departments and the

support to be able to tackle the problem

head on, in terms of resources and the

human capacity needed to be able to handle

this, and then also, to be able to bring in the

private sector to appreciate this need to

handle this problem efficiently. Getting

government alone to handle this over the

years, I believe, has been one which is

herculean, and so the ability to be able to

have all the legal backings to look for

resources and leverage on the establish-

ment of a law to enable them handle this

problem is important, and all must be able

to support it.

The only challenge I foresee, and I am

hoping that it gets cured in the course of

deliberations during the consideration of

the various clauses as contained in the Bill,

should be one that would be

comprehensive, in terms of ensuring that

they go external, possibly, to be able to

look for the needed resources and then

apply same for a kind of solution that can

pay back going forward, so that it does not

become a burden on the national debt

stock.

I just hope that knowing what we lose

— The amount of moneys, these loses that

we incur whenever this flood occurs; the

human loses in terms of deaths recorded,

the buildings and structures that are usually

destroyed, the vehicles, and all the items

that are lost in the course of these flood — When quantified are in millions of dollars

and Ghana cedis. So, I believe we would be

able to look at all that and prevent this

through building the needed capacity and

institution to deal with this matter as we go

along across the country fairly because I

can attest to what is happening in my

region, taking into consideration the Keta,

Anlo and other areas that are closer to the

sea and are having difficulties in

preventing the event of sea erosion — And also in some communities in the various

constituencies that need some dredging and

desilting which would go a long way to

prevent the flooding and washing away of

cultivated crops, some of which are even

ready for harvesting. But we lose them to

these floods and these poor farmers have to

go through difficulties in repaying some of

the loans that were taken to undertake those

exercises.

I believe that it is a good one, and I

would urge the entire House to support the

process, so we could have a law that is able

to address all these problems and also be

able to make resources available for the

entity when it is finally established in order

that they do not have difficulties to really

go into — In fact, the Public Private Partnership (PPP) idea should also be

considered, so that once they have the legal

backing, they would be able to go into

Ghana Hydrological Authority Bill, 2021

some joint venture and undertakings to be

able to address this perennial flooding.

Mr Speaker, thank you for this

opportunity.

Thank
you very much.
Yes, Hon Member for Adaklu?
Mr Kwame Governs Agbodza (NDC
— Adaklu): Mr Speaker, I would like to commend the Hon Minister, a very good
Friend, for spearheading this; so once and
for all, we could have a state entity that is
specifically responsible for what has become
a very sad story in our communities.
Mr Speaker, I am sure that anytime
some of our compatriots in some parts of
the country see the clouds gather, they
know that there is trouble brewing over
their heads. Sadly, we are not able to make
the necessary investment to be able to
combat — So, I believe the establishment of this State entity would have a focused
attention to deal with this. I agree with the
Chairman when he sought to make
comments about certain things which he
thinks should be removed or added. I look
forward to seeing how we define certain
things and how this Agency interrelates
with other State Agencies. The bulk of
management of our cities, we claim, is in
the hands of the Ministry of Local Govern-
ment, Decentralisation and Rural Develop-
ment; meanwhile, there are so many impact
of services provided in the cities that are
not in the hands of the Ministry of Local
Government, Decentralisation and Rural
Development. Power is in the hands of
somebody; water is in the hands of
somebody; ICT and other things — So, I believe, this would help a lot.
I also look forward to seeing how we
define sewage and drainage because it is
not only what we see during the run-off and
rain that causes that — What comes out of our roof? Mr Speaker, how that is collected
and channelled — In many cases, you would notice that people think all they need
to do is to put few drains in front of their
houses, and actually, they do not mind.
Once it goes out of the boundary of their
walls, they just leave it anyhow. That is not
done anywhere in the world. How one
discharges water that is collected in his
house, how it is collected and sent
somewhere else, is a responsibility
someone must take. So, if one builds his
house and channels his run-off water and
just discharges it onto the main road, there
should be a way we would be able to
determine that, that cannot be done until it
gets somewhere.
Mr Speaker, so this would be one of the
important Bills that if we properly capture,
could really resolve half of the problem and
the other half would be how we actually
fund it sustainably to be able to give them
the impetus to deliver the infrastructure
and the maintenance of that infrastructure.
With these few words, I would want to
thank you for the opportunity and
commend the Hon Minister for this
initiative and assure him we would be in
Ghana Hydrological Authority Bill, 2021

full support of this Bill to craft a very

important law that would help all of us in

the future.

Yes, let
us listen to the Hon Member for Trobu.

Mr Speaker, I also stand to support the Bill that
is being introduced and is at a stage where
its principles and policy are being
debated. Though it is late in the day, it is
good it has come because a lot of damage
has already been caused. In fact, if the
Hydrological Department had been
elevated to this status long ago, we would
have solved most of these problems,
because it is a Science and Technical
oriented-area.

Mr Speaker, if one reads the Report

from the Committee where it is stated that

when the Department is restructured into

Authority, it would be seen to behave

highly of a professional institution, and

also collect network for data collection,

monitoring and evaluation of national

hydrological network.

Mr Speaker, these are the critical areas

as to how to network and collect data in the

communities and know how to orient the

original water sources that have been

diverted for now. It is a very important area

that we need to consider. In these days of

climate change, where even when the

weather forecasters tell us that it will rain

or be sunny today, the forecast can change.

In this time where the polar ice tides are

melting, and there are high tidal waves as

to how we can even channel our inland

water running surfaces into an outfall of the

sea, is another matter that needs a whole

scientific analysis and re-engineering.

Looking at Accra, for instance, we are told

that one would see the entire Accra at the

lower edge in the valley if one stands on

the Akuapem mountain. Also, we are told

that while one gets to the sea radar, it

climbs a little. Therefore, there is a

probability all the time that we could have

a backflow of water running into the sea.

Mr Speaker, in my constituency, for

instance, all the collecting points come

through Taifa Junction, enter through the

new Achimota Station and the Odaw River

and then come out. The flooding is all over

the place and therefore, if this Bill is passed

into an Act, and it is assented to by the

President, and we contribute so well to it, it

should be seen to solve a problem.

However, the only problem is that would

we put infrastructure in the hands of the

Hydrological Authority? Would we equip

them with machinery or would they have

their own machinery or would also tender

projects to other contractors? We should

look at it in such a way that we could have

the Ghana Hydrological Authority to have

Ghana Hydrological Authority Bill, 2021

their own heavy-duty machinery so that it

could help us augment whatever we do.

Mr Speaker, I am grateful for the

opportunity to also contribute to the

enactment of this Bill into an Act.

Thank
you very much. I would now go to
Leadership.
Mr Andrew Dari Chiwitey — rose—

Mr
Chiwitey, do you want to contribute?

Mr Speaker, yes.

All right.
Let us hear you.

Mr Speaker, thank
you for the opportunity to contribute to this
important Motion. The Ghana
Hydrological Authority Bill is a very
important Bill that needs the support of the
whole House. We all know the current
happenings, especially in the capital,
Accra. This therefore tells us that we need
to strengthen the Hydrological Services
Department. We could only do this if we
have this Bill passed to make the Authority
autonomous and strengthen them to solicit
funds to support their activities.
Mr Speaker, if this Bill is passed, it
would give the Authority the power to
source funding, and that would strengthen
it to build better and stronger drains, not
only in the capital, but across the country.
The only difficulty we had at the
committee level was the duplication of
work that is between the Hydrological
Services Department and the Water
Resources Commission. Therefore, we
were very clear as a Committee, and we
made known to the Department that when
this Bill is passed, that separation should be
very clear so that the Water Resources
Commission would have the duty of
managing the main water resources while
the Authority concentrates on the surface
waters and how to control flooding, not
only in Accra, but across the country.
Mr Speaker, I would not speak much,
but it is important for us to strengthen the
Authority, and educate the whole Ghana to
know that the time has come for us to rally
behind the Hydrological Services
Department to become an Authority so that
they would be able to properly manage the
flooding situation we have in the country.

I would
now come to Leadership.
Minority Leader (Mr Haruna
Iddrisu): Mr Speaker, thank you for the
opportunity to contribute to the Motion,
and to commend the Minister responsible
for reigniting, through the establishment of
a new legal bureaucracy to be known as the
Ghana Hydrological Authority. I do not
have to ask him why since 2021, he has
Ghana Hydrological Authority Bill, 2021

waited until 2022, when the flooding

problem is one of the national crisis.

Flooding, particularly in Accra, is an

unacceptable perennial problem. I do not

think that the solution lies in just a

bureaucracy called a strengthened Ghana

Hydrological Authority. However, we

would support him to establish the

Authority.

Mr Speaker, I would refer to page 4 of

the Committee's Report and the Bill. The problem the Minister is experiencing and

he knows and must be bold and courageous

to share with the Ghanaian public is that he

is not getting budgetary support to do the

things he wants to do and nothing more. It

does not lie in the bureaucracy of a Ghana

Hydrological Authority. The Minister is

not getting even timely releases of moneys.

Contractors who have worked for the

Ministry remain unpaid even with

escalating prices of related construction

products whether it is cement or iron rod.

That is destroying and killing their

businesses.

Mr Speaker, in paragraph 6.2 on page 4

of the Report, “Sources of Moneys of the Authority” and at page 12 of the Bill, clause 21, “Moneys approved by Parliament”, we do the approval, but there are no releases because somebody looks at

another's forehead and says that he is not happy with him therefore would not get

adequate finances. This Bill, and I think

that is what we should look at, proposes the

establishment of a fund. How do we do it

outside the remit of the Minister for

Finance? It means we would have to

earmark. Therefore, let us all think through

deep.

I recall when we were piping off the

Public Utilities Regulatory Commission

(PURC), I served on a Cabinet Committee

with the Hon Tawiah Likpalimor. We

worked out something for water. Perhaps,

we should think through an avenue of that

nature in terms of how the Minister would

get money to finance this Hydrological

Fund. If he relies on the Ministry of

Finance, he would not get donations so it

would be the same problem. He would

have had the bureaucracy of the Ghana

Hydrological Authority, but no money to

do what they should do.

Mr Speaker, my second observation is

that there are too many open drains in the

country. There are open drains everywhere

and that is unacceptable. There is nowhere

in the world that one would see that. When

one travels through the United States of

America, do they see open drains? In

undertaking this Bill, we should also

legislate to make it unlawful and

punishable for people who do it. That is

why mosquitoes still have places for

habitation and cause havoc to people

through malaria.

My final observation is ineffective

planning and the lack of coordination

between state institutions that are

Ghana Hydrological Authority Bill, 2021

responsible. Whether it is the district

assemblies, the Minister for Sanitation and

Water Resources, or the Ministry for Local

Government, Decentralisation and Rural

Development, there is no coordination. So,

district assemblies just do what they want.

Mr Speaker, I know he has appointed

me quietly to lead his campaign and I

would not announce it, but the Hon

Majority Leader is getting set for the task

ahead. [Interruption]. I am debating the

Ghana Hydrological Authority Bill, 2021.

Mr Speaker, with the planning, when

one flies and is entering Ouagadougou,

they would love the beauty of what they

see because in Ouagadougou, they take

planning seriously, not Ghana.

I wish I could weep with the Minister but I

have no tears for him. The problem is not

Hydrological Authority but it is the lack of

money for the Hon Minister to do what he

should do. We wait until the gutters are

chocked and even though we gave -. When Hon Samuel Atta Akyea was there in years

2017 and 2018, they gave people desilting

contracts and he is aware that the people

have not been paid. He is aware that the

contractors have not been paid for the years

2017 to 2019. The gutters are choked in

Accra because they have failed to pay even

the contractors who undertook the work. I

am speaking to facts.

Mr Speaker, we support the Hon

Minister, but the solution is not

bureaucratic. Maybe, the solution is for the

Hon Minister for Finance to be more

proactive and not release the funds on the

basis of the nature of one's forehead or whether he is happy or not.

Also, this honourable House could

resolve it; this Parliament could earmark

money for flooding control, but how do we

earmark it? We could all take a decision

that when it comes to the establishment of

the Hydrological Fund, we dedicate a

source of financing to it.

Mr Speaker, if we went back, there is a

Cabinet Report on the Public Utilities

Regulatory Commission (PURC) which

was done by Mr Kwajo Tawiah

Likpalimor. I still remember Professor

John Evans Atta-Mills putting us together

at the time. We dedicated about 0.5 per

cent for rural water. It is about time we

looked at the PURC financing formula and

dedicate that money to flood control.

That could be done and we know that

we have money to enable us control

flooding. Otherwise, yearly, with the

indiscipline in the country and with

everybody throwing anything into the

gutters, the gutters would always get

choked when it rains. I see Mr Moses Anim

talking about water coming from other

sources as if some of the water does not

come from his own backyard, it does.

Mr Speaker, in principle, we support the

establishment of the Ghana Hydrological

Authority Bill, 2021. However, when we

come to the Consideration Stage - The Committee has done well by cautioning us

on the duplication of work which must be

Ghana Hydrological Authority Bill, 2021

observed with the Water Resources

Commission and that was where they

spoke about coordination and cooperation

with the state entities. Let us avoid that.

Mr Speaker, I see that the Committee

has done some work on the objects of the

Authority and has improved upon it.

However, when we go to page 3, the long

title is too verbose. What do they want to

communicate with the lengthy English in

the long title? We went to local school and

not the Achimota or Prempeh. With the

lengthy English, they are just mixing up

what they want to do with the Ghana

Hydrological Authority Bill, 2021.

When we get to the governing body of

the Authority, they left out anything

relating to water. Is it that they do not want

any person from the Ministry of Sanitation

and Water Resources to be able to play a

role? We could look at it.

Mr Speaker, in principle, we support the

Bill and as I have said, the establishment of

the Ghana Hydrological Fund - Maybe, we should call it the Flooding Fund so that we

would know that there is some money

coming in from somewhere that is

dedicated to the purpose of supporting the

Ministry and the Hon Minister in order to

be able to support flooding control across

the country, particularly within the Greater

Accra Region.

We have objects and sources of money

for the Fund, which would not work. The

Hon Minister should not deceive himself.

If there is not dedicated fund for this

Hydrological Fund, then forget it. It would

still be at the benevolence and whims of the

Hon Minister for Finance who would not

do what is needed.

When we have flooding, we do not wait

and we do not wait until floods and then we

call the Hon Minister and give him small

releases to pay contractors. New contracts

cannot even be awarded. — I am aware of the long queue in the Hon Minister's office. This is because the contractors

speak to us as private people. They ask

what we are doing in Parliament about

them and their businesses and about the

fact that they remain unpaid.

With this comment, I support the

establishment of the Ghana Hydrological

Authority

Thank you.

Thank
you very much. Yes, Hon Majority
Leader?
Majority Leader (Mr Osei Kyei-
Mensah-Bonsu): Mr Speaker, thank you
very much for the opportunity to also
support the Ghana Hydrological Authority
Bill, 2021. The purpose of the document
before us is to establish the Ghana
Hydrological Authority. What is the
Authority intended to do?
Mr Speaker, as we have been told by the
Hon Minister and also the Committee, the
Authority is purposed to design and
operate flood control mechanisms and also
to embark on works in respect of coastal
Ghana Hydrological Authority Bill, 2021

engineering, sewerage, drainage

improvement, river basin and water bodies

development. I see “river development” but I do not know what they really mean by

that but I believe that they mean “river basin development” and not “river development”. How do we develop the water? Also, they would embark on

conservation and development of water

resources. It is why the Ghana

Hydrological Authority is being canvassed

for establishment.

I believe that every one of us would

relate to the hydra-headed problem that we

face as a country. [Interruption]. It appears

that there is some marketplace discussion

going on, on the other Side.

Hon
Member, Order!

Mr Speaker,
as I was saying, it is a hydra-headed
problem that we are going to unleash on the
Ghana Hydrological Authority that we
intend to establish. I am saying so because
we are not addressing the core issues.
When we are talking about the perennial
flooding in the system, it relates to a deficit
in our spatial planning. That is at the core
of it, but we seem to be side-stepping the
matter.
The National Development Planning
Commission (NDPC) should be
concerned, not only with economic
development, but also with spatial

Mr Speaker, we should touch base

with our own governance structure. Yes,

there is a deficit in how we have structured

our governance such that we seem to

operate in silos. So there is a huge deficit

in land use planning and we do not care

about contiguous and compatible land use;

nobody cares about that.

Mr Speaker, with where we have

situated Town Planning and the Lands

Commission, who should be concerned

with the allocation of parcels of land and

for what use? Where is the unit concerned

with the environment operation from?

Where we place this should ensure

collaboration and indeed, congruence in

the performance of the functions of these

three. If they operate from different sites,

we would have the effects of what we are

seeing because there is no collaboration

and synergy.

So, we need to pay greater attention

to these matters, even lands for agricultural

purposes. How do we relate the

degradation of our forests and the felling of

timber to the climate change that we are

experiencing in the country? Every year,

we see the menace of uncontrolled wild

bushfires; nobody is speaking to that, yet

we are degrading the forests and exposing

the soils such that with the least downpour

these days, runoff water cannot be

controlled. How are we controlling these

things?

Mr Speaker, how are we going to

address and redress these challenges?

There is a lot that we must address

Ghana Hydrological Authority Bill, 2021

ourselves to and the Ghana Hydrological

Authority that we want to establish to be

concerned with coastal engineering, flood

control mechanisms and sewage would be

at the receiving end since we would be

pouring so much resources to contain these

side effects without addressing the causal

agents. That is my worry.

So whereas I agree that something

must be done, are we starting at the

relevant juncture? We should think through

this. That is not to say that I am opposed to

this. However, there should be a better

construct of what it takes to confront these

challenges. Otherwise, making the

Hydrological Unit and Authority to stand

on its own to deal with what they have to

deal with without addressing what is

causing these challenges would be an

exercise in futility. So let us link it up with

the causal effects of these floods that we

are talking about, especially in relating to

spatial planning.

Mr Speaker, the Hon Minority Leader

and I just left Freetown. If we look at how

houses are springing up on the terraces of

the mountains in Freetown and we look at

what we are doing on the terraces of the

mountains overlooking Accra, it is like we

are constructing 21st century squatter

settlements. There are no roads or drains.

Mr Speaker, my fear is that if we are not

careful, pretty soon, if we have very heavy

downpour, we may experience landslides

at these locations because people are just

building. We may experience serious

landslides in this country very soon. I am

not a prophet of doom, but the handwriting

is on the wall. Any small tremor would

cause it. They would not name them

landslides, but because they are on rocky

places, there would be rock falls. It could

be disastrous for us as a country.

Mr speaker, this is just to indicate to the

Hon Minister that he has a herculean

responsibility. What he is embarking on

would be dealing with some aspects of it,

but the problem is huger than what we

anticipate in the current endeavour that we

are embarking on.

Having said that, Mr Speaker, as you

said, a quarter loaf is still better than

nothing so maybe we would have to assist

the Hon Minister but at the same time urge

him to address his mind to the greater task

ahead - upstream not downstream because that is what this one is trying to solve;

addressing the problem downstream, not

midstream, not upstream. That is where

this problem is coming from.

Mr Speaker, thank you very much.

Hon
Minister, I believe you have heard so many
things. Indeed, what the Hon Majority
Leader has just said is something some of
us have been pondering on. With the rate at
which we are developing, there is no way
we are doing anything to address this
flooding that happens in Accra. We are
rather compounding it. From the top hills,
every vegetation is being cleared for
Ghana Hydrological Authority Bill, 2021

construction and I believe we have to pay

attention to this issue very clearly.

On that note, we would bring the

debate to a conclusion.

Question put and Motion agreed to.

The Ghana Hydrological Authority Bill,

2021 accordingly read a Second time

Mr Speaker, we
would take item numbered 9 on page 6.

Hon
Members, can we turn to page numbered 6,
item numbered 9?

Mr Speaker, I beg to
second the Motion.
Question put and Motion agreed to
Resolved accordingly

We
would now move to item numbered 10.
Hon Chairman of the Committee?

Hon
Member, before you second the Motion, I
would want to indulge the House to allow
me to extend Sitting beyond the normal
Sitting hours.
Hon Member, let us hear you.
Determination of the Urgency of the Ghana Standards Authority Bill, 2022

Mr Speaker, because this
particular Bill is considered under the
Certificate of Urgency, the Hon Member is
in a hurry to get it adopted quickly so we
can get to work. That was why I started by
— but on a more serious note, the Ghana Standards Authority Bill, 2022 is the main
deliverable under which the Ghana
Standards Authority Bill operates.
Mr Speaker, this particular Bill is under
the Economic Transformation Project. A
project which was approved in Parliament
— an amount of US$200 million was approved in Parliament for this particular
Bill and for the support of the Ghana
Standards Authority.
Mr Speaker, this Bill has been on the
drawing board for some time now and it is
just a matter of course that we look at it and
get it passed quickly because there are a lot
of benefits that we are supposed to be
derived from it. The Agency would drive
the benefit and the country as a whole
would similarly derive these benefits.
Mr Speaker, it is estimated that at the
end of the day, the passage of this Bill
would lead to some technical support that
these Agencies would give to the
Authority. Beyond the technical support
that we would get, we would also have an
expansion of employment opportunities for
our people.
Mr Speaker, it is important for us to
realise that the current law under which the
Ghana Standards Authority operates is
outmoded and does not conform to
international standards. It is on this note
that I beg to second this Motion and
support the passage of this Bill so that the
Agency would benefit from it as well as
Ghana as a whole.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Question proposed

Mr Speaker?

Hon
Leader, I have not called you.
Anyway, Hon Leader, let us hear you
since there is no one on the Floor.

Mr Speaker, there is a Report of the Select
Committee on Trade, Tourism and Industry
on the determination of the urgency of the
Ghana Standards Authority Bill, 2022. I
should state that, I have not had the
privilege to be in the House in the past
weeks therefore, I am unable to speak to
how the Bill was introduced and whether
this House was told that a Committee
should go and consider the urgency of it or
otherwise.
However, as I read the Report of the
Committee, Ghana Standards Authority is
a very important State institution that deals
with matters of conformity assessment,
standards and metrology. Therefore,
wanting to take this Bill through a
Certificate of Urgency, for our purposes,
raises two fundamental issues.
Determination of the Urgency of the Ghana Standards Authority Bill, 2022

The first is for us to satisfy the minimum

constitutional threshold and requirement

under article 106 (1-13) of the

Constitution.

The second is that if we satisfy the

constitutional requirement which requires

gazetting beyond the explanatory

memorandum, then we would have to take

the Bill in one day. That is our practice.

When we accept that a Bill be considered

urgent within the Standing Orders of this

Parliament, we have to walk through the

Bill in one day.

Mr Speaker, I have a difficulty with that

second leg. The first leg has to do with

allowing us to gazette because we may not

have adequate time to go through the other

processes but I have difficulties with the

second leg of wanting to subject this Bill to

approval; that is Second Reading, Consi-

deration Stage, Second Consideration

Stage, and Third Reading, because the

Ghana Standards Authority is not one of

those institutions for which — unless of course, the Hon Minister would tell us

what the position of stakeholder

engagement on matters affecting them is in

this Bill. Importers, exporters and

manufacturers are the affected ones who

must work to minimum requirement. Thus,

I would like us to draw the lines clearly. If

the purpose of this urgency is to allow for

us to skip article 106(1), and for emphasis

and guidance, I would like to read article

106(13).

“Where it is determined by a committee of Parliament appointed for

the purpose that a particular bill is of

an urgent nature, the provisions of the

preceding clauses of this article, other

than clause (1) and paragraph (a) of

clause (2) shall not apply,…”

So, we do not need you— We would have been counting when this Bill —Mr Speaker, clause 2(a) of article 106 is

satisfied. We are exempted from clause

2(b) which says it has been published in the

Gazette for, at least, 14 days. So, we do not

need to go through the requirement of 14

days' gazette. Other than that, it cannot even be introduced in this House if it is not

gazetted but because we would like to

consider it as urgent, we would do so.

However, we are praying on you, Mr

Speaker, that when it comes beyond the

Second Reading, we would not be able to

support this Bill being passed within one

day, because it would amount to a

stampede of the mandate of this House to

thoroughly review matters of it.

Mr Speaker, let me conclude by just that

portion. For instance, one of the reasons

why the pineapple in your constituency and

many of the products produced in the

Ashanti Region cannot find space in the

export market as the Hon Deputy Minister

for Trade and Industry knows, is because

of Ghana's inability to satisfy minimum phytosanitary conditions which are the

mandate of this Institution. So this is not a

matter we should walk through in a haste.

Determination of the Urgency of the Ghana Standards Authority Bill, 2022

Mr Speaker, we support the principle of

gazette wholeheartedly but stakeholders

should be engaged. This is because what

goes on at the ports is affected when an

item is brought in, and we must make sure

that they conform to standards. Rushing

through it in one day, other than the

requirement to gazette it, there would be a

problem yielding to it, because what the

Ghana Standards Authority does affects

major stakeholders within the Ghanaian

industry; including matters of trade facili-

tation, standardisation, exporters, importers,

equipment manufacturers, and we think

that they must be engaged.

Mr Speaker, urgency, yes, to the extent

that we are satisfying the requirements of

article 106(13), we are in agreement with

the Hon Chairman, but to walk through this

Bill within a day and get it to Third

Reading would probably be a difficult

thing.

Mr Speaker, we want an opportunity to

thoroughly debate its principles and review

clause by clause, stage by stage what is

provided in it. I thank you.

Mr Speaker,
I rise to support the Motion moved by the
Hon Chairman of the Committee on Trade,
Industry and Tourism. What is before us is
just the determination of the urgency of the
Ghana Standards Authority Bill, which is
what has been done by the Committee.
This Motion is just to inform us that the
Committee has made that determination.
Mr Speaker, I even have a problem with
how the Motion has been stated: “that the House adopts the Report…” which is giving us this indication that they have
made the determination. What if the House
does not adopt the Report? What would it
mean? That we are running against the
determination that has been made by the
Committee? This Plenary does not have
that power. Once it is laid by the
Committee, it is laid by the Committee.
Mr Speaker, having said so, I agree with
the Hon Minority Leader that what is
intended to be done by article 106(13)
which he quoted and, indeed, if you
continue with Standing Order 119 of our
Standing Orders;
‘Where it is determined and certified by the appropriate Committee of the House
appointed in that behalf that a particular
Bill is of an urgent nature, the Bill may
be introduced without publication.
Copies of the Bill shall be distributed to
Members and may be taken through all
the stages in one day'.
Mr Speaker, the Standing Order does
not provide that it must be taken through all
the processes in one day. It says, “it may”. Especially with financial Bills where
maybe timelines may have to be respected
then you may have to take them through in
just one day, but such a document as this,
the intention is really just to circumvent the
period for the 14-day gazette requirement.
Mr Speaker, so I agree with the Hon
Minority Leader that the House cannot be
Determination of the Urgency of the Ghana Standards Authority Bill, 2022

stampeded to consider this Bill in one day.

Indeed, when we agree that it is what the

Committee has made it and they are

reporting to us, the House would be ceased

of what the Committee has done, and

indeed, all of us would then have to apprise

ourselves of the content, and we would

select a day or two, perhaps even a week to

deal with this. This is because the matters

contained in this Bill are of vital

importance and we do not need to consider

this Bill in one day. We would have to

perhaps, even have time to engage

stakeholders before we come to consider

and approve or pass the Bill.

“Where the Bill under Order 119 (Urgent Bills) or under Order 122 (Bills
Regarding Settlement of Financial
Matters), has been read the First time
without prior publication in the Gazette
it shall be so published within twenty-
four hours or as soon as practicable after
that.”
Thus, after this information today then
the Bill would have to be sent for gazetting
and we would consider the Bill. I am of the
view that this is not a Bill that we would
rush ourselves through in 24 hours or even
48 hours. We certainly would have to take
more time. I have not even read the Bill and
I require to have time to go through it.

Mr Speaker, as I said, this is just for our

information, and it is to allow the gazetting

of the Bill, and we would take time to

consider the Bill for its ultimate passage.

Mr Speaker, thank you very much.

Hon
Members, before I put the Question, I
understand the Hon Chairman of the
Committee would like to make a
contribution.
Hon Chairman, let us hear you.

Mr Speaker,
respectfully, I would like to give some
background information with regard to
what has transpired between the Hon
Leaders. I respect this learning curve so
much because today I am particularly
learning a lot from whatever is happening
here.
Mr Speaker, for the information of this
House, this Bill was laid in the 7th
Parliament somewhere in the year 20
[...inaudible]. When we inherited this Bill,
we went through all the stakeholder
consultations in Kumasi and Accra, and
came up with amendments. The
amendments were so voluminous that we
thought that it was impossible for us to do
these corrections on the Floor so we
advised that the Hon Attorney-General and
Minister for Justice incorporated this new
amendment in the Bill, and relay — [Interruption]—

Mr Speaker, with the
greatest of respect, the Hon Majority
Leader has spoken, and has provided a way
to deal with it. He has given an assurance
Determination of the Urgency of the Ghana Standards Authority Bill, 2022

that we would not go through all of this in

a day, and it will suffice. However, my Hon

Colleague, unfortunately may be opening

“worms” that may mess up the whole Bill because what he is talking about are not the

things one would say on the Floor. And,

insofar as we are concerned, nothing like

that happened. They have brought a Bill

and we would find a way to deal with it. So

let us leave it at that. At least, the Hon

Majority Leader has given an assurance

that we would not go through it hurriedly.

What we would assure you is that we

would do everything humanly possible to

make sure that it goes through the process

without hindrance. However, the

comments by the Hon Chairman of the

Committee may not be helpful at this stage.

Very
well.
Hon Members, I have the singular
honour to put the Question —

Mr Speaker,
I was not really following the issues my
Hon Colleague was speaking to but I have
been told that he was trying to raise some
issues to the effect that the Bill started in
the 7th Parliament and so on. The 7th
Parliament has closed, and one cannot
import matters to this Parliament. This is
the 8th Parliament: it is a new Parliament
and we have to deal with matters that are
brought to us.
Mr Speaker, I think that we must also
find a better way of handling our
procedures, because as you said, the
determination is made by a Committee. If
that determination would have to come to
us by way of information — remember that this morning, when we were talking about
the presentation of a Paper by the Hon
Minister for Transport, I said that the
National Transport Policy is just
information to the House, we cannot refer
it to a Committee.
Therefore, with this one, the
determination has been made by the
Committee, and it is for the information of
the House. However, if one says that it
should come by way of a Motion — I was discussing with the Table Officers — and maybe the Question is put, and the House
says that we are rejecting the Report, what
happens? Does it negate the determination
made by the Committee? That would be
unconstitutional -[Interruption] — Yes! The determination would have been made
by the Committee and Plenary cannot go
against it -[Interruption]- Yes, it was referred to a committee to make a
determination and that has been made by
the Committee.
Following that it is information to the
House. That is how it is. Otherwise, as I
said the other time, the Committee on
Finance — [Interruption] — Mr Speaker, so, I was just saying that in putting the
Question, we really need to look at our
procedures. Maybe, for now, we would
allow it to go because you were in the
process of putting the Question. But I am
saying that we must find a better way — [Interruption] — Not necessarily in one
Determination of the Urgency of the Ghana Standards Authority Bill, 2022

day. It says, “It may be done in one day.” It does not mean that we have to do it in

one day.

Mr Speaker, I rest my case.

Hon
Leader, I think the Chairman of the
Committee came by way of a Motion -

Mr Speaker,
I am saying that the determination has been
made by the Committee. This is now about
the urgency. If we say that we are rejecting
the Report, what does it mean? It means
that it would have to go back for gazetting
before its introduction in the House, is that
the case? — [Interruption] — For 14 days before it comes to the House. — [Interruption] — Yes! [Laughter] If we say no, that is what it means.
However, I am saying that the language
of the Constitution is clear that the
determination is made by the Committee.
But, Mr Speaker, as I said, you were in the
process of putting the Question. Maybe we
would have to look at the processes and
procedures again. For now, I do not intend
to further litigate it. I think that we would
really have to take a second look at it.

Yes, Hon
Minority Chief Whip?

Mr Speaker, my
worry is that the Hon Majority Leader
should not try to create confusion where
there is none. Our Standing Orders are very
clear; we made the referral to the
Committee to make the determination and
they have to report back to us on their
recommendations which is, for us to accept
or reject.
Let us look at Standing Order 161,
which says, “The recommendations of a Committee shall be presented to the House
in the form of a Report…”
When it is here as a Report, we would
make a determination whether to accept it
or not because the Committee may have
their deductions and reasons why they
think it should be urgent. The whole House
may disagree with them, and when we do,
it means that it must go through the proper
procedures as stated in Standing Order 106.
So, that is how we have always done it and
I do not know why all of a sudden — Our Standing Orders say that a Committee
cannot make a determination on behalf of
the whole House.
Mr Speaker, when it comes to the Contingency Funds, at a time when Parliament is on recess, despite the fact that the Constitution and the Standing Orders give the Finance Committee powers, they still would have to inform us when Parliament resumes. It is because they cannot just take a decision on our behalf without our knowledge. So, that is how we have done it, and fortunately for us, there is even no controversy about agreeing to do it urgently. I do not know why the Hon Majority Leader wants to create confusion where there is none. If there were some disagreements about doing it urgently, perhaps, that could have warranted this ‘academic exercise' that he is trying to
Determination of the Urgency of the Ghana Standards Authority Bill, 2022

bring because our Standing Orders are very clear. We have done it over and again, so, Mr Speaker, just put the Question and let us make progress.

Mr Speaker, I said I do not want to further litigate this matter so I would let it rest. However, the issue that he raised, let us apply article 177. And it says:
“There shall be paid into the Contingency Fund moneys voted for the purpose by Parliament; and advances may be made from that Fund which are authorised by the committee responsible for financial measures in Parliament whenever that committee is satisfied that there has arisen an urgent or unforeseen need for expenditure for which no other provision exists to meet the need”.
Mr Speaker, when they have done so, then they come back to inform the House. That dissemination is made by the Committee and immediately, it triggers and the amounts are given to the Ministers. That is what it is; so if we say that we should wait for Parliament to agree before it is done, we would see that we would be swimming against the tide. As I said, maybe this is not the time to discuss this. Whatever you would want to do, please you may go ahead.
Question put and Motion agreed to.
Resolved accordingly.

Yes, Hon
Majority Leader?

Mr Speaker,
I believe we are done for the day. We can
take an adjournment. The time is 25
minutes after two, I believe you can go on
your own and adjourn Proceedings. Thank
you, Mr Speaker.

Very
well. Minority Leader, Mr Haruna Iddrisu?

Mr Speaker, we
are in your hands. As you are aware, the Rt
Hon Speaker would deliver a lecture at the
University of Professional Studies, Accra
(UPSA), and we would have to go and give
him some moral and democratic support.
So, you may adjourn us.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Hon
Members, the time is beyond 2.00 p.m. I
will therefore go ahead to adjourn the
House to tomorrow at 10 o'clock in the forenoon. Hon Members, the House stands
adjourned.