Debates of 23 Mar 2023

MR SPEAKER
PRAYERS 12:50 p.m.
Mr Speaker 12:50 p.m.
Hon Members, at
Conclave, we agreed to handle a number
of items. We want to urge you all to do
your best to cooperate for this to be done
today. We will start with the item
numbered 4 — Correction of Votes and Proceedings and the Official Report.

Votes and Proceedings and the

Official Report
Mr Speaker 12:50 p.m.
Hon Members, we
would start with the Votes and
Proceedings of Wednesday, 22nd March,
2023.
Page 1...10?
Yes, Hon Member?
Prof Kingsley Nyarko 12:50 p.m.
Mr Speaker,
thank you. I would like to draw your
attention to the item numbered 7(ii)(a)
and (b) on page 10 — “Mr Mohammed Bawah Braimah” and “Mr Robert Wisdom Cudjoe (Prestea Huni Valley)”.
Mr Speaker, these two items are
inconsistent with the names of Hon
Members numbered as 100 and 109
under item number 2. If Hon Members
would check the names as captured on
the item numbered 100 and 109 of page
4 and item numbered 7(ii)(a) and (b) on
page 10, there is some inconsistency in
the way the names are captured. I just
want consistency.
Mr Speaker 12:50 p.m.
Well, Clerks-at-the-
Table, your attention is being drawn to,
one, the spelling of the name, and, two,
the order in which they have been
arranged. For example: “Muhammad Bawah Braimah”. The “Muhammad” numbered as 100 on page 4 is spelt “M- u-h-a-m-m-a-d”, which is Muhammad. But on page 10, it is “Mohammed”, and the arrangement is “Braimah Muhammad Bawah” on page 4, but “Mohammed Bawah Braimah” on page 10. So, please crosscheck to see which arrangement is
the correct one, and if neither is, please
do the proper thing.
With “Cudjoe”, it is rendered as “Cudjoe Wisdom Robert”, but on page 10, we have “Robert Wisdom Cudjoe”. Hon Member, I am sure that is what you
are drawing our attention to.
Prof Nyarko 12:50 p.m.
Mr Speaker, yes.
Mr Speaker 12:50 p.m.
All right. So, Clerks-
at-the-Table, take it on board and do the
proper thing.
Page 11?
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 12:50 p.m.
Prof Nyarko 1 p.m.
Mr Speaker, still on
page 10, item 7(i)(b), on yesterday's Order Paper, “Gizella Tetteh-Agbotui” was captured as “Ms”, and I thought she was going to correct it because I know
that she is “Mrs”. So, respectfully, my very good friend's name should be “Mrs Gizella Tetteh-Agbotui”.
Also, at item (ii) (b), Mr Robert
Wisdom Cudjoe —
Mr Speaker 1 p.m.
We have handled that
one.
Prof Nyarko 1 p.m.
Mr Speaker, item
7(ii)(b), “Mr Robert Wisdom Cudjoe (Prestea Huni Valley)”, “Huni Valley” must be hyphenated. Thank you.
Mr Speaker 1 p.m.
Yes, the name “Huni Valley” is compound.
I would like to hear from the Hon
Lady whether what you said of her is the
correct rendition of how she wants to be
referred to and captured in the Order
Paper.
Mrs Gizella Tetteh-Agbotui 1 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I was actually checking the nomenclature in the Votes and Proceedings, and the Hon Member is right. I am Mrs, not Ms.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker 1 p.m.
Clerks-at-the-Table,
please the Hon Lady is Mrs, not Ms.
Page 11?
Mr Mohammed Adamu Ramadan 1 p.m.
Mr Speaker, there is a correction on page 10. I remember yesterday the Hon Member for Ejura-Sekyedumase, Mr Muhammad Bawah Braimah, drew the attention of the Clerks-at-the-Table to the correct spelling of his first name. It is spelt M-u — It has been done already. All right.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker 1 p.m.
Page 12?
Prof Nyarko 1 p.m.
Mr Speaker, on page
12, the item numbered 881, on the fourth line, “St Jereme” should be “St Jerome”.
Mr Speaker 1 p.m.
Clerks-at-the-Table,
the Saint is not “Jereme”. I do not know whether it is a Portuguese or Spanish spelling, but what we have in our documents is “Jerome”.
Page 13?
Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa 1 p.m.
Mr Speaker, item number (i) reads, “The following Questions were not asked because the Members concern …”. “Concern” should be in the past tense as “concerned”, and not “concern”.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 1 p.m.
Mr Speaker 1 p.m.
Hon Member, you
would have to take it again.
Mr Ablakwa 1 p.m.
Mr Speaker, item
number (i), just above Question
numbered 269, reads, “The following Questions were not asked because the
Members concern indicated to the House
that they had been overtaken by events.” So, my issue is with “concern”. It has to be in the past tense.
Mr Speaker 1 p.m.
Is the word “concern”, as used here, an adjective or a verb? Hon
Members, are you listening to me? If it is
an adjective, it cannot be in the past. If it
is a verb, then it can be conjugated in the
past, but I think it is an adjective
describing “the Members”, so I really would want to disagree with you. I find
it difficult to give the directive to the
Table once I do not agree with you,
unless my English Teacher did not teach
me well.
Mr Ablakwa 1 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I
appreciate the understanding you are
bringing to bear, but the issue is with the
context—how the word has been used. This is because the Members concerned
had indicated to the House that their
Questions had been overtaken by events.
So, it is with the context of its usage.
Mr Speaker 1 p.m.
If you would want us
to insert “had” before “indicated”, I would agree to that.
Mr Ablakwa 1 p.m.
This rendition gives it
a different meaning. It is not about the
Members' concern.
Mr Speaker 1 p.m.
Hon Members, I would
prefer we insert “had” after “concern” and substitute “they” with “the Questions” so that instead of “they”, it would read, “the Questions had been overtaken by events”. It is not the Members, but the Questions that they
were to pose that had been overtaken by
events.
So, Table, do the necessary rendition.
Mr Speaker 1:10 p.m.
Page 13…15?
Mr Ablakwa 1:10 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I am
most grateful. In the first paragraph of
page 15, I notice that the emphasis has
been on the positions of Hon Members.
So, for the sake of consistency, the Hon
Member of Parliament for Akatsi South
is the Ranking Member of the
Committee on Constitutional, Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs. This is because
following right after that the Hon
Chairman of the Committee on
Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary
Affairs is mentioned. Previously, for
items 10 and 11, the same was done. So,
if we are using the positions, I think we
should be consistent.
Mr Speaker 1:10 p.m.
Clerks-at-the-Table,
kindly insert that. He is the Hon Ranking
Member of the Committee.
Hon Members, the Votes and
Proceedings of Wednesday, 22nd March,
2023, as corrected is adopted as the true
record of proceedings.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 1:10 p.m.
Mr Ablakwa 1:10 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in the
second paragraph of column 45, in the
submissions of our respected former Hon
Minority Leader, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, the
expression reads, “Mr Speaker, I would like to thank you very much, and thank
the Hon Majority Chief Whip for holding
the forte…”. The word “fort” has been captured here as “forte”, which has a different meaning. This “fort” should be without an “e”.
Mr Speaker, also, the fourth line of
the last paragraph in column 46 reads,
“…Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) has doled out some US$33
million to a private entity requiring the
Boankra Integrated Logistics Terminal…”. I do not think that the word “requiring” gives it the right meaning. We would
need to look for the right expression used
by the former Hon Minority Leader.
“Requiring” does not fit in over there in that paragraph, so the Clerks-at-the-
Table should kindly take a second look.
Mr Speaker, there is also a small one
at column 16: “29th November, 2022”. They should take a second look at it.
Mr Speaker, I thank you.
Mr Speaker 1:10 p.m.
Well, Mr Haruna
Iddrisu is around. I do not know whether
he can recollect the word he used. We
cannot ascribe a word to him. Once he is
available, maybe, he would recollect
whether it is “…entity to acquire the Boankra Integrated Logistics Terminal” because it is to acquire.
Mr Haruna Iddrisu 1:10 p.m.
Mr Speaker,
pardon me; I was at the Committee on
Members Holding Offices of Profit, so I
just walked in, and I thank Mr Ablakwa
for the diligent work. The word is
“constructing”. That is what I meant. I thank you very much.
Mr Speaker 1:10 p.m.
Clerks-at-the-Table,
delete “requiring” and insert “to construct”.
Prof Nyarko 1:10 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in the
first paragraph of column 60, I see “An Hon Member” with no name. I would be happy if the Clerks-at-the-Table could
get the Hon Member who spoke. There
is no name, and we would want the name
to be properly captured. Also, in
paragraph 3 of column 63, the fourth and
fifth lines read “The Ghana Standards Board Authority”. There is no “Board”. It should be “The Ghana Standards Authority”.
Mr Speaker, I thank you.
Mr Speaker 1:10 p.m.
Clerks-at-the-Table, if
you cannot identify the Hon Member
who would have heckled, please do not
put it there. The “uproar” covers all of it, but it is not proper to say “An Hon Member”. Who is that Hon Member? But if you can identify the person, please
put the person's name there. In any case, that would not be proper because it
meant that the Speaker would have
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 1:10 p.m.
Mr Speaker 1:10 p.m.
We will now take the
Official Report — Hon Members, because many of you are up on your feet,
I am having difficulty in identifying
those who actually want to make
contributions.
Yes, Hon Member, is it in connection
with what I have just concluded on?
Mr Seidu Issifu 1:10 p.m.
Mr Speaker, yes. I
would like to make a small correction in
the Official Report.
Mr Speaker 1:10 p.m.
Hon Member, I will
plead with you to do so directly with the
Table Office, since I have put the
Question and we have concluded on that
Report. You can do so outside the
Chamber. It is permitted by the rules.
Hon Members, we will now move on
to the Official Report of Tuesday, 7th
March, 2023.
Any corrections?
Mr Ablakwa 1:10 p.m.
Mr Speaker, just
above column 2 of the Official Report of
7th March, 2023, in the headnote, “Votes and Proceedings and the Official
Report”, “the Official” is combined.
We cannot have a word like “the Official”, so, it should be spaced out. That is the headnote.
Mr Speaker 1:20 p.m.
Hon Member, are you
talking of 7th March, 2023 — Votes and Proceedings and the Official Report?
Mr Ablakwa 1:20 p.m.
Mr Speaker, yes, that
is so.
Mr Speaker 1:20 p.m.
Yes, we should
separate the “the” from the “Official”, that is the headnote just at the top.
Mr Afenyo-Markin 1:20 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in
column 10, in a statement attributed to
me, line 2 should read: “…going to have a joint Caucus to discuss”, and not “joint Caucus meeting”. So, “meeting” should be deleted.
Mr Speaker 1:20 p.m.
Hon Member, is your
submission that “joint caucus” should be a compound word?
Mr Afenyo-Markin 1:20 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it
is so. The same error is repeated in
column 11; “meeting” should be deleted.
Mr Speaker 1:20 p.m.
Clerks-at-the-Table,
kindly take note of that.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 1:20 p.m.
Mr Ablakwa 1:20 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I would
like the earlier correction I indicated to
be effected at column 4.
Mr Speaker 1:20 p.m.
Clerks-at-the-Table,
kindly take note of that.
Hon Members, the Official Report of
Tuesday, 7th March, 2023, as corrected is
hereby adopted as the true record of
proceedings.
Hon Members, as I indicated early
on, at Conclave, the agreement was to
handle one other item. I am sure you
know why we have been having such
lengthy discussions at Conclave. There
were some concessions, and the
Conclave agreed that we should do —
Hon Members, Order!
Hon Members, if you are not
listening and you start asking questions
when we commence, I would ignore you.
Conclave came to an agreement that at
the commencement of Public Business,
we handle the Motion numbered 8 which
is on page 5 of today's Order Paper, and that is going the full length of that item.
Therefore, we have prepared the
necessary documents and we would go to
it, and the procedure would follow its full
course.
Hon Members, with your indulgence,
we would go to the item numbered 8 — At the Commencement of Public
Business on page 5 of today's Order Paper.
Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah 1:20 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it is rightly so. We agreed to
take that item, however, unfortunately, it
is very clear that we do not have copies
of that Report, and so, my application is
that you kindly give us a little time for
the Report to be distributed to the Hon
Members to have the opportunity to go
through it, and then we can move
forward.
Mr Speaker 1:20 p.m.
Hon Member, please,
it took us a lot of time to come to this
conclusion. I do not want any person to
come in and try to mar what we have
achieved. We must tolerate each other,
please.
Mr Afenyo-Markin 1:20 p.m.
Mr Speaker,
copies of the Report were distributed.
However, I agree with the Hon Deputy
Minority Leader if it is his prayer that we
need some additional copies to be
distributed to the Hon Members.
Mr Speaker 1:20 p.m.
Hon Members, I think
that the copies were distributed early on.
Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu 1:20 p.m.
Mr Speaker,
this Report was laid much earlier. It was
distributed to Hon Members soon after it
was laid. But this morning, when the Hon
Minority Leader informed me that Hon
Members may not have access to their
copies, I requested that the Clerk to the
Committee makes more copies for them.
I am aware that the copies are now being
distributed, but much earlier, your
records would reflect that same was
distributed to Hon Members. I have had
my copy since. Further copies have been
made and are being distributed, but we
distributed them much earlier.
Several Hon Members — rose —
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 1:20 p.m.
Mr Speaker 1:20 p.m.
Hon Members, now, I have so many of you on your feet. You know the practice. I would definitely have to call the most senior of you.
Yes, Hon Member for North Tongu?
Mr Ablakwa 1:30 p.m.
Mr Speaker, may you live long for always recognising seniority.
Mr Speaker, in all sincerity, a good
number of us, including my humble self are receiving this Report for the first time. I do well to go to the Mails Room and to diligently follow up on every report, document, and every official Report of this House.
Mr Speaker, as you know, some of us
really take these matters seriously. This is the first time I am laying hands on this Report and I have just noticed that it is a 63-page Report. I have observed that a good number of my Hon Colleagues are now receiving their copies. I would humbly appeal that we are given some time to go through this 63-page Report, even if it is for an hour, so that we could study the Report, and be able to make meaningful submissions on it.

Mr Speaker, my humble appeal to

you is to create some space to study this 63 page Report. It is a very voluminous Report and we cannot be reading as the Chairman of the Committee moves the Motion numbered 8 — Thirtieth Report of the Committee in respect of H.E. the President's nominations for the appointment as Ministers, Ministers of State and Deputy Minster.

Mr Speaker, so, my humble and

fervent prayer to you is to allow the good

majority of us who are now receiving this

63-page Report to be given some time to

read through and study the Report so that

we can make meaningful contributions.

Ministerial appointment, a constitutional

obligation, is a very important matter

which cannot be taken lightly.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.
Mr Speaker 1:30 p.m.
Hon Member, I decline
to submit to your plea. My records
indicate that the Paper was distributed on
the 3rd March, 2023. [Some Hon
Members: No! No!] Well, when the Hon
Member was on his feet speaking, as Rt
Hon Speaker, I listened to him. Your

Please, on 3rd March, 2023, I minuted

it and I have the records here. After that,

the Caucuses had meetings on this

Report and we got feedback from your

Leaders at Conclave meetings on daily

basis as to your concerns on matters in

the Report. You cannot now come here

and say that you were not given copies of

You cannot. Please, unless you are

saying that your Leaders misled us — [Some Hon Members: Yes!] — at the Conclave meetings. Are you saying yes?

[Some Hon Member: No!] Do not let

me go beyond this because if I am to go

beyond this, I would mention names and

even the programme that some of you

participated in and the contributions you

made in those programmes concerning

this Report. I do not want to mention

names.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 1:30 p.m.
Mr Speaker 1:30 p.m.
Hon Members, please
resume your seats. Let us do the proper
thing. Yes, Hon Deputy Minority Whip?
Mr Ahmed Ibrahim 1:30 p.m.
Mr Speaker,
you are absolutely right in saying that the
Paper was laid in February 2023.
Mr Speaker, this is something we
have been battling with. It is a fact that it
was laid in February 2023 and you gave
a directive that the Paper was duly laid
and should be distributed to Hon
Members, but that directive that you
gave was not complied with.
Mr Speaker, if you would observe,
just as you started speaking, the Paper
was being distributed to Hon Members.
What Mr Ablakwa is saying is that since
you gave that directive, and based on that
directive, he has been going to the mails
room thinking that the Paper would be in
his pigeonhole but he never found a copy
in his pigeonhole and he was never given
a copy. He has just been given a copy. He
glanced through and realised that it is a
63-page document.
Mr Speaker, the statement that
consultation has been taken with
Leaders, I am in Leadership but I am not
a Member of the Appointments
Committee. However, I have been
conferring with my Hon Minority
Leader. He said that there was a draft
copy and he was going to make his input.
That was done before the Paper was laid.
However, your directive was not
complied with.
Mr Speaker, we would like you to
know that going forward, when you give
a referral and direct that copies should be
given to Hon Members, instantly, copies
must be given to Hon Members.
Mr Speaker, I am in Leadership, and
this is the copy which has just been given
to me. I even have to call the Chief
Chamber Usher, Mr Joseph Kwakye,
before he brought it to me. So, I would
read through it and based on that, I would
like to make a plea that we should
suspend Sitting for Hon Members to go
through the document. This is because
not too long ago, when Mr Haruna
Iddrisu commented on the Hansard, he
said that the quality of debate is reducing
because Hon Members do not do diligent
research.
Mr Speaker, so, if we sit here while
the document has just been given to us
— It is 63 pages, how can Hon Members read this document and make concrete
contributions to enrich the Hansard and
the debate in this Chamber?
We have kept faith with Hon
Members, and we have not misled them.
However, it is just that despite your
directive that we should be given copies,
Mr Speaker, we were not given. This is
why we are where we are. However, if
copies had been given to Hon Members
in February 2023, why then are they now
giving copies to Hon Members? — [Interruption] —
Mr Speaker, based on that, I think
that it would be most appropriate for you
to give us ample time to read the document
and make meaningful contributions. We
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 1:30 p.m.
Mr Speaker 1:30 p.m.
Hon Members, please,
you elected me as your Speaker and I am
forever grateful to you. However, one
thing you knew about me before you
elected me as your Speaker is that I have
never been rowkporkpor. Do you know
the song “Rowkporkpor”, “Obey the wind”? I have never been “obey-the- wind”.
Hon Member, I do not want to go into
details, but your conclusion had been
answered by the Hon First Deputy
Speaker that after the Conclave meeting
when we agreed that this be taken, his
attention was drawn to the fact that Hon
Members might not have brought copies
since it was laid long ago. So, he directed
that they should print some copies and
give them to Hon Members, and that is
what is being distributed now. That is
what the Hon First Deputy Speaker drew
the attention of the House to.
However, as the Hon First Deputy
Minority Whip, you are aware that we
have discussed this matter on a number
of occasions at Conclave, where you
gave us feedback on the meetings you
have held on this matter at your Caucus.
How could the Caucus be meeting on this
matter without a Report?
Hon Members, please, let us not
debate this matter. I will give Hon
Members few minutes to read the
document and then we would go on with
the debate. The few minutes are meant to
refresh your memories — [Laughter] It is not that you have not been given
copies. I am not convinced of that one.
However, because it was distributed
early on, as I have indicated, on 3rd
March — the record is here — you might have forgotten what you read. So, kindly
refresh your memories and let us go on
with the Motion —
Information! Do I need your
information? [An Hon Member: Yes,
Mr Suhuyini Sayibu Alhassan 1:40 p.m.
Mr
Speaker, thank you very much for the
opportunity.
You are right, and we all respect the
fact that you are not “obey-the-wind” and, in fact, if they put a ballot here
today, we would vote for you again and

Mr Speaker, the information I have is

that as a member of the Appointments

Committee, this is the first time that I

have seen a copy of this report. It is not
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 1:40 p.m.
Mr Edward Abambire Bawa 1:40 p.m.
Mr
Speaker, one of the things that I have
realised is that basically, a lot of Hon
Members have not read the Report. Also,
we started today's Sitting 12.50 p.m. which is a bit late. We have a lot of other
activities to do today. So, I would
suggest for your approval that we should
not suspend the House, but rather move
this Report to tomorrow while we deal
with the activities that we have here so
that we could read the Report and first
thing tomorrow when we come, we
would see what we can do.
Mr Murtala Muhammed Ibrahim 1:40 p.m.
Mr Speaker, who are we to challenge
your directives and decisions? With your
enormous experience in this House and
in the Legislature, you know that we
have a moral duty and the responsibility
to represent the interest of the people in
this country, and appointing Hon
Ministers is very critical. The destiny of
several millions of Ghanaians would be
in the hands of these Hon Ministers.
Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Food and
Agriculture and the Ministry of Trade
and Industry are very important
Ministries as well as other Ministries of
State and the Ministry of Finance. So, it
is important that we read this document
and have an appreciation of some of the
issues.
Mr Speaker, assuming that I have
objections to some of the decisions taken
by the Committee and I must support my
objections with evidence, how could I do
that within few minutes? So, I would
humbly suggest that you give us, at least,
a day. I agree with the suggestion of the
Hon Member for Bongo, so that we
could do justice to this.
Mr Speaker, the quality of debate in
this House is sine qua non to the quality
of our democracy, and most importantly,
appointing Hon Ministers to man the
affairs of this country. So, I plead with
you to allow us have time with this.
Mr Speaker, my concluding
statement has to do with when you
reminded us on how we elected you. We
were nearly killed in this Chamber but
we had to stand for justice and
democracy to have you elected. So, it is
in the same vein that we think that you
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 1:40 p.m.
Mr Speaker 1:40 p.m.
Hon Members, just do
not worry. I would grant you opportunities
to attend conferences of the Commonwealth
Parliamentary Association (CPA) and
the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU),
and then you would see how democracy
is practised, and when you come back,
you would revise your notes.
Mr Cletus Apul Avoka 1:40 p.m.
Mr Speaker,
I am the Ranking Member of the
Judiciary Committee and I regret to say
that I have not seen the Report. So, I
would support my Hon Colleagues who
have said that we should defer this
Report and take it tomorrow so that we
can be privy to the information on the
ground.
Mr Speaker 1:40 p.m.
Hon Member for
Zebilla, which Report are you referring
Mr Avoka 1:40 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I wanted to
say that it is now that the Hon First
Deputy Minority Whip has given me the
Committee Report on the appointment of
the Hon Ministers. I have not seen it
before, and it is very bulky; it has 63
pages. In fact, the Hon Members on this
Side have not seen the Report. So, I pray
that you would use your discretion and
make us do a worthy debate on this
Report. Kindly give us the opportunity to
study it so that we can do the debate by
tomorrow.
Mr Speaker 1:40 p.m.
Hon Member, in your
submission, you made reference to you
being a Ranking Member of the
Committee on Judiciary. That is why I
asked you about the Report that you were
referring to.
Anyway, Hon Majority Leader, you
may kindly speak.
Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:40 p.m.
Mr
Speaker, respectfully, I believe that we
must come to some determination of this
matter. Otherwise, this journey in Alice
in Wonderland as we just saw a former
Leader of this House display —
Mr Speaker, our Standing Orders are
clear. Orders 74 and 75 of the Standing
Order says, and with your permission, I
beg to quote:
(74) A Paper may be presented to
the House only by Mr. Speaker,
the Chairman of a Committee, a
Member of a Minister.
(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
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 1:40 p.m.
Mr Agbodza 1:50 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I think
that you were almost at the point of
getting a solution for us on this issue. I
am a member of the Committee, and the
Hon Majority Leader was right when he
said that the Report was laid.
Mr Speaker, I know that Clerks
cannot speak on this Floor except on rare
occasions when you are not here for them
to read a message to us as to why you are
not here.
Mr Speaker, these are the facts. The
Report was produced, but I doubt if the
Table could say when they distributed
this Report to Hon Members. Mr
Speaker, people's reputations are being called into question here. Nobody is
saying the Report was not laid. On
countless occasions, we came here and
reports are about to be laid and we asked
if they have got sufficient copies and
they say yes, they have sufficient copies.
I doubt how many times at the time of
that laying, that reports have been
distributed. here. We do have an
understanding from Conclave that we
would do this Business.
Mr Speaker, let us be factual about it
but let it not be said anywhere that
somebody at the Table gave me, Mr
Kwame Agbodza, a report and I
pretended that I did not see it. It is not
true. Yes, it was laid and the Hon
Majority Leader is right. The Standing
Order 75(1) is clear but the question is,
did his Side of the House actually ensure
that there were sufficient copies to be
distributed to Hon Members before it
was laid? No! All right, if there were
sufficient copies, then let me tell them
that those copies were never distributed
to our Hon Members. Has the Hon
Minority Leader got a copy as a Hon
Ranking Member of the Committee? He
got a copy and showed it to me, but it is
not his job to distribute the other copies
to Hon Members. So, let us not split
hairs.
Mr Speaker, your directive to allow
us a little bit of time to go through the
Report would have solved this problem.
Let nobody's reputation be called into
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 1:50 p.m.
Mr Speaker 1:50 p.m.
Hon Members, I said,
and I would like to repeat that I am
giving you a few minutes to go through
the Report and the Motion would be
moved. I would not like to go into details
but the tangent that you are going would
raise a lot of issues. As the Rt Hon
Speaker, if I decide to rule otherwise, it
would poison the relationship between
the Caucuses, particularly, the Leaders,
and it would be very difficult to manage
the House if we do not have at least, a
modicum of trust between Leaders. So, I
would not like to go into the details.
Let us have a few minutes for you to
go into the Report and then the Motion
would be moved. We are not going to
suspend Sitting, adjourn till tomorrow or
any week or any month. The Motion
would be moved today. Just read through
what you have. These are the Hon
Members that you took through the
process of public hearing. The Report
was definitely compiled, and I am sure I
heard during the time it was being
presented, the Hon Minority Leader
raised issues that he needed to see it and
make inputs. They stopped distributing
the Reports at that time and the process
went through and was finalised. As I
said, we have held a number of
discussions at Conclave on this Report. I
do not want to go into details but once it
has been laid long ago, I am sure that you
need the opportunity to refresh your
memory. So, I would give you that time
to refresh your memory, but the Motion
would be moved today and we would go
on with the process today. If we would
use the whole day, we would use it and
we would take a decision as a House on
this matter. Please, since you are all Hon
Members and very learned, this is only
63 pages and so, I am sure you can use
10 minutes. Hon Members, if you want
more minutes, you can plead. If not, it
would be 10 minutes.
Several Hon Members —rose—
Mr Speaker 1:50 p.m.
Yes, Hon Majority
Leader?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:50 p.m.
Mr Speaker,
not to challenge the position of the Chair,
may we do the Presentation of Papers as
advertised, so that in the interim some
work would be going on? So, we could
go to Public Business and do the
Presentation of Papers.
Mr Speaker 1:50 p.m.
Hon Members, I would
add five minutes to make it 15 minutes,
period. In 15 minutes, the Motion would
be moved and we would go on.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 1:50 p.m.
Mr Speaker 1:50 p.m.
Hon Deputy Minority
Whip? Being my son, I do not want —
Mr Ahmed Ibrahim 1:50 p.m.
Thank you,
Mr Speaker. They are saying they do not
have copies.
Mr Speaker 1:50 p.m.
You are my son. Do
not continue on this matter. Please, I am
aware. You have 15 minutes so start
reading. — [Pause] —
Time is running. Either you sit down
and read, or after the 15 minutes we
would move on. The Hon Member at the
back there — [Pause]—
Some Hon Members — rose —
Mr Speaker 1:50 p.m.
Yes, Hon Member for
Builsa North, Mr James Agalga? I am
counting the time. — [Pause] —
Mr James Agalga 1:50 p.m.
Thank you, Mr
Speaker. I would like to make a special
appeal to you not to allow time to run in
respect of your directive that the Report
be taken after 15 minutes to allow for
those of us who have not received the
Report to be given copies.
Mr Speaker, starting from Mr
Benjamin Komla Kpodo, Alhaji
Alhassan B.A Fuseini, Ms Helen Ntoso,
Mr Edward Abambire Bawa, Mr
Rockson-Nelson Kwami Dafeamekpor,
and my good self, we do not have copies.
So, in all fairness, time should start
running only after we have been served
Mr Speaker 2 p.m.
Hon Members, it is left
with 10 minutes. In the meantime, we would handle the item numbered 6 — Presentation of Papers. While the 10 minutes run, I am sure you will read while we are presenting the Papers. Please, we have to do them. As an Hon Member of Parliament, you have to know how to multi-task. Learn from your former Hon Leader, Mr Haruna Iddrisu. You must know how to multi- task: do so many things at the same time.
Item number 6 — Presentation of
Papers.
Item number 6 (a) by the Hon
Minister for Education?
PAPERS 2 p.m.
Mr Speaker 2 p.m.
Hon Members, item
number 6(b) to be laid by the Hon
Minister for Environment, Science,
Technology, and Innovation.
Mr Peter Nortsu-Kotoe 2 p.m.
Mr Speaker,
thank you very much.
Mr Speaker, my issue has to do with
the Report. Many a time, when reports
are laid and referrals are made, we have
to chase either the Ministry or Clerks-at-
the Table for the reports. One example I
would want to give regards to 29th
November, last year, when I laid the
Private Members' Bill and you made a referral to the Finance Committee. Last
week, I had to go round chasing a copy
of the Bill for the Finance Committee to
work on. So, Mr Speaker, we find it very
difficult to get copies of the Reports or
Statements like this when they are laid,
and I wish to appeal to the Clerks-at-the
-Table to make sure that as early as
possible, the members of the Committee
are, at least, made to receive copies in
time.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker 2 p.m.
Hon Member, I am
grateful for drawing my attention to this
administrative lapse. You have clerks to
all the Committees, and before we
programme a Paper or Report to be laid,
particularly, Papers and documents from
outside the House, sufficient copies
would have been presented to the Office
of the Clerk to Parliament. So, when they
are laid, the clerk to the Committees are
expected to go to the Office of the Clerks
to Parliament to take the copies and
cause it to be distributed to Hon
Members. It is not for the Hon Chairmen
or the Hon Ranking Members to go
looking, chasing, and trying to get the
Papers from any office at all; that is the
duty of the clerks. So, I will take it up and
direct the Table. The Table is headed by
the Clerk to Parliament himself, to
ensure that these provisions are complied
with. They are in the Standing Orders of
the House, so I am grateful for drawing
the House's attention to this.
Please, we are laying Papers.
Mr Agbodza 2 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank
you for the opportunity. To avoid the
similar problem we had with the Report
from the Appointments Committee, we
just laid a Report. Is it possible for you to
direct that once the Report is laid, there
should be a time limit within which the
Report should be distributed to Hon
Members, so that there is no ambiguity
as to whether it was laid and distributed,
because it has been laid. Rightly so,
becasue currently, I cannot see any
movement from anywhere distributing
anything to Hon Members of this House,
so we just want clarity.
When it is laid, maybe, there should
be a time limit within which the
distribution should take place, so that
Hon Members can be in anticipation of
when to receive the Report. The Hon
Majority Leader eloquently quoted
Order 75(1) and I agree with him, but we
just laid another one and there is no sign
of the distribution of that Report as we
speak. Mr Speaker, just to avoid any

Papers

confusion in the future, we need time

limits within which the Report ought to

be distributed to Hon Members.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Annoh-Dompreh 2 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I
think we are making progress. I am
surprised my Hon Colleague raised this
matter; Order 75 is clear, so the Speaker
should not be giving any timelines; that
is why in the wisdom of the framers of
the Standing Orders, Order 75 is very
clear. Unless he wants us to subject it to
a debate, so let us leave it at that.
Mr Speaker, since we are laying
Papers, I would want to further suggest
that we go on and take the item
numbered 6(b). The Hon Minister is
here.
Mr Speaker 2 p.m.
I really do not see the
Hon Minister —
Hon Members, item numbered 6(b).
By the Minister for Environment,
Science, Technology and Innovation) —
Annual Statement by the Audit
Committee of the Ministry of
Environment, Science, Technology
and Innovation for the Year 2021.
Referred to the Committee on
Science and Technology.
Mr Speaker 2 p.m.
Hon Members, the
item numbered 6(c)(i) and (ii) to be laid
by the Hon Minister for Transport.
Mr Annoh-Dompreh — rose —
Mr Speaker 2 p.m.
Yes, please.
Mr Annoh-Dompreh 2 p.m.
Mr Speaker,
we would proceed to page 5 —
Mr Speaker 2 p.m.
Hon Member, I just
mentioned an item. Is the Hon Minister
for Transport not available or the Papers
are not ready?
Mr Annoh-Dompreh 2 p.m.
Mr Speaker,
with respect, the Hon Minister is not
available.
Mr Speaker 2 p.m.
What about the rest of
the items?
Mr Annoh-Dompreh 2 p.m.
Mr Speaker,
with respect, all the other items are not
ready and, hence, we want to proceed
and take item 8 on page 5, with your
leave.
Mr Speaker 2 p.m.
Hon Majority Chief
Whip, I have not granted leave on that
yet.
Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare 2:10 p.m.
Mr
Speaker, I am drawing your kind
attention to Order 40(3) of the Standing
Orders. It is past 2 o'clock, and I would indulge you to extend the time.
Thank you.
Mr Speaker 2:10 p.m.
Hon Member, thank
you for drawing my attention.

Hon Members, in view of the nature

of Business before the House, I hereby

direct that Sitting be held outside the

prescribed period. My attention was

drawn to it earlier, but because we were

in the middle of some proceedings, I did

not do it.

Hon Members, now we can proceed

to the item numbered 8 — Motions.

Yes, First Deputy Speaker?
MOTIONS 2:10 p.m.
THE MINISTRY OF FOOD AND 2:10 p.m.
AGRICULTURE 2:10 p.m.
DESIGNATE TO THE 2:10 p.m.
MINISTRY OF CHIEFTAINCY 2:10 p.m.
AND RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS 2:10 p.m.
STEPHEN ASAMOAH-BOATENG 2:10 p.m.
MINISTER OF STATE DESIGNATE 2:10 p.m.
FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT, 2:10 p.m.
DECENTRALISATION AND RURAL 2:10 p.m.
DEVELOPMENT 2:10 p.m.
MP 2:10 p.m.
DESIGNATE TO THE MINISTRY OF 2:10 p.m.
FINANCE 2:10 p.m.
FOR THE MINISTRY OF TRADE 2:10 p.m.
AND INDUSTRY 2:10 p.m.
Mr Speaker 2:10 p.m.
Hon Members, any
seconder?
Vice Chairman of the Committee
(Mr Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-
Markin): Mr Speaker, with respect and
if it pleases you, I shall proceed to second
the Motion moved by the Chairman of
the Committee.
Mr Speaker, article 78 of the 1992
Constitution makes provisions for such
nominations and goes further to talk
about the necessary qualifications for
such important public office. Again,
article 94 of the 1992 Constitution
sufficiently provides what essential
qualifications there are for a person to be
considered for election for this august
Chamber and, by extension, to be a
Minister of State. It is my contention that
the basis upon which the Minority
rejected these nominees was not founded
in the 1992 Constitution —
Mr Speaker 2:10 p.m.
Hon Member, I do not
have anything here before me that the
Minority has rejected these nominees. I
do not know where you are coming from.
Mr Afenyo-Markin 2:10 p.m.
Mr Speaker,
the Report of the Committee says,

The President's Nominations for Appointment as Ministers, Deputy Minis., etc

perhaps to help the situation, “The Committee therefore recommends to the House by Majority decision the adoption of its report and approval of the following…”

My submission is that all Members of the Minority voted against the Report. That is my contention, and I said that the basis upon which they mounted their opposition —
Mr Speaker 2:10 p.m.
Hon Member, is it in the Report that all Members of the Minority voted against the Report?
Mr Afenyo-Markin 2:10 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it is so. That is a matter of records.
Mr Speaker 2:10 p.m.
Hon Member, can you refer to the paragraph?
Mr Afenyo-Markin 2:10 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I read paragraph 6 of page 62, “The Committee therefore recommends to the House by Majority Decision…” — and Mr Speaker, there is emphasis if you have a copy of the Report with you —
Mr Speaker 2:10 p.m.
Hon Member, you are a lawyer. I am talking about Hon Members at the Committee level, not Hon Members at Plenary session. When you refer to the Minority Members of this House, they are 137; at the Committee level, how many are there? At the Committee level, when one refers to Majority and Minority, he or she is not talking about the divide. He or she is talking about the vote that is taken at the Committee level. Some Members of the Majority could have voted against the Report, but they constitute Minority, not Majority.
Hon Member, please, that is why I
said draw my attention to it, and I know
what is ongoing now. Therefore, you
have to move away from those kinds of
statements, and let us go on.
Mr Afenyo-Markin 2:20 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I
am guided.
Mr Speaker, in seconding this
Motion, which is to pray this House to
approve these Nominees, it is my case
that all the Nominees, except nominee 3
at page 62 of the Committee's Report, are currently sitting Members of
Parliament. They are our Hon
Colleagues; we know them, their
potentials, capacities, and what they
have done for this country.
Mr Speaker, Mr K.T. Hammond, is
an affable character, an experienced
counsel and Hon Member of the House,
who has previously occupied a
ministerial portfolio, albeit a deputy
ministerial portfolio. Today, by merit, he
has earned this nomination.
Mr Speaker, Mr Bryan Acheampong
is an Hon Member of this House. He was
once a Minister of State at the Ministry
of National Security. He was later
transferred to the Ministry of the Interior.
His experience in the private sector is for
all of us to judge. His going to a ministry
such as the Ministry of Food and
Agriculture, I have no doubt in my mind,
and I believe Hon Colleagues would
have no doubt in their minds that he is
going to make a lot of inroads in ensuring
that that sector is boosted.

The President's Nominations for Appointment as Ministers, Deputy Minis., etc

Mr Speaker, Mr Asamoah Boateng

served as a Member of Parliament: he

was in this House; he worked in

government circles; and he became a

Minister of State. In this Administration,

what we know as State Interest and

Governance Authority (SIGA) today — This is a man who transformed the State

Enterprises Commission and shepherded

it to have a new enactment to govern all

the State institutions of commercial

interest. There is no doubt in my mind

that he also meets the essential

qualifications as stipulated in articles 94

and 78 of the 1992 Constitution.

Mr Speaker, our own Mr O. B.

Amoah is somebody we all know in this

House. He has been a member of the

Appointments Committee. We know his

experience.

Mr Speaker, Mr Stephen Amoah — [Hear! Hear!] — One more time, Mr Stephen Amoah — [Hear! Hear!] — None of us can look him eyeball to

eyeball and say that he is underserving of

this honour; it is not possible. Therefore,

I am saying that as a House, we can bring

down any possible temperature and

demonstrate to Ghanaians that yes, we

can disagree but when it is necessary, we

would agree for the forward march of the

country. Although we came to a decision

by majority, I know that here at Plenary,

this House can by consensus proceed to

use the voice vote to approve of all these

Nominees.

Mr Speaker, governance must not be

seen to being obstructed, and you have

used that expression this morning at

another forum. However, that does not

also mean that we should not do our

scrutiny. We have done the scrutiny and

although there were some initial

disagreements, all members of the

Committee participated in the vetting.

Mr Speaker, our colleagues in Kenya

are citing what happened at our

Committee hearing that although we can

be friends, when it becomes critical, we

scrutinise. The famous statement from

our respected Hon Colleague, Mr Bryan

Acheampong to Dr Cassiel Ato Forson:

“Ato, I thought we were friends, are you not my friend?” Then he said, “Yes, you are my friend, but let me do my work”. Today, at the Kenyan Parliament, they

are quoting us, that there can be

friendship and relationship but when it

gets to the job, you get it done. Each

member of the Committee had an

opportunity to ask questions of national

importance. Nobody was restrained, and

I enjoyed it. As an advocate, when I see

such pound for pound, I enjoy it because

it helps grow democracy to the extent

that we mean no ill.

I am happy that long after the whole

exercise, we continued to maintain good

relationship. Dr Ato Forson after asking

all his questions, Mr Kwame Agbodza

after asking all his questions, I had the

opportunity to also ask questions to

clarify matters. All was for the beauty of

democracy.

Mr Speaker, therefore, I shall

conclude by saying that as we know now,

for the records, nobody has come out

with any contrary view on these

nominees — a contrary view rooted on their qualifications in the Constitution.

The President's Nominations for Appointment as Ministers, Deputy Minis., etc

Therefore, this House on “all fours” is well-grounded and well-fortified to

explain matters to stakeholders who are

outside of this Chamber that indeed, we

did not take a bad decision; indeed, we

did the right thing. Indeed, we

understand that the bona fides of Article

79 must be respected, and that is why we

did what we did.

Mr Speaker, Hon Members may have

a views as to the number of persons to

occupy a particular governance

structure, as in ministerial appointment.

However, again, the captain in charge is

also constitutionally mandated to look at

his vision and then move along with a

certain number. These are matters that

can be explained and justified. Therefore,

there should be no worry at all for all of

us to consider favourably these

nominees, for they have earned this by

merit and we should not be seen to be

taking a decision of political

convenience against them. —

Mr Speaker, posterity may not look

at it the way we expect it to look at it.

Therefore, I call on Hon Colleagues to do

the needful by supporting this Report so

that by consensus—Easter is just around the corner. We are in the period of Lent,

and Ramadan has also just started. Let us

tell the country that because of the Lent

and Ramadan, every heat in us has been

subdued, and that we can make progress

on this.

I thank you, Mr Speaker, for the

opportunity.

Mr Governs Agbodza — rose —
Mr Speaker 2:30 p.m.
Hon Minority Chief
Whip?
Minority Chief Whip (Mr Kwame
Governs Agbodza): Mr Speaker —
Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh — rose —
Mr Speaker 2:30 p.m.
Hon Majority Chief
Whip, do you want to raise a point of
Order?
Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh 2:30 p.m.
Mr
Speaker, with respect, the two Leaders,
the Hon Majority Leader and the Hon
Minority Leader, have engaged and they
have come to some decision. The
decision is that I should make this
application to you that we suspend
Sitting for one hour for a very important
engagement between the two Caucuses,
after which we would resume Sitting.
So, we are suspending Sitting for an
hour. That is our application.
Mr Speaker 2:30 p.m.
Yes, Hon Minority
Chief Whip?
Mr Agbodza 2:30 p.m.
Mr Speaker, you have
been trying to guide us to come to an amicable solution as fars a this is concerned and we thank you for that. My Hon Colleague has just made an application to you. I want to support the application he has made and then appeal to you to suspend Sitting for one hour, like he said so that we can meet and see what we can do to advance it. So, I

The President's Nominations for Appointment as Ministers, Deputy Minis., etc

second his application for suspension for a short period.
Mr Speaker 2:30 p.m.
Hon Members, Order!
I am trying to gauge the sense of the
House and what I have got is that the application is well-grounded, and as master of the Standing Orders, I am convinced to grant it. So, I will suspend Sitting for one hour. It means at 3.30 p.m., we should be back here. Is that the case?
Mr Annoh-Dompreh 2:30 p.m.
Yes, it is so,
Mr Speaker. But further to that, we would have the Joint Caucus meeting at this venue immediately after suspension.
Mr Speaker 2:30 p.m.
Is that after we have
taken a decision on this Motion or after the suspen
Mr Annoh-Dompreh 2:30 p.m.
Mr Speaker, within the one hour allocated, we would have a Joint Caucus meeting here.
Mr Speaker 2:30 p.m.
As to what you do with
the one hour, it is none of my business. You have requested for one hour; I am granting you your one hour. If you go to sleep, that is for you. If you go to have a Joint Caucus or Committee of the Whole meeting, or you decide to go and play football within one hour and come, it is your business. So, I will grant you the one hour. Agreed.
Hon Members, the House is
suspended until 3.35 p.m., where we would reconvene to continue with the Business of the House. The House, in respect of today's Sitting, is suspended.
2. 35 p.m. — Sitting suspended.
7.27 p.m. — Sitting resumed.
Mr Speaker 2:30 p.m.
Hon Members, I
welcome you back from the suspension.
We agreed to suspend Sitting for an hour.
So, after an hour, I was in my Lobby.
Nobody informed me that you had taken
a decision for us to resume at 6.00 p.m.,
I have been sitting in my Lobby up till
this time until Leaders came to inform
me that that was the decision, and they
apologised for not communicating to me.
So we agreed to disagree, and at the end
of the day, my decision is that we will
debate, but we will take the decision
tomorrow —
Some Hon Members 2:30 p.m.
No! [Uproar] —
Mr Speaker 2:30 p.m.
I heard “no” from both Sides of the House. Now, I want to
understand the meaning of “no” from my right. Then, I want to understand the
meaning of “no” from my left and then I take a decision. What does the “no” from my right mean?
Mr Annoh-Dompreh 2:30 p.m.
Mr Speaker,
we heard what you said. The “no” definitely on our Side means we will take
the decision now and today. We want the
decision taken now. [Uproar] Mr
Speaker, we on this Side, particularly,
the Leadership —
Mr Speaker 2:30 p.m.
Hon Majority Chief
Whip, since I am in control here, can you
rephrase your sentence? You said “no” means you will debate and take the
decision now, but you are not in control

The President's Nominations for Appointment as Ministers, Deputy Minis., etc

of that. I am in control. You cannot

compel me.
Mr Annoh-Dompreh 2:30 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I
will defer to you on this matter. We will
debate, conclude the debate and vote on
the subject matter duly today. If I may
proceed further, with the greatest of
respect —
Mr Speaker 2:30 p.m.
Your proposal is that
you would want the matter to be debated,
concluded with the decision taken today?
Mr Annoh-Dompreh 2:30 p.m.
Yes, Mr
Speaker. I have a basis for coming to that
conclusion.
Mr Speaker 2:30 p.m.
Hon Member, I do not
want further debate. I just understand.
What does the “no” on the Minority Side mean?
Mr Agbodza 2:30 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the time
is 7.31 p.m. The “no” on this Side means that we have already tabled the Motion
on this issue and seconded it. The “no” on this Side means that we should
Mr Speaker 2:30 p.m.
Hon Minority Chief
Whip, I am sure you also have to
rephrase your sentence. This is because
you are not in charge; I am in charge. It
is a proposal you are making to me.
Mr Agbodza 2:30 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I
apologise for speaking emphatically. My
appeal to you is that it is past 7.30 p.m.
We are appealing to you to adjourn the
House until tomorrow, when we can all
convene and proceed with whatever we
want to proceed with.
Mr Speaker 2:30 p.m.
Hon Members, we will proceed to debate the Motion, but we will take the decision tomorrow —
Some Hon Members 2:30 p.m.
No!
Mr Speaker 2:30 p.m.
I want to know from
Mr Afenyo-Markin 2:30 p.m.
Mr Speaker,
we propose that we take one from each Side.
Mr Ahmed Ibrahim 2:30 p.m.
Mr Speaker,
why is the Majority Side proposing one speaker from each Side? It presupposes that they are tired. They cannot even allow two people to speak. That is the reason we are saying that we should adjourn. Let us go home and then we come with new vigour. Six people have already tabled their names, and we are yet to add four to make it 10. So, if 10 people are going to contribute from this Side, then 10 will contribute from that Side, it is already 7.31 p.m.
Our Muslim Brothers have not even
broken their fast. Tomorrow, they will fast again. This is the reason those of us on this Side are empathising with our colleague Muslim brothers. Not so long ago, the Hon Second Deputy Majority Whip, Mr Habib Iddrisu, said that he is privileged to be the only Muslim in Leadership. Today, we are empathising with Muslims and they are saying no. We may not be fasting, but when one's brothers are fasting, one must empathise with them.
Mr Speaker, based on that, 10 people
would speak from each Side. We are still

The President's Nominations for Appointment as Ministers, Deputy Minis., etc

making a submission to you that because we came here at 6.00 p.m., it is 7.31 p.m. and we are still here, and tomorrow, we are coming again. At least, there is no timeline on this item. So, Hon Colleagues, let us adjourn, have ample time tomorrow — the whole Ghana is watching to see how we are going to debate on these ministerial nominees. It is not like the ordinary one.

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the

opportunity.
Mr Speaker 2:30 p.m.
Hon Members, to guide me to take the decision on the numbers. How many minutes per person to debate?
Mr Afenyo-Markin 2:30 p.m.
Mr Speaker, we propose five minutes. We stand by our one person for the Motion.
Mr Agbodza 2:30 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Report is 62 pages. At least, every Member who gets the opportunity to speak should be given at least 10 minutes to speak.
Mr Speaker 7:37 p.m.
Hon Members, I have listened to your submissions. I will permit three per Caucus at 10 minutes per person and that would take us to one hour. We would take the next step after that.
My proposal is that we take the
decision tomorrow — but we would finish with the debate today — Three Hon Members from each Side of the House, making six Hon Members. Each Member would have 10 minutes each.
MOTIONS 7:37 p.m.
  • [Resumption of debate from column 33]
    • Mr Speaker 7:37 p.m.
    Hon Members, I
    repeat, the Motion has been moved and
    seconded. It is now for the debate of the
    House.
    Mr Buah 7:37 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, first of all, if
    one looks at the appointments, it is very
    clear that there was an appointment to the
    Ministry of Local Government,
    Decentralisation and Rural Develop-
    ment, and we already have a Minister for
    Local Government, Decentralisation and
    Rural Development — [Interruption] —
    Mr Speaker, there is no order in the
    House.
    Mr Speaker, I would start with the
    Nominee for the Ministry of Trade and
    Industry, Mr K. T. Hammond. I am told
    Mr K. T. Hammond worked at the
    Ministry of Energy as the Deputy Energy

    The President's Nominations for Appointment as Ministers, Deputy Minis., etc

    Minister for a very long time and,

    clearly, the Hon Minister — [Interruption] —
    Mr Speaker 7:37 p.m.
    Order! Order! Hon
    Members, please resume your seats.
    Debate to continue.
    Mr Buah 7:47 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, thank you. I
    started talking about the Ministry of
    Trade and Industry and the Nominee, Mr
    K. T. Hammond. I have talked about his
    experience at the Ministry of Energy.
    Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Trade
    and Industry is a very critical Ministry,
    and a lot of questions were asked of the
    nominee. When the Nominee was asked
    about the issue of our excessive
    importation of almost everything, he said
    that he agreed that we cut back and
    ensure that we reduce our import of
    almost US$10 billion.
    Mr Speaker, however, it was very
    remarkable when he said the Govern-
    ment had already met and was talking
    about strategies to address our huge
    import bill. A question was then asked of
    him about the One District One Factory
    (1D1F) Policy that, clearly, was aimed at
    reducing imports and ensuring that we
    could cut back on import and increase
    our exports.
    Mr Speaker, it was very clear from
    his answer and from the steps the
    Government had set that was confirmed
    by the Ministry of Finance that the 1D1F
    has been a monumental failure after we
    have pumped almost US$10 billion not
    only on tax exemptions but in other
    Government support.
    Mr Speaker, if one looks at the
    objectives that were set for the 1D1F
    Policy — to create employment and increase export to basically cut back on
    our import, the basic items, whether it is
    rice, oil and almost everything that we
    import — it is clear that the Policy has been a monumental failure.
    Mr Speaker, he also talked about
    another important issue which had to do
    with the challenges we have had with
    foreigners who have been competing
    with Ghanaians in our trade industry, and
    the Hon Nominee, quite frankly, made
    reference to this problem that has really
    not been resolved, and this is an area that
    needs to be looked at.
    Mr Speaker, fundamentally, one of
    the points about the appointment of these
    six Ministers — and then these are — especially, most of them are our Hon
    Colleagues, but our point is that this
    Government that has run us to where we
    are — as we speak, our country, as everybody know, has moved from
    GH₵120 billion to GH₵600 billion in debt. We are now an indebted country
    with over GH₵600 billion in debt.
    Mr Speaker, Government, as we
    know, is now going through a Domestic
    Debt Exchange Programme. But, clearly,
    what everybody has called on this
    Government to do is to take steps to
    reduce its bloated size and take steps to
    make the people of Ghana and all other
    people who have invested in Ghana and
    are sacrificing feel that it is taking some
    responsibility in this crisis we find
    ourselves in; but, clearly, it is not.

    The President's Nominations for Appointment as Ministers, Deputy Minis., etc

    Mr Speaker, for example, we specifically talked about the Ministries and where some of the Nominees are going to. Where on earth will this Government send another Hon Minister to the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development?

    Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Local

    Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development already has a substantive Minister. We have even taken the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, which is a main function of local government, out of the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development; yet, one of the Nominees, our good Friend and the longest-serving Deputy Minister, has been nominated as a Minister to the Ministry of Local Government, Decen- tralisation and Rural Development, which is a clear duplication and waste.

    Mr Speaker, we have said in this

    debate that these ministerial nominees are a clear duplication and that this Government must reduce its size. It is ironic to hear that the former President, Mr John Mahama, has made it clear. This Government has 86 Ministers. It was 110 and is now 86, but it still a long way off, very wasteful, and a long list of other appointees that cannot be justified.

    Mr Speaker, so, clearly, we believe

    this was an opportunity for the Government to have realigned some of these Ministries and cut back on this bloated appointment.

    Mr Speaker, on the issue of illegal

    mining, the Hon Minister for Food and

    Agriculture was asked about it. He spoke and lamented about our waterbodies and how terrible they are across the country. Every district we have gone to —

    Mr Speaker, if you would recall,

    President Akufo-Addo said he has

    basically put down his presidency on the

    fight against galamsey. Again, in this

    area, I am sure he would be the first to

    admit that that effort has been a failure.

    We listened to the former Minister for

    Environment, Science, Technology and

    Innovation make an open indictment on

    the Government. He said that from the

    Flagstaff House all the way down,

    everybody was engaged in galamsey. I

    am not saying it. He said that publicly,

    and that is very unfortunate. We must

    take steps.

    Mr Speaker, yesterday, we talked

    about International Day of the Forest and

    what we must do as a country to protect

    our forests and our waterbodies, and its

    implication on our country's future, food production, our farmers and cocoa

    production. No wonder we find

    ourselves where we are.

    Mr Speaker, at page 27 of the Report,

    I beg to quote:

    When asked to state his views on

    calls on His Excellency the President

    to cut down on the size of his

    appointment in the wake of Ghana's economic challenges, the Nominee

    stated that he is not the appointing

    authority but understands the

    reasoning behind it.

    The President's Nominations for Appointment as Ministers, Deputy Minis., etc

    Mr Speaker, there cannot be any

    reason, as I have stated, why we should

    have these bloated numbers that we have.

    The Minister-nominee for Chieftaincy

    and Religious Affairs also lamented on

    the issue of chieftaincy and how

    important it is, and he talked about our

    critical issues in this country, which have

    to do with land litigation. That is an area

    that must be addressed well, because

    they did a study and asked the critical

    constraints of our country, and it has to

    do with how we manage land and the

    chieftaincy disputes across the country

    that have to do with lands. This Ministry

    is a very serious one, and we must really

    look at it.

    Mr Speaker, more importantly, an

    area that we must also talk about is how

    the issue of galamsey is also connected

    with all these areas where chieftaincy

    disputes are. I think that, clearly, the

    Deputy Minister was asked a very

    interesting question about a recent policy

    of Government on “Gold for Oil”. It is an issue we have to talk about, and I have

    stated clearly that I do not know

    anywhere in this world where one can

    take their gold in exchange of gallons of

    oil. We know that the issue has always

    been how we manage forex, because we

    use a lot of resources, especially oil —
    Mr Speaker 7:47 p.m.
    Hon Member, you
    have less than a minute.
    Mr Buah 7:47 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, because we
    use dollars, we need to find a way to
    protect or ringfence dollars to be able to
    get crude oil, but it is very clear to me
    that that policy must be refined and
    nobody should claim credit that
    petroleum prices have gone down
    because of this policy. We recently
    probed into it and it was very clear to us
    that, frankly, the oil that has been
    imported into this country through this
    policy is less than even five per cent. So,
    it cannot be as the Vice-President said,
    that it is because of him or the policy.
    Clearly, it has to do with the fact that
    crude prices are internationally coming
    down.
    Mr Speaker, let me conclude by
    making it clear and emphasising our
    stand that it is very clear and the people
    of Ghana have called on this
    Government that the size of Government
    is abnormal and it has to be reduced. We
    believe that this is an opportunity to cut
    back.
    Mr Speaker, as I conclude, it is very
    clear that we love these our friends and
    we have worked with them in
    Parliament, but in a principle stand, they
    have been appointed at the wrong time in
    a bloated Government and we cannot
    support that.
    Thank you, Mr Speaker. [Hear!

    Mr Boamah — rose —
    Mr Patrick Yaw Boamah (NPP — Okaikwei Central) 7:57 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, thank
    you for the opportunity to add my voice
    to the Motion numbered 8.
    I have had the opportunity to listen to
    the nominees, and I have had the
    opportunity to read the 63-page Report
    ably presented by the Hon First Deputy

    The President's Nominations for Appointment as Ministers, Deputy Minis., etc

    Speaker. All the Nominees are our

    colleagues; we know them and their

    competencies. They earn their salaries as

    Hon Members of Parliament, and I

    believe they can serve this country well.

    I ask the House to approve of them to

    serve this country of ours.

    I thank you very much, Mr Speaker.

    Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa

    (NDC — North Tongu): Mr Speaker, I am most grateful.

    Mr Speaker, in contributing to the

    Motion, I would like to place on record

    that after going through the 63-page

    Report, there are a litany of matters that

    require editorial work, and because of

    time, I would appeal that we have an

    arrangement where we can make

    corrections, probably after the delibera-

    tions. Some of them are quite major

    issues that will require corrections, and I

    hope that an officer at the Committee

    Clerk's office would contact us so that we can effect the necessary corrections.

    Mr Speaker, having said that, our

    country is at a crossroads. We are faced

    with the worst economic crisis in living

    memory. Terminologies that were

    hitherto unknown in the political lexicon

    of our country are now a normal feature.

    Words like debt restructuring, Domestic

    Debt Exchange Programme, financial

    haircut and pensioner bondholders,

    individual bondholders — bondholders are all up in arms about haircuts and how

    they cannot have access to their life

    savings and investments.

    Mr Speaker, in any country where

    there is sensitive and empathetic

    leadership, these times would have

    required that we would not be gathered

    here today discussing the appointment of

    Ministers and an increase in the

    ministerial numbers. This is because if

    we do the analysis, by having a new

    Minister of State at the Ministry of Local

    Government, Decentralisation and Rural

    Government, we are adding on. We are

    going to have more Ministers.

    Mr Speaker, at this time, as we speak,

    the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the

    Finance Minister of our country, is gone

    to China begging for debt restructuring.

    Our President, only a few days ago, in

    the Message on the State of the Nation,

    reported to us how the begging with the

    Paris Club and China appears to be going

    well, and he is quite hopeful that by the

    end of this month, March, we would

    secure a US$3 billion bailout from the

    IMF, even though by all indications, that

    would not happen. We are not even

    featuring on the IMF Executive Board's calendar.

    Mr Speaker, so, how on earth, when

    everybody is saying, including diplomats

    — and what the President does to them — you are begging them. We want their empathy, money and debt forgiveness,

    and they say they have heard us, so we

    should also show good faith and good

    leadership, and lead by example by

    reducing the size of our Government, and

    we say they are meddling in our affairs;

    meanwhile, we went to them.

    The President's Nominations for Appointment as Ministers, Deputy Minis., etc

    “They were sitting at their somewhere,” as we say in Ghana. The Government went to them abegging and

    they are advising them, but they say they

    will not listen. Civil Society

    Organisations (CSOs), the religious

    organisations of our country — I have read statements from the Ghana Catholic

    Bishops' Conference, from the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council

    (GPCC), from Organised Labour and the

    Trade Union Congress (TUC).

    Everybody is saying that President

    Akufo-Addo should reduce the number

    of his Hon Ministers.

    Mr Speaker, Article 76(1) of our

    Constitution provides:

    There shall be a Cabinet which shall

    consist of the President, the Vice-

    President and not less than ten and not

    more than nineteen Ministers of State.

    Mr Speaker, this country can be run

    by 19 Ministers, according to our Con-

    stitution. I read page 49 of this Report,

    and one of the nominees, Dr Mohammed

    Amin Adam, was saying that there is no

    ceiling or cap and so the President can do

    whatever he wants. How reckless can we

    be? Already, as we speak, we are

    grappling with hoards of strange

    portfolios at the Presidency. I hold in my

    hands the 2021 Presidential staffers list

    presented to this House. We have as

    many as 337 political appointees at the

    Presidency. Why? And some of the

    portfolios — if we come to page 15 — Overseer of the National Cathedral,

    when I have overseen the National

    Cathedral more than anybody — [Hear! Hear!] — and yet, I am not being paid for that. Somebody is being paid at the

    Presidency as Overseer of the National

    Cathedral. We have a Church Relations

    Manager, Diaspora Church Mobilisation

    Officer, Focal Person la Francophonie,

    Technical Director la Francophonie,

    Coordinator - Monitoring and Evaluation Secretariat, and Coordinator

    - Special Development Initiative Secretariat.

    Mr Speaker, if we come to page 24 of

    the list, there are even more scandalous

    portfolios: Youth Ambassador for

    Diaspora Affairs, Mr Jake Obeng-

    Bediako; Operations Officer; Pro-

    gramme Director; Senior Programme

    Officer; Programme Manager; Manager,

    Operations — all kinds of nebulous amorphous positions. There are 337 of

    them. Where are we going? Already,

    between last year and this year, a

    whopping GH₵82 million has been added to Government expenditure. We

    cannot continue this way. That is why

    this Side has said, as a matter of

    principle, that we would have nothing to

    do — it is not about the persons involved; they are our Hon Colleagues.

    We know them and have worked with

    them. One of them is the Hon Chairman

    of my own Committee, Mr Bryan

    Acheampong. We have a lot going

    together. We all belong to the Odadie

    fraternity, among others. It is not about

    him. It is about the principle.

    Mr Speaker, as we speak, there are

    Ministries in this country that can be merged. Why, in this time of economic crisis, should we have a Ministry of Food

    The President's Nominations for Appointment as Ministers, Deputy Minis., etc

    and Agriculture separate from the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development? Can we not merge them? Why should we have the Ministry of Information separate from the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation? A few years ago, it was one Ministry. Why should we have a Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources separate from the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Develop- ment? It used to be one Ministry. Why should we have the Ministry of Railways Development and the Ministry of Transport as separate Ministries?

    When senior citizens are up in arms

    — I read the statement they issued a few days ago that the pledge by the Hon Minister for Finance that they would be paid, a pledge made in this House when we debated the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme —the Hon Minister for Finance has defaulted. They are waiting for their coupons, but they do not have them. And we have all these Ministries. Can we not merge the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture? Why should we have these separate Ministries?

    Mr Speaker, this is the height of

    insensitivity. It is the height of lack of empathy, the height of cruelty, that in the midst of this disaster that they have inflicted upon us, they want to inflict more.

    Mr Speaker, I have read the

    literature. When Jamaica was going through a similar debt restructuring programme when they ran into economic crisis, apart from the Minister for Finance, the Governor and the Prime Minister resigning, they identified as many as 40 institutions Ministries,

    Departments and Agencies. They were 40, not 14, for the avoidance of doubt. And they slashed them. They did away with them. They downsized, and that is how they got the public confidence and the people came along. Yes, we know that times are tough and hard, but leadership should lead by example. This is not the time to do yenntie obiaa. Mo ka koraa, na meyƐ no more, and as for me, I am just appointing, and I will keep appointing. We cannot continue this way, and that is why I salute Hon Colleagues on this Side who are standing resolute with the Ghanaian people, Civil Society, Organised Labour, and the Diplomatic Corps, who are all urging the President to downsize, to cut, and to slash down his obese, obscenely obese, the elephantine size of Government. We cannot continue this way.

    Mr Speaker, finally, I would like to

    draw attention to Article 79 of the

    Constitution. What has been the

    convention? Article 79 provides that:

    The President may, in consultation

    with a Minister of State, and with the

    prior approval of Parliament, appoint

    one or more Deputy Ministers to

    assist the Minister in the performance

    of his functions.

    Mr Speaker, what has been the

    practice consistent with this provision of

    the Constitution is that when there is no

    substantive Hon Minister, all Presidents

    — and I have checked from the days of President Rawlings that they wait for the

    substantive Hon Minister to be

    appointed, vetted by Parliament,

    approved, and consulted before Hon

    Deputy Ministers are appointed. In this

    case, for the first time in this country's

    The President's Nominations for Appointment as Ministers, Deputy Minis., etc

    history, when there was no substantive

    Hon Minster for Trade and Industry, the

    President has appointed a Deputy

    Minister for Trade and Industry with no

    consultation, and this is the first time we

    are having a former Hon Attorney-

    General and Minister for Justice as

    President, and this is what he is doing.

    [Interruption] Yes, we know it is a

    “may”, but in terms of best practice, what has been the tradition? We have had

    President Rawlings, President Kufuor,

    President Mills, and President Mahama.

    What is the rush for? What is the

    indecent haste about? Why can the

    Government not wait for Mr K. T.

    Hammond? I pray that he does not get

    the vote and succeed because we must

    reduce the number of Hon Ministers.

    What does it take to wait and comply

    with this provision?
    Mr Speaker 7:57 p.m.
    Hon Member, your
    time is up.
    Mr Ablakwa 7:57 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I thank
    you for your indulgence. We will
    continue to vote against these Ministers.
    It is about the principle. It is time to
    reduce the number of Hon Ministers and
    be sensitive to the plight of suffering
    Ghanaians.
    Mr Speaker, I thank you very much.
    Mr Speaker 7:57 p.m.
    I will come back to my
    right hand side.
    Mr Afenyo-Markin 7:57 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,
    just for the records, our Hon Colleague
    who just made a submission before I got
    on my feet made some constitutional
    submissions. He sought to suggest that
    His Excellency the President is in breach
    of the Constitution. He should not
    mislead himself and others. Having said
    that, I have nothing more useful to add.
    We close our second slot, and the Hon
    Majority Leader will have a bite on our
    third slot.
    Mr Speaker, I thank you.
    Several Hon Members — rose —
    Mr Speaker 7:57 p.m.
    Who is going to be the
    third person from my left hand side? I
    said three, and two have spoken. It is left
    with one person.
    Dr Forson 7:57 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I thought
    the three slots each you gave us excluded
    the Leadership so that the Hon Minority
    Leader and the Hon Majority Leader
    could have the opportunity to also speak
    to the matter. Other than that, it would
    mean that I would not be given the
    opportunity to speak as the Hon Ranking
    Member of the Committee.
    Mr Speaker 8:07 p.m.
    Hon Minority Leader,
    what persuaded you to think that way?
    The words were clear and unambiguous;
    three contributions from each Side of the
    House. What did you get from these
    simple words to think that after the three
    contributions, the Leadership would be
    given an opportunity to speak?
    Hon Minority Leader, you have not
    persuaded me at all. If it is a request that

    The President's Nominations for Appointment as Ministers, Deputy Minis., etc

    — because you heard from your Hon Colleagues from the Majority Side that

    the Hon Majority Leader would be their

    third contributor, and he would conclude

    their debate. That is what the Hon

    Deputy Majority Leader concluded with

    —

    Oh, you have plenty men and women

    Hon Minority Leader, you would

    have to take up the battle and conclude it.

    Hon Minority Leader, are you not?
    Dr Forson 8:07 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am
    making an appeal to you to allow the
    Leadership to conclude on this matter. If
    our Hon Colleagues are not ready to
    debate, they could give their slots to us,
    and we would use it appropriately. I am
    begging my Hon Colleagues on the other
    Side to give us their slots, and we would

    Mr Agbodza — rose —
    Mr Speaker 8:07 p.m.
    Hon Minority Chief
    Whip, are you going to debate?
    Mr Agbodza 8:07 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, no, I
    would not. I would like to make a request
    in support of the Hon Minority Leader's
    position. Fortunately, our Hon Colleagues
    on the other Side are not very
    enthusiastic about the debate, so we are
    not going to take much time. I would like
    to make an appeal that after our third
    person has debated, you allow our Hon
    Minority Leader, who is the Hon
    Ranking Member of the Committee, to
    make the final submission on the part of
    the Minority. It is an appeal we are
    making to you. It is very dear and
    important to us.
    Mr Speaker 8:17 p.m.
    I will not renege on my
    decision, so if the Hon Ranking Member
    is going to speak on your Side, he would
    be the third person and we would
    proceed.
    Hon Ranking Member, you may
    make your contribution now.
    Hon Deputy Majority Leader, one
    day, I would give a directive that this
    your arm that you have been swinging be

    Hon Ranking Member, you may

    contribute to the debate. That is the end

    of your slots.

    Hon Members, it is three from each

    Side of the House, so your Leader would

    do the third from your end.

    Minority Leader (Dr Cassiel Ato

    Baah Forson): Mr Speaker, four years

    ago on 29th March, 2019, the New

    Patriotic Party's (NPP) Government under the leadership of His Excellency

    the President held a kenkey party at the

    Ministry of Finance. The kenkey party

    was to celebrate what they called a

    “hattrick”. At the time, they described

    the hattrick as successful Eurobond

    issuance, completion of an IMF

    programme and cedi appreciation.

    Mr Speaker, yesterday, which was

    exactly four years ago, Ghana defaulted

    The President's Nominations for Appointment as Ministers, Deputy Minis., etc

    in the payment of that Eurobond that we

    issued. Exactly four years on, we are

    begging China. In fact, as we speak, our

    Hon Minister for Finance is in China

    begging the Chinese taxpayer and the

    Chinese authorities to forgive us debts

    that the Government of Ghana owes

    China. We are struggling to meet the

    IMF conditionalities four years on. The

    Ghana cedi has depreciated at 20 per cent

    in the first two months of the year 2023.

    This calls for a major case study.

    Mr Speaker, when our Hon Minister

    for Finance leaves China, he would be

    heading to Paris with the hope that he

    would beg the European banks and

    European sovereign agencies to forgive

    us in terms of debts that we have

    accumulated from them. We are going to

    ask for debt forgiveness from the

    European Governments. After that, the

    Hon Minister for Finance would be

    heading to Washington to beg the IMF to

    give us a programme.

    Mr Speaker, Ghana is in a massive

    economic difficulty. This calls for us to

    act differently. This calls for us as a

    country to actually behave differently.

    The very people that we are asking to

    forgive us in terms of the debt we have

    accumulated from them are calling on us.

    Not long ago, the German Ambassador

    to Ghana said to us that Ghana's size of Government is over bloated. He said that

    there is room for us to reduce the size of

    Government and Government expen-

    diture.

    Mr Speaker, we cannot ask others to

    contribute, particularly the international

    community, at the time that we are not

    ready to contribute. The German

    Ambassador said, and I beg to quote:

    You cannot go to the international

    community and say I need help, but I

    am not willing to cut the size of my

    Government and my own budget

    expenditure.

    Mr Speaker, this is profound. We are

    asking the German taxpayer to actually

    forgo the investment they have made in

    the Ghanaian economy, yet, we are not

    ready to sacrifice. Our position is that the

    President must act. The Government

    needs to act to save the Ghanaian

    economy from collapsing, but this can

    only be done if we send the right signal.

    What is the right signal? It is for us to

    send a signal that we are reducing the

    size of Government, and to get the

    Ghanaian taxpayer to be aware that the

    Government is ready to do the heavy

    liftings.

    Mr Speaker, we are now transferring

    the burden of economic difficulty from

    us to the ordinary Ghanaian and the

    people that have invested in our

    economy. That is all that we are doing.

    Mr Speaker, we stand with the people

    of Ghana and we are urging our Hon

    Colleagues, the NPP Hon Members of

    Parliament, to stand for Ghana and not to

    stand for their Hon Colleagues, the Hon

    Nominees. The Hon Nominees are our

    Hon Colleagues but the principle is that,

    it is not about them. It is about the

    Republic of Ghana. The Hon Nominees

    may be our Hon Colleagues and Friends,

    but it is not about them. Some of them

    are our relatives, but is not about them. I

    The President's Nominations for Appointment as Ministers, Deputy Minis., etc

    call on my Hon Colleagues from the

    other Side to look them in their faces and

    vote against them for the Republic of

    Ghana, and for the future of our country.

    Mr Speaker, this vote should not be a

    vote by the Minority alone. We are

    sending a signal to the international

    community and the Ghanaian taxpayers

    that we care. We are sending a signal to

    everyone that we in the National

    Democratic Congress (NDC) care. My

    Hon Colleagues from the NPP should

    join us and let us reject the appointment

    of the Hon nominees in the name of

    Ghana. This is because Ghanaians are

    watching us. The situation out there is

    not good. Our economy is in a very bad

    shape. It calls for all of us to sacrifice,

    and that is why we are ready to sacrifice

    and we are calling on them to join us to

    sacrifice by rejecting the appointment of

    the Hon Nominees and to send a signal

    to the President that we are ready to act.

    Mr Speaker, it is sad. It is clearly sad

    because it looks like the Government of

    the day does not seem to care nor pay

    attention to public opinion. Public

    opinion is clear on this matter.

    For once, the people of Ghana have

    united and have sent a message to the

    ruling class that they are very much

    concerned about the way the country is

    being managed.

    Mr Speaker, it is our responsibility as

    the ruling class to send a strong signal to

    the people of Ghana that we care and that

    is why we are taking this action. The

    action is for the people and the Republic

    of Ghana, and the National Democratic

    Congress (NDC) is noted to be the

    political party that stands for the good

    people of Ghana. [Some Hon Members:

    Ah!] We would stand united as 136 Hon

    Minority Members of Parliament for the

    people of Ghana.

    Mr Speaker, we reject this

    nomination and call on you to set the

    podium for us to be ready to vote

    tomorrow. We would come here

    tomorrow and vote against the

    nominations in full. We believe that this

    singular gesture would send the right

    signal to the people of Ghana that we all

    care.

    Mr Speaker, I thank you. [Hear!
    Mr Speaker 8:17 p.m.
    Yes! I call on the Hon
    Majority Leader as the third and final
    contributor — He has 10 minutes.
    Majority Leader (Mr Osei Kyei-
    Mensah-Bonsu): Mr Speaker, I just
    want to say that I lend support, for this
    House to approve the Thirtieth Report of
    the Appointments Committee on H.E.
    the President's nomination for appointment as Ministers, Ministers of
    State and Deputy Minister.
    Mr Speaker, I have heard my Hon
    Colleagues say to us that the number of
    Hon Ministers is overly bloated. Today,
    we have, with these additions, a total of
    86 Hon Ministers.

    The President's Nominations for Appointment as Ministers, Deputy Minis., etc

    Mr Speaker, at a point in time during the Mills-Mahama Administration, they had 76 Ministers. At that time, there were only 10 regions and not the 16 regions that we currently have. What does this mean? If one subtracts six from 86, the number now climbs down to 80. They had 76 yet they want us to believe that the difference of four is colossal. Can anyone believe this?

    Mr Speaker, we have seen them

    before — their own administration — yet the noise they are generating outside there — They had 76 Hon Ministers minus the additional six regions would have 80 Hon Ministers. [Interruption] In addition to plus four — That is monumental for them? Can anyone believe them?

    Mr Speaker, as for what my Hon

    Colleague for North Tongu, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said in reference to Article 79(1) of the 1992 Constitution:

    The President may, in consultation with a Minister of State, and with the prior approval of Parliament, appoint one or more Deputy Ministers to assist the Minister in the performance of his functions.

    Mr Speaker, when these Hon

    Ministers, whose positions we are filling, resigned, Hon Ministers of State were appointed to hold on as Hon Ministers. — [Interruption] Mr Speaker, they should read the constitution very well. So, when the President appoints the Hon Minister who is in charge, it is in fulfilment of Article 79 of the 1992 constitution, unless their understanding of Article 79 is different. [Interruption]

    Mr Speaker, I heard the Hon

    Minority Leader in commencing his

    argument refer to New Patriotic Party

    (NPP) Government. The Government of

    Ghana is the Government of Ghana. It is

    the administration of the NPP and not the

    NPP Government. The Government is

    the Government of Ghana. He should

    understand that.

    Mr Speaker, an Hon Member spoke

    about the depreciation of the cedi. From

    President Mills to President Mahama's time, the cedi depreciated, altogether

    from when they assumed the reins of

    Government to when they left, by 385

    per cent. Today, the depreciation is in the

    region of 300 per cent. One would admit

    that it is not the best. However, they

    should compare it to their own

    performance.

    Mr Speaker, the Hon Deputy

    Minority Leader said that the One

    District One Factory (1D1F) is a

    monumental failure. I thought we had

    dealt with this when we debated the

    President's Message on the State of the Nation. We have 106 factories upstream

    with 148 at different levels of

    construction. Is that what he considers a

    monumental failure? Where are theirs?

    The only one that they were able to do,

    the Komenda Sugar Factory; where is it?

    Yet, they are saying that our effort at

    trade and industry is a monumental

    failure?

    In any event, if we should judge by

    the performance of manufacturing in the

    country, the records speak for

    themselves. In the year 2014, under their

    tenure, when they said that that industry

    The President's Nominations for Appointment as Ministers, Deputy Minis., etc

    was faring well, industry grew by 1.1 per

    cent. In 2015, it was 1.2 per cent. In

    2016, it was 4.3 per cent. In the last three

    years of their Administration, under their

    watch, industry grew at 2.2 per cent. So,

    where from this? — [Interruption] — Mr Speaker, the Hon Member for Ketu

    North, Mr James Klutse Avedzi, says

    why am I throwing my hands? He is a

    master at that. He is a master of throwing

    arms.

    Mr Speaker, the first three years

    under President Akufo Addo recorded

    15.6 per cent in 2016, 10.5 per cent in 2018,

    6.4 per cent in 2019, and 10.8 per cent in

    2020.

    Mr Speaker, in industry, manu-

    facturing holds the key. Under their

    watch industry recorded 4.8 per cent in

    the last three years. Even during the

    COVID-19 years, the least of the three

    years of the growth of the manufacturing

    sector under this Government is 4.8 per

    cent while it was 4.3 per cent under their

    watch.

    Mr Speaker, so, when one hears

    people speak about the abysmal perfor-

    mance of industry and manufacturing, it

    is laughable. They are not referring to the

    figures. The figures tell no lie.

    Mr Speaker, I believe going back to

    re-argue is of no consequence and I

    would just plead that we approve of the

    Hon Ministers and move on when we

    conclude the debate I am concluding. I

    would entreat you to put the Question

    and we shall decide today on the Hon

    Ministers.

    Mr Speaker, I thank you very much.
    Mr Speaker 8:17 p.m.
    Hon Members, we
    have come to the conclusion of the
    debate and the Question is to be put
    tomorrow. I proceed to accordingly
    adjourn the House.
    ADJOURNMENT 8:17 p.m.