Debates of 14 Jun 2023

MR SECOND DEPUTY SPEAKER
PRAYERS 11:42 a.m.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 11:42 a.m.
Hon
Members, we do not have any message
from the President neither do we have
any formal communication from the
Speaker. We will now move to item 4 on
today's Order Paper, which is Correction of Votes and Proceedings and the
Official Report.
Hon Members, we will begin with the
Votes and Proceedings of Tuesday, 13th
June, 2023.
Page 1…8 -
Mr Haruna Iddrisu 11:42 a.m.
Mr Speaker, on
page 8, I have been marked absent, but I
am aware that at the request of the Rt
Hon Speaker, a number of us had to be in
the North, particularly, yesterday in the
morning in Yendi, to support him pay a
courtesy call on the Yaa Naa Abubakari.
Earlier, we were at Nalerigu, therefore,
legitimately, I am to be marked absent
with permission, since I was performing
Parliament's — [Interruption] — I
wrote. I am not one of those who do not
know the process.
Mr Speaker, while you were busy
looking at the Votes and Proceedings,
these aspiring running mates; I do not
know who is ahead of who, but the Hon
Majority Leader, Mr Kyei 11:42 a.m.
None

Bonsu, and the Hon Minister for

Education were in close consultation. So,

I want to know who is ahead of the other.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 11:42 a.m.
Hon
Member for Tamale South, I did not hear
your last comments. [Laughter] Which
page did you refer to?
Mr Kwame Governs Agbodza 11:42 a.m.
Mr
Speaker, thank you for the opportunity.
Yes, I can confirm that our Hon
Colleague, indeed, duly asked for
permission and should have been marked
absent with permission, so if the Table
Office could take care of that.
Mr Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-
Markin: Mr Speaker, there is a ruling on
this matter by the Rt Hon Speaker. They
are leading you into trouble, so place that
matter on ice until the Rt Hon Speaker
comes, but the decision is yours.
Ms Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe 11:42 a.m.
Mr
Speaker, as we can see, Parliament has
been divided into two halves, there is
half in the north and half in the south.
Even on Friday, some of us will be going
to the north, so what will happen? Does
that mean we should write or we will be
marked absent, because we are going to
do the same parliamentary work?
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 11:42 a.m.
I
believe and as we have always said, it is
like an Hon Member travelling outside
on official duty. They still have to put in
an official permission, so that the records
can capture that. We are aware that a lot
of our Hon Colleagues are in the north,
but officially, we do not have anything
on record. We need to have those things
on record, so that the Table Office can
rely on that.
Like the Hon Deputy Majority Leader
said, we would hold on with that. The Rt
Hon Speaker mentioned it, but since we
do not have anything on record by way
of documentation, I will find it very
difficult to respond to this particular
issue. As I said, it is like the Hon Second
Deputy Minority Whip travelling outside
the country on official duty, yet, she
would have to put in an official
permission, so that is my position.
Mr Agbodza 11:42 a.m.
Mr Speaker, they are
two different things. What my
Colleague, the Hon Second Deputy
Minority Whip said is different from the
Hon Member for Tamale South's position. He put in a request, but the
problem was that we did not Sit on
Friday, and his request was supposed to
have been worked on. So, that is why I
was pleading with you, that his case is
completely different from those who
went to Tamale without putting in an
official request of absence.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 11:52 a.m.
Very
well. I would direct the Table Office to
cross-check their documentation, and if,
indeed, there is documentation to that
effect, they will correct the report.

Page 9…40?

Yes, Hon Member?
Mr Joseph Kwame Kumah 11:52 a.m.
Mr
Speaker, on page 40, the item numbered
(xxiii), we have “District Finance Officer, Tatale district Assembly”. The “d” should be capital. The “district” is small “d”.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 11:52 a.m.
Hon
Member, would you come again? Speak
into the microphone, please.
Mr J. K. Kumah 11:52 a.m.
Mr Speaker, on
page 40, the item numbered (xxiii) reads,
“Mr Bilal Adam - District Finance Officer, Tatale district Assembly”. The “district” should be capital “D”.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 11:52 a.m.
Very
well.
Table Office, kindly take note of that.
So, we turn to page 41, 42?
Hon Member, are you up again? Let us
hear from you.
Mr Kumah 11:52 a.m.
Mr Speaker, on page 42,
the item numbered (xlviii) reads, “Mr Salifu Mohammed - District Coordinating Officer ….”. That is what is written, but I am sure, for consistency,
it should be District Coordinating
Director”, instead of “Officer”.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 11:52 a.m.
Is that
the item numbered (xlviii)?
Mr Kumah 11:52 a.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 11:52 a.m.
All
right.
Hon Member, do you know him
personally or are you just making
inference that we always call them
District Coordinating Directors?
Mr Kumah 11:52 a.m.
Mr Speaker, we do not
have “Coordinating Officer”, but have Coordinating Directors.
Mr Second Deputy Speaker 11:52 a.m.
Yes,
but our information is that he filled the
form with “Coordinating Officer”, so how do you reconcile that? Anyway, we
would check and make the appropriate
corrections.
So, we would move to page 43 - 47?
Hon Members, in the absence of any
further corrections, the Votes and
Proceedings of yesterday, Tuesday, 13th
June, 2023, is hereby adopted as the true
record of proceedings.
Hon Members, we have the Official
Report of Tuesday, 29th March, 2022.
  • [No Corrections were made to the Official Report of Tuesday, 29th March, 2022]
    • Mr Second Deputy Speaker 11:52 a.m.
    Hon
    Members, I believe we would have the
    Committee of the Whole and it would
    not just be a Committee of the Whole.
    We would have a closed Sitting, and to
    that extent, I would implore the media
    and other visitors to leave the gallery.
    Hon Members, on that note, let me
    acknowledge our daughters from St
    Louis Senior High School, Kumasi, who
    have come all the way to witness
    proceedings in the House. Hon Member
    for Oforikrom, have you seen your
    school? They are here to witness
    proceedings.
    We also have ECG Montessori,
    Community 8, Tema; you are also
    welcome. We acknowledge you, as well
    as Yaw Donkor Salvation Junior High
    School, Akim Akroso. We acknowledge
    all of you; If you want to witness
    proceedings, you would have to hold on
    a bit. Kindly excuse us for some minutes
    before you come back to the gallery. So,
    the media and all other members in the
    gallery, we plead with you to excuse us
    to have a closed Sitting of the Committee
    of the Whole.
    We would suspend Sitting for a
    Committee of the Whole.
    12.01 p.m. — Sitting suspended.
    02.03 p.m. — Sitting resumed.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 11:52 a.m.
    Hon
    Majority Leader, may I respectfully
    come to you for direction?
    Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:52 a.m.
    Mr
    Speaker, if you would permit
    Presentation of Papers on page 3 of the
    Order Paper.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 11:52 a.m.
    Hon
    Members, let me invite you to item
    number 8 on page 3 of today's Order Paper — At the commencement of

    Public Business — Presentation of Papers.

    Hon Members, item 8(a), by the

    Attorney-General and Minister for

    Justice.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:52 a.m.
    Mr
    Speaker, the Hon Deputy Attorney-
    General is here with us, so if you would
    indulge her, she would do the
    presentation of the Paper on behalf of the
    Hon Minister.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 11:52 a.m.
    Very
    well. Leave granted.
    Dr Forson — rose —
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 11:52 a.m.
    Yes,
    Hon Minority Leader?
    Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson 11:52 a.m.
    Mr
    Speaker, due to the nature of the
    Regulations, may I ask if the necessary
    pre-laying processes have been
    completed before the Regulations is laid.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:52 a.m.
    Mr
    Speaker, this is really a harmless matter
    that has been discussed, and so the
    needful has already been done.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 11:52 a.m.
    The
    Hon Deputy Attorney-General would do
    us the honours.
    PAPERS 11:52 a.m.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 11:52 a.m.
    We
    now turn to the item numbered 8(b), by the Hon Minister for Education.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:52 a.m.
    Mr
    Speaker, the Hon Deputy Minister for Education would stand in to present the Papers on behalf of the Hon Minister.
    By the Deputy Minister for Education
    (Rev John Ntim Fordjour) on behalf of
    the Minister —
    (i) Annual Statement by the Audit Committee of the
    St. Louis College of
    Education for the Year
    2021.
    (ii) Annual Statement by the Audit Committee of the
    Akatsi College of
    Education for the Year
    2021.
    (iii) Annual Statement by the Audit Committee of the
    St. John Bosco's College of Education for the Year
    2021.
    (iv) Annual Statement by the Audit Committee of the
    Ghana Library Authority
    for the Year 2022.
    Referred to the Committee on
    Education.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 11:52 a.m.
    Hon
    Majority Leader, I believe we would skip
    item number 8(c).
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:52 a.m.
    Mr
    Speaker, yes, we would skip the item
    numbered 8(c). It would be done after the
    Report is with Parliament. I think at the
    same time, we would also skip item
    numbered 8(d) and come to the item
    numbered 1 on the Addendum Order
    Paper.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 11:52 a.m.
    Hon
    Members, let us turn to item number 1 on
    the Addendum Order Paper— Presentation of Papers, by the Chairman
    of the Committee on Constitutional,
    Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.
    By the Chairman of the Committee
    Report of Committee on
    Constitutional, Legal and
    Parliamentary Affairs on the
    Intestate Succession Bill, 2022.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 11:52 a.m.
    Yes,
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:52 a.m.
    Mr
    Speaker, I understand you have some
    Statements with you, so if you could take
    one of the Statements while Hon
    Members have time to read the Reports
    that have been circulated, so that we
    could deal with them subsequently.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 11:52 a.m.
    Hon
    Members, we are now moving to
    Statements. We have three Statements
    that have been admitted by the Rt Hon
    Speaker. We would begin with one from
    Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings on
    “Parliamentary Oversight of the Security Sector: Challenges and Opportunities for
    Improvement.”
    Hon Member for Klottey Korle, you
    may take the floor and read your
    Statement.
    STATEMENTS 2:13 p.m.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:33 p.m.
    Very
    well. Thank you very much.
    Yes, Hon Member for North Tongu?
    Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
    (NDC — North Tongu): I am most
    grateful, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity
    to contribute to this very important
    Statement which has been eloquently
    delivered by Dr Zanetor Agyeman-
    Rawlings, the Hon Member for Klottey
    Korle.
    Mr Speaker, oversight of the security
    sector, challenges and opportunities for
    improvement — a very, crucial matter
    which requires our collective attention. I
    am not surprised that the maker of the
    Statement presents a very well-
    researched, well-nuanced and insightful
    perspective on the matter, she being the
    current Deputy Ranking Member on the
    Committee on Defence and Interior.
    Even more so, she is a very fine soldier's
    daughter, and so being a soldier's
    daughter, she definitely has even more
    insights on the matter in issue. I am not
    surprised that she has presented us with
    this very insightful paper.
    Mr Speaker, the matter she raises
    about how prepared we are as a House
    and as Members of Parliament to carry
    out oversight is not limited to only the
    Committee Defence and Interior. It is a
    matter that the House should look at
    more seriously, right at the level of the
    Speakership and the Parliamentary
    Service Board.
    Mr Speaker, when we come here, there
    is a general orientation that is carried out,
    but at the level of the Committees, how
    often are Members prepared and taken
    through specialised courses and
    programmes so that the technicalities
    that are required — as she rightly said,
    under article 94 of the 1992 Constitution,
    the qualification to be a Member of
    Parliament is very generic. It is quite
    basic. The threshold is quite low: A
    person must be of sound mind, 21 years
    and above, a citizen who has paid their
    taxes and whom no Commission of
    Enquiry has indicted. That is it, but the
    person is expected to carry out
    specialised roles, and if we do not have
    MPs who may have extensive
    knowledge in that sector, then the
    Committee's oversight role suffers.
    Mr Speaker, it is a matter that requires
    attention. It relates to continuous
    training, capacity building and expertise.
    Sometimes, I note that even as Ranking
    Member of Committee on the Foreign
    Affairs, sometimes where we spend
    resources — we may be attending other
    people's conferences and priorities, and
    we may be losing sight of building
    capacity. How do we encourage

    Members of Parliament to specialise?

    Even in that sector, people can look at

    the areas to do with budgeting, and

    others can look at other technical

    matters, for example, peace and security,

    peace operations, intelligence gathering,

    et cetera. On the Committee, different

    Members are specialising in different

    areas, and that will enrich the collective

    output of the Committee.

    Mr Speaker, the Hon Member raises a

    matter that has to do with clearance. The

    high clearance required for some of the

    matters — She talks about the tension in

    Parliament which is for full transparency

    and openness, and then an institution

    which really thrives on secrecy,

    confidentiality and the need to know and

    all of those terminologies. That brings to

    mind a matter which has been pending in

    this House for a long time, which is the

    need to have another layer added to our

    committees, and that layer is the

    intelligence committee. It has been

    pending for a long time, and I am glad

    that the draft of the new Standing Orders

    that I have seen takes account of that. So

    that we would not only have a

    Committee on Defence and Interior, but

    we would have a committee on

    intelligence, where those who serve on

    that committee would have higher

    clearance. It is not a committee that

    anybody can serve on, so that some of

    the matters relating to national security

    that require a certain high sense of

    circumspection, we can have Members

    serve on that Committee.

    Mr Speaker, I must also add that this

    has been the longest dispensation since

    the military intervened in our

    democracy. The last time was in 1981,

    and I do not want to talk about how

    fortuitous this whole development is.

    The leader of that intervention is the

    father of the maker of the Statement.

    May his soul rest in peace. Of course, he

    has, as a great legacy, returning us to a

    democratic order, but that was 42 years

    ago. That tells us that 42 years on, there

    is now a certain acceptance that

    democracy is the way to go, and we need

    to accommodate each other. I like the

    fact that this Statement is also drawing

    our attention to what we can do to

    address the needs of the military.

    Mr Speaker, I think it is not acceptable

    that we are only appearing to take care of

    their wages and compensation and then

    year after year, there is a shortfall in

    CapEx and their goods and services.

    There are many years that the Ministry of

    Finance does not provide them. I know

    that across the board, they will say that it

    is a general malaise, but at least, we must

    specialise and prioritise certain

    institutions because we know the threat

    that can pose to destabilising our

    democracy. I think that we should look

    at it. Some institutions like the Ghana

    Armed Forces should not be suffering

    these perennial cuts in their budgets.

    Mr Speaker, as I conclude, let me use

    this opportunity to celebrate the Ghana

    Armed Forces. They remain one of the

    finest institutions that this country has

    produced. The United Nations is always

    singling out the Ghana Armed Forces for

    praise. We are always amongst the top 10

    troop-contributing nations when it

    comes to peace operations in various

    theatres of conflicts across the globe, and

    the Ghana Armed Forces have remained

    very professional. They have been very

    supportive in maintaining peace and

    stability. In other jurisdictions around us,

    armed forces have not been able to hold

    their own. Burkina Faso, for example, is

    gone; the insurgents have taken over.

    Mali is in turmoil but here, the

    defenders of our territorial integrity have

    done so well together with all of us, the

    political leadership, at least, in

    maintaining peace and stability, even if

    we still have issues with economic

    transformation, youth unemployment

    and all of that. At least, our territorial

    integrity, peace and stability have been

    guaranteed and protected, and for that, I

    want to celebrate the Ghana Armed

    Forces and all the Commanders-in-Chief

    of the Ghana Armed Forces we have had

    over the decades.

    Mr Speaker, I commend the maker of

    the Statement and hope that we shall all

    do more to carry out our oversight duties

    as Hon Members of Parliament.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:33 p.m.
    Thank
    you very much.
    I would now come to Leadership. Yes,
    Hon Minority Chief Whip?
    Minority Chief Whip (Mr Kwame
    Governs Agbodza): Mr Speaker, thank
    you for the opportunity to contribute to
    this very important Statement made by
    our Hon Colleague, Dr Zanetor
    Agyeman-Rawlings not “Zanètor”. It is “Zanétor” Agyeman-Rawlings.
    Mr Speaker, I hear the Hon Deputy
    Majority Leader always saying
    “Zanètor”, so, while he is here, I am just trying to say that it is “Zanétor” — “Edudze”, so it is pronounced properly “Zanétor”.
    Mr Afenyo-Markin — rose —
    Mr Agbodza 2:33 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I would
    also like to take the opportunity to
    commend all the men and women —
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:33 p.m.
    Yes,
    Hon Deputy Majority Leader?
    Mr Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-
    Markin: Mr Speaker, just for the record,
    I do not remember ever wrongly
    pronouncing the name of my respected
    Colleague. So, I just want my Hon
    Colleague, Mr Agbodza, to withdraw
    that aspect of his submission, and go
    ahead with his submission.
    Mr Agbodza 2:33 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, thank you.
    Mr Speaker, actually, the Hon Deputy
    Majority Leader did not even say the
    name I said he pronounces wrongly. So,
    at this moment, there is no case because
    he never told me whose name, I said he
    pronounces wrongly. Thank you for the
    — No, no.
    Mr Afenyo-Markin — rose —
    Mr Agbodza 2:33 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, does the
    Hon Deputy Majority Leader have the

    opportunity to come on a point of order

    twice on the same issue? I do not think

    so. I would proceed until you stop me —
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:33 p.m.
    Hon
    Minority Chief Whip, hold on. You are
    accusing the Hon Deputy Majority
    Leader of pronouncing somebody's name wrongly and he says he did not. So,
    just do us the honour and let us move on.
    Mr Afenyo-Markin 2:33 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I
    have been doing cross-examination for
    more than ten years. I would not respond
    to this bait. What I am saying is that the
    Hon Minority Chief Whip claims that I
    often pronounce that name wrongly — [Laughter] — What he mentioned. And I am saying that the Hon Leader
    withdraws that aspect of the submission.
    Unless the Hon Leader has some
    evidence to support his claim. It is never
    correct. So, the Hon Leader should
    withdraw and go ahead with his
    comment. That is all.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:33 p.m.
    Hon
    Minority Chief Whip, just withdraw and
    let us move on.
    Mr Agbodza 2:33 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, at least,
    the Hon Deputy Majority Leader says I
    said he pronounced a certain name
    wrongly. He has not even mentioned it,
    so what am I withdrawing? The Hon
    Deputy Majority Leader should mention
    the name he says he has not pronounced
    wrongly, then I would withdraw. Hon
    Leader, go ahead. [Laughter] —
    Mr Afenyo-Markin 2:33 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I
    think this is trite. You would have to rule
    on it and direct the Hon Minority Chief
    Whip because you have directed him to
    do the needful, but if you would want to
    overindulge him, so be it. I would leave
    it to you.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:33 p.m.
    Hon
    Minority Chief Whip, just withdraw and
    let us go on.
    Mr Agbodza 2:33 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I withdraw
    what he said I have accused him of not
    doing. Thank you, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:33 p.m.
    Hon
    Minority Chief Whip, what did you say?
    Mr Agbodza 2:33 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I do not
    even remember what he said I said — [Laughter]. So, if the Hon Deputy
    Majority Leader says it, then I would
    remember and withdraw, but since he did
    not mention it, I have withdrawn what he
    said I have wrongly accused him of. Case
    closed.
    Mr Afenyo-Markin 2:33 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the
    Hon Minority Chief Whip should be a
    gentleman. The Hon Minority Chief
    Whip says that I often pronounce the
    name of the Hon Member for Klottey
    Korle wrongly. I am saying that he
    should withdraw the statement that I
    often — [Interruption] — well, that is fine. No problem. That is fine. Correct
    me — [Interruption] —
    Mr Speaker, the Hon Minority Chief
    Whip says I often pronounce the name of
    the Hon Member who made the
    Statement wrongly and I am saying that
    he should withdraw that statement that I
    often pronounce the name wrongly from
    the records. He should withdraw it. If he
    has forgotten it, then I have reminded

    him. He should withdraw and proceed

    with his comment.
    Mr Agbodza 2:33 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I take your
    directive —
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:33 p.m.
    My
    directive is —
    Mr Agbodza 2:33 p.m.
    A number of Hon
    Colleagues in this House — Mr Speaker, I would get there.
    Mr Speaker, a number of Hon
    Colleagues in this House have wrongly
    pronounced, and it is on record, the name
    of the Hon Member “Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings” as “Zanètor” and the records would prove it. And I am
    saying that I have heard in the past, the
    respected Hon Deputy Majority Leader
    also say “Zanètor” instead of “Zanétor”. He is saying he has never pronounced it
    as “Zanètor”. It is “Zanétor” which means “Let the darkness cease” “Za-né- tor” — [Interruption] — Mr Speaker, I said “Zanétor” is the name. All of a sudden, the Hon Deputy Majority Leader
    has remembered — [Laughter] — But I have withdrawn.
    Mr Speaker, I would also like to take
    the opportunity to congratulate —
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:33 p.m.
    Hon
    Leader —
    Mr Agbodza 2:33 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I have — I said that I have heard him, but if the Hon
    Deputy Majority Leader says he has
    never pronounced that name wrongly, I
    withdraw.
    Mr Speaker, I would like to take the
    opportunity to congratulate our men and
    women in uniform who are the subject of
    our Hon Colleague's Statement, and which is very important.
    Mr Speaker, while my Hon Colleague
    who contributed just before me was
    making his statement, he also
    commended the founder of the Fourth
    Republic who is the founder of the
    National Democratic Congress (NDC)
    and yes — [Interruption] — I said the founder of the Fourth Republic is Flt Lt
    Jerry John Rawlings whose name
    actually boldly appears in the Fourth
    Republican Constitution, rightly so. And
    that would go down the history of our
    country — [Interruption] — It is not controversial at all.
    Mr Speaker, it says and I beg to quote 2:43 p.m.
    Made on this 8th day of May, 1992.
    Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings,
    Chairman of the Provisional National
    Defence Committee
    Mr Speaker, in fact, I did not realise
    that PNDC is even available in our
    Constitution but some people would say
    we should not — [Interruption] —
    Mr Speaker, I would go on because the
    subject of this Statement is very
    important. The Hon Majority Leader has
    always recommended that the
    Committee system we operate in
    Parliament creates a situation where we
    are unable to function properly because
    many of us came to this House on the
    minimum threshold set by the
    Constitution, which is in terms of age,
    soundness of mind, and others.

    Mr Speaker, but we come to

    Parliament and we are put on, for

    instance, the Committee on Defence and

    Interior, and when there is an unfortunate

    situation, somewhere, within the

    country, the Rt Hon Speaker rightly

    directs the Committee on Defence and

    Interior to investigate and report. So, our

    Hon Colleague is asking the question,

    does the Committee have the capacity to

    understand the technical and operational

    issues of the security agencies to the

    extent that they can investigate and

    provide any information to the House for

    us to use? And I think that this is very

    important.

    Mr Speaker, people turn up in this

    House and they are put on the Committee

    on Health. Indeed, we can build the

    capacity of Hon Members of Parliament

    to actually perform better in certain

    capacities. But I think beyond a certain

    level, we need expertise from outside

    Parliament and that is why I always want

    to commend the Hon Majority Leader,

    who believes that Parliament must have

    that capacity, outside of this House, that

    we can fall on which can provide us

    independent views on certain technical

    issues.

    Mr Speaker, I agree with my Hon

    Colleague, Mr Okudzeto Ablakwa, who

    said that, hopefully, when the new

    Standing Orders comes into effect, and

    Parliament funds it properly, we might

    have the opportunity where Parliament

    have a pool of expertise that can advise

    us on things that ordinary members of

    the Committee may not be able to have

    an understanding of. That is why I think

    this Statement is very important.

    Mr Speaker, if you look at some of the

    things that have been referred to certain

    Committees, maybe, the reason the

    Committees never come out with a report

    is simply that the Committees,

    themselves, lack the capacity to be able

    to understand what they are being asked

    to do.

    So, I think this Statement is very

    important, and maybe, the cure to this

    lies partly in the yet-to-be-approved

    Standing Orders and, hopefully, if that is

    done, that will improve the capacity of

    all of us in this who have the opportunity

    to be in this House, so that the public can

    get the full benefit of what an Hon

    Member of Parliament is supposed to do,

    not only in the constituency, but also

    within the Committees which we serve.

    When that happens, I think the country

    will be the one that will benefit more

    because currently, there is a limit to what

    I can read, understand and operate as an

    ordinary Hon Member of Parliament. I

    am an architect; maybe, I can understand

    when things are within my field, but

    what if the issues are of agriculture,

    which I have very little info — [Interruption] —

    Mr Speaker, I do not have expertise in

    everything. I am not a lawyer. I am not

    an educationist; I only taught for one

    year as a National Service person at a

    school. As long as I can understand the

    import of this Statement, and as agreed

    to by the Hon Deputy Majority Leader,

    who actually nodded his head when I

    was speaking, I believe that this

    Statement is very important and must be

    taken seriously. I would recommend that

    you give some directives for us to,

    maybe, have a deeper look vis-à-vis the

    Standing Orders that we are yet to adopt.

    I would also urge all Hon Colleagues

    to pay attention whenever it appears on

    the Floor, so that within the life of this

    Parliament, we would be able to have an

    updated Standing Orders that reflects the

    realities of our country and makes our

    work much more beneficial as Hon

    Members of Parliament.

    Mr Speaker, I thank you.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
    Yes,
    Majority Leadership?
    Mr Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-
    Markin: Mr Speaker, I thank you for the
    opportunity. I commend my respected
    Hon Colleague — [Interruption] — Mr Speaker, this Hon Colleague pronounces
    “Markin” as “Markins”, and he is asking “who?” [Interruption] If he says he has never done it, I have withdrawn my
    statement.
    Mr Speaker, the Hon Member who
    made the Statement, who goes by the
    name Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings — [Interruption] — So now, the Hon Member for Adaklu says “Ezanetor”; he himself who was teaching us is now
    saying “Ezanetor”.
    Dr Agyeman-Rawlings — rose —
    Mr Afenyo-Markin 2:43 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, she
    is up. She will pronounce it so we can
    proceed.
    Dr Agyeman-Rawlings 2:43 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,
    it is not “Zanètor”; it is “Zanétor” so, if the Hon Member could kindly — it is about the intonation. It means the
    darkness must cease.
    Mr Afenyo-Markin 2:43 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, Mr
    Kwame Governs Agbodza says
    “Ezanétor”.
    Dr Agyeman-Rawlings 2:43 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,
    you know that when our people speak,
    there is always “E” attached to a word.
    Mr Afenyo-Markin 2:43 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, so
    now, is it “Eza”, “Za” or “Ze”?
    Dr Agyeman-Rawlings 2:43 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,
    it is “Zanétor”.
    Mr Afenyo-Markin 2:43 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,
    now Mr Agbodza says “Ezanator”. [Laughter] NDC will always remain
    NDC. He even said that former President
    Rawlings is the founder of the 1992
    Constitution. [Interruption] That is what
    he said. What is the correct
    pronunciation of the name?
    [Interruption] The Hon Member has just
    corrected him. [Interruption] Only me or

    Mr Speaker, the Hon Member has

    raised a germane issue that has to do with

    capacity building, and without adding to

    the earlier position taken by the Hon

    Member for Adaklu, we need to look at

    the capacity of Hon Members and the

    areas they specialise in, and put them in

    appropriate Committees. Not only that,

    we need to also train Hon Members to

    enable them get what it takes to carry out

    the oversight mandate required by the

    Constitution. This has come at the right

    time, and I think we are also looking at

    the Standing Orders.

    Even as we go through the Standing

    Orders, the Committee would have to

    take this on board and, like the Hon

    Majority Leader proposed, if we are

    dealing with finance and economy, we

    would look at Hon Members with that

    capacity. If we want to add on because of

    the numbers, then, we may, as well, also

    provide some training for them to do so.

    The Hon Member has raised a very

    important issue, and I support it.

    Mr Speaker, suffice it to say that the

    comment that came soon thereafter,

    which suggested that the Constitution of

    the Republic has a founder, and that that

    founder is former President Jerry John

    Rawlings, is factually inaccurate. The

    former President is not the founder of the

    1992 Constitution; he is neither the

    founder of the Fourth Republic so, I

    would just state that so that students who

    listened to him would not make such a

    mistake. That is all I would like to say.

    Mr Speaker, I thank you.
    Mr Ablakwa and Mr Kyei 2:43 p.m.
    None

    Bonsu — rose —
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
    Yes,
    Hon Majority Leader? Kindly hold on.
    Mr Ablakwa 2:43 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I would
    just like to find out from the Hon Deputy
    Majority Leader if he is aware that the
    current President of the Republic,
    President Akufo-Addo, has described
    former President Rawlings as the
    founder of the Fourth Republic on
    numerous occasions. Is he challenging
    the current President, the leader of his
    party? Is that what he is doing? Is he
    saying that he is wrong?
    Mr Afenyo-Markin 2:43 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, to
    the extent that the Hon Member is unable
    to tell me, specifically where, when, and
    in what context that statement was made,
    I tell him that he is not right. I am,
    however, able to say that within the
    context of Mr Agbodza's submission, describing former President Jerry John
    Rawlings as the founder of the Fourth
    Republican Constitution is inaccurate.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
    Yes,
    Hon Deputy Majority Leader?
    Mr Afenyo-Markin 2:43 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, for
    the purposes of education, the 1992
    Constitution was the collective decision
    of the country. One cannot describe
    somebody who ousted a constitutional
    regime and who, upon repentance,
    cooperated for us to found the
    democracy which we are enjoying today
    to be the founder of that democracy. If
    the Hon Member for North Tongu wants
    to invite a debate, we can have a full
    debate on this matter.
    Dr Agyeman-Rawlings 2:43 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,
    I find it inappropriate that the Hon
    Deputy Majority Leader should speak in
    terms of the former President repenting
    and, therefore, coming to be the founder
    of the Fourth Republic. As of 1992, the
    National Commission on Democracy
    was established under the PNDC to
    ensure that we transition to constitutional
    rule, so, I do not find it appropriate that
    he should stand here and say that it was

    on repentance that Flt Lt Jerry John

    Rawlings accepted to transition us into

    constitutional rule. The Hon Deputy

    Majority should please withdraw that.
    Mr Afenyo-Markin 2:43 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I
    wholeheartedly would agree with her,
    except to say that I was making a
    political statement within the context of
    repentance. However, if it does not find
    favour with her, I would withdraw and
    state that he did overthrow a
    constitutional dispensation, and after a
    period of 11 years, he cooperated for us,
    as a country, to transition into a
    democracy. If I say he repented, that is a
    political statement; it is repentance.
    Dr Agyeman-Rawlings 2:43 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,
    is he withdrawing the statement or he is
    maintaining that? He should withdraw it;
    it is not appropriate.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:43 p.m.
    Hon
    Member, he says he has withdrawn it.
    Mr Afenyo-Markin 2:43 p.m.
    [Inaudible]
    Dr Agyeman-Rawlings 2:43 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,
    I take exception to an Hon Member of
    this House referring to my submission as
    emotional because I am not sure I know
    any other person in this House more
    emotional than the Hon Deputy Majority
    Leader.
    Mr Afenyo-Markin 2:53 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,
    two wrongs do not make a right. What I
    am saying is that it is a fact that we had a
    democracy which was ousted and we
    came into a new dispensation.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:53 p.m.
    Hon
    Deputy Majority Leader, I have not
    called you.
    Mr Afenyo-Markin 2:53 p.m.
    Very well.
    Dr Agyeman-Rawlings — rose —
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:53 p.m.
    Hon
    Member for Klottey Korle, I have not
    called you either.
    Hon Majority Leader, let me come to
    you.
    Mr Ablakwa — rose —
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:53 p.m.
    Hon
    Member for North Tongu, it is okay.
    Hon Member for Klottey Korle, the
    Hon Deputy Majority Leader has
    withdrawn his statement.
    Dr Agyeman-Rawlings 2:53 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,
    the Hon Deputy Majority Leader called
    me emotional and I do not appreciate
    that. I would really appreciate it if he
    withdraws that because nobody calls
    other people emotional because they are
    making a factual point.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 2:53 p.m.
    Mr
    Speaker, I think the point made by our
    Hon Colleague, Dr Agyeman-Rawlings,
    should be taken on board, but when the
    Hon Deputy Majority Leader made that
    statement and the Hon Member for
    Klottey Korle also countered by saying
    that there is no other person in this House
    who is much more emotional than he is,
    then, she has also stated that the Hon
    Deputy Majority Leader is emotional. Is
    that not the case? Let us let the other one

    cross the other one out. He has already

    apologised so let us move on.

    Mr Speaker, the oversight of the

    Executive — [Interruption] — Please, we cannot raise a point of order when an

    Hon Member has made his or her

    comment and sat down.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:53 p.m.
    Hon
    Member for North Tongu, we have gone
    past that; nobody has thrown a challenge.
    Hon Member, I am in control.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 2:53 p.m.
    Mr
    Speaker, my Hon Colleague would know
    that he is not speaking into the
    microphone. Can I have the opportunity
    to make my intervention?
    Mr Ablakwa — rose —
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:53 p.m.
    Hon
    Member for North Tongu, you know I
    have not called you. Nobody asked you
    to do that research. He cannot direct you
    to do that research. I should be the one to
    direct you and I have not directed you so,
    please, just take your seat.
    Yes, Hon Majority Leader, let us hear
    you.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 2:53 p.m.
    Mr
    Speaker, I was saying that the oversight
    of the Executive is a constitutional
    mandate for Parliament and indeed,
    parliamentarians, so, it is not just for
    Parliament, but for parliamentarians as
    well. I agree that in this exercise, we
    should have Hon Members with the
    requisite capacity to serve on the various
    Committees, but I would like to say that
    appointing Hon Members to
    Committees, really, does not depend
    solely on one's professional training; it depends on the interests of the Hon
    Member in addition to the professional
    training, and also, the versatility of that
    individual.
    Mr Speaker, the United Kingdom
    (UK), for instance, has had several
    Chancellors of the Exchequer, what we
    call our Hon Ministers for Finance, who
    have no professional training in
    Accountancy or Economics. They stay in
    a Committee for some years, maybe two
    or three terms, they graduate to become

    —
    Mr Ablakwa 2:53 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I am
    surprised the Hon Majority Leader has
    gone so far to the UK. He has been an
    acting Minister for Finance before.
    [Laughter] The records of this House
    reflect that. He has no background in
    Finance, but he did a great job. He read
    the Budget Statement so well so I am
    surprised he is taking us all the way to
    the UK, to the House of Commons, when
    he has set such a shiny example in
    Ghana. I cannot understand what is
    happening.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:53 p.m.
    Hon
    Member for North Tongu, you cannot
    just get up and start —
    Mr Ablakwa 2:53 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, he sat
    down and allowed me to speak. He ceded
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 2:53 p.m.
    Hon
    Majority Leader, let us hear you.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:03 p.m.
    Mr
    Speaker, I was talking about substantive
    Ministers for Finance and not interim
    Ministers for Finance as I acted in those
    days.
    Mr Speaker, I was saying that so much
    depends on one's own professional training, interests and also the versatility
    of the individual. I was just saying that it
    happens, like that in the UK, because of
    their long stay on Committees; they get
    to study everything. A person serves in a
    Committee for maybe two or three terms,
    and he or she rises to become a shadow
    Minister for that sector for maybe two
    terms. There is nothing that the person
    would not know. Therefore, there is
    almost that automaticity that when his or
    her party wins, he or she then gets
    elevated to that position seamlessly. That
    is how we should also construct our
    Committee system.
    Unfortunately, there are Hon
    Members that even when they outside
    Parliament, even before they come to
    Parliament, they have eyes on certain
    Committees, and when they first enter
    Parliament, they go to the Hon Majority
    and Minority Leaders and indicate to
    them that they would like to serve on a
    particular Committee when he or she
    may not have any professional training in
    that sector. If they are asked why they are
    going there, they would say they have
    been advised that that Committee is very
    good. How do we determine a good
    Committee?
    Mr Speaker, I think the issue of
    capacity building should be taken much
    more seriously by this House than we
    have been doing. We should have regular
    capacity building workshops for us,
    generally, that is the new entrants, and
    then, we zero in into the various
    Committees. That is what is done
    everywhere else so, if an Hon Member
    serves on a Committee on Defence and
    Interior, there should be an occasion,
    each year, for the Hon Member to be
    introduced to the dynamics of the
    Ministry. However, we have not been
    doing that. We do one, maybe, when
    Parliament first gets inaugurated and that
    is all, and that, certainly, is not good
    enough.
    Mr Speaker, national security issues
    compel serious investigations and
    enquiries, and we must also concede that
    it is one area where, if proper oversight
    is not conducted, there could be a lot of
    abuse. As the Nigerians say, “In those sectors, the more you look, the less you
    see”, and that is, certainly, not the best. That is why the established democracies
    establish Parliament. They have this
    Committee on Intelligence. Our own
    Constitution should tell us who to
    constitute the Committee on
    Intelligence. It should replicate the
    National Security Council.
    Mr Speaker, when we look at article
    83 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, it
    provides the composition of the National
    Security Council, and I beg to quote:
    There shall be a National Security
    Council which shall consist of —
    (a) the President;
    (b) the Vice-President;

    (c) the Ministers for the time being

    holding the portfolios of

    foreign affairs, defence,

    interior, and finance and such

    other Ministers as the

    President may determine;

    Mr Speaker, in the construct of the

    Intelligence and Security Agencies Act,

    2020 (Act 1030) we recollect that apart

    from these three Hon Ministers, we then

    included the Hon Minister for National

    Security and the Hon Minister for

    Communications. Therefore, we need, in

    constituting our own Intelligence

    Committee, to have these sectors

    reflected on the Committee.

    Oftentimes, in some establishments,

    we have the Rt Hon Speaker himself, of

    course, those Rt Hon Speakers are Hon

    Members of Parliament; our Speaker is

    not an Hon Member of Parliament, so we

    would see how to construct it. In those

    establishments where the Speakers are

    Hon Members of Parliament, such a

    sensitive committee would be under the

    leadership of the Rt Hon Speaker.

    Sometimes, it is the most senior Hon

    Member of the House who would be

    chairing such a committee, and it would

    necessarily include both the Hon

    Majority and Minority Leaders. We

    should look at this and how best we may

    compose this.

    Mr Speaker, again, when that

    committee sits, especially to enquire into

    procurement issues for the security

    agencies, they would, oftentimes, meet

    in camera unless there is a scandal.

    Otherwise, ordinarily, they would meet

    behind the curtains to probe into

    procurements.

    Mr Speaker, whereas it is easy these

    days, to foray into procurement or the

    stock of arsenal of certain countries

    because of technology, one must still

    struggle and have that opaqueness

    relating to your own defence

    architecture. However, procurement

    issues must be known or availed to

    Parliament.

    Mr Speaker, I agree with my Hon

    Colleague, the Hon Minority Chief

    Whip, when he raised issues about the

    engagement of consultancy. There is no

    Committee in Parliament that is know-it-

    all. Though referrals would be made, on

    some occasions, consultants would have

    to be engaged outside Parliament. It is a

    tragedy that allocations are made every

    year and they are never used by

    Committees.

    Mr Speaker, for this year, I think we

    have an allocation close to GH₵2.5 million thereabout. It would sit there and

    remain unutilised till thy kingdom come.

    So what are we doing to ourselves? I

    think it is important for us to come to

    terms with this and do what is

    appropriate.

    Mr Speaker, however, having said so,

    let me commend the maker of the

    Statement and we should reflect on this

    discussion on the composition of the

    Intelligence Committee when we come

    to forming it.

    Mr Speaker, I thank you very much.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:03 p.m.
    Hon
    Members, I can say that the owners of
    the other two Statements — Is the Hon Member for Upper Denkyira East, Dr
    Festus Awuah Kwofie, here? All right.
    Your Statement is short so I would allow
    you to read it. Hon Member, let us hear
    you.
    Hon Member for Ada, Ms Comfort
    Doyoe Cudjoe, yours has been
    rescheduled for Friday, 16th June, 2023.
    The Role of Public-Private
    Partnership in Bridging the Road
    Infrastructure Deficit
    Dr Festus Awuah Kwofie (NPP - Upper Denkyira East) 3:13 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I
    thank you for the opportunity to make a
    Statement on the urgent need for Public-
    Private Partnership (PPP) in bridging the
    road infrastructure deficit in the country,
    thereby reducing the burden on our
    national budget, and, consequentially, on
    the national debt.
    Mr Speaker, PPP is a globally
    accepted public sector procurement
    mechanism whereby governments
    secure commitment from the private
    sector and transfer a certain level of
    responsibility to the private sector in
    providing public infrastructural services.
    Typically, it involves private capital
    financing government projects and
    services up-front, and then drawing
    revenues over the PPP period.
    Mr Speaker, in spite of the efforts
    made by successive governments in the
    road sector over the years, the road
    infrastructure gap in Ghana still remains
    high. Ghana, in 2019, was estimated to
    have a road conditions mix of good, fair,
    and poor in the ratio of 41, 33 and 26 per
    cent respectively. This ratio was
    projected to reach 60, 20 and 20 per cent
    respectively by 2024.
    Trunk, urban, and feeder roads have
    also been projected to hit 14,873
    kilometres, 15,463 kilometres and
    42,042 kilometres respectively
    nationwide by 2025. The projected
    figures were partly achieved as the
    proportion of roads maintained and
    rehabilitated improved from 52 per cent
    in 2015 to 70 in 2020, yet, no section of
    this country is without poor road
    infrastructure. It is also evident that the
    financial burden on governments to fund
    the road infrastructure gap from the
    annual budget allocation has been
    inadequate and unreliable.
    Mr Speaker, therefore, if we so desire
    to improve the road network at an
    accelerated rate, then, PPP is the surest
    way to go, as tax revenue has been
    woefully inadequate to cover this
    colossal capital outlay. Historically,
    three items in the budget expenditure — salaries and emoluments, interest on
    loans, and statutory payments — absorb over 100 per cent of the tax revenue.
    They constituted 99 per cent in 2012, 120
    per cent in 2013, 103 per cent in 2015
    and 120 per cent in 2016. In 2021 and
    2022, these ratios increased to 147 per
    cent and 125 per cent respectively, and
    have been projected to decrease to 86 per
    cent by 2025. This echoes to confirm that
    road infrastructure had, in the past, been
    purely financed by borrowings and
    grants.

    Mr Speaker, undoubtedly, a PPP

    programme is the cleanest direction

    without urging governments to sign on to

    expensive loans with unfavourable terms

    and conditions. It is the pursuit of this to

    ensure sustainable and adequate funding

    to reduce the road infrastructure deficit

    that led to the establishment of the Road

    Fund in 1985, followed by the Road

    Fund Act, 1997 (Act 536), with the

    objective of establishing a secure and

    stable source of funding to finance the

    routine periodic maintenance and

    rehabilitation of public roads in the

    country.

    Mr Speaker, this Statement seeks to

    emphasise the socio-economic effects of

    bad roads, the inadequate source of

    funding for these roads, and how private

    investors could be attracted to this sector

    to bridge the infrastructural gap.

    Mr Speaker, research by the National

    Road Safety Commission (NRSC) in

    2015 showed that there were 6,104

    accidents and 7,465 causalities between

    2004 and 2011.

    Mr Speaker, other effects of plying on

    poor road infrastructure have been an

    increase in traffic congestion, weak road

    safety guidance, and overall

    discouragement of the use of public

    transport. Stress level is eventually high

    and the productive workforce is

    demotivated. A case in question is the

    Accra-Kasoa stretch. Even after the free

    toll policy, this road has become one of

    the difficult roads to ply. It is fraught

    with traffic congestion, high cost of

    driving, high fuel consumption, and

    faulty trucks parked carelessly without

    triangles as if it is a terrain without any

    supervision. Dangerous overtaking,

    particularly by the special tricycles

    popularly referred to as aboboya and the

    pragya, are fiercely competing with

    insurable vehicles for space.

    Mr Speaker, the high cost of road

    construction in Ghana, compared with

    other developing and developed

    countries, is also a major concern.

    Whereas the World Bank estimates

    median rehabilitation at US$183,000,

    that of Ghana was between US$45,000

    to US$700,000. A construction that

    involves widening and new construction

    is estimated at US$959,000 while that of

    Ghana is also as high as US$1,832,000.

    Mr Speaker, the biggest interesting

    question is, have all these capital projects

    been financed by our tax revenues? It is

    a big no. As alluded to early on, our tax

    revenues could only cover three

    expenditure items. By implication, and

    invariably, almost all our road

    infrastructure in this country, both

    current and in the past, have been

    financed either by external support, a

    sequence, or a progression that could

    breed unsustainable fiscal indiscipline in

    the country. Not only that, it has the

    potential to inevitably plunge the country

    into both fiscal and monetary instability.

    Mr Speaker, to avert the political

    pressure on successive governments in

    fixing our roads, at the expense of other

    equally essential social and economic

    infrastructure, coupled with low tax

    revenue and high cost of construction,

    while compromising on the quality of

    delivery, amidst high debt to GDP ratio,

    the inability of governments to commit

    fiscal spending to roads, PPP is,

    undoubtedly, becoming a sustainable

    global concept that Ghana must embrace

    to address the road infrastructural deficit

    in the country.

    There may be several reasons

    governments may consider PPP. Among

    these may include: to support the

    country's development and to benefit the

    citizens of improved services. It is also a

    mechanism to share expertise and

    technical skills, improve transparency in

    public procurement, attain a better value

    for money, address the issue of shortage

    of government funds, and improve the

    inherent efficiencies and innovation in

    the private sector.

    Again, it will enable the private sector

    to manage some types of risk, ensure a

    better quality of service delivery, save

    cost and share the associated risk with

    the Government or risk transfer, meet

    construction timelines, ensure clear

    definition and specification of user

    needs, reduce political pressure and

    public monopoly while promoting

    competition and an incentive that better

    align effort with risk and reward, to serve

    as an incentive policy tool to lessen the

    lack of dynamism in the traditional

    public services and above all, to

    minimise government budget on

    expenditure.

    It is heart-warming to note that the

    Accra-Cape Coast, Accra-Takoradi and

    Accra-Tema roads are all on PPP

    programmes at different stages of

    contract execution, and are expected,

    upon completion, to reduce travelling

    time while improving road safety and

    security, to lower vehicle operating cost

    for road users, and to create jobs.

    Mr Speaker, in Senegal, the Dakar-

    Diamniadio highway completed in

    October 2015 was as a result of a PPP

    between the Senegal Government and

    the World Bank, AFD (Agence-

    Francaise de Development) and African

    Development Bank (AfDB). SANRAL

    Road Network in South Africa and the

    Lagos Lekki Port Project in Nigeria were

    all AfDB-funded PPP projects with the

    various governments.

    Mr Speaker, PPP must be encouraged

    to ease the pressure on the Government

    from borrowing to fund the road

    infrastructure gap at the expense of other

    key developmental pillars of the

    economy.

    Mr Speaker, it is my recommendation

    that the mandate and purpose of the Road

    Fund Act, 1997 (Act 536) enactment is

    appraised to change Ghana's scope and

    framework on financing the road sector,

    and I am very confident that this

    honourable House would support any

    move by the secretariat towards this

    recommended direction.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:13 p.m.
    Hon
    Member, did you distribute copies of
    your Statement to Hon Members? It is
    imperative that if you want to read a
    Statement, you share it with your Hon
    Colleagues so that they would get to
    know it. This is because if you just
    present the Statement to the Whips to be
    read without the knowledge of other Hon
    Colleagues, it becomes a bit —
    Dr Amoah — rose —
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:13 p.m.
    Hon
    Member for Nhyiaeso, let us hear you.
    Dr Stephen Amoah (NPP — Nhyiaeso) 3:13 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I thank you for
    giving me this opportunity. I would like
    to commend my Hon Colleague MP for
    the Statement that he just made and
    associate myself with it.
    Mr Speaker, I think it is extremely
    important that such important
    Statements be given the needed support
    and attention as a State, not only as a
    House. I say this because especially in
    the developing economies such as
    Ghana, where we have issues with our
    fiscal space, and that government
    expenditures, especially within the space
    of the discretionary arm of our budget
    has been a challenge to us as a country.
    Other alternative policies or funding
    policies such as PPP is extremely
    functional in terms of meeting our needs
    when it comes to infrastructure and other
    projects.
    Mr Speaker, PPP has really helped
    even most of the developed economies in
    terms of bridging the gap or managing
    the infrastructural deficit that confronted
    them years back. Some of the advantages
    of PPP, in this sense, must be actually
    revisited.
    Mr Speaker, in the first place, it helps
    government, as we have it today, to fund
    projects that are so important to us
    without even touching our public purse
    which is already limited. We all know
    that we run ration budget as a country.
    Mr Speaker, secondly, these private
    sector partners, if I should emphasise and
    be precise, bring on board a lot of
    innovations when it comes to defining
    and designing projects in our country.
    Some of them are mostly from different
    jurisdictions, who bring on board their
    cultural and country specific experiences
    simply because some of them are leading
    us in terms of development.
    Mr Speaker, the next thing that I
    would like to talk about in terms of its
    advantages is also the fact that they add
    value to the local content and give
    employment opportunities to our young
    people. This is because there are
    segments of value chains when it comes
    to most of the projects that we actually
    get this advantage of entering into the
    PPP agreement for.
    Mr Speaker, however, I would say that
    as much as we welcome it and think that
    it is a good idea or alternative, we should
    also look at some of the challenges or
    disadvantages. Most of the time, some of
    these PPP actors at the embryonic stage
    present nice documents. They present
    documents to the extent that they even
    have the financial muscle and the
    capacity, and when they are given the
    advantage, projects are delayed. This is
    because sometimes they even take the
    contract, sign and are given that
    opportunity before they look for funds.
    Mr Speaker, I accordingly advise and
    ask the bodies and authorities that have
    the opportunity to enter these agreements
    with them to extend their due diligence
    to the side that I describe as “backward integration”, making sure that those companies that are given these
    opportunities actually have what it takes
    in terms of their financial performance,

    at least for the past three years, and the

    needed financial ratios should be

    appraised for us to be sure that indeed,

    they have what it takes to enter into that

    partnership and give Ghanaians what we

    actually expect, in which case, we could

    always equate expectation and

    perception, which defines quality service

    and delivery.

    Mr Speaker, it is not only that. We

    should also look at these areas to

    empower the domestic entrepreneurs,

    investors and financiers because

    sometimes, the same job that could be

    executed, if we enter such partnerships

    with the local financier, we turn to give

    it to the foreigners. I am not saying they

    do not do well; they do well. However,

    sometimes, we need to empower our

    own because when the foreigners get

    their moneys, they try to take it all

    outside, and before they take it outside,

    they have to change it into foreign

    currencies. By doing that, we increase

    demand for foreign currencies, and

    definitely, the resultant effect is that our

    local currency becomes very weak.

    Mr Speaker, so, we need to look at all

    these parameters and ensure that as much

    as I support this good call and Statement,

    we need to redefine our corporate focus

    as a country, and integrate and situate

    some of these good alternatives, options

    and policies in a way that we could

    derive the needed synergies and the

    overall benefit that would make sure that

    our money stays here to strengthen our

    cedi, we could also create jobs for our

    young people, get quality service, and at

    the same time, help us to lessen the

    burden on our fiscal space, whereby we

    would always have to go and borrow as

    a country.

    Mr Speaker, I would like to end here

    by saying that PPP, of course, looking at

    the good and bad sides is an alternative

    that we as a country must give the needed

    consideration and attention, and make

    sure that we could move in the direction

    that most of the problems that we have in

    the area of infrastructure — the huge infrastructural gap or deficit that we have

    as a country could be resolved within 10

    years.
    Dr Emmanuel Marfo (NPP — Oforikrom) 3:23 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I thank you
    very much. I would also like to commend
    the maker of the Statement in bringing to
    our attention the importance of PPP in
    the development of our infrastructure.

    I would just like to reflect on how we

    are able to use PPP, for example, to help

    develop road infrastructure within our

    communities. Sometimes, when one

    goes to some parts of Accra or Kumasi

    and I am sure in any other city in Ghana,

    one sees how very good and nice private

    buildings are being erected and when one

    looks at the kind of roads that are there,

    one wonders at what point government

    would be able to secure money to go and

    do the roads in those communities.

    So, perhaps, we need to think about

    the model where private investors or

    those who are building in these areas

    could be allowed to pool some private

    capital to develop the local roads and

    find a way to get their investments paid

    back, either through using their

    investment to offset their payment for

    property rates or allowing them to toll

    the roads in those communities for a

    certain prescribed fee so that in the long

    term, they may be able to recoup that

    investment. By so doing, we would get

    private people helping government to

    develop road infrastructure within the

    emerging communities in our cities. So,

    perhaps, we need to think about that

    model.

    Mr Speaker, the second point I want

    to make is about thinking through how

    government can also take in steps to

    assist us develop our communities, and I

    am just going to use the Aburi Hills as an

    example. Some few years back, when

    one drove from Accra, Ayi Mensah,

    going to Aburi, you would see that the

    landscape was beautiful. Today, when

    one is going to Aburi, one would see how

    the vegetation on the hill is being cleared

    and private buildings just coming up. I

    wonder how we are going to manage the

    situation in few years to come. We need

    to note that the floods in Accra is already

    a problem and when we allow the entire

    landscape of the Aburi Hills' vegetation to be cleared, the volume of water that

    would be coming to Accra in the next

    few years, we would not be able to

    manage it. That is why in such

    landscapes, one needs to have a land use

    management plan where government

    goes in to acquire the land and maybe

    allow people to purchase the land not just

    the small 100 x 100 size, but in maybe 1-

    acre portions. Then, when people

    develop private homes in such big

    portions, they would leave about 75 per

    cent of the land as vegetation.

    So, even though private houses

    would be developing, there would still be

    a sizeable number of vegetation and the

    original landscape intact. I think that is

    the way we should develop areas like the

    Aburi Hills. We cannot allow people to

    just be buying normal 50 x 100 or 70 x

    80 plots, clear the vegetation, build

    houses and then tomorrow the entire

    Aburi landscape would become like any

    other community. So, we need to think

    through these issues well and make sure

    that as a government, we intervene to

    acquire such critical landscapes and then

    make sure that they are well-managed

    before private people come in to, as it

    were, clear the entire vegetation and

    destroy the landscape and later on the

    consequent effect of flooding would hit

    us and we now have to go and look for

    funds to go back and cure the devastation

    that we have caused.

    So, these would be my comments on

    the Statement.

    Mr Speaker, I want to thank you for

    the opportunity.

    Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-

    Mensah — rose —
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:33 p.m.
    Hon
    Member, you are welcome.
    Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-
    Mensah (NPP — Takoradi): Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I believe
    that this Statement, ably made by the
    Hon Member for Upper Denkyira East,
    Dr Festus Awuah Kwofie, is apt,
    appropriate and proper that we are doing
    it this time.

    Mr Speaker, I have served on the

    Committee on Roads and Transport as

    the Deputy Ranking Member and also

    the Vice Chairman and I believe that the

    issues that we face in this country are

    very obvious. It is just that over the

    period of time, we do not seem to

    actually kick in the energy to make sure

    that we can have more roads in the

    country. If we take the Hon Member's Statement, paragraph 2 talks about the

    road conditions that governments come

    to meet and our inability to add more

    roads to it.

    However, Mr Speaker, one of our

    biggest challenges I believe there is, has

    to do with the engineering. Most times,

    we design roads for seven years, just

    after building it in one year, in the second

    year, we have to go and rehabilitate. So,

    one asks themselves what the point is?

    We do asphalt roads which are supposed

    to take us for 15 years; by the tenth year

    there are difficulties with the roads and

    we need to work on it. So, instead of

    doing more roads, we are always

    virtually standing at the same place

    repairing what we have already built and

    clearly, it makes it very difficult for

    government to expand the road

    infrastructure and therefore the condition

    mix becomes a problem.

    Typically, we have also talked about

    the cost of road construction. I do believe

    that during the time that we were

    building the Kasoa road, there was a

    huge debate in the whole of this country

    about the cost of building that road, to

    the extent that when Obetsebi-Lamptey

    came up, we were able to look at the cost

    from Kasoa and by the time we realised,

    the prices of the Obetsebi-Lamptey one

    had come down. So, the question one

    asks is that how come that in one region

    the prices are like this and in another

    region, they have reduced. I believe that

    consistently we are not doing something

    right, which is creating a fund that is cash

    and can be used in paying contractors.

    So, what is virtually happening is that

    because contractors know that they are

    never going to be paid early, that delay

    and the cost of that credit that they

    themselves use on the road is always

    priced in the cost of the road. So,

    naturally, the prices of the roads in

    Ghana are definitely going to go up and

    I believe that that is one area we need to

    look at as a country so that we can

    expand more road infrastructure and the

    ones that we also have can always be in

    good condition.

    Secondly, what we have also come to

    realise is that, apart from the cost which

    consistently continues to be a major

    bottleneck, we have to also look at new

    technologies. It seems that we have to

    relook at this business of bitumen and

    asphalt. Recently, the Hon Minister for

    Roads and Highways told us that if we

    wanted to change the wearing course

    from bitumen or asphaltic to concrete

    surface, it might cost us just about 10 to

    15 per cent more because the base and

    the sub-base are virtually the same

    material. Why is it that with all the

    clinker we have in this country, we

    cannot immediately take a decision that

    we want to build more highways into

    concrete-paved roads because those ones

    can last for 50 years instead of 15 years,

    which is three times the lifespan and the

    cost would not be even up to 30 per cent

    more. Why are we still not taking that

    decision? Why are our engineers not

    designing new roads with that type of

    wearing course and we continue to use

    this same bitumen, deteriorate hwepitee

    and the asphalt overlays that within 15

    years?

    Mr Speaker, every time they

    deteriorate too, they cost us more. It

    continues to cost us more, and I believe

    that we need to critically have a look at

    this and make sure that we can do more

    for our own people and for ourselves.

    Last but not least, the maker of the

    Statement made mention of the issue of

    PPP. I think that it is very good, but I

    believe that the over-centralisation of

    some of these decisions is also becoming

    a problem. I believe that it is time that

    some of these roads should be left to the

    regional administrations to deal with. In

    fact, technically, it should even be left

    with the Assemblies to take those

    decisions and deal with it. We should

    take the decision as a country; for the

    year, maybe the cap is GH₵2 billion and we are sharing it baseline to say GH₵100 million to every region and then manage

    those stuff at that level.

    Mr Speaker, what is sometimes even

    worrying is that when there is a bad road

    in the region, nobody knows the Minister

    for Roads and Highways. They would

    keep calling on the Regional Minister

    and the District Chief Executive (DCE),

    meanwhile they do not have any budget

    to solve the problem. So, we would just

    be making an announcement and not

    having the resources to do it. Like the

    Hon Leader said some time ago, I believe

    that we need to have a new Bill or a new

    Act of Parliament, which would enable

    assemblies to construct roads with a

    certain level of funding. I believe that

    this should be the direction. This is

    because if we are able to maintain what

    we have done, by fixing potholes, we

    would not wait for it to deteriorate to

    become 20 potholes that we cannot

    generate the money to fix. I believe that

    is the way we should go.

    Also, there are a lot of private

    companies who also want to develop

    roads. Unfortunately, anytime they want

    to develop it, the Ghana Highway

    Authority or the Department of Urban

    roads would ask for money from them to

    go and construct the road meanwhile

    they could do it at a lesser cost. I would

    give you a typical example; Mr Speaker,

    from Tarkwa to Aboso road, under

    normal circumstances, if it was being

    done by Ghana Highway Authority, or

    Department of Urban Roads, it would

    cost us not less than US$1 million per

    kilometre. Gold Fields Ghana Limited

    did their own for US$27 million per 33

    kilometres of road. So, basically, it

    shows that we can do it at a cost-effective

    rate than all these bureaucratic pricing

    that goes into it because of the fact that it

    might be paid late.

    So, I strongly believe that if we are

    able to take these road projects as a

    parliamentary issue, we should be able to

    sit down as Parliament, listen to people

    and come out with a certain direction in

    making sure that we can get more roads.

    This is because as Hon Members of

    Parliament (MPs), one of our biggest

    challenges we have with in

    constituencies has to do with roads; it is

    just roads everywhere. Even in the cities,

    it is a headache. What about those in the

    small towns and the big villages? I

    believe that this business of roads, we

    need to look at it holistically; look at the

    suggestions that have come up; and have

    a path that would make sure that the cost

    of construction of roads becomes

    cheaper; they can last longer; and we

    have new technologies that could make

    sure that our people are happy and we

    could get more roads throughout the

    length and breadth of this country to

    make Ghana a modern state.

    Thank you very much and may God

    bless you.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:33 p.m.
    Let us
    hear you Hon Member for Biakoye, Mr
    Kwadwo Nyanpon Aboagye.
    Mr Kwadwo Nyanpon Aboagye
    (NDC — Biakoye): Thank you Mr Speaker. I am sorry I just rushed in. I
    heard the Hon Member just talk about
    roads. I picked a few things and I would
    like to make just a few comments.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:33 p.m.
    You
    used to work at the Ghana Highways
    Authority?
    Mr K. N. Aboagye 3:33 p.m.
    Yes, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:33 p.m.
    Very
    well. So, let us get your contribution.
    Mr K. N. Aboagye 3:33 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,
    normally, when we construct roads, we
    should make provision for maintenance.
    If we do not spend money on
    maintenance, the roads would break-up.
    On the average, we need to spend two
    per cent of the cost of construction every
    year on maintenance. This is because
    delayed maintenance is bad. What
    happens is that if we do not spend the two
    per cent a year, in five years, the damage
    we would get is not 10 per cent of the
    damage. By the equation, it goes to four
    times the damage every year. So, in just
    five years, our roads would have broken
    down by at least 40 per cent. Therefore,
    it is not the construction of new roads
    which is ideal; it is the routine
    maintenance of roads which gives it a
    long span.
    Routine maintenance is just clearing
    the weeds on the sides of the road. A pot
    hole patched today saves a lot; like the
    British say, “a stitch in time saves nine”. Therefore, we should look at our
    maintenance. I heard the previous
    speaker talk about the road we designed
    to last for 15 years but within 10 years, it
    has broken down. This is the reason: if
    we do not spend that amount of money,
    that is two per cent of the cost, within the
    10 years, the damage which would have
    been done would be more than 90 per
    cent. There are new technologies and so
    on but we should look at our
    maintenance regime and plan things such
    that we do not go lean on maintenance.
    Due to the fact that I jumped in — In fact I was in the office when I heard the Hon
    Member talking; that is why I came. So,
    maybe another time if I happen to be
    here, I could give more information on
    another Statement such as this one.
    Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:43 p.m.
    Thank you.

    Mr Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-

    Markin (NPP — Effutu): Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity.

    First, I would like to commend the

    Hon Member for the Statement. In fact,

    his main contention is to the effect that

    we need to partner the private sector to

    support the road infrastructure so as to

    lessen the direct cost on Government.

    Mr Speaker, his contention in his 2-

    page Statement is well founded, and I say

    so because if we have a careful look at

    the preamble of the Constitution and

    with your leave, I shall proceed to quote:

    “The Principle that all powers of the Government spring from the

    Sovereign will of the People;

    The Principle of Universal Adult

    Suffrage;

    The Rule of Law;

    The protection and preservation of

    the Fundamental Human Rights

    and Freedoms, Unity and Stability

    for our Nation;”

    Mr Speaker, when we come to the

    directive principles of state, especially

    Article 36(2) (d) which says:

    (2) “The State shall, in particular, take all necessary steps to establish a

    sound and healthy economy whose

    underlying principles shall include

    —

    (d) undertaking even and balanced

    development of all regions and

    every part of each region of Ghana,

    and, in particular, improving the

    conditions of life in the rural areas,

    and generally, redressing any

    imbalance in development

    between the rural and the urban

    areas”. (Emphasis is mine)

    So, Mr Speaker, what our Hon

    Colleague is simply telling us is that we

    need to progress a little faster in getting

    the private sector involved.

    Hon Members file more Questions

    on roads than any other sector and our

    constituents complain on roads than any

    other thing. But Mr Speaker, the question

    for consideration is whether or not the

    public is ready to share the cost. This is

    because if the private sector comes in

    and it is not the burden of the State to

    pay, they would charge some road tolls,

    some levies and some fees. So, while we

    call on the Government to move in this

    direction of policy, we also have to

    educate our people, as Parliamentarians,

    for them to appreciate it. This is because

    often times, our people need

    development and they tell us what they

    want but when tax is imposed, our people

    would complain that it is too much.

    As a political class, it appears that we

    lose sight of the constructs; we are

    unable to properly explain issues and

    explain how we are going to get it done.

    An example is the E-Levy which

    recently became a heated debate but

    again, the public is also concerned about

    the waste in the system, corruption, and

    how we deal with public funds. I believe

    that if we properly look at all these imbalances as a country, we would be able

    to meet the imperative of Article 36(2) (d).

    What our Hon Colleague, Dr Festus

    Awuah Kwofie, is saying should not just

    be a talk. We should get it to the Hon

    Minister for Roads and Highways for

    him to escalate it to Cabinet, so that a

    proper look will be taken on this PPP

    policy.

    Mr Speaker, I chair the Board of the

    Ghana Road Fund, and I know that what

    he is saying is really right. It is not about

    the enactment of the Road Fund, but the

    funds there. As we say in Twi, enso

    hwee; enduru bebiaa; sika no sua. In

    other words, the funds are just

    insufficient and we cannot do much with

    it. We have awarded so much contracts

    because of the demands from our people,

    yet we do not have the means to pay.

    When we do that, we destroy businesses.

    If a businessman uses his assets as

    guarantee to procure a loan and the State

    is unable to pay, obviously, the bank will

    foreclose it, and once that foreclosure is

    executed, there is a cashflow problem,

    because the bank cannot really get

    liquidity and it affects the economy.

    Mr Speaker, this PPP initiative must

    be looked at, but our people must be

    ready to accept the cost that will go

    directly for the usage of the roads or the

    benefits thereto and, indeed, of course,

    those who are going to be in this

    partnership will not be “Father Christmas”. They will be doing so for profit.

    Mr Speaker, without more, I would

    like to conclude by saying that this is an

    important call on us, the political class.

    We have been given a responsibility. The

    time has come for us to have a straight

    talk with the people, engage them, and

    let them know that they cannot eat their

    cake and have it. It is a collective effort

    and we need to work together to achieve

    that, so that we will not get many people

    complaining that they do not have roads

    and they are being discriminated against,

    and all that.

    Mr Speaker, without more, I will

    thank you for the opportunity.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:43 p.m.
    Very
    well. We thank you too.
    Hon Members, we have brought
    Statements time to a close, and we would
    like to thank the owners of the
    Statements: Hon Member for Upper
    Denkyira East, Dr Festus Awuah Kofie;
    and Hon Member for Klottey Korle, Dr
    Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings; for — I mentioned it rightly. I also thank the
    contributors —
    Mr Afenyo-Markin 3:43 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,
    the Hon Member for Klottey Korle said
    that both of us pronounced her name
    wrongly. She decided not to say it into
    the microphone. The late Jerry John
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:43 p.m.
    Hon
    Members, thank you very much for your
    contributions.
    Leadership, I believe we have some
    Bills.
    Mr Afenyo-Markin 3:43 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, if
    it pleases you, we may proceed to item
    number 13, Motions. The title of the

    Motion is the Contracts (Amendment)

    Bill, 2022.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:43 p.m.
    Which Motion?
    Mr Afenyo-Markin 3:43 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,
    item number 13 on page 5 of today's Order Paper.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:43 p.m.
    Very
    well.
    Dr Forson — rose —
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:43 p.m.
    Yes,
    Hon Minority Leader?
    Dr Forson 3:43 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, this
    morning, at the pre-Sitting meeting, we
    had no idea that we were going to
    consider some of these Bills. This is
    particularly important because we are
    talking of three different Bills: Interstate
    Succession Bill, which is a very big one;
    the Contracts (Amendment) Bill, 2022;
    and the Whistleblower (Amendment)
    Bill, 2023.
    Mr Speaker, I plead that the Interstate
    Succession Bill be stepped down. This is
    because it is a major Bill, so that we can
    debate it properly and discuss it
    appropriately. Probably, we could do the
    Second Reading for the Contracts
    (Amendment) Bill, 2022 and the
    Whistleblower (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
    We could, probably, discuss the Second
    Reading of these two and come back to
    the Consideration Stage at the
    appropriate time.
    Mr Afenyo-Markin 3:43 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I
    have not made an application on the
    Interstate Succession Bill. The
    application before you, which the Hon
    Minority Leader agrees to, is the
    Contracts (Amendment) Bill, 2022, so
    the Hon Minority Leader's application is otiose.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:43 p.m.
    Very
    well. Hon Members, I would like to
    invite you to page 5, the item listed 13 — Motion, by the Hon Attorney-General
    and Minister for Justice.
    BILLS — SECOND READING
    Contracts (Amendment) Bill, 2022
    Deputy Attorney-General and
    Minister for Justice (Ms Diana
    Asonaba Dapaah) on behalf of the
    Attorney-General and Minister: Mr
    Speaker, I beg to move:
    That the Contracts (Amendment)
    Bill, 2022 be now read a Second time.
    Mr Speaker, the object of the Bill is
    to amend the Contract Acts, 1960 (Act
    25) to provide mainly for two things:
    first, the type of interest to be paid on the
    sum of money which is due to a party
    arising out of a contract for transaction
    entered into on behalf of the
    Government. To this end, the Bill
    provides that the payment of interest on
    any such sum shall be at simple interest
    and not compound interest. Also, the Bill
    prohibits a person from entering into any
    such contract or transaction in which the
    payment of interest on a sum due to that
    party is calculated at compound interest.
    A contract entered into in contradiction
    of this provision is made null and void.

    Mr Speaker, furthermore, the Bill

    also authorises a Minister for a subject or

    department on a matter falling within the

    portfolio of that Minister or a person

    duly authorised by that Minister to be the

    only persons that are able to enter into a

    contract on behalf of the Republic.

    Mr Speaker, the passage of this Bill

    will proscribe a person from entering

    into a contract or transaction on behalf of

    a government in which the payment is

    calculated at compound interest. This

    will effectively reduce the cost of

    entering into transactions or contracts on

    behalf of the Republic. It is, respectfully,

    our expectation that this honourable

    House will assist in attaining the

    intended objective of the Bill by passing

    it.

    I thank you very much, Mr Speaker.

    Question proposed.
    Mr Speaker 3:43 p.m.
    Thank you very much.
    Hon Chairman of the Committee, you
    may support the Motion and read the
    Committee's Report.
    Chairman of the Committee (Mr
    Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi): Mr Speaker,
    I beg to support the Motion, and, in so
    doing, I present the Committee's Report.
    Mr Speaker, the Report has been
    circulated and I pray that the Hansard
    captures the entirety of the Report.
    1.0 Introduction
    The Contracts (Amendment) Bill,
    2022 was laid in Parliament on 17th
    February, 2023 by the Hon Attorney-
    General and Minister for Justice, Mr
    Godfred Yeboah Dame, pursuant to
    article 106 (1) of the 1992 Constitution.
    The Bill was subsequently referred
    by the Rt Hon Speaker to the Committee
    on Constitutional, Legal and
    Parliamentary Affairs for consideration
    and report pursuant to article 106(4) of
    the 1992 Constitution and order 179 of
    the Standing Orders of Parliament.
    2.0 Deliberations
    In attendance at the meeting to assist
    the Committee in its deliberations were
    Justice Dennis Adjei (Justice of the
    Court of Appeal); Hon Deputy Attorney-
    General and Minister of Justice, Ms
    Diana Asonaba Dapaah; and officials
    from the Office of the Attorney-
    General's Department.
    The Committee is grateful to all the
    invited participants for their invaluable
    contributions.
    3.0 Reference Documents
    The Committee referred to the
    following documents during its
    deliberations:
    • The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana;
    • The Standing Orders of Parliament; and
    • The Contract Act, 1960 (Act 25).
    4.0 Background and Justification
    for the Bill

    The Contracts Act, 1960 (Act 25)

    came into force on 22nd December, 1960.

    Act 25 did not make explicit provision

    regarding persons authorised to enter

    into contract on behalf of the State. There

    were also no provisions on a common

    pathway for the calculation of interest

    due on Government contracts.

    The lack of restrictions on persons

    qualified to enter into contract has the

    tendency to allow any person in authority

    to enter into contract without the

    knowledge or authorisation of the sector

    Ministers who are vested with the overall

    responsibility and executive mandate

    over the administration of their sector.

    The liberalisation regarding mode of

    calculation of interest due parties in

    Government contracts also have the

    tendency for abuse of discretional

    powers by persons who enter into

    contract on behalf of the State. The Bill,

    therefore, makes explicit provisions for

    persons who are authorised to enter into

    a contract or transaction on behalf of the

    Government.

    The Bill further provides for the

    payment of interest on any sum of money

    due under a contract or a transaction

    entered into on behalf of the Government

    to be calculated at simple interest.

    The overarching policy intention is to

    protect the interest of the State with

    regard to interest payment and

    effectively reduce the cost of engaging in

    a contract or transaction by the State.

    5.0 Object of the Bill

    5.1 The object of the Bill is to amend

    the Contracts Act, 1960 (Act 25) to

    provide for the type of interest to be paid

    on a sum of money due to a party of a

    contract or transaction entered into on

    behalf of the Government.

    5.2 It is also meant to provide for

    persons authorised to enter into contract

    or transaction on behalf of the State.

    6.0 Observations

    6.1 Seeming imposition of

    restriction on Freedom of Contract

    In explaining the reasons for the

    proposed amendment, the Deputy

    Attorney-General indicated that a need

    has arose to have consistency in all State

    contracts with respect to payment of any

    interest due parties in the contract or

    transaction. The policy rationale is to

    regulate the discretional powers of

    Ministers and other persons authorised

    by law to enter into contract on behalf of

    the State by limiting them to a

    standardised mode with respect to

    payment of interest. The overarching

    goal is to protect the interest of the State

    with regard to interest payment and

    effectively reduce the cost of engaging in

    a contract or transaction by the State.

    The Committee, however, expressed

    concern that the proposed amendment

    appears to violate the principle of

    freedom of contract, which enjoins all

    parties in a contract to bargain and create

    the terms of their agreement, devoid of

    outside interference, such as State

    regulations. The Deputy Attorney-

    General, however, held contrary view.

    She explained that the amendment is

    only seeking to create a similar condition

    as provided under article 181 of the 1992

    Constitution, regarding prior approval of

    Parliament for all international

    transactions entered into by the

    Government on behalf of the State. The

    Deputy Attorney-General added that the

    proposed amendment will serve as a

    prior knowledge and a guide to all State

    authorities, as well as other contracting

    parties under Government contracts

    regarding decisions on payment of any

    possible interest by the State.

    6.2 Persons authorised to enter into

    contracts

    The Committee noted that the

    proposed amendment is seeking to

    authorise only Ministers of State or

    persons authorised by Ministers to enter

    into contract on behalf of the State. The

    mischief the amendment is trying to

    cure, according to the Deputy Attorney-

    General, is to avoid a situation where it

    may be possible for persons in authority

    to enter into a contract on behalf of the

    State without the knowledge or

    authorisation of the sector Minister, who

    is vested with the overall responsibility

    over the administration of the sector by

    the President.

    The Committee, however, observed

    that the proposed amendment appears to

    be applicable only to the Executive arm

    of government to the exclusion of the

    other two organs of government. The

    Legislature and Judiciary arms of

    government are not headed by Ministers

    and are allowed by law to enter into

    contract. Accordingly, further amendment

    has been proffered to allow other persons

    authorised by law to enter into contracts

    on behalf of the State.

    7.0 Proposed Amendments

    i. Clause17 - Amendment proposed

    Subclause (1), line 2, delete

    "Government" and replace with

    "Republic"

    ii. Clause 17 - Amendment proposed

    Subclause (2), line 2, delete

    "Government" and replace with

    "Republic"

    iii. Clause 17 - Amendment proposed

    Subclause (2), (a) line 3, delete "or"

    iv. Clause17 - Amendment proposed

    Subclause (2), (b) line 3, after

    concluding phrase add "or"

    v. Clause17 - Amendment proposed

    Subclause (2), add the following new

    paragraph (c) any other person

    authorised duly by law

    vi. Clause 17 - Amendment proposed

    insert new subclause (6) as follows:

    A person who wilfully enters into

    a contract contrary to this section

    commits an offence and is liable

    on summary conviction to a fine

    of not less than five thousand

    penalty units and not more than

    ten thousand penalty units or to a

    term of imprisonment of not less

    than ten years and not more than

    fifteen years or to both.

    8.0 Conclusion

    The Committee, after extensive

    deliberations on the Bill, is of the view

    that the introduction of controls into

    Government contracts with respect to

    persons authorised to enter into a

    contract on behalf of the State, as well as

    mode of calculating interest payments

    due other parties in the contract is a right

    approach.

    The Committee, accordingly,

    recommends to the House to adopt its

    report and pass the Contracts

    (Amendment) Bill, 2022 into law, in

    accordance with article 106 of the 1992

    Constitution.

    Respectfully submitted.

    Mr Ahiafor — rose —
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:43 p.m.
    Yes,
    Hon Member for Akatsi South?
    Mr Bernard Ahiafor (NDC — Akatsi South) 3:53 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, thank you
    very much for the opportunity to
    contribute to the Second reading of the
    Contracts (Amendment) Bill, 2022.
    Mr Speaker, the Contracts Act, 1960
    (Act 25) came into force on 22nd
    December, 1960. It has been with us all
    these years and has served us very well.
    When I listened to the Hon Deputy
    Attorney-General and Minister for
    Justice, the essence of this particular
    amendment is to legislate the type of
    interest that the State will enter into a
    contract with. I believe strongly that this
    particular Amendment Bill is frivolous.
    It is vexatious, and it would be baseless
    in law if this House passes this
    Amendment Bill into an Act. Why do I
    say this?
    Mr Speaker, there is a traditional
    contract doctrine of freedom of
    contracts, so the parties to a contract or
    the contracting parties have the freedom
    to enter into a contract and whether it
    should be simple or compound interest.

    So, for this particular House to pass a

    law to prohibit entering into a contract

    based on a compound interest, would be

    violating the traditional contract doctrine

    of freedom of contract. The State would

    always enter into a contract with its mind

    and eyes widely open; therefore, parties

    are supposed to agree on terms and

    conditions of the contract.

    So, if the State chooses to agree on a

    contract based on compound interest,

    there is nothing basically wrong with it.

    If the State decides that, by way of

    policy, it would not enter into a contract

    which is based on a compound interest,

    nobody would point a loaded gun at the

    State. Making a law to prohibit the State

    from entering into a contract based on a

    compound interest would mean that no

    matter the circumstances or how juicy

    the contract is, if it based on compound

    interest, it is prohibited.

    Mr Speaker, there are instances

    where one can enter into a contract based

    on simple interest, but the terms and

    conditions would be worse than entering

    into a contract based on compound

    interest. Therefore, I will not understand

    the legal basis of prohibiting a State from

    entering into a contract based on a

    compound interest.

    Mr Speaker, the irresponsibility on

    the part of the State cannot compel

    Parliament to make this law. For

    instance, if a supplier supplies goods to

    the Government of the Republic of

    Ghana after that supplier has entered into

    a contract with a bank based on

    compound interest, they are saying that,

    by this law, if the State delays in even

    payment of the money, interest that

    would be paid on the money due the

    contractor that has been delayed cannot

    be based on a compound interest.

    Mr Speaker, the Contracts Act, 1960

    (Act 25) governs everybody. In a

    situation where an amendment which

    seems discriminatory is being introduced

    to the Contracts Act, this House must not

    pass that particular Bill into a law. For

    these reasons, I vehemently oppose the

    passage of the Contracts (Amendment)

    Bill, 2022 into law; therefore, the Bill

    must not even pass the Second Reading.

    Mr Speaker, I so submit.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:53 p.m.
    Let
    me find out from the Hon Chairman of
    the Committee if the Committee sat on
    this. It appears the Hon Chairman and
    Hon Ranking Member are —
    Mr Anyimadu-Antwi 3:53 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,
    yes, the Committee had discussed this
    extensively. My Hon Colleague, who is
    the Ranking Member and was at the
    chair with me, raised these issues, and
    the learned Hon Deputy Attorney-
    General took us through them because
    there is a mischief that every Bill seeks
    to cure. They had proposed that some
    Hon Ministers are not careful when they
    enter into a contract.
    Mr Speaker, this Bill is not taking
    away the interest by Government; what
    the Bill seeks to do, by the few
    amendments, is to say that if
    Government is entering into a contract, it
    must always be simple interest. So, if one
    enters into a contract with Government
    —
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:53 p.m.
    Hon
    Chairman, so is it only in respect of
    Government contracts? Is it not affecting
    individual contracts?
    Mr Anyimadu-Antwi 3:53 p.m.
    Yes. So these
    points were raised by the Hon Ranking
    Member, and we have noted that
    concerns were raised that because of
    privity of contracts, any person is free to
    contract. We unanimously came up with
    this Report, and that is why we have
    agreed that the Motion be seconded. We
    agreed as a Committee, but he raised the
    points, nevertheless, and he was opposed
    to that, so I thought that when it comes to
    Consideration Stage, then he could raise
    his opposition because there had been an
    earlier precedent that if one is a Member
    of a Committee, he or she could disagree
    on what the Committee had proposed to
    the House. However, for now, we are
    doing the Second Reading, and I propose
    that we should —
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:53 p.m.
    Hon
    Chairman, my fear is that, pursuant to
    Standing Order 127, we are supposed to
    have a proper debate and, afterwards, I
    would have to put the Question. So, per
    the understanding I got from you, if we

    do not cross this hurdle, we would not

    get to the Consideration Stage.

    Hon Chairman, am I clear? I do not

    know if I have made myself clear.
    Mr Anyimadu-Antwi 3:53 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,
    I thought the proposal was that you
    wanted to defer the Question.
    Dr Forson 3:53 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, let me
    disagree with the Hon Ranking on one
    leg of his argument.
    Mr Speaker, as a country, the
    Government can regulate interest that
    should be paid on delayed payment. It is
    important the Government regulates it
    because the costs to the nation is
    becoming too large. Today, the reason
    the costs of our contracts are far higher if
    one is to benchmark it with other
    countries in the sub-region, is as a result
    of interests on delayed payment. So, if
    Government intends to regulate it
    through a law, I do not think we should
    discourage it; I think we should rather
    commend them.
    Mr Speaker, my view is how the law
    is done in such a way that it could reflect
    on only the Government sector. The
    Government cannot impose it on the
    private sector but, for Government, I
    think it is only right that it regulates the
    interest it pays. For example, if one picks
    a particular road and Government, for
    some reason, delays in the payment of
    the cost, and it is not careful and has to
    pay cost not on simple interest but on
    other interest, probably, the cost would
    be 10 times, and that is what we are
    seeing of late. So, it is only right to
    regulate contracts for the Government
    sector. I would support it any day.
    Mr Speaker, the other one that I think
    we need to probably rethink is the fact
    that the Bill proposes that it is only the
    Minister of State who can enter into a
    contract. What happens to the Government
    Policy of Fiscal Decentralisation? — [Interruption] — All right. My argument is if the Ajumako/Enyan/Essiam District
    Assembly wants to enter into a contract
    with a supplier or contractor, does the
    Bill propose that the Hon Minister for
    Local Government, Decentralisation and
    Rural Development would delegate them
    as a team that can really sign and enter
    into a contract?
    Mr Speaker, I think it is a bit too
    broad, and we may have to introduce
    some exemptions when we get to the
    Consideration Stage, so we do not
    discourage fiscal decentralisation. Fiscal
    decentralisation is something that we
    should all encourage because the
    Government cannot centralise the award
    of contracts only at the ministerial level;
    if the Government is to do that, it would
    defeat the intentions of the fiscal
    decentralisation that we are all investing
    in.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:53 p.m.
    Hon
    Chairman, can we have a law that
    regulates only the public sector or
    Government contracts, with the private
    sector also having a different law?
    Mr Anyimadu-Antwi 3:53 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,
    yes.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 3:53 p.m.
    Hon
    Chairman, is that possible?
    Mr Anyimadu-Antwi 3:53 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,
    yes, this is about Government contract.
    Government says that if anyone is
    entering into a contract with it, this is its
    position: it cannot go with compound
    interest; it would go with simple interest.
    That is allowed, and I think the Hon
    Minority Leader has said it all.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:03 p.m.
    Yes,
    let me go to the Hon Member for Ho
    Central.

    Mr Benjamin Komla Kpodo (NDC

    — Ho Central): Mr Speaker, this issue of interest on contract payment arises

    from the fact that payments are not made

    to the contractors on time. Indeed, there

    was a time when the World Bank gave us

    guidelines that if one is entering into a

    contract with the Ministry of Finance,

    there should be a provision that there

    would be no interest calculated on

    delayed payments — that is Government. However, if we are making a law for the

    whole country, we should not be

    discriminatory; we should make sure that

    the law can be applied in our homes,

    private businesses and in Government

    businesses.

    If we make this a general law, it

    would affect contractors. The point is

    that the contractor goes to the bank to

    borrow money, he does so and the bank

    calculates the interest on the outstanding

    loan and interest which is due at any

    point in time. Now, we are telling that

    contractor that if he is going to pay back

    his loan, he would pay interest based on

    a compounded method of computation,

    but the Government which is the owner

    of the particular contract will not do

    same. I think it is discriminatory.

    If the Government wants to award

    contracts to people and it is hell bent on

    not paying interest on cumulative basis,

    then it should insert it in that particular

    contract, not in a general law. If the

    Government is signing a contract with

    me and it inserts that clause and I find it

    acceptable, I would enter into that

    contract; if I do not like it, I leave it, but

    it should not be general that even if it is

    financially reasonable to do so, we

    should take it out of the contract terms.

    Mr Speaker, I think that this

    provision should not be allowed to stay.

    If the Government awards a contract and

    it wants to implement it, it should do so

    with the particular contractor that it is

    engaging.

    Mr Speaker, I thank you.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:03 p.m.
    Hon
    Chairman, I hope you got the submission
    of the Hon Member, that we should
    insert it in the specific contract.
    Mr Afenyo-Markin — rose —
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:14 p.m.
    Let
    me hear the Hon Deputy Majority
    Leader.
    Deputy Majority Leader (Mr
    Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin):
    Mr Speaker, first of all, Hon Members
    must appreciate the fact that at
    Consideration Stage, they would have
    the liberty to deal with specific issues
    and to come up with amendments. We
    are dealing with policy issue here where

    we are allowed to make our

    contributions.

    Mr Speaker, let me first address the

    issue of the compound interest. I must

    say that I agree on all fours with the

    respected Hon Deputy Attorney-General

    who moved the Motion.

    Mr Speaker, the old law, or the law

    we seek to amend, per section 17, reads:

    This Act applies to contract

    transactions entered into on behalf of

    the republic as it applies to other

    contracts and transactions —

    — [Interruption] —

    He should let me — He knows that I am capable of making my submission, so

    he should take it easy.

    Mr Speaker, the amendment is

    seeking to create a distinction.

    Government wants to enforce a contract

    in a particular direction. A party to a

    contract is not forced to enter into a

    contract. The rule of freedom to a

    contract applies. Therefore, it is

    important to write the law in express

    terms to avoid ambiguity and to reduce

    or, perhaps, eradicate discretion. If we

    want to ensure certainty — One cardinal principle of rule of law is certainty. Ab

    initio, there must be certainty in the law

    governing the relationship. Government

    wants to ensure certainty and

    consistency, so that ab initio, one knows

    that when dealing with Government

    contracts, in the event of late payment,

    one is entitled to a simple interest and the

    judge who may be in charge of that case

    would be guided by these express

    provisions.

    Mr Speaker, perhaps, it is important

    that I come with a recent matter I dealt

    with in court. Where a client was making

    a dollar claim and the judge calculated

    the interest using the cedi rate. When it

    got to the execution stage, the issue was

    raised that once it is a dollar claim, it can

    only be a calculation based on London

    Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), and

    not the cedi interest rate. By using the

    cedi rate, it was higher.

    Mr Speaker, again, there was a

    lacuna and the judge was exercising a

    discretion, and so this is a situation

    [Interruption] Well, it could be a three-

    or six-month LIBOR plus whatever

    margin. The Hon Member knows when

    it comes to financial crime law and

    financial laws, I am as good as he is, so I

    know what I am saying. But the point

    here is that the judge found himself in a

    state where he had to exercise a

    discretion, looking at how long the claim

    has taken. In an attempt to ensure justice

    and fairness, he decided to apply 23 or 26

    per cent, and the opposing party or the

    state disagreed, arguing that it was a

    dollar transaction and that the dollar rate,

    instead of the cedi rate, should be used.

    My point is that if we had a

    fundamental law guiding how such a

    transaction is to be carried, the judge

    would have no difficulty. Like the Chief

    Justice said, she is a textualist: the text

    would guide and lead the way.

    Therefore, Mr Speaker, as a House, if

    we are guided by this policy, I think we

    better embrace it to avoid unnecessary

    ambiguity. Nonetheless, I respect the

    views expressed by my Hon Colleague,

    Mr Bernard Ahiafor — I respect his view. Suffice to say that this is a policy,

    and we cannot stand down because he

    disagrees with the policy.

    Government says that the burden on

    it when it comes to these judgement

    debts — The interest claims alone on the Road Fund [Interruption] Indeed, that

    is the question — the interest claims alone are more than the principal claims.

    When we are talking about expecting our

    judges to do the right thing, we should

    also guide them with express laws. If we

    leave them with discretion, they may end

    up doing things over the roof. So,

    Government seeks to cure this problem,

    and that is why it is coming in express

    terms by saying that we should have a

    simple interest calculation.

    Mr Speaker, Mr Benjamin Kpodo

    argues why we should not leave it to the

    individual contracts, so that when

    Government is signing a contract it states

    so that one is going to enter into the

    contract, but when there is a claim, it is

    simple interest. That is his contention.

    However, that cannot work because there

    is a subsisting law that has certain

    provisions, and if we want to do a proper

    fundamental guide, then, let us legislate

    on it. What if a certain Minister or

    authorised person fails to state the policy

    of Government. What if a Government

    comes and does not really pay attention

    to such claims and we create such lacuna

    again?

    Mr Speaker, let us, therefore, get to

    the Consideration Stage where Hon

    Members would want to come up with

    certain amendments. However,

    fundamentally, the Memorandum is well

    founded and I see nothing wrong with it.

    Mr Speaker, I so submit.

    Mr Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah

    (NDC — Ho West): Mr Speaker, I rise to contribute to this Motion and the

    Report —
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:14 p.m.
    Hon
    Deputy Majority Leader, as I said,
    pursuant to Standing Order 127, when
    we get to the Second Reading, it is the
    time that we look into the policy, so we
    have to allow Hon Members to
    contribute —
    Very well.
    Mr Afenyo-Markin 4:14 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, the
    practice has been that when we foreclose
    on Leadership, it ends the matter. That
    was the only problem, but you are not
    being limited. We thought you had
    listened to the Hon Minority Leader and
    you had come to [Interruption]. So, Mr
    Speaker, you enjoy the liberty to call
    anybody.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:14 p.m.
    Anyway, you are right.
    Yes, Hon Member for Ho West?
    Mr Bedzrah 4:14 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, having
    gone through the Report, I have my
    reservations as a contract management
    expert as well as a quantity surveyor.

    Mr Speaker, the proposed policy seeks

    to amend the Contract Law in the

    country, and one of the cardinal

    principles that the Bill seeks to amend

    has to do with the calculation of interest.

    Mr Speaker, as a quantity surveyor on

    any project, there are two issues that one

    has to consider: fluctuation, which

    calculates increases or decreases in price,

    and interest on delayed payments. Mr

    Speaker, in our calculation of

    fluctuations, we use a cumulative

    formula. We also use a formula to

    calculate interest on delayed payments.

    Now, if we limit our interest to only

    simple interest, then it means that we are

    disadvantaging the contractor who has

    gone to the bank or any financial

    institution to borrow money.

    If we can disadvantage a business

    person, who has gone to borrow money

    to perform his duty and Government says

    because it wants to regulate or control his

    financials, as the Bill seeks to do, and

    therefore, the man should suffer the

    consequences, it does not add up.

    Mr Speaker, even though we agree,

    and I personally agree that we should

    review our Contract Law, it should not

    disadvantage one person against the

    other, and so when it comes to the

    consideration, we would have to bring an

    amendment to this simple interest

    formula.

    Thank you very much for your

    audience.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:14 p.m.
    Very
    well.
    Mr George Kweku Rickets-Hagan
    (NDC — Cape Coast South): Mr Speaker, I do agree to this policy. The
    point I want to make here is that to cure
    the issue has nothing to do with this
    policy. The cure is the indiscipline that
    we have had over the years. So,
    eventually, that is what needs to be done.
    However, temporarily, we can have this
    policy to address the issue, but that
    would do so only temporarily.
    If the indiscipline does not stop, we
    would never be able to cure this. It does
    not matter what policy we have. We need
    to be able to deal with the indiscipline
    that gets us into all these problems to do
    with high contract cost, judgement debts
    and all the things that we get in the end
    [Interruption] you said the cure, but this
    is not the cure —[Interruption] All right, if that is the point the Hon Deputy
    Majority Leader is making. However,
    the eventual cure is to deal with the
    indiscipline which has gone on for many
    years and has not been addressed.
    Mr Ahiafor 4:14 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, with your
    leave, this is the Second Reading stage of
    the Bill, and we debate the principle. My
    argument is attacking the principle
    underpinning this particular Bill.
    Mr Speaker, the 1992 Constitution of
    the Republic of Ghana vested the
    Executive power in the President of the
    Republic of Ghana, but we want
    Parliament to legislate who enters into a
    contract on behalf of the Republic, when
    the Constitution vested the power in the
    President?
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:14 p.m.
    Hon
    Member, I do not get it. Explain your
    point.
    Mr Ahiafor 4:14 p.m.
    The Executive power lies
    in the hands of the President of the
    Republic of Ghana, and Mr Speaker, this
    House will legislate on a person who is
    to enter into a contract on behalf of the
    Republic, instead of the power being
    vested in the President by the
    Constitution of the Republic of Ghana?
    Mr Speaker, posterity will be the
    judge, but, at least, we would be
    vindicated that it is not proper for the
    Parliament of the Republic of Ghana to
    make a law that would regulate a
    contract entered into by Government on
    one hand, and the same law would not
    regulate a contract entered into by the
    citizens of the Republic of Ghana.
    It is not for any reason that Section 17
    of the Contract Act 1960 (Act 25) that
    the Hon Deputy Majority Leader quoted
    states that the contract applies to a
    contract entered into by the Republic of
    Ghana as well as a contract entered into
    by others. That brings uniformity. But to
    make a law that would discriminate in
    favour or against the Government on one
    hand and the generality of the public on
    the other hand — I am placing on record that at Second Reading, I, Bernard
    Ahiafor, am opposed to the passage of
    this particular law.
    Mr Speaker, I rest my case.
    Dr Forson 4:14 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, thank you for
    the opportunity to speak on this matter
    once again.
    Mr Speaker, the Hon Deputy Attorney-
    General and Minister for Justice
    informed us that the Bill has two legs:
    One leg deals with the interest where
    there would be a limitation on the
    Government entering into a contract
    where there would be no interest on
    delayed payment calculated on
    compound interest, but rather it would be
    on simple interest. I support that leg
    wholeheartedly. I support it on the basis
    of the fact that this country is spending
    so much on interest on delayed
    payments, obviously as a result of
    indiscipline. This indiscipline has been
    with us for some time.
    Mr Speaker, laws are made to regulate
    our way of life. Clearly, we have not
    been able to stop this indiscipline. It is
    only right for us to have a law that would
    compel the Government of the day and
    people engaging with the Government to
    accept that interest would be paid only
    on simple interest, but not on compound
    interest. Mr Speaker, I wholly agree with
    that one.
    Mr Speaker, the other leg that the Hon
    Member for Akatsi South raised relates
    to the fact that the Constitution vests
    certain powers in the President. I think it
    is a matter that the Attorney-General
    must respond to. This is because I
    believe that it is something we need to
    deal with. We cannot be seen making
    laws that are unconstitutional.
    Above all, Mr Speaker, I still insist that
    when we get to the Consideration Stage,
    we would need to introduce some
    exemptions where the district assemblies
    in particular would be given the
    opportunity to enter into a contract. I

    believe that is something that we need to

    do.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:14 p.m.
    Hon
    Deputy Majority Leader? I was going to
    put the question.
    Mr Afenyo-Markin 4:23 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, in
    this House, we have passed laws that
    have given independence to state
    institutions to undertake certain
    business. These are state institutions that
    the state has a 100 per cent stake in, and
    they are not the alter egos of the state in
    the performance of their functions. They
    have the right to enter into a contract, the
    right to sue and be sued, et cetera.
    That notwithstanding, my Hon
    Colleague in advancing his case against
    the principles of this law, submits rather
    forcefully that that aspect where we are
    talking about authorised persons other
    than the President and all that is against
    the Constitution - That is his contention. I would pray him to have a look at Article
    58 (3) and for this purpose, I shall quote:
    (1) The executive authority of Ghana shall vest in the President and shall
    be exercised in accordance with
    the provisions of this Constitution.
    He is right on that, but let us come
    straight to clause 3 and I quote:
    Subject to the provisions of this
    Constitution, the functions
    conferred on the President by clause
    (1) of this article may be exercised
    by him either directly or through
    officers subordinate to him.
    Mr Speaker, the matter is settled. The
    Constitution says, "by him… or through officers subordinate to him." The law
    does not even say "authorised by him" or
    the people he has delegated those
    authorities to. It says "…or officers…” We should note the disjointed effect. It
    has given the authority to the President.
    It is also talking about those authorised
    by him, and again, it is talking about
    those subordinate to him, meaning
    officers appointed by him. This is a
    straightforward matter.
    Mr Speaker, I will not belabour. My
    Hon Friend, as democratic and a good
    barrister as he is, says that this is his
    opposition. He leaves the matter to
    posterity. I have left many matters to
    posterity and posterity corrected the
    matters, so it is okay. We end it there.
    Thank you.
    Question put and Motion agreed to.
    The Contracts (Amendment) Bill,
    2022 accordingly read a Second time.
    Mr Afenyo-Markin 4:23 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, if
    you would be pleased, we would move to
    item 14.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:23 p.m.
    Hon
    Members, we would move to item 14.
    Mr Agbodza 4:23 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, you always
    encourage Leadership to help you
    manage the House. This morning, the
    Bill we just concluded and the one we are
    about to take were never discussed. In
    fact, the first time I saw this —
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:23 p.m.
    Hon
    Minority Chief Whip —
    Hon Deputy Majority Leader, he has
    not come to you. I am in control. Allow
    me to respond to him.
    Hon Minority Chief Whip, the issue
    was raised. We have addressed it. We
    have actually put one of them, which
    according to your Leader is so sensitive,
    on hold. For these two, your Leader has
    given the green light that we could go
    ahead. That is why we are doing that.
    Mr Agbodza 4:23 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I will take
    the point you have made, but let it be
    known that the Hon Deputy Majority
    Leader was not at Conclave. He missed
    Conclave, so if he made an application
    after Conclave and it was accepted, he
    should let the world know that he was not
    part of the decision as to what we should
    be doing on the Floor today. He came
    later and he is trying to alter — that is the whole point I am trying to make. He
    should make it a point to be at Conclave
    so that he will table all these Businesses
    at the start of the — He should not come later and make an application to you to
    alter the order of the Business.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:23 p.m.
    Very
    well. Hon Deputy Majority Leader, you
    should make it a point to be attending
    Conclave meetings.
    Mr Afenyo-Markin 4:23 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, this
    is a House of records. This morning, I
    was engaged in some other
    parliamentary work. He is right; I was
    unavoidably absent at Conclave.
    However, I have not made an application
    to you in respect of the various items that
    are to be taken, and I will also urge him
    to remain in the Chamber. If he had been
    here, or even when he was not here, if he
    had followed proceedings, he would
    have known that his boss has already
    indicated what their Side wants to do. He
    clearly said nobody made an application.
    He said he wants us to do items 13 and
    14 and place the other matters on ice. He
    did not consult. He just came in, got up
    and he is saying all these things. Well, I
    leave it to posterity.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:33 p.m.
    Very
    well. It is part of the game. We have to
    take things lightly. Hon Minority Chief
    Whip, we have gone past that so please
    allow us to take item 14. Please, there is
    nothing to withdraw.
    Hon Deputy Attorney-General and
    Minister for Justice, you may do us the
    honours with item 14.
    BILLS — SECOND READING
    Whistleblower (Amendment) Bill,
    2023
    Deputy Attorney-General and
    Minister for Justice (Ms Diana
    Asonaba Dapaah) on behalf of the
    Attorney-General and Minister for
    Justice: Mr Speaker, I beg to move that
    the Whistleblower (Amendment) Bill,
    2023 be now read a Second time.
    Mr Speaker and Hon Members of
    Parliament, the purpose of the
    Whistleblower (Amendment) Bill, 2023
    is to amend the present Whistleblower
    Act, 2006 (Act 720) to expand the
    sources of money for the Whistleblower
    Reward Fund, to provide a ceiling for the

    Fund and to specify the mode of

    rewarding a whistleblower

    Mr Speaker, the Whistleblower Act,

    2006 (Act 720) is the existing legislation

    that governs the disclosure of

    information by whistleblowers in respect

    of corrupt practices and other unlawful

    conduct and provides for the reward of

    whistleblowers and their protection

    against victimisation.

    Mr Speaker, Act 720 was enacted to

    encourage individuals to disclose an

    impropriety that has been committed, is

    about to be committed or is likely to be

    committed by an employee, an employer

    or an institution in order to protect the

    public interest. An activity or conduct

    that amounts to an impropriety as spelt

    out in Act 720 includes the commission

    or likelihood of the commission of an

    economic crime, and the miscarriage of

    justice or likelihood of the miscarriage of

    justice. Other activities or conduct which

    constitute impropriety under the Act

    include wastage, misappropriation or

    mismanagement of public resources in a

    public institution or the likelihood of the

    occurrence of any of these, and

    endangering the health or safety of an

    individual or community or the

    likelihood of the occurrence of any of

    these.

    Mr Speaker, one of the ways to

    encourage "whistleblowing" is to

    promptly provide monetary rewards to

    whistleblowers who make disclosures in

    the public interest. Thus, Act 720

    provides for the establishment of the

    Whistleblower Reward Fund to provide

    funds for the payment of monetary

    rewards to whistleblowers who make

    disclosures in the public interest.

    Currently, however, the sources of

    moneys for the Fund comprise voluntary

    contributions to the Fund and other

    moneys allocated to the Fund by

    Parliament. Sixteen years after the

    enactment of Act 720, the Fund has not

    been operationalised due to the absence

    of a dedicated source of money for the

    Fund leading to a derailment of the full

    implementation of the Act. Therefore,

    the object of the Bill is to amend the

    Whistleblower Act, 2006 (Act 720) to

    expand the sources of money for the

    Fund, provide a ceiling for the Fund and

    specify the mode of rewarding a

    whistleblower.

    Mr Speaker, in respect of the sources

    of money for the Fund, the Bill seeks to

    expand the sources to include 30 per cent

    of any amount recovered as a result of

    the disclosure of a whistleblower. The

    inclusion of this source of money will

    serve as a dedicated source of money for

    the Fund without earmarking budgetary

    revenue for that purpose.

    Mr Speaker, to ensure that the Fund

    does not accumulate excess money to the

    detriment of budgetary revenue, the Bill

    provides a ceiling of fifty million Ghana

    cedis for the Fund. Any money in excess

    of fifty million Ghana cedis is required

    to be paid into the Consolidated Fund

    further to consultation between the Hon

    Minister responsible for Finance and the

    Hon Attorney-General and Minister for

    Justice. This recommended consultation

    with the Attorney-General and Hon

    Minister for Justice is to ensure that the

    Hon Attorney-General and Minister for

    Justice ascertains that there are no

    monetary rewards due for payment

    before the excess money is paid into the

    Consolidated Fund.

    Mr Speaker, to enhance transparency,

    the Bill further provides that a

    whistleblower who makes a successful

    collaborative disclosure in other areas

    that do not directly lead to the recovery

    of money is promptly rewarded with an

    amount of money that the Hon Minister

    for Finance, in consultation with the Hon

    Attorney-General and Minister for

    Justice may determine.

    Mr Speaker, another measure provided

    for in the Bill is to ensure that the moneys

    that are required for payment of reward

    to whistleblowers are not locked up in

    long-term investments and can only be

    invested in a short-term market

    instrument.

    Mr Speaker, accordingly, I respectfully

    pray and move that the House assists in

    maintaining the objective of the Bill by

    facilitating its passage. I so move.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:33 p.m.
    Thank
    you very much.
    Hon Chairman of the Committee, you
    may second the Motion and present the
    Committee's Report.
    Chairman of the Committee (Mr
    Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi): Mr
    Speaker, I beg to second the Motion and
    in so doing, present your Committee's Report.
    1.0 Introduction
    1.1 The Whistleblower (Amendment) Bill
    2023 was laid in Parliament on 7th
    March, 2023 by Hon Attorney-
    General, and Minister for Justice and
    Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame, pursuant
    to Article 106 (1) of the 1992
    Constitution.
    1.2 The Bill was subsequently referred
    by the Rt Hon Speaker to the
    Committee on Constitutional,
    Legal and Parliamentary Affairs
    for consideration and report
    pursuant to article 106 (4) of the
    1992 Constitution and Order 179
    of the Standing Orders of
    Parliament.
    2.0 Deliberations
    2.1 The Committee met on 29th May,
    2023 and considered the
    Whistleblower (Amendment) Bill,
    2023. In attendance at the meeting
    to assist the Committee in its
    deliberations were Justice Dennis
    Adjei (Justice of the Court of
    Appeal), Hon Diana Asonaba
    Dapaah (Deputy Attorney-General
    and Minister of Justice), and
    officials from the Office of the
    Attorney-General's Department.
    2.2 The Committee is grateful to all the
    participants for their invaluable
    contributions.
    3.0 Reference Documents
    The Committee referred to the
    following documents during its
    deliberations:

    i. The 1992 Constitution of the

    Republic of Ghana;

    ii. The Standing Orders of

    Parliament; and

    iii. The Whistleblower Act, 2006 (Act

    720).

    4.0 Background and Justification for

    the Bill

    4.1 The Whistleblower Act, 2006 (Act

    720) was passed in 2006 as part of

    efforts at creating incentives and

    the proper structures to strengthen

    Ghana's ability to combat

    corruption and other forms of

    unlawful conduct that negatively

    affect sustainable development

    efforts.

    4.2 Section 20 of Act 720 established

    the Whistleblower Reward Fund

    with its main sources of funding

    being voluntary contributions and

    budgetary allocations by

    Parliament.

    4.3 The possibility of delay in the

    release of the approved budget into

    the Fund may affect the prompt

    payment of rewards to

    whistleblowers.

    4.4 In addition, Act 720 is silent on the

    period within which the

    Whistleblower should be rewarded

    for the efforts leading to a

    successful recovery of moneys or

    proceeds obtained from the sale of

    confiscated assets.

    4.5 The amendments proposed are

    therefore meant to cure the

    shortcomings in Act 720 by

    reducing overreliance on

    budgetary allocations as the main

    sources of revenue into the

    Whistleblower Reward Fund, and

    to also provide timelines for

    payment of the rewards to

    successful whistleblowers.

    5.0 Object of the Bill

    5.1 The object of the Bill is to amend

    the Whistleblower Act, 2006 (Act

    720) to expand the sources of

    money for the Fund, to provide a

    ceiling for the Fund and to specify

    the mode of rewards for

    whistleblowers.

    6.0 Highlights of the Bill

    6.1 Clause 1 of the Bill introduces a

    new clause to provide for the

    utilisation of moneys recovered or

    proceeds obtained from the sale of

    a confiscated asset as a result of the

    disclosure by a whistleblower.

    Twenty per cent of the moneys

    recovered or proceeds obtained

    from the sale of a confiscated asset

    is to be paid into the Fund while

    the remaining 80 per cent is to be

    paid into the Consolidated Fund.

    6.2 Clause 2 amends section 21 of the

    Act to expand the sources of

    money of the Fund to include 20

    per cent of any amount of money

    recovered as a result of the

    disclosure by a whistleblower.

    6.3 Clause 3 amends section 24 of the

    Act to specify the mode of

    rewarding a whistleblower. Where

    a whistleblower makes a

    disclosure and the disclosure

    results in the recovery of an

    amount of money that is paid into

    the Fund, the whistleblower is

    entitled to, within 14 days after the

    payment of the money into the

    Fund, a reward of 10 per cent of

    the money that is recovered and

    paid into the Fund." Where the

    disclosure of the whistleblower

    results in a successful

    collaboration other than a direct

    recovery of money, the

    whistleblower is entitled to, within

    thirty days after the successful

    collaboration, a reward of an

    amount of money that is paid out

    of the Fund.

    Furthermore, where there is

    insufficient money in the Fund for

    payment of a monetary reward to a

    whistleblower, the Minister responsible

    for Finance is required to pay the

    difference between the money available

    in the Fund and the amount of money

    required to be paid to the whistleblower,

    out of the Consolidated Fund and within

    the period indicated.

    6.4 Clause 4 amends section 26 of the

    Act by introducing new provisions

    in respect of the management of

    the Fund. The clause provides that

    where the amount of money in the

    Fund is in excess of fifty million

    Ghana cedis, the Minister

    responsible for Finance is required

    to, in consultation with the

    Attorney-General, transfer the

    excess money into the

    Consolidated Fund.

    6.5 Additionally, moneys in the Fund

    are required to be invested only in

    safe short-term market

    instruments.

    7.0 Observations

    7.1 Whistleblower protection

    The committee stressed the critical

    need for the protection of the identity of

    whistleblowers in order not to expose

    them to unnecessary recrimination by

    powerful and influential persons in

    society. Instituting strong whistleblower

    protection mechanisms is essential to

    safeguarding the safety of

    whistleblowers, encourage citizens to

    report wrongdoings, and promote a

    culture of public accountability and

    integrity. The Committee, therefore,

    urges persons to whom or institutions to

    which disclosure of impropriety is made

    pursuant to Section 3 of Act 720, to

    observe the highest form of

    confidentiality and put in place stringent

    protective measures to protect the

    identity of the whistleblowers

    7.2 Prompt Payment of Rewards to

    Whistleblowers:

    It was noted that one of the

    main reasons for this proposed

    amendment to Act 720 is to

    provide reliable and

    sustainable sources of funding

    into the Fund. The intent is to

    avoid any form of

    demotivation arising out of

    delays in the payment of

    rewards to whistleblowers. The

    Committee, therefore, urges

    the Minister responsible for

    Justice and the Attorney-

    General to deepen the

    collaboration with the Minister

    responsible for Finance for

    timely releases of the amount

    due the Fund following the

    successful recovery of moneys

    or proceeds obtained from the

    sales of the confiscated assets

    as a result of disclosure by

    whistleblowers.

    8.0 Proposed Amendments

    i. Clause 2 - Amendment proposed Section 21 of Act 720 amended

    Delete paragraph (d) and insert a

    new paragraph (d) as follows: "(d)

    moneys allocated by Parliament to

    the Fund".

    ii. Clause 3- Amendment proposed Section 24 of Act 720 amended

    Subclause (2), ending paragraph

    add the following "to be determined

    by the Minister responsible for

    Finance in consultation with the

    Attorney-General" after "Fund".

    iii. Clause 3 - Amendment proposed

    Section 24 of Act 720 amended Insert

    new subclause (4) as follows:

    "(4) Subject to the State

    Proceedings Act, 1998 (Act

    555), a whistleblower who is

    not paid contrary to

    subsections (1) and (2), may

    make an application to the

    court for the necessary orders.

    9.0 Conclusion

    9.1 The motivation of persons to

    expose wrongdoing in both private

    and public sectors is a major drive

    towards fighting fraud, corruption

    and unethical behaviour. As a

    result, the State should continually

    review its policies and legal

    frameworks geared towards

    incentivising and protecting

    patriotic persons who volunteer

    information on wrongdoings in the

    country.

    9.2 The Committee, therefore, finds

    the proposed amendment relevant

    in strengthening national efforts at

    combating corruption. The

    Committee accordingly

    recommends to the House to adopt

    its report and pass into law, the

    Whistleblower (Amendment) Bill

    2023 in accordance with article

    106 of the 1992 Constitution.

    Respectfully submitted.

    Question proposed.

    Ranking Member of the Committee

    (Mr Bernard Ahiafor): Mr Speaker,

    thank you very much for the opportunity

    to contribute to the item numbered 14 on

    today's Order Paper, that the Whistleblower (Amendment) Bill, 2023,

    be now read a Second time.

    Mr Speaker, the principle

    underpinning this particular Bill is very

    clear and I support the Bill,

    wholeheartedly. The significance of

    whistleblowers in combatting

    corruption, corruption-related offences,

    as well as other unlawful and criminal

    conduct cannot be overemphasised.

    However, whistleblowers can only be

    motivated if what is due them is released

    to them on time.

    Mr Speaker, it is established that

    releases of even what Parliament has

    allocated to the Fund under section 20 of

    the Whistleblowers Act, 2006 is a

    problem. So, the country is not reaping

    the benefit of making the

    Whistleblowers Act. Therefore, any

    amendment which seeks to expand the

    Fund to make more money available for

    rewarding whistleblowers is laudable

    and would have to be supported. Any

    amendment that would lead to a timely

    release and payment of the reward of

    whistleblowers is laudable.

    Mr Speaker, for this reason, I support

    the passage of the Bill into law, and

    believe that when the Bill is passed into

    law and the fund is expanded and we

    ensure a timely release and payment of

    the reward to whistleblowers, it would

    go a long way to help this country to

    combat corruption, recover a lot from the

    proceeds of corruption and clamp down

    on other unlawful and criminal activities

    in the country.

    Mr Speaker, I support the Second

    Reading of the Bill.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:33 p.m.
    Thank
    you very much.
    Yes, Mr Bedzrah?
    Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah (NDC — Ho West): Mr Speaker, thank you.
    Mr Speaker, I stand to support the
    Motion and urge my Hon Colleagues to
    also support it.
    Mr Speaker, I speak on behalf of the
    African Parliamentarian's Network
    Against Corruption (APNAC).
    Mr Speaker, at the beginning of this
    year, APNAC met with some
    stakeholders in the anti-corruption space
    and one of the things that we discussed,
    especially, with the Commission on
    Human Rights and Administrative
    Justice (CHRAJ), the Office of the
    Special Prosecutor, as well as the Civil
    Society Organisations (CSO) involved in
    the anti-corruption space, was the fact
    that we could amend the Whistleblowers
    Act, 2006 because it has has outlived its
    usefulness. I am particularly happy that
    this amendment has come to the Floor
    for us to amend it. Why am I happy?
    Mr Speaker, over the years, if we look
    at whistleblowers, people who come out
    to give out information, the majority of
    them have not been adequately satisfied
    by the State. So, people are reluctant to
    give out information about corrupt
    practices and graft in some
    establishments. Therefore, if we have a
    legislation. amending the previous
    legislation, that would give support to
    whistleblowers.
    Mr Speaker, I beg to quote paragraph
    6.3 on page 4 of your Report. It reads:
    The whistleblower is entitled to
    within 14 days after the payment of
    the money into the Fund, a reward
    of 10 per cent of the money that is
    recovered and paid into the Fund.

    Mr Speaker, this clearly shows that

    there is going to be a law that would give

    specific direction to the Government that

    when moneys are retrieved from graft, at

    least, some percentage would be given to

    the whistleblower. This would give

    support to as many people who have

    information to give out, which would

    also lead to the fact that the majority of

    people who have information would be

    bold enough, knowing that there would

    be compensation for whatever they have

    given out.

    Mr Speaker, I therefore,

    wholeheartedly, support this amendment

    and urge my Hon Colleagues to also

    support it. On behalf of the APNAC, I

    support it.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:33 p.m.
    Thank
    you very much.
    Hon Member, yes, the last one.
    Minority Leader (Dr Cassiel Ato
    Baah Forson): Mr Speaker, thank you.
    Mr Speaker, I think this is an
    amendment in the right direction. I say
    this because, yes, there is a need for us to
    encourage whistleblowers to continue
    the path they are charting.
    Mr Speaker, oftentimes, there have
    been complaints that people who engage
    in whistleblowing, a very risky
    enterprise, are not rewarded adequately,
    and sometimes, the releases do not come
    on time. That is why I am of the view that
    the Bill has come at the right time.
    Suffice to say that aside that, there is the
    need for us to ensure that a percentage of
    those recoveries is set aside promptly,
    and released promptly.
    Mr Speaker, if you are to allow the
    Ministry of Finance, in particular, to
    keep this in the bigger Consolidated
    Fund, it is often very difficult because of
    the fungibility of money for them to
    make money available on time, to
    finance the activities of whistleblowers.
    Mr Speaker, I am also of the view that
    there is a need for us to go a little bit
    further by exempting the amount that we
    are giving to whistleblowers for payment
    of taxes. So, when we get to the
    Consideration Stage, I would introduce
    an amendment where I believe that we
    should exempt the proceeds going to
    whistleblowers from the payment of
    taxes.
    Mr Speaker, this is something we
    should encourage. It should be
    something worthwhile, so that people
    would be encouraged to do what others
    see to be a very risky venture. I believe it
    is something we should encourage as a
    country, so that we could recover some
    of the amount of money we are losing at
    a very large scale.
    Mr Bernard Ahiafor (NDC — Akatsi South) 4:43 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, thank you
    very much for giving me the opportunity.
    Mr Speaker, the atmosphere in the
    country regarding parliamentary
    proceedings cannot be undermined.

    We are going to take a decision based

    on the Second Reading. I strongly

    suggest that we do not do anything that

    would be a subject matter of litigation

    tomorrow before the Supreme Court. My

    suggestion, based on the principle

    enshrined in the case of Justice Abdulai

    is that, looking at the House, we do not

    have the number to take a decision

    because whatever we do here will be

    challenged out there. That was what I

    stood to remind you about when you

    were putting the Question on the first leg

    that we have just done.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:43 p.m.
    So, Hon
    Member, would you say same to the
    Committee of the Whole Report?
    Mr Agbodza 4:43 p.m.
    It would depend on the
    mood of the House when we get there.
    He has made an application so, we are
    waiting for your —
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:43 p.m.
    Hon
    Members, I will suspend the House for
    30 minutes.
    Mr Agbodza — rose —
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:43 p.m.
    Hon
    Member, have you abandoned your
    position? If he has not abandoned it, then
    —
    Mr Agbodza 4:43 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, he just
    signalled to me that he has reluctantly
    abandoned it, so, we can make progress.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:43 p.m.
    Very
    well.
    Question put and Motion agreed to.
    The Whistleblower (Amendment) Bill,
    2023 accordingly read a Second time.
    Mr Annoh-Dompreh 4:43 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,
    may I seek your leave for us to take the
    item numbered 9? I would like to take it
    instead of the Hon Chairman of the
    Committee of the Whole.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:43 p.m.
    Hon
    Member, who is taking it? Very well. Go
    Mr Annoh-Dompreh 4:43 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,
    may I seek your leave to take the item
    numbered 8(c), which is advertised in
    your name as the Hon Chairman of the
    Committee of the Whole?
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:43 p.m.
    Very
    well. Leave granted. You may go ahead.
    PAPERS 4:43 p.m.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:43 p.m.
    We will
    now move to the Motion numbered 9.
    MOTIONS 4:43 p.m.
    Chairman of the Committee 4:43 p.m.
    Mr
    Speaker, I beg to move:

    That notwithstanding the provisions of

    Standing Order 80(1) which require that

    no motion shall be debated until at least

    forty-eight hours have elapsed between

    the date on which notice of the motion is

    given and the date on which the motion

    is moved, the motion for the adoption of

    the Report of the Committee of the

    Whole on the Proposed Formula for the

    Distribution of the Ghana Education

    Trust Fund (GETFund) for the Year

    2023 may be moved today.

    Minority Leader (Dr Cassiel Ato

    Baah Forson): Mr Speaker, I beg to

    second the Motion.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:43 p.m.
    Hon
    Members, this is a procedural Motion.
    Question put and Motion agreed to.
    Resolved accordingly.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:43 p.m.
    We will
    now move to the item numbered 10, the
    substantive Motion.
    Proposed Formula for the
    Distribution of GETFund, 2023
    Majority Chief Whip (Mr Frank
    Annoh-Dompreh) on behalf of the
    Chairman of the Committee 4:43 p.m.
    Mr
    Speaker, I beg to move:
    That this honourable House adopts the
    Report of the Committee of the Whole
    on the Proposed Formula for the
    Distribution of the Ghana Education
    Trust Fund (GETFund) for the Year
    2023.
    Mr Speaker, in so doing, I present your
    Committee's Report:
    1.0 Introduction
    Pursuant to section 8(2) of the Ghana
    Education Trust Fund Act, 2000, (Act
    581), the proposed formula for the
    distribution of moneys expected to
    accrue to the Ghana Education Trust
    Fund (GETFund) for the year 2023 was
    presented to Parliament on Friday, 17th
    March, 2023, by the Hon Majority
    Leader and Minister for Parliamentary
    Affairs, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu.
    The proposed formula was,
    subsequently, referred to the Committee
    of the Whole for consideration and
    report. The Committee met on
    Wednesday, 14th June, 2023, and
    considered the referral.
    The Committee expresses its
    appreciation to the Hon Minister for
    Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, the
    Administrator of the Fund, Dr Richard
    Boadu, and officials of the GETFund for
    attending upon the Committee.
    2.0 Reference Documents
    The Committee, in preparing its
    Report, availed itself of the following
    documents:
    i. The Standing Orders of the House;
    ii. The Ghana Education Trust Fund Act, 2000 (Act 581);
    iii. Earmarked Funds Capping and Realignment Act, 2017 (Act 947);

    iv. The Ghana Education Trust Fund (Amendment) Act, 2018 (Act

    972);

    v. The Proposed Formula for the Distribution of the GETFund for

    the year 2022; and

    vi. The Proposed Formula for the Distribution of the GETFund for

    the year 2023.

    3.0 Background

    Section 8(2) of Act 581 provides that:

    (1) There shall be established by the Board within the Fund accounts in

    respect of the following:

    a. Tertiary education.

    b. Second-cycle education.

    c. Basic education.

    d. Investment.

    e. Other related aspects of education such as distance education, school

    and public libraries and special

    education.

    (2) The Board shall submit annually to

    Parliament for approval, a formula

    for the distribution of monies to

    the various accounts under

    subsection (1).

    This is to design and submit proposals

    allocating Funds to the sub-sectors,

    agencies and institutions within the

    public education sector through the

    mechanism of a distribution formula for

    consideration and approval by

    Parliament.

    The law further stipulates that some

    crucial factors related to education

    delivery and development are taken into

    account in the process of preparing this

    Formula. These relevant factors are:

    • Promotion of the study of Mathematics, Science and Technology;

    • Advancement of female education;

    • Reduction in the high level of illiteracy in historically disadvantaged areas;

    • Promotion of Computer, Vocational/Technical Education and

    Training; and

    • Equitable allocation of funds to the districts at the pre-tertiary level of

    education.

    All of these sub-sectors, together with

    the related critical factors, received

    consideration and attention in the

    process of designing this Formula. In this

    regard, therefore, the structure of

    spending has been calibrated to support

    and achieve the following:

    • Expansion of access;

    • Improvement of quality; and

    • Closing of those social and spatial gaps that tend to generate

    inequities in the education sector,

    especially at the pre-tertiary level

    and, also in deprived and hard-to-

    reach communities.

    Funding allocations are made based on

    the Government's Annual Budget Statement and Economic Policy

    approved by Parliament for each fiscal

    year. This allocation is made in

    accordance with the GETFund Act, 2000

    (Act 581) as amended by Act 972, and

    the Earmarked Funds Capping and

    Realignment Act, 2017 (Act 947).

    4.0 Performance for 2022

    4.1 Allocation for 2022

    The Committee was informed that for

    the 2022 fiscal year, a total amount of

    two billion, six hundred million, eight

    hundred and two thousand, two hundred

    and seventy-five Ghana cedis

    (GH₵2,600,802,275) was allocated to the GETFund for the following

    programme of activities.

    Table 1: Activity allocation for 2022

    Item Amount (GH₵'000)

    1 Debt Services 1,017,743

    2 Shortfall recovery 23,724

    3 Tertiary Education 546,000

    4 Second Cycle Education 496,592

    5 Basic Education 325,800

    6 Others 151,069

    7 Members of Parliament 39,875

    TOTAL 2,600, 802

    Out of this amount approved by

    Parliament, the actual amount released

    (accrued) was one billion, nine hundred

    and eighty-one million, one hundred and

    twelve thousand Ghana cedis

    (GH₵1,981,112,000), giving a shortfall of six hundred and nineteen million, six

    hundred and ninety thousand Ghana

    cedis (GH₵619,690,000).

    4.2 Revenues for 2022

    The Committee observed that the Fund

    has two main sources of revenue. These

    are:

    i. Budgetary Allocation for the year; and

    ii. Proceeds from Daakye Bond.

    During the year under review, a

    total amount of one billion, one

    hundred million Ghana cedis

    (GH₵1,100,000,000) was projected to accrue from the Daakye Bond.

    However, GH₵914 million was released. Thus, total inflows for the

    year 2022 amounted to GH₵2,728 billion. This is made up of:

    i. Amount received from budgetary allocation GH₵1,814,476,383.30

    ii. Amount received from Daakye Bond proceeds

    GH₵913,663,971.70

    4.3 Programmes and Projects

    Undertaken in 2022

    For the year 2022, GETFund

    undertook a number of projects. Some of

    the projects and programmes, which are

    at various stages of completion, include:

    • Construction and completion of academic facilities in the various

    public tertiary institutions;

    • Construction and rehabilitation of dormitories, classrooms, dining

    halls and other facilities at various

    senior high schools;

    • Supply of classroom furniture as well as beds and mattresses to

    various schools; and

    • Sponsorship of students to pursue various programmes both locally

    and abroad.

    4.4 Scholarships

    For the year 2022, the following

    scholarships were awarded to eligible

    applicants to pursue their studies in

    various institutions locally. No

    scholarships were awarded for students

    to study abroad due to budgetary

    constraints. Table 2 shows the

    scholarships awarded in 2022.

    Table 2: Scholarships Awarded in 2022

    Programme Category Local Foreign Total

    Doctorate 239 239

    Masters 1,262 1,262

    Undergraduate 1,337 1,337

    Others 105 105

    Total 2,704 2,704

    5.0 Allocation for 2023

    For the fiscal year 2023, an amount of one billion, eight hundred and sixty-nine

    million, five hundred and sixty-three thousand, two hundred and eighty-one Ghana cedis

    (GH₵1,869,563,281) was allocated to the Fund, a reduction of over 28 per cent compared to that of 2022.

    5.1 Sub-Sectoral Allocation

    5.1.1 Tertiary

    For the period under review, the tertiary sub-sector has been allocated 7.84 per cent

    (GH₵170 million) of total expected inflow from the national budget for 2023 to support a range of activities and interventions.

    5.1.2 Secondary Education

    For the year 2023, this sub-sector has also been allocated 28.44 per cent (GH₵617 million) of total spending from the budget.

    5.1.3 Basic Education

    A total allocation of GH₵88.5 million (4.08 per cent) has been made for funding various projects and programmes in basic education mostly for the procurement of basic

    education textbooks.

    5.1.4 Others

    A total of GH₵97.54 million (4.5 per cent) has also been allocated to the Ministry of Education and institutions and agencies within the education sector. This includes

    allocations for GETFund operations, Youth Employment Agency, and the Scholarship

    Secretariat.

    5.1.5 MP's Emergency Projects and Monitoring

    It is proposed that Hon Members of Parliament will receive support from the Fund to

    enable them undertake projects in their constituencies and, also, monitor projects in their

    various constituencies. For this year, an amount of thirty-one million, six hundred and

    twenty-five thousand Ghana cedis (GH₵31,625,000), representing 1.46 per cent of total spending, has been allocated for that purpose.

    6.0 Observations

    6.1 Abandoned Projects

    The Committee observed that in 2022, the Fund put in place a three-year project aimed

    at completing all of its abandoned projects. As of 31st December, 2022, a total of 2,405

    projects had been completed during the period under review. These projects were

    financed mainly from the disbursements of the bond proceeds and the enhanced

    monitoring activities undertaken. Details of the completed projects are detailed in Table

    3 below:

    Table 3: Completed Projects as at 31st December, 2022

    SUB SECTOR PRE 2017 2017 TO DATE TOTAL

    Tertiary 159 0 159

    Second Cycle 535 519 1,054

    E-Blocks 22 14 36

    Model Schools - 2 2

    TVET Centres - 2 2

    Basic 729 423 1,152

    Total 1,344 913 2,405

    The Committee commends the Fund

    and urges it to take steps to complete all

    outstanding projects.

    6.2 Current Status of the Fund's Bonds after the DDEP

    The Committee was informed that out

    of a total amount of

    GH₵2,622,531,961.00 being the total bonds in the register, a total amount of

    GH₵1,358,016,281.00 has been exchanged leaving total outstanding

    bonds of GH₵1,264,515,680.00. The Fund informed the Committee that the

    remaining bonds outstanding are

    expected to be exchanged within the

    shortest possible time.

    The Committee was, however,

    informed that the ambitious goal of

    completing abandoned projects,

    therefore, cannot be achieved within the

    three-year time frame. Cost escalation,

    as a result of rapid increase in prices due

    to the depreciation of the cedi against the

    major foreign currencies, coupled with

    high interest rates, continue to impact

    negatively on project costs. The Board

    will, however, continue to allocate funds

    towards completion of these projects.

    6.3 Pending Committed Projects

    The Committee was informed that the

    Fund has a total amount of

    GH₵619,690,000 being the sum required for pending projects to which

    contract was either awarded or

    committed. Marked and attached as

    Appendix 1 is the breakdown of the 2022

    pending commitments.

    The Fund informed the Committee that

    insufficient funding is adversely

    affecting its efforts to complete its

    programmes and projects across the

    country. The Fund, therefore, requested

    Parliament to urge the Ministry of

    Finance to make more resources

    available to the Fund to complete its

    programmes and projects.

    6.4 Debt Service Account

    The Committee observed that a total

    amount of GH₵545,202,000 was

    allocated for the servicing of the Daakye

    Bonds issued by the Fund for 2023.

    The Committee noted that as part of the

    Debt Restructuring Programme, as

    agreed with the IMF, the Daakye Bonds

    has now been classified as a public debt

    and now forms part of the Government

    of Ghana debts. As a result, the

    GETFund is no longer responsible for

    the service of the debt and, therefore,

    ought not to be a part of activities for the

    Fund for 2023.

    6.5 No Allocation to Key

    Programmes of the Fund

    The Committee observed that there

    were no allocations made to a number of

    programmes and activities of the Fund

    for the year 2023. Projects such as

    completion of on-going tertiary projects,

    completion of on-going SHS projects,

    new SHS targeted and emergency

    projects, completion of community day

    SHS, rehabilitation of dilapidated

    structures, among others had no

    allocation.

    The Committee raised concern about

    the lack of allocation to these

    programmes and projects and urged the

    Fund, as a matter of urgency, to make the

    necessary allocation for them.

    6.6 Recovery of Shortfall for 2022

    The Committee observed that under

    the proposed distribution formula, a total

    amount of GH₵619,690,000.00 has been earmarked as recovery of 2022 shortfall.

    The Fund explained that this amount is in

    respect of 2022 arrears, which, when

    released, would be used to clear all

    outstanding commitments.

    6.7 Digitalisation of Teaching and

    Learning Systems

    The Committee observed that a total

    amount of GH₵550 million was provided under the distribution formula

    for 2023 for the digitalisation of teaching

    and learning systems for SHS and

    Technical and Vocational Education and

    Training (TVET) students.

    The Fund informed the Committee that

    this entails the provision of tablets fully

    loaded with all recommended e-

    textbooks, the full syllabus, past

    questions and examiner reports as well as

    other teaching aids. The goal of the

    programme is intentioned to reduce the

    cost of procuring textbooks and to

    prepare students for the ICT-driven

    world. The tablets are cloud-based,

    making it easy for updates to be effected

    and come with solar packs to enable easy

    charging irrespective of location.

    6.8 Allocation to Members of

    Parliament for Monitoring and

    Emergency Projects

    The Committee observed that a total

    amount of GH₵31,625,000.00 was allocated to Hon Members of Parliament

    for monitoring and emergency projects.

    The Committee further observed that this

    amount is woefully inadequate as it even

    falls short of the allocation for 2022

    which amounted to GH₵39,875,000.00.

    The Committee urged the Fund to

    make more allocation to the Members of

    Parliament to enable them effectively

    undertake the monitoring and emergency

    projects.

    6.8 Funding Gap

    The Committee observed that for the

    year 2023, a total amount of

    GH₵1,869,563,000 was allocated to the Fund in the 2023 Budget Statement

    presented to the House and approved by

    Parliament. The Committee further

    noted that the total cost of the

    programmes and activities contained in

    the proposed distribution formula

    amounts to GH₵2,169,563,000, leaving a short fall of GH₵300,000,000.00.

    The Fund informed the Committee that

    it engaged the Ministry of Finance over

    the issue and that the Fund has been

    assured that an amount of

    GH₵300,000,000.00 would be provided to the Fund to meet the gap.

    7.0 Recommendation

    After carefully considering the

    Proposed Distribution Formula for the

    2022 fiscal year, the Committee

    recommends that the allocation provided

    for the Debt Service Account, amounting

    to GH₵545,202,000.00, be taken out as same has already been included in the

    public debt of the country under the Debt

    Restructuring Programme.

    The Committee, with the Fund, has

    accordingly revised the Distribution

    Formula for the year 2023. Attached as

    Appendix 2 is a copy of the revised

    Distribution Formula for the year 2023.

    8.0 Conclusion

    The Committee, having carefully

    examined the distributed formula of

    expected inflows into the Fund for 2023,

    notes that the formula takes into account

    the promotion of TVETs, completion of

    SHS projects, provision of basic schools,

    promotion of computer studies and

    technical education, among others.

    The Committee, accordingly,

    recommends to the House to adopt its

    Report and approve the Proposed

    Formula for the Distribution of

    GETFund for 2023 in respect of the

    amount of GH₵1,869,563,000.00 as amended.

    Respectfully submitted.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:53 p.m.
    Hon
    Majority Chief Whip, thank you very
    much.
    Hon Members, the Motion has been
    moved.
    Minority Leader (Dr Cassiel Ato
    Baah Forson): Mr Speaker, I beg to
    second the Motion, and in doing so, I
    wish to place on record that inasmuch as
    the Committee recommended that this
    House approves the Formula before us, I
    have not found one critical point that was
    discussed in the Report. It has to do with
    the fact that Hon Members expressed the
    need for Government to present to this
    House a policy on Government's distribution of laptops to be used as a
    replacement for textbooks.
    Mr Speaker, this is particularly
    important because Hon Members would
    need to, at least, apprise themselves with
    Government's drive as to the replacement of textbooks. Most
    particularly, it is not every school that
    would have access to electricity, and
    what exactly is Government trying to do
    to cushion those areas as well?
    Mr Speaker, we were told that those
    laptops would cost approximately
    GH₵1.5 billion.

    Now, the Formula is allocating

    GH₵740 million; that is what we have here in the Report. GH₵740 million has been allocated for the Special SHS

    TVET Digitisation Innovation

    Programmes.

    Mr Speaker, at the Committee of the

    Whole, my argument was for us to ring-

    fence it while we ensure that the

    Government presents to us a policy on

    this matter for us to understand the

    procurement processes, the cost per unit

    and all of that. The Report did not

    capture that so it is important for me to

    state that in the coming days, it is

    important for the Hon Minister for

    Education to bring that policy before us

    for us to understand the processes that

    they went through in taking this.

    Mr Speaker, in terms of distribution,

    are they going to cover half of the

    country now that they are only paying

    half of it or are they going to cover the

    entire country over a period of time?

    Those details are not forthcoming and so,

    the Hon Minister must appear before us

    and give us the details.

    Mr Speaker, again, I strongly object to

    the issue relating to the GETFund

    allocating part of their receivables for the

    purposes of paying Daakye Bond.

    Indeed, I have seen that it has been

    changed, but it is also important for us to

    put on record that now, this is a

    responsibility of the Ministry of Finance.

    The era where the Ministry of Finance or

    the Government of Ghana allows some

    of these statutory funds to borrow on

    their books is long gone. GETFund

    cannot continue the path of Daakye

    Bond; it is now a Government debt. The

    servicing should be for the Government

    and GETFund should not use their

    receivables to finance it.

    It is important for us to put this on

    record because it is clearly important. I

    have seen that we have allocated part of

    those receivables for the completion of

    ongoing SHS projects, new basic schools

    projects, construction of KG classrooms

    and water and sanitation, particularly

    boreholes and toilets, for schools. I can

    see proper allocation of these resources

    that were going to pay the Daakye Bond.

    The Ministry of Finance should take

    note, so that when they are programming

    their debt servicing as part of media

    review, they should recognise that

    GETFund is not the one to be paying this.

    The Committee of the Whole agreed that

    this is a responsibility of the central

    Government, the Ministry of Finance,

    and it should be paid from the

    Consolidated Fund. I thank you for the

    opportunity.

    Question proposed.

    Mr Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah

    (NDC — Ho West): Mr Speaker, I rise to support the Motion and urge my Hon

    Colleagues to also support it. However, I

    have some reservations and comments

    on your Committee's Report. I do not know whether your Committee decided

    to cut and paste whatever was submitted

    by the GETFund Board.

    Mr Speaker, in Table 3 on page 7 of the

    Report, if we add the completed projects

    from the year 2017 to date, the total

    number given there is 2,405. Any

    mathematical student, when adding,

    would add the pre-2017 figures, which

    are 159, 535, 22 and 729 which represent

    tertiary, second cycle, E-Blocks and

    basic respectively and those figures

    would not give you 1,344; it would give

    you 1,445. When it comes to 2017 to

    date, adding tertiary— 0, second cycle— 519, E-Block—14, model schools— 2, TVET centres— 2 and basic— 423, would not give you 913 but 960.

    Mr Speaker, if we are using the figures

    given here in this Table, the total of pre-

    2017, which is 1,344, plus 2017 to date,

    which is 913, would be 2,257 completed

    units, and not 2,405. I do not know where

    these figures were conjured. I am

    surprised that your Committee has

    decided just to cut and paste what was

    submitted by the GETFund Board.

    Having said that, let us make the

    corrections if we have to pass it because

    this is a House of record.

    Mr Speaker, the total figure for the pre-

    2017 should be 1,445 while the total

    figure for 2017 to date should be 960,

    and if the two figures are added, it should

    be 2,405, and that is the corrected figure.

    Having said that, it is also deceiving and

    improper to state in paragraph 6.1 of

    page 6 that “… a total of 2,405 projects have been completed during the period

    under review.” The period under review is 2022, and we cannot say that the pre-

    2017 plus post- 2017 would be under

    review. We are looking at the year 2022

    Report; what has been completed. If it is

    a 3-year programme, the three years

    should be from 2019 to 2022, just as

    stated. How many projects have been completed from the year 2019 to 2022?

    Therefore, we cannot state, as reported in

    this Report, and I beg to quote;

    The Committee observed that in 2022,

    the Fund put in place a three-year

    project aimed at completing all of its

    abandoned projects. As at 31st

    December, 2022, a total of 2,405

    projects had been completed during

    the period under review.

    Mr Speaker, and then when we look

    here, we have about 1,444 for pre- 2017

    and then we have post-2017, and we are

    being told that it is a three-year period

    under review. What are we talking

    about? Could the Hon Chairman of the

    Committee correct these things and tell

    us exactly how many projects have been

    completed within these three years and

    we can then approve the Formula? I

    thank you for the opportunity.

    Mr Benjamin Komla Kpodo (NDC

    — Ho Central): Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity. I rose for a long

    time during the Committee of the Whole

    —
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 4:53 p.m.
    Hon
    Member, that is why I deem it fit to give
    you the opportunity now.
    Mr Kpodo 5:03 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, we see that
    those same things linger on even in the
    main Report submitted to us. The format
    of the presentation does not look good
    for us as Ghana's Parliament. If this Report goes out as it is, it would dent our
    image. Now, the reason I say this is that
    we have over GH₵1.869 billion as revenue allocated, and we are going to
    recover unpaid amount of the previous
    year to add to this, which would amount
    to GH₵619,690,000, and we are deducting this from the total revenue.
    The question is that is the shortfall
    recovery an expenditure or an inflow?
    That is what I had wanted to draw your
    attention to, so that they could quickly
    make the adjustments before bringing
    the Report back but I did not have the
    opportunity. It is, fundamentally,
    incorrect for us to add recovery of an
    amount which is coming into GETFund
    kitty as an expenditure. The money is
    coming in, so if we look at it from a very
    simple perspective, this year, the
    Government is going to give GH₵1.869 billion.

    Last year, they did not release

    GH₵619 million and they are saying that they would give that amount this year, if

    that is their pledge, in addition to the new

    GH₵1.8 billion. How can what one

    would be given be deducted from what

    one is due? It is absolutely wrong; that is

    not done. It is rather an addition so, that

    would definitely take back the in-flow to

    GETFund to about GH₵2.4 billion. That is where we should start. As for the

    GH₵619 million, it is recovery and inflow. One cannot deduct an inflow

    from the present revenue. That is wrong.

    Mr Speaker, I have further added the

    subtotal of the expenditures. Pardon me

    to read them out. The subtotal for tertiary

    education is GH₵180 million; second cycle education, GH₵912 million; basic education, over GH₵270 million; others, GH₵147.5 million; and MPs, GH₵39.875 million. When one adds these amounts, one would get

    GH₵1,549,873,000.00. That is the expenditure so, I am at a loss. If one takes

    GH₵1.5 million from GH₵1.869 million plus GH₵619 million, I am at a loss as to why we would have a shortfall. This is

    because the inflows are definitely higher

    than the expected outflows.

    Now, there is talk of an amount of

    US$300 million being given as deficit

    financing. It is most incomprehensible to

    me. What is the US$300 million the

    Government or the Ministry of Finance

    has pledged to give? Is it payment of part

    of the 2021 arrears, which is about

    US$740 million, or a restoration of some

    of the capped amount? I am at a loss as

    to how this thing has been presented.

    Mr Speaker, there is no deficit or

    funding gap. If we are to add the amount

    to be allocated for the year and what is

    expected to be recovered from the

    Ministry, we do not have any deficit to

    be funded from any source. This is about

    GH₵2.4 billion and we are spending GH₵1.5 billion so, there is no deficit. That is the reason I think we should re-

    do this thing. We are too much in haste.

    I think that the Hon Minister for

    Education could give us some time to go

    through this document properly and do

    the right thing. People came from

    Uganda the previous day to study how

    we do our things. If they take away that

    type of document, we would be

    disgraced.

    Mr Speaker, I thank you.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:03 p.m.
    Very
    well.
    Hon Member for Ho Central, Mr
    Kpodo, let me remark that your concerns
    have been taken on board. We would
    direct the —
    Mr Bedzrah — rose —
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:03 p.m.
    Mr
    Bedzrah, your issue has also been noted.
    We would direct it to the GETFund
    Administrator to realign some of these
    things so, let us conclude. I must confess;
    I am very tired. I have been sitting since
    morning.
    Minority Chief Whip (Mr Kwame
    Governs Agbodza): Mr Speaker, I thank
    you for the opportunity. I would like to
    encourage my Hon Colleague that when
    we have this understanding, he should
    allow us to —
    I would like to take it from where the
    Hon Minority Leader started. I believe

    the amount set aside for digitalisation

    should be ring-fenced until the time that

    the Hon Minister comes back to the

    House to explain the reason behind the

    policy.

    Mr Speaker, as we speak, people keep

    throwing out figures — GH₵1.2 billion and GH₵1.5 billion. We do not even know whether this is an amount based on

    a contract sum or budget for some items.

    Mr Speaker, if it is a contract, which

    processes were used to procure these

    items? If it has already been procured,

    we would encourage the Hon Minister to

    furnish this House with details of the

    procurement that was used.

    What is the unit cost of these tablets?

    Some people call it laptops but we are

    told that they are tablets. We are told that

    Government says that these tablets

    would be cloud-based so they can

    automatically update the software on the

    tablets. Mr Speaker, the question is, who

    would get these tablets? With those who

    will benefit, will they keep them or they

    will still be the property of the

    Government of Ghana that they would

    need to use and bring them back? Who is

    going to maintain these tablets?

    Mr Speaker, the issues surrounding

    these tablets are so complex and

    unknown to Hon Members in this House.

    Mr Speaker, if these tablets are going

    to be supplied, we would have over a

    million possible beneficiaries. Has the

    supplier got a track record of doing

    something of this scale? Does the

    supplier have the capacity to maintain

    these tablets? Again, how long are these

    tablets supposed to last as far as

    Government is concerned? We would

    also like to know from the Hon Minister:

    is there any country in this world where

    textbooks are only found on tablets as

    they get rid of books?

    Mr Speaker, we should encourage

    children to still read books. I still have

    communities in Adaklu where telephone

    connectivity and electricity do not exist.

    Are they going to be part of the

    beneficiaries of these tablets? If they do,

    how are they going to charge them? If

    there is no telephone connectivity, how

    would they use the cloud system to

    update the equipment that is being talked

    about?

    Mr Speaker, I believe what we are

    talking about here is self-inflicted. You,

    myself, and the people of this country

    would pay over GH₵4 billion towards GETFund this year alone. Why are we

    penny-pinching pretending that

    GETFund is broke or we do not have

    money when the Ghanaian is going to

    pay GH₵4 billion through GETFund alone?

    The Government came with a

    draconian policy saying that they are

    doing capping and out of that, they

    would not give the amount of money

    Ghanaians pay towards education. Yet,

    we are here penny-pinching saying that

    let us allocate this and that. Mr Speaker,

    the solution to this is for Government to

    allow GETFund to have access to their

    over GH₵4 billion. They do not need the Government to provide extra money

    from the Ministry of Finance.

    Mr Speaker, my biggest concern is

    these tablets. We have been hearing

    things and the Vice President promising

    things here and there. This House would

    like to know if these tablets have already

    been procured. If yes, who is the

    provider of these tablets? How much do

    they cost? What is the capacity of the

    provider to supply and maintain these

    tablets? Also, what is the quality? We

    know that with the laptops that were

    supplied under the One Teacher One

    Laptop Policy, many teachers are

    complaining about the quality of the

    equipment they got so, what is the

    difference?

    Mr Speaker, when we approve this, the

    Hon Minister who is an Hon Member of

    this House must necessarily come back

    to this House to furnish us with these

    details so, this approval would be subject

    to the Hon Minister coming back to this

    House. We are not going to block this,

    however, we would approve the Formula

    with the hope that the Hon Minister

    would come back to this House and

    provide these details before any

    procurement or distribution of these

    tablets would be done. The Hon Minister

    should let us know if it they are laptops

    or tablets because there is a difference

    between them. Mr Speaker, let the Hon

    Minister clarify those items.

    Mr Speaker, with these few words, I

    speak to support this Motion.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:13 p.m.
    Hon
    Members, I would like to put the
    Question. I am tired —
    Mr Haruna Iddrisu (NDC — Tamale South) 5:23 p.m.
    Mr Speaker, I rise to
    contribute to the debate on the approval
    of that sum of money for GETFund.
    Personally, with Mr Frank Annoh-
    Dompreh and Mr Samuel Okudzeto
    Ablakwah, it is always with some
    emotions when we discuss this subject of
    GETFund. This is because together with
    you, it was our collective struggles and
    strife that got this Fund established. I still
    recall even being chased at the
    University of Cape Coast, and water
    thrown at me when I went to debate that
    we should liberalise higher education to
    allow for private participation in higher
    education, together with core sharing at
    the time, as I remember people pelting
    water, including some of our Hon
    Colleagues on the other Side. At that
    time, I was the President of the National
    Union of Ghana Students (NUGS). So, it
    is with this passion that I have come to
    contribute to the debate.
    Mr Speaker, I would like to refer you
    to, not directly the Report of the
    Committee but the Fund Formula which
    was distributed, and I read from
    paragraph 2.1.1.1. With your permission,
    I beg to quote, “Tertiary Sub-Sector has been allocated 7.84 per cent”. This defeats the primary purpose even if we
    have changed it. I would like to have the
    percentage in the final formula.
    Mr Speaker, GETFund was to
    complement higher education. At the
    time, we said that tuition must remain the
    responsibility of government. We
    wanted to expand access to quality,
    relevant and higher education to allocate

    just this amount. However, in my view,

    this amount is woefully inadequate, and

    that is why I have come to contribute to

    this Motion.

    Mr Speaker, you would recall that

    President Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo

    Addo, in his Message on the State of the

    Nation, strongly said that it did not

    borrow recklessly. I would like to remind

    him that when it comes to mortgaging

    GETFund, he was reckless because the

    amount of money being allocated today

    to service the Daakye debts far more

    exceeds even what GETFund would get

    to work for 2023. So, whatever it is, that

    is irresponsible, and that is reckless; the

    numbers show.

    Mr Speaker, the Ghanaian economy

    would suffer from a growth anaemia.

    When I say growth anaemia, those who

    understand medicine would know it.

    However, again, why I rushed back to

    contribute to this debate is that I am

    concerned that the Parliament of Ghana

    would sit down for the International

    Monetary Fund (IMF) to want to

    exercise oversight over statutory funds.

    That would be an indictment on the

    Parliament of Ghana; therefore, this

    House must sit up when it comes to the

    evaluation and review of moneys

    allocated to all the statutory funds.

    Mr Speaker, I am holding my copy of

    the IMF final document. Paragraph 36

    reads and with your permission, I beg to

    quote:

    GETFund, Road Fund, and District

    Assembly Common Fund have

    started reporting provisional

    spending budgets in hypering at a

    disaggregated level to use all

    functionalities of GIFMIS for

    spending execution, including

    allotment, issuance of payment

    warrants, and actual payments prior

    action.

    Mr Speaker, the Hon Minority Leader,

    Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, would

    understand the economic word,

    “hypering”.

    Mr Speaker, so, today, IMF is coming

    to exercise oversight over GETFund, and

    the Parliament of Ghana is gone to sleep.

    We have slept over this right; statutory

    funds are just disbursed anyhow. With

    DACF, what we do with that statutory

    fund is we go to the district: bola, bola,

    bola. Sanitation is everywhere and the

    Metropolitan, Municipal and District

    Assemblies (MMDAs) are

    dysfunctional. We are told that moneys

    have been allocated.

    Mr Speaker, so, my concern is that the

    Parliament of Ghana should not wait to

    be indicted. This is in the IMF Report but

    I support it because they would now have

    to report on how these disbursements are

    done, and that is a matter of concern.

    Mr Speaker, then, when we come to — I am still relying heavily on what was

    distributed this morning. With your

    permission, I beg to read from page 6:

    For the fiscal year 2023, an amount

    of one billion, eight hundred and

    sixty-nine million, five hundred and

    sixty-three thousand, two hundred

    and eighty-one Ghana cedis

    (GH₵1,869,563,281) was allocated to the Fund, a reduction of over 28

    per cent compared to that of 2022.

    Mr Speaker, somebody must explain that

    to me, that Value Added Tax (VAT)

    returns would dwindle and decline in the

    year 2023 against an improvement in

    2022. To the economists and financially

    inclined Hon Members in this House, we

    need to know: if GETFund has 2.5 per

    cent, then how much does that accrue to

    the State, and insist that that is what is

    allocated to the State. We would make a

    deduction of the capping percentage and

    would still have numbers that do not tally

    with the actual returns. So, that is why I

    am saying that we need some forensic

    examination of how much is due

    GETFund. Once it is a statutory fund, I

    can say so for all the statutory funds: how

    much are they entitled to? Less capping;

    how much in actual terms are they

    entitled to? It is not for the Hon Minister

    for Finance to just sit down and do a

    realignment of figures.

    Mr Speaker, if I go further into my

    records, in one which is being reported in

    this House, we are being told that a

    certain amount of GH₵300,000 is being allocated in order to meet the particular

    figure. So, what figure are we

    approving? If we say GH₵2.169 billion, then as the Hon Majority Chief Whip

    said, when it comes to the other matters,

    we should interrogate who is supplying

    what and at what cost in terms of the

    taps, and then we compare it to the unit

    cost and even ask the questions on the

    nature of the procurement that has been

    done for the purpose of this supply.

    Mr Speaker, this is because it is

    becoming a norm in Ghana. When was

    the last time we saw any advertisement

    of a procurement exercise being

    undertaken in Ghana in the Daily

    Graphic or in any publication? We must

    be concerned. All these procurements,

    by our law, are to be done publicly, but

    when was the last time we saw in the

    dailies an advertisement being done for

    the purpose of procurement for many of

    these? That is the disservice we are doing

    to Ghana, and not ensuring and

    guaranteeing value for money.

    Mr Speaker, then, Hon Members of

    Parliament allocation: I should commend

    some Hon Members. I cannot say all Hon

    Members, but at least some Hon

    Members of Parliament are more

    functional and effective on the ground

    than some MMDAs when it comes to the

    disbursement of these statutory funds.

    Hon Members of Parliament are

    particular because we fear we would be

    voted out so we do our best to satisfy

    constituents in meeting the minimum

    requirement when it comes to this.

    Mr Speaker, so, we have to look at the

    allocation. When we say there is a

    funding gap and we have

    GH₵1,869,563,281 and GH₵2,169,563,281, then there is GH₵300 million gap; an assurance is not enough, particularly for the Hon Minister

    for Finance who even assures us that he is

    going but is not gone, and we have not

    taken over, we are forewarned. So, with

    the GH₵300 million -- yes, he has said so but that is not enough. And Hon

    Majority Chief Whip is saying that the

    Hon Minister is realigning it; realigning

    it from where?

    Mr Speaker, in this House, we are not

    taking our budget oversight duties more

    responsibly, forgive me. What is the

    essence of appropriation? Why is it that

    when it comes to the appropriation, we

    say that every line: GH₵85,000, GH₵1 million and GH₵ 100,000 appropriation line by line — we are just stating the realignment of GH₵300 million. Where he is to take it from and its consequence

    on the other appropriations are not

    known to this House. That is not budget

    oversight.

    Parliament must sit up in the exercise

    of our oversight responsibility,

    particularly over financial matters.

    As we have seen here, Daakye — I recall that even the Hon Majority Leader

    contributed positively that day. We have

    seen the United States Congress debate a

    budget ceiling. This Parliament must

    have a ceiling for borrowing and must

    insist that no government — and when I say no government, it includes the future

    National Democratic Congress (NDC)

    government. There must be a rule of

    thumb. The Hon Majority Leader is

    losing in 2024, so there is a future NDC

    government. It is very possible. I see that

    he now dresses very presidential because

    of his new aspiration, and that is why he

    is not in the [Inaudible] dress.

    [Laughter] Mr Speaker, he and the Hon

    Minister for Education, I do not know

    who is ahead of who in the race for

    running mate.

    Mr Speaker, I support the principle of

    GETFund; however, they have to explain

    this GH₵300 million. Procurement and value for money must be done by this

    Parliament. I am disappointed that we are

    sitting by for the IMF to come and

    demand how allotments and

    expenditures are done with statutory

    funds when the Parliament of Ghana is

    sleeping on all those matters, and is just

    allocating money and not even going to

    the field to appreciate the extent of work.

    In conclusion, the cost of uncompleted

    projects is the effect of the Daakye

    reckless borrowing. When they borrow

    and now say that their overambitious

    desire to complete uncompleted projects

    in three years cannot be achieved, its

    effect is that many of the uncompleted

    projects may run to ground zero. When I

    say ground zero, I mean that the

    minimum cost invested by the State

    would become wasted if for three to five

    years it is not done.

    Mr Speaker, even under the IMF, they

    are struggling as a Government; out of 44

    projects, only some 12 to 14 projects

    may see the light of day. What happens

    to projects that have been completed? So,

    we are not out of our economic crisis yet.

    I still even see another debt exchange

    into the future, in 2027 and 2028,

    because when one sees the cut-off — and I am talking in respect of Daakye — when one talks about the moratorium

    that the Government adopted, it says debt

    accumulated up to March 2020. What

    happens to the debt that was

    accumulated and approved by this House

    beyond March 2020 and who would

    service that? Therefore, we may be

    preparing for another debt exchange or

    another financial crisis between 2027

    and 2028.

    So, we support the GETFund

    allocations. I am disappointed in what is

    going into tertiary education. The

    universities must sit up and re align their

    training to our national development

    priorities. Yet, even as a country, we do

    not have a national development plan

    adopted by all of us. We do not know our

    human capital requirement; we are just

    training, and not training people for the

    21st century. So, this uncompleted

    project —

    Mr Speaker, the Hon Minister is here.

    There are some contractors who feel

    discriminated against because they

    started GETFund projects long ago, but

    they have not been paid or compensated,

    yet the Hon Minister is concentrating on

    and paying for new projects. If it is true,

    he should address it; if it is untrue, he

    should dismiss my assertion, but this is

    what I hear across the country from the

    many contractors who feel that they

    worked for the Government of Ghana — Government is a continuum; look for it

    and let them complete it.

    Finally, the Hon Minister is aware that

    because of their Government running

    down the economy, costs have escalated,

    and, therefore, the contracts they

    awarded for GH₵8 million may be worth GH₵10 million to GH₵12 million, depending on the current cost of it.

    Mr Speaker, contractors talk to me

    when I am coming here. I will not

    mention a name, but one of them called

    me yesterday and said, “Haruna, ko ka kyere Kyei se omu ntua me e”. The Hon Majority Leader knows the road

    contractor, but I will protect his name.

    The contractor called me and said,

    “Haruna, na wu wo ehin fa?” Then I said, “Me wo Yendi.” Then he said, “Wo nni Parliament?”, to wit: Where are you? Why are you not in Parliament?

    Then he said, “Ko ka kyere Kyei se Parliament monkasa na ye ntua yen. We

    have not been paid.” This is a contractor, and the Hon Majority Leader, Mr Osei

    Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, knows him. [Some

    Mr Speaker, I will end here by

    supporting the Motion. However, the

    people of Ghana expect us to demand

    and ensure value for money, as well as

    lawful and open public processes that

    guarantee that at minimum cost to the

    State, with Parliament policing this and

    not leaving it to an —
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:23 p.m.
    Hon
    Member, I am tired. We have to close.
    Mr A. Ibrahim — rose —
    Mr Annoh-Dompreh — rose —
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:23 p.m.
    Yes,
    Hon First Deputy Minority Whip, Mr Ahmed Ibrahim, be very brief.
    Mr Ahmed Ibrahim 5:23 p.m.
    All right. Mr
    Speaker, thank you very much. I am just going to be very brief because I will speak on just three paragraphs.
    I will begin with paragraph 6.5: No
    allocation to key programmes of the
    Fund. With your permission, I read:

    The Committee observed that there

    were no allocations made to a

    number of programmes and

    activities of the Fund for the year

    2023.
    Mr Speaker, the projects are 5:23 p.m.
    completion of on-going tertiary projects,
    no allocation; completion of SHS on-
    going projects, no allocation; new on-
    going SHS targeted and emergency
    projects, no allocation; completion of
    Community Day SHS, no allocation;
    rehabilitation of dilapidated structures,
    no allocation —
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:23 p.m.
    Hon
    Member, were you here when they
    explained the formula?
    Mr Ahmed Ibrahim 5:23 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,
    why is it there? I am reading paragraph
    6.5 of the Report, and it is in the Report.
    So, if funds have been allocated, then
    that portion should not be there. That is
    what I mean. — [Interruption] — No, but anybody who takes this Report and
    reads it would think that there was no
    allocation made for such things, and this
    is in paragraph 6.5 from the Report.
    Mr Speaker, then if we go to paragraph
    7.0 — Recommendations, it reads:
    After carefully considering the
    Proposed Distribution Formula for
    the 2022 fiscal year, the Committee
    recommends that the allocation
    provided for the Debt Service
    Account amounting to
    GH₵545,202,000.00 be taken out as same has already been included in
    the public debt of the country under
    the Debt Restructuring Programme.
    Mr Speaker, anybody reading this
    paragraph would think that this House
    recommends that that amount should be
    taken out. Meanwhile, that was not what
    was discussed. If we proceed, it reads
    that “the Committee with the Fund has
    accordingly revised the Distribution
    Formula for the year 2023” by allocating
    it to the new formula. I think that portion
    must be reinstated, so that anybody who
    takes this will not go and say that the
    formula that was approved by this House
    recommended that that amount be taken
    out. I think that it has been reallocated,
    and that must also be stated in the
    formula before Mr Speaker puts the
    Question for approval because that
    portion must be amended. This is
    because once we approve this, it
    becomes an authoritative piece;
    therefore, we must make sure that we
    mean what we do and do what we mean.
    The House did not recommend that that
    GH₵544 million be taken out; however,
    the House recommended that since it is
    part of the public debt restructuring
    programme, that amount must be
    reallocated to other programmes. That is
    what we agreed on in this House. So, it
    must also be stated in the formula.
    Mr Speaker, these are the two key
    things I would want us to bring our
    attention to before we approve the
    formula. Otherwise, someone would say
    this House did not do a good job.
    Mr Speaker, thank you very much for
    the opportunity.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:23 p.m.
    Very
    well.
    Yes, Hon Majority Chief Whip?
    Mr Annoh-Dompreh 5:33 p.m.
    Mr Speaker,
    thank you very much.
    Let me begin by commending the
    former Hon Minority Leader, who
    started off by going back to his days at
    the National Union of Ghana Students
    (NUGS). I recollect all the struggles he
    went through. We show solidarity to
    him. He was a real hero there.
    Mr Speaker, our Hon Senior
    Colleague made a point, and I do not
    think that he meant malice, but it is
    important that we rephrase that
    statement. It is not a statement of fact that
    we, as a Parliament of the Republic, are
    yielding our responsibility of oversight
    to the IMF. It cannot be true. I respect the
    former Hon Minority Leader so much.
    He knows I hold him in high esteem, but
    that statement was made in excess. It is
    not the case.
    Mr Speaker, looking at the path we
    have moved and the delay this
    consideration of the formula has gone
    through up to this stage, that should tell
    our Hon Senior Colleague that, really,
    the Committee in this Parliament has
    done some good work. He should rather
    be praising the House for this good work
    that has been done. I can commend the
    Hon Minority Leader and the Leader of
    the House, for instance. It was our
    decision and input to say the GH₵545 million that was allocated for debt
    servicing account cannot go to service
    debt, but we should rather reallocate that.
    Mr Speaker, we have already agreed
    that we will approve this, subject to all
    the amendments. One of the critical
    amendments that we should also
    consider is that there is an express
    recommendation that says:
    After carefully considering the
    Proposed Distribution Formula for
    the 2022 fiscal year, the Committee
    recommends that the allocation
    provided for the Debt Service
    Account amounting to
    GH₵545,202,000.00 be taken out as same has already been included in
    the public debt of the country under
    the Debt Restructuring Programme.
    No, that was not the agreement. We
    should amend that portion of the Report.
    The new rendition should be that, that
    amount has been reallocated. The
    specifics were given to the Clerks, so
    they should provide those specifics in
    terms of how the reallocation of the
    GH₵545,202,000.00 was done. For me, that is something that we should
    commend this House for. It cannot be the
    case that we are yielding to the IMF.
    Mr Speaker, again, on Project Fund,
    clearly, there was a reduction. It took the
    intervention of this House for the needful
    to be done for a whooping increment to
    move from GH₵19 million to GH₵40 million.
    Again, the rehabilitation of school
    buildings and payment of contractors
    took the intervention of this House, so let

    us not be too hard on ourselves. I know

    how passionate the former Hon Minority

    Leader is when it comes to educational

    matters, especially the GETFund. I think

    he could have said this in a better way.

    Mr Speaker, we should proceed to

    pass it, subject to all the necessary

    amendments, especially the realignment

    of the figures, so that we can proceed. I

    must commend Hon Members for the

    speed and the efficiency with which they

    have worked, particularly the Hon

    Leader of the House and our good friend,

    the Hon Minority Leader, who has

    shown a lot of leadership, and the

    Leadership on the other Side.

    Mr Speaker, let us proceed and do the

    needful, and also urge the Clerks to do all

    the necessary tidying up of the Report to

    reflect the views of the House. I thank

    you.

    Question put and Motion agreed to.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:33 p.m.
    The
    Motion is hereby adopted pending some
    of the alignments that the Administrator
    and his secretariat will do.
    I thank you all.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:33 p.m.
    Mr
    Speaker, at the heart of the consideration
    this morning was the matter relating even
    to the GH₵740 million. It was going to serve only one-half of the required
    quantity. What to do with the remaining
    half? I thought the position that we had
    adopted was that in the mid-year review,
    the Hon Minister should consider
    providing for the remaining half.
    Mr Speaker, just to make the point that
    all these are also subject to that, that
    during the mid-year review, the
    remaining half should also be handled by
    the Hon Minister.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:33 p.m.
    Very
    well.
    We will bring proceedings to a close,
    but before we adjourn, let me thank Hon
    Members for cooperating with me. We
    have gone beyond — It is almost 6.00 p.m., so we thank all of you for your
    cooperation. We are coming back
    tomorrow at 10.00 in the forenoon.
    I thank you once again.
    Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 5:33 p.m.
    Mr
    Speaker, I would like to reemphasise that
    point. Lately, we have not been Sitting
    early. Tomorrow is Cabinet day, so I
    would pray that we have an early Sitting
    promptly at 10.00 a.m., so that some of
    us will be liberated around 11.00 a.m. to
    attend Cabinet meeting.
    Mr Second Deputy Speaker 5:33 p.m.
    Very
    well. So, 10.00 a.m. prompt.
    ADJOURNMENT 5:33 p.m.