Debates of 23 Jun 2023

Hon
Members, it is time to consider the Votes
and Proceedings for Thursday, 22nd
June, 2023.
Page 1...11 —
First Deputy Minority Whip (Mr
Ahmed Ibrahim): Mr Speaker, sorry to
take you back to the page numbered 10,
the directive from the Chair:
The Rt Hon Speaker directed the
Business Committee to schedule the
Hon Ministers responsible for
Works and Housing and Finance to
apprise the House on measures
being taken to address the situation
latest by the end of next week.
Mr Speaker, the timeline that was
given, which is by the end of next week,
should have been there.
Majority Chief Whip (Mr Frank
Annoh-Dompreh): Mr Speaker, I do not
intend to raise the temperature this
morning, but that was not the directive.
Indeed, the Rt Hon Speaker mentioned
the two Hon Ministers; the Hon
Ministers for Works and Housing and
Finance however, he said that the
Business Committee should programme
them as soon as possible; he did not say
the end of next week, and, so, my good
Friend — [Interruption] — Me nso meteeɛ.
Mr Speaker, I recollect that was the
directive of the Rt Hon Speaker and if
my Hon Colleague is still in doubt, we
could check the records.

Very
well. Hon Members, the Department of
Official Report would have the record.
Let them be guided by the record so there
is no controversy here.

Mr Speaker, the Rt
Hon Speaker went on to say that even if
the Hon Minister for Finance is not there
because he has travelled, the other Hon
Minister of State who is at the Ministry
of Finance could come.
[Interruption] Yes, that was what he
said.

Mr Speaker, I was right here, and what the Rt Hon Speaker said was that he was aware that the Hon Minister for Finance
was out of the country, but if the need arose for the Deputies to come in and address the House, so be it, but he did not give a timeline. He said the Business

Hon Members, there is no need to generate
controversy here. This is the record of Parliament. There is a department in this Parliament which is responsible for producing the verbatim report, so I direct the Department of Official Report to verify the exact directive the Rt Hon Speaker gave and to amend the minutes accordingly. I so direct.
Page 11...18 —

Mr Speaker, on page 18, item 3(viii), the designation of “Dr Ahmed-Rufai Ibrahim”, “Metropolitan Coordinating Director, Accra Metropolitan Municipal Assembly” should be “Metropolitan Coordinating Director, Accra Metropolitan Assembly”. Let us cancel the word “Municipal”. Thank you.

Very well. The Clerks-at-the-Table would effect the correction.
Page 19...20 —
Minority Chief Whip (Mr Kwame
Governs Agbodza): Mr Speaker, the item numbered 3(xxxi) on page 20 reads, “Ag Municipal Cordinating Director”; the spelling “Cordinating” needs to be corrected to “Coordinating”.

“Coordinating”? Is there a correction there? I cannot see any.

Mr Speaker, yes. It is
spelt as “C-o-o-r-d-i-n-a-t-i-n-g”, except in the item numbered 3(xxxi) where it is
“C-o-r-d-i-n-a-t-i-n-g”. There is a little correction that needs to be done on that.

Really?
Very well. We would leave that to the
Clerks-at-the-Table to make the
correction.

Mr Speaker,
let me apologise; I did not catch your
attention.
Mr Speaker, with the greatest of
apology, if we may go back to the item
numbered 4(6) on page 7. I checked and
realised that my Hon Deputy Majority
Leader, Mr Alexander Kwamena
Afenyo-Markin, is captured as absent.
Mr Speaker, he did submit a leave of
absence. I followed up and got it
confirmed that he was actually granted.
So, his name should rather be captured
under “Members Absent with Permission”.
Mr Speaker, then on page 8, the item
numbered 32, the Hon Member for
Tolon, Mr Habib Iddrisu, my Hon
Second Deputy Majority Whip, was
actually present yesterday but he has
been captured under “Members Absent”. Again, the item numbered 42 on page 8,
Mr Augustine Collins Ntim has also been
captured as absent. His leave of absence
was also approved. Finally, with the item
numbered 49, Mrs Ursula G. Owusu-

Very
well.
The Clerks-at-the-Table will effect
the corrections because I am aware that
their leaves of absence were brought to
me and I granted them leave to be absent.

Mr Speaker, with your
indulgence, the Hon Minority Leader, Dr
Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, was also here
yesterday.

The
Clerks-at-the-Table will effect the
correction. I also was in the precincts of
Parliament, but I am marked absent. I
will deal with that.
Page 22…25 —

Mr Speaker, on page
25, under “Public Accounts Committee, Opening”, it reads, “The Committee met on Tuesday, 18th May, 2023…”. On page 17, under “Public Accounts Committee, Opening”, it also reads, “The Committee met on Tuesday, 16th May, 2023…”. On page 17, Tuesday is 16th May while on
page 25, Tuesday is 18th May. If it were
a Thursday, then, it was 18th May so, they
should check and reconcile the two dates.

Very
well. One Tuesday cannot be both 16th
and 18th May, 2023, unless they are
reporting two events. The Clerks-at-the-
Table will check and effect the
appropriate correction.
Page 26…36 —

Mr Speaker, on page
36, under “Opening”, which reads, “The Committee met on Thursday, 15th June,
2023, at 10:30 a.m. and embarked on an
inspection tour of ongoing housing
project…”, “project” should be plural, so we should add “s” to it.

Very
well. The Table should take note and
effect the correction.
Page 37…42 —

Mr Speaker, on page
42, the last sentence under “Opening” has my Hon Chairman's name, Mr Kwabena Amankwa Asiamah, wrongly
spelt. There is an omission of “n”. It should be “A-m-a-n-k-w-a”, not “A-m- a-k-w-a”.

Very
well. The Table will effect the
correction.
Page 43…44 —

Mr Speaker, on page
44, the item numbered 3(xxiii), “Mr Saaka Sayufi” should be “Mr Saaka Sayuti”. He used to be my deputy when I was at the National Accreditation Board
(NAB).

Very
well. The Table should effect the
appropriate correction.

You are
welcome to Parliament. Please sit.
There is also a delegation from
Mfantsipim School. They are led by Mr
Joseph William-Duncan from Cape
Coast.

Mfantsipim School, you are also
welcome to Parliament; you may now
resume your seats.
There are also members of the
Church of Pentecost, Frami District, led
by Pastor Richard Ekow Donkor.

Very
well. You are welcome to the Parliament
of Ghana.
Finally, we have the Fruitful Land
Academy from Gomoa East, led by Mr
Isaac Korsah.

Very
well. You are welcome to Parliament.
Hon Members, we move to item
numbered 5 — Business Statement. Yes, Hon Majority Chief Whip?

Mr Speaker,
may I seek your leave to present the
Business Statement for and on behalf of
the Hon Chairman of the Business
Committee.

Mr Speaker, we do not
have any objection, but he should have
added that his Leaders are at Assin North,

and that is why they are not here, but it is

okay for him to present it.

Who is
at Assin North?

The Hon Chairman of
the Committee and his Deputy are in
Assin North.

Did he
ask leave of you?

Mr Speaker,
what I can confirm is that the Leader of
Government Business and the Hon
Chairman of the Business Committee is
out of the jurisdiction. However, I am
very sure of the presence of the Hon
Minority Leader at Assin North; that I
can confirm.
Mr Speaker, having said that, I would
go ahead and present the Business
Statement.

Hon
Members, do you have any comments?
Mr Asamoah — rose —

Yes,
Hon Member?

Mr
Speaker, I would like to find out why the
Questions we had for the Hon Minister
for Education two weeks ago have not
been captured for next week.

Hon
Members, do you have any further

Yes, Hon Majority Chief Whip?

Mr Speaker,
my Hon Colleague's concern about Questions directed to the Ministry of
Education is — I guess my Hon Colleague knows that admissibility of
Questions is in the bosom of the Rt Hon
Speaker. It is when the Rt Hon Speaker
admits these Questions that same are
transmitted to the Table Office to be
programmed by the Business
Committee. I would advise the Hon
Member to follow up through the very
hardworking Hon Minority Chief
Whip's office. I am sure he would be able to know the stage at which his
Question is then we can confirm the
status of the Question.
Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Hon
Majority Chief Whip, if I understood the
Hon Member, he says that the Business

Business of the House

Committee had actually scheduled those

Questions earlier, but something

happened, and the Questions were not

answered so, it is for the Business

Committee to reschedule.

Mr Speaker,
kindly bear with me; I did not get that
understanding. If that is the case, then, I
would relate to the Table Office and the
Business Committee to ensure that we
reschedule duly. I apologise for the mix-
up.

Hon
Members, any more comments?
Mr A. Ibrahim — rose —

Yes,
Hon First Deputy Minority Whip

Mr Speaker, earlier,
I raised the question relating to the
directive from the Chair, which was
disputed, and you sent for a check at the
Department of Official Report for
confirmation. In fact, they have brought
the confirmation to the Hon Majority
Chief Whip, which says that what I said
was right, and he was wrong.
Mr Speaker, based on that, before the
adoption of the Business Statement,
because the Business Committee would
not sit again till the end of next week,
while the directive was emphatic that
looking at the importance and urgency of
the matter, we must programme the two
Hon Ministers to appear before us before
the end of next week, which is Friday — Wednesday will be a holiday —
I do not know whether before the
adoption of the Business Statement, we
could consider programming the two
Hon Ministers to appear before us on
Thursday or Friday because Tuesday is
the only working day before the statutory
public holiday, which will be Wednesday.
So, we seek your indulgence for the two
Hon Ministers to appear before us by the
latter part of the week so that they would
have ample time to prepare. This is
because the directive came as a result of
many people losing their lives — at least three in Accra and three in Kumasi. That
is why the Rt Hon Speaker gave that
urgent directive that the Committee on
Works and Housing must do something.
However, the two Hon Ministers must
appear before us to apprise the House on
the measures taken to combat it on
Thursday or Friday, depending on which
of the day would be convenient.

Yes,
Hon Majority Chief Whip?

Mr Speaker,
indeed, my Hon Colleague is right; that
was the directive. So, we do not need to
litigate this matter further. On the
adoption of the Business Statement and
the concerns about confirmation of when
the two Hon Ministers can appear before
the House, I would say that we can adopt
the Business Statement subject to the
necessary amendments. However, I
would liaise with the Hon Leader of
Government Business for us to reach out
necessarily to ensure that we can have
the two Hon Ministers in the House,
preferably on Thursday because the Hon
First Deputy Minority Whip and I know
that Friday is not often a convenient

Business of the House

time, and we have dedicated Friday to

the Hon Minister for Roads and

Highways to come and answer a backlog

of Questions. So, we should be working

towards Thursday. The Hon First Deputy

Minority Whip himself is a member of

the Business Committee, so, we will talk

in whispers and do the needful to ensure

that we get the two Hon Ministers to

attend upon the House.

Mr Speaker, if I may, we also made a

point to which the Rt Hon Speaker

agreed, that in accordance with our

Standing Orders, Order 192(2), which

says that Committees should not

necessarily be given referrals before they

undertake what they are supposed to do.

With your permission, I beg to quote:

No instruction shall be given to a

Committee to do that which it is

already empowered to do or to deal

with a question beyond the scope of

a Bill or matter.

Mr Speaker, the Rt Hon Speaker

encouraged that the Committee on

Works and Housing should also visit

these places and be armed with the

reality on the grounds so that even while

we wait for the two Hon Ministers to

come and apprise us, we, as a House,

would also have some good information

on the reality on the ground. Therefore,

it is also a matter that is important, and

we expect the leadership, both the

Ranking Member and the Chairman, to

heed to this good counsel and be seen to

be working. I do not know if this answers

my Hon good Friend's concern.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Very
well, Hon Majority Chief Whip. So, you
will find room to invite the Hon
Ministers to appear next week certainly.
Further, I have been directed by the Rt
Hon Speaker to bring two matters to the
attention of the Business Committee.
One, the Standing Orders Committee's Report should be programmed for
Thursday. So, please take note and have
it programmed for Thursday. Two, the
Promotion of Proper Human Sexual
Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill,
2021 should be programmed for Tuesday
or Thursday, but whatever it is, it must
be on the Order Paper next week. The
Motion for the Second Reading of that
Bill should be programmed for Tuesday
or Thursday. These are the directives of
the Rt Hon Speaker.

Mr Speaker,
we will do as directed. I thank you.

Very
well.
Yes, Hon First Deputy Minority
Whip?

Mr Speaker, I think
this is a very sensitive matter, and a
number of Civil Society Organisations
(CSOs), political workers, as well as
constitutional workers have interest in it
and would be watching this House. You
have given either Tuesday or Thursday,
but we know the Assin North by-
elections would be on Tuesday, and we
know that a number of Hon Members,
and maybe, your good self, would be

Business of the House

there. We need to have a very

comprehensive and well-researched

debate on the issue. Sensing and

foreseeing that the numbers may not be

good to organise the debate on Tuesday,

if you could be specific for the Motion be

taken on Thursday, which we know our

Colleague Hon Members who would

celebrate Eid-ul-Adha on Wednesday,

and those who would be at Assin North

for the by-election on Tuesday would all

be here, so that the House would be

properly constituted to take that

historical debate —

Mr Annoh-Dompreh — rose —

Hon
Majority Chief Whip, are you standing
on a point of order?

Mr Speaker,
my Hon good Friend made a valid point
and observation, except that he should
depart from the path of drawing the Hon
First Deputy Speaker into it. Why would
he say that the Hon First Deputy Speaker
would go to Assin North? Does he know
that for a reality? He should stay clear
from that and make his point. He should
not enroll you into his tactics.

Hon
Majority Chief Whip, thank you. The
Hon Member was actually out of order
but I ignored him.
Hon First Deputy Minority Whip,
make your point about the appropriate
date now.

Mr Speaker, I
would just like to be specific that we
should be emphatic for all those who
would like to take part in that debate in
the form of watching proceedings in
Parliament either from the gallery,
homes or media, everybody should be
prepared that the debate would take place
on Thursday, so that people do not come
here on Tuesday, and the debate would
not be done. Therefore, let us firm up
Thursday for that important debate.

Mr Speaker,
with respect to my Hon Colleague,
maybe he did not listen to you well. You
said that it was a directive from the Rt
Hon Speaker, and he has given two days.
The Assin North by-election is a national
exercise and the Parliament of Ghana is
also a national exercise. So, if an Hon
Member is interested, he or she must
prioritise. We do not need to gravitate
unnecessarily and oscillate between the
two. If it is Thursday, let us stick to it,
and anybody who is interested in this
debate must show up. Hon Members
cannot prioritise Assin North over
Parliament and expect the House to wait
for them. I disagree with my Hon
Colleague and with respect, he should
abandon his submission. Both are
national exercises, so, Hon Members
should choose one. We cannot have the
two, but he would like to have the two.
We should stick to Tuesday.

As I
explained, if Tuesday is not alright, then
Thursday should be, but either Tuesday
or Thursday, those two subjects must be
on the Order Paper. It does not mean that
we would necessarily conclude work on
them, but once they appear on the Order
Paper, we are sure that work could be

Business of the House

done irrespective of the day. I have

actually been advised that the Hon

Chairman and Hon Ranking Member for

the Committee on Constitutional, Legal

and Parliamentary Affairs are actually

out of the jurisdiction now. Hopefully,

they may return to the jurisdiction before

any of these two days. Both of you are

Hon Members of the Business

Committee, so I suggest that you take

your agreements and disagreements to

the Committee.

Hon Members, are there any further

comments on the Business Statement?

Hon Members, subject to the

proposed inclusion of certain Bills and

Questions, the Business Statement is

hereby adopted.

Yes, Hon Majority Chief Whip?

Mr Speaker,
with respect, at the Commencement of
Public Business, may we now turn to
page 4 of today's Order Paper and take the item numbered 14. I would further
seek your leave for the substantive
Motion to be taken by the Hon Deputy
Minister for Trade and Industry.

— rose —

Hon
First Deputy Minority Whip?

Mr Speaker, we just
approved the Hon Minister for Trade and
Industry in this House, and this is his first
Bill. If the Hon Majority Chief Whip
would like to ask for the leave of this
House for the Hon Deputy Minister for
Trade and Industry to do the job of the
substantive Minister, he must tell us the
whereabouts of the substantive Hon
Minister and the reason for seeking the
leave of the Speaker for the Hon Deputy
Minister to do the work on behalf of the
Hon Minister.

Hon
First Deputy Minority Whip, hold on.
Could I be guided on which of the
Standing Orders you are anchoring your
suggestion that we should know where
the substantive Minister is?

Mr Speaker, Order
75 is clear about the procedure, manner
or mode of laying Papers. Papers may be
laid by Hon Members or Hon Ministers
in this House. There is nowhere that
“Deputy Minister” is even mentioned, so based on that, the Hon Deputy Minister
is incapacitated to lay the Paper in this
House. I so submit.

Mr Speaker,
our Hon Colleague should read the Order
he quoted again. It is actually Order 74,
and not 75, and I beg to quote:
A Paper may be presented to the
House only by Mr Speaker, the
Chairman of a Committee, a
Member or a Minister.
Mr Speaker, our Hon Colleague is a
proud Hon Member of Parliament for
New Juaben South, so beside the point, it
is an established convention, and if the
Hon First Deputy Minority Whip would
like to know the reason —

Business of the House

Mr A. Ibrahim — rose —

Mr Speaker,
the Hon First Deputy Minority Whip
should sit down.

Hon
Majority Chief Whip, you have the floor.

Mr Speaker,
the Hon Minister who is a very regular
member of this House is out of this
jurisdiction on an official duty in
London, and that is what I know. He
personally called me, so Hon
Colleagues, let us not overly drag this
matter. He is one of us, and he is often in
the Chamber, so I would like to appeal to
my Hon Colleagues. Please abandon
your position and let us make progress.

Mr Speaker, the
Hon Majority Chief Whip knows that he
came to meet me in this House, and when
it comes to the interpretation of the
Standing Orders, I am well-equipped. I
did not open the Standing Orders, I just
quoted extempore. The Orders are here; I
cannot be wrong. The mode or manner of
Presentation of Papers is in Order 75 and
not 74, but the specific Paper that may be
laid is what he talked about in Order 74.
When it comes to how to implement or
execute it, it is in Order 75. The Hon
Majority Chief Whip should show me
where “Deputy Minister” is written in even the Order 74 that he quoted. It is not
there, and it does not talk of conventions
here.
Mr Speaker, you asked me which
Standing Order and I quoted it, so, if it is
not quoted in the Standing Orders that an
Hon Deputy Minister can lay a Paper, it
means he is incapacitated. The practice
in this House is that Deputy Ministers
have been laying papers, but Mr Speaker
asked me which particular Order I was
referring to and I came by Order 75,
which is the mode, manner or how it is
done, and Lawyer Samuel Atta Kyea is
here to even confirm what I am saying.
Mr Speaker, I know that we should
not litigate this. I was just interested in
the whereabouts of the Hon Minister, but
since he had respect for this House and
called the Hon Majority Chief Whip and
sought his leave to be unavoidably
absent from the House — I so submit.

I would like to give up on my

rendition and allow the Hon Deputy

Minister for Trade and Industry to do that

job on behalf of the Hon Minister for

Trade and Industry, Mr K. T. Hammond.

Mr Speaker, I agree
with my Hon Colleague that we take this
Paper. However, the Hon Majority Chief
Whip must know that this is a House of
Records. He said, and I listened to him
say that, our Hon Colleague, the Hon
Minister for Trade is a regular member
of this House. That is a bit problematic.
This is because he is not regular in the
House as we can see. He comes
sometimes. I am told that even at the
Committee meeting, he did not appear.
Rather, it was his Deputy who did. It is a
rare concern.

Business of the House

Mr Speaker, if one is a Cabinet

Minister — We all knew how he struggled to be confirmed and if after

being confirmed, he is not in the House

to supervise the first Bill he has brought

to the House, then there is a real reason

to see whether he actually wanted the job

the way he was desperate for it when he

went through the confirmation process.

Mr Speaker, beyond that, our Hon

Colleague, the Hon Deputy Minister for

Trade and Industry, is an Hon Member

of the House and we accord him that

respect. He can lay the Paper for today

but if it becomes regular then he should

think of being the substantive Hon

Minister for Trade and Industry so that

he could be regular here to take the Bills.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Hon
Members, I did not expect this to
generate a debate. I am surprised that we
are making an issue out of an Hon
Deputy Minister moving a Motion and
not presenting a Paper. So, the Standing
Order that has been referred to is about
the laying of Papers and not about
moving a Motion. This is because I am
not aware of any Order in the Standing
Orders which requires that when an Hon
Deputy is standing in for his Minister,
the person making the application must
give reasons. It is our practice that we ask
— If it is said that the Hon Minister is not in, we ask about his whereabouts.
However, it is not anchored in any of our
rules and I wanted that to be emphasised.
It is our practice and sometimes we do
that against non-Members of Parliament
who do not like appearing before us.
However, when an Hon Minister is a
member of the House and the Hon
Deputy is also a member, as in this case,
it is our practice that we overlook. This
is because if an Hon Member is absent,
the rules will deal with him. So, we
should avoid making this an issue —
Mr Emmanuel Akwasi Gyamfi — rose —

Yes,
Hon Senior Member for Odotobri
Constituency? Let me hear you before — Hon Deputy Minister, kindly wait. Yes,
Hon Member for Odotobri?

Mr
Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity.
Mr Speaker, my Hon Colleague who
happens to be the Hon Minority Chief
Whip, Mr Agbodza, said something
about the Hon Minister for Trade and
Industry, Mr K. T. Hammond, which, I
believe, should not be part of today's proceedings.
Mr Speaker, it is on record that Mr K.
T. Hammond is not a regular member of
this House and he attends Committee
meetings. He was a member of and is
currently even a member of the
Committee on Mines and Energy. He
attended meetings. Unfortunately, the
statement that has been made by my Hon
Colleague, Mr Agbodza, is not fair. The
Hon Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr
K. T. Hammond, is not here. So, I would
plead with him that since Mr K. T.
Hammond is a senior member of this
House, he should not say this and it
should not be part of our Records.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Hon
Member, unfortunately, I may not have paid attention to what he said. What specifically are you talking about?

Mr Speaker, he, Mr
Agbodza, said that the Hon Minister for Trade and Industry and Hon Member of Parliament for Adansi Asokwa, Mr K. T. Hammond, is not a regular Member of the House, and that, he has not been seeing him coming to and attending upon Parliament. He mentioned that he has also not been attending committee meetings. [Interruption] — It is a very unfair statement.
Mr Speaker, Mr K. T. Hammond is a
regular member of this honourable House. So, I suggest that his comments should not be part of the Records of this august House.

Hon
Member, I thought that those were comments on a lighter side. So, let the Record reflect that Mr K. T. Hammond is a senior regular serious Member of this House.
Yes, Hon Deputy Minister for Trade
and Industry, you may move the procedural Motion, the item numbered 14 on page 4 of the Order Paper of Friday, 23rd June, 2023.

Mr Speaker, I
second the Motion.
Question put and Motion agreed to.
Resolved accordingly.
BILLS — SECOND READING
Ghana Accreditation Service
Bill, 2023
Deputy Minister for Trade and
Industry (Mr Michael Okyere Baafi)
on behalf of the Minister: Mr Speaker, I
beg to move, that the Ghana
Accreditation Service Bill, 2023 be now
read a Second time.
Mr Speaker, I so move.

Mr Speaker, I
would seek your leave to second the
Motion and also present the Committee's Report.

Yes,
proceed.

Mr Speaker, we do not
have any objection to that. We want to
make progress. He wants to take the Report

Ghana Accreditation Service Bill, 2023 — Second Reading

and I am saying that we do not have any

problem with that.

Please
proceed.
Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh on
behalf of the Chairman of the
Committee: Mr Speaker, I beg to second
the Motion moved by the Hon Deputy
Minister for Trade and Industry, and in
so doing present the Committee's Report. Let the Hansard capture the
entirety of the Report.
1.0. Introduction
11. The Ghana Accreditation Service
Bill, 2023 was presented and read for the
first time in the House on Tuesday, 6th
June, 2023 by the Minister responsible
for Trade and Industry, Hon Kobina
Tahir Hammond, in accordance with
article 106 (1) of the 1992 Constitution.
Pursuant to Order 159 of the Standing
Orders of Parliament, the Rt Hon
Speaker, on the request of the Minister
for the Bill to be taken under the
certificate of urgency, referred the Bill to
the Select Committee on Trade, Industry
and Tourism and Leadership of the
Committee on Constitutional, Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs to determine the
urgency or otherwise of the Bill and
report to the House.
2.0. Urgency of the Bill
2.1. The Committee subsequently,
determined and certified that the Bill is
of an urgent nature and may therefore, be
taken through all the stages of passage in
one day in accordance with article 106
(13) of the 1992 Constitution and Order
119 of the Standing Orders of the House.
On the 8th June, 2023, the Committee
presented a Report on the urgency of the
Bill to the House, and the Report was
adopted.
3.0. Deliberations
3.1. The Committee first held
Stakeholders meeting on Thursday, 15th
June, 2023. The Committee further met
from 20th to 21st and considered the Bill.
Present at the meetings were officials
from the Ministry of Trade and Industry
led by the Deputy Minister, Ms Nana
Ama Dokua Asiamah-Adjei on behalf of
the Minister. Other participants included
officials from the Attorney-General's
Department, representatives of the
Ghana Standard Authority (GSA),
Health Facilities Regulatory Authority
(HeFRA), Cyber Security Authority
(CSA) and National Petroleum Authority
(NPA).
The Committee is grateful to the
Ministry and other officials for their
invaluable inputs.
4.0. References
The Committee referred to and was
guided by the following documents inter
alia during its deliberations on the Bill:
i. The 1992 Constitution of the
Republic of Ghana;
ii. The Standing Orders of the
Parliament of Ghana;

Ghana Accreditation Service Bill, 2023 — Second Reading

iii. Interpretation Act, 2009 (Act

792);

iv. Ghana Standard Authority Act,

2022 (Act1078);

v. Trade Policy (2005 to 2009); and

vi. Industrial Policy (2011 to 2015)

5.0. Background

5.1. The need to establish an

accreditation body was initially

prescribed in the Trade Policy (2005 to

2009) and the Industrial Policy (2011 to

2015). Subsequently, the Ghana National

Accreditation Service (GhaNAS) was

established by the Ministry of Trade and

Industry as a company limited by

guarantee under the then Companies Act,

1963 (Act 179) and became operational

in September, 2018.

5.2. The establishment of GhaNAS

emanated from the country's need for an

internationally recognised national

accreditation system as a crucial element

of a well-functioning quality infrastructure

aligned with international best practices.

Further, GhaNAS was established to

ensure that the accreditation system

supports the needs of Ghanaian

enterprises competing in a fast-paced

global economy and ensures support for

public policy objectives in terms of

health and safety of citizens of the

country and the protection of the

environment.

5.3. Prior to the establishment of

GhaNAS in 2018, public and private

conformity assessment bodies seeking

international recognition through

accreditation turned to foreign

accreditation bodies for accreditation for

which the conformity assessment bodies

paid exorbitant fees.

This also led to the transfer of the

already scarce foreign exchange out of

the country.

5.4. As the national accreditation

body, the GhaNAS has been responsible

for the independent attestation of the

technical capabilities of conformity

assessment service providers in line with

international standards and in

accordance with requirements detailed in

World Trade Organisation (WTO)

Agreements on Technical Barriers to

Trade (TBT), International Accreditation

Forum (IAF), International Laboratory

Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC),

African Accreditation Cooperation

(AFRAC) and others.

5.5. In April 2022, the country

adopted a National Quality Policy which

prescribed the development and

promulgation of legislation to regulate

conformity assessment activities and

establish a national accreditation body.

5.6. It is imperative that a credible

Quality Infrastructure in terms of

standardisation, accreditation, conformity

assessment, and metrology is firmly in

place to assure markets of Ghana's

adherence to international standards and

a national accreditation body is the

central pillar of that assurance.

5.7. The Bill forms part of the

Government's commitment to ensuring

Ghana Accreditation Service Bill, 2023 — Second Reading

that consumers of goods and services are

protected in accordance with clause 9 of

Article 36 of the 1992 Constitution

which provides that “The State shall take appropriate measures needed to protect

and safeguard the national environment

for posterity; and shall seek co-operation

with other states and bodies for purposes

of protecting the wider international

environment for mankind.

5.8. Further, the establishment of the

Ghana Accreditation Service will also

ensure that accreditation bodies,

inspection bodies, calibration or testing

laboratories and other conformity

assessment bodies meet established

standards that will enable them to

provide services that are credible,

reliable, and independent.

6.0. Object of the Bill

6.1. The object of the Bill is to

establish the Ghana Accreditation

Service to provide for an efficient and

effective accreditation system for the

accreditation of conformity assessment.

7.0. Highlights of the Bill

7.1. The Bill contains a total of fifty-

nine (59) clauses.

7.2. Clause 1 deals with the

application of the Bill. The Bill applies

to the accreditation of conformity

assessment bodies such as calibration

laboratories, testing laboratories;

validation bodies, verification bodies;

certification bodies, inspection bodies;

rating agencies; and any other body

determined by the Minister and or by

Executive Instrument.

7.3. Clauses 2 to 5 provide for the

establishment of the Ghana

Accreditation Service, the object of the

Bill, functions, and membership.

7.4. Clauses 6 to 17 provide for the

composition of the membership of the

governing body of the Ghana

Accreditation Service, the duties, tenure

of office of the members, meetings,

disclosure of interest, establishment of

sub-committees of the governing body,

allowances, adherence to policy

directives of the Minister, establishment

of Accreditation Committee, functions

of the Accreditation Committee and

establishment of sub-committees of the

Accreditation Committee.

7.5. Clauses 18 to 25 deal with the

appointment and functions of the

Director-General, the appointment, and

functions of the Deputy-Director

General, the appointment of other staff,

the creation of divisions, directorates,

and units, and establishment of Regional

offices of the Service and Internal Audit

Unit.

7.6. Clauses 26 to 31 provide for

financial matters including sources of

funds of the Service, opening of a Bank

account, borrowing powers, accounts,

and audits; and annual reports to comply

with relevant laws.

7.7. Clauses 32 to 34 deal with

matters of accreditation schemes

including the establishment of the

accreditation schemes, mandatory

Ghana Accreditation Service Bill, 2023 — Second Reading

accreditation of conformity assessment

activities, and compliance with

mandatory accreditation.

7.8. Clauses 35 to 47 provide for

licensing, and requirements for

accreditation. Application for license to

use accreditation symbol, consideration

of the application, grant of licence,

validity, and duration of licence, non-

transferability of licence, extension of

scope of accreditation, suspension of

licence, reduction of scope or withdrawal

of licence, appeal against decisions of the

Service, register of licence, indemnity

and restrictions on the use certain words.

7.9. Miscellaneous dealt with in

clauses 48 to 59 and makes provisions

scheme of service, confidentiality,

impartiality in the performance of

assigned functions under the Act,

administrative penalties, offences,

custody and use of common seal,

Regulations and Interpretation, Repeal,

transitional provisions, dissolution, and

savings.

8.0. Observation

8.1. Concerns of Stakeholders

8.1.1. Concerns were expressed by

some stakeholders including the Ghana

Standard Authority (GSA) and Health

Facilities Regularity Authority (HeFRA)

in relation to the scope of the mandate of

Ghana Accreditation Service when

established. In the view of the concerned

stakeholders, extending the scope of the

mandate of the Ghana Accreditation

Service beyond the third-party

accreditation, to include monitoring of

the activities of the conformity

assessment bodies is likely to result in

duplication of functions, increase the

cost of doing business and create

potential conflicts with some existing

Regulatory Agencies.

For instance, under Ghana Standard

Authority Act, 2022 (Act 1078), GSA is

mandated to carry out conformity

assessment activities. GSA further

argues that it is well positioned to carry

out this conformity assessment

considering the reference laboratories

GSA has constructed, in addition to the

cumulative wealth of experience and

competence in conformity assessment

(testing, inspection, and certification).

8.1.2. The Ministry, however,

explained that the best practice requires

that all the Pillars of Quality

Infrastructure (Standardisation, Metrology,

Conformity, Assessment, and

Accreditation) should be independent.

Accordingly, the Ministry has decided to

transfer the monitoring role of GSA for

conformity assessment role as currently

contains in Act 1078, and place it under

Ghana Accreditation Service, whiles the

Ministry takes steps to develop other

Quality Infrastructure Bodies. The role

of GSA will thus be limited to

standardisation. HeFRA on the other

hand, will remain and monitor

compliance to standards by the health

facilities in Ghana.

8.2. High Cost of foreign accreditation

8.2.1. The Committee was informed

that the average minimum cost of foreign

accreditation services including

Ghana Accreditation Service Bill, 2023 — Second Reading

preparatory work and travel expenses of

foreign consultants, is approximately

US$120,000, exclusive of the cost of

maintenance assessments and re-

assessments. The prohibitively high cost

of foreign accreditation services and

expertise has been a major disincentive

for the conformity assessment bodies to

seek accreditation services for their

activities. This has negatively affected

their ability to remain internationally

competitive for their business.

8.2.2. The Committee was, however,

delighted to note that the same range of

accreditation services to be provided

locally will cost about US$ 50,000 when

the Ghana Accreditation Service is

established.

8.3. Economic Transformation

8.3.1. The Committee noted that the

establishment of the National Accre-

ditation Service has become more

imperative as Ghana aims to leverage

private-sector-led industrialisation, and

trade and investment to stimulate high

economic growth and sustainable

development. The establishment of a

local Accreditation Body with

international recognition will offer an

opportunity to the private sector to

harness the benefits of market access

under Preferential Trade Agreements,

including but not limited to, the African

Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

Agreement, the EU-Ghana Economic

Partnership Agreement (EPA), UK-

Ghana Trade Partnership Agreement

(TPA), Africa Growth and Opportunity

Act (AGOA) and the ECOWAS Trade

Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS).

8.3.2. The relatively cheaper and

easy access to Accreditation locally will

also enable industries operating in Ghana

to compete favourably with their

counterparts in other countries.

8.4. Donor Support

8.4.1. The Committee was further

informed that the World Bank has

committed an amount of US$5.1 million,

under the Ghana Economic

Transformation Project to support the

Ghana Accreditation Service. An

amount of US$2.5 million out of the total

support (US$5.1 million) is earmarked

for supporting the activities of the Ghana

Accreditation Service in the 2023

financial year on condition that the

Accreditation Service Bill is

promulgated by June, 2023.

8.5. Public Health and Safety

8.5.1. The establishment of the

Ghana Accreditation Service is in

furtherance of the realisation of the

aspirations of article 36(9) of the 1992

Constitution which enjoins the State to

take appropriate measures needed to

protect and safeguard the national and

wider international environment for

posterity, through co-operation with

other states and bodies.

8.5.2. The creation of the Ghana

Accreditation Service will ensure that

conformity assessment bodies are

competent to verify the health and safety

of products and services whiles at the

same time, preventing unhealthy, unsafe,

and environmentally harmful products

from entering the marketplace.

Ghana Accreditation Service Bill, 2023 — Second Reading

8.6. Financial Sustainability Analysis

8.6.1. The financial sustainability

assessment indicates that the enterprise

is financially sustainable, because it is

self-financing in the medium term. The

Government of Ghana is expected to

contribute an amount of GH₵1,548,895.28 comprising of GH₵1,421,267.28 as Compensation and GH₵127,628.00 as Goods and Services for the establish-

ment and operationalisation of the Ghana

Accreditation Service in one financial year.

8.6.2. However, the estimated

income from Internally Generated Funds

(IGF) shows an increasing upward trend

from GH₵853,000.00 in year 1, GH₵1,023,600.00 in year 2, GH₵1,228,320.00 in year 3, GH₵1,473,984.00 in year 4 and GH₵1,768,780.00 in year 5.

The trend, therefore, gives an

indication that the Ghana Accreditation

Service will be able to finance all of its

activities through IGF after the fifth year.

8.6.2. In addition, the Ghana

Accreditation Service is expected to

receive a total amount of USD 5.1

million from 2023-2026 under the Ghana

Economic Transformation Project,

averaging US$1.275 million per annum

to support its operations.

9.0. Recommendation and Conclusion

9.1. The Committee after extensive

deliberations on the policy rationale of

the proposed legislation, noted inter alia

that the Bill seeks to improve trade

facilitation and capacity to attract clients

due to high assurances for quality and

reliability; improve Ghana's capacity to

take advantage of trade agreements

including opportunities offered by

AfCFTA; and ensures health, safety and

environmental protection in consonance

with the aspirations of article 36 (9) of

the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of

Ghana.

9.2. The Committee accordingly

recommends to the House to adopt this

Report and pass the Ghana Accreditation

Service Bill, 2023 into law in accordance

with article 106 (13) of the 1992

Constitution and Order 119 of the

Standing Orders of Parliament, subject to

the attached proposed amendments

(Appendix I).

Respectfully submitted.

Ghana Accreditation Service Bill, 2023 — Second Reading

Yes,
Hon Ranking Member?

Mr Speaker, I am rather the
Deputy Ranking Member of the
Committee.
Mr Speaker, I rise to support the
Motion numbered 15 on today's Order Paper.

Mr Speaker, your good self, referred

this Bill to us to determine whether or not

it should be taken under a certificate of

urgency. We reported to the House and

recommended that there was the need for

us to take it under a certificate of

urgency. Your Committee now went

back to deliberate on the content of the

Bill.

Mr Speaker, as part of Ghana's trade policy, we would require a national

quality infrastructure and as part of the

national quality infrastructure, we would

need Ghana Accreditation Service as one

of the pillars. So, when we met, we

brought on board a lot of stakeholders

and we all agreed that there was the need

for us to pass this Bill into an Act.

At the meeting, Health Facilities

Regulatory Agency (HeFRA) which is

under the Ministry of Health, raised

some concerns that they wanted some

clauses in the Bill expunged. We had a

serious deliberation and at the end of the

day, they agreed that they were going to

Ghana Accreditation Service Bill, 2023 — Second Reading

limit their activities, provide exactly

what they are mandated to do and to

leave monitoring to Ghana Accreditation

Service when it is established.

Mr Speaker, another stakeholder that

raised concerns and brought a petition is

Ghana Standards Authority (GSA).

Ghana Standards Authority was there

and presented a petition and explained

why they think that certain aspects of the

Bill be expunged or should not be

considered. Upon a thorough

deliberation, they also agreed that that

aspect is supposed to be under the

Accreditation Service Institute. So, they

agreed that we should go on with the Bill

as it stands.

Ghana Accreditation Service Bill,

2023, which if passed into an Act will

give legitimacy to the Ghana

Accreditation Service has some benefits

and it is important that we enumerate

some of them. Most organisations that

require some kind of attestation and

confirmation would have to travel

outside this country for accreditation.

What happens is that they have to pay

huge sums of foreign currency which

means that we are transferring foreign

currency to other countries. Establishing

this organisation here would mean that

these facilities would not go out of this

country for accreditation. So, we would

end up saving some foreign exchange.

Mr Speaker, it is also important to

realise that in today's global village where there is the need for us to inter-

trade, we cannot do that if we do not have

our goods and services accredited. Most

of our commodities in this country are

not accredited and it becomes difficult

for us to be competitive and sell outside

the boundaries of this country. When we

establish this organisation, we would be

able to accredit most of our institutions

that provide goods and service within

and outside to be very competitive. So,

we thought that there is the need for us to

have this institution established.

Again, today we are talking about the

African Continental Free Trade Area

(AfCFTA) and we would be able to make

maximum use of it if our institutions are

accredited so that they can produce

goods and services that will meet

standards within and outside this

country.

Mr Speaker, it is also important to

mention the importance of public health

when it comes to accreditation. Most of

our laboratories and other institutions

need to be accredited so that we can have

confidence in the results they give out,

especially when our health is concerned.

So, this institution is also going to

address that issue.

Upon these deliberations, the

Committee recommended that there was

the need for us to pass this Bill into an

Act and to do it in a quick manner

because the World Bank is supposed to

give us some support and they want us to

pass this Bill before the end of this

month. If we are not able to pass it before

the end of this month, that support would

not be given to us.

On this note, I call on the House to

adopt this Report and pass this Bill into

an Act. I thank you so much.

Ghana Accreditation Service Bill, 2023 — Second Reading

Prof Kingsley Nyarko (NPP —

Kwadaso): Mr Speaker, I am grateful for

the opportunity to contribute to the

Motion under discussion. Since I have

worked within the sector of accreditation

and quality assurance before, I see this

Bill as very crucial and important if we

want to advance the course of the country

in terms of our trade volumes, quality

and all that.

Going through the Report, I saw that

most of these trade institutions normally

pay about US$120,000 to foreigners for

accreditation. It is huge, but if we are

able to pass this Bill and have the Ghana

Accreditation Service in place, then we

are more likely to obtain accreditation

for our institutions at half the price —

about US$50,000. For me, that is very

important.

Mr Speaker, we live in a global

environment where competition has

become so fierce, and foreign countries

would always depend on the assurances

of quality of products that are exported to

them. So, I am happy that this is

happening because it makes it very

competitive, gives assurance to potential

buyers of our produce that our produce is

of certain high quality. That would also

help us to get increased volumes of our

exports with its consequential positive

effects of increased foreign exchange

which will help us to deal with our

balance of payment issues.

I thank you for the opportunity and

would plead with the House to adopt and

pass this Bill to the benefit of this nation,

especially within the trade environment.

Thank you for the opportunity, Mr

Speaker.

Dr Kwabena Donkor (NDC — Pru

East): Mr Speaker, I beg to lend my

support to the adoption of this Bill. In

doing that, I also want to draw the

attention of the House that having the

legal framework in place alone has never

been enough.

This country has never lacked

appropriate laws, the challenge has been

the policy environment and the will to

implement whatever the law sets out to

do. Therefore, in contributing to the

adoption of this Bill, I would want a clear

commitment from the Ghanaian State,

represented here by the Ministry of

Trade and Industry that this should not

just be another piece of legislation, as an

Hon Colleague said, to conform to the

demand of a third party. I heard the

World Bank has some facility and if we

do not pass this by the end of the month,

that facility would elapse.

Mr Speaker, I would not like to see

us doing things because there is money

to support this, but I would like to see it

as, taking this far more seriously, the

need for this country to particularly

increase exports which cannot be

debated.

It is so paramount and imperative that

we establish an export driven economy if

Ghana Accreditation Service Bill, 2023 — Second Reading

we are to create the necessary jobs for the

teeming number of youths coming

especially from our tertiary and pseudo-

tertiary institutions. Therefore, while

supporting this Motion, when it comes to

the details, I would like us to look at a

wording that empowers, which would

put an obligation on the Ghanaian State

to ensure that this does not remain a

paper tiger. I thank you, Mr Speaker, for

the opportunity.

Dr
Kwabena Donkor, I am laughing because
no matter what word we use to write the
Bill or the law, the desire to do it is in the
person implementing it, and unless we
are willing and ready, any word we use
would not make any difference.
Yes, Hon Member for Keta South,
Ms Dzifa Abla Gomeshie?
Ms Dzifa Abla Gomeshie (NDC —
Ketu South): Mr Speaker, really, my
interest is about the economic
transformation that this document seeks
to achieve. As we have in other
countries, I think it is about time we had
agencies that work to promote and
facilitate the work that people in the
business sector do. Point 8.3,
particularly, which talks about the
economic transformation is of interest to
me because of the financial stability that
this seeks to achieve.
However, Mr Speaker, in this
Chamber, I miss my Hon Chairman, and
any Hon Member on the other Side of the
House from the Committee. We as a
Committee were mandated to take to
look at this because it came under some
urgency. It is unfortunate that I do not see
my Chairman in the Chamber. However,
looking at the work that we have done in
the past three days, I would like to
commend all of us who participated in
the discussion and to urge that this House
takes a serious look at it. I thank you, Mr
Speaker, for the opportunity.

Hon
Members, I think that Leadership may
wish to comment now.
Mr George Kwabena Obeng Takyi
— rose —

Yes,
Hon Member for Manso-Nkwanta?
Mr George Kwabena Obeng Takyi
(NPP — Manso-Nkwanta): Thank you, Mr Speaker, for this opportunity to make
some few contributions to this important
Bill. We are moving into a world of
technology and today, people are talking
about Artificial Intelligence (AI). If we
look at the advance world, they are
taking the lead in terms of how best they
are coming out with regulations to ensure
that this new technology would not take
them by surprise. What are we doing as
a country in our part of the world? It is
time we also take note of this all-
important Bill to ensure that we
incorporate into the Bill some of these
new developments in an advance and
ahead of time so that we do not allow our
society to be overburdened and
overtaken by events.
Mr Speaker, when you look at the
implications of this Bill and what we are
going to see from this new development,

Ghana Accreditation Service Bill, 2023 — Second Reading

we shall have some social, health,

educational and economic implications.

However, if we look at the health

implication, technology is going to come

out with a lot of side effects and other

things that could impair the development

of our health system. So, we need to take

steps as the Bill is trying to seek to ensure

that we incorporate all the necessary

steps to ensure we protect our people

from such developments that would be

negative to us.

Mr Speaker, to conclude, I would

also like to say that this new

development in technology and other

things have certain financial implication.

If we allow ourselves without having in

place measures to retain and ensure that

our fair share in terms of the economic

implication on us are taken care of, we

may end up being on the losing side. This

is because, without taking steps to make

sure that we also get the right benefits to

fight some of these negatives, the effect

of some technologies shifts the cost on

us.

So, Mr Speaker, in support of this

Bill, I am also encouraging members of

the Committee and the House to ensure

that we incorporate into this Bill, all that

is said to ensure that we have our value

for money so that in future we do not

ridicule ourselves into such negatives of

modern technology.

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for this

opportunity to contribute to this Bill.

Yes,
Leadership?
Mr Kwame Governs Agbodza
(NDC — Adaklu): Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to make a few
comments about the Report as presented
by the Hon Majority Chief Whip.
Mr Speaker, my first comment is
about the fact that when this Bill was
read the First time, in fact, that day there
was even a debate as to whether it should
be taken under certificate of urgency. So,
it is surprising that whiles we made the
debate and agreed that this was supposed
to be taken under certificate of urgency,
it took all these days for us to come back
and deal with it. I think the Committee
and the Ministry should take this
seriously.
Mr Speaker, my second point is about
the highlight of the fact that one of the
reasons we are doing this is because of
donor support. We are trying to pass a
law which may outlive us. So, what is the
essence of US$5 million which is
pushing us; US$5 million is nothing so,
we should not be passing laws because
the country would lose US$5 million. If
we are passing the law because we
believe we need to do this, let us say so
but to say that the World Bank is offering
us US$5 million, so, we should do it, I do
not think that is appropriate and we
should not even be putting things like
this in the Report. This is because, it is as
if without US$5 million, we cannot do
our own law. I do not feel comfortable
about that. I do not think we are making
the law because we are about to get US$5
million.
Mr Speaker, paragraph 8.5 talks
about the health and safety issues.

Ghana Accreditation Service Bill, 2023 — Second Reading

Indeed, we have encountered both

locally and imported products in this

country and we have questioned the

quality and standards by which these

things were produced and are in use.

Hopefully, this entity, if established, may

be able to deal with this. We are told

financial sustainability analysis have

been done and this entity may sustain

itself beyond the donor support.

However, Mr Speaker, there is a

concern raised by the stakeholders. If we

go to paragraph 8.1, we are told that the

Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) and

others raised concerns on the duplication

of service. In any case, the Ghana

Standards Authority (GSA) and this new

one is going to be Ghana Accreditation

Service (GAS), so, the question is, which

one comes first? I think the Ministry of

Trade and Industry would have to do a

good job by clearly stating in an

organogram, as to which one comes first

or the role of one being separated from

the other. Otherwise, as they have

already stated here, it appears Ghana

Standard Authority is feeling that part of

their mandate is what would be taken by

this. It is important when we come to the

Consideration Stage, we clearly state this

and separate them appropriately.

Mr Speaker, we are told this Bill has

about 60 clauses so, it is not that much

but the question is when can we get this

done? Another point raised was that, it

costs about US$120,000.00 to get

accreditation from abroad and it is

proposed that if we do this by ourselves

it would cost US$50,000.00. Once again,

I am not sure how they arrived at this. If

it costs US$120,000.00 to get an

accreditation for a product in London,

how did they work it out that it would

cost US$50,000.00 here? Does it even

need to cost US$50,000.00 here? I am

not sure if these figures are based on any

facts or they are arbitrary figures put

here.

Once again, we are told in paragraph

8.3 — economic transformation. There is a lot of nice English Language written

and quoting where things have been

turned around because of this.

Mr Speaker, if this law is passed, it

would not automatically transform our

country except we all agree that if one

needs accreditation, they need to get

approval to have a product, unless they

follow it, that is the only thing that will

bring the transformation. However, if we

pass this law, just like the way we have

traffic lights yet some people get to the

traffic lights and decide to go through

because the policeman is not standing

there, that will not automatically reduce

carnage on our roads. In the same way, if

we pass this law and we do not enforce

it, it may not lead to this economic

transformation we are talking about.

Mr Speaker, with this, I feel that the

bulk of the work will be how the

Ministry structures the body of the law to

separate the functions of the Ghana

Standards Authority (GSA) with this

new body, GAS, to make sure that they

all perform their functions effectively

and improve the standards of products

and services that we have in this country.

Ghana Accreditation Service Bill, 2023 — Second Reading

That will be a plus and this House will

also be proud if that happens.

Mr Speaker, with these few words, I

lend my support to this Report and urge

Hon Colleagues to support as well.

Mr Speaker, thank you for the

opportunity.

Does the
Hon Deputy Minister wish to conclude?

Mr Speaker, there are few
issues that I would like to clarify. The
first one is as regards the US$5 million
being extended to the Government of
Ghana by the World Bank through the
Economic Transmission Project. I think
that money is meant for the short-term
project. I am talking about the fact that
we need to start the venture and,
therefore, we would need some money.
So, we decided to extend that facility so
that we would be able to start the service.
Mr Speaker, I guess Hon Members
know or are all convinced that this
service is going to create a lot of revenue
for the country, in the sense that, in the
sub-region, it is going to be the only
accreditation body that is going to serve
the community. We believe that we are
not only going to benefit from service
providers in Ghana or conformity
association bodies in Ghana, but other
jurisdictions may also take advantage of
our services.
Mr Speaker, also, as regards the GSA
issues, I think paragraph 8.1 and 8.2
would be able to answer those questions,
so the Hon Member could refer to the
Report. It answers the questions clearly.
Specific roles have been given to all
these agencies under the Ministry of
Trade and Industry, so GSA is not going
to have conflicts with the Ghana
National Accreditation Service at all.
Mr Speaker, about the US$120
million, this number is the long-term
number. As I said earlier, it would
interest Hon Members to know that
during COVID-19, we realised that this
service was going to benefit this country
a great deal because the kind of numbers
we got, albeit we did not have a
legislation governing us, we were able to
provide service to the big labs in the
mining sector of this country. So, we
believe that in the long term, we are
going to generate a lot of revenue for the
country, so I believe that it is a good
number.
Mr Speaker, with these few words, I
thank you.
Question put and Motion agreed to.
Ghana Accreditation Service Bill,
2023 accordingly read a Second
time.

Yes,
Hon Majority Chief Whip?

Mr Speaker,
having regard to the time and also
discussion by Leadership, I would want
to move for the House to adjourn to
Tuesday 10 o'clock in the forenoon.

Yes,
Hon First Deputy Minority Whip?

Mr Speaker,
Tuesday is a great day. We will be
coming with Mr James Gyakye Quayson
for the second time. So, that being the
case, I second the Motion for
adjournment.
Question put and Motion agreed to.