Immigration, Citizenship bills go through first reading

MP pays tribute to late Omanhene

Parliament adopts report on two loan agreements

Kumasi-Techiman road to be rehabilitated

Accra (Greater Accra) 26 May '99

Parliament on Tuesday took the Immigration and the Citizenship bills through the first reading.

The Immigration Bill seeks to revise the existing Aliens Act, 1963 (Act 160) to update the country's laws on immigration in line with the current development policies.

An accompanying memorandum says the bill seeks to de-emphasise and remove existing bureaucratic controls that unduly hinder the smooth operation of the immigration laws to ensure accelerated movement of people across the country's borders.

The memorandum says other policies of the government to which legal backing is being sought under the bill, are the new concepts of indefinite residence status and right of abode status, which may be conferred on foreign nationals.

The purpose of the Citizenship Bill is to consolidate the laws on citizenship and to replace the Ghana Nationality Act, 1971 (Act 361).

The memorandum says Act 361, which was enacted after the coming unto force of the 1969 Constitution, provided the then applicable conditions for acquisition of citizenship by birth as well as other methods of acquiring citizenship.

It says citizenship acquired through registration, naturalisation and other administrative means backed by law, have been relatively easy to deal with, however, determination of citizenship by birth has always been a problem in the country.

The memorandum explains that the cause lies mainly in the country's colonial past and also the changes in the legal conditions that have applied at different periods.

The memorandum says the constitutions of the country have saved legally acquired citizenship that existed at the time of the coming into force of the relevant Constitution.

It says, in order not to sweep aside any citizenship legally acquired and existing, it has become necessary to state the law as it relates to citizenship by birth at the given periods in time.

Citizenship by birth has been the greatest area of controversy, it says.

The bill adopts the method of stating the applicable legal conditions at the various dates because citizenship by birth is a condition a person acquires at the date of birth dependent entirely on the law then in force.

The bill explains that the 1979 Constitution had different provisions on citizenship by birth from those of the 1969 Constitution.

It adds that the provisions under the 1992 Constitution differ on the subject of citizenship by birth from those of the 1969 and 1979 Constitutions.

To determine if a person is a citizen of Ghana by birth, the bill says it is necessary, therefore, to relate the question to the legal conditions applicable at the given date of birth.

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Accra (Greater Accra) 26 May '99

A tribute to the memory of the late Okofrobuor Agyeman Attafua the Fourth, Omanhene of Akyem Kotoku Traditional Area was the subject matter of a statement in Parliament on Tuesday by Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, member for Akyem Oda .

Mr Osafo-Maafo described Okofrobuor Agyeman Attafua as a statesman, who abhorred the theory of ''winner takes all'', saying that the various acts and diplomatic moves by the late Omanhene in the first ten years of his rule, showed clearly that he was a man of peace and diplomacy.

Okofrobuor Agyeman Attafua systematically devised ways and means to reconcile himself with all the chiefs and people, who openly opposed him during a protracted litigation.

Okofrobuor Agyeman Attafua is said to have gone further ahead to promote some of the sub-chiefs who opposed his installation.

Mr Osafo-Maafo said the late Omanhene was elected four consecutive times to serve at the National House of Chiefs, where he served on a number of committees, including Finance and Staff, Stool and Skin Lands and the Judicial committees, between 1982 and 1992.

Okofrobuor Agyeman Attafua would go down in history as a man of deep conviction and courage, who could not be easily swayed by parochial interests, he said.

"Okofrobuor Agyeman Attafua was certainly a man of peace and highly principled. Patience, tact and humour were his distinguishing attributes", Mr Osafo-Maafo said of the late Omanhene.

Okofrobuor Agyeman Attafua was buried about a month ago.

Two other statements were made, one on a fire outbreak at the residence of Mr Francis Adu-Poku, Member for Asunafo South at Manetville, East Airport in Accra on Monday and the other in commemoration of this year's "Africa Day" celebration which falls on Tuesday May 25.

Mr Kosi Kedem, NDC-Hohoe South, who made a statement on the fire outbreak, told the House that he was in his house around 18:30 hours when one of the workers rushed in to inform him that one of the MPs' houses was on fire.

He said he rushed to the scene only to find that the block occupied by Mr Adu-Poku was burning fiercely, adding that the fire was so fierce that, "We could only stand there and wail but helpless to do anything to put out the fire".

"It was a real nightmare. There was no telephone in the area to contact the Ghana National Fire Service".

Mr Kedem said while they sent for the firemen, "those of us whose houses were not yet affected by the fire, decided to retrieve as much of our property as possible".

Fortunately, the fire tenders arrived and extinguished the fire after a long fight but not until Mr Adu-Poku's house was completely burnt down.

"I am sad to inform the House that the Honourable Member lost almost all his property. In fact had it not been for timely intervention of the firemen, I am sure the majority of the 25 MP's houses at Manetville would have been destroyed by the fire".

Mr Kedem told the House that the statement was primarily to inform members about the tragedy, which befell Mr Adu-Poku and also to draw their attention to the problems faced by MPs, who have been moved to Manetville, which he described as " a frontier-like settlement".

He said the houses have not been insured and very little security is provided at the place.

The estate, he said, is situated at the confluence of two big gutters and the drainage is very poor and called for prompt action to be taken to avert possible flooding in future.

He said to add to the plight of the residents, there is no pipe-borne water and currently, water is supplied by tanker service.

Members, who contributed to the statement, were of the view that MPs should be provided with decent accommodation befitting their status.

They said the statement has brought to the fore the plight of the MPs adding that the Sakumono Estates face similar problems.

One member said the statement has raised a number of fundamental problems associated with real estate development.

He said some real estate developers put up houses without providing utilities such as water and electricity until people occupy the houses.

On the Africa Day celebration, Mr Kwakye Addo, Member for Afram Plains South, said the wide-range factors uniting the peoples of Africa geographical, historical and cultural make them fully aware of their common destiny and the need to work together for their own emancipation and social and economic development.

He said the awareness created an impetus for solidarity among the peoples on the continent, which was practically demonstrated in the common struggle against colonialism and for independence as well as for unity through the creation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) on May 25, 1963.

On May 25, 1988, the African Council of Ministers decided that the day should be observed in all member states as "Africa Day".

Mr Kwakye Addo said it was recommended that on that day educational institutions across Africa should devote the first lesson of the day to OAU affairs.

On Africa Day, the member states observe the historic signing of the Charter of the OAU at the "Africa Hall in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia by 31 Heads of State and government, including Ghana's first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

The theme for this year's celebration is "Africa, equipping itself for the new millennium". He said the theme falls in line with that of the just-ended "Fifth African-African American Summit in Accra.

Mr Kwakye Addo said the summit went down as one of the biggest gathering of Blacks on the continent and those in the Diaspora that this century has witnessed.

The country could count on the successful Summit, which took concrete decisions to change the fortunes of Blacks, wherever, "we may be in the next century", he said.

Contributing to the statement, Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, noted that the OAU was born with hopes of lifting the continent from the doldrums but said the Organisation, bogged down by lack of enthusiasm and sectional interest, has undermine the effectiveness of the continental body.

The OAU should be given "more teeth to bite", he said, adding that the organisation's long dream of integrating the economies has been thwarted by the selfishness of some member countries.

Mr Owusu-Agyeman, who is the Minority Spokesman on Foreign Affairs, noted that Africa has become the home of the greatest number of refugees, a situation, which, he said, does not augur well for the continent.

"We should be able to stand on our own and stop being the beggar continent of the world".

Mr Owusu-Agyeman said member countries should be encouraged to put their acts together and avoid the abuse of human rights.

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Accra (Greater Accra) 26 May '99

Parliament on Tuesday adopted a report on two loan agreements totalling 18 million dollars for the implementation of the first phase of the Natural Resource Management Project (NRMP).

The first loan agreement for 9.3 million dollars is between Ghana and the International Development Association.

The second, the Global Environment Trust Fund Grant Agreement for 8.7 million dollars is with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Giving a background to the project, the report said the government in 1994 adopted a forest and wildlife policy aimed at conserving and sustaining the development of forest and wildlife resources for maintenance of environmental quality and flow of optimum benefits to all segments of society.

The report said in order to attain the objectives of the new policy, a forestry development master plan was launched in 1996 and subsequently, the NRMP was developed to implement the master plan and aspects of the National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP).

The NRMP aims at addressing major sector issues and to increase on sustained basis the supply of forest products through project interventions.

The development objective of the NRMP is to protect, rehabilitate and manage national land, forest and wildlife resources on sustained basis and to increase the income of rural communities who own these resources.

The report said the programme would be implemented in three phases, the first covering a two-year period with the second and third taking up four years each.

Under the terms of the first agreement, the loan, which is repayable in 30 years with a ten-year grace period, carries no interest.

The loan has a two-year disbursement period, a commitment charge of 0.5 per cent and a service charge of 0.75 per cent annually on the principal amount.

The Global Environment Trust Fund Grant has a disbursement period of six years, while 2.1 million dollars should be disbursed during the phase one of the Programme, the phase two would disburse 6.6 million dollars.

In its recommendation, the Finance Committee, which presented the report, urged the Ministry of Finance to ensure timely release of the 2.6 billion cedis counterpart fund for the successful implementation of the Programme.

The Committee noted that the untimely and in some cases, non-release of counterpart funding by the government, has seriously affected the implementation of donor-funded projects in the country.

Alhaji Collins Dauda, NDC-Asutifi South seconded the motion moved by Commodore Steve Obimpeh, Chairman of the Finance Committee, for the adoption of the report saying the loan is important because it would address an issue on, which the country's very existence depends.

He said among other things, the loan would help the implementation of the programme, which includes expansion of the forest cover that has been depleted for too long.

Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, Deputy Eastern Regional Minister and Member for Fanteakwa said the programme is laudable since it seeks to involve land owners to ensure that the little left of the country's forest resources are preserved and made sustainable.

Mr J.H. Mensah, the Minority Leader wondered how much wood the country would be producing after spending the loan under the 10-year phased programme.

He said the report does not make any reference to the production of wood adding that it is of utmost importance to know the rate at which the country is attempting to replace the depleted forest.

He said he is not against the raising of funds to finance agriculture, his worry was how the country was going to produce wood to help arrest the depletion of the forest.

Dr. Kwabena Adjei, the Leader of the House, in an apparent reference to the Minority Leader's contribution, explained that the programme goes beyond the production of wood.

The programme, he said, is aimed at conserving water, ensuring environmental stability and enhancing wildlife resources for food and stability in the ecosystem.

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Accra (Greater Accra) 26 May '99

The Deputy Minister of Roads and Transport, Mr Steve Akorli, on Tuesday told Parliament that the government was looking for funds to rehabilitate the Kumasi-Techiman road.

He said the road originally, formed part of the Kumasi-Tamale-Bolgatanga project being financed by the Overseas Economic Co-operation Fund (OECF).

He explained that due to additional works on the Tamale-Bolgatanga road, including realignment, construction of culverts and drainage, the funds are not adequate to cover the Kumasi-Techiman section of the road.

The Deputy Minister said in the interim, resurfacing of the first six kilometres of the road from the end of the asphalt at Suame Magazine, Kumasi, has been given on contract, while the filling of pothole and resealing of the remaining sections are on-going.

Mr Akorli was responding to a Parliamentary question by Mr F. K. Buor, NPP-Offinso South, who wanted to know when asphalt would be put on the Kumasi-Techiman road.

On the Nsawam-Anyinam road, Mr Akorli said the Mobile Maintenance Unit of the Ghana Highway Authority is rehabilitating sections of it.

He said marking of the road to enhance safety has been programmed while the contract award process for converting the Achimota-Anyinam portion of the road to a dual carriage is being finalised.

In an answer to a question on the tarring of the Akosombo-Gyakiti road, the Deputy Minister said the Department of Feeder Roads do not have immediate plans to tar the 15-kilometre road.

He said, however, that it has been proposed to re-gravel the road under the Department's 1999 development programme, adding that 60 million cedis has been provided this year for the project.

He announced that the 25-kilometre Donkokrom-Mem-Chemfre-Bruben feeder road is included in the three-year rolling programme for re-gravelling this year, under the government's Periodic Maintenance Programme.

On the rehabilitation and tarring of the Adoagyiri-Coaltar-Oworam road, Mr Akorli told the questioner that 10 kilometres of the road was awarded on contract in late 1995 out of which five kilometres were completed.

He said three kilometres of the road have been programmed for execution this year, in spite of tight budgetary constraints, adding that sections of the road would be tackled in subsequent years.

Giving the reason for the delay in the first phase of the Kete-Krachi town streets project, the Deputy Minister said lack of stone quarry within economic distance and haulage route, have contributed to the delay.

He said 1.4 billion cedis has, however, been made available in this year's budget for work on the project to continue.

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