Parliament needs ample time to scrutinise budget estimates - MPs

Report on 80.4 million-dollar loan agreement before Parliament

MP appeals to police administration to re-open station

Financial independence requires constitutional amendment - Minister

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AGC's strike action proved costly - Kan-Dapaah

Parliament remembers former Veep, & chief

Accra (Greater Accra) 28 May '99

Parliament has underscored the need for members to have ample time to study budget estimates before they are finally brought to the house for approval.

Members on both sides contended on Thursday that this will help inject greater efficiency in the preparation and execution of the estimates.

Making a statement on the floor of the house on the procedures for consideration and approval of estimates of government revenues and expenditures, Mr Kosi Kedem, NDC-Hohoe South, said Members of Parliament (MPS) have realised that many a time, budgets presented by the various Ministries,

Departments and Agencies (MDAs) do not reflect all the priorities of the country.

Members, Mr Kedem said, sometimes feel that certain areas should be given more allocations than they have been given, and that others have been allocated much more money than they deserve.

Sometimes estimates are either discovered to be just routine repetition of the previous year's, or that there are inconsistencies in the figures provided, he said.

It is for this reason that a considerable period needs to be given to members to enable them to critically analyse budget estimates. That way, they will have a greater say in determining how public funds are raised, allocated or spent, Mr Kedem said.

Mr Kedem criticised as unsatisfactory the procedure whereby members have to urge the government to present a supplementary estimate, when, for instance, the house realises that the amount of money appropriated by the Appropriation Act for any purpose is found to be insufficient.

He pointed out that apart from being unsatisfactory, the procedure does not allow for flexibility and efficiency in budgeting, and therefore urged Parliament to re-consider its procedure for considering budgets in order to ensure greater efficiency, transparency, maximum utilisation of resources, more efficient resource allocation, greater innovation and accountability.

He said what members want is for Parliament to have a greater say and play a larger role in the manner in which public funds are raised and utilised.

Mr Kedem expressed concern about the present system of considering and approving budgets, and said it leaves much to be desired, because "it is fraught with many unintended shortcomings and lapses detrimental to the economy of Ghana."

He cited as an example the case in 1996 when the Select Committee on Education decided for once to be more critical in examining the estimates for the Ministry of Education.

He said members directed a team of officials from the ministry and the Ghana Education Service to inspect all the development projects included in that year's development budget for education.

Mr Kedem said the team's report made some interesting and disturbing revelations, because out of 427 projects inspected, 56 were completed and already paid for, even though a few other completed projects had outstanding bills for settlement.

Additionally, Mr Kedem said, because a few projects were found to have wrong titles, while others did not exist at all and yet they were budgeted for, the exercise of verification carried out enabled the ministry to eliminate all ghost projects.

Mr Kedem said as a result, total savings of 784 million cedis were made and the money re-allocated to other projects. He wondered how much could have been saved for the nation if this verification exercise was carried out in all ministries.

He called for the establishment of an effective monitoring and evaluation system for the preparation and implementation of budget estimates in order to minimise waste in resource allocation and inject efficiency into the system.

Some members on both sides of the house associated themselves with the statement and were of the consensus that for Parliament to properly scrutinise budgetary allocations for the various MDAs, members should subject those estimates to real debates on the floor of the house.

Members on the majority side who supported the statement were Mr Edward Korbly Doe Adjaho, Majority Chief Whip, Commodore Steve Obimpeh (rtd), (North Dayi), Mr Nicholas Appiah-Kubi, (Jaman), Alhaji Amadu Seidu (Yapei/Kusawgu) and deputy minister of Works and Housing, and Mr Thomas Kwame Yeboah (Dormaa West).

Those in the minority group included Mr Joseph Henry Mensah, Leader, Mr Sampson Kwaku Boafo, Minority Chief Whip, Alhaji Collins Dauda (Asutifi South), Papa Owusu Ankomah (Sekondi), Mr Charles Omar Nyanor (Upper Denkyira), and Mr

Kwamena Bartels (Ablekuma North), and Mr Stephen Kwaku Balado Manu (Ahafo Ano South).

Dr. Kwabena Adjei, Majority Leader and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, announced that a committee to consider budget estimates of MDAs will soon be set up.

Mr Kenneth Dzirasah, First Deputy Speaker who was in the chair, said by making good use of members' suggestions, the committee will live up to expectation.

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Accra (Greater Accra) 28 May '99

The Finance Committee of Parliament on Thursday presented its report on an 80.4 million-dollar loan agreement between Ghana and the Overseas Economic Co-operation Fund of Japan, to the House.

The loan is to co-finance the rehabilitation of the 105-kilometre Achimota-Anyinam road.

Under the terms of the agreement, the loan, which is repayable in 20 years with a 10-year moratorium, carries a 1.8 per cent interest payable semi-annually and a commitment charge of 0.1 per cent.

The report said where a part of the loan is made available to cover payments to consultants the loan will be for 40 years with a repayment period of 30 years, after the 10-year grace period.

The loan will attract an interest rate of 0.75 per annum, payable semi-annually.

The committee expressed the hope that when completed, the project would accelerate the socio-economic regeneration of the Accra-Kumasi route and the Ghanaian economy in general.

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Accra (Greater Accra) 28 May '99

Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, Member of Parliament for Afigya Sekyere West, on Thursday appealed to the Police Administration to re-open its station at Boaman in the constituency.

Making the appeal in Parliament, Mr Kan-Dapaah said the re-opening of the station will put an end to "the state of insecurity in the area."

The police administration closed down the station partly because it considered the building as not befitting the image of the police service and because a police officer posted there had difficulty in securing ccommodation.

Recounting its historical background, Mr Kan-Dapaah said the Boaman Police Station was opened around 1946 by the colonial government, and had since served the security needs of the area until it was closed down.

He wondered why a whole constituency headquarters could be denied security services, and described as "flimsy excuses" reasons for the closure.

In his view, the provision of police offices and accommodation has never been the responsibility of the people.

"Such facilities have been provided by central government out of national revenues", he stated.

Mr Kan-Dapaah revealed that armed robbers have recently broken into a rural bank in the area due to the absence of a police station.

He urged the Ashanti Regional Minister to request the Afigya Sekyere West district chief executive to allow the police to operate from the Area Council Hall, while the assembly undertakes the refurbishment of the station.

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Accra (Greater Accra) 28 May '99

Dr. Kwabena Adjei, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs on Thursday told the House that the only way to assert the financial independence of Parliament as granted to the Judiciary under the constitution, would be to amend the constitution.

He explained that Articles 127 (6) and 179 (3) (4) (5) and (6) of the 1992 Constitution, are specific provisions dealing with the financial independence of the Judiciary, saying the Articles do not relate to Parliament.

Dr. Adjei, who is also Majority Leader and Leader of the House, was responding to a Parliamentary question on how the Parliament of Ghana can assert its financial independence as granted the Judiciary by the Constitution.

The question, which stood in the name of Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu NPP-Asante Akyem North, was asked on his behalf by Mr C.O. Nyanor, NPP-Upper Denkyira.

The Minister stressed that the provisions dealing with financial independence of the Judiciary are clear cut and said if members had any reason to believe that Parliament was not asserting itself financially, then the House could initiate moves to influence executive action on the issue.

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Accra (Greater Accra), 29^th May ’99 -

Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, Minority Spokesman on Mines and Energy, said on Friday that the strike action of a section of

workers of the Ashanti Goldfields Company Limited (AGC), has proved costly not only to the company, but to the nation as a whole.

Quoting a catalogue of the adverse effects of the industrial action, he said the AGC lost more than 28,000 ounces of gold production while the country was poorer by more than eight million dollars of export earnings.

In addition, he said, it is estimated that even when peace is restored, the Obuasi Mine will take about one month to rebuild production to normal levels and will incur exceptional costs of more than five million dollars to repair damage and restart production.

Mr Kan-Dapaah who was making a statement in Parliament on the workers' strike at the Obuasi Gold Mine, described the action as illegal as it did not have the blessing of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to which the local union is affiliated.

It was also illegal under the collective bargaining agreement signed with the Ghana Mine Workers' Union on May 11, 1999, he said.

Mr Kan-Dapaah said the news of the strike action travelled far and wide since the AGC's shares are quoted in both the London and New York Exchanges, adding "this must have done a terrible blow to our efforts to attract investment."

Worse still, he said, the action was embarked upon during the fifth African-African American summit and wondered what message, as a country, "we were carrying to the outside world.

Mr Kan-Dapaah, who is also MP for Afigya-Sekyere West, said much as the rights of workers have to be respected and protected at all times, "we must not allow people to take the law into their own hands".

He said neither should we allow somebody's perceived but ill-conceived rights to cause such significant damage to the national economy".

He noted that it is of considerable comfort that the Minister of Mines and Energy has denied media reports that the strikers were instigated by some politicians.

Mr Kan-Dapaah said even though the strike is over Parliament should reflect on the impasse.

"In particular, we need to probe into how an illegal strike was allowed to go on for so long such as to cause the economic damage that it did.

"We should find out why the security services allowed the illegality to go on for so long. Indeed, we should probe into why it took the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare that much time to intervene", he said.

He said this is too important a national issue to be allowed to rest just like that.

"The private sector needs our protection and don't let it ever be said that Parliament was cowed into submission as illegality took over common sense in our society.

"Let us protect the rights of workers with the same compassion as we protect the rights and interests of investors", he added.

Endorsing the statement, Mr J.H. Mensah, Minority Leader, said it was important for Parliament to address its mind to a situation which if not properly handled, could have a long-term devastating consequences on the country's economy.

He said it is the duty of public authorities to regulate the rights of people to demonstrate, adding that over-hasty action in preventing people from exercising such right has invariably led to confrontations.

Mr Mensah described the AGC as one of Ghana's "flagship" companies, which promote the country's image abroad.

"What they say about economic conditions in the country, is what the people read".

He said the fledgling Ghana Stock Exchange overwhelmingly depends of AGC trading which has attracted a large proportion of foreign exchange for national development.

He said it was therefore unfortunate for "this national asset to be threatened in this way and for our reaction to be so slow in resolving the impasse".

Mr Mensah commended the efforts of the Ministers of Mines and Energy, and Employment and Social Welfare to get the workers and management together to resolve what, he said, is an illegal strike.

He warned that in a situation where there is no real wage policy for workers, the threat of industrial action will ever be present.

The Minority Leader suggested that the two sector ministers should be invited to the House to make a statement on the issue.

Contributing to the statement, Mr Dan Abodakpi, Deputy Minister of Trade and Tourism, said the relationship between employers and employees should not be antagonistic, especially at this time of global competition, "in order not to send the wrong signals".

He said there is the need for a new labour regime that does not hold the economy of the country to ransom.

He noted that if good sense had prevailed, the recent strike action by junior doctors, nurses and the Teachers and Educational Workers' Union (TEWU) would not have held the country to ransom.

Mr Doe Adjaho, Majority Chief Whip, described the statement as important but wondered why it had been made when the strike is over and, more so, when the Minister of Employment and Social welfare is out of the country on official duty.

He endorsed the suggestion that the Ministers of Employment and Social Welfare and Mines and Energy be summoned to brief Parliament on the strike action at the AGC.

Mr Kosi Kedem, NDC-Hohoe South, appealed to workers to exercise their right to go on strike with circumspection, saying "you must exercise that right as a last resort, considering the fragile nature of the national economy".

Mr Alex Adjei Acheampong, NPP-Bekwai, called for the enactment of a law to prevent what he described as "wildcat strikes".

He said, for instance, that workers can enter into negotiations with their management over salaries and conditions of service, but in the middle of such negotiations, any strike action should be considered illegal.

Nana Asante-Frempong, NPP-Kwabre, noted that Ghana can ill-afford to toy with the fortunes of the mining companies, especially the AGC, saying they are the major foreign exchange earners for the country.

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Accra (Greater Accra), 29^th May ‘99 –

Parliament on Friday paid two tributes, one in memory of Professor Joe de-Graft Johnson, vice-president in the third republic, and the other in memory of Nana Nyarko Yeboa the second, former Bosohene and paramount chief of Boso-Gua Traditional Area.

Mr Kojo Armah, PCP-Evalue-Gwira, paid the tribute in memory of Prof de-Graft Johnson, while that in memory of Nana Nyarko Yeboa came from Mr Kwame Dwamena-Aboagye, NDC-Asuogyaman.

Mr Armah described the late Vice-President as an illustrious son of Ghana whose death, he hoped, will not only raise the consciousness of the nation and bring Ghanaians closer to reconciliation, as a nation that recognises all as "stakeholders of our destiny", but will also impress upon government to rehabilitate all those who deserve to be rehabilitated.

He said as a true nationalist and patriot, Prof de-Graft Johnson will be better remembered for his two years in national politics, though he took keen interest in national affairs even before then.

He said as Vice-President of Ghana, Prof de-Graft Johnson, a pillar in the Limann administration, was "hard working and very sharp and cute in his grasp of the intricacies of government decision-making processes".

Mr Armah said he got to know the late Vice-President over a relatively short period in 1980-81 when he worked for the Ghana Investment Centre, set up by the Limann government, as the main vehicle for achieving the targets of the gold endowment conference.

He said even though Prof de-Graft Johnson went into exile after the December 31, 1981 coup, his patriotic spirit was not quenched.

For example, Mr Armah said in 1992 Prof de-Graft Johnson registered his name as a member of the People's National Convention through the telephone, and even had to come down, sick though, to fully participate in the final funeral rites for Dr Limann.

He hoped the death of the former Vice-President, who was a man of peace, will unite Ghanaians and move the nation forward into the next millennium as one people with one heritage.

Mr Joseph Henry Mensah, Minority Leader associated himself with the tribute and conveyed the deep condolences of the New Patriotic Party and all other members and supporters of the Danquah-Busia tradition to the Convention Party and the bereaved family.

Mr Mensah commended the late de-Graft Johnson for being at the forefront of the struggle towards democratic rule in Ghana after so many years of Ghana under military dictatorship.

Mr Jacob Arthur, NDC-Mfantsiman West, described the late Vice-President as affable, easy to approach and a hard working personality, who contributed immensely to the research efforts of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

In his tribute in memory of Nana Yeboa the second, Mr Dwamena-Aboagye described the late Omanhene as a man of peace, respect, honour and integrity, whose installation as Bosohene ushered in an era of peace, stability, development and progress, not only in the Boso Traditional Area but the entire Asuogyaman District.

Mr Dwamena-Aboagye stated that while mourning the late omanhene, the people of Boso Traditional Area should be consoled by the legacy of peace and stability he left behind, and sustain these pre-requisites for the uninterrupted development in the area.

In his contribution, Mr Daniel Terkpertey, NDC-Yilo Krobo, said by the death of Nana Yeboa, Guans had lost a peaceful leader.

Winding up, Mr Kenneth Dzirasah, First Deputy Speaker who was in the chair, expressed the House's heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families.

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