Minister explains oil supply contract
VRA Resettlement Townships to get electricity
Accra (Greater Accra) 31 May 2001
Parliament on Wednesday passed the Public Holiday Law and declared that June 4 should no longer be observed as a statutory public holiday.
Alhaji Malik Al-Hassan Yakubu, Minister of the Interior, moving the bill under the state of urgency said June 4 should belong to history and that its observance as a holiday contradicts "the principles of a democratic and constitutional order".
He said the June 4 event was a military mutiny and a military take over, which the country does not want to witness in its political life.
The bill was not passed into law without the Minority raising a lot of legal, historical and political arguments to maintain the day as a public holiday.
Mr Ken Dzirasah, Second Deputy Speaker, raised legal, constitutional and procedural issues and said the bill should not be passed under the state of urgency.
He said once the bill was published in the gazette on May 18 it should be allowed to become matured for debate after 14 days and no longer be considered as urgent.
Quoting Articles 108 and 106 of the Constitution, Mr Dzirasah said if the bill had not been published earlier, it could be acceptable for the House to deal with it as urgent.
But once that urgency has been compromised to an earlier publication, it was no longer legal for Parliament to deal with one bill as urgent and at the same time treat it as a matter to follow the normal procedure, he said.
Just before the First Deputy Speaker, Mr Freddie Blay could put the question into a voice vote most of the Minority members deserted the chamber.
Mr John Akologu Tia, the Deputy Minority Whip, said the June 4 uprising was not a coup d'etat and that for once "it introduced probity and accountability into the Ghanaian body politic".
He objected to the voting system saying that there were not more than 100 members in the chamber to take the decision.
Mr Blay said the argument was belated since the voice vote had already been taken and there was no response of "no" from the Minority.
Young military officers and other ranks took up arms on June 4, 1979 and rescued Flight-Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings and other soldiers who were being tried for mutiny on May 15 in the same year.
The mutineers overthrew the military regime of the Supreme Military Council (SMC II) under the chairmanship of Lieutenant-General F.W.K Akuffo and established the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC).
The AFRC ruled the country for three months and handed over to the Peoples' National Party of President Hilla Limann.
Flt. Lt Rawlings later overthrew the Limann government in 1981 and established the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC).
After ruling as a military dictator for 11 years, Flt. Lt. Rawlings metamorphosed into a constitutional President in 1992 and ruled for eight years.
During the rule of Flt. Lt Rawlings, June 4 was observed as a public holiday with the assent of the Supreme Court.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 31 May 2001
Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, Minister of Energy on Wednesday agreed to submit the contract agreement the government signed with a Nigerian oil lifting company, Sahara Energy Resource Limited to the Parliamentary Committee on Mines and Energy for scrutiny.
He said this is to enable members to determine the transparency or otherwise of the agreement.
Mr Kan-Dapaah yielded to pressure from the Minority, who subjected him to a barrage of questions on the complex operations in the oil industry and its supply systems to the exporter and importer.
He was answering an urgent question that stood in the name of Mr Abraham Kofi Asante, NDC-Amenfi West, who wanted to know why the contract to lift crude oil from Nigeria to Ghana was awarded to the company without competitive bidding and what were the terms of the contract.
Mr Kan-Dapaah said the contract was signed without opening it to tender for competitive bidding because of "conditions of the utmost urgency".
The Government of Ghana, pressed for the earliest possible deliveries of oil because of imminent short supply.
He said, "we did not, therefore, have the benefit of time to consider competitive tendering."
Mr Kan-Dapaah said under the agreement the government is to save 7.4 million dollars per annum for the country.
Mr Isaac Adjei-Mensah, Deputy Minority Leader, then asked if the terms were so favourable why was it necessary for petroleum prices to be increased.
The Minister answered that the operations in the oil trading system was not just the increase and the decrease in the pricing mechanism of ex-pump prices.
He said he would like the Managing Director of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to explain to the Parliament how the oil market operates.
Mr John Mahama, NDC-Bole wondered whether Sahara Company was only playing the role of a "bookman" when the TOR itself has hired a vessel to transport oil to the refinery under its own operations.
Mr Kan-Dapaah said the agreement go deeper than that and as far as he was concerned the contract was transparent and would save hard currency for the country as has hitherto not been the case in the NDC government.
He said although the agreement is considered as secret he could still make it available to the Parliamentary Committee for study.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 31 May 2001
Mr Albert Kan Dapaah, Minister of Energy, on Wednesday said the Volta River Authority Resettlement Townships Electrification Project entails the electrification of 106 towns comprising all the original resettlement towns and 54 other communities that lie directly along the electricity supply route.
He said communities, which lie directly along the electricity supply route are, however, required to take their own initiative towards meeting the requirements to enable them to benefit from the Self-Help Electrification Programme (SHEP).
Mr Kan-Dapaah was answering a number of questions in Parliament as what preparation the Ministry has made so far to supply electricity to the resettlement towns at Amankwakrom, Ntonaboma and Mem Chemfre in the Afram Plains North posed by Mr Joseph Tsatsu Agbenu, NDC Afram Plains North.
Other questions stood in the names of Mr Abraham Owusu Baidoo, NDC Lower Denkyira and Mr George William Amponsah, NPP Asunafo South, who also wanted to know when towns and villages through which high tension lines pass would be connected to the national grid.
Mr Kan-Dapaah said the total cost of the project in the Afram Plains North is about 32 million dollars with 90 per cent of the funds being provided by the Government of China with the government of Ghana providing the remaining 10 per cent.
He said survey works for the towns in the Afram Plains have been completed while bush clearing and fixing of the poles would commence immediately the Electricity Company of Ghana approves of the survey drawings.
The Minister said the communities of Ama Kwamoanmo and Eduabeng have been earmarked for consideration under the fourth package of the SHEP-4 programme following the completion of the final phase of the SHEP- 3 programme.
Ansamaso and Kwekukrom are, however, not among the list of towns earmarked for consideration under the SHEP programme but said the communities may submit their applications to their District Chief Executives for inclusion into the list of communities for consideration under the SHEP - 4 programme.
Mr Kan-Dapaah said the towns of Asufofuo, Pewsewkrom, Nyamebekyere, Yaw Baafikrom, Dedekrom and Aduumakase all in the Asunafo District, are among the list of towns earmarked for consideration under the SHEP- 4 programme and the communities may submit their applications for consideration.
Mr Edward Salia, NDC Jirapa asked the Minister what steps were being taken to protect electric poles against bush fires, especially in the northern parts of the country and whose responsibility it was to protect them.
Mr Kan-Dapaah said the hazards of bush fires on electric poles has been due to poor supervision and he has asked contractors to ensure that they do not do shoddy work or neglect protecting the poles since it is their responsibility to do so but added that communities could also assist in maintaining and protecting the poles.
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