MP queries subsidies for TOR

Accra, Nov. 29, GNA - Mr Doe Adjaho, Deputy Minority Leader in Parliament, on Wednesday queried if the allocation of State funds in the first three quarters of 2006 to subsidise the operations of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) as contained the 2007 Budget Statement was not a payment for the inefficiencies of the Refinery.

He said the allocation of resources from State funds and schemes such as the National Health Insurance Scheme; Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund); the Road Fund and the District Assemblies' Common Funds (DACF) to create jobs under the National Youth Employment Programmes (NYEP) stifled those essential services for which the funds were created.

Mr Adjaho made the point while contributing to the debate on the Government Budget Statement on the floor of the House. He commended Government for the NYEP, but said the House never took any decision to use funds from the NHIS, GETfund, or the Road Funds to create jobs.

The Majority side responded that there was a contingency arrangement in the Constitution.

Mr Adjaho also observed that there was also no major policy issue in the area of fighting corruption, adding that the Corruption Perception Index of the country, as measured by Transparency International remained the 3.3 per cent in 2006 as in 1999, despite the fact that more structures to check corruption like the Financial Administration Act had been put in place.

Dr Francis Osafo-Mensah, NPP Mpraeso, praised the NHIS, and said the scheme had been working in 127 districts.

He said at the moment, about 59 per cent of the Ghanaians registered on with the NHIS were on the exempt list. Mr Francis Agbotse, NDC Ho West, and Mr Mahama Ayariga, NDC Bawku Central, however, did not agree with Mr Osafo Mensah that the Cash and Carry System had been abolished.

Alhaji Alhassand Yakubu Malik, Second Deputy Speaker, who sat in the Chair, urged the Leadership of the House to get the Minister of Health to brief the House on the current status of the NHIS.

At one stage in debate, Mr Alban Bagbin, on a point of order registered his disapproval of so much background noise and heckling in the House, and reminded Members that the House was for serious debate. "Parliament is not Kejetia, but for serious debate. Our reputation is going down" The Minority Leader said, and asked Members to be cautioned and note their points and make them when they were given the floor, to which Alhaji Malik replied: "I'm in full control."

Mr Bagbin stated in his response to a point of order from the Deputy Majority Leader, Mr Abraham Ossei-Aidoo, that he had no business ordering the House: "I've never stated that I'm in charge of the House. I can be in charge, but not now... I'm making my views known=94, and added that as Minority Leader if his views did not matter, then he should not be at Leadership meetings.

Some members from the Majority side did not take kindly to the mention that the House was not Kejetia, to which Mr Bagbin explained that Kejetia, could be any disorderly lorry station and noisy market and not necessarily the Kejetia Market at Kumasi.

Continuing the debate, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, Offinso North, said the Budget was not an "Awam" (fake) Budget as criticized by the Opposition but one that was building a solid foundation for a very prosperous future.

He, however, said the agriculture sector was still weak, and added that the Government was keen on developing education in Ghana to be a showpiece for the West African Sub-Region. Dr Apraku said development of the Bui Dam would give a boost to irrigation to support agriculture. Sitting continues on Thursday.