News:
August 26, 2011
Parliamentary debate on the $3 billion Chinese Loan agreement has been deferred to today, Friday August 26, 2011.
First Deputy Speaker, Hon Edward Doe Adzaho, ruled that debate on the loan be postponed to this morning after Minority MPs strongly opposed an application by the Majority bench that a revised report of the Finance Committee on the facility be debated yesterday.
The Majority Leader Cletus Avoka stated that the revised report, “is not substantially different from” the original one, which was laid yesterday.
The Finance Committee had earlier had a lengthy meeting to deliberate on some details of the revised Master Facility Agreement laid before the House Thursday afternoon by Finance Minister Dr Kwabena Duffuor. He had earlier, withdrawn the original $3 billion loan agreement his Deputy, Seth Emmanuel Terkper, laid before the House on Tuesday July 12, 2011.
This was to enable the government work on the concerns of the minority in parliament. The amended agreement had a three-paragraphed statement inserted to address the concerns of Minority MPs.
But the Finance Committee again failed to achieve consensus on the revised document.
The minority this morning is expected to cogently debate this loan agreement after careful study of the amended details, however the majority is expected to have their way due to their numerical strength.
By : Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh