Minority blocks LI to restrict importation of 22 items
The Minority in Parliament, for the third day running, shot down the laying of a Legislative Instrument (LI) on the Export and Import of (Restrictions on Importation of Selected Strategic Product) Regulations, 2023, over the lack of quorum and consultation.
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The efforts of the Minister of Trade and Industry, K. T. Hammond, were forcefully resisted by the Minority yesterday, with the minister losing his cool and flaring up as he pushed for the paper to be laid.
First, the MP for Builsa North, James Agalga, raised the issue of quorum, with the Minority side having 28 members in the chamber as against 13 by the Majority.
He built his argument on Standing Order 48, which states, among others, that the House must have at least two-thirds of members for such an important business to be conducted.
The Deputy Minority Chief Whip and MP for the Banda Constituency, Ahmed Ibrahim, expressed worry that the document was never captured in the Order Paper for both last week and this week, but rather smuggled to the House in the form of an addendum.
He said the LI was crucial for the business community of Ghana and that since MPs were representatives of the people, it was fair that their concerns were factored into the document.
After arguments from both sides of the divide, leadership — led by the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu — agreed to further consult and ask the minister to refine the paper and bring it to the House on Monday for a decision to be made.
Last Thursday, the Minority thwarted efforts to lay the LI, urging the Minister of Trade and Industry to undertake more consultations with stakeholders.
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LI
The LI will compel importers of 22 restricted items such as poultry, rice, sugar, diapers and animal intestines (commonly called yemuadie at local eateries) to seek licences from a committee set up by the Minister of Trade and Industry.
The Trade Minister was due to lay two instruments — the Export and Import (Restrictions on Importation of Selected Strategic Product) Regulations, 2023 and the Ghana Standards Authority (Manufacture of Cement) Regulations, 2023.
While the former will regulate the restriction and the importation of selected items, the latter will regulate the monitoring of inputs used for the production of cement in the country.
The minister was able to lay the latter but was obstructed from doing the same with the former.
Briefing
Addressing journalists on the issue in Parliament last Thursday, the Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, said with Ghana being a member of the World Trade Organisation, the practice was not only “dangerous” but also violated international trade practices.
“This is not a policy that we should encourage and I am worried that a time will come when if you are not a New Patriotic Party member, you will not get a licence to import something into this economy and that is unacceptable,” he said.
Dr Forson said the government “is asking Ghanaians that before you import 22 items, you need to go the Ministry of Trade to seek permission”.
“Banning these items will create an artificial shortage and prices of these goods will go up.
“We know they want to restrict importation of sugar, but there is no sugar processing plant,” he added.
The Minority Leader said the regulation was in bad shape and not properly thought through.
He said the regulation was not in the best interest of the country and called for consultation with and inputs from all stakeholders, including the Association of Ghana Industries.
Dr Forson said the LI would give the minister so much power and lead to corruption.
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He said if the government believed that the time had come to ban certain commodities, it should show reason why such action must be taken if it had reason to substitute them locally.