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| Parliament to Withdraw Food and Drugs Board Amendment Bill |
5/16/2007 |
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Accra, May 15, GNA - The Food and Drugs Board Amendment Bill currently before Parliament is to be withdrawn to allow for a comprehensive determination of the laws establishing the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) and the Food and Drugs Board FDB).
Briefing the Parliamentary Press Corps to outline the Business of the House for the Third Session of the Fourth Parliament of the Fourth Republic, Mr Felix Owusu Adjapong, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs explained that he would be discussing with the Speaker, Mr Ebenezer Sekyi Huges and Mr Alban Bagbin, Minority Leader to effect the withdrawal. This session is expected to last for 11 weeks. He noted that Amendment was originally expected to be straight forward, "but we have realized that a wide range of issues are associated with it and we do not want to create a situation for any of these two institutions."
He was of the opinion that the GSB and the FDB were vital national regulatory bodies, which required major attention, adding that we must not rush the process of amending the bill.
Nana Akomea, NPP-Okaikoi South, who chaired the session, was emphatic about the need to withdraw the bill and said it was important that the confusion between the two institutions was resolved amicably. The Food and Drugs Board Law was passed in 1993, nearly four years later when the Board was constituted the GSB was still playing the role of the FDB, resulting in a bitter outburst some two years ago that warranted the amendment to be introduced.
On the question of beefing up security for MP''s within and outside the House, Mr Adjapong said discussions were underway between the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Energy and The Interior to enable them to come out with something comprehensive.
"We however, cannot outline in full what is being done already on the ground. But you can see that the number of policemen for instance on the premises have gone up significantly," he added. He said Parliament was in the process of introducing electronic swipe cards that would restrict the premises of the House to accredited persons, stressing that, "this would fully provide security for all in the House."
Mr Adjapong said the Bank of Ghana Amendment Bill, 2007, Geneva Convention Bill, 2007 and the Data Capture (Registration) Protection of Personal Information Bill, 2007 have been slated for consideration and passage.
He said the Report of the Joint Committee on Finance and Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs on the Anti-Money Laundering Bill would be laid. The Ministers of Communication, Finance and Economic Planning, Transportation, Food and Agriculture and Energy would appear before the House to answer questions, he said. 15 May 07Source:
GNA
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