Parliament to withdraw FDB Amendment Bill

The Food and Drugs Board Amendment Bill currently before Parliament is to be withdrawn to allow for a comprehensive determination of the laws establishing the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) and the Food and Drugs Board (FDB).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 Hughes 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.

Source: GNA