   |
|
afrol News, 11 April - During a consultative meeting between Ghana's development partners and government officials i Accra, donors agreed to assist the government with one billion US$ to close the budget deficit for the 2002 fiscal year. Ghanaian President John Agyekum Kufuor had pledged the partners to move quickly to deliver the concessions emanating from reaching the decision point in the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. The three-day meeting, which closed yesterday, was the first in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration and was organised under the theme of "An Agenda for Growth and Prosperity". Ghana's "Economic Situation and Prospects", "Poverty Reduction Strategy" and "Decentralisation and Governance" have been specifically looked at as well as President Kufuor's five priority development areas including infrastructure, modernized agriculture, enhanced social services, private sector and rural development and good governance. According to World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Peter Harrold, donors at the meeting had readily expressed their willingness to help the government because it had succeeded in stabilising the economy and reducing inflation. Harrold at a press conference said a critical issue was to ensure that development partners redeemed their pledges on time to ensure the smooth running of government programmes. - Ghana currently has armies of unemployed youths with great expectations, the Ghanaian daily 'Accra Mail' said in an editorial. "These expectations have to be fulfilled at the shortest possible time, which means our economy has to be up and running also at the very shortest possible time." It was necessary to "begin to see real signs that our investment in democracy is a worthwhile one," the editorial says. Also Ghanaian Finance minister Yaw Osafo-Maafo emphasised the importance of the step and that donors moved quickly. The Minister at the press conference also assured donors of his government's commitment to the divestiture process and the government's fight against corruption. Sources: Based on World Bank,
PANA and afrol archives
|
