Ghana receives bonus for reaching decision point
Accra (Greater Accra) 05 April 2002
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GRi../
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 April 2002 - Ghana would reduce by half her estimated 40 per cent population that lived on less than one dollar a day by the year 2015, Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, Minister of Economic Planning and Regional Co-operation said on
Thursday.
Ghana was seen globally to be conforming to the criteria prescribed for increased Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) pledged by leaders of developed countries at the recent international conference on Financing for Development (FFD) to reduce the world's poverty level by half by 2015.
Briefing the press on the outcome of the conference held in Monterrey, Mexico and attended by over 150 countries, Dr Nduom said Ghana stood a high chance to benefit immensely and to achieve this target if it implemented the three conditions of good governance, transparency and the rule of law prescribed under the consensus reached for increased ODA.
Ghana's delegation to the conference was led by Mr J. H. Mensah, Senior Minister and included Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Minister of Finance, Dr Nduom, Nana Effah Apenteng, Ambassador to the United Nations and Mr Kwesi Abeasi, Chief Executive of the Ghana Investment Promotion Council.
Dr Nduom recalled that the United Nations (UN) held a conference in August last year at which world leaders came out with what was called the Millennium Goals. The Goals required among other things that children every where would be able to complete full primary education course and that efforts would be made to eliminate gender disparity at all levels of education by the target year.
At the conference, delegates adopted the Millennium Goals under which the developed countries were expected to meet a UN ODA target of 0.7 per cent of national income.
"The European Union (EU), and the United States pledged billions of dollars more to finance development. However, it was made clear that more aid would be contingent upon good governance, transparency and the rule of law," the Minister said.
He said the EU agreed to an average official development assistance target of 0.39 per cent of national income to developing countries by the year 2006 and pledged to strive to meet the UN ODA target of 0.7 per cent. The percentage increase represented an additional seven billion dollars to developing countries from the EU.
The United States did not pledge any percentage but said it would increase ODA gradually to reach an additional five billion dollars annually from 2006. This would make the annual total receipt from that country to reach about 15 billion dollars.
However, small-developed countries like Ireland pledged to meet the 0.7 per cent target straight away, Dr Nduom said and noted that Denmark, Netherlands, Finland and Sweden had met the target while Norway planned to increase ODA to one percent of national income by 2005.
Dr Nduom said Norway also reached an agreement to include Ghana on her beneficiary lists. He said the nation received this and other pledges because many countries endorsed Ghana's Poverty Reduction Strategy as a very good basis for ODA. "The document was widely distributed and read by the donor community. Ghana was hailed as having met many of the conditions for increased ODA."
The Minister said Ghana's delegation, therefore, took the opportunity to reach an agreement to use ODA to attract foreign direct investments for which managers of the economy were expected to reduce the poverty rate in accordance with the target of the Millennium Goals.
He said in the view of others like President George Bush of the US, they endorsed the global objective because among others things, "we fight against poverty because hope is an answer to terror while liberty, law and opportunity are conditions for development."
As a follow up to the agreements reached at the conference, the US Secretary to the Treasury is expected in Ghana in May this year. Dr Nduom also announced that Ghana plans to benefit from a five billion dollar fund to be launched by the Gates Foundation, a US based NGO, which had agreed to include Ghana in the countries they would target for poverty reduction through, nutrition programmes.
He said however, that more work needed to be done for Ghana to receive the assistance and suggested that a team made up of the Ministries of Health, Food and Agriculture, Finance and Economic Planning should meet to prepare a plan that would enable the country to derive maximum benefits in the programme.
Dr Nduom said Ghana had opportunities of goodwill at independence and in the 990's and was now poised to take advantage of every available opportunity that would enable her to reach development targets.
GRi../
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Tema (Greater Accra) 05 April 2002 -- The Tema Port Community, users of the port, have called for an immediate suspension of new transit fee of 200 US dollars and escort fee of 65 US dollars imposed by customs
The fees would have a negative impact on the country's efforts to attract more cargo to its ports, they said in a resolution passed by seven major port users and addressed to the Minister of Finance after an emergency meeting held at Tema on Wednesday to discuss the new fees.
The port users include Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), Ship Owners and Agents Association of Ghana (SOAAG), the Ghana Shippers Council (GSC) and the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders.
The rest were the Burkina Shippers Council, Burkina Chamber of Commerce and the Niger Shippers Council. Transit cargo from the Tema port was attracting an escort fee of 50,000 cedis to Aflao, 100,000 cedis to the Ivorian border at Elubo and 150,000 cedis to the Burkina Faso border at Paga. Now the fee has been increased to 65 US dollars.
The Commissioner of Customs introduced a transit fee of 200 dollars, previously non-existent, on March 18 and affects goods passing through Ghana to neighbouring countries.
The port community called for a re-examination of the concept of escort of transit cargo with the full participation of all stakeholders to streamline its operations. Regulation affecting the bonding of transit cargo must also be discussed with stakeholders.
The resolution noted that the exorbitant escort fees is inimical to transit trade in Ghana and detrimental to the Gateway concept since it has resulted in the diversion of cargo from the Tema port to other competing ports in the sub-region. It said these losses far exceed any gains to be made from the 65-dollar escort fees and the 200-dollar transit fees.
GRi../
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 April 2002 - Ghana has received two bonuses in grant from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union (EU) for reaching a decision point on the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC) in the shortest possible time.
The IMF granted the first bonus of 35 million dollars in February when the Institution met the Ghanaian Ministerial team after the country reached the decision point. The EU was Ghana's first development partner to release funds immediately as a HIPC bonus.
Yaw Osafo Maafo, Minister of Finance, signed a 37.8 million Euro (246 billion cedis) agreement in Accra on Thursday with the EU, which includes the second bonus of 4.9 million Euro (31.8 billion cedis).
The amount from the EU would be used to support on-going macro-economic and structural reform programmes under the Union's Poverty Reduction and Budgetary Support programme.
Explaining the mode of disbursement, Mr Osafo Maafo said the EU earlier in 2001 signed a financing agreement through which the Union made available 38.4 million Euro (249.6 billion cedis) to be disbursed in two phases.
The first phase of 17.25 million Euro (112 billion cedis) of the facility had already been released to support the 2002 budget while preparations were being made for the release of the second phase for an equivalent amount of money.
He said the rest includes 3.31 million Euro (22 billion cedis) for regional co-operation premium and the 4.9 million Euro bonus to be released immediately after the signing of the agreement.
Mr Osafo Maafo noted that poverty reduction is pivotal in Ghana's development process. "For this reason, Ghana is in the process of finalising its Poverty
Reduction Strategy in order to access the debt relief under the HIPC initiative." The HIPC Initiative is a debt relief programme by the World Bank and the IMF for developing countries, which cannot meet their debt obligations.
Under the Initiative, part of debts owed by the countries which prescribed to HIPC are written off but the said amounts were expected to be used to reduce poverty through health, education, and construction of feeder roads among other programmes.
Mr Osafo Maafo said the foreign exchange equivalent of Thursday's agreement would be released to the Bank of Ghana to be disbursed through the inter-bank foreign exchange system to finance eligible imports of the EU/ACP origin.
The cedi equivalent proceeds accrued from the disbursement would be transferred into the consolidated fund to support the implementation of poverty reduction programmes in the 2002/3 budgets.
The Minister was of the opinion that by disbursing the amount through this process, enterprises would have access to foreign exchange for the importation of eligible goods and would also contribute a great deal to achieving government's policy to create wealth through the private sector. The process would also help improve the balance of payment position.
GRi…./
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