Guarded optimism as donor community
Accra (Greater Accra), 23rd November 99
Vice-President John Evans Atta Mills on Tuesday opened the 10th Consultative Group Meeting (CG) on Ghana, re-assuring international donors that the government will not abandon its pragmatic economic policy just because next year is an election year.
"We will continue to stay on this course and fine-tune whatever rough edges there are, to make Ghana an object lesson in the transparent and judicious use of inflows from development partners," he told the opening session.
The meeting, the first to be held in Ghana, is organised by the World Bank as a forum for the government and its development partners to discuss issues affecting the economy with the view to working out strategies together to solve the difficulties.
It also provides the opportunity for the donor community to pledge resources to boost the economy.
The organisers say they expect to raise about two billion dollars from more than 30 international donors over two years. They include industrialised countries such as Japan and China from Asia, the United States, Canada and about a dozen others from Europe.
Vice-President Mills said government's main concern is poverty reduction.
It would, therefore, centre on poverty reduction programmes during the meeting with specific relation to social sector programmes, micro finance and accelerated agricultural development.
He said although much has been accomplished under the structural adjustment, as well as the decentralisation programmes a lot more remains to be done.
The Vice-President appealed for resources "to break the current vicious cycle of poverty, underdevelopment and marginalisation."
He said while it is a fact that the current problems facing Ghana are due to external forces, the government has admitted its responsibility to solving them and restated the commitment of the government to deal with corruption, especially in public services.
Vice-President Mills said the government has developed a strategy on debt relief, which it hopes to share with its partners during the discussions adding that Africa's share of the "peace dividend" following the end of the cold war about a decade ago has not taken care of.
"We have been disappointed because of the invisible barriers, including the invisible hands that have worked against the peoples of the developing countries."
Mr. Kwame Peprah, Minister of Finance, described the Accra meeting as unique because it would afford other Ghanaian stakeholders the opportunity to effectively participate in the deliberations.
Hitherto, the conference was held in Paris, France.
Those in attendance included the Speaker, Mr. Justice Daniel Francis Annan, Members of the Council of State, Ministers of State, MPs, policy makers, including senior public and civil servants and the private business community.
GRi
Guarded optimism as donor community
Accra (Greater Accra), 23rd November 99
Guarded optimism characterised the expectations of the Ghanaian delegation to the 10th Consultative Group (CG) Meeting on Ghana on Tuesday following the behaviour of the donor community over the past two years.
At the last meeting in Paris in 1997, the donor community, including the IMF and World Bank, pledged about 1.6 billion dollars to support the country's socio-economic development a substantial part of which has still not been fulfilled. The donors conference held biennially by the World Bank to assess the aids needs of country is being held for the first time in Ghana.
The three-day conference will enable the government and her development partners to discuss issues affecting the economy and map out strategies to solve them at the end of it the donor community id expected to make some pledges.
The meeting would also discuss health, education, micro-financing, agriculture and review poverty reduction strategies among others.
Dr Joseph L. S. Abbey, Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA), said it was too early to make any comments on the meeting.
"It is always difficult, at this stage, to pass any judgement. We have to wait and see what comes out after the donors have heard from their Ghanaian partners."
Dr Abbey, a former key economic adviser to the government, said with the last experience, it is advisable to wait. He stressed, however, that the economy needs a push.
Mr. Kwesi Abeasi, Director-General of the Private Enterprise Foundation, said there is nothing to expect at this time and was hopeful that the donor community will help lift the economy up.
"We are hopeful that they will stand by us in the face of low prices of cocoa and gold and the contrasting increase in crude oil prices.
"We are going to speak with one voice to ensure that they review the conditionalities and then we will see how things will work.
"It is important that what needs to be done for aid, is discussed and fully accepted by all there is no point making high pledges if the financial inflows do not come," he said.
A Japanese delegate said they have a different notion of development which is embedded in the policy of self-sufficiency.
"By this, we will want to guarantee that money taken is used for the right purposes so that it can be paid back."
He said Japan, which borrowed billions of dollars from the World Bank, paid back all her debt in 1989 "and so we believe all those who take loans should pay back the money they borrow."
Some donors at the Meeting said certain conditionalities agreed on were not met. They could not therefore approve some of the financial commitments.
GRi
Jubilee 2000 march called off
Accra (Greater Accra), 23rd November 99
The Ghana Chapter of the Jubilee 2000 Coalition, a non-governmental organisation which has been calling for the cancellation of third world debt, on Tuesday called off its march to present a resolution to donors attending the Consultative Group meeting on Ghana.
This follows a statement from the Greater Accra Regional Police to the Association that the background of the coalition is being investigated and the "outcome would be announced in due course."
Briefing newsmen in Accra, Mr. Akoto Ampaw, National Co-ordinator of Jubilee 2000, said it is disgraceful that the authorities should be subverting an action that is in national interest, "namely debt cancellation."
He said the Association had sent a letter of notification to the police as far back as November 11, "giving them ample time to react to our letter in accordance with the law."
"It is our considered view that the letter of the Ghana police cannot be supported under the relevant law, the Public Order Act, 1994, and is accordingly arbitrary and illegal."
Mr. Ampaw said the association would call a news conference to state its position on the matter while it considers seeking legal redress.
The demonstration was scheduled to start from the Kwame Nkrumah Circle through some principal streets in Accra and end up at the Accra International Conference Centre where a petition would have been presented to a meeting of Government officials and the donor community from the USA, Europe and Asia.
Mr. Ampaw said he had personally contacted the Resident Representative of the World Bank, Mr. Peter Harrold, who suggested that the demonstrators get there towards the end of the meeting when officials would have time to receive them.
GRi