Ghana, World Bank sign US$ 570m financing agreement

The Government of Ghana and the World Bank have committed to four projects through a financing agreement totaling US$ 570 million, of which US$ 557 million is in the form of credit and the other US$ 12 million is in grants.

The projects are: Ghana Economic Transformation project; Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development; Ghana Accountability for learning Outcomes Project and the Forest Investment Project.

Speaking at the signing of the financing agreements, the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta said this was a sign of government’s insistent efforts towards the development of the country.

“It is really an illustration that we are going to keep our foot on the accelerator and we are not going to hold back, as well the roads,” Mr. Ofori-Atta stated.

The first of the projects received an international Development Assistance (IDA) credit of US$ 200 million for the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development Project (GARID) with a lifespan of six years. This is a multi-sector and transformative urban project which aims to support Greater Accra to become a cleaner, safer and more resilient city.

The project is the first phase of a series of projects. It focuses on reducing flood risk along the Odaw urban river basin and three selected low-income communities including Nima, Alogboshie and Aketewman.

The second project gets an IDA credit of US$ 150 million for the Ghana Accountability for Learning Outcomes Project (GALOP) for six years. The objective is to improve the quality of education in low performing basic education schools and strengthen education sector equity and accountability in Ghana.

The Ghana Economic Transformation Project (GETP) has a life span of six years with  US$ 200 million financing. This will promote private investment and firm growth in non-resource-based sectors of the economy.

The final project is the Ghana forest Investment Program (FIP), Enhancing Natural Forest and Agroforest Landscapes and Project (ENFAL), which receives an additional financing grant of US$ 12.39 million and US$ 7 million credit facility for three years. This project seeks to reduce forest loss and degradation in selected landscapes in Ghana’s high forest zone, where deforestation is highest in the country.

“The World Bank is committed to strengthen our partnership even further going forward. We will work with you hand in hand to ensure that these projects, as well as others already ongoing are implemented timely and effectively,” Mr. Pierre Frank Laporte, World Bank Country Director said at the signing of the financial agreements.

“This will in turn result in efficient use of resources, achieve the projects’ objectives and most importantly positively impact the lives of the people, communities and institutions,” the Country Director stated.