British Minister Lauds Ghana's HIPC Decision

The visiting British Permanent Under Secretary of State, Sir John Kerr, on Monday lauded Ghana's decision to join the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and pledged his country's support.

Sir John, who was holding bilateral discussions with Vice President Aliu Mahama at the State House, said it was not right for Ghana to have spent more on debt servicing annually than on health and education.


Ghana is to save between 231 million dollars and 257 dollars in debt servicing this year by joining HIPC, which provides resources to be used in investment in poverty reduction programmes.


The discussions covered several issues, including economic growth, education, peacekeeping and the stamping of passports by the British High Commission.


Sir John said London had closely followed events in Ghana since the transition and was impressed with the "economic numbers" so far. The economic success of a country depended largely on reliable, predictable and stable indices, which create investor confidence, he observed, adding that "London will invest in Ghana's success as a model in West Africa."


Britain is currently Ghana's largest bilateral development partner with support of about 55 million pounds a year. The support is to increase to 65 million pounds over the next three years.


Sir John commended Ghana's military personnel for their impressive performance in peacekeeping operations and expressed the hope that the Kofi Annan Centre for Training would be used to further strengthen the capability of United Nations forces.

Reacting to an appeal by Alhaji Mahama to the British High Commission to stop stamping the passports of Ghanaians whose visa applications are rejected, Sir John, who is head of the Diplomatic Service, said he had "taken notice of the issue." Alhaji Mahama said Ghana was losing a lot of passports because of the practice.


Sir John later commission the Visa and Consular Building of the British High Commission as part of his two-day visit.


He will meet political figures and business people. The Vice President thanked Britain for its financial support to Ghana, especially in the provision of water and roads.


"Britain has given us a lot of support for which we are grateful. We hope that the assistance will continue for us to build a good foundation for our economy."


Alhaji Mahama said the government would pursue programmes to promote good governance, the rule of law and economic growth.