Ghana to receive $480m budgetary support yearly

Accra, Nov. 28, GNA - Ghana is to receive 480 million Canadian dollars annually in budgetary support for being selected among the few countries that Canada has decided to focus its development assistance. Canada has resolved to limit its overseas development assistance to 25 countries worldwide.

This came to light during the landmark bilateral talks between President John Agyekum Kufuor and the Canadian Governor-General, Ms Michaelle Jean at the Castle, Osu, on Tuesday. She is in the country for a five-day official State visit and this is the first time ever that Ghana is playing host to a Governor-General of Canada.

Canada has been providing development support for Ghana since 1957 with its total assistance between 2000 and 2005 coming up to 1,572 billion cedis.

Ms Jean said her country was proud and determined to serve as a useful ally of Ghana in its socio-economic and political development efforts.

"Ghana is the hope for Africa. We see Ghana heading in the right direction, in the areas of education, the Judiciary, the fight against corruption, democracy and human rights,=94 she said. "We see very promising things. We are not here with arrogance but good reciprocity. There are fundamental values that Canada shares with Ghana."

The Governor-General spoke of Canada's readiness to help in the skills training of Ghanaians, saying; "we really want to be part of the new entrepreneurship of Ghana".

She said they would, therefore, want to hear more about the challenges facing the country and how they could come in to help the nation overcome those challenges.

President Kufuor said Ghana was grateful to Canada for its display of genuine friendship, citing its assistance in the areas of technical education, electoral practice and in the agricultural sector, among other things.

Additionally, it has cancelled the debt owed her by Ghana. Canada, he said, had since Ghana's independence stood by her and never looked back, not even during the trying period of political instability, economic mismanagement and bad governance.

President Kufuor noted that the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), for example, had been the longest running programme in the country. He said the two countries had related very well at the Commonwealth and co-operated in peacekeeping adding that the Governor General's visit was, therefore, a crowning point of the relations.