HIPC to bring $150m into poverty reduction

Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, Minister of Economic Planning and Regional Co-operation on Thursday said 150 million dollars to be accrued by December from the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative would go into the national poverty reduction strategy.

He, therefore, called on District Assemblies (DA) to draw action plans to be abreast with the national strategy to enable them to use the fund for the development of their respective districts.

Dr. Nduom was speaking at the Volta Regional Consultative Seminar on Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) for representatives from the 12 district assemblies and the District Chief Executives (DCEs) at Ho.

The seminar, which was organised by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) was under the theme, "Consensus building for Poverty Reduction in Ghana".

Dr. Nduom reminded the participants that government would not advance monies to any district assembly, which would fail to provide a blue-print of its development programmes.

He said 60 districts including four from the Volta Region would benefit from a pilot programme to consolidate the new integrated approach to poverty reduction.

Dr. Nduom said many multilateral organisations and other donor countries have pledged to write-off 100 percent of the country's debts in December, this year.

He said the government would henceforth; pursue fiscal administration rigidly, in order to overcome the HIPC syndrome.

Dr. Nduom said the GPRS would not duplicate interventions such as the Village Infrastructure Programme (VIP), European Union Micro Projects, which were already being undertaken in the districts but would ensure reduction of excessive administrative expenditure and encourage the private sector to expand.

He said statistics available indicate that 38 percent of the people in the region wee poor and wondered why the situation could be reversed since the region was endowed with human and natural resources such as forests, water bodies and large tracts of fertile farm lands.

Dr. Nduom, therefore, called on governmental and non-governmental organisations, traditional leaders and the private sector to brainstorm on how to empower the people for progress and development.

Professor George Gyan-Baffour, Acting Director-General of the NDPC said the goal of the GPRS is to achieve economic growth and accelerated poverty reduction within a sustained democracy.

He said it would also reduce regional disparities in poverty, enhance access to social services, ameliorate conditions of extreme poverty and strengthen public sector reforms to support the private sector.

Prof. Gyan-Baffour said poverty is a multi-dimensional phenomenon that deprived the physiological, biological, economical and the health status of the people.

He said 40 percent of Ghanaians live above the poverty line while 27 percent also live under extreme poverty.

Prof. Gyan-Baffour said poverty is lowest in Greater Accra with five percent but higher by 69, 84 and 88 percent in the Northern, Upper West and Upper West regions respectively.