Parliament adopts two loan agreements

Parliament on Tuesday adopted two loan agreements for the dredging of the Korle Lagoon and to finance a Rural Water and Sanitation project in five districts of the Northern Region.

The Korle Lagoon project involves 37,150,000 dollars. Standard Chartered Bank, London, will supply equipment for the ecological restoration of the Lagoon, which is already in progress.

Commodore Steve Obimpeh (rtd), Chairman of the Finance Committee, moving for the adoption of the report, said the ecological project involves the dredging of the lagoon from the Old Winneba Road to Agbogbloshie. The total cost of the project is 82.7 million dollars with a construction cost element of 67 million dollars.

He said parliament had already approved 26.5 million dollars of the project and that the agreement under consideration was a further request for 37,150,000 dollars. Cdre. Obimpeh said the loan, which will attract an interest rate of 7.22 per cent and a commitment fee of 0.4 per cent per annum, is repayable in 10 years with a grace period of 30 months.

The loan of 7.5 million dollars is to help provide Savelugu, Bole, East and West Gonja and Tolon Kumbungu Districts with potable water. Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD) will undertake the project. The implementing agency is the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA).

Cdre. Obimpeh said the project would improve the lives of women and increase productivity since it will save the time used to search for water. The loan has 19 years to mature and a seven-year grace period on repayment of the principal with an interest rate of 2.5 per cent per annum.

Beneficiary communities, who will contribute up to five per cent of the total capital cost, will bear the full cost of operation and maintenance. It is to entrust half of the key position in the Water and Sanitation Committees (WATSAN) to women and encourage them to be very active in matters concerning water points and latrines.

Alhaji Amadu Seidu, Deputy Minister of Works and Housing, contributing to the motion, said the loan is a supplement to many water projects being undertaken by the government and NGOs such as CIDA to alleviate the suffering of the people, especially during the dry season in the Northern Region.