Development Partners to provide $450 million to support budget

Accra, Dec. 18, GNA - Development partners have pledged to provide $450 million to support the implementation of the 2010 budget under the Multi-Donor Budget Support (MDBS) mechanism.

The first tranche of the amount will be delivered in the first quarter and the final tranche in June contingent on attainment of underlying principles, including sound macro-economic policies and management, sound budgeting and public financial management, respect for human rights, rule of law and active fight against corruption.

"However, it should be kept in mind that the Development Partners'(DP) commitments for next year are indicative and may be revised should the underlying principles of MDBS not be present at the time of disbursement," Mr Martin Saladin, MDBS Co-Chair, told a press conference in Accra on Friday.

At the 2009 Annual Review the country met eight out of the 10 releva= nt disbursement triggers, falling short on two in the energy sector.

These are financial recovery plan to reduce the indebtedness of the Volta River Authority and the Electricity Company of Ghana and opening up the electricity sector to independent power producers and a policy on renewable energy.

"Having all the donors together in one room is surely very handy for the ministry as it saves a lot of time and bargaining. The harmonised manner in which the 11 DPs work together under the umbrella of MDBS significantly reduces transaction costs associated with the management of aid to both government and DPs," Mrs Veronica Sackey, MDBS Coordinator at the Ministry of Finance, said.

"The mechanism has increased the predictability of donor funds, helped to improve public financial management systems and facilitated policy dialogue between government and development partners while lowering transaction costs," she added.

The MDBS group is made up of 11 development partners and is currentl= y chaired by Switzerland and the World Bank. The DPs, contributing to budge= t support include: The African Development Bank, Canada, Denmark, European Commission, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland, UK and the World Bank. Since 2002, the Multi Donor Budget support aid mechanism has contributed approximately two billion dollars in support of budget activities, with a yearly amount of approximately 300 million dollars.