Accra, Oct.7, GNA - Ghana and Italy on Tuesday signed an agreement for 112.2 billion cedis for the establishment of Private Sector Development Fund (PSDF) and a Project Management Unit and Technical Assistance for the Ministry of Private Sector.
The amount is made up of a 10 million Euros concessionary loan and a one million Euros grant facility.
Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, signed for Ghana while Mr Giancarlo Izzo, Italian Ambassador signed for Italy.
Mr Osafo-Maafo described the assistance as significant since it would promote the Private Sector in the bid to help address the problems associated with the acquisition of long term loans from the banks and other financial institutions.
"The resolution of this bottleneck is critical for their growth," he said.
Mr Osafo-Maafo said the assistance was also the reflection of the Government's commitment to the development of the Sector, especially the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
He said the Government was looking further to rake in more assistance for the Sector under very easy and acceptable terms. He urged the Italian Ambassador to quickly sign the Multi Donor Budget Support System, saying it was important as it made dealings with development partners much easier.
Mr Kwamena Bartels, Minister of Private Sector Development, who accompanied the Minister of Finance, said the assistance from the Italians "is a great opportunity for SMEs to access affordable funds on long term basis for the purchase of equipment, machines and services". He said it was also coming at a lower interest rate, saying that SMEs would not get less than 30,000 euros and not more than 450,000 euros.
The Fund would be ready to be accessed in January 2004. Mr Izzo said Italy would sign the MDBS in the first quarter of 2004 when they expect Ghana to reach the completion stage of the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative.
