Ghana and France signs financing agreements

Accra, Nov. 13, GNA - Ghana and the Agence France de Development (AFD) on Monday signed two financing agreements totalling 648.6 billion cedis (55 million euros) in respect of France's contribution to the Multi Donor Budget Support and for funding the second phase of the Urban Environment Sanitation Project.

France will be making available 30 million Euros over a period of three years (2007 -2009) in support of Ghana Government's budget while the remaining 25 million Euros would be used for the construction of the 4.5km Chemu drains in Accra and 5.5 km drains in Aboabo, Kumasi. A component of the financing would also be used for community upgrading projects in the Mamponse Community in Accra as well as Anloga, Asokwa, Ahinsan and Atonsu communities all in Kumasi, to improve the conditions of drains and natural drainage channels so as to mitigate the incidence of flooding in the two cities.

Deputy Finance Minister Professor George Gyan-Baffour and Mr Patrice Mollie, the Secretary-General of the AFD, signed the agreements for Ghana and France, respectively.

Prof. Gyan-Baffour said the MDBS framework, whose key objective was to harmonise development partners' policies and procedures to minimize transaction cost to Government, had enhanced the predictability of donor inflows for financing Government budgets annually.

He said the main focus of the bilateral cooperation between the two nations were in the areas of infrastructure development; agriculture development and food security as well as the provision of water and sanitation facilities.

The French Government has committed more than 100 million euros to various ongoing projects, including Urban Roads in Kumasi; Community based Rural Development Projects and Perennial Crops Projects and others.

Mr Mollie said France had been contributing to the MDBS through the Debt Relief and Development Agreement, with an annual package of seven million euros.

France has provided a grant of 21 million euros for 2005 to 2007. "With the signing of this agreement, the French contribution to MDBS will amount to 17 million euros annually, making France one of the principal bilateral contributors of MDBS," Mr Mollie said. On the second phase of the Urban Environmental and Sanitation Project, Mr Mollie's said through the funding, AFD intended to promote and enhance the decentralisation process considered as a priority in Ghana in order to improve the delivery of basic services at the local level.

Since its establishment in 1986, the AFD has committed 570 million euros into the Ghanaian economy.