Ghana and Germany sign GH¢60.45 million agreement

Accra, July 4, GNA - Ghana and Germany on Friday signed a GH¢60.45 million agreement to support the processes towards attaining the Millennium Development Goals and achieving a Middle Income Status by 2015.

About GH¢29.450 million will be used to support the budget for 2008/09, while GH¢20.15 million will go into enhancing poverty related investment at the District Assembly level. The remaining GH¢10.85 million will be used to improve the competitiveness of small holder farmers and small and medium scale processing companies.

Dr Marius Haas, German Ambassador to Ghana, and Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Finance, signed the agreement for the funds to be used for the three purposes.

Commenting on the agreement, Dr Haas said the programmes being financed were agreed on during negotiations on development cooperation between the two governments in September 2007. Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu said in addition to focal areas of Ghana-German cooperation, Germany was supporting the Legal Sector Programme, and the road sector rehabilitation, precisely the Tema-Sogakope-Akatsi highway. The loan would be paid within 40 years with 10 years grace period.