Ghana to host World Bank and dev't partners

Accra, June 20, GNA - Ghana is to host the World Bank (WB) and other development partners in a tactical meeting in Accra on Wednesday, June 21 to strategically align external assistance with the Ghana Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS II) and the Budget. The meeting on the theme: "Results and Resources: an Agenda for Shared Accelerated Growth," would focus on modalities to improve upon and tighten the links between results and resources flow. Mr Mats Karlsson, WB Country Director, who briefed Executives of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) on the meeting in Accra on Tuesday, said the linkage of results and resources and the commitment to apply them in increasingly harmonized ways represented a major step forward in the Ghana Aid Partnership.

Mr Ransford Tetteh, GJA President, supported by Mr Bright Blewu, General Secretary and Mrs Yaa Oforiwah Asare-Peasah, National Treasurer, attended the briefing, which was also aimed at empowering the Ghanaian media to hold the Government accountable to the people. He said the Government, partners and participants from civil society and the private sector would use the common platform to discuss the challenges of moving to a results-based partnership culture and assess the progress achieved.

"There will be a policy dialogue with development partners about the three GPRS II pillars and how they contribute to the achievement of shared growth, through a focused, direct and pragmatic deep trust built by the partners."

Other topics to be discuss would include: Dialogue on growth strategy policy on agriculture; energy; transport; business climate; natural resources; telecom and information communication and technology; creating a results-based culture; progress on the harmonization action plan; government's investment plan and future financing priorities.

WB documents available to the Ghana News Agency on the Ghana Partnership Strategy Results Matrix, which outlines Government's strategies and actions to enhance the competitiveness of the private sector for 2006 to 2010 focus on implementation of trade policy through the Trade Sector Support Programme.

It seeks to improve the country's access to global and regional markets with specific interventions in trade facilitation, export trade support services and the import-export regime through multilateral, bilateral and regional trade standards.

Implement business and investment climate reforms; monitor and evaluate reforms and programmes under the private sector development strategy; develop and implement a micro-finance policy and introduce best practices to business development service providers to improve quality and effectiveness.

Mr Karlsson and Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning will co-chair the strategic meeting.