Government eyes concluding commercial creditors’ negotiations to unlock additional funds

Government is to meet with commercial ccreditors in Paris to accelerate the completion of its remaining debt restructuring negotiations to unlock more funds for critical infrastructural development.

Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, Finance Minister, made the disclosure when he paid a courtesy call on Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin, King of Akyem Abuakwa in the Eastern Region, on Wednesday.

Roads, education, and health infrastructure, including the Koforidua hospital are projects that the government intends to work on upon the completion of commercial creditors negotiations.

Dr Amin Adam explained that the meeting with the commercial creditors was to make them understand the urgency to conclude negotiations to pave way for projects stalled by debt suspension to resume.

“Just yesterday [Tuesday, February 20] the President directed me to travel to Paris to meet with official creditors to bring to their understanding the urgency for us to conclude these negotiations so that we can have the money to complete the stalled projects across the country,” he said.

The Finance Minister also mentioned that the Eastern Region would benefit from the government’s GHC4 billion allocated in the 2024 budget for road infrastructural development across the country.

Other projects of government’s priority in the region included University for Environment and Sustainable Development and a municipal hospital for Kyebi.

“The financier of this university project, Exim Korea Bank, has resumed disbursement, and we hope to see this project make quick progress so that we can create that environment for our children to environmental sciences,” he said.

He also stated that a feasibility studies had been conducted for the construction of a Municipal for Kyebi and government working with the United Kingdom’s Export Finance for up to some €6.6 million to be disbursed to the contractor by the end of the first quarter of 2024.

All those, Dr Amin Adam said was to ensure that roads in the region were made motorable, and other critical infrastructure were completed to bring relief to the people, while distributing resources across the country equitably.

“I will come to you from time to time to seek your counsel, because as a good King as you are, you have done a lot already. You have counselled many ministers and presidents,’ but I believe you’re committed to do more for our country,” he told the King.

“I want to assure you once again that I will not let you down, and in the event that you’d want me to do anything in the course of the development of our country, I’ll be readily available,” he noted.

Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin, King of Akyem Abuakwa, encouraged Ghanaians, particularly, those appointed into positions to always serve with the interest of the nation at heart.

“The key thing is for us to serve our nation, and not ask for any reward back,” adding that doing so would encourage young Ghanaians to be charged to also give off their best to contribute to national development.

Osagyefo Ofori Panin noted that, ultimately, such service to the nation would lead to “a time that we’ll proud ourselves of been educated, raised here, and can work in this country and become whoever you want to be.”

To achieve this feat, he said, would require a great deal of commitment and perseverance and knowledge to succeed in whatever the people in this country would do.