Govt concludes agreement on IFC loan

THE leader of Government Business, Mr Joseph Henry Mensah has said the Kufuor administration has initialled the relevant documents for the release of funds by the International Financial Consortium (IFC).

“ I was in Frankfurt , Germany, last Monday to initial documents that will facilitate the release of funds by the IFC,” he said.

Mr Mensah was speaking at a symposium at the Teachers Hall in Accra to mark the 10th anniversary of the formation of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

According to him, the Kufuor administration will use the opportunity to meet the expectations of the broad masses of Ghanaians.

Mr Mensah , who is also a Senior Minister, added that the government will use funds provided by the IFC to transform the economy and ensure the quantitative and qualitative improvement in the living standards of the people.

He told the gathering that the Kufuor administration inherited an economy which was in a “royal mess” and, therefore ,had to institute measures to stop the stagnation and breathe new life into it to support the private sector , which he described as the engine of growth of the economy.

“ The NPP took over the reins of government at a period when the economy was in a total mess, the cedi had depreciated to an abysmal levels and inflation galloping,” Mr Mensah said.

He further explained that the administration was, in January 2001, confronted with harsh and unfriendly economic, political and social situation which has invariable affected its ability to address the aspirations of the people .

The Senior Minister said the administration has, during the last 18 months, injected sanity into the economy by halting the rapid depreciation of the cedi, stabilised the rate of inflation and offered the media the widest latitude to operate on.

“ The Kufuor administration has also recorded modest achievement in the agricultural sector where it has provided more than ?5 billion as loans for farmers and fishmongers to expand their activities ,” Mr Mensah said. He called on members and supporters of the party to embark on regular clean-up exercises to rid their communities of filth and stench .

The Senior Minister said the filth that has engulfed Accra and other major cities and town in the country “ is not a creation of God but the stupidity of man.”

Mr Mensah urged them to explain government policies to the electorate to enable them to understand and appreciate the efforts that it is making to ensure material prosperity among the vast majority of the people.