Ghana can exceed projected $1,000 per capita if

Accra, July 17, GNA - Ghana has the potential of exceeding the projected 1,000 dollar per capita income if the 547.9 million dollars from the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) were implemented as designed in the Compact Agreement.

Briefing the media on the occasion of the visit of a team from the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, Minister of Public Sector Reform, said the MCA was programmed to spur on value onto the various sectors, bring about efficiency and reduce poverty in their operations.

Mr Rodney Bent, Deputy Chief Executive of MCC, is leading the MCC team. Others members are Mr Bob Goldberg, Office of Management and Budget of the Office of the State Department; Mr Jonathan Blom, Managing Director, MCC and Mr Robert Hindle, Country Director of the MCA in Ghana.

The MCA Compact would invest in modernizing agriculture, provide transportation and deliver rural development services and facilities and bring two new ferries with safety facilities and education to improve transportation on the Afram Plains portion of the Volta Lake.

It would construct 950 kilometres of feeder roads and 240 kilometres of trunk roads to link farms to markets. There would also be an improvement to Tetteh Quarshie - Mallam road and the linking of farms in the Afram Basin. It would provide infrastructure such as pack houses, storage and cooling facilities to reduce post-harvest losses and improve income.

A number of rural banks and savings and loans institutions would be automated and improvements done to the national payment system to improve services to the rural communities and promotion of agribusiness enterprises to create jobs in the rural communities.

The MCA Compact Agreement is due to be signed on August 1, 2006. Dr Nduom noted that the Government had put in place stringent measures in the Compact, which would ensure that implementation was done to reduce poverty in the districts selected.

He said the developments that would take place in the beneficiary districts over time could be emulated using funds from other sources. He said the areas of agriculture and poverty reduction were important areas, which would be supported to reduce the levels of poverty and bring certain levels of prosperity to rural communities. Dr Nduom said it was possible to utilize the 547.9 million dollars before the projected five-year period.

The Minister said the Bank of Ghana had started processes to receive the money into Ghana's account immediately the Compact was signed.

Mr Bent said agriculture being the backbone of Ghana's economy (accounting for about 40 per cent of the GDP and employing about 50-70 per cent of the population must be supported to make sure that the poor were helped to transform their lives.

Ghana is receiving the largest single grant the Corporation has approved to date.

Mr Bent told the Ghana News Agency that Ghana could benefit from another tranche of funding if the country demonstrated tact, effective and efficient utilization of the initial sum.

"What is actually important now is for all to ensure that the current amount of 547 million dollars is properly accounted for. Continued participation in the Millennium Challenge programme is contingent upon adherence to MCC's 16 policy indicators that include control of corruption, girls' primary education completion rates, and trade policy.

"We stand ready to support Ghana as a valued partner and we join with the Government in its efforts to create a better life for all Ghanaians." Ms Pamela Bridgewater, US Ambassador; commended the Ghanaian team and stressed that the Compact was not a one-off deal but rather the beginning of a long-term relationship between the two countries.