House postpones laying of MCA Compact

Accra, Feb. 1, GNA - Parliament on Thursday postponed to Friday the laying of the Report of the Joint Committee on Finance and Employment, Social Welfare and State Enterprises on the Millennium Challenge Compact between the United States acting through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and the Government of the Republic of Ghana.

The Compact was recalled to Parliament following queries by the Minority that it was imperative for Parliamentary ratification.

The postponement was agreed on between the Leadership of the House to allow time for further discussions by interested parties. The Compact is a detailed agreement of the various projects to be implemented under the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA`) of 547 million dollars including all its benchmarks.

The Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) is a bilateral development fund announced by the President Bush Administration in 2002 and created in January 2004.

Through this programme, the Administration proposed to permanently increase United States foreign aid funding by 5 billion dollars by 2005 through a new Government agency, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

Ghana signed the MCA Account on August 2, 2005 towards the implementation of a sustainable agricultural development base and boosting of export base for farmers and in selected districts.