Prime Minister Blair replies to BONABOTO-UK

The British Government has responded to the letter written by BONABOTO-UK to the Prime Minister Tony Blair about institutional discrimination and marginalisation of Northern Ghana, on the recent state visit by the President of Ghana John Kufour to the United Kingdom (UK). See published letter of BONABOTO-UK at ghanaweb.com, 14 March 2007.

BONABOTO-UK is in receipt of two letters, one from the Deputy Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. John Prescott and the other from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The two letters confirmed BONABOTO-UK’s assertion that there is no equitable distribution of national resources in Ghana to address poverty, inequalities and deprivation in Northern Ghana.

The letters also state among others that the British Government fully appreciates the issues raised by BONABOTO-UK about the problems that continue to affect Northern Ghana during this Jubilee year and the inequalities that remain between the North and other regions in Ghana.

The verdict of the British Government on the case of the poverty reduction in Ghana is that “the British Government is aware of the fact that the significant progress on poverty reduction in Ghana is not always equally distributed geographically”, a direct quote from one of the letters.

According to the British Government in their efforts to assist the Kufour led Government in addressing the inequalities, imbalance and poverty, which it acknowledges exist between the North and other regions in Ghana, they have since 2003 provided over £110 million directly to Ghana Government’s budget in support of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS), through the Department for International Development (DFID). In addition and specifically to tackle regional disparities, DFID again provided £6 million in 2006 for national distribution of 2.1 million bed nets to all under twos in Ghana.

On these and other evidence and facts presented to BONABOTO-UK by the British Government, surely President Kufour’s NPP Government has some questions to answer or some explaining to do. One of which is the transparent break-down of the distribution of the £110 million (region by region and district by district) channelled directly to Government’s budget to alleviate poverty through the GPRS. The other is also the break-down of £6 million for 2.1 million bed nets for all under twos in Ghana in 2006.

While BONABOTO-UK and other Ghanaians wait for an answer to the above, we believe that Northern Ghana has had a raw deal from NPP Government as far as the HIPC and MCA funds are concerned. This is because the Kufour led NPP Government has been fortunate to have had direct funding from the UK Government and other donor countries through Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) funds to specifically address poverty since 2003 and four years on, Northern Ghana and other poor regions in Ghana are still in a sorry state. With over £110 million since 2003 from the UK Government alone, if this was divided according to the GPRS formula, the three Northern regions which have been classified as the poorest of poor regions combined together would have had £52.8 million (48%) budget allocation since 2003 from Central Government to alleviate poverty in the three regions. One does not need Adam Smith or any other economist to tell the impact of £52.8 million on the deprived area of Northern Ghana since 2003 in terms of socio-economic development.

Interestingly, the letters from the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign and Commonwealth Office also bring to light the fact that the British Government has funded a Northern Economic Growth Study in 2006, which examined whether there was growth potential in the North and if so how to stimulate it. According to the two letters, the major conclusion from the study is that Northern Ghana has economic growth potential and the discourse on development of the North must be based on economic growth. BONBOTO-UK wonders how Northern Ghana’s economic growth potential can be achieved with the deliberate discrimination and institutional marginalisation of the North by the present government as far as HIPC and MCA funds and central government resource allocations are concerned.

The evidence and facts highlighted in the British Government’s response to the letter of BONABOTO-UK, strengthens the belief by the people of Northern Ghana that there is institutional discrimination and marginalisation against them. The case of Northern Ghana as BONABOTO-UK and the people of the North see it is not poverty, but purely deprivation and discrimination and this must stop.

BONABOTO-UK therefore is calling on all northerners, friends and supporters of Northern Ghana for urgent formation of a movement, to intensify the fight and struggle for equity, justice and economic emancipation for the people of Northern Ghana.