Ghana to reduce poverty by 2015 - Nduom

Minister for Economic Planning and Regional Co-operation, Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, claims Ghana would reduce by half her estimated 40 per cent population that lived on less than a dollar a day by the year 2015.

He said Ghana is seen globally to be conforming to the criteria prescribed for increased Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) pledged by leaders of developed countries at the recent international conference on Financing for Development (FFD) to reduce poverty level by half by 2015.

Dr. Paa Kwesi was briefing the Ghanaian media on the outcome of the conference held in Monterrey Mexico and attended by over 150 countries, including Ghana.

According to the Minister, Ghana stood a high chance of benefiting immensely and to achieve this target it is implements the three conditions of good governance, transparency and the rule of law, prescribed under the consensus reached for increased ODA.

Ghana’s delegation to the conference was led by Senior Minister, John Henry Mensah (MP) and included among others, Finance Minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, and Chief Executive of the Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC).

Dr. Nduom recalled that that the United Nations (UN) held a conference in August last year at which world leaders came out with what was called the “Millennium Goals,” which required among other things that children everywhere should be able to complete full primary education course and that efforts would be made to eliminate gender disparities at all levels of education by the target year.

At the conference, delegates adopted the Millennium Goals under which the developed countries were expected to meet a UN ODA target of 0.7 per cent of national income.

“The European Union and the United States pledge billions of dollars more to finance development. However, it was made clear that more aid contingent upon good governance, transparency and the rule of law,” the minister said.

The EU according to the minister has agreed to an average official development assistance target of 0.39 per cent of national income to developing countries by the year 2006 and pledged to strive to meet the UN, ODA target of 0.7 per cent/

The percentage increase represents an additional seven billion dollars to developing countries from the EU.

The United States did not pledge any percentage but indicated that it would increase ODA gradually to reach an additional five billion dollars annual total receipt from that 2006. This would make the annual total receipt from that country to reach about 15 billion dollars.

However, small-developed countries like Ireland pledged to meet the 0.7 per cent target straight away, Dr. Nduom said and noted that Denmark, Netherlands, Finland and Sweden had met the target while Norway planned to increase ODA to one percent pf national income by 2005.

Norway has also reached an agreement to Ghana on her beneficiary lists and according to the minister, the country has received this and other pledges because many countries have endorsed Ghana’s Poverty Reduction Strategy as a very good basis for ODA. “The document was widely distributed and read by the donor community.” Ghana was hailed as having met many of the conditions for increased ODA.”

As a follow-up to the Monterrey conference, US Secretary to the Treasury is expected in Ghana May this year.

The country is also to benefit from a five billion dollar fund to be launched by the Gates Foundation, a US-based NGO, which had agreed to include Ghana in countries they would target for poverty reduction through nutrition programmes