Kumasi, March 18, GNA - Professor George Gyan-Baffuor, Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, has identified delays in releasing funds from the central government to the local levels as the major constraint militating against the smooth and speedy growth of the economy. He has therefore called for new interventions to reverse the situation to achieve the expected economic growth at the shortest possible time. Prof Gyan-Baffuor was speaking at a meeting on the fiscal decentralisation of the 2006 budget for district budget, finance, and planning officers as well as chairmen and secretaries of sub-committees on finance from all the 23 district assemblies in the Ashanti Region in Kumasi on Saturday.

The meeting formed part of series of meetings being organised by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning across the country for these personnel, who are classified as the key implementers of government projects at the district level. Prof Gyan-Baffuor said there was the need to cut down the processes at the centre in order to reduce delays in releasing funds from the central government to the local level. He noted that, the country's economy was in good shape since all the micro economic indicators were in the right direction.

The Deputy Minister, however, said there was the need to mobilise all the necessary efforts to move the economic growth faster. He called for harmony and co-ordination among all the various sectors at the local level to ensure speedy implementation of projects. Nana Dwabeng Kwarteng, Chief Director at the Ministry, said the meeting was to address issues that might affect the smooth implementation of the 2006 budget and empower the participants to carry out their monitoring, evaluation and reporting activities. He said this year there would be a radical change in the implementation of the budget, adding that, the participants were key players in the successful implementation of the budget.