World Bank pledges $100 mln for Ghanaian reforms

ACCRA, March 18 - The World Bank will provide $100 million to fund Ghana's public sector reform programme over the next 11 years, the Bank's country director for Ghana said on Wednesday.

Peter Harrold, addressing a national forum on ``Government Reinvention,'' said that disbursement of the grant would start as soon as implementation of the reforms began.

He praised Ghana's home-grown reform plans and promised both financial and technical help for the programme.

``Ghana has proved beyond all doubt that it is committed to the reform process, thus injecting modernisation into its entire system,'' he said.

One key issue to be discussed by the forum, attended by officials, parliamentarians, trade unionists and representatives of civil society, is the fate of 33 subsidised organisations, including the Ghana News Agency.

The government-appointed but independent Commissioner for Human Rights and Administrative Justice warned that an anti-corruption drive must accompany the reforms.

``The reform process will suffer a false start if the incidence of corruption which has bedevilled the nation for so long is not addressed adequately,'' Emile Short said.