Parliament Adopts $87m Loan

Parliament has unanimously adopted a report of the Finance Committee on a 87.97 million dollar loan to support poverty reduction in the country. The loan is being contracted from the International Development Association to specifically support the Poverty Reduction Support Financing (PRSF).

The Chairman of the Finance Committee, Eugene Atta Agyepong told the House that the loan would be used to finance the second phase of the budget. It would facilitate direct support for human resource development and basic services and expand special programmes to support vulnerable groups.

He said the foreign exchange to be received would be used by the Bank of Ghana to finance legitimate foreign expenditure and also to shore up the country's foreign exchange reserves.

The Bank of Ghana shall credit the consolidated Fund with the cedi equivalent of the facility that shall then be used to finance the local expenditure arising out of the budget. Mr Agyepong said it is a one time loan that would be debited to the consolidated Fund by July 1, 2003.

The principal would be repaid in semi annual installments, commencing October 2013 and ending 2023.

In another development, the House adopted a $14.7 million loan agreement for the financing of the supply of educational equipment to the University of Development Studies and ten Regional Polytechnics.