Project Proposals Ready Next Month

Ghana?s project proposals that will enable her to access part of the $1billion Millennium Challenge Account would be ready by the end of July, this year.The projects are expected to be selected from the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) document with special emphasis on the five priority areas, including agriculture and infrastructure development, education, health and good governance.

A source at the Ministry of Finance, disclosed this when briefing newsmen shortly after the ministry met with some high level officials of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a special body set up by the United States government to manage the account.

The three-member delegation is in the country to assist the country to prepare what was described as ?a compact proposal?.It was led by Mr Drew Lvien, Deputy General Counsel of the MCC and accompanied by the US Ambassador to Ghana, Mrs Mary Carlin Yates.

The meeting, which was held behind closed doors, was expected to offer the Ghanaian delegation led by the Finance and Economic Planning Minister, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, the opportunity to defend their areas of choice, what need to be done to attract a sizeable amount of money from the account.

Present at the meeting were the Ministers of Health, Dr Kwaku Afriyie, Private Sector Development, Mr Kwamena Bartels, the Minister of State for Tertiary Education, Ms Elizabeth Ohene, Mr Eddie Akita, Minister of State for Food and Agriculture, a Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Akoto Osei, and top officials from the ministries of Roads and Transport, Energy and Local Government and Rural Development.

The team would also be expected to hold a meeting with civil society groups today to solicit their views on the MCA.The source said Ghana was keen on presenting one of the most comprehensive proposals to enable it to attract a large chunk of the amount.

It said it had already been made clear to the beneficiary countries that the better the proposals the greater the chances of attracting more of the money.The source said the proposals which would be carved from the GPRS, would be refined to make it more pragmatic and attractive to the MCC.

It said Ghana was privileged to have been selected, indicating that ?this opportunity must be explored to the fullest?.The source said the technical session was relevant as Ghana?s delegation would be able to ask all the probing questions to guide it in its preparatory work.

Earlier in his remark to welcome the MCC delegation, Mr Osafo-Maafo said Ghana was keen on accelerating its development and would ensure that the proposals were good enough to attract what would quickly push the projects to be earmarked.

After a critical vetting exercise, Ghana was selected among 16 countries to benefit from the MCA put up by the US government to assist developing countries around the world, who adhere strictly to the tenets of good governance and rule of law, while pursing prudent economic policies.

It was formally launched in the country a fortnight ago by the US Under Secretary for International Affairs, Mr John B. Taylor, at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) in Accra.