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GHANA and the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) have signed the Indicative Operations Programme, a pact that outlines projects to be implemented between 2024 and 2025.  

The $103 million grant encompasses support to small and medium enterprises, agriculture, skills development and digitalisation. 

They also signed a five-year country strategy document for 2024-2029, defining sectors and projects that would be supported by the bank.

At a signing ceremony on the sidelines of an on-going 2024 Annual General Meeting of the AfDB in Nairobi, Kenya, the Minister of Finance, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, commended the AfDB for its continuous commitment to the growth and development of African countries.

To ensure the effective utilisation of the resources, the minister highlighted the need for effective monitoring and supervision of projects before certificates were signed for contractors to ensure value for money.

Dr Adam described as unacceptable the inability of agencies to disburse project funds on time, saying the situation needed to change.

“I am committing to set up a monthly review of all project loans and funds that are to be disbursed so that the reports will inform us on challenges we face in the execution of projects. 

“We will then engage relevant ministries, departments and agencies MDAs to see how we can solve the challenges to quicken disbursement,” he added.

Present at the signing ceremony were a Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr Alex Ampaabeng, Ghana’s Ambassador to Kenya, Damptey Bediako Asare; the Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Elsie Addo Awadzi; officials of the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Ghana and the Ghana Infrastructure and Investment Fund.

Support

The AfDB Ghana Country Manager, Eyerusalem Fasika, who signed on behalf of the regional development bank, said the institution had been providing support to Ghana in the form of grant under the African Development Fund.

He said it was also the culture of the bank to engage various stakeholders, including civil society organisations (CSOs), MDAs, the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), private sector representatives and other entities to solicit expert opinions for inclusion in its country strategy document.

Ms Fasika assured the government of the bank’s commitment to build on earlier achievements after this year’s document had been approved by the Board of Directors of the AfDB, after which funds for the third quarter of this year would be released.

“This time around, we will be focused, selective and will mobilise resources from other partners for identified projects, and for the next five years we will benefit from the African Development Fund resources,” she added.

Ms Fasika also hinted of support from the Climate Action Window of the Climate Investment Fund for a transitional support facility prevention envelope and other trust funds managed by the bank.

“So we will again work with the Ghana Investment and Infrastructure Fund and the Public Investment and Assets Division of the Ministry of Finance to come out with potential public sector partnership projects that can be presented at Africa investment forums” she said.