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Vice President interacts with MCA executives
Accra, April 1, Ghanadot/GNA – Vice President
John Mahama on Wednesday held discussions at the Castle, Osu,
with the management of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC),
on how government can work with the firm to help reduce poverty
in Ghana through the promotion of sustainable economic growth.
The MCC, which is a United States Government backed project, is
currently supporting Ghana with 547 million dollars aimed at
reducing poverty by raising farmer incomes through private
sector led agribusiness development.
Welcoming the team, Vice President Mahama reiterated the
determination of government to build a stable economy using
agriculture as a basis and thanked the US government for her
commitment in helping augment rural development in the country.
He identified poor farming practices and the lack of irrigation
facilities as responsible for the poor performance of
agriculture sector in the country and expressed satisfaction
that a component of the MCC was helping address those concerns.
Vice President Mahama also lauded the aspect of the compact that
would help improve ferry services in the Afram Basin area of the
Eastern region to facilitate the growth of agriculture between
the Afram areas to the rest of the country and the establishment
of a number of retention ponds and wells for farmers whom access
to water is critical to the success of their businesses.
Mr Darius Mans, leader of the delegation commended Ghana for her
strong leadership which, he said, was producing tremendous
results in addressing the problem of poverty in the country.
He mentioned Ghana as leading the pack of other African
countries that are also benefiting from the project, but
demanded for further commitment on the part of government to
ensure that the remaining aspects of the project are fully
implemented.
Mr Mans re-affirmed the support of the US to help Ghana meet her
developmental challenges through the implementation of
programmes that help uplift the standard of living of the
people.
Mr Mans also used the meeting to invite the Vice President to
participate in a meeting of the MCC currently underway in Ghana
to brainstorm with other partners how to augment the programme
to achieve further successes.
Mr Martin Eson-Benjamin, Chief Executive Officer of the
Millennium Development Authority, the implementation agency of
the MCC in Ghana briefed the Vice President on the status of a
number of projects being implemented under the MCC.
He said the program was being implemented in 30 Districts in the
Northern Zone, the Afram Basin and the Southern Zone, where
poverty rates are above 40 percent.
The project, he said, attempted a diversification of agriculture
in the selected areas through improved farming practices, and
the construction of new roads to link the farming centres to
urban communities.
The development aspect of the project, he explained, focuses on
the construction and rehabilitation of educational, and
sanitation facilities, as well as the extension of
electrification to rural areas.
The MDA CEO said 950 kilometres of feeder roads in eight
districts in the intervention zones would be improved to reduce
transportation costs and to increase access to major domestic
and international markets.
In addition, the MDA would seek to automate and interconnect
rural banks and provide other improvements in the national
payments systems that will draw a large number of people
currently not served or under-served into the financial system.
Among those present at the meeting was the US Ambassador, Mr
Donald Gene Teitelbaum.
GNA |
