News

Friday, March 11, 2016

Ghana receives $3.5 M budgetary support
Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh, Ghanadot

Accra, March 11, - The Government of Japan has granted a total of $3.5million to the Government of Ghana, under the Multi-Donor Budget Support (MDBS) programme.

This is Japan ’s second contribution to the MDBS, which enables a more harmonized assistance towards achievement of Ghana ’s Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRSII).

At the signing of exchange of notes and grant agreement between Ghana and Japan for MDBS ceremony in Accra , yesterday, the Ambassador of Japan to Ghana , H. E. Keiichi Katakami, who signed for Japan stressed that growth and poverty reduction cannot be achieved without good ownership and partnership, saying MDBS is a common framework under which Development Partners contribute funds to Ghana’s general budget.

This H.E. Katakami believed that the combination of MDBS and other aid modalities would continue to provide a good structure for partnership and dialogue, if Ghana maintains its strong ownership.

Instructively, Japan has been providing Ghana with the project-type grant aid assistance for decades to support indispensable social and economic infrastructure as well as technical cooperation to facilitate capacity development in the country.

‘While the project-type grants aid assistance and technical cooperation would continue to be at the centre of Japan’s development cooperation, we are pleased to be a part of general grant support under the MDBS programme in Ghana’, Ambassador Katakami pledged.

This is to complement other types of Japanese assistance, thus enhancing harmonization and alignment with the national priorities, and he disclosed that Ghana is one of the only two countries in Africa to which Japan currently provides budget support.

All these, were reflections of Japan ’s confidence in Ghana ’s self-help efforts for financial and administrational reforms, poverty alleviation and economic development based on its GPRSII.

In addition to this, Japan has been making frantic efforts to improve its alignment to national priorities and coordination with other development partners.

The Chief Director of the Ministry Foreign Affairs, Ambassador John Aggrey, who signed for Ghana , intimated that currently, Japan is among eleven development partners that contribute to the MDBS, which together disbursed approximately $350million in 2008.

He thanked the Japanese government for its continuous support to the MDBS and other forms of assistance in some areas of the Ghanaian economy.






 

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