Accra, Nov. 28, GNA – Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo,
Minister of Foreign Affairs, on Tuesday said 3.8
trillion cedis would accrue to Ghana as debt relief
in 2007.
He explained that as at September 2006 1.87 trillion
cedis had been transferred into the Highly Indebted
Poor Countries (HIPC) Account to be used in national
development.
Nana Akufo-Addo said this when he exchanged notes
for two agreements between Ghana and Japan in Accra.
The first involves a grant of 1.40 million dollars
(12.9 billion cedis) for improvement of fundamental
medical equipment in the Upper West Region while the
second is the cancellation of Ghana’s commercial
debts totalling 2.35 million dollars (about 22
billion cedis).
This includes the principal, interest and rates of
interest of commercial debts with a repayment period
of more than one year insured by the Government of
Japan, which were obtained before June 1999.
The Foreign Minister said commercial debt
cancellation was significant as one of the
constraints on Ghana’s development had been the debt
burden, which had gobbled up some 42 per cent of her
external debts.
He said this year about 297.6 million dollars, which
would have been paid for debt servicing would be
retained for national development.
“Debt relief has become important to the development
of our economy and I am pleased to note that the
Notes we have signed today will be paving way for
the cancellation of some commercial debts,” he said.
Nana Akufo-Addo said the debt cancellation and
previous cancellations to the tune of one billion
dollars by the Japanese Government was to assist the
Government to promote economic and social
development in the fight against poverty.
Mr Yutaka Nakamura, Chargé d’Affaires of the
Japanese Embassy, who signed on behalf of the
Japanese Government, said six hospitals, 58 health
centres and the community health nursing training
school in the Upper West Region would benefit
directly from the project.
“The hospitals are to be provided with equipment for
the out-patients; obstetric and surgery departments
and the laboratory and the health centres with basic
obstetric equipments,” he said.
Mr Nakamura said the Upper West Regional Hospital;
Nadwoli District Hospital; Jirapa District Hospital;
Lawra District Hospital; Sissala East Hospital and
Nandom Hospital would be the major beneficiaries.
He said a technical cooperation project for the
Upper West community based on health planning was
currently being implemented through the Japan
International Cooperation Agency.
He pledged Japan’s determination to work closely
with the Ghana Health Service and the Regional
Health Directorate towards the successful
implementation of the Project.
Mr Nakamura commended the G government and the
Ministry of Health for their commitment towards
improving health delivery in Ghana and expressed the
hope that the equipment would be fully utilized for
their maximum effects.
GNA
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