AfDB Partners Ghana to launch $7.4m Institutional Support Project

The African Development Bank Group and the Ministry of Finance in Ghana have launched a $7.4 million Institutional Support Project to strengthen domestic revenue mobilization and Debt Management Capacity.

The launch which follows the signing of grant and loan agreements and the first disbursement of project funds, would facilitate prudent debt management, deepen financial sector reforms and support capital market development in the country.

The Manager at the Resource Mobilization and Economic Relations Division of the Finance Ministry at the project launch, Emmanuel Fordjour,  thanked the African Development Bank for supporting the government.

He expressed the Ministry of Finance’s commitment to accelerating the project’s implementation.

The African Development Bank Country Manager for Ghana, Eyerusalem Fasika, emphasized the importance of the project to Ghana’s medium-term development objectives and the Finance Ministry’s 2018-2021 strategic plan.

Fasika noted that the project aligns with the Bank’s Country Strategy Paper (2019-2023) as it provides the foundation for additional fiscal space to support investments in infrastructure to bolster industrialization, job creation and spur private sector activity and regional integration.

The project complements current efforts to strengthen domestic resource mobilization in Ghana, following the challenges in revenue mobilization due to supply disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Specifically, the funds will provide technical assistance and capacity building to improve efficiency in non-tax revenue collection and bolster debt and cash management reforms.

It will also support the country to transition from aid dependency to prosperity and self-reliance, and also support the establishment of an international financial services centre in Accra.

Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Daniel  Tetteh,  commended the Bank for supporting Ghana’s transition to risk-based supervision for its capital markets and the automation of a regulatory compliance monitoring system for the Commission.

Ghana is classified as having a high risk of debt distress, according to the IMF’s recent Debt Sustainability Analysis. The project will help the country return to prudent debt levels through improved debt management capacity and a sustainable cash flow to smooth public spending.

Omotayo Araoye