Switzerland assists Ghana`s electricity

  1. Posted on Thursday 4 September 2008 - 17:19
    Francis
    Francis Ameyibor, Africanews reporter in Accra, Ghana
    Ghana and Switzerland have signed a 13-million dollar financial agreement on Wednesday. It is to improve energy distribution and good financial governance. Under the deal, 12 million dollars will be used to implement structural changes in the electricity sector.
    Akosombo hydro-electric dam.jpg
    The Minister of State for finance and Economic Planning, Anthony Akoto-Osei signed for Ghana and Swiss Ambassador to Ghana, Nicholas Lang, initialed on behalf of his country. The agreement is also meant to provide the Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission (PURC) with technical support and to expand the national grid in the Central region to reduce poverty.

    The second agreement worth one million dollars under the Good Financial Governance Programme will focus on assisting the Tax Policy Unit at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. This will however mobilise national resources for financing development programmes.

    The funding will enable the Tax Policy Unit to better position itself to develop a pro-growth and pro-poor tax policy framework to reduce economic distortions related to taxation and strengthen the domestic resource base.

    "The Swiss support aligns itself with the Ghana Energy Development and Access Project of the World Bank, and presents a case of good practice of donor harmonization and alignment with the needs of Ghana, which are both important topics of discussion during the week's High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness," Lang said.

    "This trilateral cooperation is another proof of Switzerland's strong intention to reduce transaction cost for all parties concerned and to deliver support as efficiently as possible," he added.

    The Swiss government has assisted Ghana in the areas of macroeconomic support, infrastructure financing as well as trade and private sector promotion.

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