Accra, Sept. 11, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor has directed the Justice Ministry to speed up action on a draft bill to give legislative backing to the Northern Development Fund. This follows completion of work on the Concept Paper detailing the main components of the Fund by the Specialist Team working together with the Finance Ministry.

The Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA) and the Institute of Policy Alternatives led the team with concurrence of the Northern Leadership Group.

President Kufuor announced the Fund after last year's devastating floods in the three northern regions and the government proceeded in the 2008 budget to set aside 25 million GH Cedis as seed capital. Mr Andrew Awuni, Press Secretary to the President, said at a Castle press briefing on Thursday that a process of consultations with civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations, traditional authorities and political administrative leadership of the three regions on the six key strategic components of the concept would soon begin. These include community-driven actions to stimulate modernization of agriculture and competitiveness of small holders; private sector development initiatives to promote investment and business development in the area and investments in strategically-targeted economic and social infrastructure to open up production and transit into the expanded markets in neighbouring states.

The others are institutional capacity building to enhance strategic planning, funding and development management; flood mitigation and environmental renewal that would focus on water resources management and disaster preparedness; and a food, livelihood security and peace initiative.

Mr Awuni said these were going to be funded from a three-tier source - the Northern Ghana Development Fund, support from Ghana's development partners and regular sources leveraged through existing government and private sector resources. The Press Secretary said there were strong indications that the final Bill would provide for the Fund to be managed through a legacy and a working fund.

The legacy fund would be invested to grow while the working fund would support programmes and projects approved by the Board. An 11-member Board of Trustees, comprising six members, two each from the three regions, a representative each from the Finance Ministry and the Ministry of Local Government and three persons appointed on the basis of expertise in development issues was being proposed for the Fund.

Mr Awuni called on the Specialist Team to explore ways to complete all unfinished businesses expeditiously to bridge the historical development gap between the northern and southern parts of the country.