Dapaa (V/R) Jan. 17, GNA - Mr Mats Karlsson, Country Director of the World Bank, has announced that the Bank would support Ghana with one billion dollars for health, education, water and other projects, under a four-year programme, to improve socio-economic conditions in the country.

The Country Director, who is also responsible for Liberia and Sierra Leone, lauded the government for taking prudent measures to secure the country's currency, control inflation and boost private sector activities. Mr Karlsson, therefore, urged Ghanaians to support the initiatives to strengthen the economy.

He was speaking at a durbar of chiefs and people of Dapaa and neighbouring communities, in the Kadjebi District in the Volta Region, to mark the sod cutting for work to begin on the 33-kilometre Dzindzin-Dodi-Papase Road, on Friday. Mr Karlsson said the project if completed could ensure safety on the road, reduce travelling time from the southern part of the country to the northern sector and also link Ghana with Burkina Faso. "I believe that considering Ghana's role in ECOWAS it is important that you have this first class road to link Ghana with Burkina Faso because the interaction among the people would give true meaning to regional integration," he said.

The reconstruction work, which would involve tarring of the road, provision of drainage and other facilities, forms part of the Jasikan-Breweniase trunk road project. The trunk road links the region with Northern Ghana and forms an integral part of the trans West Sahelian Highway Network, stretching from the Tema Motorway roundabout through Kulungugu in the North part of Ghana to Burkina Faso. The government would provide an additional 8.3 billion cedis for the project.

Vice President Mahama, who cut the sod, stressed the government's determination to invest in the road and transport sector to help reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of the people. He said last year, the government initiated a project for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of 463 kilometres of road in seven regions in the country at the cost of 1.564 trillion cedis. 17. Jan. 04