... Ghana requests $500m from Bretton Woods
... to cushion crude oil prices
Accra, April 25, GNA- Ghana has made a request to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for an extra 500 million dollars to cushion the effects of the rising crude oil prices on Ghana's budget.

The Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu told Journalists on his return on Sunday from the Annual World Bank/IMF Spring Meeting in Washington that, without the extra support, Ghana's current budget would be thrown out of gear, if the price of crude oil should hit 60 dollars per barrel on the world market.

The Minister disclosed that Ghana is to receive 127 million dollars as poverty reduction credit to support its budget.

On the Millennium Challenge Account, Mr Baah-Wiredu said Ghana made a proposal of 290 million dollars for agricultural development, adding that, the Manager of the account would visit Ghana on the 8th of next month to assess the country's progress in that area.

Mr Baah-Wiredu said on the issue of the use of child labour in cocoa production in Africa, a team is expected in the country to examine the situation in Ghana.

The Finance and Economic Planning Minister said the International Development Agency had voted 11 billion dollars to support developing countries' developing projects that would help eradicate poverty, adding that Sub-Saharan countries were expected to receive half of that amount.

Earlier on, the Finance Minister had gone to Tripoli, Libya, where he held discussions with the Ghana Libya Holding Company on joint projects. The projects included the expansion of the Golden Tulip Hotel in Accra and the City Hotel in Kumasi.