... pledge 350 million dollars for 2008 budget
Accra, Nov 19, GNA - Development Partners on Monday announced a general budget support of 350 million dollars to bolster Ghana's aim of reaching the Millennium Development Goals and becoming a middle-income country by 2015.

Since 2003, development partners have contributed around 300 million dollars a year to the general budget in the form of loans and grants. This 'Multi-Donor Budget Support' amounts to between nine per cent and 13 per cent of the total government budget.

While these contributions have been fairly stable since 2003, revenue from domestic sources, such as taxes, has increased significantly, according to a statement signed by Ms Cecilia Akwetey, Head of Public Relations at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.

The statement said the funds would help government to increase spending in areas that would help to reduce poverty and promote growth in areas such as health, education, private sector development and reforming government systems.

"Money is released based on a track record of good performance in these areas".

Each year, the government and its development partners agree on a set of targets for reforms and results in areas such as energy, agriculture, private sector, education, health, water and sanitation, good governance and public financial management systems as outlined in Ghana's Growth and Poverty reduction Strategy II. The amount of support given depends on how well these results are achieved.

Other factors include the macro-economic performance of the country, commitment of Government to reducing poverty, and the progress on reforms of the systems for managing public finances. "On these counts, Ghana scored well, with about 97 per cent of available funding being approved for release into the 2008 budget," the statement said.

Contributing development partners include the African Development Bank, Canada, Denmark, European Commission, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, UK and the World Bank. Japan is contributing for the first time in 2008. 19 Nov. 07