The European Union (EU) in Ghana has disbursed a total of EUR 24 million to the Government through Ghana's Multi-Donor Budget Support (MDBS) framework.

A statement issued by the Delegation of the EU to Ghana in Accra on Friday and copied to the Ghana News Agency said: "This disbursement is in the context of the Millennium Development Goals Contract (MDG-Contract)".

The 2012 disbursement followed the satisfactory conclusions of the 2011 Multi Donor Budget Support (MDBS) annual review, conducted last May, as well as the demonstrated commitment by the Government towards attaining macro-economic stability, implementing the Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda (GSGDA) and in improving the country's public financial management.

The MDG-Contract, which is the EU's approach under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF) for longer term and a more predictable general budget support, was signed by the EU and the Government in July 2009.

Under the financing agreement of the MDG-Contract, the EU is to provide a total of EUR 209 million as general budget support to Ghana over the years 2009-2014, with an overall objective of contributing to sustainable growth and poverty reduction in Ghana, so that the country can attain middle-income status including the achievement of the MDGs.

General budget support is one of the three focal areas of cooperation between the European Union and Ghana.

Contrary to a project approach, budget support involves the transfer of financial resources directly to the Government Treasury to complement Government’s own domestically generated revenue to and facilitate the implementation of the national budget and its associated public expenditure plans.

In 2011, the EU disbursed a total of EUR 26.4 million as budget support to the Government.

Further to this, the EU is also committed to providing more support in the strengthening of Ghana's institutions and systems with a key focus on Public Finance Management.

This is, particularly, in view of the increasing need for more robust national institutions and systems in order to improve the effectiveness of aid.

General budgetary support to Ghana is part of a broader EU aid portfolio of a total of more than €420 million (about GH?900 million) for the period 2008-2014.

Other sectors of intervention include transport and inter-connectivity, governance and non focal areas such as trade facilitation, regional integration and support to Economic Partnership Agreement; natural resources management and migration, security and Diaspora.**