Accra, March 16, GNA - The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo has expressed reservations at Ghana's inability to sometimes utilise loans contracted from her development partners.

He, therefore, asked officials charged with working on such projects to eschew the numerous bureaucratic tendencies, which have invariably sought to deprive Ghana of much needed funds for development. Mr Osafo-Maafo made the call when he signed a 702 billion cedi loan agreement with the International Development Association of the World Bank in Accra. Mr Mats Karlsson, Country Director of the World Bank signed for the World Bank.

Ghana on Tuesday signed a loan agreement with the World Bank for a 700 billion cedis (78 million dollar) Development Credit Agreement for the Education Sector Project.

Mr Osafo-Maafo called on the officials in the various ministries handling such programmes and projects to work with dispatch to erase the notion that Ghana did not actually need the money that she signs agreements on.

"When this happens we are regarded as not serious and thus unable to go in for more loans from these same bodies that we had earlier taken money from and have not utilised them," he added.

Ghana recently increased its loan utilization rate to about 65 per cent after fixing at 38 per cent for more than a decade. This is in spite of the fact that Africa's utilization rate was well over 55 per cent.

The Finance and Economic Planning Minister urged the Ministry of Education and Sports to work assiduously to utilise the 702 billion cedis loan.

The loan aims at revamping the country's educational sector. Fifty per cent of the loan would be in reference to the Specific Investment Loan (SIL) for general education with the remaining 50 per cent going to the tertiary education sector. The money would basically go to the University of Development Studies and the Polytechnics.

The overall development objective of the Education Sector Project is to promote equitable access to, and efficient delivery of quality services in pre-tertiary education and to foster innovation and relevance in tertiary education.