Government of Germany has made new and additional grant commitments of €82 million towards critical sectors of Ghana’s economy as part of its annual support to the country.
Areas to benefit from the grant include renewable energy development, financial sector strengthening, education and skills development (TVET), digital transformation, governance, food security, female empowerment, and Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) support.
The pledged was made after the governments of Ghana and Germany concluded bilateral negotiations on development cooperation in Berlin from 28th to 29th November 2022.
Ghana’s delegation, which was led by Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister for Finance included Mr. Osei Bonsu Amoah, Member of Parliament (MP) for Akuapem South and Deputy Minister for Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development; Mr. Andrew Egyapa Mercer, MP and Deputy Minister for Energy; Gifty Twum Ampofo, MP and Deputy Minister for Education; and Ghana’s Ambassador to Germany, Ambassador Mrs. Gina Ama Blay.
The two-day negotiation was hosted by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) with the support of allied agencies such as the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) and KFW Development Bank.
In his closing statement, Ghana’s Minister for Finance thanked Dr. Bärbel Kofler, Parliamentary State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development for their support.
Mr. Ofori-Atta also described the grant as timely, given Ghana’s ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In highlighting the significance of Development Bank Ghana (DBG), the Finance Minister stated that, “the support given us to set up what will be a real game changer in Ghana’s financial architecture, the Development Bank Ghana, is very commendable”. According to him, the DBG has been positioned to play a countercyclical role in ensuring access to long term and affordable capital in challenging economic times, similar to KFW’s role during the post war reconstruction of Germany.
He gave assurance that the DBG would adhere to the highest corporate governance principles in order to ensure optimum shareholder value.
Speaking on behalf of Dr. Bärbel Kofler, Mr. Christoph Rauf, the Director for Africa at BMZ revealed that Ghana will continue to enjoy a “privilege partner” status with Germany, culminating in the development of a Special Partnership Arrangement with Ghana.
He affirmed the commitment of government of Germany in supporting Ghana’s arrangements with the IMF.
The next inter-governmental negotiations will take place in Accra in June 2023.
