Parliamentary Network on the World Bank
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Parliamentary Network on the World Bank
Field visit to the Republic of Ghana
21-24 July, 2005
1 Abbreviations
APR Annual Progress Report CSOs Civil Society Organizations GPRS Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy HIPC Heavily Indebted Poor Country IDA International Development Association MCA Millennium Challenge Account MDGs Millennium Development Goals MDBS Multi-Donor Budgetary Support PNoWB Parliamentary Network on the World Bank PRS/P Poverty Reduction Strategy/ Paper NEPAD New Partnership for Africa’s Development NDPC National Development Planning Commission
The PNoWB would like to express its gratitude to the Government of Finland and the World Bank for their support of the Parliamentarians in the Field Program. Thanks also to the Parliament and the Government of Ghana, particularly Ken Dzirasah MP, for the warm reception. Sincere gratitude also to the World Bank Ghana office for their help and their insights, particularly Smile Kwawukume, Salli Cudjoe and Evelyn Awittor of the Ghana office, who made themselves available to the delegation throughout the field visit, and to Nayé Bathily for coordinating the visit..
We hope that you find the report useful and that it will inspire parliamentarians to take a more active role in the oversight and ownership of poverty reduction policies. This report was drafted by Zuleikha Salim Said of the PNoWB.
For more information about field visits to other countries and to learn more about the PNoWB please visit www.pnowb.org. For information on how the World Bank works with parliamentarians please visit www.worldbank.org/parliamentarians.
2 Contents
Executive summary...... 4 Background...... 5 The Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS)...... 10 MDBS and Donor Harmonisation...... 14 Ghana and the fight against HIV/Aids...... 15 Conditionality, Aid and Poverty Reduction...... 16 Water Privatsation in Ghana...... 19 Micro-Finance and Poverty Reduction in Ghana...... 20 Recommendations...... 21 World Bank Projects in Ghana...... 23 Annex 1: List of Participants...... 26 Annex 2: Programme of activities...... 28 Annex 3: Additional information on PNoWB, field visit programme, and PRSPs...... 30 Annex 4: Ghana and the MDGs...... 31 Annex 5: Paradigm of Action...... 32 Annex 6: Additional Information on PNoWB, Field Visit Program and PRSB…………34 Annex 7:Ghana, Poverty, Women, Children and the MDGs…………………………….37 Annex 8: List of Representations of CVO met…………………………………………..39
3 Executive Summary Ghana has undergone significant political and economic reform in recent years and is often held up a model democracy in the region’s turbulent politics. It is also a country that has been identified as exemplary in donor coordination. 14 PNoWB parliamentarians representing eleven countries in Asia, Africa and Europe came together on a four-day visit to the country. Co- organized with the World Bank, the visit involved in-depth discussions with all the major stakeholders in the PRSP process through meetings and visits to projects supported by the World Bank.
While the goal of this 4-day field visit was to assess the GPRS/PRSP process and to what extent it was participatory, it also focused on Ghana's fight against HIV/AIDS with local experts on HIV/AIDS from the government, NGOs, donors and the World Bank participating. The GPRS is a nationally owned document which is the result of a consultation mechanism among the different stakeholders to define the development priorities of the country.
The series of meetings and visits to projects provided the parliamentarians with an excellent overview of the PRSP process to date; assessing just how well the PRSP process has lived up to its principles of ensuring a country-driven, results-orientated, partnership-focused approach to development.
However parliamentarians on the visit identified problems which they felt put achievements at risk, the lack of capacity being one of the most pressing concerns. This was in part related to poverty and the lack of sufficient resources to tackle it. It also meant that even when given the opportunity, parliamentarians could not contribute meaningfully to a country owned poverty reduction strategy.
MPs agreed that building coalitions across the political spectrum and across stakeholders was paramount if participation is to be effective and that improved consultation on PRSPs was one way of achieving this goal.
The MPs congratulated Ghanaians for a parliament that was exemplary in its attempt to democratize. They felt very strongly that in order to secure the progress, urgent investment in capacity -building was called for. The very absence of a strong infrastructure behind the state was a threat to peace and development
MPs felt that while there was still some way to go with donor coordination, Ghana was nonetheless already benefiting from increased donor cooperation through Multi Donor Budgetary Support (MDBS) even with only a handful of donors signing up.
Background
4 As a follow up to the Ethiopia HIV/AIDS and PRSP field visit (January 2004), Ghana played host to a PNoWB delegation July 24-28, 2005. Co-organized with the World Bank, the visit brought together 14 parliamentarians representing eleven countries in Asia, Africa and Europe.
The field visit program is one of the PNoWB’s key activities, organized jointly with the World Bank and supported by a grant from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland. The purpose of the visit was to foster a better understanding among Parliamentarians of development activities in Ghana and the role of the World Bank
Ghana has a population of about 20 millions inhabitants. Although major efforts have been made, Ghana is still a low income country with an average national income of $380 per capita per year. Currently, the World Bank has 32 active projects with a commitment value of approximately US$1.06 billions. The country’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) or Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) was approved by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund's boards in May 2003.
While the goal of this 4-day field visit was to assess the GPRS/PRSP process and to what extent it was participatory, it also focused on Ghana's fight against HIV/AIDS with local experts on HIV/AIDS from the government, NGOs, donors and the World Bank participating. The GPRS is a nationally owned document which is the result of a consultation mechanism among the different stakeholders to define the development priorities of the country.
The visit also provided the MPs with an opportunity to see how Ghana, a country that has been identified as exemplary in donor coordination, works. The visit involved in-depth discussions with all the major stakeholders in the PRSP process through meetings and visits to projects supported by the World Bank.
The good mix of developing and developed countries meant that a wide range of experience was able to be brought to bear upon the analysis of the situation in Ghana. The delegation led by Hugh Bayley MP (UK) contributed to extremely lively and productive question and answer sessions with various stakeholders. The field visit also stimulated an exchange of views- particularly in lessons learned- which both local and visiting MPs found very useful. It also allowed them to exchange contacts in order to continue discussions on issues especially around best practice on MP involvement in the PRSP process and tackling the HIV/Aids pandemic
The series of meetings and visits to projects provided the parliamentarians with an excellent overview of the PRSP process to date; assessing just how well the PRSP process has lived up to its principles of ensuring a country-driven, results-orientated, partnership-focused approach to development.
On country ownership, Ghana, it was felt, was further advanced than many of the heavily indebted poor countries in Africa, attributable in part to the country’s healthy and lively democratic debate. Nevertheless, a lack of capacity meant that true country ownership was severely hampered by a lack of capacity particularly on the part of MPs. Both the Ghanaian government and the World Bank need to do more to ensure poverty reduction policies are understood and claimed by Ghanaians.
5 The MPs congratulated Ghanaians for a parliament that was exemplary in its attempt to democratize. They felt very strongly that in order to secure the progress, urgent investment in capacity -building was called for. The very absence of a strong infrastructure behind the state was a threat to peace and development. There was however a strong determination on the part of MPs from all parties to forge ahead in the drive to democratize and to lift Ghana out of abject poverty. Both visiting and local MPs agreed that there was a huge investment to protect but more training and education was urgently needed if good intentions and goodwill were to be translated into solid progress on poverty reduction and good governance.
The MPs felt that while there was still some way to go with donor coordination, Ghana was nonetheless already benefiting from increased donor cooperation through Multi Donor Budgetary Support (MDBS) which has a total 13 development partners participating. They were however highly concerned with the lack of capacity-building measures to ensure parliamentarians, as well as government, could contribute meaningfully to a country owned poverty reduction strategy. They agreed that building coalitions across the political spectrum and across stakeholders was paramount if participation is to be effective.
Another significant outcome of the field visit was the advancement of discussions to set up a PNoWB West Africa Chapter which at the initial stage will include Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal. In Accra, representatives from the 3 countries agreed to base the chapter in Accra. The PNoWB annual Conference in Helsinki allowed key members of the proposed chapter to meet to draw plans for a preliminary launch of the chapter at the PNoWB, followed by a bigger regional launch in Accra in the coming months.
Economic and Political Background
Ghana made significant progress in 2004 in economic management and increasing poverty related expenditure. Under the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy, the country is aiming for a continued fall in the number of people living below the national poverty line from 39% in 1998/99 to 32% by 20051.
History
Ghana achieved independence in 1957 under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah who is considered one of Africa’s greatest nationalist and who led the way in the PanAfrican movement along with Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt. However Ghana like many of her post-colonial neighbors suffered from a series of failed regimes in the seventies, eighties and part of the nineties. It earned itself the notorious distinction of being the first to be faced with the problems of military takeovers long before others suffered similar fates.
But Ghana has rebounded after launching one of the first and more stringent economic recovery programs in the region nearly a decade and a half ago. It has been pioneering the Comprehensive
1 UK Department for International Development
6 Development Framework (CDF2) since May 1999 as a new way of managing the development process.
Politics
A new constitution was introduced in 1992, and soon after Ghana's first multiparty elections were organized. In 1996 Ghana enjoyed a smooth second-term election, with full participation of all political parties and the Ghanaian electorate. Local assemblies were increased from 110 districts to 138 and elections held in 2002. The assemblies are responsible for delivering services to the people in the districts.
In December 2004 the New Patriotic Party (NPP), led by John A .Kufour, won a first round with 52.45 percent in a peaceful presidential poll. And on January 7, 2005 President John A. Kufour was sworn into office for a second term of office. The political transition has proceeded peacefully and is seen as a major achievement for Ghana and for the region.
However, as a result of the death of two parliamentarians since the last elections, both from the leading opposition NDC Party, two by-elections were conducted. In both cases the opposition party won by much higher margins than in the previous election, thus making the political landscape more interesting and competitive. The relative peace and tranquility being enjoyed in the country can be attributed to growing level of political maturity of the Ghanaians themselves, who time and again have demonstrated their strong desire for peaceful coexistence.
The role of Ghana’s strong and growing social capital in deepening democracy deserves special mention. The influence of the media, particularly the private radio stations, as well as the growth of mobile telephony, cannot be overemphasized. The combination of radio and mobile phones has given Ghanaians tremendous voice and space for contribution to matters of political, economic and social interest. The role of radio stations in enhancing debate during electioneering has helped promote lively and constructive political competition, and has helped enhance transparency during vote counting and declaration of results.
Economy
Ghana’s economy is mainly rural: cocoa, timber, and pineapples are the main export crops; and mining (mainly gold) has become one of the biggest sources of foreign exchange. The emerging industrial sector's products include cassava, fruits, and cocoa by-products. For general information on the country and economy, see the Government of Ghana's website and the Ministry of Finance's website (www.ghana.gov.gh).
The Ghanaian economy is in its fourth year of economic expansion, combining improvements in macroeconomic management and strong export growth. The latest figures are positive, showing that:
2 The Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF) encompasses a set of principles to guide development and poverty reduction, including the provision of external assistance. Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRS) underpinned by the CDF are the way forward to enhance country ownership and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Source, World Bank 2006
7 The annual real GDP growth rate continues rising, averaging 5.2 percent over the last three years, exceeding the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) target of 5.0 percent and the 4.4 percent historical average of the last 20 years. The overall fiscal deficit has been on the decline, falling to less than one-third of its 2001 levels, notwithstanding the more than two-fold increase in transfers to State-owned enterprises. The end-year inflation rate reached the lowest level since 1999, closing the year at just under 12 percent. Export growth remains strong, reaching an estimated 13 percent growth in 2004, after peaking at 20 percent in 2003.
Current Macroeconomic Situation
Ghana’s macroeconomic management in 2004 established an important historical precedent, achieving sustained growth and a broadly stable macroeconomic environment during an election year. Real GDP growth reached 5.8 percent, up from 5.2 percent in 2003. Growth was driven by the strong performance of exports, with another record cocoa harvest, and higher prices for gold exports. Strong inflows of export revenues, as well as record remittances from Ghanaians living abroad, helped offset the increase in oil imports, allowing a further build up of international reserves. As a result of the rise in imports, international reserves in the Bank of Ghana now equal 3.7 months of imports of goods and services, up from 3.3 months at end-2003.
Macroeconomic stability was reflected in a relatively steady nominal exchange rate, with the cedi depreciating by only 2.2 percent against the dollar, and the real effective exchange rate appreciating slightly. Monetary policy aimed at allowing the increase in foreign reserves, while supporting the disinflation process, keeping broad money growth (including foreign currency deposits) below 2003 levels. Consumer price inflation closed the year at 11.8 percent, more than halving the end-2003 rate. Domestic interest rates declined in line with lower inflation rates, allowing credit to the private sector as a share of overall credit to increase to 58 percent by end- 2004, up from 52 percent in the previous year.
Private investment recently rose above the levels of mobilization of private savings, indicating that domestic investment has also become one of the drivers of the economic expansion. It appears that private investment has been able to respond to the opportunities provided by the economic expansion, thanks to the combination of reduced public sector deficits and increases foreign savings being made available to the country. This is an important development because sustaining and increasing the current real GDP growth rate is contingent on the projected rise of the share of aggregate investment in GDP. Ensuring that the increase in investment is directed towards productive activities is the other requisite for sustained growth.
The NPP government during its first term of office initiated a macroeconomic program aimed at getting Ghana out of its debt trap—including taking advantage of the external debt relief possible under the HIPC Initiative. In February 2002 Ghana reached its HIPC Decision Point, with a floating completion point which Ghana reached on 13th July 2004. The debt relief provided under the HIPC Initiative amounts to US$215 million per year from 2002–2011.
Following the HIPC completion point in July 2004 (1), Ghana’s debt sustainability is now robust, although still susceptible to low-to-moderate risk of debt distress in the event of
8 exogenous shocks. Minimizing the risk of debt distress is contingent on sustained good macroeconomic performance and continued access to concessional financing, as well as robust export growth. The sustainability of total public debt hinges, in particular, on prudent fiscal management, with strengthened expenditure control and sustained performance in revenue generation.
While Ghana’s strong economic performance in recent years, coupled with the incidence of positive external shocks (namely the high price of cocoa and gold) has placed the country in a relatively comfortable situation, the recent rise in oil prices has negated part of these gains and highlighted, once again, the country’s vulnerability to exogenous shocks.
Improved macroeconomic stability and the substantial external assistance associated with the HIPC Initiative allows the government a window of opportunity for implementing the reform agenda that it developed during the preparation of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS). Overall, the GPRS provides a new vision of Ghana that emphasizes creation of wealth, improved governance, and reduced income and regional inequalities. This agenda has been translated into sectoral strategies and programs within the GPRS.
Given the range of the reforms, the government’s growth target for the last year of the GPRS (2005) of 5 percent is expected to be surpassed, reaching 5.8 percent. To achieve this, it is expected that agriculture would grow in 2005 by 6.5 percent, slightly below the 6.8 percent average of the first two years of the GPRS. Sustained growth is premised on the continuation of the favorable external environment for cocoa, greater access to credit, and improvements in marketing and storage, aimed at minimizing post-harvest losses. It is expected that industry would grow at an average of 5.8 percent, rising from the 5.1 percent recorded in 2004. The stronger performance is expected to result from buoyant agro-industrial and civil construction activity, reflecting lower transaction costs associated with production and lower domestic real interest rates. It is expected that services would grow at 5.4 percent, up from 4.7 percent in 2004. The increase growth is expected to result from the continued strong performance of the tourism, banking and communication sectors.
In early 2003 the government rolled out the initial phase of a budget and public expenditure management system (BPEMS), and submitted to parliament a legal and regulatory framework to reform public procurement and strengthen internal audit functions. Progress has since then been achieved in strengthening public financial management, with the modernization of the regulatory framework for public expenditure management; and improvements in the scope, timing, and quality of reporting on budget execution. Specific results include (a) the signing into law and beginning implementation of the Financial Administration Act (FAA), the Internal Audit Agency Act (IAA), and the Public Procurement Act (PPA); (b) monthly (commitment and expenditure) budget execution reports reconciled with the Bank of Ghana produced with no more than eight weeks lag; and (c) quarterly report on the execution of poverty related expenditures produced with no more than eight weeks lag.
In May 2003 the IMF Board approved a three-year new Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PGRF) (See Press Release No. 03/66) for SDR 184.5 million (about US$271.3 million). So far, Ghana has drawn SDR 79.1 million (about US$116.2 million) under the arrangement. The IMF has completed the third review of Ghana's economic performance under the PRGF arrangement.
9 The completion of the review makes immediately available to Ghana an amount equivalent to SDR 26.4 million (about US$38.7 million). In completing the review, the IMF Board also decided to extend the current PRGF arrangement to October 31, 2006 so the sixth and final review and all disbursements under the arrangement could be completed. The Government of Ghana, however in September 2005 expressed its intention of weaning itself off budgetary support from the IMF in November 2005.
The PRGF is the IMF's concessional facility for low-income countries. PRGF-supported programs are based on country-owned poverty reduction strategies adopted in a participatory process involving civil society and development partners, and articulated in a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP).
The background to Ghana’s program was issued in the government's "Memorandum on Economic and Financial Policies," available at http://www.imf.org
The Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy3 (GPRS)
The Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) is the key development policy framework for the country. According to the World Bank, the implementation of the GPRS, which began in 2002, has been geared towards achieving the medium term priorities of the Government. With an increased awareness of the importance of the GPRS, it has been used to inform all key policy and budgetary decisions both at the national and the district levels.
The Annual Progress Report (APR) provides a framework for the systematic review of the GPRS programs and projects implementation and their impacts on the socio-economic development of the country for the year. Given the significant resources required to fund the GPRS, the Government has prioritized the GPRS through the Medium Term Priorities (MTPs), which have been used to inform the budget. The Ghanaian government has set up a special commission, the National Development Commission, to work specifically on the design and monitoring of the GPRS.
The APR also comments on the status of the GPRS-based triggers and targets for assessing performance in the Donor support programs such as the Poverty Reduction Support Credit (PRSC), the Multi Donor Budget Support (MDBS), the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF), and for meeting the floating HIPC completion point.
In addition the APR provides an assessment of donor performance in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. While the triggers and targets may be specific to funding programs they are essentially monitoring tools for assessing the GPRS implementation process, so monitoring them are as important to the Government of Ghana as they are to the relevant Development Partners.
The primary sources of information for the report are the sector ministries, departments and agencies. The report also uses data from earlier surveys of the Government Statistical Service (GSS) as well as two new surveys conducted by the GSS in the first quarter of 2003.
3 Source: World Bank and IMF
10 Although progress has been made in establishing the GPRS Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) system, there still remain challenges that need to be addressed. There is, for example, the need to facilitate the harmonization of data and other information collected as part of the M&E exercise. Data inconsistency and availability from different sources was viewed as a major challenge in the monitoring exercise.
The dissemination activities of the GPRS to the public have improved through the development of a GPRS communication strategy, which is under implemented. Additionally, there is active participation of the Ministries, Department and Agencies through the establishment of National Intra-Agency Poverty Monitoring Groups based on the GPRS thematic areas. These groups are inter-sectoral and include both government and non- government representatives selected for their knowledge of the thematic area.
The poverty monitoring groups have held a series of meetings, which have helped to deepen the involvement of Ministries, Department and Agencies in the GPRS M&E process. Members have had the opportunity to comment on the APR and provided significant input to baselines, targets & indicator achievements.
Parliamentarians met with the Bank, representatives from Ghana’s government (Finance Minister Mr Baah- Wiredu and members of the National Development Planning Commission, NDPC which deals with the GPRS), Ghana’s parliament and civil society organizations in their attempts to assess the GPRS in fighting poverty.
Despite hearing from the Bank that Ghana’s parliament was involved from an early stage (according to the Bank policies are agreed between donor and Ghana’s government but have to then go through Parliament), MP Fiona O’Malley from Ireland reflected wider concerns by asking whether MP involvement was meaningful. Local MP and former minister and now Shadow Minster for Finance, Hon Moses Asaga responded by saying that while Parliament had been involved in consultations with the previous poverty reduction strategy, not enough time was given to this and not early enough, also few MPs were able to deal with the complexities of the strategy in order to respond meaningfully. He felt that it was of crucial to involve MPs meaningfully in the second poverty reduction strategy if it was to succeed as a country-owned document. He also responded Rt Hon John McFall MP from the UK who asked whether synchronizing donor money with national budgetary processes was a problem. According to both the Bank and Mr Asaga, this still remains a problem though more donors were moving towards linking their funding cycles to those of the government’s budget cycles to allow effective and timely delivery of resources.
However the government is trying to improve MP involvement. As MPs found out from a meeting with the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon Ebenzer Sekyi-Hughes, and from a meeting with Ghana’s PRSP Committee, there is support from both the legislature and the executive for the work of the Committee. It is however still very embryonic and due to the last elections, lost a considerable amount of expertise with members who did not get re-elected. The committee is however getting external support from donors and non-governmental organizations in capacity- building to allow it to monitor the PRSP process more effectively.
11 The problem of capacity also affects the executive when it comes to effective participation in the design and monitoring of PRSPs. MPs met with the National Development Planning Commission, (NDPC), the government body charged with this task to hear from the in-coming Commission how a lot of expertise had been lost when several of their experts were moved to jobs in other ministries. The high turnover of staff means that the Commission is struggling to fulfill its full mandate in delivering and sustaining effective poverty reduction strategies. Finnish MP Anni Sinnemaki wondered whether there was a case for greater investment in staff and human resources in general with a government strategy which would also address the problem of brain-drain and migration of skilled workers.
However the NDPC is making progress, in response to a question from delegation leader Hugh Bayley MP, UK, MPs heard that Ghana’s first PRS had been extremely successful in meeting its targets, particularly in its primary objectives; macroeconomic stability and bringing inflation under control.
Ghana had also shown increased growth and improvement in infrastructure which provides the ideal basis for the second GPRS. The main priority now was to ensure there is continuity between the first and second PRS.
The NDPC also ensured that its targets were aligned with those of international initiatives like the MDGs (for further information on Ghana and the MDGs see Annex 4), the Millennium Challenge Account, (MCA), Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative, Multi- Donor Budgetary Support (MDBS) and NEPAD (The New Partnership for Africa’s Development) Representatives however stressed that the GPRS was tailored to and based on Ghana’s needs.
In response to MPs questions, the Commission explained that they agreed that education, health and agriculture were key and that the GPRS identifies these as key areas of investment. MPs however felt that the government needed to go further in investing in particularly the first two areas if the country is to develop out of poverty. MP Komala Devi, Malaysia pointed out that both Ghana and Malaysia achieved independence in the same year yet they follow very different development trajectories. Malaysia put a heavy emphasis on health education and was spending several times more than the 3% Ghana spends on education (this has improved recently though the problem cannot sufficiently be overcome due to limited resources). Hugh Bayley MP added that perhaps the government ought to look at certain areas of budget expenditure which could be reduced to allow for greater spending in these two key sectors.
Finnish MP Kimmo Sasi was interested in hearing about the criteria for involving Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), followed by Wale Okediran, MP, Nigeria who raised the issue of MP involvement. Mr Okediran stressed the need to involve MPs and others to promote ownership of policies. The Commission admitted that there was still some way to go in achieving systematic and meaningful involvement of all stakeholders
Wagane Faye, MP Senegal, called for anti-corruption measures to be built into the GPRS.
MPs later met with civil society organizations, then academics to get a different perspective on PRSPs in Ghana.
12 MPs heard how the PRSP consultation still needed great improvement to allow for a really participatory process. Quite a few of the CSOs present at the first meeting said they had not been included in the consultation process even though they worked with a substantial part of the Ghanaian population. Whereas those who were consulted felt they were not given the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution due to time constraints. Also they only got copies of the draft at the actual meeting giving them little opportunity to respond. Bishop Akolgo of ISODEC (Integrated Social Development Centre), an NGO based in Accra and with links to Christian Aid, his organization was consulted though he too felt the process was neither deep nor wide enough and provided limited scope for input with no discussion of the macroeconomic framework and what constitutes poverty reduction.
When Hugh Bayley MP, UK raised the issue of PRSP consultation and how to improve MP involvement in a later meeting with academics, MPs heard that even the PRSP committee faced challenges in that their mandate is limited to tracking how funds are spent and implementation but they have no real input into policies. In fact the first GPRS had no input altogether from MPs.
Dr Emmanuel Akwetey, a PRSP and government policy expert, and director of a think-tank (Institute for Democratic Governance), explained that while the second GPRS is an improvement on the first, it still relied heavily on technocrats in its design and that as a response, CSOs invited themselves to engage more meaningfully in the process by creating a public platform for dialogue (CSOs are invited but individually which makes participation weak). He felt it was important for all Ghanaians to at least know and understand what the first GPRS had achieved and to be involved in the second if its aims are to succeed. The GPRS should not be seen as a technical exercise but more a political one. In his view, Parliament too was not sufficiently engaged as evidenced by the current role it has been reduced to; that of ratifying programs. However GPRS 2 provides the opportunity for MPs to get involved in the debate, and to do this effectively, he felt MPs ought to take an interest in macroeconomic policy and social development choices.
John McFall MP raised the issue of resource distribution, could MPs not lobby the government to get more funds for under-resourced areas? Dr Akwetey felt that this was a political problem in that resource distribution was politically strategic whereby areas where the government had strong support got more than sufficient resources. MPs he felt, could do more to challenge the government but were not doing so out of loyalty or out of fear of being dismissed as ‘opposition’ and therefore not serious. Many of the neglected areas also suffered from under-representation and illiteracy (low voter turn-out in elections) making them politically insignificant in terms of voter demands.
MPs also heard how the government had a monopoly on initial statistics which it did not release to allow CSOs, and MPs, to do their own analysis and reach independent conclusions. In their concluding session at the end of the four-day field-visit, MPs felt that the Bank, with its wealth of data, could play a key role in partnership with parliamentarians in information dissemination to improve ordinary Ghanaians understanding of the whole PRS process.
13 Multi Donor Budgetary Support (MDBS) and Donor Harmonization
According to the World Bank, overall development partner coordination in Ghana is strong. The Bank group’s strategy in Ghana emphasizes deepening its collaboration with other development partners through the Multi-Donor Budgetary Support (MDBS) framework, partnership programs such as the health sector-wide approach and other sector programmatic support, and further deepening harmonized approaches in areas such as analytical work, fiduciary underpinnings, and meeting and mission management. The MDBS provides a framework for policy dialogue and decisions linked to progress in the implementation of the GPRS.
The completion of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS), created the momentum for a significant group of donors to align their assistance under a common Multi-Donor Budgetary support (MDBS) framework agreed with the Government of Ghana (GoG) in June 2003. The GoG and development partners (DPs) consider the MDBS as the basis for support to the implementation of GPRS through the budget. Building on the gains made over the last two years, representatives of the Government of Ghana and its development partners (nine bilaterals and four multilaterals, including the World Bank) agreed on February 25, 2005 to work together according to the principles established in the paper “Harmonization and Alignment in Ghana for Aid Effectiveness: a common approach for Ghana and its Development Partners”.
So how did MDBS start? In early 2003, nine bilateral and multilateral donors (including the World Bank, European Commission, UK, Canada and Denmark) agreed to provide co- coordinated support to Ghana’s budget, to help deliver the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy. France became the tenth member in 2005. Multi-Donor Budgetary Support and Italy is considering joining. The US and Japan have however opted out of MDBS.
According to the UK Department for International Development, MDBS now accounts for over one-third of development assistance to Ghana.
MDBS is more than a pooled funding arrangement. It provides a structure for discussion between Government and donors about priorities for poverty reduction and growth; and a shared approach to assessing progress. MDBS gives the Government greater predictability in planning its budget; and reduces the administration involved in hosting different donor missions, and meeting various financial reporting requirements. But support to the consolidated budget also presents risks. To mitigate these, the MDBS donors monitor progress measures covering reform areas: The extent of domestic revenue used for poverty reduction programs; The timeliness and transparency of government financial reporting and auditing; Value for money in government spending, especially procurement; Sound macro-economic management. The visiting delegation of parliamentarians met with donors represented by……………… to hear first-hand what challenges Ghana faced, and its achievements in the poverty reduction process.
14 Ghana and the Fight against HIV/AIDS
Ghana, like many of its African neighbors, is facing a huge challenge in its efforts to develop; that of the HIV/AIDS13 July 2004 pandemic. MPs visited the Ghana AIDS Commission in order to assess how the country was coping with the inexorable rise of HIV/Aids in the country and its effects on development. MPs met with Prof. Sakyi Amoah of the Ghana Aids Commission, a 47 member Commission which works directly under the President’s office and is chaired by President John Kuffuor. Its mandate is to manage HIV/AIDS in Ghana and was set up in 2000 to allow a multi-sectoral approach to tackling the problem and was unique in how it saw the issue as more than just a medical one; that it was also a human rights one.
The Commission works in 3 ways, with; 1. Public sector organizations 2. Civil society organizations 3. Private sector organizations
All HIV/Aids-designated are channeled through the Commission allowing speedy disbursement which is crucial in timely intervention and has allowed Ghana to achieve almost 100% awareness of the infection amongst its population. It has also led to a drop in the prevalence rate to between 3.1 and 3.6%- a significant break-through.
The Commission had also set up mechanisms to monitor how funds are used and to curb corruption.
However certain groups like youth, sex workers (here the prevalence is between 70-80%), still remain vulnerable and more work is needed.
Also delivering anti-retrovirals (ARVs) to all who need them remains a big challenge. Currently 75,000 Ghanaians need to go on ARVs but the government has to date only been able to get it to just over 2,000 people.
There is also the problem of providing nutrition to People Living with HIV/Aids (PLWHA) whose chances of survival go down with inadequate nutrition.
MPs applauded the efforts of Ghana’s government in dealing with the pandemic so openly and progressively which included legislation to ensure that the mechanism- i.e. the Commission- to deliver the services had a legal basis for existence. In response to MPs questions Prof Amoah pointed out that the Commission was exploring legislation to deal with discrimination and stigmatizing.
MP Martin Wandera, Uganda, raised the issue of perhaps legalizing sex work as it was the secrecy and illegality surrounding it that drove it deeper underground and ensured the infection
15 continued to spread at exponential rates among this group. Prof Amoah mentioned that currently under consideration was the issue of de-criminalizing.
MPs then had the opportunity to see first-hand the problems faced by locals in dealing with the pandemic, particularly in rural areas, when they visited Matthew 25 House, a charity run by the Catholic Church. Based in the Koforidua, in the Eastern Region, the project receives funds from both the Ghana Aids Commission and the World Bank (MAP project) though it is severely under-resourced. It thus depends on small income-generating projects run by those who use the centre’s services.
Set up and run by Rev Fr Alex Bobby Benson, the centre has an open-door policy. Despite inadequate funding, it nonetheless provides a sanctuary and counseling, at the very least for those affected by the illness. Stigmatizing of PLWHA is still an issue and it forces many of those who come to Matthew 25 to keep their positive status from family and community members through fear of being ostracized leaving them without a support network.
HIV Prevalence by region Region Mean Prevalence Rate Ashanti 3.0% Brong Ahafo 4.5% Volta 3.5% Central 3.5% Eastern 6.5% Western 4.6% Greater Accra 3.6% Northern 1.8% Upper East 3.1% Upper West 1.7% National Mean Prevalence 3.5% Source: Ghana Health Service, National AIDS/STI Control Program - HIV Sentinel Survey, 2004 Report
Koforidua has one of the highest prevalence rates HIV/Aids in the country yet there are still very few centers that provide care for PLWHA. See table above
Conditionality, Aid and Poverty Reduction
This section looks at the role of conditionality in poverty reduction, an issue that concerns many PNoWB members from donor and recipient countries. Ghana is often quoted as an example of a country whose efforts to democratize and fight poverty would be more successful if it wasn’t hamstrung by much conditionality linked to debt relief and aid4. Some delegation members expressed a keen interest in investigating conditionalities in Ghana and how these affected poverty reduction, on behalf of other PNoWB members who also expressed an interest. What follows is a result of the consultation before and during the visit.
4 As part of the preparation for the field visit, PNoWB consulted a range of governments, all party parliamentary groups, campaigning groups, experts and parliamentarians.
16 While there is a recognition of the need for conditionalities, MPs, especially the local ones consulted, like Mohammed Jagri MP, Ghana, as well as local and international NGOs, spoke of the harmful and regressive effects some conditionalities can have on poverty reduction especially in vulnerable economies like Ghana which are greatly dependent on aid. The issue of conditionality has been a hotly-debated one both inside and outside Ghana by parliamentarians and civil society alike.
The UK’s Department for International Development, DfID, in its policy paper Partnerships for Poverty Reduction: changing aid ‘conditionality’ recognizes the weak track record of donor conditionality in terms of poverty impact, sustainability, ownership and accountability. It argues that there is a need to slim down and focus conditions on those issues needed to ensure aid is spent for its stated purposes and supports poverty reduction.
Discussions with both governments and civil society groups based in the developing world show how conditionalities especially those linked to good governance, transparency accountability and fighting against corruption are welcome. They can serve to encourage greater democratic involvement of both parliaments and civil society groups. This view is also reflected by campaigning groups and development-related organizations in the North.
Of course the world needs more aid as well as efficient aid. Experience of what happens within Africa, the Africa Union and NEPAD shows a growing desire to push this issue of an expansion of aid that is less burdensome to countries, and in particular budgetary support. This has been shown to be particularly successful in countries like Ghana where general budgetary support is linked to the country’s poverty reduction strategy. It demonstrates how aid accompanied by responsible conditionalities which encourage accountability of spending and outcomes can be successful.
The DfID paper clearly acknowledges there is a problem with conditionalities and privatization and makes the commitment to reduce the ‘combined burden’ of IFI and bilateral conditions. Despite IMF streamlining, there’s no clear evidence that the aggregate weight of conditionality has reduced, because of ‘off-loading’ of Fund structural conditions onto Bank programs, and because the Fund has persisted with structural conditions in key areas such as energy privatization
The DfID paper illustrates the difficulties over economic policy conditionality. On the one hand, the paper seems to question the enforceability and political appropriateness of structural economic conditions, and acknowledges their often negative poverty impact. On the other hand, it suggests that with enough analysis to get the policy content right and mitigate the social costs of reform, economic policy conditions are legitimate and useful.
The difficulty is that even minimal policy conditionality may involve donors ‘taking sides’ in domestic policy disputes The World Bank and IMF explicitly support the use of conditionality to ‘tip the balance’ in favor of ‘reformers’, and describe such policy interventions as ‘reinforcing’ ownership – as opposed to substituting it.
17 There is a legitimate role for having an input into economic policy. MPs, such as PNoWB members who met at the PNoWB and World Bank high-level donor parliamentarians’ conference in Naples earlier this year, argue that they cannot expect their constituents to pay towards effective aid if countries aren’t also doing their bit. But the criticism is that too often the conditions are too precise – too directed to right wing policy.
The DfID paper endorses ‘mutually agreed terms and conditions linked to poverty reduction benchmarks’ and says that conditions should not be ‘unilaterally imposed’. The concern however is that the paper leaves open the possible use of conditions that are not derived from the PRS process – as currently happens in both the PRGF and PRSC – and that are therefore not open to proper public scrutiny and accountability.
Ghana, a Heavily Indebted Poor country, HIPC, is a key example of how conditionalities can be regressive to development. Research over the eighties, nineties and as recent as this decade shows how many of the reforms instigated under the IMF and World Bank have been unsuccessful. Yes the Bank and Fund policy has changed and there has been a shift away from the much-hated Structural Adjustment Programs. However Ghanaian campaigners and others from HIPC countries argue that the successors of SAPs, Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, are perceived as not very different.
Civil society groups in the North and South (including representatives from governments in the latter) highlight the rhetorical nature of PRSPs as the main problem. In principle, they do incorporate quite a few of the recommendations called for in order to allow a more participatory approach on the part of debtors and aid recipients. PRSPs place a lot of emphasis on inclusive consultative processes from the grassroots up to ensure true country ownership of PRSPs.
However the reality as in Ghana is seen to be different; the fact that the Bank and Fund are so heavily involved in the drafting and approval of PRSPs is seen to undermine the role of individual governments and their people.
Some conditionalities require the governments to undertake austerity measures designed to shrink the percentage of the budget spent on the public sector. This under the right circumstances with economic and political stability is fine. Countries like Ghana have been forced to make swingeing cuts to their budgets. This not only slows down development but threatens fragile economies and democracies at a time when countries capacities to cope are already tested to the limit by HIV/AIDS as the delegation of MPs noted when they visited both the Ghana Aids Commission and a charity Matthew 27 which cares for both HIV/AIDs victims and their dependents.
Local MPs and members of the delegation from developing countries agreed that trade was an area where great movement was needed on the part of developed countries, particularly on 1) Tariffs and agricultural subsidies which mean that poor-country goods cannot compete equally with their developed-country counter-parts’ goods 2) Liberalization conditionality which forced poor countries to remove subsidies and tariffs to allow a free market. As Ghana MP Ken Dzirasah put it, “the 3rd World above all needs fair trade to tackle poverty, and we need to be given a fair opportunity to market our skills and produce. Instead of giving people fish, give them the means with which to fish”
18 Water Privatization in Ghana
The issue of privatizing public utilities and commercial services has been as controversial one in Ghana as it has in many Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs). MPs had the opportunity to visit two water-related projects, one in Accra and one outside in Akwadum-Nankese to assess the situation first-hand.
The first visit was to the Ghana Water Company (GWC), which deals with the extraction, treatment and distribution of water. The GWC runs 80 water supply systems in large and medium-sized urban areas. 130 systems in small towns were hived off in 1998 and are now community owned and operated. The delegation visited one of these in the Eastern Region (near Koforidua) which appeared to be well run, and provided clean water from standpipes managed by community guardians who collect modest user charges.
The GWC says it will invest $120 million between now and 2010 - $103 million to be provided by the World Bank. Three quarters of the investment will go on infrastructure. Currently 40% of urban residents do not have access to treated water, and they have to buy water at high prices from private water sellers, or use untreated water. Roughly 25,000 out of 340,000 GWC customers have been disconnected for non payment, although many have illegally reconnected to the system.
The GWC told the delegation that it gets paid for only half its water. Three years ago 53% was not paid for; now it is slightly less at 48%. Some of the 'non-revenue' water leaks away from its poorly maintained pipes; some is not paid for by domestic customers who are short of money. But the biggest non-payer is the government. State-owned bodies like hospitals, schools, the civil service and state-owned utilities like the electricity board routinely do not pay because they know they will not be cut off by another public body. Each month there is a 'settlement' negotiation - the water company may agree to waive bad debts in return for a government promise of 'free' electricity. 30% of GWC's operating cost goes on electricity for pumping supplies. Parliamentarians felt that this inefficiency needs to be addressed. The cost of water to consumers could be reduced significantly if a higher proportion of revenue was collected. This ought to reduce the number of disconnections, and would help GWC to extend its systems to people who currently do not have access to treated water. A private partner would help to make this happen because it would have a greater incentive to ensure that state-owned bodies pay their water bills.
While it is currently government-owned, the government is looking at sub-contracting out to a private company the operating of systems though the assets will remain government-owned.
Hugh Bayley MP raised the question of how donor money was used and in response MPs heard that the Ghana Water Company got funds- all in grants not loans- from the World Bank and the Nordic development fund. 75% of this money was used to invest in infrastructure. The World Bank also provided technical assistance.
Fiona O’Malley MP, Ireland, was concerned about the charges people had to pay to get water as it was not freely available and was not even then available in the more remote and poor areas.
19 Her concerns were echoed by Anni Sinnemaki MP, Finland who stressed that it was absolutely crucial to make water available to all at costs linked to their income levels, particularly the poor. In relation to this, MP Ouadia Benabdellah of Morocco raised the issue of penalties for those who could not afford to meet their bill reflecting wider concerns from the MPs that water provision came at a premium the poor may not be able to afford.
MP Akilesh Das from India questioned whether Ghana had sufficient water to cater for the needs of its population and was reassured that Ghana had enough reserves and with the right investment would be able to deliver clean water to all Ghanaians.
MPs had the opportunity to discuss the issues further when they met with members of a community in Nankese who together managed a metered communal tap which brought water to their area. According to community members consulted, the water was affordable but not in sufficient quantities to meet all their household needs and river water was used still being for some purposes even though it carried the risk of water-borne diseases and infections. Rt Hon John McFall MP was concerned about the number of disconnections carried out, and the implications on public health, he raised this issue with the Ghana Water Company in the first meeting.
Micro-Finance and Poverty Reduction in Ghana
Like everyone else, most poor people need and use financial services all the time. They save and borrow to take advantage of business opportunities, invest in home repairs and improvements, and meet seasonal expenses like school fees and holiday celebrations. The financial services available to the poor, however, often have serious limitations in terms of cost, risk, and convenience. Moneylenders, for example, often charge usurious interest rates on loans. Buying goods on credit is far more expensive than paying in cash. Local rotating savings and credit circles take deposits and give loans only at rigid time intervals and in strict amounts, and often result in the loss of members' money.
In the 1970s, experimental programs in Bangladesh, Brazil, and a few other countries extended tiny loans to groups of poor women to investment in micro-businesses. This type of micro- enterprise credit was based on solidarity group lending in which every member of a group guaranteed the repayment of all members5.
Parliamentarians visited the South Akim Rural Bank, a micro-finance project, to learn about how micro-credit was helping reduce poverty particularly in rural areas. The bank is another of the projects partly-funded by the World Bank and was founded in 1984. I t has 34,000 clients and over the years over 90,000 have benefited from its services. The bank offers differential rates but the typical APR is 30%.
The project has helped lift thousands out of poverty or has allowed them to at the very least survive yet the management emphasize that they have no problems recovering personal loans and the problem in fact lay with commercial lending.
5 Source: The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), is consortium of 28 public and private development agencies working together to expand access to financial services for the poor, referred to as microfinance.
20 MPs had the opportunity to also meet with some of the beneficiaries who stressed the importance of such schemes in making ends meet for them; borrowing was typically used to educate children, provide capital to run farms (mainly for subsistence), to get medical treatment, to pay for a new roof and to even pay for travel further afield.
MPs were impressed with both clients and bank in this crucial service for the poor. What South Akim Rural Bank showed, was that contrary to popular belief, the poor are not a credit risk. Women especially, had excellent repayment rates, better than those of formal financial sectors of most developing countries. Additionally, the poor were willing and able to pay interest rates that allowed microfinance institutions (MFIs) to cover their costs.
Also, projects like this one, used some of their profits to benefit the community, as Ken Dzirasah MP pointed out, it’s not all about profits but also about social responsibility. South Akim Bank has contributed to education, water, health and electricity projects in the area.
Recommendations
Ghana has made impressive progress in its efforts to tackle poverty; however it needs considerably more resources if MDG targets are to be met. Ghana despite progress, is currently off-track on meeting the majority of the MDGs. Donors should increase their support to countries like Ghana who have a proven track-record of effective poverty reduction.
Parliamentarians should be involved at a much earlier stage in the PRSP and other programs, preferably at the beginning. This would allow the ownership of plans to be established first within a country as MPs provide the ideal vehicle to getting ordinary citizens and other stakeholders involved. As Wale Okediran MP, Nigeria, pointed out, “There can be no true country ownership of policies without the involvement of parliament.”
Rapid disbursement and fair distribution of resources is just as critical to effective poverty reduction as sufficient resources. Donors like the World Bank should work more closely with the Ghanaian government and Parliament to ensure that resources are distributed in a fair and timely manner, Hon Moses Asaga, local MP and former minister highlighted the case of certain remote regions in Ghana which despite being the poorest, still lagged far behind in the development trajectory. In resource distribution, priority should go to the poorest areas.
Where aid and debt relief are concerned, there should be an appeal mechanism set up whereby developing countries can appeal to allow them some form of recourse where it is felt that conditionalities are likely to exacerbate rather than reduce poverty, and contribute to democracy or accountability. For Africa, NEPAD’s Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) might form a basis for such an appeal.
There should be a far stronger commitment to the routine involvement of parliaments in oversight of binding conditions prior to their agreement, and to greater involvement of line ministries, parliamentarians and civil society in the identification of mutually agreed benchmarks. Donors should also invest more in building the capacity of parliamentarians to allow them meaningful input into the design and monitoring of PRSPs. When questioned by
21 Faith Mukakalisa MP, Rwanda, members of Ghana parliamentary PRSP Committee revealed that one of their biggest challenges in monitoring the PRSP was lack of experience and the lack of administrative support to allow them to carry out their duties efficiently.
Conditionality is often drawn up in vacuum that does not take into account changes in the global economy which have an effect on even the strongest economies. Conditionality ought to be amended to deal with unexpected shocks, currently they seem to be enforced even when the country’s trade or economic climate clearly affects its PRSP commitments.
Privatization and liberalization are two issues that have been very controversial in Ghana and more analysis and research is needed as to how effective these are in poverty reduction. Countries like Ghana are extremely vulnerable when they open up their markets, yet subsidies and tariffs to protect markets still exist in the West. However Parliamentarians recognize that privatization or part-privatization as in the case of water in Ghana, may be the only way to raise the necessary resources to allow Ghana in the short term, to meet MDG target 7 on access to clean and affordable water for all. However, guarantees must be put in place to ensure that the poor are not excluded from access to water. Privatization can be beneficial if it makes provisions for those on low incomes to access water and other services. However as Kimmo Sasi, MP, Finland noted, there is a need to ensure that under privatization, the performance of management needs to be monitored against targets, with a complaints procedure for customers to ensure that services are delivered.
On transparency and accountability both donor and recipient governments should commit to publishing their own aid agreements on their websites. This is an important first move towards greater transparency about how conditions are identified and monitored.
On Technical Assistance, donors should try to do more to support local capacity rather than use outsiders.6
Microfinance plays a crucial role in poverty reduction; it is also a profitable project to both investor and beneficiary. The Bank is to be congratulated in its role in supporting such projects but the program needs to be extended to more poor people in both rural and urban areas to allow them access to loans to fund crucial poverty-reducing and even life-saving investments in education, agriculture and medical services.
As Moroccan MP Ouadia Benabdellah emphasized, fighting corruption should be a major priority of governments if poverty reduction is to succeed. Corruption in Ghana is improving compared to previous decades. However more efforts are needed and more support should come from donors to allow both the legislature and the executive an effective role in fighting corruption, this goes back to the issue of capacity-building. Mr Ouadia was supported by Wagane Faye, MP, Senegal who went further and said that donors should simply stop giving money to countries whose leaders were corrupt.
6 Discussions with Ghanaians highlight concerns about how the bulk of technical assistance funds went to identifying, designing and implementing policy reforms. The key recipients were major Northern consulting firms. If ownership and partnership are the objectives of changes to aid conditionality, then donor technical assistance practices also need to change, and become demand-driven and supportive of local capacity.
22 Arresting the HIV/Aids pandemic should be an urgent priority in the fight against poverty and donors should ensure that countries like Ghana, who have shown great progress in political and economic reform, should have all the necessary resources to fight the spread of the infection and the unnecessary loss of society’s most productive.
It is essential to tackle Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) under WTO rules to allow cheaper generic forms of anti-retrovirals to be produced by companies in for example, South Africa and Thailand. This would mean that poor-country governments could afford to get the drugs to all who needed them as Anni Sinnemaki, MP, Finland, pointed out.
Education and health are keys; as Marie-Rose Nguini Effa, MP, Cameroon pointed out. More investment is needed here if poverty and the HIV/Aids pandemic are to be dealt with effectively.
Also key to the success of poverty reduction and tackling HIV/Aids, is the issue retaining health-sector workers. In their discussion with Ghana’s PRSP committee visiting MPs heard how the Ghana like many developing countries, was losing experienced doctors and nurses to developed countries who offered better prospects. Donor governments should institute measures to ensure key health-sector workers are not poached from poor countries. Also donors in general should help poor country governments create financial incentives to retain skilled workers in key sectors like health and education.
Trade remains one of the biggest challenges to poverty reduction in Ghana and in developing countries. Delegation leader Hugh Bayley MP, UK, stressed that rich countries need to meet their commitments to the poor by first of all addressing unfair trade practices at the WTO. However like many of his colleagues, he felt that there was also a need to improve trade between African countries.
World Bank Projects in Ghana
The International Development Association (IDA) is the Bank's interest-free lending arm for the poorest countries. The Bank’s cumulative commitments to Ghana as of March 31, 2005, amount to US$5.13 billion and total 151 operations. As of March 31, 2005, the portfolio contained 20 active projects totaling US$1.19 billion, of which US$641.2 million remains un-disbursed. The portfolio is diverse in terms of sectoral priorities and lending instruments. It consists of one single-tranche Poverty Reduction Support Credit (PRSC) to provide continued support to policies and reforms aimed at achieving the objectives of the Government’s poverty reduction strategy, complemented by major programs in health and education, agriculture, energy, roads, community water, and other infrastructure in both rural and urban areas. The overall performance of the portfolio is satisfactory, though implementation in several projects is lagging.
23 World Bank Projects in Ghana (Statement of Loans and Credits)
24 25 Annex 1.
26 Annex 2: Country at a Glance
Ghana at a glance 2/25/06
Sub- POVERTY and SOCIAL Saharan Low- Development diamond* Ghana Africa income 2004 Population, mid-year (millions) 21.0 719 2,338 GNI per capita (Atlas method, US$) 400 600 510 Life expectancy GNI (Atlas method, US$ billions) 8.3 432 1,184 Average annual growth, 1998-04 Population (%) 2.6 2.2 1.8 Labor force (%) 2.2 1.0 2.1 GNI Gross per primary Most recent estimate (latest year available, 1998-04) capita enrollment Poverty (% of population below national poverty line), 2003 35 .. .. Urban population (% of total population) 46 37 31 Life expectancy at birth (years) 58 46 58 Infant mortality (per 1,000 live births) 57 101 79 Child malnutrition (% of children under 5) 25 .. 44 Access to improved water source Access to an improved water source (% of population) 73 58 75 Literacy (% of population age 15+) 76 65 61 Gross primary enrollment (% of school-age population) 87.5 95 94 Ghana Male 89.8 102 101 Low-income group Female 84.4 88 88
KEY ECONOMIC RATIOS and LONG-TERM TRENDS 1984 1994 2003 2004 Economic ratios* GDP (US$ billions) 4.4 5.4 7.6 8.9 Gross capital formation/GDP 6.9 24.0 22.9 28.4 Exports of goods and services/GDP 8.0 25.3 40.3 34.5 Trade Gross domestic savings/GDP 4.2 12.5 11.0 7.2 Gross national savings/GDP 4.0 19.1 24.6 25.2
Current account balance (incl off transers)/GDP -0.9 -4.7 1.7 -4.0 Domestic Capital Interest payments/GDP 1.5 2.2 1.0 1.3 savings formation Total debt/GDP 44.4 99.5 91.5 79.6 Total debt service/exports 21.7 25.8 5.2 5.6 Present value of debt/GDP .. .. 42.9 28.3 Present value of debt/exports .. .. 104.8 64.0 Indebtedness 1984-94 1994-04 2003 2004 2004-08 (average annual growth) GDP 4.7 4.4 5.2 5.8 5.8 Ghana GDP per capita 1.9 1.7 2.5 3.0 3.0 Low-income group Exports of goods and services 9.3 6.0 2.7 3.5 3.8
STRUCTURE of the ECONOMY 1984 1994 2003 2004 Growth of capital and GDP (%) (% of GDP) 30 Agriculture 49.2 37.8 35.8 37.9 20 Industry 10.6 24.9 24.9 24.7 10 Manufacturing 6.4 9.1 8.5 8.5 0 Services 40.2 37.3 39.3 37.4 -10 99 00 01 02 03 04 -20 Household final consumption expenditure 88.6 73.8 77.4 76.8 -30 General gov't final consumption expenditure 7.3 13.7 11.5 16.0 GCF GDP Imports of goods and services 10.8 36.8 52.2 54.4
1984-94 1994-04 2003 2004 Growth of exports and imports (%) (average annual growth) Agriculture 1.9 4.2 5.2 7.5 20 Industry 5.0 4.6 0.7 5.1 10 Manufacturing 0.1 4.0 -1.4 6.5 Services 7.9 4.6 6.4 4.5 0 99 00 01 02 03 04 -10 Household final consumption expenditure 3.8 6.4 3.4 -16.4 General gov't final consumption expenditure 6.6 5.1 7.2 15.9 -20 Gross capital formation 5.4 2.4 24.1 12.5 Exports Imports Imports of goods and services 7.7 6.3 7.7 4.5
Note: 2004 data are preliminary estimates.
27 Annex 2: Country at a Glance (cont.)
Ghana
PRICES and GOVERNMENT FINANCE 1984 1994 2003 2004 Inflation (%) Domestic prices (% change) 40 Consumer prices (annual average) 39.7 24.9 26.7 12.6 30 Implicit GDP deflator 35.3 30.1 27.5 14.0 20 Government finance 10 (% of GDP, includes current grants) 0 Current revenue 8.0 19.7 25.5 30.2 99 00 01 02 03 04 Current budget balance -0.6 1.8 5.7 6.4 GDP deflator CPI Overall surplus/deficit -3.1 -11.5 -4.4 -3.6
TRADE 1984 1994 2003 2004 Export and import levels (US$ mill.) (US$ millions) Total exports (fob) 567 1,227 2,471 2,785 5,000 Cocoa 382 320 818 1,071 4,000 Timber 21 165 174 212 Manufactures 53 109 186 249 3,000
Total imports (cif) 677 1,736 3,581 4,291 2,000 Food 102 260 537 592 Fuel and energy 177 188 619 852 1,000 Capital goods 224 842 1,505 1,211 0 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 Export price index (2000=100) 60 86 95 98 Import price index (2000=100) 91 105 96 117 Exports Imports Terms of trade (2000=100) 66 82 99 84
BALANCE of PAYMENTS 1984 1994 2003 2004 Current account balance to GDP (%) (US$ millions) Exports of goods and services 605 1,386 3,074 3,058 4 Imports of goods and services 810 2,012 3,979 5,053 2 Resource balance -205 -626 -905 -1,995 0 -2 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 Net income -81 -111 -165 -72 -4 Net current transfers 73 472 1,194 1,831 -6 Current account balance -39 -255 127 -236 .. -8 -10 Financing items (net) 76 418 552 419 -12 Changes in net reserves -37 -164 -679 -183 -14 Memo: Remitances (private transfers, net) 801 1,287
EXTERNAL DEBT and RESOURCE FLOWS 1984 1994 2003 2004 Composition of 2004 debt (US$ mill.) (US$ millions) Total debt outstanding and disbursed 1,959 5,416 6,976 7,050 IBRD 101 70 4 2 A: 2 IDA 188 2,094 3,950 3,961 G: 700 Total debt service 133 364 192 549 F: 384 IBRD 15 20 2 2 IDA 2 21 73 87
Composition of net resource flows E: 1,484 Official grants 103 218 267 303 B: 3,961 Official creditors 38 247 303 159 Private creditors 5 58 13 -101 D: 110 Foreign direct investment (net inflows) 2 233 75 69 Portfolio equity (net inflows) 0 557 0 0 C: 409 World Bank program Commitments 121 88 279 .. A - IBRD E - Bilateral Disbursements 56 178 246 296 B - IDA D - Other multilateral F - Private Principal repayments 9 20 46 56 C - IMF G - Short-term Net flows 47 158 200 240 Interest payments 8 21 29 33 Net transfers 39 138 171 207
28 Annex 3.Ghana - Key Social Indicators
Latest single year Same region/income group
Sub-
Saharan Low- 1970-75 1980-85 1996-02 Africa income POPULATION Total population, mid-year (millions) 9.8 12.7 19.9 688.0 2,495.0 Growth rate (% annual average for period) 2.6 3.3 2.6 2.4 1.9 Urban population (% of population) 30.1 32.3 36.7 32.9 30.5 Total fertility rate (births per woman) ...... 5.0 3.5 POVERTY (% of population) National headcount index .. .. 39.5 .. .. Urban headcount index ...... Rural headcount index ...... INCOME GNI per capita (US$) 310 350 280 450.0 430 Consumer price index (1995=100) 0 8 480 .. .. Food price index (1995=100) ...... INCOME/CONSUMPTION DISTRIBUTION Gini index (1999) .. .. 39.6 .. .. Lowest quintile (% of income or consumption) .. .. 5.6 .. .. Highest quintile (% of income or consumption) .. .. 46.6 .. .. SOCIAL INDICATORS Public expenditure Health (% of GDP) .. .. 1.4 2.5 1.1 Education (% of GDP) .. .. 4.7 3.4 2.8 Social security and welfare (% of GDP) ...... Net primary school enrollment rate (% of age group) Total .. .. 58 .. .. Male ...... Female ...... 52.0 .. Access to an improved water source (% of population) Total .. .. 73 58.1 76 Urban .. .. 91 82.7 90 Rural .. .. 62 46.4 70 Immunization rate (% under 12 months) Measles ...... 57.8 59 DPT ...... 52.9 61 Child malnutrition (% under 5 years) .. .. 25 .. .. Life expectancy at birth (years) Total 51 55 55 45.8 59 Male ...... 45.1 58 Female ...... 46.6 60 Mortality Infant (per thousand live births) 102 83 57 104.8 81 Under 5 (per thousand live births) 172 142 100 164.2 121 Adult (15-59) Male (per 1,000 population) ...... 519.9 311 Female (per 1,000 population) ...... 461.3 259 Maternal (per 100,000 live births) ...... Births attended by skilled health staff (%) ......
This table was produced from the CMU LDB system. 05/05/04 Note: 0 or 0.0 means zero or less than half the unit shown. Net enrollment ratios exceeding 100 indicate discrepancies between the estimates of school-age population and reported enrollment data.
29 Annex 4: List of Participants
No. Full Name Title Country 1 Marie Rose Nguini Effa Member of Parliament Cameroon (Ms) 2 Wale Okediran (Mr) Member of Parliament Nigeria
3 Akilesh Das (Dr) Member of Parliament India
4 Naseeb Pathan (Mr) Legislator India
5 Rt Hon John McFAll (Mr) Member of Parliament UK
6 Hugh Bayley (Mr) Member of Parliament UK
7 Fiona O’Malley (Ms) Member of Parliament Ireland
8 Komala Devi (Ms) Member of Parliament Malaysia
9 Ouadia Benabdellah (Mr) Member of Parliament Morocco
10 Wagane Faye (Mr) Member of Parliament Senegal
11 Kimmo Sasi (Mr) Member of Parliament Finland
12 Anni Sinnemaki (Ms) Member of Parliament Finland
13 Martin Wandera (Mr) Member of Parliament Uganda
14 Faith Mukakalisa (Ms) Member of Parliament Rwanda
15 Tony Worthington (Mr) Observer UK and PNoWB 16 Zuleikha Salim Said (Ms) Rapporteur PNoWB
17 Naye Bathily-Sylla (Ms) Development Policy Dialogue World Bank
18 Evelyn Awittor Ghana office World Bank
19 Salli Cudjoe Ghana office World Bank
30 Annex 5: Program of Activities
Parliamentarian Network on the World Bank Field Visit to Ghana 24th-28th July, 2005
PROGRAM
Arrival Sunday July 24 La Palm Royal Beach Hotel
DAY 1 Monday July 25 7:30 – 8:30 a.m. Breakfast
8:45 – 10:30 a.m. Parliamentary Network on the World Bank (PNoWB)/World Bank Staff Venue – World Bank Conference Room
10:45 – 12:00 Noon Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) in Ghana – National Development Planning Commission, Government of Ghana Venue- Flagstaff House
12:30 – 2:00 p.m. Lunch- Meeting with Speaker, Deputies, Majority and Minority Leaders, Clerk of Parliament, Executives of PNoWB-Ghana Venue- Dynasty Chinese Restaurant
2:15 – 4:00 pm PNoWB-Ghana, Ghana Parliamentary Committee on PRSP, Committee Chairs Venue – Speaker’s Conference Room
4:15 – 5:30 pm Ghana Aids Commission Venue – Ghana Aids Commission, Labone
7:30 – 10:00 pm Dinner (Minister of Finance, Prof. Gyan Baffour, Executives of PNoWB-Ghana, Prof. Amoah + 1 staff of Ghana Aids Commission) Venue – La Palm Royal Hotel
DAY 2 Tuesday July 26 7:00 – 8:30 a.m. Breakfast Venue - La Palm Royal Hotel
9:30 – 11:00 am Civil Society Organizations working on PRSPs, Trade, HIV/Aids, Democracy, debt, aid and governance issues-please-see full list
31 below Venue – Speaker’s Conference Room 10:45 – 11:30
12:00 noon – 1:30 Lunch with Academics working on PRSPs, Debt, Aid, p.m. Democracy and Governance issues Venue – Banquet Hall (State Protocol)
2:30 – 4:30 p.m. Development Partners- to include representatives from the bilateral agencies- DfID etc, and the multilateral agencies- IMF etc Venue – Speaker’s Conference Room
7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Dinner with Executives of PNoWB-Ghana Venue – French Restaurant, Osu RE
DAY 3 Breakfast meeting with the World Bank Executive Director for Wednesday July 27 the region. Possibility of meeting the World Bank Vice President 7:00 – 8:30 am for the Africa region, Gobind Nankani, as well as John Page, World Bank Chief Economist for the Africa region who will be in Accra during the field visit
Project Visits - HIV/AIDS 8:30 am. - VIP/CBRDP
Group Dinner/Dancing/Cultural display with Ghanaian MPs and Project staff 7:30 – 10:00 p.m. Venue – La Palm Royal Hotel, African Village Restaurant
DAY 4 Thursday July 28
10:00 11:00 am Visit to Chamber of Parliament 11 – 1:00 pm Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum Arts & Crafts Center
1:00 pm Lunch Venue to be determined – Indian Restaurant
Evening Departure
32 Annex 6: Additional Information on PNoWB, Field Visit Program, and PRSP
PNoWB
The Parliamentary Network on the World Bank (PNoWB), founded in May 2000 as a small, informal network, has contributed to strengthening the voice of parliamentarians in the poverty debate and to promoting the transparency and accountability of the World Bank. PNoWB has established itself as a global non-governmental organization with 800 members from some 110 countries. Directed by a nine-member Board elected by peers, PNoWB has a legal structure under French rules of association and maintains a Paris-based secretariat, hosted by the European Vice- Presidency of the World Bank. The organization is open to parliamentarians from World Bank member states. Members represent themselves and their constituents, not their countries, parliaments or governments.
PNoWB engages not only the World Bank but also other multilateral and bilateral donor organizations. The IMF Managing Director, the WTO Director General, and several EU Commissioners have participated in PNoWB’s annual conferences and have established working relationships with PNoWB. The Network has formed effective partnerships with other parliamentary organizations and with civil society groups.
The Network employs staff in Nairobi, Cairo and Paris. Since its launch in 2000, the Network has expanded through the creation of a national chapter in India (launched in December 2001, headed by Mr Kishore Deo, MP, India), a regional chapter in East Africa (launched in July 2003, headed by Norbert Mao, MP, Uganda) a national chapter in Japan (launched in May 2004, headed by Masahiko Koumura, MP Japan), and a chapter in the Middle East and North Africa (launched in June 2004, headed by Hossam Badrawi, MP, Egypt).Plans are now underway for a PNoWB West Africa chapter after a preliminary meeting of MPs representing Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria.
The national and regional chapters facilitate regular interaction between local parliamentarians and staff in World Bank country offices, including consultations on Country Assistance Strategies, Public Expenditure Reviews, and on World Bank policies and individual projects.
Committee on HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria
The PNoWB Committee on HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria, under the leadership of U.S. Congresswoman Betty McCollum, and Dorothy Hyuha, MP from Uganda, mobilizes parliamentarians in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The group helps develop legislation to support initiatives to fight the pandemic. Through the committee, parliamentarians work directly with the World Bank, the Global Fund, UNAIDS and private actors.
Committee on International Trade for Development (PNoWB-Trade)
Parliamentarians from Brazil, Kenya and several European countries joined World Bank Trade Director Uri Dadush and Eveline Herfkens, Executive Coordinator of the Millennium Campaign in an April 2004 videoconference to establish the PNoWB Committee on International Trade for
33 Development. Participants agreed that a successful Doha development round is key to meeting the Millennium Development Goals. Hugh Bayley, MP, United Kingdom chairs this group.
The Parliamentarians’ Implementation Watch
The Parliamentarians’ Implementation Watch (PIW) was set up to monitor and promote action aimed at reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The G8 Implementation Watch was set up in early 2005, as part of the PIW. Members agreed to monitor the actions of their individual government in delivering on their commitments to poor countries particularly in 2005 designated the year of development.
Contact information: PNoWB Hosted by the World Bank 66, avenue d’Iéna 75116 Paris, France [email protected] or [email protected] Tel : +33 1 40 69 30 55/17 Fax : + 33 1 47 23 74 36
Field Visit Program
There is a growing recognition of the role parliamentarians can play in the development debate by opening up dialogue between the World Bank and the communities it serves. But if they are to have an impact on development policies and projects, it is essential that they get a chance to make political assessments and check results on the ground. Hence the program which aims to foster a better understanding among MPs of the World Bank’s work where it matters most: in schools, roads and hospitals all over the world. Through these visits, the World Bank aims to broaden the input of MPs in the design and review of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper process.
A key objective of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank which has over 800 parliamentarians from 110 countries is to involve elected representatives in the work of the World Bank and in the PRSP process. The involvement of the legislative branch is also a central component of forging global partnerships for development (Millennium Goal 8).
As in the Ghana one, the field visits typically involve a delegation of members of parliament from around the world to a PRSP country for the four-day visit. It includes discussions with government officials, donor community, civil society representatives, and the World Bank’s own country teams. The visit also involves discussion with local parliamentarians who have a wealth of experience of the development priorities which need to be addressed. For MPs from donor countries, the visits aim to build awareness
34 and capacity to make decisions on the allocation of development aid budgets in their national assemblies. For MPs from recipient countries, the visits are a useful vantage point to examine the Bank’s work, not least in their own countries.
The visits aim to: Enhance, through the case study of the country visited, parliamentary understanding of the activities of the World Bank particularly in tackling the HIV/Aids pandemic; Review the participatory process and the outcome of the country-owned Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper; Encourage dialogue among the MPs on the delegation and between the delegation and World Bank staff, parliamentarians and civil society. Produce a report by an independent rapporteur, targeting donor governments and senior World Bank management with recommendations for future action at the end of each visit
Special thanks are due for the financial support of the government of Finland in both the publication of this report and the funding of the field visits program.
35 A New Approach to Poverty Reduction: PRSP
In the late 1990s, following several years of harsh criticism for the effects and lack of success of the Structural Adjustment Programs, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund shifted their approach to a more participatory and country driven view of development. In September 1999, under the leadership of President Wolfensohn, the World Bank indicated that countries wishing to benefit from concessional lending and debt forgiveness under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative should formulate their own strategy to bring down poverty. This took the form of a poverty reduction strategy paper or PRSP.
The World Bank states that PRSPs are prepared by the member countries through a participatory process involving domestic stakeholders as well as external development partners, including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Updated every three years with annual progress reports, PRSPs describe the country's macroeconomic, structural and social policies and programs over a three year or longer horizon to promote broad-based growth and reduce poverty, as well as associated external financing needs and major sources of financing.
The World Bank states that PRSPs should be: country-driven — involving broad-based participation by civil society and the private sector in all operational steps; results-oriented — focusing on outcomes that would benefit the poor; comprehensive in recognizing the multidimensional nature of poverty; partnership-oriented — involving coordinated participation of development partners (bilateral, multilateral, and non-governmental); based on a long-term perspective for poverty reduction.
36 Annex 7: Ghana; Poverty, Women, Children and the MDGs
As part of the UN Millennium Project, groundbreaking research into the MDGs carried out by Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Ghana was highlighted as a country where failure to attain MDG Targets would hit women and children hardest.
According to the report released in January 2005, women and children are to bear the brunt of poverty diseases and premature deaths and it followed the announcement that Ghana may not be able to attain all the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the year 2015. Almost all the targets that could not be achieved were in the area where women and children suffer most.
These include halving hunger and poverty by the year 2015, achieving universal basic education by the year 2015, promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women, as well as reducing child and maternal mortality.
The Millennium Project Task Force on Child and Maternal health called on developing countries like Ghana to focus on scaling up and strengthening their health systems in order to save the lives of millions of children and hundreds of thousands of mothers who die every year of preventable or treatable conditions.
The Project was commissioned by the United Nations in 2002 to develop a practical plan of Action for enabling developing countries to meet their MDGs and reverse the grinding poverty, hunger and disease affecting millions of people.
As an independent advisory body directed by Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, the UN millennium Project submitted its report in January 2005, in New York. According to the report dubbed: "Who got the Power? Transforming Health Systems for Women and Children", approximately 10.8 million children under age of five and about 530,000 women of reproductive age die every year. "A woman living in Sub-Saharan Africa has one in 16 chances of dying in pregnancy or childbirth. This compares with one in 3,700 risks for a woman from North America," the report said.
Though child mortality has declined steadily in the last two decades, the report says progress on key indicators is now slowing and in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa Child Mortality is rising. The task force says progress has even been more elusive for maternal mortality.
Comparison between richest and poorest groups within countries reveals enormous disparities in child and maternal mortality and in access to key life saving interventions.
Giving an overview of the progress made so far by Ghana on the MDGs, the out-going head of the National Development Planning Commission, Prof. George Gyan Baffour explained that in the case of the first goal; that is halving poverty and hunger by the year 2015, the proportion of children underweight was 27 percent in 1992. This declined to 25 percent in 1999 and 23.3 percent in 2003.
37 "Using a linear projection of the 2015, the prevalence of underweight children will be 21 as against a target of 14," adding," this clearly indicates that the country may not be able to reach this target."
On the second goal that is, achieving universal education, Prof. Gyan Baffour explained that the net primary school enrolment was 58 percent in 1999 and 69 percent in 2003.
He said a linear projected 2015 target would be 82.8 percent as against a target of 100 percent.
On the third goal, which is to promote gender equality and empower women, he said the proportion of female enrolment in primary schools to male ratio increased from 0.82 percent in 1990 to 0.87 in 1996 and then to 0.90 in 2000. "This goal can only be achieved by scaling up investment on interventions for promoting girls education," Prof. Gyan Baffour noted.
On Millennium Development Goal number four, which is reducing child mortality, he explained that under five child mortality in Ghana was 155 per 1000 live births, but this declined to 100 per 1000 live births in 2002, according to the Human Development Report of 2004.
"However judging from the current trend, under five mortality 78 per1000 is unlikely to be achieved," he said. On Goal number five, that is aimed at improving maternal health, the target was to reduce maternal mortality levels in 1990 by two-thirds. The trend was 280/100,000 births in 1993, declining to 250/100,000 in 2003
Thus, by the year 2015, maternal mortality should decline to 54/100,000 live births.
Here Prof. Gyan Baffour said on the current pace the target is unlikely to be met.
On goal number six, which is geared towards combating HIV and malaria as well as other diseases, Prof. Gyan Baffour explained that in 1990 three percent of the adult population was infested with the HIV virus. This has increased to3.6 in 2003.
"Although a lot of effort has gone into combating HIV/AIDS and malaria, the trend indicate that the country is unlikely to meet these targets," he said.
The task force recommends that international development agencies and national governments should place priority on health care systems as part of a strategy to reduce poverty in developing countries.
Again it says policies should be changed to strengthen health systems, treating them as core social institutions, where patients are regarded as citizens with the right to quality health services that are provided free of charge at he basic level.
Another recommendation by the report is universal access to sexual and reproductive health services, information and education. These should be guaranteed as an intrinsic part of strategies to reduce child deaths and improve maternal health.
38 Annex 8: List of Representatives of Civil Society Organizations met
Prof E. Gyimah Boadi, Center for Democratic Development (CDD) Dr Kwesi Jonah, Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) Dr Joe Abbey, Center for Economic Policy Analysis (CEPA) Dr Emmanuel Akwetey, Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG) Prof. Ernest Aryeetey, Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) Dept. of Political Science The Director, Legon Center for International Affairs (LECIA) The Head, Faculty of Law Kwasi Adu-Amankwa, Sec. Gen. Trade Unions Congress (TUC) Ms Adjoa Yeboah-Afari, Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Dr Dzodzi Tsikata, NETRIGHT Kofi Adu, Ghana Association of Voluntary Organizations in Development (GAPVOD) President, National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) Mrs Irene Adanusa-Duncan, Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) Exec. Director, Federation of African Women in Education (FAWE) Prof. Irene Odotei, Governance, Culture and Development Project, University of Ghana (UG) Mrs Taaka Akuffo Gyimah, Action Aid Country Director, Oxfam Daniel Batidam, Executive Secretary, Ghana Integrity Initiative (Local chapter of Transparency International) Richard Dornu Nartey, Land for Life Dr Sulley Gariba, Executive Director, Institute for Policy Alternatives Director, CAS Bishop Akolgo, ISODEC Ben Arthur, PRONET Country Director, CARE Jane Quaye, FIDA Rev. Fred Deegbe, Secretary General, Christian Council of Ghana The Chairman, Muslim Rep. Council Joshua Awuku Apaw, Earth Service
39