Ghana commended on successful Eurobond issue

The Vice President of the World Bank in charge of Africa, Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili has commended Ghana for the successful Eurobond issue and cautioned that government should not rest on its oars since the country has a long way to go.

“Ghana is still far from making it, there is a second generation of reforms that should happen, this demands a lot of work and courage”.

She said this during a meeting with the Ghanaian delegation attending the 2007 Annual Meetings of the World Bank and IMF in Washington. The Ghanaian delegation was led by Hon. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Hon. Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei, Minister of State, and Dr. Paul Acquah, Governor of Bank of Ghana. Present at the meeting were officials the Ministry, the Bank of Ghana and officials of the World Bank office in Accra.

While commending the country for the prudent economic management policies that culminated in the Eurobond being over subscribed, she said it is expensive money that should not be encouraged.

Mrs. Ezekwesili conceded that it was a wake up call for the fund and the bank to make their funds more attractive so that developing countries would not be obliged to go onto the capital markets.

She also asked government to expedite work on the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. She also stressed the need for full cost recovery in the energy sector.

Responding, Dr. Akoto Osei said government is already taking steps to expand the EITI now that the country has discovered oil and informed the meeting that government has already announced a 35% increase in electricity and water tariffs.

Hon. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu also noted that since 1982, the country had experienced about five energy crises hence the government’s decision to push most of the funds from the Eurobond issue into the energy sector to solve the problems in generation, transmission and distribution.

The discussions covered varied sectors like health, (guineaworm and onchociachises), relationship with the donor community in Ghana, agriculture, environment, floods in the country, managing the recent crude oil discovery and education.