World Bank and Government of Ghana Sign Additional US$10 million Credit
The World Bank and the Government of Ghana today signed
a credit of US$10 million as supplemental funding[1]for the ongoing Economic
Managing Capacity Building Project (EMCB). The amount will be used to support the
Government of Ghana to perform its role as a facilitator for economic development,
through implementing a reform initiative for improved public sector management and
service delivery. It is also proposed to introduce certain changes in the project to
reflect the extended Public Sector Reform (PSR) activities.
According to Juan Costain, Task Team Leader for the project “the proposed
additional financing is to provide for expanded activities for PSR”.
Activities to be supported will include the development of a pay administration
framework, job and pay-scale evaluation (including a national survey), installation
of a time and attendance system, a performance management system, and an advocacy
program to support adoption of the initiative. It will also finance Government
Development Communication Enhancement Program which seeks to overhaul the Ministry
of Information and National Orientation’s public communication functions and those
of key ministries, department and agencies, including Ministry of Finance and
Economic Planning and the National Development Planning Commission; and develop and
support the implementation of a development communications strategy in support of
the PSR.
Further activities include design and consensus building for systemic reforms of
public sector pay, human resource management, civil service training programmes,
service delivery improvement in public sector agencies, modernization of records
management, improvement to conditions of work, implementation of reforms in selected
subvented agencies and the deployment of an ICT backbone within the Civil Service to
facilitate the execution of Government programs.
The credit is provided on standard International Development Association (IDA)
terms, with a commitment charge of 0.10 percent per annum and a service charge of
0.75 percent per annum (on the disbursed credit balance) over a 40 year period of
maturity which includes a 10-year grace period.
