UK PALIAMENTARY SELECT COMMITTEE INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CALL ON HON. MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC PLANNING.

A UK Parliamentary select committee on International Development has paid a courtesy call on the Hon. Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Kwadwo Baah Wiredu and his team of officials, at the Ministry in Accra.

The seven-member delegation was led by Malcolm Bruce, Chairman of the Committee and Mike Hammond, DFID Country Director.

Among the issues discussed were the Multi-Donor Budget Support, aid coordination in Ghana and the implementation of the Paris Declaration.

Welcoming the delegation, Hon Minister commended the UK for her support especially delivering on the Gleneagles commitments. He, however, noted that most partners have failed to deliver on the Gleneagles and other pledges and appealed to donors to deliver on their pledges.

Leading the discussion on aid architecture and MDBS, Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei, Minister of State said in as much as the MDBS has led to 100 % disbursement of aid from donors in the past three years, a lot more needed to be done to make the process more in sync with the Paris Declaration.

He noted in particular harmonization, mutual accountability and scaling up of aid as some areas that the partners are yet to deliver as expected. “With regards to scaling up we have seen more substitution rather than scaling up and this aught to be reversed if we are to meet the MDGs”, he stressed.

Prof George Gyan Baffour, Deputy Minister on his part mentioned ownership and alignment as problem areas that needed more refinement.

He noted that though government would like to see more aid geared towards infrastructural development or the productive sectors, most of the aid received is more towards social services.

He also observed that the quantum of aid is rather tapering or being downsized to countries with emerging economies such as Ghana rather than it being scaled up, adding “aid architecture appears to be punishing performance rather than encouraging performance”.

Present at the meeting were Nana Juaben-Boaten Siriboe, Chief Director of the Ministry, other some Directors and officials of the DFID Ghana office.

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