World Bank tells Ghana to improve domestic revenue to achieve Ghana Beyond Aid

World Bank tells Ghana to improve domestic revenue to achieve Ghana Beyond Aid

The World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Pierre Laporte, says the Ghanaian government needs to improve its struggling domestic resource mobilization to achieve its Ghana Beyond Aid.
   
   
   
       
       
           
               
                   

The World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Pierre Laporte, says the Ghanaian government needs to improve its struggling domestic resource mobilization to achieve its Ghana Beyond Aid.

               
           
               
                   

“I think for us, we should accompany the country forward to become less dependent on aid which I think is the right thing to do; get the private sector to do more, get development partners to put the money in areas where it makes more sense.”

               
           
               
                   

“But the government itself has to do more on domestic resource mobilization to really bring more revenue to do more for itself,” he added.

               
           
               
                   

His comment comes after the government failed to meet its domestic revenue targets in the past four years. As of September 2019, there was a shortfall of about GHC5 billion.

               
           
               
                   

The government has introduced strategies to meet its target but there was no major improvement. This makes it difficult to implement the Ghana Beyond Aid agenda.

               
           
               
                   

Mr Laporte said “From where I sit, I see this as a vision of where the country wants to be. A country that wants to stand on its feet. My interpretation is that I don’t think the government is telling us to go away because they don’t need our aid anymore.”

               
           
               
                   

He was speaking at the commencement of a series of meetings that will culminate in a new World Bank strategy for the country.

               
           
               
                   

He said that the World Bank has to reassess its projects and commit funds to areas where a greater impact which will help achieve the Ghana Beyond Agenda.

               
           
               
                   

“Based on the consultations we are going to have, we will now develop our areas of focus. Based on this, we will develop a set of projects and analytical work for our interventions over the next six years. This is a critical exercise for the World Bank and the country. It is a strategic exercise because we want to make sure we hit the right places in our interventions.”

               
           
               
                   

“One of the things that the bank is doing is to be selective. Gone are the days when we do 30 to 40 projects in our strategy for 4 years. We are now going to do fewer projects, bigger projects, and more impactful projects,” he stated.

               
           
               
                   

Mr. Laporte stated that the Bank’s new strategy will be aligned with the government’s Ghana Beyond Aid agenda which seeks to build the capacity of the private to enhance their role in economic growth.

               
           
               
                   

Country Partnership Framework (CPF)

               
           
               
                   

The meeting held on Thursday, December 12, 2019, is first among several discussions that Bank is expected to hold with development partners and civil society organizations.

               
           
               
                   

Mr Laporte said the CPF is important both for the government and World Bank teams. He said this will help them collectively agree on the focus of engagement.

Source: World Bank tells Ghana to improve domestic revenue to achieve Ghana Beyond Aid

- gist culled from pulseng