By: Fred Yaw Sarpong
Ghana
has signed a concessional loan agreement of US$24.0 million (Kuwait Dinar 7.0
million) with the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development for the expansion
and development of 26 existing Senior High Schools (SHS) Project across the
country.
The
loan agreement was signed on the side lines of the annual International
Monetary Fund (IMF)/ World Bank Group meetings currently on-going in Washington
DC. The meeting ended on Friday 14, 2016.
The
Loan agreement was signed on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Ghana
by the Minister for Finance, Mr. Seth E. Terkper while the Deputy
Director-General of the Fund, Mr. Hesham Al-Waqayan signed on behalf of the
Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development.
Mr.
Terkper led a delegation which made up of officials from the Bank of Ghana
(BoG) including the Governor, the Chairman of the Finance Committee in
Parliament and officers from the Finance Ministry to the meeting.
According
to the finance ministry, the fund aims to support the social and economic
development of Ghana, by supporting Government's plans to increase access,
improving the quality of Senior High School Education and meet the growing
demand for student enrolment in underserved areas in Ghana under the ongoing Education
Sector Plan (ESP) 2010-2020.
Daily
Express learnt that the project involves the rehabilitation and construction of
new class rooms, new educational facilities and additional student’s
dormitories in 26 existing Senior High Schools as well as supply and
installation of educational furniture, equipment and tools for all the new
buildings and facilities in order to raise them to the corresponding standard
of model SHS’s.
“This
will contribute to the improvement of quality of teaching and learning in the
education sector and will increase employment, reduce crime rate, and improve
national security, which will have a positive impact on the country's
socio-economic indicators,” the ministry stated.
The
Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), commonly known as the Kuwait
Fund, is the State of Kuwait’s agency for the provision and administration of
financial and technical assistance to developing countries.
While
in Washington DC, Mr. Terkper and his team scheduled to have a meeting with the
Commonwealth Secretary General, Her Excellency Patricia Scotland and attend the
Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting to be held on the sidelines of the
Annual meetings.
They
are expected to attend include the G24 Deputies Meetings and a closed door
meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of Sub-Saharan African
countries with David Owen, the acting Director for African Department on the
Regional Economic Developments.
Aside
the obligatory meetings with the IMF and the World Bank, the delegation will
hold bilateral discussions with other partner countries, financial institutions
and private sector investors.
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