Parliament held an emergency sitting on May 2, 2023, and approved seven loan agreements totalling $710m.
Here are the loan facilities and what they are meant for.
1. $60.6 million for the Ghana Covid-19 Emergency Preparedness and Response Project.
This loan facility is to help prevent, detect and respond to the threat posed by COVID-19 and strengthen national systems for public health preparedness in Ghana.
2. $150 million for the West Africa Food Systems Resilience Programme.
The development objective of the loan for the West Africa Food System Resilience Programme for Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Togo, Chad, Ghana, and Sierra Leone is to increase preparedness against food insecurity and improve the resilience of food systems in participating countries.
3. €170 million to establish the Development Bank of Ghana (DBG).
The core mandate of the Development Bank of Ghana (DBG) is to alleviate financing constraints faced by micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and small corporates in agribusiness, manufacturing and high-value services through the provision of wholesale financing and partial credit guarantees to eligible financial.
4.$30 million to finance the Medical Equipment Provision Project in response to Covid-19.
Parliament approved the loan agreement between the governments of Ghana and the Republic of Korea for an amount in Korean won not exceeding the equivalent of $30 million to finance the Medical Equipment Provision Project in response to COVID-19.
5.$150 million to finance the Primary Healthcare Investment Project.
A $150-million financing agreement between the government and the International Development Association of the World Bank was also approved to finance the Primary Healthcare Investment Project.
6.$150 million to finance the Public Financial Management for Service Delivery Programme.
The Primary Healthcare Investment Project is dimmed to improve primary healthcare delivery in Ghana. The programme will be implemented through the government’s regular oversight, planning, budgeting, and implementation systems.
At the strategic level, the structures and processes established under the Common Management Arrangements at the Ministry of Health will be responsible for oversight and coordination of the program.
7. $200 million loan agreement with the World Bank geared towards financing the Ghana Digital Acceleration Project.
The project is to help the government increase access to broadband, enhance the efficiency and quality of selected digital public services, and strengthen the digital innovation ecosystem in Ghana to help create better jobs and economic opportunities.
The approved Ghana Digital Acceleration Project will support a regulatory shift to create an enabling environment for digital inclusion and innovation; streamline governance and delivery of public services; and facilitate smallholder engagement in data-driven digital agriculture.