Ghana eligible for another Millennium Challenge compact

Ghana has been selected by the US government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Board of Directors as eligible to develop proposals for compacts. This is the second time Ghana would be getting the compact.

The country would however, have to write a proposal to secure the funds.

The Board selected Ghana and Georgia Wednesday January 5, 2010, Georgia at its first meeting since President Barack Obama became president of the United States.

These second compacts are contingent on successful completion of first compacts, continued good policy performance, development of proposals that have significant potential to promote economic growth and reduce poverty, and availability of funding, the MCC said on its website.

Ghana received the first compact in February 2007. The country received a total of $547 million. Projects under the MCC compact are managed by the Ghana Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) and should be completed in February 2012.

MiDA projects operate in 30 districts. There are five in the Northern zone, 16 in the Southern zone and nine in the Afram Basin zone.

MiDA has made investments into road construction, agricultural transformation, transportation, rural development, water provision, electricity expansion and construction and rehabilitations of irrigations dams.

Some of the roads being constructed under MiDA include the Tetteh Quarshie-Mallam road and the Tetteh Quarshie-Apenkwa Dual Carriageway.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi