Ghana receives another MCC Compact

Ghana on Monday received another Compact Programme from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) for the putting up of regional cross-border projects.

Ms Kyeh Kim, Acting Vice President of the MCC, who announced this in Accra, said Ghana has been selected as one of the countries in West Africa to be beneficiaries of another Compact programme from the MCC.

She said the Regional Compact Programme would be used for the construction of large-scale, cross-border infrastructural projects in a pool of countries in West Africa, of which Ghana would be a beneficiary.

The Acting MCC Vice President made the announcement when she called on the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at Jubilee House, in Accra.

Ms Kim, who described the Regional Compact Programme as “a Christmas present”,  said the MCC was recently awarded the legislative authority to enter into concurrent regional compacts.

“Our previous statute allowed us to enter into one compact at a time. So, the new legislation that has been offered by our US congress, as well as signed into law by our President, allows us to enter into this (regional compact),” she said.

“What we are exploring, in the case of Ghana with its neighbours, is potential for large-scale for cross-border infrastructure. The other countries that were selected in this pool of countries include neighbours such as Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, and also Benin and Niger.

“There are opportunities with your neighbours, especially with Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire, that we can explore. We have already started having preliminary discussions on energy-focussed cross-border infrastructure, as well as transport,” she indicated.

The Acting MCC Vice President, however, pointed out that there was flexibility and possibilities with regards to the projects to be embarked on in the pool of beneficiary countries.

With Cabinet having approved the ECG Concession programme successfully, she added that the selection of Ghana to be a beneficiary of the Regional Compact Programme is a “big reward”.

“You got about $1 billion of infrastructure that is waiting to be built, and that will trigger, in addition, to the possibility of large-scale cross-border infrastructure.

“Because Ghana has been such an outstanding partner, this is a testament to the partnership and friendship that we feel between the two countries and your leadership in pushing this process through has been absolutely instrumental,” she said.

On the ECG Concession Programme, Ms Kim expressed the appreciation of the MCC to President Akufo-Addo for his personal engagement and leadership throughout the process, and for seeing it through, resulting in the release of the $190 million tranche for the Compact.

“In every instance, your leadership has pushed this Compact to make progress and made tough decisions for the benefit of the electricity sector, and hopefully, to avoid future ‘dumsor’,” she added.

On his part, President Akufo-Addo thanked the MCC for the decision to include Ghana in the Regional Compact Programme, describing it as “very good news.”

The opportunities from the progamme, he said, would be of immense benefit to Ghana, adding that “I am a strong, fervent believer in the prospects of ECOWAS, and of the regional market that ECOWAS potentially represents.”

Source: GNA

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