Direct negotiations on collaboration in development between the governments of Ghana and the Federal Republic of Germany were completed in Berlin. According to a statement from the Ministry of Finance on Thursday that was forwarded to the Ghanaian Times, discussions on the agreement took place between November 28 and 29, 2022.
According to the report, the delegation from Ghana was led by Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta and comprised of the Ambassador of Ghana to Germany, Mrs. Gina AmaBlay, as well as Deputy Ministers Andrew Egyapa Mercer for Energy, Gifty Twum Ampofo, and Osei Bonsu Amoah for Local Government and Rural Development.
According to the statement, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) convened the two-day negotiations with the assistance of partner organizations such as the Deutsche Gesellschaftfür Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) and KFW Development Bank.
“After the negotiations, the Government of Germany made new and additional grant commitments of 82 million euros towards critical sectors of Ghana’s economy, such as the development of renewable energy, the strengthening of the financial sector, education and skills development (TVET), digital transformation, governance, food security, female empowerment, and support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. According to the release, Mr. Ofori-Atta praised the awards as being timely in his closing remarks, noting that Ghana is still in the midst of negotiations with the IMF.
When speaking about the founding of the Development Bank Ghana (DBG), Mr. Ofori-Atta said, “The support given us to set up what will be a real game changer in Ghana’s financial architecture, the Development Bank Ghana, is very commendable.”
In a similar fashion to KFW’s function during the reconstruction of Germany after World War II, Mr. Ofori-Atta claimed that DBG had been placed to play a countercyclical role in assuring access to long-term and affordable finance in difficult economic times. To maximize shareholder value, he promised that DBG would follow the best corporate governance practices.
The German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development’s Parliamentary State Secretary, Dr. Bärbel Kofler, was thanked by Mr. Ofori-Atta. Dr. Bärbel Kofler’s representative, Mr. Christoph Rauf, Director for Africa at BMZ, announced that Ghana would continue to be a “privilege partner” of Germany, leading to creating of a Special Partnership Arrangement with Ghana. He added that Germany was committed to supporting Ghana’s IMF agreements. The following intergovernmental talks, according to the announcement, will be held in Accra in June 2023.
