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Election or no election, our
fiscal discipline is still on course - President
Kufuor
From Kwaku Osei Bonsu, GNA Special Correspondent, Yokohama,
Japan
Yokohama, May 29, Ghanadot/GNA - President John Agyekum
Kufuor has re-affirmed the government's determination to
maintain strict fiscal discipline despite the upcoming
general election to ensure economic gains achieved were not
destroyed.
"We are not going to disappoint ourselves. We are not going
to allow inflation to run away", he said, when a delegation
of the International Monetary Fund led by the Deputy
Managing Director, Mr Takatoshi Kato, paid a courtesy call
on him on Thursday.
He said the good economic framework built over the past
seven years that had led to the macro-economic stability
would be sustained.
President Kufuor is in Japan for the Fourth Tokyo
International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV)
that is discussing concrete measures to promote economic
growth and reduce poverty in Africa.
The economy, he said, was doing well and that for the sharp
rise in oil prices it would have performed even better.
Mr Kato described Ghana as Africa's success story and gave
assurance that the Fund would continue to support Ghana.
At an earlier meeting with Mr Robert B. Zoellick, President
of the World Bank, President Kufuor underscored the need for
the bank to do a country-to-country assessment to determine
the kind of response it could provide to cushion countries
against the global crude oil and food crisis.
The political situation, he warned, could be explosive for
some of the countries if the bank did not act quickly.
On steps Ghana is taking to make ensure that its recently
discovered oil was efficiently managed to the benefit of its
people, President Kufuor said the right institution and
legal framework would be created to prevent government from
having the free hand to do want ever it wanted with revenue
from the resource.
He said inputs from the bank in this direction would be
welcomed.
Mr Zoellick said the bank was working out a special
arrangement on how to help countries like Ghana that are on
the growth path.
"We have observed that there is something we can do to help
you. We are proud for having you as our partner."
The Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development (UNCTAD) also called to convey the UN
body’s gratefulness to Ghana for what he described as a
"landmark success" of its Accra conference.
He informed President Kufuor that the Geneva-based body had
set up a Steering Committee to oversee the implementation of
decisions reached in Accra.
"We will continue to work on the basis of the Accra Accord
and pursue the goal of getting investments into Africa", he
said and added that UNCTAD should be able to achieve targets
set in four years time.
President Kufuor met separately officials from two Japanese
companies and an Israeli company who have expressed the
desire to do business in Ghana.
ITOCHU Corporation is into mining, oil and gas development
and is also interested in building a thermal plant in the
country.
The Managing Executive Officer said the corporation was
sending a team to Accra to hold discussions with the Ghana
National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).
Meiji Seika Kaisha Limited is already in Ghana and is
engaged in the buying of cocoa to process into chocolate for
the Japanese market and said it wanted to go into turning
shea butter into medicine.
President Kufuor said Ghana was ready for genuine
partnerships and investments and asked Meiji to consider
establishing a cocoa processing plant in Ghana.
GNA
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