Government may not be able to implement some specific projects this year, as development partners have announced plans to cut budgetary support to Ghana. The country received $525 million in 2009, but it is likely to get only $451 million this year, Ghana’s development partners have said, citing assessments for 2009 as basis for the decision. The nation has depended on the assistance of its development partners to support its budget. The financial support, which is provided through the Multi-Donor Budgetary Support (MDBS), began in 2002. It constitutes about 30 percent of development aid to Ghana and has since contributed over $2 billion to the country’s budget. From 2003 to 2005, the country implemented the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS I), which used HIPC funds for development and poverty reduction programmes. The relative macroeconomic stability and poverty reduction initiatives achieved under the GPRS I led to the GPRS II, which was geared towards growth trajectory, wealth creation and sustainable poverty reduction. GPRS II lasted from 2006 to 2009, but government is yet to roll out a successor to the plan. This is a critical issue for Ghana’s development partners, who align their development assistance to the priorities set out in this plan. Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), which is charged with coordinating this strategy, P. V. Obeng was appointed in December 2009. The commission is yet to have its commissioners and it seems the plan would not see the light of day. The implications of this and many other factors may have manifested in the slight low cut in last year's donor funds from $525 million in 2009 to $451 million this year. In his opening remarks at the Multi-Donor Budget Support (MDBS) annual review meeting, the Swiss Ambassador to Ghana, Nicolas Lang, whose country co-chairs a group of 11donors that provides support to the government said, “The non-availability of such a plan is making it increasingly difficult, if not impossible for development partners to continue with their support to Ghana’s development.” Ghana's 11-member body of development partners for the multi-donor budget support programme is led by the Swiss Embassy and the World Bank. Key issues for the development partners at the 2010 multi-donor budget support joint annual review meeting are transparency and accountability. But even as the development partners caution Ghana against excesses, they still encouraged the country to uphold conditionalities for more disbursement. Secretary to cabinet, Ben Eghan seemed to respond by stating that a major difficulty facing government with the (MDBS) progress assessment framework was the way in which it was assessed and called for improved flexibility. Both sides appear to have issues with each other, but they nonetheless agree on accountability to the taxpayer. Source: Felix Dela Klutse/Business Guide