After posing an hour’s worth of questions to the Minister of Energy as to why certain projects meant to link communities to the National Electricity Grid have yet to be completed, Members of Parliament (MPs) decided on Tuesday to take out even more loans for the development of national infrastructure. Coming to a total of $127 million in loans from the International Development Association, Parliament adopted the reports of the Finance Committee for three different development plans aimed at agriculture, transportation and rural economies. Although both the minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the majority New Patriotic Party (NPP) voted to adopt the reports, the NDC erred on the side of caution, noting with concern that if older infrastructural development projects such as the Self-Help Electrification Programmes have yet to be completed, it could be ill-advised to move forward with further loans for new and larger projects. Yet the need is there. The implementation of Ghana’s component of the West Africa Transport and Transit Facilitation Project needs to be completed, the Community-Based Rural Development Project needs further financial assistance and funds are needed for the Agricultural Development Policy Operation. With the transport sector in West Africa generating six percent of the sub-region’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and road transport accounting for 85 percent of passenger and freight transportation, according to the Finance Committee’s report, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the West Africa Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) have made it a priority to “improve the efficiency and competitiveness of main transport corridors…and link the landlocked countries to seaports in order to boost intra and inter-regional trade”. To that end, a total of $80 million will be loaned to government during a period of 40 years for the strengthening and rehabilitation of the103 kilometres Buipe-Tamale Road, the construction of four major rest stops along the Tema-Paga Road corridor, the procurement of ICT equipment for transit check points, and a Satellite Transit Truck Village along the port of Tema. Hon. Dan Abodakpi, Member of Parliament for Keta (NDC), argued that as a part of the project, “anything that is a nuisance should be removed” from main transit corridors. He referenced the unnecessary frequency of police barriers as one such nuisance. Other members of the minority also voted to adopt the report, stating that the connectivity of roads and ports is crucial to increasing the nation’s revenue. Revenue concerns are also motivating the adoption of the Agricultural Development Policy Operation, which would be implemented with a loan of $25 million over a period of 30 years to downplay the negative economic effects of the recent low yields of staple crops. The Operation aims to increase the access of rural farmers’ to yield-enhancing technology, diversify the accessibility of local commodity deliveries, ensure food security, improve emergency preparedness and encourage crop diversification toward increasing farmers’ income. According to the report, The Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Akoto Osei, told the Finance Committee that the agricultural policy would be aimed at “increasing competitiveness and enhancing integration into domestic and international markets”. Hon. Osei also noted that agriculture’s estimated growth is set at 6 percent during the next four years. Along the same line, the $22 million aimed at the Community-Based Rural Development Project is meant to alleviate the distress caused by the August – September 2007 flooding in the three northern regions of Ghana—leaving 75,000 people vulnerable and more than $129 million in damages, according to the Finance Report. After consulting with the World Bank, it became clear that additional finances were needed to fix the 592 kilometers of feeder roads, boreholes, nutritional centers, community health compounds and dug-out dams which were all damaged by the heavy flooding. Whilst discussing the inevitably majority-driven adoption of the said Finance Report, MPs brought up various concerns related to the challenges of flooding when it comes to water resources in the northern regions. “Water has always been a source of war in various communities,” stated Hon. Kenneth Dzirasah, NDC MP for South Tongu. The majority responded to his concern by explaining that water resources were not a concern of the Finance Committee, but rather one of the Water Resources divisions of the Ministry of Works, Housing and Water Resources. The bureaucratic division of such responsibilities is likely to slow the implementation of a comprehensive rural development plan. Source: Daily Guide