The objective of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy II (GPRS) was to maintain macro-economic stability in the country, said the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr. Ignatius Baffour-Awuah. "It is also anchored on pursuing accelerated private sector growth, vigorous human resource development, good governance and civic responsibility," he stated. He urged agencies charged with implementing programmes and projects under the GPRS II at the regional and district levels to demonstrate, through evidence-based information, to ensure that the interventions were having the desired effects, in transforming the lives of the beneficiaries. Mr Baffour-Awuah was speaking at the opening of a workshop on the District Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) guidelines for Regional and District Planning Co-ordinating units in Sunyani. The five-day workshop, the first of it kind in the country, was organised by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) and funded by the World Bank. Mr. Baffour-Awuah explained that the government and its development partners had committed significant resources to support a wide range of development interventions designed to improve social and economic conditions in the country. He explained that the GPRS I that was implemented from 2002 to 2005, was a broad-based development strategy for accelerated poverty reduction and decentralisation. The emphasis of GPRS II from 2006 to 2009 is growth inducing policies and programmes with the potential of supporting wealth creation for sustainable poverty reduction, he said. Source: GNA