French government lauds implementation of GPRS in Ghana

French gov’t lauds implementation of GPRS

The French government on Monday lauded the government of Ghana for its role played in the implementation of the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) to improve living conditions in the country.
The French government has been supportive in this initiative spearheaded by the government of Ghana in order to attain a middle income status by the year 2015.
The Deputy Resident Manager Yves Guicquero in an interview with the paper at the residence of the French Ambassador in Accra said his government was satisfied with the implementation of the GPRS and the level of development in the country.
He was optimistic that the country’s priority of attaining a middle income status was on course.
“My government is satisfied with the implementation of the GPRS towards improving living conditions in the country. We believe that Ghana would be the first country in Sub-Sahara Africa to reach a middle income status”, he said.
The French government through its multi donor support agency, French Development Agency (AFD), has over the years contributed significantly towards the GPRS.
The French co-operation in the country has increased significantly in the recent past to reach an average amount of €42million over the past four years.
According to Guicquero, his government has been contributing €17million into water and sanitation projects in the country each year.
He noted that after successful execution of the rural water projects in Northern Region, his government had plans to do same in the Brong Ahafo Region beginning next year (2009).
“We have plans to fund a new rural and semi-urban water project in the Brong Ahafo Region. This project would begin in the early months of next year. Once the Brong Ahafo project is completed, we would consider elsewhere”, he added.
The French government has over the past years being supportive to the country’s economy, providing assistance to the Private sector. It has financed investment projects in eight companies operating mainly in export oriented sectors of the economy.
It also set up a strong partnership with the banking sector by providing medium term lines of credit to finance the investment projects of Small and Medium sized Enterprises in the country. The French government has also been supportive in the Agriculture sector as well as the promotion of cultural diversity in the country.