President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has tasked the newly appointed board of the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), delegated with the responsibility to oversee the implementation of the GH¢100 billion Ghana CARES "Obaatanpa" programme, to ensure that the program is successfully run.
The GHc100 billion Ghana COVID-19 Alleviation and Revitalisation of Enterprises Support, known as Ghana CARES "Obaatanpa," is a three and half year programme, designed to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, return the country to a sustained path of economic growth, as well as create a more resilient and transformed economy.
Ghana CARES Obaatanpa program, according to the Government, is not the totality of the country's economic development programme but rather; represents a strategic and catalytic intervention, that will foster a quicker recovery and boost the nation's post-COVID economic transformation.
Addressing the 10-member MiDA governing board at the Jubilee House Wednesday, President Akufo-Addo said the Finance Ministry's decision to select MiDA as the implementing body for the program is a testimony of MiDA's effective programme management record and its capacity to handle related accountabilities.
He said the quantum of the budget earmarked for the Economic Enclaves' Project EEP and related funding arrangements is vastly different from those of the two millennium Challenge Compacts implemented by MiDA in February 2007 to February 2012 and from September 2016 to June 2022 respectively,
However, President Akufo-Addo said, it is this expectation that all the implementing entities will work speedily and harmoniously to realise the outputs expected from the agricultural focused economic enclaves' to be set-up across the country.
As the coordinating entity for the enclave projects, it is the President's expectation that MiDA adopts and follow the same systematic approaches to project management that characterised the project implementation of the compact projects.
After handling Ghana's compact programmes from 2007 to date, MiDA had gather experiences and lessons which President Akufo-Addo expects would be brought to bear on the task envisaged under this assignment.
The oversight role of the MiDA board comprises the ministers of Finance, Food and Agriculture, Trade and Industry, Local Government, Decentralisation, and Rural Development and Gender, Women and Social Protection, representative of the Association of Ghana Industries, the National Service Secretariat, and the Private Enterprise Foundation.
President Akufo-Addo said he is hopeful that the participation of the private sector in activities within the enclaves' will ensure the programmes sustainability.
"The involvement of the 48 engineer regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces in land preparation and development, the lead role of the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority in land surveys and the provision of the irrigation infrastructure, the supportive roles of the Ministries of Energy, and Roads and Highways, the provision of agricultural equipment and certified seeds from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and its agencies are compelling evidence of the strong desire to facilitate the work of private sector investors...to underpin the sustainability of the enclaves concept."
The President was quick to emphasis that this new approach to state sponsored large scale commercial farming, is not accustomed to the previous State-owned farms concept which currently does no longer operates.
"You must ensure that the necessary de-risking and facilitative arrangements initiated by the government which involves all the implementing entities and partners will be sustained in order to support the realisation of the government's vision of enhancing government self sufficiency in the production of rice, poultry, tomatoes, curtailing import levels and ensuring substantial youth participation in food farming and in the agro-processing values chains" President Akufo-Addo urge MiDA Voard .
On behalf of her colleagues, Professor Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu, who chairs the MiDA governing board, expressed their appreciation to President Akufo-Addo for their Appointments, having found the work and performance of MiDA on the power compact satisfactory.
The new role of the board which is to coordinate the economic enclave project according to Professor Ntiamoa-Baidu is an innovative project that seeks to fill gaps in Ghana's staple food production and minimise food importation.
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"We trust in your commitment and dedication to our dear country. We believe in the strategies that you and your government are putting in place to revive our economy, therefore, we pledge our full support, dedication, and commitment to ensure that MiDA delivers on its new mandate," she stated.
The new governing board of the MiDA has Professor Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu, as chairperson, Mr. Martin Eson-Benjamin, Chief Executive Officer, MIDA, Bryan Acheampong, Minister for Food and Agriculture, Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta, representative from the Ministry of Finance, and K.T. Hammond, Minister for Trade and Industry.
The rest are Dan Botwe, Minister for Local Government, Decentralisation & Rural Development, Abudu Lariba Zuweira, Minister Gender, Children & Social Protection, Osei Assibey Antwi, Executive Director, National Service Secretariat, Dr. Kwasi Humphrey Ayim-Darke, representative of the Association of Ghana Industries and Mark Badu-Aboagye representative of the Private Enterprise Foundation.
