The United KIngdom’s Africa Development Minister, Mr. Stephen O’Brien, will visit Ghana from 21-23 July to review progress of the UK’s development programme in the West African country, according to a statement issued in Accra on Tuesday by the British High Commission.
It said a new plan for the UK’s aid to Ghana, launched in May 2011, focused on achieving substantial results in health and education, as well as supporting private sector growth to create prosperity and jobs.
Mr. Obrien will visit a timber mill at the forefront of sustainable forestry and efficient use of timber; receive a briefing on the Jubilee Oil Field, a world-class field that has rapidly moved from discovery to production; and look at how big companies are working with small retailers to serve consumers in the farthest geographical and economic reaches of the market.
The statement said the Minister would see how businesses like these had helped Ghana become one of the 10 fastest growing economies in the world, alongside six others in Africa, and discuss what more could be done to ensure sustainable and equitable growth.
It said Mr. O’Brien would meet Ghana’s Vice President John Dramani Mahama, to discuss the economy, oil and gas and development in the north, and the UK government’s existing and future support in these areas.
“In particular, the Minister and the Vice President will discuss progress in establishing the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (a project to develop the Savannah area of Ghana), which is being supported by the UK.
He is due to meet several government ministers, travel to the Western Region to see how oil and gas, as well as other resources such as forestry, are supporting Ghana’s rapid growth and poverty reduction. Ghana recently started producing oil offshore the Western Region.
The statement said Mr O’Brien would also look at the how the UK was contributing towards safe pregnancy and childbirth, and see the preparations being made for the last stage of the Government’s campaign for universal access to long lasting Insecticide Treated Bed Nets to control malaria, which the UK is supporting.
