The Government of Ghana has submit­ted a list of 24 high-priority projects to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Official Creditor Committee (OCC) as part of efforts to pave the way for their construction.The move is expected to provide the op­portunity for the continuation and completion of essential infrastructure and social projects across the country, which were stalled following Ghana's suspension of external debt servicing in December 2022.The Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, disclosed this when he presented the 2025 Mid-Year Budget Review to Parliament in Accra yesterday."This is expected to trigger resumption of disbursements for projects on the priority list upon the signing of bilateral agreements between Ghana and creditor countries," he told Parliament."We aim to ensure that all the priority proj­ects are completed and commissioned by the end of 2028," the Minister added.Dr Forson mentioned key projects on the list, including the new bridge across the Volta River at Volivo, the construction of the Te­ma-Aflao Road - Phase 1, the Tema Motorway Roundabout through Ashaiman Roundabout to Atimpoku stretch, the construction of 14 Pe­destrian Bridges, Kumasi Roads and Drainage Extension, and the Paa Grant Interchange and Sekondi/Takoradi Township Roads - Phase 1.Others, the Minister mentioned, were the re­habilitation of the Dome-Kitase Road, Obetse­bi Lamptey Interchange - Phase 2, Bolgatan­ga-Bawku-Pulimakom Road, PTC Roundabout Interchange Project at Takoradi, Construction of Drinking Water Facilities in Wenchi, Sekon­di-Takoradi Water Supply, and the modernisa­tion of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.The priority list, Dr Forson said includes the Construction of Central Medical Stores in Tema, the Effia Nkwanta and Bolgatan­ga Regional Hospitals, establishment of the University of Environment and Sustainable Development at Bunso, nine State-of-the-Art Technical and Vocational Education Train­ing (TVET) Centres, Integrated E-Learning Laboratories in Senior High Schools, expansion of existing senior high schools, a Pilot Photo­voltaic Renewable Energy System, a Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Programme, and the construction of the Takoradi and Kumasi Central Market - Phase 2.The Minister explained that following Gha­na's default on its external debt service obliga­tions on December 19, 2022, disbursements for 55 bilateral projects were halted and resulting in numerous uncompleted projects across the country and leaving approximately $3 billion in undisbursed loans."The IMF and Official Creditor Committee (OCC) annual disbursement ceiling of $250 million for official bilateral loans implies that it will take a minimum of 12 years to fully draw down on the undisbursed loans," he stated.According to Dr Forson, under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the OCC, Ghana was required to submit a priority list of projects that would fall within the $250 million annual ceiling.He reiterated that the main criterion for se­lecting the projects was how close they were to completion, noting, "Projects which were over 70 per cent complete were given priority."Dr Forson stressed that there would be no scope for expanding the existing project speci­fications."There is no room for an increase in the scope of work for any of the projects on the priority list agreed upon with the IMF and OCC.

Implementing agencies must take note and comply accordingly."The Finance Minister also raised concerns over financial irregularities surrounding some of the stalled projects, indicating that some contractors had received disbursements without undertaking any work, while others had submit­ted inflated cost variations."It has come to the attention of the Minis­try of Finance that a number of contractors implementing some of these 55 stalled projects have drawn down on the loans with no work done to match the amounts drawn down," he said. "Again, some contractors have submitted additional costs in excess of what Parliament approved."To address these issues, Dr Forson said, "The Ministry of Finance has accordingly commis­sioned a forensic audit into these projects.

We will apprise the House when this audit is completed." BY KINGSLEY ASARE