Parliament Approves U.S.$1.5 Billion Getfund Loan

By Eva Frempon-Ntiamoah

Parliament has approved a $1.5 billion facility for GETFund to be used for educational infrastructure in the country.

The facility, to be drawn in three tranches, will utilize a portion of GETFund's revenues to service medium term debts.

Presenting the report, the Chairman of the Finance Committee, Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah, said government had indicated the need to undertake radical expansion of educational infrastructure especially at the second cycle level in order to end the double-track system whilst also expanding capacity at the tertiary level to absorb the increasing numbers of eligible candidates.

Mr Assibey-Yeboah said the successful implementation of all the planned projects under the loan facility would bring an end to the double track system recently introduced to accommodate the soaring numbers of beneficiaries of the Free Senior High School policy.

The Minority, however, refused to take part in the loan approval, citing the lacked of clarity especially who the lenders of the loan were.

But the first Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei Owusu, held that the terms of the facility had been sufficiently debated and led the process for the motion to be approved.

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