00:03 Ghana is the second largest country in Western Africa,
00:07 with a population of slightly more than 31 million spanning the
00:11 Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south.
00:14 Ghana has achieved considerable development progress
00:17 over the last three decades.
00:19 The country achieved middle income status in
00:22 2011 because of strong sustained economic growth.
00:26 Averaging over 5% since the early 1990s,
00:30 underpinned by a stable democracy and driven largely by commodities such as gold
00:36 and cocoa exports and the development of its oil and gas reserves.
00:41 Ghana achieved the first Millennium Development Goal
00:44 of health and poverty from 52.7% in 1993 to 20.
00:50 3.4% in 2016,
00:53 which propelled Ghana to the forefront of poverty reduction in Africa
00:57 and improved human development indicators considerably over this period.
01:02 Nonetheless,
01:03 over 20% of Ghana's population still live in poverty,
01:07 with the poor concentrated in five regions of the North,
01:10 where poverty remains above 50%.
01:14 Ghana's dependence on natural resource exports has not generated the jobs
01:19 needed to lift large numbers of people out of poverty.
01:23 High fiscal deficit and increasing public
01:25 debt have elevated Ghana's country risk,
01:28 limited foreign direct investment in non-commodity sectors,
01:32 and increased the cost of finance for private.
01:35 Businesses.
01:36 The social and economic impact of COVID-19
01:40 have been significant,
01:42 with growth falling sharply to 0.4%
01:45 and public debts reaching 78.9% of GDP in 2020.
01:51 The economy has seen significant recovery with growth projected at 4%.
01:56 9% in 2021,
01:59 but public debt will continue to be elevated in the medium term.
02:03 The pandemic has magnified the urgency for
02:06 Ghana to address pre-existing structural challenges,
02:10 including strengthening management of state-owned enterprises in
02:14 the energy sector and bolstering revenues.
02:18 Furthermore,
02:19 despite significant progress in service delivery and human capital,
02:24 disparities in access and quality persist across many dimensions.
02:29 These trends have been complicated
02:31 by unsustainable natural resource exploitation
02:35 and its high susceptibility
02:37 to climate change.
02:39 The World Bank Group Country Partnership Framework,
02:42 CPF envisages some.
02:44 Broad shifts in its strategic and operational approach
02:47 and seeks to support Ghana in its recovery from
02:50 the pandemic and to lay the foundation for resilient,
02:54 inclusive
02:55 and sustainable development,
02:57 supported by a strong private sector to realize Ghana's aspirations of
03:01 becoming an economically self-reliant country
03:04 with greater opportunities for all Ghanaians
03:07 as set out in the Ghana Beyond Aid vision.
03:11 The CPF has 3 mutually reinforcing focus areas.
03:15 1,
03:16 enhancing conditions for private sector development and quality job creation,
03:21 2,
03:22 improving inclusive service delivery,
03:25 and 3,
03:26 promoting resilient and sustainable development.
03:31 Exploiting the opportunities for digital transformation
03:34 will be a cross-cutting theme.
03:36 The focus areas are closely aligned to the government's Ghana
03:40 Coronavirus alleviation and revitalization of enterprises Ghana Cars Program.
03:46 Specifically,
03:48 the World Bank Group engagements is expected to provide the
03:51 following result by the end of the CPF period.
05:05 This CPF reflects the World Bank Group's commitment
05:09 to work with the government and the people of
05:12 Ghana in their pursuit of becoming an economically
05:15 self-reliant country with greater opportunities for all Ghanaians.
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