Dr John Kofi Mensah, MD, ADB
MANAGING DIRECTOR of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) Limited, Dr. John Kofi Mensah, has said the bank is undergoing the necessary accreditation to be the first indigenous bank to benefit from a US$500 million fund from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for developing countries.
The GCF has earmarked the amount to be disbursed within the next four years to developing countries to support low-emissions and climate-resilient development in developing countries.
“With assistance from the National Designated Authority under the Ministry of Finance, we are fast tracking the process of being accredited and also get the approval from the GCF as a delivery partner to access the funds,” he said.
Dr. Kofi Mensah was part of a Ghanaian delegation at the private sector facility of the GCF 24th board meeting held in Inchon, South Korea.
“By accessing the grant from GCF which will come at a lower interest rate, the bank will be well positioned to finance agricultural related and climate smart programmes that will contribute towards making our environment better and safer,” he said.
The meeting afforded them the opportunity to make a presentation to the GCF board on ADB’s financial performance over the years, compliance with regulatory standards, staff capacity, the vision and the five year strategic plan being implemented.
He also touched on some climate friendly projects undertaken by the bank including the five years Rubber Outgrower Plantation Project which saw the cultivation of over 30,000 hectares of land by 8,500 farmers.
The Managing Director revealed that though there had been efforts in Ghana to educate and draw people’s attention to climate change, the difficulty in accessing concessionary funds was serving as a bottleneck for many institutions to vigorously pursue the Green Climate agenda.
Dr. Mensah was optimistic ADB would work hard to access the funds to help Ghana contribute positively to the Green Climate Agenda.
He revealed that through the Ministry of Transport, ADB was going to be the delivery partner for the 400 eco-friendly buses to be purchased for the Accra City Electric Bus project.
Deputy Minister for Transport, Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus Glover, in a meeting with the management of Zyle Daewoo Commercial Vehicle, manufacturers of the Daewoo buses, said ADB was chosen by government because of its good financial performance and also its experience in financing the purchase of 150 buses for the Intercity STC Coaches Limited and the Metro Mass Transit Limited.