GHANA

	FY 1998 Actual	FY 1999 Estimate	FY 2000 Request
Development Assistance	$21,500,000	$20,923,000	---
Development Fund for Africa	---	---	$20,800,000
Economic Support Funds	$500,000	---	---
Child Survival and Disease	$16,731,000	$15,998,000	$13,950,000
P.L. 480 Title II	$14,434,818	$19,283,000	$15,854,000

Introduction.

Ghana is the principal ally of the United States in West Africa in promoting economic and political reform, and has repeatedly demonstrated - through both diplomacy and assistance provided by its armed forces - its commitment to helping resolve regional conflicts and promoting regional security. Ghana is a lead supporter of the Africa Crisis Response Initiative and has contributed troops to United Nations peacekeeping efforts around the world. Ghana is also in the forefront of African countries that have made significant progress in consolidating democracy and in restructuring their economies to be more efficient and internationally competitive. Trade links between Ghana and the United States are expanding: U.S. exports to Ghana grew from $53 million in 1985 to $314 million in 1997, up $19 million from 1996, placing Ghana in third place (after Nigeria and South Africa) among African markets for U.S. exports. The interest in encouraging these positive trends is reflected in U.S. foreign policy objectives of increased economic prosperity and democratization, regional stability and improved quality of life in the developing world.

The Development Challenge.

The 1998 United Nations Human Development Index - which measures key indicators such as life expectancy, adult literacy and per capita income - ranks Ghana 133 out of 174 countries. These indicators reflect some of the major problems constraining Ghana's development, such as low rates of private sector investment, unsustainable population growth, inadequate health care, low levels of educational attainment among the majority of its citizens, high inflation, budget deficits, low savings rates and weak public and private sector institutions. Slash and burn agriculture and indiscriminate logging are leading to erosion and soil loss, sedimentation of waterways and destruction of the marine ecosystem. A population growth rate of 2.9% per annum erodes improvements in the standard of living. While the 1998 energy crisis had a modest negative impact on industrial activity, the growth in GDP for the year as a whole was 4.5%, down from a target of 5.6%. Progress has been made in reducing the high inflation rate of between 40%-50% during the preceding year down to less than half that amount by mid-year. However double-digit inflation and an acute shortage of affordable credit for investment continues to hamper economic growth. The Government of Ghana (GOG) is committed to Ghana’s achieving middle-income country status by the year 2020, a plan known as Vision 2020. Achieving this goal will require annual real economic growth rates of over 8% between now and 2020.

The most significant challenge in meeting these growth targets lies in overcoming Ghana’s fundamental economic problems - principal among them chronic high inflation and lack of investment capital - that prevent the economy from realizing its full growth potential. Equally important is access to health services and basic education. The GOG is enacting reforms to address these problems, including liberalization of foreign exchange, cutting government spending, privatization of state-owned enterprises, and economic policy changes, such as reduced government regulation of the economy. A growing and diversified economy, complemented by better-quality education and improved access to health services, reduced population growth and more effective interaction between citizens and government will generate increased investment as well as higher incomes and a better quality of life for the majority of Ghana's citizens. The GOG decentralization program is taking an important step forward with the establishing of district assemblies with greater control over local resources. Ghana's transition to democracy is still fragile. A traditionally strong executive branch must learn to share power with an increasingly influential and popularly elected parliament. As Ghana’s prosperity increases, its potential as a major market for U.S. goods will also increase. The GOG has demonstrated its commitment to reform; however, given its limited resource and revenue base, Ghana will continue to need donor assistance in the near to medium term in order to achieve its Vision 2020 goals. Well targeted donor assistance has been a key contributor to Ghana's transition from military rule to democracy and from economic crisis to an economy that is more competitive in world markets. While these objectives are not yet fully realized, the program is on track.

Other Donors.

The United States is the second largest bilateral donor in Ghana behind Japan. In 1998 the donor community at large pledged approximately $750 million. Donor assistance focuses on economic growth and poverty alleviation, human resource development, primary education, health services, family planning and decentralization of government. Other donors include: World Bank, European Union, Great Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, United Nations Development Program, and United Nation's Children's Fund.

The FY 2000 Program.

USAID's FY 2000 resource request will support Ghana’s efforts to increase broad-based sustainable development through four mutually-reinforcing Strategic Objectives (SOs): SO1, increasing private sector growth; SO2, improving the effectiveness of primary education; SO3, improving family health; and SO4, enhancing government and civic participation.

USAID will continue to play a strong leadership role in promoting sound macroeconomic and trade policy reforms that will help Ghana attract domestic and international investment, and in improving the domestic private sector’s capacity to produce and market quality goods and services more cost-effectively. In addition, USAID’s assistance to the Kakum National Park will continue to have important biodiversity implications due to its protected status and involvement of local communities.

USAID’s primary education program is funding reforms of key national education policies, in order to improve the quality of primary education. These reforms will be instrumental in improving the quality of basic education in over 330 model schools. Students in these schools will show improved performance through higher English and math pass rates. Enrollment will increase for both genders.

USAID continues to be the lead donor in supporting Ghana's efforts to increases the use of modern contraceptives and increase public awareness concerning reproductive health. The portfolio has been expanded to support the GOG's integrated maternal and child health program. USAID's child survival activities will reduce child mortality rates by expanding immunizations, improving diarrhea treatment with oral rehydration therapy, and increasing the rate for exclusive breastfeeding of infants. Programs combating HIV/AIDS will continue throughout the country.

Ghana’s peaceful transition to democracy, and the elections of 1996 have helped to consolidate democracy. USAID’s assistance to civil society and parliament will contribute to greater citizen participation in the development of public policy and more transparency in the government’s deliberative processes through non-governmental organization involvement in parliamentary hearings.

P.L. 480 Title II resources are an integral component of the Mission's program. Monetized food aid supports three strategic objectives. The program addresses short term needs by directing food aid resources to address problems in Ghana's food insecure regions by promoting sustainable forestry and improved agricultural productivity, increased enrollment in primary schools, improved basic health and small/micro-enterprise development.

GHANA

FY 2000 PROGRAM SUMMARY
(in thousands of Dollars)

USAID Mission Director, Frank J. Young

USAID Strategic and Special Objectives	Economic Growth & Agriculture	Population & Health	Environment	Democracy	Human Capacity Development	Humanitarian Assistance	TOTALS
S.O. 1: Increased Private Sector Growth - DFA - P.L. 480/II	12,000 ---	--- ---	2,000 ---	--- ---	--- ---	--- 7,134	14,000 7,134
S.O. 2: Increased Effectiveness of the Primary Education System - CSD - P.L. 480/II	--- ---	--- ---	--- ---	--- ---	6,450 ---	--- 6,659	6,450 6,659
S.O. 3: Improved Family Health - DFA - CSD - P.L. 480/II	--- --- ---	5,900 7,500 ---	--- --- ---	--- --- ---	--- --- ---	--- --- 2,061	5,900 7,500 2,061
S.0. 4: Public Policy Decisions Better Reflect Civic Input -DFA	---	---	---	900	---	---	900
Totals: - DFA - CSD - P.L. 480/II	12,000 --- ---	5,900 7,500 ---	2,000 --- ---	900 --- ----	--- 6,450 ---	--- --- 15,854	20,800 13,950 15,854

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ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

PROGRAM: GHANA
TITLE AND NUMBER: Increased Private Sector Growth, 641-S001
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: $14,000,000 DFA, $7,134,000 P.L. 480 Title II
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1997 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2002

Summary: Ghana is committed to private sector growth, yet faces considerable challenges. Since 1983, Ghana's GDP growth rate has averaged 5%. Persistent problems include minimal private sector investment, high inflation and low national savings which are inadequate to counter heavy public sector domestic borrowing. All of these threaten to undermine the promising achievements of Ghana's 1983 -1996 Economic Reform Program (ERP). Private sector growth is hindered by this macroeconomic environment, as well as by a lack of management and marketing capacity.

The overall Strategic Objective (SO) supports efforts to increase U.S. trade with and investment in Ghana. The purpose of this SO is to enhance the growth of Ghana's private sector and its international competitiveness, which contributes to the Agency's economic growth and environment objectives. It will bolster economic growth which will increase demand for imports of food, equipment, agricultural and industrial inputs and capital goods, as well as promote Ghana's exports to the United States.

Direct beneficiaries will include approximately 100,000 households engaged in small-scale agriculture, fishing, food processing, distribution, and tourism and other micro-enterprises involved in the program, as well as 150 - 200 larger, non-traditional exporters. Currently women own 24% of the horticultural, wood, African cloth/garment and handicrafts industries. Women-owned businesses will continue to grow under this program. Considering all linkages, over one million people are likely to realize increased benefits from increases in production and incomes.

Key Results: Two key sets of results have been established: (1) Increased Private Enterprise Performance - improving the performance of private enterprises of all sizes, and (2) Policy Reform and Financial Intermediation - supporting policy change that encourages private sector growth. The accomplishment of these key results by the year 2001 will result in an increase of non-traditional export earnings by $502 million, of foreign exchange earnings from tourism by $179 million, of the value of sales and selected services by $810 million, and of private investment as a share of GDP from 5% to 10%.

Performance and Prospects: In 1998 activities were initiated to assist Ghanaian leadership to address policy issues identified at its National Economic Forum held in September 1997 including: a) reducing the public sector debt, b) liberalizing the trade and exchange regime, and c) developing flexible labor markets. Five macroeconomic policy topics were developed for public discussion and ongoing public-private policy dialogue. Topics covered were a) inflation, b) the tariff system, c) income distribution effects of wage and labor rigidities, d) medium and long-term financing for capital and e) the growth of enterprises. This work contributes to policy reforms focussing on eliminating and revising regulations that adversely impact Ghana's international competitiveness in sectors that have the potential to contribute to exports such as horticultural and wood products and financial services.

In addition to these policy efforts, U.S. technical assistance is training Ghanaian firms engaged in export production and the marketing chain to improve their managerial and operational skills as well as their ability to identify and penetrate viable markets. The latter is particularly important in benefiting smaller producers, thousands of smallholders and micro-entrepreneurs who are playing an increasingly important role in supplying the larger exporters. During the last two years, small enterprises have benefited from such activities as entrepreneurship training for artisans and handicraft exports, increased access to international markets and market information and increases in the actual number of handicraft exporters in Ghana, and linkages between urban and rural counterparts. Product and market development assistance was provided to export firms in wood, garment, and agricultural sectors, through project assistance and P.L. 480 funds. In addition to these activities, food monetization development activities will continue to enhance the strategic objective through providing agroforestry initiatives aimed at reducing soil degradation and increasing agricultural productivity, and assisting in the production, storage and marketing of agricultural products.

This SO continues to support natural resources and conservation activities. USAID, through Conservation International, a U.S. PVO, is providing institutional support to the Ghana Heritage Conservation Trust to ensure the sustainability of investments at the USAID-supported Kakum National Park, an internationally acclaimed ecotourism site, and at three historic sites of international interest in Elmina and Cape Coast. The Trust secretariat will receive planning and financial management assistance to strengthen its capacity to manage the endowment fund.

Low rainfall has resulted in low reservoir levels and an energy crisis during the past year. Achievement of results under this SO is in part dependent upon Ghana being able to effectively manage the energy crisis and its capacity to produce electricity. Ghana has identified alternative short-term sources of electrical energy, however, a longer-term solution is dependent in part on policy changes in the energy sector. USAID coordinated and partially funded an expert team of energy specialists who assisted the Government of Ghana (GOG) to identify long-term solutions to the energy problem. Thus far Ghana has revised upward the energy tariffs to bring them into line with current generation costs.

Possible Adjustments to Plans: At this stage in implementation, no adjustments are contemplated.

Other Donor Programs: The GOG continues the implementation of its trade and investment initiative which is supported in part by the World Bank's 5-year program ($200 million); an IMF-Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility ($240 million); and the United Kingdom's VAT technical assistance and public financial management project ($15 million), as well as contributions by Denmark and Canada. USAID's planned assistance is complementary to these efforts, represents approximately 10% of the total of all macro-economic funds, and is a key donor in tourism promotion.

Principal Contractors, Grantees or Agencies: Current contractors are Sigma One Corporation and Amex International, and grantees are TechnoServe, CARE, Conservation International and local NGOs. Additional grantees with the P.L. 480 Program are Adventist Development and Relief Agency, Catholic Relief Services and Opportunities Industrialization Center.

Selected Performance Measures:

	Baseline 1994 ($millions)	Fiscal Year 2000 ($millions)	Target 2001 ($millions)
Value of NTEs	119	518	621
Forex earnings from tourism	241	386	420
Value of sales and selected goods and services	690	1,390	1,500
Private Investment as a share of GDP	5.3% (1995)	9%	10%

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ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

Program: Ghana
Title and Number: Increased Effectiveness of the Primary Education System, 641-SOO2
Proposed Obligation and Funding Source: FY 2000 $6,450,000 CS, $6,659,000 P.L. 480
Initial Obligation: FY 1996 Estimated Completion Date: FY 2002

Summary: Low test results on a national Criterion-Referenced Test (developed under a previous USAID education project) helped the Government of Ghana (GOG) focus attention on weaknesses within the primary education system regarding quality education standards. This contributed to the development of the GOG's Free, Compulsory, Universal Basic Education (fCUBE) initiative, under which all donor basic education assistance falls. The purpose of this Strategic Objective is to increase the effectiveness of the primary education system through the USAID-sponsored Quality Improvements in the Primary Schools (QUIPS) program. This six-year activity assists the Ministry of Education to (1) establish 330 model Schools in all 110 districts of Ghana, and (2) disseminate key education policies to ensure that best practices from the model Schools will be widely replicated throughout the primary education system. A key theme throughout the program is to support the decentralization process through policy discussion and district-level training.

The primary beneficiaries will be approximately 132,000 students in 330 model Schools. The rest of Ghana’s 3 million primary school children will benefit as changes introduced become more widespread throughout the system. Other beneficiaries include approximately 3,300 teachers and head teachers along with 400 district education personnel.

Key Results: The QUIPS program concentrates on four major results. First, improvement of the learning environment through policy change and by strengthening the capacity of districts to effectively plan and manage resources. Second, effective classroom teaching supported through improved supervision, continuous student assessment, and pupil-centered teaching methods. Third, greater community involvement in local education through assistance to local school associations and committees. The QUIPS-introduced Community-School Improvement Plan ties these three objectives together and helps all parties manage implementation process. The fourth, policy reform, concentrates on improving educational policies in four critical areas: (1) curriculum development; (2) educational personnel management; (3) capacity building at the local level; and (4) school data collection and analysis.

Performance and Prospects: While last year was the first full implementation-year of the QUIPS program, there is already tangible evidence that changes are occurring at the school, community and national levels.

In addition to the Community-School Improvements Plans, information systems are providing data for central government documents and policies. Curriculum lessons emerging from the field have focused on making links between instructional practices, the curriculum, and continuous assessment. A QUIPS-initiated national Integrated Learning Sequence, which links vocabulary, critical thinking skills, and compentencies across the foundational subjects of language, mathematics, and science, is being developed. In 1999 it will be tested and introduced into the primary education system.

Possible Adjustments to Plans: The QUIPS program is capitalizing on an opportunity provided by the P.L. 480 program in it's move into the northern regions of Ghana during 1999. Currently, the P.L. 480 program, implemented by the Catholic Relief Services (CRS), seeks to increase the enrollment and attendance of both boys and girls, improve their physical learning environment, involve parents as partners in their children's education, while positively affecting both long and short term food security in these food insecure regions. The intention is to build on the current CRS base and utilize P.L. 480 resources to expand the CRS education program so as to become a full QUIPS partner in the north. This will accelerate greater local involvement in the program, due to a merging of QUIPS materials and processes with the CRS approach which focuses on Government Education Service (GES) personnel as implementors. In the north, U.S. technical assistance will develop its national methodology for transitioning out of direct training and into a stronger advisory role to GES. Also, girls enrollment in this area is lower than the national average, and it is anticipated that girls access, retention, and performance in the primary schools in the north will benefit tremendously as a result of the QUIPS interventions.

Other Donor Programs: The British Department for International Development has a $85 million program that complements, and closely resembles, the quality education approach taken by USAID. The World Bank has a $50 million program that provides support to the fCUBE program. German assistance is targeted on improving education in teacher training institutions and the United Nations Childrens Fund is implementing a small scale $3 million program which concentrates on improving girls’ education and community participation. Transparency and coordinated planning among donors has improved, in great part because of USAID. Specifically, the initiation of regular technical working groups, the development of a national syllabus enhancing Integrated Learning Sequence and handbook and the Annual Forum on Shared Learning are all direct results of USAID leadership.

Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: Current contractors are the Academy for Educational Development and The Mitchell Group. Current grantees are the Educational Development Center and the International Foundation for Education and Self-Help.

Selected Performance Measures:

*Baselines represent national averages, and targets are for parternership schools and will be compared to national averages.

	Baseline 1995*	Fiscal Year 2000	Target 2002*
1) % of students enrolled	60%	70%	85%
2) % of students retained	50%	60%	80%
3) % of students passing criterion-referenced    in English    in Math	3.6% 1.8%	7% 3%	30% 15%
4) number of schools within participating districts implementing Community-School Improvement Plans	0	90	330

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ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

PROGRAM: Ghana
TITLE AND NUMBER: Improved Family Health, 641-S003
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 2000 $5,900,000 DFA, $7,500,000 CS, $2,061,000 P.L 480 Title II
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1997 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2001

Summary: The status of health in Ghana at the inception of this Strategic Objective (SO) was poor. The under five mortality rate was estimated at 119 per 1,000 live births in 1993. This high mortality rate was primarily attributable to malaria, measles, pneumonia, diarrhea and malnutrition -l all of which are preventable maladies. The most recent estimate of total fertility at 5.5 is very high and use of modern contraceptives (9.3%) is unacceptably low. Half of all births occur with no trained health worker present. Through a national monitiring system, HIV/AIDS prevalence among the low risk population was estimated at 2-5% in 1997. However, with increasing cross-border movement and high-risk sub-populations (such as commercial sex workers) , an escalation of this epidemic is likely.

The purpose of this SO is to (1) reduce child mortality, as measured by increased immunization against preventable diseases, (2) reduce the total fertility rate to 5.0, and (3) maintain an increase of 1% or less per year for HIV/AIDS.

The ultimate beneficiaries of this SO are Ghanaian children under five years of age who will benefit from a reduction in child mortality, and men and women of reproductive age who will benefit from reductions in total fertility and the spread of HIV/AIDS due to improved access to quality health services.

Key Results: Two key intermediate results have been identified as necessary to achieve this objective: (1) Increased use of reproductive health services, including family planning, safe motherhood and HIV/AIDS/STD prevention, and (2) Increased use of selected child survival services, including immunization, oral rehydration, care of the sick child and improved nutrition.

Performance and Prospects: During 1997/98, USAID and the Government of Ghana (GOG) jointly developed a new program to launch an expanded effort in child survival. As preparation for this effort, USAID supported the development of a national strategy for child health and the implementation of several assessments to further define needs and identify opportunities to impact on child survival. Based on the findings of USAID-supported assessments, detailed implementation plans will be developed in early 1999 followed by the launch of more comprehensive child survival activities. Funding provided to the World Health Organization and the United Nations Childrens Fund supported the annual polio immunization campaigns in November and December. Early reports indicate high coverage rates throughout the country.

USAID has established a pivotal leadership role in national family planning efforts in Ghana. Recognized as the primary donor in this field, USAID is credited with making a substantial contribution to the reduction of fertility from 6.4 in 1988 to 5.5 in 1993. Strongest among recent efforts have been the removal of policy barriers and the establishment of national policies that reflect a commitment to family planning. USAID support led to increases in the number of people trained in voluntary family planning service delivery and the number of contraceptives distributed during the year. This year, service delivery efforts, with a focus on both expansion of community based family planning services as well as in improvements in the quality of reproductive health care, will be intensified.

In Ghana, USAID continues to support the national sentinel surveillance program and public health laboratories to monitor HIV/AIDS prevalence. Through these sites, national policy makers are made aware of levels and trends. A nationwide joint donor assessment was conducted during 1998 to mobilize additional support to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS. Based on the findings of this assessment, USAID has already begun to support behavior change activities targeted at high risk groups, promote the appropriate use of condoms, improve STD treatment and strengthen laboratory services.

Possible Adjustments to plans: To encourage integration and to more fully support the maternal and child health care programs of the Ministry of Health, USAID revised its results framework in December 1998. Two intermediate results were defined: (1) Increased Use of Reproductive Health Services and (2) Increased Use of Selected Child Survival Services. To achieve these results, USAID will support programs to increase access (particularly in rural areas), increase demand, and improve the quality and management of integrated reproductive and child health services. With the many accomplishments already achieved in improving the policy environment, the program focus will shift towards service delivery, especially in underserved areas of the country.

Other Donor Programs: The health sector is a top priority for the GOG and the focus of a major reform effort emphasizing decentralization. Between 1995 and 1997, there was an 18% real term increase in annual government expenditures on health. Current estimates indicate that as a principal donor, USAID will provide approximately 15% of the total donor contribution to the health sector in 1999. Other major donors include the World Bank, the United Kingdom, the European Union and Denmark. Many of the major donors directly support the national health sector reform program.

Principle Contractors, Grantees or Agencies: This SO is implemented through the GOG, U.S. cooperating agencies such as Family Health International, John’s Hopkins University, the Population Council, Macro International, and Flagship, U.S. private voluntary organizations, including AVSC International and Africare; private non-profit Ghanaian associations and local non-governmental organizations, such as the Ghana Social Marketing Foundation, the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana, and the Ghana Registered Midwives Association.

Selected Performance Measures:

	Baseline	Fiscal Year 2000	Target (2001)1
Total Fertility Rate	5.5% (1993)	5.1%	5%
Modern Contraceptive Prevalence2	9.3% (1993)	14%	15%
HIV Infection Prevalence	1-4% (1995)	5-8%	6-9%
Infants Immunized with DPT33	49% (1993)	63%	65%
Exclusive Breastfeeding	2% (1993)	4%	5%
Diarrhea treated with ORT4	24% (1995)	33%	35%

¹ These targets are provisional pending results of the 1998 Demographic Health Survey expected in April 1999.
² Definition broadened from married women to include all women of productive age.
³ Third dose of Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus vaccine.
⁴ Oral Rehydration Therapy.

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ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

PROGRAM: Ghana
TITLE AND NUMBER: Public Policy Decisions Better Reflect Civic Input, 641-S004
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCES: FY 2000 $ 900,000 DFA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1997 $1,800,000 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: 2002

Summary: Ghana successfully completed two rounds of civilian elections in 1992 and 1996. USAID contributed toward the success of the 1996 elections by supporting the Inter-Party Advisory Committees, a forum for parties to resolve pre-election conflicts and agree to principles of conduct under the auspices of the Electoral Commission. In addition, USAID trained 80,000 election officials and 150,000 party polling agents to attest the validity of the results of the voters registration and election. As a result, all eight contesting political parties and their respective election monitors declared the results of the general election to be free and fair. In 1998 Ghana held its off-year local-level elections to bring the representative institutions of District Assemblies (DAs) and Unit Committees closer to the grassroots. The resulting environment revealed that while there was now a more conducive environment for civic participation in the public policy process, there was little balance between the power of the executive and ruling party, on the one hand, and the rest of the government and society on the other. The purpose of this Strategic Objective (SO) is to redress this imbalance and focus on the enhancement of effectiveness in civil society and elected institutions at the local and national levels--not simply making each other stronger independently, but strengthening the ability of each to interact with the other and helping develop the opportunities for such interaction. The direct beneficiaries of this project will be the members of parliament and officials of local government and members of DAs who are charged with carrying out their representative function and legislating national and local policies. In addition, an estimated 260 civil society organizations (CSOs) at the national and local levels will benefit from increased advocacy and organizational skills to play a more substantive role in the formulation of public policy and in fostering an environment of accountable and transparent governance.

Key Results: Three intermediate results (IR) have been determined to be essential in order to achieve the strategic objective, Public Policy Decisions Better Reflect Civic Input. The first IR, Enhanced Effectiveness of Parliament to Represent Citizen Interests, will result in increased use of legislative skills by members of parliament, and increased opportunities for civic participation in the legislative process. The second IR, Improved Effectiveness of (Participating) Local and National CSOs to Influence Policy, will improve the ability of participating CSOs in promoting advocacy agendas, and improved internal management skills of target CSOs. The SO's third IR, Local Government Decision Making Processes are More Participatory, will increase decision making processes by participating DAs and CSOs.

Performance and Prospects: Activities supporting the SO have performed well over the past year. However, Performance indicators have been modified to improve reporting and data is currently being collected to measure results for the year. Nonetheless, sufficient data is available to demonstrate positive movement in the direction of the project. The International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) conducted three workshops for CSOs and DA officials in 20 districts respectively. In the first workshop, IFES helped the participants to gain a better understanding of the new decentralized governmental system in Ghana and their respective roles. The second workshop brought the two groups together to introduce basic techniques in collaborative analytic problem solving. The third workshop imparted skills in strategic planning and resource management. The objective of these workshops was to lay a foundation of institutionalized civic participation in local decision making. The data suggests significant progress in this area. Virtually all participants (99%) reported as having learned useful new skills from the workshops that will help them participate in local governmental decision making. IFES is planning on conducting two more workshops to complete the cycle in 1999 and expects that by 2000 50% of the CSO participants, up from 4% in 1997, and 85% of the DA officials, up from 21% in 1997, will be able to report three or more DA policies changed as a result of civic input. The project's support to improving the policy making process at the national level has gone well. The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) continued to engage members of parliament and civic leaders in training sessions and workshops. NDI realized progress in its efforts to increase the participatory inclinations of parliament and the skills of CSOs to have an impact on public policy. In 1998 66% of legislative initiatives originated by the executive branch were amended by parliament as opposed to 56% in 1997. The percentage of those that are the direct result of civic input rose from 33% in 1997 to 55% in 1998. It is expected that by 2000 75% of legislative initiatives will be amended and 70% will be the result of civic input.

Possible Adjustments to Plans: A special appeal has been made to USAID in support of the December 2000 general elections. The importance of the 2000 elections can not be overstated. The incumbent President is constitutionally mandated to step down after his current term is completed. This will put the strength of Ghana's 1992 Constitution and the willingness of all political parties to abide by the electoral rules to test. While the Electoral Commission has demonstrated considerable technical capacity in conducting nation-wide elections, some of the barriers to a more level playing field need to be addressed by donors.

Other Donor Programs: Canada, Denmark, Germany and The European Union figure prominently in the list of donors involved in democracy and governance (DG) activities. Canada's assistance to DG covers a wide gamut of projects, ranging from training for the Parliamentary Public Accounts and Finance committees, to assistance for ministerial decentralization, local government capacity building. Through the Canadian International Development Agency, roughly $2 million is being spent over a four year period to execute these projects. Danish support to decentralization in Ghana amounts to $7 million over a five year period beginning in 1998. It takes the form of strengthening the administration and management of 17 district level governments. German involvement in decentralization and civil society activities is carried out by the German Technical Corporation to the tune of $5.85 million over seven years commencing in 1995. The European Union is in the planning stages of a major four-year, $7 million District Assembly (DA) technical training program slated to begin in early 1999. This training will build on the work initiated by IFES and will cover all district officials, administration, and elected and appointed DA members in all 110 districts and will focus on development planning, budgeting, accounting and management. For its part, the Government of Ghana has pledged $2.8 million to support USAID's initiatives and $1.25 million for the Danish programs which are supporting the process of decentralization.

Principal Contractors, Grantees or Agencies: Current grantees are the International Foundation for Election Systems and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.

Selected Performance Measures:

	Baseline 1997	Target 2000
Percentage of legislative initiatives amended/proposed by MPs and the percentage of those which are the result of civic input.	56% 33%	75% 70%
Number of Local Government Decisions in project districts reached through participatory mechanisms (defined as percent of CSO leaders and DA officials. who report three or more policies changed through civic input)	4% 21%	50% 85%

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