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Mr. Kwaku Agyemang Kwarteng (right), Deputy Minister of Finance, exchanging the document signed with Mr. Mohamed Beavogui, Director General of Africa Risk Capacity, after the signing ceremony. They are accompanied by members of the Board of Directors of the ARC. Image: EBOW HANSON
Ghana has signed a renewal agreement with African Risk Capacity (ARC), a specialized agency of the African Union (AU), to improve response to extreme weather events and natural disasters.
This agreement will also enable the country to purchase sovereign insurance for small-scale farmers in certain parts of the country, including the northern, eastern and western regions, and parts of the former Brong Ahafo region. .
Deputy Finance Minister Kwaku Agyeman Kwarteng signed on behalf of Ghana, while the Chair of the ARC Board of Directors, Dr. Ngozi Okonko-Iweala, signed for his holding during a ceremony in Accra.
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Context
The ARC was established in July 2012 at an AU summit following a decision by African heads of state.
It is a continental risk pool designed to help Member States build their capacity to better plan, prepare and respond to extreme weather events and natural disasters, thus ensuring the food security of their communities. populations.
Ghana joined the ARC program on January 28, 2016 by signing the Settlement Agreement, followed by the Memorandum of Understanding in June of the same year.
The Memorandum of Understanding sets out the conditions under which the Government of Ghana and the ARC would work together to deal with the consequences of extreme weather events.
Ghana signed the first work plan of the program in 2017 for a two-year period.
Among the benefits that Ghana currently derives from its badociation with the ARC, include the rapid release of funds destined for the country in the event of drought, climate change adaptation measures, the prevention of climate change. food insecurity, among others.
In all, 34 AU member states have signed the treaty on the ARC.
Why agree
Speaking to the media after the signing ceremony, Mr Kwarteng said that Ghana had signed the renewal agreement because it recognized its vulnerability to climate risks and the challenges that it posed. they posed for economic development.
"We are aware of the seasonal floods that affect our cities and agricultural activities, with adverse consequences for life and property, as well as the erosion of our coastal communities," he said.
Addressing some of Ghana's achievements since the signing of the first agreement with the ARC in 2017, he said that the country has completed customizing the drought, using Africa Risk View, an insurance mechanism that has objectively and quickly triggered a payments support system. households affected by natural disasters.
In addition, he added, Ghana was in the process of ratifying the settlement agreement in order to reap the benefits of ARC programs.
Benefits include a social safety net for vulnerable people, stopping rural-to-urban migration and reducing poverty between the north and south sectors.
Determination of the ARC
For her part, Ms. Okonko-Iweala said that during her four years of activity, the agency had paid $ 36 million to four African countries as a result of a deficit significant rainfall in 2014, 2016 and 2017.
She added that Ghana is currently testing the ARC flood model, which would allow the country to obtain flood insurance for rivers by 2020.
Okonko-Iweala therefore called on the Ghanaian government to join the CRA risk pools, which would not only allow the country to benefit from financial protection against drought for the 2019 crop year. but also to strengthen the values of Pan-Africanism and solidarity.
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