The Minister of Local Government, Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim, has highlighted Germany’s significant and sustained contribution to Ghana’s decentralisation agenda, announcing that 75 vulnerable districts will receive €10 million in targeted support over the next two years.
He said the assistance of €6 million in 2025 and €4 million in 2026 forms part of Germany’s long-standing commitment to strengthening local governance systems, improving service delivery at the district level, and supporting communities most in need.
“In fact, they are supporting about 75 vulnerable districts that are very poor with €10 million,” he said, commending Germany for consistently directing substantial resources toward decentralisation reforms and district development.
Mr. Ibrahim made the remarks as Ghana and Germany opened negotiations on a new cooperation framework, marking 50 years of diplomatic partnership and the 75th anniversary of financial and technical cooperation between the two countries.
Beyond decentralisation, the biennial negotiation process is expected to shape fresh German commitments in key sectors including trade, energy and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
The talks come as Ghana seeks to consolidate recent economic stabilisation gains and attract investment-driven support.
Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr. Thomas Nyarko Ampem, said the government is directing German support toward priority areas aligned with private-sector-led growth.
“We are aligning this support to the budget and trying to focus on private-sector initiatives,” he said, referencing plans in the national budget to establish three garment factories.
Minister of Education, Mr. Haruna Iddrisu, emphasised that President John Mahama considers the relationship with Germany a “strategic partnership” rather than a traditional cooperation arrangement.
He called for continued support for TVET and enhanced security collaboration, citing threats from terrorism and instability in the Sahel region.
Madam Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, Minister of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, said she expects the discussions to yield strong provisions for agribusiness, agro-processing and garment production.
She underscored the need for large-scale commercial contract farming to feed factories, noting that Ghana still imports essential raw materials such as tomatoes and onions for processing.
German Ambassador to Ghana, Mr. Frederik Landshöft, said Ghana and Germany share “deep value systems” and a mutual commitment to a rules-based global order.
He noted that while Ghana has a youthful workforce seeking opportunities, Germany faces labour shortages making collaboration beneficial to both economies.
Mr. Christoph Rauh, Head of Directorate Africa at Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), said Germany’s cooperation approach aims to create “win-win” outcomes through investment and structured pathways for regular migration to meet labour market needs.
