Mills: G8 leaders are sincere with $3bn pledge

President John Mills has no reason to doubt the $3 billion pledge announced by President Barrack Obama to fight poverty and improve food security on the African continent.

He told the media shortly after his return from the G8 meeting in US on Monday, the G8 leaders were sincere with the promise made.

Obama announced the $3 billion pledge on Friday, as a part of a policy to promote agriculture revolution on the African continent.

The money is expected to be shared among selected African countries, with Ghana getting a share of $600 million.

But policy makers are indifferent over the new pledge made by Obama, with some doubting if the world leaders will honour the pledge.

The critics cited a similar pledge of $22 billion made in Italy in 2009 to fight poverty in Africa, but the world leaders were yet to fully honour their own promise.

The Country Director for Oxfam, Sabastian Tia, told Joy News the money pledged was totally insignificant, given the enormity of the poverty challenge in Africa.

'This is not new. We have had previous commitments of resources coming in to contribute to making a difference in agriculture, but unfortunately, we have not been able to translate that and transform the lives of people, especially in the rural areas, who are still grappling with issues,” he said.

But, President John Mills is convinced the new pledge will, in many ways, positively affect the continent.

He said it is a number one priority for the G8 leaders, and hoped some very useful results would come out of it.

He was particularly elated with the mention of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) during the summit, with the conviction that it would be the food basket of the people living in the northern parts of the country.