Parliament to assess 40-yr dev’t plan once every decade

Parliament will be given the mandate to embark on four 10-year revisions of the impending long-term national development plan for the country.

The plan, which will cover a 40-year period, is scheduled to be launched on Tuesday, August 4 at the Accra International Conference Center.

Speaking on TV3’s Hot Issues on Saturday, August 1, Executive Director of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) Dr Nii Moi Thompson explained that the absence of monitoring and evaluation for previous national development plans contributed to failure to achieve them.

“Those are the issues we will highlight,” Dr Thompson emphasized, announcing that the Commission will collaborate with Parliament to carry out the revision exercises.

The 40-year development plan covers the period between 2018 and 2057, when Ghana will mark its centenary independence anniversary.

Dr Thompson pointed out that extensive consultation will be carried out after the launch in order to prepare the grounds for the take-off in 2018.

Ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) as well as metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) will have 2017 to prepare towards the take-off, Dr Thompson told host Kwesi Pratt Jnr.

Manifestos vrs National Development Plan

Concerns have been raised regarding the differences in plans and ideologies of various political parties and a national development plan.

Ghana’s foremost development plan, a seven-year development plan initiated by first president Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, was truncated after the overthrow of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) in 1966.

Given the influence political party manifestos – especially after a party gains incumbency – can have on the national development plan, each political party will be represented by two members on the consultative team to travel nationwide to solicit views for the long-term plan.

One of the two will ideally be head of the manifesto team of the party, Dr Thompson – a former head of CPP’s manifesto team – stated.

“They will interrogate the issues and report to headquarters.”