The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) has organised Regional consultations on the medium-term national development policy framework 2022-2025 for Municipal and District planning coordinators and heads of decentralized departments in Damongo, the Savannah regional capital.
Addressing participants, the hon. Savannah regional minister Saeed Muhazu Jibril commended the National Development Planning Commission for their resolve to get a successor document for the next foreseeable future.
Muhazu said since 2018, government has been implementing the medium-term policy framework, the “Agenda for Jobs”: Creating Prosperity and Equal Opportunity for All”, over the period 2018-2021. The framework provided the basis for national budgeting process.
Muhazu explained that Planning authorities across the country used the framework to prepare their current development plans with the same time frame of 2018-2021. It also guided the development cooperation between government and development partners at both national and sub-national level.
The framework also operationalized the vision of Economic and Social Development Policies (2017-2024).
Now that framework is nearing it’s expiration, the NDPC has commenced work on a successor document and so far, a draft policy document for 2022-2025 has been prepared.
As experts and officers at the operational level, the minister appealed to them to review thoroughly, the proposals made by the cross-sectoral planning groups at the national level.
“I would therefore entreat you all to actively participate in validating the issues, proposed policy objectives, strategies and targets of the successor framework” he added.
Muhazu Jibril stated that Savannah region, like the country as a whole, is still confronted with with socio-economic challenges. These challenges include unemployment for the youth, limited access to social services, inadequate health infrastructure and services for children and women, ineffective social protection schemes for the aged and marginalized. He urged technical officers present to brainstorm on the policy matrix developed by the NDPC to ensure that the strategies to be implemented from 2022 to 2025 will result in significantly addressing these issues.
Once the policy framework is finalized the RCC will be expected to work closely with all MMDAs to finalize their respective development plans and subsequently complete the regional integrated plan for the region.
Dr. Michael Kusi Appiah, the Chief Analyst, Development Policy with the NDC explained the implementation of the current medium-term National Development Policy Framework (MTNDPF, 2018 to 2021), also known as an “Agenda for Jobs: Creating Prosperity and Equal Opportunity for All” ends in 2021. The National Development Planning Commission has, therefore, set in motion the process of developing a successful policy framework in accordance with NDPC’s mandate, which is to keep under constant review national development plans in the light of prevailing domestic and international economic, social and political conditions and make recommendations for the revision of existing policies and programmes were necessary and formulate comprehensive national development planning strategies and ensure that their strategies which include consequential policies and programs are effectively carried out.
He added that the process of preparing MTNDPF, 2022-2025, which started in September 2020, has involved the review of performance of the implementation of the MTNDPF, 2018 to 2021; identification of key development issues to be address over the period. The process engaged technical experts from government Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Civil Society Organisations and academia, who were organised into Cross-Sectoral Planning Groups. The output from these engagements has been the preparation of zero draft MTNDPF, 2022 to 2025.
Dr. Kusi Appiah said the covid-19 pandemic has affected Ghana in various ways and has alerted us to the urgent need for emergency preparedness. Hence a whole dimension on emergency planning and preparedness, which details a Covid-19 recovery framework, has been introduced in the MTNDPF, 2022 toi 2025.
Furthermore, the recommendations from a series of National Development Forums, which have been organised by NDPC since 2018 to solicit public opinion on topical development issues, have been incorporated in the process. The draft policy framework has also been aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals AU agenda and ECOWAS protocols that Ghana has signed onto.
The NDPC seeks to further solicit the views and inputs of all relevant actors into the zero draft MTNDPF, 2022-2025.
The purpose of these regional and sub-regional consultations is thus to create awareness on the development goals, objectives and priorities for the country over the next medium term.
It is to also solicit ideas and inputs on development priorities for the next medium-term.
The meeting was attended by the seven (7) MMDAs Planning officers, Regional Coordinating Director and other Regional Directors, District Coordinating Directors, traditional authorities, women groups, persons with disabilities, youth groups among others.
