Give NDPC full authority status to drive Ghana's long-term development - Expert to gov't

Dr. Victor Abbey has called for the elevation of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) into a full authority with stronger legal backing to drive Ghana's long-term national development agenda beyond partisan political interests. According to Dr. Abbey, Ghana's development efforts continued to suffer because successive governments subordinated national planning to short-term political and electoral considerations. He said that empowering the NDPC was also critical to delivering the country's long-term goals.

The NDPC was established under Articles 86 and 87 of the 1992 Constitution and formally created through the National Development Planning Commission Act, 1994 (Act 479), and the National Development Planning (System) Act, 1994 (Act 480). The Commission is mandated to advise the President on development planning policy and strategy, prepare national development frameworks, coordinate development planning at all levels and monitor and evaluate government programmes. Dr. Abbey attributed many of Ghana's governance and development challenges to what he described as the erosion of ethical values, institutional weaknesses and excessive politicisation of national issues.

Dr. Abbey said that although Ghana had developed long-term frameworks such as Vision 2020 and Vision 2057, implementation was weak due to the lack of sustained political commitment. He stressed the need for genuine commitment from political leaders to allow state institutions to function independently, noting, "It is not just mere conversion into an authority that will determine its (NDPC) effectiveness. It is about the political will to allow institutions to work." He proposed deliberate leadership training and values-based education from the primary school level to help develop future leaders with integrity, patriotism, and strategic thinking.