NDPC begins review of planning guidelines to strengthen regional and district development coordination

The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) began a comprehensive review of the Guidelines for the Operationalisation of the Regional Planning Coordinating Units (RPCUs) and District Planning Coordinating Units (DPCUs) at an inception meeting held on Thursday, July 2, 2026, at the NDPC Conference Room in Accra. This action is part of efforts to strengthen Ghana's decentralised planning system and improve coordination, accountability, and development planning at the regional and district levels.

The meeting included senior representatives from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs), Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), development partners, and planning professionals. Dr Audrey Smock Amoah, Director-General of the NDPC, stated that the review was necessary because the existing guidelines, developed in 2004, had served the country's planning system for more than two decades. She observed that the planning and governance landscape had changed considerably and stressed the need for an updated document that reflects current realities, saying, "A document that has been in use for over 20 years, you would agree with me that we must work on it." Dr Amoah explained that legislative reforms, institutional restructuring, and the expansion of the Local Government Service, along with the implementation of the Local Governance Act and Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2232, necessitate revising the guidelines.