There is a renewed call to insulate the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) from political interference to make it more focused on sustaining the country’s development trajectory.
The Executive Director of the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), Dr Emmanuel Akwettey, who made the call, stressed that the continuous political interference in the affairs of the NDPC had affected the effective implementation of a long-term development plan for sustainable development.
He further said that the consistent change in leadership at the NDPC as a consequence of the cyclical change in government had proven inimical to continuity in the implementation of priority projects that could propel national development.
Dr Akwettey was speaking at the Graphic Business-Stanbic Bank Breakfast Meeting in Accra yesterday.
The call was corroborated by the Director of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) at the University of Ghana, Prof. Peter Quartey, who was the Chairman of the event.
Other panellists, namely the Director of Research and Innovation at the NDPC, Richard Tweneboah-Koduah, and the Head of Investment Banking at Stanbic Bank Ghana, Kobby Bentsi-Enchill, highlighted the importance of long-term development planning to national development, and stressed the need to adhere to it.
Meeting
The breakfast meeting, on the theme: "Beyond Political Cycles: Creating long-term development pathways for sustainable investor confidence" brought together high-profile personalities from academia, industry and policy making institutions.
It had in attendance the Managing Director of Graphic Communications Group Ltd (GCGL), Ato Afful; the Editor, Graphic, Theophilus Yartey, and several other dignitaries.
Context
The NDPC Act, 1994 (Act 479) and the National Development Planning (System) Act, 1994 (Act 480) provide the core legal framework for the establishment of the NDPC and the performance of its functions.
The commission was established under Articles 86 and 87 of the 1992 Constitution as part of the Executive arm of government, and has the responsibility to advise the President on development planning policies and strategies.
However, concerns have been raised by many development experts that the current arrangement where the Chairman of the NDPC is appointed by politicians made his or her tenure insecure.
Retrogressive regime
Dr Akwettey said the current arrangement where the top management of the NDPC was changed whenever there was a change in political administration was not a progressive practice, arguing that it did not allow for unimpeded implementation of development policy priorities.
"So, what we can do going forward is to insulate the NDPC from political interference so that it can focus on the national development agenda.
Globally, NDPC is an institution led by technocrats and devoid of political interference; that is what we must look at as a country," he stressed.
The development expert observed that even when the country had a long-term development plan, the implementation of the policy priorities and aspirations in that plan were truncated by differing partisan political orientations and aspirations.
Reliable funding
To insulate the NDPC from political interference and make it independent, he advocated adequate funding for the commission to deliver on its mandate.
"We need to have at the back of our minds that the NDPC as an institution is meant to build the nation.
So, let us give them the funding they need to succeed in that role.
And there should be a regime that ensures that no political party that wins power can come and change it," he said.
Democracy Commission
The IDEG Executive Director also advocated the creation of a Multiparty Democracy Commission and the establishment of a multi-party democracy fund to support public funding of political parties.
He said such a move would ensure that the political parties did not only align their manifestos to the long-term development plan, but also crafted their aspirations to reflect the directive principle of state policy as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution.
He stressed that if the state funded political parties, there would be a system to determine the source of campaign funds and improve accountability in governance.
Robust NDPC
While agreeing with the call to insulate the NDPC from political interference, Prof. Quartey stressed that the long-term development plans of the country must be made legally binding on all governments so that they would not be tampered with by anxious politicians.
He added that it was important for the leadership at the NDPC to be made more robust to drive the development agenda of the country.
The economist stressed that rather than appointing politically affiliated people to head the commission, skilled people with expertise should be appointed through a transparent process to steer the commission.
"Leadership at the NDPC should not be aligned with partisanship. In some countries, the Vice-Presidents head the NDPC, and so it is taken seriously.
We definitely have to take a look at how we appoint leaders to head the commission," he stressed.
Codify the plan
For his part, Mr Benchi-Enchill said given that a long-term development plan was key to sustainable development, steps must be taken to codify it into law to tie every political administration to it.
He stressed that although all political administrations might have their priorities, the provisions of the long-term development plan must be binding on whichever party won the elections.
The Stanbic Bank Director said the independence of the NDPC was crucial to the country’s development because independent institutions ensured that the right things were done to promote good governance.
Coordinated planning
Mr Tweneboah-Koduah said contrary to the assumption that the commission did not have a long-term development plan, such a plan existed but governments priorities had consistently changed.
He added that there was a long-term plan developed by the NDPC, which all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) must align their short-term plans to.
Again, he said, the reports contained in the development plans by MDAs and MMDAs highlighted challenges that were fed into the medium-term plans by the NDPC.
Mr Tweneboah-Kodua said what was worrying was that although research formed the basis of sustainable policies, the MDAs and MMDAs did not invest more in research.
