The Board Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Dr Nii Moi Thompson, has called for greater public understanding of long-term national planning, arguing that misconceptions about such plans have undermined Ghana’s development efforts.
Speaking in an interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Channel One TV’s Face to Face on Tuesday, June 9, Dr Thompson said long-term planning should not be viewed as a blueprint for actions decades into the future, but rather as a framework for the short-term decisions needed to secure sustainable development.
“We need to demystify long-term planning,” he said. “A long-term plan is not what you are going to do in the long term, but what you need to do in the short term to guarantee the good life.”
According to him, misunderstandings surrounding Ghana’s 40-year National Development Plan contributed to a lack of commitment to its implementation.
He noted that some critics dismissed the plan by arguing that many people would not be alive to witness its outcomes, a narrative he believes distorted its purpose.
Dr Thompson explained that the 40-year plan was scheduled to begin in 2018 but suffered setbacks because key targets were missed and implementation was not adequately guided by the document.
“It was twisted that in 40 years, everybody will be dead. The 40-year plan was supposed to start in 2018, but we missed strategic targets, such as electricity consumption. The gaps kept opening up because no one was referring to the plan,” he stated.
He added that the objectives of long-term development plans are often broad and strategic, serving as a guide for policies and programmes over time rather than prescribing detailed actions for future generations.
Dr Thompson’s remarks come amid renewed discussions on the importance of long-term planning in addressing Ghana’s developmental challenges and ensuring policy continuity across successive governments.
