The Ghana Priority Youth Forum has opened at the University of Cape Coast in the Central Region to solicit the views and expectations of the country’s development plan. The forum was on the theme: “The relevance of using data for policy and decision making”.
The youth forum is a follow up of the ‘Eminent Panel Conference’ held earlier this year.
The Ghana Priority project is a collaboration between the Copenhagen Consensus Centre (CCC) and the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC).
The Copenhagen Consensus Centre is a global think-tank focused on using data for effective policy solutions using cost benefit analysis.
The project seeks to provide government and the international donor community with systematic processes to help prioritize the most effective policy solutions and help Ghana accelerate the achievement of the national development agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Dr. Kojo Mensah Abrampah, the Executive Director of the NDPC, in an address, said the Commission cannot compel political parties to align their manifestoes with national development plan.
He however said if political parties are able to design a manifesto which aligned with the long-term perspectives of the country, there is high probability that whatever they pursue under the manifesto would be close to reality.
He added that it is up to political parties to develop strategies to be able to implement what was outlined in their manifestoes.
The manifesto is an intention and the intention must be probed by relevance, by feasibility and probed within a time frame, he said.
Dr. Abrampah expressed satisfaction about the development trend of the country, but stressed that though Ghana’s development is on course, there is the need to set the right priorities.
Dr. Ralph Nordjo, Coordinator of Ghana Priorities, CCC, explained that the Ghana Priority research project sought to explore the smallest solutions to help the country. The project covers themes ranging from poverty and health to education, infrastructure and gender equality.
Dr. Nordjo said the project was started some 18 months ago by selecting more than 400 development intervention policies that were in line with the National Development Agenda and the SDGs.
He said 80 of such policies were selected by reference to a group of eminent academic and research experts based on the country’s top priorities.
