Ghana Institute of Planners advocate review of development plans  

Cape Coast-Ghana, Dec. 07, GNA – The Ghana Institute of Planners (GIP) has charged economic planners to adopt innovative planning measures taking into cognisance, global complexities to stimulate economic growth and stability.
It said economic planning was based on assumptions that needed to hold with a limited margin of error, however, under the prevailing global circumstances, such assumptions had shifted requiring urgent reviews to reflect the times.
Mr Mohammed Damba, the President of GIP disclosed this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of the 51st Annual General Conference and Meeting held in Cape Coast.
The conference which sought to take stock of events about the Institute, was on the theme: “The role of strategic infrastructure planning in rebuilding a robust economy.”
He said: “With the prevailing economic circumstances in the country, all such assumptions about our economic development trajectory seem to be shifting.
“We need to urgently review the development plans sector by sector and with the districts, focus should be on medium-term development to feed into the prevailing adjustments.”
In reviewing the economic plans, Mr Damba reiterated the need for the Ghana Infrastructure Plan (GIP 2018-2047) to be followed as innovative and maximised.
GIP, according to him, will benefit whilst eliminating needless overlaps and wastage in expenditure.
The (GIP 2018-2047) provides a coordinated and integrated approach to commiserate with high infrastructure assets that are efficient, dependable, resilient, functionally accessible, and inclusive.
Mr Damba also urged the government to promote a conducive and business-friendly environment by taking economic decisions and social policies that had a direct impact on the long-term health of the economy, while implementing the same diligently to achieve tangible results.
That, according to him, had become more imperative towards providing critical public goods and services that determined the efficiency of resource allocation in the domestic economy, as well as ensure competitiveness in a highly competitive and fast-changing global economy.
He suggested that the necessary conditions for poverty and inflationary reduction should be critically considered.
These include the establishment of a stable macroeconomic framework conducive for growth, adequate investment in social and physical infrastructure, and effective and efficient implementation of policies for equitable distribution of growth.
Also, it would improve economic and social opportunities, including continuous human resource development for the average Ghanaian.
Mr Damba expressed the readiness of GIP to collaborate with relevant stakeholders, particularly to offer advice on training, qualification, and employment of planning personnel required for a planning authority as stated in section 17 of the National Development Planning (System) Act, 1994 (Act 480).
In line with that responsibility, he said, the admissions system had been improved to involve a three-stage process of reviewing works done by candidates as well as written and oral examinations.
Moreover, GIP has instituted a mentorship programme for graduate trainees, and this year 35 graduate members have been assigned as mentors for training between one and two years.