The National Development Planning Commission has launched a long-term national development perspective framework aimed at improving the living standards of Ghanaians and attaining an upper middle-income status by 2057.
The framework, titled, “Vision 2057” intends to address critical drivers of transformation, including achieving and sustaining macro-economic stability.
The framework also has an objective of fostering an enabling attitudinal culture for sustainable social cohesion, peace, and security.
Additionally, it intends to improve effective and efficient public service, institutional strengthening, human capital development, science, technology, innovation, land reforms, sustainable infrastructural development, and transitioning towards clean, affordable, and sustainable energy.
Nana Susubiribi Krobea Asante, Paramount Chief of Asante Asokore, launched the document on behalf of the NDPC in Accra.
He urged stakeholder groups, including political actors, to come together to work towards the successful implementation of the development framework.
“A multi party approach is imperative for the achievement of long term goals and even medium term development programmes,” he said.
He envisaged the multi party democratic system and the lack of stable institutional framework for long term development plan as threats to the implementation of Vision 2057.
This, he observed ,was as a result of the constant change of government in election cycles and substantive administrative change.
“Under our brand of multi party politics where competitive manifestos are dominant and policies and programmes initiated in one administration are abandoned by another, long term development goals may be elusive.
“Ultimately appropriate constitutional amendments might have to be made to ensure a stable development planning regime, which would not permit deviation,” he said.
The process of preparing the framework entailed a review and synthesis of development strategy documents including the draft of the long-term National Development Plan (2018 -2057), commonly referred to as 40-Year Plan, Ghana100, Ghana’s Vision 2020 and the First Step (1996) of the Vision.
It also consists of the coordinated Programme of Economic and Social Development Policies (2021-2025), the Ghana Beyond Aid Charter and Strategy document, and other relevant documents.
Professor George Gyan-Baffour, Chairman, NDPC, indicated that various stakeholder consultations were held for review and validation, including engagements with selected Civil Society organisations, professional bodies and associations.
“In addition, a National Development Summit was organised to solicit inputs. Some political parties were also consulted,” he said.
He said the Commission had come to the conclusion that rigid plans, prescribing projects, programmes, and actions would not survive under the current political dispensation.
“In that case, if the commission decides to prescribe those things, then there is always a conflict between what we have described and prescribed and what the parties in power intend to do so,” he said.
Mr Mohammed Alhassan Damba, former president of the Ghana Institute of Planning, charged the NDPC to break down and disseminate the framework for the understanding of every Ghanaian so as to get the buy-in of all citizens into the vision.
