Regional consultation on the Longterm National Development Plan
1
Message from Professor Kwesi Botchwey (Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission) Delivered during the occasion of the Ashanti Regional Consultative forum Date: 13th August 2015 Venue: Crystal Rose Hotel, Kumasi -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------We have just launched the process for the development of a long-term plan for our dear country. And we are about to launch the more important phase of this process, namely the regional consultations. The importance of the long term in a country’s development is often under-estimated. And yet the history of post-war development, especially in the developing world, shows very clearly that those developing countries that did a better job of planning the development process have done better in achieving high-income growth with employment generation than those who didn’t. I am talking about countries like Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore. Economists have often pointed out that when we attained independence as a country in 1957, our level of development was very similar to those of the countries I have just named. And yet Ghana has lagged behind while these other countries have attained neardeveloped country stages. There are many reasons for this disparity in the levels of development today. But if you study the history of these experiences carefully, there can be no doubt at all that one of the reasons these countries have done so well while we have not done quite so well is the fact that they planned their development. They were guided by their long-term plans which they executed with a fair degree of continuity. And so we are seeking to build on our own experience in planning because Ghana too has had a very long experience of planning starting with Governor Guggisberg’s plan in the early 1920s. The problem with us is that we haven’t sustainably executed these plans and a very important part of what we must do to ensure that the plans are sustained is to make sure that civil society as a whole buys into these plans and the way we do it is precisely what we are starting today with the Ashanti Region and following on with consultations in the other regions. I encourage every one of you who has made it to this launch to take this extremely seriously. I encourage especially our youth, who have a much larger stake in this enterprise, to participate vigorously. I know that there is a fair bit of cynicism; there are REGIONAL CONSULTATION ON THE LONG-TERM NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN Message from Prof. Kwesi Botchwey ©NDPC, 2015
2 some who believe that we already have a plan and therefore don’t need a new one. There are those also who believe that development doesn’t really need any planning at all, and others still who believe that we have different political parties and therefore it is nobody’s business to develop a plan that would constrain the things that they say they will do in their manifestos. But the NDPC has a constitutional mandate to develop a long-term plan and that is what we are seeking to do. That mandate derives from the Constitution and it is amplified in various pieces of legislation. At the end of it all, we very much hope that the legitimizing effect of these consultations with the society, including especially what we do in the regions, will enable Ghanaians to give us a clear picture, an idea of what they want Ghana to look like when it attains the age of 100 in the year 2057. So thank you all for coming. I look forward to a successful launch of the process in your region.
REGIONAL CONSULTATION ON THE LONG-TERM NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN Message from Prof. Kwesi Botchwey ©NDPC, 2015
Message from Professor Kwesi Botchwey (Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission) Delivered during the occasion of the Ashanti Regional Consultative forum Date: 13th August 2015 Venue: Crystal Rose Hotel, Kumasi -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------We have just launched the process for the development of a long-term plan for our dear country. And we are about to launch the more important phase of this process, namely the regional consultations. The importance of the long term in a country’s development is often under-estimated. And yet the history of post-war development, especially in the developing world, shows very clearly that those developing countries that did a better job of planning the development process have done better in achieving high-income growth with employment generation than those who didn’t. I am talking about countries like Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore. Economists have often pointed out that when we attained independence as a country in 1957, our level of development was very similar to those of the countries I have just named. And yet Ghana has lagged behind while these other countries have attained neardeveloped country stages. There are many reasons for this disparity in the levels of development today. But if you study the history of these experiences carefully, there can be no doubt at all that one of the reasons these countries have done so well while we have not done quite so well is the fact that they planned their development. They were guided by their long-term plans which they executed with a fair degree of continuity. And so we are seeking to build on our own experience in planning because Ghana too has had a very long experience of planning starting with Governor Guggisberg’s plan in the early 1920s. The problem with us is that we haven’t sustainably executed these plans and a very important part of what we must do to ensure that the plans are sustained is to make sure that civil society as a whole buys into these plans and the way we do it is precisely what we are starting today with the Ashanti Region and following on with consultations in the other regions. I encourage every one of you who has made it to this launch to take this extremely seriously. I encourage especially our youth, who have a much larger stake in this enterprise, to participate vigorously. I know that there is a fair bit of cynicism; there are REGIONAL CONSULTATION ON THE LONG-TERM NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN Message from Prof. Kwesi Botchwey ©NDPC, 2015
2 some who believe that we already have a plan and therefore don’t need a new one. There are those also who believe that development doesn’t really need any planning at all, and others still who believe that we have different political parties and therefore it is nobody’s business to develop a plan that would constrain the things that they say they will do in their manifestos. But the NDPC has a constitutional mandate to develop a long-term plan and that is what we are seeking to do. That mandate derives from the Constitution and it is amplified in various pieces of legislation. At the end of it all, we very much hope that the legitimizing effect of these consultations with the society, including especially what we do in the regions, will enable Ghanaians to give us a clear picture, an idea of what they want Ghana to look like when it attains the age of 100 in the year 2057. So thank you all for coming. I look forward to a successful launch of the process in your region.
REGIONAL CONSULTATION ON THE LONG-TERM NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN Message from Prof. Kwesi Botchwey ©NDPC, 2015
