Statement by PNC at the Upper West Regional Consultative Forum

1 STATEMENT BY THE PEOPLE’S NATIONAL CONVENTION (PNC) Presented by George Agulijam Date: 8th October, 2015 Venue: GNAT Hall, Wa -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------On 4 August this year, an unprecedented event happened in Ghana here. That was the launch of a 40-year development planning process for the transformation of this country. We the PNC support the concept and also support the process of putting the plan together. That involves an inclusive and participatory approach that NDPC is putting in place. This is well understood and we support that idea. Mr. Chairman, We are also in support of the NDPC approach of mobilising political parties and ensuring an enhanced team spirit among the parties. The differences between political parties in this country are small. We also are aware that people believe that the 40-year development plan has already been put in place. We are here to make it clear that the process of putting the plan in place started on 4 August and it will end somewhere in 2018 so Ghana hasn’t got a 40- year development plan yet and we need to make that very clear. Mr. Chairman, We also know that there are success stories of development planning in the world and we keep on going on and on about South Korea, Malaysia Singapore and so on. But there are many more plans that have collapsed. One of the reasons for failure is the lack of an inclusive and participatory approach, which NDPC has identified and is battling, something we are very pleased with. What we don’t know is, when finally we come out with a 40-year development plan that is acceptable by all, whether or not we will implement it to the letter. We in PNC have what we call categorical imperatives that we see as the preconditions for planning failure and development failure in the world. They include our discipline, our time management and other disciplinary and attitudinal factors. We need to strengthen our discipline, strengthen our attitude towards planning and implementation. REGIONAL CONSULTATION ON THE LONG-TERM NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN Statement by the PNC ©NDPC, 8th October 2015

2 Mr. Chairman, The most important thing is going to be after the consultations. All of us must be able to put in place our contributions and make cutting-edge and innovative contributions towards the governance of this country. Thank you very much and God bless us all.

REGIONAL CONSULTATION ON THE LONG-TERM NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN Statement by the PNC ©NDPC, 8th October 2015