Statement by the Central Regional MPs Caucus
1 STATEMENT BY THE CENTRAL REGIONAL MPs CAUCUS Delivered by Hon. Benjamin Kofi Ayeh, MP for Upper Denkyira West Constituency
Date: 16 November 2015 Venue: Pempamsie Hotel, Cape Coast Mr. Chairman, Honourable Regional Minister, Our Member of Council of State present, Honourable Ama Benyiwa Doe, Honourable Members of Parliament present, Honourable Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives, Nananom, Fellow participants, Indeed, today is historic as we assemble here to discuss a long-term national development plan that can stand the test of time. Mr. Chairman, Whatever we are experiencing in Ghana today is what we planned or did not plan 40 years ago as a nation. The population in the next 40 years will be more than double, and if we refuse to plan now, to take care of Ghanaians as yet unborn, we will be revisited by the socio-economic woes we now experience as a country. The future that we want to see is a country where political tensions will be no more because the nation will have an agenda to be followed and not the political parties’ parochial manifestos. We want to see a Ghana where one ethnic group or some ethnic groups will not see themselves as superior to others. We want to see a Ghana where our rural areas will be opened up to boost agriculture to feed the teeming Ghanaian population. Let us together build a country that we can be proud of, to bequeath to our children and our children’s children. It is a fact that the absence of a reliable, practical and relevant long-term development plan has been the cause of our see-saw or zig-zag path to development since independence. A nation without a plan and direction will perhaps spend more time in the wilderness than the 40 years the people of Israel spent in getting to their destination. At least they knew where they were heading.
REGIONAL CONSULTATION ON THE LONG-TERM NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN Statement by the Central Regional MPs Caucus ©NDPC, 16th November 2015
2 This process we believe will allow us to firm up the issues regarding our destination as a nation and how we are going to get there, using what God has given us (and not what others may dash us). At 58 years, we are certainly late in crafting our long-term development plan. It is our hope, as representatives of the people, that our years in the development wilderness will not be a setback but serve to enrich our input towards a credible and sustainable national plan. It is our collective belief that the preservation and controlled use of our land resources will form one of the foundations of this plan. Land and its resources are finite and more national control of this basic asset is key to sustainable development. The current haphazard land use will retard our progress. One wonders where future roads, railways, power infrastructure, etc. will be located if we don’t control land assets. On behalf of the Eastern Regional Caucus of Members of Parliament, I wish to state our appreciation of this invitation and that we fully commit ourselves on behalf of our constituents to this process. Thank you.
REGIONAL CONSULTATION ON THE LONG-TERM NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN Statement by the Central Regional MPs Caucus ©NDPC, 16th November 2015
Date: 16 November 2015 Venue: Pempamsie Hotel, Cape Coast Mr. Chairman, Honourable Regional Minister, Our Member of Council of State present, Honourable Ama Benyiwa Doe, Honourable Members of Parliament present, Honourable Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives, Nananom, Fellow participants, Indeed, today is historic as we assemble here to discuss a long-term national development plan that can stand the test of time. Mr. Chairman, Whatever we are experiencing in Ghana today is what we planned or did not plan 40 years ago as a nation. The population in the next 40 years will be more than double, and if we refuse to plan now, to take care of Ghanaians as yet unborn, we will be revisited by the socio-economic woes we now experience as a country. The future that we want to see is a country where political tensions will be no more because the nation will have an agenda to be followed and not the political parties’ parochial manifestos. We want to see a Ghana where one ethnic group or some ethnic groups will not see themselves as superior to others. We want to see a Ghana where our rural areas will be opened up to boost agriculture to feed the teeming Ghanaian population. Let us together build a country that we can be proud of, to bequeath to our children and our children’s children. It is a fact that the absence of a reliable, practical and relevant long-term development plan has been the cause of our see-saw or zig-zag path to development since independence. A nation without a plan and direction will perhaps spend more time in the wilderness than the 40 years the people of Israel spent in getting to their destination. At least they knew where they were heading.
REGIONAL CONSULTATION ON THE LONG-TERM NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN Statement by the Central Regional MPs Caucus ©NDPC, 16th November 2015
2 This process we believe will allow us to firm up the issues regarding our destination as a nation and how we are going to get there, using what God has given us (and not what others may dash us). At 58 years, we are certainly late in crafting our long-term development plan. It is our hope, as representatives of the people, that our years in the development wilderness will not be a setback but serve to enrich our input towards a credible and sustainable national plan. It is our collective belief that the preservation and controlled use of our land resources will form one of the foundations of this plan. Land and its resources are finite and more national control of this basic asset is key to sustainable development. The current haphazard land use will retard our progress. One wonders where future roads, railways, power infrastructure, etc. will be located if we don’t control land assets. On behalf of the Eastern Regional Caucus of Members of Parliament, I wish to state our appreciation of this invitation and that we fully commit ourselves on behalf of our constituents to this process. Thank you.
REGIONAL CONSULTATION ON THE LONG-TERM NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN Statement by the Central Regional MPs Caucus ©NDPC, 16th November 2015
