Former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, has rubbished Ghana’s 40-year development plan being put together by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) describing it as unrealistic.
Mrs. Rawlings argues that Ghana does not need such long-term plan adding that “it may not get to even ten [years] and you may have to change it.”
Speaking on Radio Ghana’s Behind the News programme on Tuesday, the former First Lady explained that conditions and situations might have changed hence making the plan untenable.
[contextly_sidebar id=”YiMiDtdQH9TJO7qFlxQlJ5hQZjvlI7w8″]According to Mrs. Rawlings who is also the leader of the National Democratic Party (NDP), her father was part of a team that framed the country’s seven-year development plan during Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s regime but it failed to realize its full potential.
“My father was a member of the seven year development plan; he worked very closely with Dr. [Kwame] Nkrumah and I know how much work they put into it and yet we were not able to realize the seven year development. Realistically, our economics should tell us, which country on this earth puts together a 40-year development plan when you know conditions will change, situations, paradigms, levels will change.”
She further said the plan is a sheer waste of taxpayers’ money and time.
“So you plan with a realistic view, don’t bamboozle the people that you are planning for 40-years when you know that it may not get to even ten years and you may have to change it! Come on, we are not children. 40 years is unrealistic, unacceptable, waste of our money and it’s not going to work,” she added.
Why 40-year plan
President John Mahama in August 2015 launched a process for the preparation of a long-term National Development Plan for the country which will span within a period of 40 years.
The plan which is being spearheaded by the NDPC is aimed at shaping Ghana’s future and complementing the existing medium-term development plans of the country.
Governments rule with manifestos
But some politicians and civil society organizations have criticized the plan saying it will fail because political parties rule the nation with their manifesto instead of the development plan.
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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin