The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) is likely to spend in excess of GH¢10 million Ghana cedis in the nationwide consultative forum, towards drawing up a workable long term development plan for the nation.
Dr. Nii Moi Thompson, the Director General of the NDPC, disclosed this at a press briefing in Accra on Wednesday.
[contextly_sidebar id=”TXSfYCQCJcGgXN3NfWURLCHegO4S12Ex”]The projected amount is likely to go up because the commission has decided to extend the exercise to cover all the 216 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
Dr. Thompson explained that the commission had originally planned to hold various consultative meetings at the regional level only, but had to review the decision because of the massive feedback they received from their maiden meeting in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.
“We started off with 10 million.We expect that we probably have to go up because as I said if that project is based on ten regional consultations, now we have to do 216 consultations and that obviously requires an increasing cost. We also have to expand our communication strategy and content that will imply an increasing cost but the increasing cost should not be our worry. All projects often have cost that escalates for one reason or the other.
“We should focus rather on the efficiency of the process and ultimately the value of the process. No amount of money is too high to pay for putting up a prosperous and happy future so we should not be so obsessed. Of course we should make sure the money we are given is spent efficient and spent well,” he indicated.
The NDPC , according to Citi FM’s Duke Opoku , would segment the final document into 10-year medium term plan which would cover the 40-year period.
The National Development Planning Commission has been tasked to prepare a long term development plan to shape Ghana’s future and complement the existing medium development plans of the country.
Some critics including the Integrated Social Development Center (ISODEC) have insisted that the plan will be redundant because it is not sustainable.
According ISODEC, the political parties would want to run the nation with promises in their manifestos rather than the national development plan.
Click on audio to listen to Nii Moi Thompson
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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana