The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) will hold the 13th National Development Forum (NDF) today, October 27, 2020, on the theme: “Towards Election 2020: Political Party Manifestos and Long-Term Strategic Needs of Ghana”.
The forum will examine the policy trade-offs between short-term political gains and the long-term sustainability of Ghana’s national development agenda.
It will also look at how to balance short term public expectations often captured in political parties’ manifestos and the national development agenda expressed in medium to long term plans and strategies.
This was contained in a press release issued by NDPC.
It said the presentations and discussions at the forum would focus on how the perceived needs of Ghana by political parties can be juxtaposed with the broader national requirements for economic stability and growth.
According to the release, political parties’ manifestos play a crucial role in multi-party democracy and in Ghana they are the focus of the performance of various governments even though they may be inconsistent with the long-term sustainable development agenda of the country.
It added that Ghana has over the years relied on short-term manifestos shifting the focus from medium-to-long-term national development planning and implementation, which has had immense implications on the mobilisation and utilisation of financial as well as human resources in the management of the economy.
“The challenge is should Ghana as a country eat all the eggs today or wait for them to hatch into chicks to lay eggs and provide a sustainable supply of eggs,” the release asked.
The NDF Forum, which is held monthly, was initiated by NDPC in May 2019 to collate the opinions of stakeholders to promoting broad-based citizens’ participation and ownership of the national development agenda.
Ishmael Batoma, ISD
