By: Clara Mlano
The Director-General of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Dr. Audrey Smock Amoah, has emphasised the critical role of strategic planning and timely implementation in advancing Ghana’s national development objectives.
Dr. Amoah was speaking during a regional consultative engagement in the Volta Region.
She highlighted that, the Commission’s mandate extends beyond advising the President on development policy, noting that the commission’s role extends to coordinating a decentralised planning system, monitoring and evaluating policies. The commission’s role also includes ensuring balanced district development, and conducting strategic macroeconomic analysis to inform national decision-making.
Dr. Amoah indicated that the current development framework operates under the theme “Resetting Ghana’s Agenda: Creating Jobs, Ensuring Accountability and Promoting Shared Prosperity.” It is structured around five key dimensions: economic development; social development; infrastructure, environment and spatial development; governance and institutional development; and international relations. Each dimension identifies priority issues, broad objectives, and strategies aligned with Ghana’s international commitments.
Under economic development, she highlighted programmes such as the 24-Hour Economy initiative, the Accelerated Export Development Programme, the Agriculture for Transformation Agenda, and Feed Ghana. Social development initiatives include universal access interventions, early childhood development programmes such as Bright Beginnings, teacher development initiatives, pension reforms, and the Mahama Care Trust Fund, which targets non-communicable diseases not fully covered under the National Health Insurance Scheme.
On infrastructure, environment, and spatial development, Dr. Amoah referenced the Restore Ghana Initiative, the Big Push infrastructure programme, particularly in road development, and the Clean Up Ghana Initiative. She commended the Volta Region for its sanitation standards, noting, “In 2024, I had the opportunity to assess every district in the region, and my report concluded that the Volta Region is the cleanest region in the country. You are not welcomed by heaps of garbage as you enter your towns. Please maintain this standard.”
The Director-General also outlined governance and institutional development initiatives, such as the operationalisation of the election Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), expansion of judicial infrastructure, and the Community Crime Prevention Programme. She stressed that attitudinal change and patriotism were central to achieving meaningful transformation, stating, “We cannot continue to work the same way we did in the past and expect different results.” International relations initiatives include the Economic Diplomacy Blueprint, Pan-African diaspora engagement, peacekeeping and security collaboration, and Ghana’s e-Visa programme.
Dr. Amoah explained that updated guidelines for the preparation of Medium-Term Development Plans had been issued. She noted that, “By law, the Commission is mandated to review and approve these plans before certification.” She highlighted the introduction of a first-level review by Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs) using a standardised checklist to streamline the process and reduce turnaround time.
Delivering a presentation on Plan Preparation, Annual Progress Reports, and the Regional Integrated Plan (RIP), Dr. Amoah explained that, the Commission’s operations are anchored not only in Articles 86 and 87 of the 1992 Constitution, but also in Act 479, which established the Commission, and Act 480, which outlines the national development planning system. “Each of these Acts is supported by legislative instruments, and the Commission works closely with other laws, including the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921) and the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936),” she said, emphasising the legal foundation guiding the Commission’s work.
She commended the Volta Regional Coordinating Council for consistently ranking first over the past three years, adding, “When I was here, everything was on point. I hope you have maintained the momentum.”
The Director-General also presented certificates of approval to the Regional Coordinating Council and MMDAs with approved plans for the 2026–2029 planning period.
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