Accra, Ghana – President John Dramani Mahama has inaugurated the newly constituted National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), charging its 37 members with the critical task of shaping Ghana’s long-term development vision beyond political cycles.
The commission comprises a blend of seasoned experts, government officials, and professionals from various sectors, all dedicated to steering Ghana’s progress into the future.
Dr. Nii Moi Thompson, a renowned economist, chairs the Commission. He is joined by key government officials including the Minister for Finance, Hon. Cassiel Ato Forson; Bank of Ghana Governor, Dr. Johnson Asiamah; and Government Statistician, Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu. The Director-General of the NDPC, Dr. Audrey Smock Amoah, also serves as a member.
The Commission features a strong ministerial presence. Hon. Agnes Naa Momo Lartey brings expertise in gender, children, and social protection; Hon. Abla Dzifa Gomashie represents the tourism, culture, and creative arts sector; and Hon. Ahmed Ibrahim focuses on local government, chieftaincy, and religious affairs. Additional ministers on the Commission include Hon. Elizabeth Ofosu Adjare, Hon. Abdul-Rashid H. Pelpuo, and Hon. Lydia Lamisi Akanvariba.
Beyond the political sphere, the Commission includes regional representatives such as Mr. Joseph Baradoe from Ahafo, Sir Charles Adjei from Ashanti, Prof. John Yaw Akparep from Bono East, Dr. Thomas Agyei from Bono, and Mr. Samuel Baabu Danso from Central Region.
Hon. Andrews Sodah represents Eastern Region, while Mr. Moses Baafi Acheampong represents Greater Accra. Other regional voices include Mr. David Yenukwa Kombat (North East), Mr. Bernard Bagyepu Jagri (Northern), Mr. Mohammed S. Awal (Oti), Dr. Sachibu Mohammed (Savannah), and Ms. Zeinabu Mohammed (Upper East).
From the Upper West, Prof. Elijah Yendaw contributes expertise in population and health. Dr. Elikplim Kwabla Apetorgbor from the Volta Region brings his background in energy law and economics. Representing Western and Western North are Ms. Charlotte Otuwa Odum and Dr. Emmanuel Carsamer, respectively.
Several experts and academics also join the Commission, enriching it with sector-specific knowledge. These include Mr. Seth Ofori-Ohene and Mr. Abdul-Nasser Alidu (finance and economics), Prof. William Baah-Boateng (labour economics), Mrs. Mona Quartey (financial economics), and Ms. Emelia Affi Agbenyo (skills, jobs, and gender).
Representatives from industry and organized labour include Mr. Kofi Nsiah-Poku of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Mr. Franklin Owusu Ansah from the Health Services Workers Union, Mr. Michael Bozumbil of the Ghana Employers Association, and Mr. Percy Anaab Bukari, President of the Ghana Institute of Planning. Dr. William Cantah of the University of Cape Coast also brings academic rigor in economics.
Supporting the Commission’s operations are key staff members from the NDPC secretariat: Ms. Angela Emefa Kpegah (Director of General Services and Secretary to the Commission), Mr. William Dokyi-Asare (Acting Head of Monitoring and Evaluation), and Dr. Sandra Kesse Amankwa (Acting Head of Development).
Additional support comes from Mr. Christopher Conduah (Senior Planning Analyst), and Public Relations Officers Ms. Doris Adjetey and Ms. Barbara Lartey.
This diverse and accomplished team has been tasked with crafting a bold, inclusive, and transformative development agenda that will shape Ghana’s socioeconomic trajectory for decades.
With backgrounds spanning governance, economics, public policy, energy, labour, law, and social sciences, the Commission is expected to draw from a wide pool of knowledge and experience in fulfilling its constitutional mandate.
President Mahama expressed strong confidence in the Commission’s ability to deliver a visionary plan that reflects the hopes and aspirations of all Ghanaians.
Read the Full remarks by Dr. Nii Moi Thompson below 
:
Mr. President, I would like to thank you for entrusting us with such an important responsibility. And on behalf of all the commissioners, I would like to pledge our commitment to fulfill to the best of our ability the duties and obligations that come with this responsibility.
I would also like to take the opportunity to shed more light on the structure and work of the commission for the benefit of the media as well as the general public. There are 37 commissioners, a reduction from 49 in the past. It may still seem large, but they work through eight subcommittees in the following areas.
The economy, with the focus on fiscal and monetary policies, and here I’d like to give a nod to the two men of the moment, Dr. Forson and Dr. John Asiamah. We will be working closely with them in drawing on their experience and knowledge. Number two is transport and logistics, which will be critical to the development of a 24-hour economy.
Number three, energy and private sector development. Number four, agriculture and natural resources. Five, employment productivity and earnings.
Six, public sector reforms and governance. Seven, social development. And eight, infrastructure and land use.
And we put land use there because of the critical role of land acquisition and land use in infrastructure development. Through the work of the committees and research done by the technical staff, the commission is expected to advise you, Mr. President, as it has been doing for successive presidents since 1994.
But the law also requires the commission to provide a wider platform for Ghanaians from all walks of life, including parliamentarians, political parties, faith-based organizations, sector ministries, district assemblies, traditional authorities, civil society organizations, think tanks, and individuals who have something to say about their country, Ghana, among others, to contribute to national development planning for the long, medium, and short terms.
It is a comprehensive framework that blends popular demands with structured research. No one is left out. Besides development planning, Mr. President, commission is also mandated to monitor and evaluate the performance of government.
This is done through what we call annual progress reports, which include a wealth of information, but sadly remain very obscure. We will change that under this commission, while also digitizing the process to give the public the chance to do what is called civic auditing. That is the public’s chance to monitor the performance of government in real or near real time.
Last, but not the least in importance, is the commission’s role as the brain trust of government on a variety of topics of relevance to Ghana’s development agenda. And here I would just like to highlight a couple of them. One of them has to do with the need for us to put a human face to development.
For too long, we’ve heard about GDP growth, GDP growth, and GDP growth, which remains very abstract to the public and even some professionals. What we’ve decided to do for the next commission is to have what I call three-dimensional or 3D approach to measuring economic performance, which means that we’ll measure growth in GDP, we’ll measure growth in employment, and we’ll measure growth in wages. These are the things that are most relevant to the public and not just mere statistics.
And running through all this will be productivity. And I’m glad here I would like to quote you, Mr. President, from something you said last year during the campaign. You said Ghana must function efficiently.
This is the most intuitive definition of the word productivity as used by economists. And this productivity, that is, sets the rich countries apart from the poor ones. The average American farmer, for example, produces over $100,000 US, $100,000 output per year, while his Ghanaian counterpart produces only about $3,000.
That’s the difference in productivity. The average American worker produces about $80 an hour. This is why they are able to pay them $10, $12 an hour, while a typical Ghanaian worker produces about $5 an hour.
To close this development gap, this must change. And the Commission stands ready to lead in that regard. And then, of course, Mr. President, there’s the issue of local economic development, which I know is very close to your heart.
I’m aware of your passion for that. Among other things, the Commission intends to revive what was known as the District Business Climate Survey. This was done with the assistance of the Germans.
They provided us with technical assistance. I intend to revive it, and I intend to go to Akto and Johnson for money to make it permanent so that once the donors leave, it wouldn’t die. But this is meant to give us a pulse of the health of local economies.
And at the same time, we also intend to work with the Bank of Ghana, the Ghana Association of Banks, and other relevant stakeholders for us to do, for the first time, a breakdown of business credit, not just by sector as it is done now, but also by regions and district assemblies, so that at any given point in time, we know how much credit, business credit, is going to each and every district.
And those that then lag behind can be brought to the attention of the government, and the government would take appropriate action. In this regard, Mr. President, I wish to commend you for your recent decision to give back district assemblies the responsibility to manage their own sanitation.
We need more of such decentralization. The practice of procuring goods and services for district assemblies from Accra does not only undermine the ability of these district assemblies to manage their own affairs, but it also constitutes the extraction and repatriation, if I may use my old Marxist language, they constitute the extraction and repatriation of wealth from district assemblies around the world to Accra. It aggravates inequality and undermines the constitutional objective of equitable development.
And so we will do everything in our power and within our mandate, Mr. President, to support you to further deepen this major step in decentralization. I thank you once again on behalf of my fellow commissioners.
Story by: Emmanuel Romeo Tetteh(#RomeoWrites
) / Ahotoronline.com | Ghana 
