Former Vice President and New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has challenged Ghana’s political leadership to adopt binding national development plans to prevent successive governments from abandoning projects initiated by their predecessors.
He argued that the absence of agreed long-term development priorities has allowed changes in political administration to disrupt important national projects, resulting in delays and setbacks.
Dr Bawumia wants political parties to reach a consensus on critical development areas and commit to implementing agreed plans regardless of which party wins power.
“In Ghana, we often do not have an agreed masterplan in many critical areas that we are all working towards, regardless of party. We must change that. I believe we can,” he said.
He specifically identified coastal erosion, flood control and public transport as sectors that require comprehensive national masterplans supported by all political parties.
According to him, such an arrangement would ensure that projects continue uninterrupted until completion, irrespective of changes in government.
“So that no matter who forms the government, the plan will be executed until it is completed,” he stressed.
The NPP flagbearer made the proposal following formal engagements in Japan with representatives of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Nippon Koei, CTI Engineering and Oriental Consultants Global.
The meetings focused on long-term development planning and strategies for addressing challenges in disaster risk reduction, coastal erosion, flood mitigation and urban transport.
Dr Bawumia believes Ghana can draw lessons from Japan’s approach to development planning, particularly its emphasis on building consensus and maintaining commitment to projects over several decades.
