New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has called on Ghana’s political parties to commit to long-term national development masterplans to ensure continuity of major projects regardless of changes in government.
He said Ghana must move away from the practice where successive administrations abandon or alter projects initiated by their predecessors, resulting in delays and disruptions to national development.
Dr Bawumia made the call after engagements in Japan with representatives of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Nippon Koei, CTI Engineering and Oriental Consultants Global.
The discussions focused on disaster risk reduction, coastal erosion, flood management, transport planning and the preparation of urban development masterplans.
Reflecting on the meetings in a Facebook post, the NPP flagbearer cited Japan’s approach to long-term development planning as a model Ghana could adopt.
He noted that Japan builds consensus around national development priorities and commits to implementing agreed plans over extended periods, sometimes spanning 30 years.
According to him, this approach minimises the possibility of incoming governments abandoning projects and policies started by previous administrations.
Dr Bawumia said Ghana must establish similar arrangements in critical sectors and secure commitments from all political parties to sustain their implementation beyond electoral cycles.
He identified coastal erosion management, flood control and public transport as areas requiring agreed national masterplans.
He stressed that political parties must be willing to support and implement such plans irrespective of which party wins political power.
The former Vice President believes adopting this approach would strengthen development planning, promote policy consistency and prevent national resources from being wasted through repeated changes in government priorities.
