The Director General of the National Development Planning Commission, Dr. Essiem Mensah-Abrampa, has called for measures and plans aimed at harmonizing the development activities of non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and government departments in Northern Ghana.
He said MMDAs, NGOs, and the private sector need to form stronger partnerships and collaborations that could harmonize their operations for better efficiency and implementation of development projects.
He explained that “the activities of NGOs, the public and private sectors should be harmonized. Activities go with time, and therefore if the timing is wrong, then definitely the project will be wrong. And so the projects should take into consideration the programs [being implemented] at the district assembly level”.
The Director General, who was presenting a 15-point summary of discussions at a Regional Development Forum in the Northern Part of Ghana, added that MMDAs in the country are increasingly capable of implementing their own development plans, with recent data suggesting some districts have about 70 percent ability to implement their district development plan.
He said “the other area that is important is institutions, relationships, partnerships, and the defined roles of the respective actors in public space, private sector, NGOs, traditional authorities, civil society, CBOs, and all of them. We said they should have defined roles to play in whatever we are doing at the district level. This is very important.”
The forum, which was held in Tamale, was organized by the National Development Planning Commission with the support of the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralization, and Rural Development. It was held under the theme “A Policy Thrust: Achieving Equitable and Balanced Development through Effective Project Delivery in Northern Ghana.
On his part, Minister of Local Government, Decentralization, and Rural Development, Dan Botwe, expressed the belief of the government that the Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions Social Cohesion (SOCO) project will promote social cohesion and equitable development in the northern part of the country.
The 150 million-dollar program is being rolled out in 48 MMDAs across the Upper East, Upper West, Northern, Oti, North-East, and Savanna regions.
The forum was attended by MMDCEs, civil society organizations, traditional authorities, and private sector representatives.
Prof. David Millar, Dr. Michael Ayamga, and Prof. Ramatu Mahama Al-Hassan were among the resource persons who shared development insights during deliberation sessions.
