The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) has begun a consultation process to draft the next three years’ Medium-Term National Development Policy Framework (MTNDPF, 2022-2025).

The new policy framework, when finalized, will define the country’s development priorities over four years, from 2022 to 2025. It will succeed the MTNDPF (2018-2021), themed: “An Agenda for Jobs: Creating Prosperity and Equal Opportunity for All”.

According to Dr Kodjo Essien Mensah-Abrampa, NDPC’s Director-General, the new framework will align with Africa Union Agenda. He indicated that the process of preparing the new policy framework started in September 2020. To clarify, the process involved the review of the performance of the implementation of MTNDPF, 2018-2021; identification of key development issues to be addressed over the period 2022-2025; and proposal of objectives and strategies for implementation over the period.

“The process engaged technical experts from government Ministries, Departments and Agencies Civil Society Organizations and Academia. These experts were organized into Cross-Sectoral Planning Groups.”
Dr Kodjo Essien Mensah-Abrampa, Director-General of NDPC.

Furthermore, he noted that due to the impact of COVID-19 on the country, the NDPC deems it necessary to include an emergency preparedness plan in the new policy framework.

“I am sure we all agree that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected us in various ways. The pandemic has alerted us to the urgent need for emergency preparedness.

“Hence a whole dimension of the emergency planning and preparedness, which details a COVID-19 recovery framework, has been introduced in the MTNDPF, 2022- 2025.”

The Director-General made this known whilst speaking at a two-day regional consultation workshop in Accra.

The Regional Consultation

According to the Director-General, the purpose of the regional consultations is to further solicit the views and inputs of all relevant actors into the draft MTNDPF, 2020-2025. Also, it seeks to create awareness of the development goals, objectives and priorities for the country over the next medium-term. Participants are to actively engage in validating the issues, propose policy objectives, strategies and targets of the 2022-2025 medium-term framework.

Furthermore, he said following the consultations, Government and Parliament would also be engaged in validation before the framework is finalized. Also, Dr Mensah-Abrampa said the process of developing a successor policy framework is in line with his outfit’s mandate. Thus, helping to keep under constant review national development plans in the light of prevailing domestic and international economic, social and political conditions.

He said it has been for the Commission to make recommendations for the revision of existing policies and programmes where necessary and formulate comprehensive national development planning strategies and ensure that the strategies which included consequential policies and programmes were effectively carried out.

The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr Henry Quartey, noted that the Regional Coordinating Council will work closely with all Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies to finalize their respective development plans. This only comes after the finalization of the policy framework. Subsequently, the formulation of the Greater Accra Regional Integrated Plan will also follow for the same period.