Mr Yaw Osafo Marfo, the Senior Presidential Advisor, has surmised that Ghana Beyond Aid is a collective call to action for Ghanaians to chart a new trajectory in development that will create shared prosperity for all.
According to the Senior Presidential Advisor, every government comes with its programmes, but as soon it leaves office, the plans are truncated and a different one is rolled out. He thus, indicated that Ghana Beyond Aid should be viewed with a non-partisan lenses to benefit Ghanaians.
“Ghana Beyond Aid is a National Project. It is a non-partisan vision and agenda to create the Ghana we all aspire to have. Over the years, our development landscape has been littered with various plans, programmes and policies that are never fully implemented and are abandoned as soon as there is a change of government and a new one takes over.
“As we all know, a meaningful fundamental change and transformation is a long-term process that will outlast the terms of several governments.”
Yaw Osafo Marfo
Eric Yeboah, Secretary of Ghana Beyond Aid Committee stated that it is of utmost importance that Ghanaians all over the country and across the political divide are committed to the vision and the paradigm shift in attitudes and behaviour that constitute the Ghana Beyond Aid agenda.
The secretary added that once there is a popular national buy-in to the direction and the new ways of doing things, each Government of the day can draw up and implement its specific programmes and projects in pursuit of the Ghana Beyond Aid Vision.
To ensure that the Ghana Beyond Aid national project is properly implemented over a sustained period of time, Mr Yeboah suggested a strong institutional arrangements for implementation are needed.
Mr Yeboah noted that effective implementation of the vision would entail regular monitoring and publication of progress on targets, regular structured meetings by the Social Partners to review progress, and to commission needed studies to provide analytic foundations for necessary corrections, and to take decisions to revise the targets where necessary.
Mr Yeboah suggested that there should be a strong communications component to keep Ghanaians informed and engaged, including, an annual public forum to review and discuss progress on its various aspects of Ghana Beyond Aid programme.
“To this end, the Ghana Beyond Aid Council will be established to oversee and coordinate implementation. The Council will have 17 members drawn from the Social Partners who are signatories to the Ghana Beyond Aid Charter.
“The Council will be supported by a Secretariat, which will be staffed with adequately qualified and experienced personnel who will monitor the targets, conduct research and analysis of socio-economic issues as directed by the Council, and work to mobilise all stakeholders and sustain the momentum of Ghana Beyond Aid.”
Eric Yeboah
The Ghana Beyond Aid was instituted by President Akufo-Addo. According to the President, Ghana Beyond Aid is a prosperous and self-confident Ghana that is in charge of her economic destiny; a transformed Ghana that is prosperous enough to be beyond needing aid, and that engages competitively with the rest of the world through trade and investment.
Nevertheless, the question many Ghanaians keep asking is whether Ghana can truly achieve the Ghana Beyond Aid vision.
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