C'SSION MUST LEAD DEVT AGENT (JULY 19, 2010)

LAST Friday, President J.E.A. Mills fulfilled another constitutional mandate with the inauguration of a 38-member National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), under the chairmanship of Mr P. V. Obeng.
The NDPC is provided for in the Fourth Republican Constitution (1992) as part of the Executive. Article 86 of the Constitution prescribes the composition of the commission, while Article 87 delineates its functions.
The principal function of the NDPC is to “advise the President on development planning policy and strategy”.
The commission, at the request of the President, Parliament or on its own initiative, is also expected among other issues to:
• Study and make strategic analysis of macro-economic and structural reform options;
• Make proposals for the development of multi-year rolling plans, taking into consideration the resources, potential and comparative advantage of the different districts of Ghana;
• Make proposals for the protection of the natural and physical environment with a view to ensuring that development strategies and programmes are in conformity with sound environmental principles;
• Make proposals for ensuring the even development of the districts of Ghana by the effective utilisation of available resources.
Simply put, it sets the development agenda of the nation and its work is very crucial to the success of any government.
It was, therefore, not surprising that the President, among other things, told members of the commission that “the economic destiny of the country, to a greater extent, rests on your shoulders” and challenged them to come up with best practices and ideas which would facilitate the economic development of the country, making it one of the strongest economies on the country.
The DAILY GRAPHIC shares the vision of the President, and rightly so, because the NDPC occupies a strategic position in the government’s quest to resolve the plethora of problems which threaten its forward march.
What makes the NDPC’s work even more critical is the fact that the discovery of oil in commercial quantities in the Western Region has shot up everybody’s expectations of the need for an economic and social road map to better the living standards of the people through massive economic empowerment.
Against this background, the DAILY GRAPHIC is happy that the men and women who serve in the NDPC are people of integrity and experts of immeasurable experience in their chosen fields.
We are particularly delighted that its Chairman, Mr Obeng, is not new to the operations of the commission. Indeed, he was one of the first officers of the commission in 1995 and served in that capacity as chairman, with Professor E.A. Boateng, a former Head of the Environmental Protection Council and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, as Vice-Chairman and Dr Kwabena G. Erbynn as acting Director-General.
The DAILY GRAPHIC, therefore, expects Mr Obeng to bring his experience and expertise to bear on the work of the NDPC and present the government with a blueprint that will deal with the social and economic issues that will impact postively on the country’s development and the well-being of the people.
Happily, Mr Obeng himself recognises the critical nature of the assignment offered his team and he has made it abundantly clear that members of the commission are committed to the development of the country.
Everything is perfectly in place so let’s set the ball rolling to actualise the “Better Ghana” dreams and objectives of the government.