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The President of the Republic of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, has called for an end to scattered and politically motivated projects, urging the adoption of long-term, nationalistic plans capable of delivering sustainable success to the country. Delivering an address at the launch of the Ghana Infrastructure Plan (GIP) on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, President Mahama said the government would ensure that its flagship initiatives, including the Big Push Agenda, align with the tenets and objectives of the GIP, developed by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC). He assured the public that the Big Push initiative would be implemented through deliberate, high-impact investments, in line with Article 35(7) of the 1992 Constitution, which mandates the continuity of development programmes across successive administrations. The President also pledged to revitalise the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) to finance commercially viable projects and strengthen institutional capacity for project preparation, monitoring and evaluation. Addressing the persistent geographical imbalance in national development, President Mahama expressed disappointment over the discontinuation of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) and the ineffectiveness of its successors. He stressed the urgent need to rebalance development, particularly in northern Ghana, where young people face limited economic opportunities despite completing secondary education. Underscoring the importance of governance, President Mahama argued that infrastructure development must be depoliticised and guided by merit, transparency, and continuity. He cautioned that weak infrastructure governance costs countries billions, while robust systems drive economic growth. The President further called on Parliament to enact enabling laws to safeguard the vision of the GIP and urged ministries, departments, and agencies to align their sectoral plans with the national infrastructure strategy. He described the GIP as a national endeavour requiring collective commitment across political divides, public institutions, civil society, and generations. “To build better, we must govern better,” he concluded, reaffirming the government’s dedication to a shared vision of progress. Deputy Minister of Finance, Thomas Ampem Nyarko (MP), described the Ghana Infrastructure Plan as a bold, long-term framework that aligns national priorities with limited resources and rising demographic pressures. He emphasised its potential to generate strong fiscal multipliers, address infrastructure deficits, and attract blended financing through public-private partnerships (PPPs). Highlighting a ₵13.9 billion allocation under the Big Push initiative, he pledged the Ministry’s commitment to co-leading implementation with the NDPC and Parliament to ensure continuity, efficiency and sustainable investment across political transitions. NDPC launches evaluation process for 2022-2025 National Development Policy Framework On his part, the Chairman of the NDPC, Dr Nii Moi Thompson, said the launch of the GIP marks an important step toward developing a holistic national plan that provides a clear blueprint for Ghana’s long-term development. “The launch of the infrastructure plan today is the first step in preparing a composite long-term plan that will include a systematic review and incorporation of not only the 40-Year Development Plan, which was prepared under the NDC government, but also Ghana Beyond Aid, Ghana@100, and the Long-Term National Development Perspective Framework, all of which were prepared under the NPP government,” Dr Thompson explained. “By the end of 2026, we expect to have a composite long-term plan to be known as Ghana Vision 2057: A Roadmap to Economic Transformation and Shared Prosperity. I know some of you may wonder why we need a long-term development plan when we have failed in recent attempts to establish one acceptable to all. “We need it because, without such a plan, we are not going anywhere. We may make some progress here and there, but it will likely fall below what we truly need, and our development challenges will accumulate until they become a crisis and a threat to social stability and national security,” he added. Citing the success story of the United States of America, Dr Thompson highlighted the importance of long-term planning and noted that many of Ghana’s challenges stem from the absence of one. “Every serious country has a long-term plan, even if we haven’t heard of it,” he said. “The United States, for example, has one of the most dynamic labour markets and lowest unemployment rates among its peers. “This didn’t happen by accident. “The US has a 100-year strategy for job creation (1950–2050), backed by an Employment Act, research by the Council of Economic Advisors (NDPC’s rough equivalent), and the designation of ‘maximum employment’ as the primary objective of monetary policy, followed by price stability and moderate long-term interest rates.” He cautioned that Ghana’s past failures in planning stemmed from the misconception that long-term plans have nothing to do with the present. “In fact, whatever we do today must reflect the future and the opportunities it offers. Only a strategic or long-term plan can help us maximise our chances of success—even in the short term,” he noted. In her welcome address, the Director-General of the NDPC, Dr Audrey Smock Amoah, emphasised that the GIP represents the infrastructure arm of Ghana’s 40-year national development plan (2018–2057), crafted through an evidence-based, participatory process grounded in constitutional mandates and nationwide consultations. She highlighted the plan’s integrated approach covering energy, transport, housing, ICT and more and its alignment with global frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. Dr Amoah called for a unified national effort across public institutions, the private sector, academia, and civil society to ensure that the GIP becomes a living framework for inclusive and sustainable transformation, underpinned by transparency, effective monitoring, and accountability. Watch as Ghanaians share bold ideas to end galamsey
