Ghana needs new developmental plan to bind successive governments

Former President John Dramani Mahama has said the country needs a developmental plan that will bind successive governments.

Mr. Mahama argued that a national policy that will bind governments in the future will go a long way in shaping the country for the better.

He bemoaned the lack of efforts by successive governments to pursue policies and programmes of their predecessors, thus, leading the country to incur unnecessary debts.

John Mahama reiterated that the country doesn’t have any continuity plan, citing that a policy on job creation will curb youth unemployment.

He added that the country must agree on a consensus on a national policy where successive governments will abide by, adding that such a policy could relieve Ghanaians from their economic woes.

“One of the beings of our country is like every new government comes with a new development plan, so we don’t have continuity of plan. We must as a nation agree on what our plan is for the next 10, 15 years, and every government that comes must abide by that plan. This development plan can be twerked by successive governments, but must maintain a priority investments programme that is not altered, over an agreed period of say 10, 15, 20 or even 40 years”.

“This must be accompanied by fiscal discipline that goes with governance reforms and creates an environment for sustainable job creation. Not the NABCOs and the Youth Employment Agencies and things like that. Those are ad hoc measures, and they are temporary and not sustainable,” Mr. Mahama said.

The former President said this when he addressed the 13th Congregation of the Accra Business School (ABS) over the weekend.

According to him, a national policy on businesses could help grow the economy.

“Businesses grow when the economy is booming, and they go bankrupt when the economy declines,” the former President said.

The country has experienced some cases where projects implemented by successive governments have been abandoned, whiles new ones have been pursued.