On Saturday, October 31, Duncan Amoah, Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), warned that Ghana lacks a unified national development plan, a gap he says allows each incoming administration to set its own priorities and potentially disrupt long‑term projects.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Big Issue, Mr Amoah explained that political parties craft their manifestos based on what their committees believe Ghanaians need, rather than following an agreed national framework. "We do not have a national development agenda or plan as a country," he said. "The parties continue to deliver manifestos. They put a few people in the room, call them the manifesto committee, then they write what they think Ghanaians want."
He urged the establishment of measurable development targets that every government would be required to pursue, regardless of party. Examples include setting goals for building schools, healthcare facilities and roads within each four‑year presidential term. Such targets, he argued, could be formally adopted to keep governments focused on national priorities while allowing flexibility in other policy areas.
Mr Amoah added that a clear national plan would prevent successive administrations from abandoning development priorities and replacing them entirely with their own political agendas.
