Ghana's natural and human resources have uniquely positioned it on a pedestal that enables it to withstand economic crises.
This is evident in the country's long rich history of development and planning which dates back almost 100 years.
The Chief of the Development Planning Section of Macroeconomics and Governance Division of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Prof. Bartholomew Armah, made these remarks at the opening ceremony of a four-day training programme on the Integrated Planning and Reporting Toolkit (IPRT) for 27 selected officers from the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) last Tuesday in Accra.
He noted that previous development plans have yielded iconic development landmarks like the Takoradi Harbour and Korle Bu Teaching Hospital which were established from 1920 - 1930 as part of Sir Gordon Guggisberg's Ten-Year Programme during his reign as a Governor in the colonial era.
"Other notable achievements of development planning include the Akosombo Dam launched under the era of Ghana's first President Dr Kwame Nkrumah", stated.
According to Prof Armah, there are numerous pieces of evidence aside from the strides made in the past 100 years to suggest that well-executed development plans can be transformational, contribute to rapid growth and deliver tangible benefits to the majority of the population.
He said it was in that regard that the Economic Commission for Africa introduced the Integrated Planning and Reporting Toolkit in 2017.
The IPRT helps countries visualize the relationship between the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and Africa's Agenda 2063 through a mapping exercise, among other notable features.
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On the IPRT training, he indicated that its main objective is to enable Ghana's development practitioners to understand the functionalities of the IPRT and apply it in planning and alignment of the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063 with their national planning frameworks.
On his part, the United Nations Resident Coordinator, Mr Charles Abani announced that the United Nations is rolling out a digital platform, UN INFO, used by UN Country teams to boost transparency and accountability for development coordination.
"The UN in Ghana will soon launch the UN INFO and we hope it contributes tremendously to the workings of the IPTR, especially with the requisite information needed to inform the UN's contribution to Ghana's development" he added.
On sustaining the IPRT training, Mr Abani implored development planners to inculcate the knowledge derived in the development planning process in efforts to attain the SDGs.
"We should be confident that beyond this training, the national development planning process will enable our plans that are what we popularly known as SMART - Specific, Measurable; Achievable; Realistic and Time-bound that can progressively translate into significant strides towards attaining the SDGs in Ghana by the global timeline of 2030, further propelling us to the goal of Africa We Want by 2063," he emphasized.
