A political science lecturer at the Methodist University College, Dr Bonsu Osei Mensah, has said extending the presidential term in Ghana from four years to five years is immaterial to the development of the nation.

According to him, what Ghana needs at the moment is a long-term national development plan that will guide all presidents and their governments in spite of the number of years they stay in office.

He believed that without a well thought through plan, a president, in spite of the number of the years he has to spend in office, won’t be able to provide the needed development for the country.

Former President Jerry John Rawlings has said two five- year presidential terms should be prudent for Ghana.

He proposed this based on his almost two-decade personal experiences while in office as military head of state and later as a civilian president under the 1992 Constitution.

Mr Rawlings told a meeting with a delegation of Ugandan Members of Parliament on Thursday that governments that come into office will have ample time to run the country if the presidential term is extended by a year.

“[Inasmuch] as we belong to different geopolitical circumstances on the continent, I suggest that we shouldn’t be going beyond two five-year terms.

“Whatever the imperfections, whenever we feel we cannot get justice from the executive through impeachment process or justice from the judiciary, at the end of the day we hope and pray and look forward to the electoral power. And if that is also being denied us, then we have a highly bottled up situation which isn’t good for stability,” Mr Rawlings added.

But speaking on this development in an interview with Accra News’ Obeng Mensah on Monday March 5, Dr Bonsu said : “This won’t solve the problems we have in this country. What we need at the moment is a long-term national development plan that will shape the decisions of all presidents in spite of the period they stay in office.

“You can give a president five years but without a long-term plan we won’t see significant development in the country and so the discussion should rather centre on a long term national development plan.”