The Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) Professor Stephen Adei has said a teacher in his school, Ghana Christian International High School earns more than the Director-General at the NDPC.

He has, therefore, called on the government to resource the NDPC to enable him to hire top brains to achieve its core mandate.

Bemoaning the lack of resources at the commission in an interview with Benjamin Akakpo on the Executive Breakfast Show (EBS) on Class91.3FM on Wednesday, 17 July 2019, Prof Adei said: “I’ve gone to the Bank of Ghana to help me have a Director-General because we don’t have a Director-General. The salary of the Director-General of NDPC, I don’t see how I’m going to get a competent person to come on for GHS5,000 because a teacher in my school, Ghana Christian, earns more than the Director-General of NDPC…the salaries are almost impossible to attract top brains…”

The NDPC was established under Articles 86 and 87 of the 1992 Constitution as part of the Executive.

The National Development Planning Commission Act, 1994, (Act 479) and the National Development Planning (System) Act, 1994, (Act 480), provide the core legal framework for the establishment of the Commission and the performance of its functions.

In accordance with the provision under Article 87 of the Constitution, the core mandate of the Commission is to “advise the President on development planning policy and strategy” and, “at the request of the President or Parliament, or on its own initiative,” do the following:

(a) Study and make strategic analyses of macro-economic and structural reform options;

(b) Make proposals for the development of multi-year rolling plans taking into consideration the resource potential and comparative advantage of the different districts of Ghana;

(c) Make proposals for the protection of the natural and physical environment;

(d) Make proposals for ensuring the even development of the districts of Ghana by the effective utilisation of available resources; and

(e) Monitor, evaluate and coordinate development policies, programmes and projects.

The Commission, according to the Constitution, “shall also perform such other functions relating to development planning as the President may direct”.