Upper East Regional Minister, James Zoogah Tiigah, has said that if governments and policy makers continue to make blanket policies and expect them to be implemented across the country with strict directives from the national capital, many regions, especially the three northern regions, will continue to lag behind in development.

“We pass a blanket policy and we expect that the blanket policy be applied throughout the country. Meanwhile those of us who are passing these policies for implementation do not even know the various regions and districts of our country very well, because we are schooled and stay in Accra, in Takoradi, Cape Coast and in Kumasi. So you see that when you are passing a policy you say that Bolgatanga is in the Upper West Region,” he said.

Mr. Tiigah was speaking at a Regional Consultative Forum in Bolgatanga organised by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) as part of the process of gathering ideas and recommendations from people around the country for the preparation of a long-term development plan for Ghana. NDPC launched the process in Accra on 4 August 2015 and held the first regional consultation in Kumasi on 14TH August 2015.

According to Mr. Tiigah, the current situation where development policies are made and implemented from Accra has not worked for Ghana, because in many cases policy makers do not consider the relevance of geographic location and local culture to development. He commended NDPC for departing from the usual way of planning, which over the years has deprived some regions and districts of their fair share of development.

“Once you are going round the country, you will be receiving very laudable ideas and solutions to problems based on the cultural background and geographic location of specific people, regions and districts. If these ideas are factored into the policy-making process, these regions and districts will get the development they cherish and can easily relate to and improve upon."

He declared: "I have always said that the Upper East Region is not poor, the Northern Region is not poor, the Upper West Region is not poor; it is policies towards the north that have been bankrupt over the years."

He called for policy attention to support and empower women in the Upper East Region who are subjected to hard labour on farms and in the household and are also strong and resourceful in building and maintaining their communities.

The Director-General of NDPC, Dr. Nii Moi Thompson said that a critical factor in developing a plan to guide the country’s development for over the long term was to ensure that the plan represents the views and aspirations of people, institutions and identifiable groups throughout Ghana.

Contrary to the fears of some Ghanaians, Dr. Thompson stressed that a 40-year development plan is not only possible but also necessary for Ghana. Many countries that are developed today started with a long-term development plan which defined and guided their allocation of resources and facilities, he added.

“We all as Ghanaians, including governments that will be elected within this period, will have to commit themselves to the realisation of the initiatives and programmes of the 40-Year Development Plan. If we don’t make efforts and join the process but rather keep raising doubts about its feasibility, we will not achieve the development we desire.”

Ms. Veronica Mbah, a visually impaired member of the audience from Bongo, said disabled people still feel marginalised and there seems to be little effort being made to curb the marginalisation.

“It’s been years since the Disability Law was passed and yet people and institutions keep flouting the provisions under law and nothing happens. There are many new public buildings that are still not accessible to disabled persons. Let’s take this venue for example, if a disabled person is not assisted up, we will be cut off from this opportunity to get our voices heard.”

She urged governments throughout the 40-year period to be serious with issues affecting persons with disabilities in the country, including making all public buildings accessible to them.

Following the opening ceremony, participants met in smaller groups to share and exchange ideas on the long-term national development plan. Representatives from the following political parties took part in the consultations.

The New Patriotic Party, National Democratic Congress, the Convention People's Party, the Progressive People's Party, the People's National Convention, and the Great Consolidated Popular Party.

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