Ghana: Political Leaders Urged to Adopt Long-Term National Economic Devt Plan

What the report says

A Presidential Staffer at Ghana’s Jubilee House, Nana Yaa Jantuah, has called on the country’s political leaders to back a long-term national economic development plan that would outlast individual governments. Speaking at the Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah Africa Leadership Conference and Awards in Accra, she argued that national development should not depend only on party manifestos and that a shared framework would help keep programmes in place across successive administrations.

According to Ghanaian Times, Jantuah said Ghana could learn from Kwame Nkrumah’s approach to development, especially his emphasis on industrialisation, economic independence and using local resources. She also urged greater effort to add value to raw materials within Ghana rather than exporting them in unprocessed form, and she linked stronger local production with deeper trade and economic ties among African countries.

The event was organised by West Africa International Press Limited in collaboration with the Nkrumah Vision Alive Movement. It also featured calls from other speakers to incorporate Nkrumah’s ideas into education and public debate. Dr Dee Otibu-Asare of the Eminent West Africa Nobles Forum said Africa needs a development path shaped by its own realities, while Professor Samuel Aniegye Ntewusu of the University of Ghana supported including Nkrumah’s thinking in the curriculum to promote unity and development. The conference also honoured several individuals for leadership and contributions to national development.