Ghana’s proposed 40 year National Development Plan: challenges and prospects for planning education and practice

Abstract

Ghana is not new to development plans. The Guggisberg Plan (1919-1927) was indeed one of the first in Africa. There is however a big gap between plan preparation and implementation. Currently, the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) has proposed the development of a long-term national development framework to guide future development. Given the seemingly strong support for the formulation and implementation of a 40-year development plan, this paper seeks to answer two key questions: Does Ghana need such a long-term development plan, and secondly what does it mean for planning education and practice? The paper critically examines the conceptual-theoretical issues and throws up some reflections as to whether the proposed plan represents a real need or a business-as usual approach to development planning, planning education and practice in Ghana.