Economist, Professor Godfred Bokpin, has called for a renewed commitment to long-term economic planning in Ghana, emphasizing the critical need to leverage national data to inform policy decisions that foster equitable development across all regions of the country.
According to him, Ghana has over the years prioritised short-term, politically driven development strategies that often fail to deliver lasting solutions.
Speaking during the Joy Business Economic Forum, Prof. Bokpin noted that without a strategic plan to pursue long term economic sustainability, Ghana will continue to face resilience challenges.
“Our growth pattern has been quite erratic. The economy is yet to find its level in terms of a steady growth that is anchored and is able to withstand shocks and such unpredictability shows there isn’t resilience”.
“The reason our growth has been quite volatile is because we haven’t adopted a long-term perspective to our national development. So the short term nature does not allow us to build the kind of economic fundamentals that will allow us to withstand shocks. We need to provide a long term view to our growth pattern”, he said.
He also indicated that one of the persistent challenges hindering Ghana’s economic transformation is the disjointed nature of policymaking, often influenced by election cycles rather than strategic national interest.
He argued that while economic progress has been made in pockets, regional disparities in development remain stark, with rural areas lagging behind in infrastructure, education, healthcare, and job opportunities.
“If you see the regional differences in terms of food inflation, the regions do not react the same way. We don’t use micro data to inform national policy formulation and implementation”, he mentioned.
To address this imbalance, Prof. Bokpin advocated for the systematic use of national data, ranging from population demographics and poverty indices to agricultural productivity and infrastructure needs to guide both resource allocation and developmental priorities.
He also noted that an increased focus on agriculture is necessary to bring down food inflation and build a resilient economy.
Calling for a bipartisan approach to national development, the economist urged political leaders, civil society, and private sector stakeholders to coalesce around a long-term national development framework.
Prof. Godfred Bokpin furthered that each region in Ghana holds unique economic potential from agriculture and mining to tourism, which should be harnessed through targeted investments and policies tailored to regional realities.
Prof. Bokpin’s remarks serve as a timely reminder of the importance of long-term planning and data-driven governance in achieving inclusive national prosperity.
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