Political parties urged to build consensus---on long term national development programmes (Wednesday, March 27, 2013, spread)

Political parties have been urged to put aside their political colours and contribute to efforts towards drawing a long term development policy for the country.


The Vice Chairperson of the National Development Planning Commission, Dr Edith Tette, who made the call said “Our dreams and aspirations as a country can only be achieved if we agree to leave the politics that draw us back and concentrate on long term goals for our country irrespective of our political affiliations.”

She was speaking to the Daily Graphic on the side-lines of a validation workshop for the Ghana Post-2015 Development Agenda national consultation on “The Future We Want,”

Dr Tette said a national long term vision would influence the content and direction of political parties manifesto.
She  observed that it had taken quite long for the country to have a long term vision because the country was too polarised on political lines.

“There have to be long consultations to bring all parties together to buy into a long term goal so that when one party A or B comes into power, it pursues that agenda,” she added.

The Future we want is part of on-going global consultations to ensure that all people especially the poor and vulnerable have an opportunity to contribute directly to the formulation of a development agenda for the next generation, based on one fundamental question: What Future Do You Want?

It is a United Nations-led all-inclusive bottom--‐up approach to solicit views and recommendations across a wide range of key constituencies including ordinary people from all walks of life, civil society organisations, the media, and professional groups on the future we want after 2015.

The ideas, views and recommendations from members of these constituencies were captured and would be fed into two global UN reports which would provide the basis for intergovernmental negotiations for a post --‐2015 Development Agenda among others.

In Ghana, employment, human development (health, and education) ,poverty and inequalities, Food security, decentralization, governance and support system for persons with disability was identified as key emerging issues Ghanians was improved.

For people living in farming communities, challenges including, security from herdsmen, portable water, (boreholes) subsidized farming inputs & reduction of exploitation by middle men, employment, road to access market centres, and communication networks and health facilities were high on their agenda.

While in the urban slums, environment and sanitation, peace and security, education and skills training, housing and employment were their concerns, mining community dwellers mentioned polluted water bodies, security from small scale miners, employment, the state of their road networks, the environment and education as major issues that needed to be addressed.

In the three northern regions, health care, equal participation in decision making, access to resources for income generation activities, food security, health care and education are issues that need attention.

Presenting the findings, Mr Pa Lamin Beyai, an Economic Advisor at the United Nations Development Programme, Ghana said the views expressed reflected the needs of the people.
“These are issues of everyday concern to people and reflect their priorities,” he added.

As the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) deadline fast approaches, one of the key criticisms of the process had been that right from the beginning there were no broader consultations to ascertain the real needs of the poor.

In that regard, Dr Tette said the current consultations were tailored to offers an opportunity to Ghanaians to share their experiences and viewpoints that reflected the realities of their lives and development priorities.

Earlier in her remarks as the chairperson for the occasion, she said while the country had made strides to meet   United Nations MDGs one to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger –and two to   achieve universal primary education, the general view was that people with disabilities the progress has no positive impact on people with disabilities.

The UN Secretary-General has outlined a UN-led process to determine the post-2015 development framework. Thus national and global thematic consultations on key issues pertaining to the post-2015 development agenda are being held, spearheaded by the UN Development Group. These draw on specialized expertise and a range of stakeholders, predominantly civil society, parliamentarians, judiciary, think tanks, among others.

This meeting begins the process of consultation on how governance, especially accountability, can be integrated future international development commitments-with only three years before the 2015 deadline. The event therefore offers an opportunity to contribute and engage in African viewpoints, experiences and perspectives that reflect the realities of people's lives and development priorities for the continent

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