The Ghanaian Times finds timely and insightful the call by Associate Professor Michael Kwankye of the Regional Institute for Population Studies (RIPS), urging political leaders to adopt a unified approach to national development.
Prof. Kwankye actually bemoaned the cyclical and often destructive pattern of governance where successive administrations jettison policies and projects initiated by their predecessors.
Liking nation-building to the construction of a skyscraper, where it is undertaken step-by-step, the population expert urged each generation or administration to add a new level to the structure rather than pulling it down to begin afresh.
We on The Ghanaian Times believe his choice of the skyscraper analogy is apt. Development, by its nature, is incremental and requires consistency, planning and continuity. Indeed, no meaningful national transformation can occur if every government acts as if it is the first to govern the country.
Unfortunately, our political discourse has too often been reduced to partisanship and point-scoring, to the detriment of real progress.
Prof. Kwankye rightly calls for a national development framework that all political actors, irrespective of party affiliation, can buy into.
This framework must not only serve as a guide for policy continuity but also shield vital national projects from the political upheaval that accompanies electoral transitions.
Indeed, this newspaper has, over the years, repeatedly stressed the need for long-term national development planning backed by legislation.
We have in the past commended the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) for its efforts, but we are also concerned that their plans often remain on paper, overtaken by political manifestoes.
It is crucial to appreciate that the problems facing Ghana, youth unemployment, infrastructure deficits, education quality, and healthcare access, among others cannot be fixed within a single term of office.
These challenges require multi-year strategies and a collective national will as such when each administration tears down what the previous one started, valuable resources are wasted, and the nation is left in a constant state of reset.
The Ghanaian Times acknowledges that political parties have ideological differences and campaign promises to fulfil, however, there must be a core set of national priorities especially in areas such as education, energy, housing, and industrialization that remain untouched by partisanship.
These should form the “ground floor” of the nation, upon which each generation builds.
As Prof. Kwankye pointed out, even a stagnant population will not guarantee national progress unless governance becomes visionary, coordinated and collaborative.
Population growth is only a threat when development is inconsistent and policy is reactionary. What Ghana needs is leadership that is future-focused and selfless enough to continue a good policy even if it was initiated by a political opponent.
It is time for political maturity and we urge leaders on both sides of the aisle to put the country first.
Let us move beyond the politics of demolition and embrace the politics of construction. Let us build, not tear down.
We believe that a national consensus on development is not a luxury, but a necessity and the country through consensus must start having such conversation.
The skyscraper of Ghana’s progress awaits completion as such let each administration lay its floor with pride, knowing that future generations will build on it and not bulldoze it.