Dr Kodjo Esseim Mensah-Abrampa, Director-General, National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), has launched the maiden mid-term evaluation of the Medium-Term National Development Policy Framework (MTNDPF) – “Agenda for Jobs, 2018-2021”.
The purpose of the mid-term evaluation was to assess the extent of progress made in the implementation of policies, programmes and projects towards the national development objectives and goals of the current MTNDPF, 2018-2021.
The mid-term evaluation was also aimed at drawing lessons to serve as inputs for the design and
implementation of the successor MTNDPF, 2022-2025.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) provided the financial and technical support for conducting the mid-term evaluation on the MTNDPF.
The NDPC, as part of its mandate, developed the MTNDPF – “Agenda for Jobs; Creating Prosperity and Equal Opportunity for all, 2018-2021” to guide Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the implementation of their Medium-Term Development Plan with the vision of “Create an optimistic, self-confident and prosperous nation, through the creative exploitation of our human and natural resources, and operating within a democratic, open and fair society in which mutual trust and economic opportunities exist”.
Over the period, there has been the implementation of policies, programmes, projects and activities aimed at achieving the vision of the Agenda for Jobs Policy Framework.
The first step of the evaluation process was the use of a rapid assessment technique to review the Annual Progress Reports (APRs) of 65 randomly selected MMDAs.
The report recommended that National Builders Corps (NABCO), the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) and other job creation opportunities and poverty eradication interventions should be redesigned to create more decent and sustainable jobs for the teeming youth.
Dr Mensah-Abrampa in his address lauded UNICEF for providing financial assistance towards carrying out the mid-term evaluation on the MTNDPF – “Agenda for Jobs, 2018-2021”.
He noted that this was the first time the Commission was carrying out a mid-term evaluation of the MTNDPF, saying it was worth doing so because it would have an impact on the preparation of the next MTNDPF – 2022-2025.
“It is interesting to note that before the book (report) was printed out, its content had already found its way into the next Medium Term Development Plan,” Dr Mensah-Abrampa said.
He said the result of the assessment of the MTNDPF revealed that although there had been some improvements recorded over the period, certain challenges persist that militate against the achievement of the targets set in the medium-term national development policy framework.
Mr Henry Quartey, the Greater Accra Regional Minister in a speech read on his behalf, said the NDPC requires MDAs, Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs) and the MMDAs to monitor, evaluate and report on the progress of implementation as stated in the National Development Planning (System) Act, 1994 (Act 480) and the National Development Planning (System) Regulations, 2016 (L.I. 2232).
“It is worth mentioning that, since 2016 MMDAs in all regions have submitted their progress reports to the Commission though many could not meet the required timelines,” he said.
“Despite this tremendous achievement, the reports have identified some setbacks over the years that include data limitations in many of the progress reports across most MMDAs.”
He noted that these challenges had affected the quality of reports produced and inadvertently affected the decisions made at national, regional and district levels based on these reports.
He said a critical part of the reporting was the core indicators and the district-specific indicators; adding that there had been limited information in the reports for the core indicators and the district-specific indicators, especially the latter.
“It is, therefore, appropriate that you as key stakeholders will provide concrete feedback to NDPC to improve upon the data provided for the preparation of the progress reports.”
Mr Fiachra McAsey, Deputy Representative, UNICEF in Ghana, commended the continuous efforts by the Government of Ghana to ensure the development and the protection of young people; citing the school feeding programme, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and the School Feeding Programme.
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