Findings from the fourth phase of the Ghana-Korea Knowledge Sharing Project (KSP) have revealed weaknesses in the work of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), which is the main body mandated to monitor and evaluate public policy.
Though the NDPC is responsible for monitoring and evaluating public-policy implementation, its enabling law does not empower it enough to do its work and there is general low enforcement of existing provisions, the finding, presented by a visiting delegation of senior Korean officials, showed.
Other weaknesses in policy monitoring were revealed, including inadequate ICT infrastructure and absence of a feedback system that informs future action.
“Ghana does not have sufficient legal grounds to support monitoring and evaluation of public policy; and unlike in Korea, the existing laws are too vague and broad,” said Prof. Ji-Woong Yong, a member of the delegation.
The KSP is a Korean government initiative to teach development lessons to countries willing to follow its example. The experiment with Ghana has reached a fourth phase that is focused on how to strengthen the capacity of the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system of Ghana at all levels of national administration.
Prof. Yong said being able to effectively monitor and evaluate public-policy implementation would ensure the judicious use of public resources, enhance institutional decision-making and improve project planning and implementation in Ghana’s public sector.
The delegation has been engaging senior policymakers to dialogue on the recommendations and useful lessons that can be learnt from Korea.
Deputy Finance Minister, Fifi Kwetey, said monitoring and evaluating policy is now becoming an indispensable part of the policy-cycle in Ghana, allowing for feedback into policy-planning. He said the government welcomes the opportunity to learn and share ideas with South Korea.
On wider development lessons that can be learnt from Korea, Prof. Dong Sung Kong, another member of the delegation, said Ghana needs the fundamental ingredients of a stable polity, stable long-term planning, and a strong government-private-sector partnership.
“Ghana is better-positioned today than Korea five decades ago to join the ranks of developed economies within a generation. The country first needs a vision. It must be shared with the people; they need to visualise it and see that it is being achieved.
“Ghana also needs to rely more on human instead of natural resources, utilise the expertise of skilled emigrants and have a contingency plan that can respond to external threats such as financial crises and regional conflicts.”
He said to achieve a country-vision, Ghana has to choose an industry (or industries) which would fuel its economic growth for a long period of time; equip people with competitive skills as quickly as possible; and focus on programmes that are crucial for national development.
Enoch Cobbinah, Chief Director at the Finance ministry, said the two countries are winding up the fourth phase of the Ghana-Korea KSP, but a fifth phase has been proposed to focus on how to revitalise Ghana’s small- and medium-enterprise sector -- where Ghana is plagued by serious difficulties despite the vast inherent potential.
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