The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) on Thursday, 24 June 2026, hosted a delegation from the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) as part of the French Development Agency’s exploratory mission on public financial governance and climate governance in Ghana. The mission sought to deepen understanding of Ghana’s development priorities, institutional reforms and opportunities for future cooperation in climate governance, public financial management and sustainable development.

Highlighting the role of data and development indicators in the NPDC’s activities,  the Director-General of the NDPC, Dr. Audrey Smock Amoah, explained that the Commission places significant emphasis on the development of indicators and results frameworks to track national progress. 

She noted that the Commission is currently finalising the results framework for the country’s ongoing medium term national development policy framework to enable institutions to measure performance against established targets over the implementation period . “Development indicators are identified and agreed upon before the results framework is finalised. The results framework then serves as a comprehensive tool that consolidates all the indicators intended for tracking throughout the implementation period of a development policy or plan.

She noted that while core indicators are reported on by all institutions to provide a consolidated national picture, planning authorities are also encouraged to develop context-specific indicators that reflect their unique circumstances and priorities. 

She stated that the Commission works closely with institutions at both national and sub-national levels to ensure consistency in data collection, monitoring and reporting, while strengthening capacities for policy formulation, implementation and evaluation through continuous training and stakeholder engagement.

Turning to Ghana’s long-term development agenda, Dr. Amoah emphasised the importance of looking beyond short political cycles to address persistent national challenges. She noted that while Ghana has made several attempts to establish long-term development frameworks, including Vision 2020, the 40-Year Development Plan, Ghana Beyond Aid, Ghana at 100 and Vision 2057, implementation has often remained a challenge.
Dr. Amoah stated that the consolidated plan  is however, expected to provide a stable national development direction capable of guiding successive governments while ensuring that medium-term priorities are reviewed and implemented every four years. She further highlighted the extensive stakeholder consultations undertaken across all sixteen regions of the country, including Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives, planning officers, sector agencies, traditional authorities to ensure that the Consolidated Plan reflects the aspirations of Ghanaians.

The Director-General also highlighted the Commission’s commitment to participatory planning and accountability, noting that national reports are subjected to rigorous validation processes involving government institutions, academia, civil society organisations and the private sector. She explained that stakeholders collectively review and validate data, indicators and findings before reports are published, helping to strengthen transparency, ownership and credibility. She further disclosed that the Commission is promoting a “Good Society Campaign” aimed at strengthening civic responsibility and national values through partnerships with institutions such as the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and the Information Services Department (ISD).

Responding to a question on climate governance by the visiting delegation, Mr. Richard Tweneboah Koduah, Director of Research at NDPC, said the existing planning framework provides clear guidelines that support the integration of climate change considerations into the work of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as well as decentralized government structures. He noted that climate priorities are increasingly reflected in the national budget through the Ministry of Finance and that annual progress reports consistently demonstrate the impact of climate change on infrastructure, social services and broader development outcomes.

“Climate change is recognized as a critical factor that must be addressed to avoid long-term developmental setbacks,” Mr. Koduah stated. He explained that the Commission is collaborating with institutions such as the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to strengthen climate-risk modelling and adaptation planning while supporting national reporting systems. According to him, recent flooding incidents and changing rainfall patterns have reinforced the urgency of strengthening resilience, disaster preparedness and climate-responsive infrastructure planning across the country.

Speaking on behalf of the visiting delegation, Ms. Clementine Dardy, Country Director of AFD, welcomed the strong alignment between Ghana’s development priorities and the thematic areas supported by her organisation, including energy transition, climate governance, digital governance, natural resource management, infrastructure development, creative industries and citizen engagement. AFD remains committed to supporting Ghana through a range of financing instruments, including technical assistance, feasibility studies, grants and non-sovereign financing arrangements. While acknowledging global constraints on grant funding, she expressed optimism that ongoing discussions with NDPC would help identify suitable instruments and areas of collaboration to support Ghana’s development priorities.

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NDPC PR-UNIT