The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) has held a Technical Working Group (TWG) meeting to review the Guidelines for the Operationalisation of Regional Planning Coordinating Units (RPCUs) and District Planning Coordinating Units (DPCUs), issued in 2004 to guide the effective functioning of the Units within Ghana’s decentralised planning system. 

The review seeks to update the Guidelines to reflect changes in the country’s legal, institutional, planning and public financial management frameworks, and strengthen coordination, planning, monitoring and accountability at the regional and district levels.

The meeting, held on Tuesday, 29th September 2026, brought together representatives of government institutions and GIZ to review the existing Guidelines, deliberate on proposed areas for revision and provide technical and institutional inputs to guide the preparation of the revised document.

Delivering welcome remarks on behalf of the Director-General, Dr. Sandra Kesse-Amankwah said NDPC had conducted an internal review of the 2004 Guidelines but required external expertise to update the document. “A lot has changed over the years. Some institutions have been established, some legislations have come up,” she said. 

She said the meeting was to take members through the Terms of Reference and begin the initial review of the Guidelines, while thanking GIZ for its continued support.

Speaking on behalf of GIZ, Ms. Leticia Erny described the meeting as a key milestone following an inception meeting held in July. She said RPCUs and DPCUs were institutional platforms linking national policy with regional coordination and district implementation, adding that the review would help clarify institutional roles and strengthen collaboration among agencies. 

She said GIZ’s support was being provided through its Participation, Accountability and Integrity for Resilient Democracy programme, commissioned by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and co-financed by the European Union and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, in partnership with Ghana’s Ministry of Finance.

The meeting is expected to contribute to the development of updated Guidelines that are practical and responsive to the current requirements of Ghana’s decentralised planning system.