NDPC, NAPRM-GC Move to Formalize Partnership to Strengthen Governance and Development
The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) and the National African Peer Review Mechanism Governing Council (NAPRM-GC) are set to honor their longstanding collaboration through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at strengthening governance, improving data management and enhancing national development planning.
The proposal emerged during a courtesy call by a delegation from the NAPRM-GC, led by its Executive Secretary, Mrs. Winnifred Akoto-Sarpong, to the NDPC on Tuesday in Accra.
The meeting focused on deepening institutional cooperation and identifying new areas of collaboration to support Ghana’s governance and development agenda.
Mrs. Akoto-Sarpong explained that the visit was intended to formally introduce the Governing Council to the Commission’s new leadership while exploring ways to strengthen the relationship between the two institutions.
She noted that the NAPRM-GC and the NDPC have worked together over the years on several national initiatives, including Ghana’s Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), and that the Council has been a member of the Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee (IMCC) since its establishment.
Mrs. Akoto-Sarpong proposed that the two institutions formalize their partnership through an MOU covering a Development Data Framework, joint reviews of governance indicators, capacity building for programme officers and district development planning officers, as well as joint publications.
She suggested that the Commission’s District Development Data Platform could be leveraged to incorporate governance indicators and minimize duplication in data collection.
“Where you already have the data, we should be able to use it instead of repeating the entire process. Data providers also experience fatigue when they are repeatedly asked to provide the same information,” she stated.
Director-General of the NDPC, Dr. Audrey Smock Amoah, welcomed the proposal to formalize the partnership and reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to working closely with the NAPRM-GC in promoting good governance and sustainable national development.
Dr. Amoah explained that the Commission’s work is organized around five development dimensions, including Governance and Institutional Development and International Relations, both of which closely align with the mandate of the NAPRM-GC.
She endorsed the proposal for joint publications and encouraged the NAPRM-GC to play a more active role within the Commission’s planning framework.
“We would want to see NAPRM-GC in the framework more, give us more work to do. It also holds us responsible because we know we are supposed to do this in support of the whole development agenda,” she said.
Deborah Narkie Nartey, ISD
