Ghana’s decentralization system stands as one of Africa’s most advanced on paper. Through our Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs), local governance is meant to be the engine of bottom-up development. But beneath the rhetoric of local ownership and participatory planning lies a sobering reality: the current four-year planning cycle is holding districts back.
Every four years, District Assemblies pour considerable time and resources into crafting Medium-Term Development Plans (MTDPs)—strategic documents meant to align local aspirations with national priorities. Yet, after decades of experience, one thing has become clear: our current approach is structurally flawed. In this piece, I argue for a bold shift toward a dual-track planning model—one that combines a long-term strategic vision (10–15 years) with flexible, rolling medium-term action plans. Here’s why.
1. Four Years Is Too Short for Real Change
Ask any District Planning Officer and they’ll admit: by the time a new MTDP is finalized, validated, and approved, nearly a year of the four-year window is already gone. Add procurement delays, funding gaps, and political turnover, and what’s left is a race to implement a long list of overly ambitious projects within an unreasonably short period.
This short-termism traps MMDAs in cycles of reactive planning and fragmented execution. It undermines continuity, wastes public resources, and leads to poorly implemented projects with little long-term impact.
A 10–15 year strategic vision—anchored in core development pillars like inclusive growth, climate resilience, youth employment, and spatial equity—would provide a stable, long-term compass for district development that survives beyond one election cycle or administrative reshuffle.
2. We Need Transformation, Not Just Projects
Current MTDPs often read like project shopping lists—build a classroom block here, drill a borehole there, construct a market shed over there. While these are important, they are rarely transformative. We need to stop equating development with construction.
A longer-term visioning process can encourage districts to think beyond individual projects and toward systemic change: How do we become a green economy district? How do we create 5,000 decent jobs for young people over the next decade? How do we eradicate food insecurity and protect local ecosystems? These are not four-year tasks. They require coherent, phased strategies over the long haul.
3. Rolling Medium-Term Plans Make Us Agile
The world is changing fast—economically, environmentally, and socially. COVID-19, climate shocks, inflation, and digital disruption have taught us that even the best-laid plans can become obsolete within a year. That’s why we need rolling medium-term implementation plans that are reviewed and adjusted annually or biennially.
This model enables MMDAs to adapt to emerging opportunities and risks while remaining grounded in their long-term strategic goals. It fosters a culture of learning, responsiveness, and performance accountability—traits sorely needed in Ghana’s public sector.
4. Better Alignment with National and Global Frameworks
Ghana’s development priorities are increasingly shaped by national, global and continental commitments—the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the African Union’s Agenda 2063, and climate agreements etc. These frameworks are long-term by design. To integrate them meaningfully into local planning, districts need planning horizons that match this ambition.
A dual-track system would allow MMDAs to set 15-year goals that align with national vision documents (like Ghana@100 or Vision 2057), while using flexible MTDPs to operationalize these targets through context-specific, achievable milestones.
5. Continuity Beyond Politics
One of the biggest casualties of the current system is policy continuity. New political appointees often come in with different priorities, abandoning previous plans in favour of partisan-driven projects. This undermines trust, wastes resources, and derails momentum.
But with a locally owned long-term strategic vision—validated by local residents, chiefs, farmers, CSOs, youth, and women’s groups—it becomes harder for political leaders to discard the blueprint. It strengthens the institutional memory and policy coherence needed for long-term change.
6. Better Investment Planning and Donor Engagement
Development partners increasingly want to see coherent, long-term local development visions before committing funding. A dual-track model gives MMDAs a stronger platform to mobilize donor finance, public-private partnerships, and climate adaptation funds, because it shows commitment beyond election cycles.
A Blueprint for Reform
The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) and Ministry of Local Government should champion this shift by:
Mandating the development of 15-year District Development Visions alongside every MTDP. Issuing revised planning guidelines that introduce rolling, adaptive implementation cycles. Training district planning officers in long-term scenario planning, systems thinking, and participatory visioning. Ensuring that budget ceilings, intergovernmental transfers, and performance metrics are aligned with long-term targets.
Conclusion: A New Mindset for a New Era
Development cannot be boxed into four-year increments. It is messy, iterative, and long-term. Ghana’s local governments must move from administrative planning to strategic transformation. A dual-track model is not a luxury—it is a necessity.
Let us break free from the tyranny of the short-term and equip our districts with the vision, tools, and flexibility to truly build the future they deserve. The time to act is now.
The writer is a Development Planner, Sustainability Researcher and Research Fellow of the Bureau of Integrated Rural Development (BIRD), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Ghana. His email address is: [email protected]
