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5.
Integrating Institutions and Initiatives
5.1
Issues of the current situation of strategy work
The
current situation of strategy development and implementation has been
discussed in earlier Sections 3 and 4 with respect to when they were initiated,
the main focus and aims, status of preparation and implementation, key
stakeholders, main preparation process, observations on outcomes and effectiveness,
and, linkages to Ghana Vision 2020, if any.
This
sections covers other issues of the integrating institutions and initiatives
within which the frameworks for sustainable national development were
prepared and implemented. The discussion also supplements that on the
institutional context of the frameworks.
5.1.1
Local level formal strategy and planning process: the District Development
Plans
As noted
earlier, the Vision 2020 policy framework was operationalized by a series
of 5-year medium-term plans prepared and implemented by the District Assemblies.
The
1992 Republican Constitution specified a decentralized local government
system that ensures that functions, powers, resources and responsibilities
are transferred from the central government to local government. To effect
the 1992 constitutional provisions, the Local Government Act of 1993 (Act
462), which replaced PNDC Law 207, established the district assemblies
as district planning authorities within the framework of the new decentralized
planning system which was legislated under the National Development Planning
Commission Act 1994 (Act 480) and the National Development Planning (Systems)
Act.
5.1.2
Linkage with global conventions
The
development of Vision 2020 framework for long-term development was not
linked explicitly to global conventions such as on biodiversity, climate
change, desertification, and the Law of the Sea, but these issues (except
that relating to the sea) were considered by the CSPGs in integrating
environmental concerns into the framework and medium-term plans.
5.1.3
Inter-relationships between current processes
Opportunities
exist for complementarities among the various strategic approaches and
for integration between them. This is because, due to its long-term vision,
comprehensiveness, and integrated approach, the Vision 2020 frameworks
provides an over-arching strategic framework for development administration
programming in Ghana. The Ghana Vision 2020 provides the guiding framework
for several of the current strategic processes while at the same time
incorporating many of the processes directly within its framework.
The
development of some planning initiatives started before the finalization
of the Vision 2020 framework. However, these were either a system of managing
development administration (such as decentralization) or sectoral strategies
(such as the RNRS or the medium-term agricultural development strategy
and programme). Indeed, the decentralization programme started before
the preparation of the pre-cursor to the Vision (the NDPF) was initiated.
However, in the spirit of building on existing work, Vision 2020 took
on board strategy work in existence at the time of its preparation, such
as the poverty strategy and SAPRI.
Regarding
the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS), its objectives informed the
goals and approach adopted for poverty alleviation in the Vision 2020
while the revision of the GPRS is being undertaken within the framework
of the preparation of the second medium term plan of the Vision 2020.
As a
planning approach, Ghana - Vision 2020 adopted the participatory approach
to and promoted ownership of development policies and programmes through
national consensus building on strategic development issues that cover
the whole spectrum of Ghana's development needs. This strategic approach
to identifying and proposing ways of addressing development issues through
consensus mechanisms also underlie the preparation of the CDF.
The
core development ingredient of the World Bank's Comprehensive Development
Framework (CDF) and the United Nations' Development Assistance Framework
(UNDAF) and Japan's Integrated Human Development Programme (IHDP) for
Ghana have been adequately captured under Ghana - Vision 2020. These three
initiatives fit into the strategies and methodology adopted under the
policy issues contained in Ghana - Vision 2020 document. For example,
the network of Sectoral Coordinating Groups under the CDF cover essentially
the thematic areas under the Second Step Policy Framework of the Ghana-Vision
2020.
5.1.4
Cross-sectoral linkages between government institutions
Regarding
the extent and efficacy of cross-sectoral linkages between government
departments and institutions, all key strategic frameworks envisaged strong
linkages. For example, the Vision 2020, CDF and CCA all utilized cross-sectoral
planning or coordinating groups, and, identified lead and supporting implementing
MDA for each thematic areas covered in their frameworks. Correspondingly,
there are several instances of cross-sectoral linkages among MDAs at the
level of project design and implementation. For example, under the Village
Infrastructure Project (VIP), the lead agency of the Ministry of Food
and Agriculture collaborates with the Ministries of Roads and Transport,
and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development. As another
example, all developments in mining are controlled by the Ministries of
Mines and Energy, Lands and Forestry, and the EPA. Also, there are many
inter-ministerial coordinating mechanisms, such as for the GPRS. Overall,
however, intersectoral coordination in development programme implementation
is generally weak.
5.2
Roles and responsibilities
Section
4 discussed in some detail the involvement of various institutions in
strategy development. In this section, we focus on the Vision 2020 and
the Medium-Term implementation plans.
A very
wide variety of governmental, non-governmental, private sector and civil
society groups have been involved in developing the First and Second Step
Policy Frameworks. These included the NDPC, MDAS, Ghana Real Estate Developers
Association, private think tanks, private press houses, the Private Enterprise
Foundation, National Council on Women and Development, Ghana National
Association of Farmers and Fishermen, the universities, organized labour
groups, and traditional authorities.
The
scope of participating institutions has been very broad in an attempt
to facilitate an all-inclusive involvement of key stakeholder groups.
Nonetheless, a few notable groups or institutions relevant to sustainable
development could have been included at the formulation stage of the medium-term
policy framework. These include: constitutional bodies such as the National
Council for Civic Education and CHRAJ, queenmothers (as distinct from
chiefs who tend to dominate participation by traditional leaders), religious
leaders, micro-finance operators, representatives of the association of
private schools and hospitals, and the Conference of Heads of Assisted
Secondary Schools.
The
nature of preparation approach adopted by NDPC was such that no specific
roles or responsibilities were assigned to participating institutions
to produce background papers on the basis of institutional affiliation.
Instead, all institutions contributed to the common agenda and programmes
of the CSPGs in which they participated. Thus, it is difficult to assess
the effectiveness of different institutions in relation to their roles
regarding the development of the Vision 2020 framework.
The
structure and institutional representation on CSPG were determined by
the NDPC based on factors such as: the need for adequate representation
of all major stakeholder groups, inclusion of key knowledgeable individuals,
the need for a manageable size of the CSPGs, and, the availability of
financial resources to support the activities of the groups and the entire
process. A consultant serviced each CSPG. The Terms of Reference (TORs)
developed to guide the work of the CSPGs and the consultants were adequate.
However, the TORs did not include grassroots consultations due to time
and financial constraints.
5.3
Enabling institutional conditions for strategy work
There
is no unique national steering mechanism for overseeing the preparation
of the various strategic frameworks as each adopted its own mechanism.
The NDPC has oversight responsibilities for the preparation, coordination,
implementation and monitoring of the medium-term plans and strategic plans
prepared by the District Assemblies (DAs) and the MDAs. The preparatory
mechanism utilized by the NDPC involves the CSPGs that prepare draft policy
frameworks and report to the Commission which reviews and finalizes the
medium term development policy framework and issues planning guidelines
to inform the actual preparation of development plans and strategies by
the DAs and the MDAs. Thus, the CSPG mechanism involves both preparation
and oversight responsibilities.
A similar
structured approach was adopted for steering the preparation of the Ghana
Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS). As shown in Section 3, the coordination
and oversight responsibilities for the preparation of the GPRS was ultimately
entrusted to the inter-ministerial coordinating group via the NDPC (Poverty
Reduction Unit). Regarding the CDF, a smaller group comprising representatives
of the government and the World Bank coordinated the sectoral groups while
UNICEF and the UN Resident Coordinator performed the steering role for
the Common Country Assessment (CCA).
To a
large extent, the District Assemblies follow the planning process entailed
in the Vision 2020 medium term planning process more than the MDAs. Although
this is their second experience with the planning process, the DAs appear
to have assimilated the routine of 5-year medium term planning. The DAs
understand their roles and responsibilities under the new planning system,
particularly that they are responsible for preparing and implementing
their own plans.
On its
part, the NDPC fully understands its roles and responsibilities regarding
the preparation, coordination, implementation, monitoring and evaluation
of development planning in Ghana. It has been very alive to its responsibilities
to the best of its abilities, despite the many constraints it faces. These
include: inadequate financial and human resources, low visibility in the
public eye, low support of the executive to enable NDPC enforce compliance
with responsibilities of partner institutions necessary for effective
discharge of its responsibilities, and, the generally slow progress towards
integrating the planning function in the practice of development administration
in Ghana.
Despite
efforts at enhancing the participatory nature of strategy development,
the top-down mentality persist in development programming. For example,
the District Assemblies (DAs) have not been involved in the formulation
of policy frameworks for the First and Second Step periods of the Vision
2020. The DAs were not represented in the Cross-Sectoral Planning Groups
that prepared the Frameworks, as their role was limited to receiving and
complying with Planning Guidelines from the NDPC after the preparation
of the Frameworks. Similarly, the DAs were not involved in preparing the
CDF and the CCA.
The
participation in the planning process and the effectiveness of that involvement
by the District Assemblies have been hampered by several constraints.
These include:
- low financial resource
base of the assemblies,
- inadequate skills,
manpower and methodology to fully operationalize bottom-up planning
- lack of clarity
regarding the nature and management of the intended shifts in power,
functions and resources among various levels and agencies of government
under decentralization
- uncertainty among
staff of decentralized agencies regarding their institutional allegiance
- uncoordinated donor
support activities at the local level
Overall,
the implementation process of the First Step was unable to achieve programmed
goals due to several factors, including:
(a)
low awareness of the Vision among the populace
(b)
inability of the NDPC to effectively coordinate sector planning by the
MDAs due to a low resource base and the tendency of MDAs to view their
programmes in isolation
(c)
inadequate budgetary resources for development work
(d)
poor linkages between the goals and targets of many MDAs to the First
Step targets
(e)
inability of the District Assemblies to achieve their goals and targets
One
noteworthy feature of development programme implementation in Ghana is
the high dependence on donor funding for financing the cost of implementing
the strategies. During the period 1996-1999, for example, 61 percent of
total government capital expenditure was foreign financed.
5.4
Country development framework coordination
A key
aspect of assessing the institutional context for the development of national
strategies for sustainable development is the effectiveness of coordination.
Regarding the Vision 2020, coordination between the NDPC and MDAs in the
preparation of medium-term policy framework has been fairly effective
since most MDAs participated in the development of the frameworks. However,
coordination between the NDPC and the MDAs regarding the preparation of
sector strategic plans by the latter has been less than effective as the
MDAs often prepared their plans with little input from NDPC or notification
to NDPC of their intentions and arrangements.
Regarding
the development of district plans under the Second Step of the Vision
220, resource constraints slowed the timeliness of completion of the policy
framework in time for the DAs to initiate the preparation of the second
5-year plans. Consequently, to enable the DAs meet their cyclical timeframe
and to ensure coordination of the preparation of those plans, the NDPC
completed the planning guidelines for the 2001-2005 medium-term plans
before finalizing the second step policy framework.
Coordination
between strategic initiatives, particularly between Vision 2020 and the
CDF and CCA has been at the level of ensuring consistency among the objectives
of the various initiatives. However, since the CDF and CCA are of shorter-term
duration than the Vision, it is not clear how the milestones in the two
donor-driven initiatives relate empirically to the Vision 2020 targets.
A clear
case of less than adequate coordination exists between the institutions
responsible for strategic initiatives and the Ministry of Finance and
the Ghana Investments Promotion Centre. Two points are worth noting regarding
strategic planning and public sector financing. First, although the thematic
issues of the Vision 2020 policy framework include the programming of
public finances to support the achievement of programmed goals and targets,
there is a dichotomy among the two as public finance programming develops
a life of its own that is often unrelated to programmed requirements.
Second, Ghana adopted a medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) in 1999
involving the specification of mission statements and objectives, strategic
plans and the prioritization and costing of MDAs policies and programme
outputs. However, this system is yet to be synchronized with Vision 2020.
Another
aspect of the content for strategic initiatives is the relationship between
strategic initiatives and international and cross-border issues and commitments.
The Second Step Policy framework of the Vision 2020 explicitly deals with
regional issues by including regional cooperation and integration as one
of the thematic areas aimed at: (a) implementing ECOWAS priority programmes
designed to accelerate regional integration, (b) establishing a Ghana-Nigeria
fast-track mechanism to push the regional integration agenda forward,
(c) improving national capacity to manage ECOWAS programmes more effectively.
5.5
Monitoring
One
of the most important yet difficult mechanisms in the strategy process
has been monitoring the Vision 2020 and its implementation through the
medium-term plans. The NDPC has developed monitoring formats that they
would use to collect feedback information from MDAs and the DAs. However,
the NDPC has been unable to implement this system, as it expected the
MDAs and DAs to regularly submit monitoring information. Furthermore,
most of the indicators developed to monitor the First Step framework were
implementation steps or output variables keyed to the Action Plans and
could not be used to track progress on achieving the main Vision 2020
goals and targets.
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