Why Ghana Urgently Needs a National “Thinking Center” for Development Projects

GHANA, THE COUNTRY HAS NO THINKING CENTER

….needs one urgently.

You hear of Gold-for-Oil, you hear 1D1F, you hear of all kinds of infrastructure and major mining projects, you hear of major projects done by our governments and then years later, you hear of scandals and losses to the state. These keep happening because all major projects are done in silos for obvious reasons of ease to fleece through procurement.

The country has no “thinking center”, one place where big projects and interventions are vetted, scored and managed. This is the unitary reason why there are so many uncompleted projects littering the country. Why build a road only to run out of funds?

Here is the problem:

Ghana’s development delivery suffers from:

• Fragmentation: Overlapping mandates across planning and sector agencies, diffusing accountability.
• Inefficient spend: >GHS 300 million in annual overheads for planning/coordination bodies with little portfolio discipline.
• Weak execution: ~40% of projects face delays or abandonment, creating sunk costs and public frustration.
• Limited transparency: Data is scattered; citizens and Parliament struggle to track progress and value-for-money (VfM).
• Global competitiveness gaps: Without a single institution responsible for pipeline quality, Ghana under-leverages private capital and misses investment windows.

THE PROPOSAL:

Establishing the National Economic Development Corporation (NEDC) to Transform Ghana’s Development Delivery:

With more than GHS 300 million spent annually across fragmented development bodies and an estimated 40% of government projects delayed or abandoned due to weak planning and oversight (per the Ministry of Finance), the status quo is costly and unsustainable.

I am proposing dissolving the NDPC and establishing a single, performance-driven institution: the National Economic Development Corporation (NEDC). NEDC would consolidate key planning and delivery functions; run a rigorous stage-gate system for Ghana’s most strategic programmes; and provide independent value-for-money, project controls, and competitiveness reporting. A dedicated Major Projects Execution (MPE) directorate will operate as the Government’s “owner’s representative” for top 50–100 capital projects, ensuring on-time, on-budget delivery.

Projected Impact:

• Annual overhead savings: GHS 100–150 million through consolidation and shared services.
• Delivery gains: Reduce delayed/abandoned projects from ~40% to ≤15% within three years via stronger planning, controls, and accountability.
• Transparency and trust: Quarterly public dashboards for project performance and spend.
• Competitiveness: Annual benchmarking report to target reforms and crowd in investment.