The two discussed ways of working together to advance the President’s development agenda through the Long-Term National Development Plan (LTNDP). A statement signed by Ms Rosemary Danquah-Sampong, the Public Relations Officer of the NDPC, and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said Prof. Gyan-Baffour was once the Director-General of the Commission during which he introduced the current four-year planning cycle to ensure continuity in national development.

The statement said Prof. Gyan-Baffour, during his tenure, also introduced the Annual Progress Reports (APRs) to monitor the performance of central government agencies as well as local governments. It said the Minister-designate, during the interaction, enquired about the Commission’s work in incorporating the Government’s Manifesto into the LTNDP, to which Dr Thompson responded that; “We reviewed all the political parties’ manifestos during the elections, but once NPP won, we developed a matrix that aligns its manifesto with the five Strategic Goals and 25 strategic growth areas of the LTNDP.”

Dr Thompson, the statement said, explained that the Strategic Goals were aimed at achieving economic, social, institutional and environmental transformation, while the growth areas were based on under-utilised capacity, job creation potential and export prospects, among others.

Dr Thompson presented a copy of the matrix and other documents to the Minister-designate, saying once the Government found the matrix satisfactory, the Commission would operationalise it through the first medium-term plan (2018-2021).

He said in the immediate-term (2017), the Commission would be combining a list of “catalytic initiatives” from the LTNDP with those in the manifesto for adoption and implementation.  He said the Commission had also begun preparing timelines for President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to fulfill Article 36 (5) of the Constitution, which requires a new President to present, “within two years”, a “Co-ordinated Programme of Economic and Social Development Policies” to Parliament.

Dr Thompson said the Commission wished to assist the President to present his programme to Parliament in his first year.   Prof. Gyan-Baffour commended the Commission for the work it had done so far saying; “I’m really impressed and I look forward to working with you”. He promised to ensure that concerns of the Commission were swiftly brought to the attention of the President and Cabinet.