The Board Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Ghana is urging Ghana to embrace long-term national planning that transcends political cycles, arguing that strengthening strategic thinking among professionals is essential for economic transformation.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the launch of Strategy Professionals Ghana, he said the initiative could help Ghana shift from short-term decision-making to a more resilient development mindset.
According to him, the new professional body fills a critical gap by equipping corporate leaders with the discipline and tools needed for strategic execution.
“People think lightly of how strategic thinking happens, but there’s a discipline to it,” he explained. “It requires long-term thinking, stepping through very specific stages, and bringing your organisation and people together.”
Referencing countries such as China and Singapore renowned for 30-, 50- and 100-year development agenda, he said Ghana must also learn to plan beyond four-year election cycles.
He also stressed the importance of Ghanaian-owned ideas and expertise driving national development.
“There are Ghanaian experts all over the world and we need to bring them together to solve our problems,” he said, noting that mastering the subjects behind national strategy is the key to reducing dependence on external guidance.
He added that long-term planning must be embedded in constitutional thinking and paired with stronger private-sector empowerment.
“Creating space for the private sector to grow gives it more influence on the economy so we don’t depend so much on government,” he said.
Meanwhile, President of the Institute of Leadership and Strategy, Dr. Jeff Bassey urged that strategic planning must be rooted in hard evidence rather than guesswork.
He said deliberate strategy brings rigorous industry, market and consumer analysis into policy discussions.
“Once there is deliberate strategy, you are dealing with data, industry analysis, market, and customer and consumer analysis,” he told journalists , adding that such evidence-based strategy often reshapes policy direction in its wake.
