The Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Nii Moi Thompson, has warned that Ghana risks long-term economic decline if poverty in the northern regions is not urgently addressed, backing calls to rethink the Savannah development model.

Ghana’s northern and savannah zones continue to face persistent challenges, including high poverty levels, weak infrastructure and low agricultural productivity, despite years of policy interventions.

To address these disparities, the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority was established in 2010 under an Act of Parliament to drive coordinated development in the region. While the Authority recorded some successes, including feeder roads, irrigation projects and agro-processing initiatives, concerns over procurement and governance limited its overall impact.

Members of Parliament from the northern areas have consistently raised concerns about the lack of proper roads, potable  water and connectivity, underscoring the slow pace of development in the region.

Seven of the 8 poorest regions (measured by multidimensional poverty) are in the Savannah (old SADA) zone.

In 2019, government replaced SADA with the Northern Development Authority, expanding its mandate to cover broader development across the northern belt. However, recent calls have emerged for a return to SADA’s original model.

Dr Thompson argued that the Authority’s main weakness was its direct involvement in procurement, insisting that such responsibilities should be handled at the district level.

“Giving SADA the mandate to do procurement was what set SADA up for failure. NDA has not done any better either. I believe coordination, advocacy and monitoring should be the mandate and not procuring and confirming. Let that be the mandate of the district assemblies,” he said in an interview with Citi News.

He further cautioned that without urgent intervention to address hardship in the eight poorest regions within the savannah zone, Ghana could face serious economic setbacks in the future.

“We will stumble into 2057 as poor as we are today if we do not work at it,” he warned.

Dr Thompson also stressed the need for sustained policy direction, indicating that engagement with  political parties would be crucial to ensuring continuity in national development strategies regardless of changes in government.

“These are issues we need to address. This time around we are going to work with the political parties closely through a five point capacity development programme,” he added.