Former Ghana Ambassador to the Netherland, Dr. Tony Aidoo, has described as nonsense the 40-year development plan proposed by the erstwhile John Mahama government.

Speaking on Accra-based Starr FM, he said the plan was always bound to fail because it had no data backing it when it comes to monitoring and evaluation.

According to him, data such as births, deaths and elections are very key in planning the future of any nation.

Dr. Tony Aidoo. Source: Starrfmonline.com
In the absence of these, Dr. Aidoo said, Mahama’s 40-year development plan was nothing more than “nonsense”.

“Ghana needs a data bank and a record keeping system. We need records for not just births and deaths, elections, monitoring & evaluations. We need data for future planning. The 40 year plan under Mahama is nonsense. You cannot plan without data.

“A plan is one that is monetized and quantified. Without these two indicators, you cannot say you are planning,” he stated.

Dr. Aidoo served as head of monitoring and Evaluation under the erstwhile Mahama government.

However, the former Ambassador maintains that the plan was not well-thought through by the NDC government.

“The priority in Monitoring & Evaluation is to track government project and how it comes in sync with the government policy,” he added.

Dr. Aidoo also touched on the Free SHS programme, saying the manner in which the policy was implemented would rather widen the gap between the rich and the poor.

“I thought the Free SHS should be for the benefit of those who could not afford to send their children to school, so that the playing field gradually levels. What the current arrangement will do is to widen the gap between the rich and the poor in the country,” he said.