New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has called on Ghana’s political parties to agree and sign long-term national masterplans to ensure major infrastructure projects continue when administrations change.
Bawumia made the proposal after completing formal engagements in Japan, where he held discussions with officials from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and engineering consultancies Nippon Koei, CTI Engineering and Oriental Consultants Global.
The meetings focused on urban masterplanning, transport networks, flood mitigation, disaster risk reduction and coastal erosion. They followed earlier discussions with Bank of Japan officials about monetary policy and payment systems.
Bawumia said Japan’s approach to infrastructure was based on agreements lasting several decades, rather than policies tied to the term of a particular government.
“Japan takes the long view. They build consensus around a plan and then commit to executing it over 30 years,” he said.
“That is a major difference between Japan and Ghana,” he added.
The former Vice-President said the lack of cross-party infrastructure plans in Ghana meant important public works could be interrupted or abandoned after each four-year electoral cycle.
He identified coastal erosion, flood control and public transport as areas where political parties should commit themselves to shared national strategies. In his view, those projects should not be treated as the responsibility or political agenda of one administration.
“Let us have agreed masterplans in areas such as coastal erosion, flood control, and public transport and let all political parties sign up to them,” Bawumia said.
“So that no matter who forms the government, the plan will be executed until it is completed,” he added.
He said a formal agreement between the parties would make it less likely that incoming governments would shelve unfinished projects begun by their predecessors.
Bawumia also argued that such commitments would offer greater certainty to engineering firms and financing partners involved in delivering major infrastructure projects.
His proposal follows recent calls from economists for more consistent policy implementation across successive governments. Professor Godfred Bokpin has advocated at least 15 years of continuity in executing national policies.
Bawumia’s comments came as the current administration continues coastal protection works at Blekusu. They also follow his recent policy interventions on gold reserves and rules governing artificial intelligence for workers.
The NPP flagbearer’s discussions in Japan examined how longer-term planning, cross-party consensus and sustained implementation could be applied to Ghana’s infrastructure needs, particularly in sectors facing persistent challenges from flooding, coastal erosion and transport pressures.
