Ghana To Discuss Nkrumah�s Development Plan

Ghana is to delve into Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah�s - Seven Year Development Plan (1963/64 to 1969/70) on August 1, to ascertain its viability in modern national policy planning formulation. The plan was anchored to speed up the rate of growth of the national economy, to enable the country to embark upon the socialist transformation of the economy through the rapid development of the State and cooperative sectors. It also aimed at eradicating completely the colonial structure of the Ghanaian economy, to ensure that a new structure of production that takes its place was designed to enable Ghana to play her full part in Pan-Africanism, or at least a West African, economic community. The discussion on Dr Nkrumah�s Seven year Development Plan was being championed by Archi Africa in collaboration with Adventurers in the Diaspora (AiD). The development plan also embodies a long view of the path, which should have led to a self-sustaining economy of Ghana based on socialist production and distribution. �An economy balanced between industry and agriculture, providing a sufficiency of food for the people, and supporting secondary industries based on the products of our agriculture. �In other words, an economy founded securely on the basis of socialist production and distribution,� a document on the development Plan made available to the GNA indicates. In an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Wednesday, Ms Tuuli Saarela, lead facilitator for the organizers of the panel of discussant, would look at �What was Osagyefo's seven year development plan?�and �what were its priorities? � The target was modernization of agriculture, improving feeder road systems, utilities, fishing harbours and the creation of a national voluntary labor force for the development of the nation been achieved? Ma Saarela asked �has Ghana realized the goals outlined in 1964? Is there a need to revive the national planning policy and discourse? The panelists include historians, economics, mechanical engineers, development planners, urban and regional planners, architectural historians, academia and cross section of the public. She said the discussion which forms part of ArchiAfrika�s general aim of broadening discourse on Africa�s built environment to encompass the role of socio-cultural design, inspired development. Ms Saarela said the goal was to promote design strategies developed within the continent to address the challenges of the future and engage the next generation of design professionals. Document available to the Ghana News Agency indicates that a blue print to the Development plan was launched by Dr Nkrumah on March 11, 1964. Launching the document, Dr Nkrumah stated that the only real solution to the reconstruction of Ghana lay in the long run, in the adoption of a socialist and cooperative programme for industry, and the mechanization and diversification of our agriculture. �Our hopes in this regard lay in the Volta River Project, about which 1 will have more to say later on�. According to the document the aim of the development plan, was to build in Ghana, a socialist State which accepts full responsibility for promoting the well-being of the masses.