Rural development policy almost ready – Oppong Nkrumah

The government is wrapping up work on a Rural Development Policy for Ghana, Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah (KON), has said.

The new policy, he said, will provide a proper framework for addressing prevailing issues in Ghana’s rural development as well as how appropriate institutions effectively respond to those challenges.

The minister disclosed this at a press briefing in Accra on Wednesday, 7 November 2018.

Mr. Nkrumah said the Rural Development Policy will serve as the single reference point for all ministries, departments, and agencies whose activities and mandates impact the lives of people in rural Ghana.

He added that all metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) will have a responsibility for the implementation of the policy.

The policy, he noted, is aimed at achieving economic and social development of the rural residents through the provision of opportunities.

"The policy will provide a roadmap for systematically tackling issues such as high incidence of poverty, outmigration, inadequate employment opportunities in rural areas, low investment in infrastructure, and high incidence of illiteracy and non-functioning of sub-district structures”, he said.

Mr. Nkrumah added that the policy will also “focus on agriculture, social service provision, industrialisation, financial inclusion and skills development as drivers of change in rural areas in Ghana, and the utilisation of the potentials for rural development to tackle issues that would deliver the desired conditions for rural growth and development."

One of the first attempts at a targeted rural development programme was in the 1970s during Prime Minister Dr. K. A. Busia’s government. The aim then was to increase agricultural production, accelerate rural industrialisation, liberalise the economy and promote domestic.