The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) on Monday, 18th August 2025 held a working meeting at the NDPC main conference room aimed at reviewing past engagement and identifying areas for future collaboration.
The Director General of NDPC, Dr. Audrey Smock Amoah, highlighted that NDPC compiles annual progress reports by consolidating reports from all districts, regions, ministries, departments and agencies. These reports cover all major sectors of the economy and track indicators across economic, social, environment and institutional dimensions.
She acknowledged that while progress has been made, data challenges still remain especially at the district level, where all 23 core indicators must be reported.
Dr. Smock Amoah also noted that the macroeconomic model supported by UNECA had been useful, especially compared to a previous model that had limitations. The Commission has begun introducing new variables into the model, including social and CO₂ indicators, with financial and technical support from development partners such as GIZ.
She indicated that there is a strong interest in expanding the model further to incorporate climate and environmental variables.
Dr. Michael Kusi Appiah of the Research Division of NDPC added that NDPC had benefited significantly from its engagements with UNECA on both the Integrated Planning and Reporting Tool (IPRT) and the quarterly macroeconomic model.
He further explained that the IPRT allows the Commission to monitor the level of integration of global agendas such as the SDGs and the AU Agenda 2063 into our policy and planning frameworks.
He also underscored the usefulness of the macroeconomic model for policy simulation, particularly in supporting the government’s engagements with the IMF and forecasting the country’s economic outlook.
Dr. Appiah, however, highlighted some challenges with the IPRT, including data gaps in its financial reporting components and the need for enhanced automation to improve data entry and reporting processes.
He suggested that enhancements to the tools would help NDPC better align national policies and generate timely and credible reports.
The Evaluation Consultant at UNECA, Dr. Humphrey Sanhokwe, explained that the meeting formed part of a broader project, Strengthening ECA’s Capacity in Public Finance, which is supported by the Gates Foundation and being implemented at national, regional and global levels.
He noted that UNECA had supported Ghana and other countries on a number of public financial initiatives, including integrated planning and reporting, debt diagnostics, tax policy and administration, and capital markets development.
Speaking specifically to NDPC, Dr. Sanhokwe indicated that UNECA had been supporting planning institutions with tools such as the Integrated Planning and Reporting Tool (IPRT2), aimed at facilitating planning at the national, sub-national and sectoral levels.
He indicated that UNECA was in Ghana to better understand how NDPC had used the support and tools provided, as well as to discuss lessons, challenges and possible areas of improvement going forward.