Dr Nii Moi Thompson, Chairman, National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), has challenged Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Ghana to undergo a “productivity revolution” in response to declining donor funding and growing demands for transparency and local impact.

He said the sustainability of civil society in Ghana now hinged on its ability to do more with less by becoming more efficient, transparent, and results-driven in the face of declining donor support and increasing public scrutiny.

Addressing participants at the opening of the 2025 Ghana Civil Society Forum (GCSF) in Accra, Dr Thompson warned that without bold internal reforms, CSOs risked becoming irrelevant in a rapidly shifting development landscape.

The 2025 Forum, organised by STAR-Ghana Foundation in partnership with Oxfam, WACSI, Transparency International Ghana, and others, builds on the outcomes of previous forums and aims to reposition civil society as a vital, independent, and credible force in Ghana’s development journey.

“With shrinking external aid and rising scrutiny, civil society must do more than survive; they must transform. This means maximising the use of every Cedi, proving their impact, and rebuilding public trust,” he said

Held on the theme: “Reimagining Development Financing and Civic Action – Challenges, Opportunities, and the Way Forward,” the two-day forum has convened more than 500 actors from across Ghana’s civic space, including community-based organisations, national think tanks, academia, donor agencies, and government representatives.

Dr Thompson, a former Director-General of the NDPC and now its Chairman, said the era of unrestricted donor support was fast fading, with traditional aid models giving way to locally driven development financing.

He highlighted that only two percent of global development aid reaches local organisations in the Global South.

An indication, he argued reflected profound systemic inequalities in the distribution of resources within the global development aid system.

To navigate these realities, the NDPC Chairman urged CSOs to embrace strategies such as engaging high-net-worth individuals, exploring hybrid financing models, and leveraging technology-driven tools like crowdfunding and mobile money platforms.

However, he cautioned that “none of these will matter” without strong internal systems and measurable results.

He said, “The key issue is not just mobilising resources—but how efficiently and credibly they are deployed. Ghanaians are generous, but they must see that their contributions are making a difference, not funding privilege.”

Dr Thompson further identified a growing crisis of legitimacy within the civic sector, citing public concerns about transparency, elitism, and questionable leadership practices in some organisations.

“Who does civil society truly represent; the people or their funders?” he asked, and said “Too often, we preach accountability but fail to practise it.”

To restore credibility, he advocated for stronger governance structures within CSOs, enhanced collaboration across the sector to reduce duplication, and a shift in focus from donor alignment to grassroots priorities.

Dr Thompson also urged the civic sector to be wary of accepting foreign funds tied to ideologies or agendas that may conflict with Ghana’s cultural values or development priorities.

Drawing on global examples, he cited China, Japan, and South Korea as countries that effectively used foreign aid to build strong national systems, emphasising that the issue was not aid itself, but how it was used.

He also warned that Ghana’s development crisis was as much about institutional weakness as it was about “values deficit,” pointing to acts of civic indiscipline and corruption that undermined progress.

“Fix our values and institutions, and Ghana could be heaven on earth,” he remarked.

Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, who opened the Forum, also underscored the urgency of a new development paradigm, calling for a shift from dependency to local ownership.

Ibrahim-Tanko Amidu, Executive Director, STAR-Ghana Foundation, said the civic sector was at a critical turning point.

He noted that the forum’s theme was chosen in response to shrinking global aid, shifting donor priorities, and increasing questions around the legitimacy and sustainability of CSOs.

“We must challenge the development models and partnerships that have shaped our past,” he said.