The Director-General of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Dr Audrey Smock Amoah, has emphasised the importance of inclusive planning as a means of advancing gender equity and strengthening participation in service delivery and infrastructure development.

Delivering the keynote address at the 2025 Annual General Meeting and Conference of the Local Government Service Association of Physical Planners (LoGSAPP) at KNUST on 12 September, Dr Smock Amoah stated that gender equity must be viewed as a pathway to equality and not merely a symbolic gesture of allocating budgets for women and girls.

She explained that it involves ensuring that the varied needs of both females and males are considered throughout planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting.

While highlighting Ghana’s progress in expanding infrastructure and service delivery, the NDPC Director-General noted that inequalities in access remain across regions and districts, particularly in rural and peri-urban communities.

She added that the government’s decision to increase resources at the local level under the Resetting-Ghana Agenda places greater responsibility on planners to ensure that no one is left behind.

She stressed that frameworks such as the Medium-Term National Development Policy Framework (2026–2029), the Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act, 2024, and gender-responsive budgeting guidelines provide opportunities to embed inclusiveness at all levels of planning.

Dr Smock Amoah further underscored the role of planners in shaping safe and equitable spaces, particularly in ensuring access to education, safety, and participation in governance for women, children and persons with disabilities.

Urging planners to listen to all voices and integrate gender dimensions into their work as mandated by law, she cautioned: “This is not optional.”

She added that reporting must go beyond numbers to reflect genuine participation. Proposing stronger collaboration between NDPC and LoGSAPP, Dr Smock Amoah called for more efficient planning and delivery to improve urban governance.

Charging all planners to rise to the occasion, she concluded: “This is our time and season. Let us work better today for the sake of tomorrow.”