Discussants at a policy workshop in Accra have proposed that the Public Service Commission be responsible for appointing members of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC). This they contend will secure the tenure of office of members of the Commission as well as ensure its independence. The proposal was part of a list of proposals made by a cross-section of representatives from the media who were engaged in a consultative meeting with the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC). ISODEC has been holding a series of consultative meetings with stakeholders to elicit their input for a draft Social Pact document it is working on to monitor the performance of political parties in the run up to the December polls. Explaining the rationale for the Social Pact in an interview with Joy News Television, the Executive Director of ISODEC, Bishop Akolgo said “the purpose is to mobilise Ghanaians to put pressure on their political leaders to arrive at a consensus on a long term development agenda for Ghana for which they can hold political leadership accountable for results”. He noted that “in the past, political leadership has failed to reach this consensus leading to one political party abandoning the initiative of government and trying to initiate its own programs” which he recounted has led to the formulation of different developmental programs like vision 2015 and vision 2020. “Now we’re in shared growth” he noted adding “we’re hoping that once we reach agreements on where we’re going, then political parties can define how they’re going to take us there so we don’t foreclose political competition and if they convince us that their way of taking us to where we want to go is the most efficient, then we’ll vote for them” he added. According to Bishop Akolgo, his outfit is in talks with the manifesto drafting committees of the various political parties for them to take on board some of the issues raised during the consultative meetings and factor them into their various manifestoes for the December elections. “We will also provide input and content for economic policy debate to move away from personality based politicking and then concentrate efforts on issues so it enriches our political debate and reduce tension in the country. So we’re dealing with a common enemy which is poverty and inequality and underdevelopment and not personalities, regions and tribes” he noted. The Vice President of the Ghana Journalists Association, Affail Monney lauded the exercise being undertaken by ISODEC adding the media must serve as oxygen to further spread the need for a new vision for Ghana. “As a nation we need to know where we’re going and how to get there” he said.