The Dean of Social Science of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Professor Stephen Kendie, has said the inability of politicians to provide the nation with a systematic development plan over the years has put the nation in a vicious cycle of under-development. He said politicians in Opana had turned politics into “a project of wealth appropriation than one to reduce poverty.” Prof. Kendie who is a professor of Development Planning and Environmental Management and Dean of the Faculty of Social Science at DCC was speaking at an inaugural lecture: “Reclaiming Development: Appreciating the Basics for Effective Local Level Development” at UCC on Wednesday. The lecture sought to search for solutions to the challenges of daily living in developing countries. He said what politicians were doing in the name of development was not about reducing poverty but amassing wealth for selfish gains. He indicated that corruption and mismanagement on the part of politicians and many in responsible positions had led to the existence of the incidence of guinea worm cases, infant and maternal mortality, hygiene and water problems and other regrettable problems of under-development. He said there was an urgent need for a different regime of truth and perception and leaders who were ready to work to break the cycle of policies which only worsened the living conditions of the ordinary Ghanaian. He indicated that the rich were getting richer while the poor were worsening with time white social and human development had been compromised with inconsistent health and educational policies over the years. Prof. Kendie said it was time to interrogate and confront the issues of poverty and adopt new meanings and approaches to the solutions to poverty to make the needed change in the lives of the people. He said adopting and sticking to straight jacket policies of globalisation was not a solution to the nation's problems. He stated that the change in the turbulent growth patterns in the nation’s economic development made it essential for politicians to mobilise resources and ensure the prudent management of such resources for the growth of the nation. This, he said, would help the country wean itself from the hypocritical Breton Wood institutions. “There is the need to modernise agriculture, support agro-processing industries and strengthen governance structures, particularly at the local level, to help accelerate development,” he added. He also challenged the academicians to lead the crusade against corruption and mismanagement in the country, saying governance is too serious an issue to be left to only politicians. He urged the government to also work to save the people from exploitation by multi-national companies and added: “let’s rethink, restructure and network development. The Vice Chancellor of the UCC, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku Agyeman, said it was time to stop complaining about the state of the nation and join hands to solve the nation’s problems, adding that the problems were not insurmountable. She also called for selflessness on the part of leaders and added that development must be human centered and not profit oriented. Prof. Kendie has published one Policy Brief, four edited books, 18 chapters in books, 24 peer reviewed articles, 25 technical reports and four occasional papers.