President John Dramani Mahama has urged Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) not to fear “enemies of progress” but to perform to the best of their abilities to serve their people.

Dr Nii Moi Thompson, the Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) and Senior Presidential Advisor on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), conveyed the President’s message during a consultative engagement with MMDCEs and development planning officers in Accra on Thursday, March 19.

Dr Thompson said the President has authorised him to inform the MMDCEs to work diligently to create jobs and improve livelihoods within their jurisdictions, stressing that their performance is critical to national development.

The engagement formed part of discussions on the Consolidated National Development Planning Framework, which sought to align local government actions with national development priorities. 

Dr Thompson explained that the message follows a meeting with the President to brief him on SDG 11, which focused on sustainable cities and communities.

He said President Mahama fully supports MMDCEs who are performing well but facing opposition and petitions for their removal.  

“Those who are working hard but encountering ‘enemies of progress’ must not fear anything,” Dr Thompson assured, adding that the President values their contributions to development. 

The consultative meeting was also aimed at gathering views from key stakeholders to strengthen the framework and ensure effective implementation at the district level.  

Dr Audrey Smock-Amoah, the Director-General of the NDPC, presented guidelines on the Annual Progress Policy Framework, and called for attitudinal change among policy implementers and citizens to help realise the objectives of the plan.  

She noted that the framework reflected the country’s development aspirations and emphasised that every expenditure must align with regional integrated plans to ensure efficiency and accountability.  

Dr Smock-Amoah further urged MMDCEs to take advantage of district assessment performance tools to measure progress and improve service delivery, stressing that effective local governance remained central to achieving sustainable development goals.