The Director of the Information Services Department (ISD), Dr Nafisah Mahama, has expressed the department’s readiness to spearhead a nationwide public education and behavioural change campaign to support the implementation of Ghana’s proposed Consolidated National Development Plan.
She made the call during a stakeholder engagement between the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) and the Department in Accra on Friday.
According to Dr Mahama, achieving Ghana’s long-term development aspirations will require more than sound policies and economic reforms, stressing that sustained behavioural change among citizens remains a critical factor in national transformation.
“One major area that stands out clearly from your presentation is the need for a comprehensive behavioural change campaign aimed at building a more patriotic, responsible and disciplined citizenry,” she stated. “Behavioural change is not a one-time activity; it is a sustained process that requires consistency, coordination and long-term commitment,” she said.
She noted that while governments can develop policies and mobilise resources, meaningful and lasting development depends on cultivating values such as patriotism, responsibility, discipline and a shared commitment to national progress among citizens.
Dr Mahama said the ISD possesses the nationwide infrastructure and communication capacity needed to support the NDPC’s efforts to engage citizens and build public ownership of the proposed development agenda.
She highlighted the Department’s network of regional and district offices, as well as its recently acquired LED cinema vans, as valuable tools for reaching communities across the country with targeted educational messages.
“Through our media division, we can produce jingles, documentaries and educational content in various local languages to ensure wider accessibility and impact,” she said. “Once the joint working group is established, timelines and responsibilities can be agreed upon so that implementation proceeds smoothly and all institutions can align their plans and actions.”
The engagement formed part of ongoing stakeholder consultations by the NDPC as it prepares Ghana’s Consolidated National Development Plan, a long-term national blueprint intended to harmonise existing development frameworks and provide a unified direction for the country’s growth and transformation.
The Commission is also promoting a complementary national initiative dubbed “New Values, New Society,” aimed at fostering a shared value system to serve as the moral and civic foundation for national development.
On her part, the Director-General of the NDPC, Dr Audrey Smock Amoah, underscored the importance of strategic communication in advancing national development objectives. She noted that changing patterns of information consumption require public institutions to adopt more innovative and citizen-centred communication approaches.
Dr Amoah proposed a combination of documentaries, jingles, posters, social media content and other communication tools to enhance public engagement and awareness of development priorities.
She also emphasised the continued relevance of traditional communication channels, particularly in rural communities, and proposed leveraging the ISD’s cinema vans and community outreach platforms to deepen citizen participation in the development process.
The NDPC Director-General further called for stronger institutional collaboration through the establishment of a joint technical working group and a Memorandum of Understanding to guide future cooperation between the two institutions.
The engagement reaffirmed the commitment of both organisations to work together to ensure that Ghana’s long-term development agenda is supported by effective public communication, active citizen participation and the promotion of values that underpin sustainable national progress.
Deborah Narkie Nartey, ISD
