Political Scientist at KNUST, Dr. Kwesi Amakye, has described the nature of the politics being practiced in the current dispensation as problematic.
Explaining his view as to why this is so, he averred the nature of the current political arena is not consensual and to some extent he will say the nation’s politics lacks developmental values. He described the problematic nature of politics in the country as a manifestation of the set of political divide that exist in Ghana. “So, its problematic-the nature of our politics.”
“Let me say that generally speaking, we see normal democratic politics unfolding, especially with the positions the two factions in Parliament take…some of these things keep repeating themselves. You can go back as far as the first republic of Parliament in which the CPP had overwhelming majority and subsequent governments.”
Dr. Kwesi Amakye
Dr. Amakye indicated that anytime one party didn’t have an overwhelming majority, Parliament is faced with individuals or factions sticking firmly to their positions. This, he asserted, shows the lack of capacity to build bridges and get the people on the ‘other side’ on board which negatively affects the nation.
“They all stick to their positions rigidly, they don’t compromise and there’s no room for accommodation. So, at the end of the day, it stalls development. Looking at this, if one wants to apportion blame, it will be apportioned on one side. It’s a manifestation of our politics and all of us have that problem.”
Dr. Kwesi Amakye
The Political scientist attributed the recent problems in Parliament on leadership of the House. He explained that the two factions in Parliament have not shown leadership because everybody is acting so rigidly to their positions and that simply is not going to augur well for the nation.
Proper leadership needed to build consensus
Touching on how to build consensus irrespective of the hung Parliament, Dr. Kwesi Amakye called for proper leadership as the solution best fit for the current Parliament. He suggested that somebody should be prepared to play a different role in Parliament than the ones the nation has seen over the period.
“Our members of Parliament are only used to having the majority and so many a time, Ghanaians don’t get the motives for our policies.”
Dr. Kwesi Amakye
According to Dr. Amakye, because of the lack of proper leadership, citizens are likely to believe that Parliament has not been getting the policies right because after 20 years of democratic politics, the growth of the nation is still on the ground. “In terms of developmental growth and public growth, it’s nothing to write home about.”
The Political scientist stated that the lack of consensus shows in the policies that have been passed and implemented. He noted it is so because one political party or the other have had its own way all the time.
“The first time we are experiencing this type of Parliament is this time and the way the Parliament is captured now imposes on us the need to really build bridges to the other side. If we are not going to do that, then going forward, we are still going to see similar situations. But I think it’s much more likely things are not going to be smooth for anybody in Parliament.”
Dr. Kwesi Amakye
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