Director of the Centre for European Studies (CES) at the University of Ghana, Dr Kwame Asah-Asante, has called for a review of political party financing in the country.
According to him, it is unfortunate that the country finds itself in such a situation, which must be partly blamed on the political elites of the various parties. He revealed that these elites have encouraged such practice.
Dr Asah-Asante indicated that these elites recognize the unfairness of the situation but because it serves their political interests, they are not ready to do something meaningful about it. He explained that when such persons are in government, there is a different approach to the issue. However, they want to “condemn the practice when they are in opposition” for something they are not ready to exact when in office.
“So, that takes us to a level that we need to sit down as a people to look at political party financing. We need to look at it carefully and see what works for us. The US and other countries have very beautiful experiences we can also borrow from. Take the US for instance, there are thresholds if you are individual and you want to donate money to a party, you cannot cross. Once you cross, you are going to jail and if you are a group too, there’s a limit to what you can donate in terms of contribution.”
Dr Kwame Asah-Asante
Commenting on how political party financing can be reviewed, Dr Asah-Asante stated that the national identification cards for instance, can be used to facilitate the process. He further highlighted that the US module of using the “reporting system, where those who fund political parties have their names published” can be incorporated in Ghana’s political landscape.
“It is true that when you have a bigger electoral college it helps. But that one, people always find means of going around it. We saw last election at the NPP primaries where people were given bicycles and a lot of resources. The anti-corruption laws and the enforcement must be held in high esteem so that those who cross the line, we deal with them. So, the point is that, we need strict enforcement of the rules of the game.”
Dr Kwame Asah-Asante
Addressing threats posed by political party financing
The Director of CES expressed that the difficulty in achieving a transparent financing of parties is because some of the members in a government have crossed the line and this makes it incapable of dealing with their own people. Nonetheless, he indicated that the Office of the Special Prosecutor can be made to handle such matters.
“… We believe that some of these matters, the OSP should be bold enough to take them on and handle. So, the OSP must be sharp on these things so that when we are going for elections, we can look at it but first and foremost, we need to sit as a body and as a people to see how we can fund political parties.”
Dr Kwame Asah-Asante
Additionally, Dr Asah-Asante proposed continuous education on the need for voters to know that “money will not change your fortunes when you are dealing with electoral campaigns” and issues. He revealed that it is the “manifesto issues” political parties churn out which must be considered.
“When you look at them, if they resonate with you and you think they are in tune with your dreams and aspirations; these are the things we go for. And that we expect the NCCE to be up and doing so that text messages will be drummed into the ears of everybody and it becomes part and parcel of us.”
Dr Kwame Asah-Asante
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