Political Scientist and the Center for Democratic Development (CDD) fellow, Dr. John Osae Kwapong has advised political parties to discuss the issues of governance and the quality of Ghana’s democracy as part of their campaign topics. He argued that the best economic ideas will face challenges if weak institutions and bad governance policies exist.
He indicated that for any of the proposed economic plans by the flagbearers of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to yield the best of results, it is imperative for a good system of governance and resilient institutions to be created.
“The former President has been talking about the 24-hour economy…if you look at how much Ghanaians rate the importance of job creation and their dissatisfaction with job creation over the nine rounds of Afro Barometer, then it is an idea worth considering in the current economic challenges”.
Dr. John Osae Kwapong
Furthermore, Dr. John Osae Kwapong argued that the digitalization drive, which seeks to create jobs through partnerships with private enterprises, as talked about by the NPP flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is also a viable idea which is worth considering.
However, the Political Scientist asserted that these economic ideas will fall on rocky grounds if some substantive governance changes are not made and the challenges of the country’s democracy are not effectively addressed.
Dr. Osae Kwapong also indicated that the 24-hour economy campaign message by the NDC has resonated well with Ghanaians. He asserted that the Vice President’s numerous references to the NDC’s 24-hour economy message prove that it has also resonated with the NPP.
He specified that a section of Ghanaians has also received the Vice President’s campaign messages like removing certain taxes, constructing more roads and bridges, and involving the private sector to enhance economic growth.
He indicated that acceptance rate of policies that seek to create jobs is high as employment is high on the list of Ghanaians’ needs.
“Ultimately, I think what this election will boil down to is beyond the economic messages and programs and other promises that the two main candidates offer. For me, it will boil down to which of the two candidates you trust to be able to deliver and I think that will be one key aspect of the decision-making calculus”.
Dr. John Osae Kwapong
He urged Ghanaians to use the performance records of both the former President and the Vice President in determining the right person to vote for during the December 2024 General Elections. He stressed that voters must analyze the arguments both candidates put forth and also consider evidence of their accomplishments.
Ghana’s Political Campaign Culture
With the numerous campaign promises made by the candidates of the two major political parties, none of these campaign promises touches on the issues of governance and Ghana’s weak public institutions. However, issues of good governance and capable institutions have always been a debate in Ghana’s political sphere as to which government achieved the most in these areas.
Astoundingly, no political party in Ghana can rightfully boast of having achieved any fundamental progress at least with the three major tenets of good governance which include, Accountability, Transparency, and Participation.
While governments to some degree may show some level of transparency in their administration, not much progress has been made in this direction. For instance, Ghanaians do not have access to essential information about government transactions even after the Right to Information Act was passed by parliament in 2019.
The accountability rate of governments is terrible as governments have failed to give accurate accounts of public expenditure.
Democratic participation is also poor as the Electoral Commission struggles to update the electoral register which results in the disenfranchisement of many Ghanaians. Currently only 50% of Ghana’s eligible voters are registered, a situation which is not encouraging for a burgeoning democracy like Ghana’s.
Consequently, the lack of accountability, transparency, and participation, as reported by Transparency International, contributed to an all-time high Corruption Perception Index (CPI) of 46.6 in 2023, ranking Ghana 70th out of 180 countries. According to the CPI report, 33% of Ghanaians thought corruption increased while 33% paid bribes in the previous twelve months.
Government institutions are incapacitated due to a deficiency in administrative development. Most public institutions lack the logistics to perform their work properly and coupled with this is the constant interference of governments in the work of public institutions which are meant to be autonomous bodies.
In conclusion, Dr. John Osae Kwapong is right in his submission that Presidential candidates have to incorporate into their campaign and manifesto messages, plans of governance and democracy. Plans to strengthen public institutions to ensure that there is accountability, transparency, and participation which are important for good governance and democracy must be the main subject and the grounds on which other campaign messages are instituted.
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