We cannot continue to ignore the healthy dev’t of our political party – Mahama
Former President John Dramani Mahama said a vibrant political party has a strong role to play in promoting democracy and sustainable development in any country.
The party, he said, played an important role in the formation of the government, developed leaders at various levels, and acted as a watchdog for the current government.
“This is why we cannot continue to ignore the healthy development of political parties, because the fact is that these are also political institutions of the country,” he said while delivering a speech on political party financing at the University of Professional Studies Accra (UPSA) auditorium on Wednesday, March 22.
On the government’s support for political funding, Mr Mahama said some say the only funding that can be done for parties and cannot be kept secret is public funding.
This is said to indicate that the government provides financial resources or indirect assistance to political parties.
“As already mentioned, in the absence of such support, and due to the high costs of political activity, the rich party financiers may become the political godfathers who determine the outcome of the election and everything that follows.
“Ghana is bankrupt today. International credit rating agencies have placed us in junk status. Additional state funding cannot be an option on the table. Even if it is an option in the future, I recommend that we create an explicit Public Funding of Political Parties Bill in a bipartisan and inclusive way,” he said.
The hopeful flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) further suggested that the public funding of political parties should be increased in the future, therefore, an independent and reliable institution should be chosen to manage the state’s resources going to political parties.
“In this regard, a sharing formula can be created to ensure fairness and special disclosure requirements for the benefiting party. This must be complemented by the audit and publication of the party’s account.
“Audiences, although I do not recommend additional state funding at this time of national economic crisis, I accept that more needs to be known about how political parties are financed because this can have implications for development results. We need to understand how politicians finance their campaigns for office, and who owes the debt and must repay it.
“It is therefore important that we engage in ongoing discussions and build consensus on political party funding in the context of public policy to promote good governance and democratic practices in Ghana.”
By Laud Nartey|3news.com|Ghana
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