Ghana practicing ‘our time to chop’ democracy – Prof Gyampo

Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Ghana, Ransford Gyampo, has opined that Ghana’s democracy has been reduced( deliberately or inadvertently) to a “mis-democracy” where politicians see political power as a means to amass wealth.

“Once we have deliberately or inadvertently reduced democracy to the selection of people who perceive the conferment of political power on them, either through election or appointment, as ” the time to chop “, our quest to fight for development and improvement in the physical quality of life of the ordinary people, will continue to be undermined,” he argues.

The political scientist contends that it is not that democracy is bad but how Ghana practices it.

He stresses that though ” Democracy is good…we don’t seem to understand its substantive canons. Hence it frustrates National Development. Indeed government quest to serve public interest, in my view, continue to be undermined by the way we have operationalized democracy."

In the wake of recent scandals, people have sought to identify the root cause of corruption in Ghana. In the view of the professor, it is how our understanding of democracy as “it is our time to chop democracy” which fuels corruption.

He explains that corruption cannot be overcome even if we have a leader( President) who is incorruptible so long as we practice an “it is our time to chop democracy”.

For him, we shall have more scandals, if we do not reconsider the kind of democracy we are practicing.