Political parties urged to replace manifestoes

Participants at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) Winner Takes All nationwide consultative forum at Ho have urged political parties to replace their manifestoes with national development plans.

The participants drawn from the Eastern and Volta regions included public and civil servants, security personnel, traditional leaders, members of disable society and the clergy.

They were contributing to the debate of whether the winner takes all system of governance should be abolished as being espoused by the IEA Winner Takes All (WTA) Advisory Committee.

Togbe Kwaku Ayim IV, the Chief of Ziavi, said political parties should be made to replace their manifestoes with development plans crafted from the National Development Planning framework.

He therefore suggested legal backing for such a policy by parliament to make it binding on all political parties to develop their manifestoes based on the National Development Planning framework.

He also urged the National Development Planning Commission to, as a matter of urgency, come out with the development direction of the country.

Togbe Kwaku Ayim said the winner takes all system of governance had led to political desperation since Ghana attained independence in 1957 as politicians worked for the development of their parties to neglect of the nation.

He said social areas such as health, education and others had always been monopolised by the ruling party and that it was very worrying and added that it was important that the winner takes all system of governance was abolished to pave way for a more inclusive one that would help accelerate development.

Mr Harris Darko, a participant, said the manifestoes by the political parties were synonymous with an examiner setting his own questions and marking them.

He said the manifestoes hardly promoted the development of the country and that it was important that they are replaced by national development plans.

He also called for legal backing for the National Development Planning Commission to enable it to compel political parties to align their manifestoes with the national development agenda.

Rev Fr Anthony Kornu, Vicar General at the Catholic Diocese of Ho and chairman for the function, commended the IEA for organising the consultative forum.

He said advanced countries had noticed the evils of winner takes all system and are adopting proportional representation and called for the abolishing of the winner takes all system of governance.

Mad Helen Ntoso, the Volta Regional Minister in a speech on her behalf, called for the rethinking of the winner takes all system of governance and develops a system that would promote social cohesion in order to promote development.

Professor William Ahadzi, a member of the IEA-WTA Advisory Committee, said the winner takes all system has led to the creation of rancour as well as sabotage of the national agenda.

He has therefore called on the Constitutional Review Commission to slow down the pace of the constitution review process in order to include the views being expressed by the populace with regards to the winner takes all system of governance and other issues national importance that were not captured.