No one can serve two masters, Fifi Kwetey is right

The decision of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) communicated by the General Secretary, Fifi Kwetey, requiring ‘all persons seeking to contest party offices but currently holding government appointments, except board memberships, to resign at least 6 months to filing nominations’, is in my view, very commendable as it definitely tackles some existing issues.

The impression that, because the resultant goal of the party is to work to win power, so the work of the party comes to a practical end when power is won and the party is in government, is very erroneous and strategically porous.

Party work is not only relevant when the party is in opposition. The party should primarily exist and function to mobilise whether in government or in opposition. Therefore, as a political party in government, it is important to acknowledge and ensure that running the government should be decoupled from running the party.

Over the years, this lack of clear decoupling between government work and party work by political parties in government has resulted in some party members holding party offices and government offices simultaneously.

This situation has often resulted in a problem where one of the two simultaneously occupied offices suffer from lack of attention and real impact because ‘no one can serve two masters’, as famously quoted from the Bible in Matthew 6:24.

Government appointees holding party offices cannot be equally effective in the dispensation of their responsibilities of each of the two roles. One definitely suffers.

“It is an issue of reducing the level of greed. If you want to work for the Party, you leave your position in government. You can't have one leg here, and another there.”- NDC General Secretary, Fifi Kwetey.

Another issue is that these government appointees are lured into corruption to use state resources to pursue and finance their party office ambitions.

This presents two problems, giving the government bad publicity with a corruption scandal and presenting a playing ground that is not level in terms of campaign funding when these government appointees go against common floor party members for party offices.

These issues expressed either weaken the party or the government, and ultimately, it is the party that suffers. The party needs people who will dedicate their entire time and focus on party work.

With these argued perspectives above, the party and the government therefore ought to be decoupled. It is therefore commendable that the General Secretary of the NDC, Fifi Kwetey has advocated for this