The Power of Money and Political Connection in Ghanaian Politics

A special GNA feature by Francis Ameyibor

Accra, April 16, GNA - In Ghana many political parties are dominated by people of influence, who see funding of the parties as an investment that must yield dividends.

According to Professor Kwame A. Ninsin, a Political Scientist, the choices made by the electorate are influenced by the environment in which money, political connection and level of education are prominent factors.

He said candidates with superior access to resources could afford to undertake community development projects and /or donate to community development efforts before and during electioneering campaigns. Prof. Ninsin said candidates with the greatest access to money produced large quantities of party paraphernalia for free distribution; sponsored a robust campaign; organized youth groups within the parties and foot soldiers.

The danger of monetary influence in Ghanaian politics has hit, Dr Arthur Kobina Kennedy, a Medical Doctor based in the United States and a leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), who has returned home to actively participate in the democratic process to choose a flag bearer for the ruling party.

He has, therefore, decided to wage a fight against corruption among the country's political parties.

Dr Kennedy is of the view that public perception that few anonymous people with money, irrespective of how they acquired it, can influence nomination and eventually undermine public confidence in the political process.

Another leading NPP presidential aspirant, Mr Dan Botwe has called on delegates to look beyond monetary considerations to decide who should lead the Party in Election 2008. "It is impossible to dish out money to everybody who matter, but even if I give each delegate 1,000 dollars and get elected as presidential candidate, I would not feel any sense of responsibility towards any party member if I become President tomorrow because I bought the position with my money and I would do as I please," he said. He observed that the primary processes of Ghanaian political parties could produce leaders, who lacked the legitimacy, respect or moral authority to lead the nation.

"We must, therefore, stop making it almost impossible for people to succeed in politics without soiling their hands", he said. The political significance of parties is no longer determined by popular support, as is the case in all democratic countries in the world, but by administrative fiat.

That is why so many political parties devote considerable resources and energy to suspending and expelling members for so-called antiparty activities.

In Ghana money has played a decisive role in elections since the inception of the Fourth Republic in 1993. Leading political figures such as wealthy members of parliament have been accused of using the power of money to influence the outcome of elections.

Professor Cyril Daddieh, Visiting Fellow, Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), said 80 per cent of the public held strong perceptions of high levels of corruption and low levels of transparency and accountability amongst the political parties. He noted that most Ghanaians believed that donations made by people have some effect or influence on political decisions and on public policy.

"The number one reason cited for donating to parties is for the individual to gain personal favours, kickbacks, win contracts and gain political appointments."

Prof. Kwame Boafo-Arthur, a Political Science Expert, postulated that when political parties fail to appeal to voters through political platforms to explain their manifestos or encounter setbacks from weak institutional capacities, they often turn to vote buying as a means to secure support.

The United Nations Human Development Report has attributed the underhand dealings in politics to high campaign costs. The Report said political parties were becoming increasingly dependent on money and in the case of incumbent governments, on the wrongful use of State resources.

Consequently, the basic underlying principles of democracy- such as one person, one vote, and government accountability 96 are undermined and public confidence in the political process is eroded. In some cases, limited public funds are diverted for private gain.

Party barons and godfathers are mainly interested in controlling the party machine rather than ensuring that they nominate the most popular candidates for competitive electoral post.

The Blame Game

During the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Parliamentary and Presidential elections leading opposition leaders, including Mr John Agyekum Kufuor; Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo; Mr J. H. Mensah; Mr Odoi Sykes and Mr Agyenim Boateng, all NPP stalwarts, accused the then ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) of abuse of incumbency. The NDC was particularly accused of distributing roofing sheets; second hand clothing; cutlasses; Wellington boots and other farming implements, cash and other gifts during the electioneering campaign to influence voters to the disdain of the Political Party's Law. In the 2000 and 2004 General Election both the NPP and NDC accused each other of influencing voters by using resources to intimidate electorates.

Leading NDC personalities, including Former President Jerry John Rawlings; Mr Johnson Aseidu Nketia and Mr Kwabena Adjei also accused the ruling NPP of using money to influence the outcome of the Elections. It was obvious during Elections 2004 that NDC found it difficult to replace its campaign pickups since the Party was in opposition while the ruling NPP kept on putting new propaganda vans on the road. Ironically during Elections 2000, Mr Odoi-Sykes, then chairman of the NPP, disclosed that the Party was not as financially endowed as the ruling NDC but would not allow the NDC to dictate the pace of political campaigns.

He said: 93The NPP has, therefore, decided to tailor its campaign to suit its finances by not holding big rallies, which cost billions of cedis but adopt the cost effective door to door, house to house and village to village campaigns.

The NPP Chairman also called on the Electoral Commission to adopt strategies to minimise the misuse of incumbency by the then ruling NDC by checking the misappropriation of State resources and machinery to undertake its campaigns. Is somebody singing the same song Mr Odoi-Sykes sang in 2000 today?

Efforts to Control Abuse of Incumbency

Identifying potential causes of abuse of incumbency, participants at West African Sub-Regional discourse on consolidating multi-party democracy acknowledged that incumbency boosted a ruling party's financial power.

They noted that non-public contributors to political party operators tended more to focus and divert resources to ruling parties to the detriment of other opposition parties, the participants concluded. The participants including representatives of political parties from Ghana; Nigeria; Liberia; Sierra Leone; Mali; The Gambia; Benin and Togo, legal practitioners, parliamentarians, democratic stakeholders and other civil society groups suggested the creation of a fund for political parties to reduce the element of incumbency abuse. The conference was organized under the auspices of the West African Regional Programme of Political Parties and was hosted by Ghana's Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) and the Netherlands Institute for Multi-Party Democracy (NIMD).

The suggestion for the creation of a financial pool for political parties have been given credence by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), which has develop a policy document on political party financing that recommends the establishment of Political Parties Consolidated Fund.

The document expects the State to play a lead role in providing seed money and annual budgetary support to the Fund Prof Daddieh said the amount of budgetary support was to be determined by an Act of Parliament while donations from individuals, organisations and foreign sources would go into the Fund. He said the Fund had the advantage of legal cover and a guaranteed support for political parties rather than the current practices, which relied on the indulgence or good will of governments. Parties are to disclose publicly all sources of income and expenditure on regular basis to promote transparency and accountability in party business.

Prof. Daddieh said the broad policy guidelines in the draft document expressed the need for the political parties to promote equal access to resources and adhere to the codes of conduct and ethics, particularly during election campaigns.

Modalities for political party funding

Supporting the creation of a political fund, Dr Joe Abbey, Executive Director, Centre for Economic Policy Analysis, however, suggested that the Fund should be run on clear case of eligibility. Political parties that generate enough information and inspired quality debate on national issues should assess the fund and not those that go to sleep after every General Election.

Despite increased international and local attention to the issue of party financing, which have attracted national workshops, where all stakeholders agreed to governmental support, it still remained unresolved.

Recognizing that the success of efforts to confront the problem will depend on locally led initiatives, the National Democratic Institute for international Affairs (NDI) undertook a two-year Africa political party finance initiative designed to support African efforts to overcome the challenge that political party finance and political corruption posed to economic and social development.

Under the initiative NDI assist the effort of local organization in four countries 96 Ghana, Kenya, Senegal and South Africa to promote increased discussion and debate on party finance.

The four countries were to serve as models for reform and the catalysts for changing party-funding systems, however, two years down the lane the issues still persisted.

In spite of these fine laws, political party finance and related corruption pose one of the greatest threats to Ghana's democratic and economic development. Corruption in politics, particularly during election periods, compromises a critical asset of democracy; the faith and support of ordinary citizens in the political system. The success of laws typically depends on a combination of enforcement regimes, and public pressure to demand more accountability in politics. In Ghana, despite growing awareness about the negative impact of political corruption, solutions to the problem are yet to fully emerge.

EC holds the key to halting political corruption

Even though the Ghanaian electoral laws grimace on monetary influence it is yet to be fully tested as the electoral body has the power to declare the election of a candidate as void if it is proved that any of the offences of bribery, treating, or undue influence was committed in connection with his or her election.

A candidate commits the offence of bribery if he or she gives or receives, or causes to be given or receive money; a gift; a loan or something of value as a means of inducing a voter to vote or not to vote in a certain way.

A person commits the offence of treating if he or she personally or through an agent gives or accept meat, drink, entertainment or provision for purposes of voting or refraining from voting.

A person commits the offence of undue influence if he or she personally or through an agent; uses or threatens to use force, violence or restraint against a person; inflicts or threatens to inflict temporal or spiritual injury, damage, harm or loss on a person; compels somebody to vote in a particular way by adduction, duress or other fraudulent means impedes or prevents a voter from freely exercising his or her vote.

These are laudable laws on the statute books, but unfortunately its enforcement has been problematic. Mr Kwasi-Kuma Hovi, a Journalist with the Volta Star Radio Station in Ho, slammed the Electoral Commission (EC) for its inability to enforce laws on the operations and formation of political parties.

He, therefore, called on the EC to live up to its constitutional mandate through the enforcement of all the electoral laws to bring sanity into the Ghanaian political environment especially as the country prepared for the crucial Election 2008.

Political stakeholders must put their shoulders to wheels to ensure that the electoral laws become more effective to forestall any electoral disputes.

Elections 2008 must provide Ghana with an effective capably leaders not those with money to spread around. Election 2008 must not be won through the power of money but on competence. BDB