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Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, the flag bearer of the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP)
Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, the flag bearer of the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP)

Party funding sphinx

At an interaction meeting between a delegation of the Progressive Peoples Party and the hierarchy of the editorial board of the Daily Graphic last Friday, the flag bearer of the party (PPP), Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, made a remark which touches the core of our democracy and the commitment of the Electoral Commission (EC) to enforce all the provisions of  the Political Parties Law.

Under the law, the parties are annually to furnish the EC with their accounts indicating sources of funding. More importantly, after every election, the parties are again enjoined to present statement of accounts to the EC.  These are measures intended to ensure transparency and accountability if the political parties open up to the people about how they spend their money. 

 There is also another provision which requires the EC to ensure that the political parties have offices within not less than two-thirds of the districts in the country  

In the views of Dr Nduom, which I share, unless and until the EC is prepared and ready to enforce these provisions, there can be no talk of free and fair elections in this country. This is so because the provisions impose on the political parties obligations which when performed will involve cost to them. Where they fail but are not challenged to act, they could take unfair advantage to reach out to the voters with whatever resources they have whilst those parties which live by the law could suffer financial constraints for meeting their obligations.

It is on this note that I am suggesting that as a nation, we should visit the idea of the state funding of political parties. Already, state resources are being dissipated on partisan election irrespective of which party is in power. 

None of our Presidents has ever used their private resources to campaign throughout the country. Ministers of state and district chief executives all use public money to campaign for their political parties. But all these expenses are never openly accounted for.

Some electoral promises are made by our Presidents which have nothing to do with national budget and which in no way enhance the living standards of the people, yet these are carried out. For instance, our Presidents are noted to have provided certain amenities and facilities to individuals to help shore up their electoral fortunes. There are allegations of abuse of incumbency between the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as to the dissipation of public money to gain votes. 

Indeed, the recent directive by President John Dramani  Mahama that electricity meters be presented to all households in a town in the Central Region could well be part of state funds being diverted for campaign purposes, since that town might not be the only one with the nature of the problem resolved on the spur of the moment at a political campaign rally. 

In the past as is in the present, funds intended for other purposes have been diverted to meet certain exigencies for the sake of winning votes and nothing more, including the creation of district assemblies which are not viable. Individual chiefs and certain public officials have been allocated vehicles for their personal use at public expense when the houses of chiefs and public institutions do not have such facilities to carry out their legitimate mandates for national growth and progress.

It is on the basis of these developments that I think we should open the debate for the state funding of political parties. At least when that happens, their accounts will be audited by the Auditor General and any abuses, misapplications, misappropriations and embezzlements would be established and made public so that we can advise ourselves on the matter.

It is a worthy debate and I hope in the coming weeks to draw attention to some thoughts that others have shared on the matter. There are some who think that we  cannot add the cost of financing political parties to the often depleted Consolidated Fund, while others argue for the state to take up the matter such that we can contain the monster of misuse of money to buy our people.

The fact is that some state resources are misapplied annually for campaigns which favour some political parties and candidates all the time since 1992. We do not know the quantum and its effect in undermining the true choice of the people. When we accept to do that openly, we would be able to monitor the money as the hands of the Auditor General will be enhanced to carry out audits even if the EC acts the way it has acted since the birth of the Fourth Republic.

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