Let’s stop monetising electoral processes — Domelevo
A former Auditor-General, Daniel Yaw Domelevo, has called for immediate steps to be put in place to eliminate monetisation of the country's electoral processes.
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He said it was becoming too expensive nowadays for one to contest and win a political office and cautioned that the situation was risky for the country's democratic dispensation.
Mr Domelevo was speaking at the maiden Annual Leadership Lecture Series of the Catholic University of Ghana (CUG) at Fiapre in the Sunyani West Municipality of the Bono Region last Friday.
He described this election year as an "auctioning year", saying, "they are auctioning political offices.
I don't think politicians should spend so much money to be elected into public offices".
The lecture was organised on the topic: "Ethical and Transformational Leadership: Panacea of the Corruption Menace in Ghana."
Mr Domelevo urged the country to address the issue of monetising the public offices because it puts the country in danger.
He explained that the practice put the country at risk of becoming colonised again and open for criminals, particularly terrorists, to operate if they funded elected political leaders.
Mr Domelevo said the most lucrative venture in the country currently was politics, because some people joined politics to make wealth and not to serve.
Corruption, political will
He said corruption was a deadly disease that had ever attacked the country.
Mr Domelevo said people died in health facilities because the money meant for medicines and other medical equipment were in somebody's pocket.
"You go to hospitals to see people including women in labour lying on the bare floor and a politician is using four V8s, what is he or she doing with four V8s, as a servant," he questioned.
Mr Domelevo said it was unacceptable that resources meant for the country were enjoyed by a few people while others suffered in poverty.
He said corruption had cut across all religions, tribes and professions such that "if you attempt to fight it, it will fight you back".
Mr Domelevo said there was lack of political will in the fight against corruption even though there were adequate laws, rules, policies and guidelines which could be used to fight the canker.
He said the construction of the National Cathedral was a wasteful expenditure while people were drinking water with animals in the same pond and children were studying under trees.
Mr Domelevo, therefore, called on training institutions to start training students to be disciplined and eschew corruption right at the institutions.
For his part, the Vice-Chancellor of the CUG, Professor Daniel Obeng-Ofori, said the lecture was an educational initiative instituted to bring influential speakers and experts to share their insights and experiences on key leadership and related topics.
He said the lectures were aimed at inspiring, informing and engaging audiences by discussing various aspects of leadership.
