[ 2016-06-15 ]

Dr Richard Amoako Baah

Amoako Baah kicks against state funding of political parties
Discussions on state funding for political parties
in Ghana should not be countenanced at this time
of the year, although the country is fast
approaching the November 7 presidential and
parliamentary elections, a political scientist, Dr
Richard Amoako Baah, has opined.

According to him, there are more pressing issues
– particularly health and educational challenges
– that need immediate attention of the state.

His comments follow claims by the National
Chairman of the Progressive People’s Party
(PPP), Nii Allotey Brew-Hammond that unlike the
governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and
the New Patriotic Party (NPP) that are relying on
individuals and institutions they gave contracts
to in order to survive, the other smaller
political parties are struggling to raise funds to
spearhead election-related activities ahead of the
November 7 polls, a situation which raises
discussions on state funding for political parties
in Ghana.

Mr Hammond told Emefa Apawu on Class FM’s 505
News Tuesday June 14: “It is very difficult,
there are no two ways about it. We [PPP] have a
lot of demand coming from many of our
disadvantaged members who want to support the
party and are not able to do what they can because
we have not been able to raise enough [money] to
give to them. I get a call from the Sampa chairman
(in the Brong Ahafo Region), almost every day
[that] he needs a vehicle.

“…The NPP and the NDC have been in
government, they have been able to rely on those
that they have given contracts and things like
that to fund their activities, but we will still
want to find out how they are raising funds
because that is what is required [by] the
Political Parties’ Law.”

But also speaking with Emefa Apawu on the same
programme, Dr Amoako Baah recognised that: “It
is a political season and election is coming up
but it’s not the right time for us to be talking
about money for political parties when we don’t
have money for schools and hospitals.

“Those are more important than political
parties’ activities, but it is a good thing to
plan. It is not a simple matter of giving money to
every political party, there has to be some
qualification; for example, if you win a certain
number of votes then you qualify to get it,” he
said.

He explained that when there is a clear-cut
criteria in the event that parties are going to be
funded, it will serve as a disincentive for
several opportunists who form political parties
for their parochial interests.

“…When you do that it will prevent charlatans
from forming their own parties just to make noise
and support somebody else. Right now in Ghana we
have too many little front parties and it is not
appropriate when we allow all those things to go
on, it diminishes the integrity of our electoral
process …because somebody is in the game just to
support somebody else,” he said.

“That is not how it is supposed to be. So there
should be some sort of qualification

Source - classfmonline.com

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