Let’s build political systems beyond money — Prof. Takyiwa Manuh

A former director of the Institute of African Studies of the University of Ghana, Professor Emerita Takyiwa Manuh, has called for a rebuild of the country's political structure beyond money to ensure sanity in the system.

She said the current structure, where the highest bidder got elected into political office, irrespective of the person’s competence and capacity to deliver quality
services were inimical to national development.

"It is quite clear that the political system currently has been taken over by people who have money to pay their way through and everyone must be concerned because the highest bidder should not necessarily be the one to get elected to Parliament.

“We should rethink our political system beyond money and get to the point where people get elected not because they have money to pay but because they have lofty policies and the competence to perform the roles that come with the positions they seek to occupy,” she said.

Prof. Manuh made the call at a national forum organized by the Ford Foundation West Africa, in collaboration with the Third World Network, both civil society organizations (CSOs), in Accra yesterday.

Dubbed: "Democracy, rights, and development in Africa", the forum discussed democratic systems in the sub-region and how inequalities in development could be addressed.

Participants were from academia, CSOs, donor agencies, policy advocates and youth activists.

Active citizenship

Prof. Manuh said the way forward to strengthen the country's democratic governance and translate it into sustainable development was for the citizenry to become active in the political and governance process.

That, she said, required them to seek relevant information that would equip them effectively to participate in governance at all levels.

“It is about being properly informed about policies and the options policymakers have for national development.

We need citizens who will be able to go to the website of a procurement authority and see which companies have been awarded contracts within a given period. This is the way to ensure transparency and make institutions work well,” she said.

She said active citizens would also help promote transparency in the delivery of public services and the implementation of social intervention programmes by the government.

Prof. Manuh called on stakeholders, such as the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), CSOs and other such institutions, to collaborate and work together to equip the people with the necessary skills and information required to enable them to actively participate in governance at all stages.

Youth empowerment

The Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Youth Empowerment Synergy, a youth advocacy organization, Mr Emmanuel Edudzie, said the country had failed to give the youth the opportunity to participate fully in the political and the governance processes.

“Young people are worried about why the Presidency is the preserve of older people. If people of 18 years can vote for Members of Parliament and the President, there is no point asking them to wait until they are 21 or 40 years before they can contest to become MPs and Presidents, respectively,” he added.

He said it could be out of frustration for being sidelined in the governance process that some young people often resorted to violence and other forms of protest to be heard.

Consolidation

A senior research fellow and Head of Advocacy and Institutional Relations at the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG), Mr Kwesi Jonah, touted the country’s democratic trajectory over the past 27 years, saying it was a showpiece to other African countries.

He said the intra- and inter-party democracy in the country was commendable and needed to be consolidated.

The Coordinator of the Third World Network-Africa, Dr Yao Graham, said although Ghana had witnessed a transformation in democratic governance, enough had not been done to translate it into removing the barriers of inequality in the country.

He said the time had come to translate the democratic gains into improving the livelihoods of the people, especially in the rural communities in the country.