Mr. Chairman, Invited Guests, Panel of Judges, Co-debaters, Ladies and Gentlemen. My name is Ibrahim Baidoo and I am a representative of the University of Cape Coast in this august debate. I am speaking for the motion “State Funding of Political Parties Is The Most Effective Way of Consolidating Ghana’s Nascent Democracy”.

 

 

One may ask, what do we mean by state funding of political parties? In simple terms, this means financial and material support given by the state to the political parties in order to enhance their political activities.

 

Mr. Chairman, political parties are the life-line to our democratic dispensation. The question I would like to pose here is, will state funding of political parties consolidate Ghana’s nascent democracy? The answer is “yes” and among the reasons for the positive answer are the following:

 

In the first place, political parties are an integral part of the democratic process and governance; as such, the state will have to financially support political parties if it is to see a vibrant and productive democracy. The point is that since citizens of the state have voted for democracy (in a referendum organized in 1992), it is the responsibility of the state to fund political parties. In essence, the taxpayer should pay for the democracy he or she voted for and enjoys, just as he would pay for any social service. It must be noted that the various constitutional institutions, bodies and agencies such as the Executive, the Judiciary, the Legislature and the Electoral Commission that uphold the democratic credentials of the state are all state funded. Why then do we drag our feet and leave out political parties to fend for themselves, especially in a society like ours where political parties simply rely on the donations and contributions from its members?

      

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, provision of funding for political parties by the state will help lessen corruption, which has eaten deeply into our socio-economic and political lives. After a party has emerged victorious in an election, it is certain that, people who contributed to fund the campaign of the party in the form of donations, dues, fund raising, etc, will come back to recoup their investment to the party. This promotes nepotism, incompetence, corruption and the awarding of contracts to unqualified and undeserved bidders. An economist, Dr. Nii Moi Thompson, who supports the motion, has hinted and I quote “state funding of political parties would shield parties from soliciting for funds from individuals, an act which engenders corruption”. Thus in order to consolidate Ghana’s nascent democracy, there is the need to effectively combat corruption in society through the state funding of political parties. This will go a long way to lessen the problem of corruption in the country and repose confidence in our leaders.

Mr. Chairman, state funding of political parties will deepen our democracy since it will ensure political stability. Twenty-one years out of Ghana’s fifty-one years of nationhood has been under military dictatorship. This period was a drawback in the development of this country. Ghana as a case study has suffered this unfortunate events in the years 1966, 1972, 1979 and 1981 coups. This has led to the stagnation of the country’s development agenda until 1992 when the nation went in for democracy. The point is that, the mere fact that we have several political parties is an assurance that the act of military coup is partially eliminated. As it is evident, in the history of the country from 1992 until now, Ghana has witnessed uninterrupted democratic governance. To sustain this trend, there is the urgent need to strengthen this political stability by funding political parties to function effectively which will lead to accelerated national growth for the betterment of the citizens. Therefore, in order to have more parties with strong financial base, the state must fund political parties thereby consolidation the nascent democracy in Ghana.

 

Closely connected with the above is the increase in investment. Political stability will eventually lead to increase in investment in the country and thus will lead to growth of the economy and consequently total development of the country. For instance, political instability in La Cote D’Ivoire has led to the relocation of the Headquarters of the African Development Bank from Abidjan to Tunis in Tunisia; and this has been a major setback in the economy of La Cote D’Ivoire.

 

Mr. Chairman, the issue of the state funding of political parties is well placed because it would force candidates to limit spending and meet constitutional requirements. For instance Mr. Chairman, the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana stipulates in article 55 (14) (a) and (b) that “Political parties shall be required by law to declare their public revenue and assets and the sources of those revenues and assets; and to publish to the public annually their audited accounts.” Many political parties in Ghana have flouted Mr. Chairman, this constitutional requirement. With the state funding of political parties, this constitutional requirement can be effectively implemented by the Electoral Commission. This situation would force political parties to cut down unnecessary expenditure. Nevertheless, it will ensure equal allocation of financial resources and logistics to enable the parties to compete on a level playing field with the incumbent. The fulfillment of this constitutional requirement is a way of consolidating democracy in Ghana.

 

 

 

Mr. Chairman, state funding of political parties will make elections meaningful by giving voters a choice among alternative policies and candidates who represent different interests and political ideologies. Political parties are there to offer alternatives to what the ruling party offers, therefore there should be a fair chance for parties not in power to organize themselves adequately and contest with the incumbent. This will enable the electorate to make informed choices among the equally matched, vibrant political parties by voting for the party whose programmes would advance the course of the state. For instance, Mr. Chairman, currently, we have the National Democratic Congress (NDC) with the ideology that they are Social Democrats whereas the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are Liberal Democrats to mention but a few. Different political parties think they have different antidotes to the country’s problems and democracy is all about having different political parties. By the state funding of political parties, these parties will continue to exist, putting the ruling party on check. As it stands now, the NPP and NDC have been the two vibrant parties in Ghana for the past sixteen years. Our move from military dictatorship may only land in a constitutional dictatorship. The reason is that, the parties with more resources will be rotating the governance of the country amongst themselves, irrespective of the potency or otherwise of their programmes. In a situation like this, people can easily predict that an election would be won either by the NDC or by the NPP and would associate themselves with these main parties. A good illustration of this unhealthy scenario is the case of the late Alhaji Inusah, who was nicknamed “the political chameleon” because of his move from the camp of NPP to NDC and back to NPP, just because in Ghana if it is not NPP then it is NDC.

 

Mr. Chairman, state funding of political parties will lead to the empowerment of the citizenry to demand accountability and transparency from the parties. As it is now, political parties are unable to effectively disclose their accounts to the Electoral Commission, and Ghanaians are not able to ascertain the sources of their funding. This shortfall makes many Ghanaians to conclude that parties depend on illicit money to fund their programmes and activities. When parties receive funding from the state, it would urge the citizens to demand proper accountability and to hold the parties responsible for poor conduct and poor show in elections. This form of demand for accountability is a form of consolidating Ghana’s nascent democracy.

 

Moreover, Mr. Chairman, Abraham Lincoln described democracy as “government of the people, by the people and for the people” This presupposes that, government is owned by the people. State funding of political parties would lead to total acceptance and ownership of government. Partisan polarization, which has characterized our multi-party democracy, would be minimized since politicians would be more objective in handling national issues.

Mr. Chairman, an important factor in funding of political parties which cannot be overlooked as far as funding of political parties are concerned is that, it would compel parliamentarians who are representatives of the people to be more committed to the people in execution of their duties. Mr. Chairman, over the years, once a member of parliament is elected, he hardly returns to his constituency to confer with his people. He or she preferred to live in the capital, either in the posh of hotels or in the expensive city mansions, which many parliamentarians built for themselves. State funding of political parties would put checks on parliamentarians and make them more accountable to their constituents.

 

Mr. Chairman, an important factor in funding of political parties which cannot be overlooked as far as funding of political parties are concerned is that, it would compel parliamentarians who are representatives of the people to be more committed to the people in the execution of their duties. Mr. Chairman, over the years, once a member of parliament is elected; he hardly returns to his constituency to confer with his people. He or she preferred to live in the capital, either in the posh of hotels or in the expensive city mansions which many a parliamentarian built for himself, using state money. State funding of political parties would put checks on these inhumane practices meted out by some parliamentarians on their electorate within their constituencies.

 

Mr. Chairman, democracy involves a great deal of research work. Parties have to research in order to know the needs of the people. They have to research in order to know every part of the country. However, this research work cannot be carried out without adequate funds. The inability of political parties to meet these responsibilities has led to the collapse of many political parties. The collapse of political parties also means weakening of democracy. In order to consolidate democracy in the country, state funding of political parties is excellent so that the game is not turned into the game of survival of the fittest.

 

Mr. Chairman, training and development is inevitable in every organization of which political parties are of no exception. Training increases the skills, performance and morale of those who undergo the training. State funding of political parties will enable the parties to train their members in areas such as campaign strategies, communication skills and propaganda techniques. These trainees will in turn market their political parties. This certainly builds up vibrant alternatives thereby enhancing our nascent democracy.

 

 

Again, state funding of political parties may increase party strength and viability because these resources would give party leaders leverage in including the electorates, especially floating voters to vote for the party. It is common in Ghana for people to vote for the presidential candidate of party ‘A’ and a parliamentary candidate of party ‘B’ or even, an independent candidate, in what is termed “Skirt and Blouse” voting or “Papa Ajasco”.

 

Mr. Chairman, with the state funding of political parties, people who are endowed with leadership and entrepreneurial skills but lack financial resources to engage in expensive political campaigning will be encouraged to venture into politics. Strong political parties will be able to put out strong, efficient and effective leaders who will tackle the problems of this country, competently. The political parties that will attract these leaders would be empowered to play their proper roles in the multi-party constitutional governance of Ghana. This will eventually play a significant role in growing, consolidating and entrenching democracy in Ghana.

 

 

Finally, Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, should we accept the notion that, state funding of political parties will lead to the proliferation of unnecessary political parties? No? This is misleading. Currently, Cote D’Ivoire leads the pace with about 130 political parties, followed by Senegal with 77 and Liberia with 22 political parties. Thus the argument that, state funding of political could lead to proliferation of political parties is weightless and as such flimsy.

 

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, Panel of Judges, Invited Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to point out here that already the state has been funding political parties but the extent of its quantum is what has generated the debate. African countries such as Namibia, Morocco and South Africa have been funding political parties and it is not surprising that these countries have had tremendous economic, social and political development. Ghana is the first country in sub-Saharan African to attain independence from the imperialists, yet political instability has retarded our development. Through the practice of multi-party democracy, Ghana has been able to prevent political instability for more than twenty five (25) years. We should do all that we can regardless of the pains that our pockets may experience, to safeguard our democracy. Our response to this motion would make or unmake our democracy. Let us invest in our democracy and surely, it would yield dividend. Having said this, Mr. Chairman, I am convinced that, I have proved beyond all reasonable doubt and our co-debaters have accepted the fact, that, state funding of political parties is the most effective way of consolidating Ghana’s nascent democracy. Thank you.