Cheap cash for political parties

By Kofi Akordor
For once there was unanimity on the political front. It was not surprising because it was about money to be paid by an already overtaxed Ghanaians to fund political party activities. So when leaders of the various political parties were interview on the subject, they were unanimous. Yes, how Ghanaians may wish their political leaders will bury their parochial interests and discuss important issues dispassionately with national consensus and interest in mind with the same passion exhibited when it came to the funding of political parties.
The philosophy behind the Political Parties (Public Funding) Bill which is to be put before parliament and which was the work of competent and knowledgeable personalities was premised on the belief that political party activities must be made open to as many people as possible.
There may be genuine fears that if state funding is not made available, political parties may become like clubs for the rich and national governance will be the preserve of those who could command money. Public funding might also be seen as a better alternative if political parties which are not in power are compelled by liquidity problems to fold up or forced into extinction. The idea, therefore, it is presumed, is to give all the parties a common financial base for their constitutionally required activities.
The draft bill has also prescribed how the parties should be funded. The main source is an amount equivalent to two percent of the prevailing rate of the Value Added Tax (VAT) to be paid by the VAT Service or any amount approved by Parliament but which shall not be less than two percent of VAT.
The draft provides for other sources including grants, donations, gifts, corporate and other voluntary contributions originating from within or outside the country, whether by foreigners or citizens of Ghana.
The bill provides for safeguards to ensure transparency, accountability and fairness to all the parties involved. The fund is to be managed by a body only mentioned as the ‘Commission”. Whether this refers to the Electoral Commission (EC) has not been clearly spelt out. One would, however, assume that since the EC is the sole statutory body mandated by the 1992 Constitution to be in charge of the country’s electoral process, the commission referred to in the draft bill is the EC, unless otherwise stated.
There is no doubt that money has a major influence in party activities and no matter the support given by the state, individuals with money or who have connections with people with money within or outside the parties would still yield a lot of power to influence decisions. If reports that huge sums of money are changing hands in ongoing campaign by presidential aspirants to elicit support from delegates are anything to go by, then one could conclude that there is very little political parties themselves can do to stem the tide. Secondly it can not be the most prudent thing for political parties to say that in the name of fairness and democratic principles any member of the party could just walk into party offices and collect nomination forms without proving that he/she is a person of substance.
This is why there is a limit to what the state could do in the form of support for political parties. Moreover, political parties are constituted by people with common ideologies and aspirations and who think they have a better of governing this country. They should, therefore, be in a position to pool resources to carry out their political ambitions. That should not be another bureaucratic apparatus hanging on the neck of Ghanaians who have suffered enough in the hands of politicians. Already there is a requirement that all political parties submit their annual audited accounts to the EC and to furnish it with reports about their operations. This, most of them have failed to do and some parties have become private businesses operated by one person or a few individuals.
We all know that after general elections, even parties which win power forget their own supporters until another election year. It is like what all have created is shared by a few. We also know that many people are gunning for political office not for any genuine desire to help this country but for what they can take out of our national coffers. Such people cannot be a burden on Ghanaians even before they enter political office. The crave for political power is so intense that state sponsorship will only excercebate the situation and bring more questionable characters into the fray.
The existing arrangement which allows the EC to support political parties during elections can remain in place. As a nation, we are confronted with a lot of problems already which need serious and urgent attention. A great number of our children who should have been in the classrooms are struggling for space with vehicles in the cities while those who manage to get a place in schools have to contend with inadequate facilities. A lot of our problems as a nation came about as a result of the attitude of politicians who promised the electorate the moon but who could not deliver even a lantern.
It will be like adding insult to injury for these same politicians to enjoy the luxury of being prefinanced by the same poor Ghanaians. There are many things that VAT money can do for this country to make it a better place. We cannot pretend that we do not know what politicians are capable of doing when they win power and until they can prove their mission and vision and stay above board, funding political parties for the moment may not be a national priority.