K.B. Politics: Comparing records is ‘outmoded politics’

Former diplomat, Mr K.B. Asante, has registered his opposition to the comparison of the records of political parties in the run up to the December elections, saying that doing so will amount to doing "outmoded politics".

According to him, the country was supposed to be moving forward and, therefore, a comparison of the manifestos of the various political parties was what Ghanaians should use in judging the party that had a cogent message and not the comparison of past political records, which he said, was "negative".

Mr Asante, who shared his view on whether or not the comparison of records should form the basis for either retaining the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in power or voting for any of the other parties with the Daily Graphic in Accra, stressed that a party that campaigned on the basis of its past performance had nothing good to offer Ghanaians because what mattered was how those parties would address the future needs of Ghanaians.

“Our politicians should preach messages that should focus on the essential issues of development and stop wasting our time with comparing which party did better than the other and tell us what they intend to do for us to better our lot,” he pointed out.

The flag bearer of the NPP Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, at the launch of his campaign, declared that the 2008 polls were going to be fought on records.

In his reaction to that, the running mate of the NDC flag bearer, Mr. John Dramani Mahama, said at the official launch of his party's campaign recently in Accra that campaigning on the basis of the comparison of records was "a recipe for mediocrity”.

Mr Asante said the economic problems confronting the country were numerous, particularly as the nation largely depended on the importation of foreign goods for its sustenance coupled with escalating global commodity prices.

He maintained that the country could only be developed by Ghanaians themselves with the use of internally generated funds to promote national development, adding that present conditions were different from those of the past, as we now lived in a global village.

He contended that a governing party seeking re-election should leave its opponents alone during electioneering and rather concentrate on the programmes it intended to implement should it be retained.

The renowned former diplomat, who described the comparison of records as a futile exercise, said the political parties contesting the December polls should rather engage in a debate of manifestos to improve the present conditions of Ghanaians through self-reliance.

Highlighting the country's dependence on foreign support, Mr Asante noted that describing the West as a development partner was a myth, since there was no level playing field for African countries in terms of world trade negotiations.

“No foreigner is better placed to identify the problems we are confronted with than Ghanaians themselves,” Mr Asante added.