Election 2024: Some sacred Facts Every Ghanaian Must Know About Our Political Duopoly And Why The Need For Change

Let me begin with a prophetic quote from the first president of the United States of America, George Washington, who was president for two terms as an independent candidate. This quote is taken from his farewell address to the people of America. He is considered one of the best, if not the best president, America has had.

“Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in a most solemn manner against the baneful effect of the spirit of party generally” - George Washington, 19th September, 1796"

1. Political parties are only vehicles people use to pursue their personal ambition of becoming president.

2. Political parties only exist to sponsor an individual to be a candidate of their party so that Ghanaians would consider voting for the person to become the president to serve their interest, first and foremost.

3. Therefore, per the architecture of our constitution, we don’t vote for a political party; we vote for an individual to become president.

4. That’s why the power of the state is not vested in a political party but in an individual.

5. As a result, instead of voting for someone to become the president to control all the resources of the country, on the basis of the colours of his party, let the colours of his competence, character, credibility, integrity, as well as his vision and plan for the country, be the basis of your choice. Our beloved country needs one man to put together a team of incorruptible competent people to make the difference.

Ghana is still struggling to make any meaningful headway in respect of development and wellbeing of our people due to the following baneful or destructive effect of the NDC/NPP duopoly for the past 32 years.

1. The duopoly breeds a winner-takes-all system that deprives many Ghanaians of the opportunity to participate and benefit from the political system. When the NPP wins, only those at the top and their family members benefit. The same thing happens when the NDC wins. The majority of the people, including their grassroots executives, are left to wallow in poverty.

2. The duopoly has led to the abandoning of so many uncompleted projects that are worth hundreds of millions of dollars. This is because projects are made to wear party colours instead of national colours.

3. When the NDC is in power, uncompleted projects started by the NPP are left to rot because when they complete them the NPP will take the credit. In the same way, when the NPP is in power, uncompleted projects started by the NDC are left to rot because the NDC will take the credit when they complete them. This is how petty and destructive this system has been. They have been behaving the resources that are used for these projects belongs to their political parties. It’s sad!

4. The duopoly doesn’t provide equal opportunity for all Ghanaians. Under this system, a holder of Ghana card becomes a second-class citizen to a holder of a political party card, as political party cards are considered more important than the Ghana card.

5. Under this system, one’s ability to secure employment in the public service, recruitment to any security services, contract, or scholarship to study in the country or abroad depends on whether or not he or she holds a party card of the ruling party.

6. This duopoly has so much divided the country that, in today’s Ghana, every issue is considered through party lenses. The NDC and NPP are all thinking of how to unite their respective parties, but none of them think about uniting the nation because they benefit from the division due to the winner-takes-all system.

7. The NDC/NPP duopolistic system promotes mediocrity, nepotism, and half-baked leadership situation in the management and governance of the country. Under this system even if the parties elect incompetent or mentally retarded candidates for the sake of their parochial interest, we have no choice but to vote for one of them like that albeit we know the person we are voting for is incompetent. Again, appointments under this system are made mainly on the basis of loyalty and not competence and integrity.

8. The inherent baneful winner-takes-all feature of this system has deprived the nation of the opportunity to mobilise the best brains, talents, expertise, and experience that are outside the confines of the two political parties.

9. Under this system, the two political parties are more concerned about the image of the party than the image of the country in respect of development. In actual fact, apart from dividing us, whipping MPs in line to vote in accordance with the whims and caprices of the parties and covering up corruption within their governments, what has been the strategic contribution of this duopoly for 32 years.

When we are able to muster the courage to fight as a people who are fed up with the duopolistic status quo and begin to reason as nationalists who love their nation more than political parties, we would be able to succeed in ushering in a government of national unity, which would bring to the nation the following better benefits and more.

1. Instead of NDC or NPP being the winner to take all for themselves, Ghana will be the winner to take all for all. In other words, the true meaning of democracy which is “government of the people, by the people, for the people” would be made to manifest in the governance system.

2. There would be equal opportunity for all Ghanaians, especially the youth and women.

3. Ghana would be able to mobilise the best of our brains and expertise for national development and transformation because there would be a wider scope of human resources to consider for appointments.

4. All projects would wear our national colours instead of political party colours. That is to say that the era of NPP projects and NDC projects would be over.

5. All uncompleted projects would be completed alongside new strategic infrastructural projects.

6. No Ghanaian, particularly the youth or woman, would be considered for appointment, employment, or scholarship on the basis of his or her political party membership card. The educated and uneducated holders of the Ghana card would all benefit equitably from the government of national unity relative to jobs and scholarships.

7. There would be national unity and peace for development as all Ghanaians would be made to feel part of the unity government.

8. The cabinet of government of national unity would be made up of the best Ghanaian brains from all the political parties, the academia, labour front, business community, and international institutions like the IMF and World Bank. Meritocracy, not loyalty, would be the guiding principle for appointment.

9. Bribery and corruption would be brought to the barest minimum as there wouldn’t be any cover-up for any corrupt official in the name of protecting the image of a political party.

10. Ghana will rise again on the back of stable low macroeconomic indicators, agricultural and industrial revolution, strategic infrastructure development, information technology, and tourism.

The good people of Benin Republic have voted for independent candidates back-to-back because they have come to realise that that is the best way to go. Both the previous and current presidents won as independent candidates. No wonder their economy is doing so well.

While Benin businessmen and women borrow at an interest rate of less than 7%, our businessmen and women are taking an interest rate of 34.5%.

Shalom shalom!
E. G. BUCKMAN