The Blended Representation Principle (BRP) and Strengthening Accountability of Public Office in Ghana

The Blended Representation Principle (BRP) model invites Ghanaians to rethink democracy practices in the country because it guarantees (a) cultural legitimacy, (b) electoral accountability, and (c) technical competence in the administration and management of public resources. More importantly, the model shapes the behavior and actions of public officials to prevent recent episodes of puzzling loots with impunity by tapping into primordial relations prevalent in communities of birth – a phenomenon instrumental in forging cohesion and coexistence in community societies Primordial relations mainly emanate from where the umbilical cord of a person has been buried at the time of birth.

Specifically, the BRP model calls for oaths of allegiance to serving the Ghanaian state and commitment to public office to be crafted with a hybrid content of behavior-molding from communities of origin and external practices and norms which have become consensual in the history of building and formation of the nation. This scenario has become necessary as resources upon which the collective existence of the nation depends are seemingly misused or abused by officials and communities as if no resource-management knowledge and principles exist in the land of birth. Arrangements of this nature will be entrenched constitutionally and become the guiding principles of the rule of public service. What follows in this brief is a description of the requisite hybrid content of the communities of origin and external consensual norms; and a sample oath of allegiance demonstrating the link between enhancing accountability and commitment to public office.

Crafting Oaths of Allegiance with Hybrid Content

All the communities which formed the nation, Ghana have Nature and Humans as the basic facts of existence based on values of acknowledging the past, present and future. In this context, the present generation in fulfilling needs, is expected to hold in trust all natural resources for the future and unborn generations thereby grounding intergenerational consciousness in terms of use, abuse, fulfillment, dereliction, or neglect of obligations towards the essential rule of such resources. Content for the Oaths of Allegiance will be crafted from this valued knowledge system with emphasis on the location and origin of the official entrusted with managing public resources. It is a known and observable fact that officials are reluctant to contravene such norm of and cultural practice and knowledge.

By now, there is no ambiguity that universal adult suffrage via competitive partisan elections regardless of the inherent flaws is the acceptable norm and means of representation and participation in organizational life at the national level. By this consensual arrangement, the structure and content regarding oath of public office would be augmented with ideals and practices including state of the nation addresses, budgeting, taxation obligations, reports of watchdog expenditure agencies and Public Accounts Committee of Parliament.

Sample Content of Oaths of Allegiance and Commitment to Public Office

Following the line of thoughts expressed here, oaths of allegiance will be administered in the regular manner by the designated Administrator of the State. As a rule of public service, the oath would be localized to include a phrase on misuse or abuse of resources and well-known community sanctions for remedial purposes as follows: “If I steal or misuse/abuse any public resource belonging to the community or nation entrusted to (name of official inserted) may the local (name of the local remedial sanction source inserted) deal with the person and or face the full rigors of the law”. By this pronouncement, such a hybrid content arrangement will bolster accountability in the administration and management of public resources.

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