THE ROTATIONAL POLITICAL SYSTEM

THE ROTATIONAL POLITICAL SYSTEM:
MULTI-PARTY DEMOCRACY: HOW IT SHOULD BE IN GHANA.

This is a suggestion worth considering by all who have the interest of the whole of Ghana at heart. This has been designed to be non-partisan as possible, and some of the reasons for any unusual proposition will be stated. It is very important to note that this is only a sketch, and your suggestions, be it critical or otherwise, will help develop this idea. It must also be borne in mind the objectives of the proposal, which is to eradicate partisan and divisive politics to guarantee the avoidance of civil conflict following any election; to concentrate the efforts of governments on the real needs of the people of Ghana as opposed to the priority of political party, [which is to win elections]; to replace short-term party manifestos of individual parties with ONE agenda for the nation; and to enhance probity and accountability in politics.

The system consists of the following bodies or arms of government:

1) THE SUPREME COUNCIL OF STATE (SCS),
2) POLITICAL PARTIES,
3) LOCAL GOVERNMENT,
4) THE JUDICIARY, and
5) THE MEDIA.
1) The SUPREME COUNCIL of STATE (SCS) will be made up of both elected and un-elected citizens. You can suggest which kind of people to constitute this body once you know the proposed function for it. They will act as the Board of Governors and Trustees on behalf of the people of Ghana. The SCS will be responsible for drawing up and reviewing a long term Developmental Plan for Ghana. They will also be responsible for setting achievable TARGETS for a ruling political party. (This will be understood more under Political Parties in the next paragraph). The SCS will crucially be the evaluators of the ruling party to determine their performance, upon which the term of office of the ruling party will depend. This body will also be responsible for investigating corruption and abuse of office allegations against any political party (in or out of power), and possible legal action on behalf of the people of Ghana. The armed forces should be under the command of the SCS and not the president, at least in principle. This body will not be sitting as often as the parliament. It will meet only a few times in a month, (and as when needed). When this body is in session, it will carry more power than the president. It should be completely independent from all the other bodies. Its remuneration will be determined by the fully elected local government, and not by the president, or a political party. In my opinion, some of the experts who should be members of this very august body are as follows: The head of the Institute of Economic Affairs, Vice Chancellors, The Audit Commissioner (Auditor General), Head of the Ghana Bar Association, Head of the National House of Chiefs, and at least one head from a Ghana based human rights organisation, or The Commissioner for Human Rights and Administrative Justice and The head of the TUC. In this case the president should not have exclusive right to appoint any of the above positions. The elected members of the Supreme Council of State should be, ten (10), one (1) from each of the ten (10) regions of the country. These ten directly elected members would also be the MAYORS of their respective regions. These members will serve for as long as they are elected as mayors. The experts should also serve for as long as they hold their various offices that propelled them to the SCS.

2) The POLITICAL PARTIES will be formed to exclude the active members of the current mostly tribal and ethnic based parties. I suggest three (3) political parties, which will take turns to run the affairs of the state. They will act as contractors or temporary workers for the people of Ghana, employed by the SCS, our board of governors or trustees. They employ their own style or method of delivering or meeting the set targets. The parties choose their own leader in accordance to a set criteria, or qualifications, and vetted by the SCS. The leader will introduce himself or herself to the people by touring the most regions and districts. The chosen leader will be our President(Chief Executive Officer) when that party assumes office. A party in power will have to work towards set TARGETS, instead of towards winning elections and a short term party manifesto. The targets are set by our board of governors, the SCS, at the start of a term of office. The targets may include GDP, employment, export, school enrolment, inflation, law and order, human rights, food production, health care, etc. Each target will be given different priority for any government depending on the state of the nation and the needs of the people at the start of the term. The party in power will also propose laws, (legislation), to be debated on by the directly elected local government office holders, (i.e. MCEs, DCEs), and the MAYORS (regionally elected members of the SCS). The parties will also have strong presence in all the regions. A ruling party will appoint a member to each Metropolitan, Municipal or District Assembly. These political appointees will act as liaison officers between the Executive and the Local Assemblies. This is not an executive position. They will take part in debates and discussions but will have no vote. They will be on the pay roll of the Ministry of Local Government and should not be paid more than the average pay of a headmaster of a local JSS.

Very importantly the length of term of office will be determined by the performance of a ruling party. The performance will be measured against the set targets. I propose a standard term length of FIVE (5) years. This means that if a party in power meets the target set for it by the SCS at the start of its term, they rule for 5 years before making way for the next party in line. If at the end of a 5-year standard term, a ruling party performs better than the set targets, it is rewarded by a term extension of 3 years. That party would therefore govern for EIGHT (8) YEARS, before making way for the party in line. If on the other hand, a ruling party is evaluated after two and a half years and predicted to perform less than average, it loses two (2) years. This means that a poor performing party will govern for only THREE (3) years instead of the standard 5. The number of years a party rules determine the pensions of its executives. Their image will also be at stake here. In this Rotational Multi-Party System, a ruling party aims directly at meeting the set targets, (set by the SCS), instead of “painting the opposition black” to the voters, and amassing state funds to fight general elections. Parties in waiting will not have the need to pull down a party in power. In fact the opposite is the case under this system. A party in line to assume office will wish to take over from a successful government to give them a smooth start. All governments work towards the same long-term grand socio-economic programme for Ghana drawn by the SCS.

When political parties are not in power, they will operate as charity clubs and educate and help the needy in our society. They will also be obliged to familiarise themselves with the people of the whole country by systematically travelling round the country.

3) The LOCAL GOVERNMENT system in operation now will be more accountable and sensitive to the people they serve with a handful of changes and additions. Instead of appointed regional ministers, Mayors will be directly elected. These mayors will represent their regions on the Supreme Council of State. This is an executive position. Their election should strictly be non-partisan (that is not between parties but independent individuals). The chief executives of the assemblies, namely the Metropolitan/ Municipal Chief Executives (MCEs), the District Chief Executives (DCEs) must all be directly elected on a non-partisan platform, as opposed to being appointed by a ruling party. A ruling party will be represented by its Party Liaison Officers, (a non executive post), at every assembly.

4) THE JUDICIARY system is very good except the political interference seen under the current political system. I am pretty certain that under this proposed Rotational System where political vendetta and witch hunting is non existent, Presidents will follow the correct laid down procedure to appoint the Chief Justice, and judges to the Supreme Court.

5) Last but not the least is the MEDIA. The media will have an important role as a watchdog. Registered (Professional) Journalists should be given more access to unclassified public information. This will help them accurately inform and educate the general public on the state of our various socio-economic activities. For example, they should have access to infant mortality rate in any hospital; reported crimes in police stations. They should be able to make public controversial activities of public and political office holders without fear of prosecution. They will also be required by the constitution to keep alive all political investigations and prosecutions till their conclusion. Any registered journalist can impeach or indict any member of the SCS on two conditions at the public expense. First, the journalist should have overwhelming evidence of a wrong doing, and secondly the legally binding support of at least five (5) of the ten elected SCS members (the Mayors).

In conclusion this proposed Rotational Political System will ensure meaningful democracy; accountability; continuity; grass root participation; efficiency; lasting peace and above all much needed accelerated development. Respect for our elders and those in authority which used to be a quintessential part of our diverse culture, will be restored.

This system will also eliminate tribal and ethnic tensions, political antagonism, vilification, expensive and highly charged presidential and parliamentary elections, no more waste on a politically polarized and rubber-stamp parliament, and no more cross party collusion on corruption investigations.

The presidency also ceases to be a gold mine for greedy and selfish individuals. With the elimination of general or presidential elections, one would not need campaign 'sponsors' that lead to corruption. The presidency cannot therefore be 'bought'.

Imagine a group of constitutional experts or even ordinary Ghanaians like you and me getting together to debate this idea and develop it further. I always believe that, we as Ghanaians, have the 'brains' to develop our own system, and be the hallmark for not only Africa, but all developing countries. We will not be really free or independent until we find our unique and working system of ruling.

LONG LIVE GHANA!!
By John Paa Kojo Blankson.