The Chairman of the National Peace Council, Reverend Professor Emmanuel Asante, has said monetisation of politics is undermining the country’s democratic culture so there is a need to call on politicians to declared their assets in order to help bridged the gap of menace of corruption in the country.

He made this known when speaking at a National Stakeholders’ Consultation on Monetisation of Politics in Ghana organised by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs in Accra last Monday, Rev. Prof. Asante reiterated to the fact that political activities in the country, in the sense of seeking political office, were seriously becoming the monopoly of the highest bidder when it comes to corruption.

That, he said, was a disturbing trend which was making politics in Ghana a very expensive venture for persons who had a good heart to serve the country but lacked the financial muscle to compete.

In his address, a senior Lecturer at the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana, Professor Atsu Aryee has called on government to implements laws that will help make political parties accountable and prevent excessive spending by in political elections

He further asked citizens to scrutinise the various manifestoes of political parties monitor their performance recommended a study into the manifestoes of political parties and monitor their outputs and results in order to make them accountable and transparent when elected into power for accountability and transparency.

Prof Ayee said political parties were seen as office seekers whose motive is to capture political power and seen by the public to be people who are there for personal agrandisement rather than public interest.

This according to him can be attributable to the explained that these negative perceptions of these parties due to their financial challenges they are facing.

He emphasised that ‘Weak promotion of internal democracy also contributed to the negative perception which has increased the monetization of politics and capture of the parties by moneybags”he laments.

Meanwhile the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Majority Leader in Parliament, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, noted that the need for the forum would encourage a national discourse on monetisation in politics and come out with measures to curtail the concern.

He pointed out that the Inter-Parliamentary Union had called on Parliament to ensure that by 2025, women in its membership would constitute 30 per cent, adding that the winner-takes-all system “guarantees a do or die” attitude during elections and it was imperative for all to be concerned and help address the situation.

For his part, the Minority Leader in Parliament, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, has charged political parties for a concerted effort to discuss the issues dispassionately devoid of political affiliation.

source: http://aliveghananews.com