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General News of Friday, 15 August 2014

Source: starrfmonline.com

‘Winner-takes-all’ system destructive – Rawlings

Former President Jerry Rawlings has said the ‘winner-takes-all’ system of governance in his native Ghana breeds bitter polarisation.

“I have always been a firm believer in the kind of governance that is inclusive and consultative for national progress, rather than working against each other in our quest to perpetuate our stay in power or to get into power," the former Ghanaian leader told an audience at a ceremony to confer an honorary doctorate degree on him and former Nigerian Leader, General Abdulsalami Abubakar.

Rawlings said that system breeds "corruption and under-development."

He, therefore, commended "the Institute for Democratic Governance [a governance civil society group] and its partners for the ongoing campaign for multi-party governance and constitutional reforms."

Another civil society group, Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA), has also held several fora over the same concerns with the aim of engendering discourse for a change.

“I hope the process comes out with some concrete suggestions on the way forward, and I call upon all Ghanaians to participate in the debate on how best to reform our political process to conform to the specific needs of the Ghana of today, with a keen eye on the future," Mr Rawlings said.