The revelations
that emerged from the confrontation between Ato Awhoi and Herbert Mensah
on the airwaves of FM stations betray the character and methods of the
Ghana’s political elite. The undemocratic methods of king makers is
a major destabilizing factor in all the Political Parties.
Their ability to
destabilize their Parties in their quest for control is predicable and
could happen in any Party because the current Political Parties are not
under the effective control of its ordinary members.
In the volume 1
number 4 (Wednesday, January 27 edition) under the banner NDC Unity:
Delegate Impose Unity on NDC factions” The Talk in its front page
comment stated? that: ’what had taken place during the NDC
congress in Tamale was just a semblance of unity” and “the
seeming calm is bound to be tested because the interests of the opposing
groups still persist”.
We stated further
that “How they [opposing groups] pursue their interests after the
congress, will determine whether the perception of unity endures.”
prior to the congress, the various interest groups in the NDC were
struggling against each other in the open.
The fact is that
the elite in Ghana have no respect for democratic practices and methods.
Their preferred method is the use falsehood, treachery, bribery, character
assassination, fabrication, corruption and all sorts of underhand dealings
to manufacture a perception of popular support. This modus operandi
creates the need for serial callers, spin doctors, partisan media, etc. as
convenient tools for deceiving the public and a replacement of the Parties
rank and file.
It is only a
government that is unsure of the support of its cadres that panics in the
face of a leadership challenge from other interest groups within the
party. It must be noted that not too long ago, the Mills government's
struggle was with its own foot soldiers, as revealed by the criticism of
foot soldiers launched by the Vice President John Mahama from the platform
of a member of opposition NPP.?
The sense of
desperation exhibited by the Mills regime and its propaganda machine in
the face of a suspected internal threat by the Rawlings’ leave much
to be desired. It betrays a panicky leadership that may show weakness when
western countries exert imperial power to back their interest in cases
such as Vodafone, Kosmos, etc.
Public
institutions must build strong structures to respond adequately to
potential issues that may arise in the course of time. This cannot be
achieved in organization such as the political parties where a few people,
due to the wealth, act as self appointed wise men who plot and scheme to
manufacture consent to their views and interests.
If the NDC was
internally democratic, it would have put in place a body mandated to deal
with such issues, and this body would have discussed and decided the way
forward on issues, such as a possible health problem of its flag bearer
and its implications for the Party.?
This would have
prevented other interest groups from taking undue advantage of the
situation to feather their own nests.
The lack of
control of political parties by their members creates the situation where
the elite are not accountable to anyone but themselves. Those able to
hijack the Party hope to use their position to gain control of the
country's resources in case their Party wins power.
The Talk wishes to
advise members of the Political Parties to fight for effective democratic
control of their Parties if they are to prevent intra-elite struggles for
control with its associated consequence of destabilizing the Party from
within.