'Political party financing a lucrative business’ - IDEG

The Executive Director of the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), Dr Emmanuel Akwetey has stated that political party financing in the country has become a lucrative business for some people.

According to the political scientist, the situation is largely the cause of the various procurement infractions in the country as those financed become indebted to the extent that they resort to over-invoicing and other crimes.

Institutions which are mandated to check these crimes, he observed, “are ineffective” to carry out their mandate, giving our leaders who are a mixture of lawyers, auditors, engineers, accountants and others to “get things through easily’.

“Those who are financing parties today see the election as business and the kind of profits they make, they will not make it in any business. The situation is largely the cause of the various procurement infractions as those financed become indebted to the extent of resorting to over-invoicing and other crimes.

Dr Akwetey explained that because these politicians eventually become indebted to their financiers, they become susceptible to controls.

“Institutions which are mandated to check the crimes are ineffective and inefficient to carry out their mandate, giving our leaders and others to get things through easily, because politicians eventually become indebted to their financiers, become susceptible to controls and through our leaders they capture the state."

“The financiers decide for our leaders what you do, what you cannot do, what your priorities are, you have party people who have been in positions like managing campaigns, telling you the financiers are the bane of our democracy, they are really putting our democratic dispensation and good governance at risk."

“Our nation is the only one, probably in Africa where there is no regulation of campaign financing, which is not good for our democracy and good governance, many believe it is the work of the Electoral Commission but the EC has a lot on its plate, I think if we want them to do all, then let’s do but it will require a change of the law in certain part."

“That is because in election administration everything the EC does is regulated by the law, the need for reforms for a state institution to be put in place to regulate political party financing activities, since the state business is regulated by the state authority, the EC can’t grapple with everything which the parties agree on."

“The parties themselves agree some regulation is needed but the EC cannot handle all, the country requires a new body to take up that responsibility, things that fall outside the EC, you cannot control, you need a new body,” Dr Akwetey pointed out.