Former President John Dramani Mahama has suggested that public funding of political parties be scaled up in the foreseeable future to deal with issues surrounding funding for political parties in the country.
According to him, while there is still an avenue of support for the state to fund the activities of political parties, an independent and credible institution be set up to administer the state resources advanced to political parties.
He believes by so doing the institution would be mandated to ensure fairness in sharing the funds to beneficiary parties because showing apathy to the practice could have implications on the country’s developmental outcomes.
Mr. Mahama was speaking at a public lecture on political financing in Ghana and launch of JM 2024 fundraising platform at the UPSA in Accra on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, when he made the recommendation.
Speaking on party financing, he said, “Ghana today is broke. International credit rating agencies have placed us in junk status. Additional state financing can, therefore, not be a viable option on the table. Even if that becomes an option in the future, I recommend that we put in place an explicit Public Funding of Political Parties Bill in a bipartisan and inclusive manner.
“I further recommend that should public funding of political parties be scaled up in the foreseeable future, then, an independent and credible institution must be selected to administer the state resources advanced to political parties. In that regard, a sharing formula could be established to ensure fairness, and specific disclosure requirements on beneficiary parties. This must be complemented by auditing and publication of party accounts.
Ladies and gentlemen, even though I do not recommend additional state financing at this time of national economic meltdown, I accept a lot more needs to be understood regarding how political parties are financed because these could have implications on our developmental outcomes. We must understand how politicians finance their campaigns for office, and to whom they are indebted and are expected to repay,” he stressed.
Mr. Mahama also noted it is important the state engages in sustained discussions and build consensus on funding political parties within the context of public policy to promote good governance and democratic practices in Ghana.
