A senior lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School, Dr Kobby Mensah, has said it will be difficult for the two main parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), to fight against corruption when in office.
According to him, these parties are financed in opposition by some private individuals who in turn expect to be paid back when these parties come to power. This he said would put pressure on that governing party to use every means to pay back their debts to the financiers.
Speaking in an interview with Valentina Ofori-Afriyie on 505 on Class91.3FM in connection with financing of political parties in Ghana, Dr Mensah said: “The political parties, both the NPP and NDC, their promise about wiping out corruption was just talked, there is no appetite for this particular issue about corruption to be wiped off.
“If they had the appetite to make sure that corruption is actually cut off or curtailed, they will definitely do the right thing, but it is not possible.
“If you fight elections, all this while you have people funding your political party. You go for the first time somebody finances it, the next another group of people finances it, the next another group of people finances it, how are you actually going to pay them back?”
“I don’t think that anyone who actually put their money into an election are actually doing so for the love of the country – of course they could be doing that but also we have some of our senior colleagues [lecturers] who have actually investigated into political financing and they have indicated that we have what we call political entrepreneurs – they put their money in and they expect something back.
“No one will give you money as a charity or as Father Christmas; they will expect something back. And as a result, no matter how determined you are, you definitely have to yield at some point.”
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