1. Is the formation of political parties compulsory? 2. Is politics a profession? 3. Who determines the salaries of politicians both in Government and in opposition? 4. What source of revenue should be used to fund the political parties? 5. Any time a tax is introduced in Ghana there is demonstrations against the tax, now the same political parties want government to fund their parties, is it wise? If the state is to fund political parties, then churces, and all organised associations should be funded by the state.
No transparency can check this as there is no proper independent person or body in Ghana. At one time NDC blames the EC, at another the auditor is not good, then next the police are partisan and finally the press is in bed with the government.
In short people who want to rule Ghana should organise themselves and fund their own activities at their own expense since it is ajob search just like any other person looking for work.
As J H Mensah said voting and giving power to a politician is like giving a gun with bullets to your son or somebody to kill you.
They should find their own funds for their political activities.
I do not fully agree with the funding of political parties by the state. Afterall the state does not control the formation of political parties. I also do not agree that there are smaller parties in Ghana. Each of them has the same representation at all meetings and that they have equal recognition by the Electoral Commission. Some parties are considered small because of poor organisation and poor packaging of messages. All the political parties started their organisation after the lifting of party polotics ban in 1992. Why is it that others survived and others died? Some parties have less than twenty leading members how do you expect them to use state funds to enrich themselves. If NDC and the other parties support this idea, then should we spend money for political parties at the expense of education, water, health and sanitation, etc. It is the same thing as the ROPAL which the other parties are rejecting. I will only agree with state funding of political parties if the state can come out with the number of political parties in the country. I will come back again on this same issue on Monday.
The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), at a forum on Thursday to discuss the state funding of political parties has suggested in a draft bill that two percent of national revenue from the Value Added Tax (VAT) should be put in a special fund for political parties.
When the state funds political parties, the IEA argues, there would be a level playing field for all parties in their quest to win political power.
While the bill encourages foreign funding of political parties, it prohibits the parties from using money given to them by the state to fund demonstrations.
