The Western North Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Awudu Dramani Sam, has described as dangerous, the situation where money changes hands in Ghana’s election processes.
He said the monetization of the country’s political system posed serious threat to the time-tested democratic dispensation.
“Ghana’s Fourth Republican Constitution has survived over three decades, and every effort must be made to preserve it for posterity,” he recounted.
Mr Dramani Sam said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency after the celebration of the Constitution Week at Sefwi Wiawso, the Western North regional capital.
He explained that monetization of politics breeds money laundering, bribery, vote selling and buying, which are all major indicators of corruption.
The Regional Director stated; “It’s sad to note that wrong people with money, win power and mismanage the economy, while the right people who have no money to influence the electorate, are denied the opportunity to serve the country.
“In effect, the phenomenon breeds corruption, produce wrong leaders, and retards the country’s transformation agenda.”
Mr Dramani Sam indicated that going forward, the NCCE would collaborate with the media, to intensify its public education, to sensitize the citizenry on the need to help eradicate this political canker.
“The media is an important collaborative partner of the NCCE, and we hope to strengthen this working relationship, to enable us reach out to the larger Ghanaian populace, to rise up to their civic responsibility of righting the wrongs in our society,” he said. He appealed to government and corporate bodies, to provide the NCCE with logistical support, especially fuel, to enable it function effectively.