DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
UNIVERSITY
OF GHANA, LEGON.
SUSTAINING
DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE IN GHANA: SOME CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS
NAME:
GEORGE ASEKERE
INDEX NO.10289946
SPECIAL
TOPIC PRESENTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF ARTS (MA) DEGREE IN THE SCHOOL OF
GRADUATE STUDIES
Student’s Declaration.
I
hereby declare that except for
references to other people’s work which have been duly cited, this Special Topic
is the result of my own work and that it has neither in whole nor in part been
presented elsewhere.
Name: GEORGE ASEKERE
INDEX NO.10289946
Signature................................
Date........................................
Name:
PROFESSOR A. ESSUMAN-JOHNSON
Signature...................................
Date..........................................
(SUPERVISOR)
Introduction
In the past two
decades, democratic progress seemed increasingly evident around the globe. The
overthrow of military regimes in most countries in Africa including the
dismantling of the apartheid regime in South Africa is ample testimony to this
fact. This notwithstanding, the euphoria about the growth of democracy
following dramatic political events characterized by military regimes is over.
Despite some notable success stories, democracy has proven more difficult to
achieve than many assumed (World Movement for Democracy, 2009). The initial
steps towards democracy with the organization of competitive elections, as undertaken
in many countries, proved not to be enough to deliver on the high expectations
among people for an improvement in their lives.
Democracy does not come by itself and it cannot be imported from abroad.
Values such as respect for diversity and pluralism, tolerance, justice,
freedom, human rights, and non-violence are universal core values that are
embedded in the rich cultural diversity around the globe (Asante, 2002). UN Secretary General Kofi Annan stated on October
30th, 2006: “…democracy is a universal right that does not belong to any
country or region, and that participatory governance, based on the will of the
people, is the best path to freedom, growth and development.” Transforming
these values into the practice of democratic governance takes time, which is in
short supply because of people’s high expectations for democratic government to
deliver. But as Kofi Annan puts it: “No nation is born a democracy.” It
requires effort and time to build while it requires permanent maintenance as
well. At the Millennium Summit in 2000, the relevance of democratic governance
was highlighted particularly for developing countries. In fact, the world’s
leaders renewed their commitment to promote democracy, strengthen the rule of
law, and respect all internationally recognized human rights and fundamental
freedoms including the right to development (ITU, 2002). After two
decades of continuous governance through the ballot box, many Ghanaians now
heave a sigh of relief that the country will no longer go back to the dark days
and perhaps the right time to see the statement by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah: ‘We have
the blessing of the wealth of our vast resources, the power of our talents and
the potentialities of our people’ come to past (Anagwonye, 2013).
At
the 2014 Distinguished Speaker Lectures Series at the Central University
College, Prof. Kwesi Botcthway, Ghana’s longest Finance Minister as of the time
of this study (1982-1995) stressed the need for consensus building to
consolidate the democratic gains. He observed that Ghana is polarised to the
extent that there is lack of what he prefers to call ‘common civility’.
According to Prof. Botchway, the seed of conflict is often sawn slowly and
cumulatively hence the need for Ghana to urgently tackle the challenges of
corruption, abuse of public office, ethnicity, the electoral management system
as well as ethnicity to safeguard the future of Ghana’s democracy.
The
enactment of the 1992 Constitution on 7th January 1993 as per PNDC
Law 282 enabled Ghana to finally join the international community in the
pursuit of democratic governance for good. The 1992 Constitution emerged as the
collective will of the people and thus declared Ghana a democratic state that
is dedicated to the pursuit of freedom, justice and prosperity for its people.
Ghana has since the forth republic had six peaceful Presidential and
Parliamentary Elections. Even though the 2012 election ended up in court, it
was peacefully adjudicated and the parties involved accepted the ruling of the
Supreme Court thus further confirming the assertion that democracy has come to
stay in Ghana (Gyimah-Boadi, 2013). These are no mean achievements considering
the fact that the challenges that Ghana survived has, elsewhere on the
continent and abroad, led to catastrophic outcomes such as prolonged conflicts,
ethnic carnage and civil wars.
Despite these
successes chalked up in the areas of elections, Ghana has equally been
confronted and is still being confronted with serious challenges that undermine
the democratic process. The elections of December 2012, and several
developments in the one year preceding the election, pointed to the fact that a
broad range of governance deficits exist in Ghana. In present day Ghana,
political power is constitutionally concentrated in the hands of the executive.
This structural imbalance has given rise to a number of far reaching,
exceedingly negative governance consequences. Though it has kept electoral
competition strong, it has weakened institutional checks-and-balances and led
to the situation where the ruling party has too much power. Executive dominance
and inadequate regulation of the exercise of presidential and executive branch
official’s discretionary power has led to weak accountability in the management
of the nation’s resources and has driven spikes in governmental spending,
especially in election years, which impacts negatively on economic performance,
after elections. Furthermore, governmental accountability and transparency is
highly inadequate. There is insufficient transparency about government
decisions and actions, including the award and payment of ex-gratia, salaries
and other conditions of service attached to the position of the president,
ministers of state, parliamentarians and other key state functionaries
(Gyimah-Boadi, 2013).
This state of affairs is further evidenced by
the fear, uncertainty and apprehension that the nation is usually gripped with
anytime there is presidential and parliamentary elections. Sadly, this has also
been seen in bye elections some of which witnessed shooting and smashing of
windscreens of vehicles belonging to opposition elements. The bye election at
Chereponi in September 2009 in the Northern Region and the one at Atiwa in
August 2010 in the Eastern Region easily come mind. The Ghanaian Chronicle reported that state security particularly
National Security has on many instances unleashed unwarranted attacks and in
some cases detained ordinary Ghanaians who have engaged in lawfully making use
of freedom of expression. It has also become clear that what would make a party
win election is more important than the basic cries of hunger by the citizens
and this phenomenon seems to have the blessing of National Security. This
phenomenon raises doubts about the collective understanding of the people on the
ideals and practice of multi-party democracy (Karikari, 2014).
In a speech at the
opening ceremony of the 61st Annual New Year School at the
University of Ghana in 2010, the Chief Justice, Justice Georgina Theodora Wood,
observed that the challenges that confront Ghana are many despite the global
accolade it has gained as a beacon of democracy in West Africa. She admitted
that there are critical areas of weakness which threatens the sustenance of
democracy governance: Ethnic politics, Drug Trafficking, Managing Revenue
including those from the Oil and Gas sector, Fighting Corruption, Establishing
a Transparent and Credible Power Transfer, Building a more Inclusive and Humane
Society.(Key note Addresses and Communiqués on Annual New Year Schools,
2009-2014).
The doubt in the minds of many may be seen in
the unstable political history from the first to the third Republic. From 1957 to 1966 Dr. Kwame Nkrumah led the
country. Lt. General J. A. Ankrah became Head of State from 1966 to 1969. Lt.
General A.A. Afrifa was Head of State in 1969. Democracy returned from 1969 to
1972 with Dr. K.A. Busiah as Prime Minister and Edward Akuffo Addo as
President. General Ignatius Achaempong took over as Head of State from 1972 to
1978 whiles General F.W.K. Akuffo was Head of State from 1978 to 1979. Fl. Lt.
J.J. Rawlings took over for a short period in 1979 and handed over to a democratically
president Dr. Hilla Limann who ruled from 1979 to 1981. J.J. Rawlings came back
as a military ruler from 1981 to 1993 when democratic rule was restored
(Agyemang-Duah, 2008).
After 57 years of
self-governance with 21 years of continuous democratic rule in Ghana, the
challenge is how to sustain democratic governance in the way that will ensure
maximum benefit for the people. It must however be stated that our present
democratic dispensation has been secured after three failed attempts in the past
and it was through greater sacrifices that Ghana finally realised that the
destiny of the nation can only be realised by means of democratic governance.
This is buttressed by one of the key findings of the Centre for Democratic
Governance (CDD-GHANA), in their afrobarometer survey (Round4) which took place
in 20 countries, including Ghana, in which it came out that majority of
Ghanaians prefer democracy to any other form of government and actually
expressed satisfaction with its workings in Ghana. Democratic
governance relies instruments of governance that nurtures and strategically
utilizes the self-governing potential of civil society under the strategic
supervision of public authorities, seen in such diverse areas including
employment policy, police power and crime prevention, health policy and bio
politics, employment policy, educational policy, accounting practices, and
media freedom (Bang & Esmark, 2009).
At the time of
Independence the main focus was self-governance and many people at the time
were not too familiar with the main tenets of democracy. Besides, Ghana was far
better than many countries in Africa and was the benchmark for other countries
hence the general satisfaction of the state of governance at the time. This
naturally meant that unemployment, executive dominance, corruption and the
challenge of an emerging oil and gas industry were not seen as major problems
as we see them today. Today democracy has been generally accepted by the
people. It is in the light of this that
this
work examined some of the challenges that could undermine the quest for
sustaining democratic governance in Ghana. The work highlights some of the
challenges as unemployment, corruption, the winner takes all syndrome, the
emerging oil and gas industry, the media and electoral system and ethnicity in
the body politic.
Statement of the problem
Since the
promulgation of the 1992 constitution, Ghana has been acknowledged as a growing
democracy and the beacon of hope for the African continent. Ghana has had six
Presidential and Parliamentary Elections since 1993 and they have generally
been acclaimed to be free and fair by both local and international observers
despite reports of irregularities usually from the opposition parties. It must
be stated that the 2012 election resulted in a dispute which was peacefully
settled by the Supreme Court and both petitioners and respondents accepted the
final judgement of the nine member bench (Asante, 2002). In retrospect, one
cannot forget the expectations of most Ghanaians prior to the drafting of the
constitution of the fourth Republic in 1992. Students, Civil Society
Organizations and political parties felt that an opportunity had been offered
to the people to end military rule and usher in a regime that acknowledges that
‘what affects all must be decided by all’ (Gyimah-Boadi, 2004).
Unfortunately,
after 21 years of democratic governance under the fourth republic, the Ghanaian
society is polarised. Outwardly Ghanaians continue to deceive themselves and
indeed the global community that they are one people with a common destiny and
that all is well. Despite the claims of being the beacon of hope and gate way
to Africa a mere change in government in Ghana means loss of jobs or at best
transfer of civil and public servants who are suspected to have sympathy for
the previous regimes. This is aggravated by the winner takes all syndrome that
exist. This trend has affected the country and has created the fertile grounds
for a polarised society in which basic issues affecting the survival of the
people cannot be discussed without political leanings. Education, health, water
and sanitation, as well as economic issues, cannot be looked at from the
national standpoint due to the lack of a clear national development plan but
from the manifesto pledges of political parties. The approach of building a
democratic culture from the assertion of political parties instead of national
values is killing initiatives to build a strong, stable and peaceful society.
Democracy is not
only about elections. Indeed it is the means of attaining socio-economic
development as espoused by (Lindbergh, 2006). The question is: How have
successive democratic governments tried to translate the political will of the
people into development that would be beneficial to all the citizenry as
enshrined in the directive principles of state policy in the Constitution. How
responsive have institutions that are mandated to address the needs of the
ordinary citizens, especially the poor and vulnerable in society? Also why have
there been so much acrimony, divisive politics, corruption, ethnicity and
tensions in the country in the last 20 years? The burden of this research is
the belief that there are challenges that can potentially threaten the
sustenance of democratic governance in Ghana and there is need to research
these challenges, namely executive dominance, corruption, unregulated media,
the emerging oil and gas industry, the electoral system and ethnicity in the
body politic.
Objectives of the study
The purpose of
this study is to highlight some of the aspects of Ghana’s democracy that could
undermine the consolidation of the country’s democratic governance by examining
the key governance challenges faced by Ghana today, review some of the key
institution and their mode of operation, some laws, and how they affect
democratic conduct. The ultimate aim of this study is to highlight some of the
issues that pose as threat to the Ghana’s democratic governance and suggest
reforms for the future. These challenges are being highlighted bearing in mind
the democratic gains that the country has made since the return to
constitutional rule in 1993.
Methodology
This
study primarily relied on desk research. The materials are sourced from
relevant secondary data as well as the collation of relevant literature on key
electoral institutions and laws. The study also benefited from insights from
star Ghana report on Ghana’s democracy published in 2013 and research findings
of the Centre for Democratic Development, CDD-Ghana.
Justification for topic
Since the inception
of the 1992, Ghanaians have been keen in interrogating the ideals of democratic
governance and the consolidation of gains from its practice. Until the 2012
Presidential and Parliamentary Election ended up in the Supreme Court, many were
of the view that Ghana’s democracy is flawless particularly when the country
had often been regarded as the beacon of hope for Africa when it came to
democratic governance. The president, John Mahama and opposition leader Nana
Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo both acknowledged that it was by the grace of God that
the nation amicably settled the 2012 election dispute. Again utterances by the
ordinary people during the election petition indicated that the country is not
immune to post election violence if the electoral system and other things such
as poverty, ethnic politics, corruption and unguarded media are not
satisfactorily managed. The examination of these challenges informed the choice
of the topic: Sustaining Democratic Governance in Ghana: Some Challenges and
Prospects.
Literature Review
Studies on democracy
In
his studies on Sustainable democracy in Ghana-Problems and prospects, Haynes
(1993) observed that Ghana has been in the forefront of political change in
sub-Saharah Africa since gaining independence in 1957. He traced the genesis of
some of Ghana’s democratic challenges to the Coup d’état in 1966 that ushered
in a quarter century of almost undemocratic rule with only brief periods of
elected government (Busia regime, 1969-72; Limanm regime, 1979-81). He argued
that the constitutional process that returned in 1993 was the culmination of a
democratisation process which had begun four years earlier with the popular
elections at the district-level. Haynes believed that Ghana’s traditional
political division is between the body of ideas associated with Dr. Nkrumah
(socialism, anti-imperialism) and those of Dr. Busia and J. B. Danquah
(liberalism, anti pro-west). Comparing Ghana’s democracy with many others in
Africa, Haynes asserted that it would not be fruitful to stress ideology
overmuch in attempting to illustrate Ghana’s political system: by large,
personalities tend to be more significant than ideology. He cited the election
of Jerry John Rawlings in 1993 and attributed it largely to the electoral
appeal that was grounded far more in Mr. Rawlings individual characteristics
than it was a result of party affiliation.
However
in their study on Personality and Charisma in the US Presidency dubbed: A
Psychological Theory of Leader Effectiveness, House,
Robert J.; Spangler, William D.; Woycke, James in 2014, argued that in an age
of complexity, change, large enterprises, and nation states, leaders are more
important than ever. However, their effectiveness depends on their personality
and charisma and not solely on their control over bureaucratic structures. They
used U.S. presidents to test a general model of leader effectiveness that
includes leader personality characteristics, charisma, crises, age of the
institution headed by the leader, and leader effectiveness. In their finding
age of the presidency accounted for approximately 20 percent of the variance in
presidential needs for power, achievement, and affiliation. Presidential needs
and a measure of leader self-restraint in using power, the age of the
presidency, and crises accounted for 24 percent of the variance in presidential
charisma. Age of the presidency, crises, needs, and charisma together predicted
from 25 percent to 66 percent of the variance in five measures of presidential
performance. The study concluded that personality and charisma do make a
difference. In Ghana
where education level is generally low one is of the view believe that if the
electorate do not examine the ability of a candidate to deliver but just party
affiliation and personality appeal it could undermine the democratic
consolidation because if the masses will elect people based on factors either
than ability to perform, serious economic crisis could erupt in the future
because the survival instincts is more important to the people than any other
thing.
In
a similar study, Diamond (2003) observed that over the years, democracy has
emerged and flourished in many places throughout the world. He argued that the
last quarter of the twentieth century witnessed the greatest expansion of
democracy in the history of the world. According to him democracy may be an
imperfect form of governance but all the other forms of governance are far
worse and this surely is a moment for recognising the benefits which democracy
brings despite its shortcomings. Mendus, (1993) agreed with Diamond when he
added that this is a moment for confirming our faith in democracy not a moment
for doubting it. These notwithstanding many political scholars and writers have
doubted the prospects of democracy in Africa. In his book ‘Democracy the
Unfulfilled Journey, John Dunn, (1993) posits that ‘connectedly, the sheer size
of modern states creates a rift between the individual and the community which
makes it impossible for individuals to perceive the state as a focus of common
good. Thus democracy is not attainable in large, modern post-industrial
societies as an ideal but it promotes human fulfilment and human freedom in the
modern world. He argued that this promise cannot be met and democracy has
therefore become at least a method of curbing the exercise of rulers and at
worst an idle, even a utopia dream. Plato agreed with Dunn when he observed
that democratic governance with its ultimate goal being liberty is prone to the
rise of anarchy and rebellion due to a distinct lack of discipline, sense of
duty and respect for order.
Some
scholars are however of the view that democracy is the key to development in
this modern era. In his work on Advancing Democratic Governance: A global perspective
on the status of democracy and direction for international assistance, Larry
(2003) observed that the prospects for development and the potential for
development assistance to be effective heavily depend on the quality of
governance ; the way which public power is exercised, and public resources are
managed and expanded. He adds that good democratic government is the key to
development and aid effectiveness, unless states can be made more responsible,
competent, efficient, participatory, open, transparent, accountable, lawful and
legitimate in the way they govern, stagnating and poorly performing countries
will not experience the kind of vigorous sustained development that transforms
levels of human development and permanently lifts large segments of the
population out of poverty. Democratic governance can thus be sustained when
those who are governed are satisfied with the way in which the powers they have
vested in those who govern are exercised lawfully without partiality.
In
their study on democratic governance Miller (1992) posits that the
preoccupation with democratic governance indicates a particular concern with
the challenge of steering. They argued that in both theory and practice, the
underlying point of the governance perspective is to relocate politics and
administration from the problem of the state to the problem of steering. To
them this general problematic of government is essentially instrumental and
practical; it is concerned with how to govern, or, if we are to do away with
the remaining state connotations of government: how to steer. They admitted
that good governance is technical (or technocratic, in the proper sense of the
word) before anything else: it is concerned with the ‘humble and mundane
mechanisms by which authorities seek to instantiate government. In a
presentation at the 10th Democracy and Good Governance Lecture on
the topic the Paradox of Voice Without Accountability in Ghana by the Ghana
Centre for Democratic Development CDD-GHANA on the 16th May 2014 at
the British Council, Prof. Kwame Karikari observed that despite the accolade of
good governance in Ghana, the response of State Security to the legitimate
demands by most rural communities particularly in the mining communities has
been effectively to consider the generally peaceful exercising of freedom of
expression as trouble making. He noted that security forces have attacked,
arrested, detained and in a few instances shot and killed or wounded community
activists. In their high headed reaction to the rural demand for their right
and social justice the State Security Agencies have often exposed extremely
frightening and instinctively intolerance to two critical rights of freedom of
expression; the right to protest in public and the right to hold demonstration.
The apparent paranoiacs of security about protest and demonstrations is usually
rationalised by the invocation of the need for peace and stability. Peace,
Prof. Karikari observed, has therefore become a tool used to quell democratic
expression for making legitimate social justice demands and once people begin
to mention Rwanda, Liberia and Cote d’Ivoire, ‘we should all be worry about the
substance of democratic rule in this forth republic’ .Based on these readings
it is admitted that democratic governance is a process and the best system of
governance in contemporary times. To achieve the ultimate, however, there
should be institutions that are working. This was reiterated by US President
Barak Obama when he visited Ghana in 2010. Also there should conscious effort
to weed out corruption, ensure that the people are involved in the governance
process, the electoral system should be credible, there should be a vibrant
media and ethnicity should not be encouraged. It is feared that until these
challenges are satisfactorily addressed the substance of democratic governance
in Ghana could be truncated. This informed the choice of the topic: Sustaining
Democratic Governance in Ghana: Some challenges and prospects.
Theoretical framework
This study is
premised within the framework of the Governance Approach. Governance according
to Hynes, (1992) is ‘the conscious management of regime structures with a view
to enhancing the legitimacy of the public realm’. Hynes used legitimacy here as
a dependent viable produced by effective and for that matter democratic
governance which Coleman, (1990) prefer to call ‘social capital’: a vital
ingredient in development, system of value, politics and institutions by which
a society manages its economic, political and social affairs among and within
the state and the private sector. It is the way society organizes itself to
make and implement decisions-achieving mutual understanding, agreement and
actions. It includes the mechanisms and process for citizens to articulate
their interest and address their grievances by the use of legal means. It is
the rules, institutions and practices that set limits and motivates the
individuals, organizations and firms. Governance operates at all levels of
human enterprises regardless of whether one is in a village or city.
According to the
governance approach human beings make their own history, but not in
circumstances of their own choices and that political culture is an independent
and super ordinates factor in the study of development (Coleman, 1988). The
basic dimension of governance approach straddled the rational choice model and
the structural functionalists approach. Hynes endorsed this and described it as
one of the strong points of governance in the study of Africa development, its
ability to transcend the narrow horizons of rational choices theory by
insisting that politics is more than the mere satisfaction of the short term
interest of those in government. Hynes supported this and argued that
methodological individualism with its stress on incremental changes, fails to
acknowledge the full scope of politicians. The structuralisms approach to
political integration of ethnically driven peoples suggests that exposure to
the forces of modernization-formal education, the media, urbanization,
commercialization, industrialization among others- tend to reduce traditional
particularistic or ethnic tendencies. Osei-Kwame (1980), agreed with this model
and states that with very low levels of economic and development have very low
level of political integration. With modernization however, he noted that
people have come to see the need for unity although he admits there is no
scientific evidence to support this claim. The governance approach also differs
from the structural functionalists as it rises above Marxist versions of the
theory which argues that change is only possible by some apocalyptic
interventions. Hynes (1987) agreed with this assertion and argued that the
legitimacy of those in power is dependent on how well they make use of existing
rules.
Sortori, (1987)
asserted that it is imperative to focus on how countries can circumvent bad
politics and self-aggravating management of the public realm, the end result is
parasitic encroachment, waste and overall impoverishment. Governance realm in
the opinion of Hynes should be seen in relation to the public realm in the way
management is to organization as a means to an end. He adds that in Africa
modernization has shown a rather strong tendency to co-exist with or intensify
traditional tendencies like tribalism. To make up the difference of Structural
Functionalism and Rational Choice models that have been used by Western
scholars to study political integration in Africa, a more holistic and
comprehensive approach shall suffice in governance approach.
The applicability
of the Governance Approach to the study of Sustenance of Democratic Governance
in Ghana: Some Challenges and Prospects should be seen in the recognition of
the role of politics in strengthening the public realm through political
integration. The relationship between the state and various ethnic groups are
determined by the decisions made by the elite. These decisions include
commitments to and adoption of constitution, and governance framework such as
taking action to fulfil their responsibilities and commitments. This is made
possible when there exist strong and functional institutions. The outcome of
the decisions could be antagonistic or cooperative depending on the structural
and contingent determinants of the mode of governance.
The decisions made
by the elite which may include the enactment of laws, constitutional framework,
the adoption of, and commitment to, the process and institutions that foster
political participation and national
integration could bring about outcomes designed by the totality of the regime
or a section of it. In ethnically diverse societies undergoing democratic
consolidation such as Ghana, good policies refers to the strengthening of
synthetic structures of society spontaneously created with a view to
regulations, polished behaviour, participation and integration among various
groups like political parties that aim at being at the realm of affairs, civil
society organizations, occupational and civic conditions of its members and the
society serves as vehicles of national and political integration. The national
significance of these groups should come to supersede the ethnic or political
loyalty.
Ninsin, (2006) is
emphatic that a multiparty system and free and fair elections are generally
regarded as hallmark of democratic society. A democratic system is one in which
every citizen regardless of political or ethnic affiliation has equal rights
and has the freedom to participate freely in politics and decision making.
Consequently democratic consolidation is a politically and naturally integrated
society in the sense that all citizens and groups within the society accept the
process and framework of participation in the political realm. In a
representative multiparty democracy as the one being practiced in Ghana the
commonest from of participation is largely through voting in general or local
election. Hence free and fair elections lead to a broad political participation
and national integration. The assumption here is that where the governance
structure are democratic capable or perceived to be acceptable, transparent,
non-discriminatory and follows laid down procedures, social capital is
generated converting these social forces into constructive forces for nation
building.
Findings:
Corruption
In
sustaining democratic governance in Ghana, we must intensify our commitment to
the fight against corruption. Article 35(8) of the 1992 Constitution enjoins
the state to ‘take steps to eradicate corrupt practices’ and the abuse of
power. It is trite that corruption undermines our ability to sustain good
democratic governance. The menace of corruption can be seen in its enormous
cost to the individual and society. The costs include the erosion of public
confidence in state institutions and the rule of law, loss of funds for
development of economic growth. Corruption engenders market inefficiencies
inflation of the cost of administration, and flight of capital. It also
undermines legitimacy and respect for legally-constituted authority, lowers
moral values and reduces the motivation to be honest. In addition, corruption
stifles initiative, distorts reality, nourishes mediocrity and undermines the
merit system of rewards, appointments and entitlements’ (IEA, 2004).
Democratic
governance cannot succeed within the context of increased poverty, and illiteracy.
Government must urgently support constitutional anti-corruption agencies such
as the Judiciary, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice,
Serious Fraud Office and the Ghana Police Service to lead the crusade against
corruption. Strengthening the rule of law generally and advancing human rights,
are other poverty alleviation strategies which must engage our attention if
economic development is our ultimate goal. Political commitment to fighting
these anti-corruption bodies must transcend the government of the day; it must
be a commitment not of one government but all future governments.
Constitutionally embedded protective mechanisms that are meant to constrain
executive or ministerial interference in the release of approved subventions to
these constitutional bodies must be given full support. Funds must also be
released on time to avert the situation where late releases compel institutions
to cram the implementation of their programmes and projects towards the end of
the fiscal year or suffer the return of the funds to chest.
Ethnic Politics
One
of the issues that need to be addressed without delay is the polarization of
our nation along partisan political lines; a phenomenon treatable to ethnic
politics, and which is though creeping into Ghanaian politics. The negative
exploitation of ethnicity by some political actors constitutes one of the major
threats to political stability in our country. Sadly, some work places are
divided along ethnic lines and accusations and counter accusations of ethnic
discrimination and nepotism are rampant, leading to loathing, mistrust and
disharmony among workmates. This is happening at a time when we all know that
without peace, stability and national integration, our quest for sustaining
democratic development will remain elusive. Events which took place in Rwanda,
in Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia and Kenya are fresh in our minds and we cannot
pretend not to care if we are bent on sustaining democratic governance. There
have been pockets of conflicts in Ghana fuelled by what is believed to be a
deadly mixture of chieftaincy and political undertone. These must be looked at
before they escalate beyond frightening proportions that cannot be contained.
We cannot remain divided on important partisan issues of national development.
The effect of intense genitive and destructive competition in politics must not
only be condemned but totally eliminated and benefit of competitive politics
encouraged (Wood, G.2010)
Writing
on the same issue, a former Chief Justice, George Kingsley Acquah argued that
there is the urgent need to develop strategies for promoting national
integration and peaceful co-existence among Ghanaians. Public educational
programmes by key governance institutions such as the National Commission for
Civic Education and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice
must be tailored to forge deeper sense of nationhood, national reconciliation
and unity. Educating the public including politicians, public office holders,
on civility and the demands of responsible citizenship, should lead to a
significant reduction of the scale of the ‘spoil system’ in governance.
Executive Dominance
The
constitution of Ghana (1992) vests vastly disproportionate power and control of
resources in the hands of the president. Virtually all constitutional and
statutory offices, including senior post in the police as well as other
security services and directorships and senior management positions in state
corporations, are filled by presidential appointees. Additionally, judges and
commissioners of independent constitutional bodies, hold their offices at the
pleasure of the president. Again, Microfinance and Small Loans Centres and the
Savannah Accelerated Development Authority, are located in the office of the
president. The law also grants the president the power to create, reorganize,
and abolish government ministries and departments without going through
legislative channels. Local government is also subordinated to the president
despite formal policy of decentralization.
Despite
the separation of powers the constitution ensures the supremacy of the
presidency over Parliament. For instance, only the president or minister acting
on his behalf has the authority to introduce in Parliament a bill or amendment
that might have fiscal consequence. Parliamentary oversight of executive
conduct and performance is similarly weak. As a result parliamentary voting on
presidential initiatives such as foreign borrowing and investment agreements
has tended to proceed strictly along party lines. Also the Economic and
Organized Crimes Office, EOCO, has the authority to investigate crimes relating
to financial loss to the state yet it is the president who appoints the EOCO’
executive director and the board (Gyimah-Boadi 2011). In sustaining democratic
governance, the power of the president must be reduced to ensure that agencies
mandated to investigate and check the executive do so without fear or favour.
Oil and Gas
Minerals
are a blessing. They are a gift of nature available to be developed, sold and
used to better the lot of a nations’ citizens (Eggert, 2002). A number of
industrialised countries like Australia, Canada, Sweden and United States have
depended on the exploration and extraction of minerals for their economic
development. Mineral production generates income and foreign exchange through
exports, and can stimulate local economies through the local purchase of inputs
(Dartey-Baah & Amponsah-Tawiah, 2011). Ghanaians greeted the discovery of
oil with widespread elation when the announcement was made. The president at
the time, John Agyekum Kufuor, called the discovery a ‘shot in the arm’ that
could propel his country to the status of an ‘African Tiger’ in a few short
years. The national euphoria has since tempered, however, as policy makers,
civil society groups, and analysts raise concerns regarding the challenges of
managing Ghana’s oil and gas resources. (Gyimah-Boadi, 2012).
In
fact, Ghana’s oil windfall is modest by global or even regional standards.
Industry projections put Ghana’s overall oil-resource potential at about
4.5billion barrels. The Jubilee field, which is operated by a consortium led by
the Anglo-Irish Tullow Oil and Texas-based Kosmos Energy, has proven reserves
of 800million barrels of high-grade oil. Ghana’s current reserves are,
therefore, equal to only a tiny fraction of Nigeria’s 37.2 billion barrels and
Angola’s 10 billion barrels. But for a country of 25 million people with GDP
per capita of only about US$ 2,500 per year, they are significant. The IMF
estimates that revenues from the Jubilee field alone will average around
$1billion a year for the next twenty years- or roughly the same amount as Ghana
currently receives in development assistance annually. (Gyimah-Boadi &
Kwasi Prempeh, 2012)
It
is true that Ghana is not new to resource wealth. In fact, Ghana has depended
heavily on proceeds from the export of resources such as gold, timber, cocoa
beans and other minerals since early colonial period yet her development
records has not matched its resource potentials. This could pose a threat to
democratic development if the people are disappointed because their lives have
not changed even with the oil and gas resources. Naturally with a pre-oil
record of exceptional democratic progress widely acknowledged, expectations are
high.
The
advent of oil has brought normally splintered civil society into collective
action working together with the media, Parliament and many other identifiable
groups with the ultimate aim of ensuring effective management of Ghana’s
hydrocarbons. The net result is what has now become known as Civil Society
Platform on oil and gas with technical support from Oxfam America, the Revenue
Watch Institute and the World Bank. ‘The involvement of organized civil society
and the media throughout the legislative process made the development of the
initial legal framework for oil governance in Ghana exceptionally participatory
and transparent’ (Gyimah-Boadi, 2012). The influence of Oil and Gas Platform is
reflected in the final legislative outcomes. Notable provisions of the
Petroleum Revenue Management Act which was passed and signed into law in 2011,
include clear procedures for custody and transfer of petroleum receipts between
the central bank, as designated custodian, and the government; the mandatory annual
transfer of 30 percent of total petroleum revenues into separate stabilization
and future savings fund; the mandatory publication by the Ministry of Finance
of quarterly reports of petroleum receipts and expenditures; multiple audits of
the petroleum accounts and the establishment of the Public Interest and
Accountability Committee, PIAC, thirteen member independent watchdog group
tasked with monitoring and reporting on the governments stewardship of
petroleum funds and compliance with the law.(CDD-Ghana). Despite all these
details, details of the oil and gas contracts remain hidden to the public.
Again, Government has contracted other oil-backed loans, most notably
controversial $3billion loan from the China Development Bank secured by fifteen
year’ worth of oil revenues. This is against the provisions in the Petroleum
Revenue Management Law. These and others must be controlled before they cause a
problem for democratic development because the masses may not always be mute to
clear violation of the law even under democratic rule’.
The Media
The
constitution guarantees freedom and independence of the media (Article 162(1).
At the 2012 Ghana Journalists Association Awards Ceremony, its president Dr.
Rolland Affal Monney stated that the media in Ghana has some reasonable level
of freedom and independence (gbcghana.com). He stated ‘the Media has witnessed
a remarkable growth in the fourth republic with some acceptable level of
freedom’. The Media is one notable institution that has ensured the level of
accountability from public officials that the nation is credited with (Kwame
Karikari, 2014). It is the work of the
media that has resulted in any level of transparency and acts of accountability
with regards to state or public institutions in the fourth republic more than
any other institution. The media has collectively acted as whistle blowers and
advocates for transparency and accountability in public and national lives. ‘We
have witnessed how a combination of good journalism and docket investigations
has exposed blatant acts considered unpatriotic parading in the guards of
corruption; namely the conspiracy to destroy socio economic development
programmes like the National Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development, GYEEDA,
and the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority, SADA.’ (Kwame Karikari
2014).According to The Reporters without
Borders’s 2014 Press Freedom Index, Ghana is the third country in Africa
with the freest media. According to the National Media Commission there are
currently 342 authorised radio stations out of which 285 are operational as at
the first quarter of 2014. They comprise 36 public radio stations, 59 community
stations, 13 campus radio stations and 234 commercial radio stations. The NMC also
has authorised 28 TV stations of which 20 are free to air, 7 Pay-Per-View and
one for research purpose. However the proliferation of the media has led to the
state where some people have taken advantage to heap insults, insinuations and
attacks on all calibre of people including leadership of political parties,
chiefs, technocrats and academicians.
According to
Sanbrook (1996), it is difficult if not impossible for anyone to conceive of
democratic consolidation without taking cognizance of a vibrant press and a
strong party communication system. He argued that since the seventeenth century
scholars have tried to justify the positive relationship between the press and
democratic practices, arguing that there exist some positive relations between
the press and democracy. Milton (2001)
asserted that a free press promotes the cause of democracy by acting as
watchdog over governments, and through this role the press prevents governments
from abusing power. Sharing the view of Milton, Gurevtch and Blumler (2011),
went ahead to view the press as also performing monitoring role. They stated
that without the press, it will be difficult, if not impossible to sustain some
of the freedoms of people. These notwithstanding the National Media Commission
need to be resourced and given the legal power to bring to order media houses
that tend to use their platforms for diversion of peace. Also host of
programmes on radio stations must ensure that phone in programmes are not
abused. Moving forward media house should consider the use of delay broadcast
to prevent outburst that may cause dissatisfaction and lead to attacks. For
instance a panellist on Tamale based FM whose comment did not go down well with
a section of the youth led to an attack on the radio station and subsequently
burning of the station and some vehicles.
Summary
of findings
This work looked at
how far Ghana has come with its democratic governance process. The work relied
heavily on secondary data. It outlined the many challenges that have been
encountered right from independence such as the many military interventions.
The main thrust was however on the forth republic. The study examined the
democratic elections that have been held in the fourth republic and the
problems that came with them. The spotlight was on the 2012 election which
ended up in the Supreme Court and the surprising revelations that emerged which
were in sharp contrast to the long held notion that Ghana’s electoral system
was clean and the assumption that Ghanaians are generally satisfied with it.
The study looked at the tension, fear and uncertainty that bedevilled the
country during the election petition at the Supreme Court and the general
feeling of insecurity during elections usually sparked y verbal abuses,
physical attacks on political opponents and sometimes smashing of windscreens
of people who belong to different political parties. The worked revealed many
issues that need to the addressed in order to ensure peace and consolidation of
the country’s democracy going forward. Some of these issues include corruption;
the winner takes all syndrome, the electoral system, ethnic politics, oil and
gas, and the many challenges associated with the media such as ownership, the
calibre of people who have access to the airwaves and content in general. The
work also identified some prospects. They include the existence of institutions
such as the Judiciary, the Security Agencies, the National Peace Council, and
the National House of Chiefs. The position of this work is that these
institutions though not perfect for now have shown some signs of ‘the national
interest’ and if the needed support is given to them, they would play a
significant role in sustaining Ghana’s democracy.
Conclusions
This
work has attempted to demonstrate that in trying to consolidate democratic
governance in Ghana, there are both points of convergence and divergence
between the myriad of challenges and available prospects which need to be
improved. The work touched on the genesis of democratic governances in Ghana
and settled on the forth republic where the thrust of the arguments centred.
Challenges such as the country’s unsatisfactory electoral system, the executive
dominance and its attendant corruption, abuse of incumbency, ethnic politics,
the oil and gas and unemployment were highlighted. Also this work acknowledged
the prospects available which can help consolidate democratic governance going
forward. The existence of the judiciary which appears independent at least on
paper, the security agencies which have over the years remained loyal to the
ruling governments, separation power, rule of law, independent media and
academic freedom were some of the prospects highlighted in this work. Putting
all the challenges and prospects together, this work concluded that in attempts
to consolidate democratic governance in Ghana, there are both democratic gains
and deficits.
Recommendations
The
future of Ghana with regards to sustained democratic governance lies in the
development of strong institutions of governance. This point was reinforced in
July 2009 by U.S. President Barak Obama when he visited Ghana. He remarked that
Ghana and for that matter Africa need strong institutions, not strong men.
Strong men and women are only necessary to the extent that they provide
non-compromising, non-dictatorial, inspiring and exemplary leadership within
the context of democratic governance that allows institutions to grow and
flourish, so that the absence of the leader does not create a vacuum in
dependability, production, supply or service delivery. This work therefore
recommends the fostering of development and strengthening of institutional
mechanisms that constraints the exercise of power, check the abuse of office,
prevent corruption in all its various forms and manifestations, rigging of elections
and resolve conflicts or disputes without resort to self-help and black market
justice.
Also
it is recommended that from the provision of dependable public service to the
sound university education and the fair and timely dispensation of justice, Ghana
needs to build and retain public confidence in the efficiency of the
institutions of the state for meeting the basic needs of the people from whom
sovereignty emanates and in whose name power is wielded.
Additionally
it is recommended that state institutions mandated to handle issues of
protection of human rights, abuse of office, investigations of corruption and
related matters be resourced and given the legal mandate to enforce outcomes of
their findings.
Furthermore
the human rights provisions in the constitution which are designed to instil in
Ghana’s governance paradigm a certain minimum ethics and value of human dignity
and worth be seen enforced. This must be done right from the police through the
judiciary to the prisons, most of which are choked with large numbers of remand
prisoners, some of whom have been on remand for over 15years.
There
should also be an improved financial and logistical support for the efficient
functioning of the constitutional democratic governance institutions,
particularly Parliament, the Judiciary, the Commission on Human Right and
Administrative Justice, CHRAJ, The Legal Aid Board, the National Commission on
Civic Education, NCCE, and The Media Commission, the Metropolitan Municipal and
District Assemblies as well as all levels of institutions of learning.
A
sustained education and sensitisation on the fact that democracy is not
necessarily coterminous with the conduct of elections is highly recommended. It
is important to realize that the conduct of elections is just one, of the many
process, albeit, a very important one, by which democratic governance is
realised, for which reason free, fair transparent and peaceful elections are essential for the sustenance of good
governance and economic development. For this reason the judiciary must attach
the highest premium to the timely and just determination of electoral disputes.
Democratic
governance can be sustained when the government constitutionally and
democratically elected, is supported by other well-functioning organs of state.
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