Barely a month ago, NPP so-called delegates went to the polls to elect parliamentary candidates in all constituencies across Ghana, except those who had been elected in what is referred to as “orphan constituencies”
All in all, it’s the same game of delegates who are becoming more and more odious in NPP politics, as they are besmeared with atimy
In the past, it had been a good idea for a few people to represent their wards in choosing who should be a parliamentary candidate, but today, the idea and practice have been so corrupted that they should be buried into oblivion.
Gone are the days when selected men and women were of integrity, trusted, honoured and respected for their uprightness as people of principle.
They were people who understood the underlying elements of politics as a tool to socio-economic development by electing qualified, trusted, honest, sincere, and those who held public spirit to unreservedly above everything, but to serve the constituency that is to be represented if elected as a parliamentarian.
Looking at the people who a selected to be delegates, it is clear from their demeanour, their conduct, their mind-set, and their lack of ethical sense of affabileness to Party members, all these clearly suggest that they are clueless to be representatives, yet in their paucity of numbers they are those who should choose whoever becomes parliamentary candidates for their various constituencies.
Their fewness makes it easier to be easily subborned with inducements such as cash, TV sets, mobile phones, air-conditioners, etc, etc, just to mention only a few.
The more the aspirants, the wealthier delegates become, because, they will extort cash and goods from all the aspirants whenever they organise them and visit them with their message/s, and indexed if any, whiles only these few so-called delegates are privy to what was said by the aspirant; after that comes the presentation of envelopes to each of them.
In the end, on polling day, the candidate who pays more to these delegates get the nod, notwithstanding whether he/she is the most preferred choice or not. Our NPP choice of parliamentarians and Party leaders has degenerated into a sort of satrapy for incumbents, instead of democracy for the best.
Among myriads of solutions in an effort to kill corruption in the election of constituency parliamentary candidates, what stands out tallest and most compellingly plausible is for the Party to allow all card-bearing members of good standing, such as having paid their dues to an appreciable degree to be able to vote for who should represent them in parliament. Charity, they say, begins at home, therefore, a clean corrupt-free NPP can lead to a “clean” Ghana where corruption will be a taboo.
This system is practiced by the NPP in the UK.
NPP cardholders of good standing electing MPs and other Party leaders will garner huge benefits, such as inability to corrupt even the few hundreds of voters in one polling station or ward, let alone the entire constituency of several thousand potential voters.
It will also give an idea of the numerical strength of party membership in the constituencies, so the Party can determine its winning or losing chances during general elections.
Prospective members of parliament will not spend whooping sums of money in bribery, which expenses they would surelyrecoupe when eventually voted to parliament.
Aspirants expenses will be limited to publicity on TV, if necessary, but commonly on radios, publishing flyers, posters, and indeed travels to propagate their political foresight, vision, etc, couched in their messages.
The same should apply to election of constituency, and national officers, except Council of Elders of the Party, who are chosen in accordance to their contributions to the Party.
DELEGATES are not only to be feared, as Sir John Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, beatae memoriae said over eight years ago, and it remains a fact of NPP growing political culture and life as at today. DELEGATES are crooks, liars, dishonest, thieves, and indeed extortionists who must be shamed by scraping their existence in its entirety.
