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Political parties have failed – Prof. Dumor
Accra, June 20, Ghanadot/GNA– Professor Ernest Dumor,
Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority
(NIA), on Thursday said political parties in Ghana and in
Africa as a whole have failed their countries.
He said “political parties in Africa, including those in
Ghana have since independence failed to develop
methodologies for recruiting qualified persons to occupy
public offices, train leaders for the future and for uniting
their countries much more the continent as a whole.
“They have also failed to develop home-grown solutions for
the economic problems of their countries.”
Prof. Dumor made the remark at a symposium organised by the
Ghana Academy of Arts and Science (GAA), on the theme;
Ensuring Democratic Participation in Africa.
Speaking on the topic – The role of political parties, Prof
Dumor noted that since independence, not a single political
party in Africa and Ghana for that matter have instituted a
clear set of standards for training future leaders and for
recruiting qualified persons to public office.
“The style of politics in post independence Africa has left
African countries more polarised than they were prior to
independence.
“Politics in Africa discourages sober and rational debate
and has instead led to more social barriers than bridges
among peoples,” he said.
He noted that recruitment into public office has been more
on the basis of political party affiliation, ethnic origin
and family ties rather than on the basis of merit.
Prof. Dumor observed that instead of focusing on a clear
program of training future leaders, political parties seem
to be content with having youth and school-based wings,
saying that it was not enough for political parties to have
branches in universities, especially where those branches
did not provide any leadership training.
“Political parties particularly those in Ghana have failed
to instil the fundamental national values of freedom and
justice in the public as they hardly make reference to those
values in their campaigns and programs,” he said.
He said in addition to the failures of political parties,
was the evidence of a disconnection between what political
parties propose to do in their manifestos and what the
fundamental needs of the people really are.
“Research conducted at the University of Ghana between 1996
and 2008 shows that there are fundamental needs of the
greater majority of the people that the political parties
are not talking about much more addressing,” he said.
Prof. Dumor said the disconnection between the real needs of
the people and what the political parties propose to do, was
a clear evidence of the impression that African economies
were managed by from overseas.
“Africa’s economic problems must be managed from within
Africa itself and not from without. We must be home grown
solutions to our economic problems and the political parties
have failed to provide a clear vision and plan on how to
solve our problems from within,” he said.
Prof. Dumor urged Ghanaians to hold political parties vying
for the office of government in the 2008 elections
accountable to their campaign promises and also to their
required role as instruments of reform and development.
He said political parties must be held accountable to the
issues of uniting the country, providing effective
leadership both now and for the future and providing home
grown solutions to the countries economic problems.
Touching on the up coming elections, he noted that the
current political system usually excluded minority groups in
the country from decision making roles.
He explained that, for instance, the First Past the post
system, had the tendency of denying youth and women groups
from being represented at the decision making level.
Prof. Dumor therefore urged political parties to take a
second look at that system and ask questions about its
adequacy with the view to ensuring a more inclusive system.
He said for Ghana and Africa for that matter to take
advantage of the opportunities of the 21st century and fully
benefit from them, political parties in Africa must avail
themselves of Mr. Kofi Anan’s call for larger freedom,
towards development, security and human rights for all.
GNA
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