The Regent of Tolon in the Northern Region is encouraging Ghanaians to maintain the nation’s credence as the “Gateway to Africa” by shunning warmongers whose actions could lead to political upheavals as witnessed in neighboring countries.
Major Retired Abubakari Sulemana cautioned insulting politicians against negative tendencies which are likely to create political turmoil in the country.
He raised this concern at a day’s public forum on “Winner-takes all and political tolerance in Ghana: the experience of the Northern Region” organized by the Northern Sector Action on Awareness Centre (NORSAAC) in collaboration with Ibis Ghana.
[contextly_sidebar id=”7szGW4DuIIlqgcxZ3uwGHGPfDM9zDZEy”]As Chairman of the event, the revered Tolon Regent said political vendetta should be discarded to promote national cohesion.
He implored Ghanaians to zealously safeguard the nation’s political stability.
Retired Major Sulemana suggested that successive governments should embrace the all-inclusive system of governance.
This in his estimation could find solutions to fix the nation’s current economic challenges.
He disagreed with the frequent situation where only members of governing political parties were appointed as public sector duty bearers.
Retired Major Sulemana advocated the need for successive governments to appoint public office holders based on competence and patriotism regardless of their political affiliations.
Executive Director of NORSAAC, Alhassan Mohammed Awal called for a paradigm shift from the winner-takes all mentality especially in the Northern Region.
He cited the selective recruitment of people into the NYEP, GYEEDA, Zoom Lion and other public institutions as one of the negative repercussions of the winner-takes all governance structure.
Alhassan Mohammed Awal narrowed his observation down to how the winner-takes all governance structure determines who should control public toilet facilities, who gets contract and who exerts influence on the police to chase political opponents out of town whenever there is a change of government.
He impressed upon the participants to brainstorm and offer constructive recommendations to decide the direction the Northern Region should go to bridge the yawning developmental disparities between southern and northern Ghana.
Alhassan Mohammed Awal further admonished citizens of the north to develop the can do spirit to uplift the region’s image irrespective of which political party is in power.
A senior political Science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Legon, Dr. Alidu Seidu who acted as Guest speaker of the occasion spelt out the characteristics of the winner-takes all governance structure.
He chronicled the system’s nuances aimed at reorienting the psyche of the participants on the wayforward.
He attributed the complexity of the practice to the polarization of Ghana’s electoral system.
Dr. Alidu Seidu subscribed to calls for the appointment of well accomplished people as government functionaries devoid of partisan affiliations.
With emphasis on the Northern Region where political intolerance is pervasive, Dr. Alidu Seidu called for all-inclusiveness in the nation’s current democratic dispensation.
The senior political Science lecturer anticipated his suggestion could form the panacea to harness the region’s material and human resources for sustainable development.
Representatives of the two major political parties made presentations on the topic, “Our experiences in opposition and in power: what we feel must change.”
Mohammed Abdul Kudus of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) recalled how the erstwhile Kufuor led administration adopted the all-inclusive governance structure which transformed the nation from Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) state to a lower middle income status.
He cited the NYEP, Capitation, NHIS, Metro Mass Transit, School Feeding and Free Maternal Health as some of the pro poor government policies initiated by the NPP administration.
Mohammed Abdul Kudus supported calls for a constitutional review to dilute the winner-takes all governance structure thereby reducing the enormous powers conferred on the President who has the prerogative to appoint and disappoint his appointees.
On the NPP’s stay in opposition, he lamented, “In 2009 when we exited from power, it was like a coup d’état, foot soldiers were on rampage seizing everything including lorry parks, toilets among others and chasing perceived NPP sympathetic government workers out of their offices as if the NPP was out-lawed in Ghana.”
He added, “If there was a better meaning and manifestation of that monster called winner-takes all, then it was in 2009: the phenomenon was across the country but that of Northern Region was legendary: it became riotous with same and one family, out of political differences were fighting one another just to control seeming inconsequentials like public toilets.”
Rashid Tanko of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) touted his party as one which cared for the people.
He blamed the winner-takes all governance structure on the sharp contrast in political party manifestos.
Rashid Tanko said it would be suicidal for a socialist inclined NDC government to appoint people from a capitalist oriented party like the NPP to occupy strategic positions.
He accused the NPP of chasing NDC loyalists out of their offices from 2001 to 2008.
Majority of the participants said no to the winner-takes all governance system.
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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana