The daughter of Ghana’s first president and former Chairperson of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) Samia Nkrumah, has criticized Ghana’s political system.
In an interview on Starr Chat with Bola Ray on September 5, 2024, she stated, “Politics has not delivered, or the way we are practicing it, has not delivered the optimum for Ghana.”
Reflecting on her time as CPP Chairperson, she listed several obstacles that prevented her from reorganizing the party, beginning with financial reliance. She clarified that minor political parties in Ghana are financially disadvantaged and frequently depend on the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), to survive.
“Smaller parties are not financially independent, and that means they rely on the two big parties to survive. And that in itself is a recipe for disaster,” she emphasized.
When asked to clarify whether smaller parties are financially supported by the bigger parties, she pointed out that, “Everybody knows that, but through who?” she responded.
“People will not want to support financially a small party or a candidate they think is not going to win”, she added.
According to her, leaders are frequently “poached” to create an alliance with opposing agendas, which makes it nearly impossible for the party to be united.
“There are different agendas, and they are just lumped together in one room trying to figure out what to do,” she explained.
She claimed that Ghana functions as a de facto two-party state even if it appears to have a multiparty system. “We don’t need to force and pretend that we are a multi-party [system], because all the smaller parties are totally, I mean, really, they are not making an impact,” she stated.
She voiced that politics in Ghana, whether on the left or the right, concentrate on similar problems like healthcare, education, and improving living standards. “You can’t say there’s a left and right, because every party must be concerned with socialist-oriented policies like free education or free feeding,” she argued.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Mary Asantewaa Buabeng
