Panellists call for political reforms to enhance national development

Panellists at a public forum organised by the Presbyterian Senior High School (PRESEC) Old Boys Association (Ɔdadeɛ), have called for reforms in the current political system and structure to curtail tensions and enhance national development.

Dubbed “Conversations Under a Baobab Tree,” the panellists addressed issues concerning the constitution, democracy type, national development, corruption and the environment.
It was on the theme: “So much things to say.”

The speakers included a former Chief Executive of CalBank and a 1978 alumnus of PRESEC, Dr Frank Adu Jnr; the Director of Partnerships and Policy Engagement at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) Ghana, Dr Kojo Asante; also an alumnus, and the Chairperson of the Constitution Review Consultative Committee, Clara Kasser-Tee.

The immediate Past Ɔdadeɛ (accolade for PRESEC Old Students) President, Rev. Dr Ebenezer Markwei, chaired the event. In attendance were current and old students in various sectors of national development such as banking, academia, governance and politics, with many of them dressed in apparel that reflected the school’s colours.

The Ɔdadeɛ national dialogue series was organised by the association, in collaboration with Ecobank and Channel One TV, to complement its annual Engmann-Kluffio-Datsa commemorative lectures. 

Multi-party democracy

Dr Frank Adu Jnr, called for the cancellation of multi-party democracy in the country. He said in its place, there should be a two-party system with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as the only recognised political parties since they have established themselves as the dominant forces.

Dr Adu likened the adoption of the 1992 Constitution to a sheep to the slaughter, saying since the West foisted the prevailing democratic practice on the country, the nation was yet to realise its full dividends.

“Let’s introduce a two-party democracy to officially recognise that we have two parties. Let us abolish party manifestos, which only make flowery promises, some of which are frankly puerile and unrealistic, but more dangerously, are made without recourse to the effects on national finances and long-term effects on the economy,” he said.

Dr Adu said as part of the proposal, election should be denationalised and allow only members of the two parties to elect a leader to become president on a six-year term in turns, who would govern in line with a national development blueprint.

He also spoke against the practice where Members of Parliament (MPs) doubled as ministers of state, adding that the system undermined accountability. Dr Adu further advocated that parliament have a four-year term, but “should not be coterminous with that of the president”. 

Challenges

Dr Asante, however, said that adopting a two-party democracy would not entirely address the challenges in the current system.

He opined that inclusiveness and accountability by the presidency could be limited as they would be aware that only a section of the populace — party members alone — had the right to elect them.

For her part, Mrs Kasser-Tee said democracy had many tenets and so should not be limited to elections. She also acknowledged that the constitution had its challenges and would, therefore, need to be reviewed to address the demands of the people, especially with respect to separation of powers to ensure more accountability.

An economist and statesman, Kwame Pianim, also an alumnus, said the constitution was a legacy of a long battle with a military regime. He also said that the constitution only needed to be reviewed and implemented effectively for the benefit of the people. 

Gratitude

Rev. Dr Markwei expressed gratitude to the old students and the discussants for their depth of knowledge and expertise of national issues. He said the association would continue to hold similar sessions to contribute to national discourse to help prepare the country for generations.