A political scientist at the University of Ghana, Dr Evans Aggrey Darko has warned that the promise made by a national executive of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), that party loyalists who work hard to retain power will be rewarded after the 2016 polls, could promote politics of exclusion.
Deputy National Organiser of the party, Joshua Akamba made the promise recently when he addressed party supporters.
However, Dr Darko, who spoke on Class FM’s current affairs programme Inside Politics on Tuesday July 19, said the move will only promote disunity; a situation he warned was dangerous for Ghana’s democracy.
“What we are saying is that parties, when they have won, must also be conscious of the fact that you have won the political power, but you are also going to govern on behalf of all of us, so the president, even though is the leader of the party, is not just the president of the NPP or NDC or PPP or CPP as the case maybe, but he is also the president of the nation and, therefore, if you issue a fiat, for instance, and suggest that we must give opportunity to your people, we must grant them access and so on and so forth. In effect, what you are saying is that without the party card, for instance, you are not going to access important public goods and services and for me that is dangerous for national cohesion and national development,” he told host Moro Awudu.
“What you are going to do is that you are going to promote politics of exclusion and if we promote that politics of exclusion, let us note – and this is a fact of life – that today’s majority can be tomorrow’s minority, so we are going to create a cycle of vengeance in this country and that for me will be inimical”, he added.
Dr Aggrey Darko noted that as a matter of right, it does not matter if a citizen of the country does not participate at all in the politics of the state, he must have a fair share of the resources of the state.
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