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Developments that have characterized the NDC�s return to power are beginning to reveal lapses in our political system that must be openly discussed and tackled, not tucked under the rug to fester. Our democratic experiment cannot thrive on such lapses. What should be the relationship between a political party and the government that it forms? Should the political party seek to function as the government? If that political party falls apart, what will it mean for the government and the country? What we have seen so far indicates that an unhealthy relationship exists between the NDC (as a political party) and the government (which, invariably, is the NDC�s own baby). Direct accusations of incompetence or failure to �deliver the goods� have been bandied against President Mills� government by several people, including me. Again, while the NDC leaders are accusing the Ministers of State of incompetence and calling for a reshuffle, President Mills upholds them as efficient and has expressed his �confidence� in them. Surely, both the NDC (as a political party) and its government are poles apart on this score even though indications are clear that they are on a collision path. It will be the height of folly for anybody in government to claim that accusations of incompetence against them are misplaced. Take it or leave it, there are real problems that the government has to tackle if it wants to retain political power at the 2012 elections. But that�s not the thrust of my article. I am more interested in deeper-level issues that portend disaster. I am interested in the head-butting between the executives of the political party in power and the government (of their own party). Paradoxical as this may seem, it is a baffling reality. From the party�s bigwigs like Jerry Rawlings, Ekwow Spio-Garbrah and beyond, the head-butting with the NDC government knows no bounds. Now, it is at the regional level, where the Northern Regional Chairman of the NDC, for instance, is calling for the removal from office of the Northern Regional Minister for no apparent reason than the award of contracts. Each is accusing the other of impropriety, which should by now have attracted a swift and stern reaction from President Mills but is not. Where is the assurance that the President is �his own man� or serious about fighting corruption in Ghana, even within his own political circles? Can he take decisions and implement them without any fear of retribution from the party hierarchy? What is the extent of the party�s hold on him? Against this background, the current jostling for prominence in the hierarchy of the NDC seems to herald more tension for the party and its government, especially after the December election of the party�s bigwigs. From all indications, those emerging as contestants are the very people who appear not to be on the same page with President Mills and his government in several respects. One of them is Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings, who needs no introduction. I don�t begrudge Nana Konadu her wish to become the First Vice-Chairperson of the NDC. What turns my crank is the apprehension that her decision is prompted by many hidden agenda that will not redound well to the NDC government�s fortunes in the long run. Who doesn�t know that she is a major player in the NDC faction that now seems to be vitriolic in its opposition to the NDC government�s modus operandi? I can see through the reason(s) that she has adduced to justify her ambition to say that she has more under her sleeves. She said, among others: �� there�s a certain level of despondence and �I sit in my office and people come to me and discuss issues�they tell me about their disappointment, I try and give them hope...� Yet, another: �Mrs. Rawlings, who sounded overwhelmed by complaints from party foot soldiers about the NDC government�s pace of work, said she plans to use the office to help better organize the party and to foster stronger unity.� Simple questions arise: What does Nana Konadu know about the party�s �suffering� foot-soldiers that President Mills and his government (through the various intelligence-gathering institutions) doesn�t t already know? What practically can she do to solve those people�s problems? Or is she going to use her position as an opportunity for arm-twisting, granted that President Mills has for long been seen as a �surrogate� for the Rawlingses but is now not obeying orders from them? Some people appear to be aggrieved and creating conditions for the party and its government to drift apart. The fault lines are clear. Should the party be the same as the government it forms? Arguments have been raised on whether the political party should be dissociated from the government in power. If successfully done, the party structure should exist on its own to function within the ambit of the party�s own constitution. We should then see a clear line of demarcation between the party�s interests and functionaries when they represent the party�s interests and when they function as members of the government of Ghana to work for the collective (public) good. The line may be thin but could serve its useful purposes because the government must function for the benefit of Ghana while the party does so for its own good as a political party and not government. That is what happens in countries whose democratic systems of governance have endured. Unfortunately, the peculiarities of the Ghanaian political experiment suggest otherwise. No one is thinking of severing that relationship because the party is seen and adored as the foundation of the government in power. After all, it is the party that feeds the government with the functionaries who carry out its orders in running the affairs of state. There is, therefore, a sort of symbiotic relationship that unfortunately often turns sour as the party leaders and those in government begin to jump at each other�s throat over the fruits of politicking. It is always the mad rush for money that creates the tension while the President does nothing practical to tackle corruption. All the annoying official rhetoric, grandiose designs on paper or loud-mouthed declarations of intent against corruption have yielded nothing. The Mabey and Johnson case might have led to political fallouts but official inaction on the matter is gradually �killing� it before our eyes. It is for this reason that if the government in power and its source of nourishment (the party) appear to be at each other�s throat as we have been witnessing in Ghana over the past decade or so that we must be concerned. Under Kufuor, the NPP�s Executive Officers got so close to the corridors of power as to leave no one in doubt that they were also potentates. Of course, Harona Esseku�s loud cries against Kufuor�s hogging and monopoly over kickbacks from contracts are still fresh in our minds. Then, Peter MacManu�s frequent outbursts and claims of power as the party�s Chairman cannot be glossed over all too soon because of the implications. Eventually, the Kufuor government�s failures dogged the NPP at the elections. At the lower levels too, the Regional and Constituency Chairmen of the party also sought to assert their influence as local potentates of the party and government, sometimes creating friction between them and the designated political appointees (Regional Ministers and Metropolitan/Municipal/District Chief Executives). This tension endangers political stability in all senses. We are witnessing similar developments in the tenure of President Mills, although in this case, a subtle way of clipping the wings of the party�s top officers has been found in appointing some of them into office as Ministers or Deputy Ministers, Ambassadors, or High Commissioners, meaning that they will not be available at home to establish themselves as power lords. From afar, any string they pull is likely to snap without any effect. Those not appointed are nursing their grievances and issuing threats here and there. Certainly, these happenings create the perfect conditions for head-butting. As Nigeria�s Ola Rotimi tells us, �two rams cannot drink water from the same bucket; they will lock horns.� Our Ghanaian democratic experiment is at risk if all this head-butting between the political party and its own government continues because not only will it create unfavorable conditions for good and stable governance but it will also destabilize the political party itself. The government will eventually suffer from the negative effects. As the head-butting continues, members of the political party will become disenchanted and either defect to other parties or simply become apathetic. Democracy cannot thrive on such negative tendencies. It is important for us to ensure that clear lines between party work and government work are drawn and jealously guarded against wanton criss-crossing. It suggests that those who become power wielders in the political parties should be carefully chosen to ensure that only those of substance are given the nod. Although it is difficult to say that human beings are ever satisfied with what they have, I believe that appointing people of substance into party positions is better than giving the chance to the deprived and desperate ones. If given the chance, these deprived and desperate ones will use their offices to make money and create unnecessary tension as we have witnessed over the years. There is enough evidence for those with discerning eyes to see. Again, it is imperative for the political parties to be self-dependent, knowing very well that the state cannot fund their activities. In that sense, the party leaders should be business-minded enough to invest the party�s resources in profitable ventures that should yield dividends for the party�s political activities. In that sense, the need will arise for people with the productive business acumen and managerial skills to be lured into the party�s fold for them to do what will generate funds for the party�s benefit. If the party has its own reliable sources of income, it should be possible for it to pay its functionaries and ensure its own future viability. The party should stop depending on its government for sustenance. This dependence on the government is the source of tension and it also breeds corruption. On a larger scale, being self-supporting means that the party�s leaders will not look to non-Ghanaians to borrow money from or to do what has become a blot on our democracy. Who will so soon forget the trading of allegations by both the NPP and NDC of collecting funds from politicians (Obasanjo of Nigeria, Blaise Compoare of Burkina Faso, or Eyadema of Togo, or Nigerian State Governors and other financiers), businessmen, and other faceless people? We must ensure that the Electoral Commission functions effectively all-year-round, not only when it is election time. As of now, the Commission is dormant and no one knows whether it is even capable of enforcing the laws that have been enacted to regulate the conduct of the various political parties. For instance, after announcing that some of the major political parties had flouted the law on the rendering of annual accounts, what has the Commission been able to do? Its leaders just threw up their arms in despair and folded up. How can this situation help our democracy grow? Isn�t there any means to take on errant political parties for them to do what is required? I shudder to think that no one there wants to stick his neck out to be cut for him. Maybe, someone is afraid of losing his job and has decided to let sleeping dogs lie to the disadvantage of the Ghanaian political system. Our Parliament must take prompt steps to regularize matters by enacting laws that will separate the party from the government in several respects. The legislators must look into success stories in other countries that have done so and take prompt action on the matter. No political party should think that its government exists at its behest. What is happening in the NDC is a disgrace, to say the least. The conclusion is clear: If this intra-party bickering continues and the rivalry between the party and its own government deepens while the economic conditions continue to worsen for Ghanaians, the NDC will not survive the whirligig of the 2012 electioneering period. By that time, the cracks would have so deepened as to make the government unappealing and the NDC itself a complete washout. Who will want to follow such an anathema of a political party? Obviously, not me or my household. From what I have noticed so far, it appears the NDC leaders and those in the government have not learned either the history of their party�s presence on the Ghanaian political scene or the lessons that the history of their 8 years in the opposition has taught them. If they did, they would stop doing what continues to muddy the waters in their own house. They are doing what is making the party and its government gradually �distasteful� to the electorate. By stirring the water, they should be prepared to drink the mud that they bring up. The day of reckoning will surely catch up with them.