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Panellists at a peace forum organised by the William Ofori-Atta Heritage have identified ��the winner takes all�� politics as the bane that is destroying the national life of the country. The panellists, drawn from diverse fields, all agreed that the winner takes all politics was breeding intolerance, acrimony and selfishness, which were drowning all the achievements so far chalked up in the country�s democratic dispensation. The panellists were Mr Kofi Asamoah, Secretary General of the Trade Unions Congress, Mr Fred Oware, Vice Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr P. V. Obeng, Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission and Nana Dr S. K. B. Asante, representing the National House of Chiefs. The rest were Professor Akosua Adomako Ampofo, Director, Institute of African Studies, Apostle Dr Opoku Oyinah, Chairman of the Church of Pentecost, and Imam Awal Shuiab, Executive Member of the Office of Chief Imam. They said the society had been polarised and divided because everybody wanted to win by all means. They have, therefore, called for a rethinking in politics so that certain public office holders such as members of boards of state organisations were appointed based on merit, competence, and experience and not by political patronage or affiliations. They observed that because many public officers were reshuffled and replaced by party activists whenever there was election in the country, there was a lot of anxieties as if an ��armagadon or an earthquake�� was about to strike in the country. They, therefore, asked for national unity to be the hallmark of the Ghanaian politics in the country where people had the right to differ and express their opinion ��without fear of being excluded from ��partaking in the sharing of the national cake, which is for us all��, they stressed. Nana Asante said extreme separation of powers in politics had never existed in some parts of the world, as such political leaders had a lot to learn from chieftaincy institutions, whereby contestants to a stool or skin who lost were never deprived of the positions they held before contesting the position of a chief. He said the new chief instead drew the contestants closer to him as advisers which demonstrated the inclusivenesss of the traditional systems of the country. He said politicians could also learn a lot from the National House of Chiefs whose discourse was always civil without profane words as politicians did when they mounted planforms to seek peace. He said throughout the world the shift was towards integration, that Ghanaian politicians ought to take a cue from that since the centre right and centre left politics in European politics, as far as he was concerned, did not exist in the Ghanaian setting. He said this type of extreme politics being practised in the country had to be discarded and replaced by politics that had a moral efficacy to succeed in the country. He observed that elections in the country ought not be a total loss for one group so there should be avenues for participation and opportunities to serve your country. He noted that elections would not be nightmares if the minority had a say in the decision making process, but the present system where the minority had their say and majority their way did not augur well for the body politic of the country. Mr Obeng said the winner takes all politics had more to do with the attitude of politicians rather than constitutional provisions to compel the government to practise politics of inclusiveness. He further explained that during elections politicians boasted that they had able men to do the job for their policies to succeed, so it became difficult for the victor to extend an olive branch to the opposition fearing what interpretation and spin would be put on it. He observed that this dilema of appointing opposition members to some key positions only to be interpreted that the party had no men of its own to operate was hindering the politics of integration in the country. Mr Obeng said there had been co-operation behind the scenes, sometimes between the ruling party and some opposition members but such opposition members turned round in public to preach doom. He said the attitude was hypocritical, which should not be encouraged so that politics of inclusiveness would succeed in the country. Mr Sam Okudzeto,a founding member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in a keynote address, said because of corruption, greed and avarice Ghanaians, since independence, had squandered all the state wealth and what was left was squalor. He urged Ghanaians, especially the political leadership, to draw programmes that would allow Ghana to recapture its past glory and rekindle the pride of Ghanains Mr Okudzeto said it was ironical that despite the state of wealth of the country, people were travelling outside in search of the �golden fleece� but ended up dying on the high seas. Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori- Panin, paramount chief of Akyem Abuakwa and patron of the Ofori Atta Heritage, said the late Ofori Atta, by his life, character and courage, could have been a lone voice in present day Ghana where many were selfishly depreciating the wealth of the country. Osagyefo Amotia said this by quoting Ofori Atta, who once said �� it takes character and courage to live in honest poverty while your friends get rich by folds.�� The Christian Council of Ghana , Office of the Chief Imam and Multimedia Communications collaborated with the Offori -Atta Herrtage in organising the peace forum. By Abdul Aziz/Daily Graphic/Ghana