<<Print>>

The Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) has supported the idea to set up a special fund to finance political parties in Ghana. Such a fund, IDEG suggested, should not be the sole responsibility of the government; corporate organisations and institutions must also contribute to the fund. Major General Nii Carl Coleman, Chairman of the Civic Forum Initiative (CFI), made the proposal during a National Interest Dialogue on Multiparty Governance (MPG) and Constitutional Reforms organised by IDEG in Wa. He noted that just as in the case of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), an independent administrator should be appointed to manage such a fund when it is set up to allay the fears of people that the government would control the fund to its advantage. He said the appointed administrator should operate under strict guidelines prescribed by Parliament as to how the fund should be disbursed. �For now, our political parties are more or less like election machines � they are not concentrating on development issues," he stated. The CFI Chairman pointed out that political parties did not have strong research departments and so more often than not, did not take care in crafting their manifestoes to reflect the real development needs of the people. Major Coleman stated that the setting up of the fund would help political parties to establish strong research departments and organise their annual conferences, as well as the drafting of their manifestoes, which could be incorporated into the national development plan to benefit the whole nation. The National Interest Dialogue on the MPG and Constitutional Reforms, which is being organised by IDEG with sponsorship from STAR-Ghana across the various regions, is aimed at whipping up the citizen�s interest and support for the review process.