Alex Segbefia
Former Health Minister Alex Segbefia has claimed that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is responsible for introducing the practice of monetizing politics in Ghana.
He believes that his party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), adopted this practice from the NPP. According to him, bribery was not an issue during the 1992, 1996, and even 2000 elections. He squarely puts the blame on the NPP for the monetization of the political system, which became prevalent from 2004 onwards. He believes it was the creation of the NPP, to the extent that it is now widely observed.
While speaking on the Key Points on TV3, Former Minister of Health Alex Segbefia said that the NDC has unfortunately adopted some bad habits, including vote-buying. He made these comments during a discussion on the GH ¢40 given to each delegate of the NDC by former President John Dramani Mahama to facilitate their transportation to the voting centers during Saturday’s presidential and parliamentary primaries. Segbefia emphasized that he does not absolve his party of these practices.”
According to a statement signed by Mr. Mahama’s spokesperson, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, the campaign believes that providing support to delegates to enable them to travel to the polling centers will result in a high voter turnout and empower every voter to cast their ballot without facing any financial difficulties in the current challenging economic situation.
For Martin Kpebu, a private legal practitioner, the issue of monetisation of politics is a stain on Ghana’s democratic system.
It is big blot on our democracy, it affects the kind of leaders we have so it means that the elections are to the highest bidder, the one who has more money is able to bid,” he said.
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