Gov’t should not fund political parties – Dr Amoako Baah

A political science lecturer at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Dr Amoako Baah has kicked against calls for the State to fund political parties.

Dr Baah argued the considering the current economic conditions, which has occasioned hardships; the country cannot afford to sponsor political parties.

A number of Ghanaians, including Majority Leader of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, have advocated state funding of political parties.

Mr Bagbin delivering a lecture at the 37th Management Day Celebration of the University of Ghana Business School said the state should provide political parties with funds for policy research and manifesto development since these activities have direct influence on the development in the country.

But Dr Baah told Onua FM Friday that the “the country is cash trapped and needs money for key priority areas such as solving labour agitations, education, health and infrastructure.”

“I acknowledge that funding political parties could reduce corruption to some extent as influence of political financiers could be limited, but it is not worthy to do so in the current economic situation we find ourselves in”

He said if Ghana decides to fund political parties, then there should be a clear description of criteria that would qualify political parties to access the fund.

“The fund could be a matching fund that would provide some amount of funding when a particular political party achieves 5 per cent of the primary votes,” he advised.