Lawmaker for Suame Constituency, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has highlighted the cause of the tendencies for most politicians to be corrupt in Ghana.
The long-serving MP bemoaned the over monetizing of political process and the costly nature of seeking and acquiring power using MPs as a case in point.
“”Everyone who has lost is complaining that they don’t have the funds to match up with the money that is being thrown into our elections. If we don’t change the trend, what is going to happen in our next two or three elections?” he said
According to the Majority Leader of Parliament, the trend, if it continues, will lead to a time when only rich people can make it to parliament.
“What it means is that you can’t come to parliament if you are not loaded. That is why I keep asking for a review of the constitutions by the political parties,” he stated in an interview on Okay FM.
The majority leader further cautioned that the situation is promoting corruption and that citizens must also rethink how they contribute to the monetization of politics.
“I keep saying that nobody in politics is a Father Christmas, so they will eventually recoup whatever money they end up spending. Once their party wins, they will ensure they recoup through contracts and other means. Nobody is an angel in this country. Aside from that, they will further accumulate more money for the next election,” he stated.
The just-ended parliamentary and presidential primaries of the opposition National Democratic Congress recorded instances of alleged vote-buying.
In the Ejura Sekyere Odumase Constituency, a candidate, Juliana Kinang-Wassan, was captured on video throwing wads of cash from the roof of her vehicle at a polling center.
She eventually lost the election, which was contested by five other candidates; however, there have since been calls for her to be investigated for engaging in vote-buying.