To best understand the relationship between corruption and how it fuels political loyalty in Ghana’s young democracy can only be archived if the main pieces of the topic i.e. Corruption, Pollical Loyalty and Democracy in Ghana are tackled based on their unique features as it relates. Before I dive deep into my submission I will like to disclose that I am not an expert in the above listed topic, my opinions are based on my personal experience as a Ghanaian with a background in entrepreneurship and computer engineering.
Ghana’s political independence from Britain in 1957 at the least ushered in Abraham Lincolns description of what democracy is “A government of the people, by the people and for the people”, we as a people were now able to decide who our leaders are. During this important period, pollical mobilization was an important tool in the arsenal of activist’s integral to the overall fight for independence and brought about the formation of political movements (pollical parties). The periods that followed the early years of the political independence /Democracy was characterized by the jostling for power by a small minority of elites who formed these pollical movements (pollical parties), power belonged to whoever had control and support of the Military and its enormous power. The introduction of tribalism and corruption into this young pollical system was only a biproduct of the division and greed that erupted from those who were in position of power, where those who ruled only cared about their families and friends, state resources were seen as family resources. As a result, there’s been periods of instability, insecurity and at some point, hunger and needless deaths because of coupes perpetrated by people who wanted power at all cost, admittedly there’s is still an ongoing debate as to which of these coupes were justified or otherwise.
The difficult pollical years that preceded 1957 has shaped the Ghana democratic system into what is today which is a refined version of what it was many years ago, but this is not to imply that what is currently being practiced is any better. There are a handful positives that can be associate to the current pollical dispensation in Ghana, this though is overshadowed by the blatantly corrupt institutions that exist.
To be continued…
