Rising Costs Of Politics Fueling Corruption, New Laws Needed – CDD

The Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD) has expressed concern over the current state of campaign and party financing, citing concerns about the corrupting influence of money in politics.

In a statement, the CDD called for urgent reforms to address the escalating cost of politics and the resulting grand corruption in government.

To tackle these challenges, the CDD proposed that aspiring presidents and political parties commit to key reforms in their manifestos.

These include reducing the financial burden of politics and tackling corruption at its roots.

The CDD emphasised the need for comprehensive new legislation and a robust regulatory framework to govern campaign and party financing.

Specifically, the CDD recommended that this new framework establish clear guidelines for donations and expenditures to ensure transparency and accountability

“Reduce the cost of politics and stop corruption at the source, the increasing monetization and rising cost of politics are corrupting the electoral process and fueling pervasive grand corruption in government.

“The current regime governing campaign and party financing is wholly inadequate. There is a need for new and comprehensive legislation and a regime to regulate the sector. This new regulation must set clear parameters for party and campaign donations and expenditures, establish a period of three or six months as the official campaign period, standardize and regulate internal party electoral processes and financing, and create a body to enforce the new rules.

“Pass comprehensive party and campaign financing legislation that sets clear rules on capping donations and expenditures for both internal and external party processes.”

Additionally, the CDD advocated for the passage of the long-pending Conduct of Public Officers (COPO) bill, which has been stalled for over a decade.

This bill aims to address loopholes in the public sector and promote transparency and accountability.

“One of the biggest drivers of public sector corruption is the abundant opportunities for
corrupt officials and their collaborators to exploit weak internal controls in public services
to steal public money.

“Numerous public ethics prohibitions, such as influence peddling, conflict of interest, and nepotism, have not been properly codified. The passage of the decade-long Conduct of Public Officers (COPO) bill will help address this loophole, which is exploited daily by public officials to escape accountability.

“In its current state, the bill in its current state needs significant improvement, particularly in strengthening its asset disclosure provisions and introducing new rules on unexplained wealth.”