The ideal environment for politicians

Politics is mainly regarded as the engine that runs the development agenda of countries in Africa. How well the environment works for the benefit of the citizenry is another story to talk about on another day.

Africa ranks as the richest continent in the world with abundant natural resources such as gold, oil, bauxite and cocoa, to mention a few. But the continent also has the most impoverished population living on the face of the earth. In Africa, the politician is seen as a king while the people he had sworn to serve rather become the servants. The roles are sadly reversed in this part of the world, making the politicians some kind of tin gods to the very people they are supposed to serve in dignity.

Ideal environment

The ideal environment Africa needs is not the environment where the politician becomes king, but the environment where he understands the essence of service and accountability to the citizenry who vote him into political office.

The “Animal farm” kind of politics where some of the citizenry, in the same country, are treated much better than others must stop. And it must stop from its top hierarchy of power to the bottom where the powerless and the vulnerable are found.If certain privileges politicians hold in Africa are carefully brought under control or supervised, individual strive for excellence and selflessness will be highly sought after by those elected into office. It may seem far-fetched to achieve these things, but they are achievable.

Measures

Here are a few measures that, if properly implemented and enforced, could put the Ghanaian or the African in the driving seat of development.

1. Any leader found guilty of corruption or crime should be made to face the full rigours of the law.
2. The indemnity clauses, in the case of Ghana, should be abolished from the constitution.
3. Payment of ex gratia to political office holders should be abolished.
4. Appointment to offices such as the Office of the Special Prosecutor, Auditor-General Department, and Chief Justice should be made by a body independent of the executive arm of government.
5. Payment of public sector workers and political office holders must be made based on productive hours of work.
6. A closer second look should be taken at the salaries, allowances and per diems paid to politicians and other political appointees such as chief executive officers of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), Bank of Ghana(BoG), among others.
7. Press freedom in most part of Africa must be protected to give the citizenry the needed voice.
8. Access to Information laws should be allowed to work fully to guard against procurement breeches, among others.
9. Appointments to top positions in other highly sensitive offices like Electoral Commission, Police Service, CHRAJ, Armed Forces, among others, should be critically examined to check excesses or abuse of power.
10. There must be special professional experience and competence attached to the criteria considered during appointment of public/political office holders.
11. There must be re-orientation of the political system that will lead to the abolishing of the ‘winner-takes-all’ syndrome.
12. The political environment should not be seen as ‘make or break’ avenue for elected officials to become rich at all cost, but should be seen as an avenue where service and selflessness will be sought after at every turn.

The writer is a Records Information Management Project Coordinator of a Private company in the United States of America.

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