A study by the Ghana Center for Democratic Development, (CDD-Ghana), has shown that nine persons engaged in ‘galamsey’ and fraud funded political parties in the 2020 elections.
The study also shows that three major financiers of the political parties are chiefs in the Eastern Region.
The “Rising Cost of Politics in Ghana Attracting Illicit Funding from Organized Crime” report also found that it costs US$100 million to effectively fund a presidential campaign in Ghana.
The study which was conducted in all the 16 regions of the country also stated that an amount of US$ 693,000, the equivalent of GHC4 million, is required to prosecute a parliamentary campaign.
“Nine financiers were found to be involved in illicit and Serious and Organized Crime (SOC) related activities. The SOC activities identified include Illegal mining/galamsey (7 financiers); Illegal Oil Bunkering (One financier); and alleged fraudulent business (One financier).
…Ten of the financiers are engaged in the procurement of works (construction of roads and buildings) and three (3) of the major financiers are Chiefs in the Eastern region.”
Monetization of politics in Ghana
Stakeholders including MPs revealed in the study that aspirants running for political positions must have over the past three years, financially spend in their constituencies to stand a chance.
According to the study, “the rising cost of running for political office and the amount of money candidates must raise to contest elections at the constituency level and run as a parliamentary candidate is directly linked to both demand-driven and supply-side corruption, creating interdependencies.
…On the demand-driven corruption side, party officials and delegates at the constituency level expect and or are given money and items of value to influence the election of a parliamentary aspirant. This demand-driven corruption at the party primaries increases during the national parliamentary election.”
It also indicated that filing at both the party level and by the Electoral Commission increased by 500%, contributing to the high cost of politics in the country.
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