Accra
(Greater Accra) 18 October 2001-The Speaker of Parliament, Mr Peter Ala Adjetey
left Accra for Abuja, Nigeria on Wednesday to participate in the 24th session
of the African Parliamentary Union (APU), which is already underway.
A
three-member advanced Parliamentary team made up of Mr Isaac Adjei Mensah,
Deputy Minority Leader, Mr. Solomon Kwabena Sarfo -NPP Mampong and Mr Agyare
Koi- Larbi -NPP Akropong are already in Abuja.
The
five-day meeting would discuss: "The role of Parliament in the fight
against corruption" and "Poverty alleviation in an era of
globalisation." The Speaker would deliver a paper.
GRi…/
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 18 October 2001-Mr Kosi Kedem, NDC MP for Hohoe South on
Wednesday said there was the need for the state to fund political parties now
that Ghanaians were confident that multi-party political system has come to
stay.
He thus
urged the government to give the idea a serious consideration and subject it to
a national public debate.
Mr
Kedem, who was making the statement in Parliament on "Zero-tolerance for
corruption and state funding of registered political parties," said many
countries including Tanzania, South Africa, the USA, Canada and some Western
European countries, partly enjoy funding of political parties by the state.
"Essentially,
the partial funding of registered political parties will minimise the incidence
of corruption in politics and above all strengthen democratic governance.
"However, structures and checks should be put in place to ensure that the
concept is not abused by politicians."
Mr
Kedem said: "If we are talking about good governance, which depends
heavily on the existence of an active, virile opposition, then it stands to
reason that the opposition parties should be assisted financially by the
state."
He
said since 1993 the idea of state funding of registered political parties has
come up for discussion albeit infrequently at seminars and occasionally in
Parliament but no concrete decision has been taken on the issue.
"We
are now in a new political dispensation and Ghanaians are now confident that
multi-party political system has come to stay and it is important that the
system should be strengthened and sustained. "And to do that the state
should do well to consider giving some financial assistance to the political
parties."
Mr Kedem said there was no way President John Agyekum Kufuor could implement successfully the policy of "zero-tolerance for corruption" without the state giving some financial assistance to the political parties.
"The
governing party itself will need money to run its operation and if it has not
got the money it may be tempted to dip its long hands into the national
coffers. "The opposition parties on the other hand need financial
assistance to enable them to function properly or even survive."
President
Kufuor in August this year, at the New Patriotic Party (NPP) national congress
at Legon called for a national debate on state funding of political parties and
explained that he knew what it took for ones' party to be in opposition.
GRi…/
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