Ghana's two-term former president, John Agyekum Kufuor, says political rivalry needed to be harnessed as a tool to advance the measure of checks and balances within the political governance structure.

GhanaWeb monitored comments the senior statesman made on 'The Point of View' program on Accra-based Citi TV, where he stressed that rivalries, be they at the party or national levels - needed to be used for the collective good rather than for parochial reasons and or objectives.

“Our constitution enjoins parties to be democratic. It talks of sovereignty residing in the people. Sovereignty is not locked in government but the rivalry among political parties upholds the principle of checks and balances. Otherwise, smart alecs will grab [power] and run away with it, and then all of us will lose.”

The need for whatever rivalry there is to be balanced is a point that he stressed, stating: “Rivalry should be there but rivalry beyond unacceptable or unconscionable levels is what we speak against.”

He also singled out the current composition of Ghana's legislature as a key pointer to the imperative for a healthy rivalry to be harnessed to champion the overall public good.

He stressed that with such a parliament, the ball was in the court of the executive to balance its position on matters of national interest for the greater good of the citizenry.

“Now we have a hung Parliament, this will mean that the executive must learn to accommodate [the Minority] so that the winner does not take all,” he noted.

“So if the people of Ghana can appreciate this, and we want to live in a harmonious society, we will see how to use the checks and balances to govern ourselves. So between parties, rivalry should be fine.

"Even within parties, it should be the same principle for the objective of the good. I believe we have laws in place, and it is up to us to ensure that they work,” he added.