Ghanaian musician, Okyeame Kwame has expressed concern over the high rates at which bribery is becoming a norm in the country's political system.
He stated that the practice of candidates contesting parliamentary elections and paying large sums of monies to persuade delegates to vote for them is alarming and warrants attention.
He further mentioned that when individuals buy their way into power, they tend to focus on accumulating wealth to recover the spent funds rather than addressing the needs of their constituents.
Okyeame Kwame indicated that the nation will continue to face challenges in its efforts to fight corruption and prevent the misappropriation of state funds.
"Another aspect of partisan politics I find objectionable is that to become an MP, one must pay delegates. So, he has bribed the delegates to become an MP, and later he claims we are fighting corruption; what does that imply?
"I hope that during parliamentary primaries, if we have seven million card-carrying members of the NPP or NDC, those individuals should vote. That way, we can elect a competent person who has advanced through the ranks and truly represents the group's interests. Not someone who travels from Kumasi or Accra to be elected as an MP in another town," he told Ohemaa Woyeje in an interview on Angel FM.
Lately, the monetization of politics has intensified.
The recent New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ejisu by-elections sparked significant concerns on the subject following reports that some individuals financially influenced constituents to support their preferred candidate.
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