Is Ghana really a democracy

 

  Is Ghana Really A Democracy?

 Ghana is officially a democratic state but a lot of our institutes' set up are not democratic enough.

Democracy is government by the people;a form of government in which power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.(www.dictionary.com).

By this principle it simply means that all major decisions and causes of action taken by the government must reflect the will of the people and also in the best interest of the people.

As explained in the true spirit of democracy all institutions must serve the people and answer to the people. If this is properly done it might not always ensure the fastest development but it definitely abides by collective will of all citizenry.

Though there have been democratic governments here since 1960 that were subsequently deposed by military regimes , Ghana since 1992 once again subscribed officially to democracy as it's form of governance forming the forth republic lasting to date. This simply means that our government and members of parliament are democratically elected through voting or ballot system. We also hold referenda on some Major decisions, for example decision to have elected MMDCEs but canceled due to political involvements . A house of parliament is made up of 275 members that are each elected to represent constituencies that basically makeup the entire population. 

In other words , the entire population meets in parliament through representatives to enact laws, approve and disprove major actions ,contracts etc.,  this is supposed to be in tandem with the true spirit of democracy that all citizens must be represented or involved.

Inspite of Ghana's official claim to democracy there are various factors in our democratic framework that have been undermining national progress and the very democracy itself since the inception of the forth republic.One of these factors ,is the excessive excessive control,power or systemic influence of of the executive over alot of institutions that would other wise be much more constructive if left autonomous . Some of these institutions are ,the judiciary(where the president appoints the chief justice and the supreme court judges), the electoral commission (where the president appoints the chair person and the deputies), the police force (where the vice president chairs the police council), the auditor-general who is appointed by the president, the national development planning committee ( NDPC) which is also under the control of the president among others. Even parliament endures a systemic influence of the President because the constitution demands him or her to appoint half of his or her ministers from parliament and this can automatically make the appointees inclined to support him during deliberations on the floor. Another factor is involment of political parties in our governance system. This is very dangerous because it creates a situation of allegiance to and reward from political parties over allegiance to Ghana and national unity. institutions such as Parliament, the executive and the civil authorities or agencies either pre structured politically or are by practiced , sacrificed ass reward for the investment in and loyalty to political parties.This institutions are not only supposed to be serving Ghana without interference but also act as counter checks and balances on each other in ultimate service to her populace.How ever due to the above factors they work in service to the president or the political party often in disregard to the will of the people , thereby compromising our democracy. Sometimes the situation results in Ghanaians being left at the mercy of the president and political party in power just as in monarchy.

To perfect our democracy and set ourselves up for equitable development we must first decentralize the power of authority . All institutions must have independent authority to be able to freely execute their mandate . Parliament must be restructured to be a true reflection of Ghana and will be the authority to which all the independent institutions report. This will keep enough checks on the executive and compel it by duty to serve Ghanaians the way they expect. Political parties involvement should end at the polls for us to build national cohesion and be able to March forward as one unit. 

In summary ,we officialy call ourselves a democratic state and admittedly chalked some democratic progress but a lot needs to be done for us to set a truly democratic system of governance for national growth.