PUBLIC VIEWS ON STATE FUNDING OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE UPPER WEST REGION, GHANA

Abstract

Since the introduction of multiparty democracy in Ghana from the early part of 1940s, funding of political party programmes and activities has been done by party members and sympathizers. This has generated a lot of debate among political analysts, social commentators and academia. The study therefore sought to contribute to the ongoing debate on the topic. The study adopted a multi-case study approach focusing on three different Constituencies in the Upper West Region of Ghana. Eighty-seven (87) respondents were selected through simple random sampling, purposive sampling and quota sampling techniques for the study. Focus Group Discussions, Self-Administered Questionnaire and Semi-Structured Interviews were adopted as the major primary data collection methods. This was supported by secondary data including textbooks and journals. The study revealed that inadequate funding and corruption are two major challenges confronting political parties. The study also revealed that 72.8% of respondents supported the idea of state funding of political parties’ programmes and activities. The results also had it that should political parties’ fund be established by the state, an independent body/a special political party fund secretariat must be set up to manage the funds to avoid misuse of the funds. The study recommends that in order to reduce financial burden on the state but at the same time making it more committed to the development of multi-party democracy, political parties should be exempted from the payment of import duties on logistics meant for political activities.