Ghanaian politicians treat state coffers as 'party spoils' - Charles Abugre

Former Chief Executive Officer of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), Charles Abugre has chided politicians for placing their political interests above their national responsibilities once they assume office.

According to Charles Abugre, Ghanaian politicians engage in political contest with the sole aim of harbouring the national assets as the ‘spoils of political contest’.

Delivering his keynote address

Read full articleat the launch of the Star Ghana Foundation Tuesday, Charles Abugre lamented the indiscriminate misuse of national resources for selfish political gains in the current government, despite President Akufo-Addo’s call for a corrupt-free administration during his inauguration in January 2017.

“Politics is treated as victors and vanquished. Treating politics as victors and vanquished implies that the obligation of office is to gather the spoils of political contest. This happens to date, even as President Nana Addo announced in his inaugural speech that the state coffers are not spoils for the party that wins an election, but resources of the country’ social and economic development,” Mr. Abugre asserted.

The Co-Convener of the Foundation for Transformation of Marginal Areas (TAMA) added that: “Politics has assumed a Marcian character. By Marcian, I refer to William Marcy; he was the Secretary of War and later on the Secretary of State. And it is he to whom is attributed the saying to the victor belongs the spoils of war.”

He bemoaned the highly divisive and intolerant nature of political activism in Ghana, claiming that it has resulted in enmity among political factions in the society.

“Political activism has become highly divisive, vitriolic, intolerant and uncivil. It has assumed an enemy approach. Enmity is cutting deeply into the fabric of our society from the national to the household,” Mr. Abugre said.

The Star Ghana Foundation was successfully launched at the Swiss Spirit Hotel, themed ‘Active Citizenship in a changing Ghana: Context, Challenges and Opportunities’. The launch also featured the foundation’s inaugural public lecture, projected to be an annual event.

Guests present included Prof. Akilagpa Sawyerr, Mr. Ibrahim-Tanko Amidu, Programme Director of Star Ghana, as well as representatives from DFID Ghana and Christian Aid Ghana.