General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketsia says the root cause of corruption in Ghana is nothing but the cost of people getting elected to high public offices in Ghana.

According to him, the cost associated with people getting to elected positions has increased to an intolerable level that’s threatening the survival of Ghana’s democracy and the suffering of the masses.

Speaking at a consultative forum of the Department of Peace and Development Studies at the University of Cape Coast, the NDC General Secretary indicated the more the country’s politics becomes monetised, the more merit is sacrificed.

“The cost of getting elected to any position in Ghana has increased to intolerable levels and that is the root cause of corruption.

"So if there is a way in which we can do more research in that field and see how we can clean our politics it will help us to save this democracy because the more the politics become monetize the more we sacrifice merits," he stated.

He’s calling on the academic community in Ghana to undertake researches aimed at cleaning the country’s politics and saving Ghana’s democracy.

Also Mr Asiedu spoke about what he calls charlatans who are parading as religious people that are threatening politicians and everybody in the country.

“I see a lot of charlatans emerging in our religious scene proclaiming to be everybody threatening politicians…” if you don’t see me you can't win”. We are in a country of poverty and yet the very poor are the people who are being exploited. Then make money and pay no tax. When everyone is growing lean they are growing fat and they appear to be untouchable,” Asiedu Nketia explained.

Mr. Nketia also touched on recruitments in the security service and described it as rearing dangerous animals that will grow to devout the entire country soon.

“You are nursing a lion which will come and consume all of us. It has happened in many countries where you see security services and their bosses predominantly belonging to one religious sect or belonging to an ethnic group.

"Recruitments become secretive and nobody knows when recruitments are done"

The stakeholder consultative f workshop was on the development of new academic program in peace and security at the university of Cape-coast