Constitutional and Strategy Advisor for pressure group Democracy Hub, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, has described proposals aimed at reforming Ghana’s campaign financing regime as commendable, stressing that greater transparency in political funding is necessary to curb corruption.

Speaking on JoyNews’ programme The Law on Sunday, March 8, he said the recommendations contained in the report of the Constitution Review Committee (CRC) represent an important step toward improving accountability in the country’s electoral system.

Barker-Vormawor explained that opaque campaign financing arrangements often allow wealthy and sometimes unidentified individuals to bankroll political candidates during elections, only to benefit from state contracts after those candidates assume office.

“CRC report seeking to reform our campaign finances is commendable,” he said, adding that “one of the biggest challenges in our politics is that the people who fund campaigns are often hidden from the public.”

According to him, this lack of transparency creates a cycle of patronage that undermines good governance and drains public resources.

“You have situations where unseen people donate funds to candidates, and when those candidates win the polls, those same individuals are rewarded with sole-sourced contracts,” he said.

“That breeds corruption and leads to a loss of state funds because procurement decisions are no longer made in the national interest.”

The Constitution Review Committee (CRC), which was chaired by Henry Kwasi Prempeh, was constituted in January last year to review aspects of Ghana’s constitutional framework and recommend reforms.

The eight-member committee included former Supreme Court Justice Sophia Adinyira, media scholar Kwame Karikari, former Electoral Commission Chair Charlotte Osei, Dr Godwin Djokoto, Ibrahim Tanko Amidu, Dr Esi Ansah and Dr Rainer Akumperigeya.

The committee’s report includes proposals aimed at strengthening transparency, accountability and regulation of political party financing in Ghana.