International relations expert, Dr. Vladimir Antwi Danso says Ghana cannot claim to be practicing good governance despite being a democratic state.

Dr. Antwi-Danso, who is a Senior Research Fellow at the Legon Centre for International Affairs (LECIA), says politicians often unduly manipulate institutions of state in their favour.

"There is no institutionalism in Ghana. Either the government bell the institutions of state under their hypnosis or tried to manipulate the institutions", Dr. Antwi Danso noted.

The Senior Research Fellow at LECIA was speaking at a public lecture in Accra, organized by the Africa Public Policy Institute.

According to him, Ghana's democracy is seriously being undermined as state institutions are not allowed to work effectively for the development of the country  as it results in poor accountability and lack of transparency.

"Ours is a democracy that is badly hiccupping because the important clause of democracy is not adequately being sustained", Dr. Antwi Danso, stressed.

Dr. Antwi Danso said Ghanaians should not be deceived into accepting that the availability of state structures connotes the presence of good governance.  

"We make the mistake of thinking that when we have these structures in there, then we have good governance. I am saying, it is not true that democracy is  equal to good governance", he insisted.

The Senior Research Fellow at LECIA further indicated that  there are several factors used in measuring good governance as the features cannot  be said to be the the case worldwide.

"Good governance includes beyond democracy with good visionary trait and transformational leadership", he noted.

Dr. Antwi Danso further says most of the country’s problems must also be blamed on the citizenry, who are sometimes gullible because they have not been engaged in democratic tenets.