The Executive Director of the Salt and Light Ministries, Rev. Joyce Aryee, has decried excessive partisanship in the country’s national polity, describing it as a bane to national development.

Delivering the 25th Annual Pearson/Osae Appreciation Lectures in Accra last Thursday, Rev. Aryee said excessive partisanship had polarised the country, hampered effective governance and created a divisive atmosphere in the country.

“In Ghana, politics can be highly partisan, with leaders often prioritising party loyalty over national interest,” she said. “Partisanship can lead to a lack of national unity, making it difficult for leaders to rally around common goals,” Rev. Aryee added.

The Pearson /Osae Appreciation Lectures is organised by the Prempeh College Old Students’ Association, popularly known as Amanfoɔ, in honour of the first Headmaster of the College — Rev. S. N. Pearson, and the first Ghanaian Headmaster — Dr T. A. Osae.

The appreciation lectures instituted in 1998 as part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the College are held alternatively in Kumasi and Accra.

This year’s event was on the theme: “Providing Outstanding Leadership and Service to Society”.

It was attended by notable personalities, including a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Ernest Aryeetey.

Rev. Aryee, who is also a former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, explained that leadership was a call to service and not a means to enrich or lord oneself over others.

She stated that the country was facing many leadership challenges such as corruption and lack of accountability.

Corruption, she said, had eroded public trust in leaders and also truncated the country’s development.

“Corruption diverts funds that could be used for essential services such as health care, education and infrastructure development, leading to widespread social and economic inequalities,” she said.

Way forward

On how to overcome such leadership challenges, Rev. Aryee said there was a need for ethical leadership that prioritised moral courage, inclusiveness and working in the interest of people.

“In a world where corruption and self-interest often undermine progress, it is imperative that our leaders set an example of moral courage,” she added. Prof. Aryeteey said leaders must be capable of providing solutions to problems confronting those that they lead.

“If you are a leader, and one of the biggest problems facing your people is unemployment, and you cannot resolve it, then you cannot continue to be a leader. Leaders are those who solve problems,” he said.

For his part, the Global President of Prempeh College Old Boys Association, Benjamin Kweku Acolatse, said the lecture was to commemorate the achievement of past leaders and also to mentor and imbue the values of discipline, honesty and dedication to the country in the current generation.