The Head of Public Sector Governance at the Commonwealth Secretariat, Prof Roger Oppong Koranteng, has warned Ghanaians of the looming danger that lies ahead of the country should monetisation of politicking persist.

In an exclusive interview on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Monday, the policy analyst projected that there will come a time when a rich criminal will be at the helm of affairs of the country.

He believed the corruption in Ghana and the various state institutions provides a fertile ground for his projection to be actualised should it be left unaddressed.

“The way our politicking has been so much monetised, it’s scary. So if you don’t have that kind of money which ordinarily can’t have, then no matter how good your campaign message is, you’ll not get there because of this monetisation.

“Also, everybody is looking at getting into positions of power to make money. That is why elections have become a matter of life and death because we all know that, for nothing at all, get into politics, win elections and in the next two years you would have acquired so many properties,” he said.

Speaking on Governance and Corruption in Africa, Prof Oppong Koranteng insisted that the maleficence of these political actors did not begin after they got into office.

According to him, corruption is pervasive in every aspect of Ghanaian life.

Thus, it will continue to fester until a strong and resilient public institution is established to keep all and sundry in check.

“I am not going to mince words, corruption in Ghana is pervasive. From the man on the street to the highest level, corruption is pervasive. We mostly accuse our politicians and senior public officials as corrupt, but the question we often do not ask is ‘Where are they coming from?’

“They are definitely not coming from the moon. They are the same Ghanaians who go to school, complete their tertiary schools and who get into positions of authority are corrupt. So the corruption, actually comes from the street,” he said.