Feature: What is an all-Inclusive government?

"Africa doesn't need Strongmen, it needs Strong Institutions" - Barack Hussein Obama

There has been many calls from different political divides and some identified opinion leaders, all

proposing an all-inclusive government, to do away with the winner takes all governance that has characterized our fledgling democracy since its inception in 1992. The call to commune however, does not sit well with some of us because the timing of the call is misplaced. Simply, an

What is an all-inclusive government when Ghana is always run by an all Ghanaian leaders who are either elected or appointed to post? 

The politician, by his cunning nature will do everything within his means and power to win or amass anything that belongs to the people or where the booty eludes him, he will try to at least have a portion of what the other is enjoying. It is rightfully so, because Politics has become an economic or a commercial venture in which you invest monies, with 98% surety of recouping it, simply because, it has proven to be profitable over the years.

As a political animal who cannot escape my descent, I have keenly observed politics in our dear nation, Ghana, and I have realized that, all we practice here is Politics of Convenience. We do not really love our Country as we profess to and our posture is just a facade. We shift goalposts to assuage for our loss or to still be relevant in the political terrain. Even though, the onus of governance currently lies in the bosom of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), there is no gainsaying that, only two successive governments, represented by the NDC and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have taken turns to rule our dear nation, Ghana, for eight (8) years each in the past. 

We can’t rule out the possibilities the supposedly all-inclusive governance can reap for the nation, but how sure, are we that, the two opposing parties can work coherently to achieve the objectives of ensuring the welfare of our citizenry and the nation as a whole? Who then plays the role of checks and balances on the governing team?

Aside the over-arching constitution, we don’t even have national policies to guide the government of the day, so how are we going to go about the inclusion exercise? Are we just going to look around and call up members of the opposing political parties who can play ball or each party would be mandated to present a quorum to be integrated into the governing team?

Methinks it is another strategy to team up to rip our already touted lean coffers apart, thus denying the electorates what is due them. We all know that, the only bill that gets passed quickly in Parliament is the one that has to do with monies due our Parliamentarians, and that is an all-inclusive governance right there, so just do the math and tell me how our monies will be spent, should the all inclusive government be promulgated. 

Our Constitution clearly endorses a multiplicity of political parties in which the emergent Presidential hopeful forms his government, regardless of whether he obtained the right number of Parliamentarians or not. The system further gives him the right to appoint Ministers and their deputies from all over Ghana, especially those who made it to Parliament regardless of their party affiliation, so which all-inclusive government are we talking about?

Shouldn't we rather be consulting our Constitution which would help us put up strong structures to ensure that, the right persons are appointed by the President to work for us, rather than calling for an all-inclusive government that is already in place?

Since these calls started, prior to the election petition judgement, I thought the proponents of this all-inclusive government were making such calls just to massage the ego of the emergent loser or to bring about peace, but the incessancy of the calls from people who should know better has made it a worrying development which might not augur well for us as a Country.

To begin with, we were all Ghanaians until we decided to break up into different political parties, driven by our varied ideologies which is borne out of religious, Social and economic leanings. Then through the successive days, the individual and the political parties keep evolving through reforms which are dictated by the changing times, yet we still find it convenient being with our parties, because they embody our ideals. We also do this tenaciously because we believe in their governing know-how, so why would we cry wolf if our parties lose?

Just as I don’t expect to see or hear Chelsea Football Club soliciting for some of their players to be integrated into the Glorious Manchester United’s team to have a feel of what glory tastes like, simply because they have consistently won the European Premier League, I don’t expect to see any Political Party making such calls to their opponents either.

Being a good businessman among other things, includes your acumen to foresee what can befall your business and plan strategies to forestall negative occurrences, so I think failure on the part of an individual to see that s/he is not in a winning team should also be something the individual should dearly suffer for. Plainly, if you know or think that you have something to offer this Country, join the winning team to wrestle power and bring your know-how to bear or you sit and bid your time. You can still help from the fringes by suggesting to the government of the day, what should be done or where the government deserves some bashing, you give it to them constructively. 

After all, no one dines with their supposed enemy, because, that is what it is, per the governance in this country, as demonstrated over the years by both parties being at extreme ends of the pole. Any party which wins power is already an all-inclusive government because it is made up of diverse people with diverse backgrounds from every nook and cranny of our nation - so wherein lies the merit of the clarion call? 

Political Parties even in opposition, always have a government in place by appointing shadow Ministers et al; so, I think the call is just another ploy by the Politician to fleece us of our scanty resources.

Conversely, calling industrious Citizens who have a proven track record to join the government to help build the nation is welcomed but not the en masse integration of other party members who do not even believe in the ideals of the government of the day to start with and there is still an issue of trust. You may be finding ways to bring solidarity between your enemy and you, but trusting them with your business will be a tad stretching the already stretched lines.

While still pursuing our selfish ends through democracy, where only a few people create, share and loot at the expense of the populace, let us not lose sight of the fact that, Ghana is already practicing the all-inclusive governance as evidenced by the various representations from the Political parties in our Parliamentary system, so let us not push our luck further, because we might proverbially pooh like the lizard.