Former parliamentary aspirant of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Bongo Constituency, Prof. Ephraim Avea Nsoh has decried what he said is the monetization of the party’s internal politics.
Prof. Avea Nsoh stated that, side the huge amount of money he spent in filing to contest and on logistics for his campaign, he had had to give GH¢150 to GH¢200 to each of the over GH¢1,100 delegates in addition to an amount of GH¢40 he had given each of them during his rounds in the constituency.
But some of the delegates, he disclosed, were dissatisfied with this amount and were up in arms against him, demanding an increment.
“The highest I gave during my campaign was 40 cedis and there were 1137 and not all of them were present. But my strategy was to give to everybody because sometimes the money goes to them ‘he was here and remembers me’. I think the night before the election, I gave 200 to those who were traveling from Kumasi and 300 to those who were traveling from other parts of the country,” he stated on State of Our Nation.
He added, “And I gave 200 to this guy who is a teacher and he called their chairperson and told him ‘how can I give him 200? What’s he going to eat and all that’. Meanwhile coming from Kumasi is less than 200 cedis but he wanted me to give him some more and so when he came, he joined my other colleagues who were paying more”.
He, however, could not yield to their demands and as result, they left his camp to those of his opponents who, he claimed, dolled out as much as GH¢1,000 to each delegate.
Expressing worry over the situation, Prof. Avea blamed the party’s executives for the excessive demands by the delegates.
He contended that fees charged people running for positions in the party by the executives are exorbitant and thus, create wrong impressions in the minds of the grassroots that such posts are cash-cows hence, those seeking to occupy them must pay the highest price.
“In terms of the money we spent, it’s really huge, very huge. That’s why I’m worried about our party. I pay 40,000 because I’m going to serve people? Already, you throw out that impression that it’s a place to make money and that you’re going to gain so pay for it.
And that’s the impression I got and a lot of people had and that’s why you go down there, you give them even the 40 cedis, they’re complaining. You give them 400, they’re complaining. They’re calling you for 500 cedis”.
But this, he stated, does not augur well for the country’s democracy as it breeds corruption and denies it the right human resources to steer its affairs.
Prof. Avea Nsoh was among the 3 candidates who bid for the NDC’s parliamentary ticket for the Bongo Constituency in the just concluded primaries of the party.
He, however, could not make it as he polled a paltry 75 votes, trailing the other contestants; Edward Bawa and Charles Bawa Dua who obtained 509 and 535 votes respectively.
