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Mr. George Akom, an Educationist and a Social Commentator, has asserted that the emergence of what he described as “Political Entrepreneurs” is a cause of corruption and bad governance, which has become so difficult to combat by many governments. He explained that ,Political Entrepreneur may refer to any of the following; someone who funds a new political project, group, or political party, a businessman who seeks to gain profit through subsidies, protectionism, government contracts, or other such favorable arrangements with government through political influence. He added that many political parties depend on these Political Entrepreneurs for support in their political activities, and by so doing gives them a lot of opportunities to influence decisions of the party when they come to power. These political entrepreneurs would use these advantages to dictate and push the government to take some certain decisions which would not be in the interest of all citizens thereby causing bad governance to the people of the country. Mr. Akom indicated that some of these political entrepreneurs are also those who are influential and famous in our societies who always align themselves to any ruling government with the hope of receiving favours, protection and incentives from government. Such situations do not allow these types of Political Entrepreneurs to be firm in their actions. He continued that political activists know where they belong and would always defend and support their parties and government no matter what the situation would be. The so called Political Entrepreneurs are neither here nor there, but always capitalize on political loopholes for their individual benefit. “We should apply the friendliness, firmness and fairness when handling issues of the government, but not to become one –sided in our dealings. Contrary to these therefore make such Political Entrepreneurs become “opportunist” by failing to address issues of national interest ,but rather defend and support the government in everything it does, whether good or bad. A true citizen should always call a spade a spade to put the government on its toes to help in the development of the nation, but not seek for personal welfare to the detriment of the citizenry”, he bemoaned. He averred that this situation is a two-sided issue where on the other side, political parties and candidates turn to also become entrepreneurs by turning into political players who seek to gain certain political and social benefits in return for providing the common goods that can be shared by an unorganized general public. These common goods that political entrepreneurs attempt to provide to the populace generally include foreign- and domestic-related public policy, while the benefits they hope to gain involve voter support, public recognition, and personal popularity. He emphasized that this situation creates inducement and convincing environment to influence the choice of right leaders for the nation. He continued that all these put together have dire consequence in fighting corruption and providing good governance, because those who are affected and are involved in this menace become “silent – talkers” over bad governmental activities affecting the country.Mr. George Akom, who is also an Assistant Registrar of the Ghana Technology University College, Kumasi Campus opined that it was high time citizens of the country face realities to allow systems put in place by the government to work devoid of influences and biases for the betterment of the country . Source: Broadcastergh.com/Ayisah Foster
