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Topic Discussion I
Politics of Hard Choices
Political Transition and Economic Restructuring
Room 5
(12 of 22 pages)
I will give you just two aspects of our life. The element of fear with which the
ability to rule the country for so many years has not disappeared from our political life even six years after
we have got a new constitution. The behavior patterns of policemen and soldiers to the civilians is very difficult
to transform. Therefore there is an element of fear that is totally incompatible to anything you might call free
political democratic system. Again in a dictatorship there is the assumption that the state resources belong to
the man in power. Where a dictator turns himself, takes off his uniform and turns himself into an elected president,
then this abuse of incumbency is difficult. On just two examples of how the democratic behavior, democratic practice
is not coming as fast as the constitutional transformation. However this constitutional transformation does represent
an opportunity if you want to risk being brutalized or whatever, then you can push. Somebody must be prepared to
die and I can tell you personally it is very very extensive to people. So the question of how to, most people don't
people don't want to pay that kind of price, but how to get the masses to be empowered so that the governments
will practice. That is the corner we have not turned.
As I said by 1983 after the excitement, it was not a difficult choice, it was only a difficult to tend to the structure
and adjustment program in that situation. However, after the early days of such a program, they give money to import
goods so the market is easier, inflation. The later gains are more difficult to obtain. Unless there is a real
democratic transition investors for instance are watching what is the state of police, the state of court and so
on. So the later gains which would be the rear gains are difficult to come by. Therefore it is seen almost as if
for the government the constitutional transition where there is sort of safety valve because after ten years of
sacrifices and no economic results, then they threw in the constitution. It was also at a time when this new theory
that democracy would give you economic development was fashionable, therefore they also thought if okay we have
tried that and all things have failed, if we have a new constitution, maybe we will get economic development. This
is 1999 and today the standard of living In Ghana is lower after nearly twenty years of economic reform and international
auspices (ph) almost thirty years ago when I was Minister of Finance. So the people see failure.
Therefore the question I ask is should there be a consensus behind the government's economic policy program? It
has failed to deliver after twenty years a standard of living equal to what we had thirty years ago. Why should
I as an opposition politician help craft a transition for the acceptability of that program? All I can do is to
say well if we could sit down and craft a new consensus we will see for instance there is massive unemployment,
we have destroyed our educational system and there is no adjustment of the structure of production. We are still
a primary producing country the same as we were before. On all counts this present style is not producing the results
that work. There again you come back to the nature of the regime. A regime that has is used to exercising power
by itself is not a good thing. Besides we have the European political party system which imposes a position on
each Member of Parliament so that change is very difficult. This is the whole dilemma that we are in.
Chair: Thank you very much for that very insightful point. I am going to turn to Mr. Marinez; I am also
going to ask everybody again down to the last forty-five minutes. I am going to make some hand signals for you
to summarize if I feel you are going over the time. I am going to turn to Mr. Marinez please.
Mr. Marinez: Thank you. I am the Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Council in El Salvador. At first El Salvador
was considered one of the places beseeched by armed conflict and thus international community placed me in this
way. The cease-fire in El Salvador was a necessity and we established together a democratic system we established
peace that in fact constituted a true democratic system that did away with the military rule and all its dimensions.
An independent police was established, independence of the legislature was guaranteed, and pluralism was entrenched.
All of these in order to build a true democracy. We still do not have a democracy but we are on the way. We consider
ourselves to be satisfied by what we have done so far. Yet, El Salvador witnesses two transitional situations both
political and economic. On the political level we are moving towards further democracy.
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