The former national organiser of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Sammi Awuku, has said some political parties in Ghana should rather operate as pressure groups because they have no chances of winning an election.
Awuku, who is currently the director-general of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), said political parties are formed to win power to transform lives and not to just remain in the books.
“There are some political parties that I know in Ghana, which I think that should be more of a pressure group than political parties,” Awuku told Asaase News.
“If you are not set up to win elections, to implement ideas, then it is more of a pressure group,” he added.
Listen to Sammy Awuku in the attached audio clip below:
Watch the full interview in the attached video clip:
Illegal lotto operators financing political parties in Ghana
Meanwhile, the National Lottery Authority (NLA) has served notice it will soon crack down on the activities of illegal lotto operators in Ghana in a bid to sanitise the industry.
Statistics from the NLA shows that illegal lotto operators currently control 45% of the market share in Ghana, thereby depriving the government of the needed revenue.
Speaking to Kwaku Nhyira-Addo on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Wednesday (5 April), Awuku alleged that some illegal lotto operators are financing the activities of the two main political parties in Ghana.
“We are going to sign an agreement with the National Signals Bureau and the national security apparatus, to dig deep into the society, go undercover to help arrest and prosecute these people,” he said.
“The problem with the Ghanaian situation is that if you arrest somebody, the person knows somebody – a politician somewhere or an influential person somewhere.
“And I can tell you, when it comes to these illegal operators, they are both financiers of the two main political parties, so once one of them is in your grip, you have this loyal political member calling and talking to you, but this year it’s time to move beyond this ‘I beg, I beg’,” Awuku added.
Reporting by Fred Dzakpata in Accra
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