Since 1957, Ghana has discounted colonial rule; we have discounted one-party rule; we have discounted multi-party rule/ dictatorship; we have discounted communist rule. So then, what is the ideal form of government that we are proposing?

This proposal is based on the Christian doctrine of the trinity - i.e. one God who manifests himself in three- The father/ Power, the Son/Wisdom and the Holy Spirit/ Love.

The traditional view of God that has been held by Christians for the past 2000 years is that God exists as three persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit -not that there are three separate Gods, nor that he is one God wearing three hats- but that there is only one God who exists as three distinct Persons.

This view has its roots in the Bible and was spelt out in credal form by the Catholic Church of the 4th country.

It is not surprising that this view of God is confusing to many including Christians and non-Christians alike. It does not fit their understanding of mathematics or their sense of logic.

But the truth is that God can manifest himself in many ways even though He is one and the same God.

Under the proposed structure of an ideal government, those who serve on the Father/ Power ray are the executives, the administrators, the military, the police, immigration and CEPs.

This is because they defend the law, the country and the citizenry. This group of people are indispensable in the governance structure of an ideal government.

In order to avoid the abuse of power, the activities of those who function on the Father/Power ray need to be balanced by those who function on the Son/Wisdom Ray.

These are the professionals (e.g. doctors, lawyers, accountants, bankers, economists, statisticians, academicians, students etc). Basically, this group represents those who develop the mind for the understanding of issues.

The third group represented on the Holy Spirit/Love ray are the business men, the working people, and the labour force that perform the sacred labour with their hands.

This category includes the farmers, the fishermen, the miners, and artisans such as masons, carpenters, labourers, electricians, tailors/seamstresses, hairdressers/barbers, etc. and all those who use their hands in the performance of their duties.

Various institutions/associations can be grouped under the three main blocks of Father/Power, Son/Wisdom and Holy Spirit/Love.

This is depicted below:

Father/Power Ray:

â–  Armed Forces Council

â–  The Police Council

â–  The Ghana Fire Service

â–  The Prison service

â–  The Executives

â–  The Administrators

Son/Wisdom Ray:

â–  The Ghana Medical Association

â–  Nurses & Midwifes Counci

â–  Ghana Bar Association

â–  Ghana Students Union

â–  Institute of Chartered Accountant

â–  Chartered Institute of Bankers

â–  Institute of Engineers

â–  Institute of Surveyors

â–  University Teachers Association

Holy Spirit/Love Ray

â–  Farmers and Fishermen Association

â–  TUC

â–  Chambers of Commerce

â–  Association of Industries

â–  Chambers of Mines

â–  Civil Servants Association

â–  Tailor/ Hairdressers/ Seamstresses Association

â–  Barbers

It has to be noted that the above list is not exhaustive.

All the bodies/ associations listed above do elect their own representatives and other office holders without engaging in party politics. Individuals are either nominated or contest elections without resort to party politics.

District assembly elections are held without party politics. TUC elections are held without party politics.

GPRTU elections are held without party politics. The same approach could be adopted in the election of officers of the various associations and societies under the three broad headings of Father/Power, Son/Wisdom, and Holy Spirit/Love.

The advantages here are many. In the first place, since candidates will not be contesting on the ticket of political parties, there will be no division and acrimony among contestants.

Secondly, tribalism and tribal sentiments will be reduced significantly, if not eliminated. Thirdly, elected representatives will focus on what their constituents want in terms of development as opposed t o what

political parties want. Furthermore costs associated with electioneering campaigns will be reduced significantly.

Critics

There are critics who will say that in most parts of the world especially the democracies of U.S.A, U.K, and Germany, etc. representatives are always elected on the basis of parties.

This may be true. But what those critics do not realise is that comparing an African country to any of those western democracies is like comparing apples and oranges.

In the first place, these western nations do not have tribes and the strong sentiments and attachment that we do to tribes in Africa. Secondly, those nations have moved on an Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

While the advanced democracies such as the U.S.A, U.K. Japan, Germany etc are operating at higher levels of the hierarchy of needs, those of us in the so-called third world (and this includes Ghana) are at the bottom of the hierarchy of needs.

We are still struggling with the provision of the basic necessities of life, i.e. feeding ourselves, clothing ourselves and providing shelter for our people.

What we need in Ghana and the rest of the developing world is a system that unites all of us so that together we can tackle and eliminate poverty, disease, illiteracy and underdevelopment from our society.

It is my submission, therefore, that we discard party politics in our governance system and replace it with a representative form of government based on the trinity of Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

Hail to thy name

In conclusion, I will like to draw your attention to the words in our national anthem. Our national anthem has three stanzas.

The lyrics in the first stanza exhort Ghanaians to be bold and defend our freedom and rights. It also exhorts us to resist oppressors rule. This is understandable seeing that we have just emerged from a colonial rule.

The third stanza makes reference to Ghana as a Black Star of hope for the rest of Africa under colonial rule and the need to advance in unison with the rest of Independent Africa.

What I want to focus on now is the second stanza. The words in there are worth repeating.

"Hail to thy name O Ghana" To thee we make our solemn vow;

Steadfast to build together

A nation strong in unity;

With our gift of mind and strength of arm,

Whether night or day, in midst or storm,

In every need, whatever the call maybe,

To serve thee, Ghana, now and ever more"

The need to invoke and marshal all our God-given resources of mind, body and soul to build our nation is embedded in this stanza. We run the risk of losing it if we ignore the admonishment in this stanza.

The ideal form of government described above addresses that concern and it is sincerely my wish that all well-meaning Ghanaians will buy into this proposal so that together, we can move this country far away from poverty, hunger, disease and under-development.

- The writer is a banking consultant and former Deputy Governor, Bank of Ghana