Okyeame Kwame has said it will take some drastic changes on the political landscape for him to get involved in politics.

He spoke to Nana Romeo on Accra 100.5 FM’s midmorning programme, Ayekoo Ayekoo, Wednesday, July 3, 2024.

The businessman and humanitarian said he was currently “working” with a team on a World Bank-sponsored climate project, “and it’s not partisan because, no matter the leader, I must be able to do the work”.

However, “a time will come [and] I will do politics but it won’t be as though I want to be, for instance, an MP,” he said.

Furthermore, the rap legend said before he would get involved in politics, he would do “his best possible” to change “how we elect leaders”.

He cited how aspiring members of parliament court the favour of delegates in the various political parties.

“A lot of money is involved. You give out money, TVs, cloths, and other things. It’s not right in my eyes. And it’s because of such things that the country is not able to progress,” he said.

Observing it was a way of “bribing delegates,” for votes, he said this pattern made it difficult to rally the same delegates against bribery and corruption once the desired political power was attained.

“These things create what I call PIRP: political investment recuperation programme,” the author posited, explaining: “If I’ve done [campaign] work worth US$600,000, and I’m going to parliament for GHS20,000 [per month], multiply that by 12 and again by 4 years. How much is that? It’s nowhere near US$600,000. So, in that case, would I be going to parliament for selfish reasons, or to serve my constituency?”

Affectionately called OK, he advocated “a dialogue concerning this issue” and an urgent change.

Apart from these, he spoke against some presidential or executive powers per the Constitution of Ghana: “The executive selects the inspector general of police, and the same selects the attorney general, and again the chief justice, economic and organized crime office boss, and other chief executive officers…”

The multiple award-winning singer-songwriter argued Ghana’s “key problem” was an issue of “discipline” and “not a lack of vision – our leaders are learned, they are smart, they have vision”.

“The discipline to carry out the vision is rare,” he lamented, noting: “Discipline is desiring [and doing] the right thing with little or no supervision or the inescapable punishments corresponding with wrongdoings.”

“Where are the checks and balances that promote and establish democracy?” he wondered. “If the president chooses the chief justice, how can the chief justice rule against the president’s misconduct?”

Okyeame Kwame emphasised he is spearheading advocacy against such unproductive provisions in Ghana’s constitution.