Our Governance System Is Not Built for Ordinary People; It Serves Certain Classes — Ben Brako

By: Roberta Gayode Modin

Veteran musician Ben Brako has criticised Ghana’s governance structure, describing it as a system inherited from colonial rule that does not adequately serve ordinary citizens.

Speaking in an interview with Kafui Dey, Ben Brako argued that the country’s governance institutions remain disconnected from the cultural realities and traditional systems of the people.

“There has never been any coherency in our governance system. Let’s face it. It has been imposed since colonial times and it’s still there. It is not of us,” he said.

According to him, the current justice system creates barriers for many ordinary citizens, particularly traditional communities, because of the cost, language, and complexity involved in seeking justice.

“How many traditional people will go to court for redress? Does the system work for them? You have to go and get the lawyer. You can’t even speak the language and then it costs you a fortune,” he stated.

Ben Brako argued that Ghana’s institutions often favour a certain class of people rather than the majority who form the foundation of society.

“It is there for the benefit of certain people and certain systems. It is not there for ordinary people, but they are the citizens that make us a people,” he added.

Ben Brako also expressed concern over the scale of corruption in Ghana, describing it as a major obstacle to development.

“The amount of corruption in the country is phenomenal,” he said, adding that countries that adopted strict measures against corruption had achieved greater progress.

“Those who were strict on corruption were much more successful, like Singapore,” he noted.

He criticised what he described as a culture of tolerance towards corruption, saying such attitudes have allowed the problem to persist.

“Here, they allowed it because they had the attitude that you’re not hurting anybody when you hurt ‘Aban’ to wit government ,” he said.