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State funding of political parties has been strongly proposed as a way forward for the deepening of democracy in the country. The recommendations were arrived at as a result of a nationwide broad consultation the Institute of Economic Affairs and the Winner-Takes-All Advisory Committee (IEA-WTA) had with a cross-section of Ghanaians on the way forward for the country�s democracy. The committee said the rationale for the proposal for state funding of political parties was to reinvigorate political parties to enable them to function effectively. Ghanaians consulted by the Advisory committee were of the view that state funding will also help produce capable leaders who could effectively tackle the development challenges of the country. According to Justice Emile Short, Vice-Chairman of the Committee, political parties are the vehicles through which the ideals of multi-party democracy could be achieved. Election machines Sharing the committee�s proposals with the media in Accra recently, he observed that political parties existed merely as �election machines� and become largely inactive during inter-election periods.� Justice Short further observed that there was a perception that political parties appropriate public resources to fund their political activities since the sources of their funding were unknown and undisclosed. He said because state funding of political parties had not been implemented, political parties tended to raise resources through fair and foul means for their election campaigns. Justice Short also noted that political parties �do all they can to recoup such resources after elections, thereby depleting the nation�s coffers.� The committee, he said, therefore, supported the recommendations that there should be state funding of political parties. Level field He also said the committee noted that state funding would also create a level playing field for political parties and keep the parties active in the inter-election period. The Advisory Committee has, therefore, urged that the draft Public Funding of Political Parties Bill 2008 submitted to the Presidency by the IEA-Ghana Political Parties Programme, should be passed into law and arrangements made for its implementation. He said the committee recommended a threshold for political parties to qualify for state funding to discourage the mushrooming of political parties just to get state funding. Additionally, he said the committee recommended that there should be a ceiling on the amount of funds that could be raised by political parties during their election campaigns to minimise the risk of seeking illicit funds or incurring huge debts that are allegedly recouped from state resources. Justice Short concluded that the ceiling could be reviewed periodically, taking into consideration prevailing economic conditions, to help prevent the �monetisation� of elections in the country.