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| Ghana PROFILE
OFFICIAL NAME: Geography People Government Economy GEOGRAPHY The climate is tropical. The eastern coastal belt is warm and comparatively
dry; the southwest corner, hot and humid; and the north, hot and dry. There are
two distinct rainy seasons in the south--May-June and August-September; in the
north, the rainy seasons tend to merge. A dry, northeasterly wind, the Harmattan,
blows in January and February. Annual rainfall in the coastal zone averages 83
centimeters (33 in.).
Volta Lake, the largest manmade lake in the world, extends from the Akosombo
Dam in southeastern Ghana to the town of Yapei, 520 kilometers (325 mi.) to the
north. The lake generates electricity, provides inland transportation, and is a
potentially valuable resource for irrigation and fish farming.
PEOPLE Primary and junior secondary school education is tuition-free and mandatory.
The Government of Ghana support for basic education is unequivocal. Article 39
of the Constitution mandates the major tenets of the free, compulsory, universal
basic education (FCUBE) initiative. Launched in 1996, it is one of the most
ambitious pretertiary education programs in West Africa. Since 1987, the
Government of Ghana has increased its education budget by 700%. Basic
education's share has grown from 45% to 60% of that total.
Students begin their 6-year primary education at age six. Under educational
reforms implemented in 1987, they pass into a junior secondary school system for
3 years of academic training combined with technical and vocational training.
Those continuing move into the 3-year senior secondary school program. Entrance
to one of the five Ghanaian universities is by examination following completion
of senior secondary school. School enrollment totals almost 3 million.
HISTORY The first contact between Europe and the Gold Coast dates from 1470, when a
party of Portuguese landed. In 1482, the Portuguese built Elmina Castle as a
permanent trading base. The first recorded English trading voyage to the coast
was made by Thomas Windham in 1553. During the next three centuries, the
English, Danes, Dutch, Germans, and Portuguese controlled various parts of the
coastal areas.
In 1821, the British Government took control of the British trading forts on
the Gold Coast. In 1844, Fanti chiefs in the area signed an agreement with the
British that became the legal steppingstone to colonial status for the coastal
area.
From 1826 to 1900, the British fought a series of campaigns against the
Ashantis, whose kingdom was located inland. In 1902, they succeeded in
establishing firm control over the Ashanti region and making the northern
territories a protectorate. British Togoland, the fourth territorial element
eventually to form the nation, was part of a former German colony administered
by the United Kingdom from Accra as a League of Nations mandate after 1922. In
December 1946, British Togoland became a UN Trust Territory, and in 1957,
following a 1956 plebiscite, the United Nations agreed that the territory would
become part of Ghana when the Gold Coast achieved independence.
The four territorial divisions were administered separately until 1946, when
the British Government ruled them as a single unit. In 1951, a constitution was
promulgated that called for a greatly enlarged legislature composed principally
of members elected by popular vote directly or indirectly. An executive council
was responsible for formulating policy, with most African members drawn from the
legislature and including three ex officio members appointed by the governor. A
new constitution, approved on April 29, 1954, established a cabinet comprising
African ministers drawn from an all-African legislature chosen by direct
election. In the elections that followed, the Convention People's Party (CPP),
led by Kwame Nkrumah, won the majority of seats in the new Legislative Assembly.
In May 1956, Prime Minister Nkrumah's Gold Coast government issued a white paper
containing proposals for Gold Coast independence. The British Government stated
it would agree to a firm date for independence if a reasonable majority for such
a step were obtained in the Gold Coast Legislative Assembly after a general
election. This election, held in 1956, returned the CPP to power with 71 of the
104 seats in the Legislative Assembly. Ghana became an independent state on
March 6, 1957, when the United Kingdom relinquished its control over the Colony
of the Gold Coast and Ashanti, the Northern Territories Protectorate, and
British Togoland.
In subsequent reorganizations, the country was divided into 10 regions, which
currently are subdivided into 110 districts. The original Gold Coast Colony now
comprises the Western, Central, Eastern, and Greater Accra Regions, with a small
portion at the mouth of the Volta River assigned to the Volta Region; the
Ashanti area was divided into the Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo Regions; the Northern
Territories into the Northern, Upper East, and Upper West Regions; and British
Togoland essentially is the same area as the Volta Region.
Post-Independence Politics The CPP's control was challenged and criticized, and Prime Minister Nkrumah
used the Preventive Detention Act (1958), which provided for detention without
trial for up to 5 years (later extended to 10 years). On July 1, 1960, a new
constitution was adopted, changing Ghana from a parliamentary system with a
prime minister to a republican form of government headed by a powerful
president. In August 1960, Nkrumah was given authority to scrutinize newspapers
and other publications before publication. This political evolution continued
into early 1964, when a constitutional referendum changed the country to a
one-party state.
On February 24, 1966, the Ghanaian Army and police overthrew Nkrumah's
regime. Nkrumah and all his ministers were dismissed, the CPP and National
Assembly were dissolved, and the constitution was suspended. The new regime
cited Nkrumah's flagrant abuse of individual rights and liberties, his regime's
corrupt, oppressive, and dictatorial practices, and the rapidly deteriorating
economy as the principal reasons for its action.
Post-Nkrumah Politics Ghana's government returned to civilian authority under the Second Republic
in October 1969 after a parliamentary election in which the Progress Party, led
by Kofi A. Busia, won 105 of the 140 seats. Until mid-1970, the powers of the
chief of state were held by a presidential commission led by Brigadier A.A.
Afrifa. In a special election on August 31, 1970, former Chief Justice Edward
Akufo-Addo was chosen president, and Dr. Busia became prime minister.
Faced with mounting economic problems, Prime Minister Busia's government
undertook a drastic devaluation of the currency in December 1971. The
government's inability to control the subsequent inflationary pressures
stimulated further discontent, and military officers seized power in a bloodless
coup on January 13, 1972.
The coup leaders, led by Col. I.K. Acheampong, formed the National Redemption
Council (NRC) to which they admitted other officers, the head of the police, and
one civilian. The NRC promised improvements in the quality of life for all
Ghanaians and based its programs on nationalism, economic development, and
self-reliance. In 1975, a government reorganization resulted in the NRC's
replacement by the Supreme Military Council (SMC), also headed by now-General
Acheampong.
Unable to deliver on its promises, the NRC/SMC became increasingly marked by
mismanagement and rampant corruption. In 1977, General Acheampong brought
forward the concept of union government (UNIGOV), which would make Ghana a
non-party state. Perceiving this as a ploy by Acheampong to retain power,
professional groups and students launched strikes and demonstrations against the
government in 1977 and 1978. The steady erosion in Acheampong's power led to his
arrest in July 1978 by his chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Frederick Akuffo, who
replaced him as head of state and leader of what became known as the SMC-2.
Akuffo abandoned UNIGOV and established a plan to return to constitutional
and democratic government. A Constitutional Assembly was established, and
political party activity was revived. Akuffo was unable to solve Ghana's
economic problems, however, or to reduce the rampant corruption in which senior
military officers played a major role. On June 4, 1979, his government was
deposed in a violent coup by a group of junior and non-commissioned
officers--Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC)--with Flt. Lt. Jerry John
Rawlings as its chairman.
The AFRC executed eight senior military officers, including former chiefs of
state Acheampong and Akuffo; established Special Tribunals that, secretly and
without due process, tried dozens of military officers, other government
officials, and private individuals for corruption, sentencing them to long
prison terms and confiscating their property; and, through a combination of
force and exhortation, attempted to rid Ghanaian society of corruption and
profiteering. At the same time, the AFRC accepted, with a few amendments, the
draft constitution that had been submitted, permitted the scheduled presidential
and parliamentary elections to take place in June and July, promulgated the
constitution, and handed over power to the newly elected president and
parliament of the Third Republic on September 24, 1979.
The 1979 constitution was modeled on those of Western democracies. It
provided for the separation of powers among an elected president and a
unicameral parliament, an independent judiciary headed by a Supreme Court, which
protected individual rights, and other autonomous institutions, such as the
Electoral Commissioner and the Ombudsman. The new president, Dr. Hilla Limann,
was a career diplomat from the north and the candidate of the People's National
Party (PNP), the political heir of Nkrumah's CPP. Of the 140 members of
parliament, 71 were PNP.
The PNP government established the constitutional institutions and generally
respected democracy and individual human rights. It failed, however, to halt the
continuing decline in the economy; corruption flourished, and the gap between
rich and poor widened. On December 31, 1981, Flight Lt. Rawlings and a small
group of enlisted and former soldiers launched a coup that succeeded against
little opposition in toppling President Limann.
The PNDC Era In December 1982, the PNDC announced a plan to decentralize government from
Accra to the regions, the districts, and local communities, but it maintained
overall control by appointing regional and district secretaries who exercised
executive powers and also chaired regional and district councils. Local
councils, however, were expected progressively to take over the payment of
salaries, with regions and districts assuming more powers from the national
government. In 1984, the PNDC created a National Appeals Tribunal to hear
appeals from the public tribunals, changed the Citizens' Vetting Committee into
the Office of Revenue Collection and replaced the system of defense committees
with Committees for the Defense of the Revolution.
In 1984, the PNDC also created a National Commission on Democracy to study
ways to establish participatory democracy in Ghana. The commission issued a
"Blue Book" in July 1987 outlining modalities for district-level
elections, which were held in late 1988 and early 1989, for newly created
district assemblies. One-third of the assembly members are appointed by the
government.
The Fourth Republic The constitution entered into force on January 7, 1993, to found the Fourth
Republic. On that day, Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings was inaugurated as President
and members of Parliament swore their oaths of office. In 1996, the opposition
fully contested the presidential and parliamentary elections, which were
described as peaceful, free, and transparent by domestic and international
observers. In that election, President Rawlings was re-elected with 57% of the
popular vote. In addition, Rawlings' NDC party won 133 of the Parliament's 200
seats, just one seat short of the two-thirds majority needed to amend the
Constitution, although the election returns of two parliamentary seats face
legal challenges.
In the December 7, 2000 elections, John A. Kufuor of the New Patriotic Party
(NPP), won the largest share of the presidential vote with 48.17% of the vote,
compared to 44.54% for Rawlings' vice president and hand-picked successor, John
Atta Mills of the NDC. The NPP also won 100 of the 200 seats in Parliament. The
NDC won 92 seats, while independent and small party candidates won eight seats.
In the December 28 run-off election, with pledges of support from the other five
opposition parties, Kufuor defeated Mills by winning 56.73% of the vote and the
NPP picked up one additional MP by winning a by-election, giving them 100 seats
and a majority in Parliament. Both rounds of the election were observed, and
declared free and fair, by a large contingent of domestic and international
monitors. President Kufuor took the oath of office on January 7, 2001, becoming
the first elected president in Ghana's history to succeed another elected
president.
GOVERNMENT Legislative functions are vested in Parliament, which consists of a
unicameral 200-member body plus the Speaker. To become law, legislation must
have the assent of the president, who has a qualified veto over all bills except
those to which a vote of urgency is attached. Members of Parliament are
popularly elected by universal adult suffrage for terms of 4 years, except in
war time, when terms may be extended for not more than 12 months at a time
beyond the 4 years.
The structure and the power of the judiciary are independent of the two other
branches of government. The Supreme Court has broad powers of judicial review.
It is authorized by the Constitution to rule on the constitutionality of any
legislation or executive action at the request of any aggrieved citizen. The
hierarchy of courts derives largely from British juridical forms. The hierarchy,
called the Superior Court of Judicature, is composed of the Supreme Court of
Ghana, the Court of Appeal, the High Court of Justice, regional tribunals, and
such lower courts or tribunals as Parliament may establish. The courts have
jurisdiction over all civil and criminal matters.
Principal Government Officials Ghana maintains an embassy in the United States at 3512 International Drive,
NW., Washington, D.C. 20008 (tel. 202-686-4500). Its permanent mission to the
United Nations is located at 19 E. 47th Street., New York, N.Y. 10017 (tel.
212-832-1300).
ECONOMY Ghana's industrial base is relatively advanced compared to many other African
countries. Import-substitution industries include textiles; steel (using scrap);
tires; oil refining; flour milling; beverages; tobacco; simple consumer goods;
and car, truck, and bus assembly.
Tourism has become one of Ghana's largest foreign income earners (ranking
third in 1999), and the Ghanaian Government has placed great emphasis upon
further tourism support and development.
Economic Development At independence, Ghana had a substantial physical
and social infrastructure and $481 million in foreign reserves. The Nkrumah
government further developed the infrastructure and made important public
investments in the industrial sector. With assistance from the United States,
the World Bank, and the United Kingdom, construction of the Akosombo Dam was
completed on the Volta River in 1966. Two U.S. companies built Valco, Africa's
largest aluminum smelter, to use power generated at the dam. Aluminum exports
from Valco are a major source of foreign exchange for Ghana.
Many Nkrumah-era investments were monumental public works projects and poorly
conceived, badly managed agricultural and industrial schemes. With cocoa prices
falling and the country's foreign exchange reserves fast disappearing, the
government resorted to supplier credits to finance many projects. By the
mid-1960s, Ghana's reserves were gone, and the country could not meet repayment
schedules. To rationalize, the National Liberation Council abandoned
unprofitable projects, and some inefficient state-owned enterprises were sold to
private investors. On three occasions, Ghana's creditors agreed to reschedule
repayments due on Nkrumah-era supplier credits. Led by the United States,
foreign donors provided import loans to enable the foreign exchange-strapped
government to import essential commodities.
Prime Minister Busia's government (1969-72) liberalized controls to attract
foreign investment and to encourage domestic entrepreneurship. Investors were
cautious, however, and cocoa prices began declining again while imports surged,
precipitating a serious trade deficit. Despite considerable foreign assistance
and some debt relief, the Busia regime also was unable to overcome the inherited
restraints on growth posed by the debt burden, balance-of-payments imbalances,
foreign exchange shortages, and mismanagement. Although foreign aid helped
prevent economic collapse and was responsible for subsequent improvements in
many sectors, the economy stagnated in the 10-year period preceding the NRC
takeover in 1972. Population growth offset the modest increase in gross domestic
product, and real earnings declined for many Ghanaians.
To restructure the economy, the NRC, under General Acheampong (1972-78),
undertook an austerity program that emphasized self-reliance, particularly in
food production. These plans were not realized, however, primarily because of
post-1973 oil price increases and a drought in 1975-77 that particularly
affected northern Ghana. The NRC, which had inherited foreign debts of almost $1
billion, abrogated existing rescheduling arrangements for some debts and
rejected other repayments. After creditors objected to this unilateral action, a
1974 agreement rescheduled the medium-term debt on liberal terms. The NRC also
imposed the Investment Policy Decree of 1975--effective on January 1977--that
required 51% Ghanaian equity participation in most foreign firms, but the
government took 40% in specified industries. Many shares were sold directly to
the public.
Continued mismanagement of the economy, record inflation (more than 100% in
1977), and increasing corruption, notably at the highest political levels, led
to growing dissatisfaction. The post-July 1978 military regime led by General
Akuffo attempted to deal with Ghana's economic problems by making small changes
in the overvalued cedi and by restraining government spending and monetary
growth. Under a 1-year standby agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
in January 1979, the government promised to undertake economic reforms,
including a reduction of the budget deficit, in return for a $68 million IMF
support program and $27 million in IMF Trust Fund loans. The agreement became
inoperative, however, after the June 4 coup that brought Flight Lieutenant
Rawlings and the AFRC to power for 4 months.
In September 1979, the civilian government of Hilla Limann inherited
declining per capita income; stagnant industrial and agricultural production due
to inadequate imported supplies; shortages of imported and locally produced
goods; a sizable budget deficit (almost 40% of expenditures in 1979); high
inflation, "moderating" to 54% in 1979; an increasingly overvalued
cedi; flourishing smuggling and other black-market activities; unemployment and
underemployment, particularly among urban youth; deterioration in the transport
network; and continued foreign exchange constraints.
Limann's PNP government announced yet another (2-year) reconstruction
program, emphasizing increased food production and productivity, exports, and
transport improvements. Import austerity was imposed and external payments
arrears cut. However, declining cocoa production combined with falling cocoa
prices, while oil prices soared. No effective measures were taken to reduce
rampant corruption and black marketing.
When Rawlings again seized power at the end of 1981, cocoa output had fallen
to half the 1970-71 level and its world price to one-third the 1975 level. By
1982, oil would constitute half of Ghana's imports, while overall trade
contracted greatly. Internal transport had slowed to a crawl, and inflation
remained high. During Rawlings' first year, the economy was stagnant. Industry
ran at about 10% of capacity due to the chronic shortage of foreign exchange to
cover the importation of required raw materials and replacement parts. Economic
conditions deteriorated further in early 1983 when Nigeria expelled an estimated
1 million Ghanaians who had to be absorbed by Ghana.
In April 1983, in coordination with the IMF, the PNDC launched an economic
recovery program, perhaps the most stringent and consistent of its day in
Africa, aimed at reopening infrastructural bottlenecks and reviving moribund
productive sectors--agriculture, mining, and timber. The largely distorted
exchange rate and prices were realigned to encourage production and exports.
Increased fiscal and monetary discipline was imposed to curb inflation and to
focus on priorities. Through November 1987, the cedi was devalued by more than
6,300%, and widespread direct price controls were substantially reduced.
The economy's response to these reforms was initially hampered by the
absorption of one million returnees from Nigeria, the onset of the worst drought
since independence, which brought on widespread bushfires and forced closure of
the aluminum smelter and severe power cuts for industry and decline in foreign
aid. In 1985, the country absorbed an additional 100,000 expellees from Nigeria.
In 1987, cocoa prices began declining again; however, initial infrastructural
repairs, improved weather, and producer incentives and support revived output in
the early 1990s. During 1984-88 the economy experienced solid growth for the
first time since 1978. Renewed exports, aid inflows, and a foreign exchange
auction have eased hard currency constraints.
Since an initial August 1983 IMF standby agreement, the economic recovery
program has been supported by three IMF standbys and two other credits totaling
$611 million, $1.1 billion from the World Bank, and hundreds of millions of
dollars more from other donors. In November 1987, the IMF approved a
$318-million, 3-year extended fund facility. The second phase (1987-90) of the
recovery program concentrated on economic restructuring and revitalizing social
services. The third phase, focused on financial transparency and macroeconomic
stability is scheduled for March 1998.
Ghana intends to achieve its goals of accelerated economic growth, improved
quality of life for all Ghanaians, and reduced poverty through macroeconomic
stability, higher private investment, broad-based social and rural development,
as well as direct poverty-alleviation efforts. These plans are fully supported
by the international donor community and have been forcefully reiterated in the
1995 government report, Ghana: Vision 2020. Privatization of state-owned
enterprises continues, with about two-thirds of 300 parastatal enterprises sold
to private owners. Other reforms adopted under the government's structural
adjustment program include the elimination of exchange rate controls and the
lifting of virtually all restrictions on imports. The establishment of an
interbank foreign exchange market has greatly expanded access to foreign
exchange.
The medium-term macroeconomic forecast assumes political stability,
successful economic stabilization, and the implementation of a policy agenda for
private sector growth, and adequate public spending on social services and rural
infrastructure. The ninth Consultative Group Meeting for Ghana ended November 5,
1997 after deliberations in Paris. Twenty-four countries and donor entities were
represented at this meeting called by the World Bank on behalf of the Ghanaian
Government. The World Bank announced that, of the targeted disbursement level of
$1.6 billion sought from the donor community for 1998-99, they foresaw only a
$150 million shortfall in commitments, and that this shortfall would be easily
realized should Ghana rapidly enact its macroeconomic program.
The government repealed a 17.% value-added tax (VAT) shortly after its
introduction in 1995, which resulted in widespread public protests. The
government reverted to several previously imposed taxes, including a sales tax.
The government has set in motion a program to reintroduce a VAT bill, with
implementation in 1998 after an extensive public education campaign.
FOREIGN RELATIONS U.S.-GHANAIAN RELATIONS After a period of strained relations in the mid-1980s, U.S.-Ghanaian official
relations are stronger than at any other time in recent memory. Ghanaian
parliamentarians and other government officials have through the U.S.
International Visitor Program acquainted themselves with U.S. congressional and
state legislative practices and participated in programs designed to address
other issues of interest. The U.S. and Ghanaian militaries have cooperated in
numerous joint training exercises, culminating with Ghanaian participation in
the African Crisis Response Initiative, an international activity in which the
U.S. is facilitating the development of an interoperable peacekeeping capacity
among African nations. In addition, there is an active bilateral international
military and educational training program. The Office of the President of Ghana
worked closely with the U.S. embassy in Accra to establish an American Chamber
of Commerce to continue to develop closer economic ties in the private sector.
The United States is among Ghana's principal trading partners. The American
privately owned VALCO aluminum smelter imports many of its supplies from, and
exports almost all the aluminum ingots to, the United States. With a replacement
value of more than $600 million, U.S. investments in Ghana form one of the
largest stocks of foreign capital. VALCO--90% owned by Kaiser, and 10% by
Reynolds--is by far the biggest investment, but other important U.S. companies
operating in the country include Mobil, Coca Cola, S.C. Johnson, Ralston Purina,
Star-Kist, A.H. Robins, Sterling, Pfizer, IBM, Carson Products, 3M, Pioneer
Gold, Stewart & Stevenson, Price Waterhouse, Great Lakes Shipping, and
National Cash Register (NCR). Several U.S. firms recently made or are
considering investments in Ghana, primarily in gold mining, wood products, and
petroleum. In late 1997, Nuevo Petroleum concluded an oil exploration agreement
accounting for the last of Ghana's offshore mineral rights zones. Two other U.S.
oil companies, Sante Fe and Hunt, also are engaged in offshore exploration.
U.S. development assistance to Ghana in fiscal year 1997 totaled $52 million,
divided between small business enterprise, health, education, and
democracy/governance programs. Ghana was the first country in the world to
accept Peace Corps volunteers, and the program remains one of the largest.
Currently, there are more than 150 volunteers in Ghana. Almost half work in
education, and the others in various fields such as agroforestry, small business
development, health education, and water sanitation, as well as youth
development.
Principal U.S. Officials The U.S. embassy is located on Ring Road East, near Danquah Circle, Accra
(tel. 233-21-775347/8/9). The mailing address is P.O. Box 194, Accra, Ghana. For
American citizen services and visa questions, the embassy consular section
telephone number is 233-21-776602.
TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained from the Office of Overseas Citizens Services at (202) 647-5225. For after-hours emergencies, Sundays and holidays, call 202-647-4000. Passport information can be obtained by calling the National Passport Information Center's automated system ($.35 per minute) or live operators 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (EST) Monday-Friday ($1.05 per minute). The number is 1-900-225-5674 (TDD: 1-900-225-7778). Major credit card users (for a flat rate of $4.95) may call 1-888-362-8668 (TDD: 1-888-498-3648). It also is available on the internet. Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 877-FYI-TRIP (877-394-8747) and a web site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/index.htm give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. A booklet entitled Health Information for International Travel (HHS publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, tel. (202) 512-1800. Information on travel conditions, visa requirements, currency and customs regulations, legal holidays, and other items of interest to travelers also may be obtained before your departure from a country's embassy and/or consulates in the U.S. (for this country, see "Principal Government Officials" listing in this publication). U.S. citizens who are long-term visitors or traveling in dangerous areas are encouraged to register at the U.S. embassy upon arrival in a country (see "Principal U.S. Embassy Officials" listing in this publication). This may help family members contact you in case of an emergency. Further Electronic Information National Trade Data Bank (NTDB). Operated by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the NTDB contains a wealth of trade-related information. It is available on the Internet (www.stat-usa.gov) and on CD-ROM. Call the NTDB Help-Line at (202) 482-1986 for more information. |
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