About the CBI

September 2005
 Background Note: Ghana

Flag of Ghana is three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green
with a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band.

PROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME:
Republic of Ghana

Geography
Area: 238,538 sq. km. (92,100 sq. mi.); about the size of Illinois and
Indiana combined.
Cities: Capital--Accra (metropolitan area pop. 3 million est.). Other cities
--Kumasi (1 million est.), Tema (500,000 est.), Sekondi-Takoradi (370,000
est.).
Terrain: Plains and scrubland, rainforest, savanna.
Climate: Tropical.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Ghanaian(s).
Population (2004 est.): 21 million.
Density: 88/sq. km. (228/sq. mi.).
Annual growth rate (2004 est.): 2.7%.
Ethnic groups: Akan, Ewe, Ga, Moshi-Dagomba.
Religions: Christian 69%, Muslim 15.6%, traditional and indigenous beliefs
8.5%.
Languages: English (official), Akan (which includes Asante Twi, Akwapim Twi,
Akyem, and Fanti) 49%, Mole-Dagbani 16%, Ewe 13%, Ga-Adangbe 8%, Guan 4%,
others 10%.
Education: Years compulsory--9. Literacy--72.6%.
Health: Infant mortality rate (2003 est.)--64/1,000. Life expectancy--59.2
yrs. for women, 55.5 yrs. for men
Work force (11.1 million): Agriculture and fishing--47.9%; industry and
transport--16.2%; sales and clerical--19.3%; services--5.9%; professional
--8.9%; other--1.8%.

Government
Type: Democracy.
Independence: March 6, 1957.
Constitution: Entered into force January 7, 1993.
Branches: Executive--president popularly elected for a maximum of two 4-year
terms; Council of State, a presidential appointed consultative body of 25
members required by the constitution. Legislative--unicameral Parliament
popularly elected for 4-year terms. Judicial--independent Supreme Court
justices nominated by president with approval of Parliament.
Subdivisions: Ten regions.
Political parties: New Patriotic Party, National Democratic Congress,
Convention People's Party, People's National Convention, others.
Suffrage: Universal at 18.

Economy
GDP (2003): $7.5 billion.
Real GDP growth rate (2003): 5.2%.
Per capita GDP (2003): $365.
Inflation rate (2003): 23.6%.
Natural resources: Gold, timber, diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish.
Agriculture: Products--cocoa, coconuts, coffee, pineapples, cashews, pepper,
other food crops, rubber. Land--70% arable and forested.
Business and industry: Types--mining, lumber, light manufacturing, fishing,
aluminum, tourism.
Trade (2003): Exports--$2.5 billion: cocoa ($818 million), aluminum, gold,
timber, diamonds, manganese. Imports--$3.3 billion: petroleum ($563 million),
food, industrial raw materials, machinery, equipment. Major trade partners
--U.K., Germany, U.S., Nigeria, Togo, France, Netherlands, Spain.
Fiscal year: Calendar year.

GEOGRAPHY
Ghana is located on West Africa's Gulf of Guinea only a few degrees north of
the Equator. Half of the country lies less than 152 meters (500 ft.) above
sea level, and the highest point is 883 meters (2,900 ft.). The 537-kilometer
(334-mi.) coastline is mostly a low, sandy shore backed by plains and scrub
and intersected by several rivers and streams, most of which are navigable
only by canoe. A tropical rain forest belt, broken by heavily forested hills
and many streams and rivers, extends northward from the shore, near the Cote
d'Ivoire frontier. This area produces most of the country's cocoa, minerals,
and timber. North of this belt, the country varies from 91 to 396 meters (300
ft.-1,300 ft.) above sea level and is covered by low bush, park-like savanna,
and grassy plains.

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
Ghana's population is concentrated along the coast and in the principal
cities of Accra and Kumasi. Most Ghanaians descended from migrating tribes
that probably came down the Volta River valley at the beginning of the 13th
century. Ethnically, Ghana is divided into small groups speaking more than 50
languages and dialects. Among the more important linguistic groups are the
Akans, which include the Fantis along the coast and the Ashantis in the
forest region north of the coast; the Guans, on the plains of the Volta
River; the Ga- and Ewe-speaking peoples of the south and southeast; and the
Moshi-Dagomba-speaking tribes of the northern and upper regions. English, the
official and commercial language, is taught in all the schools.

EDUCATION
Primary and junior secondary school education is tuition-free and mandatory.
The Government of Ghana's 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 pre-tertiary education programs in West Africa. Since the
early 1980s, Government of Ghana expenditures on education have risen from
1.5% to over 5% of GDP. Since 1987, the share of basic education in total
education spending has averaged around 67%. The units of the Ministry of
Education, Youth and Sports (MOEYS) responsible for education are: the Ghana
Education Service (GES), which administers pre-university education; the
National Council on Tertiary Education; the National Accreditation Board; and
the National Board for Professional and Technician Examinations (NABPTEX).
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC), a consortium of five Anglophone
West African Countries (Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Gambia, and Liberia) is
responsible for developing, administering, and grading school-leaving
examinations at the secondary level.

Since 1986, pre-tertiary education in Ghana includes six years of primary
education, three years at the junior secondary school level and three years
at the senior secondary school level. Successful completion of senior
secondary school leads to admission eligibility at training colleges,
polytechnics, and universities. In 2002 there were approximately 3.7 million
students attending schools at these three levels: 70% at the primary level,
24% at the junior secondary level and 6% at the senior secondary level. There
are over five hundred public senior secondary schools in Ghana that graduated
a total of 90,000 students in 2004, representing a huge expansion over the
old system (which was transformed in 1987), which consisted of three hundred
institutions graduating 27,000 students a year. However, access to each
successive level of education remains severely limited by lack of facilities.
Only about 30% of junior secondary school graduates are able to gain
admission to senior secondary schools, and only about 35% of senior secondary
school graduates are able to gain admission to universities and polytechnics,
plus another 10-20% to diploma-level postsecondary education. Private
secondary schools play a very small role in Ghana, with only a handful of
institutions offering international curricula such as the British-based
A-levels, International Baccalaureate, and U.S. high school. Combined, they
graduate fewer than 200 students a year.

Entrance to one of the five Ghanaian public universities is by examination
following completion of senior secondary school. There are now five public
and nine private degree-granting universities in Ghana, along with ten public
polytechnics offering the British Higher National Diploma (HND), a three-year
tertiary system in applied fields of study. Ghana's first private Catholic
university opened in 2003 in Sunyani. The polytechnics also offer vocational,
non-tertiary diploma programs. In addition, there are approximately forty
teacher-training colleges and fifteen nurses' training colleges. Private
tertiary education is a recent but rapid development in Ghana, meticulously
regulated by the National Accreditation Board. Over 5,000 undergraduates are
now enrolled in secular degree-granting programs in nine private
institutions.

In 2003/4, new enrollments in public universities totaled 18,149; new
enrollments in private universities totaled 1,380; and new enrollments in
polytechnics totaled 8,688, representing an increase of 30% over the last
five years. Total enrollment in tertiary education has surpassed 100,000 for
the first time in Ghana's history.

HISTORY
The history of the Gold Coast before the last quarter of the 15th century is
derived primarily from oral tradition that refers to migrations from the
ancient kingdoms of the western Soudan (the area of Mauritania and Mali). The
Gold Coast was renamed Ghana upon independence in 1957 because of indications
that present-day inhabitants descended from migrants who moved south from the
ancient kingdom of Ghana. 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. Thomas Windham made the
first recorded English trading voyage to the coast 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 138 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
After independence, the CPP government under Nkrumah sought to develop Ghana
as a modern, semi-industrialized, unitary socialist state. The government
emphasized political and economic organization, endeavoring to increase
stability and productivity through labor, youth, farmers, cooperatives, and
other organizations integrated with the CPP. The government, according to
Nkrumah, acted only as "the agent of the CPP" in seeking to accomplish these
goals.

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
The leaders of the February 24, 1966 coup established the new government
around the National Liberation Council (NLC) and pledged an early return to a
duly constituted civilian government. Members of the judiciary and civil
service remained at their posts and committees of civil servants were
established to handle the administration of the country. 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, a presidential commission
led by Brigadier A.A. Afrifa held the powers of the chief of state. 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, 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 noncommissioned
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 between 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
Rawlings and his colleagues suspended the 1979 constitution, dismissed the
President and his cabinet, dissolved the Parliament, and proscribed existing
political parties. They established the Provisional National Defense Council
(PNDC), initially composed of seven members with Rawlings as chairman, to
exercise executive and legislative powers. The existing judicial system was
preserved, but alongside it the PNDC created the National Investigation
Committee to root out corruption and other economic offenses; the anonymous
Citizens' Vetting Committee to punish tax evasion; and the Public Tribunals
to try various crimes. The PNDC proclaimed its intent to allow the people to
exercise political power through defense committees to be established in
communities, workplaces, and in units of the armed forces and police. Under
the PNDC, Ghana remained a unitary government.

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. The government appointed one-third of the assembly members.

The Fourth Republic
Under international and domestic pressure for a return to democracy, the PNDC
allowed the establishment of a 258-member Consultative Assembly made up of
members representing geographic districts as well as established civic or
business organizations. The assembly was charged to draw up a draft
constitution to establish a Fourth Republic, using PNDC proposals. The PNDC
accepted the final product without revision, and it was put to a national
referendum on April 28, 1992, in which it received 92% approval. On May 18,
1992, the ban on party politics was lifted in preparation for multi-party
elections. The PNDC and its supporters formed a new party, the National
Democratic Congress (NDC), to contest the elections. Presidential elections
were held on November 3 and parliamentary elections on December 29, 1992.
Members of the opposition boycotted the parliamentary elections, however,
which resulted in a 200-seat Parliament with only 17 opposition party members
and two independents.

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 faced legal challenges.

The December 2000 elections ushered in the first democratic presidential
change of power in Ghana's history when John A. Kufuor of the New Patriotic
Party (NPP) defeated the NDC's John Atta Mills--who was Rawling's Vice
President and hand-picked successor. Kufuor defeated Mills by winning 56.73%
of the vote, while the NPP picked up 100 of 200 seats in Parliament. The
elections were declared free and fair by a large contingent of domestic and
international monitors. After several by-elections were held to fill vacated
seats, the NPP majority stood at 103 of the 200 seats in Parliament, while
the NDC held 89 and independent and small party members held eight.

In December 2004, eight political parties contested parliamentary elections
and four parties, including the NPP and NDC, contested presidential
elections. This election was reported to have a remarkable turnout of 85.12%
according to the Election Commission. Despite a few incidents of intimidation
and minor irregularities, domestic and international observers judged the
elections generally free and fair. There were several isolated incidents of
election-related violence, but the election was generally peaceful in most of
Ghana. John Agyekum Kufuor was re-elected president with 52.45% of the vote
against three other presidential candidates, including former Vice-President
John Atta Mills of the NDC. Thirty constituencies were created in the period
between the 2000 and 2004 elections, resulting in a 230-member Parliament.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
The 1993 constitution that established the Fourth Republic provided a basic
charter for the republican democratic government. It declares Ghana to be a
unitary republic with sovereignty residing in the Ghanaian people. Intended
to prevent future coups, dictatorial government, and one-party states, it is
designed to establish the concept of power sharing. The document reflects
lessons learned from the abrogated constitutions of 1957, 1960, 1969, and
1979, and incorporates provisions and institutions drawn from British and
American constitutional models. One controversial provision of the
constitution indemnifies members and appointees of the PNDC from liability
for any official act or omission during the years of PNDC rule. The
constitution calls for a system of checks and balances, with power shared
between a president, a unicameral parliament, an advisory Council of State,
and an independent judiciary.

Executive authority is established in the Office of the Presidency, together
with his Council of State. The president is head of state, head of
government, and commander in chief of the armed forces. He also appoints the
vice president. According to the constitution, more than half of the
presidential-appointed ministers of state must be appointed from among
members of Parliament.

Legislative functions are vested in Parliament, which consists of a
unicameral 230-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 wartime, 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.

The government of John A. Kufuor appears to enjoy broad support among the
Ghanaian population as it pursues a domestic political agenda based upon
public commitment to the rule of law, basic human rights, and free market
initiatives. So far, the government has taken steps to strengthen freedoms of
expression by repealing colonial-era criminal libel laws, dropping a number
of libel suits against journalists, abolishing sometimes abusive community
tribunals, and introducing legislation to establish a juvenile justice
system. As part of its anti-corruption efforts the Kufuor government has
pursued some high-profile cases, including the prosecution of its Minister of
Youth and Sports and several former high-level government officials. On
September 3, 2002, Ghana inaugurated its National Reconciliation Commission,
a South Africa-style commission established to investigate human rights
abuses under Ghana's former military regimes. The National Reconciliation
Commission completed its hearings in July 2004 and submitted its final report
with recommendations in October 2004. The government responded with a White
Paper in April 2005, accepting the recommendation to establish a Reparation
and Rehabilitation Fund for victims of abuse, as well as directing security
forces to study carefully the various recommendations on recruitment,
training and deployment.

Principal Government Officials
(Current list as of August 1, 2005)
President--John Agyekum Kufuor
Vice President--Alhaji Mahama Aliu
Senior Minister--Joseph Henry (J.H.) Mensah
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Nana Akufo-Addo
Minister of Defense--Kwame Addo-Kufuor
Minister of Finance and Economic Planning--Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu
Minister of Trade & Industry--Alan Kyerematen
Minister of Justice and Attorney General--Ayikoi Otoo
Minister of Interior--Papa Owusu Ankomah
Minister of Works and Housing--Hackman Owusu-Agyeman
Minister of Information--Daniel Botwe
Minister of Manpower Development, Youth and Employment--Joseph K. Adda
Minister of Communications--Albert Kan-Dapaah
Minister of Education and Sports--Yaw Osafo Maafo
Minister of Energy--Mike Oquaye
Minister of Environment, Science & Technology--Christine Churcher
Minister of Food and Agriculture--Ernest K. Debrah
Minister of Health--Courage E.K. Quashigah
Minister of Local Government & Rural Development--Charles Bintim
Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines--Dominic Fobih
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs--Felix K. Owusu Adjapong
Minister of Road Transport--Richard Winfred Anane
Minister of Harbors and Railways--Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi
Minister of Private Sector Development and Special Presidential
Initiatives--Kwamena Bartels
Minister of Tourism and Modernization of the Capital City--Jake
Obetsebi-Lamptey
Minister of Women and Children's Affairs--Alima Mahama
Minister of Fisheries--Gladys Asmah

Regional Ministers
Western Region--Joseph Boahen (J.B.) Aidoo
Ashanti Region--Sampson K. Boafo
Northern Region--Boniface Saddique
Central Region--Isaac Edonsar Edumadze
Upper East Region--Boniface Gambila
Eastern Region--Yaw Barimah
Upper West Region--Ambrose Dery
Volta Region--Kofi Dzamesi
Greater Accra Region--Ibrahim C. Quaye
Brong Ahafo Region--Nana Kwadwo Seini

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court--Justice George Acquah
Speaker of Parliament--Ebenezer Begyina Sekyi Hughes
First Deputy Speaker--Freddie Blay
Second Deputy Speaker--Malik Yakubu Al-Hassan
Minority Leader--Alban Bagbin
Majority Leader--Hon. Felix Owusu-Adjapong

Ambassador to the United States--Fritz Kwabena Poku
Permanent Representative to the United Nations--Nana Effah-Apenteng

Ghana maintains an embassy in the United States at 3512 International Drive,
NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel. 202-686-4500). Its permanent mission to the
United Nations is located at 19 E. 47th Street, New York, NY 10017 (tel.
212-832-1300).

ECONOMY
By West African standards, Ghana has a diverse and rich resource base. The
country is mainly agricultural, however, with a majority of its workers
engaged in farming. Cash crops consist primarily of cocoa and cocoa products,
which typically provide about two-thirds of export revenue, timber products,
coconuts and other palm products, shea nuts (which produce an edible fat),
and coffee. Ghana also has established a successful program of nontraditional
agricultural products for export including pineapples, cashews, and pepper.
Cassava, yams, plantains, corn, rice, peanuts, millet, and sorghum are the
basic foodstuffs. Fish, poultry, and meat also are important dietary staples.

Minerals--principally gold, diamonds, manganese ore, and bauxite--are
produced and exported. Exploration for oil and gas resources is ongoing.

Ghana's industrial base is relatively advanced compared to many other African
countries. 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 2003 at $600 million), and the Ghanaian
Government has placed great emphasis on 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 used to be a major source of foreign exchange for Ghana. The plant,
which has been closed for production since May 2003, was sold to the
government of Ghana in October 2004.

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. The National Liberation Council responded by abandoning
unprofitable projects and selling some inefficient state-owned enterprises 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 declined 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 one-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,
high unemployment, 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, exports, and transport
improvements. Import austerity was imposed and external payments arrears cut.
However, cocoa production and prices fell, 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 infrastructure bottlenecks and reviving moribund
productive sectors--agriculture, mining, and timber. The largely distorted
exchange rate and prices were realigned to encourage production and exports.
The government imposed fiscal and monetary discipline to curb inflation.
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 1 million returnees from Nigeria, compounded by the decline of
foreign aid and 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. In 1985, the country absorbed an
additional 100,000 expellees from Nigeria. In 1987, cocoa prices declined
again; however, infrastructure repairs, improved weather, and producer
incentives and support revived output. During 1984-88 the economy experienced
solid growth for the first time since 1978. Renewed exports, aid inflows, and
a foreign exchange auction 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, as well as $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 (which began in March 1998)
focused on financial transparency and macroeconomic stability.

Ghana opted to seek debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country
(HIPC) program in March 2001 and reached decision point in February 2002.
Ghana, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank Group's
International Development Association (IDA) agreed in February 2002 to
support a comprehensive debt reduction package for Ghana under the enhanced
HIPC Initiative. Ghana reached HIPC completion point in July 2004 and total
relief from all of Ghana's creditors will be approximately $3.5 billion over
20 years. The Government of Ghana, working with multilateral lending
institutions, developed a detailed plan to use funds made available through
debt relief under the enhanced HIPC Initiative for increased expenditures on
education and health programs to improve services and infrastructure in the
rural sector, and improved governance. A portion of the relief will be used
to further reduce the heavy burden of domestic public debt. As part of the
agreed-upon plan, Ghana in 2002 and 2003 raised electricity, fuel, and
municipal water rates to market prices, and took additional revenue-enhancing
measures (i.e., more taxes) to stabilize its fiscal position. Ghana again
raised pump prices for gasoline, kerosene, and diesel in February 2005. A key
goal for the government remains oil sector deregulation.

Ghana's stated goals are to accelerate economic growth, improve the quality
of life for all Ghanaians, and reduce 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 were reiterated in
the 1995 government report, "Ghana: Vision 2020." Privatization of
state-owned enterprises continues, with over 300 of about 350 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 government repealed a 17% value-added tax (VAT) shortly after its
introduction in 1995 because of widespread public protests. The government
reverted to several previously imposed taxes, including a sales tax, and
reintroduced a 10% VAT in 1998 after an extensive public education campaign.
The VAT was raised to 12.5% in 2000. The government added a 2.5% National
Health Insurance levy on top of the VAT in August 2004.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Ghana is active in the United Nations and many of its specialized agencies,
as well as the World Trade Organization, the Nonaligned Movement, the African
Union (AU), and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Generally, Ghana follows the consensus of the Nonaligned Movement and the AU
on economic and political issues that do not directly affect its own
interests. Ghana plays an increasingly active role in subregional affairs. In
February 2002, Ghana's former Deputy Foreign Minister, Mohammed Ibn Chambas,
assumed the office of ECOWAS Executive Secretary. In February 2003, President
Kufuor became the Chairperson of ECOWAS heads of state, taking on a strong
role in the Cote d'Ivoire and Liberian peace and reconciliation processes.
Kufuor was reelected to a second year in December 2003. His tenure expired in
January 2005.

Ghana has been extremely active in international peacekeeping activities
under UN auspices in Lebanon, Afghanistan, Rwanda, the Balkans, and Pakistan,
in addition to an 8-year subregional initiative with its ECOWAS partners to
develop and then enforce a cease-fire in Liberia. In January 2003, Ghana sent
a company of troops to Cote d'Ivoire as part of the ECOWAS stabilization
force and sent another contingent to Liberia in July of 2003; the United
States provided logistical assistance to Ghana in these efforts. Ghana has
current deployments to Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Lebanon and
Congo with numerous small troop deployments in the role of UN observers in
many other crisis locations around the world. Additionally, Ghana sent some
troops to a French-sponsored RECAMP Exercise in Benin, clearly highlighting
the key role that peacekeeping operations have in the Ghana Armed Forces.
Ghana maintains friendly relations with all states, regardless of ideology.

U.S.-GHANAIAN RELATIONS
The United States has enjoyed good relations with Ghana at a nonofficial,
personal level since Ghana's independence. Thousands of Ghanaians have been
educated in the United States. Close relations are maintained between
educational and scientific institutions, and cultural links, particularly
between Ghanaians and African-Americans, are strong.

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. Through the
U.S. International Visitor Program, Ghanaian parliamentarians and other
government officials have become acquainted with U.S. congressional and state
legislative practices and have 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. facilitates the development of an interoperable peacekeeping
capacity among African nations. U.S.-Ghanaian military cooperation continues
under the new African Contingency Operations Training and Assistance program;
Ghana was one of the first militaries to receive ACOTA training in early
2003. In addition, there is an active bilateral International Military
Education and Training program. Additionally, Ghana is the site of a
U.S.-European Command-funded Exercise Reception Facility that was established
to facilitate troop deployments for exercises or crisis response within the
region. The facility is a direct result of Ghana's partnership with the
United States on a Fuel Hub Initiative. Ghana is one of few African nations
selected for the State Partnership Program, which will promote greater
economic ties with U.S. institutions, including the National Guard.

The United States is among Ghana's principal trading partners. 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. Major U.S. companies operating in the
country include ACS, CMS Energy, Western Wireless International, ExxonMobil,
Coca Cola, S.C. Johnson, Ralston Purina, Star-Kist, A.H. Robins, Sterling,
Pfizer, IBM, 3M, Motorola, Stewart & Stevenson, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 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. U.S. mining giant Newmont entered Ghana's mining sector in
2004 and intends to invest up to $1 billion. In late 1997, Nuevo Petroleum
concluded an oil exploration agreement accounting for the last of Ghana's
offshore mineral rights zones. Several other U.S. oil companies also are
engaged in offshore exploration, but so far with little success.

U.S. development assistance to Ghana in fiscal year 2003 and 2004 totaled
more than $50 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 agro-forestry, small business
development, health education, water sanitation, and youth development. Ghana
continued negotiations in 2005 on an aid compact with the Millennium
Challenge Corporation.

Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador--Pamela E. Bridgewater
Deputy Chief of Mission--Jerry Lanier
Director, USAID Mission--Sharon Cromer
Defense Attaché--Lt Col Thomas Bruce
Foreign Commercial Service--Diane Jones
Public Affairs Officer--vacant
Political Counselor--Scott Ticknor
Economic Counselor--Chris Landberg
Management Counselor--Judith Francis
Consul--Nan Stewart
Deputy Consul--Simon Hankinson

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.