Welcome To Ghana

Ghana , is a west African country, bounded on the north by Burkina Faso , on the east by Togo , on the south by the Atlantic Ocean ,and on the west by Côte d'Ivoire. Formerly a British colony known as the Gold Coast, was led to independence by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah on the 6th of March, 1957 .
Ghana became the first black nation in sub-Saharan Africa to achieve independence from colonial rule.

Ghana has been a country of firsts. In 1957 it was the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to emerge from colonialism and—before an economic crisis in the late 1970s—experienced the highest GNP on the continent. Ghana also experienced the trauma of military takeovers long before others suffered similar fates.

But Ghana has rebounded after launching one of the first and more stringent economic recovery programs in the region nearly a decade and a half ago. It has been pioneering the Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF) since May 1999 as a new way of managing the development process.

Ghana was also among the first group of countries to subject itself to the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), an instrument voluntarily acceded to by Member States of the African Union as an African self-monitoring mechanism and carried out by civil society and other stakeholders.

Politics

A new constitution was introduced in 1992, and soon after Ghana 's first multiparty elections were organized. In 1996 Ghana enjoyed a smooth second-term election, with full participation of all political parties and the Ghanaian electorate. Local assemblies were increased from 110 districts to 138 and elections held in 2002. The assemblies are responsible for delivering services to the people in the districts.

In December 2004 the New Patriotic Party (NPP), led by John A .Kufour, won a first round with 52.45 percent in a peaceful presidential poll. And on January 7, 2005 President John A. Kufour was sworn into office for a second term of office. The political transition has proceeded peacefully and is seen as a major achievement for Ghana and for the region.

The political landscape is interesting and competitive, as demonstrated by recent by-elections that were won by the opposition by fairly high margins. The liveliness of political debate is likely to increase in future, as overseas Ghanaians begin to be a factor in local elections, following the passage of the Representation of the Peoples Amendment Bill, giving them the right to vote. The relative peace and tranquility being enjoyed in the country can be attributed to growing level of political maturity of the Ghanaians themselves, who time and again have demonstrated their strong desire for peaceful coexistence.

The role of Ghana 's strong and growing social capital in deepening democracy deserves special mention. The influence of the media, particularly the private radio stations, as well as the growth of mobile telephony, cannot be overemphasized. The combination of radio and mobile phones has given Ghanaians tremendous voice and space for contribution to matters of political, economic and social interest. The role of radio stations in enhancing debate during electioneering has helped promote lively and constructive political competition, and has helped enhance transparency during vote counting and declaration of results.

The influence of civil society and other stakeholders was evident during APRM, where 4 independent think-tanks and research institutions were appointed to carry out the country's self-assessment in the four thematic areas – (i) Democracy and political governance; (ii) Economic governance and management; (iii) Corporate Governance, and (iv) Socio-economic development.

The Government of Ghana hasproposed to undertake the following selected actions after the review:

• Develop a plan and program to incorporate into domestic law, the ratified covenants and conventions
• Accelerate the decentralization process
• Strengthening the committees of Parliament to perform effective oversight functions
• Establishment of additional Courts of Appeals to help clear backlog of cases at the High Courts and Regional Tribunals
• Strengthen institutional structures to regulate public procurement and internal audit as provided for in the legislations
• Build capacity of civil society to monitor public policy
• Define bribery and corruption
• Pass the Freedom of Information Bill for public access to information
• Pass the Whistleblower's Bill
• Provide clear guidelines on conflict of interest
• Review law on Assets Declaration
• Establish all procurement entities as required by law

Economy

Ghana 's economy is mainly rural: cocoa, timber, and pineapples are the main export crops; and mining (mainly gold) has become one of the biggest sources of foreign exchange. The emerging industrial sector's products include cassava, fruits, and cocoa by-products. For general information on the country and economy, see the Government of Ghana's web site , and the Ministry of Finance's web site .

The Ghanaian economy is in its fifth year of expansion, combining improvements in macroeconomic management and strong export growth. The latest figures are positive, and indicate that:

• The annual real GDP growth rate reached 5.8 percent in 2005, sustaining the growth rate observed in 2004;
• Export growth continued strong, rising by 5 percent in 2005, with the decline in cocoa exports offset by increases in gold and timber exports;
• imports increased by 9 percent, largely due to the 45 percent rise in the price of imported oil;
• The fiscal deficit continued shrinking, falling to 2.4 percent of GDP by end-2005, down from 3.6 percent of GDP in 2004, and providing scope for an increase in the share of credit allocated to the private sector;
• Broad money increased by 23.1 percent, allowing the central bank to accommodate the rise in net international reserves to 4 months of imports, up from 3.8 months at end 2004, while still keeping the increase in the growth of monetary aggregates below the levels observed in 2004.

Current macroeconomic situation

The Ghanaian economy demonstrated significant resilience in 2005, maintaining strong real GDP growth and macroeconomic stability, notwithstanding the sharp increase in crude oil prices on the international markets.

The main driver of growth in 2006 appears to have been the increase in investment, both private and public, with road construction accounting for most of the projected 9 percent real increase in public investment . While private investment matched the increase in public investment, suggesting that private investment have been able to respond to the opportunities provided by the economic expansion, there appears that there is still scope for faster growth through an increase in investment efficiency. At Ghana's current investment to GDP ratio, almost 30 percent, i f the efficiency of investment were at levels comparable to other developing countries, the country could be growing at an additional 2 to 3 percentage points per year.

One of the factors that assisted Ghana in absorbing the impact of higher crude oil prices was the liberalization of domestic retail prices for petroleum products. D omestic retail prices for petroleum products were adjusted three times during the course of 2005.

Prudent fiscal management also contributed to ensuring macroeconomic stability, with central government expenditures being adjusted downwards at the last quarter of the year to compensate for an unexpected shortfall in revenues.Tax revenues collection undershot budget projections because of a shortfall in indirect taxes, primarily due to lower than projected revenues from taxes on imported products.

Prudent fiscal management made possible a further reduction in the ratio of public expenditures to GDP.Lower domestic debt service allowed, in turn, lower interest rates, contributing to maintaining expenditures within the budget ceiling, and exerting a moderating effect on inflation.

The exchange rate also had a moderating effect on inflation , with the cedi depreciating by only 0.3 percent in nominal terms against the dollar, and the real effective exchange rate appreciating by around 19 percent. The behavior of the exchange rate, as well as the in year fluctuations in international reserves at the Bank of Ghana, reflect the seasonality in the country's exchange rate earnings, as most of the revenues from cocoa exports flow in the last quarter of the year.

Notwithstanding the need to tighten expenditures at the end of the year, fiscal management maintained its pro-poor orientation, with poverty related expenditures rising to 8.3 percent of GDP in 2005, up from 7.7 in 2004.

The dominance of basic education and primary health care programs also meant that wages and salaries continued accounting for a large fraction of overall spending.The share of wages and salaries in overall spending reached 55 percent, down slightly from 56 percent in 2004.

The increase in poverty related expenditures reflects to a large degree a stronger poverty orientation of the consolidated fund, which saw its share of funding of poverty related expenditures rise to 61 percent, up from 58 percent in 2004. This increase in share of funding for poverty related expenditures through the consolidated fund is remarkable because 2005 saw the emergence of new sources of funding for poverty related expenditures, such as the National Health Insurance Fund and the Social Safety Net provided by taxes on petroleum retail products.

The growth outlook for 2006 is positive, with the expansion of the domestic economy supported by the growth of exports and continued increases in public and private sector investment.The real GDP growth rate is projected to reach 6 percent, yielding a per capita real GDP growth in 3.3 percent range. Growth will be supported by new private sector investment in the mining sector, as well as continued public sector investment in the road, electric power, and water & sanitation sectors.

The sustainability of the economic expansion is predicated on the continuation of the current macroeconomic policies and the sustained inflows of external remittances and official transfers.Maintaining current macroeconomic policies should translate into the continuing implementation of prudent fiscal policies, allowing further reductions in the domestic debt to GDP ratio, and ensuring that overall fiscal deficit that is primarily financed through externally grants. The sustainability of the economic expansion hinges also on actions aimed at enhancing the efficiency of investment and raising productivity throughout the economy.

Attention to raising productivity is particularly important in view of the recent appreciation of the cedi. The cedi has increased by around 20 percent against a trade-weighted basket of foreign currencies over the last two years, placing a premium on maintaining external competitiveness by increasing productivity.

Actions to be considered in enhancing the efficiency of investment and raising productivity throughout the economy include the following:

• Ensuring that growth continues to be export-led by maintaining a stable and competitive real exchange rate and by expanding the access of Ghanaian exports to dynamic markets.
• Taking steps to completing the energy sector reforms, ensuring increased efficiency of domestic utility companies and securing access to cheaper sources of energy supply.
• Improving the business environment, beginning with actions aimed at:
• I mproving the procedures for exporting and importing ;
• Expanding private sector access to finance by es tablishing a credit bureau system , preferably privately run, improving contract enforcement and the legal rights of creditors ; and facilitating the posting of collateral by reducing the time needed to register property and new businesses .
• Enhancing the provision of infrastructure services and improving its management by:
• Shifting more resources into operations and maintenance ;
• Defining clear price setting mechanisms and market access regulations ;
• Attracting private sector participation in infrastructure activities while taking account of the need to increase the access of the poor to services, especially in water, electricity and transport.
• Strengthening the management of natural resources since it is estimated that the degradation of agricultural soils, forests, coastal fisheries, wildlife resources and Lake Volta 's environment accounts for loses of at least US$ 475 million annually (around 4.5 percent of Ghana 's annual GDP). Actions to be considered include :
• Providing market incentives for natural resources management, such as taxation, concession/licensing schemes, and payment for environmental services ;
• Increasing the capacity of key regulatory agencies responsible for enforcing environmental legislation;
• Reinforcing local community organizations and their involvement in natural resource management ; and
• Transferring knowledge and appropriate technologies for sustainable agriculture , such as conservation agriculture methods.

• Improving efficiency in the allocation of resources for public investments by:
• Screening public expenditure proposals , allowing funds to flow to projects with the highest rate of return;
• Evaluating public expenditures , ensuring that the lessons from the implementation of expenditure programs are drawn and internalized; and
• Making greater use of public-private partnership agreements for large infrastructure projects, while protecting public finances by adequately provisioning for the guarantees provided.

These last set of actions are particularly important because t he funds currently available from HIPC, and proposed to be made available through the MDRI, flow directly into the government budget. The availability of these funds implies that Ghana no longer needs to borrow to refinance external obligations.

Under current projections, Ghana 's debt sustainability outlook is expected to remain robust, with the possibility of improving considerably following the implementation of the proposed Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI).

The government's approach to macro-economic management is supported by the IMF, as reflected in a three-year Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PGRF) arrangement for SDR 184.5 million (about US$271.3 million). The PRGF is the IMF's concessional facility for low-income countries, and PRGF-supported programs are based on country-owned poverty reduction strategies adopted in a participatory process involving civil society and development partners, and articulated in a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). To date, Ghana has satisfactorily completed 4 th and 5 th PRGF performance reviews and has drawn [SDR 285 million] from the Facility. A final review is scheduled for June 2006, prior to the PRGF closing date of October 2006. Following completion of the PRGF, the Government of Ghana has expressed interest in graduating to the Policy Support Instrument as the basis for its relationship with the IMF. The IMF Executive Board approved debt relief for Ghana under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative. As part of the Initiative, the IMF will provide 100 percent relief on all debt incurred by Ghana to the IMF before January 1, 2005 that remains outstanding. This amounts to approximately US$381 million, or US$316 million excluding remaining assistance under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative.

Population

The population of Ghana is divided into some 75 ethnic groups.

In 2000 the estimated population of Ghana was 18,412,247
(females-51%, males 49) , giving the country an overall population
density of 78 persons per sq km (201 per sq mi).  The most densely populated parts of the country are the coastal areas, the Ashantiregion, and the two principal cities, Accra and Kumasi .

About 70 percent of the total population lives in the southern half of the country.  The most numerous peoples are the coastal Fanti, andthe Ashanti , who live in central Ghana , both of whom belong to theAkan family.  The Accra plains are inhabited by the Ga-Adangbe. Most of the inhabitants in the northern region belong to the Moshi-Dagomba or to the Gonja group.

Regional Divisions

Ghana is divided into ten administrative regions:

Major Cities

Accra , the capital, has a population (1996 estimate, greater city) of1.7 million.  Kumasi is the capital of the Ashanti region.  Sekondi has an artificial harbor and was the first modern port built in Ghana . Othermajor cities include Tema, Tamale, and Cape Coast . People living in urban areas account for 37 percent of the population.

The Capital

Accra , capital and largest city of Ghana , southeastern Ghana , on the Gulf of Guinea . Accra is an important commercial, manufacturing, and communications center. It is the site of an international airport and a
focus of the country's railroad system, including a link to nearby Tema,which since 1962 has served as the city's deepwater port. Industriesinclude vehicle and appliance assembly, petroleum refining, and the manufacture of foodstuffs, textiles, metal and wood products, plastics, and pharmaceuticals. A sprawling city, Accra presents a varied appearance, with buildings of modern, colonial, and traditional African architecture. Of note here are the 17th-century Christiansborg Castle , now the residence of the chief of state, and the National Museum (1957). Several research and technical institutes are located in Accra , and the University of Ghana (1948) is in the nearby town of Legon . The site of what is now Accra was occupied by villages of the Ga, the local people, when the Portuguese first visited here in the late 15th century. During the 17th century the Portuguese were forced to withdraw by the Dutch, who, along with the Danes and the English,
founded rival trading posts, which became the settlements of Ussher Town , Christiansborg, and James Town, respectively. In the 19th century Britain purchased Dutch and Danish rights in the area, and in 1876 Christiansborg was made the capital of the Gold Coast Colony. The three separate towns grew and gradually coalesced to form the city of Accra . Much of the modern city's layout was planned in the 1920s, and since then growth has been rapid. Accra remained the capital city, when in 1957 the Gold Coast Colony became the independent state of Ghana . Population (1990 estimate) 953,500.

Language and Religion

Language

English is the official language of Ghana and is universally used in
schools in addition to nine other local languages.The most widely spoken local languages are, Ga, Dagomba, Akan and Ewe.

Religion

Traditional religions accounts for two-fifths of the population. The Christian population also accounts for two-fifths of the total population and includes Roman Catholics, Baptist, Protestants, etc. The Muslim population (12 percent of the total) is located chiefly in the northern part of the country.

Education