Ghana, until independence from British colonial rule on 6 March 1957, was known as the Gold Coast. The country is named after one of the ancient Sudanese Empires which flourished between the fourth and 10th centuries. Subsequently, the area was divided among several kingdoms, of which the most important were the Fanti, who occupied the coastal region, and the Ashanti, whose territory was further inland. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive in the late 15th century. During the next 300 years, the Gold Coast became a major trading center, mainly in gold and slaves. All the main European
colonial powers were engaged in this type of commerce. From the beginning of the 19th century, an increasingly assertive Ashanti kingdom drove out many of the European colonists. The important exception was the British who, allied with the rival Fanti kingdom, defeated the Ashanti in 1874 and took control of the whole of the Gold Coast. The Ashanti-controlled interior was subjugated over the next 15 years and converted into ‘protectorates’, locally ruled under British supervision. The colony’s lands were supplemented in 1917 by parts of neighboring Togoland which was formerly under German control. Together, these formed what in 1957 became the independent state of Ghana – the first British territory in Africa to be decolonized. Three years after independence (1960) Ghana became a Republic with Dr Kwame Nkrumah, leader of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) as the first President.
Under Dr Nkrumah, Ghana made rapid and remarkable progress in education, industrial and infrastructure development and in the provision of social services. At the same time, the country played a leading role in international affairs – especially the United Nations and Commonwealth – in the struggle for the liberation of other African countries, most of which were still under colonial rule. However, Nkrumah’s growing dictatorial tendencies at home disaffected many, especially in the armed forces, and in the end it was they who in February 1966 overthrew the CPP Government in a coup led by Colonel Emmanuel Kotoka. A pattern of fledgling civilian governments aborted by the intervention of the armed forces has dogged Ghana for much of the time since then.
The most prominent figure in recent Ghanaian politics is Jerry John Rawlings, a former Air Force Flight Lieutenant, who first came to prominence as the leader of coups in 1979 and 1981. Rawlings initially promoted radical socialist economic and social policies but, as Ghana’s fiscal problems worsened during the 1980s, the Government was forced to turn to the IMF. The scheme devised by the IMF subsequently became the blueprint for the Structural Adjustment Programs which have since been widely adopted throughout the developing world on the insistence of the IMF and World Bank. (see Economy). Ghana was the original test-bed.
On the political front, President Rawlings and the ruling party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) introduced a new constitution in 1992 before submitting themselves to the verdict of the electorate and winning both the presidency and a huge majority of legislature seats (although most opposition parties boycotted the elections claiming widespread irregularities). Both Rawlings and the NDC were re-elected in 1996. By 2000, as these terms of office drew to a close, the government became afflicted by growing mismanagement and corruption. In December 2000, a closely-fought election pitted Rawlings’ former deputy John Atta Mills, standing for the NDC, against John Kufour, leader of the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and several minor candidates. The contest was dubbed ‘the battle of the bores’, acknowledging the failure of either main candidate to match the charisma of the outgoing Rawlings. However, charisma is not an essential qualification for governing a country and Kufour won the run-off against Mills and took office at the beginning of 2001. The NPP also replaced the NDC as the largest party in the Ghanaian Parliament.
With most of the senior echelons of the government and security forces occupied by long-term Rawlings loyalists, Kufour was obliged to move cautiously at first. But, growing in confidence, he has since set up a ‘reconciliation commission’ to investigate human rights abuses during military rule. The Kufour government has also had to deal with inter-communal violence and land disputes in the north of the country. The greatest controversy, however, has concerned its decision to sell the country’s largest and most important company, Ashanti Goldfields (see Economy).
Government
Under the provisions of a new constitution accepted by referendum in April 1992, the President and a new National Assembly are elected by universal suffrage. The President can be elected for a maximum of two four-year terms. The unicameral legislature, the National Assembly, has 200 seats and is also elected for four years.
Economy Most of the population works in agriculture, producing subsistence and cash crops. The most important of the latter is cocoa, of which Ghana is one of the world’s major producers. Ghana has suffered from consistently low world prices, but in 2003/4, it became the second largest producer of cocoa in the world for the first time in 30 years.
The country’s main industry is mining, particularly for diamonds and gold, and this is both a major employer and an important foreign currency earner.
The state has tried to cushion the economy’s vulnerability through intervention and subsidies. Since 2001 the Kufuor administration has achieved some success in stabilizing the macroeconomy through the introduction of tighter economic policies. Receipts from the gold sector helped sustain GDP growth in 2004; however inflation remains a major internal problem.
Ghana is a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
