Background Notes: Ghana
PA/PC
Source: Office of Public Communication, Bureau of Public
Affairs
Date: Feb 1, 19902/1/90
Category: Country Data
Region: Subsaharan Africa
Country: Ghana
Subject: Military Affairs, Cultural Exchange, Travel,
History, International Organizations,
Trade/Economics
[TEXT]
Official Name: Republic of Ghana
PROFILE
Geography
Area: 238,538 sq. km. (92,100 sq. mi.); about the size of Illinois and
Indiana combined. Cities: Capital-Accra (pop. 953,500). Other
cities-Kumasi (399,300), Tema (180,600), Sekondi-Takoradi
(116,500). Terrain: Plains and scrubland, rain forest, savanna.
Climate: Tropical.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective-Ghanaian(s). Population (1989): 14.8
million. Density: 62/sq. km. (160/sq. mi.). Annual growth rate
(1989): 2.9%. Ethnic groups: Akan, Ewe, Ga. Religions: Christian 42%,
indigenous beliefs 38%, Muslim 12%, other 7%. Languages: English
(official), Akan 44%, Mole-Dagbani 16% Ewe 13%, Ga-Adangbe 8%.
Education: Years compulsory-9. Literacy-30%. Health: Infant
mortality rate-(1989) 68/1,000. Life expectancy-55 yrs. Work
force: 3.7 million: Agriculture and fishing-54.7%. Industry-18.7%.
Sales and clerical-15.2%. Other-11.4%.
Government
Type: Authoritarian. Independence: March 6, 1957.
Constitution: None; Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC)
Proclamation, December 31, 1981, and PNDC Law 42 (1982).
Branches: PNDC, with a chairman and eight members, has all
powers of government.
Subdivisions: 10 regions.
Political parties: None. Suffrage: Universal at 18.
Flag: Three horizontal stripes of red, gold, and green, with a
black star in the center of the gold stripe.
Economy
GDP (1987): $5.05 billion. Real GDP growth rate (1987): 4.5%. Per
capita GDP (1987): $350. Inflation rate (1986): 25%.
Natural resources: Gold, timber, diamonds, bauxite,
manganese, fish.
Agriculture: Products-cocoa, coconuts, coffee, food crops,
rubber. Land-70% arable and forested.
Industry: Types-mining, lumber, light manufacturing, fishing,
aluminum.
Trade (1987): Exports-$787 million: cocoa ($503 million),
aluminum, gold, timber, diamonds, manganese. Imports-$763
million: petroleum ($123 million), food, industrial raw materials,
machinery, equipment. Major trade partners-U.K., F.R.G., U.S., Nigeria.
Official exchange rate (March 1988): 230 cedis=U.S.$1.
Fiscal year: Calendar year.
Membership in International Organizations
UN and some of its specialized and related agencies, Organization of
African Unity (OAU), Nonaligned Movement, Economic Community of
West African States (ECOWAS), Commonwealth.
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, known as the "Ashanti," produces most of the
country's cocoa, minerals, and timber. North of this belt, the
country varies from 91 to 396 meters (300-1,300 ft.) above sea
level and is covered by low bush, parklike 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.).
The manmade Volta Lake 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, in the northern
areas near the Cote d'Ivoire, 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. About 30% of the general population is literate in
English, although the rate is much higher among the young.
Primary- and middle-school education is tuition-free and will
be mandatory when enough teachers and facilities are available to
accommodate all the students. Students begin their 6-year primary
education at age six. Under educational reforms implemented in
1987, they pass into a new 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 universities is by examination
following completion of senior secondary school. School enrollment
totals almost 2 million: 1.3 million primary; 107,600 secondary;
489,000 middle; 21,280 technical; 11,300 teacher training; and
5,600 university.
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. 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 colonizing 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
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 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, 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-Gen. Acheampong.
Unable to deliver on its promises, the NRC/SMC became
increasingly marked by mismanagement and rampant corruption. In
1977, Gen. Acheampong brought forward the concept of union
government (UNIGOV), which would make Ghana a nonparty 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 Flight 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 (PDP), 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.
GOVERNMENT
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. One-
third of the assembly members are appointed by the government. No
provision has been made for regional or national elections. Ghana
continues to be governed by PNDC directives and without a
constitution.
Principal Government Officials
Members of the Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC)
Chairman and Head of State-Flight Lt. (ret.) Jerry John Rawlings
Foreign Affairs and Security-Capt. (ret.) Kojo Tsikata
Coordinating Secretary and Chairman of the Committee of
Secretaries-P.V. Obeng
Chairman of the National Commission for Democracy-Justice D.F. Annan
Secretary for Defense-Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu
Lt. Gen. Arnold Quainoo
Army Commander-Maj. Gen. Winston C.M. Mensa-Wood Ebo Tawiah
Dr. Mary Grant
PNDC Secretaries
Finance and Economic Planning-Dr. Kwesi Botchwey
Foreign Affairs-Dr. Obed Yaw Asamoah
Ambassador to the United States-Eric Otoo
Permanent Representative to the United Nations-J.V. Gbeho
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
By West African standards, Ghana has a diverse and rich resource
base. The country is mainly agricultural, however, with 55% of its
workers engaged in farming. Cash crops consist primarily of cocoa
and cocoa products (which provide about two-thirds of export
revenues), timber products, coconuts and other palm products, shea
nuts (which produce an edible fat), and coffee. 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. The only commercial oil well
has been closed, but signs of natural gas are being studied for
power generation, while exploration continues for other oil and gas
resources.
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. However, these industries depend on imports for
most of their raw materials and, due to depressed demand and other
problems, currently are running far below capacity.
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. Ghana's
creditors agreed to three reschedulings of 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 PDP 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 to date 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 the 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 recently have 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
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 will concentrate on economic restructuring and
revitalizing social services.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
Ghana is active in the United Nations and many of its specialized
agencies, the Nonaligned Movement, the Organization of African
Unity (OAU), and the Economic Community of West African States.
Generally, it follows the consensus of the Nonaligned Movement and
the OAU on economic and political issues not directly affecting its
own interests. Ghana frequently has contributed troops to UN
peacekeeping activities, including the UN Interim Force in Lebanon
and the UN Good Offices Mission in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The
PNDC professes revolutionary ties with Cuba, Libya, and other
"progressive" nonaligned governments and has been critical of the
"neocolonial" Western international economic system. At the same
time, the PNDC desires friendly relations with all states,
regardless of ideology.
U.S.-GHANAIAN RELATIONS
The United States has enjoyed good relations with Ghana at the
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
Afro-Americans, are strong.
U.S.-Ghanaian official relations, however, have been strained.
On several occasions since it came to power on December 31, 1981,
the PNDC has voiced suspicions that the United States opposed its
revolution and was sympathetic to various Ghanaian opposition
movements. Such baseless allegations have been given wide
circulation, especially by the government-controlled media. On
March 31, 1983, a leading official of the PNDC made false public
accusations; the United States responded by freezing development
aid. After a meeting with Chairman Rawlings on October 19, 1983,
the U.S. Ambassador acknowledged that relations had improved and
announced the partial resumption of development aid. Complete
resumption occurred in July 1984. In 1985, bilateral relations
reached another low point following various Ghanaian allegations
against the United States.
Currently, both sides are working to improve bilateral
relations. Since September 1984 the United States has supported
Ghana's Economic Recovery Program. In addition, the United States
has participated in meetings in Paris of the consultative group on
Ghana, the most recent of which was held on February 28 and March
1, 1989. Donor countries and institutions pledged more than $900
million in aid for 1989.
The United States usually is among Ghana's principal trading
partners. The American privately owned VALCO aluminum smelter
imports much of its
supplies from, and exports almost all the aluminum ingots to, the
United States. Due to Ghana's economic crisis and the 18-month,
drought-induced closure of the smelter, bilateral trade contracted
sharply during the early 1980s. By 1986, however, more than half
the loss had been recovered, with U.S. exports to Ghana reaching $84
million that year, and imports from Ghana totaling $201 million.
With a replacement value of more than $500 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, S.C. Johnson, Ralston Purina,
Star-Kist, A.H. Robins, Sterling, Pfizer, IBM, 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 mid-1987, AMOCO concluded an oil exploration
agreement.
U.S. economic assistance to Ghana in fiscal year 1989 totaled
$21 million in new commitments, which included $6.5 million in
nonproject assistance for the agricultural sector, $1.5 million in
project assistance for health and human resources development, $6
million in food aid under the P.L. 480 Title I program, and $7 million
in project food commodities under PL 480 Title II. The Peace Corps
program in Ghana is the oldest in the world. Currently, there are
some 100 volunteers in Ghana. More than half work in education,
and the others in various fields such as agriculture, rural
development, fisheries, and women in
development.
Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador-Raymond C. Ewing
Deputy Chief of Mission-John C. Holzman
Political Counselor-John L. Berntsen
Economic Officer-Martha Kelley
Consular Officer-Richard Gonzalez
Director, AID Mission-F. Gary Towery
Public Affairs Officer-Daniel McGaffie
Director, Peace Corps-James Lassiter
The U.S. Embassy is on Ring Road East, near Danquah Circle,
Accra
(tel. 775347/8/9). The mailing address is P.O. Box 194, Accra,
Ghana.
FURTHER INFORMATION
These titles are provided as a general indication of material
published on this country. The Department of State does not
endorse unofficial publications.
Agyeman-Bado, Yaw and Osei-Hwedie, Kwaku. The Political
Economy of Instability: Colonial Legacy, Inequality and Instability in
Ghana. Lawrenceville, Virginia: Brunswick Press, 1982.
Amonoo, Ben. Ghana, 1957-1966: The Politics of Institutional
Dualism. London and Boston: Allen ∧ Unwin, 1981.
Austin, Dennis and Luckham, Robin, eds. Politicians and Soldiers in
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Available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government
Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402:
American University. Area Handbook for Ghana. 1983.
TRAVEL NOTES
Climate and clothing: Accra's temperature varies between 24 oC
and 37 oC (76 oF- 98 oF). Humidity is highest at dawn and falls
each day from 93.5% to 66%. Bring hot weather clothes and an
umbrella for the rainy seasons.
Health: Do not eat raw fruits and vegetables or undercooked meats.
Tap water is not potable. Do not swim in freshwater streams or
lagoons, which may be infected with bilharzia.
Telecommunications: International communications from Ghana are
inadequate, and the visitor may experience difficulties and delays
in placing an international call.
Tourist attractions: Points of interest in and around Accra include
the National Museum, Aburi Botanical Gardens, Black Star Square,
the Arts Council Handicraft Center, and the burial place of W.E.B.
DuBois. Kumasi is the capital of the Ashanti Region. The area is
rich in traditional Ghanaian crafts such as weaving, woodcarving,
and bronze work. Places of interest include the National Cultural
Center, the zoo, and Manhyia Palace (home of the Ashanti chief).
Published by the United States Department of State -- Bureau of
Public Affairs -- Office of Public Communication -- Washington,
D.C.
February 1990 -- Editor: Juanita Adams
Department of State Publication 8089 -- Background Notes Series -
- This material is in the public domain and may be reprinted
without permission; citation of this source is appreciated.
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government
Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402.(###)