GHANA

COUNTRY OVERVIEW

LOCATION AND SIZE.

The Republic of Ghana, formerly the Gold Coast, is a West African country lying on the Gulf of Guinea. It has a total border of 2,093 kilometers (1,300 miles), including 548 kilometers (341 miles) with Burkina Faso to the north, 688 kilometers (428 miles) with Côte d'Ivoire to the west, and 877 kilometers (545 miles) with Togo to the east. It has a coastline on the Gulf of Guinea, part of the Atlantic Ocean, measuring 539 kilometers (335 miles). It has an area of 239,540 square kilometers (92,486 square miles), making it about the size of the state of Oregon. Water occupies 8,520 square kilometers (3,290 square miles) of the country, primarily Lake Volta. The capital of Accra is located along the southeastern coast.

Ghana has a tropical climate, warm and comparatively dry along the southeast coast, hot and humid in the southwest, and hot and dry in the north. Its terrain is mostly low plains with a plateau in the south-central area. Its highest point is Mount Afadjato, which rises to 880 meters (2,887 feet). Lake Volta, its largest lake, is the world's largest artificial lake. Ghana has 10 regions: the Northern, Upper West, Upper East, Volta, Ashanti, Western, Eastern, Central, Brong-Ahafo, and Greater Accra.

POPULATION.

The population of Ghana was estimated at 19,533,560 in July 2000, an estimate that takes into account the impact of HIV/AIDS. It was estimated at 17,832,000 in 1996, with a density of 81 people per square kilometer (210 per square mile). About 37 percent of the population lived in urban areas and 10 percent in urban agglomerations of more than a million people. The population grew at 2.8 percent a year between 1970 and 1990, and 2.9 percent between 1990 and 1997. The fertility rate in 1997 was 4.9 children per woman.

Ghana has a young population, with more than 42 percent of the people below 15 years of age in 2000 and 55 percent in the 15-65 year bracket. Those over 65 constitute only 3 percent of the population. Life expectancy was estimated at 57 years overall, with 56 and 58 years for men and women, respectively.

The population is predominantly of African origin, with the Akan tribe comprising 44 percent of the population, the Moshi-Dagomba 16 percent, the Ewe 13 percent, the Ga-Adangbe 8 percent, the Yoruba 1.3 percent, and European and other nationalities less than 1 percent. Most people (38 percent) hold traditional beliefs, while 30 percent follow the Islamic faith, 24 percent are Christians, and 8 percent have other beliefs. English is the official language, with the other main languages being Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga.

OVERVIEW OF ECONOMY

Ghana's formerly strong economy has been the victim of instability resulting from a series of military coups and economic mismanagement in the period from independence in 1958 to 1983. A highly protected economyand substantial government investment created a largebut inefficient manufacturing sector by the mid-1980s.Over the last 15 years, economic reforms, including substantial privatizations, have resulted in a small but viable industrial sector.

Ghana has a considerable endowment of natural resources (timber, fertile agricultural land and fishing grounds, and minerals). Agriculture constituted about 40 percent of GDP in 1999 and employed 60 percent of the labor force. The main export crop is cocoa. Coffee, palm products, and tropical fruits are exported in smaller quantities. Other crops include cassava, yams, corn, sorghum, and rice, while goats and sheep are the principal livestock reared. Timber is also an important export. Fishing is important to the domestic market, with some exports of tuna.

Industry contributes about 30 percent of the GDP and employs 15 percent of the labor force. Ghana's industries include mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum, and food processing. Mineral exports— mainly gold, manganese, diamonds, and bauxite—account for a large part of the country's earnings. Petroleum is extracted in small quantities offshore between Saltpond and Cape Coast, and exploration in other areas is under way. Manufacturing is dominated by import substitution industries, producing food products, beverages, tobacco, textiles, timber and wood products, refined petroleum, vehicles, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, cement, and metals. Electricity is generated almost entirely from hydroelectric plants, mainly the Akosombo Dam on the Volta River.

Services contribute 30 percent of GDP and employ only 25 percent of the labor force. Trade, transportation, financial services, and public administration are the main activities.

POLITICS, GOVERNMENT, AND TAXATION

Ghana is a former British colony. Kwame Nkrumah set up the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) to campaign for independence in 1949. Elections took place in 1951 and the following year Nkrumah became the leader of the executive council and the legislature. Full independence followed in 1957, with Ghana becoming the first country in Africa to achieve this feat. Ghana became a republic on 1 July 1960, with Nkrumah as president.

In 1964 Nkrumah introduced legislation to make Ghana a one-party state. In 1966 Nkrumah was removed by military coup, making way for army leadership under the umbrella of the National Liberation Council (NLC), headed by 3 army officers. Political activity was permitted again in 1969, elections were held, and the Progress Party (PP) won a majority of seats. The leader of the PP, Dr. Kofi Busia, was invited to form a government and became prime minister. A 3-man commission of Emanuel Kotoka, Akwasi Arifa, and John Harley from the NLC acted as head of state.

In 1972 there was another military coup led by Col. Ignatius Acheampong, and he set up a National Redemption Council (NDC). In 1978 Gen. Fredrick Akuffo replaced Acheampong as head of what was now the Supreme Military Council (SMC), and in 1979 political activity began in preparation for elections scheduled for June. Two weeks before the election, however, a military coup led by Flight Lt. Jerry Rawlings ushered in the leadership of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC). Elections were held as scheduled, and Dr. Hilla Limann of the Peoples National Party (PNP) took office as president in September 1979.

Another coup, in 1981, put Rawlings back in power. He suspended the constitution and banned political activity. From December 1981 to November 1992 a Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), with secretaries in charge of the ministries and the regions, ruled Ghana. A new constitution was approved by a national referendum in April 1992, based on the U.S. model. The PNDC formed a new party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and successfully contested the elections in December 1992 with Rawlings emerging as the president. In the 1996 elections, NDC and Rawlings were again returned to office. Rawlings stood down for the 2000 elections, and the New Patriotic Party, with John Kufuor as presidential candidate, was victorious.

The 1992 constitution makes Ghana a unitary republic with an executive president and a multiparty political system. The national legislature is the unicameral parliament, whose 200 members are elected by universal adult suffrage every 4 years. The president, who is the head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, is elected by universal adult suffrage for a maximum of 2 4-year terms.

The president appoints the vice president and nominates a council of ministers, subject to approval by parliament. The constitution also provides for 2 advisory bodies to the president: a 25-member Council of State and a 20-member National Security Council. There are 110 administrative districts, each having a District Assembly.

In 1996 government revenues amounted to 21 percent of GDP and expenditures were 22 percent of GDP. The budget deficit was 1.2 percent of GDP, well within the 3 percent guidelines. The most recent year for which tax revenue data is available is 1993, when taxes in income, profits, and capital gains generated 17 percent of government revenue, domestic taxes on goods and services 40 percent, export levies and import duties 27 percent, and non-tax revenue 23 percent.

The general rate of corporation tax is 35 percent, and there is a capital gains tax of 5 percent. Hotels are subject to a 25 percent corporation tax, manufacturing companies in the regional capitals are subject to 26.25 percent, elsewhere at 17.5 percent. Interest and dividends are subject to a 10 percent withholding tax. Non-agricultural exports are subject to an 8 percent levy.

INFRASTRUCTURE, POWER, AND COMMUNICATIONS

There are 39,409 kilometers (24,490 miles) of roads, of which 11,653 kilometers (7,241 miles) were paved in 1997. In 1997 there was a 953-kilometer (592-mile) railway network (currently undergoing major rehabilitation) of narrow gauge. The railway connects Accra, Kumasi, and Takoradi, the major mining areas, to the sea ports. The railway network also provides passenger services from the interior of Ghana to the main sea ports at Tema (near Accra) and Takoradi.

The main waterways include the Volta, Ankobra, and Tano Rivers, which provide 168 kilometers (104 miles) of year-round navigation, and Lake Volta, which provides 1,125 kilometers (699 miles) of arterial and feeder waterways. The main ports are at Takoradi and Tema. There were 12 airports in 1999, 6 of which had paved runways.

Growth in electricity production averaged 4.2 percent a year between 1980 and 1996. In 1998 electricity production was 6.206 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), 99.9 percent of which was from hydroelectric sources. In the same year, electricity consumption was 5.437 billion kWh and exports were 400 million kWh, while 65 kWh of electricity were imported. Hydroelectricity is generated at the Akasombo and Kpong power plants, which traditionally supply virtually all of the country's electricity needs, as well as provide exports to Benin and Togo.

Total dependence on hydroelectricity makes Ghana vulnerable to variations in rainfall, and power shortages reached crisis-point in 1998. This has stiffened resolve to provide alternative sources of electric power, including a recently built oil-and gas-fired power station. There are also plans for a number of gas-fired plants, using imported gas and gas from the Tano fields. The Tama oil refinery was being expanded and prepared for privatization in 1997-99. The U.S. Export-Import Bank is to provide guarantees to cover drilling in the Tano off-shore natural gas fields and construction of pipelines, plus loan financing for operations and maintenance work.

The Ghana Broadcasting Corporation provides radio services, supplemented by 36 private companies which were granted authorization to operate radios and TV networks in 1999. Broadcasters comprised 3 shortwave, 18 FM radio stations, and 11 television stations in 1999. There were 238 radios, 109 TV sets, and 1.6 PCs per 1,000 people in 1999.

Ghana has a modest telephone system which is Internet accessible, and although many rural communities are not yet connected, expansion of the services is underway. There were 200,000 main lines in use in 1998 and an estimated 30,000 cellular phones in use. Domestically the telephone system comprises a microwave radio relay, and a local wireless loop has also been installed. International communication is through 4 Intelsat satellite earth stations, and a micro-wave radio relay which links to the Panaftel system connecting Ghana to its neighbors.

International direct dialling is available to major cities. Fax facilities are available around the clock in Accra. There are also several privately-owned and operated cellular phone networks with 1 mobile phone per 1,000 people. There were 2 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in 1999.

ECONOMIC SECTORS

In 1995 agriculture (including forestry and fishing) was the largest sector and the biggest employer of the working population. The chief agricultural export is cocoa, and it occupies more than half of the country's cultivated land.

Mining contributes a big proportion of foreign exchange earnings through the export of gold, diamonds, and bauxite (used in the production of aluminum). The

country is among the world's largest producers of manganese. Manufacturing contributed 9 percent of GDP in 1998. However, the economic recovery program of the late 1990s hit the industry through high interest rates and the lifting of restrictions on some imports.

The tourist sector, while so far not rated amongst the main economic sectors, is the fastest growing sector in the economy. The government's main priority is to privatize the state-owned enterprises to relieve government of the heavy burden on national resources. The government, with the help of the IMF, plans to diversify its exports to avoid its vulnerability to the fluctuating prices

of cocoa on the world market. The government also plans to attract more investment to achieve the diversification of exports as well as to meet local needs.

AGRICULTURE

Agriculture accounted for more than 40 percent of GDP in 1999 and employed three-fifths of the workforce. However, despite its importance, sectoral growth has lagged behind other sectors of the economy and has been unpredictable, as most farming is reliant upon rainwater. Agricultural output (including forestry and fishing) grew at just 1.0 percent per year between 1980 and 1990, and 2.7 percent between 1990 and 1997. Agricultural growth increased to 5.3 percent in 1998. Ghana is one of the world's leading producers of cocoa, mostly grown on small farms. In 1998-99 cocoa production reached 400,000 metric tons.

Although most of the year-to-year trends are attributable to weather patterns, the longer term improvement in performance can be attributed to public policy changes. As part of the broader macroeconomic reforms (reforms which affect the whole economy, such as changing the exchange rate, altering controls on interest rates, and adjusting the money supply) the government has removed food price controls, raised cocoa prices paid to producers, and boosted extension services, which help increase farmer productivity.

Other cash crops are coffee, bananas, palm oil, coconuts, and kola nuts. The chief food crops are cassava, maize, yams, coco yams, plantain, millet, corn, fruit, rice, and vegetables. Cattle are raised in the north. Yields of food crops, however, have shown disappointing growth with only cassava and millet yields improving in the past decade. This seems to be a result of low investment and poor technology. The removal of subsidies on fertilizers and other agricultural inputs has also had an effect on several crops.

Cocoa is Ghana's most important agricultural export crop, normally accounting for 30-40 percent of total exports. Most cocoa is produced by around 1.6 million small farmers on plots of less than 3 hectares in the forest areas of the Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Western, and Volta regions. In the 1960s Ghana was the world's largest producer of cocoa but it has since been overtaken by neighboring Côte d'Ivoire.

Livestock farming is restricted to the Northern region and the Accra plains. Production of meat is, however, insufficient to meet local annual demand of about 200,000 tons. The shortfall has been met by imports of livestock from neighboring countries, although imports have been constrained by dwindling foreign exchange reserves. As part of the revitalization effort, the government undertook to rehabilitate and restock the 6 cattle stations at Pong-Tamale, Ejura, Babile, Kintampo, Amrahia, and Nungua, but these efforts have yet to bear fruit.

More than one-third of Ghana's total land area is covered by forest, although not all of it is suitable for commercial exploitation. Commercial forestry is concentrated in the Western region in Southern Ghana, and has been the third largest foreign exchange earner in recent years (accounting for about 10 percent of exports).

Since 1983, the forestry industry has undergone substantial changes, attracting aid and commercial credits which have focused on forestry management, research and equipment for logging, saw-milling, and manufacture. Since 1989 the government has banned the export of certain timbers to avoid deforestation. River and sea fishing are important, although domestic fisheries (in the ocean and Lake Volta) supply only about one-half of the country's total annual demand of 600,000 tons.

INDUSTRY

Industry contributed about 30 percent of the GDP in 1999, when it employed about 15 percent of the work-force. A policy of industrialization has resulted in the establishment of a wide range of manufacturing industries, producing food products, beverages, tobacco, textiles, clothes, footwear, timber and wood products, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, and metals, including steel and steel products. Almost all of them began as state-owned enterprises, but now are mostly privatized.

Ghana possesses substantial bauxite reserves, though the output, all of which is exported, is less than half of capacity. High-quality sand in the Tarkwa mining area provides the basis for a small but important glass industry. Cement factories have been developed at Tema and Takoradi. The development of export zones (areas where raw materials can be imported without customs duties, provided the products are for export) and industrial estates (areas with good transport links, electricity, and water supplies, for groups of enterprises able to provide services for each other) is underway.

Apart from traditional industries such as food processing, Ghana also has a large number of long-established large and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises. The large-scale manufacturing sector includes textiles, drinks, food, plastics, vehicle assembly, and aluminum processing. Much of it is owned and managed by the Lebanese community, but multinational companies such as Unilever and Valco also run factories. Various state-owned enterprises also used to be involved in manufacturing, but since liberalization opened up the market to foreign competition in the 1980s, many factories have been closed, leading to substantial job losses.

Gold remains central to the Ghanaian economy, although diamonds, manganese, and bauxite are also mined. The privatization of the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation, the largest producer of gold in the country, has been regarded as a great African success story, as it has been managed by Ghanaians and was one of the first indigenous companies to be listed on the international stock market. From a 15 percent share of export earnings in the mid-1980s, gold now vies with cocoa as the largest source of Ghana's export earnings.

Ghana's diamond sector is smaller and has struggled to survive its legacy of corruption. Production is mainly industrial grade. Structural adjustment ended the state's control over large-scale extraction but the private businesses now involved have not been able to restore official production to even a quarter of the 1970s level. Smuggling is rife, and the official figures do not reflect the actual level of output.

Ghana is also one of the world's largest exporters of manganese. There is considerable potential for expansion of bauxite extraction in conjunction with Ghana's relatively abundant supply of cheap hydro-electricity for aluminum smelting.

SERVICES

Financial services have improved in recent years with the introduction of a stock market, the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) in 1990, and several new financial institutions. Since 1992, privatization and the arrival of 4 new commercial banks have brought increased dynamism to the sector. The government has sold off equity in several wholly or partly state-owned banks. After some difficulty finding an active investor for the Social Security Bank (SSB), a consortium of fund managers led by the UK-based Blakeney Asset Management built up a controlling 51 percent stake in 1997 and hired a technical partner, Allied Irish Bank, to enhance SSB's management and services.

Competition has brought some benefits, with commercial banks introducing new products, including automatic telling machines and credit-card services, and a significant turnaround in check-clearing and cashing. However, the banks still have little appetite for lending to small and medium-sized local businesses, which has caused some concern.

The rest of the financial sector is growing and diversifying, although it remains relatively small. Ghana has 2 discount houses, and since the setting up of the stock exchange, several stock brokers have set up shop. Legislation introduced in 1999 is expected to open way for unit trusts and more varied financial instruments. There are now 17 insurance companies, up from fewer than 9 in 1993, although the industry remains dominated by 2 state firms. There are mortgage companies, building societies, at least 1 venture capital company, and 3 leasing companies.

Although retail facilities remain limited, urban areas are served by a range of outlets, and there are a growing number of foreign-owned stores in Accra with many more new investments expected in the coming years. Rural areas typically have mainly informal markets or modest general stores.

The tourist sector is the fastest growing sector and it has overtaken timber as a foreign exchange earner. Revenue from tourism has increased gradually, with most of the tourists coming from Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Côte d'Ivoire, the United States, and Germany. The Ghana Tourist Board and the Ghana Tourist Development Company supervise the regulation, financing, and development of the tourist industry. Tourism is being revamped through up-grading of hotels and the rehabilitating of tourist attractions. Hotels are located at Accra, Tema, Takoradi, and Kumasi, and there is a hotel at Akosombo overlooking Lake Volta. There were 325,438 tourist arrivals in 1997, including some 83,000 Ghanaians who live abroad, generating receipts of US$266 million, comprising 16 percent of foreign exchange earnings.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Ghana is essentially an exporter of primary products, mainly gold, cocoa, and timber, and an importer of capital goods, foodstuffs, and fuels. Merchandise exports amounted to __BODY__.7 billion in 1999, of which cocoa contributed the largest share. The other main exports were aluminum, gold, timber, diamonds, and manganese. Imports were $2.5 billion in 1999. Export partners included the United Kingdom, Togo, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the United States, and France. Import partners were Nigeria (supplying most of Ghana's oil requirement), the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, the United States, Spain, France, Côte d'Ivoire, and the Netherlands.

MONEY

The unit of currency, the cedi, was valued at ¢7,325:US__BODY__ in mid-2001. Under the Economic Recovery

Program (ERP) Phase One (1983-86), backed by the IMF and the World Bank, the cedi was allowed to depreciate rapidly from October 1983 to March 1986. Valued at ¢2.75 to the dollar in 1982, it fell to ¢90 to the dollar by 1986. Market forces currently determine the exchange rate and the depreciation has continued, making it easier for Ghana to export its goods. Travellers to Ghana are allowed to bring with them any amount of foreign exchange into the country which can be changed into cedis in commercial banks or the foreign bureau. Previously travellers were required to declare the amount of foreign currency they were carrying, and forced to exchange it at highly unfavorable rates with official foreign exchange dealers, and this served to provide a significant discouragement to tourists.

Inflation has been a persistent problem in Ghana, thanks in part to its depreciating currency. Over the period from 1997 to 1999, however, inflation declined from 20.8 percent to 15.7 percent to 9.5 percent. In 1999 the inflation rate rebounded to 12.8 percent.

POVERTY AND WEALTH

It was estimated in 1992 that 31 percent of the population of Ghana was below the poverty line of US__BODY__ a day. People below this line do not have enough income to meet the barest minimums of food, clothing, and shelter. Almost all those in poverty were located in the rural areas, and rely on agricultural production from small family farms or herding family-based livestock for their

livelihood. Income in 1992 was very unevenly distributed, with the poorest 10 percent of the population receiving only 3.4 percent of total household income while the richest 10 percent received 27.3 percent.

While Ghana is considered to be among the least developed countries in the world, it is rated as one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. It is a low-income economy; using the purchasing power parity conversion (which allows for the low price of many basic commodities in Ghana) GDP per head was US__BODY__,900 in 1999. The rate of per capita income growth during the years between 1985 and 1995 averaged 1.4 percent per year, rising to 1.7 percent per year between 1996 and 1997, and this performance has brought about a significant increase in living standards. The growth in GDP per head experienced by Ghana is vitally important in reducing poverty, with every 1 percent of GDP per head growth reducing those in poverty by 2 percent. Thus the 1.7 percent per year rate of GDP per head growth shifts over 200,000 people out of poverty each year.

The UN Human Development Index, which combines indicators for income, health, and education, placed Ghana at 129 out of 174 countries in 1998, making Ghana one of the few African countries to achieve a medium level of human development. This means that Ghana is placed among those countries with levels of income, health provision, and educational facilities that are midway between the high human development countries of Europe, North America, and Australasia, and the very poorest and most deprived countries, mostly in Africa, where many people do not have enough food to meet minimum nutritional levels, and have no access to health or educational services.

WORKING CONDITIONS

It was estimated in 1999 that the labor force comprised 4 million people, of which 60 percent worked in agriculture, 15 percent in industry, and 25 percent in services. The unemployment rate was estimated at 20 percent in 1997. However, the unemployment rate has little meaning in Africa. Many people work in some form of subsistence farming, which is not counted in employment figures. There are no social security provisions, and those without work or support from families or charities cannot survive. For much of the year in subsistence farming there is relatively little work to do, and this work is shared among family members. During planting and harvesting, there is more work to be done, and everyone is more fully occupied, but even in these periods, there may be more than enough labor to do the tasks, and the work is again shared. Everyone sharing the work appears to have an occupation in agriculture, but because workers are not engaged full-time the whole year, there is some "disguised unemployment."

Trade unions are governed by the Industrial Relations Act (IRA) of 1958, as amended in 1965 and 1972. Organized labor is represented by the Trades and Union Congress (TUC), which was established in 1958. The IRA provides a framework for collective bargaining and protection against anti-union discrimination.

The law prohibits civil servants from joining or organizing a trade union. However, in December 1992, the government enacted legislation allowing each branch of the civil service to establish a negotiating committee to engage in collective bargaining for wages and benefits in the same fashion as trade unions in the private sector. While the right to strike is recognized in law and practice, the government has on occasion taken strong action to end strikes, especially in cases involving vital government interests or public order. The IRA provides mechanisms for conciliation and arbitration before unions can resort to industrial actions or strikes.

The law prohibits forced labor and it has not been reported to be in practice. There is a minimum employment age of 15 and night work and certain types of hazardous labor are prohibited for those under 18. The violation of this law, however, is common, and young children of school-going age can often be found during the day performing menial tasks in the agricultural sector or in the markets.

In 1991 a Tripartite Commission comprising representatives of government, organized labor, and employers established minimum standards for wages and working conditions. The daily minimum wage combines wages with customary benefits such as a transportation allowance. The current daily minimum wage, ¢2,900— about US__BODY__.40—however, does not permit a single-wage earner to support a family and frequently results in multiple-wage earners and other family-based commercial activities. By law the maximum working week is 45 hours but collective bargaining has established a 40-hour week for most unionized workers.

COUNTRY HISTORY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1470. Portuguese traders arrive on the coast of what is now Ghana, then known as the Gold Coast, and begin to establish trading settlements.

1553. The British begin trading along the coast, to be joined in due course by German, Danish, and Dutch traders.

1821. The British take control of all the forts along the coast.

1844. Britain signs agreement with local chiefs, which enables Britain to establish the colony of the Gold Coast.

1868. Dutch possessions are transferred to the British, and the British begin conquest of the interior. British occupation is fiercely resisted, particularly by the Fante Confederation (an alliance of coastal kingdoms) and the Ashanti.

1900. The British finally defeat the Ashanti and war ends.

1920. A number of political parties begin to emerge, dedicated to regaining African independence. Representing different regions, these parties are not nationally based.

1947. The United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) is formed, but without representatives from some key areas in the north.

1948. Kwame Nkrumah, general secretary of the UGCC, breaks away to found the Convention People's Party (CPP), which quickly becomes a voice for the nation and for the first time draws the northern people into politics.

1949. Exasperated by the slow progress towards self-government, Nkrumah calls for a national strike. Seeking to contain the situation, the British haul Nkrumah before the courts and sentence him to jail.

1951. The CPP wins elections for Legislative Assembly while Nkrumah is in jail. He is released to become leader of the Executive Council and the Legislature.

1957. On March 6, Ghana becomes the first African country to gain independence from European control, with Nkrumah as prime minister.

1958. The Constitution Act and the Preventative Detention Act are passed, giving Nkrumah wide extra-constitutional powers to suppress opposition. Regional assemblies are dissolved.

1960. Ghana approves a republican constitution with Nkrumah as president.

1961. Ghana becomes a one-party state, with the CPP as the sole political party.

1965. The cedi is introduced as a unit of currency, replacing the Ghana pound. In the first elections, the CPP wins all parliamentary seats with an unchallenged slate.

1966. The Akosombo dam, built over the Volta river at a cost of US$414 million, is completed. Nkrumah is overthrown while on a visit to Peking by a military coup led by Emanuel Kotoka, Akwasi Arifa, and John Harley. The National Liberation Council (NLC) assumes power.

1967. The new cedi is introduced with a devalued rate of exchange. Kotoka is killed in an abortive counter-coup. Ghana joins the West African Economic Community.

1969. The constitution of the second republic is adopted. In national elections, the Progress Party (PP) led by K.A. Busia wins absolute majority; a 3-man presidential commission consisting of Harley, Arifa, and A.K. Okran is appointed to serve as head of state.

1970. The presidential troika is abolished; Edward Akufo-Addo is elected president.

1972. The Busia government is overthrown by military coup under Ignatius Acheampong. The National Redemption Council (NRC) assumes supreme power and nationalizes mining and textile firms.

1974. Agreement is reached with creditor nations, giving Ghana a liberal repayment schedule.

1975. The Supreme Military Council (SMC) is created as the highest legislative and administrative body in the state, with a reconstituted NRC as a subordinate cabinet.

1977. Acheampong promises return to civilian rule by 1979.

1978. Fredrick Akuffo, Acheampong's deputy, assumes power in a bloodless coup. Local assembly elections are held and the National Assembly is established.

1979. A 6-year ban on political parties is lifted. Flight Lt. Jerry Rawlings leads a coup of junior officers, and the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) takes power. A new constitution is adopted as a prelude to return to civilian rule. In presidential elections Hilla Limann, candidate of the People's National Party (PNP), is elected.

1981. Rawlings seizes power for second time in a bloodless coup, suspends the National Assembly, political parties, and Council of State. He sets up a Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) with himself as chairman.

1983. Nigeria expels over 1.5 million Ghanaian residents. The government devalues the cedi by over 1,400 percent in line with IMF requirements.

1990. A pro-democracy organization, the Movement for Freedom and Justice, demands a national referendum to establish a multi-party system.

1992. A draft constitution is approved in a referendum. Political associations are allowed and 6 opposition movements are granted recognition. In November, presidential elections return Rawlings with 58.3 percent of the vote. The December parliamentary elections return the NDC with 189 out of 200 seats.

1995. Riots in Accra in February over the introduction of value-added tax (VAT) lead to 4 deaths and the withdrawal of the tax.

1996. Rawlings wins re-election and the NDC retains a majority in parliament.

1999. Fall in gold prices upsets Ghana's economic recovery.

2000. John Agyekum Kufour of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is elected as president, and the NPP gains a majority in parliament.

FUTURE TRENDS

Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has twice the per capita output of the poorest countries in West Africa. Even so, Ghana remains heavily dependent on aid and foreign investment.

Gold, timber, and cocoa production will continue as the major sources of foreign exchange. The domestic economy continues to revolve around agriculture, which accounts for 40 percent of GDP and employs 60 percent of the workforce, mainly small landholders, most of whom are very poor. It is difficult to envisage anything other than very slow progress in the agricultural sector, where so much of the work is devoted simply to providing for subsistence.

Between 1995 and 1997, Ghana made steady progress under a 3-year structural adjustment program in cooperation with the IMF. On the minus side, public sector wage increases and regional peacekeeping commitments have led to continued inflationary deficit financing, depreciation of the cedi, and rising public discontent with Ghana's austerity measures. A rebound in gold prices will provide a substantial boost to the economy.

DEPENDENCIES

Ghana has no territories or colonies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Commonwealth Secretariat. "Ghana." The Commonwealth Yearbook 2000. Birmingham: Stationery Office, 2000.

Economist Intelligence Unit. Country Profile: Ghana. London: Economist Intelligence Unit, 2001.

"Ghana." Africa South of the Sahara. London: Europa, 2000.

Ghana Embassy. <http://www.ghana-embassy.org>. AccessedSeptember 2001.

Hodd, Michael. "Ghana." The Economies of Africa. Aldershot:Dartmouth, 1991.

Leite, Sérgio Pereira, et al. Ghana: Economic Development in a Democratic Environment. Washington, D.C.: International Monetary Fund, 2000.

The Republic of Ghana. <http://www.ghana.gov.gh>. AccessedSeptember 2001.

U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. World Factbook 2000. <http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html>. Accessed August 2001.

U.S. Department of State. FY 2000 Country Commercial Guide: Ghana. <http://www.state.gov/www/about_state/business/com_guides/2000/africa/index.html>. Accessed September 2001.

Allan C.K. Mukungu

CAPITAL:

Accra.

MONETARY UNIT:

The cedi (¢). One cedi equals 100 pesewas. There are coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 pesewas, and 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 cedis. There are notes of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1,000 cedis. By the end of 2001, US__BODY__ was worth more than ¢7,500. With the decline in the value of the cedi, use of the pesewa has ceased.

CHIEF EXPORTS:

Gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds.

CHIEF IMPORTS:

Capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs.

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT:

US$7.932 billion (1999 est.). [ CIA World Factbook lists GDP as US$35.5 billion in 1999, using the purchasing power parity conversion.]

BALANCE OF TRADE:

Exports: US__BODY__.7 billion (f.o.b., 1999). Imports: US$2.5 billion (f.o.b., 1999).