LOCATION

Ghana is located on the west coast of Africa, about 750 km north of the equator between the latitudes of 4 and 11.5° north and longitude 3.11° West and 1.11° East. It is bounded on the north by Burkina Faso, on the west by La Cote D'lvoire,on the east by Togo and on the south by the Gulf of Guinea (Atlantic Ocean). Tema, the industrial city, which is adjunct to Accra, the capital city of Ghana, is on the Greenwich Meridian (zero line of longitude), making Ghana the closest landmark tothe centre of the world.

LAND

Ghana has a total land area of 238,537 km2 (92,100 sq. miles) stretching 672 km north to south and 357 km east to west. Its physical size makes it about the same size as Great Britain. Out of a total land area of 23 million hectares, 13 million hectares (57%) is suitable for agricultural production, and 5.3 million hectares (39%) of this is under cultivation.

CLIMATE

Ghana has a tropical climate. The temperature is generally between 21-32°C (70-90°F). There are two rainy seasons, from March to July and from September to October, separated by a short cool dry season in August and a relatively long dry season in the south from mid-October to March. The north, also with tropical climate, is dry and falls partly within the Sahelian zone. Annual rainfall in the south averages 2,030 mm, but varies greatly throughout the country, with the heaviest rainfall in the south-western part.

TYPOGRAPHY

Ghana is not a mountainous country, but has some highlands and some steep escarpments in the middle portions and isolated places in the northern parts. The land is relatively flat and the altitude is generally below 500m, with more than half of the country below 200m. The Volta River basin dominates the country's river system and includes the 8,480km2 Lake Volta (the largest artificial lake in the world), formed behind the Akosombo hydroelectric dam. The coastal area consists of plains and numerous lagoons near the estuaries of rivers.

VEGETATION

In terms of vegetation, the north is predominantly savannah and the middle section (extending to the south-western part) is typical rainforest, while the coastal section has thicket interspersed with savannah.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The name Ghana originates froman African empire, which was located around River Niger between 400 and 1240AD.The period between the 15th and 19th Centuries witnessed a power struggle for the country amongst European nations for fortunes in gold and ivory, following the advent of the Portuguese who discovered gold in 1471 and built Elmina Castle in 1482. The other Europeans were the Dutch, Swedes, Danes, Prussians and the British. The battle for control and supremacy over the land culminated in the building of many forts and castles, which were used not only as trading posts but also as dungeons for the infamous slave trade. It is significant to note that out of the about forty-three (43) forts and castles in West Africa, thirty-three (33) are in Ghana alone. Out of these about twenty five (25) are in good condition, including Elmina and Cape Coast Castles and Fort St. Jago, all three of which are recognised by UNESCO as World Heritage Monuments.

Ghana, formerly called the Gold Coast, became independent from British colonial rule on March 6, 1957. It was the first black African colony to achieve independence.

Ghana has been aptly described as " a bird watcher's paradise, an eco-tourism haven, a cultural delight a heritage lover's passion and an adventurer's dream" (Mr. Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, March 2004). The country has held and continue to hold out a lot of attractions notably:

a. Rich mineral resources such as gold, diamonds, manganese, limestone, bauxite, iron ore as well as various clays and granite deposits. In 1999, Ghana produced 2,620,096 million ounces of gold and 684,033.4 carats of diamonds. (Ghana is the second largest producer of gold in Africa).

b. Extensive forests, which are arguably the best managed in West Africa (with 252 permanent forest reserves in the rain forest zone alone. In total about 11% of Ghana is defined as forest.). Ghana is the second largest producer of cocoa in the world. It is also the third largest producer of timber and the second largest exporter of wood and wood products in Africa;

c. Rich marine fishing resources (tuna and game fishing);

d. Beautiful landscape, inviting sunshine, pristine beaches, exotic wildlife and exciting national parks and game reserves;

e. Rich culture and tradition and a world acclaimed warmth and hospitality of its people.

THE PEOPLE

The People: There are 56 Ghanaian dialects, of which Akan, Dangbe, Ewe, Kasem, Gonja, Dagare, Gas, Dagbani and Nzema are the major languages.

The official language of the country is English, but French and Hausa are two major foreign languages spoken in the country.

RELIGION

Ghana's constitution guarantees freedom of religion. The 2002 Population Census indicates that Christianity, Islam and Traditional Religion are the major faiths practiced in Ghana with the following representation: Christianity (68.8%), Islam (15.9%) and traditional religion (8.5%). A significant proportion (6.1%) has no religious affiliation.

POPULATION

Ghana's population is estimated at about 18.9 million and grows at 2.7% annually. Most of the population is concentrated in the southern part of the country with the highest density occurring in urban and cocoa producing areas.

The country boasts of very good golf courses, safe and unspoilt beaches with world class hotels and restaurants. Most cities have many active 'Keep Fit Clubs', which have members from different countries. There are also facilities for game fishing (mauling).

CONSTITUTION

Ghana practises a multiparty parliamentary democracy based on a constitution. This Fourth Republican Constitution, which came into force in 1992, provides for a unitary state governed by a President (and Cabinet) and a Unicameral National Assembly. It entrenches the separation of powers and offers appropriate checks and balances. The presidency has a four-year term and an incumbent can serve for a maximum of two terms. Parliament comprises a 200-seat National Assembly, which has a 4-year term.

The Supreme Court is at the apex of Ghana's judiciary headed by the Chief Justice. The legal system is based on the English Common Law, where the courts are bound to develop the notions of fairness to the individual. The constitution also makes provision for continued recognition of traditional chiefs and customary law.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

A decentralised central government administration has been fostered at local government level where there are 10 Regional Co-ordinating Councils, 110 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies which serve to involve grassroots participation in the formulation and implementation of government policies and the general development of their areas of jurisdiction.

MEDIA

Ghana has a pluralistic and highly independent media. There are over 50 newspapers, most of which appear daily, except Sundays and some holidays. Two (2) of the press houses that publish these newspapers are state-owned enterprises. There are twenty-three (23) approved television stations, among which is the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), the state-owned station with a national coverage. Some 125 frequency modulation (FM) stations and a number of cable television companies.

CONSTITUTION & GOVERNMENT

Ghana practises a multiparty parliamentary democracy based on a constitution. This Fourth Republican Constitution, which came into force in 1992, provides for a unitary state governed by a President (and Cabinet) and a Unicameral National Assembly. It entrenches the separation of powers and offers appropriate checks and balances. The presidency has a four-year term and an incumbent can serve for a maximum of two terms. Parliament comprises a 200-seat National Assembly, which has a 4-year term.

The Supreme Court is at the apex of Ghana's judiciary headed by the Chief Justice. The legal system is based on the English Common Law, where the courts are bound to develop the notions of fairness to the individual. The constitution also makes provision for continued recognition of traditional chiefs and customary law.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

A decentralised central government administration has been fostered at local government level where there are 10 Regional Co-ordinating Councils, 110 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies which serve to involve grassroots participation in the formulation and implementation of government policies and the general development of their areas of jurisdiction.

LEGISLATURE

The Constitution of Ghana allows for a legislature; parliament, political parties and the local governemnt - the District Assembly, which sees to the enactment of laws and policies for the development and wellbeing of the nation.

THE PARLIAMENT
The Parliament has 230 members, elected for a four-year term in single-seat constituencies. It is made up of representatives of political parties (MPs):
Majority: NPP (128)
Minority: NDC (94),
PNC (4), CPP(3), Independent Candidates (1)

LEADERSHIP OF THE HOUSE
Speaker of Parliament: Mr. Ebenezer Sekyi-Hughes
First Deputy Speaker: Hon. Freddie Blay
Second Deputy Speaker: Hon. Alhaji Malik Alhassan
Majority Leader: Hon. Felix Owusu Adjapong
MinorityLeader: Hon. Alban Bagbin

JUDICIACRY

According to the constitution of Ghana, justice emanates from the people and shall be administered in the name of the Republic by the Judiciary, which shall be independent and subject only to this Constitution. Ghanaian courts have acted with increased autonomy under the 1992 constitution.

Citizens may exercise popular participation in the administration of justice through the institutions of public and customary tribunals and the jury and assessor systems. The judicial power of Ghana shall be vested in the Judiciary; accordingly, neither the President nor Parliament nor any organ or agency of the President or Parliament shall have or be given final judicial power.

The Chief Justice shall, subject to this Constitution, be the Head of the Judiciary and shall be responsible for the administration and supervision of the Judiciary. The Judiciary shall have jurisdiction in all matters civil and criminal, including matters relating to this Constitution, and such other jurisdiction as Parliament may, by law, confer on it.

ECONOMIC STRUCTURE

The Ghanaian economy can be analysed under three broad sectors, namely agriculture, industry and services. The economy is basically agricultural, and is traditionally dependent on the export of primary commodities.

Agriculture: The agricultural sector dominates the economy with about 40% share in the country’s GDP (even though this share has declined from about 43% since the early 1990s). The sector also employs the largest proportion of Ghana’s economically active population. Key activities in the sector are food cropping and livestock, cocoa production and marketing; forestry & logging; and fishing. Cocoa is the most important cash crop, providing a significant proportion of national revenue. Other food and industrial crops cultivated include maize, cassava, yam cocoyam, pineapple, banana, plantain pepper, cotton-seed, cashew nuts, cola nuts, sugar cane, rubber, oil palm, tobacco and coffee.

Forests cover about a third of the total land area of the country, though not all of it is suitable for commercial exploitation. Fishing contributes the least to the total output of the sector. Marine fish landings in the country are supplemented by fresh water fish from inland water bodies, notably the Volta Lake. The concept of fish farming (introduced since the early 1980s) is still largely undeveloped.

Industry: The share of the industrial sector in Ghana’s GDP is about 28%. The sector is composed of the mining & quarrying, manufacturing, electricity and water & construction sub-sectors. Among the minerals produced in the country are gold, bauxite, manganese and diamonds. The mining sub-sector is currently the leading foreign exchange earner for Ghana, although the manufacturing sub-sector contributes the largest proportion of the total output of the sector.

Services: This is the fastest growing sector and contributes about 32%. It is the most diversified, made up of wholesale & retail trade; restaurants & hotels; infrastructure services; financial services; community, social & personal services, as well as private non-profit services. The sector is driven largely by government and trading activities. The gradual withdrawal of the Government from the provision of some of these services through a privatisation programme is having a tonic effect on the sector as private entrepreneurs take on an increasing share.

ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE - 2003

In 2003, the Agricultural sector grew by 6.1% as against 4.4% in 2002, a development, which was largely propelled by the strong recovery of the cocoa sub-sector. The crops and livestock sub-sector, which had hitherto been the largest contributor to the agricultural sector GDP, literally stagnated at 5.3% in 2003 (from 5.5% in 2002). On the other hand, the forestry and logging sub-sector, which grew by 5.0% in 2002, experienced an increase of 6.1% in 2003. The cocoa production and marketing sub-sector, which recorded a decline of 0.5% in 2002, recorded a spectacular growth of 16.4% in 2003.

The Services sector’s growth rate of 4.7% in 2003 matched that of 2002 as the sub-sectors recorded mixed growth performances. The wholesale and retail trade sector slightly declined n growth from 5.6% to 5.0%. The respective outputs of the financial services and social & personal services sub-sectors also marginally declined from 5.5% and 4.4% in 2002 (to 5.2 and 4.1% in 2003). Apart from these developments, other sub-sectors stagnated over the period under review, except the government services sub-sector, which grew from 3.6% in 2002 to 4.0% in 2003.

Growth performance in the Industrial sector was generally better in 2003 than 2002 as it grew form 4.7% in 2003 to 5.1%. With the exception of the manufacturing sub-sector, which recorded a marginal decline of 0.2% from 4.8% to 4.6%, all other sub-sectors recorded growth outcomes that surpassed the respective performances in 2002. The mining and quarrying sub-sector recorded a marginal output growth from 4.5% in 2002 to 4.7% in 2003. Electricity and water sub-sector literally stagnated at 4.2% in 2003 (from 4.1% in 2002), while the construction sub-sector grew from 5.0% to 6.1%.

MONETARY & FISCAL POLICY

Fiscal Policy: The principal objective of Ghana’s Fiscal Policy is to stabilize and reduce domestic debt with a view to stemming the increase in interest payments and to achieve the desired easing in real interest rates. Thus the Fiscal Policy Management is geared towards reducing fiscal deficit and consequently government borrowing. The main elements of the strategy to achieve the fiscal policy objective are:

Monetary Policy:This seeks to reduce the rate of inflation and exchange rate volatility for a sustainable growth. The policy emphasises tight credit and open market operation to mop up excess liquidity and to restrain inflationary pressures arising from debt monetization.

Ghana’s monetary policy management involves the following:

As part of the efforts to achieve the monetary objective, the Bank of Ghana has been recreated as an active and independent policy-making body. The process started in 2002 with the passing of the Bank of Ghana Act (Act 612), which conferred operational independence on the Bank of Ghana and also assigned the formulation of Ghana’s monetary policy to a Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). The MPC uses the Prime Rate as the primary instrument of monetary policy through which the Bank of Ghana signals its monetary stance and an assessment of inflationary pressures. As a “ lender of last resort”, the Central Bank also uses the rate as an operational instrument to lend money to the banks in the country.

Ultimately, the expected outcome of the monetary policy management is a monetary policy framework, which is consistent with the fiscal measures. Indicators of such outcomes include the accumulation of official foreign currency reserves to the levels consistent with the convergence criteria of the Second Monetary Zone (of West Africa), stable and competitive real exchange rate, a reduced level of credit to government and increased credit to the private sector through competitive real interest rates.

Exchange Rate Regime: Ghana operates a flexible exchange rate regime. The foreign exchange value of Ghana’s currency (Cedi) is thus established independently through the use of an inter-bank market and licensed private Forex Bureaux. Through this system, currency conversion is easily obtained. Ghana fully accedes to Article IV of the IMF Convention of Free Current Account Convertibility and Transfer.

ECONOMIC STABILITY

Trends observed in the key economic parameters over the last few years indicate that considerable progress has been made in stabilising the economy. Fiscal position has generally been in line with budget projections and revenue generation by the responsible agencies has been robust while the establishment of the Public Expenditure Monitoring Unit (PEMU) has helped to control expenditures. Monetary policy action under has also had a positive impact in reducing money supply and promoting a stable price and exchange rate regime.

The external payment position has also showed a significant improvement. In 2003 our current account recorded a surplus of US$40.76 million (as against a projected deficit of US$130.94 million) compared with a deficit of US$30.57 million in 2002. This situation was bolstered by increase in cocoa earnings and net private transfers. Ghana’s major exports of cocoa and gold enjoyed favourable prices in 2003 compared with 2002, which have together with inflows from both foreign donors and private remittances have helped to improve the country’s import cover. Official private remittances in effort to stay on course, it appears that the stage is set for a more viable economic take-off.

The challenge, however, is to provide the needed incentives to translate this stability into accelerated growth in the economy and reduce the level of poverty in the country. This is even more important when viewed against the background that the economic challenges of high interest and inflation rates (even at their currently reduced average level of 27% and 22.4% respectively), over dependence on foreign donor support and structure of government expenditure still persist.

GOVERNMENT DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES

The priority areas to be pursued within the medium term are as follows:

1. Vigorous Infrastructure Development - Roads, Mass Transportation, Ports, Air Travel, Telecommunications and Energy.

2. Modernized Agriculture, Centred on Rural Development - Reform of land tenure system, building and maintenance of feeder roads in food production areas, extension services to farmers, irrigation and practical support to farmers etc.

3. Enhanced Social Services with Emphasis on Education and Health - To ensure that there is uninterrupted education for all Ghanaians from pre-school to age 16 – 17 and to upgrade at least one senior secondary school in each of the 110 districts.

On health, Parliament has passed the Health Insurance Bill (Act …of 2003) in an effort to abolish the present Cash and Carry system and develop model health centres for every district in the country.

4. Good Governance - The government places premium on good governance and the rule of law and is determined to strengthen the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary. Considerable resources are being extended to the specialised security and governance agencies i.e. the Police Service, the Armed Forces, the Prisons Service Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and others in the areas of logistics, technology and training. These changes are expected to enhance the competence of the specialised forces and ensure the total security of the nation and that of the individual.

5. Private Sector Development - To co-ordinate activities of the private sector and help remove bottlenecks that add to the cost of doing business in Ghana.

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