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Spotlight Ghana  e limping lion The world’s second largest producer of cocoa – and rich in natural resources, including gold and oil – Ghana was destined to lead Africa’s fastest growing ‘lion’ economies over the next ten years. But falling gold prices and falling tax receipts have set back economic growth Anver Versi

For the past 15 years, the management of cocoa – Ghana is the world’s second larg- at around 14 per cent and Ghana entered the Ghana’s economy has been held up – by est producer. It is now also an important oil ranks of middle-income countries. multilateral organisations such as the World producer and has the potential to become It seemed that Ghana was destined to lead Bank, among others – as the exemplary the third largest oil producer in Africa. the pack of the ‘African lions’ – a dozen or so model for other developing countries to Indeed, by 2010, when the country’s fi rst fast growing countries – over the next dec- follow. The country has enjoyed political oil began to fl ow from the Jubilee fi eld and ade at least. But during the last few months, stability, good macroeconomic manage- the price of gold nudged the US$2,000 per the country's serene progress towards its me- ment, a steady annual growth in the fi ve ounce mark, a recalculation of the country’s dium-term annual growth target of eight per per cent range and a diversifi ed economy GDP, based on more relevant data, raised cent has suffered several setbacks and the based on gold mining, manufacturing and GDP by 60 per cent. Growth was estimated ‘black swan’, in the form of a catastrophic

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fall in the international price of gold, has Senegal made its dreaded appearance. Mali Niger Ghana Key data However, even before gold lost 25 per cent  Population: 24,966,000 (2011) of its value between April and June – the Burkina  Religion: Christian (69%), Muslim Djibouti biggest quarterly drop since 1968 – it was Benin (16%) with traditional animist religions clear that all was not well with the Ghanaian Guinea often practiced alongside Somalia economy. Expenditure had severely outrun Togo Nigeria Ivory  Literacy among 15 to 24-year olds: revenue and left a 12 per cent defi cit black Ghana Liberia Coast 81% (2010) hole that is threatening to undermine many of Sudan the gains made leading to 2012. The Minis-  Life expectancy: 64 years Ethiopia ter for Finance, Seth Terkper, has blamed the  Capital: Accra defi cit on shortfalls in corporate income taxes Equatorial Guinea  Infl ation: 13.1% pa 2007-2011 and grants from development partners, higher  GDP growth: 8.2% pa 2007-2011 Uganda Kenya interest costs, fuel and utility subsidies, and Sao Tome  GNI: US$35.1 billion higher spending on goods and services. & Principe  Main exports: cocoa, gold, While Ghana’s upgrading to middle in- diamonds, oil Indian Ocean come status confi rms the success of its Burundi economic policies and makes it much more Tanzania attractive to foreign investors, it also means that the country loses a number of its sourc- South Atlantic ated from gold mining in 2011. The extra es of donor support. “As we consolidate burden could be the last straw. “Excessive Zambia our middle income status and these facili- Ghana’s upgrade to taxation on mining could be disruptive and Malawi ties become less available to us, we should kill the goose that lays the golden eggs,” di- be in a position to borrow effectively from middle income status rector of analysis, research and fi nance at the capital markets,” says Terkper. In June con rms the success of the Chamber of Mines,Angola Sulemanu Koney, Ghana issued a $1 billion Eurobond which points out. Terkper says will help reduce the defi cit to its economic policies In June, Nick Holland, Gold Fields CEO, six per cent of GDP by 2015. But this will said: “The industry is not sustainable at Mozambique not be enough, according to the IMF. and makes it much more $1,230 an ounce, which is where the goldZimbabwe “The government’s defi cit target of six attractive to foreign price is at the moment.Namibia We’re going to need per cent of GDP by 2015 will keep public at least $1,500 an ounce to sustainBotswana this in- Madagascar debt high and buffers low so the mission investors, but it means dustrySouth in Africa any reasonable form.” recommended an additional fi scal adjust- the country loses donor Some(Walvis 40 Bay) per cent of Gold Field’s out- ment of three per cent of GDP by 2015,” put comes from Ghana. Other major min-

says Chistina Daseking, leader of an IMF support ers include AngloGold Ashanti and New-Swaziland mission to Ghana. This will be a tall order mont. In 2011, Ghana produced 91 tonnes for the government, especially as its tax of gold, contributing roughly 12 perLesotho cent  assessment and collection regime is inef- South Africa fi cient and many still avoid paying taxes, while the large informal sector remains out- side the system. The Finance Minister has promised reforms of the system and says he will widen the net to plug loopholes. In the meantime, efforts to claw back the defi cit by raising the taxes of corporations that do pay their taxes, such as those in the mining industry, could rebound badly, es- pecially when the outlook for gold is be- coming dimmer by the day. Corporate min- ing tax was increased from 25 per cent to 35 per cent, capital allowance standardised to 20 per cent and a bill to introduce a 10 per cent windfall tax is on its way. The mining sector is already the largest taxpayer in the country, contributing 27 per cent of total direct taxes to the Ghana Rev- enue Authority’s domestic collections. It also contributed 37 per cent of the total cor- porate tax collected in 2012. Mining com- panies complain that the cost of production in Ghana is already steep and ate up 70 per cent of the $4.6 billion in revenue gener- Going for gold: the Ghanian gold mining industry had a turnover of $4.6 billion in 2011

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G15_Spotlight_Ghana.indd 37 04/08/2013 22:38 Spotlight Ghana

SADA-led dry season two of the Jubilee project is completed and irrigation farming has taken several more fi elds begin production. If all off in various Northern the commercial discoveries made so far Region ecological zones to come on stream, Ghana could well become produce crops for export the third largest oil producer in Africa after to the European market. Nigeria and Angola. Additional benefi ts are In addition, the Ghana Gas Company, job creation and a curb on set up in 2011 to avoid the wasteful fl aring rural-urban migration of natural gas that characterised the early years of the Nigerian oil industry, was ex- pected to start production in July, but delays in the release of funds from the Chinese government have held up the project. Gas will be supplied to the Tema and Ta- koradi power plants, while the 400 MW Bui hydro scheme, which is being developed Savannah Accelerated by Sino Hydro, will add to the energy mix and, hopefully, not only end the country’s chronic shortage of power but also leave a Development Authority surplus for export. Bridging the poverty gap between the north and south While Ghana has made enormous strides, Each cocoa pod holds between 30 and 50 seeds that are white when picked, turning brown when dried its economic planners now have to show a – Ghana’s Sustainable Development Initiative for the Northern Savannah nimbleness of foot to cope with unexpected  to the country’s GDP. Despite the anticipa- level when mining is again sustainable. hurdles, fi scal discipline to put a cap on SADA was established in Strategic objectives: Investment opportunities in the SADA Zone tion drummed up by oil, mining and cocoa Despite these setbacks, however, the spending while raising domestic tax revenue 2010 as an Independent ■ Repositioning the NSEZ as a SADA adopts a three-prong approach in programme/ will remain the main pillars of the Gha- Ghanaian economy has been built on solid and imaginative leaps to create more job op- and Autonomous Statutory competitive economic zone in project design to achieve its set objectives: naian economy for at least the rest of this foundations and whatever it may lose on portunities and spread the fruits of growth Corporation to provide decade and both require handling with vel- the gold swings in the short run, it can gain far more equitably than at present. The mid- the Savannah/Sahel Region of 1. A growth strategy that accelerates the pace of a framework for the vet gloves. Several gold mines around the on the oil roundabouts when production dle-distance race has more or less been won West Africa. economic development in the NSEZ where investors comprehensive and long-term world and in South Africa have already been rises from its current 125,000 barrels per – now comes the long haul of the marathon. ■ Expand the scope and numbers can play a key part. development of the Northern mothballed until the gold price recovers to a day (b/pd) to 250,000 b/pd when phase Does Ghana have the staying power? ● of private sector fi rms and Savannah Ecological Zone 2. Concentration of resources in specifi c localities to entrepreneurs investing in value (NSEZ). promote agro/industrial growth poles using private- addition in the NSEZ. public partnerships. Situated within several natural ■ Empower people in the NSEZ to resources and economic participate effectively in the ‘new 3. Key human development interventions. opportunities, SADA’s mandate economy’ through human resource Critical areas for SADA to realise its goal include: is to bridge the development gap and business skills development; ■ Opening up areas for increased production between northern Ghana and the micro and small-scale enterprises; through access to food production and processing; rest of the country. The SADA and fi scal regulatory incentives. enclave is a competitive economic market/export and facilitation of private sector zone which covers more than half Other interlinked objectives include: investment; and integrated solar and hydro- electricity energy/irrigation. of Ghana’s landmass. ■ Catalyse infrastructure development in a strategic way to ■ Water and air transport. SADA’s Vision link markets and production. ■ Production of solar energy; mining and tourism Creating a Forested, Green and ■ Facilitate environmental renewal using the private sector. Peaceful society in a stable and and regeneration. dynamic economy, doubling per ■ SADA is collaborating with the Free Zones Board capita incomes and reducing the ■ Co-ordinate a region-wide social in Ghana to create a SADA free zones enclave for incidence of poverty in the Northern protection, livelihood and peace- industrial and manufacturing activities in the NSEZ. Savannah Ecological Zone (NSEZ) to building agenda. ■ SADA is collaborating with the Ghana Investment less than 20 per cent within 20 years. ■ Create opportunities for private Promotion Centre to take advantage of incentives sector investments in mechanised being provided for disadvantaged areas and to give Mission agriculture for export, electricity, a special dispensation to investors interested in To build a bold and strong co- road infrastructure, housing, air, sea opening companies, factories and other types of ordinating institution for accelerated and land transport. investments in the NSEZ. development that is based on ■ Strengthen governmental and Come and invest in the NSEZ to make profi ts, ownership and participation by the non-governmental institutions for promote human development and protect the people of the NSEZ. development. environment. www.sadaghana.org

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G15_Spotlight_Ghana.indd 38 04/08/2013 22:38 SADA-led dry season irrigation farming has taken off in various Northern Region ecological zones to produce crops for export to the European market. Additional benefi ts are job creation and a curb on rural-urban migration

Savannah Accelerated Development Authority Bridging the poverty gap between the north and south – Ghana’s Sustainable Development Initiative for the Northern Savannah

SADA was established in Strategic objectives: Investment opportunities in the SADA Zone 2010 as an Independent ■ Repositioning the NSEZ as a SADA adopts a three-prong approach in programme/ and Autonomous Statutory competitive economic zone in project design to achieve its set objectives: Corporation to provide the Savannah/Sahel Region of 1. A growth strategy that accelerates the pace of a framework for the West Africa. economic development in the NSEZ where investors comprehensive and long-term ■ Expand the scope and numbers can play a key part. development of the Northern of private sector fi rms and Savannah Ecological Zone 2. Concentration of resources in specifi c localities to entrepreneurs investing in value (NSEZ). promote agro/industrial growth poles using private- addition in the NSEZ. public partnerships. Situated within several natural ■ Empower people in the NSEZ to resources and economic participate effectively in the ‘new 3. Key human development interventions. opportunities, SADA’s mandate economy’ through human resource Critical areas for SADA to realise its goal include: is to bridge the development gap and business skills development; ■ Opening up areas for increased production between northern Ghana and the micro and small-scale enterprises; through access to food production and processing; rest of the country. The SADA and fi scal regulatory incentives. enclave is a competitive economic market/export and facilitation of private sector zone which covers more than half Other interlinked objectives include: investment; and integrated solar and hydro- electricity energy/irrigation. of Ghana’s landmass. ■ Catalyse infrastructure development in a strategic way to ■ Water and air transport. SADA’s Vision link markets and production. ■ Production of solar energy; mining and tourism Creating a Forested, Green and ■ Facilitate environmental renewal using the private sector. Peaceful society in a stable and and regeneration. dynamic economy, doubling per ■ SADA is collaborating with the Free Zones Board capita incomes and reducing the ■ Co-ordinate a region-wide social in Ghana to create a SADA free zones enclave for incidence of poverty in the Northern protection, livelihood and peace- industrial and manufacturing activities in the NSEZ. Savannah Ecological Zone (NSEZ) to building agenda. ■ SADA is collaborating with the Ghana Investment less than 20 per cent within 20 years. ■ Create opportunities for private Promotion Centre to take advantage of incentives sector investments in mechanised being provided for disadvantaged areas and to give Mission agriculture for export, electricity, a special dispensation to investors interested in To build a bold and strong co- road infrastructure, housing, air, sea opening companies, factories and other types of ordinating institution for accelerated and land transport. investments in the NSEZ. development that is based on ■ Strengthen governmental and Come and invest in the NSEZ to make profi ts, ownership and participation by the non-governmental institutions for promote human development and protect the people of the NSEZ. development. environment. www.sadaghana.org

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Spotlight Ghana Adding fuel to the fire: seven difficult months for Mahama

Seven months ago, John Dramani Mahama came into office as a president in his own right, although his position is being challenged at Ghana’s Supreme Court. With the case hanging over his head – capped by a series of major fires and a controversial rise in pump prices – Mahama is finding it difficult to deliver on electoral promises

Pics: Shutterstock 125635619, Baffour Ankomah 17513101, 121830622, 17394166, 45052531 Some presidents get lucky in their first few Misfortune after misfortune appears to dog ended at last December’s elections. As ‘in- months in office, but nature and circum- his government’s every step and, as such, terim president’ (as many people saw him), stances appear to have conspired to haunt forced them to behave more like firefighters Mahama was not given a hope in hell’s Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama than soldiers under control of a plan, the chance of winning the December presi- since his controversial electoral victory last government has not achieved much in the dential election, so his victory by a narrow December, which the opposition candidate, half year it has been in office. margin confounded the pundits. According Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is still Mahama first came to power on 24 July to the Electoral Commission (EC), Maha- disputing at the Supreme Court. 2012 when his boss, President John Atta ma won 50.7 per cent of the vote to chal- Seven months have passed since his Mills, suddenly died on that day. As Vice lenger Nana Akufo-Addo’s 47.7 per cent. inauguration on 7 January 2013, and if President at the time, Mahama was made Akufo-Addo cried foul and sought redress politicians were given to introspection, President six hours after Mills’ death in ac- at the Supreme Court to overturn the EC-an- Mahama would be the first to admit that cordance with Ghana’s constitution, to fin- nounced result. After initial pre-trial hearings these have not been seven easy months at all. ish Mills’ remaining term of office – which lasting three months, the court started hearing

President John Mahama is still awaiting the results of a legal challenge to the election results

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Spotlight Ghana

the substantive case on 17 April, broadcast gas pipeline that brings gas from fields live on both TV and radio. in Nigeria to Benin, Togo and Ghana had The counsel for the petitioners, Philip developed unforeseen problems, disrupting Addison, concluded his cross-examination 1992 supply to Ghana’s thermal plants at Aboadze of the Electorial Commissioner Kwadwo- in the Western Region and thus reducing Afari-Gyan mid-July to bring the trial to an Year that the new constitution the nation’s capacity to generate enough end. At the time of going to press, the par- was approved by a national electricity for all. ties involved were required to appear before referendum As the fault was being repaired, the the court on 31 July to present their final ad- government promised to introduce electricity dresses. Judgement is to be delivered within rationing as a short-term measure, but ‘load 15 days after this. sharing’ as electricity rationing is known in The case has dominated the political dis- Ghana, was still in force four months later. course since Mahama’s inauguration, and Then followed water shortages in Accra caught the imagination of the population be- 275 and Kumasi, the nation’s two largest cities, cause of the live broadcasts. Number of members who sit in and people began to wonder what was hap- As expected, these legal wrangles parliament, raised from 230 for pening. But worse was to follow. have polarised the politics of the country the 2012 elections Between April and early June, nine mar- and appear to be distracting Mahama’s kets across the country (six in Accra, two in government from its course. The ruling Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, and one in party, the National Democratic Congress Tamale in the Northern Region) were gutted (NDC) and its supporters have accused by fire, compounding Mahama’s headache Akufo-Addo and his New Patriotic Party 66.6% and conjuring in the minds of his supporters (NPP) of being sour losers who want to Adult literacy rate (2009) an army of arsonists, or even terrorists, who destabilise the country through unbridled want to make matters worse for the already political ambition. beleaguered government. The polarisation of politics has been so A worried Mahama moved quickly to set acute that the King of Asante, Asantehene up a five-man committee to investigate the Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, felt obliged to make it spate of fire outbreaks and report back in 21 the central plank of an address he gave at this 84.8% days. It is a serious issue if one market burns year’s Annual Democracy Lecture organised Percentage of population with down in Ghana. For nine to burn down on by the National Commission for Civic Edu- mobile phone subscriptions the trot is a grave political matter. cation (NCCE) in Accra in May. (2011) Unlike most modern nations, Ghana does The King, who normally does not dabble not have a supermarket or shopping mall in national politics, in accordance with Gha- culture. In fact supermarkets and shopping na’s constitution, warned the nation that “the malls are new concepts in the country, and politicisation of everything in society was 80% even now they are few and far between. threatening the very foundations of the coun- Proportion of But the market has always been king. try”, and that if it did not stop, Ghana would Without an industrial sector to write home be “in such a dangerous political minefield rural population about, the market is where the wheels of the that one risks getting blown apart by the in- with access to national economy turn, and the place where cendiary force of combined misinformation, over half of the country’s 24 million popula- misrepresentation and misconception”. clean drinking tion, mostly women, make their living. Thus At the conclusion of the trial, pastors, water if a market burns down a lot of livelihoods priests and other civil leaders held meetings and national revenue go down with it. urging the supporters of both parties to The only saving grace for Mahama, in the accept the final ruling of the supreme court. It was a controversial decision, as most midst of the misfortunes, has come from the Whether they will do so or not could well Ghanaians were expecting a cut, rather than Supreme Court where Akufo-Addo’s elec- dictate the shape of Ghanaian politics in the a rise, in the fuel price. Traditionally, fuel tion case has been struggling to gain the near future. price increases in the country have been ac- expected traction. The case has equally para- In fact, political polarisation has not been companied by sudden jumps in the prices of lysed the main opposition party, the NPP, as Mahama’s only headache. A combination of goods and services right across the board. it is waiting to see the outcome before em- misfortunes and brash decisions have made Because of the inflationary side-effect lead- barking on a rejuvenation drive. life difficult for his government. First was ing to a diminution in political popularity, If Akufo-Addo loses the case, the NPP is the fuel price. Ghana started producing oil previous governments have been reluctant to likely to replace him as leader. If he wins, in December 2010, but production has not go down that route. To elect to bite the bul- Ghana will be in a constitutional crisis – how reached a level to have a serious impact on let after only a few weeks in office showed Mahama’s supporters will take his removal the economy or affect the politics of the Mahama and his government to have no fear. from office at the say-so of the Supreme country. In the meantime, Mahama’s new But little did they know what was waiting Court is anybody’s guess. ● government felt compelled by the world for them at the next corner. market price of crude oil to increase the do- Days after the fuel price hike, the lights Ghana-born Baffour Ankomah is editor of the mestic pump price a few weeks after coming in the country went dim – and then out. The London-based New African magazine into office. government explained that the West African

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Spotlight Ghana A lavish feast for the senses

Ghana’s cultural heritage, dating back thousands of years, is still very much part of its more modern, cosmopolitan lifestyle. Global savours the sights, sounds and tastes of Ghana’s incredibly rich and diverse cultural milieu Juliet Highet

Early travellers to the West Coast of Africa, So why is gold so significant in Ghana? like brass vessels – and beads. Imported landing in what we now know as Ghana, It was believed that the king or chief, per- glass beads soon became symbols of wealth gave that country an epithet that stuck – sonified by his bearing and appearance, em- and rank, each kingdom favouring different the Gold Coast. They were stunned by bodied the power, prestige and wealth of the designs. Those that particularly appealed to the magnificence of the courts of the local community. The more opulent his regalia, the African sense of style were the highly kings, and not just by the gold glistening the more important he was considered to be. decorative Venetian Bugle beads, infused in the sun all around them, but also by the Gold was believed to come from the sun with millefiori patterns called ‘eyes’, with wealth of other symbolic paraphernalia, of and the gods, and to possess fetish powers. flowered, striped and mosaic designs. stools and staffs, swords and silk umbrellas Only the ruler, who communicated with the Every significant event in a Ghanaian and, not least, the sumptuous, rich and ancestors on behalf of the people, could be woman’s life is marked by celebration, at complex woven material known as Kente. the correct channel. Therefore, it was ac- which she receives gifts of jewellery. They Happily, these medieval European en- cepted that gold belonged to the king or are handed down as heirlooms from grand- voys wrote down what they witnessed as mothers to their female descendants, or spe- they entered the presence of the Asante- cially commissioned. Almost all Ghanaian hene, the revered king of the vast, power- It was always African jewellery is composed of beads and gold, ful Ashanti empire – the last of the African slaves, ivory and that sometimes used separately, often together. kingdoms to be conquered. His person was This jewellery builds up her personal fortune, considered so august that neither his feet substance prized above all and marks her own and her family’s status in nor his buttocks might touch the ground. society. But it’s not just for adornment – most Describing the king’s messengers first, else – Ghanaian gold – that of it has deeper, symbolic meaning. these dazzled visitors managed to register foreigners fought to obtain. Antique and spiritually symbolic beads, the magnificence of their appearance, before such as the Aggrey and the Bodom, are moving on to their king: “They wore Ashanti In return, Ghana wanted highly valued. In the past, one Bodom bead cloths of extravagant price from the costly could buy its owner seven slaves and royal foreign silks which had been unravelled to guns and liquor babies were washed and powdered with weave them in all the varieties of colour as ground Bodom to make them grow. well as pattern. They were of an incredible Many experts believe that the Aggrey size and weight and thrown over their shoul- chief, and any that was discovered in riv- bead is of Egyptian origin. By the end of the ders exactly like the Roman toga.” ers or diggings should be deposited with second millennium BCE, glass beads had From the 15th century onwards, Portu- him, so that he could mediate over and con- become common in Arabia, and in particu- guese, Dutch and other Europeans had not- trol the community’s proper order of life, lar Egyptian blue faience was highly valued ed the abundance of gold body ornaments, whether temporal or spiritual. by Egypt’s trading partners. The great trans- which are still worn on ceremonial occa- It was always African slaves, ivory and Saharan camel-trains of early trading routes sions – particularly by the Ashanti, who had that substance prized above all else – Gha- transported beads from Egypt, India and united the Akan kingdoms, in whose forests naian gold – that foreigners fought to ob- Venice, and later, during Europe’s medieval large gold deposits had originally been dis- tain. In return, Ghana wanted guns, liquor, period, ships landed on Ghanaian shores, covered, in the 18th century. silk textiles (to unravel), decorative items bringing beads from Portugal and Holland.

1874 The British invade Asante Through the ages territory under the command of Sir Garnet Wolseley, spurring the Sagrenti 1471 The Portuguese become the first War. After their defeat, the Asante agree Europeans to set foot on what would later to sign a peace treaty, while the British be known as the Gold Coast. They set sail win another onslaught in the Volta to explore the area 50 years earlier, lured by Region. The entire coastal area is rumours of gold and ivory for the taking proclaimed a crown colony 1400 1800 1957 Ghana emerges as the first African country 1697 King Osei Tutu establishes the Asante (Ashanti) Empire, building south of the Sahara to regain independence from colonial up its army and starting expansion efforts. Successive kings continue the rule. Dr Kwame Nkrumah, then Prime Minister, proclaims: expansion and consolidation of territories, gaining access to coastal trade “Ghana, our beloved country is free forever.”

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Spotlight Ghana

Among the great surprises in store for today’s visitors to Ghana are the old forts and castles, which lie scattered along its coast. Nowadays they play little part in the life of the country, except as a tragic tourist site. An eerie silence, a gloomy at- mosphere hangs over these massive, crum- bling complexes, which once teemed with life. In their dismal dungeons, thousands of slaves sent up desperate prayers, be- fore being transported across the notorious Middle Passage. These melancholy monuments vary greatly in importance and size, from the massive El Mina – once the headquarters of the Portuguese and later of the Dutch – and Cape Coast Castle, built by the Brit- ish, to Christianborg in Accra, which was bequeathed by the Danes. These huge cas- tles had several big guns, including cannon, large garrisons, resident commercial and government officials and, at a later stage, local craftsmen. In many respects they were Celebrations are marked by gifts of jewellery like miniature cities, each establishment having a considerable number of its own Accra’s Makola Market is controlled by meat is cooked with fish. Savoury dishes slaves, toiling away like worker bees. usually large, imposing, and often very are served with a balance of carbohydrates, However, a palpable air of prosperity and wealthy, Market Queens. It’s the heartbeat such as pounded yam or cassava, and vari- a relaxed ability to enjoy life characterises of the capital, where you will see rows of ations on the plantain theme are endless. Accra today. As one drives through the tree- cloth-sellers and love potions, as well as Plantain is a member of the banana family lined avenues of middle-class homes from a few pieces of the beautiful local pottery, and is cooked using at least 19 savoury or Kotoka Airport, the atmosphere of decades which have almost entirely been replaced sweet methods. of good fortune respectably earned is im- by plastic ware. Most Ghanaians will reminisce about mediately apparent. One can’t help notic- The smells of fish in the gruelling heat balmy evenings, sauntering along with a ing how many churches there are, the focus – despite only being two hours old– and of loved one, picking at kelewele – fried plan- of many a society wedding or christening, the pomade worn by traders from the north tain bought from a street stall. Stepping out whose participants glow in Kente and gold. add to the atmosphere. The colours of the at night, the gilded youth of Accra and other Ghana was the first African nation to market are stunning too – women in their Ghanaian cities groove at chic clubs, while achieve independence and it has a large pop- every-day printed wrappers and head-ties, others sip beer and enjoy local music at ulation of high-flying, cosmopolitan profes- piles of chillies, tomatoes and spices. Con- lively open-air venues. sionals. Of course, there’s poverty too, and trary to expectations, not every dish in the Stevie Wonder cried when he came to few ‘respectable’ Ghanaians would venture varied battery of Ghanaian cuisine is red- Black Star or Independence Square, to play to Jamestown fishing village, on the ‘rough- hot. Ghanaians employ a variety of herbs at the legendary Soul-to-Soul concert. He er’ side of town, but tourists certainly do to and flavourings. Its characteristic ‘fresh- had come face-to-face with his ancestors. ● see the traditional canoes of the local Fanti ness’ stems from the use made of local in- people, painted with symbolic patterns and gredients, such as crab, crispy fried prawns motifs relating to the underlying philosophi- and a selection of green leaves. Juliet Highet is an author and photographer cal content of Ghanaian life, hardly affected There’s a range of traditional stews made specialising in travel, the arts and culture by slavery, colonialism or Christianity. with groundnuts and palm nuts, and often

1960 Ghana 1979 Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings leads a 2007 Major off- is proclaimed a military coup and his Armed Forces Revolutionary Council shore oil reserves republic with Dr (AFRC) takes power. In a bid to end widespread corruption, are discovered, Kwame Nkrumah Rawlings tries and executes former government leaders estimated to total as president including Acheampong, Akuffo and Afrifa. Hundreds of three billion barrels officials and businessmen are imprisoned

1960 2000 2013

1969 Multi-party elections are held under the new 1992 A referendum passes a new constitution, introducing a 2010 Offshore oil constitution and a new civilian government is formed multiparty system. Political prisoners are freed, and free press and production begins under Dr Kofi Busia and the Progress Party human rights organisations emerge. Rawlings is elected president

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