GHANA 2012 1. GENERAL INFORMATION 1.1. Country overview The country became an independent nation on 6th March 1957, and changed its name from Gold Coast to Ghana. On the1st July 1960, Ghana became a Republic with a Constitution. The political and economic development of the country went through a number of convolutions between 1966 and 1990. However, this situation of instability had ceased since the beginning of the 4th Republic, in 1992. The country has since made progress towards steady economic and political growth and stability. There are ten administrative regions in the country (as shown in Figure 1 below), which are further sub-divided in 212 districts [1]. The city of Accra, on the Atlantic coast, is the administrative as well as the commercial capital. The other big cities are Kumasi, Tamale, Cape Coast and the twin-city of Sekondi-Takoradi. Figure 1: Map of Ghana according to Regions 1.1.1. Governmental System Ghana practices a multi-party parliamentary democracy, based on the 1992 constitution. This constitution, which ushered in the Fourth Republic, provides for a unitary state governed by a President and his Cabinet, unicameral parliament and an independent judiciary. The President has a four-year term, and an incumbent can serve for a maximum of two terms. Government decisions are taken at the Cabinet level and endorsed by the Parliament. The Parliament is made up of 230 members, who are elected to represent their constituencies for a four-year term [2]. The system of government is sustained and supported by a well-developed universal suffrage electoral process. The last election, which was held in December 2008, saw the government of the New Patriotic Party losing control of the Parliament and Presidency to the National Democratic Congress. Another election is expected to take place in December 2012. The central government administration is decentralised to regional and district levels. Consequently, there are ten Regional Co-ordinating Councils and 212 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, which serve as a means of involving grass-root participation in the formulation and implementation of government policies and in the general development of their area of jurisdiction [3]. The country has a very vibrant judicial system headed by the Chief Justice. The judicial system is based on Ghanaian common law, customary (traditional) law, and the 1992 constitution. In terms of hierarchy, the Supreme Court of Ghana is at the apex of the judicial system, followed by the Court of Appeal and the High Court of Justice. 1.1.2. Geography and Climate The country is located about 750 km above the equator on the west coast of Africa. It lies between latitudes 4o 44’ and 11o 11’ north and longitudes 3o 15’ west and 1o 12’ east. Longitude 0o or the Greenwich Meridian passes through the port city of Tema, which is to the east of the country. The total area of the country is about 238,540 km2, which is roughly the size of Great Britain. It stretches about 672 km from the southern-most point to the north, and 357 km from the east to the west. The country shares about 538 km of common land boundary with Burkina Faso in the north, 668 km of common land boundary with La Cote d’Ivoire in the west, and 887 km, of common land boundary with Togo on the east. The Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean, forms the southern boundary of the country. Ghana’s landscape is drained by a number of rivers and streams. The major rivers are the following: the Black Volta, which has its origin in Burkina Faso and then flows along the north-western boundary of the country with La Cote d’Ivoire, before entering the country at its mid-section; the White Volta, which also has its origin in Burkina Faso, then flows into the country at the middle of the northern boundary; and the Oti River, which flows from Togo and enters the country along the north-east of the country. These rivers, flowing from the north, merge at about the middle of the country to form the Volta River. There are other rivers in the west, like the Pra, Ankobra and Tano rivers, with origins in the highlands of the country. These rivers have good sites for the construction of hydropower plants. Two hydropower plants have been constructed on the Volta River, at Akosombo and Akuse. A third hydropower plant is now under construction at Bui on the Black Volta. There are also a number of coastal lagoons: Lake Bosumtwi, created by a meteorite, and the huge man-made Volta Lake, created after the construction of the hydroelectric dam at Akosombo. The country’s climate can be described as tropical, and is warm and humid. Average temperatures vary between 21oC and 32oC, with relative humidity varying between 50% and 80% [5]. There are two rainy seasons, and major and minor seasons occur throughout most of the southern sector of the country. The major rainy season occurs from April to July, while the minor rainy season occurs from September to November. These rainy seasons are separated by a short, cool dry season in August, and a relatively long dry season from December to April. The northern sector of the country experiences only one main rainy season, which occurs from April to September. The annual average rainfall varies greatly throughout the country, from 1,100 mm in the north to about 2,030 mm in the south. The rainfall is heaviest in south-western parts of the country, where mean annual rainfall is about 2,230 mm [5]. The variations in temperature, rainfall and humidity across the country’s landscape are determined by the movement and interaction of the harmattan and the monsoon winds. The harmattan is hot and dry tropical continental winds, which blow from the northeast across the Sahara desert, from December to March, lowering the humidity and creating hot days and cool nights. The monsoon, a cool and moisture-laden tropical maritime wind, blows from the southwest over the Atlantic Ocean from the Gulf of Guinea. 1.1.3. Population The 2010 Population and Housing Census estimated the country’s population at about 24.66 million, compared to about 18.91 million in 2000 [6]. This gives an inter-censal annual population growth rate of about 2.67% p.a. The government’s policy objective is to reduce this high annual population growth rate to about 1.50% by 2020 [7]. TABLE 1: POPULATION INFORMATION Average annual growth rate (%) Year 1970 1980 1990 2000 2005 2010 2000 to 2010 Population (millions) 8.56 11.18 14.39 18.91 21.30 24.66 2.70 Population density (inhabitants/km²) 35.88 46.87 60.33 79.27 89.29 103.38 2.69 Urban Population as % of total 28.90 31.20 36.50 43.75 47.63 51.00 1.94 Area (1000 km²) 238.54 Source: Ghana Statistical Service The Ghana Statistical Service population projection for the medium variant scenario, assuming the impact of AIDS, indicates that the country’s population will increase from about 24.66 million inhabitants in 2010 to about 30.2 million inhabitants in 2025 [6]. If this trend continues, the country’s population is expected to reach about 32.0 million inhabitants in 2030, with an average annual growth rate of about 1.88%.According to the projections, the urbanization rate is also expected to increase, from 51% in 2010 to 62.9% in 2025, increasing further to about 63.4% in 2030. 1.1.4. Economic Data The backbone of the country’s economy has been the agricultural sector. This sector accounted for about 47.7% of total GDP in 1970. The sectoral contribution then increased to about 57.6% in 1980, before decreasing to about 29.8% in 2010. The agricultural sector employs more than half of the formal and informal work-force, producing major export products like cocoa and timber. The country was the world’s largest cocoa producer in the early 1960s, exporting about 550,000 metric tonnes. Cocoa production declined to about 158,956 metric tonnes in 1983/84 but increased to about 1,004,190 metric tonnes in 2010/2011 crop season [8]. The country’s industrial sector is made up of utilities, mining of natural resources (e.g. gold, manganese, diamonds, bauxite and salt), construction and low technology, low value-added light manufacturing activities. The industrial sector accounted for about 18.1% of the total GDP in 1970, but decreased to about 6.2% in 1982. The sector’s contribution to total GDP has increased to about 19.1% in 2010 [9]. The manufacturing sub-sector played a significant role in the early 1970s, contributing about 14% of total GDP. The main manufacturing outfits include Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO), an aluminium smelter, saw-mills and timber processing plants, breweries, textiles- manufacturing operations and oil refining. However, the sub-sector’s contribution to total GDP stagnated from 1970 to 1977, and then decreased thereafter to about 2.3% in 1982. The manufacturing sub-sector experienced a steady growth after the Economic Recovery Programme launched in 1983, and by 2010, it was accounting for about 6.4% of total GDP [9]. The industrial sector is expected to receive a significant boost in growth as a result of the commencement of crude oil production from the Jubilee Field in December 2010. The service sector is the fastest growing sector of the economy, with a growth rate of about 9.8% in 2010, compared to 6.9% for industry and 5.3% for agriculture.