Wayzata World Factbook 1995/World Factbook - 1995 Edition - Wayzata Technology (1995).iso/mac/text/Build/orig BACKGR/BNOT0046.TXT

Text File | 1994-11-21 | 37KB | 753 lines

National Trade Data Bank
ITEM ID     : ST BNOTES GHANA
DATE        : Oct 28, 1994

AGENCY      : U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
PROGRAM     : BACKGROUND NOTES
TITLE       : Background Notes - GHANA

Source key      : ST
Program key     : ST BNOTES
Update sched.   : Occasionally
Data type       : TEXT
End year        : 1992
Date of record  : 19941018
Keywords 3      :
Keywords 3      : | GHANA

US DEPARTMENT OF STATE
BACKGROUND NOTES:  GHANA

OFFICIAL NAME:  REPUBLIC OF GHANA


PROFILE
Geography
Area: 238,538 sq. km. (92,100 sq. mi.); about the size of Illinois and
Indiana combined. Cities: Capital-Accra (pop. 953,500). Other
cities-Kumasi (399,300), Tema (180,600), Sekondi-Takoradi
(116,500). Terrain: Plains and scrubland, rain forest, savanna.
Climate: Tropical.


People
Nationality: Noun and adjective-Ghanaian(s). Population (1989): 14.8
million. Density: 62/sq. km. (160/sq. mi.). Annual growth rate (1989):
2.9%. Ethnic groups: Akan, Ewe, Ga. Religions: Christian 42%,
indigenous beliefs 38%, Muslim 12%, other 7%. Languages: English
(official), Akan 44%, Mole-Dagbani 16% Ewe 13%, Ga-Adangbe 8%.
Education: Years compulsory-9. Literacy-30%. Health: Infant mortality
rate-(1989) 68/1,000. Life expectancy-55 yrs. Work force: 3.7 million:
Agriculture and fishing-54.7%. Industry-18.7%. Sales and
clerical-15.2%. Other-11.4%.


Government
Type: Authoritarian. Independence: March 6, 1957.

Constitution: None; Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC)
Proclamation, December 31, 1981, and PNDC Law 42 (1982).
Branches: PNDC, with a chairman and eight members, has all
powers of government.

Subdivisions: 10 regions.

Political parties: None. Suffrage: Universal at 18.

Flag: Three horizontal stripes of red, gold, and green, with a black
star in the center of the gold stripe.


Economy
GDP (1987): $5.05 billion. Real GDP growth rate (1987): 4.5%. Per
capita GDP (1987): $350. Inflation rate (1986): 25%.

Natural resources: Gold, timber, diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish.

Agriculture: Products-cocoa, coconuts, coffee, food crops, rubber.
Land-70% arable and forested.

Industry: Types-mining, lumber, light manufacturing, fishing,
aluminum.

Trade (1987): Exports-$787 million: cocoa ($503 million), aluminum,
gold, timber, diamonds, manganese. Imports-$763 million: petroleum
($123 million), food, industrial raw materials, machinery, equipment.
Major trade partners-U.K., F.R.G., U.S., Nigeria.

Official exchange rate (March 1988): 230 cedis=U.S.$1.

Fiscal year: Calendar year.


Membership in International Organizations
UN and some of its specialized and related agencies, Organization
of African Unity (OAU), Nonaligned Movement, Economic Community
of West African States (ECOWAS), Commonwealth.


GEOGRAPHY
Ghana is located on West Africa's Gulf of Guinea only a few degrees
north of the Equator.  Half of the country lies less than 152 meters
(500 ft.) above sea level, and the highest point is 883 meters (2,900
ft.).  The 537-kilometer (334-mi.) coastline is mostly a low, sandy
shore backed by plains and scrub and intersected by several rivers
and streams, most of which are navigable only by canoe.  A tropical
rain forest belt, broken by heavily forested hills and many streams
and rivers, extends northward from the shore, near the Cote d'Ivoire
frontier.  This area, known as the "Ashanti," produces most of the
country's cocoa, minerals, and timber.  North of this belt, the country
varies from 91 to 396 meters (300-1,300 ft.) above sea level and is
covered by low bush, parklike savanna, and grassy plains.

The climate is tropical.  The eastern coastal belt is warm and
comparatively dry; the southwest corner, hot and humid; and the
north, hot and dry.  There are two distinct rainy seasons in the
south-May-June and August-September; in the north, the rainy
seasons tend to merge.  A dry, northeasterly wind, the Harmattan,
blows in January and February.  Annual rainfall in the coastal zone
averages 83 centimeters (33 in.).

The manmade Volta Lake extends from the Akosombo Dam in
southeastern Ghana to the town of Yapei, 520 kilometers (325 mi.)
to the north.  The lake generates electricity, provides inland
transportation, and is a potentially valuable resource for irrigation and
fish farming.


PEOPLE
Ghana's population is concentrated along the coast, in the northern
areas near the Cote d'Ivoire, and in the principal cities of Accra and
Kumasi.

Most Ghanaians descended from migrating tribes that probably came
down the Volta River valley at the beginning of the 13th century.
Ethnically, Ghana is divided into small groups speaking more than 50
languages and dialects. Among the more important linguistic groups
are the Akans, which include the Fantis along the coast and the
Ashantis in the forest region north of the coast; the Guans, on the
plains of the Volta River; the Ga- and Ewe-speaking peoples of the
south and southeast; and the Moshi-Dagomba-speaking tribes of the
northern and upper regions.

English, the official and commercial language, is taught in all the
schools.  About 30% of the general population is literate in English,
although the rate is much higher among the young.

Primary- and middle-school education is tuition-free and will be
mandatory when enough teachers and facilities are available to
accommodate all the students.  Students begin their 6-year primary
education at age six.  Under educational reforms implemented in
1987, they pass into a new junior secondary school system for 3
years of academic training combined with technical and vocational
training.  Those continuing move into the 3-year senior secondary
school program.  Entrance to universities is by examination following
completion of senior secondary school.  School enrollment totals
almost 2 million:  1.3 million primary; 107,600 secondary; 489,000
middle; 21,280 technical; 11,300 teacher training; and 5,600
university.


HISTORY
The history of the Gold Coast before the last quarter of the 15th
century is derived primarily from oral tradition that refers to
migrations from the ancient kingdoms of the western Soudan (the
area of Mauritania and Mali).  The Gold Coast was renamed Ghana
upon independence in 1957 because of indications that present-day
inhabitants descended from migrants who moved south from the
ancient kingdom of Ghana.

The first contact between Europe and the Gold Coast dates from
1470, when a party of Portuguese landed.  In 1482, the Portuguese
built Elmina Castle as a permanent trading base. The first recorded
English trading voyage to the coast was made by Thomas Windham
in 1553. During the next three centuries, the English, Danes, Dutch,
Germans, and Portuguese controlled various parts of the coastal
areas.

In 1821, the British Government took control of the British trading
forts on the Gold Coast.  In 1844, Fanti chiefs in the area signed an
agreement with the British that became the legal steppingstone to
colonial status for the coastal area.

From 1826 to 1900, the British fought a series of campaigns against
the Ashantis, whose kingdom was located inland.  In 1902, they
succeeded in colonizing the Ashanti region and making the northern
territories a protectorate.  British Togoland, the fourth territorial
element eventually to form the nation, was part of a former German
colony administered by the United Kingdom from Accra as a League
of Nations mandate after 1922.  In December 1946, British Togoland
became a UN Trust Territory, and in 1957, following a 1956
plebiscite, the United Nations agreed that the territory would become
part of Ghana when the Gold Coast achieved independence.

The four territorial divisions were administered separately until 1946,
when the British Government ruled them as a single unit.  In 1951,
a constitution was promulgated that called for a greatly enlarged
legislature composed principally of members elected by popular vote
directly or indirectly.  An executive council was responsible for
formulating policy, with most African members drawn from the
legislature and including three ex officio members appointed by the
governor.

A new constitution, approved on April 29, 1954, established a cabinet
comprising African ministers drawn from an all-African legislature
chosen by direct election.  In the elections that followed, the
Convention People's Party (CPP), led by Kwame Nkrumah, won the
majority of seats in the new Legislative Assembly.

In May 1956, Prime Minister Nkrumah's Gold Coast government
issued a white paper containing proposals for Gold Coast
independence.  The British Government stated it would agree to a
firm date for independence if a reasonable majority for such a step
were obtained in the Gold Coast Legislative Assembly after a general
election.  This election, held in 1956, returned the CPP to power with
71 of the 104 seats in the Legislative Assembly.  Ghana became an
independent state on March 6, 1957, when the United Kingdom
relinquished its control over the Colony of the Gold Coast and
Ashanti, the Northern Territories Protectorate, and British Togoland.

In subsequent reorganizations, the country was divided into 10
regions, which currently are subdivided into 110 districts.  The
original Gold Coast Colony now comprises the Western, Central,
Eastern, and Greater Accra Regions, with a small portion at the
mouth of the Volta River assigned to the Volta Region; the Ashanti
area was divided into the Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo Regions; the
Northern Territories into the Northern, Upper East, and Upper West
Regions; and British Togoland essentially is the same area as the
Volta Region.


Post-Independence Politics
After independence, the CPP government under Nkrumah sought to
develop Ghana as a modern, semi-industrialized, unitary socialist
state.  The government emphasized political and economic
organization, endeavoring to increase stability and productivity
through labor, youth, farmers, cooperatives, and other organizations
integrated with the CPP.  The government, according to Nkrumah,
acted only as "the agent of the CPP" in seeking to accomplish these
goals.

The CPP's control was challenged and criticized, and  Prime Minister
Nkrumah used the Preventive Detention Act (1958), which provided
for detention without trial for up to 5 years (later extended to 10
years).  On July 1, 1960, a new constitution was adopted, changing
Ghana from a parliamentary system with a prime minister to a
republican form of government headed by a powerful president.  In
August 1960, Nkrumah was given authority to scrutinize newspapers
and other publications before publication.  This political evolution
continued into early 1964, when a constitutional referendum changed
the country to a one-party state.

On February 24, 1966, the Ghanaian Army and police overthrew
Nkrumah's regime.  Nkrumah and all his ministers were dismissed,
the CPP and National Assembly were dissolved, and the constitution
was suspended.  The new regime cited Nkrumah's flagrant abuse of
individual rights and liberties, his regime's corrupt, oppressive, and
dictatorial practices, and the rapidly deteriorating economy as the
principal reasons for its action.


Post-Nkrumah Politics
The leaders of the February 24 coup established the new
government around the National Liberation Council (NLC) and
pledged an early return to a duly constituted civilian government.
Members of the judiciary and civil service remained at their posts and
committees of civil servants were established to handle the
administration of the country.

Ghana's government returned to civilian authority under the Second
Republic in October 1969 after a parliamentary election in which the
Progress Party, led by Kofi A. Busia, won 105 of the 140 seats.  Until
mid-1970, the powers of the chief of state were held by a presidential
commission led by Brigadier A.A. Afrifa.  In a special election on
August 31, 1970, former Chief Justice Edward Akufo-Addo was
chosen president, and Dr. Busia became prime minister.

Faced with mounting economic problems, Prime Minister Busia's
government undertook a drastic devaluation of the currency in
December 1971.  The government's inability to control the
subsequent inflationary pressures stimulated further discontent, and
military officers seized power in a bloodless coup on January 13,
1972.

The coup leaders, led by Col. I.K. Acheampong, formed the National
Redemption Council (NRC) to which they admitted other officers, the
head of the police, and one civilian.  The NRC promised
improvements in the quality of life for all Ghanaians and based its
programs on nationalism, economic development, and self-reliance.
In 1975, a government reorganization resulted in the NRC's
replacement by the Supreme Military Council (SMC), also headed by
now-Gen. Acheampong.

Unable to deliver on its promises, the NRC/SMC became
increasingly marked by mismanagement and rampant corruption.  In
1977, Gen. Acheampong brought forward the concept of union
government (UNIGOV), which would make Ghana a nonparty state.
Perceiving this as a ploy by Acheampong to retain power,
professional groups and students launched strikes and
demonstrations against the government in 1977 and 1978.  The
steady erosion in Acheampong's power led to his arrest in July 1978
by his chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Frederick Akuffo, who replaced him as
head of state and leader of what became known as the SMC-2.

Akuffo abandoned UNIGOV and established a plan to return to
constitutional and democratic government.  A Constitutional
Assembly was established, and political party activity was revived.
Akuffo was unable to solve Ghana's economic problems, however,
or to reduce the rampant corruption in which senior military officers
played a major role.  On June 4, 1979, his government was deposed
in a violent coup by a group of junior and noncommissioned
officers-Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC)-with Flight Lt.
Jerry John Rawlings as its chairman.

The AFRC executed eight senior military officers, including former
chiefs of state Acheampong and Akuffo;  established Special
Tribunals that, secretly and without due process, tried dozens of
military officers, other government officials, and private individuals for
corruption, sentencing them to long prison terms and confiscating
their property; and, through a combination of force and exhortation,
attempted to rid Ghanaian society of corruption and profiteering.  At
the same time, the AFRC accepted, with a few amendments, the
draft constitution that had been submitted, permitted the scheduled
presidential and parliamentary elections to take place in June and
July, promulgated the constitution, and handed over power to the
newly elected president and parliament of the Third Republic on
September 24, 1979.

The 1979 constitution was modeled on those of Western
democracies.  It provided for the separation of powers among an
elected president and a unicameral parliament, an independent
judiciary headed by a Supreme Court, which protected individual
rights, and other autonomous institutions, such as the Electoral
Commissioner and the Ombudsman.  The new president, Dr. Hilla
Limann, was a career diplomat from the north and the candidate of
the People's National Party (PDP), the political heir of Nkrumah's
CPP.  Of the 140 members of parliament, 71 were PNP.

The PNP government established the constitutional institutions and
generally respected democracy and individual human rights.  It failed,
however, to halt the continuing decline in the economy; corruption
flourished, and the gap between rich and poor widened.  On
December 31, 1981, Flight Lt. Rawlings and a small group of enlisted
and former soldiers launched a coup that succeeded against little
opposition in toppling President Limann.


GOVERNMENT
Rawlings and his colleagues suspended the 1979 constitution,
dismissed the president and his cabinet, dissolved the parliament,
and proscribed existing political parties.  They established the
Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC), initially composed of
seven members with Rawlings as chairman, to exercise executive
and legislative powers.  The existing judicial system was preserved,
but alongside it the PNDC created the National Investigation
Committee to root out corruption and other economic offenses, the
anonymous Citizens' Vetting Committee to punish tax evasion, and
the Public Tribunals to try various crimes.  The PNDC proclaimed its
intent to allow the people to exercise political power through defense
committees to be established in communities, workplaces, and in
units of the armed forces and police.  Under the PNDC, Ghana
remained a unitary government.

In December 1982, the PNDC announced a plan to decentralize
government from Accra to the regions, the districts, and local
communities, but it maintained overall control by appointing regional
and district secretaries who exercised executive powers and also
chaired regional and district councils.  Local councils, however, were
expected progressively to take over the payment of salaries, with
regions and districts assuming more powers from the national
government.  In 1984, the PNDC created a National Appeals Tribunal
to hear appeals from the public tribunals, changed the Citizens'
Vetting Committee into the Office of Revenue Collection and replaced
the system of defense committees with Committees for the Defense
of the Revolution.

In 1984 ,the PNDC also created a National Commission on
Democracy to study ways to establish participatory democracy in
Ghana.  The commission issued a "Blue Book" in July 1987 outlining
modalities for district-level elections, which were held in late 1988 and
early 1989, for newly created district assemblies.  One- third of the
assembly members are appointed by the government.  No provision
has been made for regional or national elections.  Ghana continues
to be governed by PNDC directives and without a constitution.


Principal Government Officials
Members of the Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC)
Chairman and Head of State-Flight Lt. (ret.) Jerry John Rawlings
Foreign Affairs and Security-Capt. (ret.) Kojo Tsikata
Coordinating Secretary and Chairman of the Committee of
Secretaries-P.V. Obeng
Chairman of the National Commission for Democracy-Justice D.F.
Annan
Secretary for Defense-Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu
Lt. Gen. Arnold Quainoo
Army Commander-Maj. Gen. Winston C.M. Mensa-Wood Ebo Tawiah
Dr. Mary Grant
PNDC Secretaries
Finance and Economic Planning-Dr. Kwesi Botchwey
Foreign Affairs-Dr. Obed Yaw Asamoah
Ambassador to the United States-Eric Otoo
Permanent Representative to the United Nations-J.V. Gbeho

Ghana maintains an embassy in the United States at 3512
International Drive, NW., Washington, D.C. 20008 (tel. [phone]).
Its permanent mission to the United Nations is located at 19 E. 47th
Street., New York, N.Y. 10017 (tel. [phone]).

ECONOMY
By West African standards, Ghana has a diverse and rich resource
base.  The country is mainly agricultural, however, with 55% of its
workers engaged in farming.  Cash crops consist primarily of cocoa
and cocoa products (which provide about two-thirds of export
revenues), timber products, coconuts and other palm products, shea
nuts (which produce an edible fat), and coffee.  Cassava, yams,
plantains, corn, rice, peanuts, millet, and sorghum are the basic
foodstuffs.  Fish, poultry, and meat also are important dietary staples.

Minerals-principally gold, diamonds, manganese ore, and bauxite-are
produced and exported.  The only commercial oil well has been
closed, but signs of natural gas are being studied for power
generation, while exploration continues for other oil and gas
resources.

Ghana's industrial base is relatively advanced compared to many
other African countries.  Import-substitution industries include textiles;
steel (using scrap); tires; oil refining; flour milling; beverages;
tobacco; simple consumer goods; and car, truck, and bus assembly.
However, these industries depend on imports for most of their raw
materials and, due to depressed demand and other problems,
currently are running far below capacity.


Economic Development
At independence, Ghana had a substantial physical and social
infrastructure and $481 million in foreign reserves.  The Nkrumah
government further developed the infrastructure and made important
public investments in the industrial sector.  With assistance from the
United States, the World Bank, and the United Kingdom, construction
of the Akosombo Dam was completed on the Volta River in 1966.
Two U.S. companies built Valco, Africa's largest aluminum smelter,
to use power generated at the dam.  Aluminum exports from Valco
are a major source of foreign exchange for Ghana.

Many Nkrumah-era investments were monumental public works
projects and poorly conceived, badly managed agricultural and
industrial schemes.  With cocoa prices falling and the country's
foreign exchange reserves fast disappearing, the government
resorted to supplier credits to finance many projects.  By the
mid-1960s, Ghana's reserves were gone, and the country could not
meet repayment schedules.  To rationalize, the National Liberation
Council abandoned unprofitable projects, and some inefficient
state-owned enterprises were sold to private investors.  Ghana's
creditors agreed to three reschedulings of repayments due on
Nkrumah-era supplier credits.  Led by the United States, foreign
donors provided import loans to enable the foreign
exchange-strapped government to import essential commodities.
Prime Minister Busia's government (1969-72) liberalized controls to
attract foreign investment and to encourage domestic
entrepreneurship.  Investors were cautious, however, and cocoa
prices began declining again while imports surged, precipitating a
serious trade deficit.  Despite considerable foreign assistance and
some debt relief, the Busia regime also was unable to overcome the
inherited restraints on growth posed by the debt burden,
balance-of-payments imbalances, foreign exchange shortages, and
mismanagement.

Although foreign aid helped prevent economic collapse and was
responsible for subsequent improvements in many sectors, the
economy stagnated in the 10-year period preceding the NRC
takeover in 1972.  Population growth offset the modest increase in
gross domestic product, and real earnings declined for many
Ghanaians.

To restructure the economy, the NRC, under General Acheampong
(1972-78), undertook an austerity program that emphasized
self-reliance, particularly in food production.  These plans were not
realized, however, primarily because of post-1973 oil price increases
and a drought in 1975-77 that particularly affected northern Ghana.
The NRC, which had inherited foreign debts of almost $1 billion,
abrogated existing rescheduling arrangements for some debts and
rejected other repayments.  After creditors objected to this unilateral
action, a 1974 agreement rescheduled the medium-term debt on
liberal terms.  The NRC also imposed the Investment Policy Decree
of 1975-effective on January 1977-that required 51 % Ghanaian
equity participation in most foreign firms, but the government took
40% in specified industries.  Many shares were sold directly to the
public.
Continued mismanagement of the economy, record inflation (more
than 100% in 1977), and increasing corruption, notably at the highest
political levels, led to growing dissatisfaction.  The post-July 1978
military regime led by General Akuffo attempted to deal with Ghana's
economic problems by making small changes in the overvalued cedi
and by restraining government spending and monetary growth.
Under a 1-year standby agreement with the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) in January 1979, the government promised to undertake
economic reforms, including a reduction of the budget deficit, in
return for a $68 million IMF support program and $27 million in IMF
Trust Fund loans.  The agreement became inoperative, however,
after the June 4 coup that brought Flight Lieutenant Rawlings and the
AFRC to power for 4 months.

 In September 1979, the civilian government of Hilla Limann inherited
declining per capita income; stagnant industrial and agricultural
production due to inadequate imported supplies; shortages of
imported and locally produced goods; a sizable budget deficit
(almost 40% of expenditures in 1979); high inflation, "moderating" to
54% in 1979; an increasingly overvalued cedi; flourishing smuggling
and other black-market activities; unemployment and
underemployment, particularly among urban youth; deterioration in
the transport network; and continued foreign exchange constraints.

Limann's PDP government announced yet another (2-year)
reconstruction program, emphasizing increased food production and
productivity, exports, and transport improvements.  Import austerity
was imposed and external payments arrears cut.  However, declining
cocoa production combined with falling cocoa prices, while oil prices
soared.  No effective measures were taken to reduce rampant
corruption and black marketing.

When Rawlings again seized power at the end of 1981, cocoa output
had fallen to half the 1970-71 level and its world price to one-third the
1975 level.  By 1982, oil would constitute half of Ghana's imports,
while overall trade contracted greatly.  Internal transport had slowed
to a crawl, and inflation remained high.  During Rawlings' first year,
the economy was stagnant.  Industry ran at about 10% of capacity
due to the chronic shortage of foreign exchange to cover the
importation of required raw materials and replacement parts.
Economic conditions deteriorated further in early 1983 when Nigeria
expelled an estimated 1 million Ghanaians who had to be absorbed
by Ghana.

In April 1983, in coordination with the IMF, the PNDC launched an
economic recovery program, perhaps the most stringent and
consistent to date in Africa-aimed at reopening infrastructural
bottlenecks and reviving moribund productive sectors: agriculture,
mining, and timber.  The largely distorted exchange rate and prices
were realigned to encourage production and exports.  Increased
fiscal and monetary discipline was imposed to curb inflation and to
focus on priorities.  Through November 1987, the cedi was devalued
by more than 6,300%, and widespread direct price controls were
substantially reduced.

The economy's response to these reforms was initially hampered by
the absorption of the returnees from Nigeria, the onset of the worst
drought since independence, which brought on widespread bushfires
and forced closure of the aluminum smelter and severe power cuts
for industry, and decline in foreign aid.  In 1985, the country
absorbed an additional 100,000 expellees from Nigeria.  In 1987,
cocoa prices began declining again; however, initial infrastructural
repairs, improved weather, and producer incentives and support
recently have revived output.  During 1984-88 the economy
experienced solid growth for the first time since 1978.  Renewed
exports, aid inflows, and a foreign exchange auction have eased
hard currency constraints.

Since an initial August 1983 IMF standby agreement, the economic
recovery program has been supported by three IMF standbys and
two other credits totaling $611 million, $1.1 billion from the World
Bank, and hundreds of millions of dollars more from other donors.
In November 1987, the IMF approved a $318 million
3-year extended fund facility.  The second phase (1987-90) of the
recovery program  will concentrate on economic restructuring and
revitalizing social services.


FOREIGN RELATIONS
Ghana is active in the United Nations and many of its specialized
agencies, the Nonaligned Movement, the Organization of African
Unity (OAU), and the Economic Community of West African States.
Generally, it follows the consensus of the Nonaligned Movement and
the OAU on economic and political issues not directly affecting its
own interests.  Ghana frequently has contributed troops to UN
peacekeeping activities, including the UN Interim Force in Lebanon
and the UN Good Offices Mission in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  The
PNDC professes revolutionary ties with Cuba, Libya, and other
"progressive" nonaligned governments and has been critical of the
"neocolonial" Western international economic system.  At the same
time, the PNDC desires friendly relations with all states, regardless
of ideology.


U.S.-GHANAIAN RELATIONS
The United States has enjoyed good relations with Ghana at the
nonofficial, personal level since Ghana's independence.  Thousands
of Ghanaians have been educated in the United States.  Close
relations are maintained between educational and scientific
institutions, and cultural links, particularly between Ghanaians and
Afro-Americans, are strong.

U.S.-Ghanaian official relations, however, have been strained.  On
several occasions since it came to power on December 31, 1981, the
PNDC has voiced suspicions that the United States opposed its
revolution and was sympathetic to various Ghanaian opposition
movements.  Such baseless allegations have been given wide
circulation, especially by the government-controlled media.  On
March 31, 1983, a leading official of the PNDC made false public
accusations; the United States responded by freezing development
aid.  After a meeting with Chairman Rawlings on October 19, 1983,
the U.S. Ambassador acknowledged that relations had improved and
announced the partial resumption of development aid.  Complete
resumption occurred in July 1984.  In 1985, bilateral relations
reached another low point following various Ghanaian allegations
against the United States.

Currently, both sides are working to improve bilateral relations.
Since September 1984 the United States has supported Ghana's
Economic Recovery Program.  In addition, the United States has
participated in meetings in Paris of the consultative group on Ghana,
the most recent of which was held on February 28 and March 1,
1989.  Donor countries and institutions pledged more than $900
million in aid for 1989.
The United States usually is among Ghana's principal trading
partners. The American privately owned VALCO aluminum smelter
imports much of its
supplies from, and exports almost all the aluminum ingots to, the
United States.  Due to Ghana's economic crisis and the 18-month,
drought-induced closure of the smelter, bilateral trade contracted
sharply during the early 1980s.  By 1986, however, more than half
the loss had been recovered, with U.S. exports to Ghana reaching
$84 million that year, and imports from Ghana totaling $201 million.

With a replacement value of more than $500 million, U.S. investments
in Ghana form one of the largest stocks of foreign capital.  VALCO
(90% owned by Kaiser, and 10% by Reynolds) is by far the biggest
investment, but other important U.S. companies operating in the
country include Mobil, S.C. Johnson, Ralston Purina, Star-Kist, A.H.
Robins, Sterling, Pfizer, IBM, and National Cash Register (NCR).
Several U.S. firms recently made or are considering investments in
Ghana, primarily in gold mining, wood products, and petroleum; in
mid-1987, AMOCO concluded an oil exploration agreement.

U.S. economic assistance to Ghana in fiscal year 1989 totaled $21
million in new commitments, which included $6.5 million in nonproject
assistance for the agricultural sector, $1.5 million in project
assistance for health and human resources development, $6 million
in food aid under the P.L. 480 Title I program, and $7 million in
project food commodities under PL 480 Title II.  The Peace Corps
program in Ghana is the oldest in the world.  Currently, there are
some 100 volunteers in Ghana.  More than half work in education,
and the others in various fields such as agriculture, rural
development, fisheries, and women in
development.
Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador-Raymond C. Ewing
Deputy Chief of Mission-John C. Holzman
Political Counselor-John L. Berntsen
Economic Officer-Martha Kelley
Consular Officer-Richard Gonzalez
Director, AID Mission-F. Gary Towery
Public Affairs Officer-Daniel McGaffie
Director, Peace Corps-James Lassiter

The U.S. Embassy is on Ring Road East, near Danquah Circle,
Accra
(tel. [phone]).  The mailing address is P.O. Box 194, Accra,
Ghana.


FURTHER INFORMATION:
These titles are provided as a general indication of material published
on this country.  The Department of State does not endorse unofficial
publications.


Agyeman-Bado, Yaw and Osei-Hwedie, Kwaku.  The Political
Economy of Instability: Colonial Legacy, Inequality and Instability in
Ghana.  Lawrenceville, Virginia: Brunswick Press, 1982.

Amonoo, Ben.  Ghana, 1957-1966: The Politics of Institutional
Dualism.  London and Boston: Allen & Unwin, 1981.
Austin, Dennis and Luckham, Robin, eds.  Politicians and Soldiers in
Ghana.  London: Cass, 1976.

Davidson, Basil.  Ghana: An African Portrait.  New York: Aperture
Press, 1976
Gray, Paul S.  Unions and Leaders in Ghana: Model of Labor and
Development.  Owerri, New York: Conch Magazine, Ltd., 1980.

Harris, Elizabeth.  Ghana, a Travel Guide.    Flushing, New York:
Aburi Press, 1977.

Kennedy, Paul T.  Ghanaian Businessmen: From Artisan to Capitalist
Entrepreneur in a Dependent Economy.  Munchen: Weltforum
Verlag, 1980.

Killick, Tony.  Development Economics in Action: A Study of
Economic Policies in Ghana.  London: Heinemann Educational
Books, Ltd., 1978.

Levine, Victor T.  Political Corruption: The Case of Ghana.  Stanford:
Hoover Institution Press, 1975.

Mahoney, Richard D.  JFK: Ordeal in Africa.  New York: Oxford
University Press, 1983.

McFarland, Daniel M.  Historical Dictionary of Ghana.  Metuchen,
New Jersey: Scarecrow, 1985.

Nkrumah, Kwame.  Autobiography.  New York: Nelson, 1957.

Owusu, Maxwell.  The Uses and Abuses of Political Power.  Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1970.

Pinkney, Robert.  Ghana Under Military Rule, 1966-1969.  London:
Methuen, 1972.

Thompson, W. Scott.  Ghana's Foreign Policy, 1957-66: Diplomacy,
Ideology and The New State.  Princeton: Princeton University Press,
1969.

U.S. Department of State.  Ghana Post Report.  September 1988.

Wright, Richard.  Black Power: A Record of Reactions in a Land of
Pathos.  New York: Harper, 1954.

Young, Crawford, et al.  Cooperatives and Development: Agricultural
Politics in Ghana and Uganda.  Madison: University of Wisconsin
Press, 1981.

Available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government
Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402:
American University.  Area Handbook for Ghana.  1983.


TRAVEL NOTES:
Climate and clothing:  Accra's temperature varies between 24 oC
and 37 oC (76 oF- 98 oF).  Humidity is highest at dawn and falls
each day from 93.5% to 66%.  Bring hot weather clothes and an
umbrella for the rainy seasons.
Health:  Do not eat raw fruits and vegetables or undercooked meats.
Tap water is not potable.  Do not swim in freshwater streams or
lagoons, which may be infected with bilharzia.

Telecommunications:  International communications from Ghana are
inadequate, and the visitor may experience difficulties and delays in
placing an international call.

Tourist attractions:  Points of interest in and around Accra include the
National Museum, Aburi Botanical Gardens, Black Star Square, the
Arts Council Handicraft Center, and the burial place of W.E.B.
DuBois.  Kumasi is the capital of the Ashanti Region.  The area is
rich in traditional Ghanaian crafts such as weaving, woodcarving, and
bronze work.  Places of interest include the National Cultural Center,
the zoo, and Manhyia Palace (home of the Ashanti chief).


Published by the United States Department of State --  Bureau of
Public Affairs  -- Office of  Public Communication --  Washington,
D.C.

February 1990 -- Editor: Juanita Adams
Department of State Publication 8089 -- Background Notes Series
-- This material is in the public domain and may  be reprinted without
permission; citation of this source is appreciated.

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government
Printing Office Washington, D.C.  20402.