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GHANA AT 60 - By Francis Lee-Saunders
On March 6, it was 60 years since Ghana became independent; one of the first
on the continent to go it alone. This diamond jubilee has drawn mixed feelings.
Ghana was one of Africa’s most dynamic economies for
many years, but it slumped in 2014 as commodity prices
fell and a fiscal crisis led to a widening budget and rising
inflation. The country was forced to turn to the IMF for a
bailout in 2015. Despite this, Ghana is resource rich; it is the
world’s second largest producer of cocoa and Africa’s second
largest producer of gold. However, as a gold rush has drawn
thousands of Chinese miners over the past decade, the extent
to which the nation’s resources are truly benefiting ordinary
Ghanaians has been questioned. But the new president Nana
Akufo-Addo is optimistic. This year’s theme, according to him,
is: “Mobilizing for Ghana’s Future.” He sees this as a year for
Ghanaians to understand their country’s shortcomings and
look at ways to improve.
Good timing, when growth is falling. According to figures
from the World Bank, Ghana’s economy grew by 4.9% during
the first quarter of 2016. However, overall GDP growth for the
whole of 2016 could be below the 3.9% achieved in 2015, due
to production problems in oil. Inflation is at 16.7%, made worse
by the country’s erratic energy supply that sees businesses put
prices up when they use generators. Victor Ohene Oppong,
Founder of Invest Hub, a financial advisory firm in Accra, is, like
many of his countrymen, in no mood for jubilation.
“Sixty years ago our founding father, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah
famously opined, Ghana your beloved country is free forever,
and we all thought managing our own resources would lead to
prosperity for everyone but that has simply not been the case.
We have issued our fifth Eurobond
debt for $750 million and the oil crisis
has led to a sharp contraction in oil
exports.” he says. Last year, he had to
lay off five expatriates and close down
one of his two branches because of
low revenue. “The debt to GDP ratio
stands at about 70% and the last
unemployment figures show at least
42% of people are still struggling to
find jobs.” says Oppong.
Richmond Nartey, Managing Director
of RN Shipping in Tema, agrees.
“Sixty years is a lifetime. For most
people that is the age when they
begin to think about retirement and
enjoying life. But that is not the case
for Ghana. The value of our currency is
still very weak against the dollar and
even though we decided to use our own local currency, many
companies still charge in dollars. Foreign currency restrictions
in Ghana are still a big issue for our kind of business. What
happens to businesses that cannot get their hands on the
much-needed dollars to be able to run their business?” says
Nartey.
Following the end of decades of rule by former coup leader
Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings, Ghana’s two-party electoral
system is earning credit for its peaceful political transitions. For
this reason alone, Mary Osei, Account Manager at HFC Bank,
believes there is cause to celebrate; “If there was ever a day
to be proud of your Ghanaian heritage and to be patriotic,
there is no better day than March 6, so I do not agree with
the naysayers and people who believe there is no need for
celebrations,” she says. Yet the debate over how to celebrate
Ghana’s 60th birthday has been fierce. Akufo-Addo set up
a 30-member committee to plan the celebrations with a
budget of GHc20 million ($4.57 million), which has proved
controversial. “If there is anywhere that money needs to be
spent, it should be in the creative industry instead of throwing
it away on branding buses with faces of old presidents or
parties.” says Adamz, a hip-hop artist in Ghana.
The influence of Ghana’s independence over Africa cannot be
underestimated. It was the first black African nation to cast off
colonialism and inspired the first of many others.
Martin Luther King Jr. was with half a million Ghanaians at the
ceremony and saw a parallel with
Ghana’s freedom and his struggle
for civil rights in the United States.
“Before I knew it, I started weeping. I
was crying for joy. And I knew about
all of the struggles, and all of the pain,
and all of the agony that these people
had gone through for this moment,”
recalled King in an interview years
later. Independence turned out to
be bittersweet for Ghana – it was
followed by assassination attempts
and coups. Nkrumah disappointed
many when he declared himself
president-for-life in 1964.
At least, in the 21st century,
democracy in Ghana is closer than
it probably ever has been to the
shining ideals of 1957.